Senator Babafemi Ojudu has promised to probe the useless government of Ayo Fayose, if he is elected the governor of the state on 14 July 2018.

Ojudu, who is the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, made his intentions known at a rally held at Ado Ekiti, the State Capital, during which he formally declared his interest in the governorship race.

Senator Ojudu will be contesting under the auspices of the All Progressives Congress, APC, party.

The colourful occasion, which was witnessed by a mammoth crowd, had juju maestro, Saheed Osupa and Small Doctor on the bandstand dishing out songs to the delight of the crowd.

While declaring his intention, Ojudu revealed his plans for the state and the residents.

Today, I declare my desire to be the next governor of our state. Today, I ask you to join me in bringing sense back to our Government House. Today, I ask you to join me in bringing better jobs to the state. I call on you indigenes and residents to join me aboard our train of progress. If you want a better life for your children, join us and let us make our state a pacesetter state. I know that the journey cannot be easy because we will have to climb mountains but our work will not be in vain.

He promised that his administration would give priority to education, health, infrastructure, agriculture, asking, With the resources that this state is endowed with, why are we so poor? Why are we this broke and have become a laughing stock? Why has our land become a land of grief and pains? Can we continue like this? No, we cannot. This is the reason why I am telling you that the time has come to rescue our state from the oppressors and the time has come for the voices of our people to be heard.

Ojudu, who assured the people that the administration of the outgoing governor, Ayodele Fayose would be probed, stated that it is time to vote out corrupt leadership in the state saying, Say bye bye to Fayose and his useless government.

The governorship aspirant promised that during his tenure if elected, he would not demolish houses, but respect the traditional rulers,and pay workers salary, as well as pay pensioners allowances, and make life better for the people.

He further cautioned the sitting governor against any act of hooliganism, assuring that he would do anything to protect his supporters.

Ojudu, born 27 March 1961, is a Nigerian journalist who was elected Senator for the Ekiti Central constituency of Ekiti State, Nigeria, in the April 2011 national elections. He ran on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN.

He attended Ado Grammar School in Ado-Ekiti, between 1973 and 1977 after which he proceeded to to the University of Ife, Ile-Ife to study English. He also attended the University of Lagos between 1985 and 1986, where he studied for a Masters degree in Political Science.

Before venturing into the murky water of politics, he worked at Guardian Newspaper and Concord Newspapers where he rose from a reporter to the position of assistant editor.

He later joined his professional friends to establish Independent Communications Network Limited, ICNL, parent body of many reputable titles in Nigeria including: The News Magazine, and PM News.

*Reported by PMNEWS

Source: NAN

By Emmanuel Oloniruha

Results of the general elections conducted on March 7, in Sierra Leone will be released any moment from now.

In readiness for the announcement, the National Electoral Commission (NEC) on Friday conducted officials of political parties and some observer groups round its results management facilities and Tally Centre in Freetown.

The Sierra Leone NEC Chairman, Mohamed Alie-Conteh, had promised that the Commission would produce and announce elections results that are credible and acceptable.

Mr Paul Ejime, the Spokesman of ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commission (ECONEC) and a member of the ECOWAS observer Mission, noted that the inspection of the facilities was to address issues raised by parties on the processing of the results.

Observer groups represented at the meeting were ECOWAS, AU, EU and the National Elections Watch (NEW).

ECOWAS Head of Mission Prof. Amos Sawyer was represented by Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Gen. Francis Behanzin and Head of UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, Dr Mohamed Chambas .

A presidential candidate must receive 55 per cent of the total valid votes cast to win the elections.

If no candidate was able to score 55 per cent, the two candidates with the most votes will participate in a runoff or second round.

In this case, the runoff is concluded according to a simple majority or First Past the Post (FPTP) system.

This means that the candidate who receives the majority of valid votes in the second round is declared the winner.

In all other types of elections, the simple majority/FTTP system is used to determine winners.

In Parliamentary elections, there are 112 constituencies in the country and one member is elected from each constituency.

They may run either as members of any of the registered political parties or as independent candidates.

In the election of Chairs and mayors, 19 chairs contested to head the 19 local Councils, into which Sierra Leone is sub divided (NAN)

Source: NAN

The Kaduna APC crisis came in different stages- the one that began with me and the one that is continuing with Senator Hunkuyi and others. There are both ideological and political differences between me and (Governor) El-Rufai. He came from a political establishment. For the 16 years of PDP rule, he spent 13 years as a PDP man, he was never known until 1999 when he was appointed the DG of Bureau of Public Enterprises and later, Minister for FCT. This was a man who used to call Obasanjo his mentor and he used to call (Late) Umar YarAdua his mentor and teacher and he used to call Jonathan Goodluck his very good leader, and now, it is Buhari. What I know is that the Nasir- el Rufai that betrayed Atiku, betrayed Obasanjo, Jonathan, Atiku will also betray Buhari.

