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Ozekhome Condemns Prosecution of #EndSARS Protesters by Raphael Bichene

Ozekhome Condemns Prosecution of #EndSARS Protesters by Raphael Bichene

Rights activist, Mike Ozekhome(SAN) has said by arresting, prosecuting and freezing the bank accounts of #EndSARS protesters, the Federal Government was defeating the purpose of setting up states’ panels of inquiry into the youths’ protests that swept across the country.

Ozekhome said by taking such steps, the government had pronounced #EndSARS youths guilty even before the panels made their findings.

In the wake of the #EndSARS protests, through which youths asked for reforms, including better welfare for policemen, security agents went after the peaceful protests’ promoters, with some saying their bank accounts were blocked by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

While justifying what the government did, on Channels TV programme, Politics Today, Sunday,  Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said those who promoted the protests and allowed it degenerate into chaos must be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Shehu added that the country had been harmed by the #EndSARS protests.

His words: “Everyone witnessed the massive looting of public and private properties, particularly in Lagos, Calabar, Plateau, Taraba and some other states, even the FCT.

“Now, the laws of the country must be allowed to decide, to rule on wrongdoing on the part of just anybody.

“I am not particular about any celebrity or promoter, but this country has been harmed enormously and people should be prepared to account for what they did.”

Ozekhome’s questions for FG

However, faulting the Federal Government’s moves to prosecute the promoters of the #EndSARS protests, Ozekhome said if the government had nothing to hide, it would allow the various panels of inquiries finish their work and present their findings for discussion at the national level.

Ozekhome said: “If the government at the centre is taking this kind of decision, what happens to the various panels and commissions set up by state governments?

“What will be the consequence of the findings of those commissions of inquiries? Will the government not be unduly interfering with the activities of those panels by obviously working from the answer to the question?

“Will those panels not be readily duty-bound to agree with the position of the Federal Government in a country where all governors defer to the President like in a monarchy?

“These are some of the questions that state governments have to ask before taking further steps.

“If it has nothing to hide, the Federal Government should make haste slowly and allow the various states to do their work because we are operating a federal system of government.

“At the end of the various panel sittings, when the governors meet at their state council meetings, they can then present the finding and discuss the issue at the national level.

“But if the government begins to take proactive steps such as blocking the account of the protest sponsors, arresting the protesters and arraigning them, then the government has already pronounced them guilty even before the panels make their findings,” Mike Ozekhome added.

CACOVID Clarifies Delay in Distribution of Palliatives. by Raphael Bichene

CACOVID Clarifies Delay in Distribution of Palliatives. by Raphael Bichene

Two members of the Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) have clarified the delay in the distribution of palliatives by state governments.

CACOVID is a private sector-led organization established to assist the government in combating the Coronavirus disease in the Nigeria.

CACOVID members, Mr Osita Nwasinobi and Dr Sola Adeduntan, in two separate documents made available to the media on Monday in Abuja, called for calm among members of the public.

Nwasinobi, in a document he authored for CACOVID members, said that the coalition had been working with the minister of the FCT and the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), to procure and distribute food items to Nigerians.

He said that they were working to distribute the food items for about two million, mostly vulnerable families across the 774 local government areas in the country, explaining that CACOVID members decided to procure the food directly from the manufacturers, to avoid a distortion of prices in the market.

Nwasinobi stressed: “The sheer scale of this nationwide food programme and the timing of the orders and deliveries, coincided with the lockdowns and reduced movement across the country.

“This compelled CACOVID to roll out distribution in a staggered manner, with states classified in three timed phases, to enable orderly delivery to the needy.

“The food package was designed such that each of the nearly two million vulnerable families received 10kg bag of rice, five-kilogram bag of garri/maize flour/semolina, one carton of pasta, two cartons of noodles, five kilograms of sugar and one kilogram of salt.”

He added that due to the large size of the order and the production cycle required to meet the demand, there was delay in delivering the food items and thus delays in distribution by state governments

“For instance, rice had to be milled, semolina and maize flour had to be processed, noodles and pasta had to be manufactured, and sugar had to be refined. As such, the first deliveries could not start until June.

“However, as at October 2020, a sizable portion of the items had been delivered but yet to be distributed by the governors,” Nwasinobi said.

He said that while 28 states and the FCT had commenced distribution since early August, some could not as they were yet to receive complete deliveries of the items allotted to them and so state governments had been distributing the items at various paces.

