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The Federal Government has declared December 25th, 26th and January 1st 2020 as public holidays. In a statement signed by the permanent secretary to the Ministry of Interior, Georgina Ehuriah, the public holidays are for the Christmas (December 25th), Boxing Day (December 26th) and New Year (January 1st) celebrations. According to the statement, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, felicitates with christians and all Nigerians both at home and abroad on this year’s Christmas and New Year Celebrations.

Sean “Diddy” Combs, the hip-hop mogul and pioneering, chart-topping rap artist, will be honored with the 2020 Grammy Salute to Industry Icons award during the annual pre-Grammys party next month. Combs will be feted during the pre-Grammy Gala on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2020, the evening prior to the 62nd annual Grammy Awards.

The Nigerian Senate has confirmed the appointment of Muhammad Mamman Nami as the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS. The Senate confirmed Nami’s appointment was done yesterday after President Mohammadu Buhari sent Nami’s name to the Senate as FIRS Executive Chairman last week. Senator Olamilekan Solomon Adeola (Lagos West), Chairman of the Finance Committee, laid the report of the Senate Finance committee before the Senate. The Senate President promised that the Senate will give FIRS all the support it needs to attain its mandate at this time when the nation needs more revenue.

The White House has reacted to the impeachment of President Trump by the House of Representatives describing it as 'the most shameful political episode in US history'. Read the full statement below;

Donald Trump has been impeached in the United States House of Representatives. The House has found the Republican president abused his office by asking Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden, his biggest rival in the 2020 election. Members have so far voted in favour of the first article of impeachment, that Trump abused his power.  The vote was 230 in favour and 197 against. A second vote, that the president obstructed Congress, was won by 229 votes to 198.

The Supreme Court has affirmed the election of Seyi Makinde as governor of Oyo State. In a unanimous judgment, the Apex Court found merit in the appeal filed by Mr Makinde that the majority judgment of the Appeal Court was a miscarriage of justice. The court, therefore, affirmed the majority judgment of the trial tribunal which upheld the election of Makinde as the duly elected governor of Oyo State.

Mercy Johnson Okojie and her hubby, Prince Okojie, are expecting their 4th child. The couple got married in 2011 and already have three children, a boy and two girls. The Nollywood actress shared the good news on her IG page.

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, said the Federal Government has ordered a probe into the invasion of a Federal High Court last Friday by operatives of the Department of State Service. Malami spoke to reporters at the premises of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, after visiting the Chief Judge, Justice John Tsoho. He also visited the President, National Industrial Court of Nigeria, Benedict Kanyip.

Y ouTube is taking another step to curb hateful and violent speech on its site. The video-streaming company owned by Google said it will now take down videos that lob insults at people based on race, gender expression, sexual orientation or other "protected attributes." YouTube will also prohibit veiled threats of violence, taking a step further into moderating what people can say in the millions of videos they create and upload daily. The company has been criticized by politicians, viewers and video creators for the material it allows on — and bans from — the site. It's been accused of allowing hate speech and extremism and creating spaces for harassment to linger online.

The Lagos State Government is to enact a law criminalising the keeping of dangerous animals as pets by individuals. This is coming after the capture and tranquilizing of a two-year-old lion kept in a residential property in Ikoyi, Lagos on Nov. 18. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) the Lagos State Attorney-General (AG) and Commissioner for Justice, made the disclosure at a media parley held at the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos on Tuesday.

Punch, a Nigerian national daily, has shared a notice which gave off its stand on the alleged lawlessness witnessed in President Buhari's administration.  In a notice titled "Buhari's lawlessness: Our Stand", Punch stated that it will "henceforth prefix Buhari’s name with his rank as a military dictator in the 80s 'Major General' and refer to his administration as a regime until they purge themselves of their insufferable contempt for the rule of law." It alleged that this administration's actions and assaults on the courts, disobedience of court orders and arbitrary detention of citizens reflect its true character of the martial culture. The SSS and Police were called out by Punch who also accused the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed of vigorously pressing for anti-hate speech laws to restrict social media even after being harassed by the SSS and accused of “loitering" in 2014. 

President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated Mr Edward Lametek Adamu as Chairman of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria. This was contained in a letter sent to the Senate by the President on Tuesday, seeking the confirmation of a newly-appointed Chairman for the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), in accordance with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Act.

