Headlines
Biden to Announce Cabinet Picks Tuesday
US President-elect Joe Biden will name his first cabinet picks on Tuesday, his chief of staff said, even as Donald Trump clung to unsubstantiated claims of fraud despite growing dissent from within his own party.
Biden has pushed ahead with preparations to assume the presidency on January 20, regardless of Trump’s bid to undo the results of the November vote.
“You are going to see the first of the president-elect’s cabinet picks on Tuesday,” Biden’s chief of staff, Ron Klain, told ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
Several US news organizations, including Bloomberg and The New York Times, reported that the president-elect will nominate seasoned diplomat and long-time aide Antony Blinken as secretary of state.
Biden also said last week he had already decided his pick for the key position of Treasury Secretary.
US media also widely reported he will name Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who served as assistant secretary of state for Africa under President Barack Obama, as his UN ambassador.
A growing number of Republicans have either recognized Biden’s victory or at least urged the General Services Administration — the usually low-profile agency that manages the federal bureaucracy — to release federal funds for the Biden transition.
With Trump refusing to acknowledge the election outcome, Biden and his top aides have been denied briefings on sensitive domestic and foreign policy issues — most urgently the coronavirus pandemic battering the country.
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who in 2016 advised the Trump transition, said on ABC that the president’s legal team was a “national embarrassment.”
Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, another prominent Republican, told CNN that Trump was making the country look like a “banana republic,” later tweeting the president should “stop golfing and concede.”
Trump has golfed on every weekend day since the election, though he took part virtually in the conference of the G20 leading economies this weekend — skipping a Saturday session on the pandemic.
And even Representative Devin Nunes, an ardent Trump loyalist, conceded backhandedly on Fox News that Biden had “run a successful campaign from a basement.”
– ‘Without merit’ –
Trump again tweeted on Sunday about “massive numbers of fraudulent ballots,” a claim dismissed by a long list of judges in several states.
Appearances by Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have drawn mockery, as have claims by another former member of his legal team, Sidney Powell.
Powell has alleged baseless conspiracy theories involving a possible hack of the election, earning her widespread derision but also praise from some of Trump’s most ardent supporters.
Giuliani announced Sunday that Powell had been dropped from the team.
Trump’s latest legal setback came Saturday, when Pennsylvania judge Matthew Brann threw out the president’s fraud claims in a scathing judgment.
Pennsylvania was a must-win state, and flipped to Biden after backing Trump in 2016.
Brann’s ruling paved the way for Pennsylvania to certify Biden’s victory in the state.
Biden won the state-by-state Electoral College votes that ultimately decide who takes the White House by 306 to 232.
The Electoral College is due to formally vote on December 14, with state certifications to take place beforehand.
– ‘Incredibly damaging’ –
State certification of popular vote results in presidential elections is usually routine.
But Trump’s refusal to concede has raised concerns that he could cause long-term damage to public trust in the voting system that underlies US democracy.
The judgment in Pennsylvania came hours after Republicans also requested a delay in certification in Michigan, another battleground state won by Biden.
They requested a two-week delay to allow a full audit of results in Wayne County — home to majority-black Detroit, which overwhelmingly voted for Biden.
Michigan’s board of canvassers, which includes two Democrats and two Republicans, is due to meet Monday to certify the results.
There were reports that a Republican member of the board was considering voting against certification.
Biden has so far moderated his criticism of Trump’s actions, though he has spoken of “incredibly damaging messages being sent to the rest of the world about how democracy functions.”
AFP
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has called for an independent, transparent, and comprehensive investigation into the academic and professional credentials of all members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), beginning with President Bola Tinubu himself.
Atiku’s call comes in the wake of the recent resignation of the former Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, Uche Nnaji, over an alleged certificate scandal.
Following the controversy surrounding the authenticity of his academic qualifications, Nnaji tendered his resignation on Tuesday. He, however, maintains that his resignation is not an admission of guilt.
