Headlines
US Senate Confirms Trump’s Nominee Marco Bubio As Secretary of State
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The Senate quickly confirmed Marco Rubio as Secretary of State on Monday, voting unanimously to give President Donald Trump the first member of his new Cabinet on Inauguration Day.
Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, is among the least controversial of Trump’s nominees and vote was decisive, 99-0. Another pick, John Ratcliffe for CIA director, is also expected to have a swift vote, as soon as Tuesday. Action on others, including former combat veteran and Fox News host Pete Hegseth for defense secretary, is possible later in the week.
“Marco Rubio is a very intelligent man with a remarkable understanding of American foreign policy,” Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the senior-most Republican, said as the chamber opened.
It’s often tradition for the Senate to convene immediately after the ceremonial pomp of the inauguration to begin putting the new president’s team in place, particularly the national security officials. During Trump’s first term, the Senate swiftly confirmed his defense and homeland security secretaries on day one, and President Joe Biden’s choice for director of national intelligence was confirmed on his own Inauguration Day.
With Trump’s return to the White House, and his Republican Party controlling majorities in Congress, his outsider Cabinet choices are more clearly falling into place, despite initial skepticism and opposition from both sides of the aisle.
Rubio, who was surrounded by colleagues in the Senate chamber, said afterward he feels “good, but there’s a lot of work ahead.”
“It’s an important job in an important time, and I’m honored by it,” Rubio said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune moved quickly Monday, announcing he expected voting to begin “imminently” on Trump’s nominees.
Democrats have calculated it’s better for them to be seen as more willing to work with Trump, rather than simply mounting a blockade to his nominees. They’re holding their opposition for some of his other picks who have less support, including Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence and vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for health secretary.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said his party will “neither rubber-stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified, nor oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration.”
Rubio, he said, is an example of “a qualified nominee we think should be confirmed quickly.”

Senate committees have been holding lengthy confirmation hearings on more than a dozen of the Cabinet nominees, with more to come this week. And several panels are expected to meet late Monday to begin voting to advance the nominees to the full Senate for confirmation.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee unanimously advanced Rubio’s nomination late Monday. The Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Intelligence Committee, respectively, voted to move the nominations of Hegseth and Ratcliffe. And the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee advanced nominees Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary and Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget, but with opposition.
Rubio, a well-liked senator and former Trump rival during the 2016 presidential race, has drawn closer to the president in recent years. He appeared last week to answer questions before the Foreign Relations Committee, where he has spent more than a decade as a member.
As secretary of state, Rubio would be the nation’s top diplomat, and the first Latino to hold the position. Born in Miami to Cuban immigrants, he has long been involved in foreign affairs, particularly in South America, and has emerged as a hawk on China’s rise.
During his confirmation hearing last week, Rubio warned of the consequences of America’s “unbalanced relationship” with China. While he echoes Trump’s anti-globalist rhetoric, Rubio is also seen as an internationalist who understands the power of U.S. involvement on the global stage.
Rubio cultivated bipartisan support from across the aisle, both Republicans and Democrats. He takes over for outgoing Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who has said he hopes the Trump administration continues Biden’s policies in the Middle East to end the war in Gaza and to help Ukraine counter Russian nomination.
The Senate is split 53-47, but the resignation of Vice President JD Vance and, soon, Rubio drops the GOP majority further until their successors arrive. Republicans need almost all every party member in line to overcome Democratic opposition to nominees.
Objection from any one senator, as is expected with Hegseth and several other choices, would force the Senate into procedural steps that would drag voting later into the week.
Headlines
Trump Claims US Now in Total Control of Strait of Hormuz
United States President, Donald Trump, says his country is now in “total control” of the Strait of Hormuz amid ongoing tensions with Iran over the reopening of the strategic waterway.
Trump made the claim while speaking to reporters at Joint Base Andrews, saying the situation with Iran was progressing well despite continued disagreements between both countries.
“Iran is going fine – going just absolutely fine. We totally control the Strait of Hormuz. We have control over it; nobody else, only us. Our navy is unbelievable, and things going great for our country,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews.
“I don’t trust Iran. I’m the last person to trust Iran; they’ve lied to me constantly. We have total control over the Hormuz Strait right now; they don’t have control,” he added.
The claim comes as the United States and Iran continue to exchange demands over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, casting further uncertainty over negotiations aimed at ending their five-month conflict.
Although the US has confirmed its involvement in the talks, Iran maintains that it is negotiating directly only with Oman. Tehran has also proposed that the future management of the strategic waterway be shared with Oman.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical global energy route, with about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies passing through it before the US-Israel war with Iran began at the end of February.
On Monday, Trump said he would seek compensation from Iran for deaths and injuries associated with conflicts and attacks spanning several decades.
His position followed Iran’s demands for reparations over the war last week, as Tehran said it would not reopen the strait until Washington addresses its political and economic conditions.
Headlines
ADC Rejects ICPC Report on PFIPC, Queries N1.3bn Budget Allocation to Fake Agency
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has rejected the interim report of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on the controversial Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council (PFIPC), arguing that the findings leave some of the biggest questions surrounding the scandal unanswered.
The opposition party said the report appeared to focus more on limiting political fallout than establishing how a purported government agency allegedly gained access to official institutions, occupied government office space and received other forms of state recognition despite questions over its legal status.
The ADC’s position was contained in a statement issued on Saturday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi.
The controversy surrounding the PFIPC has intensified in recent weeks following allegations that the organisation operated as a government agency despite questions over its establishment, with its purported Director-General, Adeniyi Adeyemi, facing scrutiny from law enforcement agencies and lawmakers.
