SABINEWS EVENING NEWS UPDATE FEBRUARY 26, 2019
How Jonathan gave me N400m before 2015 elections, Metuh tells court
Erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, on Tuesday, narrated before the Federal High Court in Abuja, how he got N400million from ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, before the 2015 presidential election. Metuh, who is facing a seven-count money laundering charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, preferred against him, said the money was wired into his account, after he exposed some of the challenges that faced Jonathan’s re-election bid.
Be modest while celebrating election victory, stakeholders urge
Some stakeholders have called on political party leaders to caution their supporters against reckless celebration of election victory. The stakeholders, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Tuesday, also urged the party leaders to ensure modest celebration to avoid loss of lives after the final declaration of the winner of 2019 presidential election. They recalled that several people lost their lives through reckless behaviour while celebrating election victory. Mr Daniel Chukwu said, “It is unfortunate to see young people engaging themselves in reckless driving or taking alcohol that could make them go out of their senses in the name of celebration. “I think election victory should be celebrated in a matured manner in such a way that will not lead to loss of lives or injury.’’
I will be senator for all…. – Uba Sani
The senator elect for Kaduna Central in the concluded election, Uba Sani has promised to be senator to everybody in the senatorial District irrespective of political and religious affiliations. Addressing a press conference after he was declared winner of the poll, Senator Sani said he will work to ensure that the challenges faced by the Kaduna Central senatorial District get the desired attention. Kaduna Central covers Kajuru and Birnin Gwari local governments where there has been a lot of security challenges.
INEC Election Result 2019: Why APC failed in Cross River —Obla
An aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Obono Obla; and the Cross River State Commissioner for Finance, Asuquo Ekpenyong, have said that the All Progressives Congress performed below par in Cross River because of a statement made by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, which allegedly swayed the votes in favour of the opposition. Obla, a Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Prosecution, said a statement made by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr. Frankland Briyai, regarding the Appeal Court ruling which declared that APC had no candidates for the governorship and National Assembly elections, confused the voters. They both expressed their displeasure over the outcome of the presidential election in some local governments in the state.
Akpabio petitions INEC over his election
Godswill Akpabio, a senator from Akwa Ibom State, has petitioned the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state over the results of the elections in the Akwa Ibom North-West District. Mr Akpabio, a former governor of the state, represents the district in the Senate, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC). He contested Saturday’s election, hoping to return to the Senate for a second term. INEC on Sunday suspended the release of results of the election, saying there were “unresolved issues” with the votes from Essien Udim Local Government Area, where Mr Akpabio comes from.
Emerhor, Omo-Agege, Adjogbe, Ogboru, Okotete deliver two LGs to Buhari in Delta
Key actors of the All Progressives Congress, APC in Delta Central Senatorial District, Olorogun O’Tega Emerhor, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, Engr Sam Adjogbe and Chief Great Ogboru, have delivered two local government areas to President Mohammadu Buhari in the last Saturday presidential election. The results as announced by the Independent Electoral Commission, INEC in Asaba, Ughelli North and Ethiope East Local Government Areas were won by them for President Mohammadu Buhari. President Mohammadu Buhari polled 24,193 votes against the the PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar who scored 16,140 votes. While in Ethiope East, the home local government of the APC governorship candidate, Chief Great Ogboru, Mohammadu Buhari scored 13, 854 and Alhaji Atiku Abubakar polled 8,294 votes to come second in the two local government.
Finally, INEC declares Ekpenyong winner over Akpabio
After two days of tension, uncertainty and behind- the- scene maneuvering, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has announced result of Akwa Ibom Northwest (Ikot Ekpene) senatorial district. Announcing the result on Tuesday at the commission’s office along Udo Udoma Avenue Uyo, the returning officer for last Saturday’s election in the area, Professor Peter Iko Ogban declared the People’s Democratic Party candidate, Engineer Christopher Ekpenyong winner. Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor, according to Professor Ogban polled a total of 118, 215 votes to beat the incumbent, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio of the All Progressives Congress who scored 83, 158 votes.
