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Americans Elect President, ’Morrow

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Tomorrow, the first Tuesday of November, 2016, eligible American voters across all the 50 states, including Washington, D.C., Alaska, and other small island territories, will troop out to vote for their next president.

Although over the last couple of weeks, more than 40 million Americans in 38 states have already cast their ballots in early voting. To win the race for the White House, a candidate needs 270 Electoral College votes.

Polls after polls have shown the Democratic Party Presidential candidate, Hillary R. Clinton ahead of her Republican rival, Donald J. Trump, although the polls have been tightening in recent days, no thanks to the FBI Director, James Comey’s announcement of relaunch of investigation into the Democratic nominee’s private email server penultimate Friday.

As at Saturday, while Clinton was estimated to hold 268 Electoral College votes, dropping 2 votes from 204, Trump was struggling with 168. Some eight toss-up states could swing victory for the candidates.

About 80million more votes are likely between today and end of voting on Tuesday. The dark cloud cast on Clinton’s chances by the comey letter to Congress was rested yesterday, nine days after the firestorm. The FBI stands by its July conclusions, essentially exonerating Clinton.

Over the last few days of the race, Trump has travelled all over the country, from Florida, North Carolina, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and even Minnesota, a mostly blue state.

It’s an impressive travel schedule, but it may reflect the biggest challenge facing him right now: It’s still not clear exactly where and how he would win.

Hillary Clinton has a consistent and clear advantage in states worth at least 270 electoral votes, even if the race has undoubtedly tightened over the last few weeks. But even that understates the challenge facing Trump’s campaign: It’s not at all obvious where he has his best chance of breaking through, making it harder for him to concentrate his efforts over the last days of the campaign.

This is not to say that Trump can’t win. The polls could be off across the board.

But even if he wins Arizona, Iowa, Ohio, Utah, North Carolina, Florida and New Hampshire, he’s still short of a victory.

He’s not assured to win any of those states, to be clear — although he’s a clear favourite in Iowa and Utah at this point. He has trailed in more live interview polls of North Carolina and Florida than he has led, although the national race has tightened since many were taken.

But he would still need to win one of the following states: Pennsylvania, Nevada, Michigan, Wisconsin, Colorado, Virginia, or perhaps New Mexico or Minnesota.

Of all of these states, the only one where Trump has really been close in the polls is Nevada.

But Nevada is also the state where we know the most about the results because of early voting, and it hasn’t brought good news for Trump.

Even so, he’ll still need to win one of these blue states to win the presidency.

Democrats have largely replicated the turnout from 2012 (when President Barack Obama ultimately won the state by about seven points), thanks in no small part to a strong turnout among Hispanic voters.

This might seem difficult to reconcile with the polling, but Nevada is a state where pollsters have underestimated Democrats in the past. One theory is that the polls are not very good at capturing the most Democratic-leaning Hispanic voters. And indeed, the polls showing Trump ahead in the state have shown a smaller lead for Clinton among non-white voters than seems plausible, particularly given his rhetoric against Hispanic immigrants.

Perhaps, Trump will mount a huge comeback in Nevada on Election Day. Or maybe Democrats are much weaker among registered Democrats or unaffiliated voters than most analysts believe.

But if Clinton does indeed have a big advantage in Nevada, then his chances start looking very bleak: He’s at a disadvantage in the polls of all of the other states that could put him over the top.

What’s more, it’s not really clear where he has his best chance — something reflected in Trump’s unfocused pre-election push.

Pennsylvania seemed like Trump’s best option earlier in the year, but he hasn’t led a live interview poll there since the summer. The final non-partisan live interview polls there show Clinton ahead by a comfortable margin of four to six points. The state will probably be close, but it’s quite clear that she has the edge.

Wisconsin is another state that seemed as if it could be promising for Trump. It has a large population of white working-class Democrats, just as Iowa does, and Trump is running well in Iowa. But he has struggled among Republican-leaning voters in the Milwaukee suburbs.

The race could tighten if these voters return to his side, but he hasn’t led a live interview poll there all year.

Michigan could be a more interesting option for Trump. It was the most Democratic of all of these states in the 2012 election, and he hasn’t led a poll there all year either. But recent polls have shown a relatively tight race there.

Clinton visited the state on Friday, and President Obama was there yesterday and is visiting today, and Clinton will make another stop on Monday, so clearly, the Clinton campaign thinks there’s some softness there. That said, if the election comes down to whether Trump can score an upset in Michigan, he’s in a lot of trouble. It seems hard to imagine he could carry the state without also carrying Pennsylvania.

Colorado is a notch tougher than any of those states. The demographics and polling are both tough for Trump. It has one of the best-educated populations in the country, along with a large Hispanic population.

There was one recent poll that showed a tied race in Colorado, but most have shown Clinton with a lead. Like Nevada, Colorado is also a state where the Democrats have outperformed their final poll numbers in every presidential election since 2004. The early vote numbers are strong for the Democrats there as well.

Virginia is like Colorado: Neither polls nor demographics seem promising for Trump. Ultimately, the fact that the race is close in North Carolina is a very strong indicator that Clinton has a big lead in Virginia. Early voting results show Clinton in the lead in North Carolina, which Trump needs to win.

Then there are states like Minnesota and New Mexico. The polls have not shown an especially tight race, and Clinton is not campaigning or airing advertisements there. Trump’s team has held out some hope of winning, but these states seem especially unlikely to decide the election.

