NASS Blockade: UK beams searchlight on Nigeria
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by temitope ponle2 the british government has said that it is closely monitoring political developments in nigeria following reports of blockade of national assembly entrance by officials of the department of state service dss1 the british government made this known in a statement from its high commission in abuja on tuesday1 operatives of the dss took over the gates of the assembly as early as 7 a.m. on tuesday and reportedly prevented some lawmakers from entering the complex1 the officials also reportedly claimed to be acting on orders1 the uk government however stated that it was aware of media reports of the situation at the national assembly this morning1 we are closely monitoring the situation and other political developments in nigeria1 the united kingdom supports a process whereby the people of nigeria can exercise their democratic rights to vote and be voted for1 it declared its unwavering support for a free fair credible and peaceful process and the independence of institutions which allow for that1 political leaders have condemned the incident while officials of the dss had since left the assembly complex following the immediate sack of director-general of the agency by the federal government1

NASS Barricade: Food vendors make brisk business
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by cecilia ijuo2 food vendors on tuesday took advantage of the barricade of the national assembly entrance by security operatives to make brisk business1 newsmen the assembly workers and other nigerians who were barred from entering the assembly complex resorted to the vendors for food as they waited at the entrance1 security operatives of the department of state service dss had as early as 7 a.m. barricaded the entrance to the complex denying some lawmakers journalists and staff of the assembly access into the premises1 the lawmakers were later at about 9 a.m. allowed into the premises but newsmen assembly workers including clerk of the national assemblyalhaji mohammed sani-omolorinand other nigerians continued to be barred from entry1 the entrance of the assembly where the barred persons gathered was littered with bottles of water and soft drinks groundnut peels and used food packs among others1 one of the vendors mrs hauwa ismaila said that the development at the assembly entrance was unusual but had however made her to make business and gain1 she said today is better than other days. my food is almost finished1 another vendor who pleaded anonymity said my buns is finished. i thank god1

NASS leadership meeting cancelled: Deputy speaker Lasun
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deputy speaker of the house of representatives yussuff lasun said the meeting of the leadership of the national assemblynass scheduled for tuesday afternoon has been cancelled blaming the security situation at the legislative building1 the punch quoted lasun as saying that the meeting was no longer feasible because of the tense situation at the national assembly1 a meeting cannot be held under this kind of atmosphere1 it is unfortunate that this is happening because when the parliament is under siege democracy is under siege lasun was reported to have said1 lasun arrived the national assembly a few minutes to 12pm the time fixed for the meeting. he said he came to attend the meeting1 operatives of the department of state services who had locked down the national assembly since 6am allowed him to drive into the complex1 but he soon drove out again after meeting briefly with the senators and members keeping vigil at the lobby of the white house1 lasun said he had been in touch with the senate president bukola saraki deputy senate president ike ekweremadu and the speaker of the house yakubu dogara1

National Assembly: Osinbajo summons DSS DG, IGP Idris
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acting president yemi osinbajo on tuesday summoned the inspector-general of police ibrahim idris and the director-general of the department of state security malam lawan daura at the presidential villa abuja1 the news agency of nigeria nan gathered that the two security chiefs who arrived aso rock at different times were to update the acting president on security developments including the blockade of the national assembly by security officials1 the inspector-general of police was the first to arrive at about 12.35 p.m before the arrival of the dss director general at about 1.15p.m1 the police and operatives of the department of state security dss had on tuesday blocked the main gate of the national assembly preventing lawmakers and staff from gaining access into the complex1 the security operatives however later allowed the lawmakers access into the complex while journalists and other staff were barred1

