Clinton loses lead in US presidential race’s final stretch – poll

Hillary Clinton’s lead in the US presidential race against Donald Trump is evaporating with just over 50 days to go until election day, as she stirs ever less enthusiasm in her own camp.

The Democrat’s average lead since late August is just 1.8 points at the national level, a drop of four points in two weeks, and in several key states where the November election is likely to be decided, Trump is ahead.

In Ohio the Manhattan mogul now leads the former secretary of state by 46 to 41 percent, and in Florida by 47 to 44 percent, although this falls within the margin of error, according to a CNN-ORC survey.

Clinton tried to project an air of calm as she jumped back on the campaign trail after a three-day enforced break due to pneumonia, saying she always said the race would be close.

But in a sign of jitters, her campaign announced that her former rival Bernie Sanders, who is popular among young people, and progressive senator Elizabeth Warren would campaign for Clinton this weekend in Ohio.

Meanwhile Trump declared: “We’ve had an incredible month. There is a great enthusiasm.”

It is not the first time the two candidates have been neck and neck. It happened briefly in May, before Trump lost ground.

But with the election less than two months away, Clinton enjoys ever less popularity among Democrats. Only 38 percent say they are very enthusiastic about her candidacy, down from 47 percent in August, according to a New York Times/CBS poll.

Trump’s supporters appear much more fired-up: 55 percent say they are very keen to vote, against just 36 percent in the Clinton camp.

So for the Democrats, getting people out on November 8 will be key.

FiveThirtyEight, a website that analyzes polls, historical and economic data, says Clinton still has a 60.1 percent chance of winning, compared to 39.8 percent for Trump.

Back on August 8, Clinton’s chances stood much higher at 79.5 percent, compared to 20.5 percent for the Republican.

But since early last month Trump has overhauled his campaign team, tried to become more disciplined and less attack-oriented in his public appearances and has stopped insulting people. His new campaign chief, Kellyanne Conway, appears on television often to plug Trump.

– Crucial first debate –

“Trump had a couple of good weeks beginning with his success in Mexico” early this month, said Robert Shapiro, a political scientist at Columbia University in New York.

Shapiro added that Trump has been “rallying his base of support, saying more about policy issues, foreign policy, the economy, and… his proposal in terms of maternity leave and child care.

“The bar for evaluating him is not very high, but in that context he has been doing better in terms of campaigning and trying to look a little bit more presidential.”

For Clinton things have not been going so well.

She has been dogged for months by the controversy over her use of a private email server while serving as secretary of state and by attacks from her opponents against the Clinton Foundation.

Clinton has also taken heat for saying many Trump supporters belong in a “basket of deplorables.”

Shapiro said Clinton did not handle her bout of pneumonia well, either. The campaign’s delay of two days in telling the public she was sick boosted a widespread perception that Clinton is not transparent.

Democrats have reason to worry — but Clinton still has many ways to win the electoral college.

The presidential election is effectively the sum of 50 state elections, with each candidate gunning for a majority of 538 electoral votes divided among the states, all but two of which award all their votes to one candidate.

To reach 270 votes, Trump needs to carry a number of battleground states — Ohio and Florida but also Iowa, Virginia, New Hampshire, and North Carolina. But he must also lock in all the traditionally Republican states, several of which look as if they might snub his candidacy.

With Clinton dropping in the polls however, the looming first presidential debate on September 26 is not necessarily good news for her.

“Historically in these first debates, the incumbent president or the leading candidate tends to do less well on the first debate than the challenger,” said Shapiro.

“And in this case, the expectations and the bar for Trump may be so low that he’ll be evaluated differently than she will. The bar is higher for her than for Trump,” he added.

AFP

My husband is under his mother’s tutelage, wife tells court

A housewife, Iyabo Olatunji , has told an Akure Customary Court that her husband, Ezekiel, is still under his mother’s tutelage.

Iyabo also said her husband is an alcoholic and batters her at will without any caution from his mother.

Iyabo, made this known while testifying in her divorce proceedings on Friday.

She said, “My husband was working by his mother’s directive.

“It is my mother-in-law that gives us food and my husband will not do anything except waiting for his mother’s money.

“The worst part is that my mother-in-law will not tell her son to stop beating me.”

