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Buharis measures yielding results for Nigeria: Mohammed
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he said the administration is also changing the business environment for good focusing especially on removing the red tape that makes it cumbersome for business and stifles innovation1 the minister of information and culture alhaji lai mohammed has said the buhari administration is steadily transforming nigeria through innovative measures that are yielding positive results1 he said by focusing on education and skills acquisition the administration is addressing the need to create opportunities for the countrys teeming youth population1 in my country school enrolment is a challenge we face. and one of the main culprits is malnutrition. government has stepped in 8.2 million are being fed daily free meals in 45000 schools. not only does this increase attendance and provide children with a in some case only nutritious meal a day it enhances learning efficacy in class and boosts cognitive development over the long term alhaji mohammed said1 he said the home-grown school feeding programme has yielded other results including the employment of 80000 cooks and a ready-made market for food crop farmers1 the minister said skill shortages in the labour pool are being addressed through several measures including the four-pronged n-power programme that is providing employment and vocational training for graduates and others access to loans for medium and small business as well as conditional cash transfers to the most vulnerable members of the society1 in a keynote address he delivered at the 2018 africa together conference at the university of cambridge in the uk on saturday the minister listed investment in people changing the business environment and building national infrastructure as some of the areas in which the administration has made a great impact1 much of our programme has honed-in on business reform. nigeria has moved up 24 places on the world bank ranking of ease of doing business index putting it amongst the top 10 global reformers along with zambia malawi and djibouti. the two areas we have prioritised are starting a business and access to credit1 in nigeria registering a business used to take months. now it takes 24-48 hours. unwrapping the bureaucracy and streamlining processes encourage an uptick in new official enterprises. we have introduced online registration with features such as the electronic stamping of documents. and to ensure this brings with it the maximum benefit micro small and medium enterprises clinics have been deployed across a variety of states to provide regulators a contact point with informal business and budding e1 he noted that the challenge of access to credit is also being frontally addressed by making it possible for msmes to register their movable assets such as vehicles and equipment and use them as collateral to raise loans and finance thus removing the need for traditional assets such as real estate offices and factories1 the minister told his audience that the two most critical impediments against business decent transport connections and a reliable power supply are also been tackled by ensuring better roads and train networks so that goods and services can be moved around more cheaply and efficiently and businesses can plan for the future knowing they will not be hampered by energy outages1 for instance nigeria earmarks 30 per cent of its annual national budgets for capital expenditure. that means 2.7 trillion naira has gone towards our infrastructure in the last 2 years -unprecedented in our history. power generation has climbed to 7000mw from just over 2500mw to which we hope to add another 2000mw by the end of the year. we have also laid down thousands of kilometres of road1 also the government has now signed a concession agreement with an international consortium led by general electric. this will breathe new life into the tracks increasing capacity and speed. not only will this allow for goods and services to be moved around cost-effectively it will allow the prosperity of the nation to be more equitably spread through increased connectivity he said adding that the government is also constructing a new standard-gauge railway1 -
APC National Convention will be hitch-free, says VON DG
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every president in all presidential systems i know be it in the united states tailors the cloth of the party to his size okechukwu said1 the director-general voice of nigeria von mr osita okechukwu has expressed confidence that the all progressives congress apc national convention holding on june 23 in abuja will be hitch-free1 he allayed fears that the intra party crisis arising from the various congresses in some states of the federation would not becloud the national convention1 the party chieftain maintained that president muhammadu buhari remained the presumptive consensus candidate of the ruling party for 2019 presidential election1 according to him in spite of conflicting reports of parallel congresses there will be a hitch-free national convention since the entire tendencies within the party share a common ground in their support for president buhari1 okechukwu who was elected as a delegate to the convention equally predicted that most of the delegates would vote for former edo state governor adams oshimole as the chairman of the party since buhari had endorsed him1 to be honest in spite of conflicting reports of parallel congresses one envisages a hitch-free national convention of our great party apc on june 231 this is because we have president muhammadu buhari who from every index is