Osinbajo orders Lawal Daura the DG of DSS to handover
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mr. daura has been directed to hand over to the most senior officer of the state security service until further notice1 the director-general of the department of state services lawal daura has been sacked by acting president yemi osinbajo1 mr. daura has been directed to hand over to the most senior officer of the state security service until further notice akande said1 agp yemi osinbajo has directed the termination of the appointment of the dg of the dss mr. lawal musa daura1 laolu akande @akandeoj1 according to a tweets by laolu akande senior special assistant to the acting president osinbajo has directed the termination of the appointment of the dg of the dss mr. lawal musa daura.1 operatives of the dss wearing masks blocked the gates of the national assembly this morning preventing senators and workers from gaining entrance1 some pdp senators who were caught in the blockade interpreted it as a move to impeach senate president bukola saraki. but it turned out there was nothing like that in the offing as no apc senator was in the national assembly when they were creating the row outside the gate1 the blockade has been roundly condemned as anti-democratic and has made the leadership of the national assembly to call off a scheduled meeting this afternoon that would probably have paved way for the reconvening of the assembly1 members of the two-chamber legislature went on break on 24 july. they were scheduled to resume on 25 september. the executive arm of government has issued a red alert that the recess may lead to a government shutdown1 osinbajo orders lawal daura the dg of dss to handover1

DSS blockade of NASS not authorised Ag President Osinbajo
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according to him the unlawful act which was done without the knowledge of the presidency is condemnable and completely unacceptable2 he once worked in the service and retired2 acting president yemi osinbajo san said the blockade of the national assembly gates by operatives of the department of state servicesdss was unauthorized and slammed it as a gross violation of constitutional order rule of law and all accepted notions of law and order1 a statement issued by laolu akandesenior special assistant to the president on media and publicityoffice of the acting president said that the action of the dss was not authorised by the presidency1 by this statement professor osinbajo is consequently assuring nigerians that all persons within the law enforcement apparatus who participated in this travesty will be identified and subjected to appropriate disciplinary action1 osinbajo had earlier sacked lawal daura the director-general of the secret service and asked him to handover to the most senior person in the organisation1 daura was appointed by president muhammadu buhari on 2 july 2015 following the dismissal of his predecessor ita ekpeyong1 he was born august 5 1953 in daura katsina state1

I have not resigned: Akwa Ibom deputy governor Moses Ekpo
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also read4 akwa ibom deputy governor mr moses ekpo said he has not resigned his position and is not leaving the peoples democratic party for the all progressives congress1 he said that the deputy governor had travelled on official assignment to represent the gov. udom emmanuel at ati annang convention holding in new york1 the cps said the deputy governor in a telephone conversation with him on monday denied the story as groundless1 the attention of the office of the deputy governor of akwa ibom state has been drawn to certain rumours and misrepresentations in a section of the media to the effect that the deputy governor of akwa ibom state mr moses ekpo has resigned from office1 the reports particularly from the online community further make allusions to the effect that the deputy governor has also defected from the peoples democratic party1 umoh said that there was no iota of truth in the story1 that the purported report is therefore nothing but a poorly concocted piece of a malicious hatchet job and a pack of lies and should be appropriately ignored1 it is instructive to note that currently his excellency the deputy governor is representing the state governor mr udom emmanuel as special guest of honour at the 2018 international convention of ati annang holding in new york united states of america and is yet to return to the state1 in his reaction to the rumour from new york on phone today the deputy governor said i have not resigned1 i haveno reason whatsoever to resign or jump ship from a government that is both responsive and performing optimally while giving practical meaning to democratic dividends for the people of akwa ibom. i cannot and will not jump ship1 according to him the 77 year-old deputy governor has called on akwa ibom people both at home and in the diaspora as well as the pdp family in the state to remain resolute and committed to support the gov. udom emmanuel1 given the temperament of the times and the implications of suchinnuendos we are constrained tocategorically state that there is no iota of truth in the story making the rounds1