She begged the court to dissolve her five-year-old marriage to Ezekiel for alleged intake of excessive alcohol.

The complainant said that she could no longer tolerate the constant beating she got whenever her spouse was drunk.

According to her, the alcoholic intake has rendered the respondent irrational in the way he treats her.

She appealed to the court to award custody of the only child of the marriage to her.

Ruling on the case, the President of the court, Mr Rotimi Olusanya, said the repeated refusal of the respondent’s appearance in court would not stop the proceedings.

Olusanya adjourned the case till Sept. 27 for judgment.

NAN

Nigeria will get out of recession soon – Adeosun

The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeousn, has assured Nigerians that the current economic recession the nation was experiencing will not be prolonged.

She gave the assurance on Friday in Abuja while addressing a news conference.

She said that there was a strategic plan by the administration to see that the recession ended soon and also ensure that the economy recovered fully.

She said, “We have a strategic plan that will take us out of the recession we have found ourselves in; we want to make sure the recession is as short as possible because we do not want a prolonged recession.

“From what we are looking at we do not think that it will be a prolonged recession; we think that some of the initiatives that we are working on will now begin to bear fruits.

“We are on course and are confident that the plan we have put together will work and put the economy back on track.

“It is a long term plan that would reposition the economy so that we do not go into this boom and burst circles that are driven by the oil price.

“The economy has to be more resilient than that so that we do not find ourselves back where we are.’’

She said that measures put in place by the FG showed was that the end of the recession had begun and Nigeria would come out stronger.

Listing some of the measures the administration had taken to address the situation, she said that since the budget was released in May, over N420 billion had been released and cash backed for capital projects.

She said that the largest sector that the money was spent on was Power, Works and Housing.

She also said that a lot had been done in the defence sector to rebuild the capability of the army, especially on efforts in the North East.

She said, “Agriculture has received significant funding because of the time sensitivity of agriculture and because of the fact that food prices were rising, we needed to intervene so that we could get food prices down.

“There is activity resuming on roads, power projects and health projects and we have released money to water resources and solid minerals.’’

Adeosun also said that there was a cash plan to release another N350 billion which would go into the various MDAs.

“The focus is going to be similar, however, there would also be funding of about N60 billion for the Special Intervention Programme and that is very important in putting money into people’s pockets.

“The school feeding programme and the N-Power teachers corps we will cash back today as part of the N350 billion additional release which would take our total capital spending to about N700 billion.”

She also said that N50 billion was set monthly as budget support plan for some state governments from the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee to support them with additional money to enable them to pay salaries.

She said that the loan had been on for three months for the interested states because some states which were buoyant decided not to participate.

On recovery of assets, Adeosun said that the committee was in the process of collating with the non-cash assets like farmlands, vehicles and houses and that a fixed asset register would soon be opened to determine their value.

She said that the jewelries were from different locations and were being brought together to determine the market value and that the next line of action would be decided by the committee.

Adeosun explained that the present recruitment by the police and some other government agencies were made possible by the reduction of ghost workers.

She added that the savings that were made from the exercise would enable funding for the new recruitment.

“Sometime in January, personnel cost was N165 billion along with pension cost, but so far so good; we have reduced, through the removal of about 40,000 ghost workers, the personnel cost by around N10 billion per month.

“Now we have saved about N100 billion this year.’’

She said that though the times were tough, there was hope for Nigerians, adding that issues around infrastructure were the biggest problems of Nigeria which resulted in high cost of living.

“The biggest problem we have is not wages but the cost of living which is too high so it is not how much money you have but it is what it costs you to live.

“The problem we have is that many of the things that people are spending money on are the things government should be doing like roads, power and so on.

“So we have to address these things because that is what will really make impact for the average working Nigerian and so when you address the infrastructure you address the cost of living and that is what this government is working on.’’

(NAN)

Manchester United beaten by Feyenoord in Europa League opener

Manchester United made a laboured start to their Europa League campaign as they were beaten 1-0 by Feyenoord in Rotterdam.

Tonny Vilhena scored the decisive goal for the Eredivisie side in the 79th minute as Nicolai Jorgensen's cut-back cross found the 21-year-old midfielder free in the box to slot home.

