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Friday, 2 February 2018

2019: APC Embarks On CVR Grassroots Sensitisation In Ebonyi

APC

The All Progressives Congress (APC), has commenced grassroots sensitisation tour to mobilise the electorate in the 13 local government areas of Ebonyi, to register in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR).

Mr Eze Nwachukwu, Acting APC Chairman in Ebonyi, led other members of the State Working Committee (SWC) to launch the campaign on Friday in Afikpo, Afikpo North Local Government Area.

Nwachukwu, who addressed the people, said that the sensitisation was in line with the directive from the national headquarters of APC.

According to him, the exercise is aimed at mobilising , educating and sensitising eligible grassroots voters on the need to participate in the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration.

He said that as the 2019 general elections draw closer, that it was imperative that rural communities were mobilised to fully participate in the ongoing CVR, stressing that bulk of the voters reside in rural areas.

“Registration and collection of the voter cards is the only qualification to vote in the elections; any eligible voter without his or her voter card will have no business at the polling booths during election, ” Nwachukwu said.

He said that current reforms in the electoral system would make it difficult to rig elections in 2019, assuring the people that their votes must count in the elections.

“The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has assured Nigerians of commitment to conduct credible elections in 2019.

“The electronic transmission of election results to be adopted in 2019 will make it difficult to rig in 2019, and this will put election riggers out of business.

“We are here today to appeal to the people of Afikpo North to go to any INEC office nearest to them and register and collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

“It is your civic right and obligation to vote and you must resist anything that will deny you opportunity to exercise this important civic duty.

“We again assure you that your votes will count in 2019. “

Nwachukwu urged party faithful and APC supporters to ensure that they effectively participate in the CVR exercise and other vital electoral processes.

He advised the electorate against selling their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) and urged them to resist politicians who would come to demand their PVCs in exchange for employment, empowerment or to give them bank loans.

“It is a criminal offence to engage in selling or buying of voter cards and you must report those found to indulge in such illicit transactions.

“Your voter card is your property and the only right you have as citizens to exercise your voting rights to elect your leaders; selling it means disqualifying yourselves.

“There is no rule in the civil service that requires your voter card for employment or empowerment and no bank will require you to submit your voter card to give you loan.

“You must resist any attempt that will make them disenfranchise you and must report such persons to the Police, ” Nwachukwu said.

He said that the party would constitute local government and ward committees in the 13 local government areas of the state that would be charged with the mandate of door-to-door mobilisation of rural communities to come out and register.

Meanwhile, the chairman has charged APC faithful in the local government to remain supportive of the party and to work hard to ensure that the party emerged victorious in the area in 2019.

He announced that the party would commence membership registration, and urged members who were yet to formally register with the party to avail themselves of the opportunity.

“We have over 18,000 registered members of our great party in Afikpo North and we are opening another window of opportunity to enable members who are yet to formally register to do so.

“It’s only those with our membership registration cards that will be allowed to participate in voting during the party primaries and congresses,” he added.

The post 2019: APC Embarks On CVR Grassroots Sensitisation In Ebonyi appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.

2019: APC Embarks On CVR Grassroots Sensitisation In Ebonyi



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Nigeria aims to build refinery close to Niger Republic

The Federal Government of Nigeria has reached an agreement with the Niger Republic to build a new refinery in the border town of both countries.

The proposed refinery will be built between a border town in Niger Republic and Kastina State in Nigeria, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has disclosed.

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, recently led a delegation to the President of Niger, Mahamadou Issoufou, with the Energy Minister of the country, Foumakoye Gado, also in attendance.

While giving the outcome of the visit to the media on Wednesday, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources said the technical agreement will soon be signed between the two countries.

The agreement, the ministry said, will include “building of crude oil pipeline from Niger to the new refinery.”

The information had earlier been posted on Twitter, where it was said that the visit “to Niger Republic will lead to a definite agreement for the design and construction of a new refinery to be located at a border town between Nigeria and Niger.”

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Nigeria aims to build refinery close to Niger Republic



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Court Sentences Businessman To 4 Years In Prison For Rapping Minor

Court, Independent, Jos

An Upper Area Court III sitting in Kasuwan Nama, Jos North, on Friday sentenced a 31-year-old businessman, Joseph Vongjem to fours years in prison for rapping a 13-year-old girl.

Upper Area Court judge Yahaya Mohammed, did not give the convict any option of fine.

The accused had pleaded guilty to the offence which prosecutors said was contrary to Section 283 of the Penal Code Law of Northern Nigeria.

“’ I am very sorry for what I have done to the innocent girl. I will never do it again have mercy on me, ‘’ Vongjem pleaded.

The prosecutor, Sgt. D. A. Edward, had told the court that the case was reported on Sept. 20 2017 by one Musa Sunday, the victim’s grandfather at the Nassarawa Gwom Police Station.

