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Wisconsin governor: Donald Trump must pay for ‘haphazard’ voting lawsuit
Former President Donald Trump’s attempt to overturn the will of the state’s 3.3 million voters was so weak and time-consuming that he and his lawyers should be punished for squandering taxpayer resources, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said in a federal court filing. Donald Trump should be ordered to pay Wisconsin $145,000 to cover the legal expenses the state racked up defending against the former president’s “haphazard” election-fraud lawsuit, the state told a judge. Trump’s attempt to overturn the will of the state’s 3.3 million voters was so weak and time-consuming that he and his lawyers should both be punished for squandering taxpayer resources, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers said in a filing Wednesday in federal court in Milwaukee. “There is no reason for Wisconsin taxpayers to bear t...
Kassim Afegbua: No need for reconciliation with Governor Obaseki
Prince Kassim Afegbua, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and former Commissioner for Information in the state, has said he has no need to reconcile with Governor Godwin Obaseki on his purported suspension from the party. Speaking in an interview, Afegbua also said he remained a member of the PDP despite his public endorsement of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the last governorship election in Edo state. He said: “There is nothing to reconcile with the state Governor. I am older than him at the party. He only came because he needed a platform to contest the election. After his second term inauguration, can you name the PDP members in his administration, five months after? “Yes, I was purportedly suspended for one month by my ward...
US accuses Nigeria of significant human rights abuses
US Embassy in South Africa The United States has accusesd Nigeria of significant human rights abuses in its latest ‘’Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2020’’, released Wednesday by the Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour. In the report titled ‘’’Nigeria 2020 Human Rights Report, Executive Summary’’, the US accused Nigeria of ‘’significant’’ human rights abuses, which include: unlawful and arbitrary killings by both government and non-state actors; forced disappearances by the government, terrorists, and criminal groups; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government and terrorist groups; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions. The 102-page report also accused the federal government of ‘’arbitrary d...
Presidency: President Buhari never promised to make N1 equal $1
The Presidency has said that there was not a time when President Muhammadu Buhari promised to make N1 equivalent to $1. The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said this on a Channels Television programme, Sunday Politics, on Sunday. Adesina, who also addressed complaints about the economy by Nigerians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, said of the often quoted promise by Buhari to make N1 exchange for $1: “It does not exist, it is fake, it is false, it is apocryphal, it doesn’t exist.” He further told Channels Television that the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has debunked the claim several times and challenged anyone with clips and publications of the President promising such to make them available. On the critic...
2023: INEC reassures on continuous voters registration
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it plans to resume Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) across the country in the second quarter of 2021. Mrs Wunmi Balogun, INEC Head of ICT, Ibadan, said this at the training of electoral officers and assistants electoral officers on access to Polling Units (PUs) in Ibadan on Monday. Balogun added that the commission would be using INEC Voters Enrolment Devices for the CVR instead of the Direct Data Capturing Machine. Mr Mutiu Agboke, the state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) said the training was to address the challenges being faced by voters on access to polling units during elections. Newsmen report that the workshop was specifically held for INEC’s head of departments, electoral officers and assistants electoral of...
Port Harcourt DisCo insists NMMP meters not for sale
File Photo The Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHED) says it is not selling to customers, meters provided free to electricity users by the Federal Government. PHED’s Acting Manager of Corporate Communications, Mrs Chioma Aninwe, disclosed this in a statement in Port Harcourt on Monday. The Federal Government had in October 2020 introduced the National Mass Metering Programme (NMMP), to eliminate arbitrary estimated bills that were given to unmetered customers by Distribution Companies (Discos). Through the scheme, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) provided financing support to the Discos for the procurement of meters for customers from local meter manufacturers. Aninwe disclosed in the statement that “Our attention has been drawn to a publication alleging that PHED is direc...
