Trump retains 50 senior Obama appointees

President-elect Donald Trump has asked roughly 50 senior President Barack Obama administration appointees to remain in their posts after his inauguration to ensure continuity in government, his incoming White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, said on Thursday.

The officials include the highest-ranking career officials at key national security agencies like the Pentagon and State Department.

Deputy Defence Secretary Robert Work and America’s third-ranking diplomat, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Thomas Shannon, will serve as acting chiefs of their agencies until successors for the top jobs are confirmed by the Senate, Trump’s spokesman said.

Trump’s selection for the Pentagon, retired Gen. James Mattis, is expected to be confirmed on Friday shortly after the inauguration ceremony, along with retired Gen. John Kelly for Secretary of Homeland Security.

Senate debate on Trump’s choice for the CIA boss, former Rep. Mike Pompeo, is expected to start on Friday.

It is unclear if Pompeo will receive an immediate confirmation vote.

Nothing is wrong with going on vacation – Buhari

President  Muhammadu Buhari departed Abuja for London, United Kingdom on a medical vacation, yesterday. He will return to the country on February 6, 2017. This is the second time the president would be seeking medical attention since he took office on May 29, 2015.
The first was in June last year when he left the country to treat an ear infection and returned after spending 13 days. A statement by the Presidential spokesman, Mr. Femi Adesina, said the President is going “on a short leave which is part of his annual vacation. During the vacation, the President will also undergo routine medical check-ups.” Vanguard observed that the President had since the week been performing the functions of his office mostly at his official residence located within the precinct of the Presidential Villa, Abuja, rarely spending dutiful hours in the office.

For instance, it was at the residence that the President received Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, who visited the Presidential Villa about 1 p.m., on Tuesday. Clutching a file, the governor was ushered into the president’s office. Meeting his absence, Ayade was later taken to meet the President at his residence in a waiting SUV. Since then, the President had not been seen performing outdoor duties. The last he did was at the National Arcade, Abuja during the 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration on Sunday. Adesina’s statement added: “In line with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the President of the Senate, and Speaker, House of Representatives, have been duly communicated.” While away, the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, would perform the functions of the Office of the President. Nothing is wrong with going on vacation  —Buhari Meanwhile, at the airport, yesterday, when the President was leaving the country, he said it was not unusual for a president to go on vacation. Speaking to newsmen, he said: “What’s wrong with going on vacation? Didn’t I go last year at the same time?”

He’ll do routine medical checkups —Spokesman Also speaking, his spokesman, Mr. Adesina, said President Buhari was going to rest and then do his routine medical check-ups, noting that there was no cause for alarm. He said: “The president is going to rest. You know that God did work of creation for six days and on the seventh day He rested. So if God needed to rest, how much more human being. “So the President is just going to rest and the statement we have released is straight forward. He will go on this leave and during the leave he will do routine medical checkups. “We need to show goodwill towards our leaders, particularly President Buhari,  who is working to give Nigeria a new footing, a new orientation. “Nothing absolutely to worry about but a lot of goodwill, a lot prayers are necessary at all times.” Also at the airport was the Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin, who had a brief meeting with the president. He later said the meeting was to update the president on the operations of Nigerian troops in the crisis infested The Gambia. He said: “The meeting was to give Mr.  President update on our operations within and outside the country especially our involvement with the ECOWAS standby force that are being inducted into Senegal which has to do with the issue of mandate ensuring that the president elect of The Gambia is sworn in.”

4-yr-old girl sold for N350,000 in Enugu, recovered in Abia

A four-year-old girl (names withheld), pupil of Unity Nursery/Primary School, Inyi, Enugu State, allegedly stolen by her mother’s younger sister and the boyfriend, and sold to one Florence Nwokocha for N350,000, has been recovered by police operatives in Abia State.

