President Joe Biden was supposed to put the nation’s mind at ease over his physical and mental capacity with his debate showing Thursday night. But from the onset of the debate, the 81-year-old struggled seemingly even to talk, mostly summoning a weak, raspy voice.

In the opening minutes, the president repeatedly tripped over his words, misspoke and lost his train of thought.

In one of the most notable moments, Biden ended a rambling statement that lacked focus by saying, “We finally beat Medicare,” before moderators cut him off and transitioned back to Trump.

While Biden warmed up and gained more of a rhythm as the debate progressed, he struggled to land a punch against Trump.

According to NBC news, Trump, unleashing a torrent of bad information — didn’t hesitate to pounce on Biden, saying at one point that he didn’t understand what Biden had just said with regard to the border.

“I don’t know if he knows what he said either,” Trump said.

Nearly an hour into the debate, a Biden aide and others familiar with his situation offered up an explanation for the president’s hoarseness: He has a cold.

Even the Biden campaign acknowledged that the debate would be a critical moment in the election, with officials hoping it could shake up the race to the president’s benefit. Most polls have found the race to be neck and neck, a razor-thin margin that has remained unchanged for months, even after a jury found Trump guilty on 34 felony counts.

Questions about Biden’s age and frailty have dragged down his polling numbers for months. The public concerns are exacerbated by deceptively edited videos, some of which have gone viral, that cut off relevant portions of an event, making it appear as if Biden is wandering or confused. This was Biden’s first opportunity — since the State of the Union speech — to dispel that narrative.

Instead of a new beginning, many Democrats saw it as a moment for panic.

“Democrats just committed collective suicide,” said one party strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns. “Biden sounds hoarse, looks tired and is babbling. He is reaffirming everything voters already perceived. President Biden can’t win. This debate is a nail in the political coffin.“

“It’s hard to argue that we shouldn’t nominate someone else,” a Democratic consultant who works on down-ballot races added.

Biden did ramp up as the debate progressed.

“Only one of us is a convicted felon, and I’m looking at him,” Biden said to Trump. That was one moment that tested really well with internal simultaneous Biden campaign polling at the time of the debate, according to a person familiar.

A Biden aide said that it was “not an ideal start” for the president at the beginning of the debate, but that there was “no mass panic” at the campaign headquarters in Delaware.

Trump, meanwhile, has fended off his own questions over whether he’s diminished by age, including that he struggles to stay on topic and meanders when speaking. Biden has posited that the former president “snapped” after his 2020 election loss and is unstable. Biden, though, had prepped for the possibility of “two Trumps” appearing on the debate stage Thursday, and had planned to try to bait him into revealing “the true Trump.”

The muting of the microphones, a stipulation agreed to before the debate by both campaigns, added a new dimension to the face-off. The two men’s first match-up in 2020 was marked by repeated interruptions by Trump, leading to moments of frustration for Biden.

“Will you shut up, man?” Biden complained in that first Cleveland debate.

“I’m thinking the Democrats are thinking about who the Barry Goldwater is who can walk in tomorrow and tell the president he needs to step aside,” Ben Proto, chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party, said.

In 1974, after key Watergate tapes were made public, then-Sen. Barry Goldwater, R-Ariz., went to see President Richard Nixon along with other prominent lawmakers and told him that he would be convicted by the Senate and should step aside— which Nixon did

Martin Griffiths, United Nations (UN) under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, says $11 million has been allocated to support the fight against malnutrition in north-east Nigeria.

In a post on X on Thursday, Griffiths said: “Acute malnutrition is increasing rapidly in northeast #Nigeria and food insecurity has reached the highest level in 7 years.”

“To provide immediate support to the most vulnerable, I’ve allocated $11 million from @UNCERF. This is a start; more support is needed,” Griffiths wrote.

In 2023, the UN  listed Nigeria among the 15 countries where children would suffer acute malnutrition and wasting.