Ekiti poll: Tribunal grants APC prayers to inspect election materials
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by opeyemi aremu-gbemiro3 justice suleiman belgore while granting the prayers gave reasons for granting the application which was filed on july 312 he said the counsel had sought the order of the court to access the election materials in order to make photocopy of the documents of the election materials and to use forensic equipment to view the handwriting of the election result and the fingerprint of the election materials2 the request he also said was to obtain and photocopy all the election materials which were also in custody of the first respondent the peoples democratic party pdp2 he added that the request was to seek forensic experts to access both machine and other materials used in the conduct of the election2 the tribunal chairman granted the application saying this was also approved for the pdp2 the pdp candidate and current deputy governor prof. kolapo olusola scored 178121 votes2 the election petition tribunal sitting in ado ekiti on monday granted the prayers of the all progressives congress apc to inspect election materials and results of the july 14 governorship election in the state1 the apc was represented at the tribunal by yomi ariyo a senior advocate of nigeria who led six other counsel1 apc candidate dr kayode fayemi was declared the winner of the election by the chief returning officer prof. idowu olayinka after securing 197459 votes1

Senator Adeleke: Court rules on alleged certificate forgery Wednesday
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the counsel argued that at the time the certificate was issued osun had not been created as a state1 an osun high court sitting in osogbo has adjourned till wednesday ruling in the certificate suit involving sen. ademola adeleke the peoples democratic party pdp candidate in the sept. 22 governorship election in the state1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that two members of the pdp in the state had approached the court for an interlocutory order setting aside the election of adeleke as the pdp governorship flag bearer over alleged non-submission of his secondary school leaving certificate1 adeleke was declared the winner in the pdp primary held on july 21 having polled 1569 votes to beat by seven votes his closest rival dr akin ogunbiyi who had 15621 the plaintiffs rasheed olabayo and oluwaseun idowu in the suit filed on july 24 sought an interlocutory order setting aside the election of adeleke arguing that he did not satisfy the constitutional requirements to contest the governorship election1 counsel to the plaintiffs mr olufemi ayandokun had earlier told the court that the certificate tendered by sen. ademola adeleke to inec and the court was forged1 he urged the court to take judicial notice of the date the certificate was issued and the year statedon it1 justice david oladimeji adjourned proceedings onmonday after all parties had accessed the relevant documents1 he described the certificate as fake1 ayandokun prayed the court to adopt and rely on the written address in support of the response to the notice of preliminary objections and asked the court to strike out the counter-affidavits1 the defence counsel mr edmund boriomoni told the court to also strike out the originating summons and the motion on notice for want of competency and jurisdiction1 he said that another affidavit had earlier been filed for preliminary objection and a counter-affidavit for the originating summons1 boriomoni said there were 22 grounds 48 paragraphs of affidavits and three exhibits marked in support of the affidavits and nine issues for determination1 he urged the court to dismiss the suit filed against his client for lacking in merit1

NASS, NILDS push for administrative autonomy in States Assemblies
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by ifeanyi nwoko15 he therefore urged all lawmakers to endeavor to declare their assets before assuming office1 this was the main advocacy at a workshop organized by the national institute for legislative and democratic studies nilds for members of the state houses of assembly1 the conference tagged two-day conference for state houses of assembly on operating within the context of first line charge was organized for members of the 36 houses of assembly1 in her welcome remarks the director general of nilds prof ladi hamalai told the lawmakers that there cannot be effective financial autonomy without the establishment of a service commission1 she explained that for the legislature in the states to be truly autonomous they must be fully responsible for all the affairs that concern them1 with particular reference to the principles of separation of power she said that the legislature could not be said to be independent if the executive arm was still in charge of employing and deploying staff members of the legislature1 we must all pass the act establishing the service commission it is part of the principles of separation of power1 she said that the financial was a good stepping stone for the legislature in states but stress that there was still a long way to go after the autonomy had been well domesticated1 reiterating the role of service commission in effective autonomy the secretary of the national assembly service commission nasc mr olu ajakaye said that without administrative autonomy1 he recalled that the period of financial dependence was very torturous as the legislature had to always go cap in hand to the executive anytime they had a programme or project1 in a bid to make the recently passed financial autonomy more effective the national assembly has commenced push to enshrine administrative autonomy in state houses of assembly1 this financial autonomy would be incomplete without administrative autonomy a situation in which the employees of the state assembly are controlled by the state civil service commission does not aurgur well for the autonomy of the legislature1 it is on this note that i call on all states that are yet to establish their state service commission to do so immediately1 we must try and distinguish the legislative service by also entrenching he nomenclatures that are peculiar to the legislative service1 today the legislature has its own unique concepts norms practices and procedures1 therefore we must imbibe our own structure in line with our procedures. many secretaries of commissions or clerks of assemblies prefer to be addressed as permanent secretaries1 the earlier we drop the civil service hangovers the better for the legislative service. this will not only create an identity for the service but will also make the service robust and enviable he said1 he commended the efforts of the dg nilds for her pragmatism in convening the conference and other relevant conferences1 declaring the conference open the clerk to the national assembly mohammed sani omolori however cautioned the lawmakers to handle the autonomy with responsibility1 he said that the financial autonomy was not an avenue for the legislature to become financially reckless stressing that any form of misappropriation would be treated as an act of corruption1 he therefore admonished the lawmakers that they must also push for administrative autonomy and take over the management of their staff if they must reap the benefit of the financial autonomy recently granted them1

