Delta Special Duties Commissioner Embarrassed After Struggling To Deliver Speech

Delta State Commissioner of Bureau for Special Duties Chika Ossai on Monday fumbled and disgraced himself, as he could not pronounce words correctly and read coherently his own written speech during a ministerial press briefing on the activities of his ministry.

The commissioner, who was called to the stage at Unity Hall Government House Asaba by Commissioner of Information Patrick Ukah to deliver his speech, was seen sweating profusely, battling with words he found difficult to pronounce correctly.

Mr. Ossai had particular difficulty in pronouncing the words “metamorphosed,” “Jedda,” “dilapidated,” “demonstrated,” and “exemplary.”

His inability to coherently deliver his speech left over one hundred journalists, commissioners, the attorney general, directors, and members of staff from various government ministries murmuring.

Mr. Ossai’s speech, which took almost an hour to complete due to his repeating of lines that had already been read, saw some members of staff of his ministry and journalists leaving the hall laughing and raining words of abuse on him.

The commissioner, who is said to have been hand picked by his political godfather, Godswill Obielum, for the appointment, also fumbled when he said “future and plan” instead of “future plan,” and “school of nurse” instead of “school of nursing hotel.” At this junction, attendees in the hall burst into laughter while others murmured and talked in hush tones.

Shortly after the briefing, some staffers of his ministry approached journalists with appeals to drop the story, which they described as unfortunate and embarrassing.

It would be recalled in the same Unity Hall, jailed former governor James Ibori’s daughter, Erhiatake Ibori, representing Ethiope West constituency in the Delta State House of Assembly, was in August this year booed off the stage during a tribute speech for the late Olorogun Felix Ovuodoroye Ibru, the first civilian governor of Delta State.

Ms. Ibori, who read her father’s speech, repeated lines that had already been read, and then was floored when she tackled the words “magnanimous” and “meritoriously,” after which murmurs grew into boos.

Trump accuses Clinton of reneging on concession speech.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has accused former Democratic presidential rival Hillary Clinton of reneging on her concession speech certifying the results of the Nov. 28 presidential election.

Mr. Trump, in a series of tweets on the recount, condemned Mrs. Clinton’s support to the votes recount efforts by Green Party nominee Jill Stein for Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

Ms. Stein has raised over $6 million crowd-funding in hopes of securing a recount in the three key states won by Mr. Trump in the Nov. 8 presidential poll.

“The Democrats, when they incorrectly thought they were going to win, asked that the election night tabulation be accepted. Not so anymore!

“Hillary Clinton conceded the election when she called me just prior to the victory speech and after the results were in,” he said.

Mr. Trump recalled Mrs. Clinton’s reaction when he hinted at the third and last presidential debate that he would keep Americans guessing over whether he would accept the election outcome.

“That is horrifying. That is not the way our democracy works; been around for 240 years. We’ve had free and fair elections.

“We’ve accepted the outcomes when we may not have liked them, and that is what must be expected of anyone standing on during a general election.

“I, for one, am appalled that somebody that is the nominee of one of our two major parties would take that kind of position,” he quoted Mrs. Clinton as saying.

Mr. Trump said Mrs. Clinton also, at a campaign rally, slammed him, saying: “He said something truly horrifying … he refused to say that he would respect the results of this election.

“That is a direct threat to our democracy”.

The president-elect further quoted Mrs. Clinton’s concession speech where she urged her supporters to accept the result of the election.

“We have to accept the results and look to the future, Donald Trump is going to be our President.

“We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead,” he quoted Mrs. Clinton as saying.

Trump said in the votes recount efforts in the three states, money and time would be wasted.

“So much time and money will be spent – same result! Sad”.

Mr. Trump, who trails Mrs. Clinton with about two million popular votes, claimed that he won the popular votes, alleging that millions of people voted illegally.

“In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally

“It would have been much easier for me to win the so-called popular vote than the Electoral College in that I would only campaign in three or four states instead of the 15 states that I visited.

“I would have won even more easily and convincingly (but smaller states are forgotten)!”

He also alleged voter fraud in favour of Mrs. Clinton in other states, which were not reported.

“Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California – so why isn’t the media reporting on this? Serious bias – big problem!”

Read the full transcript of Hillary Clinton’s concession speech.

Democratic candidate at the just concluded US Presidential election, Hillary Clinton has read her concession speech at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Clinton lost to Donald Trump in a keenly contested poll which had been projected to be a victory for her.