Edward told the court that the accused lured the 13-year-old girl, to his room with N500 and raped her.

The post Court Sentences Businessman To 4 Years In Prison For Rapping Minor appeared first on Independent Newspapers Nigeria.

Court Sentences Businessman To 4 Years In Prison For Rapping Minor



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2019: APC embarks on CVR grassroots sensitisation in Ebonyi

It’s painful to see Zidane suffer at Real Madrid – Xavi

The iconic midfielder compared the coach to Lionel Messi as a player who finds favour in every corner of the footballing world

It’s painful to see Zidane suffer at Real Madrid – Xavi



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Transfer news & rumours: Man Utd target Barcelona's Umtiti

Goal takes a look at the biggest transfer news and rumours from the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and beyond

Transfer news & rumours: Man Utd target Barcelona's Umtiti



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NNPC, Fuel Subsidy And Corruption

Saraki

Senate President Dr. Bukola Saraki spoke the mind of many Nigerians the other time when he decried the corruption embedded in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). His concern, coming as the organisation confirmed details of fuel subsidy regime which government had stopped about three years ago, is a reminder that all is not well with the organisation. Until the corporation undergoes a major cleansing of its corruption ailment, the country is unlikely to make any staggering progress.

Interestingly, prominent citizens have in the past lamented perceived high level of graft in the Octopus organisation. Curiously however, no one has been able to muster the political courage to take holistic measures to unravel the assumed corruption. It should agitate the mind of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), investigating subsidy payment to extend its investigation into alleged corruption in the corporation.

A few days ago, NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru told the Senate Committee that the federal government spent a staggering N4,950.80 trillion on fuel subsidy between January 2006 and December 2015. The corporation’s Chief Financial Officer who gave details of the operations, recalled that fuel subsidy regime started in October 2003 when government directed the NNPC to buy domestic crude oil at international price without a corresponding liberalisation of the regulated price of petroleum products.

Sadly, the country has since then been unable to disentangle itself from the corruption web that has been continually woven around fuel subsidy. Shortly after the present administration of General Muhammadu Buhari came into government in 2015, government announced a total removal of subsidy on petroleum products, bringing the price of petrol to N143 – N145 per litre. Paying the price was painful to Nigerians who hoped nonetheless that the action would foreclose the huge financial scam that fuel subsidy has become.

That relief was short-lived by recent admission that government has again been subsidising fuel. Saraki’s quest for “critical reforms” of the downstream oil and gas industry is particularly informed by his observation that despite the stoppage of the fuel subsidy regime, and non-appropriation for the scheme, the “fuel subsidy payments continue to be paid from our commomwealth illegally without appropriation by the National Assembly.”

Besides Saraki, former Governor of Central Bank, and now Emir of kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, regularly decried alleged corruption in the NNPC and the petroleum industry. In 2013, Sanusi wrote to the then President Goodluck Jonathan that NNPC failed to remit $20 billion oil revenue to the federation account, an allegation that the corporation denied.

However, shadows of financial irregularities continue to haunt NNPC since then, as manifested in the fact that many past leaders of the corporation have corrupt charges or investigation hanging over them. In virtually all the cases, Nigerians are yet to be informed of the whole truth surrounding the inquiries.

The aura of lack of transparency on NNPC seems to have aggravated over the past two years following President Buhari’s assumption of the Petroleum Minister portfolio. As Minister, Buhari has not spoken much on matters affecting his ministry; while information coming from the minister of state is limited in authority. As witnessed recently, Kachikwu’s authority was actually questioned by the corporation’s GMD. All these facts tend to portray the NNPC as a fertile organisation for perpetrating corruption.

The executive obviously lacks the political will to sanitize NNPC; but the number 3 citizen (Saraki)’s interest in cleansing the corporation provides a ray of hope for Nigerians angling for such sanitisation. Saraki should live his talk by ensuring that NNPC’s financial accounts are publicly and professionally scrutinised to expose hidden irregularities.

An independent commission of inquiry is ideal for the task of investigating the corporation to unravel not just the suspected fuel subsidy scam, but also the several allegations of missing moneys and fraudulent contracts. The findings of such an investigation should be made public and appropriate action taken against erring personnel. To enable him concentrate on other pressing state matters, President Buhari should divest himself of the onerous responsibility of superintending the petroleum ministry; and appoint one of the many eminently qualified Nigerians to perform the job.

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NNPC, Fuel Subsidy And Corruption



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Bayelsa introduces free feeding programme in public schools



  1. Bayelsa introduces free feeding programme in public schools  Vanguard
  2. APC restructuring report: Jonathan, Ijaw leaders demand sincere implementation  Daily Post Nigeria
  3. Dickson preaches unity among Ijaw leaders  NIGERIAN TRIBUNE (press release) (blog)

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Nigeria’s returnees from Libya recount experience

Faith Oboh, 22, is the third in a family of 12 persons; the first daughter in a polygamous family who lost her mother before he finished her secondary school’s education.

