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Trump Appoints Digital Media Expert to Run His Re-election Campaign

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President Donald Trump has hired Brad Parscale, the digital media director of his 2016 campaign, to run his re-election bid, the campaign announced on Tuesday.

The announcement was initially hyped by The Drudge Report, a website run by Matt Drudge, a conservative figure with considerable influence inside the White House. But it was no surprise that Trump will run for re-election in 2020 — he filed shortly after his 2017 inauguration — but it is unusual for a sitting president to hire a campaign manager three years before the election.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders told reporters in June 2017 that Trump was going to run for re-election in 2020.

“Of course, he’s running for re-election,” Sanders said.

Eric Trump, one of the President’s sons, touted Parscale as an “amazing talent” who was “pivotal to our success in 2016.”

“He has our family’s complete trust and is the perfect person to be at the helm of the campaign,” he said in a release from the campaign.

Jared Kushner, the President’s son-in-law and senior adviser, added that Parscale was “essential in bringing a disciplined technology and data-driven approach to how the 2016 campaign.”

The campaign also said in the announcement that it would be involved in the 2018 midterm election by “providing candidates with general support, endorsements and rallying the support of the political grassroots by engaging Trump supporters in districts and states.”

The midterm will be pivotal for the future of Trump’s presidency. The party in control of the presidency historically suffers sizable losses in the first election after winning the White House. Trump has already begun mentioning that trend in speeches, hoping to spur his supporters to buck history.

Parscale has remained an active force in his political operation — America First — since the President stepped into the White House. Parscale’s Florida-based firm, Parscale Strategy, has a contract with the Republican National Committee to, among other things, help grow its data base of small donors.

Parscale never worked in politics before joining the Trump campaign in 2015. He knew the candidate and his family from working for the Trump Organization for several years designing websites and helping develop digital strategy for Trump businesses.

Even as Trump went through three campaign managers during his tumultuous presidential bid, Parscale, a close associate of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, was a constant, quiet presence.

Parscale’s formal title during the Trump 2016 campaign was digital director, but behind the scenes he grew into much more: directing campaign spending on television ads as well as digital, building a small dollar donor operation, and having significant influence on the overall campaign working closely with then-Republican National Committee chief of staff Katie Walsh and the RNC get out the vote operation.

On digital advertising, Parscale brought Facebook employees into the campaign to better take advantage of social media to promote Trump, and tear down Hillary Clinton.

The unprecedented spending on digital media did not sit well with the candidate. During the campaign, Trump angrily questioned Parscale about how he was spending campaign cash.

“I don’t believe in this mumbo-jumbo digital stuff.” Parscale recalled Trump screaming at him.

“I was crushed actually. It was the first time he had ever, just– I hadn’t even seen him yell at anyone, let alone me,” Parscale told CBS’ “60 Minutes” last year.

Despite getting dressed down, he kept focused on digital media spending.

In fact, during the last week of the campaign, he says he saw data showing movement in Trump’s favor in what were considered likely wins for Clinton, and he pounced, moving money out of Virginia, where he did not think Trump could win, and Ohio, where he felt confident Trump would win.

“I took every nickel and dime I could out of anywhere else. And I moved it to Michigan and Wisconsin. And I started buying advertising, digital, TV,” Parscale told “60 Minutes”.

Parscale has said that after Trump won, the President-elect thanked him and made clear he then understood the power of what he had called “mumbo jumbo digital stuff.”

Parscale has repeatedly insisted he had no knowledge of the Russian operation to influence the 2016 campaign in favor of Trump, and against Clinton. He says that is what he told congressional investigators behind closed doors last year when he went before the Senate and House intelligence committees looking into Russian meddling.

Yet Parscale has gotten caught up in controversial actions Cambridge Analytica, a prominent conservative data firm that he hired to work for the Trump campaign.

In 2016, Cambridge Analytica CEO Alexander Nix tried to reach WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to try to help take better political advantage of the hacked Clinton emails. The company says Nix never reached Assange, though CNN reported Nix wanted to create a searchable database of the Clinton emails.

