Health Minister Allays Zika Virus Fears In Nigeria

The Minister of Health has been giving an update on the outbreak of Lassa fever in different parts of the country, saying the disease has so far affected 20 states of the federation, according to Channel News.

Professor Isaac Adewole addressed a press conference in the nation’s capital, Abuja, on Thursday.

“You will all recall that on the 8th of January 2016, I briefed the nation on the current outbreak of Lassa fever that started in December 2015 and which has now affected 20 states of the federation.

“As of today, Nigeria has recorded 176 cases with 108 deaths, giving a case fatality rate of 61.4%.

“It is important that I inform the nation that this current outbreak is under control as evident by decline in new suspected cases, new laboratory confirmed cases and newly reported cases by week.

“Despite this achievement however, you will all agree with me that it will be too dangerous for us as a nation to go complacent at this stage,” he said.

The Minister also dismissed fears about the possible outbreak of Zika virus in Nigeria, saying there is no need to worry.

“Although two African countries have reported Zika infection in the recent outbreak and in the past many others, causal relationship between Zika virus infection, birth defect and neurological syndromes have not been established in this continent.

“Nigerian scientist working in Western Nigeria in 1954 discovered Zika Virus in Nigeria. Further studies in the years 1975 to 1979 show that 40% of Nigerian adults and 25% of Nigerian children have antibodies to Zika Virus, meaning they are protected against this virus.”

Germany Signals Interest in Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas

Dr. Ibe Kachikwu with the Vice Minister for Economic Affairs & Energy, Mr. Uwe Beckmeyer

Nigeria’s quest to expand its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) market into Europe received a major boost on Thursday as a visiting German trade delegation indicated the country’s burgeoning desire for Nigeria’s gas supply.

 

Leading a large contingent of German business concerns on a visit to the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu at the NNPC Towers, Vice Minister for Economic Affairs & Energy and Member of the German Parliament, Mr. Uwe Beckmeyer, said the country was seeking development of business relationship to accelerate the supply of LNG especially in the country’s ship building industry.

 

According to Mr. Beckmeyer, Nigeria’s LNG would come in handy as the country and other European industrial powers seek to cut down drastically on Carbon dioxide (C02) emissions arising from heavy industrial operations since LNG is far friendlier to the environment.

 

“We have a lot of interest in LNG and I think this is one special thing we should develop in the next few years. I think there is increasing demand in Europe especially as we seek to reduce emissions. It is useful for both sides to develop this special business relationship,’’ the German Vice-Minister stated.

Welcoming the delegation, Dr. Kachikwu said that the oil and gas industry was ready to embrace the interest for improved business relationship expressed by the German trade delegation noting that the Federal Government is working assiduously with other relevant stakeholders to ensure activation of LNG Trains 7 which would help accommodate potential off-takers from new markets.

 

Meanwhile State Governors under the aegis of the Nigerian Governors Forum have expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

 

Speaking on behalf of the forum, Zamfara State Governor and Chairman of the NGF, Mallam Abdulaziz Yari, who led a team of governors to the NNPC Towers on Thursday, expressed confidence in the ability of Dr. Kachikwu to lead the NNPC and the oil and gas industry to the desired levels.

 

Expressing delight in the ongoing reforms in the NNPC, Mallam Yari stated that the visit of the governors to the NNPC Towers was indicative of the level of confidence the NGF has in Dr. Kachikwu.

 

“What we are seeing is not NNPC of yesterday, you can see for yourself the change we are talking about. In the last eight years you have not seen a group of governors coming to NNPC to find out what is going on as critical stakeholders. So you can see the change we are talking about,’’ he said.

On the ongoing plans by the Corporation to build new mega fuel station in every senatorial district across the country, the NGF Chairman pledged the readiness of members to support the NNPC Retail expansion drive in their respective states.

 

“We are happy with his performance, in fact when he made a presentation to the forum earlier, we told him we are going to support him as a forum and also take him to Mr. President to campaign for him to be given any support he needs to succeed,’’ he said.

Workers ground Imo, Okorocha recalls sacked civil servants

                                                            Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha

Imo State workers and the national leadership of the organised labour on Wednesday started a three-day warning strike to protest against the concession of 19 parastatals by the Governor Rochas Okorocha-led administration, according to The PUNCH.

The workers described as obnoxious and crude, the government concession policy, which led to the dismissal of over 3,000 state workers.

While public schools, banks, government institutions, local council secretariats, filling stations, and supermarkets, among others were completely shut, the Owerri Main Market and its adjoining commercial areas witnessed low patronage.