In June last year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said over 700,000 kids in the north-east would require treatment for acute wasting.

In December 2023, Vice-President Kashim Shettima inaugurated the nutrition core working committee to address malnutrition prevalence in Nigeria.

Shettima said the cases of severe malnutrition in Nigeria were at 33 percent, adding that the country loses $2.5 billion to nutrition deficiency annually.

He said only 88 out of 100 children under the age of five can survive the nutrition crisis in Nigeria.

Ola Olukoyede, the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has ordered the arrest of two officers of the agency for manhandling a female worker at the Regional Hotel in Ojo, Lagos.

In a statement on Thursday, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC spokesperson, said Olukoyede also ordered a detailed investigation of the operations carried out at the hotel.

A viral video shows some EFCC operatives invading the Regional Hotel on June 27 at about 4am while guests were asleep.

The officers were also seen in the video assaulting a female worker at the hotel while they reportedly fired shots and arrested some people.

“The Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has ordered the arrest of two officers of the commission allegedly involved in the manhandling of a female staff member of the Regional Hotel, Ojo, Lagos,” the statement reads.

“The officers were sighted in a viral video assaulting the staff of the hotel in an early morning sting operation in Lagos. The operation yielded a sizable number of suspects who are still being profiled.

“The EFCC’s boss has also ordered detailed investigations of the operation carried out at the hotel and assured that appropriate disciplinary measures would be taken against any of the officers found to be culpable.”

Oyewale added that the EFCC chairman assured Nigerians that the agency would continue to carry out its duties “professionally and with profound respect for the rule of law”.

At the backdrop of sustained surge in inflation, it has been established that cost of a Healthy Diet, CoHD, rose by 32 percent to N1,041 per adult per day in May 2024 from N786 in December 2023.

The National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, disclosed this yesterday in its CoHD report for May 2024, noting that the rise was driven by increase in the prices of starchy staples, legumes, nuts and seeds, and animal source foods.

Analysis of the NBS CoHD report for the period (December 2023 to May 2024) showed that the cost of healthy diet increased by 9.2 percent month-on-month, MoM, to N858 in January 2024 from N786 in December 2023. CoHD increased by 9.3 percent to N938 in February and up by 4.7 percent to N982 in March.

The upward trend continued in April as CoHD grew by 5.4 percent to N1,035 in April and up by 0.6 percent to N1,041 in May.

The report stated: “The national average cost of a healthy diet was N1,041 per adult per day in May 2024. The CoHD has been steadily rising over the past six (6) months, since December 2023.

“In May 2024, the CoHD was 32 percent higher than it was in December 2023 (N786). It was also 1.0 percent higher than the cost in April 2024 (N1,035).

“The main drivers of this increase in CoHD are starchy staples, legumes, nuts and seeds, and animal source foods. Vegetables and fruits, on the other hand, saw the smallest increase in price month-on-month.”

On cost share by food group, NBS said: “Animal source foods were the most expensive food group recommendation to meet in May, accounting for 36 percent of the total CoHD to provide 13 percent of the total calories.

“Fruits and vegetables were the most expensive food groups in terms of price per calorie. They accounted for 11 percent and 12 percent, respectively, of total CoHD, while providing only 7.0 percent and 5.0 percent of total calories in the healthy diet basket. 

“Legumes, nuts and seeds were the least-expensive food group on average, at 7.0 percent of the total cost.”

The bureau noted that at the state level, Ebonyi State had the highest average CoHD with N1,225 per adult per day, while Kano State accounted for the lowest cost with N898.

At the zonal level, the South East had the highest CoHD with N1,189 per day, while the North West had the lowest average CoHD with N919 per day.

President Bola Tinubu has approved the National Construction and Household Support Programme during the National Economic Council meeting on Thursday in Abuja.

According to a statement issued by the presidential spokesman, Ajuri Ngelale, the programme is aimed at boosting agricultural productivity, strengthening the economy, and providing immediate economic relief for Nigerian households.