Jose Mourinho made eight changes to the side that lost against Manchester City in the Premier League at the weekend, introducing Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial into the XI and naming Chris Smalling as captain on his first start of the season.

But the wholesale changes had a detrimental effect and United struggled for tempo and to create any clear cut chances of note in a first half that saw them frustrated by Giovanni van Bronckhorst's organised side in front of a lively but less-than-capacity crowd at De Kuip.

Martial came closest to breaking the deadlock for United in the 24th minute when he put a Matteo Darmian cross wide from close range but they failed to test former Liverpool goalkeeper Brad Jones during the opening 45 minutes.

United didn't improve much after the break and frustrated by the lethargic performance he had seen in the opening hour Mourinho made three changes in the 63rd minute minute with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Memphis Depay and Ashley Young introduced in place of Rashford, Martial and Juan Mata.

However, the gamble didn't pay off and with little over 10 minutes remaining Vilhena fired a low effort past David De Gea in the United goal.

A desperate late onslaught from United yielded little more than a drilled free kick from Ibrahimovic that Jones saved comfortably, while De Gea came up for a 93rd-minute corner but Feyenoord held firm to claim a winning start in Group A.

‘I prepared fake charm to test my wife’s fidelity’ - Man Tells Court

A father of three, Olanrewaju Aluko, on Thursday said he prepared a fake charm for his wife, Tolu, to swear with that she was not flirting around.

Aluko made the disclosure when he testified in a divorce petition instituted by his wife in an Ikole Customary Court in Ekiti

“I am not fetish and occultic. I only asked Tolu to swear with a fake fetish substance which I prepared to confirm her innocence when I suspected her to be flirting around,” he said.

He urged the court to grant him custody of their third child, saying the child, a girl, was the only that needed care.

Tolu had asked the court to dissolve the 16-year-old marriage because Aluko was irresponsible and did not care for the three kids since they were born.

She further accused the husband of being occultic and was always threatening her with charms and other fetish substances.

“I left his house with my kids in 2012 when I could no more cope with his care-free attitude toward me and the children but he kept on threatening to kill me with charm.“

“I pleaded with this court to separate us but allow the three children aged 15, 13 and eight to remain in my custody so that I would continue caring and monitor the children.

“The court should also order him never to threaten nor disturb me, but should pay N20,000 as monthly allowance for the upkeep of the children,’’ she said.

The President of the court, Mrs. Yemisi Ojo, dissolved the marriage.

Ojo awarded custody of the children to Tolu and ordered the defendant to pay N10,000 monthly upkeep allowance to the petitioner.

NAN

Naira may hit 500 per dollar – Obiano

The Anambra State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, has said that the naira will continue to fall against the dollar till it reach N500 to the greenback.

Obiano said this during the commencement of the Anambra State Fire and Safety Summit in Awka on Wednesday.

The governor, who expressed fear that the dollar would continue to rise against the naira, said it would take no fewer than 18 months for the economic downturn in the country to subside.

He said, “People should embrace risk management. That is the solution to disaster, especially in a recession.

“No recession lasts less than 18 months, so we need to wake up. The naira is moving to N500 per dollar.

“We need to secure our certificates and other valuables of ours so that nothing will happen to them overnight. That’s the way to survive in a recession.”

North Carolina Couple of 59 Years Dies Holding Hands: 'When We Get to Heaven, We Can Walk in Together'

After 59 years of marriage, family and friends weren't surprised things ended the bittersweet way they did for Margaret and Don Livengood.

The couple – inseparable since the day they met – spent their last few days holding hands, side by side in a single hospital room, and died within hours of each other.

"It was normal for them to be holding hands, their love was so precious," the couple's daughter, Pattie Beaver, tells PEOPLE. "But it was the sweetest, most precious thing you can imagine to see them holding hands in the hospital."

Beaver brought her parents to the hospital on the same day. Margaret, 80, was suffering from cancer, while Don, 84, was fighting to breathe because of pulmonary fibrosis and bilateral pneumonia. When they arrived, they were one floor apart at Carolinas Healthcare System Northeast in Concord, North Carolina.

"It broke my heart," Beaver says, recalling how she'd have to run from floor to floor to help care for her parents. She couldn't stand the thought that they couldn't see each other and pleaded with hospital staff to bring them together.