When our correspondent visited some parts of the state, heavily-armed policemen were seen manning some strategic points.

The workers had around 8am converged on the Nigeria Labour Congress secretariat on Edede Street, Owerri, where they were jointly briefed by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress.

After the briefing, they commenced a peaceful march to the Orlu Road Roundabout.

The workers vowed not to succumb to government harassment, coercion or intimidation to shelve their planned strike over the concession policy.

The state Chairman of the NLC, Austin Chilakpu, had said the protesting workers would commence an indefinite strike if the government failed to meet their demand to rescind the controversial concession policy and recall the sacked workers.

The workers wore black clothes and chanted solidarity songs, while displaying placards bearing inscriptions, some which read, “Okorocha, you are wicked,” “Rochas revert your policies, it is anti-workers” and “We cannot fear your antics again,” among others.

They eventually stormed the Government House despite the heavy presence of security men, where they were addressed by Okorocha.

The governor said the ‘suspension’ of parastatals workers was for the overall interest of the state.

He noted that his government which started in 2011 never owed workers, adding that it was only in Imo State that N20,000 minimum wage was paid to workers.

Also addressing journalists, the National Chairman of All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, noted that the fate the APC was suffering today was borne out of the recklessness of the past administration led by the Peoples Democratic Party.

He said that there was a colossal drop in the national income following the drop in oil price.

It was later learnt that Okorocha ordered the recall of the sacked workers.

FG To Introduce Procurement Guidelines

The Federal Ministry of Finance has announced plans to introduce price guidelines for procurement purposes by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

Having reviewed the overhead expenditure data of the MDAs from 2012 to 2014, the unit found that cumulative expenditure on items purchased was 825 billion Naira, Channel News reported.

According to the head of the unit, Mrs Patience Oniha, the figure represents 61% of the cumulative total overhead expenditure of 1.35 billion Naira for the period.

In order to cut costs on recurrent expenditure, Mrs Oniha said that the efficiency unit of the Ministry would introduce ministerial debit cards to the MDAs to monitor procurement and expenses.

FG, States To Join Resources In Resolving Border Communities’ Problem ~ VP OSINBAJO

One of the measures the Federal Government would undertake to address the deplorable conditions of border communities in the country is to engage State Governments in tackling the challenges, according to Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

 

According to him, “our border communities are in a state of despair, we need to pay a lot attention to them.”

 

Prof. Osinbajo however observed that “without the states we will not be able to achieve much either with the border communities or the boundary commission”, offering to make presentation to the Govovernors at the National Economic Council (NEC), in order to highlight the enormity of the challenges.

 

Speaking today when he received the Senate Committee on States and Local Governments led  by its Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Gumel and the Chief Executives of Border Communities Development Agency and the National Boundary Commission at the House, Abuja, the Vice President said “border communities are places where you need to ensure are stable.” He noted that phased approach will be taken in solving the problems, considering government’s lean resources.

 

He also noted that roads, markets, schools and other social basic infrastructure must be provided at the border communities, to avoid intrusion by foreigners.

 

Earlier, the Chairman, Senate Committee on State and Local Government, Senator Abdullahi Gumel, told the Vice President that they were at the State House to brief him on the result of their oversight conducted on some of the border communities with the finding that facilities at the border communities are in the state of disrepair.

 

APC, PDP Reps clash over Amaechi

                                               Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi

All Progressives Congress members of the House of Representatives clashed with their Peoples Democratic Party colleagues today over the Minister of Transport, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

Amaechi appeared before the joint Committee on Marine/Land Transport to defend the 2016 budget proposals of the ministry, but lawmakers tried to turn the session into a venue for political party supremacy battle.

APC members, who control the majority of 213, out of the 360-member legislature, felt that the former Governor of Rivers State deserved some protection from the committee, as he came under a barrage of questions, The PUNCH reported.

The APC lawmakers complained that too many questions were being thrown at the minister.

However, some PDP members suddenly flared up, arguing that the minister could be asked any questions.

The PDP members were led by Mr. Pat Asadu (Enugu State) and Mr. Nnana Igbokwe (Imo State).

The development came as the House Committee on Aviation rejected a proposal by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority to spend N130m this year to conduct a security audit on the nation’s airports.

The Chairperson of the committee, Mrs. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, recalled that in 2015, a similar proposal was submitted by the agency.

She noted, “I can see you people have brought this matter of security audit again, and I remember querying it last year.

“How can you spend this much on the airports even when 22 out of the 32 airports are shut down with no operation going on whatsoever?

“The committee expressed dissatisfaction with the performance of the capital projects of the NCAA, rating them as “below average.”

