NEWS : Police confirms kidnap of students in Katsina, claims over 200 have returned

 

The Police Command in Katsina has confirmed the attack on Government Science Secondary School Kankara on Friday night.

Their Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo Isah, disclosed this while speaking to newsmen on Saturday.

According to Isah, the incident happened around 11.30pm and the assailants engaged in a gun battle with security personnel at the school’s gate.

“The Divisional Police Office in Kankara quickly mobilised security personnel and moved to the area with Armoured Personnel Carrier and engaged the hoodlums in a gun duel, forcing the gunmen to retreat.

“More than 200 students who jumped over the school fence into the town to hide have returned,” he said.

Isah said the authorities were working to ascertain the exact number of students that have not returned.

NEWS : Electoral College The people who ultimately pick the US president

By Sam Cabral

BBC News, Washington

Electoral College The people who ultimately pick the US president

The US presidential election was five weeks ago, but the votes that officially anoint the next president are just about to be cast.

When Americans go to the polls in presidential elections, they are not directly voting for president. They are actually voting for a group of 538 "electors" that make up the Electoral College.

Electors cast their vote on Monday 14 December, after all 50 states and the District of Columbia have certified their election results.

We'll introduce to some of these electors in a moment - two ordinary Americans and another who everyone knows - but first, let's remind you how this all works.

Who can be an elector?

The US Constitution only states that electors cannot be members of Congress or others who currently hold federal office. So they can be:

• Retired politicians - former president Bill Clinton cast an electoral vote for his wife Hillary in 2016.
• State and local elected officials - New York governor Andrew Cuomo was a Democratic elector in 2016
• Grassroots activists, lobbyists or other figures from a state - we have two examples below
• Personal or professional connection to candidate - Donald Trump Jr was an elector for his father last time
• media caption

Each political party with a candidate on the presidential ballot nominates or votes on its own slate of electors in the months prior to election day. States have their own rules for choosing electors.

Roughly in line with the size of its population, each state gets as many electors as it has lawmakers in the US Congress (representatives in the House and Senate).

Once we know who won a state's popular vote, we know which party will appoint the electors for that state.

Electors are like rubber stamps that formalise how their state voted, so they are usually loyal supporters of their party.

What role do electors play?

Electors have already pledged their support for a certain candidate, so they almost always vote as pledged.

electors" - seven in total - voted for candidates other than those they had pledged to support (five turned against Clinton, two against Trump). It was the first election since 1948 to feature more than one faithless elector.

States have since looked to strengthen their rules against faithless electors, pushing laws to remove them and have their votes redacted if they do not vote as pledged, a move backed by the US Supreme Court.

What is happening in 2020?

With the backing of several high-profile supporters, President Trump has called on Republican state legislatures in states he lost to throw out their popular vote results and appoint their own set of electors. Election law experts are sceptical that this is possible and Republican state leaders have pushed back against this suggestion.

• Trump's latest legal longshot - could it work?

A successful presidential candidate must get at least 270 out of the 538 votes that make up the electoral college.

If electors vote based on the certified results of their states, they will give Joe Biden 306 votes and Donald Trump 232, thus officially handing the presidency to Mr Biden.

I'm an elector in New York'

By far the most famous elector this year is Hillary Clinton.

Khary Penebaker is a father of three, a small business president and a proud Democrat. He will be one of 10 electors from the state of Wisconsin, casting his electoral college vote for Mr Biden and Ms Harris.

Mr Penebaker has been one of the state's elected Democratic National Committee representatives since 2017 and ran for Congress in 2016, so he is a familiar face in the party politics of Wisconsin.

"In 2016, I was an elector for Hillary Clinton, but didn't get a chance to cast my electoral ballot for America's first female president," said Penebaker. "At least now, I can cast my ballot for Joe Biden, who is going to restore some semblance of civility and decency."

He will be one of two black electors in his state and is thrilled by the prospect of Vice-President Harris: "For people of colour, we don't want to be seen as the enemy. With our first black female vice-president, we have someone who can see us as equal and as human beings."

'This is a very honourable position'

IMAGE COPYRIGHTNAOMI NARVAIZ

Naomi Narvaiz is a mother of five, a community activist and a staunch Republican. She will be one of 38 electors from the state of Texas, casting her electoral college vote for President Donald Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence.