A: No, I came from a social, political movement and he came from the political establishment and then we found ourselves in APC. I was not his favourite candidate for the Senate. His favourite candidate was then the incumbent candidate

A: Oh my God! We live in a world of Google now. If you Google Nasir, you will see where he generally said that he supported General Saleh. We are not in 1960, we are not in 1950. Check the interview he granted in 2016 to Vanguard newspaper where he said he supported General Saleh. So, which one are you going to believe what his aides say or what he said personally? And as far as I am concerned, you can check my Facebook posts, I said it very clearly, that I would not give and delegate any kobo to win election. Vote for me based on my ideas and principles and I was voted in that manner. I didnt say that in a room or just inside my mind. I said it publicly.

The next thing I want you to understand is that the APC raised funds for its campaign, the election centrally with the support of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Bukola Saraki and other business moguls. That money was shared to all the 36 states and put in custody of the gubernatorial candidates to pay agents of the party. Did we pay the people who voted for us? No, we didnt. Did we give them some incentives to vote for us? No, we didnt. We differ politically and ideologically. He has a different candidate who I defeated at the primary and from then, when it comes to sharing positions of offices in the state, he gave those positions to the person I defeated. But he removed him recently from the position he gave him when he (Senator Saleh) went against him. Senator Saleh was the Senator from 2011 to 2015 and El-Rufai wanted him to be the senator from 2015 to 2019, but I defeated him. But to compensate him, El-rufai gave him the position of Chairman of Kaduna State House of Assembly Commission. But when General Saleh attended our meeting just some days ago, he sacked him. And he also sacked all political appointees that owe allegiance to Senator Hunkuyi and Saleh. Luckily for me, I dont have one political appointee in his government, so there is nobody to sack.

Many things happened in the past three years. First of all, he induced members of my ward to issue a fictitious suspension against me, a suspension that has no constitutional value in the party, but was only done for the purpose of just announcing it to embarrass me publicly. And I also warned Senator Hunkuyi that we are heading to tyranny, but he never agreed with me until two years after when the fangs of the tyrant in Kaduna now descended on him.

Many things happened in the past three years. First of all, he induced members of my ward to issue a fictitious suspension against me, a suspension that has no constitutional value in the party, but was only done for the purpose of just announcing it to embarrass me publicly. And I also warned Senator Hunkuyi that we are heading to tyranny, but he never agreed with me until two years after when the fangs of the tyrant in Kaduna now descended on him.

After my purported suspension, first, for eleven months, then indefinite suspension and Nasir discovered that that would not give him the peace he needs because I simply kept on my activities, the next thing he did was to send his agents to start moving round the schools which I attended from primary school, secondary to the Polytechnic to even the NYSC, trying to see whether I forged my documents or not.

I have all their correspondences and letters and the contacts which they have made with my schools. That also did not work. The next thing was that my constituency office was attacked eleven times by thugs, but that was not enough. And now, they moved to organising protests, spending heavy amounts of money on radio, trying to destroy my reputation and incite people against me, but that also did not work. They went around, planting stories that I am anti-Buhari and I said I can criticise Buhari, I dont hide my views, I am not a hypocrite nor am I a sycophant. That also did not work. The next thing that happened was that my own personal house was also attacked and the one that happened some weeks ago was the attempt to frame my own aides in a murder case. But that also has not worked.

I do not believe that people should be punished for their ideas or for dissenting, because I am a chief dissenter myself. But you cannot be in the Senate where you have the opportunity to disagree and you walk out to go and call press conference and make false allegations against people. I am not elected into the Senate to be pro or anti-Buhari. A senator has a set of rules and order to which he is duty bound to comply with. But when you tag somebody as being anti-Buhari, all you are trying to do is to whip up sentiment against that person and create a lot of issues for that person.

Now, I and Senator Hunkuyi agreed that, this party is not working because he too becomes a victim of the man he has been working with. And then, we said we should open our own APC office because what Nasir did after he won the 2015 election was to appoint 18 of the 26 members of the Kaduna APC into his cabinet, leaving the party empty. And by the constitution of the party, those persons appointed into political offices have virtually lost their seats in the party. And now, having seen that the party is empty, he started appointing people to various positions within it which is against what the constitution of the party says. There must be a mini convention or a consensus before that can be done. But he also handed over the party office to his political adviser, so that it got to a point that you dont even have a party.

As a journalist, if I asked you, please, show me any clip, on radio, TV, audio or newspaper of the acting chairman of Kaduna APC, you would not have any. The person that is supposed to be the chairman of the party now is Danladi Wada who is on our own side. But he brought somebody called Shuaibu Laoje. The only thing he does at APC meeting is opening prayer and closing prayer. Apart from that, he doesnt know anything.

So, when it comes to the point of going to the media, the governor will hide Shuaibu Laoje and will bring an acting Secretary or the acting publicity secretary to speak on behalf of the party. That is what they have been doing.The chairman of the party became the deputy governor of the state, so the party now is only having a deputy chairman who happens to be Danladi who is on our side. But Nasir said he cannot be the chairman because he is our candidate. He brought Laoje and for the past two and a half years, you journalists have never seen him because the man cannot express himself. He is simply a decoy. If we say this is our deputy chairman and you say this is your own deputy chairman, thats okay, but please, lets bring them together and lets see who is better.

