I Can Still Win Election, Biden Assures Americans
Photo Credit:The Sun Newspapers
United States President, Joe Biden, has assured the Democrat donors that he could still win the presidential election coming up in November against his predecessor, the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, after a poor debate performance fuelled concern about his candidacy.
The 81-year-old president attended a series of fundraising events in New York and New Jersey on Saturday, and defended his performance in CNN’s Presidential Debate. Speaking at one of the events, Biden admitted: “I didn’t have a great night, but neither did Trump on Thursday. I promise you we’re going to win this election.”
Biden’s debate performance was marked by hard-to-follow and shaky answers, raising fresh fears among some Democrats over whether he is the right candidate to contest this high-stake election.
Former Democratic House speaker, Nancy Pelosi said Biden’s debate performance wasn’t great, while his former communications director, Kate Bedingfield, said it was really disappointing.
Voters in the US have regularly shared doubts about Biden’s mental and cognitive health, and early polling after the debate showed that the number who doubt his ability to serve as president has grown.
On June 9, a CBS news poll found that 65 percent of the registered voters said the president does not have the mental fitness to serve as president. The network released a new poll yesterday, which showed that the number had jumped to 72 percent after his poor debate performance.
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Ex-FCDA Director Dies At 90
Photo Credit:Punch Newspapers
The pioneer Director of Development and Civil Engineering Services of the Federal Capital Development Authority, Festus Oseni, has died.
The Oseni family of Owo, Ondo State, in a statement announcing the development, said he died on June 3, 2024, aged 90.
The spokesperson for the family, Joyceline Adeleye (nee Oseni), said their father passed on peacefully.
According to the statement, the deceased is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren and great-granddaughter.
“The late Oseni was the pioneering Director of Development and Civil Engineering Services, Federal Capital Development Authority, Abuja.
“Wake keep and Commendation Service is scheduled for Monday, July 8th 2024 at Our Saviour Anglican Church, Onikan, Lagos.
“Funeral service will hold at the same church on Tuesday, July 9, from 11 am. Interment follows with immediate family members only,” the statement said.
FG’s Retirees Groan Under N230bn Pension Arrears
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The agonies of retirees from the Federal Civil Service appear to be getting worse as the Federal Government has failed to release funds for payment of accrued pension rights in the first half of 2024, H1’24, which ended yesterday.
The FG had reneged for the full year 2023, FY’23, as no funds were released despite budgetary provisions.
The release made in the first quarter of 2023, was for outstanding payments in 2022.
This comes against the backdrop of FG’s failure to implement its policy on
the upward review of pension amounts under the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, for 15 years, against policy prescriptions of upward review every five years as stipulated by law.
While the law stipulates that pensions shall be reviewed every five years or together with any federal civil service salary reviews, whichever is earlier, the FG has failed to implement pension adjustments under the Contributory Pension Scheme, CPS, since the scheme’s inception in 2004.
The FG’s indebtedness to retirees on accrued pension rights in the last 16 months is estimated at N230 billion.
Some pensioner groups have called for a boycott of investing pension assets in FG securities since the government borrowing comes mainly from pension assets. At the same time, the FG has always been found wanting in complying with the extant pension scheme.
Abia Lawmaker Takes Campaign For Kanu’s Release To Buhari
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The lawmaker representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency in Abia State, Obi Aguocha, has sought the intervention of former President Muhammadu Buhari to secure the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Nnamdi Kanu.
Kanu was arrested in Kenya and repatriated to Nigeria in July 2021, after he fled the country in the wake of the military raid on his home during the tenure of Buhari.
He has remained in detention since then, facing many charges, including treason.
Aguocha, as part of efforts to commence a dialogue for the political solution to the release of the IPOB leader, visited Buhari in his Daura country home on Saturday.
The PUNCH reported on June 19 that Kanu, in a viral video clip, against his former posture, denounced the killings in the South-East over IPOB’s agitation for secession and appealed for an out-of-court settlement in his ongoing treason trial by the Federal Government.
In a conversation with his lawyers, who pointed out to him that he needed to speak up to stop the killings, Kanu said, “I condemn any manner of killing. Every manner of killing, I condemn in its entirety.
“I want people to understand that IPOB was founded on a non-violent principle and we maintain that up till this very day. Some of these soldiers, we’re told, are also our people. And the families are now in mourning. All the making of young widows is condemned in its entirety. I don’t want it, I don’t want anybody to die.