APC scales first hurdle at Ekiti governorship tribunal
News & Trends •
by opeyemi aremu-gbemiro3 justice suleiman belgore while granting the prayers gave reasons for granting the application which was filed on july 312 he said the counsel had sought the order of the court to access the election materials in order to make photocopy of the documents of the election materials and to use forensic equipment to view the handwriting of the election result and the fingerprint of the election materials2 the request he also said was to obtain and photocopy all the election materials which were also in custody of the first respondent the peoples democratic party pdp2 he added that the request was to seek forensic experts to access both machine and other materials used in the conduct of the election2 the tribunal chairman granted the application saying this was also approved for the pdp2 the pdp candidate and current deputy governor prof. kolapo olusola scored 178121 votes2 the all progressives congress apc appears to have recorded its first victory at the election petition tribunal sitting in ado ekiti on monday as it prayers was granted to inspect election materials and results of the july 14 governorship election in the state1 the apc was represented at the tribunal by yomi ariyo a senior advocate of nigeria who led six other counsels1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that apc candidate dr kayode fayemi was declared the winner of the election by the chief returning officer prof. idowu olayinka after securing 197459 votes1

PenCom to enrol 2,700 FG retirees from FCT, Niger
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by kingsley okoye2 according to him the commission advises all prospective federal government retirees to take part in the exercise as it is a pre-condition for payment of their retirement benefits1 mr peter aghahowa the pencom head of corporate communications said on monday that the abuja centre was part of phase ii of the nationwide verification and enrollment programme1 he said the phase ii of the enrollment was ongoing in two other centres of lagos and ibadan adding that phase one had been concluded in 12 other centres across the nation1 the exercise in abuja has been on since july 30 and will end on aug. 171 it is meant for federal government employees due to retire between january and december 20191 their retirement is hinged on attainment of 60 years of age or 35 years in service whichever is earlier or 65 years by age for employees of tertiary institutions or 70 years of age for professors1 according to aghahowa the verification and enrollment are designed to facilitate payment of retirement benefits of the potential retirees1 he said the physical enrollment also covered those who had already retired but were yet to be enrolled1 the national pension commission pencom says that no fewer than 2700 federal employees from fct and niger due to retire in 2019 have commenced their verification and enrollment in its abuja centre1 other documents are birth certificate or declaration of age promotion letters payslip indicating grade level and step as at june 20041 others are promotion letter and payslip indicating grade level and step as at january 2007 promotion letter and payslip indicating grade level and step as at july20101 promotion letter and payslip indicating grade level and step as at december 2013 letter of introduction from the mdas staff identity card letter or evidence of retirement where applicable letter of indemnity from the mda the pencom spokesperson said1 he said prospective retirees were also requested to come with evidence of registration with a pension fund administrator pfa indicating retirement savings accounts rsa and personal identification number pin1 aghahowa said the mdas were expected to send their pension desk officers to identify potential retirees and confirm authenticity of the documents presented by the employees1 he however said that potential retirees who were medically unfit were exempted from the exercise1 aghahowa said pencom had earlier advised pdos of medically unfit employees to present their documents and letters from qualified physician certifying that the affected employees were not capable of attending the exercise1 aghahowa said affected employees were requested to attend with originals and copies of letter of appointment evidence of transfer of service and acceptance letter where applicable1

