President Donald Trump has warned his Democrat challenger Joe Biden not to “wrongfully claim” the White House as electoral college votes showed the former vice president close to an insurmountable lead.
Trump, who has consistently threatened legal proceedings since Tuesday, made this known via Twitter Friday.
He wrote, “Joe Biden should not wrongfully claim the office of the President. I could make that claim also. Legal proceedings are just now beginning!”
FRSC Marshal, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi,
Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, the Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), said in Lagos on Friday that the agency lost about 27 patrol vehicles to the October #EndSARS protest.
Oyeyemi made the disclosure when he visited the FRSC Lagos State Command to assess the extent of damage done to its properties by hoodlums pretending to be protesters.
“We witnessed the highest level of vandalism in Lagos State around Oko-Afo, Lekki, and at our Ojodu Berger Headquarters.
“It is colossal, I counted it myself 13 vehicles were burnt and three were vandalised in Lagos alone. I think we lost about 27 patrol vehicles nationwide,’’ he said.
According to him, the unfortunate incident has crippled the patrol activities in some areas especially in places like Lagos, Edo, Delta, Imo, Osun, Enugu, Adamawa, and Anambra states where some offices were burnt.
The FRSC boss said that issuance of drivers’ licences had been put on hold in some states as a result of the vandalism of the offices.
“We need to look for vehicles to begin skeletal services, especially in Lagos State. We can’t fold our arms because Lagos State accounts for about 33 per cent vehicular density in the country and we are moving towards the end of the year.
“Ember months is a critical period and that’s why Lagos State is the first point of my visit. We will rise and ensure our responsibilities are fulfilled,’’ he said.
Oyeyemi added that FRSC personnel were returning to their duty posts in droves after the protest, but that the officers were still facing challenges of hostilities by road users.
“To put a patrol vehicle on the road now will cost about N24 million. It is costly, but I have forwarded my reports to the Secretary to the Federal Government and he has promised to act on them.
“I enjoin Nigerians to be modest when they are doing things; the level of damage is too much; the money meant for other activities will now be diverted in repairing some of this burnt offices,’’ Oyeyemi lamented.
US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has said he is going to win the US presidency as his lead grew over President Donald Trump in battleground states, although television networks have held off from declaring him the victor as officials continued to count votes.
“The numbers tell us… it’s a clear and convincing story: We’re going to win this race,” Mr Biden said, adding that he and his running mate Kamala Harris were already meeting with experts as they prepare for the White House.
Mr Biden’s speech was originally planned as a victory celebration, but he changed his approach in the absence of an official call from television networks and other election forecasters.
Still, it amounted to a blunt challenge to Mr Trump.
The Republican incumbent kept out of view in the White House on Friday as Mr Biden’s lead grew in the four states that will decide the outcome: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.
Leading Mr Trump by 4.1 million votes nationwide out of a record 147 million cast, Mr Biden said Americans had given him a mandate to tackle the coronavirus pandemic, the struggling economy, climate change and systemic racism.
“They made it clear they want the country to come together, not continue to pull apart,” Biden said.
He said he hoped to address Americans again on Saturday.
Mr Trump has remained defiant, vowing to press unfounded claims of fraud as his Republicans sought to raise $60 million to fund lawsuits challenging the results.
But some in his camp described the legal effort as disorganized, and so far they have not found success in the courts.
On the fourth day of vote counting, former Vice President Biden had a 253-to-214 lead in the state-by-state Electoral College vote that determines the winner, according to Edison Research.
Democrats grew increasingly frustrated that networks had not yet called a winner.
Securing Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes would put Mr Biden over the 270 he needs to win the presidency after a political career stretching back nearly five decades.
Mr Biden would also win if he prevails in two of the three other key states.
Like Pennsylvania, all three were still processing ballots into the early hours.
Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai has distanced himself from the campaign posters which presented him as running mate to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, in the 2023 presidential election.
El-Rufai, who spoke with State House correspondents after a meeting with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said he had also called Amaechi on the matter.
He added that the former Rivers State governor denied knowledge of those behind the posters.
He stressed that the individual who went to court to compel him to contest the 2023 election did so to attract attention, saying no one can be compelled to do anything against his wish.
The governor said: “I don’t know who is printing those posters, wasting his or her money printing posters. I heard about them. I called Minister, Amaechi, and asked him whether he knew anything about them; he said he didn’t know.