If Nasir thinks we are irrelevant, why did he move bulldozer there? If you think and believe that the masses of Kaduna State are with you and these people are simply rabble rousers, why move the bulldozer there? So, what he did was to simply engineer his own faction to suspend me for two and a half years. He used his own party to suspend Senator Hunkuyi and the two groups that were set up the Akida and the Restoration Group. He even expelled them from the party. But when his own suspension came for six months, he lost his senses, rationality, sense of reasoning and moved a bulldozer against our office. But what we are telling him is that the message has been sent. Nasir in Kaduna is fighting a lot of people he is fighting traditional rulers, Muslim religious leaders, Christian religious leaders, labour market women, the political class- almost everybody. So, with that kind of person, how do we win the 2019 election?

Yes, Kaduna State is the only state with a PDP Senator in North West. Ten local governments out of 23 are effectively under the control of PDP. So, what becomes of the other local governments that are under APC, but are not united? So, if this disunity continues, it is going to affect us. If he (El-Rufai) believes in Tinubu, why is he moving a bulldozer? We are saying that nobody could have addressed the problems of APC except the President himself because the governors are party to the crisis, the Senators, Reps are party to the crisis, the party itself is also a part of the crisis.

I can tell you when you are talking of reconciliation and peace in APC, there are some fires that Tinubu can extinguish with a cup of water and there are some fires he has to use a bucket of water and there are some fires, he has to pipe an ocean in order to extinguish. There are areas Tinubu can have some achievements. But he can only make that achievement if the parties are prepared to make peace. If one party is prepared for peace and the other party is not, there cannot be peace. But it is better late than never- this reconciliation ought to have been done since last year, but it appears that even Tinubu himself is aggrieved and has been sidelined in the affairs of the government. But now, inviting him to tackle this problem, I believe that if he succeeds, he will bring the APC family together and they will be stronger.

A: I can tell you that if Tinubu fails, there is going to be mass defection from APC.

I have the constitutional rights to contest if I want to. But as things are now, we need to put our ambitions in our pockets and allow the process of reconciliation to continue because reconciliation cannot go on with ambitions and bulldozers. Even, before you have peace in war situations, you must have a ceasefire. For now, we are giving a grace of time for Tinubu to succeed. If he succeeds, the outcome of the deliberations will form the roadmap for the future of the party and if he fails, we will simply apply our senses.

It is always good to look at the messenger and the message. Governor El-Rufai is the chief architect of that committee because he wants political relevance. How can an APC that promised restructuring only think of restructuring when it is a year to an election? Documents of that committee is more or less a campaign document for 2018. There will be no restructuring, you can quote me.

*Excerpted from

Source: NAN

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Saturday arrived in Makurdi, the Benue State, to condole with the government and people over herdsmens attacks.

Since the deaths caused by herdsmens attacks, the state has become a Mecca of sort to all politicians, opposition inclusive.

President Muhammadu Buhari is also expected to visit the state early next week.

Obasanjo who landed Makurdi on Saturday on solidarity visit to the governor and people, was received at the airport by the state Governor Samuel Ortom and other top government officials in the state.

Not less than 158 persons have been reported killed in the state as a result of sustained herdsmen attacks in the state since the January 11th, an event that led to a mass burial and protest by youths in Makurdi, the state capital.

The former President is expected to visit the mass burial grave site and also meet stakeholders at the government house.

He is also expected to visit the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp located in Agan Toll Gate, where over 34, displaced residents of the state are taking refuge.

Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose had earlier paid a condolence visit to Benue State on Thursday, February 8.

During the visit, he declared support for the Anti-Grazing Law implemented by the state government in 2017, warning that it must not be compromised.

Governor Nysome Wike of Rivers state also visited and donated some money to the state.

Source: NAN

No fewer than 50 Nigerian migrants were among the hundreds ofmigrants rescued today in the Mediterranean by Libyas coastguard and an international charity, Doctors Without Borders(MSF).

The Nigerians were aboard a boat with 110 migrants. They were rescued by , a ship being operated by MSF, 21 miles from the coast west of Tripoli. The ship will deliver the migrants, who included 18 women and one child, to Italy.

According to Reuters, more than half the migrants on that boat were Nigerians, with the rest from other sub-Saharan African countries as well as two Palestinians.

(Watch the 19 sec. video posted by MSF:

RT MSF: RT MSF_Sea: The will remain on standby in international waters, ready to rescue other boats in distress. 's Doctor Dan explains.

nicolacois (@nicolacois)

The Libyan coastguard vessels alsointercepted two of the migrant boats, the first an inflatable dinghy that had broken down with 125 people on board off Zawiya, just west of the capital, Tripoli, said Ayoub Qassem, a coastguard spokesman.

The second boat was turned back off Garabulli, east of Tripoli, and had 112 people on board.

The migrants and their smugglers were trying to take advantage of calm seas as they launched a flurry of boats towards Italy.

Meanwhile the coastguard in Zuwara, a former Libyan smuggling hub west of Zawiya, said they had foiled a departure during the night and arrested some migrants whilst others had escaped with smugglers.

The coastguard posted pictures of detained sub-Saharan African migrants sitting in an inflatable rubber boat on the beach in the dark.

