Headline

Nigeria’s Situation Better Than Venezuela’s, FG Replies PDP

Published

3 months ago

February 14, 2024

Editor

The Federal Government on Tuesday slammed the Peoples Democratic Party Governors Forum for comparing Nigeria’s current economic challenges with that of Venezuela.

The Chairman of the PDP Governors’ Forum and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, on Monday said Nigeria under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu’s All Progressives Congress-led Federal Government was almost on the path to becoming like Venezuela.

Venezuela is currently facing challenges such as political corruption, persistent scarcities of food and medicine, shutdowns of businesses, high unemployment rates, decreased productivity, violations of human rights, severe economic mismanagement, and heavy reliance on oil, all of which have exacerbated the crisis.

There has been a notable increase in abduction cases and various other crimes in the Federal Capital Territory and other regions of Nigeria recently. Additionally, prices of foodstuffs have been rising, making it challenging for the majority of Nigerians to afford.

Reacting, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, in a statement on Tuesday said though Nigeria is facing different challenges, its situation is nowhere near what is happening in Venezuela.

Idris noted, “As critical stakeholders and leaders at the sub-national level, the PDP governors certainly have the right to state their position on national concerns as is expected.

“However, as leaders in the country who are members of two important constitutional organs of government – the National Economic Council, which is the highest economic management organ of the country, and the National Council of States, we believe the PDP governors did not conduct themselves in a manner befitting their roles as leaders.

“It is far-fetched when PDP governors, who are supposed to be major players in driving economic growth and prosperity for our citizens in their respective states, mischievously and falsely compare our current economic challenges to Venezuela.

“We want to state categorically that though our country is going through some rough patches, which are being addressed by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, our situation is nowhere near what is happening in Venezuela.”

Giving reasons why the PDP governors were mischievous in their comparison, the minister explained, “The Nigerian economy is still very strong and is expected to record a three per cent Gross Domestic Product growth this year.

“The economy is meeting financial obligations to lenders at home and abroad. The Nigerian government is running effectively, and our government can pay all its bills while maintaining a healthy trade balance with trading partners worldwide.

“Since President Tinubu assumed office, the revenue available to the three tiers of government has more than doubled. All 36 states, including the 774 Local Governments, have been receiving significantly larger allocations on the back of the reforms being pursued by President Tinubu to reposition our national economy.”

Idris added that the PDP owed Nigerians an account of increased allocations.

“Nigerians should ask PDP Governors how far and how well they have utilised the increased revenue to better the lives of Nigerians in their respective states.

“It is on record that most States controlled by PDP owe workers and pensioners months of unpaid salary and pension arrears. The PDP Governors have defaulted in paying gratuities to their retired workers. It is also a fact that many of the PDP Governors have not paid N30,000 minimum wage to their workers since it took effect more than four years ago. All of these anomalies in their states contribute significantly to the economic pressure their citizens face.

“If PDP governors are genuinely interested in the living conditions of Nigerians and are not just stirring up disaffection and ill-will towards the federal government, we urge them to meet their obligations to workers, pensioners, and local contractors and see the multiplier effect,” he said.

He assured all that the APC-led administration is working hard to address the current challenges.

The minister added, “The President is working with his security chiefs to eliminate all security threats wherever they exist within our borders, and we are getting results in the number of terrorists, bandits, and kidnappers that have either been killed or arrested in the past few weeks. The success of the efforts is also reflected in the over 700 abducted Nigerians who have been rescued from captivity.

“The Central Bank is addressing the problem of volatility in the exchange rate, and we are beginning to see stability that will eventually lead to the naira gaining its actual value against the dollar and other convertible currencies.”

He urged the PDP governors “to join their colleagues in the Nigerian Governors Forum, who are collaborating with Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima to revamp the economy for Nigerians’ collective well-being.”

Headline

Porn Star Testifies Against Trump At Hush Money Trial

Published

21 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Editor

The porn star at the heart of Donald Trump’s historic criminal trial, Stormy Daniels, testified on Tuesday about an alleged 2006 sexual encounter with the former president in a hotel penthouse suite.

