The United States President Joe Biden has asked Americans to accept the victory of Republican Party candidate Donald Trump in the presidential election.

On November 6, Trump won the presidential election after exceeding the magic number of 270 electoral college votes.

Trump defeated Kamala Harris of the Democratic Party, who has 219 electoral college votes.

Harris has congratulated Trump on his electoral victory.

During a speech on Thursday at the White House Rose Garden, Biden said, “We accept the choice the country made.”

“I know for some people, it’s time for victory to state the obvious. For others, it’s a time of loss,” the US president said.

“Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other.

“I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbour only when you agree.

“I will do my duty as president. I’ll fulfil my oath and honour the Constitution. On January 20, we will have a peaceful transfer of power here in America.

“Remember, defeat does not mean we are defeated. We lost this battle. The America of your dream is calling for you to get back up.

“The America experiment endures. We are going to be okay, but we need to stay engaged. We need to keep going. Above all, we need to keep the faith.”

Oludayo Adeagbo, a British-Nigerian, has been sentenced to seven years in prison for his role in a multimillion-dollar business email compromise (BEC) scheme.

According to the US department of justice, Adeagbo, who also goes by John Edwards and John Dayo, conspired with others to steal over $3 million from different entities in Texas, including local government entities, construction companies, and a Houston-area college.

Adeagbo and conspirators also defrauded a North Carolina university of more than $1.9 million.

The case began in August 2022 when Adeagbo and two other Nigerian citizens, Donald Echeazu, 42, and Olabanji Egbinola, 44, were extradited from the United Kingdom (UK), where they resided, to face charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering.

The US department of justice said offences were committed in North Carolina, Texas, and Virginia.

On April 8, Adeagbo pleaded guilty in two cases against him in North Carolina and Texas for participating in a business email compromise scheme, which is also called a “cyber-enabled financial fraud” scheme.

A business email compromise scheme can be initiated by scammers creating fake accounts pretending to be companies that a business regularly does business with.

Court records showed that Adeagbo and his co-conspirators obtained information about significant construction projects throughout the United States, including an ongoing multi-million-dollar project at a university in North Carolina.

“To execute the scheme, Adeagbo, Echeazu, and others registered a domain name similar to that of the legitimate construction company in charge of the university’s project and created an email address that closely resembled that of an employee of the construction company,” the department of justice said.

“Using the fake email address, the fraudsters deceived and directed the university to wire a payment of more than $1.9 million to a bank account controlled by an individual working under the direction of Adeagbo and his co-conspirators.”

Adeagbo and his co-conspirators pulled the same tricks in Texas, targeting local government entities and universities pretending to be construction companies. They received over $3 million from the scheme and $5 million overall.

Adeagbo has been ordered to pay $942,655.03 in restitution and will serve seven years in prison.

Chad’s military recently killed and injured many Boko Haram terrorists through air strikes, as confirmed by President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno on Thursday.

In an interview conducted while dressed in full military attire, Deby revealed that he had ‘personally’ initiated the counter-offensive against Boko Haram terrorists, which had previously attacked the Chadian army in the western region near the Nigerian border last month.

Naija News understands that the Chadian government had pledged to “eradicate” Boko Haram when it commenced its operations in late October, following a raid by the jihadists that resulted in approximately 40 deaths and many more injuries at a military garrison.

“We carried out several air strikes on enemy positions that resulted in many dead and wounded,” Deby told reporters in the Lake Chad region without giving specific numbers of terrorists killed.

The operation is designed not only to ensure the safety of our civilian population but also to actively pursue, eliminate, and dismantle the capabilities of Boko Haram and its affiliates to inflict harm, stated interim Prime Minister Abderahim Bireme Hamid during a press conference last week.

It is worth noting that the Lake Chad region, characterized by its extensive waters and swamps, contains numerous islets that serve as sanctuaries for jihadist factions, including Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), which frequently launch assaults against both military forces and civilians.