Libya is the main departure point for migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea. More than 600,000 migrants have crossed the central Mediterranean to Italy over the past four years as people smugglers took advantage of a security vacuum in Libya.

Since last summer the rate of departures dropped significantly after smugglers in the Libyan town of Sabratha struck a deal with the Tripoli government to halt their activities and were then pushed out of the town by rival armed groups.

Libyas EU-backed coastguard has also stepped up interceptions, often cutting migrant boats off before they can reach international vessels that would bring them to Europe.

Source: NAN

By Chinenye Offor

Dr Emem Omokaro , the Executive Director, Dave Omokaro Foundation (DOF), says Nigeria is putting in place a social infrastructure that will enhance the welfare of its older citizens.

Omokaro said this in Abuja on Saturday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the end of a five-day training in Ageing and Policy Formulation, jointly organised by DOF and International Institute on Ageing United Nations-Malta (INIA).

According to her, Nigeria is overhauling its systems to ensure that its older citizens are included in its policies.

Omokaro said that it was imperative for the society to maximise every opportunity to include older persons in its development policies and regulations.

She, however, underscored the need to involve those who were knowledgeable in ageing issues in the drafting of ageing policies.

She also said that the policies, which should be comprehensive and multi-sectoral, must adopt a life-course approach which was human-based and capable of engendering inter-sector synergy.

Besides, Omokaro said that the policies should be based on principles that would protect the dignity of older persons as well as their values, inclusion, participation, independence and security.

She stressed the need to promote capacity building and data acquisition, while involving competent personnel in ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) as well as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that understood core ageing issues in plans to mainstream the ageing factor into the sectors.

Policy must include core living healthcare, continual long-term care, palliative care and continual engagement of older persons; their independence and lifelong learning.

The policy must be multi-sectoral, with a life-course approach that is human-based. It is very important to maximise every opportunity to include older persons in all national development projects, Omokaro said.

Also speaking, Dr Andrew Mbewe of the World Health Organisation (WHO) said that having specific policies in place for older persons would facilitate efforts to alleviate some of the challenges they were facing.

He urged the government to adopt the 2016 Global Strategy on Health and Ageing, which underscored the need to include older persons in health schemes so as to attain universal health care.

Besides, Mbewe said that it was important for older persons to improve their functionality, adding that efforts should be made to have facilities that would enable older persons to have hitch-free access to buildings, for instance.

In Japan and other developed countries, there are social and environmental services that keep older persons going.

But we dont have such facilities here and older persons in the country need such facilities in order to help them live healthy, he said.

He, therefore, urged all those who were trained in ageing issues and ageing policy formulation processes to become advocates of ageing in the country.

Source: NAN

Mo Abudu, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EbonyLife TV, and Nollywood star Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde a.k.a, have been named among 50 women making an impact in showbiz by Variety magazine.

According to Variety, a weekly American entertainment trade magazine, the 50 women on the list are doing extraordinary things on the worldwide stage with special focus on the entertainment industry.

Abudus profile on the magazines website; Variety.com read: Abudu used her star-making springboard as the face of daytime talkie Moments With Mo to launch the EbonyLife empire.

With a film production unit and upscale lifestyle TV network; shes been dubbed the Oprah of Africa.

As a woman in a male-dominated industry, Ive had to be strong, focused and relentless and work twice as hard as the men around me, she says.

Determined to push for gender parity in the Nigerian biz, she estimates that nearly 80 per cent of key positions at EbonyLife are filled by women, Variety wrote.

Jalade-Ekeinde, one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine in 2013, was described as a Nollywood icon.

Variety wrote: With more than 300 acting credits to her name, Ekeinde is an icon of Nigerias prolific Nollywood film biz.

Although she says that, at heart, I think I am an activist first.

An ambassador for the UNs World Food Program and campaigner for Amnesty Intl., shes used her big-screen platform to drive her humanitarian goals.

Her next step is developing a film village in the former slave port of Badagry, where she wants young Nigerians to hone their filmmaking skills while learning about our rights and future as Africans, they said.

Reacting to the news, Abudu excitedly shared a post on Thursday on her instagram page @moabudu, writing:

Happy International Womens Day! I am happy to share this good news with you all that I have been listed in The Variety Magazine 2018 International Impact Report, as one of the 50 women during extraordinary things on the global stage.

Thank you @variety for the honour. May this be your year of GREAT PROGRESS Ladies.

The list, which was compiled to mark International Womens Day, also features British singer Adele, Hollywood stars; Nicole Kidman, Lupita Nyongo, and Muccia Prada, creative director at Prada.

Other prominent inclusions include Harry Potter author J.K. Rowlings, British actress Emma Watson, Wonder Woman star Gal Gadot, CEO Atresmedia Mercedes Gamero and British screenwriter Jane Goldman.

The Variety Magazine 2018 International Impact Report is the first of its kind and it is aptly tagged Showbiz Women Prevail (and Persist) Around the Globe.

They wrote: Its not always easy to be a woman in this world, let alone a showbiz leader that happens to be one.

There are the usual leadership obstacles to overcome, plus downright sexism and resistance in certain pockets of the planet. Yet, these women persist.

