ATTENCAO

Donald Trump on Thursday secured the support of enough delegates to clinch the Republican presidential nomination, after unbound delegates pledged to back the billionaire, according to the Associated Press count. The Republican Party will not make the results official until its national convention in July, when delegates actually cast their votes for the nominee. The party does not provide an official delegate count throughout the primary race, leading several US news organizations to compile their own estimates. There are slight discrepancies between different counts because in some states delegates are free to vote for the candidate of their choice, unbound by the primary results. Trump has now secured the backing of 1,238 delegates, one more than the 1,237 needed, according to the AP, which said the New York real estate tycoon passed the threshold when a small number of unbound Republican delegates, including Oklahoma GOP chairwoman Pam Pollard, said they would support...

Chukwuama Muanya The United States (U.S.) could soon become the first country to approve the commercial use of a common bacterium to fight the spread of mosquitoes that can transmit viruses such as Zika, dengue and Chikungunya. According to a report published in Nature, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is reviewing an application from the biotechnology start-up MosquitoMate to use the bacterium Wolbachia pipientis as a tool against the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus). The company plans to market Wolbachia as a pesticide — one that kills only mosquitoes, and leaves other insects untouched. The EPA’s decision on the matter will come after a public-comment period that ends on May 31. MosquitoMate’s strategy involves rearing mosquitoes infected with a particular strain of Wolbachia and releasing the males into the environment. When these male mosquitoes mate with wild females who do not carry the same strain of Wolbachia, the resulting fertilized eggs d...

With the spectre of recession hanging over the nation, the Senate is deeply worried. Taking into cognisance the shrinking economy underscored by rising inflation, unemployment, poverty, dwindling oil revenue and other symptoms of recession, the upper legislative chamber yesterday summoned the Finance Minister, Mrs., and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele. The senators want the duo to brief the upper legislative chamber on the monetary and fiscal policies adopted to salvage the worrisome economic situation. Adopting without debate, a motion sponsored by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Gas, Bassey Albert Akpan (PDP, Akwa Ibom), the chamber expressed concern about revelations from several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) that have roles to play in the economy regarding the gloomy picture of the nation’s economic condition. Already, experts, including the National Coordinator of the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) under ...

Former Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti believes Jose Mourinho and Manchester United can be “a good wedding.” Mourinho, 53, is expected to be confirmed as the new United boss by the end of the week after Louis van Gaal left the club on Monday. United could only finish fifth in the Premier League under Van Gaal last season, though they did lift the FA Cup. That wasn’t enough to save Van Gaal, who came in for much criticism for the team’s style of play. Ancelotti sympathises with the Dutch coach, who he feels had a difficult job handling the rebuilding process in the years after the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson. But Ancelotti, who succeeds Pep Guardiola as boss of Bayern Munich this summer, believes Mourinho can help take United back to the top of the game. “I think it is a good wedding [with Man United] because Mourinho really knows the Premier League well,” Ancelotti told the Daily Telegraph. “He is one of the best coaches in the world and Manchester United at this moment need some...

Nigeria’s recovered loot has increased by at least N6.66 billion. The amount is part of the N23.3 billion ($115 million) election campaign bribe allegedly distributed by former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Deziani Alison-Madueke, through Fidelity Bank. While the chief executives of Sterling Bank and Access Bank reportedly refunded N5 billion and $5 million (N1 billion) respectively, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered N17 million from former Secretary to the Government of Bauchi State, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Dandija, and two others from the state. It also reportedly recovered N49 million from Fidelity Bank. The amount is said to be the profit the bank made for helping Alison-Madueke to share the $115 million to designated people in the country. The aggregate of these recovered funds is N6.66 billion while N16.64billion is yet to be recovered. The $115 million which was allegedly used to bribe Independent National Electoral commission (INEC) offici...

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) monetary policy committee (MPC) says the recession of the Nigerian economy is “imminent”, maintaining status quo on the monetary policy rates. Speaking on the state of the economy, Godwin Emefiele, the central bank governor, said: “The conditions that led to the contractions in the first quarter of 2016 were still largely unresolved. The recession which was signalled in July 2015, now appears imminent.” Emefiele, who spoke on behalf of the committee, said the previous decisions of the MPC need time to crystallise, hence, there was no need for adjusting rates. Stating the decision as the least risky option, the committee asked the CBN to work on a flexible exchange rate system, with no mention of devaluation. The bank said the monetary policy rate (MPR) and cash reserve ratio (CRR) will remain at 12 percent and 22.5 percent respectively. Liquidity ratio was also held at 30 percent. The MPC asked the bank to adopt a flexible exchange rate syst...