This was disclosed by Enugu State Police Command in a statement in Enugu yesterday. The Command’s spokesman, Ebere Amaraizu, said report of the missing girl was made to the police on December 15, 2016 by Inyi community. According to him, “following the development, the incident was reported to the state command where it was referred to the Gender/Anti-Human Trafficking section of the state Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Department.

Arrests “In the course of investigation and following intelligence report, one Miss Chinedu Chukwu, who was later discovered to be the immediate younger sister to the mother of the victim, Chinecherem, was nabbed and taken in for questioning. “Following the revelation she made, Mr. Osunkwo Chinonso, was also nabbed and further revelations revealed that Chinonso is Chinedu Chukwu’s boyfriend. “They had, on that fateful day, conspired and proceeded to the girl’s school and allegedly tricked and whisked her away to Iho Olokoro in Umuahia, Abia State, where the child was allegedly sold to one Florence Nwokocha at N350,000. “Police detectives, armed with information, arrested Nwokocha, who assisted the police to recover the girl on January16 from where she was kept at Faulks Road in Aba, Abia State, awaiting another buyer with a fabulous amount of money.” Amaraizu noted that police had launched a full scale investigation and manhunt for the girl’s keeper in Aba. “All the suspects are assisting the police in their investigations just as the little girl has rejoined her family,” he added. My sister shocked me—Victim’s mother The girl’s mother, Mrs Irechukwu, thanked God and the police for their prompt action and discreet investigations, which led to the arrest of all the suspects and rescue of her daughter. She said she was, however, shocked by her immediate younger sister’s involvement, saying that she never believed that her sister could do such a thing to her.

Death toll in IDP camp airstrike rises to 90

A botched air strike by the Nigerian Air Force earlier this week on a camp for people displaced by the Boko Haram insurgency killed at least 90 people, the Doctors Without Borders (MSF) aid group said Friday.

Most of the victims of the strike in the country’s northeast on Tuesday were women and children, MSF said. Nigeria has said an air force board of inquiry will investigate the incident.

Four suspected land-grabbers arrested for alleged murder in Ogun

Ogun State Police Command has arrested four land-grabbers, who were allegedly involved in the murder of one Sidikatu Onasanya, 52, at Imoro.

The state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, in a statement, said the suspected land-grabbers, Adewale Abimbola, Monday Benzon, Mukaila Azeez and Shodeinde Oluwafemi, were arrested Wednesday. Oyeyemi explained that the arrest was made following a report from one of the children of the deceased, Wasiu Onasanya, who complained that he was in the village when the suspected land-grabbers came and attacked him with dangerous weapons. The PPRO said: “He stated further that while they were making effort to abduct him, his mother, Sidikatu Onasanya, attempted to prevent them from taking him, but they pushed her. She fell and became unconscious.

Clash with police “She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she was confirmed dead. “Following the complaint by her son, the DPO, Ogijo Division, Tijani Muhammed, led a team of policemen to the scene. However, on sighting the policemen, the hoodlums opened fire and the officers responded. “At the end of the operation, the four suspects were arrested, while others escaped into the nearby bush. Recovered from them are 23 expended and two live cartridges. “The body of late Sidikatu has been deposited at OSUTH, Sagamu, for autopsy. The Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, has directed that the suspects be transferred to FSARS for further investigation, while manhunt has been launched for the fleeing members of the group.”

Mexican drug lord ‘El Chapo’ extradited to the US

Mexican drug baron Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, one of the world’s most notorious criminals, was extradited to the United States on Thursday to face charges on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Guzman heads the Sinaloa cartel, which is accused of generating much of the deadly violence in Mexico’s decades-long drug war and providing tons of narcotics to the United States.

The drug kingpin landed at MacArthur Airport on Long Island, the US Justice Department said. US television broadcast footage of what appeared to be his convoy arriving outside a New York jail, the street outside bristling with heavily armed US Marshalls.

His extradition caps a Hollywood-worthy cat-and-mouse game between Mexican authorities and the slippery 59-year-old drug lord, who escaped from prison twice.