Hospital Chaplain Beth Jackson-Jordan was working with the family and says the doctors and nurses had gotten to know the couple in recent months as each came in for treatment and knew they belonged in the same room.

Margaret and Don Livengood on their 59th anniversary in June

Courtesy Livengood family

"The need for them to be together overrode any of the other normal concerns," she says.

Dr. Randy Schisler treated both Margaret and Don and says the hospital staff truly came together to make it happen.

"I'm really proud. We stretched as far as we could with the rules to allow things that aren't typical because it was the absolute right thing for these patients and for this family," he tells PEOPLE.

After four days apart, nurses moved Margaret's bed into her husband's room and positioned them so that they could see each other, and of course, hold hands.

The couple holding hands in August just before Margaret (then Don) died.

Courtesy Livengood family

"Once they were together, it was just that sense of everything was going to be okay – we knew because they were together," Beaver says.

Dr. Schisler says he's never seen anything like it. "This is one of those case I don't think any of us is ever going to forget. Seeing these two people who had spent their lives together, together in the same room as they took their last breaths, none of us are ever going to forget this."

One of the other hospital chaplains, Denise Hopper, tells PEOPLE, "I remember her beside him even when she wasn't able to communicate... I remember him holding her hand and everybody in the room could feel and see the connection. It was very touching to know they had journeyed their entire lives – and as it came to the end of their lives, they were able to be together."

Despite losing both of her parents in the same day, Beaver says, "It gave me comfort to know that this is exactly what they would want and the hospital was able to make that happen. In the most horrific grief I've ever had in my life, I still had comfort because they were together."

Margaret died around 8 a.m. on August 15. Don passed away later that day, shortly after 5 p.m.

Don was alert until the end, telling his daughter he was grateful he and Margaret could take this last journey together.

Beaver remembers sitting at her father's bedside and being in awe when he said of his wife, "When we get to heaven, we can walk in together, just like we're getting married again. Another honeymoon."

Patience Jonathan may lose ‘her’ $15 million to Nigeria as affected companies plead guilty to money laundering

There was a momentary hush inside the courtroom after a representative of  Pluto Property and Investment Company Limited, the first of the four companies involved in a $26 million money laundering case linked to former First Lady, Patience Jonathan, abruptly pleaded guilty before the judge.

The representatives of the other three companies – Sea Gate Property Development and Investment Company Limited; Trans Ocean Property and Investment Company Limited; and Avalon Global Property Development Company Limited – followed suit and pleaded guilty before Justice Babivision of the Federal High Court.

Waripamo Dudafa, who served as Special Adviser on Domestic Affairs to former President Goodluck Jonathan; Amajuoyi Briggs, a former presidential aide; and Adedamola Bolodeoku, a former Skye Bank official, who were arraigned alongside the companies, however, pleaded not guilty.

The judge adjourned till September 27th for trial.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission arraigned the suspects on a 15-count amended charge of money laundering, stealing, and forgery totalling $15.5 million before Mr. Kuewumi.

According to the EFCC, the offences were committed between November 2013 and May 2015.

In Count 1, the suspects were accused of conspiring to launder $15.5 million “on or about the 13th of November 2013.”

Counts 2 – 9 accused them of stealing of various sums ranging from $250,000 to $1.2 million. 

Counts 10 – 15 said Messrs Dudafa, Briggs, Bolodeoku, and one Sompre Omiebi (who is still at large) forged documents to open accounts in Skye Bank and Wema Bank in the name of the listed companies.

During their investigations, the EFCC had frozen the accounts.

But last week, Mrs. Jonathan filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit before the court claiming ownership of the money found in the companies’ accounts, asking that the ‘no-debit’ order placed on them be lifted.

In an affidavit deposed to by one Sammie Somiari, a lawyer, Mrs. Jonathan said she asked Mr. Dudafa to assist her to open the bank accounts which the EFCC had frozen.

The former First Lady said the monies were meant for her medical treatment.

‘Joint trial’

Before the pleas were read, the first three defendants’ lawyers argued that the four companies’ representatives – who did not have legal counsels – ought to provide a letter from their respective companies authorizing them to appear before the judge.