“I think we need to trace who is doing it and ask that person. I am the governor of Kaduna State; I have job to do. I haven’t delivered on the promises I made to the people of Kaduna State. Until I do that I don’t want to discuss anything.
“I am in politics. People will approach you, but whether they are genuine or not is another matter and whether you are interested or not is another matter.
“I just want to be the best governor that I can be and satisfy the aspirations of the people of Kaduna State from now to 2023. After 2023, everything is in the hand of God. It is not in the hand of anyone.”
The 2023 campaign posters of the two All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains appeared in major streets of Abuja on Thursday.
The messages on the posters sighted in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and some highways in the nation’s capital read: “The People’s choice,” and “Today may not be the best, but tomorrow will be better.”
President Donald Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, has told associates he has coronavirus, according to people familiar with the matter, adding to the outbreaks connected to the White House.
It wasn’t immediately clear when Meadows learned that he had contracted the virus or whether he had developed symptoms of Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus. He informed a close circle of advisers after Tuesday’s election, one of the people said.
Meadows didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment. White House spokespeople didn’t respond to numerous e-mails and phone messages requesting comment.
A Trump campaign aide, Nick Trainer, is also infected, according to two people familiar with the matter. He and campaign spokespeople declined to comment.
Meadows has remained involved in Trump’s post-election effort to challenge votes in several states where he trails former Vice President Joe Biden, according to one person familiar with the matter.
The chief of staff was at the Trump campaign headquarters with the president on Tuesday without a mask, and returned on Wednesday also without a mask, two people familiar with the situation said.
The people familiar with the matter asked not to be identified because the two cases had not been announced.
More than three dozen people associated with the president or the White House have been infected by the virus, including the president, his wife, Melania, and his youngest son, Barron. Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, Marc Short, and other aides tested positive for the virus late last month, shortly before the election.
A petrol-laden tanker on Saturday was gutted by fire on Kara Bridge along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
The fire outbreak started around 1 am on Saturday, November 7.
The incident has caused gridlock on the road as no firefighter was at the scene.
Report says some vehicles had been trapped in the inferno.
The Kara Bridge is no doubt becoming an hot spot for fuel tanker accidents.
Nigeria, without the Army,
Africa’s queen of the Prairie,
The land of our proud forefathers,
Overtaken by killer vampires and hyenas,
Dangling in air minutely,
Devourers of your precious children,
Who descend like swarms of bees on honey,
Over your hapless children and,
battered souls so delightfully,
In brutal extermination,
This generation would have gone extinct,
Ancestors would have been long invited for a funeral feast.
Even in dazing fear of blighting enemy swords,
Of Boko Haram and their first cousins,
The sacredness of our lives violated;
Crude oil praying mantis of the Delta,
Explosively poured the black gold in our faces,
We burned and survivors’ deserted homes for fear.
Ruthless bandits of the North and cattle thieves,
Invaded our lands in millions,
Replacing the nostalgia of rural life,
With sounds of automatic guns;
Eastern mercantile secessionists,
Campaigned in bloodshed of kinsmen and strangers alike.
The electoral brigands and thugs,
Wished democracy seized in Nigeria in 2019,
As arranged guns and ammunitions floated,
Everywhere like shrubs on sea surface at peak of rains;
And virus Corona came with fresh troubles!
Snaking through foreign valleys,
Uncle Corona landed its fury in Nigeria,
Sparing no friend nor foe,
The foreign demons hungrily,
Foraged our hamlets;
Searching for the next victim.
Yes! searching for the next victim!
Luck Dube echoed it in mournful lyrics,
We were all the “next victims,”
Like blacks under apartheid South Africa.
Innocent victims of no evil on our hands,
But Golgotha awaited us,
With the hellish ambience of slayers
Killer vendors of herdsmen and farmers,
Caused forlornness of fertile lands,
The fields left uncultivated,
Hunger loomed monstrously in mama’s kitchen.
But alas, the lone soldier shadowed,
Smiling and stern simultaneously,
He brought peace and war against,
Our cursed enemies,
Of blood and perditions,
Vacated the war songs chanters on our graves,
Seized killer blades, knives and guns and bombs,
The assailants’ thrusted in frightened faces,
As we stood askance, helpless!