the presumptive consensus candidate come 2019 presidential election1 mr president is more like a guardian post for our great party. he is the canopy covering us all from bad weather1 remember that what we operate is a presidential system where unlike the parliamentary system the supremacy of the party is less profound1 speaking on the forthcoming convention okechukwu told newsmen in enugu on sunday that there was no cause for alarm1 the dg noted that all the tendencies and factions had a common ground which was the endorsement of president buhari1 in addition those who lost in the congresses are not only loyalists to buhari but are aware of the truism that they were swimming against the tide of the provisions of apcs constitution1 the constitution mandated the national working committee subject to the approval of the national executive committee to make rules and regulations for nomination of candidates1 nobody has the right to reverse the national delegates list validly elected during the local government congress he said1 according to him with such iconic leader like buhari loyalty is enhanced. loyalty to one leader minimises intra-party conflict. it could have been different if we have two strong presidential contenders1 our collective support for mr. president makes it easy for reconciliation in apc before the 2019 general elections1 on alleged plans to disqualify some nwc members at the convention said he was not aware of it1 more so i am aware that president buhari canvassed for waiver for members of the national working committee which was upheld by the national executive committee on march 27 20181 secondly gov. aminu masari screening committee to the best of my knowledge did not disqualify or recommend disqualification of any of them. nan1 -
300 sacked Lagos street sweepers disowned
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by florence onuegbu5 as discussed the transfer of ward level sanitation programme community sanitation workers to the lagos state government has rendered your position as sanitation supervisor redundant and your services will no longer be required with effect from 14th of june 20181 environmental utility firm visionscape sanitation solutions ltd vss told nan on sunday in lagos that the supervisors were employed for the lagos state government under the cleaner lagos initiative cli1 mr adebola shabi the special adviser to the governor on cli said the government had nothing to do with the news making the rounds that it had sacked the 300 supervisors1 shabi said that the cli contracted standard street manpower ltd. ssml on the employment of street sweepers1 according to him cleaner lagos is a government initiative not a contractor while visionscape is the contractor hence government can decide it does not want visionscape but cleaner lagos will remain1 maybe it is visionscape that sacked them cleaner lagos has not sacked anybody1 ssml is a consultant to the state government on engagement of sweepers but we have told them that at the end of june all sweepers should be handed over to the ministry of environment1 we dont know any issue about the sack i have been trying to get the information from visionscape and they are directing me to their head office1 the sack has nothing to do with cleaner lagos because we did not employ and we did not sack. lagos state does not believe in sacking people he said1 the head corporate communications visionscape mrs motunrayo elias told nan that the company was not the only contractor under the cli1 elias said that when the structure for waste management was put in place government said it wanted street sweepers to clean the inner streets among other arrangements1 there is confusion regarding the actual employers of the 300 street sweepers supervisors that were recently sacked in lagos state the news agency of nigeria nan reports1 elias said that the supervisors were hired by ssml but were trained by vss and worked with vss area managers to ensure the synergy of sweeping and packing the refuse1 now with the controversy about psp operators wanting to go back to work government said that the street sweepers should revert to them1 so if you have taken the street sweepers what are you going to do with their supervisors1 when we had a meeting the issue was brought up and government asked how much was the salary that was where the problem started1 government said it cannot afford the salary which was between n80000 to n120000 but can only pay n25000 per month1 so the company paid the supervisors their disengagement bonuses with visionscape paying them two months salaries while government was trying to decide1 for fact the supervisors were supposed to be transferred to the ministry of environment. it was a labour contract from the cli she said1 elias said that the structure that was put in place for waste management in the state injected income to the economy as people were better off1 she said that it was essential to take the good with the bad as nobody talked about the good that the whole system was doing when it was creating employment1 nan reports that the disengagement letters to the supervisors was signed by the head human resources and administration ssml oluwatoyin ayoola1 the letter reads in light of the recent review of the implementation of the cleaner lagos initiative and the impact of these changes on our operational requirements as discussed at our meeting held on the 2nd of june 2018 we regrettably write to inform you that it affects your employment with standard street manpower ltd1 she said that the structure for street sweepers supervisors was also put in place that was the arrangement between cli vss and ssml which was the company managing the street sweepers1 -