Ngelale added that the programme, which was supported by the NEC, includes financial allocations and infrastructure projects across all geo-political zones in the country.

He added that a key component of the programme is the approval of the N50,000 uplift grant to be distributed to 100,000 families per state for three months.

Ngelale revealed that another N155 billion was earmarked for the purchase and distribution of assorted foodstuff across the nation to address concerns about food security and affordability.

He disclosed that the programme will also cater to infrastructure projects, including the Sokoto-Badagry Highway, which will traverse seven states and is considered key for agricultural sustainability. He added  that the states along this axis form the food belt of the nation.

Other infrastructure initiatives include the ongoing Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the Trans-Saharan Highway. Tinubu also approved full counterpart financing for the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri Railway and the Ibadan-Abuja segment of the Lagos-Kano Standard-Gauge Railway.

In addition to the projects, Ngelale said the NEC approved the allocation of N10 billion to each state and the Federal Capital Territory for the procurement of buses and implementation of the Compressed natural gas uplift programme.

According to the presidential spokesman, provisions were also made for labour unions and civil society organizations.

During the NEC meeting, Tinubu urged state governors to collaborate in meeting the needs of citizens and boosting food production in the country.

He said, “Our states must work together to deliver on the critical reforms required of us to meet the needs of our people. Time is humanity’s most precious asset. You can never have enough of it. It is getting late.

“We are ready and able to support you in the form of the mechanization of your agricultural processes and the provision of high-quality seedlings.

“We are prepared to provide solar-powered irrigation facilities to support our farmers across seasons, but we must now produce. We must produce the food our people eat, and it will require coordination and intentionality between members of the National Economic Council (NEC).

Donald Trump accused Joe Biden on Thursday of doing a “poor job” on the US economy and of presiding over a disastrous rise in inflation — reflecting how rising prices and the cost of living have become key issues ahead of November’s presidential election.

“He has not done a good job. He’s done a poor job,” Trump said during CNN’s head-to-head debate with Biden in Atlanta, Georgia. “And inflation is killing our country. It is absolutely killing us.

“I gave him a country with essentially no inflation. It was perfect. It was so good, all he had to do is leave it alone.” he added. “He destroyed it”

In response to Trump’s attacks on his record, Biden said Trump had “absolutely decimated” the US economy when he was president.

“There was no inflation when I became president. You know why? The economy was flat on its back,” he said, adding that his administration had helped create “millions” of new jobs, including in minority communities.

Americans have named inflation or the cost of living as “the most important financial problem facing their family,” in each of the last three years, according to a recent poll from the Washington-based firm Gallup.

Perhaps more worryingly for Biden, 46 percent of adults in the United States said they have “a great deal” or “a fair amount” of confidence in Trump to do or recommend the right thing for the economy, while just 38 percent said the same thing about the current president, according to another Gallup poll.

– Surge in inflation –

While it is true that US consumer inflation jumped sharply after Biden took office, hitting a multi-decade high in 2022, the rise was largely fueled by a post-pandemic supply crunch and by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In response, the US Federal Reserve hiked its key lending rate from almost zero to a two-decade high of between 5.25 and 5.50 percent — where it has remained for the past year.

Higher interest rates cool down the economy by raising borrowing costs for consumers and businesses, indirectly impacting everything from mortgage rates to auto loans.

Inflation has eased sharply since the Fed started hiking rates, but remains stuck stubbornly above its long-term target of two percent — keeping the US central bank on pause as it waits for more positive data.

Because inflation has remained high for a number of years, consumer prices have now risen by around 20 percent since January 2021, when Biden took office, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI) inflation calculator.

In contrast, consumer prices rose by less than six percent during the same timeframe under Trump.

Although Congress has given the Fed the mandate to tackle inflation on its own, it is still a difficult topic for Biden, who has looked to talk up his economic record ahead of November’s election.