Obiano orders clampdown on illegal revenue collectors
Anambra State Governor Willie Obiano has ordered clampdown on all forms of extortions in the state. He directed security operatives to immediately stop all illegal tax collectors currently going on in the state, especially in Onitsha and its environs. Obiano, who gave the directive on Tuesday through his Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, Mr. C Don Adinuba, asked the security agencies to step up efforts in protecting lives and property. He said: “My attention has been drawn to the activities of the new wave of robbers, who are dispossessing people of hard-earned money and other valuables.
FRSC recovers N1.78m in accident victim’s car
The Federal Road Safety Corps Command in Lokoja, Kogi State, on Tuesday, handed N1, 786,500 to the wife of an accident victim. Sector Commander of the corps in the state, Mr Emmanuel Abe, who handed the money to the woman, Mrs Charity Anthony, in Lokoja, said that it was recovered from the vehicle the victim was driving. According to him, the victim was driving a Toyota Hiace bus with registration number Abuja KWL 386 YH when he was involved in an accident at Gegu community on Abuja-Lokoja highway at 2.30 p.m. on Monday.
Tottenham boss Pochettino apologises to Mike Dean, accepts FA charge after Burnley row
Mauricio Pochettino has apologised to referee Mike Dean after confronting him at Burnley last Saturday and says he will learn from the experience. Tottenham’s manager has been charged with improper conduct by the FA after marching onto the pitch and speaking angrily to the official after Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Turf Moor. “I will accept that charge,” Pochettino told a news conference. “Watching after on the video, my behaviour, I think I need to accept the charge from the FA. I’m not going to ask [for a personal hearing].
EU gives market benchmark compilers two-year grace period
The European Union has agreed to give the financial sector an extra two years to comply with new rules aimed at avoiding a repeat of attempts to rig the Libor interest rate benchmark. The executive European Commission said late on Monday that representatives of EU states and the European Parliament backed giving compilers of “critical” interest rate and other widely used benchmarks until Dec. 31, 2021 to comply with the bloc’s new rules. In a surprise move, they also backed giving compilers of benchmarks based outside the bloc two more years to obtain EU authorization for their indexes to be used by EU customers. Formal rubber-stamping of the deal is now needed for the change to come into effect.
No-deal Brexit panic after ministers realise the UK doesn’t have the right pallets for exporting to the EU
The UK government is due to hold emergency talks with industry leaders today after discovering that the country doesn’t have the right pallets to continue exporting goods to the European Union if it crashes out without a deal next month. Pallets are wooden or plastic structures which companies use to transport large volumes of goods. Under strict European Union rules, pallets arriving from non-member countries mustbe heat-treated or cleaned to prevent contamination, and marked to confirm they meet a series of EU rules. Most pallets currently used by British exporters do not conform to these rules meaning that British export business could potentially grind to a halt next month in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
President Donald Trump lands in Hanoi eager for a deal with Kim Jong Un
Just near the entrance to Vietnam’s Military History Museum, families posed for photos in front of a statue made from wreckage of Hellcat engines unearthed in the wake of the war. A few meters away, banners hung across the medians of misty avenues reading “Hanoi, the city for peace.” This week, the Vietnamese capital gets the chance to live up to that nickname as U.S. President Donald Trump touched down Tuesday for his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, where the pair will attempt to revive denuclearization talks.
Microsoft roiled by fight over who is responsible for making weapons
When does a sensor become a weapon? Networked warfare, this modern vision of combat as nodes of sensors connecting to grids of “battlefield effects,” has expanded both the kinds of information that go into decisions to firing a weapon, and the ways in which people can be targeted. As the Pentagon actively brands its mission around lethality, the killing blow at the end of every long chain of acronym-derived orders, some workers involved in making sensor have called into question their role in making weapons.
Apple Music appears ready to launch on Google’s speakers as Apple seeks to grow its services business
Apple Music is apparently coming to Google Home speakers, yet another sign that Apple’s famous walled garden is beginning to show cracks and that Apple is putting its services in front of as many people as possible as hardware device sales slow. This week, an option to link an Apple Music account appeared in the Google Home app, which is used to manage Google’s smart home devices like speakers and Nest cameras. But the sign-in process for Apple Music doesn’t work in the app yet. It seems likely that Google updated the Home app with the Apple Music option before it was ready.