Oboh is among the more than 200 returnees from Libya who had to undergo documentation organised by the Edo Anti-Human Trafficked and Illegal Migration team.

Any perspective observer in the venue of the event would not require a seer to imagine the seriousness of the thought she had in that mood; looking as if her world had collapsed.

Her appearance looked as someone who has been cast out without any chance to succeed in life and deep in her thought was uncertainty and, somewhat, bleak future.

Saying some words unwillingly, she took courage to recall that she was a hair stylist but extreme poverty informed her decision to go through the desert of Libya in December, 2016 to seek “fortune’’ elsewhere.

“From the proceeds I made from hair braiding in Nigeria, I paid N500, 000 to someone who introduced me and facilitated the journey to Libya.

“My ultimate goal was to get to Italy by crossing the Mediterranean Sea but the unexpected event occurred; the engine of the boat conveying us developed fault amid the high sea and we got stranded for more than 12 hours.

“Men and women, including children occupant of the boat, became prayer warriors amid tears with the wave becoming stronger and more dangerous before the captain of the boat called the Libyan police for rescue.

“We later ended up in the camp to face hostility from Libyans; I went through a horrifying experience within the one year I spent in that country.

“As I speak with you, I do not know the whereabouts of my sponsor and I do not know if she is alive or dead,’’ she said.

Stating another bitter experience, Ms Blessing Braimah, a 34-year old mother of four, said she left a thriving petty business and her children for “plum job’’ promise in a foreign country.

Braimah said she borrowed N600, 000 to embark on the journey thinking the trip would turn around the life of her family.

She alleged that her husband estranged her with the children, the condition that tempted her to seek help beyond Nigerian shores.

“It was a horrible experience in Libya because the place is like a war zone where you never can tell what will happen to you in the next minute,’’ she said.

Braima said she and others were put in a prison in Tripoli, saying, “it was a terrible experience; from the journey through the desert, the sound of guns everywhere, to living terrible life at the camp.

“I would have been home before now, but it is not a journey you embark on like that; you just don’t go to the park and say you are coming home to Nigeria.’’

For Osaze Imafidon, another returnee, his life would never remain the same as his journey to Libya has left him with a disability — walking with the support of crutches.

Imafidon said he sustained a gunshot injury that led to the amputation of one of his legs, insisting that, “I was shot at not because I am a criminal, but it’s the normal way of life in Libya where people openly display guns.

“It’s no longer seen as illegal; you can be shot at any time with the slightest of provocation by the locals.

“No life of any black person means anything to them; they come into your apartment at will and cart away your belongings and if you dare raise your voice, you will be lucky to be alive.’’

In the light of this, Mr Solomon Okoduwa, Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Godwin Obaseki on Anti-Human Trafficking and Illegal Migration says the gruesome expressions of the returnees from Libya raise concerns.

Okoduwa regretted that illegal migration to other countries by Nigerians to seek “greener pasture’’ had taken lives of the number of youths, especially from Edo.

He blamed parents and guardians, accusing them of a deliberate encouragement, which in most cases, force their children and wards to undertake such trips.

According to him, this has become a cultural problem in Edo, where it is now a norm that if you don’t have your ward abroad, you are missing out.

“This is why these parents go to the length of even selling their property, in some cases, houses, just to see their children travel to Europe.

“Again, some of these parents seek the support and collaboration of traffickers well known to them to assist their children in travelling out,’’ he observed.

Similarly, the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Prof. Yinka Omoregbe, said the state government had determined to tackle human trafficking and irregular migration in the state.

“We want our people going abroad to do so responsibly and not going there to suffer or go through the horrifying experience.

“The major pre-occupation of the government now is to reintegrate the returnees; 150 of them had already been trained on various skill acquisition programmes.

“The governor has approved the N100 million seed grant and 150 hectares of land as the returnees’ starter’s pack on farming,” he said.

Corroborating her claim, Mr Crusoe Osagie, Special Adviser to the governor on Media, alleged that NAPTIP and other agencies charged to cater for victims of human trafficking had not been forthcoming as expected.

He noted that NAPTIP ought to have advised the government on the need to provide transport fare for those being airlifted to the country so that they would not be stranded on arriving in Nigeria.

According to Edo government, the state is developing a new tripartite arrangement with oil companies, the state government and host communities to encourage corporate social responsibility programmes.

He said this would replace the conventional bilateral model and create a better, valuable investor-community relationship and effective service delivery to communities.