Clinton had earlier called Trump after the elections to concede defeat while offering to work with him.

Read her concession speech below:

Thank you. Thank you all very much. Thank you so much. A very rowdy group. Thank you, my friends. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you so very much for being here. I love you all, too. Last night I congratulated Donald Trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country.

I hope that he will be a successful president for all Americans. This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for, and I’m sorry we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country.

But I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together. This vast, diverse, creative, unruly, energized campaign. You represent the best of America, and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life.

I know how disappointed you feel, because I feel it too. And so do tens of millions of Americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort. This is painful, and it will be for a long time. But I want you to remember this.

Our campaign was never about one person, or even one election. It was about the country we love and building an America that is hopeful, inclusive, and big-hearted. We have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought. But I still believe in America, and I always will. And if you do, then we must accept this result and then look to the future. Donald Trump is going to be our president. We owe him an open mind and the chance to lead. Our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power.

We don’t just respect that. We cherish it. It also enshrines the rule of law; the principle we are all equal in rights and dignity; freedom of worship and expression. We respect and cherish these values, too, and we must defend them.

[Applause]

Let me add: Our constitutional democracy demands our participation, not just every four years, but all the time. So let’s do all we can to keep advancing the causes and values we all hold dear. Making our economy work for everyone, not just those at the top, protecting our country and protecting our planet.

And breaking down all the barriers that hold any American back from achieving their dreams. We spent a year and a half bringing together millions of people from every corner of our country to say with one voice that we believe that the American dream is big enough for everyone.

For people of all races, and religions, for men and women, for immigrants, for LGBT people, and people with disabilities. For everyone.

I am so grateful to stand with all of you. I want to thank Tim Kaine and Anne Holton for being our partners on this journey. [Cheers and applause]

It has been a joy get to go know them better and gives me great hope and comfort to know that Tim will remain on the front lines of our democracy representing Virginia in the Senate. [Cheers and applause]

To Barack and Michelle Obama, our country owes you an enormous debt of gratitude.

We thank you for your graceful, determined leadership that has meant so much to so many Americans and people across the world. And to Bill and Chelsea, Mark, Charlotte, Aidan, our brothers and our entire family, my love for you means more than I can ever express.

You crisscrossed this country, even 4-month-old Aidan, who traveled with his mom. I will always be grateful to the talented, dedicated men and women at our headquarters in Brooklyn and across our country.

You poured your hearts into this campaign. To some of you who are veterans, it was a campaign after you had done other campaigns. Some of you, it was your first campaign. I want each of you to know that you were the best campaign anybody could have ever expected or wanted.

And to the millions of volunteers, community leaders, activists and union organizers who knocked on doors, talked to their neighbors, posted on Facebook — even in secret private Facebook sites.

I want everybody coming out from behind that and make sure your voices are heard going forward. [Cheers and applause]

To anyone that sent contributions, even as small as $5, that kept us going, thank you. To all of us, and to the young people in particular, I hope you will hear this — I have, as Tim said, I have spent my entire life fighting for what I believe in.

I’ve had successes and setbacks and sometimes painful ones. Many of you are at the beginning of your professional, public, and political careers — you will have successes and setbacks too.

This loss hurts, but please never stop believing that fighting for what’s right is worth it.

It is, it is worth it. [Cheers and applause]

And so we need — we need you to keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives. And to all the women, and especially the young women, who put their faith in this campaign and in me: I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion.

Now, I know we have still not shattered that highest and hardest glass ceiling, but someday someone will — and hopefully sooner than we might think right now. [Cheers and applause]

And to all of the little girls who are watching this, never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world to pursue and achieve your own dreams. [Cheers and applause]

Finally, finally, I am so grateful for our country and for all it has given to me.

I count my blessings every single day that I am an American, and I still believe, as deeply as I ever have, that if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences, strengthen our convictions, and love for this nation, our best days are still ahead of us.

Because, you know, I believe we are stronger together and we will go forward together. And you should never, ever regret fighting for that. You know, scripture tells us, let us not grow weary of doing good, for in good season we shall reap. My friends, let us have faith in each other, let us not grow weary and lose heart, for there are more seasons to come and there is more work to do.

I am incredibly honored and grateful to have had this chance to represent all of you in this consequential election. May God bless you and may God bless the United States of America.