“Anybody can be called upon from the street to come and represent a company,” said Tochukwu Onyiuke, counsel to the second defendant, Mr. Briggs.

Gboyega Oyewole, counsel to Mr. Dudafa, said the defendants were in a joint trial.

“It cannot be severed,” he said.

“Whatever plea pleaded by the defendants will tell on the companies. Worst case scenario, my Lord will discountenance them and enter a not guilty plea for them.”

But Rotimi Oyedepo, counsel to the EFCC, argued that the representatives were listed as directors in the companies’ Corporate Affairs Commission registration records.

“If they (defence counsels) are objecting to their plea being taken, it is extremely immature to bring it up at this stage, it is after their plea had been taken,” said Mr. Oyedepo.

“If they want us to show that the persons appearing the court are listed in the CAC as directors, we have the proof.”

After the plea was read, the judge granted Messrs Briggs and Bolodeoku bail in the sum of N250 million each, with two sureties.

The judge refused to allow Mr. Dudafa to continue on a bail granted him in another trial before a different judge, remanding him in prison and insisting that his lawyer must file a bail application before his court.

Jiti Ogunye, a Lagos based lawyer, told PREMIUM TIMES that the implication of the companies’ representatives pleading guilty means the money found in the bank accounts would be forfeited to the Nigerian government.

“The companies’ representatives cannot be sent to prison because they are not charged as individuals,” Mr. Ogunye said.

“The company that pleaded guilty, of course, cannot be made to serve custodial punishment. But is it very instructive that they pleaded guilty realizing that it doesn’t make any sense of them to deny such an obvious guilt on their part.”

As the case continues, it is not clear how much Mrs. Jonathan can do to prove the money truly belongs and be returned to her and not forfeited to the government.

Mother of two killed by stray bullet in Kaduna

A 25-year-old mother of two, identified as Maryam Abubakar, was yesterday hit by a stray bullet said to be from police gun at Layin Sarki in Tudun-Wada area of Zaria, Kaduna State.

The incident occurred when police and some hoodlums were exchanging fire in the area.

Maryam’s husband, Malam Musa Bawa told newsmen in Zaria on Thursday that, “The incident happened at Hajiya Kaka Mai-Waina’s house, Layin Sarki, Tudun-Wada, Zaria.

“The incident happened on Wednesday evening at about 6:00pm at my mother in-law’s residence, Hajiya Kaka Mai-Waina at Tudun-Wada.

“Normally, during Sallah period, my wife, her siblings and some of their relations used to converge at the house to celebrate Sallah and use the period to see one another.

“They were upstairs of the house when policemen chased some thugs who ran close to the house, only for those behind my wife to see her slump.”

Bawa said his wife was hit in eight different places and was rushed to the hospital for medical attention.

He added, “As I am talking to you, four pint of blood had been transfused into her because she lost lot of blood before the doctors came to her rescue.”

The Police Spokesperson in the State, ASP Aliyu Usman confirmed the incident, adding that investigation showed the bullet was not from the police.

He said, “Medical report from the doctor attending to the victim indicates that the bullet removed is not our own.

“The woman was hit in eight different places by pellets emanating from either den gun or double barrel. Remember, police don’t use gun powder.”

Lady Gaga announces new album Joanne

Little monsters rejoice. Lady Gaga announced on Apple Radio’s Beats 1 that new fifth album, Joanne, will be out Oct. 21.

Gaga, who released the collection’s first track “Perfect Illusion” last week, told Beats 1’s Zane Lowe that the album is “actually going to be done in the next 48 hours.” Gaga says she has been collaborating with producer Mark Ronson and tinkering on the final track and will “[spend] the last 48 hours meditating with it.”

Gaga admits, “there’s definitely a bittersweetness to [finishing the album],” but acknowledges “this isn’t the end just the end of this moment. It’s also the beginning of this moment.”

The album is named after Gaga’s father’s late sister. (Joanne is also Gaga’s middle name.) “She is the woman of my past,” she said.

Trump in excellent health, doctor says

Republican nominee Donald Trump is in "excellent physical health," according to a letter from his doctor.

Mr Trump released the letter from his doctor, Harold N Bornstein, following a recent physical examination.