An angry man has called Nigerian women 'second class women' after he was denied the Nigerian citizenship because his partner is a woman. He has been married to a Nigerian for 5 years and has lived in the country, but was denied citizenship when his wife helped him put it through to become a Nigerian. They told him, he can't be a citizen because his wife is a woman.

Ismaila Mustapha a.k.a Mompha has regained his freedom after perfecting the bail conditions handed to him by a Lagos High Court.  Mompha who was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on 14 counts bordering on fraud, money laundering and running a foreign exchange business without the authorisation of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was granted a N100m bail on Friday, November 29.

President Muhammadu Buhari has declined to renew the appointment of Babatunde Fowler as the chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service(FIRS). Instead, he named a new person, Muhammad M. Nami, as Fowler’s successor. Fowler’s tenure expired today 9 December, but a statement by the Presidency said he is expected to hand over to the most senior director on the board, who will take charge, pending the senate confirmation of the new board.

There are reports that the managing director of Maersk Nigeria Limited and his wife were attacked on Sunday night  in their Ikoyi home. Gildas Tohouo Tohouo ,who heads Maersk operation in Nigeria is a Cameroonian. Although he survived the attack and has been hospitalised, his Hungarian wife was killed. The attack was carried out in their Lugard Avenue home in Ikoyi.

CEO of Ebonylife TV Mo'Abudu, recently opened a newly completed  multibillion naira EbonyLife Place, in Lagos State. The edifice is said to house 5 cinemas, rooftop terrace, event spaces, bars and restaurants and a 20 room boutique hotel.  The building was launched alongside the premiere of her new movie 'Your Excellency'.

Diddy's ex, Cassie has welcomed her first child - a baby girl! Cassie, 33, welcomed her daughter, Frankie Fine, with husband Alex Fine, 26 The singer gave birth on Friday at an L.A. County hospital, but the news just became public.

Sanna Marin, aged 34, will become the world's youngest prime minister as head of a women-led coalition government in Finland. The transportation minister was picked by her Social Democratic party to take charge after PM Antti Rinne quit. She is expected to be sworn in this week. Marin who will become the world’s youngest sitting prime minister, had a swift rise in Finnish politics since becoming head of the city council of her industrial hometown of Tampere at the age of 27. She will be taking over in the middle of a 3-day wave of strikes, which will halt production at some of Finland's largest companies from Monday December 9. The Confederation of Finnish Industries estimates the strikes will cost the companies a combined 500 million euros (US$550 million) in lost revenue.

The Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism (WSCIJ) has postponed the presentation of an Integrity Award to the Vice President Yemi Osinbajo amidst protests over the tightening of space for freedom of expression in the country. Osinbajo was slated to be presented with the award as part of the 2019 Wole Soyinka Award for Investigative Reporting holding on Monday night in Lagos, which coincides with the World Anti-Corruption Day. The plan to honour Osinbajo however generated protests as some Nigerians took to social media querying the timing of the award.

The Senate on Friday ruled out the possibility of declaring vacant, the seat of its Chief Whip, Senator Orji  Kalu,  following his conviction by a Federal High Court in Lagos on Thursday. Kalu,   a former governor of Abia State, was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment over a N7.1bn fraud charges against him since 2007 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Reacting to the calls on the leadership of the Senate to declare his seat vacant,  the Spokesperson for the red chamber, Senator Godiya Akwashiki, said it was not possible.

Zozibini Tunzi was crowned Miss Universe Sunday night after excelling through rounds of swimsuit and evening gown struts, questions on social issues and one final chance to explain why she was the right choice. "I grew up in a world where a woman who looks like me — with my kind of skin and my kind of hair — was never considered to be beautiful," she said in her last response. "I think it is time that that stops today. I want children to look at me and see my face and I want them to see their faces reflected in mine."

Over three thousand members of the Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN) in Ogun State have defected to the People’s Democratic Party(PDP), ahead of the Local Government elections expected to be conducted in the state next year and subsequent general elections in 2023. The defectors led by the House of Representatives candidate of the ANN for Abeokuta South Federal Constituency, Akeem Amosun, in the last general elections, said that they elected to move to PDP to form a vibrant and formidable opposition in the Gateway State.