PDP’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Abdullahi Jalo, yesterday accused the sacked chairman of plotting to destabilise the party. Addressing newsmen in Abuja yesterday, Jalo also revealed that the root cause of the persistent crisis that threatened to tear the party apart was the plot by Sheriff to hold on to power and contest the 2019 presidential election on the party’s platform. The former deputy spokesman said if Sheriff had refused to vacate the seat, the crisis in the PDP would have continued and might have led to the disintegration of the opposition party. Jalo explained that during the 71st National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party, it was agreed that his tenure had expired because he was completing the tenure of Alhaji Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu, which ended in March, and should therefore have vacated the office honourably. He further explained that Sheriff had not been given a waiver by the party, adding that the NEC took the decision that only the nation...

Contrary to application of brutal force against militants in the Niger Delta region, the federal government has been advised to engage the vandals who have been attacking oil installations in the region in dialogue. Making the call yesterday during an interactive session with a coalition of civil society groups held in Lagos, the junior petroleum minister, Ibe Kackikwu, said government should use such opportunity to speak to the militants on why their actions are inimical to the oil rich region. According to Kachikwu, who noted that government had realised that military tanks would not address the problem of the militants, as the activities of militants is working against efforts by the government to improve the Nigerian economy. The petroleum minister, who was at the session with Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said he was prepared to engage the people in dialogue with the hope to finding lasting solution to the problems in the region “The military ba...

Deji Akinwande, a Nigerian professor in the US, has received America’s highest research award. Earlier in the year, Akinwande was named by President Barack Obama, as one of the recipients of “the highest honour bestowed by the US government for science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers”. Speaking to TheCable on Monday, Akinwande said he was awarded by Obama on May 5, 2016, at the White House, where the 105 researchers were hosted. Obama and the Researchers (Akinwande marked in Green) According to the White house, Akinwande was awarded for his “outstanding research accomplishments in nanomaterials, graphene device physics, and opto-electronics, and for dedication to the education of future scientists and engineers”. Annoucing the winners earlier in the year, Obama said: “These early-career scientists are leading the way in our efforts to confront and understand challenges from climate change to our health and wel...

Farmers in Kaduna state are counting their losses following the destruction of their farms by pests which continue to affect tomato in many northern states. In Kaduna alone, about N1 billion worth of tomatoes are said to have been destroyed by the pests known  as Tuta Absoluta, which has ravaged farms across and led to nationwide scarcity of tomatoes. The newly established Dangote Tomato Processing Factory in Kadawa, Kano State, recently suspended production as most of the tomato farms in Kano, Jigawa, Plateau, Katsina and Kaduna states were affected by Tuta Absoluta. Already, the Kaduna state government has declared a state of emergency on tomato farming in the state as a result of  the destructive pests. The state is noted for the production of tomatoes in commercial quantity, with 12 local government areas  engaged in the farming. The commissioner of agriculture, Maigari Daniel Manzo, at a news conference in Kaduna on Monday, said  80 per cent  ...

The action which was taken on Wednesday failed to gain much traction. Speaking with journalists on Sunday, Ayuba Wabba president of the NLC, said that the union decided to suspend the action after making wide consultations. “After an exhaustive deliberation, NEC noted its protest action was informed by the twin issues of the unjustified and illegal hike in electricity tariff and increase in the pump price of petroleum products,”he said. “In consideration of the above, NEC after due consultation with its constituents resolved to suspend with immediate effect, the action it commenced on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The action is thus hereby suspended.” According to Wabba, the union resolved to resume negotiations with the government on the new petrol price regime. After unfruitful negot‎iations with the government over the increase in the price of petrol from N86.5 to N145, the NLC embarked on a nationwide industrial action and protests. But the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and a...

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has warned that there could be reprisal attacks on Fulani herdsmen in the State if they did not desist from attacking the people. He described the Fulani herdsmen that invaded  Oke Ako in Ikole local government area of the State on Friday, killing two residents of the town and injuring others, as “agents of the devil that must be fished out and punished accordingly.” According to a statement issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications , Lere Olayinka, Fayose said: “I have directed the police and other security agencies in the State  to fish out the killer herdsmen. I am in constant touch with the security agencies and I hope that the killer herdsmen will be fished out wherever they are and made to face the full wrath of the law. “The people of Oke-Ako should therefore remain calm while the security agents do their job. However, the security agents must be mindful of the fact that the people’s patience has...