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Army chief Lagbaja phones Tinubu, reveals health status

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Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja had a phone conversation with President Bola Tinubu on Sunday, dispelling ongoing rumours about his death.

The army chief, currently abroad for medical reasons, updated the president on his health, reassuring him of his well-being.

According to sources from the Defence Headquarters, President Tinubu was pleased to hear from Lagbaja and prayed for his quick recovery.

The rumours were fueled by a social media post from Jackson Ude who claimed that the service chief died of cancer at an undisclosed hospital abroad.

But the army confirmed that Lagbaja is recuperating and remains in high spirits.

An army source told ThisDay:

“He held a clear conversation with the president and he was in high spirit. The president was very happy and prayed fervently for his quick recovery.

“I can tell you, therefore, that the rumour about his death is not correct. This information is authentic and as such, rubbishes the ungodly rumour about his death. He is recuperating and not dead.”

Additionally, the Army clarified that operations are running smoothly, with the Chief of Policy and Plans (Army) Major General Abdulsalami Bagudu Ibrahim managing duties during Lagbaja’s medical absence.

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Trump works the fry station at McDonald’s in a bid to attract working-class voters

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Former President Donald Trump serves french fries during a McDonald's visit on 20 October in Pennsylvania. (Doug Mills/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
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US Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump worked the fry station at a Pennsylvania McDonald’s on Sunday, drawing attention to his claims that Democratic nominee Kamala Harris lied about previously working in the fast-food industry.

As reporters and aides watched, an employee showed the former president how to dunk baskets of fries in oil, salt them, and put them into boxes using a scoop.

“It requires great expertise, actually, to do it right and to do it fast,” Trump said with a grin, putting away his suit jacket and wearing an apron over his shirt and tie.

The visit came as he tried to counter Democratic nominee Kamala Harris’s accounts on the campaign of working at a McDonald’s while at university, an experience that Trump has claimed — without offering evidence — never happened.

A large crowd lined the street outside the restaurant in Feasterville-Trevose, a place part of akey swing voter area in Pennsylvania.

The McDonald’s itself was shut off to the public during Trump’s visit, a fact which caused some controversy online. Images circulated Sunday night of a paper stuck to the restaurant’s door saying it would be closed until 4 pm local time to “accommodate a visit at the request of former President Trump and his campaign.”

After serving bags of takeout to people in the drive-thru lane, Trump leaned out of the window, still wearing the apron, to take questions from the media staged outside.

He joked about getting one reporter ice cream and when another asked what message he had for Harris on her 60th birthday on Sunday, Trump said, “I would say, ‘Happy Birthday, Kamala,’” adding, “I think I’ll get her some flowers.”

Trump did not directly answer the question of whether he might support increased minimum wages after seeing McDonald’s employees in action, but he said, “These people work hard. They’re great.”

Trump claims Harris ‘lied about working’ at McDonald’s

Trump has fixated in recent weeks on the summer job Harris said she held while at university, working the cash register and making fries at McDonald’s. Trump says the vice president has “lied about working” there but has not offered evidence.

Representatives for McDonald’s did not respond to a message about whether the company had employment records for one of its restaurants 40 years ago.

However, in an interview last month on MSNBC, the vice president pushed back on Trump’s claims, saying she worked at the fast-food chain four decades ago when she was in university.

“Part of the reason I even talk about having worked at McDonald’s is because there are people who work at McDonald’s in our country who are trying to raise a family,” she said. “I worked there as a student.”

Trump has long spread groundless claims about his opponents based on their personal history, particularly women and racial minorities.

Before he ran for president, Trump was a leading voice of the “birther” conspiracy that baselessly claimed President Barack Obama was not an American citizen and therefore was ineligible to be president.

During his first run for president, Trump also repeated a tabloid’s claims that Texas Senator Ted Cruz’s father, who was born in Cuba, had links to President John F Kennedy’s assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.

Trump even said during his presidential debate with Harris that Haitian immigrants who had settled in Ohio were eating residents’ pets — a claim he suggested in an interview on Saturday was still true even though he could provide no confirmation.

Why this McDonald’s?

“It is a fundamental value of my organisation that we proudly open our doors to everyone who visits the Feasterville community,” the McDonald’s location’s owner, Derek Giacomantonio, said in a statement.

“That’s why I accepted former President Trump’s request to observe the transformative working experience that 1 in 8 Americans have had: a job at McDonald’s.”

Trump is especially partial to McDonald’s Big Macs and Filet-o-Fish sandwiches. He’s talked often about how he trusts big chains more than smaller restaurants since they have big reputations to maintain, and the former president’s staff often pick up McDonald’s and serve it on his plane.

Jim Worthington, a Trump supporter and fundraiser who owns a nearby athletic complex and chaired Pennsylvania’s delegation to the Republican National Convention, said he arranged Trump’s visit to the locally owned McDonald’s franchise.

The campaign contacted him about looking for a McDonald’s in Pennsylvania, and Worthington started searching. He got in touch with Giacomantonio through a friend and talked the franchise owner through some initial nervousness.

Giacomantonio needed to know that McDonald’s corporate offices would be OK with it, first. Second, he was concerned that being seen as a Trump supporter would hurt his business or a spark boycott, Worthington said.

“He certainly had concerns, but I eased his mind, and talked to him about the benefits,” Worthington said.

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Tinubu Submits Bill for Regional System of Government

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A New Dawn for Nigeria: Bold Leadership, Regional Autonomy:

President Tinubu has taken a groundbreaking step by submitting an executive bill to the National Assembly, paving the way for Nigeria’s return to a regional system of government.

Key Implications::

– Greater Autonomy: Regions will have more control over their affairs.
– Increased Representation: Regional voices will be heard more clearly.
– Decentralization of Power: Power shifts from central government to regional authorities.

This move addresses long-standing national problems, granting more autonomy to regions like the South South,Biafra, Oduduwa, Among others

Many Nigerians hail President Tinubu as the “boldest leader” Nigeria has ever had, commending his courage in tackling contentious issues.

“What past administrations failed to do or were afraid to do, Tinubu is doing.”

With Tinubu’s determination, Nigeria may finally resolve regional tensions.

 

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Mozambique Election Tensions Escalate: Gunmen Kill Opposition Officials

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Gunmen in Mozambique have killed two opposition officials, a lawyer for the Podemos party, Elvino Dias, and party representative Paulo Guambe, in a targeted attack ahead of planned protests against disputed election results.

The pair were chased down and fatally shot late on Friday night in the capital, Maputo, according to a statement released by the party on Saturday.

The brutal killings occurred amidst growing unrest in the country following the contested October 9 election, which has been marred by accusations of vote-rigging and suppression of dissent.

The opposition party Podemos, which backed independent presidential candidate Venancio Mondlane, rejected the provisional results showing victory for the ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frelimo) party.

Podemos has called for a nationwide strike on Monday to protest the election outcome.

Human Rights Watch also released a statement condemning the attack and raising concerns over the potential for violence during Monday’s protests.

The current election tally shows Frelimo leading in all 11 provinces, with its candidate, Daniel Chapo, expected to succeed President Filipe Nyusi, who has reached his term limit.

However, opposition parties, along with Western observers, have accused Frelimo of electoral fraud, citing reports of vote-buying, voter intimidation, and inflated voter rolls in the ruling party’s strongholds.

The final election results are expected on October 24, but tensions continue to rise as the nation braces for Monday’s protests, which could turn violent amid the mounting political crisis.

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