In response to this threat, Chad, along with its neighbouring countries Nigeria, Niger, and Cameroon, established a multinational force comprising approximately 8,500 troops in 2015 to combat the jihadist insurgency.

Boko Haram initiated its insurgency in Nigeria in 2009, resulting in over 40,000 fatalities, and the group has since expanded its activities into adjacent nations.

In March 2020, the Chadian military experienced its most significant single-day casualties in the region, with around 100 soldiers killed during an attack on the Bohoma peninsula of the lake.

Victor Osimhen scored twice as Galatasaray inflicted a first Europa League defeat of the season on Tottenham to move top of the table with a 3-2 victory in Istanbul on Thursday.

The Turkish champions have 10 points from four games and have all but secured qualification for at least the knock-out play-off round, while Spurs sit in fifth place after losing their 100-percent record.

Galatasaray took an early lead when Yunus Akgun smashed a sensational long-range volley into the top corner in the sixth minute.

But the visitors hit back just 12 minutes later as teenage striker Will Lankshear marked just his second first-team appearance with a goal by tapping in Brennan Johnson’s pass across goal.

Galatasaray took control before half-time, though, as Osimhen scored twice in the space of eight minutes.

The Nigerian star fired them back in front just after the half-hour mark, before cleverly volleying Dries Mertens’ cross past Tottenham goalkeeper Fraser Forster.

Osimhen has now scored six goals in eight appearances for Galatasaray since joining on loan from Napoli.

The home side passed up several opportunities to put the game out of sight for their opponents, but Spurs’ hopes of a comeback were hit when Lankshear was sent off for two yellow-card offences in quick succession in the second half.

Dominic Solanke pulled one back in the 69th minute, shortly after being brought on by Ange Postecoglou, but Galatasaray held on with relative comfort.

Eintracht Frankfurt are second in the standings, behind Galatasaray on goals scored, after Omar Marmoush’s 13th goal of the season clinched a 1-0 win against Slavia Prague.

The Egyptian clipped a superb free-kick in off the crossbar shortly after the break.

Athletic Bilbao are in third, separated from Eintracht also by goals scored, after coming from behind to grab a 2-1 success at Ludogorets.

Inaki Williams and Nico Serrano both scored in a two-minute burst from the Basque club.

Roma’s disappointing form this season continued as Kevin Mac Allister’s goal 13 minutes from time secured Union Saint-Gilloise their second point of the competition with a 1-1 draw in Belgium.

President-elect Donald Trump has appointed Susie Wiles, his campaign manager, as the White House chief of staff as he prepares to take office.

Donald Trump made this known in a statement on Thursday.

“Susie Wiles just helped me achieve one of the greatest political victories in American history, and was an integral part of both my 2016 and 2020 successful campaigns,” Trump said.

“Susie is tough, smart, innovative, and is universally admired and respected. Susie will continue to work tirelessly to Make America Great Again. It is a well deserved honor to have Susie as the first-ever female Chief of Staff in United States history. I have no doubt that she will make our country proud.”

According to CNN, Wiles brings a wealth of experience to the position. The daughter of the late NFL broadcaster Pat Summerall, she is a seasoned political operative with deep roots in Florida.

Wiles has been one of Trump’s most trusted and long-serving advisers. Following her role in securing Florida for Trump in the 2020 election, she acted as his de facto chief of staff during his post-presidency and led his 2024 campaign from start to finish—a notable achievement within Trump’s circle.

Her leadership was widely praised for delivering a highly sophisticated and disciplined campaign, which included effectively managing and minimizing the influence of fringe figures in Trump’s orbit.

On election night, Trump publicly acknowledged Wiles’ contributions during his victory speech, although she opted not to address the audience at the Palm Beach Convention Center. Her preference for maintaining a low profile has strengthened her rapport with Trump and his key supporters.