Source: NAN

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Nigeria’s returnees from Libya recount experience



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Osinbajo panel to meet Miyetti Allah



  1. Osinbajo panel to meet Miyetti Allah  The Nation Newspaper
  2. Umahi Heads Dialogue Committee On Farmers/ Herders Clash  Leadership Newspapers (press release)
  3. Herdsmen-Farmers Violence: Working Group to Visit Affected States for Consultations  The News

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Osinbajo panel to meet Miyetti Allah



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World Hijab Day: Stop opposing Muslim women’s right to modest dressing —MMPN

hijab, Miss NigeriaThe Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (MMPN) has called on those showing opposition to Muslim women’s use of the hijab to exercise restraint and embrace the spirits of tolerance and understanding.

The organisation made the call in a statement by its National President, Alhaji Abdur-Rahman Balogun, in which it felicitated with Muslims and non-Muslims alike on the occasion of the 2018 World Hijab Day.

It said its call became important in view of the subjection of Muslim ladies to “ridicule, intimidation, harassment and frustration” for dressing “modestly” in accordance with the dictate of Islam.

The World Hijab Day, which is celebrated annually on February 1, MMPN emphasised, is designed to convince the world that hijab is not a mere headscarf but an injunction to the believing Muslim women from their Creator.

Reaffirming the basis for the wearing of hijab by Muslim women and girls, the organisation quoted the Qur’an as saying: “And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof. That they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty….”

It said: “We are calling for tolerance and understanding from our non-Muslim brethren who detest Muslim women donning the hijab, which is in compliance with the commandment of Allah, the Creator of all mankind.

“Many Muslim ladies are subjected to various forms of ridicule, intimidation, harassment and frustration by intolerant colleagues, bosses, neighbours and even government offices for dressing in line with their faith.

“Despite the country’s multi-religious status, Section 38, Sub-section 1 of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended guarantees that “every person shall be entitled to freedom of thought, conscience and religion (either alone or in community with others and in public or in private) to manifest and propagate his religion or belief in worship, teaching, practice and observance.”

“Our support for Miss Firdaus Amasa and her colleague, Miss Aisha Zubair, over the hijab brouhaha during the December 2017 Nigerian Law School call to bar ceremony is hereby reaffirmed and we insist on justice for them and others who were discriminated against for wearing hijab.

“We also use this opportunity to commend the courage of the House of Representatives in organising a public hearing into the matter on February 6. We implore all stakeholders who believe in equity, justice, fairness and equality to attend and share their experiences.”

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World Hijab Day: Stop opposing Muslim women’s right to modest dressing —MMPN



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Contempt charge: IGP must appear in court March 13, judge insists

Ubong Friday hails Akwa United’s determination in FC Ifeanyi Ubah draw

Akwa United vs. Enugu Rangers

The Promise Keepers’ attacker has showered encomiums on their determined effort to pick a point against the Anambra Warriors

Ubong Friday hails Akwa United’s determination in FC Ifeanyi Ubah draw



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Plateau United will bounce back from Kano Pillars’ setback – Boboye

The Peace Boys handler has challenged his players to return to winning ways this weekend after their loss to Sai Masu Gida

Plateau United will bounce back from Kano Pillars’ setback – Boboye



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Tech: One chart shows how successful the iPhone X is — and Apple investors love it (AAPL)

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Apple stock rose over 3% in after-hours trading.

  • Apple announced on Thursday that the average price of an iPhone is nearly $800, or about $100 higher than it was last year.
  • The increase is due to the $999 iPhone X, which Apple says is its best-selling iPhone.
  • Apple stock rose over 3% in after-hours trading.

Apple set records on Thursday when it reported December quarter earnings, driving the price up 3% in after-hours trading.

It seems odd, at first glance: Apple actually missed Wall Street targets on iPhone shipments over the crucial holiday quarter. So why the exuberance?

One chart gives even Apple's detractors reason to be optimistic about the world's most valuable public company:

This chart shows the average price worldwide that an iPhone is selling for, and it just made a huge jump. The average iPhone now costs nearly $800.

The big jump is because of the $999 super-premium iPhone X, which costs nearly $240 more than the iPhone 7 Plus, which was previously Apple's most expensive phone.

"Honestly speaking, there's no comparison in the revenue, it's hugely different," Apple CEO Tim Cook told CNBC in a post-earnings interview on Thursday evening. "In a positive way, obviously."

Although some analysts believed that Apple's increased price tag for its nicest phone might drive customers away, that doesn't seem to be the case. Cook told CNBC that the iPhone X has been company's best-selling device every week it's been available, while the less expensive 8 and 8 Plus appeal to those who don't want to pony up $999 for a phone.

Basically, Thursday's earnings proved that Apple has the room to raise prices. Now the question for investors is how much higher they can go.