Fathers Day: Cleric knocks men for reneging their duties
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a methodist cleric rev chibueze nmesirionye has urged fathers to live up to responsibilities as heads of their households1 preaching a sermon to mark the 2018 fathers day at the central methodist church uwani enugu nmesirionye said that as gatekeepers of the family fathers should endeavour to train their children in the way of the lord jesus christ1 the cleric attributed increasing social vices among the youth to lack of attention by many fathers as they left the responsibility of child rearing to their wives1 a father is the head of the family a leader gatekeeper and an example to be followed and should drive the family on the right way to go he said1 nmesirionye also urged fathers to strive for peace in their homes and always participate in church activities and imbibe their children with good and strong morals1 the event featured presentations of gifts to fathers by individuals and groups in the church1 fathers day is a celebration in honour of fathers and celebrating fatherhood paternal bonds and their influence in the society1 -
6 female bombers hit Damboa, 32 killed
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modu-zannah maina the district head of damboa who described the incident as shocking and disturbing said the attack was perpetrated by female suicide bombers1 no fewer than 32 persons were killed while 84 others were injured when six suicide bombers detonated improvised explosive devicesieds in damboa local government area in borno state on saturday night1 malam buba shettima a witness said that two separate bomb blasts occurred in shuwari and abbachari at about 830 p.m1 the whole of damboa was shaken by the unfortunate incident. we all scampered for safety as the blasts were coming from different directions. there were bodies everywhere1 we suspected that the many deaths recorded were a result of the military artilleryhe said1 mohammed hassan another local from the area who corroborated the claim said at about 830 pm of on saturday night an attack suspected to be from an artillery killed 31 innocent people in damboa shehuri and abachari1 the attacks came from two separate directions. my house was among some of the houses destroyedhe said1 maj.-gen. rogers nicholas commander of operation lafiya dole denied the claim saying the killings were caused by suicide attacks and not military artillery1 there was nothing like an attack from the military artillery. you can see the pictures of six female bombers who detonated their explosives and as a result 20 persons were killed while others were injured he said1 rogers urged people to disregard the claim that people were killed by the military and not by suicide bombers1 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that some locals alleged that the deaths arose from a misfiring by the nigerian armys artillery but the army denied the claim1 maina lamented that a lot of people that were affected were mostly children adding that many victims were injured1 we are here in this hospital to check our people affected by saturdays bomb blasts. so far the victims have been responding to treatmenthe said1 meanwhile demian chukwu the borno commissioner of police said on saturday at about 2045hrs an explosion occurred at abachari area in the outskirt of damboa l.g.a. of borno state1 at the sound of the explosion personnel of the nigeria police and members of the civilian jtf mobilised to the scene and discovered twenty dead bodies and 48 injured persons in a suspected terrorist attack1 the wounded and the dead were evacuated to a hospital while the scene was sanitised by a deployment of police eod unit1 investigation is ongoing to unravel the nature of the attackhe said1 hajiya yabawa kolo the chairperson of the state emergency management agency sema who also confirmed the incident said the agency had deployed its personnels to evacuate wounded persons to the hospital for quick medical attention1 our team has been deployed to render life saving support to the victims of the blast. as you can see they have been tirelessly working with icrc since morning to evacuate the injured from the airport to the hospital1 we are all saddened by the unfortunate incident that occured in damboasaid kolo1 -
APC Chairmanship: Oshiomhole brags of governors support
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apc chairmanship oshiomhole brags of governors support1 former governor of edo1 mr adams oshiomhole1 said his national chairmanship of all progressives congress apc chances had been boosted by support of leaders of the party and governors. oshiomhole stated this while fielding questions from newsmen in benin on friday. the national convention of apc will hold on june 231 with no fewer than 61 800 delegates expected to participate1 -
Congos parliament to consider legal protection for ex-presidents
