WOODPECKER BLOG

Trump dismisses a century of constitutional scholarship in bid to end birthright citizenship Dylan Stableford Senior Editor , Yahoo News • October 31, 2018 Donald Trump, 14th Amendment (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: Andrew Harnik/AP, NARA) President Trump on Wednesday again sought to turn the nation’s attention to his hard-line stance on immigration ahead of next week’s midterm elections, claiming that birthright citizenship is not covered by the U.S. Constitution and vowing the issue will ultimately be settled by the Supreme Court. “So-called Birthright Citizenship, which costs our Country billions of dollars and is very unfair to our citizens, will be ended one way or the other,” Trump tweeted . The concept of birthright citizenship, which grants citizenship to everyone born in the United States, is guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. It reads: “All persons born or naturalized in the Unit...

Korean Air chief indicted on embezzlement, other charges – prosecutors October 15, 2018 Agency Report Korean Air [Photo: Upgraded Points] Korean Air Lines Co Ltd’s chairman, Cho Yang-ho, on Monday was indicted on charges including embezzlement and breach of trust, South Korean prosecutors said. South Korean prosecutors said Mr Cho added to a string of woes at the country’s biggest airline group. Mr Cho is the latest head of a big business group, or chaebol, to face legal challenges in South Korea since President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017 with a pledge to curb the excessive power of family-owned conglomerates and improve their governance. Earlier this month, an appeals court found the chairman of retail-to-chemicals conglomerate Lotte Group, Shin Dong-bin, guilty of charges including bribery and breach of trust. The court said he was charged for his role in an influence-peddling scandal that led to the ouster of the country’s former president, Park G...

Oby Ezekwesili challenges Buhari to a debate Oby Ezekwesili made this known in a statement issued to Pulse on Sunday, October 14, 2018. Published: 14.10.2018 , Chika Ebuzor   Dr Oby Ezekwesili (Pulse) Presidential aspirant, Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili has called for a televised presidential debate with President Muhammadu Buhari and other presidential flag-bearers in the lead up to the February 2019 elections. Ezekwesili, who is running on the platform of Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN) said it is imperative that all candidates vying for the nation’s highest political position take part in debates to present their plans and policy thrust to the people. She made this known in a statement issued to Pulse on Sunday, October 14, 2018. The former minister of education also called on Nigerians to say no to debates by proxy, adding that those who refuse to present them...

Nigeria’s main parties make presidential picks By Editor 05 October 2018   |   1:42 pm   PHOTO: TWITTER/ BUKOLA SARAKI Nigeria’s two major political parties hold primary elections this weekend to select their nominees for presidential polls scheduled for February 2019. This time last year, political pundits were hard pressed to name an opposition candidate who could beat President Muhammadu Buhari and his ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which enjoyed power since democratic rule was restored in 1999, was in disarray after being ousted from power for the first time in 2015. But since then, Buhari’s party has seen a wave of defections in protest at his leadership style and a surge in PDP contenders that could give it momentum as the vote approaches. With Buhari expected to be endorsed unopposed at t...

NUJ gets new president October 5, 2018 Agency Report Christopher Isiguzo [photo: International Centre for Investigative Reporting] Chris Isiguzo, South East Bureau Chief of ThisDay Newspaper from Enugu Zone on Friday morning emerged the National President of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) at the Unions general election in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Isiguzo polled 346 votes to defeat the incumbent President, Waheed Odusile, who polled 329 votes. Announcing the results at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta, the Returning Officer from Nigeria Labour Congress, Benson Upah, commended the peaceful conduct of all the participants. Mr Upah, the National Head of Information and Public Affairs, declared Mr Isiguzo winner of the election that had seven contestants. NAN reports that Bamidele Atunbi had 101 votes, Abiodun Olalere, 56 votes, Jacob ...

2019: MASSOB lambasts APGA for denying Ojukwu’s wife senatorial ticket October 5, 2018 Agency Report Bianca Ojukwu. [PHOTO CREDIT: Ralph Uwazuruike, Leader, Movement of the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), has criticised the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA) over the party’s recent primaries in Anambra. Mr Uwazuruike told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri on Friday that APGA was undemocratic in the conduct of the Anambra South senatorial primaries in which Bianca Ojukwu lost. Mrs Ojukwu, wife of the former Igbo leader, Odumegwu Ojukwu, lost the contest for the Anambra south senatorial seat to Nicolas Ukachukwu. However, the APGA National Publicity Secretary, Ifeatu Okoye, said the party was very democratic during the conduct of the primaries and had remained focused. According to Mr Uwazuruike, APGA which was formed and nurtured by late Ojukwu in the interest of the Igbos, had derailed, been hijacked ...

BREAKING: Nigeria appoints one Supreme Court Justice, as five states get new chief judges October 5, 2018 Premium Times Supreme Court of Nigeria The National Judicial Council (NJC) has just sent the statement below to PREMIUM TIMES announcing the appointment of a justice of the Supreme Court and new chief judges for Abia, Benue, Ogun, Oyo and Kwara. Three new judges were also appointed for the Ogun State High Court while a new Kadi was named for Kwara State Sharia Court of Appeal. The Customary Court of Appeal in Oyo also has a new President. READ FULL STATEMENT BELOW: The National Judicial Council under the Chairmanship of the Honourable Mr. Justice Walter Samuel Nkanu Onnoghen, GCON, at its 87th Meeting of 3rd and 4th October, 2018, recommended to President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, and Governors of Abia, Benue, Ogun, Oyo and Kwara States, Eight (8) successful candidates for appointment as a Justice o...