Imo teachers protest non-payment of 12 months salaries
Primary and secondary school teachers in Imo State on Thursday staged a peaceful protest over the state government’s failure to pay their salaries for 12 months consecutively. Newsmen reported that the protest, which was held in front of the Government House, Owerri, temporarily halted human and vehicular movement in the area. It was learnt that the action was triggered by Governor Hope Uzodinma’s claim that teachers who had yet to receive their salaries were ‘ghost workers.’ The protesters carried placards with inscriptions, such as “Uzodimma lied to Imo people on teachers’ salary”, “We are not ghost workers, we have our employment letters, please pay us” and “Uzodimma come and see us and prove we are ghost workers.” The teachers, who wore long faces, alleged that they were last paid in F...
Lagos hospital presents medical records of Lekki tollgate victims
Reddington Hospital Lagos, Saturday produced the medical records of some of the patients it treated following the Lekki toll gate ‘shootings’ of last October 20. One of the hospital’s trauma and orthopaedic surgeons, Dr. Babajide Lawson, presented the case files to the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS and the Lekki Tollgate Incident. The Nigerian Army has been accused of opening fire with live bullets on peaceful protesters at the Toll Gate demanding an end to police brutality using the hash tag #EndSARS. Some of the protesters have submitted petitions to the panel alleging that men of the Army’s 81 Division shot at and killed several #EndSARS protesters that night, a claim the Army denied. The Army has, however, shunned further appearance at the panel, without...
RTEAN: Commercial buses strike illegal
Pool Photo The Lagos State Chapter of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) on Monday said the stay-off-road action by commercial buses on the Lagos-Badagry Road was unnecessary. The Secretary of the chapter, Abdulrahman Amusan, told newsmen that the N800 ticket imposed on commercial buses in the state was for tax purposes. Newsmen report that the commercial bus drivers had on March 1, embarked on what they called “Cease Commuter Operation” on the Lagos-Badagry Expressway – from Badagry to Mile 2 – following what they termed an unbearable increment in ticketing and brutality by RTEAN. The drivers were still off the expressway while passengers remained stranded at various bus stops. It is still not certain when they will return to the roads. They claim that both the RT...
Australia’s competition chief claims victory after Facebook standoff
The architect of Australian media reforms being watched around the world claimed victory on Wednesday, even as critics said concessions to the laws forcing Big Tech to pay for news content have given Facebook and Google a get-out clause. The Australian government made late changes to the laws after Facebook last week blocked news content in Australia, escalating a dispute over the proposed legislation and catching international attention. The amended legislation is expected to pass the Senate this week, despite opposition from some minor opposition parties and independent politicians who argue it disadvantages smaller news companies. Rod Sims, the chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), told Reuters the bargaining power imbalance he was tasked with correcting...
Liverpool fans show full support for Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool fans have thrown their full support behind under-fire Reds boss Jurgen Klopp by hanging a heartfelt banner outside of Anfield The Reds slipped to their third consecutive Premier League defeat on Saturday as Leicester City fought from behind to claim a 3-1 victory at the King Power. And Liverpool have now fallen 13 points behind league leaders Manchester City, who still have a match in hand. Klopp, who has come under increasing pressure as Liverpool’s form has slipped, appeared on the verge of tears as he conceded that the title race is over for the Reds. The 53-year-old German has also dealt with heartbreak off the field after his mother, Elisabeth, passed away and he was unable to travel to Germany for the funeral. Liverpool fans have rallied around Klopp as a banner was spotted...
Senate asked to probe public hearing on medical council bill
The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU), the umbrella body of health workers in the country, has demanded that Senate probe the recent public hearing of the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) Bill as it accused Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Dr. Ibrahim Oloriegbe, of disenfranchising its members. JOHESU Chairman, Comrade Joy Bio Josiah flayed what he called “vindictive and discriminatory” attitude of Dr. Oloriegbe against other medical professional bodies as he gave his constituency, MDC and NMA more time to canvass their views on the contentious bill. “We challenge Oloriegbe and the NMA to produce video and audio evidence contrary to this. The point here is Oloriegbe does not understand the philosophy and basics of running Public Hearings because he pointedly domina...