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modeste mutinga a senator from an opposition party introduced legislation in 2015 to reinforce those protections in an effort to encourage congos first ever democratic transition1 democratic republic of congos parliament will at president joseph kabilas request hold a special session to consider legislation providing legal protection for former presidents lawmakers said1 prime minister bruno tshibala told reuters this week that kabila would not be a candidate the clearest declaration yet from a senior government official on the matter1 but kabila himself has refused to publicly commit to leaving office and some of his supporters have in recent weeks floated a legal rationale that would allow him to stand again1 at the request of the president of the republic an extraordinary session will be convened lower house speaker aubin minaku told deputies on friday at the close of the latest parliamentary session1 we will examine several items including the law on the status of former chiefs of state the designation of a new member of the constitutional court and the law on the tax to promote industry he said1 it was not immediately clear when that session would take place1 under the constitution former presidents already receive broad immunity from prosecution as senators for life1 the announcement could be a further sign that kabila intends to step down after an election in december despite speculation that he is trying to circumvent term limits that forbid him from running again1 it stipulates that former presidents and their aides will not be liable for arrest for common law violations committed in the exercise of presidential functions. it also provides for bodyguards for ex-presidents and increases in their pension1 however the bill never came up for a vote1 as the initiative for taking up this law during the extraordinary session comes from those who blocked the law we think that this time we are really going to examine it mutinga told reuters1 kabila succeeded his assassinated father as president in 2001. he was required by the constitution to step down in december 2016 but the election to replace him has been repeatedly delayed1 since then security forces have killed dozens of anti-kabila protesters while surging militia violence has raised the specter of a repeat of civil wars around the turn of the century that cost millions of lives1 the special session will also select a new constitutional court justice to replace felix vunduawe te pemako who was named president of a separate court this week1 last month kabila and parliament named two close kabila allies to the court in moves analysts say could be geared either at securing a judgment that allows him to run again or bolstering the chances that his preferred successor will win1 -
CAN backs Buhari, Oshiomhole, says no vacancy in Aso Rock
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for taking the nation away from economic recession the increase in agriculture produce like rice cassava others and the n-power programme for our young graduates1 the national executives of change advocates of nigeria can nigeria and diaspora have endorsed president muhammadu buhari for a second term in office come 20191 it said that the president has demonstrated courage in taking major decisions that had impacted the people positively which prompted its call on him to continue and complete the second term in office adding no vacancy in aso rock in 20191 can listed the reasons it is rooting for president buhari to be re-elected come 20191 his anti-corruption fight and recovery of looted funds within and outside nigeria1 the body in a statement signed by its national youths leader gabriel nwajei which was made available to newsmen on saturday in asaba also endorsed comrade adams oshiomhole former edo governor for national chairmanship position of the all progressives congress apc 2018 convention1 the president has given assent to the not too young to run bill and granted autonomy for state houses of assembly and to state judiciary1 the presidential order for the posthumous award and investiture on late m.k.o.abiola and amb. babagana kingibe chief gani fawehinmi among others and the making of june 12 our democracy day showed courage1 the body however acknowledged that there were still more to be done to make the nation great in the areas of security restructuring local government autonomy and in conducting a free and fair elections1 but as the sayings goes rome was not built in a day1 our mission is to mobilize all youths with their permanent voters card pvcs across the country for the 2019 presidential project it said1 -
Python swallows woman in her farm in Indonesia
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angry villagers have cut open a pythons belly after it swallowed a 54-year-old woman wa tiba in her farm in indonesia1 tiba went missing while tending to her vegetable garden near her village on muna island in southeast sulawesi province on thursday according to the village chief faris1 when her family went to look for her they found only her belongings in the garden including her sandals a machete and a flashlight1 the villagers subsequently launched a search for her but were horrified to find a 23-foot-longpython with a severely bloated belly just 50 yards from the garden1 faris said the villagers killed the snake and when they cut openits belly they found the womans body still intact wearing all her clothes1 local police chief hamka who only has one name like many indonesians said residents were suspicious the snake swallowed the victim so they killed it then carried it out of the garden1 the snakesbelly was cut open and the body of the victim was found inside1 local villager ayu kartika said everyone cried and was in shock.it looked like a horror movie.the people are terrified afraid to go outside1 -
Russian taxi-driver plows into pedestrians, injures Mexican fans