The party said the ICPC’s interim findings had failed to provide satisfactory explanations for how the organisation allegedly secured office accommodation within the Federal Secretariat, attracted civil servants, obtained official recognition and appeared in the 2026 federal budget with a reported allocation of N1.3 billion.
The ADC recalled that it had previously opposed President Bola Tinubu’s decision to assign the investigation to the ICPC, insisting that an independent panel would have been better positioned to investigate the matter without questions about institutional proximity.
According to the opposition party, the interim nature of the ICPC report made it even more difficult to understand why the commission appeared to be pointing responsibility towards Adeyemi while simultaneously maintaining that its investigation was still ongoing.
“The report is not only predictable, it appears more concerned with exonerating government officials rather than providing clear answers to the serious questions that the scandal has raised,” the party said.
The ADC argued that the controversy could not simply be dismissed as an administrative failure.
It maintained that if the PFIPC was indeed established through fraudulent representations, there were still important questions about how those representations allegedly passed through several layers of government without being detected.
“A forgery may explain the first door that was opened. It cannot explain why every subsequent door appears to have opened as well,” the party said.
For the ADC, the central issue is not simply whether Adeyemi allegedly forged documents or misrepresented himself.
The party wants investigators to establish how an organisation whose legitimacy is now being questioned could allegedly secure office accommodation, civil servants, official vehicles and other institutional support.
It argued that such developments would ordinarily require interaction with multiple government departments and officials.
The party therefore questioned whether the alleged activities were facilitated by negligence, institutional failure or possible complicity within government.
The ADC also raised concerns over reports that the ICPC had identified two other allegedly fictitious organisations linked to Adeyemi.
Rather than viewing that development as evidence of an isolated individual operation, the party said it should prompt investigators to widen the scope of their inquiry.
One of the most significant issues raised by the opposition party was the reported N1.3 billion allocation to the PFIPC in the 2026 Appropriation Act.
The ADC argued that a provision of that magnitude should have generated a clear paper trail involving budget submissions, reviews, approvals and verification.
“Budgetary provisions do not materialise by accident,” the party said.
It consequently demanded to know who proposed the allocation, which government officials processed it and who verified the existence and legitimacy of the purported agency before the provision was included in the federal budget.
The party noted that the House of Representatives had already begun its own investigation into how the PFIPC allegedly found its way into the federal budget.
According to the ADC, the legislative inquiry could provide an opportunity to establish whether the budget allocation resulted from deliberate manipulation, administrative negligence or failures within the government’s budgetary verification system.
The opposition party also criticised the reported recommendation that Adeyemi be prosecuted.
It argued that the ICPC’s decision to single out the purported PFIPC director-general appeared premature if, as the commission itself indicated, its investigation remained ongoing.
“If all that the commission had to present was a preliminary report, why not simply present it as a confidential brief to the President instead of making a public drama of it?” the ADC asked.
The party said the investigation should not be structured around finding a convenient individual to blame but should instead establish everyone who may have played a role in allowing the alleged operation to continue.
The ADC described the controversy as a national embarrassment and called on the ICPC to release the full interim report rather than only selected findings.
It also demanded that any public officials whose actions or negligence enabled the purported agency to operate be identified and investigated.
The party stressed that anyone found culpable should face appropriate sanctions after due process.
“What has happened is a national disgrace in the full glare of the entire world. No serious government should be satisfied with identifying one culprit for prosecution,” the party said.
The ADC maintained that Nigerians were not asking investigators to manufacture suspects or reach predetermined conclusions.
Rather, it said, the investigation should follow the evidence wherever it leads — including into government offices if necessary.
At the heart of the controversy, according to the opposition party, is a simple question: if the PFIPC is not a legitimate government agency, how did it allegedly get so far inside the machinery of government without multiple officials noticing?
That, the ADC argued, is the question the ongoing investigations must ultimately answer.
Headlines
Atiku Raises Alarm over ‘Mysterious’ Credit into Private Bank Account
Former Vice President and African Democratic Congress (ADC) Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has raised concerns over what he described as a suspicious and unauthorised payment into one of his private bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Friday by his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, Atiku said the transfer originated from an individual or entity unknown to him and carried the narration, “Contribution Electioneering Campaign.”
According to the statement, neither Atiku nor his campaign solicited, authorised or had any knowledge of the payment.
The former Vice President said the account was strictly private and its details were not in the public domain, raising concerns about how the information could have been obtained.
“How did unknown persons obtain the confidential banking details of a private citizen?”
Atiku said the incident raised broader concerns about the security of Nigerians’ financial information, particularly if the private banking details of a former Vice President and presidential candidate could allegedly be accessed without his consent.
“If the private banking information of a former Vice President and a leading presidential candidate can be accessed and deployed for reasons yet unknown, then no Nigerian’s financial privacy is safe.”
He further expressed concern that the alleged disclosure could have involved individuals with privileged access to confidential information.
According to him, if such access is established, it could expose account holders to criminal elements, including kidnappers, terrorists, bandits and fraudsters.
The former Vice President also called the attention of Nigerians and security agencies to the incident, describing it as part of what he termed a series of “suspicious activities” ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“We therefore put the Nigerian public and the security agencies on notice about this latest incident in a litany of suspicious activities leading up to next year’s general elections.”
Atiku also alleged that the incident could be part of an attempt to damage his reputation as political activities intensify ahead of the elections.
He urged Nigerians not to be distracted by what he described as “tired tactics” aimed at character assassination.
“Such desperate antics have failed before and will fail again.”
The ADC presidential candidate said he remained focused on his political agenda and his stated commitment to providing solutions to the country’s challenges.
“The Waziri Adamawa remains focused on offering Nigerians credible leadership and practical solutions to the nation’s challenges.”