Earlier today, CNN reported that Wiles had set specific conditions before agreeing to take on the chief of staff role, chief among them being greater control over who has access to the president in the Oval Office.

The Cadre Harmonisé report on food and nutrition insecurity analysis said no fewer than 133.1 Nigerians would face a global hunger crisis in 2025.

The Food and Agriculture Organization, FAO, disclosed this in a statement yesterday. It said the report was prepared by the federal government and supported by partners, such as the World Food Programme, WFP, and the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund, UNICEF, among others.

The statement read: “The food and nutrition insecurity analysis, Cadre Harmonisé, led by the government of Nigeria and supported by partners, alerts on the deterioration of food security in Nigeria, with 133.1 million people expected to face high levels of food insecurity in the next lean season (June-August).

“It is an alarming seven million people increase from the same period last year, driven by economic hardship, coupled with record high inflation, impacts of climate change and persistent violence in the northeastern states.

“Nationally, the number of people experiencing emergency levels (Phase 4) of food insecurity is projected to increase. While no populations have been classified as catastrophe (Phase 5), populations experiencing emergency (Phase 4) are anticipated to increase from 1 million people in the peak of the 2024 lean season to 1.8 million people at the same period in 2025, representing an 80 per cent increase.

“Approximately 5.4 million children and nearly 800,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women are at risk of acute malnutrition or wasting from six of the most affected states of Borno, Adamawa, and Yobe in the northeast, as well as Sokoto, Katsina and Zamfara in the northwest.

”Of these, an alarming 1.8 million children could face severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and require critical nutrition treatment.

“Drivers of food security in Nigeria grapple with several factors that continue to exacerbate
the food insecurity situation, namely economic hardship, coupled with record high inflation (which reached 40.9 per cent for food, and 34.2 per cent for all items in June 2024).”

Speaking at the presentation of the report, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Dr Temitope Fashedemi, who was represented by the Director of Nutrition and Food Security, Dr Nuhu Kilishi Mohammed, underscored the significance of the Cadre Harmonisé during the presentation, which recommended that the results be adopted for planning and implementation of food and nutrition security interventions across federal ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, 26 Cadre Harmonise States, the humanitarian community and other partners in Nigeria.

On his part, FAO Representative ad interim in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Dominique Koffy Kouacou, expressed FAO’s continued commitment to supporting Nigeria.

“Working closely with our partners, FAO is dedicated to implementing durable solutions that tackle the underlying causes of food insecurity and malnutrition.

”By enhancing agri-food systems, we strive to meet urgent needs, while promoting long-term, sustainable progress for communities”, Kouacou said.

Highlighting the longstanding issue, the Country Director, World Food Programme, WFP, David Stevenson, said: “The hunger crisis in Nigeria, fuelled by the ongoing conflict in the northeast, needs urgent addressing.

”Restoring peace in the northeast is critical for us to build pathways to production and achieve the northeast’s potential as the food basket of the country.”

UNICEF’s Country Representative, Ms. Cristian Munduate, emphasized the urgent need for action.
Munduate said: “Children are at the center of the food insecurity crisis and face irreversible consequences, both physical and cognitive, and potentially even death.

”It is our moral imperative to ensure that the right of every child to adequate food and nutrition is upheld.”

Consequently, the United Nations urged the federal government, donors and stakeholders to commit resources and implement measures to avert a potential food and nutrition disaster, emphasizing the need for immediate multi-sectoral support across the nation.

Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde and former Senate President Dr Bukola Saraki, on Thursday, urged chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party to ensure unity within the party by not allowing individual presidential ambitions to cause division.

The two party leaders made this appeal during the official inauguration of the Board of Governors and the unveiling of the roadmap for the Peoples Democratic Institute at the party’s national headquarters in Abuja.

This appeal follows growing concerns that the presidential ambitions of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Bauchi Governor Bala Mohammed, and Makinde himself could escalate internal divisions within the party, potentially derailing the ongoing reconciliation efforts led by the Olagunsoye Oyinlola-led committee.