Trump, 77, is accused of falsifying business records to reimburse his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 hush money payment to Daniels on the eve of his 2016 election against Hillary Clinton, when the lurid story of marital infidelity could have sunk his campaign.

Prosecutor Susan Hoffinger announced “The people call Stormy Daniels,” as Trump, who is seeking to recapture the White House in November, sat at the defense table in the Manhattan courtroom flanked by his lawyers, AFP reports.

What followed was detailed testimony about the sexual encounter Daniels said she had with Trump – his pajamas, his boxer shorts, the sexual position, that he did not wear a condom – all while the former president, sitting just feet away, stared on in silence, stony-faced.

Trump has denied having sex with Daniels, and his defense team sought, unsuccessfully, to have a mistrial declared.

The extraordinary courtroom face-off comes six months before election day when Trump will try to defeat Democratic President Joe Biden.

Daniels walked prosecutors through her difficult childhood in Louisiana, a stint as a stripper and her eventually joining the adult film industry.

The 45-year-old, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, said she met Trump at a celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe where she was employed as a greeter by X-rated movie company Wicked Entertainment.

Daniels said she was 27 at the time and Trump was “probably older than my father.”

She said a member of Trump’s security detail told her the real estate tycoon wanted to have dinner with her. She was reluctant but agreed after discussing it with her publicist.

When she arrived at the penthouse where Trump was staying he emerged wearing “silk or satin pajamas which I immediately made fun of,” Daniels told the jury.

“I said ‘Does Mr Hefner know you stole his pajamas?’” she said in a reference to the outfit favored by the late Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner.

Trump changed clothes and they began talking about adult movies.

“He was very interested in a lot of the business stuff,” Daniels said.

Trump, who was married at the time to his current wife, Melania, suggested Daniels be on his hit reality television show, “The Apprentice,” she said.

Daniels said she went to the bathroom at one point and when she emerged Trump was on the bed in boxer shorts and a T-shirt.

“It startled me,” she said. “The intention was pretty clear.”

“I was not threatened verbally or physically,” Daniels said, although there was an “imbalance of power.”

She said they had brief sex on the bed “in missionary position” and Trump did not wear a condom.

“I felt ashamed I didn’t stop it, didn’t say no,” Daniels said.

Daniels said she met with Trump again on several occasions but cut off contact when it became clear she would not appear on “The Apprentice.”

After Trump announced his candidacy for president, Daniels said her publicist suggested she could sell her story and put her in touch with Keith Davidson, a Hollywood lawyer who testified previously at the trial.

“My motivation wasn’t money, it was to get the story out,” Daniels said.

She said she entered into a non-disclosure agreement in October 2016 on the eve of the presidential election negotiated by Davidson and Cohen for which she was paid $130,000.

“I couldn’t tell my story, he couldn’t tell the story,” she said.

After a lunch break, Trump’s attorney Todd Blanche asked Judge Juan Merchan to declare a mistrial, objecting to some of Daniels’ testimony, particularly her claim that she was threatened in 2011 by a man in a Las Vegas parking garage who allegedly warned her not to talk about Trump.

“It’s extremely prejudicial to insert safety concerns into a trial about business records,” Blanche said.

Merchan denied the motion, saying “I don’t think we have reached a point where a mistrial is in order.”

Trump is under a partial gag order prohibiting him from publicly attacking witnesses, the jury or court staff.

Merchan has already fined him $10,000 for breaching the gag order and warned Trump he may face jail time for future violations.

Headline

Naira Abuse: Trouble Looms As Group Petitions EFCC, Wants Edo APC Candidate Prosecuted

Published

21 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Editor

The All Progressives Congress candidate in the September 21 governorship election in Edo State, Monday Okpebholo, is at risk of being sentenced to six- months imprisonment in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria Act of 2007 as a coalition of civil society organisations under the aegis of the Network of Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria accused him of abusing the Nigerian currency, the naira.

