MID DAY NEWS
THE HEADLINES
Tinubu vows refinery revival, condemns wasteful operations
Death toll mounts as another Osun resident shot dead
Public funding of marriage legitimate under Shariah — Gumi
Ghana police foil bank robbery, kill two suspects, arrest one
Ronaldo returns to Al Nassr with golden new look
NOW THE DETAILS
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said his administration would revive moribund refineries. He, however, warned that their success would be based on productivity and not mere activities, as obtainable in the past.Tinubu stated this when he received the Executive President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Salimon Oladiti, and members of the union at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.
Addressing the delegation’s concerns about the long-delayed revival of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries directly, the President said, “The refineries you mentioned are going to come back to work. We’re just building a very firm reset and structural reworking of the economy.
A resident of Esa Oke in Osun State, Dele Ayegbo, was reportedly shot dead by some assailants said to be travelling in a black Sports Utility Vehicle late on Wednesday. Sources in Esa Oke, who spoke with our correspondent about the incident, said it occurred between 11 pm on Wednesday and 12 am on Thursday.
The sources further described Ayegbo as a nephew of the Director-General of the Osun All Progressives Congress Governorship Campaign Council, Oluwole Oke, giving rise to insinuations that the killing had a political undertone.
One of the sources said Ayegbo was killed close to his house, located in the Idofin quarters of Esa Oke, adding that two other persons were also shot and hospitalised during the attack.
Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has defended the use of public funds to facilitate marriages in states operating under Shariah law, describing such intervention as a legitimate component of responsible governance.
Gumi, in a statement shared on Facebook on Thursday, argued that in a society where prostitution, fornication, adultery and promiscuity are prohibited by both religious and state laws, governments have a responsibility to support people who are in need of marriage.
“In a Shariah law-driven state, where prostitution, fornication, adultery, and promiscuity are prohibited by both divine and state laws, using public funds to facilitate the marriage of women who are in excess of the available pool of eligible men, or of any young person in dire need of marriage, is a legitimate and responsible component of good governance,” he said.
On foreign news
The Ghana Police Service has arrested a suspected member of a robbery syndicate and killed two others in a foiled attempt to rob three banks in Labone, Accra.
The arrested suspect was identified as Augustine Maazi.
The police disclosed this in a statement posted on its X handle on Thursday.
According to the statement, the police received intelligence at about 10:45am on August 13, 2026, that a gang was preparing to attack GCB Bank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank, all located in Labone.
On sports news
Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to Al Nassr training in Riyadh sporting a striking copper-yellow hairstyle, days after marrying longtime partner Georgina Rodríguez in a private ceremony in Portugal following Portugal’s exit from the 2026 World Cup.<
The Portuguese forward posted photos of himself in the club’s training kit on his social media accounts on Thursday, captioning the images simply “Back 🟡🔵”. The pictures showed the 41-year-old with a new copper-yellow hair, a clear departure from the dark brown style he had worn for years, including during Portugal’s World Cup campaign.
Tinubu vows refinery revival, condemns wasteful operations
Death toll mounts as another Osun resident shot dead
Public funding of marriage legitimate under Shariah — Gumi
Ghana police foil bank robbery, kill two suspects, arrest one
Ronaldo returns to Al Nassr with golden new look
NOW THE DETAILS
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday said his administration would revive moribund refineries. He, however, warned that their success would be based on productivity and not mere activities, as obtainable in the past.Tinubu stated this when he received the Executive President of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, Salimon Oladiti, and members of the union at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Thursday.
Addressing the delegation’s concerns about the long-delayed revival of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries directly, the President said, “The refineries you mentioned are going to come back to work. We’re just building a very firm reset and structural reworking of the economy.
A resident of Esa Oke in Osun State, Dele Ayegbo, was reportedly shot dead by some assailants said to be travelling in a black Sports Utility Vehicle late on Wednesday. Sources in Esa Oke, who spoke with our correspondent about the incident, said it occurred between 11 pm on Wednesday and 12 am on Thursday.
The sources further described Ayegbo as a nephew of the Director-General of the Osun All Progressives Congress Governorship Campaign Council, Oluwole Oke, giving rise to insinuations that the killing had a political undertone.
One of the sources said Ayegbo was killed close to his house, located in the Idofin quarters of Esa Oke, adding that two other persons were also shot and hospitalised during the attack.
Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has defended the use of public funds to facilitate marriages in states operating under Shariah law, describing such intervention as a legitimate component of responsible governance.
Gumi, in a statement shared on Facebook on Thursday, argued that in a society where prostitution, fornication, adultery and promiscuity are prohibited by both religious and state laws, governments have a responsibility to support people who are in need of marriage.
“In a Shariah law-driven state, where prostitution, fornication, adultery, and promiscuity are prohibited by both divine and state laws, using public funds to facilitate the marriage of women who are in excess of the available pool of eligible men, or of any young person in dire need of marriage, is a legitimate and responsible component of good governance,” he said.
On foreign news
The Ghana Police Service has arrested a suspected member of a robbery syndicate and killed two others in a foiled attempt to rob three banks in Labone, Accra.
The arrested suspect was identified as Augustine Maazi.
The police disclosed this in a statement posted on its X handle on Thursday.
According to the statement, the police received intelligence at about 10:45am on August 13, 2026, that a gang was preparing to attack GCB Bank, Ecobank and Zenith Bank, all located in Labone.
On sports news
Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to Al Nassr training in Riyadh sporting a striking copper-yellow hairstyle, days after marrying longtime partner Georgina Rodríguez in a private ceremony in Portugal following Portugal’s exit from the 2026 World Cup.<
The Portuguese forward posted photos of himself in the club’s training kit on his social media accounts on Thursday, captioning the images simply “Back 🟡🔵”. The pictures showed the 41-year-old with a new copper-yellow hair, a clear departure from the dark brown style he had worn for years, including during Portugal’s World Cup campaign.