In recent months, the PDP has become divided into factions loyal to Atiku and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike. Tensions heightened when Mohammed, who also chairs the PDP Governors’ Forum, expressed his interest in running for the presidency in 2027.

Saraki, addressing the gathering on Thursday, said that the PDP, once the party of the masses, had come a long way and should not be sacrificed for individual aspirations.

“The party was built on ideas, philosophies, and policies. Let us move away from building ideas on personal ambition. We cannot have an ambition if we don’t have a party. We cannot have a party if we don’t have ideas. This is where it starts. This is the foundation,” Saraki said.

He continued, “Let us stop talking about who is running for councillor, governor, or president in 2027. Let us focus on what the PDP represents. What are the issues and policies that we must address? This is what Nigerians want to know. That is why I support this institute. I hope others will too, because this is the foundation.

“I have travelled to several places, and when people meet us, even in Europe, they ask where our institute is. It is an embarrassment that, as a major political party, we did not have one until now. But today, we are closing that chapter. The message we send to Nigerians is that this is a serious party. We are leaders. Let PDP lead in that way.”

While expressing gratitude for the opportunities his political success has afforded him through the party, the Oyo state governor urged every PDP member to strive to be remembered for helping revive the party’s fortunes.

“A lot has been said about the PDI and its origins. But what do we want to be remembered for? This is the essence and significance of today. Abba Moro has said that since 1998, he has benefitted from the PDP. I too have benefitted since 2019. I want to thank our great party and all the stakeholders here today for giving me the opportunity to secure not one, but two mandates, back to back, under this umbrella,” he stated.

Makinde added, “The only thing I can promise is that, having drawn from this well, I will not pollute it when it is time for me to leave office. The journey here has not been easy, but I am grateful that we have overcome many obstacles. However, since the 2015 elections, things have only gone from bad to worse. As we face the next level of economic instability and renewed troubles, the PDP must offer real hope for Nigeria. Our country needs direction, and Nigerians are looking to the PDP for an ideological foundation.”

The governor continued by pledging support for the PDP’s governorship candidate in Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, stressing that victory in the state requires unity.

“As we head to Ondo State, we need true reconciliation and unity to overcome the APC there. We know we are more popular. You saw the debate, and our candidates are the only ones with a clear vision for governance in Ondo. So, we must work together to ensure that no form of rigging, either institutional or propagated by the ruling party, succeeds.”

He concluded, “We must go to Ondo as one united party and resist any attempt to undermine the will of the people. The PDP is the only party in Nigeria that has allowed youth to be part of the political process, and I know that the PDI will only expand this space. I am not too old; my mind and body remain youthful, and I will be part of the effort to give youth opportunities in politics.

“This unveiling marks the renewal of PDP’s pledge to start planning for governance and create a blueprint to rebuild our nation. The PDP can and will do everything it can to fix Nigeria. We will fix the PDP, and then the PDP will fix Nigeria. That is the foundation of real hope for the people of Nigeria.”

The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has vowed not to pollute the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)

He urged stakeholders of the PDP to unite and rebuild the party to better serve Nigeria.

Makinde made the plea during the inauguration of the Board of Governors of the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI) in Abuja on Thursday.

He insisted that the country needs direction and Nigerians are looking to the party to provide an ideological base.

Reflecting on his own political journey, Makinde thanked the PDP for giving him the platform to serve Oyo State. “Since 2019, I have benefited from this party. I promise not to pollute the well from which I have drawn,” he said,

The governor emphasized that Nigerians now recognize the difference between the PDP and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in national governance.

“As we approach 2027, it is clear that the PDP must offer real hope for Nigeria. By revitalizing the PDI, we are laying that foundation.”

“Our country needs direction, and Nigerians are looking to the PDP to provide an ideological base,” he said.