Tech: One chart shows how successful the iPhone X is — and Apple investors love it (AAPL)



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Politics: There’s been a mysterious change in Trump's demeanor — and no one knows why

President Donald Trump pauses as he delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. January 30, 2018.

President Donald Trump has spent a couple of weeks being relatively subdued — and his poll numbers have spiked in the process.

  • President Donald Trump has been much more subdued since the "shithole countries" news cycle.
  • He has delivered six speeches in the past couple of weeks without stepping on his intended message.
  • On Twitter, he's been much more restrained.

President Donald Trump has been relatively subdued in recent weeks — and his poll numbers have spiked.

The trend can be traced back to the passing of the news cycle about his "shithole countries" remark from the middle of last month. In the weeks that followed, he has only posted a handful of acerbic or unnecessary tweets — virtually unprecedented for such a length of time — and delivered a series of speeches that remained on message.

It's a frequent occurrence for Trump to initiate a days- or weeks-long news cycle on a subject unrelated to the message he and his administration were trying to drive home.

And the trend has been noticed by observers.

"I have noticed," Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and communications director for Sen. Marco Rubio's 2016 presidential campaign, told Business Insider in an email. "The president's shown more message discipline in the last month than he did in all of 2017. It's directly correlated with general improvement in his poll numbers."

Conant is right about the correlation between Trump's weeks of relative calm and the improved polling. On Thursday, Trump's approval rating reached its highest point in months, according to the RealClearPolitics aggregate of polls.

Trump began February with a 41.5% approval rating in RCP. It was his highest rating since he hit 41.7% on September 24, and it was just the second time his average rating was 41.5% or higher since mid-May.

'It's very clear that he's cognizant of not stepping on himself and not stepping on his own news cycle'

The improved rating came on the heels of three polls published following Trump's State of the Union address. Both an Economist/YouGov poll and a Monmouth University survey found Trump's approval rating to be 44%, while a right-leaning Rasmussen poll put Trump's approval rating at 45%.

The State of the Union address itself polled well among an audience that was skewed a bit more conservative than the voting populace at large and featured Trump touting his first-year accomplishments in addition to calling for revitalizing US infrastructure and overhauling the immigration system. In addition to that speech, which saw Trump stay firmly on message, the president has delivered five speeches since mid-January that have all remained on point.

They included remarks on tax cuts and the economy at H&K Equipment outside of Pittsburgh, his speech at the March for Life, the address he delivered at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, the swearing in of Alex Azar as Health and Human Services secretary, and his Thursday speech to House and Senate Republicans at their retreat in West Virginia.

Each of those addresses were a far cry from what most are accustomed to seeing from Trump along the campaign trail, during rallies, or even during similar speeches he's delivered while occupying the Oval Office.

"I think he has gotten a lot better at driving a message," a former White House official told Business Insider. "He's always been extremely talented at putting a message out there, but I think he's gotten really good at letting something just stay out."

"It's very clear that he's cognizant of not stepping on himself and not stepping on his own news cycle," they added. "I think that's what we've seen recently where he's left a little bit of room for people to breathe. The State of the Union happened and I think after it, a lot of people were expecting some sort of tweet that would step on that news cycle. That didn't happen."

Indeed, that wasn't the only time the president decided to remain a bit calmer on Twitter during this time. Save for a couple of tweets about "Cryin" Chuck Schumer, responding to a comment from music mogul Jay-Z, and commenting on the text messages sent between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, the president hasn't sparked much — if any — news with his tweets since the middle of last month. He even went three days without tweeting at all, save for one post that was clearly set up by a staffer.

Again, that's virtually unheard of for a stretch of time that long. And it's during a time when plenty is going on in the background.

The Russia investigation is seemingly reaching a climax, with officials such as FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe being shown the door, a potentially explosive Republican memo from the House Intelligence Committee causing tension between the White House and Justice Department, and reports that Trump himself has sought to push out Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein or even special counsel Robert Mueller.

Plus, there was a three-day government shutdown that occurred during this time. But Trump was able come out on top, at least in the short term, by staying on the sidelines.

The former White House official said they did not know if there was a specific triggering event that led to the sudden change in Trump's demeanor, but added that the president is "reaping" the benefits of such a change.

"I think he figured out really quickly that a big important thing in politics is to not step on your own message, to not step on your own good news cycle," the former official said. "I think he's been very effective over the last couple days and weeks at doing that."