In honor of International Womens Day on March 8, Variety presents its first International Womens Impact Report.

It is an outgrowth of our annual Womens Impact Report, with a singularly global focus, Variety said

Source: NAN

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said on Thursday that African countries should be careful not to forfeit their sovereignty when they accept loans from China, the continents biggest trading partner.

Tillerson is using his first diplomatic trip to the continent to bolster security alliances on a continent increasingly turning to Beijing for aid and trade.

He may also seek to smoothen relations after U.S. President Trump reportedly dismissed some African nations as shithole countries in January. Trump later denied making the comment.

We are not in any way attempting to keep Chinese dollars from Africa, Tillerson told a news conference in the Ethiopian capital. It is important that African countries carefully consider the terms of those agreements and not forfeit their sovereignty.

The United States is the leading aid donor to Africa but China surpassed it as a trade partner in 2009. Beijing has pumped billions into infrastructure projects, though critics say the use of Chinese firms and labor undermines their value.

Tillerson said Chinese investments do not bring significant job creation locally and criticised how Beijing structures loans to African government.

If a government accepts a Chinese loan and gets into trouble, he said, it can lose control of its own infrastructure or its own resources through default. He did not give examples.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, visiting Zimbabwe on Thursday, told reporters it was inappropriate for Tillerson to criticise Chinas relationship with African countries.

It was not appropriate to criticise the relations of his hosts when he was a guest there with another country, he said. Many African governments enjoy close ties with both Washington and Beijing.

Kenya, for example, inaugurated a $3.2 billion railway funded by China last year. For the last three years, Kenya has received more than $100 million annually in U.S. security assistance.

Asked about Tillersons criticism of Chinas approach on the continent, Kenyas foreign affairs minister Monica Juma said: This country is engaging with partners from across the world driven by our own interests and for our own value.

Tillerson arrived in Ethiopia, Africas second most populous nation, on Wednesday and visited the African Union headquarters on Thursday. The complex was funded and built by China and is seen as a symbol of Beijings thrust for influence and access to the continents natural resources.

Ethiopia is home to some of Beijings biggest investments, from a railway to Djibouti that opened last year to factories and industrial parks.

Earlier this week, Tillerson criticised Chinas approach to Africa which he said encouraged dependency through opaque contracts and predatory loan practices.

Ethiopias prime minister resigned suddenly last month and a state of emergency was imposed but protests in the restive Oromia region have continued.

Tillerson said after meeting his Ethiopian counterpart Workneh Gebeyehu that the answer to political turmoil in Ethiopia was greater freedoms and said state of emergency should be lifted as quickly as possible.

Tillerson reiterated previous calls for African states to cut ties with North Korea.

North Korea has more than a dozen embassies on the continent. The Trump administration has said that Pyongyang earns hard currency from arms deals with African government and the trafficking of wildlife parts from Africa.

Tillerson is due to fly to Djibouti, host to military bases owned by the U.S., China, Japan, France, and Italy.

He will then visit Kenya, a key U.S. ally in the fight against al Shabaab Islamist militants in Somalia, before traveling to Chad and Nigeria, which are also battling to contain Islamist insurgents.

Analysts say Trump has focused mainly on security concerns in Africa at a time when China, Turkey and other nations are ramping up diplomatic and business links.

When you look at the set of countries that are being visited I think it kind of reinforces the perception that security, indeed, is the overwhelming focus, said Brahima Coulibaly, the director of the Africa Growth Initiative at Brookings Institution.

Source: NAN

On Friday, it was reported that rapper and music mogul Rick Ross was rushed to the hospital following a possible heart attack of complications from pneumonia.

Ross had supposedly been found unresponsive in his home and was placed on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation machine (which is used to aid in heart and lung functions), though his friend Fat Trel denied that Ross was on life support and a family member claimed he hadnt been hospitalized at all.

Now, TMZ is reporting that Ross has been released from the hospital and that hes receiving care at his residence.

Despite the denials about the severity of whatever was going on, TMZ maintains that Ross was having respiratory issues that turned out to be heart-related.

As noted by Entertainment Weekly, Ross has a history of seizures and had recently begun dieting and exercising more often in the last few years.

Source: AvCLUB

Source: NAN

Adult-film actress Stormy Daniels has sued President Donald Trump , alleging he never signed a nondisclosure agreement to keep her quiet about an intimate relationship between them.

Trump has denied having an affair with Daniels.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, filed the lawsuit in Los Angeles claiming the agreement is invalid and she is free to publicly discuss her relationship with Trump.

The lawsuit, which Cliffords attorney Michael Avenatti published in a tweet, says that she signed both the agreement and a side letter using her stage name on October 28, 2016, days before the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Trumps attorney Michael Cohen signed the document the same day, but Trump never signed the document, the lawsuit claims.

The hush agreement as it is called in the lawsuit refers to Trump as David Dennison and Clifford as Peggy Peterson. The side letter agreement reveals the true identities of the parties as Clifford and Trump, according to the lawsuit.

Clifford asks in the lawsuit for the Los Angeles County Superior Court to declare the agreement and side agreement invalid and unenforceable.

