Ogbonge Gossiper

Hong Kong led losses in Asian stock markets on Friday as Alibaba was hammered after saying it would cancel the planned spinoff of its cloud computing arm. The sell-off came as an exciting week on global trading floors saw a tepid finish, with Wall Street drifting even as a forecast-beating jump in US jobless claims added to optimism the central bank would not hike interest rates again. Market-heavyweight Alibaba collapsed more than 10 percent after its shock decision not to spin off its cloud computing arm because of the US-China chip war. In one of its most wide-ranging restructurings, Alibaba said in March it planned to split the vast group into six distinct entities that would be able to separately pursue funding through public listings. But on Thursday it called off the creation of its Cloud Intelligence arm in light of “the recent expansion of US restrictions on export of advanced computing chips”. Washington has cited national security grounds in moving to bar the shipment to Chi...

  According to The Telegraph, former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson is reportedly set to guide Sir Jim Ratcliffe on the immediate reforms at Old Trafford when the British Billionaire completes his 24 per cent takeover of the club. Former AC Milan defender and sporting director Paolo Maldini has been linked with a director role ahead of Ratcliffe’s imminent purchase of a 25 per cent stake in United. Ratcliffe wants to improve United’s football operation drastically, and sources claim he is expected to lean on legendary Old Trafford manager Alex  Ferguson, 81, for advice and guidance over some matters. That could include helping to choose a new director of football, with John Murtough’s position believed to be vulnerable. The  Red Devils  have seen a massive decline since Ferguson’s retirement, and using his expertise would certainly be a popular move by Ratcliffe with the club’s fans, who still worship the multiple-trophy winner. Maldini was sacked by AC ...

  Nigerian singer, Okafor Uchenna Victor, aka Mr Real, has called out rapper, Idowest over alleged song theft. He alleged that the Mafia Music boss stole his hit song, ‘Shekpeteri’ from a disc jockey, stressing that the song was already recorded by some group of boys before Idowest hijacked it and featured Slimcase in his version. He claimed that it was because of Idowest’s greed that he didn’t make much money from his song ‘Legbegbe which featured the rapper. Speaking in a video message making the rounds on social media, Mr Real said, “We are supposed to have houses in Island judging by the virality of our songs; ‘Legbegbe’ was everywhere, ‘Shekpeteri’ was everywhere. But you [Idowest] didn’t allow us to make money because of your greed. "You are a greedy modaf**ker. Unfortunate fellow. Depression will kill you until you come and apologise to me and Slimcase. “The popular ‘Shekpeteri’ song was originally owned by a DJ. They’ve done that song before; ‘Shekpeteri’ was done with som...

  Big Brother Naija reality show star and disc jockey Tolani Baj has said it is disrespectful for intending partners to ask women about their sexual histories. She said although she has a low body count, she doesn’t think asking a woman about her body count is right. The reality star spoke in the latest Bahd And Boujee Podcast episode hosted by her and actress Moet Abebe. She, however, said it was okay to ask partners about their relationship histories. Tolani Baj said, “If a partner asks me about my exes, relationship history, I’m okay. But something I won’t answer is body count. I feel like, ‘What’s really your business?’ My body count is not high but I still feel like it’s disrespectful to ask a woman about her body count. It’s not because I’m ashamed to say the amount, it’s just like, ‘Who do you think you’re to be asking me that kind of question?'”

  The founder of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, Dr. Boniface Aniebonam, has described Friday’s Appeal Court judgment sacking the Kano State governor, Abba Yusuf, as a “rude shock.” Reacting to the court ruling invalidating Yusuf’s election victory, Aniebonam insisted that only the NNPP can determine its members, not the judiciary. He said, “I do know that it is only the NNPP and its members that can determine who is a member of the party,” he said in a statement on Saturday. “I also know that a party and its members can bring into the party, and grant such a person a waiver to go into election and represent the party in an election I also know and believe that it is only someone who contested nomination under NNPP that can challenge the membership of the party in an election. “To the contrary, no other person has the right to raise objection.” The NNPP founder argued that the party could sponsor any candidate by granting them a waiver to contest elections on its platform. Aniebona...

The folks in Iragbiji community, Osun State, are asking Governor Ademola Adeleke to relocate the Osun United football team from the Skilled Acquisition Centre. They've given him a 21-day ultimatum to make it happen. Dr. Jimoh Olorede, speaking on behalf of the Iragbiji Youth Development Association, mentioned that the current occupants of the facility are unfamiliar to the community and it's important to preserve the original purpose of the building. According to him, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji, Oba Abdulrosheed Olabomi, had a chat with government representatives about the issue. They reached an agreement that the people in the building would leave. However, it's concerning that the government hasn't followed through on their promise to evacuate the building within seven days. This situation raises suspicions about their intentions. We are giving the government 21 days within which those currently in the facility should vacate the premises. We are peace-loving people, ...

Angola has expressed interest in improving trading with Nigeria, assuring that it would continue to push for improvement of bilateral relations. Amb. José Bamóquina Zau, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Angola to Nigeria, Benin, and Niger, said this at the 48th independence anniversary ceremony of the country on Friday night in Abuja. He said the 48 years of independence of Angola represented the sacrifices made by Angolan people and the government’s determination to implement the main objective of the country. Zau added that Angola and Nigeria are brother countries and giant crude oil producers in Africa and have been in a relationship that started since Angola’s liberation struggle began until its independence. He said: “Angola and Nigeria faced challenges and their respective leaders remain committed to resolving most essential problems and strengthening bilateral cooperation are core plans of Presidents Joao Lourenco and Bola Tinubu. “Since 2008, Angola-Nigeria Bilat...

  The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission  arrested 14 people for alleged vote buying during the governorship elections in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi states on Saturday. The commission disclosed this in a statement posted on X. According to the message, the suspects were arrested  during operations across voting centres in the three states. They were said to have been nabbed based on intelligence gathered before the polls. The anti-graft agency said a total of N11.04 million cash was recovered from the apprehended vote buyers and sellers. This includes N9.31 million intercepted in Bayelsa and N1.73 million seized in Imo. Two vehicles were also impounded from the suspects, who were mostly arrested around polling units and playgrounds being used as vote trading centers. The EFCC stated that the 14 detainees will be charged to court after investigations are completed. The commission said the arrests were part of efforts to tackle electoral malpractices including vote buying ...