Wednesday, March 16, 2016

The Trouble with Trump

by Jimmie Moglia

“If this were played upon a stage now,
I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.”

(Twelfth Night, act 3, sc. 4)
By general consent, in American elections there is no kingdom for a stage, there are no princes to act, nor monarchs to behold the swelling scene (1). By tacit agreement, elections hover midway between a farce and a theater of marionettes.
These preludial considerations are necessary, lest any of my 25 readers, more fiercely engaged in the electoral process, may suspect me of dubious political leniencies – for I will not join in the rabid attacks on Trump coming from the right, the left, the center and many other angles in-between. Which leaves us to wonder about the reason of such a combination among men who agree in nothing else.

Kano APC Crisis: 36 Out Of 40 Legislators Pledge Allegiance To Gov. Ganduje

The speaker of Kano State House of Assembly, Kabiru Rurum, on Tuesday led 36 of the 40 members of the Kano State House of Assembly to pledge allegiance to the state governor, Abdullahi Ganduje.
PREMIUM TIMES observed that none of the legislators wore the red cap, symbolising disloyalty to the former governor of the state, Rabiu Kwankwaso

How Badeh Diverted Over N558m From Salaries Of Nigerian Airforce Personnel For Private Use – Witness Tells Court

A prosecuting witness, Air Commodore Abdullahi Ishau on Wednesday told a Federal High Court that former Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh used over N558,200,000 funds from salaries of the Nigerian Air force personnel for his private use.
Ishau was a retired Director of Finance and Accounting of the Nigerian Air force between October 2010 to December 2013.

Gender Equality Bill, A Slight Setback, Says Saraki ‪#‎GEOBill‬

Senator Bukola Saraki has stated that the Gender Equality bill will be revisited by the senate after it was unanimously thrown out on Tuesday.
Saraki in a statement issued by special adviser on Gender, Ms Fatima Kakuri, said the bill only suffered a slight setback, noting that, he is working with Senator Biodun Olujimi and Senator Bwacha to find mutual ground for the bill.

Witness: Badeh’s Son Rejected A N340m House, So We Bought Him Another One For N330m.


Salisu Abdullahi, a retired air commodore and former director of finance of the Nigeria air force, on Wednesday said Alex Badeh, instructed him to buy houses for two of his sons in an highbrow area of Abuja, while he was chief of air staff.
Abdullahi, a prosecution witness in the trial of Badeh, told Justice Okon Abang of the federal high court, Abuja, that the former defence chief instructed him to look for choice property for his first son, Alex Badeh jr, because he wanted him to own a house.
The witness claimed that Badeh bought a house at Wuse 2 at N260m for his first son, renovated it with N60m and furnished it with N90m. He also said that when Badeh’s second son turned down a house worth N340m, a second house had to be bought for N330m.
“My chief also told me he wanted his second son, Kam, to own a house. The name of the owner of house is Isiaka Rabiu,” he narrated to the court.

Witness: Badeh’s Son Rejected A N340m House, So We Bought Him Another One For N330m.


Salisu Abdullahi, a retired air commodore and former director of finance of the Nigeria air force, on Wednesday said Alex Badeh, instructed him to buy houses for two of his sons in an highbrow area of Abuja, while he was chief of air staff.
Abdullahi, a prosecution witness in the trial of Badeh, told Justice Okon Abang of the federal high court, Abuja, that the former defence chief instructed him to look for choice property for his first son, Alex Badeh jr, because he wanted him to own a house.
The witness claimed that Badeh bought a house at Wuse 2 at N260m for his first son, renovated it with N60m and furnished it with N90m. He also said that when Badeh’s second son turned down a house worth N340m, a second house had to be bought for N330m.
“My chief also told me he wanted his second son, Kam, to own a house. The name of the owner of house is Isiaka Rabiu,” he narrated to the court.

Trump: There Will Be Riots If I Don’t Pick Republican Ticket.

Frontline Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump has predicted that there would be riots if he does not secure the GOP nomination.
With victory in 17 states, Trump is ahead of two other candidates who are currently seeking the party’s ticket.
In a chat with CNN on Wednesday, the billionaire businessman boasted that millions of people are supporting him.
“The really big story is how many people are voting in these primaries,” he said.
“If you just disenfranchise these people, I think you would have problems like you’ve never seen before. I think you’d have riots.

I’ll Be Merciless In Pursuing Looters, Says Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday vowed that his administration would not show mercy to any person in its ongoing anti-corruption war.
He said his administration would pursue the anti-graft war relentlessly until Nigerians began to see how the nation’s elite conspired to run the country down.
According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke during an interactive session he had in Malabo with Nigerians resident in Equatorial Guinea.