But, the Director-General of NCAA, Capt. Mukhtar Usman, informed the committee that the agency improved on the training of personnel to meet global standards.

Similarly, the Committee on Foreign Relations declined to approve a proposal by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to spend N9bn for connectivity projects to link Abuja with all foreign missions.

Teacher in Saudi Arabia shoots dead 6 colleagues, wounds 2 more at education building

                                                                                KIRKLANDPHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES

The massacre happened in the city of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

A teacher in southern Saudi Arabia opened fire on colleagues Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding two, state television reported.

The brief reports on the state television channel’s website and Twitter account did not elaborate or offer a reason for the shooting at an education department building. It quoted an unnamed police spokesman for the information and said the suspected shooter was in custody.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency did not immediately report the shooting.

State TV posted a still photograph that showed ambulances gathered outside the building where the shooting took place in Jazan province.

Mass shootings are rare in the kingdom. Saudi Arabia has faced a series of recent attacks by Islamic State militants.

Saudi Arabia is leading a coalition of countries conducting airstrikes and ground operations in neighboring Yemen in support of the deeply impoverished country’s internationally recognized government. It is fighting against Iranian-backed Shiite rebels and supporters of a former president, who control the capital and other parts of the country.

Jazan, on the kingdom’s southern border with Yemen, has been targeted by missiles and cross-border fire since Saudi Arabia intervened in the conflict. On Tuesday, authorities said they shot down a ballistic missile targeting the city and that a police officer in the surrounding province was killed in a separate shooting incident.

In October, two people were killed and another two were wounded when a gunman opened fire inside a bank in the city of Jazan.

'We are all Africans really': Meryl Streep comes under fire for her response to film festival diversity

Meryl Streep's comments have caused controversy Photo: AFP

Meryl Streep has added to the recent Oscars diversity race row after"dismissing" a race issue by saying "we are all Africans really".

She made these comments at The Berlin International Film Festival, where she was asked about the fact she was chairing an all-white panel.

She added that the festival is determined to include "all genders, races, ethnicities, religions." Its 2016 jury is made up of seven white people: actor Lars Eidinger, British film critic Nick James, French photographer Brigitte Lacombe, British actor Clive Owen, Italian actress Alba Rohrwacher and Polish director Malgorzata Szumowska.

The actor was also asked by an Egyptian reporter if she "understood films from the Arab world and North Africa," according to AP.

Meryl Streep responded by saying: "I've played a lot of different people from a lot of different cultures."

"There is a core of humanity that travels right through every culture, and after all we're all from Africa originally," she said. "Berliners, we're all Africans, really."

The actor also pointed out the panel is female-dominated: "This jury is evidence that at least women are included and in fact dominate this jury, and that's an unusual situation in bodies of people who make decisions," Streep said. "So I think the Berlinale is ahead of the game."

After these comments, she faced backlash on Twitter, where people aired their grievances about the issue.

This comes as celebrities boycott the Oscars for the lack of racial diversity in the nominations.

Only white actors were nominated for Oscars, with mostly white nominees in other categories as well.

Jada Pinkett Smith, Spike Lee, Will Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Tyrese Gibson and Snoop Dogg are among those supporting the boycott.

Others have said they are not going to do so - Charlotte Rampling came under fire for saying the boycott was "racist to white people", Helen Mirrendefended The Academy and Kate Winslet has claimed she is attending to see Leonardo Di Caprio win his first Oscar.

German President Pledges $50 Million To Fight Boko Haram

German President, Joachim Gauck, has pledged $50 million to fight Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria.

Mr Gauck made the pledge after a closed-door meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The German President commiserated with Nigerians on the recent attacks by the Boko Haram in Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps and promised to do all it can to ensure that the IDPs are returned to their homes and rehabilitated.

During a visit to Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, Mr Gauck had pledged that Germany would assist Nigeria with the technical know-how to successfully fight terrorism, Channel News reported.

The German President, however, called for good governance and development if Nigeria must conquer terrorism on the long term.

President Buhari met with President Gauck a day after he returned from his 6-day vacation in London.

The Nigerian President returned to the country on Wednesday night and was received at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja by top government officials.

Nigerian Army To Partner With EFCC In Curbing Oil Theft And Pipe-line Vandalism

Nigeria Army with EFCC officials at PH Zonal Office during a courtesy visit

Brig Gen S. O. Olabanji, Commander, 2 Brigade Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has said that the Economic and Financial

Crimes Commission, EFCC, remains pivotal in the military’s efforts to check oil theft and pipe-line vandalism in the country.