Again, the polls are close enough that the possibility of a victory for Trump is still quite real. But it’s just not clear exactly how or where he would break through. It doesn’t seem that the Trump campaign knows either.

But for the Clinton campaign, a close-out rally in Philadelphia, the most populous district in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, is the best way to prepare for a victory party late Tuesday.

 

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198 UNIBEN Students Bag First Class

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A total of 198 students of the University of Benin (UNIBEN ) Edo State, bagged a First Class degree out of 14,083 students to be awarded first degree at the institution’s 51st Convocation and Founder’s Day ceremony.
Vice Chancellor of UNIBEN, Prof. Edoba Omoregie, disclosed this on Monday in Benin at a pre-convocation press briefing.
He said 4,217 students bagged a Second Class Upper,  7, 928 got a Second Class Lower, while 578 bagged a Third Class degree.
He said 15 new approved programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC) would commence in the 2025/2026 academic session.
According to him, “The wheel of progress is on course and moving steadily in the University of Benin.  This administration is poised to deliver on its mandate of effective, practical teaching, sound learning, result-oriented research and impactful community service.
“We must applaud the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for establishing NELFUND, and by so doing significantly reducing the financial stress of students in the process of acquiring tertiary education.   We enjoin students and their parents to take full advantage of the federal government’s benevolence in instituting the fund.”
Prof. Omoregie disclosed that Nigeria’s Minister of Regional Development, Engr. Abubakar Momoh, would deliver the Founders’ Day lecture with the topic,  “Reforms for a Shared Prosperity”.
The UNIBEN VC said Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs and Former Vice Chancellor of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, Professor Eghosa Osaghae, would deliver the Convocation Lecture on the theme, “Making Our Universities Great”.
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Bayelsa Education Fund, British Council  trains tra 1,000 teachers

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The last batch of 400 public school teachers in Bayelsa State on Monday commenced training under the sponsorship of Bayelsa Education Development Trust Fund (EDTF) and the British Council.
This batch will bring to 1000 the number of public school teachers in the state who have benefited in the partnership arrangement.School supplies
The EDTF, British Council and Teachers Training, Registration and Certification Board collaborated in the capacity development programme.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the five day capacity building program, Commissioner for Education Dr Gentle Emelah reiterated the commitment of the Bayelsa government to training and capacity of teachers in the state.
He noted that the improved teaching methodology in the state was responsible for the state producing the best student in the 2025 West African School Certificate Examinations.
Prof Ebimiowei, Executive Secretary at EDTF, noted that the collaboration is aimed at improving learning outcomes for pupils and students of public primary and secondary schools in Bayelsa.
“You will agree with me that until the cutlass is sharpened, it will have no impact on the hands of the farmer and so it is with our teachers., you need to be sharpened very well to give good delivery in your various classes and schools.
“Let me at this juncture appreciate the British Council for accepting to train 1,000 teachers, 50 education managers and 60 trainers for Bayelsa,” he said.
On his part, Chairman of the EDTF board, High Chief Fidelis Agbiki expressed appreciation to the Commissioner for Education Dr Gentle Emelah for his supportive role to the fund.
Agbiki urged the beneficiaries to justify the enormous resources invested by the government of Bayelsa by being dedicated within the five days the exercise would last.
He said; “This board will not operate on business as usual but on business unusual as we will push the frontiers outside the box to ensure that we get value for money,” Agbiki said.
 Chairman of Development Partners Committee of the EDTF applauded the commitment of the partners for the successful completion of the programme, urging them to sustain the tempo
Speaking on the programme, Mr Fwanshishak Daniel, Head, English and Schools, British Council noted that the Bayelsa government had shown exemplary commitment to educational development.
He explained that the commitment has enabled the British Council and Bayelsa government to achieve within one year greater milestones that took other states three years to achieve.
He explained that the resources of the British Council have been made available to Bayelsa with the training of 60 resource persons from the state who will in turn train other teachers to improve education.
According to Daniel, the training will lay emphasis on new teaching methods, use of digital tools for self development and access to school amongst others.
Dr Peremoboere Ogola, Acting Chairman of TTRC, which facilitated training, thanked the EDTF for supporting training of teachers in Bayelsa with world class resources of the British Council.
She noted that another batch of newly recruited teachers are currently undergoing training at State government owned University of Africa, Toru Orua, Sagbama LGA in Bayelsa
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RSG INAUGURATES ARMED FORCES REMEMBRANCE DAY COMMITTEE

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The Rivers State Government has inaugurated a Central Planning Committee to organize the celebration of the 2026 Armed Forces Remembrance Day (AFRD) in the State.

The committee was formally inaugurated by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Benibo Anabraba in Port Harcourt, last Thursday.

Dr Anabraba who also serves as Chairman of the Committee

highlighted the State Government’s deep appreciation for the sacrifices of Nigeria’s fallen heroes who laid down their lives for the nation’s peace and unity.

“These heroes have given their lives for the security and peace of our nation and deserve to be celebrated. The Armed Forces Remembrance Day is an opportunity to show our gratitude for their sacrifice,” he said.

Dr. Anabraba further extended recognition to all Security Agencies in the State, emphasizing the importance of the event in appreciating their contributions to national security and sovereignty.

The annual Armed Forces Remembrance Day, observed on January 15 across the country is dedicated to remember Nigeria’s departed soldiers and honouring the nation’s veterans.

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