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more bystanders chased after him and could be seen trying to tackle him to the ground as the footage ended1 a taxi drove into a crowd of pedestrians near moscows red square on saturday injuring eight people including two mexicans in the city for the soccer world cup which russia is hosting officials and eyewitnesses said1 moscows traffic management authority said the taxi driver had a drivers license issued in kyrgyzstan a mainly muslim ex-soviet republic1 he was identified as analbek uulu from kyrgyzstan1 traffic management authority cited the driver who was in police custody as saying he had not driven into the crowd on purpose1 moscow mayor sergei sobyanin said in a post on twitter there was an unpleasant incident with a taxi. the driver lost control of the vehicle1 the citys police said they had opened a criminal investigation into a suspected violation of the traffic code1 eight people were hurt and had been taken to hospital moscow citys healthcare department said in a statement. it said seven were in a satisfactory condition while one woman was seriously hurt1 the mexican embassy in moscow said two mexican women had been lightly injured. also among those hurt were a ukrainian and two russian citizens russias tass news agency quoted a source in the emergency services as saying1 video of the incident posted on social media showed the yellow hyundai taxi pull sharply out of a line of stationery traffic accelerate and mount the narrow pavement which was packed with pedestrians1 the vehicle drove for about 10 meters along the pavement bowling over pedestrians with some of them being carried along on the bonnet of the car1 the taxi came to a halt after hitting a traffic sign. as bystanders tried to pull open the drivers side door the driver dressed in black trousers and black t-shirt jumped out and sprinted away1 the incident took place as residents and visiting soccer fans thronged the centre of moscow on a balmy summer evening a short distance from the kremlin1 a witness told reuters that some of the people hit were wearing mexican team colours. mexico take on germany on sunday in their first world cup match at moscows luzhniki stadium and thousands of mexican fans are in the russian capital1 a second witness at the scene told reuters about the driver of the taxi he was pulled out of the vehicle he ran off but bystanders apprehended him. he was shouting it wasnt me1 another witness viktoria geraimovich said she called the emergency services on her mobile phone1 describing the actions of the driver she said he ran into a group of mexicans. there were shouts moans. he was only stopped because he hit a traffic sign1 someone gave him a punch in the face. he stayed in the car people came up to him said what are you doing punched him in the face he opened the door and tried to run away1 its scary that it was in the center of moscow and i was right opposite she said1 moscows traffic management authority said the driver was not drunk and interfax news agency cited a source saying there was no alcohol in his blood1 the same source told interfax the driver had said he fell asleep at the wheel and accidentally pressed the accelerator pedal1 russian authorities have vowed to host a safe soccer world cup which russia is hosting for the first time ever. it is taking place in 11 cities until july 151 in central moscow authorities have installed heavy concrete blocks across the entrances to pedestrianized areas following a spate of incidents in european cities in which vehicles were used to mow down people1 the u.s. state department on friday updated its travel advice on russia saying terrorist groups were plotting attacks1 -
Kenyatta orders massive audit of civil servants, their wealth
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this issue of people stealing what belongs to kenyans i swear to god it has to come to an end in kenya kenyatta said1 kenyas president uhuru kenyatta has intensified his war on graft by announcing that all public servants will undergo a compulsory lifestyle audit to account for their sources of wealth1 kenyatta offered himself to be the first leader to undergo the audit that seeks to identify corrupt public officials saying the lifestyle audits would control the misuse of public funds. he said public servants would be required to explain their sources of wealth with an aim of weeding out those found to have plundered government funds1 you have to tell us this is the house you have this is your salary how were you able to afford it this car that you bought dont try to put it under your wifes name or sons name we will still know it is yours where did you get it you must explain and i will be the first person to undergo the lifestyle audit he said1 in the past month various corruption scandals involving tenders and suppliers in government agencies have been unearthed. the corruption scandals as revealed have exposed the theft of hundreds of millions of shillings by state officials from several government bodies1 so far more than 40 government officials including businesspeople have been arrested over the recent scandals1 kenyatta has continued to express his frustration about the graft which seems to have spiralled out of control since he came into office in 20131 this latest announcement follows financial scandals that have rocked the country with revelations that millions of dollars were lost in various government agencies through corrupt deals that involved government officials1 the president said the lifestyle audit will be key among other measures also put in place by the government to curb the vice1 earlier in the week kenyatta issued an executive order requiring all government entities and publicly owned institutions to publish full details of tenders and awards beginning july 1 20181 for example if this road is being built we want to know who won the tender for the construction how much was the tender who came in second and third why was the first person awarded instead of these two all these reasons we need to know. kenyans need to know so that it is out there that this company was awarded this tender belongs to a certain person these are the directors these are the shareholders. there will be no more hiding he said1 on june 1 kenyatta ordered that all heads of procurement and accounting units be vetted again. he said the vetting would include subjecting the officers to polygraph tests to determine integrity1 kenya scored 28 points out of 100 on the 2017 corruption perceptions index reported by transparency international. the corruption index in kenya averaged 22.62 points from 1996 until 20171 reported by voa1 -