In the interest of transparency and accountability, he pledged that CACOVID would, in due course, provide the full delivery schedule and flag-off dates by each state, stressing that KPMG Professional Services and NGF external auditors were also on the verge of completing the audit of all contributions from the donors, including a full list of all medical and food items procured with the CACOVID funds before the warehouses were attacked.

“It is very unfortunate that various states, including states that have concluded the distribution of their allocations, are seeing their warehouses and other premises being raided.”

Nwasinobi called for calm to allow states to proceed with their palliatives distribution peacefully, and for the public to disregard any unauthorized sources of information regarding the procurement and distribution of the palliatives.

Adeduntan, the Chief Executive Officer of First Bank PLC, in a letter addressed to “Sigma Chief, Old Chiefs and Loyalists” urged member to be wary of information on social media, saying that CACOVID had successfully provided health facilities, diagnostic kits and medications to all the states and the FCT.

The First Bank CEO said that CACCOVID also decided to provide food to 1.7 million mostly vulnerable families across the country but the challenge was how to purchase those items worth about N15 billion without driving inflation.

“We had to contract this out to various manufacturers and that took time for them to deliver the goods to us. It was only in September and early October that we handed the goods over to the various state governments and FCT.

“It is therefore a fallacy that the state governments or Dangote have hoarded those foodstuffs,” he explained. 

China Refuses to Congratulate Biden by Raphael Bichene

China Refuses to Congratulate Biden by Raphael Bichene

China says it has taken note of Joe Biden’s declaration of victory in the US presidential election but is holding off on sending any message of congratulations.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday the result of the election would be determined under US laws and procedures, and Beijing would follow international practices in extending its sentiments.

China has had a fractious relationship with President Donald Trump, characterised by growing friction over trade, technology and competition for influence in Asia and the world, with the two powers sparring over issues from blame for the COVID-19 pandemic to Beijing’s human rights record in Xinjiang and Hong Kong.

Analysts say Biden will likely return ties to a less contentious state, although Beijing has stuck throughout the election to a position of not commenting directly on what it says is an internal American political issue.

“I noticed that Mr Biden has declared victory of the election,” Wang told reporters at a daily briefing. “We understand that the presidential election result will be determined following US laws and procedures.”

In 2016, President Xi Jinping sent congratulations to Trump on November 9, a day after the election.

China is one of only a small number of high-profile nations, including Russia and Mexico, that have yet to issue statements on the election, in which Democrat Biden emerged the winner over Republican incumbent Trump after days of ballot counting. Trump has yet to concede and is challenging counting in several districts.

“Since when does the Lamestream Media call who our next president will be?” Trump said in a tweet on Sunday.

Relations between China and the US are at their worst in decades over disputes ranging from technology and trade to Hong Kong and the coronavirus, and the Trump administration has unleashed a barrage of sanctions against Beijing.

While Biden is expected to maintain a tough stance on China – he has called Xi a “thug” and vowed to lead a campaign to “pressure, isolate and punish China” – he is likely to take a more measured and multilateral approach.

Wang Huiyao, head of the Center for China and Globalization and an adviser to the government in Beijing, said he expects more dialogue under a Biden administration.

“Biden’s election means an opportunity to re-establish relations with the US as he is more likely to uphold multilateralism. That means China and the US can start discussing issues including climate change, pandemic control and trade,” Wang said.

‘Entangled in controversy’

Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, a tabloid published by the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily, said in a tweet: “China hasn’t congratulated Biden on his victory as quickly as Western countries did”.

Source:Aljazeerah

Biden Wins US Presidential Election by Raphael Bichene

Biden Wins US Presidential Election by Raphael Bichene

Joseph R. Biden Jr. achieved victory offering a message of healing and unity. He will return to Washington facing a daunting set of crises.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. offered himself as a safe harbor for a broad array of Americans during his third campaign for the presidency.

Joseph R. Biden Jr. offered himself as a safe harbor for a broad array of Americans during his third campaign for the presidency.Credit…Ruth Fremson/The New York Times

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was elected the 46th president of the United States on Saturday, promising to restore political normalcy and a spirit of national unity to confront raging health and economic crises, and making Donald J. Trump a one-term president after four years of tumult in the White House.

Mr. Biden’s victory amounted to a repudiation of Mr. Trump by millions of voters exhausted with his divisive conduct and chaotic administration, and was delivered by an unlikely alliance of women, people of color, old and young voters and a sliver of disaffected Republicans. Mr. Trump is only the third elected president since World War II to lose re-election, and the first in more than a quarter-century.