Politics: There’s been a mysterious change in Trump's demeanor — and no one knows why



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Thursday, 1 February 2018

Alleged planned invasion of Taraba : Military cannot move, unless… – DHQ



  1. Alleged planned invasion of Taraba : Military cannot move, unless… – DHQ  Vanguard
  2. Breaking: We received notice to be attacked in 10 days – Taraba governor  The Nation Newspaper

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Alleged planned invasion of Taraba : Military cannot move, unless… – DHQ



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2019: INEC expresses satisfaction with registration



  1. 2019: INEC expresses satisfaction with registration  Vanguard

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2019: INEC expresses satisfaction with registration



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Lagos Assembly passes Bill to establish TESCOM, others

Sources: USMNT forward Rubio Rubin signs with Liga MX side Club Tijuana

The 21-year-old American forward will be hoping to revive his career after two tough years that have included injuries and little playing time

Sources: USMNT forward Rubio Rubin signs with Liga MX side Club Tijuana



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Money Rituals, Magun, Love Potions: We can not confirm or deny if these three traditional practices are real

There are reports of persons whose sexual organs have been wedged together because of 'Magun" and men who got their wealth through rituals.

There are reports of persons whose sexual organs have been wedged together because of 'Magun" and men who got their wealth through rituals.

Millenials may be a bit eager to deny it but the truth is that Nigerians are more spiritually-inclined than many cultures.

In modern times, that spirituality is translated into religion, which is why pastors have more money than regular, hard-working members of society and there’s a church or a mosque on every other street.

Way back, traditional religions provided answers to our most pressing questions and situations. Depending on the tribe or locale, Nigerians had a system of beliefs based on using the physical or natural to affect the supernatural.

The pastors of the times were the dibia or native priest. Instead of prayers and fasting, they would prescribe fetish practices to solve problems and remedy scenarios.

As Africa Magic Yoruba may have shown you, some of the practices were downright nasty and desperate, and depending on what you want to believe, the aftermath could be disastrous.

Here are 5 such practices that have made it with us into the present.

(1) Love Potions:

Before Bollywood and Mexican Tele-Novellas, the idea of love and intimate relationships had been romanticised in our culture, mostly because they could blossom into different things.

Like the saying goes, it takes two to tango, but sometimes, one person just wants to sit down and plug the music in their ears.

ALSO READ: Do you know the connections between skulls and black magic?

This is where love potions come in. If you’ve seen a Nollywood movie or two, you know how this works. The interested party goes to a priest who gives him/her a fetish, talisman or substance to make the other person fall in love with her.

 

Sometimes, she needs to make vegetable soup and pour the potion inside of it. Other times, all it takes is for the unlucky object of her affection to see her with the talisman applied on her face and he is hitched forever.

Love potions used to be the cause of many marital disputes in the past, and even now, there are many who claim that they are still used by persons who want another to fall in love with them in the hope that they will get some sort of financial security or just pride.

The problem is that, at least in the depictions we’ve seen, the kind of love that love potions bring is extreme.

(2) Magun:

“Magun” loosely translates into “don’t mate” or “do not climb”. That alone should give you an idea if what it does. The fetish has been used for years to discourage women from being promiscuous in relationships and nab spouses who have extra-marital affairs.

Parents would take their daughters to native priests who would ‘install’ the fetish in their daughters to prevent them from having sex before marriage.

Husbands would also do it to prevent their wives from having intercourse outside their marriage.

When one has sex with a woman who has magun, the results can be hilarious and deathly.

ALSO READ: Magun is the charm that prevents extra-marital affairs

Sometimes, the philanderer supposedly begins to crave water, when he finds it, he drinks until his body can take no more. It is also said that the magun makes some men take to their heels until they’re exhausted and pass out.

There is another variant where the sexual organs of the woman and her lover are wedged together until they find someone, usually a priest, who has the antidote.

Recently, there have been reports of incidents where lovers are wedged together, supposedly because of magun.

3) Money Rituals:

The pursuit of wealth is a natural instinct that everyone, at some stage or the other, begins to come to terms with. Most times, wealth comes from hard work or just sheer luck. But for one who is impatient and too anxious about their chances, the easy way to wealth often involves traditional practices.

There are many tales of persons who suddenly stumble on wealth through means that you can only call diabolical.

 

The biggest evidence you will get that money rituals exist is from Nollywood, but in reality, many would swear that they have seen or know of someone who makes money through blood rituals.

There are many ways by which money rituals are said to work; in some cases, it takes joining a cult and taking a blood oath.

That oath means the member is sworn to secrecy and whatever they need to do to make money must be done.

ALSO READ: Do you believe that money rituals exist?

Sometimes, the ritual in the term “money ritual” becomes all too real. Many young men and women have been caught with human body parts and other substances ostensibly to be used for rituals.

In the South-West, it is believed that people naturally have their own fortunes. But if you are not careful, someone with sinister motives can use your fortunes for their purposes by giving you fetishes in food or doing something as basic as rubbing your head.

There may be few vivid cases to show that this is real but who can argue when so many people have confessed to gaining their wealth through rituals in the past.