Rivers LG Polls: We are on standby Army
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the nigerian army on friday said soldiers would be on standby to forestall possible violence in saturdays council elections in rivers1 col. aminu iliyasu spokesman of the nigerian army 6 division port harcourt told news agency of nigeria nan that soldiers would be deployed at strategic points several kilometres away from polling centres1 he explained that the army was adopting that position because we are not directly involved in the election and no soldier is going to be deployed for any election duty1 according to iliyasu it is only the police and department of state security that have the constitutional responsibility to provide security in the election1 however we are always on alert whenever there is election. we will only be on standby at the periphery in case our services are needed he said1 iliyasu said that soldiers were banned from going into polling centres and escort polling materials to the centres1 the rivers state independent electoral commission rsiec will conduct the elections in the 23 local government areas of the state. nan1 -
Trump aide Manafort sent to jail
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afp25 donald trumps former campaign chief paul manafort was sent to jail friday pending trial on a series of federal charges1 the revocation of manaforts bail was a fresh sign of the looming collision course between mueller and trump with the white house increasingly worried that the president could face obstruction of justice charges and an impeachment effort in congress1 manafort 69 had been under house arrest while awaiting trial in both the us capital and virginia. he has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him which also include obstruction of justice1 trump condemned the treatment of manafort a veteran washington political consultant as he sought to paint muellers team as well as the federal bureau of investigation which mueller once ran as deeply biased and illegitimate1 wow what a tough sentence for paul manafort who has represented ronald reagan bob dole and many other top political people and campaigns trump wrote on twitter1 didnt know manafort was the head of the mob he said. very unfair1 earlier trump lashed out at the entire investigation labelling it a ridiculous witch hunt after a justice department watchdog report revealed that several fbi investigators had sent anti-trump text messages during the 2016 campaign1 there was no collusion there was no obstruction and if you read the report what youll really see is bias against me trump said1 manafort who is facing trial later this year on money laundering charges involving his work for ukraine that predated the 2016 presidential election saw his bail revoked by judge amy berman jackson over claims he was trying to influence witnesses in his case1 manafort who is facing money laundering and tax evasion charges among others was the first former trump campaign aide to be jailed in the sprawling probe led by special counsel robert mueller since may 20171 muellers team has been seeking to interview trump as well and questions they have submitted to the white house indicate that they are also investigating whether trump has illegally interfered with the probe1 on friday trump sought to make use of the justice department inspector generals report on the 2016 investigation into hillary clintons use of a private email server during her time as secretary of state to erode confidence in muellers operation1 while the ig report made almost no mention of mueller or any alleged wrongdoing by trump the president claimed it exonerates him while his lawyer rudy giuliani said mueller and his team themselves should be investigated1 the report yesterday may be more important than anything. it totally exonerates me trump told journalists in front of the white house1 the report faulted the fbi and its former director james comey whom trump fired in may 2017 over the handling of the clinton email probe1 it said comey who cleared clinton of allegations of mishandling classified materials was insubordinate and guilty of bad judgment1 it also showed several agents involved in both that investigation and the subsequent russia meddling probe repeatedly expressing anti-trump bias in private text messages1 that is probably the tip of the iceberg trump said. there was total bias i mean total bias1 he referred to comey and other senior fbi officials as the scum at the top of the bureau and as total thieves1 he is one of 20 people and three companies already indicted by mueller who is investigating whether members of the campaign colluded with russia during and after the election1 -
Boris Becker dodges bankrupty case as CARs ambassador
