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Cross River TUC denies bribery allegation
File Photo Officials of the Trade Union Congress, Cross River State chapter, have denied receiving bribe from the state government to back out of the strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress scheduled to begin on Monday. The state branch of the NLC through its chairman, Benedict Ukpepi, had declared an indefinite strike from Monday over unpaid gratuities, pensions, among other issues after the expiration of an ultimatum issued to the government. But the TUC branch in the state, as well as other affiliate unions, had said they won’t join the industrial action, noting that the timing – being amid the Covid-19 pandemic – was wrong. Speaking at a media briefing on Saturday, the State Secretary of the union, Ken Bassey, said, “Nobody has collected a dime from the government. And the TUC is ...
‘BET Awards 2020 Needed More Than Ever’: President Scott Mills Reflects on Show’s Lasting Impact & More
BET president Scott Mills wants viewers of this year’s BET Awards to understand one thing up front: don’t call it a virtual awards show. It’s a “complete mischaracterization of what the show is,” says Mills of the BET Awards which, like many other special events, has had to shift gears as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the ceremony will air Sunday evening (June 28) and also make its national broadcast debut on CBS. Noting that other media have tagged the show as virtual, Mills continues, “We actually never have described it as virtual. We said that we’re proceeding with the awards show and not doing it in front of a live audience.” Mills further emphasizes that the show won’t feature artists simply performing from their homes. Instead, performanc...
Concertgoers Seek Ticketmaster Terms of Use Click Rates in Antitrust Class Action
Concertgoers suing Ticketmaster and Live Nation over live event ticket fees believe no one actually reads the terms of service that bind them to arbitration and are asking a California federal judge for discovery that could help them prove the websites’ formats are to blame. Olivia Van Iderstine and Mitch Oberstein in April sued Ticketmaster and its parent Live Nation claiming the companies have a monopoly on live events and therefore can charge “extraordinarily high fees” for tickets. The companies responded in June with a motion to compel arbitration. They argue that in order to buy tickets through their sites users have to affirmatively agree to their terms of service at least three times — and those terms include a mandatory arbitration provision and a waiver of class...
Elton John’s Ex-Wife Renate Blauel Seeks High Court Injunction
Elton John’s ex-wife Renate Blauel has launched legal action against the “Rocketman” in London’s High Court. The German-born sound engineer filed paperwork last week to seek an injunction against the legendary British singer, according to various reports. The reasons behind the legal action remain unclear, though such cases are typically grounded in privacy matters or to prevent the publication of personal materials. Blauel’s lawyer confirmed to The Guardian that his client hoped the matter would be resolved “amicably,” but declined to elaborate on the case. John and Blauel became close during the recording sessions for his 1983 album Too Low for Zero album and the pair tied the knot the following year at a ceremony on Valentine’s Day in Sydney, footage of which aired live on Austral...
Rivers APC felicitates inaugurated national caretaker committee
The Acting Chairman of All Progressives Congress in Rivers State, Igo Aguma, on behalf of the party in the state has congratulated the National Caretaker and the extraordinary convention planning committee led by Malam Mai Mala Buni, Governor of Yobe State. Aguma, who made the disclosure in a statement signed by his media adviser, Livingstone Wedgie, on Thursday, expressed confidence that the new caretaker committee under Buni would work assiduously to bring the much-needed peace and harmony within the party. The Rivers APC acting chairman, also congratulated David Lyon, the South-South Coordinator in the Caretaker Committee, and urged him to transfer the same commitment he showed in the Bayelsa governorship election to the repositioning of the party in the zone. Aguma noted that it was ti...
Angola mulling arrest warrant for Isabel dos Santos – prosecution
Angola’s attorney general said on Thursday that he did not rule out issuing an international arrest warrant against billionaire businesswoman Isabel dos Santos, suspected of corruption in her native country and Portugal. “We are working in cooperation with the Portuguese authorities. And if the need arises… to get to that point, we will see how to proceed,” Helder Pitta Gros said in response to questions at a press conference in the capital Luanda. “These are procedural issues, (and) as you can imagine I cannot say more about a process that is under way. We are working on it,” he said. Dos Santos, 47, described by Forbes as the wealthiest woman in Africa, is accused of diverting billions of dollars from state companies during her father Jose Eduardo dos Santos’s near four-decade rule of th...