Money Rituals, Magun, Love Potions: We can not confirm or deny if these three traditional practices are real



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Finance: What US presidents looked like when they were young

Barack Obama with his grandparents, Stanley Armour Dunham and Madelyn Dunham, in New York in the 1980s.

Photos of US presidents from when they were young.

It's hard to picture what American presidents were like before they left their marks on domestic and foreign policy.

Here we've collected old photos of US presidents to give a little taste of who they once were.

Not every president is listed since photography wasn't widely used during the United States' earlier history. The photos are shown in reverse chronological order — starting with current US President, Donald Trump.

US President Donald Trump as a child.

The photo caption reads: "Who knew this innocent kid would grow into a monster? #TBT #Trump"

Barack Obama with his grandparents, Stanley Armour Dunham and Madelyn Dunham, in New York in the 1980s.

George W. Bush sits between his parents George H. W. Bush and Barbara Bush in Rye, NY, 1955.

Bill Clinton spent his childhood in Arkansas.

George H. W. Bush, captain of the Yale baseball team, in 1947.

Ronald Reagan, then a 27-year old actor, in 1938.

Here's Jimmy Carter at age seven in 1932 in Plains, Georgia.

Gerald Ford on the University of Michigan football team, 1933. The team won two national championships and his teammates voted him MVP. A fellow football player remarked that his teammates "felt he was one guy who could stay and fight for a losing cause."

Source: The Michigan Alumnus, Volumes 79-80.

Richard Nixon played the violin in his high school orchestra.

He could also play saxophone, accordion, and piano. Later when president, he presented Duke Ellington with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on the musician's birthday, and then both played and sang 'Happy Birthday' for him.

You can see a clip of Nixon playing "Happy Birthday" for Ellington here.

Source: History.com, The White House Historical Association

Lyndon B. Johnson at his family home in the Texas hill country near Stonewall, Texas, 1915.

After finishing a year of college, he taught at a primarily Mexican-American school in southern Texas. Recalling the experience after he signed the Higher Education Act of 1965, he said, "I shall never forget the faces of the boys and the girls in that little Welhausen Mexican School, and I remember even yet the pain of realizing and knowing then that college was closed to practically every one of those children because they were too poor."

Source: History.com, " target="_blank"Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966."

John F. Kennedy swimming in the backstroke event for the varsity swimming team at Harvard, where he was a student, 1938.

U.S. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower and his wife-to-be Mamie Geneva Doud, 18, pose on a Sunday morning in November 1915, one month after their first meeting.

Postcard photo of Harry S. Truman taken in France during World War I. On the other side of the postcard it said, "Given to John A. Hatfield in France in 1918 – returned to Harry S. Truman in January, 1962."

Franklin Delano Roosevelt playing with a bow and arrow circa 1890.

Three years later, his father took him to meet then-president Grover Cleveland, who told FDR: "My little man, I am making a strange wish for you. It is that you may never be president of the United States."

Source: PBS

Herbert Hoover at the age of seventeen when he was attending Stanford University.

He entered the university in 1891, the year the school officially opened, and he attended with free tuition, according to AP.

Calvin Coolidge, then-Governor of Massachusetts, milks a cow at his father's home in Vermont, July 14, 1920.

Then-Senator of Ohio Warren G. Harding at age 33 in 1889.

He opposed the League of Nations and supported high tariffs, but otherwise didn't take many strong stands on issues while in the Senate.

Source: History.com

Woodrow Wilson, circa 1875. Wilson's diplomatic actions during and after WWI have left their mark on virtually all US foreign policy from the end of that war to today.

Theodore Roosevelt ranching and hunting in the Dakota Territory in 1885.

When he was younger, TR had a weak heart and was advised by a doctor from going up the stairs too quickly. "Doctor," he replied, "I'm going to do all the things you tell me not to do. If I've got to live the sort of life you have described, I don't care how short it is."

Source: " target="_blank"Real Life at the White House: Two Hundred Years of Daily Life at America's Most Famous Residence."

William Howard Taft's class photo from Yale College, 1878.

Not only did Taft become president, but he was also later the Chief Justice, which makes him the only person to hold the highest seat in both the executive and judicial branches of US government.

Source: History.com

William McKinley, aged 15, circa 1858. He enlisted in the Union Army as a private after the Civil War began, and ended with the rank of brevet major.

Source: " target="_blank"Real Life at the White House: Two Hundred Years of Daily Life at America's Most Famous Residence."

An early and undated photograph of Grover Cleveland. He's the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms.

Benjamin Harrison, probably photographed during his college years, circa 1850.

His grandfather, William Henry Harrison, was elected president (although he died from pneumonia 31 days into office) and his great-grandfather, Benjamin Harrison V, was one of the Founding Fathers.

Chester Arthur, then a young lawyer, before his marriage to Ellen Herndon in 1859.

