• Arsenal defeats Crystal Palace with two goals in Premier League kick-off match
• Wizkid becomes the first African artist to headline the world’s biggest gaming event in Saudi Arabia
• EFCC vows to crack down on “Forex hoarders” due to the Naira fall
• Election timing will be impacted if voter registration is extended, says INEC
• Sanwo-Olu allays fears over impending attack on Lagos

Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top Nigerian news stories you shouldn‘t miss:

Arsenal defeats Crystal Palace with two goals in the Premier League kick-off match

Arsenal defeated Crystal Palace 2-0 to kick off the 2022–23 Premier League season. On opening night, goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Marc Guehi sent the Gunners to the top of the league.

At Selhurst Park, Mikel Arteta saw his team get off to a fast start. Martinelli quickly made up for squandering a crucial opportunity in the first few minutes by putting his team ahead with a header following a clever corner sequence. Patrick Vieira could only watch his side desperately try to hold onto the little gap as Arsenal, led by the superb Gabriel Jesus, continued to dominate.

However, after 30 minutes, the Eagles began to gel and put comparable pressure on the opposing end. They created the finest opportunity of the game just before halftime, but Aaron Ramsdale saved the day when Odsonne Edouard really deserved to have leveled the score.

After the break, Palace resumed where they left off, and Ebere Eze should have equalized when Wilfried Zaha sent him superbly through on goal. But once more, Ramsdale was in the ideal position to preserve his perfect record.

The hosts kept trying to score a goal of their own, but William Saliba, who was also making his Premier League debut, frequently stopped them. His perseverance was soon rewarded as he witnessed Bukayo Saka put the game beyond their London opponents on the opposite end. Guehi could only turn his whipped cross beyond Vicente Guaita as the young England winger sprinted down the right side.

Despite being the opening game of the season, the outcome puts Arsenal at the top of the table and gives Arteta the ideal base upon which to develop.

Regarding his opponent, the game had lots of nice aspects, but Vieira’s slow start eventually lost him the game.

Wizkid becomes the first African artist to headline the world’s biggest gaming event in Saudi Arabia

Wizkid, the afrobeats phenomenal superstar, has broken a record by becoming the first performer to ever serve as the event’s headlining act of a gaming event in Saudi Arabia.
The event, which is still going on, was staged in Saudi Arabia’s renowned NXT LVL Arena on Riyadh Boulevard.

On Thursday, August 4, 2022, the Grammy Award-winning singer and composer performed in front of a sizable crowd at the Gamers8 eSports concert.

The Afrobeats superstar entertained the crowd with hit songs from both his old and new music repertoire with the help of his official disc jockey, DJ Tunez, and his band. He sang a number of hit songs, including “Essence,” “Ojuelegba,” “Joro,” “Beat Of Life,” “Mood,” “Ginger,” “Soco,” and many more, with incredible vigor.

The current Middle Eastern event, where competitions are held with entertainment and cultural attractions, is known as “the greatest eSports and gaming festival globally.” It began on July 14 and will conclude on September 8.

The Gamers8 festival has thus far delivered fans and platform enthusiasts with fun-filled events, exhibitions, and futuristic experiences that transport them to the virtual world of gaming.

EFCC vows to crack down on “Forex hoarders” due to Nairas fall

The EFCC has warned to start cracking down on Forex hoarders whose actions are allegedly behind the collapse in the value of the naira.

The warning was made by the commission’s chair, Abdulrasheed Bawa, at a meeting with Bureau de Change operator representatives on Friday in Abuja.

According to a statement by the organization’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Calabar have all been recognized by the EFCC as having the highest concentrations of dollar hoarders in Nigeria.

However, Bawa warned those involved to desist or risk arrest as a major offensive against the speculators is underway.

Bawa also disclosed that the commission has intelligence linking some people and organizations to the hoarding of foreign currencies, especially the United States dollar, in the key commercial cities of Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Calabar.

The EFCC chair met with representatives of BDC operators as part of its attempts to stop the growing foreign currency speculation that has put pressure on the value of the naira.

Election timing will be impacted if voter registration is extended, says INEC

In advance of the general elections in 2023, the Independent National Electoral Commission has warned that further extending the Continuous Voter Registration may have unexpected repercussions.

The commission made this observation while noting that additional expenses were associated with extensions and that its staff was worn out as a result of earlier extensions.

Dr. Festus Okoye, the INEC commissioner for voter education, revealed the information in an interview in Abuja.

It is, however, important to note that the electoral umpire ended accepting new registrations on July 31, 2022, despite increased requests for an extension of the voter registration deadline.

However, Okoye warned: “Any additional extension of the present Continuous Voter Registration may have a negative impact on the commission’s agenda and schedule of activities and result in unexpected repercussions.

“The exercise must come to an end as it cannot carry on indefinitely. The commission spread out the registration over a period of one year and granted an extension. To allow the commission to do deduplication and eliminate multiple and double registrations, the exercise must come to an end.

Additionally, the commission must post the register throughout the nation’s 774 local government regions and 8,809 locations where people can lodge claims and complaints. The commission next has to print the Permanent Voter Cards for those legally eligible registrants and arrange for them to pick them up.

The commission must also make copies of the Supplementary Voters Register and Permanent Voter Register available to all registered political parties. The commission set a start date of June 28, 2021, and a finish date of June 30, 2022, for the registration.”

Sanwo-Olu allays fears over impending attack on Lagos

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State, has advised citizens to disregard claims of an impending assault on Lagos and assured them that precautions have been taken to better safeguard people and property in the state.

Sanwo-Olu provided the assurance on Friday night following a security briefing with security personnel from the Nigerian Police, Navy, Army, Customs, and Civil Defense, among others.

The governor asked citizens to maintain their composure and carry on with their regular activities despite having heard news reports on social media about an impending attack on Lagos.

Sanwo-Olu claims: “In the past few days or weeks, there has been a lot of news and information on social media concerning the possibility of coming assaults on Lagos. Daily security communications with my security personnel have taken place.

“I want to reassure the people that we are taking care of this. We believed that it was essential to hold this significantly prolonged security meeting.

“At the meeting, we received a comprehensive report on what the current security situations in the state are.

“We have come up with strategies and interventions, but I want to assure our people that our security men are alive to their responsibility to ensure the security in the state is not compromised.

“Our advice to our citizens is to be law abiding and go about their lawful duties and to say something if they see something.

“Security is the duty of all. They should utilise all the security communication that is available.

“We want to assure you we are not unaware of all the concerns that have gone round. The security operatives have given all the assurances to continue to make Lagos safe for all.”