There was rancor at the court 7, Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday, as armed operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) moved to rearrest Omoyele Sowore, Convener, #RevolutionNow protest, and his co-defendant, Olawale Bakare, at the court premises. The drama started shortly after Justice Ijoema Ojukwu adjourned the trial continuation till Feb. 11, 12 and 13 for definite hearing. Justice Ojukwu had, on Thursday, ordered the DSS to release Sowore and Bakare within 24 hours.

Singer, R. Kelly has been accused by federal prosecutors in Brooklyn of arranging to get a fake ID in order to marry singer Aaliyah when she was 15. According to court documents obtained by NBC, the singer was indicted Thursday on a new count of bribery stemming from an effort in 1994 to get the fake document. The federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York alleged that on the day before his wedding to Aaliyah, Kelly and others in his circle bribed a public official in Illinois to create a fake ID for "Jane Doe #1."

Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi on Thursday revealed that he has never requested or collected pension as a former governor. Amaechi, who was governor of Rivers state between 2007 and 2015 and currently a minister, said he believed ex-governors who are serving senators or ministers are not entitled to pension. Amaechi’s comment follows a report on a federal high court in Ikoyi asking the federal government to recover pensions and allowances received by former and serving senators as ex-governors.

Nigerian Senate on Thursday passed the 2020 budget of N10.594 trillion into law. This is against the proposed budget of N10.33 trillion presented to the joint National Assembly by President Muhammadu Buhari in October, 2019. The passage of the budget, however, represents  record breaking and a deviation from what was obtained in the 8th National Assembly in which budget were passed almost eight months after it was presented.

Following the public outcry that greeted the hate speech bill, the Senate President Ahmed Lawan has said the Senate won’t pass the proposed anti-free speech bills. Lawan made the disclosure in response to a detailed written protest letter against the hate speech bill and anti-social media bill before the senate by the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA. He said legislators will listen to the pulse of the Nigerians who have rejected the bills and will do exactly as they demanded.

A Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos has ordered the Federal Government to recover pensions collected by former governors serving as ministers and members of the National Assembly. The court also directed the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami, SAN to challenge the legality of states’ pension laws permitting former governors and other ex-public officials to collect such pensions. According to Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, who claimed to have obtained the certified true copy of the judgement, the verdict was given by Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo following an application for an order of mandamus in suit number FHC/L/CS/1497/2017 brought by the organisation.

Comedian, Basket Mouth has reacted to being stripped off as an EU ambassador over a 2014 rape joke. He was one of the few celebrities selected as an ambassador for the European Union in Nigeria’s campaign against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence. But shortly after the announcement, there was outrage on social media as many said he wasn't fit for the position. And shortly afterwards, he was stripped of the privilege. Though he has being quiet, the comedian has now decided to break his silence and react to the outrage. His statement below;

Evidence of tax payment will be a condition for operating a bank account from January, according to the Financial bill passed by the National Assembly. The Bill, submitted to the lawmakers with Budget 2020 by President Muhammadu Buhari, is designed to improve financial operations of the country and streamline the tax regime. It is expected to be signed with the budget before end of the month, to actualise the return to the January – December budget cycle.

A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Monday ordered the forfeiture of two houses in Ilorin, Kwara State belonging to former Senate President, Bukola Saraki. Justice Rilwan Aikawa gave the order citing section 17 of the advance fee fraud and other related offences act 14, 2006 and section 44(2)B of the 1999 Constitution. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by its counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, had applied to the court requesting the temporary forfeiture of Saraki’s property.

Lionel Messi won a record sixth men's Ballon d'Or award at a ceremony in Paris on Monday, beating Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk to take the honours. Now aged 32, it is Messi's first Ballon d'Or since 2015 and his sixth overall as he moves one ahead of his old rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished third in the voting. Messi, who attended the ceremony at the Chatelet Theatre in the French capital with his wife and children, succeeds Luka Modric, the Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder who won the prize last year.

The Lekki Concession Company has given notice to users of the Lekki-Ikoyi Ikoyi Link Bridge in Lagos, that it will no longer accept cash payment at the toll plaza from 2020. A banner at the bridge loudly states: “No more cash payment @Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge Toll Plaza, Wednesday 1st January 2020”. There has been no official statement by the company about the planned migration to electronic payment.