Adult-film actress Stephanie Clifford, also known as Stormy Daniels, poses for pictures at the end of her striptease show in Gossip Gentleman club in Long Island, New York, U.S., February 23, 2018. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Avenatti was not immediately available for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Clifford and Trump had an intimate relationship that lasted from the summer of 2006 well into 2007, including meetings in Lake Tahoe and at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Daniels was quoted in a 2011 interview with In Touch Weekly magazine that she had an affair with Trump after they met at a Lake Tahoe golf tournament in 2006, not long after Trumps wife, Melania, had given birth to their son, Barron.

Cohen has said he paid Clifford $130,000 of his own money in 2016, the year Trump was elected president, but said neither the Trump Organization nor Trumps campaign was a party to the transaction, though he declined to say publicly what it was for.

The lawsuit said the 2016 hush agreement called for $130,000 to be paid into the trust account of Cliffords then-attorney. In return, Clifford was not to disclose any confidential information about Trump.

The suit alleges Cohen has tried to keep Clifford from talking about the relationship as recently as Feb. 27, 2018.

The attempts to intimidate Ms. Clifford into silence and shut her up in order to protect Mr. Trump continue unabated, the lawsuit said.

Reuters

Source: NAN

Four-time Grammy winner Lionel Richie cemented his legacy in Hollywood Wednesday, plunging his feet and hands into a wet paving slab at the forecourt of the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre.

The 68-year-old R

Plateau United believe they could overturn a 2-4 loss to Tunisias Etoile du Sahel in the second leg of the CAF Champions League, which will take place at New Stadium Jos on 16 March.

The team vowed a comeback as they retweeted Radio host David Kings tweet on Wednesday, rallying them to victory in the second leg.

David King wrote: The boys were shocked and awed in Souse but they recovered in time to claw back two goals. Etoile du Sahel 4-2 @plateauutdfc We can finish the job at the New Jos Stadium. Just believe!

Plateau United shared the dream:

Retweeted David King ():

The boys were shocked and awed in Souse but they recovered in time to

Plateau United FC (@plateauutdfc)

A late rally by the team on Tuesday could not stop them from crashing 2-4 to hosts Etoile du Sahel of Tunisia in the CAF Champions League first leg encounter in Sousse.

The Tunisian side enjoyed an easy first half by scoring three goals in 20 minutes.

Amro Marei opened scores in the second minute, while Amine Chermiti added two goals in the third and eighth minutes for the first half to end 3-0 in the hosts favour.

The 14th minute substitution of goalkeeper Odah Okiemute for Dele Ajiboye seemed to stabilize the visitors rear until the hosts scored the fourth goal in the 54th minute.

Plateau United, fought back to reduce the tally, first with Raphael Ayagwas penalty kick in the 70th minute.

Eight minutes to the end of the game, Tosin Omoyele turned home substitute Patrick Enejis assist to further reduce the margin ahead of the second leg game.

Source: NAN

Enyimba International Football Club on Wednesday in Cotonou won their first leg match in a CAF Confederation Cup first round fixture by beating Energie FC of Republic of Benin 2-0.

Two goals very early in the game gave the former African champions a valuable result which will serve them in good stead in the second leg match on March 18.

The Aba-based side who drew bye in the preliminary round owing to their record on the continent took the lead through an own goal by Aime Santou after three minutes.

Austin Oladapo utilised Stanley Dimgbas cross six minutes later to extend their lead and cruise to an important win ahead of the second leg game in Calabar.

However, the other Nigerian representatives in the competition, Akwa United FC of Uyo, lost by a lone goal to Al Ittihad of Libya at the Alteeb Almharea Stadium in Sfax, Tunisia.

Akwa United will host the second leg in Uyo on March 18.

The loss in Libya was Akwa Uniteds first away defeat in the competition after previously winning their first two games against Vita Club Mokanda of Congo and Banjul Hawks of Gambia.

Source: NAN

Juventus qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday after a 2-1 win away to Tottenham Hotspur in their last 16 second leg.

Son Heung-Min had put Spurs ahead on the night, six minutes before half-time at Wembley, after the clubs drew 2-2 in the first leg in Italy last month.

However, Gonzalo Higuain levelled the scores in the 64th minute and Paulo Dybala won it three minutes later, securing a 4-3 aggregate victory for the Italians.

Manchester City have also qualified for the quarter-finals despite recording a shock 1-2 loss at home to visiting Swiss team Basel.

The loss by City was by a much-changed side and they could afford the luxury as the hard work had been done in Switzerland, three weeks ago.

Nonetheless, they cruised through 5-2 on aggregate.

City had extended their aggregate advantage early on when Gabriel Jesus tapped home after just eight minutes.

However, Mohamed Elyounoussi exposed some slack City defending to smash in an equaliser for the Swiss champions nine minutes later before Michael Lang rocketed home a spectacular winner 19 minutes from time.

However, a minute later Basel were level as Blas Riveros burst down the left and his deflected cross was dispatched powerfully past Claudio Bravo by Elyounoussi.