2018 JAMB top scorers: How Ogun state took the shine
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our doors are always open to any request especially when the nation would be the ultimate beneficiary2 the report he said was untrue and incorrect2 he however explained that moses with 354 score was the highest scorer from benue state and the entire north central2 benjamin added that it was imperative to set the records straight in order to ensure that the public was not misled by unverified report2 the board appeals to all interested individuals and organisations who would want to use its data for research reportage and other national necessary disposition to always contact it for accurate and up to date information2 this is so as not to misdirect the public into taking wrong and misleading conclusions2 ogun state also produced the 4 highest scorer ademola adetola who is from ogun state but sat for the examination in lagos and recorded a score of 3551 while akinyemi paul from ogun state who wrote his examination in lagos ape moses from benue who wrote the examination in makurdi and obi-obuoha abiamamela from rivers who wrote the examination in port harcourt came fifth with a tie score of 3541 ogun state nigeria took a comfortable position on the list of top five best performing students in the 2018 unified tertiary matriculation examination utme by the joint admission and matriculation board1 according to him the attention of the board is drawn to publications that ape moses from benue came top in the entire exercise1 by veronica dariya1 according to statistics by jamb three of the 5 students who made the highest score had links to ogun state1 the highest scoring candidate mr galadima zakari although from biu in borno state sat for the examination in ogun state and emerged with 364 out of 4001 the second highest scorer adekunle jesufemi with a score of 358 is from ogun state and also sat for the in the state1 the third highest score of 357 however went to alikah oseghale from edo state who sat for the examination in ekpoma1 the boards head of media dr fabian benjamin said in a statement on sunday in abuja said that the information became necessary and to put the records in proper perspective following a circulated misinformation in some quarters1

Mohammed: Opposition uses fake news against Buhari
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in zamfara for example you can see how the military has put the bandits on the run1 with a population of 45 million in 1960 nigeria is today approaching the 200-million mark1 he noted that though fake news was a global phenomenon it is a danger to the peace and security of nigerias nascent democracy and corporate existence1 it is a time bomb. it has wreaked havoc in other lands. in 1994 over 800000 people died in rwanda due to a combination of fake news and hate speech1 in india about a dozen people have been killed after they were falsely accused in a message circulated on whatsapp of abducting children1 the us is still reeling from the role that fake news played during the countrys last general elections1 mohammed said that fake news had aggravated the farmersherders clashes in the country but that the administration had put all necessary measures in place to stem the killings1 mohammed said his visit to the newspaper began a media tour aimed at pushing the national campaign against fake news launched on july 11 to sensitise nigerians to the dangers posed by fake news1 in benue the police and the military are working hard and that has resulted in a drastic fall in the spate of killings1 sadly the media has either downplayed or ignored this. this government will not relent until every nigerian can sleep with his or her two eyes closed1 the minister called on nigerians to be wary of the fake news being deliberately pushed especially on social media platforms to exploit national fault lines1 he said nigerians should check the source of any news item being pushed their way and stop sharing whatever they could not vouch for1 the minister specifically thanked the management of the authority newspaper for supporting the campaign against fake news especially with a recent editorial it published on it1 mr madu onuorah the managing director of the newspaper thanked the minister for the visit and assured him of support to ensure the success of the campaign against fake news1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the minister fielded questions ranging from politics to economy from the management team of the newspaper1

