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Biden to announce first cabinet appointments Tuesday

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US President-elect Joe Biden will name his first cabinet picks on Tuesday, his chief of staff said, even as Donald Trump clung to unsubstantiated claims of fraud despite growing dissent from within his own party.
Biden has pushed ahead with preparations to assume the presidency on January 20, regardless of Trump’s bid to undo the results of the November vote.
“You are going to see the first of the president-elect’s cabinet picks on Tuesday,” Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
Several US news organizations, including Bloomberg and The New York Times, reported that the president-elect will nominate seasoned diplomat and long-time aide Antony Blinken as secretary of state.
Biden also said last week he had already decided his pick for the key position of Treasury Secretary.
US media also widely reported he will name Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who served as assistant secretary of state for Africa under President Barack Obama, as his UN ambassador.
A growing number of Republicans have either recognized Biden’s victory or at least urged the General Services Administration — the usually low-profile agency that manages the federal bureaucracy — to release federal funds for the Biden transition.
With Trump refusing to acknowledge the election outcome, Biden and his top aides have been denied briefings on sensitive domestic and foreign policy issues — most urgently the coronavirus pandemic battering the country.
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who in 2016 advised the Trump transition, said on ABC that the president’s legal team was a “national embarrassment.”
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, another prominent Republican, told CNN that Trump was making the country look like a “banana republic,” later tweeting the president should “stop golfing and concede.”
Trump has golfed on every weekend day since the election, though he took part virtually in the conference of the G20 leading economies this weekend — skipping a Saturday session on the pandemic.
And even Representative Devin Nunes, an ardent Trump loyalist, conceded backhandedly on Fox News that Biden had “run a successful campaign from a basement.”
Trump again tweeted on Sunday about “massive numbers of fraudulent ballots,” a claim dismissed by a long list of judges in several states.
Appearances by Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have drawn mockery, as have claims by another former member of his legal team, Sidney Powell.
Powell has alleged baseless conspiracy theories involving a possible hack of the election, earning her widespread derision but also praise from some of Trump’s most ardent supporters.
Giuliani announced Sunday that Powell had been dropped from the team.
Trump’s latest legal setback came Saturday, when Pennsylvania judge Matthew Brann threw out the president’s fraud claims in a scathing judgment.
Pennsylvania was a must-win state, and flipped to Biden after backing Trump in 2016.
Brann’s ruling paved the way for Pennsylvania to certify Biden’s victory in the state.
Biden won the state-by-state Electoral College votes that ultimately decide who takes the White House by 306 to 232.
The Electoral College is due to formally vote on December 14 before state certification.
State certification of popular vote results in presidential elections is usually routine.
But Trump’s refusal to concede has raised concerns that he could cause long-term damage to public trust in the voting system that underlies US democracy.
The judgment in Pennsylvania came hours after Republicans also requested a delay in certification in Michigan, another battleground state won by Biden.

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I’m alive, Obasanjo reacts to death rumour 

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I’m alive, Obasanjo reacts to death rumour 

 

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has said he is alive, hale and hearty.

He stated this in reaction to rumours of his death being reportedly spread on some social media platforms.

He spoke in Osogbo, Osun State, during the inauguration of the Old-Garage/Oke-Fia Road reconstructed by Governor Ademola Adeleke.

Obasanjo said those who wanted him dead were spreading the rumour of his death on the social media.

He said, “I heard the rumour that I was dead. I saw it on the social media. I quickly told my children and my relations that it was not true and that I’m alive.

“Those that want me dead, that is their wish, but God still keeps me alive.”

Obasanjo praised Adeleke for his performance in Osun and charged the governor to keep up the work.

Governor Adeleke assured the people of the state that his administration would complete all the ongoing projects.

“My dear people of Osun State, our administration has constructed over 120 kilometres of roads across the state.

“Two major flyovers are also progressing to completion at Osogbo while work is progressing at the Ile Ife Flyover and Ilesa dualisation.”

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Tinubu jets out to France on three-day visit

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Tinubu jets out to France on three-day visit

 

President Bola Tinubu will travel to France today (Wednesday) for a three-day state visit at the instance of the French president.

A statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed this.

It said, “The Nigerian leader’s three-day visit, which will focus on strengthening political, economic, and cultural relations and establishing more opportunities for partnership, particularly in agriculture, security, education, health, youth engagement and employment, innovation, and energy transition, promises significant benefits for Nigeria.”

Onanuga said Tinubu and Macron would harmonise positions on stimulating more interest in exchange programmes that focus on skill development for youths and improving their competencies in automation, entrepreneurship, innovation, and leadership.

“Both leaders will participate in political and diplomatic meetings highlighting shared values on finance, solid minerals, trade and investments, and communication,” he added.

“They will also witness a session by the France-Nigeria Business Council, which oversees private sector participation in economic development.”

The presidential adviser stated that the Nigerian first lady and her French counterpart would discuss solutions for empowering women, children, and the most vulnerable through the Renewed Hope initiative.

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Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers

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Yahaya Bello reports to EFCC office with lawyers

 

A former Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, on Tuesday visited the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to honour another invitation extended to him over alleged misappropriation of funds.

Bello went to the anti-graft office with his lawyers in the morning.

The ex-Kogi governor reportedly drove himself to the EFCC’s office in a black Toyota Hilux van with some lawyers.

He was said to have been taken by some operatives of the agency and are currently being grilled.

This is  coming after the Supreme Court judgment which dismissed a suit brought by some state governments challenging the constitutionality of the agency.

The EFCC at the last hearing on November 14, sought the adjournment till November 27 in the fresh case it instituted against Bello.

It stated that the 30-day window was still running for the summons earlier issued.

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