A few years earlier, he successfully represented a black woman, Elizabeth Jennings Graham, who was denied a seat on a streetcar in New York City due to her race. This helped lead to the desegregation of all New York transit systems in 1865.

Source: History.com

James A. Garfield, circa 1847. His father died when he was two years old, and so he earned money for school by driving canal boat teams.

Source: The White House

Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife on their wedding day, December 30, 1852.

Later, he was nominated to run for Congress while he was still in the Army during the Civil War. He accepted, but would not campaign, saying: "An officer fit for duty who at this crisis would abandon his post to electioneer… ought to be scalped."

Source: The White House

When he was younger, Abraham Lincoln would read anything he could get his hands on. Occasionally, he would walk for miles to borrow a book he hadn't yet read. Here he is in his 30s when he was a member of the House of Representatives.

Source: "The Every-Day Life of Abraham Lincoln: A narrative and descriptive biography with pen-pictures and personal recollections by those who knew him"

Finance: What US presidents looked like when they were young



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Monchi reveals why Roma snubbed Daley Blind offer

Daley Blind Manchester United

The Netherlands international was linked to a move to the Italian side towards the end of the transfer window but the club opted for Jonathan Silva

Monchi reveals why Roma snubbed Daley Blind offer



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Finance: United is cracking down on people with emotional-support animals in the wake of peacock incident (UAL)

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United Airlines has updated its requirements for emotional-support animals.

  • United Airlines has adopted tighter regulations for emotional-support animals.
  • The new rules will go into effect on March 1.
  • Service animals are not subject to the new regulations.

United Airlines announced on Thursday that it will institute tighter regulations regarding emotional-support animals.

"In an effort to better balance protecting our employees and customers while accommodating passengers with disabilities, we are expanding our existing policy regarding emotional-support animals," the Chicago-based airline said in a statement.

The new policy, which will go into effect on March 1, comes days after a passenger attempted to bring a peacock on board one of United's planes as an emotional-support animal. Delta Air Lines announced last week that it will also tighten regulations for emotional-support animals.

United's current policy requires passengers to provide 48-hour notice and a letter from a mental health professional.

Starting March 1, United will require 48-hour notice, an "enhanced" letter from a mental health professional, confirmation that the animal has been trained to behave properly in public, and an acknowledgment of responsibility for the animal's behavior. The airline will also require a health and vaccination form signed by the animal's veterinarian.

According to United, customers whose documentation has already been approved will not be subject to the new policy. However, any additional reservations will be subject to the new requirements.

Those traveling with service animals will also not be subject to the new regulations.

In addition, the airline also published a list of animals that have been banned from the cabin of its aircraft. The list includes hedgehogs, ferrets, insects, rodents, snakes, spiders, reptiles, sugar gliders, non-household birds, exotic animals, and animals that have not been properly cleaned or that carry a foul odor.

Finance: United is cracking down on people with emotional-support animals in the wake of peacock incident (UAL)



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Finance: Apple investors are holding their breath ahead of earnings (AAPL)

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Investors will be watching for the company's guidance around sales of the iPhone X.


Apple is set to report earnings from its holiday quarter after the bell on Thursday, and investors are sure to be watching the results closely.

Shares of Apple are little changed at $167.46 in the hours before the report is set to cross the wires. Wall Street is expecting adjusted earnings of $3.84 per share on revenue of $87.302 billion, according to Bloomberg data.

GAAP earnings have been a bit of a hiccup for other tech companies that have reported earnings lately, as the new tax law has forced many companies to absorb one-off costs. Facebook reported a beat across every earnings measure except for GAAP earnings on Wednesday and saw its stock drop about 5% before recovering.

BMO Capital Markets made a splash on Wednesday when the firm issued a rare downgrade of the stock. BMO said it was concerned that the high price of the new iPhone X, which will be included in the earnings report for the first time, is driving down demand and stretching the pricing limits of the smartphone.

Shares of Apple have lagged so far this year, and are down 2.68%, compared to a gain of 7.57% by the S&P 500 Information Technology index.

Millennials don't seem to share the same reservations as Wall Street. Young investors on the trading apps Robinhood and Stockpile are loading up on shares ahead of the report.

Learn more about what to expect from Apple's report here.


Finance: Apple investors are holding their breath ahead of earnings (AAPL)



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EFCC Chairmanship: Senate has powers to reject Magu – Court



  1. EFCC Chairmanship: Senate has powers to reject Magu – Court  Vanguard
  2. Senate renews strength to tackle Presidency over Magu  Daily Post Nigeria
  3. Magu’s Confirmation: Court Rules In Favour Of Senate  CHANNELS TELEVISION

    Full coverage

EFCC Chairmanship: Senate has powers to reject Magu – Court



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