But the men in khaki buffered,
Enacted rehearsal of salvation from Almighty Yaweh,
Operation Delta Safe came,
And militants went on self-exile;
And day time dance of the Python,
Descended bliss in the East of South.
Soldiers sermons on “Peace by all means,”
Sent Boko Haramists to the land of ghosts and repentance “Dole,”
Operation Sahel Sanity,
dismembered the bandit’s clan
Uncle Corona balked from daring our lives,
With soldiers mounting sentinels,
At city and village gates,
The deadly virus paused infectious,
Campaigns, recoiled and cringed.
Election riggers and activists,
Of violence sneezed, rather than barked,
At Nigeria’s democracy, with frowzy faces,
In painful reminiscence of defeat,
A reunion renewed among herders and farmers,
In the grassy and greenish Middle Belt.
The fields became green with crops,
Dancing to the tantalizing breeze,
Awaiting harvest to fill empty bellies,
Looming starvation starved itself,
And migrated to other nations,
Far from us; far from us!
#EndSARS hoodlums despoiled the land,
In pains and destructions,
But have regained lost senses,
Because the soldier! the soldier!! stood firm.
Eulogies of this soldier have filled heavens
Nigeria quakes; the earth quakes,
With joyful songs at dawn,
In tumultuous praises of these heroes,
As token of our appreciation,
Of the kindness and sacrifices,
To save us and preserve Nigeria!
Ooh! Soldier, your bed of roses,
Is set in our carnival of celebrations,
In expectations of your heroic home arrival.
Composed by Michelle Aluor
The Lagos government has asked #EndSARS protesters in the state to heed the warning of the police and desist from further demonstration.
In a statement on Friday, Gbenga Omotoso, commissioner for information, urged anyone who has grievance against the police to approach the judicial panel of inquiry.
After #EndSARS protesters were forcefully dispersed following incidents of violence, some of the agitators revealed plans to regroup and continue with their demonstration.
But the police warned them against such move, saying they would not tolerate further breakdown of law and order.
Omotoso asked residents to desist from further demonstration as the state is “battling to recover from the shock of the carnage unleashed by hoodlums who hid under the #EndSARS protests.”
“Even as we are still counting our painful losses in lives and property, there are hints of a new protest. The police have warned that no protest will be tolerated,” he said.
“Any protest under any guise will be disrespectful to the memory of those who died in the violence and unfair to ordinary Lagosians, who have remained peaceful, despite the hardship that the original protests sparked.
“It is clear that the original protests, despite their good intentions, have caused more havoc than they were planned to resolve.
“The Government hereby appeals to our patriotic youths to shelve any plan for a protest and join the practical efforts to find a solution to the problems that have been thrown up by the actions taken in recent weeks.
“Anybody who has any grievance against the disbanded SARS should approach the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution to make his case.
“Any person or group of persons who plans to fuel any crisis in Lagos should drop such thoughts or be ready to face the law.”
Pro-Trump protesters — some of them openly carrying rifles and handguns — rallied outside vote-tabulation centers in a few cities around the country Friday, responding to groundless accusations from President Donald Trump that the Democrats were trying to steal the White House.
Elections officials in several states where Democrat Joe Biden was ahead said the anger outside their doors made them fear for the safety of their employees.
Roughly 100 Trump supporters gathered for a third straight day in front of the elections center in Phoenix, where hundreds of workers were processing and counting ballots.
“Arrest the poll workers!” the crowd chanted, demanding four more years in office for Trump. Sheriff’s deputies kept protesters in a “free speech” zone away from the entrance to the building.
“When we start auditing some of these voter rolls, their fraud may actually be exposed,” conservative activist Charlie Kirk told the crowd, eliciting cheers.
In Detroit, dozens of Trump supporters returned to the streets outside the city’s convention center, where election workers counted ballots.
“Stop the steal!” the protesters chanted. Some carried signs that read, “Make Elections Fair Again” and “We Love Trump.” Police cordoned off streets leading to the building and maintained a close watch on the protest.
The county treasurer in Detroit, Eric Sabree, said he had closed his office because of threats. In a statement, Sabree said the decision was made “in the interest of the safety of taxpayers and our staff” and because of “credible information” from the sheriff’s office.
In Philadelphia, two men with handguns were arrested Thursday night near the convention center where the vote-counting that could decide the White House race was going on.