The Norwegian then had a great chance to put Basel in front on the half hour mark when he miscued horribly wide with just Bravo to beat after outmuscling Danilo.

City coach Pep Guardiola grew visibly frustrated on the touchline as his side also started the second period slowly.

And they were punished when Elyounoussis low cross was blasted past Bravo at his near post from a narrow angle by Lang.

Substitute Brahim Diaz came closest to a reply but his low driven effort was turned behind by Vaclik to consign City to a first home defeat since December 2016.

Source: NAN

Venus Williams says she hopes to one day follow in the footsteps of her younger sister Serena and experience motherhood.

I hope I can do that if I ever get there, said the 37-year-old Venus on Wednesday.

She does everything for the baby. Other than that she stays the same.

If it happens then I have a good example to follow.

This week marks the return of Serena to the WTA Tour a little under 190 days since the birth of baby Alexis.

Both sisters are competing in the WTA Indian Wells tournament and they landed in the same portion of the draw meaning they could face each other in the third round.

Serena, 36, will need to get through her first round match against 53rd ranked Zarina Diyas and the 29th-seeded Kiki Bertens.

The eighth-seeded Venus has a bye through the first round and will face either qualifier Monica Niculescu or Sorana Cirstea in the second round.

Venus and Serena are more accustomed to meeting in the finals of tournaments. If Venus had any idea she and Serena could meet so early in the Indian Wells draw, she wasnt letting on.

I havent analyzed it at all, Venus said of the field. If I keep playing hopefully I can win.

Venus reached the Wimbledon final last year where she lost to champion Garbine Muguruza 7-5, 6-0.

She also made the final of the Australian Open and the quarterfinals in Rome and at this tournament.

Venus grew up just a couple hours drive away in the south central Los Angeles suburb of Compton.

This tournament means a lot to me, she said of Indian Wells. I dont get to play a lot in the States anymore.

Source: NAN

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan and three other heads of international election observation missions in Sierra Leone on Monday pledged to remain impartial and ensure that the election complied with the relevant regional protocols and international best practices.

Mr Paul Ejime, spokesman of the ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions (ECONEC), on behalf of others,said the missions agreed to continue constructive engagements with the countrys stakeholders and to hold further consultations among themselves before and after the elections.

Sierra Leoneans would vote in the countrys presidential, parliamentary and local Council elections on Wednesday.

The meeting of the monitors, coordinated by ECOWAS and the African Union, was held to strategise on effective value addition to the electoral process ahead of the election on Wednesday.

The meeting was attended by Prof Amos Sawyer, Liberias former Interim President, for ECOWAS; and Kgalema Motlanthe, the former South African President for AU.

The two other leaders were Ghanas former President John Dramani Mahama, for the Commonwealth and Nigerias former President Goodluck Jonathan, for the Election Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA).

After an exchange of information on the work of the observers on ground, the Heads of Missions discussed the level of preparations for the poll.

They also discussed emerging scenarios, identifiable challenges, especially the and legal issues before the Supreme Court and the way forward.

They noted that while international observers could render support, the success of the electoral process is the primary responsibility of Sierra Leoneans, the missions said.

According to the missions, the new ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security Gen. Francis Behazin had joined the Prof. Sawyer-led ECOWAS Observation Mission as leader of the Commissions Technical Support Team to the Mission.

NAN reports that the Sierra Leone Telegraph, reported that both Dr Samura Kamara of the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC) and Dr Kandeh Yumkella of the National Grand Coalition (NGC) Presidential candidates are facing separate suits against them at the Sierra Leone Supreme Court.

The separate petitions are to determine if they are qualified to contest the presidential election.

The petitioner against Kamara wants the Supreme Court to disqualify him for violation of electoral laws, which states that all public officials wishing to contest the elections must have resigned from their posts at least 90 days prior to the elections.

He is alleged to have been receiving his government salary as foreign minister and had failed to resign his job in accordance with the law.

It is also alleged that Samura has both Sierra Leone and British citizenships, and has failed to renounce his British citizenship before his nomination as the presidential candidate of the ruling APC.

On the other hand, the case against Yumkella, who is also contesting Parliamentary election at the same time, was filed by APC, claiming he is ineligible to contest the constituency election in Kychum, his place of birth, in the Northern district of Kambia.

The Sierra Leones National Electoral Commission (NEC) has declared that Yumkella was free to contest the parliamentary election until decided otherwise by the Supreme court.

It was reported that Yumkellas name is on the ballot papers for both presidential and parliamentary elections.

Source: NAN

Tony Iwobi, an Italian man of Nigerian origin, who is the chief immigration spokesman for the far-right League party, has been elected as the first black senator in the country.

Iwobi, whose party has been accused of stirring up xenophobia in Italy, was elected in the industrial city of Brescia in northern Italy a major immigration hub.

It is with great excitement that I can tell you I have been elected senator A new adventure is about to begin, Iwobi said on Facebook on Tuesday following Sundays elections.

Born in Gusau in northern Nigeria but living in Italy since the 1970s, Iwobi has been a supporter of the League for more than two decades and used the campaign slogan #StopInvasion a reference to the more than 690,000 migrants who have landed on Italian shores from North Africa since 2013.