Big reception for Akpabio
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breaking2 im confirming that the family as earlier indicated will formally receive h.e@godswillakpabio on wednesday august 82018 at an elaborate ceremony in akwa-ibom state.senator dr ita enang.presidential liaison to the national assembly- senate. [email protected]1 all lovers of democracy are cordially invited1 apc united kingdom @apcukingdom1 in the twitter handle of the presidential liaison to the national assembly senator ita enang he wrote im confirming that the apcnigeria family as earlier indicated will formally receive h.e@godswillakpabio on wednesday august 8 2018 at an elaborate ceremony in akwa-ibom state1 im confirming that the @apcnigeria family as earlier indicated will formally receive h.e@godswillakpabio on wednesday august 82018 at an elaborate ceremony in akwa-ibom state.senator dr ita enang.presidential liaison to the national assembly- senate. [email protected] pic.twitter.comcu8spxthye1 it said that all lovers of democracy were invited to attend the ceremony1 senator ita enang @senitaenang1 the senior special assistant to president buhari on prosecution okoi obono-obla had also made a similar announcement1 he said a rally will be held at ikot ekpene akwa ibom state to receive the former governor to the apc1 following the announcement akpabio who represents akwa ibom north west district in the senate on sunday visited the president in the united kingdom where he is currently on vacation1 the visit as well as speculations of his akpabios defection from the pdp come amidst a gale of defections by lawmakers from the ruling apc1

PEF to move petroleum products by rail
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apart from the financial cost implications the constant use of heavy duty trucks over long distances took its toll on the roads while lots human lives were lost to vehicular accidents1 the petroleum equalisation fund management board pef has set up a task force for the the immediate implementation of transportation of petroleum products through the rail1 he said that bobboi who is driving the process has given the task force the matching orders to ensure that the take-off deadline was met1 he said that members of the task force had commenced the inspection of rail lines in collaboration with nrc to ascertain how the movement of the products would be effected what quantity of products would be moved on particular rail lines and destination of products1 he explained that after review of the collaboration it was discovered that nrc has enough tanks to transport petroleum products from lagos to kano1 some major markets he said have shown interest in buying into the new equalisation model1 another advantage of the new equalization model is that rural communities will be served better due to shorter distances to be covered by road in getting products to the hinterland he said1 the job of the task force has hit the peak in working out the logistics for a smooth take off targeted at early 20191 on safety of products nnadi said that security agencies would soon be engaged to work our logistics on how products would get to destinations without hitches1 in a similar development nnadi said that plans have reached advanced stage to commence the equalization of cooking gas lpg by rail as a step in the efforts of the federal government to make the product available in rural areas at the cheapest cost1 he said that the move was also aimed at discouraging the use of firewood for domestic cooking on grounds that the felling of trees for firewood is a major contributory factor to deforestation and desert encroachment1 he said that there were chances that the federal government would ban the use of firewood for domestic cooking once cooking gas was made available and affordable to rural dwellers1 he added that the target was to protect the environment since nigeria was signatory to the climate change treaty1 nnadi said that a high level committee made of members from the offices of the vice president minister of state for petroleum resources minister of environment dpr pppra nigeria gas association pef among other agencies is already working out the logistics for the implementation of the project1 it will be recalled that failure of the rail system in nigeria led to the transportation of all petroleum products by road across the country and this has been at a huge cost to the federal government1