His feats turned him into a legend of Mexico’s underworld, with musicians singing his praises in folk ballads known as “narcocorridos” — tributes to drug capos.

US prosecutors said Brooklyn federal attorney Robert Capers will hold a news conference at 10:00 am (1500 GMT) — less than two hours before Trump’s inauguration — to announce his extradition and arraignment.

Guzman is charged in six separate indictments throughout the United States, one of which is in New York.

The drug baron had fought desperately against extradition since being recaptured almost exactly a year ago in his home state of Sinaloa following his second daring jailbreak.

President Enrique Pena Nieto previously refused to extradite Guzman, but he changed tack after his latest escape in July 2015.

He had been held most recently in prison in Ciudad Juarez, which borders Texas, after being abruptly transferred from a penitentiary near Mexico City last May.

– Timing: Dig at Trump? –
The Mexican foreign ministry said he was handed over to US authorities after the Supreme Court and a court of appeals rejected his latest bids to avoid extradition.

The appeals court ruled that the extradition conformed with a bilateral treaty and that Guzman’s rights had not been violated, the statement said.

The US Justice Department extended “its gratitude to the government of Mexico for their extensive cooperation and assistance.”

But one of Guzman’s lawyers, Silvia Delgado, told Milenio television that she was surprised by the extradition, calling it “illegal” because another legal petition was pending.

In May, the Mexican foreign ministry approved extradition bids from California, where he is wanted for drug distribution, and Texas, where he faces a slew of charges including murder and money laundering.

Trump, who takes office on Friday, has publicly clashed with Mexico over trade and immigration issues. The Republican president-elect has pledged to build a wall on the US-Mexican border.

Alejandro Hope, a prominent Mexican security expert, said the decision to extradite Guzman in the last hours of Barack Obama’s presidency and before Trump takes office was “not a coincidence.”

“They didn’t want Trump to be able to brag about it, so they managed to hand him over in the final minutes” of the Obama administration, he told AFP.

But Alejandro Almazan, author of Guzman biography “The Most Wanted,” said the kingpin was “a gift to Trump” because Pena Nieto wants good relations with the new US leader.

Alberto Elias Beltran, Mexico’s deputy attorney general for international affairs, denied that the timing was politically motivated.

– Daring escapes –
He said the government does not intervene in judicial rulings, that the case was resolved on Thursday and that Guzman had to be delivered “immediately” under the terms of the international treaty.

Guzman was first captured in Guatemala in 1993, only to escape from a maximum-security prison in western Mexico in 2001 by hiding in a laundry cart.

Marines backed by the US Drug Enforcement Administration arrested him in February 2014 in the Sinaloa resort of Mazatlan, where he was staying with his wife and twin daughters.

But Guzman escaped from prison again in spectacular fashion just 17 months later.

His henchmen dug a 1.5-kilometer (one-mile) tunnel that opened into his cell’s shower at the Altiplano prison near Mexico City, allowing him to slip out and flee on a remodeled motorbike that was fitted on tracks.

Guzman was recaptured in January 2016.

Authorities said they tracked him down after Guzman held a clandestine meeting with US actor Sean Penn and Mexican-American actress Kate del Castillo, with whom he exchanged flirtatious text messages.

His arrest likely leaves his long-time associate, Ismael “El Mayo” Zambada, at the helm of the Sinaloa cartel.

But Raul Benitez Manaut, a security expert at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, said the extradition weakens the group.

“There will be an internal fight between his sons and the sons of other of the founders,” Benitez Manaut said. “It could be violent — or maybe it could be peaceful.”

Fayose emerges chairman of PDP governors’ forum

Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has emerged as the new Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum,

The Governor of Bayelsa State, Hon Seriake Dickson announced this to newsmen in Abuja on Thursday night.

Addressing newsmen shortly after the Forum’s meeting, Dickson stated that the forum decided to settle for Fayose based on his record of performance and as the most Senior Governor under the platform of the Party.