Source: New York

Joe Biden to Speak Live in Delaware as Election Results Trickle in From Four States by Raphael B

Joe Biden to Speak Live in Delaware as Election Results Trickle in From Four States by Raphael B

Kamala Harris won’t deliver speech, but will appear with Biden

Biden continues to lead in the battleground state of Pennsylvania after a new batch of votes from Allegheny County were counted, widening his lead by 27,130 votes

Joe Biden’s running mate Kamala Harris is not expected to speak tonight, a Biden campaign adviser told CNN. She is expected to appear with the former vice president when he delivers remarks.

Source: CNN

Lindsey Graham Defends Trumps Claim of Voter Fraud by Raphael Bichene

Lindsey Graham Defends Trumps Claim of Voter Fraud by Raphael Bichene

Hours after President Trump’s son took to Twitter to complain that none of the Republicans with aspirations to run for president in 2024 were publicly siding with his father, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina defended Mr. Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud.

Appearing on Fox News, Mr. Graham, who is one of the president’s most loyal allies on Capitol Hill, did not offer any evidence to support the spurious claims of the White House. While he objected to the vote counting in Pennsylvania, he said he supported the process in Arizona.

“I trust Arizona, I don’t trust Philadelphia,” he said.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas followed his Republican colleague on the network and accused Democrats of trying to steal the election. He also offered no evidence to back his assertion.

The two senators were among several Republicans — including Representative Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, and Representative Doug Collins of Georgia — who on Thursday suggested without evidence that something was awry in the election.

“Everyone who’s listening, do not be quiet,” Mr. McCarthy said on Fox News. “Do not be silent about this. We cannot allow this to happen before our very eyes.”

Other Republicans have either rebuked the president for his false claims of voter fraud, or offered statements that stopped far short of endorsing his views.

Source: New York Times

Lagos State Police Command Warns Citizens Against Planned Protests by Francisca Ogar

Lagos State Police Command Warns Citizens Against Planned Protests by Francisca Ogar

Residents of Lagos state have been warned against any form of planned protest, procession, or gathering under any guise in the state.

Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mr Olumuyiwa Adejobi, conveyed the warning Thursday in a statement on behalf of the Lagos state Police command.

He said the police would resist any protest as the government and people of Lagos still nurture the wounds of the recent violence and destruction across the state, occasioned by the #EndSARS protest.

“The command wishes to inform the general public that based on intelligence gathering from relevant intelligence agencies, some unpatriotic elements or group of people have concluded plans to orchestrate another set of violence in the state, in furtherance to the recent violence, which has been analysed as dangerous and counterproductive,” the statement said.

“Premised on this, the command, therefore, wishes to warn any individuals, group of students or any groups who might want to stage any form of protest, either peaceful or violent, or gathering whatsoever, to desist as the police and other security agencies will collectively and tactically resist any security threats or threats to public peace which might be triggered by protest or protesters in Lagos State.”

According to Adejobi, the police command warns parents and guardians to discourage their children or wards from embarking on any protest in the state.

He added that the possibility of armed hoodlums hijacking such protests to cause grieve and pains like the recent past cannot be overlooked.

Adejobi therefore, urged law-abiding residents to ignore any call for protest and go about their lawful businesses.

He assured Lagosians that measures have been put in place to maintain law and order, as well as public safety across the length and breadth of the state.

US Election 2020: Biden Winning But Trump Threatening to Sue by Raphael Bichene

US Election 2020: Biden Winning But Trump Threatening to Sue by Raphael Bichene

Joe Biden has declared it is “clear” he has won the US presidential election as Donald Trump launches legal challenges with the result still in the balance.

On Wednesday night, Mr Biden was projected to have won Michigan and Wisconsin, putting him within touching distance of the White House.

The key states of Nevada and Georgia could be declaring in the next few hours – which means the next president of the United States could be known very shortly.

However, Mr Trump and his campaign have already claimed victory and are seeking to halt vote counts in battleground states through the courts, suggesting a turbulent few days to come.

Donald Trump has won: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Joe Biden has won: Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.