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when asked about becker european commission spokeswoman maja kocijancic told a daily news briefing in brussels on friday we have neither been involved in this appointment nor been asked for eu accreditation1 three-time wimbledon champion boris becker announced friday he is claiming diplomatic immunity from bankruptcy proceedings in britain as an ambassador for the central african republic1 becker who won six grand slams in the 1980s and 90s was declared bankrupt by a london court in june 2017 for failing to pay a long-standing debt1 but his position as attache to the european union on sporting cultural and humanitarian affairs could be covered by the 1961 vienna convention on diplomatic relations1 this means the consent of britains foreign secretary boris johnson and his counterpart in bangui would be needed before becker is subjected to any legal proceedings his lawyers said1 the bankruptcy application was made by private bankers arbuthnot latham1 becker however said the decision to commence bankruptcy proceedings against me was both unjustified and unjust1 a bunch of anonymous and unaccountable bankers and bureaucrats pushed me into a completely unnecessary declaration of bankruptcy which has inflicted a whole heap of damage on me both commercially and professionally and on those close to me he added in a statement issued by his lawyers1 i have now asserted diplomatic immunity as i am in fact bound to do in order to bring this farce to an end so that i can start to rebuild my life1 a spokesman for arbuthnot contacted by afp in london declined to comment1 lawyers for the 50-year-old tennis player a former world number one lodged a claim thursday in the high court asserting immunity after he was appointed a sports attache for the central african republic in april1 so as concerns the role he is playing maybe best to ask your questions to the authorities of the central african republic1 mark stephens a lawyer with london-based law firm howard kennedy and an expert in diplomatic immunity said becker should not be allowed to avoid accountability just because he has a role with the central african republic1 stephens told britains press association the vienna convention which established diplomatic immunity was intended to protect the highest members of state sovereigns prime ministers that sort of thing not advisers to fishing organisations say1 the trustees handling the bankruptcy said they do not accept these assertions made by becker1 we welcome mr beckers appointment to promote sport in the central african republic. however we believe that it has no material impact on mr beckers bankruptcy trustee mark ford said in a statement1 becker shook up the tennis world at wimbledon in 1985 when as an unseeded player he became the then youngest-ever male grand slam champion at the age of 17 defending the trophy the following year1 the german went on to enjoy a glittering career and amassed more than 25 million in prize money1 beckers tangled private life has also kept him in the news1 he has a daughter conceived in a brief but now famous encounter with a russian model who claimed she met becker at a london bar and had sex with him in a broom cupboard at a nearby japanese restaurant1 in january becker appealed for help in tracking down five missing grand slam trophies which he said he needed to sell to help pay off his debts1 -
Kola Abiola: Jonathan thrice rejected GCFR for MKO
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read more in7 former president goodluck jonathan thrice rebuffed suggestions he bestow the grand commander of the order of the federal republic honour onchief mko abiola1 he said jonathan rejected the suggestion for political reasons1 according to mkos son he first approached the then attorney-general of the federation mohammed adoke san to honour his father during the centenary celebration in january 2014 but a gold award was given to the deceased which was rejected by the family1 kola said during his second attempt he wrote a letter to jonathan through the serving overseer of the latter rain assembly pastor tunde bakare during the build-up to the 2015 elections but nothing was done1 he said even after jonathan had lost and was preparing to leave office he made another attempt to get him to honour mko but it failed again1 kola abiola said towards the election i approached them again this time in writing and solicited the help of pastor bakare and told them that even if it was for selfish political reasons this was something you could do to help your chances of winning elections1 i really didnt mind how he got it done. but we couldnt get president jonathan to get it done so we left that1 mr. kola abiola the eldest son of the winner of the june 12 1993 presidential election chief mko abiola made the revelation in a channels tv interview broadcast on thursday night1 abiolas son said after president muhammadu buhari took office he sent a letter through pastor bakare again to take to the president who was in kaduna at the time1 he said buhari bought into the idea and exceeded the expectations of the abiola family as he did not only honour the deceased with the highest title in the land but also issued an apology to his family on behalf of the federal government1 kola noted that he did not approach former president olusegun obasanjo to honour his father because he felt there was no point doing so as the answer would have been obvious1 he however said he approached the late president umaru yaradua who promised to address the issue but died in office1 when asked his view on jonathans naming of the university of lagos as moshood abiola university lagos kola said that was a mistake. they were trying to regionalise mko. he was beyond that. this man was voted across nigeria irrespective of religion1 i went back to them and told them if they had consulted me i would have told them what to do1 after he lost the election i approached him a second time also through the same pastor bakare to try to get him to do this as a legacy of his presidency something that nigerians would never forget about him. last minute we couldnt get it to happen1