Parscale says he had no knowledge of that, and has insisted the only reason he brought in Cambridge Analytica was because a digital expert he wanted to hire — Matt Oczkowski — was under contract there. Parscale ended up bringing more than a dozen Cambridge Analytica employees into the Trump campaign as analysts. Parscale says the campaign never used Cambridge Analytica’s raw data.

The Trump campaign’s data analytics operation is also under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller, CNN reported in May 2017.

Parscale gave private testimony to the House Intelligence Committee last year as part of its investigation of Russian meddling. (CNN)

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Enugu: Mbah Approves N80,000 Minimum Wage for State, LG Workers and Primary School Teachers

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MBAG, ALGON and Minimum wage
L-R: Secretary, ALGON, Enugu State chapter, Hon. Uche Okolo; Vice Chairman, ALGON, Enugu State, Hon. Ferdinand Ukwueze; Chairman, ALGON, Hon. Okechukwu Edeh; Chairman, TUC, Enugu State, Comrade Ben Adogwa; Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah; Chairman, NLC, Enugu State, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo; Chairman, Joint Public Service Negotiating Council, Comrade Ezekiel Omeh; Chairman, NULGE, Enugu State, Comrade Udaya Ani and the Head of Service, Mr. Kenneth Ugwu, during the announcement of N80,000 new state minimum wage at the Government House, Enugu, Thursday.

It’s unprecedented to earn above minimum wage in Enugu- Labour

… We’ll commence implementation immediately- ALGON

Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has approved N80,000 minimum wage for the state’s work force, including local government workers, effective October 2024, noting a direct link between a motivated workforce and his administration’s vision of growing the state’s economy from $4.4bn to $30bn.

The new minimum wage covers all state employees, primary school teachers, and local government workers.

Organised labour has described the wage as unprecedented, as it was the first time that Enugu workers would be earning above the national minimum wage.

Mbah announced the new minimum wage on Thursday after a meeting with the Enugu State Minimum Wage Implementation Committee headed by the Head of Service, Kenneth Ugwu and labour leaders, including the state’s labour leaders.

Mbah said, “Few weeks ago, I inaugurated a committee with the responsibility to oversee the implementation of the New National Minimum Wage in Enugu State. Today, I’m happy to announce a new minimum wage for workers in Enugu State, reflecting our fidelity to their welfare, in regard of which we have been resolutely committed.

“We have approved the sum of N80,000 as the new minimum wage in Enugu State. This underscores our commitment to bequeathing lasting legacies of improved living conditions.

“Our commitment to improved workers’ welfare runs deep, and is rooted in the firm understanding of the inextricable link between an inspired workforce and the audacious economic targets we had set our sights on.

“We clearly understood that reducing poverty to the barest minimum and achieving an unprecedented economic growth target were contingent on the output of the workforce. Therefore, for us, the best way to acknowledge that labour creates wealth is by ensuring that the workforce, which creates the wealth that oils the wheel of government, is sufficiently motivated.

“We have similarly demonstrated our commitment to workers welfare through the consistent payment of the wage awards, a gesture we had pledged to sustain until a new wage structure took effect.”

Speaking, the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo, thanked governor Mbah for always prioritising the welfare of workers, describing the new minimum wage as “a great one for Enugu workers.”

 “In the past, when minimum wage is announced, it takes up to one or two years for anything to happen; and when it did, we took anything they gave us as we saw it.  But today, you have even given us something much higher than national minimum wage. 

“But I am not totally surprised because when other governors were paying N12,000 wage award, you were paying us N25,000. When others paid for some months and stopped, you continued paying it until the new minium wage as you promised. So, we have enjoyed wage award for 11 months and today you announced the minimum wage which is the first of its kind since my 32 years in service,” said.

Speaking to Government House correspondents, the Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Ben Asogwa, said, “We are so happy. The governor did not just announce ₦80,000 minium wage, but said that it cascades down to even local government workers. He said that he does not want disparity in salary implementation in Enugu State anymore because we all go to the same market.