Still counting:

Pennsylvania (probably Biden, 20 electoral college votes to play for)

Georgia (Trump narrow lead, 16 votes)

Nevada (Biden narrow lead, 6 votes)

North Carolina (Trump narrow lead, 15 votes)

Alaska (put your house on Trump, 3 votes)

Source: The Telegraph

Senate Warns Against Foreign Medical Trips For President Buhari by Raphael Bichene

Senate Warns Against Foreign Medical Trips For President Buhari by Raphael Bichene

The Senate, on Thursday, told State House officials that, , President Muhammadu Buhari should stop embarking on foreign trips for medical attention henceforth

According to the Senator Danjumah La’ah, ( Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Kaduna South) -led Senate Committee on Federal Character and Intergovernmental Affairs, who spoke when the State House Permanent Secretary, Tijani Umar,the government and state house officials went to defend their 2021 budget estimate, they should focus on puting the State House Clinic in order rather than allow President Buhari to jet out to seek medical attention and treatment .

The State House official presented a budget estimate of N19.7bn for 2021, out of which N1.3bn was proposed for the State House Clinic.

Reacting to the budget estimates, the Chairman of the Senate panel, Senator Danjuma La’ah explained that though the committee would approve the budget for the State House Clinic,they expect that the President and other top officials of his government should no longer be flown abroad for medical treatment.

Speaking with journalists after the budget defense, the Permanent Secretary promised to put necessary arrangements in place to meet to medical needs of the President and other top officials once the budget was approved.

Trump Wins Florida,Ohio and Texas as Biden Says He is on Track for ‘Ultimate Win’ by Raphael Bichene

Trump Wins Florida,Ohio and Texas as Biden Says He is on Track for ‘Ultimate Win’ by Raphael Bichene

President Trump won a series of key battlegrounds early on Wednesday morning, including Florida, Ohio and Iowa, as Joseph R. Biden Jr. expressed confidence he would ultimately prevail across key Northern states and Arizona as the presidential contest turned into a state-by-state slog that could drag deeper into the week.

“We believe we are on track to win this election,” Mr. Biden said in a brief speech after 12:30 a.m. Eastern, saying he was “optimistic” about the outcome once all the votes were counted.

No full states had yet flipped from their 2016 results as of 1 a.m., but several key states had huge portions of ballots still to be counted. Mr. Biden did flip a single Electoral College vote that Mr. Trump had won in 2016, carrying Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Omaha.

So far, Mr. Trump was holding off Mr. Biden in two Southern states that the former vice president had hoped to snatch back from the Republican column: Georgia and North Carolina. These were not must-win states for Mr. Biden, but he spent heavily in both states and visited them in the final stretch of the campaign. Mr. Biden lost Texas, a long-shot hope that some Democrats invested in late in hopes of earning a landslide repudiation of Mr. Trump that did not arrive.

Georgia has not gone Democratic since 1992. But while Mr. Trump held a narrow lead, much of the remaining vote to be counted appeared to be in the greater Atlanta area, where Mr. Biden performed strongest.

Shortly after Mr. Biden spoke, Mr. Trump responded on Twitter, misleadingly saying he was “up big” and claiming without evidence that “they are trying to STEAL the election.” Twitter immediately marked it as content that was “disputed and might be misleading.”

The most encouraging sign on the map for Mr. Biden was in Arizona, where he was leading in a state that Mr. Trump won in 2016. He won New Hampshire and Minnesota, two states that Hillary Clinton had only narrowly carried four years ago and that Mr. Trump had once hoped to flip in 2020.

“We’re going to win this,” Mr. Biden said, urging “patience.”

Mr. Biden’s win in Nebraska’s 2nd District was only one of the 270 Electoral College votes that he needs. But it could prove important. It opened a potential pathway to the White House without winning Pennsylvania, if Mr. Biden carried all the states that Mrs. Clinton did and added Michigan, Arizona and Wisconsin, plus Nebraska’s lone vote.

In a briefing for donors on Tuesday night, Biden campaign officials acknowledged underperforming among Cuban-Americans in the Miami area, but saw positive signs with their strength in some suburbs in Ohio that they said could be predictive across the Midwest, according to two people familiar with the matter.

Campaign officials signaled that Biden’s team was preparing to wait for votes to be counted in three Northern battlegrounds that Mr. Trump carried in 2016 — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — where it still feels bullish.

North Carolina and Arizona could still be called relatively quickly, but vote-counting in Michigan and Wisconsin is not expected to be completed on Tuesday. And Pennsylvania won’t start counting its early votes until tomorrow; that could draw on through the end of the week.

Source: New York Times