Trump admits his son met Russians for dirt on Clinton
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reuters9 fake news reporting a complete fabrication that i am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son donald had in trump tower. this was a meeting to get information on an opponent totally legal and done all the time in politics and it went nowhere. i did not know about it1 one part of the inquiry has focused on a june 9 2016 meeting at trump tower in new york between donald jr. other campaign aides and a group of russians1 donald jr. said later he realized the meeting was primarily aimed at lobbying against the 2012 magnitsky sanctions law which led to moscow denying americans the right to adopt russian orphans1 president trump has repeatedly denied that his campaign worked with moscow saying no collusion last week however he adopted his lawyers tactics and insisted collusion is not a crime1 while collusion is not a technical legal charge mueller could bring conspiracy charges if he finds that any campaign member worked with russia to break u.s. law. working with a foreign national with the intent of influencing a u.s. election could violate multiple laws according to legal experts1 cnn reported last month that michael cohen the presidents longtime personal lawyer was willing to tell mueller that trump did know about the trump tower meeting in advance1 fake news reporting a complete fabrication that i am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son donald had in trump tower. this was a meeting to get information on an opponent totally legal and done all the time in politics and it went nowhere. i did not know about it trump said1 trump has stepped up his public attacks on the mueller probe since the first trial to arise from it began last week in alexandria virginia involving former trump campaign chairman paul manafort1 the federal tax and bank fraud charges manafort faces are not related to the trump campaign but manaforts close relations with russians and a kremlin-backed ukrainian politician are under scrutiny in the trial1 trumps attacks on the special counsels investigation have been rebuffed by republican leaders in congress who have expressed support for mueller1 the president should be straightforward with the american people about the threat to our election process that russia putin in particular is engaged in is ongoing representative ed royce chairman of the house foreign affairs committee said on cnns state of the union on sunday1 one of the presidents personal lawyers said on sunday that if trump is subpoenaed by the special counsel his lawyers will attempt to quash it in court. any legal battle over whether the president can be compelled to testify could go all the way to the u.s. supreme court the lawyer jay sekulow said on abcs this week1 u.s. intelligence agencies concluded last year that russia interfered in the 2016 u.s. election with a campaign of hacking into democratic party computer networks and spreading disinformation on social media. american intelligence officials say russia is targeting the november congressional elections which will determine whether or not republicans keep control of both chambers of the u.s. congress1 trumps lawyers and the white house have given conflicting accounts about whether trump was involved in crafting donald jr.s response to a new york times article last summer revealing the trump tower meeting with the adoptions rationale. trumps lawyers acknowledged in a letter to muellers team in january 2018 that trump dictated the response according to the times1

Mali opposition candidates allege vote fraud, head to court
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the nine-judge constitutional court must officially announce the results of the first round by wednesday to kick off campaigning for the run-off vote which keita is heavily favoured to win on august 121 the three main opposition candidates in malis presidential election are alleging ballot box-stuffing and counting fraud in the first round of voting said to have been won by incumbent ibrahim boubacar keita1 keita won 41.42 percent of votes in the july 29 presidential poll in the sprawling west african nation easily ahead of the second place rival soumaila cisse with 17.8 percent. they will face off in a runoff vote next sunday1 soumaila cisse filed last night saturday around 20 submissions to the constitutional court for ballot box-stuffing violations of the electoral law and other irregularities a spokesman for the candidate told afp1 the ballot box-stuffing explains ibks tallies in the north and centre of the country the spokesman added using keitas initials1 he said a motion had also been filed seeking the recusal of six of the courts judges on suspicion of bias including its president manassa danioko1 third-placed aliou boubacar diallo who won 7.95 percent of the july 19 vote has also filed a complaint to the constitutional court concerning the results and the vote tallying his spokesman cheick diallo told afp1 and in fourth place with 7.46 percent in the first round cheick modibo diarra former transitional prime minister in 2012 has also appealed to the highest court about the reports of irregularities according to a statement from his political group1 the three candidates led by second placed soumaila cisse have already mounted a legal challenge of the result in the countrys constitutional court1 when questioned by afp the courts secretary-general mamadou magassouba said he could not confirm receipt of submissions because such requests come in confidentiality1 he also declined to comment on allegations of bias in the court1 cisse 68 whom keita defeated in a 2013 run-off vote has called the latest vote results neither sincere nor credible and a fraud1 violence disrupted the first-round election in several areas beset by ethnic and jihadist unrest despite the deployment of 30000 security personnel1 suspicions of electoral fraud have been fuelled by the fact that the ministry of territorial administration has released provisional results only on the national level1 the government has no intention of publishing results in detail bureau by bureau a source close to the ministry said despite demands from the opposition and international observers for transparency1 the international community including the un mission in the country minusma and french forces present in the country have put high hopes in the poll which could revive a peace agreement signed in 2015 between the government government-allied groups and former rebels1 mali considered a linchpin state in the troubled sahel region is one of the worlds poorest countries with most people living on less than 2 a day1

