DripNote Blog

WASHINGTON — The White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, has taken to slapping journalists who write unflattering stories with an epithet he sees as the epitome of low-road, New York Post-style gossip: “Page Six reporter.” Whether the New England-bred spokesman realizes it or not, the expression is perhaps less an insult than a reminder of an era when Donald J. Trump mastered the New York tabloid terrain — and his own narrative — shaping his image with a combination of on-the-record bluster and off-the-record gossip. He’s not in Manhattan anymore. This New York-iest of politicians, now an idiosyncratic, write-your-own-rules president, has stumbled into the most conventional of Washington traps: believing he can master an entrenched political press corps with far deeper connections to the permanent government of federal law enforcement and executive department officials than he has. Instead, President Trump has found himse...

WASHINGTON — The father of the commando killed in a Special Operations raid in Yemen last month said in an interview published this weekend that he had refused to meet with President Trump on the day his son’s body was returned home, and criticized the White House over the mission, saying, “Don’t hide behind my son’s death to prevent an investigation.” “The government owes my son an investigation,” the father, William Owens, told The Miami Herald, referring to Chief Petty Officer William Owens, 36, a member of the Navy’s SEAL Team 6. The death of Chief Owens on Jan. 29, in the first Special Operations raid approved by Mr. Trump, came after a chain of miscues and misjudgments that plunged the elite commandos into a ferocious 50-minute firefight with Qaeda militants in a mountainous village in central Yemen. Three other Americans were wounded, and a $75 million aircraft was deliberately destroyed. In a risky...

Soldiers and men of the Nigeria Police on Saturday arrested as much as 63 suspected political thugs brandishing dynamites and cutlasses during the rerun election in Etche area of Rivers State. Also arrested were the Rivers State Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, and two former local government caretaker committee chairmen, identified as Odiari Princewill and Roland Sekibo. This is just as armed youths and political thugs working for one of the major political parties in the state chopped off the hand of an unidentified official of the Independent National Electoral Commission. The victim, said to have bled profusely as a result of the injury, was taken to a hospital. The incident, according to sources, happened in Igbo-Etche community in Etche. It was learnt that another INEC official, who was also on duty during the poll, was abducted. They (Nwanosike, Princewill, Sekibo and the suspected thugs) were said to have been arr...

Sometimes people who 'talk too much' have free spirit, they relate well with people, even after fight or quarrels. Governor Ayo Fayose who's a member of PDP attended the inauguration of an APC governor in Ondo State on Friday and also took time to exchange pleasantries with national leader of the ruling party, Asiwaju Bolo Tinubu.

* N57.9b and $666.676m recovered so far The Federal Government anti-corruption crusade has so far yielded N57b and $US666m, according to Attorney General of the Federation (AGF)/Justice Minister Abubakar Malami (SAN). Of this amount, N7billion and $10million cash was recovered from private residences of former public officers, the minister said in an update on the fight against looters of our money. Malami revealed the figures while defending the 2017 Appropriation bill of the ministry before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters at the National Assembly in Abuja. But he was silent on the identity of the individuals in whose houses the money was recovered. Malami’s spokesman Salihu Isah also quoted him as saying “$250m found to be proceeds of illegal oil bunkering has been temporarily forfeited to the government; $136.676m is awaiting actual remittance, while $270 FG’s fund has also been recovered from commercial banks...

Could it be that bad? Family members, friends and senior government officials who attempted to call or visits President Muhammadu Buhari in London are having a difficult time getting access. Thus fueling serious speculations, what is going on? According to Punch exclusive findings, four aides of the president control access to Buhari, who is on extended medical vacation in the United Kingdom. The aides are the President’s nephew, Mamman Daura; the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Domestic Affairs, Sarki Aba; Buhari’s Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari; and Personal Assistant to the President; Tunde Sabiu. Anyone who wants to telephone or see the president in London must get the approval of one or more of the four aides. The only two individuals who are exempted from seeking permission to visit Buhari or call him are Acting President Yemi Osinbajo and First Lady, Aisha Buhari. It was gathered that the First Lady is not happy with the way the aides ...

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won the Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency after INEC Returning Officer, Prof Shola Omotola completed the collation of results at the Okehi Center. Collated Results for Etche State Constituency 2 With the results collated from the Supplementary Elections of February 25, 2017 and rerun elections of December 10, 2016, Chief Jerome Eke of PDP defeated Mr Ogbonna Nwuke of APC. Also, Tony Ejiogu of PDP defeated his closest challenger, Mr Golden of APC. The results: ETCHE/OMUMAFEDERAL CONSTITUENCY: APC 6220 PDP 15,221 ETCHE STATE CONSTITUENCY 2: APC 1618 PDP 4162