Headlines
D-Day: Americans Elect New President
The D-day has finally arrived, and millions of Americans are set to head to the polls and choose between the two presidential candidates who remain neck and neck in the polls.
Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump who have been embroiled in a relentless battle for votes for months, remain split by 1.2% in favour of Harris according to the latest polls Monday — a lead well within the margin of error.
Trump wrapped up his campaign trail with a final speech in Grand Rapids, in the swing State of Michigan he flipped back in 2016. Meanwhile, Harris concluded by pledging to “get to work” if elected in Philadelphia, another battleground state where incumbent Democratic President Joe Biden won by 1.2% in 2020.
Europe and the rest of the world remain on tenterhooks as the result of the vote might lead to protests and legal challenges similar to the aftermath of the vote four years ago.
Trump’s final campaign speech concluded in Michigan. The former president stuck to some policy points, namely immigration, but spent a portion of his final message meandering through a series of tangents, and criticising Harris.
Promising to usher in a new “golden age” for the US, he then spoke about assigning nicknames for his political opponents — and said “groceries” was an old term he hadn’t heard much.
He cast doubt on the electoral process, saying using “paper” for ballots was old-fashioned and slow, insisting “we want the answer tonight.”
Harris was the subject of much vitriol, with Trump saying the Democrat has a “low IQ” and that she and Biden had destroyed the US.
He said Nancy Pelosi and Democrats were “trouble for our country. They are bad, sick, people.”
At the end of his speech, he brought out the mayor of Hamtrack, Amer Ghalib, on stage to signal his support among Arab Americans.
Republicans are hoping Arab American voters, frustrated with Biden’s policies in the Middle East, will vote for Trump today.
Harris expressed ‘optimism’ and ‘joy’ at final rally in Philadelphia.
“Ours is not a fight against nothing, but for something… Tonight we finish as we started: with energy, optimism, joy,” Democratic candidate Kamala Harris said, wrapping up her campaign trail in Philadelphia on Monday night.
Describing her months-long run as a fight for democracy, the incumbent vice-president chose to end on a positive note with one last appeal to young voters.
“Generations before us led the fight for freedom, and now the baton is in our hands,” Harris said. “We need to get to work and get out the vote.”
Philadelphia is the largest city in the East Coast state of Pennsylvania, one of the seven key swing states — US states where the election could reasonably go to either of the two candidates.
After weeks of campaigning, polls are set to open across the US to decide the next president.
It is currently past midnight eastern time with the first polls set to open in the northeastern state of Vermont in some places as early as 5 am EST (11am CET).
Polls in Hawaii and Alaska are set to close by 1 am EST (7 am CET).
Over 82 million have already voted, according to data published by the University of Florida’s election lab, breaking records in some crucial swing states such as North Carolina.
- Both Harris and Trump delivered their final message to voters in rallies last night.
- Harris pushed a message of unity and optimism for the US, focusing on abortion rights and pledging to lower food and housing costs.
- Trump painted a picture of America in despair — a problem only he could fix. Policy-wise, he vowed to seal the border between the US and Mexico and has proposed trillions worth of tax cuts.
- Both spent a portion of their speeches criticising the other, with Harris making a contrast between her and her opponent without using his name, and Trump calling Harris a “radical left lunatic,” among other things.
Agency Report
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
