These are the stories that drove the conversation today:

The Government of Lagos has appealed for the cooperation and understanding of motorists and residents in the state during the four-day closure of the Third Mainland bridge commencing from midnight of August 23 to midnight of August 26, for investigative maintenance test.

State Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Ade Akinsanya, who made the appeal through a statement over the weekend, said the four-day closure, will enable the contractors assess the true state of the 30-year old bridge, after which works would commence by the end of the year or early in 2019. 

 He further advised residents to minimize non-essential travel and movements, adding that arrangements have been made to ensure smooth flow of traffic on all the other alternative roads and traffic corridor across the metropolis to ensure free flow of traffic.

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The Oyo Government on Sunday, demolished Music House, a structure housing Fresh FM Ibadan and owned by popular musician, Yinka Ayefele, for allegedly contravening the state ’s planning laws.

Witnesses told the News Agency of Nigeria that bulldozers moved in at about 4.30 a.m this Sunday to commence the demolition of the structure located on the Challenge-Toll Gate road, while Fresh FM alerted the public on the development.

Justice I. Yerima of an Oyo High Court had reportedly ordered the claimant to ensure service of the court process on the respondent and adjourned the case till Monday for the hearing of the exparte motion, which Ayefele sought through his counsel, Olayinka Bolanle to restrain the state government from demolishing the property pending the determination of the suit.

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Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Lasun, has said he will not leave the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) inspite of losing the party’s governorship primary in Osun amid an alleged conspiracy against him during the exercise.

Lasun who addressed a news conference on Sunday in Osogbo, noted that him and his supporters were still members of the APC, and do not intend to leave the party in the nearest future, as he expressed hope that aggrieved party members will be able to put behind them all that happened during the primary.

“We will do our best to support the party during the Sept. 22 (governorship) election,” he added.

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Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to promptly sign into law the new amendments to the Electoral Act.

“In making this call, the attention of the president ought to be drawn to article 2 (1) of the Economic Community of West African States Protocol A/SP1/12/01 on Democracy and Good Governance which provides that: ‘No substantial modification shall be made to the electoral laws in the last six (6) months before the elections, except with the consent of majority of political actors’,” he noted.

He further explained that since Nigeria is legally obliged to comply with the said Protocol, President Buhari who is the current chairman of the ECOWAS should ensure that the Electoral Bill 2018 is assented to without any further delay, in view of the fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced that the 2019 elections will commence in February 2019.

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The Nigerian Air Force on Sunday said the Air Task Force of  “Operation Diran Mikiya’’ has successfully degraded several notorious armed bandits hideouts in Shamashale village and Rugu forest in Zamfara.

NAF Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, who disclosed this in Abuja through a statement, said “the attacks, which were executed in support of ground troops in Sector 2 of Operation `Sharan Daji’, were planned based on credible intelligence that the kingpin and his group of armed bandits were using an abandoned primary school in Shamashale,’’  he added.

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And stories from around the world:

Prime Minister Theresa May could face trouble getting her Brexit deal approved by the British parliament before exit day unless she changes her proposals, the head of an influential group of pro-Brexit lawmakers said in an interview published on Sunday. (Reuters)

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Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said on Sunday that a new Iran Action Group in the U.S. State Department aimed to overthrow the Islamic Republic, but would fail. (Reuters)

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Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared a provisional three-month ceasefire with the Taliban in a televised broadcast Sunday, but said the truce would hold only if the insurgents reciprocated. (AFP)

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Iraq’s Supreme Court has ratified the results of the country’s May parliamentary election, setting in motion a 90-day constitutional deadline for the top parties to form a coalition government. (Al Jazeera)

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Rescue efforts are being stepped up in the flood-hit Indian state of Kerala, where monsoon rains have eased for now. (BBC)