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http://ift.tt/2pJgizo Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom Gov Samuel Ortom of Benue has expressed optimism that the All Progressive Congress (APC) would win the ongoing local government elections in the state. “I am very impressed with the organisation of the exercise and the massive turnout; I am happy that people are excited to vote. I am optimistic that the APC will sweep the polls,” Ortom said in Guma, shortly after casting his vote. The governor, who voted at 10.35 am, at Ako polling unit, Ndzorov ward of Guma, urged Benue residents to vote credible and tested candidates so as to ensure the best for the state. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he insisted on holding the election “to install democracy and instill discipline, accountability and sanity in local government administration”. Ortom said that the APC took its campaign to all parts of the stat to sell its candidates to the voters, and expressed hope that the “change” message had taken roots in the s...

http://ift.tt/2reBmBs PHOTO:AFP Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that Moscow could provide a recording of the exchange between Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US President Donald Trump, who is accused of sharing classified intelligence. “If the US administration finds it possible, we are ready to provide a recording of the conversation between Lavrov and Trump to the US Congress and Senate,” Putin said during a press conference. He mocked the idea that Trump went off-script to share secrets with the Russians, saying he could issue a “reprimand” to Lavrov since he hasn’t passed on the information. “(Lavrov) didn’t share these secrets with us — neither with me nor with the representatives of the Russian security services. That is very bad of him,” Putin said to sniggers from the audience as he answered questions after talks with Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni in the southern Russian city of Sochi. Citing unnamed sources, The Washington Post reported...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J Ifedayo Akindoju, chairman FCT Tennis Association, on Tuesday said that the association was raising kids at the grassroots level to replace old players. Akindoju said this in an interview while reacting to the performance of Nigerian players at the just concluded Dayak Tennis Championship in Abuja. All six players who registered for the event were knocked out in the first and second rounds. However, Sylvester Emmanuel, Nigeria’s ranked number two player, reached the finals of the doubles event. “We have a team in the FCT that goes round primary, secondary schools to introduce the game, we follow them up; we identify the ones with potentials. “Once in a year we have camps for them at the National Stadium for a week or two, and it is like running a clinic for them. “But the set of players we have now, in a couple of years, will not be able to play as they are playing now. “So we expect the younger ones to take over from them’’. The Dayak event is an Internat...

http://ift.tt/eA8V8J One Ahmed Akanbi was on Monday at Chief Magistrates’ Court, Badagry Lagos State charged with defrauding his sister of N25,000 and stealing her phone valued N8,000. The accused, a.k.a. Alfa, is facing a two-count charge of fraud and stealing. The prosecutor, Insp. Akpan Ikem, told the court that the accused committed the offence at Market Road, Badagry. He said the accused collected the money “ to cure the complainant, Miss Yemi Akanbi, of marine spirit.” “The accused collected the money to buy some things for the cleansing process. He also took her phone. “But he spent the money on clothes for himself and sold the phone”, he said. Ikem noted that the offence contravened sections 312 and 285 of the Criminal Code, Laws of Lagos State, Nigeria 2011. The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges. Counsel to the accused, Mr Koye Osuntuyi pleaded with the court to grant bail to the accused in liberal terms. The Magistrate, Mr Jimoh Adefioye, granted the accused...

http://ift.tt/2qg1tVG The attacker, brandishing a knife, stabbed the policeman in one of the alleys of the Old City before the wounded officer shot him dead, the statement said.<br /> A Palestinian stabbed and wounded an Israeli officer in annexed east Jerusalem on Saturday before being shot dead, police said. The officer was taken to hospital with “moderate” injuries after the attack in the walled Old City, police spokeswoman Louba Samri said in a statement. The attacker, brandishing a knife, stabbed the policeman in one of the alleys of the Old City before the wounded officer shot him dead, the statement said. A wave of unrest that broke out in October 2015 has claimed the lives of 264 Palestinians, 41 Israelis, two Americans, one Jordanian, an Eritrean, a Sudanese and a Briton, according to an AFP count. Most of the Palestinians killed were carrying out knife, gun or car-ramming attacks, the Israeli authorities say. Others were shot dead during protests or clashes, wh...