In addition to being a Republican Party official in Texas, Narvaiz has been actively involved at various levels in her community, from her school district's health advisory council to her city's ethics review commission. She was nominated as an elector by her sister-in-law, a former local elected official and was selected at the state party convention earlier this year.

"This is a very honourable position to hold," said Narvaiz, "and I'm very grateful that the people in my congressional district honoured me with their votes to do that for them."

Texas is one of 17 states that does not bind its electors to vote for the person who won the state's popular vote. Two Texans were among the seven faithless electors in the 2016 election, casting their votes for former presidential candidates John Kasich and Ron Paul.

Narvaiz says her support for President Trump is rock solid: "I wanted to make sure our congressional district was well-represented and that we would have a faithful elector to vote for President Donald J Trump, and I knew that person would be me."The former secretary of state and first lady lost the 2016 presidential election to Mr Trump, but she gets the last laugh as an elector this year from her adopted home state of New York.

In announcing that she was an elector, Mrs Clinton said it would be "pretty exciting" to cast her vote for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the next president and vice-president, respectively.

Mrs Clinton has previously called for the abolition of the Electoral College, arguing presidents should instead be selected by popular vote. In 2016, she was defeated in the Electoral College despite winning nearly three million more votes than Mr Trump.

'This is real change'

NEWS : PDP National Youth Summit: Gov Ikpeazu restates commitment to welfare of youths

 

Abia State Governor, Okezie Ikpeazu has reiterated his government’s readiness to support, promote and stand with youths in governance by ensuring a youth-friendly State Executive Council.

The Governor disclosed that recent committees formed after the End SARS protests were all youth-based as well as the December 18th local government election flag bearers.

Ikpeazu spoke in a message during the PDP National Youth Summit which was held at Agu-Awka Anambra State on Friday.

Governor Ikpeazue was represented by the Abia State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Chief Emeka Ikwuagwu.

Earlier in his speech, the PDP National Youth Leader, Rt.Hon.SKE Udeh-Okoye thanked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu for all his concern towards youth engagements and his support for the summit.

The Abia State PDP Youth Leader, Hon. Onwuka Patrick Alozie who led over 60 youth leaders across the 17 Local Government Areas of Abia State in his speech guaranteed that youths will be mobilised to ensure victory and take leadership by unity of purpose.

Also speaking earlier, PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus emphasised his strong belief in youths and charged them to be focused.

He assured them of his support and encouragement in ensuring youths take their rightful place in the centre of governance.

DAILY POST reports that Dignitaries present during the summit include, Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi, Dr. Peter Obi, Col Austin Akobundu, Senator Ben Obi, Chief Ali Odefa, all state youth leaders in the South East and others too many to mention.

NEWS : BIAFRA ,Quote in support of Nigeria's Biafra state falsely attributed to Bill Gates

 

Multiple posts shared thousands of times on Facebook claim that Microsoft founder Bill Gates said Nigeria’s Biafra state could become the world’s second-largest economy within five years of independence and overtake China as a leader in technology. This is false; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation told AFP Fact Check that he did not make the comments.

The claims were published in an article on Nigerian news site Konnect Press and shared more than 1,500 times on Facebook. The headline reads: “Biafra Nation will liberate Africa from slavery – Bill Gates”.

It claims Gates said that if “Igbos can be on their own as a nation within five years they will take over from China in terms of technology”. The article also claims that the “Biafra nation has the potential to become second in the world economy” and “will libThe article was promptly shared by pro-Biafra Facebook groups (for example here, here and here) claiming that Gates is ready to “partner with Biafra nation for technology development”. 

Calls for a separate state of Biafra are a sensitive subject in Nigeria after a unilateral declaration of independence in 1967 sparked a brutal 30-month civil war.

More than one million people died, most of them Igbos, from the effects of conflict and disease.

Despite renewed calls for independence over the years, President Muhammadu Buhari has said the country’s unity is non-negotiable.

Bill Gates did not say this

Gates often speaks about Nigeria, where he said his foundation has invested more than $1 billion in the past 20 years on vaccination projects and primary healthcare. But AFP Fact Check found no record of Gates making any of the comments attributed to him. 