The group lodged the complaint with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission against Okpebholo in a petition dated May 2, 2024, and addressed to the chairman of the EFCC.

The petition was signed by the group’s National Coordinator, Victor Kalu, and National Secretary, Ali Abacha.

The coalition claimed the senator is guilty of the offence of naira abuse and mutilation, citing the CBN Act of 2007, which declares such actions as punishable offences.

The coalition said it is “disappointment that prominent individuals, including lawmakers, have violated this provision of the CBN Act.”

Meanwhile, they commended the EFCC for its “swift response in arresting and charging individuals who have been caught on viral videos abusing and defacing the Naira at social events such as the cases of Mr Okuneye Idris Olarewaju, popularly known as Bobrisky, and Mr Pascal Okechukwu, also known as Cubana Chief Priest, who have faced legal consequences for their actions.”

While praising the EFCC for its actions, the coalition demanded that all individuals captured in viral videos abusing the Naira should be promptly arrested and brought to justice, as no one is above the law.

They called on the EFCC and other law enforcement agencies to investigate the “viral video involving Senator Monday Okpebholo, who is seen engaging in Naira abuse and mutilation.”

They added that Okpebholo should be held accountable for his actions as a representative of the people.

They, however, warned that failure to address the viral video involving Okpebholo would result in the coalition taking further actions.

They threatened to mobilise their members, supporters, and democracy advocates for a peaceful protest against the EFCC, citing selective action and bias if the EFCC failed to address the viral video involving Okpebholo.

In his response, the senator refuted the allegation, saying it was false.

Okpebholo, in a statement issued in Abuja on Tuesday, described the allegation as a hatchet job targeted at smearing his image ahead of the September governorship election.

He blamed his detractors and the opposition camp as being the brain behind the campaign of calumny.

While stressing that he has never been arrested by the police for any civil or criminal offence, the lawmaker insisted the man in the video circulating on social media was not him.

He said, “As a private and public person, I have never sprayed or mutilated the naira in my over 50 years on earth. It baffles me why these agents will fabricate fake news to tarnish my image ahead of the election. I therefore called on the IGP to investigate the faces behind the petition and prosecute them accordingly.

“They are scouting for fake news and non-existent things to blackmail me and lie to Edo people. Unfortunately, we know what they are up to. They are smelling the defeat already. Edo people have already decided, and no amount of State-sponsored intimidation will work.

“In Edo State, President Bola Tinubu-led APC administration is working. The federal government is reconstructing federal roads in Edo Central, Edo North, and Edo South. That is why Edo people must take sides with the APC and vote for me as the next governor of Edo State.

“We will bring the Federal Government closer to the Edo people. We have been isolated for too long, and it is time to end that alienation.”
PUNCH

Headline

Mother Throws Disabled 6-year-old Son Into Crocodile Infested River [PHOTOS]

Published

1 day ago

May 7, 2024

Editor

A mother has thrown her disabled six-year-old son into a crocodile-infested river where he has reportedly been mauled to death by reptiles.

Savitri Kumar, 26, from Uttara Kannada, a district in Karnataka, India, had a heated argument with the boy’s father, Ravi Kumar, 27, who repeatedly ordered her to “throw the child away,” the Times of India reports.

Police say her husband allegedly questioned her decision to give birth to a child with a disability.

When the parents fought about their son again on Saturday evening, May 4, Savitri was “distressed” and reportedly threw her son into a waste canal that flows into the Kali river, which is infested with crocodiles.

Father of the son

Neighbours who witnessed this called the police, who deployed divers to search for the boy in the water, but to no avail, as it was dark.

They returned on Sunday morning, May 5, and found the child’s body, which showed bite marks all over.

The boy suffered severe injuries and was missing a hand, which a police officer suggested indicated that the boy was mauled to death by one or more crocodiles.

A post mortem has been ordered to determine the six-year-old’s cause of death.