The 70-year-old is listed as 6 foot 3 inches (1.9 metres) and weighs 236 pounds (116 kilos), which makes him overweight for his height.

The letter comes as his rival Hillary Clinton returns to the campaign trail after she was sick with pneumonia.

Both candidates have faced public scrutiny over transparency about the state of their health.

"He takes a lipid lowering agent (rosuvastatin) and a low dose aspirin," the letter said. "He does not use tobacco products or alcohol."

Mr Trump discussed his health with talk-show host Dr Mehmet Oz in a taped interview, which is set to air on Thursday.

Kenya denies abuse of refugees in push to close Somali camp

Kenya reaffirmed on Thursday its plan to close the world's largest refugee camp by November, rejecting allegations by Human Rights Watch (HRW) that it is harassing and intimidating Somali refugees to return home when it is not safe to do so.

The rights group said Kenya is not giving the refugees a real choice between being repatriated or staying, and that the United Nation's refugee agency, UNHCR, is not giving refugees accurate information about the risks they face in Somalia.

"Our timeline is November 30th for closure of the camp," Karanja Kibicho, principal secretary for Kenya's interior ministry, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"We are trying to restore sanity in matters of refugee affairs. We are a sovereign country that is trying to address a security concern and we are as humane as possible."

A spokesman for UNHCR in Kenya said the agency would have to study HRW's report before responding.

Kenya announced in May that it would close Dadaab, home to more than 300,000 mostly Somali refugees, by November, following deadly attacks on Kenyan soil by Somali Islamist group al Shabaab.

The government says al Shabaab has used the camp as a recruiting ground for its attacks.

Kenya softened its stance in June, following an outcry from rights groups who said much of Somalia was not yet safe for return, and agreed a goal of halving Dadaab's population by the end of 2016.

Somalia continues to face an Islamist insurgency and is struggling to rebuild after decades of conflict.

Kibicho's comments suggest the government is sticking to its original November deadline.

There has been a surge in departures from Dadaab in recent months with more than 24,000 refugees returning to Somalia since December 2014, the United Nations said.

Some are third generation residents of the camp, which was set up in 1991 to host Somalis fleeing civil war in the Horn of Africa country.

FEAR

HRW interviewed 100 refugees and asylum seekers in Dadaab, some of whom said in a report released on Thursday that they agreed to return home because they fear the Kenyan government will deport them if they stay.

Community leaders told HRW that a government official intimidated them at a meeting in July.

"When I tried to tell the (official) that people can't go back, that it is not as safe as he suggests, he pointed his finger at me and told me to sit down," HRW quoted one elder as saying.

"He told me to pick up a gun and defend my country ... After that meeting, people began to really worry that we would be put into lorries come November."

In 2014, Kenyan authorities deported more than 300 people to Somalia in a crackdown the United Nations said violated the 1951 Refugee Convention which prohibits refoulement -- the forcible return of refugees to areas where their lives would be threatened.

"These people are voluntarily taking themselves (home)..." Kibicho said. "We are a country that respects our obligations to the international conventions."

Refugees who choose not to return to Somalia will be taken to Kakuma, he said, referring to Kenya's second refugee camp, which mostly hosts people fleeing war in South Sudan.

The United Nations has struggled to raise funds to provide health and education services to refugees returning to Somalia.

Some refugees who left Dadaab were stranded near the Somali border in August after local authorities in Jubaland refused to receive them, saying they could not provide enough assistance, HRW and local media reported.

EFCC declares ex-governor wanted for alleged N76bn fraud

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared wanted the immediate past Governor of Katsina State, Mr. Ibrahim Shema, over an alleged N76bn fraud.

It was learnt that the EFCC declared him wanted sequel to allegations levelled against him by his successor, Governor Aminu Masari.

In a gazette signed by the spokesman for the EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the anti-graft agency said Shema had ignored all invitations by the EFCC.

The gazette read in part, “The public is hereby notified that Ibrahim Shema, a former Governor of Kastina State, is wanted by the EFCC in connection with a case of criminal conspiracy, inflation of contracts, abuse of office, diversion of funds and embezzlement, running into billions of naira.