Contacted by AFP Fact Check, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation denied the claims. “We can confirm that these statements were not made by Bill Gates,” a spokesperson said by email.

History of misinformation

Fifty years since the end of the civil war in Nigeria, pro-Biafra groups have resorted to using the names of global figures to further their cause. 

In 2019, separatists claimed French President Emmanuel Macron said Biafra is “the hope of West Africa”. The French foreign ministry in Paris told AFP Fact Check at the time that the president made no such comments, either on or off social media.

Pro-Biafra comments have also been falsely attributed to US President Donald Trump and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.erate Africa from poverty, shame and slavery”.

NEWS : Herdsmen attack Benue capital Makurdi, kill 4, injure many

 

Fulani herdsmen have attacked and killed not less than four people and left seven battling with various degrees of injuries at Tse-Angbande in Makurdi Local Government Area of Benue State.

Governor Samuel Ortom who visited the scene of the attack on Saturday morning said the armed herdsmen in their usual guerrilla pattern struck by 11pm when the people were asleep, killing Timothy Emberga Akwa, Innocent Akwa, Terhemba Emberga Akwa and an in-law identified as Orban.

The Governor while condemning the barbaric act recalled that a few weeks ago, the herders came without cattle and killed a husband and wife at Tse-Tyohemba, in the same axis of Makurdi, saying that security agents trailed and apprehended three of the assailants.

He assured the people that security has been beefed up to ensure 24 hours vigilance in the affected area to prevent a reoccurrence of the ugly development and urged people of the affected communities to cooperate with security operatives.

The Governor while addressing the people at Adaka said enforcement of the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law of the state must continue no matter what armed herders do.

NEWS : End SARS, LCC MD reveals why he didn’t visit Lekki toll gate after shooting

 

The Managing Director of Lekki Concession Company (LCC), Abayomi Omomuwasan, has claimed he did not visit the toll plaza to ascertain the level of damage after the October 20 incident for security reasons.

On October 20, officers of the Nigerian Army arrived at the toll gate and reportedly opened fire at the #EndSARS protesters.

It led to destruction of property in the Lekki area and other parts of Lagos by suspected hoodlums.

Speaking on Friday while appearing before the Lagos judicial panel, Omomuwasan said he had to restrict his movements after the incident.

He stated this while being cross-examined by the counsel to #EndSARS protesters, Olumide Fusika.

“From the moment we were blackmailed on social media, I tried to restrict my movement for security reasons. For security reasons, from October 11, 2020, I didn’t go out,” Omomuwasan said.

Fusika then asked if the #EndSARS protest was so violent that LCC staff were attacked, which means Omomuwasan had to restrict his movement.

The MD said he could not give a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer.

Probing further, Fusika asked: “As MD, so you didn’t care. You mean you’re not curious to know the damage done to your property or the ‘arson’ committed around that area? You wouldn’t know the condition of the place on the morning of October 21st?”

Omomuwasan replied that he was given a directive not to go to the toll plaza at the time.

The case was adjourned till January 5, 2020, for further hearing and judgement.

NEWS : Niger govt mourns Nda-Isaiah

 

The Government of Niger State has commiserated with Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, over the death of Mr Sam Nda-Isaiah, Chairman and Publisher of Leadership Newspapers.

Nda-Isaiah died in Abuja on Friday after a brief illness.

The state Secretary, Alhaji Ahmed Matane, in a condolence message by his Information Officer, Tanko Lawal in Minna on Saturday said Nda-Isaiah would be remembered for his die-hard disposition to fighting the ills of the society.

According to him, Nda-Isaiah‘s death is a great shock not only to the media community but to the entire country, describing him as ‘‘an amiable and humble person’’.

“On behalf of His Excellency, Alhaji Abubakar Bello, Governor of Niger State, the government and people of the state, I want to convey my sincere and heartfelt condolences to the family of late Nda-Isaiah, Chairman and Publisher of Leadership Newspapers,” he said.

Matane also prayed that the good Lord would grant the soul of the deceased eternal rest and give the entire family, friends, and political associates he fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.