EFCC arrests six suspected internet fraudsters in Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says its Abuja Zonal Office has arrested six suspected internet fraudsters for alleged involvement in cyber crimes. Spokesperson of the Commission, Mr Dele Oyewale, said that their arrest was sequel to several intelligence garnered overtime about their suspicious lifestyles. Oyewale said that the suspects were arrested in the Dawaki model city estate, Abuja. “The suspects are, Iyoriobhe Endurance, 20; Peter Uyebitame, 23; Emmanuel Akpobome, 23; Samuel Odianose, 24, Basil Ezenwa, 24 and Dare Adegun, 24. “Items recovered from them include, one Mercedes Benz C350, 4 Matic, eight expensive phones and four laptops. “The suspects will be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” Oyewale said. Get more stories like this on Twitt...
Former Oyo Governor Ajimobi passes on
The immediate past governor of Oyo state, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, has passed on. He died at 70. A source said Ajimobi has been in coma and was placed on life support for some days after a surgery at a private hospital in Lagos. He said his family will make a formal announcement on Thursday evening. Ajimobi was announced as the Acting Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress, last week, after the Court of Appeal upheld the suspension of Adams Oshiomhole. Get more stories like this on Twitter You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn rewards by chatting, sharing photos, blogging and help give users back thei...
The Deals: Little Simz Renews AWAL Recordings Contract, Licensing Service Lickd Strikes UMG Partnership
Mercury Prize-nominated rapper and songwriter Little Simz (a.k.a. Simbi Ajikawo) has renewed her partnership with AWAL Recordings, which provides a full range of services including global marketing and promotion, digital and physical distribution, campaign coordination, A&R support, synch licensing and brand partnerships. Little Simz garnered acclaim with her most recent album, GREY Area, which was released on her own label, Age 101, via AWAL. In addition to the Mercury Prize, she has been nominated for AIM and BET Awards; additionally, she won the Q Award for best vocal performance and the NME Award for best British album. She has toured with Gorillaz, Lauryn Hill and Anderson .Paak and also starred in the Channel 4 crime drama Top Boy, which currently airs on Netflix. Little Sim...
U.K. Competition Regulator Launches ‘In-depth’ Investigation Into Viagogo StubHub Merger
Viagogo’s $4 billion acquisition of StubHub faces further scrutiny after the U.K.’s competition watchdog opened an “in-depth investigation” into the merger. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced on Thursday (June 25) that Viagogo has failed to address its concerns that the merger could result in a substantial lessening of competition, leading to music fans paying more for tickets. As a result, the regulator has launched a ‘Phase 2’ inquiry into the deal before deciding what, if any action, should be taken. Phase 2 investigations by the CMA are conducted by an independent panel and can last up to 24 weeks (extended by up to eight weeks in special circumstances). If the CMA rules that the merger of Viagogo and StubHub does substantially restrict competition in the U.K.’...
Trax Records Hit With Federal Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Over Royalties
Chicago-based Trax Records has been sued over its alleged failure to pay royalties. Artists Larry Heard and Richard Owens filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit June 23 against Trax Records. Two days later, TaP Music Publishing announced that they are co-funding the legal action. Heard, professionally known as “Mr Fingers” and Owens said in court papers filed in the Northern District of Illinois that their lawsuit highlights the exploitation of the artists and their works, including unpaid royalties for various musical compositions and sound recordings that they created in the 1980s. Heard and Owens are also suing the Trax Records president Rachael Cain, known professionally as “Screamin’ Rachael.” They accuse Trax of “building its catalogue by taking advantage of unsophisticated b...
Nigeria evacuates 167 nationals from South Africa
The federal government has evacuated 167 Nigerians from South Africa and are now en route to Nigeria, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, said. Mr Onyeama in a series of tweets on his handle @GeoffreyOnyeama, said the Nigerians had already departed the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. “The evacuees who are returning on board Air Peace, are to first arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport before proceeding to Lagos. “Evacuation Update: @flyairpeace conveying 167 Nigerians just departed O.R. Tambo International Airport Johannesburg, South Africa for the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. “45 passengers will disembark in Abuja, and thereafter the plane will leave for Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos with 122 passengers,” he tweeted. G...