“The former governor ignored several invitations by the commission since December 1, 2015, when he was first summoned by the agency. All efforts to locate him at his known addresses in Katsina and Abuja were futile.

“The 59-year-old ex-governor hails from the Dutsena-ma Local Government Area of Katsina State. He is tall, light in complexion and speaks Hausa and English fluently. Anybody, having useful information as to his whereabouts, should contact the commission.”

Masari had expressed dissatisfaction with the handover note presented to him by his predecessor, prompting him to set up a probe panel into the administration of Shema.

Masari had said he had “concrete evidence” to drag his predecessor before the anti-graft agency to recover all stolen funds.

According to Masari, there are some mistakes that can be forgiven, “but N70bn is a huge amount of money that we cannot overlook.”

The governor promised that all stolen public money would be retrieved to correct past mistakes and bring sanity into the public service.

He alleged that the former governor misappropriated over N76bn collected as excess crude oil allocation and diverted over N7.5bn into his private pocket.

Masari also alleged that Shema and other top government officials of the Ministry of Local Government Affairs diverted over N750m earmarked for the purchase of drugs for ther state’s local governments.

The Katsina State governor added that his administration was aware of a campaign of calumny sponsored by his predecessor in the media to frustrate him from going ahead with the probe and retrieving stolen funds.

He alleged that more than N1.8bn was paid by the former governor to proprietors of some newspapers for the job.

In his response, Shema said in a letter written by his lawyers, Wole Olanipekun (SAN) and Co, that there was an “unwarranted and unexpected campaign of calumny being waged against the ex-governor coupled with a deliberate attempt to blackmail, denigrate and vilify Shema and his aides.

He described as blatant lies, nauseating and malicious the claims that the “Ibrahim Shema-led administration incurred and left the state with a debt of N42bn upon the expiration of its term; that the administration incurred a foreign debt portfolio of $78m and that a sum of N13bn got missing between January and May 2015.”

The former governor also debunked allegations that a sum of N7bn was dubiously transferred to the account of the state chapter of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria and same was recklessly used by the said association.

Recession: Unity Bank sacks 215 workers

Unity Bank Plc, has sacked not less than 215 of its employees as part of its re-engineering strategy for greater performance, Nation reports.

The workers were allegedly sacked for their inability to cope with the new ideas and strategy of the institution.

Those relieved of their jobs were, however, asked to resign while management has approved severance package in line with the bank’s policy.

Despite the claim that the development was part of Unity Bank “reengineering strategy for greater performance”, the economic situation of the country might have been a factor.

Meanwhile, some of the sacked workers have alleged injustice in the way they were relieved.

They dismissed the “reengineering strategy” reason being sold to the public by Unity Bank, insisting that the downsizing was a deliberate action to cut staff strength to reduce cost.

Diamond and Ecobank banks had earlier in the year fired over 1 200 workers according to News24.

Diamond Bank in a statement, said the sacking of the 200 workers was in line with its strategic plan to drive shareholders’ value. The statement read, “Diamond Bank recently rightsized its workforce. The rightsizing was a core strategic exercise in line with the bank’s growth objective and the will to continue the drive to optimise cost and enhance value for the shareholders at the end of the business year.

Ecobank on its part said that it had converted over 200 outsourced personnel to permanent employees as part of its drive to attract and reward talent, while also repositioning for improved efficiency.

The statement also announced the conversion of 200 out-sourced staff into a permanent positions in line with its commitment “to develop and grow talent by nurturing its people”.

- News 24

Toddler dies after being suffocated when adult sat on bean bag he'd been hiding under

A toddler has died of suffocation apparently after an adult sat on a bean bag he had crawled under to hide while playing with other children.  

On Thursday, Leo Sanchez, who would have turned two on September 17, died after becoming trapped under a large bean bag an adult sat to read a story at a child centre in Utah, his mother said.

"I'm supposed to be planning his birthday party for next week and now I'm planning his funeral," his mother Danielle told NBC News on Friday.
Ms Sanchez said that police was reviewing surveillance footage of the incident showing Leo climbing under the bag, where he was for five to 15 minutes before employees realised he was underneath, KUTV reports.

"That's all I know right now, is my baby suffocated under a bean bag," Ms Sanchez said in tears adding that the Leo was playing with other children when he crawled under the bean bag.