“This is the first time in history we are seeing the implementation of minimum wage above the approved amount by the federal government. Actually, when we entered into the negotiation, we were afraid because we know quite well that we are not among the states that share in dividends of oil money. We know quite well that we are at the back when it comes to federal allocation, but His Excellency actually surprised us.

“One thing we have seen is that he understands the impact of motivation on productivity. The governor has set a pace and we know that any other person coming after him will have the challenge to meet up with the target set by His Excellency, Governor Peter Mbah.”

On his part, Chairman of the Association of Local Government Workers, ALGON, Enugu State, Hon. Okechukwu Edeh, pledged the commitment of council chairmen to implementing the new minimum wage.

“When you motivate workers, they become more productive. What I am promising on behalf of the Enugu ALGON family is that we are going to cascade the new minimum wage to the local government level. Implementation begins immediately,” he said.

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Matawalle Brief President Tinubu on Security Situation in North-West

Minister commends Nigerian Military, reports SANDRA ANI

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Matawalle
President Tinubu (right) in a handshake with Minister Matawalle

The Honourable Minister of State for Defence, H.E. Dr. Bello Muhammed Matawalle, MON, briefed President H.E. Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR on the outcome of his two operational tours to Sokoto State 

Dr. Matawalle highlighted the significant successes recorded by the Nigerian Military in combating insecurity in the region, praising the dedication and professionalism of the Nigerian Military, particularly the Armed forces of Nigerian . “They will continue to play a critical role in safeguarding our nation,” he emphasized.

According to a statement signed by Henshaw Ogubike, director (Information and Public Relations), at the Ministry, the Minister eulogised  President Tinubu for his   Government’s commitment to providing necessary resources to maintain operational efficiency in countering security threats in the North-West. He also reaffirmed the government’s resolve to bolster NAF’s capacity as part of the strategic fight against insecurity in the region.

Dr. Matawalle’s operational visit to Sokoto State aimed to rekindle the people’s faith in the Federal Government’s efforts to restore peace and security in the North-West region. His presence, along with the Chief of Defence Staff and other military chiefs led to the elimination of many bandit leaders amongst whom is Halilu Buzu sububu. This  demonstrates the government’s determination to flush out bandits and terrorists.

The Minister called on residents of Sokoto, Zamfara, Katsina, and Kebbi states to remain vigilant and cooperate with security forces to ensure the success of ongoing operations.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was very pleased with his briefing and commended the Minister and the troops in their renewed vigour to eradicate insecurity in the North West and the country.

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Permanent Secretary of Defence Inaugurates PMS, ECM Core Teams

By Sandra Ani

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Permanent Secretary of Defence PMS team
The newly inaugurated Project Steering Committee and Project Implementation Technical Team for the Performance Management System (PMS) and the Enterprise Content Management of the Ministry of Defence

…Says MOD has the infrastructure to make both systems work effectively

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, has inaugurated the Project Steering Committee and Project Implementation Technical Team for the Performance Management System (PMS) and the Enterprise Content Management of the Ministry of Defence with a charge on the members of both Committees to make the Ministry shine.

Permanent Secretary of Defence
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana

Inaugurating the committee at the Ship house, Abuja, the Permanent Secretary said that the Ministry of Defence has the infrastructure and human resources that are experts to drive the process to success. “We have experts in the Ministry that can drive the process. We have Directors and Deputy- Directors from different departments who are experts and can help in cascading the processes down to other staff of the Ministry,” he said.

He therefore called on the Ministry’s Performance Management System (PMS) Champions to demonstrate unwavering commitment and excellence in driving service delivery and achieving set targets in line with the ministry’s mandate towards fulfilling the renewed hope agenda.

While he acknowledged that there might be initial hiccups, he charged the PMS Champions to be resilient in overcoming the initial challenges that may arise with the programme’s rollout and re-emphasized the need for a continuous  training. “In MOD, training is not going to be an issue. We can afford to be  organizing training on PMS and ECM every week.

Furthermore, Dr. Kana said that the PMS and ECM Champions are expected to lead the charge towards ensuring efficiency, productivity, and accountability across the Ministry, with the ultimate goal of achieving total compliance with government performance standards.

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