4 Ogun candidates make top 5 in UTME
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our doors are always open to any request especially when the nation would be the ultimate beneficiary2 the report he said was untrue and incorrect2 he however explained that moses with 354 score was the highest scorer from benue state and the entire north central2 benjamin added that it was imperative to set the records straight in order to ensure that the public was not misled by unverified report2 the board appeals to all interested individuals and organisations who would want to use its data for research reportage and other national necessary disposition to always contact it for accurate and up to date information2 this is so as not to misdirect the public into taking wrong and misleading conclusions2 adekunle jesufemi an indigene of ogun state who sat for his examination in abeokuta the state capital came second with 358 marks1 the overall best candidate of the 1.3 million candidates is galadima zakari from biu in borno state. however he sat for the examination in ogun. he got the highest score with 3641 ogun state also produced the fourth best candidate in ademola adetola who sat for the examination in lagos with a score of 3551 akinyemi paul from ogun state who wrote his examination in lagos ape moses from benue who wrote the examination in makurdi and obi-obuoha abiamamela from rivers tied for the fifth position. the latter wrote his examination in port harcourt. all the trio scored 3541 however alikah oseghale from edo state who sat for the examination in ekpoma with a score of 357 was the overall third best candidate1 jambs head of media dr fabian benjamin said in a statement on sunday in abuja said that the information became necessary to put the records in proper perspective following some misinformation in some quarters1 according to him the attention of the board was drawn to publications that ape moses from benue came top in the entire exercise1

Akwa Ibom deputy governor Moses Ekpo decamps to APC
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in a public service career spanning over four decades mr. ekpo has served as proof reader reporter and editor in several nigerian newspapers and broadcasting organisations. he served in senior editorial and management positions in the daily express daily times west african pilot the morning post eastern nigeria broadcasting service and western nigeria broadcasting service1 pa moses ekpo deputy governor of akwa ibom state has reportedly resigned according to a tweet by @apcnewspaper and1 breaking deputy pa moses tenders resignation. to join in on wednesday1 apc newspaper @apcnewspaper1 ekpo a veteran journalist diplomat and administrator was born on 22 december 1941 at abak in akwa ibom state1 he attended both the government school and holy family college in abak for his primary and secondary education before going to the london polytechnic university of wisconsin madison u.s.a and world intellectual property organization academy wipo geneva switzerland1 he holds a diploma and b.sc. in journalism and a wipo academy diploma as well as a certificate of the united states patent academy in addition to several certificates and diplomas earned from many international workshops and seminars1 the resignation has not been confirmed officially by the pdp controlled akwa ibom state government but the apc organ said ekpo the oldest deputy governor in nigeria is heading to join senator godswill akpabio into the all progressives congress. both are political allies. akpabio was a former governor of the state for eight years2007-2015 and installed incumbent governor udom emmanuel1 he was for years the nigerian country correspondent for the voice of america voa deutsche welle voice of germany and the british broadcasting corporation bbc1 ekpo was also general manager of cross river state newspaper corporation publishers of the nigerian chronicle group of newspapers1 he also served as chief information officer in the cross river state government as well as the chief public relations officer to that government1 he was also assistant director of information and acting federal director of information and director of nigerian information service with concurrent accreditation to europe and the americas.1 he was commissioner for information social development youths1 among other roles performed in the past ekpo was director nigerian copyright council. director-general nigerian copyright commission president of the general assembly of the world intellectual property organization and a federal commissioner national population commission abuja1 the latter was the last position held until his election into office as the deputy governor of akwa ibom state1