The men, ages 42 and 61, had driven up in a Hummer from Virginia and did not have permits to carry the weapons in Pennsylvania, police said. A military-style rifle and ammunition were found inside their vehicle, Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said. The car had a window sticker for the right-wing conspiracy theory QAnon.
District Attorney Larry Krasner did not say why the men had come to Philadelphia but said there were no indications they were part of an extremist group.
In Rhode Island, about 100 protesters rallied outside the state board of elections headquarters, demanding a recount in an overwhelmingly Democratic state where Biden won with more than 59% of the vote.
Protesters said ballots were illegally dumped in Rhode Island, but offered no evidence. State elections officials have said they have no evidence of fraud.
“We demand a recount in Jesus’ name!” protest leader Kathleen Forant shouted, as state police stood nearby.
Nigeria Without the Army
Nigeria, without the Army,
Africa’s queen of the Prairie,
The land of our proud forefathers,
Overtaken by killer vampires and hyenas,
Dangling in air minutely,
Devourers of your precious children,
Who descend like swarms of bees on honey,
Over your hapless children and,
battered souls so delightfully,
In brutal extermination,
This generation would have gone extinct,
Ancestors would have been long invited for a funeral feast.
Even in dazing fear of blighting enemy swords,
Of Boko Haram and their first cousins,
The sacredness of our lives violated;
Crude oil praying mantis of the Delta,
Explosively poured the black gold in our faces,
We burned and survivors’ deserted homes for fear.
Ruthless bandits of the North and cattle thieves,
Invaded our lands in millions,
Replacing the nostalgia of rural life,
With sounds of automatic guns;
Eastern mercantile secessionists,
Campaigned in bloodshed of kinsmen and strangers alike.
The electoral brigands and thugs,
Wished democracy seized in Nigeria in 2019,
As arranged guns and ammunitions floated,
Everywhere like shrubs on sea surface at peak of rains;
And virus Corona came with fresh troubles!
Snaking through foreign valleys,
Uncle Corona landed its fury in Nigeria,
Sparing no friend nor foe,
The foreign demons hungrily,
Foraged our hamlets;
Searching for the next victim.
Yes! searching for the next victim!
Luck Dube echoed it in mournful lyrics,
We were all the “next victims,”
Like blacks under apartheid South Africa.
Innocent victims of no evil on our hands,
But Golgotha awaited us,
With the hellish ambience of slayers
Killer vendors of herdsmen and farmers,
Caused forlornness of fertile lands,
The fields left uncultivated,
Hunger loomed monstrously in mama’s kitchen.
But alas, the lone soldier shadowed,
Smiling and stern simultaneously,
He brought peace and war against,
Our cursed enemies,
Of blood and perditions,
Vacated the war songs chanters on our graves,
Seized killer blades, knives and guns and bombs,
The assailants’ thrusted in frightened faces,
As we stood askance, helpless!
But the men in khaki buffered,
Enacted rehearsal of salvation from Almighty Yahweh,
Operation Delta Safe came,
And militants went on self-exile;
And day time dance of the Python,
Descended bliss in the East of South.
Soldiers sermons on “Peace by all means,”
Sent Boko Haramists to the land of ghosts and repentance “Dole,”
Operation Sahel Sanity,
dismembered the bandit’s clan
Uncle Corona balked from daring our lives,
With soldiers mounting sentinels,
At city and village gates,
The deadly virus paused infectious,
Campaigns, recoiled and cringed.
Election riggers and activists,
Of violence sneezed, rather than barked,
At Nigeria’s democracy, with frowzy faces,
In painful reminiscence of defeat,
A reunion renewed among herders and farmers,
In the grassy and greenish Middle Belt.
The fields became green with crops,
Dancing to the tantalizing breeze,
Awaiting harvest to fill empty bellies,
Looming starvation starved itself,
And migrated to other nations,
Far from us; far from us!
#EndSARS hoodlums despoiled the land,
In pains and destructions,
But have regained lost senses,
Because the soldier! the soldier!! stood firm.
Eulogies of this soldier have filled heavens
Nigeria quakes; the earth quakes,
With joyful songs at dawn,
In tumultuous praises of these heroes,
As token of our appreciation,
Of the kindness and sacrifices,
To save us and preserve Nigeria!
Ooh! Soldier, your bed of roses,
Is set in our carnival of celebrations,
In expectations of your heroic home arrival.
Composed by Michelle Aluor