Flanked by other Governors present at the meeting and the leaders of the party, Dickson said that the Choice of Fayose was a collective one among the Governors.

Dickson played glory Tributes to the out gone chairman of the Forum, forDr Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo state for his immense contributions to the development of the Party during his tenure

Also speaking, the National Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of the Party, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, the Chairman Board of Trustee, BOT of the Party, Senator Wali Jibril and the leadership of he Party in the National Assembly, Senator Ike Ekweremadu endorsed the choice of Fayose.

They described Fayose as a real party man who would boost the growth and development of the Party.

In his acceptance speech, Fayose who succeeded Gov Olusegun Mimiko described his election as call to service and promised not to let the party down as the Chairman of the Forum

Gov Fayose said that he was out to build the wall of Jericho surround the party with a promise to embark on the total mobilisation of party members nationwide ahead of the 2019 General elections.

He assured that the Party would work very hard to reclaim its lost States and as well formed the government at the entre come 2019.

Kanye West is now a course at Washington University

Many people might find Kanye West‘s political views unorthodox but that is exactly what the University of Washington is focusing on him for: a new course titled ‘The Politics of Kanye West’ is now being taught to third year students at the university.

The course description says ‘Kanye West As a hip-hop artist Kanye West has had unprecedented impact on the sonic force of music, fashion, politics, and videography. Coupling his controversial moments, with his corpus of musical texts with special focus on sonic production, this course illuminates Mr. West as a case study for interrogating the interplay between fame, gender, sexuality, and race. Mostly, we explore how racialized ways of doing iconography, complex ways of seeing, creates a distorted or reductive frame through which we see the black and famous Nonetheless, the course oscillates with entertaining these nuances, while being entertained by the decade-long catalogue of music and visual imagery. Together, we extract the ‘Politics of Mr. West’ in his music and life, while also illuminating the importance of a politics of genius-making in the larger arc of black pop culture tradition.’

Kanye has always been vocal about his political beliefs, often placing his career in jeopardy by his non-politically correct views. He once said on television that former president George Bush did not care about black Americans.. 

At the MTV VMA’s in 2016, he famously declared that he was running for president in 2020. Most recently he has incurred the wrath of the hip hop community by saying he admired incoming president Donald Trump and appeared at a news conference with him.

However the university insists that the course will not be about Kanye’s musical career nor will it be about bashing him; all they would do is to explore the rapper’s political beliefs.

In 2015, he was awarded with an honourary doctorate degree at School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Goodbye Barack Obama, the coolest president the world has ever seen

By the time today is over, Barack Hussein Obama would have become a footnote in history as America’s 44th president. His legacy would be debated for many years to come in his country, but no one would debate his suaveness, his pizzazz, his poise, his grace and everything that made him the coolest president that the world has ever seen.

At age 47, he took on the mantle of leadership in post-911 America. Now his countrymen will decide in the years to come if his tenure was successful or not (even though this writer thinks it was), he was undeniably a figure that every individual who wants to be cool should aim to be like.

His eight-year presidency that saw him butt heads with the opposition Republican party through out his term did not deter him from being a decent individual who never indulged in mudslinging and the theatrics of being a politician that is all too common in this part of the world.

While some of us are angry that he did not deem it fit to visit Nigeria between 2009 and 2017 that he was president (hell, he even came next door to Ghana and didn’t stop over here!), we automatically forgive him being everything our own leaders are not: smart, fashionable, debonair, funny- everything you’ll want in a cool American uncle.

This generation came of age at the time of social media and Obama could be said to be first social media president in the world. His complete appreciation for things that defined a generation placed him in a class all by himself: as several countries banned the use of social media networks (even the Nigerian Senate proposed a bill to ‘regulate’ the use of social media), Barack Obama embodied it, using all the popular platforms- Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube- to not only drive his ideas of running a country but also entertained us all while at it.