– ‘Inflationary’ policies –

The Fed expects inflation will continue to ease this year and next, before hitting its long-term target of two percent in 2026.

But the path to two percent will likely depend on who becomes president in November — and which parties will control the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Trump has suggested that, if he wins the election, he will look to extend a series of tax cuts made under his leadership, severely restrict immigration, deport some foreign-born illegal immigrants and slap tariffs on all US imports.

These policies would all “likely be inflationary,” by putting up prices, placing upward pressure on wages and boosting adding to the nation’s debt, JP Morgan economists wrote in a recent note to clients.

As things stand, Republican control of the House, Senate and the White House is not the most likely scenario come November, Oxford Economics lead US economist Bernard Yaros wrote in a recent note to clients.

“If Biden is reelected but presides over a divided government, the upside risk potential to the economy from fiscal policy is limited,” he said.

“If Trump returns to the White House with a divided government, he will have a tougher time enacting his fiscal agenda,” he added.

Festus Keyamo, minister of aviation and aerospace development, says some private jet owners use their aircraft for money laundering and drug trafficking.

Keyamo spoke on Thursday, during the inauguration of a ministerial task force committee on illegal private chartered operations and related matters in Abuja.

The minister said he had set a five-point agenda that would guide him and his team in discharging the mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu when he assumed office.

He said the five-point agenda encapsulates safety, infrastructure, support for local operators, human capacity development and revenue generation.

Accordingly, he said the ministry has identified issues within the aviation industry “that we must tackle headlong”.

“It has come to my attention, through a series of disturbing reports, that the practice of illegal charter operations is thriving within the aviation industry, thereby undermining the efforts of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority and other regulatory bodies,” he said.

“These illicit activities have not only resulted in significant financial losses to the Federal Government but have also raised security and safety concerns as the operations of private aircraft owners have remained largely unchecked and unregulated.”

This, Keyamo said, has also resulted in using private aircraft for other illegal activities.

“Last week, the National Security Adviser wrote to us, alerting us of the spike in money laundering, drug trafficking and other illegal activities through the use of private aircraft in the country,” the minister said.

“It appears that Private Non-Commercial Flight (PNCF) operators have become increasingly emboldened, continuing their illegal operations with the assistance of Air Operator Certificate (AOC) holders who collect tolls and list these illegal charters under their AOCs.

“We have received alarming reports that some crew members have not attended mandatory simulator trainings for nearly three years and are flying with fraudulently-obtained renewed licenses.

“Many of these individuals are operating planes registered under PNCF but are conducting illegal charter operations with impunity.

KEYAMO CONSTITUTES COMMITTEE

To combat the illegal operators, the minister announced the immediate composition of a ministerial task force on illegal private charter operations and related matters.

He said some of the responsibilities of the task force include taking “inventory of all permit for non-commercial flights (PNCF) holders and air operator certificate (AOC) holders, to determine why the practice of illegal charters by PNCF holders persists in the country despite regulatory controls”.

The task force, according to the minister, was also created to “call in all professional licenses of pilots and crew in the country and determine their authenticity and validity, and to recommend to the Minister any additional measures to be taken by regulatory agencies to stem this ugly tide”.

He said the committee is expected to recommend appropriate penalties to be imposed by the regulatory agencies on defaulters and additional measures to monitor private aircraft operations in Nigeria.

The minister added that the members of the task force have been carefully selected from within the aviation industry and are people of high repute and integrity.

He named Ado Sanusi as chairman of the committee, Roland Iyayi, as vice-chairman, and acting director of air transport, aviation ministry as secretary.

Other members of the committee, he said, include Theresa Babayo, director of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA); Olayinka Oyesola, commander of the presidential air fleet; Daniel Quansah; Patrick Ogunlowo; and Obafemi Bajomo, Keyamo’s special assistant (SA).

Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial hub, has been ranked as the 170th world’s most liveable city, with Vienna (Austria) named the world’s liveable city for the third time in a row, according to a new survey published Thursday.

In the survey, the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU), a sister organization of The Economist, ranked 173 cities around the world on some significant factors, including health care, education, stability, infrastructure, and environment.

In the list, Lagos, with a 42.2 per cent index score, ranked ahead of Algeria’s Algiers (42.0), Tripoli (40.1), and Damascus (30.7).

Vienna topped the rankings for 2024 due to its winning combination of stability, healthcare, education, and reliable infrastructure. The report noted that “the city received perfect scores of 100 for stability, healthcare, education, and infrastructure, but has room for improvement in culture and environment.”

Copenhagen (Denmark), Zurich (Switzerland), Melbourne (Australia), Calgary (Canada), Geneva (Switzerland), Sydney (Australia), Vancouver (Canada), Osaka (Japan), and Auckland (New Zealand) complete the top 10.

The report also ranked Western Europe as the most liveable region. “Western Europe remains the most liveable region, but has seen a decline in stability scores amid increasing instances of protests…. on a variety of issues,” said a statement from the EIU.

Those issues included the rise of far-right extremism, EU agricultural policy, and anti-immigration, EIU said in a press release.

Also, overall global liveability increased by just 0.06 points over the past year, compared with 2.84 in the 12 months to June 2023.

But the “improvement is only marginal, held back by geopolitical conflicts, civil unrest, and a housing crisis across many of the cities” amid inflation.

Tel Aviv (Israel) was the biggest mover down the ranking, tumbling from 92nd to 112th as its scores for stability, culture and environment, and infrastructure deteriorated.

On the other hand, Hong Kong (Hong Kong) was the biggest mover up the ranking, moving to 50 in the world.

Mikah Suleiman, the abducted parish priest of St. Raymond Catholic Church in Damba, Gusau, Zamfara state, has pleaded for help to regain freedom.

In a 51-second video clip trending on social media, Suleiman, dressed in a blue T-shirt with boxer shorts, is seen sitting on the ground while calling for help.

Suleiman was kidnapped by bandits in the early hours of June 22 at the rectory located within the church premises in Gusau, the state capital.

The priest said he was the only one being held captive by the bandits.

“I am pleading for help to be freed from this place. They (bandits) told me that they don’t keep people here for long. People don’t stay for up to a week,” he said.

“They told me that killing a person is not difficult for them. They said they are just helping me by keeping me; please, I am asking for help.

“Please save my life in the name of God. Look at my head; look at my legs. I was tied to a robe, and I am the only one in this place.

“Normally, if they kidnap somebody, they don’t waste time.

“If ransom is not paid immediately, they kill the person. Please, for God’s sake, help me.”

A few seconds to the end of the video, a stick from one of the bandits standing off the camera was seen touching his head.

Labaran Maku, a former minister of information, says President Bola Tinubu should make decisions that will give Nigerians respite from the economic hardship.

Maku spoke in Abuja on Thursday after he was conferred with an honorary fellow of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR).

The former minister said monetary policies are crucial to the development of the country’s economy.

“I will particularly call on him to do everything possible to review and bring to fruition economic policies that will bring some level of respite to the people of Nigeria,” he said.

“I believe that you have to manage the policies of a developing nation to bring about development, and managing the policies calls for special attention to monetary policies. It is very important for the country.

“If the value of the naira continues to go down, the consequences will be that nobody will produce in Nigeria.

“We are a capital goods importing country, and whatever you want to do for the country, you must have imported machinery. We don’t produce machinery.

“If the value of the naira is up, a lot of companies will be in Nigeria, and I believe a lot are doing so. The president needs to look critically at those policies.

“I believe he has the experience and strength to pull Nigerians together by managing politics and the economy.

“I believe that under the current dispensation, we are looking forward to the proper management of the economy of this country.

“We need this. I was the Minister of Information, and I knew how difficult things could be.”