Along with party leader Matteo Salvini, Iwobi has argued that illegal immigration into Italy has led to an increase in racism.

Discrimination begins when there are no rules and the state lets anyone in. Illegality leads directly to violence and a racist response, he said in January.

The League supports healthy and controlled immigration which can act as a bulwark against racism, he said.

Italys general election left the country with a hung parliament in which no single party or coalition commands an overall majority. Political horse-trading is underway as parties bid to form a working coalition government.

The League, led by Matteo Salvini, was the winning party in the right-wing alliance that took the most votes on Sunday but fell short of an overall majority.

Source: NAN

(Sputnik/NAN)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday that President Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine must embrace peace and stop paying terrorists in order to end the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Netanyahu said this while on official visit to Washington DC, United States (U.S.).

To get peace, President Abbas has to embrace peace and to stop supporting terror He pays about $350 million a year to terrorists and their families, Netanyahu said during remarks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee Policy Conference.

The prime minister added that he is committed to achieving peace with all of Israels neighbors, including the Palestinians.

On Monday, Israeli Foreign Ministrys Deputy Director-General Alexander Ben-Zvi said Israel is still ready for direct talks with the Palestinians, but a meaningful proposal is needed in order to start the dialogue.

For decades, Israel has been in conflict with the Palestinians, who have been seeking diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which are partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip.

Source: NAN

Agency reports said Bios home was surrounded by police, at about 6pm when counting of votes began at polling stations.

They were initially refused entry, reports said.

After an intervention by former Ghanaian president and election observer John Dramani Mahama, police were allowed to enter, they said, refusing to comment on the purpose of the raid.

He was able to persuade them to allow us access to the building, said Mohamed Kamara, head of the police criminal investigation.

We came in with a warrant, he added, saying officers observed material on several laptops before dispersing by 8pm.

SLPP spokesman Lahai Lawrence Leema said it was an act of intimidation aimed at rigging elections.

The APC and SLPP have dominated Sierra Leones politics since independence in 1961, but third parties are hoping to make their mark after mounting charismatic campaigns based on the two parties shortcomings.

President Ernest Bai Koroma, who cannot run again after two consecutive five-year terms, has anointed former foreign minister Samura Kamara as his successor for the ruling All Peoples Congress (APC).

A statement released by civil society groups mentioned scuffles in a rural area that were quickly brought under control.

An AFP journalist also witnessed riot police being deployed on the streets of the capital Freetown, with Chief Superintendent Mohamed Bangura confirming two arrests after scuffles involving rival parties.

The export-dependent economy of the mineral-rich but impoverished country is in a dire state following the 2014-16 Ebola crisis and a commodity price slump that has driven away foreign investors.

A presidential runoff is likely, according to experts, as the threshold to win outright in the first round is 55 percent.

The APC broadly relies on the Temne and Limba people in its northern strongholds, while the SLPP is more popular in the south with the Mende ethnic group.

The National Grand Coalition (NGC), headed by former UN diplomat Kandeh Yumkella, is challenging the two-party system by appealing to young and better-educated urban voters deemed less likely to vote along regional and ethnic lines.

Its communications chief said it had reported some irregularities to the National Election Commission (NEC).

Source: NAN

The Senate on Wednesday said it would be forced to withhold budgetary approvals for any government agency and parastatalwhich failed to submit at least two previous years audited reports to the Auditor-General of the Federation (AGF).

The decision followed the adoption of a report of the Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) presented to the chamber by its Chairman, Sen. Matthew Uroghide during plenary.

The report indicated that at least 85 agencies of government including the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had never submitted audited reports since their creation.

In adopting the report, the Senate issued a May 2018 deadline to all parastatals to submit audited reports in line with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution.

According to Urhoghide, out of 447 agencies and parastatals, only 40 have complied with the submission of the 2017 audit reports.

He said that the constitution mandated the AGF to receive audited reports from the agencies and submit the same to the National Assembly.

The lawmaker added that the agencies and parastatals should ensure that their accounts were audited by making use of the recommended auditors from the AGF.

He said: EFCC is of the opinion that once they come for budget defence, it amounts to submitting their audited reports. The EFCC Act itself says they have to submit their audited reports six months into the financial year.

In his remarks, the President of the Senate Dr Bukola Saraki condemned the development saying that the situation was unhelpful to the war against corruption.

He said: Imagine that out of 447 parastatals, only 40 have complied with the 2017 audited reports. When they say we are not making much progress in the anti-corruption fight it is because of the fundamental issues, they are right, the foundation is still very weak.

If we have 447 parastatals and only 40 have sent their audited reports, there is a serious problem. Now, we find out that the agencies that are even meant to supervise are part of those who have not sent in their audit reports.

Now, we have taken a resolution here today to say that unless the remaining agencies do that their budgets for 2018 is withheld.

Therefore, let us remember that when we are passing the 2018 budget, the committees that are presenting the reports of the parastatals should please confirm to us whether they have complied with the auditors report.

In the meantime, we will make sure that we also communicate to the Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF) to ensure that all these parastatals get their accounts audited and submitted, Saraki said.

Source: NAN