"How could this happen?" Ms Sanchez said. "He's a big boy. How did they lose track of him? Too many kids, too much noise, overwhelmed, a bad day ... Somebody dropped the ball and now we're going to have to bury a boy because of that."

Parents of little Leo Sanchez

"I was given different stories. Finally the police officers came and they previewed the film," she said. "I'm just confused. I'm so confused on how you don't know where my kid is. How do you not feel him? How do you not hear him scream?"

West Jordan police sergeant Joe Monson called Leo's death a "very tragic, sad accident" and confirmed that investigators believe an adult sat on a large bean bag, unaware that the toddler was underneath. He said that the investigation is continuing.

Leonardo Sanchez was about to turn two

"No words adequately describe the depth of the sorrow we feel," Utah's West Jordan child centre said in a statement released through an attorney. "And, of course, we do not pretend to understand how devastating this is for the family. We know the family well, we grieve with them, and we pray that God will provide them the comfort and peace they inevitably will need.”

"I dropped him off at daycare not realising I would never be able to hold him again," Ms Sanchez told KUTV, "or kiss him or have my Leo back."

Leo's father Dan Sanchez, told KUTV that something needs to change at the daycare and that other parents and caregivers should be aware that something like this could happen. "Be aware," he said. "Have knowledge and some accountability."

The Department of Health is also investigating circumstances around the toddler's death and whether the care facility is operating under the proper licence said department spokesperson Tom Hudachko.

 (Independent.ie)

Man who survived Orlando mass shooting dies at party

One of the survivors of the mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando and who spoke publicly about the attack has died just three months later at a party.  

Chris Brodman, 34, was at a friend’s house near Tampa when paramedics were called in the early hours of Sunday morning. They found him unresponsive in the garden.

Brodman died at the house after their life-saving measures failed to resuscitate him, according to the Hillsborough County sheriff’s office.
Friends have posted on social media that they are “heartbroken”.

As reported by the Orlando Sentinel, detecitves did not find any evidence of trauma or violence. An autopsy has been carried out but the cause of death will not be determined until the toxicology test results are available.
Brodman was on the patio of the Pulse nightclub on 12 June when gunman Omar Mateen burst in with a semi-automatic weapon and killed 49 people.

Brodman said on Facebook that he was finishing up a cigarette at the end of the night to celebrate his birthday, when he heard gunfire.
He thought it was music at first, but then he saw blood.

He hid under a table and behind the bar, and then managed to run across the street.
He later spoke to local news channels of his narrow escape, and he got a Pulse tattoo in memory of the victims.

A week after the shooting, he wrote: “I look back and what stands out the most for me is how much support and love has been shown both here in Orlando and around the world.”
Brodman’s boyfriend said on Facebook that he is collecting funds for funeral expenses.

"I don’t know how I’m going to go on without him,” he wrote.

US politician admits raping girl, 4, but claims it was 'her fault'

A former mayor who “dedicated his life to Jesus” repeatedly sexually assaulted a four-year-old girl and blamed her for being a “willing participant”.  

Richard Keenan, who served as mayor of Hubbard, Ohio, between 2010 and 2011, has been indicted with eight counts of rape and 12 counts of attempted rape and gross sexual imposition.

He pleaded not guilty last month, but prosecutors said he had admitted the assault to his wife, a pastor, a social worker and his brother and sister-in-law, as reported by the Youngstown Vindicator.
The period of assault, he reportedly admitted, spanned a three-year period, starting when the girl was four years old.

The child told his wife about the abuse and she confronted Keenan.
“I did it,” he said, according to court documents.

Keenan reportedly checked himself into a psychiatric facility as he felt suicidal. He told a social worker that he had started assaulting the child in September 2013 but that she had "initiated" the abuse, calling her a “willing participant”.
Spouses may testify if they wish under Ohio law, while the pastor will not be forced to testify about any admisions Keenan made to him.

In 2010, Keenan, who also worked for the city council in the 1990s and was a probation officer, told the same publication that he had “dedicated [his] life to Jesus”.
The former mayor will stand trial in April and has been released on $75,000 bail with the order to not have any contact with minors.

He faces life imprisonment.