Rivers: Beat Amaechi Up If You See Him At Your Polling Centres – Wike Charges Voters

The Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi and the Governor of Rivers state, Nyesom Wike have continued their mudslinging ahead of the re-run legislative elections this Saturday.
At the grand finale of the PDP campaign rally held at Ikwerre Local government area, Wike alleged that the party had uncovered an alleged plan by the APC to “swap original election result sheets on the voting day”.

Governor Wike, who flipped a list purported to be the list of INEC Returning Officers stressed that “INEC has recruited APC members as adhoc staff.”
The Rivers state Governor at the rally charged voters to beat-up the Minister of Transport if they see him driving around on election day.

Rivers Rerun: Amaechi Begs Electorate To ‘Shame’ Jonathan, Wike By Voting APC

The Minister of Transportation and immediate past Governor of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi has charged the people of Rivers state to vote against the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in next Saturday’s election as a way of putting shame on former President Goodluck Jonathan and his wife, Patience.

The Independent National Electoral Election, INEC, is scheduled to conduct rerun elections for Rivers state House of Assembly, House of Representatives and Senate seats.
Speaking on Tuesday at a town hall meeting in one of the communities where elections are billed to hold, Amaechi accused former President, Goodluck Jonathan of imposing the state governor, Nyesom Wike, on the people.

Digital Switch Over: TV Sets Will Be Useless If Nigeria Doesn’t Meet Deadline – Lai Mohammed


The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has inaugurated an Inter-Ministerial Committee on the Digital Switch Over (DSO), with a commitment to meet the June 2017 deadline.
”We don’t have an option, we must meet the 2017 deadline. Otherwise our TV sets will be useless to us. We cannot afford to be left behind,” he told the committee that comprises representatives of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture as well as that of Trade and Investment, Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Customs Service.

Buhari Orders Security Services To Stop Violence In Rivers State


•Says national carrier not on the cards
•Amaechi promises to floor Wike in his ward
• State govt petitions UN, EU, 50 countries over rerun polls
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, spoke for the first time on the recent political violence in Rivers State and vowed to deal with the sponsors of the violence decisively.
A statement by his media aide, Mr. Femi Adesina said Buhari condemned the violence, adding that the killing of people over political differences was primitive, barbaric and unacceptable.
“We will deal decisively with all sponsors of violence. I have given the security services clear directives in this regard.

No Cattle Will Roam About In 24 Months – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has promised that in the next 18 to 24 months, no cattle will roam about in Nigeria.
The President said that the Federal Government had mapped out grazing areas where herdsmen would be restricted to, adding that grass seeds would be imported and planted in the grazing reserves.
The President, who was represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, made the promise in Abuja on Tuesday while delivering the keynote address during the 19th Regional Implementation Forum for International Fund for Agricultural Development-supported projects in West and Central Africa.

JUST IN: You Can’t Try Me, Badeh Tells Court.

Alex Badeh, former chief of defence staff, has challenged the jurisdiction of the federal high court, Abuja, to entertain the criminal charges filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
When the case was called on Wednesday, Samuel Zibiri, counsel to Badeh, told the court that he had filed an application to challenge the jurisdiction of the court and the validity of the charges against his client.
“When the issue of jurisdiction is raised timeously, this court has the mandate to take the application before we proceed,” he told Okon Abang, the judge.
“We submit that this application challenging the jurisdiction of this court was served within 24 hours. It is the constitutional right of the first defendant to defend this case the way he deems fit in accordance with the law.

UPDATED: Pension DG Suspended Over ‘Scam’.

An alleged scam running into billions of naira has been discovered at the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) of the federal ministry of finance, TheCable understands.
The details of the alleged scam are still sketchy, but the director-general, Nellie Mayshak, has been placed on indefinite suspension while investigation goes on.
Security agents have already swooped on the office to carry out investigation after a damning audit report.
The acting DG is a director from the office of accountant-general of federation, sources informed TheCable


I’m Coming To Your Ward, Amaechi Tells Wike After Threat To Life


Former governor of Rivers state, Rotimi Amaechi has swiftly reacted to the threat handed down to supporters of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) by Governor Nyesom Wike who urged them to physically assault Amaechi.

CBN Secretly Hired 909

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recruited 909 staff in two years without advertising the vacancies, Daily Trust investigations have revealed.
The whole affair is now a subject of investigation by the Federal Character Commission (FCC) to determine if due process was violated.
The FCC is the body responsible for ensuring equity, fairness and balance in all employments into government establishments.

Buhari: I'll Expose How Elite Conspired To Ruin Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigerians would soon see how some of the elite conspired to ruin the country. Speaking in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea yesterday at an interaction with members of the Nigerian community, the president emphasised that he would be relentless in pursuing all those who abused public trust.