Reacting to the development in a post on his X handle on Wednesday, Atiku said the resignation of the former minister has “once again brought to light the deep moral crisis at the heart of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.”
The former Vice President also questioned Tinubu’s own credentials, alleging that they have been the subject of controversy for decades. He, therefore, called for a thorough investigation into the credentials of all FEC members, starting with the President.
“This episode is not isolated. It is a reflection of a pattern — a rot that begins from the very top. The man who occupies the office of President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has for decades been enmeshed in controversies surrounding his identity, age, and academic records.
“From the Chicago State University saga to multiple contradictory claims under oath, the world has seen ample evidence that Nigeria today is led by a man who himself has been unable to credibly defend the authenticity of his own certificates.
“When a man of questionable identity leads a country, deception becomes the standard of governance. Tinubu’s personal history of alleged forgery and perjury has effectively institutionalized falsehood in public service.
“It is, therefore, unsurprising that his ministers and aides have taken after his example — falsifying documents, inflating records, and desecrating the moral foundation of our nation.
“I, therefore, call for an independent, transparent, and comprehensive investigation into the academic and professional credentials of all members of the Federal Executive Council, beginning with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu himself. Nigerians deserve to know the truth about those who preside over their lives and resources.
“Tuesday’s resignation of Uche Nnaji, Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology, has once again brought to light the deep moral crisis at the heart of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
“What should ordinarily be a matter of national shame is now being disguised as a ‘voluntary resignation’ — an attempt to whitewash yet another scandal that typifies the forgery-ridden character of this government,” Atiku said.
He condemned President Tinubu’s decision to allow Nnaji an honourable resignation rather than a dismissal.
“Let the truth be told: Uche Nnaji should not have been allowed the courtesy of resignation. He should have been summarily dismissed and prosecuted for deceit and falsification.
“By permitting him to quietly exit through the back door, the Tinubu administration has once again demonstrated that it is an assembly of forgers, impostors, and morally bankrupt individuals masquerading as public servants.”
Atiku also berated the Department of State Services (DSS), questioning how Nnaji’s alleged certificate scandal escaped detection during the screening process prior to his appointment.
“What makes this even more embarrassing is that the same Department of State Services (DSS), which screened out Mallam Nasir El-Rufai for alleged ‘security concerns’, is the very agency that cleared this same character, Uche Nnaji.
“The DSS truly deserves our flowers for this national disgrace. Their failure of due diligence has made Nigeria an object of ridicule before the world and raises the question: how many more such individuals are occupying sensitive positions in this government?”
President Bola Tinubu, on Tuesday, accepted Professor Mahmood Yakubu’s departure as chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) following the expiration of his second term in office.
Yakubu was first appointed in November 2015 as the 14th chairman of the commission for an initial term of five years.
The appointment, which was renewed in 2020, has now expired due to the passage of time.
President Tinubu thanked Professor Yakubu for his services to the nation and his efforts to sustain Nigeria’s democracy, particularly through the organisation of free and fair elections throughout his two-term tenure.
In recognition of Yakubu’s dedicated service to the nation, President Tinubu has bestowed on him the honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON).
President Tinubu also directed that Professor Yakubu should hand over to the most senior national commissioner, May Agbamuche-Mbu, who will direct the affairs of the Commission until the completion of the process to appoint a successor.
In the letter dated October 3, 2025, Professor Yakubu thanked the President for the opportunity to serve the nation as chairman of the commission since 2015.
The Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Geoffrey Uche Nnaji, has resigned his position following allegations of certificate forgery levelled against him.
President Bola Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the resignation in a statement on Tuesday, saying the President has accepted the Minister’s decision to step down.
He added that “President Tinubu appointed Nnaji in August 2023. He resigned today in a letter thanking the President for allowing him to serve Nigeria.”
Onanuga further quoted the former Minister as saying he had “been a target of blackmail by political opponents.”
“President Tinubu thanked him for his service and wished him well in future endeavours,” the statement added.