His love for sports, entertainment, television, memes and all that this generation finds interesting made him a pop culture icon.

Together with his wife, Michelle who is widely regarded as the most iconic female figure of a lifetime, they painted a figure of a power couple. Little wonder every husband and wife wanted to be like them; every boyfriend and girlfriend aimed to be like them.

Barack Obama, in spite of what his detractors say about him (that he was not born in America, he was a terrorist-lover, he was a weak president), the facts would say differently. History would record him as a cool dude, a likeable character, a brilliant and humorous speaker- and most importantly, an inspiring world leader whose kind is not likely to be seen for another generation.

Goodbye Barack Obama! Thanks for being the coolest president we have ever ever seen.

Lagos starts construction of 181 roads in council areas

Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State yesterday said that his administration would consolidate on its infrastructural renewal drive with the construction of 181 local government roads in the current fiscal year, saying the process for the award of the contract has commenced.

Ambode, who spoke at the first Quarterly Town Hall Meeting for this year, the sixth in the series, held at the Ajelogo Housing Scheme, Ajelogo Market Road, Akanimodo, Mile 12, said the construction of 181 roads is an improvement on the 114, two in each local government, which his administration promised to embark upon every year. Acknowledging that most of the requests made by residents during the interactive session at the meeting were  on roads owing to the success of the 114 roads delivered in September 2016, the governor said his administration thought it wise to ensure that the roads captured for 2017 are key roads that would have economic impact on the people, hence the increase to 181 roads.

Presidency justifies continued detention of El-zakzaky

The presidency yesterday justified why the leader of Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN), Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, is still been detained by the authorities.

Outlining the impediments inhibiting his release, he said the Federal Government is looking into the case with the public and security interest dimensions among others above any other individual claim of right.
‎
A top presidency official who craved anonymity yesterday explained that public interest and national security implications must be considered in line with international practices that conventionally place national security and public interest above any other individual claim of right

‎His words: “The major constitutional policy objective of government as stated in section 14 (2) (b) is public and not individual security.

“The issue of the release of Zakzaky is not exclusively legal. It has security and public interest as against individual interest undertones.

“The Federal Government is looking into the case and taking security interest dimensions into consideration,” the official said.

Making further clarification on the alleged detention of the religious leader’s wife along side her husband, the source stated that El-Zakzaky’s wife was not of any security interests and therefore was merely keeping her husband company in the apartment in which he is kept.

“She is not under detention. If it is her wish, that of her husband or of the IMN, she will be allowed to go home in a matter of hours,” he said.

Donald and his golden girl: Trump is joined by stunning Melania at pre-inauguration dinner and jokes that if rains today 'people will know it's my real hair'

Donald Trump was joined by his wife Melania for the final time as president elect on Thursday night at a black tie dinner where he spoke excitedly about his looming inauguration.

The 70-year-old was introduced to the stage at Union Station in Washington D.C. by Vice President elect Mike Pence shortly before 9pm after a busy day of events in the capital. 

With Melania on his arm in a glittering, gold gown, Trump was triumphant as he took the microphone for a final speech before he becomes the 45th president.

Between thank yous to his most trusted staff and jibes at Hillary Clinton, he spoke ahead to Friday's swearing in ceremony, joking that if it rains as predicted, at least the taunts about his gravity-defying hair might stop.

'It may rain, it may not rain. I don't care. It doesn't matter. If it really pours that's OK because people will realize it's my real hair. It might be a mess but they're gonna see it's my real hair,' he said, winning laughs from the star-studded audience. 

He went on to thank donors and members of his family and celebrated himself as a the hardest working candidate to have ever run for office.

The start of his speech was plagued with microphone difficulties but the president elect's message was not lost in the glitch. 

'That was some big victory, some victory,' he said, thanking supporters and party members who had followed him since the start of his campaign.

Casting his mind back to November's election result, he spoke of the country's changing political map.  