Makinde urged every politician to consider their legacy, noting, “Players will come and go, but you must be remembered for something.”

With the inauguration of the PDI Board of Governors and the unveiling of the PDI roadmap by Director-General Dr. Edward, Makinde expressed optimism that the PDP is taking a significant step toward defining its ideology and cementing its place in history.

Makinde praised those who have worked toward the revitalization of the PDI, recognizing the institute’s role under former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-Vice President Atiku Abubakar in providing insights for national development. “During those years, the PDI contributed positively to governance,” he noted.

The Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has expressed his readiness to submit himself to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) if there is a need to account for his eight-year tenure in office.

Obaseki made this known in Abuja during the EdoBEST National Results-Sharing Session, an event highlighting his administration’s achievements, particularly in the education sector.

The outgoing governor said he ignored all noise during his administration and focused on education.

Obaseki emphasized that he has nothing to fear regarding any allegations.

Obaseki, who acknowledged the hardships Nigerians are facing, called on the All Progressives Congress, APC, to shift its focus from vendetta to addressing the suffering of the people.

According to him, his political opponents in Edo State are full of vendetta and are jealous of his administration’s achievement.

He also expressed his belief that the bitterness and vindictiveness in the political landscape are secondary to addressing the real challenges faced by the country.

He said, “I’m not afraid of the EFCC. Why should I be? What is important is focus. I came into office and ignored the noise, concentrating on what I felt was important, and today you can see the results.

“If the EFCC calls on me, I will hand myself over; I have nothing to hide.

“What matters is focusing on our people and making Nigeria better. The suffering is too much. We, who are privileged, should focus on making a positive impact not on side issues like vendetta.”

Reflecting on his legacy, Obaseki said he is leaving office with his head held high, stressing that his administration’s educational reforms, including the enrollment of over 400,000 children and the establishment of a technical college, would leave a lasting impact on the state.

Obaseki pointed out that, unlike previous attempts at educational reform, his administration had implemented tangible solutions.

He added, “We are not just talking about teacher training or increasing enrollments. You can come to Edo and see the data. We have enrolled over 400,000 children, and you can identify them because the data on every child is there.”

Telecom operators in Nigeria have lamented the harsh economic conditions in which they operate, saying urgent steps need to be taken to save the industry from collapse.

The Chairman of the Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, who spoke on behalf of the operators, said there is a need to increase tariffs so that the operators can remain in business.

He, however, observed that the increase must be done in such a way that consumers won’t suffer, noting that already, some people in Nigeria who once recharged ₦5,000 or ₦10,000 now mostly recharge ₦200 or ₦300 due to harsh economic realities.

Adebayo made his views known while speaking at the 93rd Telecom Consumer Parliament organized by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) in Abuja.

“This is a critical moment for the telecom industry,” Adebayo said. “If we act now, we can establish a platform for growth and improve the user experience. Delaying necessary decisions will not only harm investor interests—many of whom are Nigerians feeling the same daily pains—but will also stifle innovation and the development of new services.”

He said while the operators understand the current economic hardships Nigerians are facing, there is an urgent need to increase tariffs to reflect current economic realities.

According to him, if the steps are not taken, the telecom industry in Nigeria stands the risk of losing the gains that have been achieved in the last 22 years.

He said: “People who once recharged ₦5,000 or ₦10,000 now mostly recharge ₦200 or ₦300 because of limited disposable income. Yet, they still benefit from connectivity at pre-crisis rates. Reversing the gains of the last 22 years would be detrimental to Nigeria’s future.

“If we don’t address these sustainability issues, the consequences will be much worse. Prices will need to rise, but this must be done thoughtfully, through dialogue and partnerships with the government to find lasting and manageable solutions.”

In his keynote, NCC Executive Vice Chairman Prof. Umar Danbatta noted that the challenges in the industry are a global issue and require immediate attention to address consumer concerns while keeping issues of data depletion and billing transparency in mind.