'That was incredible. 'More impressive, there was a map a couple of days after the election, and it showed the red counties and the blue counties. And the entire country, practically, other than the little points, was red,' Trump said

The businessman then rattled through the names of cabinet picks and deep-pocketed donors, reserving a special moment of thanks for Kellyanne Conway, his campaign manager and soon-to-be Senior Adviser.

'I see my Kellyanne, come here.  Get up here. She has been so great. 

'There is no den she will not go into.' After kissing the blushing strategist on the hand and cheek, he added: 'Thank you baby,' before she returned to her seat. 

All of Trump's children won a mention. Tiffany, he said, is 'incredible', and Ivanka, who is primed for a key role in the recently renamed Office of the First Family, was congratulated for her hard work and choice of husband.   

Joking about his close relationship with son-in-law Jared Kushner, Trump said of his 35-year-old daughter: 'We have in the audience a special person who has worked very hard, who married very well. It's my daughter Ivanka.

'I sort of stole her husband.' Kushner will take an unpaid position as Senior Adviser to the president. Details of what his job may entail have been so far scarce.  

West Brom table £17m for Ighalo

West Bromwich Albion are keen to sign Watford striker Odion Ighalo and have made a £17 million bid for the Super Eagles striker. Sky Sports News reported that a fee of £17m has been agreed between the clubs but another source claims talks are not yet that advanced.

The 27-year-old Ighalo thrived under Quique Sanchez Flores last season but has struggled to recapture his best form in Walter Mazzarri’s side this term. He has only scored twice this season in all competitions – after notching 17 last term – while the Hornets have struggled for consistency in both their starting line-up and their general Premier League form. Ighalo joined Watford from Udinese in 2014 and has scored 39 goals in over 98 appearances.

DADDY YO! Meet Gambia’s new President Adamma Barrow and his two First Ladies

Adamma Barrow may have one problem- the defeated Yahya Jammeh (who at press time was still clinging on to power) to deal with- but his love life certainly isn’t one.

The new President of the tiny West African country The Gambian was sworn in Senegal as Yahya Jammeh who has ruled the nation for 23 years did not vacate office.

Stealing the show was the were of the 51 year old Barrow, Fatou and Sarjo. Both women were looking quite happy with their new status as the co-First Ladies of the Gambia. The gleaming smiles hid the pain of the death of Sarjo’s son Habibu who died after being beaten by a dog last week.

While most African leaders are known polygamists, most of them have an official first lady who is introduced as such for the duration of the president’s term. However, Mr Barrow seems to have no qualms about showing off the two beautiful women in his life.

Oga Adamma, na man you be!

Urhobo indigenes storm Govt House, demand sack of DESOPADEC MD, others

AGGRIEVED Urhobo indigenes on the aegis of Host Communities, Oil and Gas, HOSTCOM, yesterday, stormed and barricaded Delta State Government House, demanding the sack of Managing Director of the State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, Chief William Makinde and three Urhobo commissioners serving in the board.

This came as the state government warned contractors handling its projects that it would not pay for poorly executed contracts. The protesters, who arrived Government House at about 12:30pm, barricaded the Government House gate with over 20 buses, preventing vehicular movement in and out of the premises. Chanting songs of disenchantment, they named the three commissioners to include Mr Jonathan Amitaye, Chief Pius Ovbije and Chief Amos Itihwe. They displayed placards with inscriptions such as ‘Makinde must go’, ‘Amitaye must go’, accusing the Urhobo representatives on the board of not using the commission’s fund to the advantage of the people. Speaking on behalf of the protesters, chairman of the Urhobo ethnic nationality chapter of HOSTCOM, Mr. Godspower Okovwurie, alleged that their representatives were working for personal gains and not the interest of the communities. At the time of filing this report, the protesters, represented by 15 persons, were meeting with the Chief of Staff, Government House, Mr Tam Brisibe.