He also pledged the army’s support to the EFCC in carrying out the onerous task of sanitizing the oil industry.

He gave the assurance during a courtesy visit to the EFCC’s zonal office in Port Harcourt on February 10, 2016.

Noting that oil theft contributed to the sabotage of the Nigerian economy, he said, “I am aware that part of the mandates of the EFCC is to prosecute any person or group that is involved in any form of economic sabotage.”

He stated that the Nigerian Army would assist the EFCC in the area of information gathering.

“There should be a synergy of government agencies in Port Harcourt, particularly the South-south zone so that we can find a lasting solution to the issue of oil theft, and tackle the issue of vandalism,” he said.

On his part, the Zonal Head, Ishaq Salihu, appreciated the Brigade Commander for his kind words, and promises.

“Your presence will go a long way in not only solidifying an already existing relationship between the EFCC and the Nigerian Army, but will go a long way in the joint fight against oil theft/bunkering,” he said.

He added that the agency had hope and confidence in the Army to partner the agency in the fight against the menace of pipeline vandalism, oil theft and other economic and financial crimes.

With NTA

Court nullifies Nyako’s impeachment

Murtala Nyako

The Court of Appeal on Thursday declared null and void the impeachment of the former governor of Adamawa State, Murtala Nyako.

The court sitting in Yola ruled that the July 15, 2014 impeachment of the former governor was not constitutional.

Nyako was impeached on allegations of corruption by 17 out 25 members of Adamawa State House of Assembly after a panel set up to investigate allegations submitted a report which indicted him.

The judges on Thursday unanimously held that Nyako was not given fair trial and that his rights were violated by the state assembly.

They noted that the House proceeded to impeach the former governor in spite of a subsisting court order against such move.

Though the court rule that Nyako be accorded all rights dues to him, including the payment of his entitlements, it however rejected his appeal to be returned as governor of the state.

With The Guardian

Minister Seeks Special Funding For Public Media for Anti-Terror Campaign

Minister of Information and Culture At #Budget2016 Defence

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has advocated a special funding arrangement for public media organizations to enable them to scale up their sensitization campaign against insurgency in the North-East.

The Minister made the call on Wednesday at the National Assembly, during an interactive session with members of the Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation, preparatory to the 2016 budget defence.

While responding to the sentiment expressed by a member of the Committee, Senator Ben Murray Bruce, on the effective utilisation of the public media in the fight against insurgency in the North- East, Alhaji Mohammed said his ministry had already mounted a robust public sensitization campaign on the insurgency, with the active participation of the Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria, but noted that the public media needed to be retooled to enhance its ability to drive the campaign.

“I must say that FRCN, NTA and VON, they have given me their schedules, at times we get as many as 16 slots within an hour to propagate these things. But I must admit that we have constraints. The FRCN in particular does not have the reach it used to have before and this is not surprising because for years, we have neglected the maintenance of the FRCN.

“VON is even worse because when the new station was built about two years ago, we were told that we need about N600 million annually to maintain it but what did we get? N120 million when they give us anything at all. So we have been cannibalizing and trying to make the best out of a bad situation,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed disclosed that the public media organs were directed to itemize the necessary requirements needed to prosecute the public sensitization campaign against the insurgency in order for the people to take ownership of the war and be security conscious.

“Let NTA, FRCN, VON, if only for the sake of the war in the North-East, tell us what they need to be able to prosecute this war. It’s going to be huge no doubt, but there is no way NTA, FRCN or VON will be able to meet this obligation when we have broken down transmitters and antennas,” he said.

Alhaji Mohammed also stressed the crucial role of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the campaign against insurgency and value re-reorientation.

“We see the NOA as a veritable vehicle not just in the war against insurgency but on all the wars against every ill including the war against corruption. We are working on this renewed campaign, which is going to be a much improved campaign on war against indiscipline, which we have tagged “Change Begins With Me”.

”This campaign will address all ills but this time around, we are not just targeting those at the top, they would have to lead by example but it’s going to be a bottom-up kind of campaign,” he said.

In his contribution, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and National Orientation, Eyinnaya Abaribe, suggested to the Executive Arm of Government to prepare and present an amended budget to capture all the necessary requirements of the public media organs to ensure success in the sensitization campaign against insurgency.

OAU students protest, ask EFCC to probe VC

Nigerian students under the aegis of Alliance of Nigerian Students Against Neo-Liberal Attacks on Thursday staged a public protest in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, and called on anti- graft agencies to arrest and prosecute the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Bamitale Omole, for allegedly mismanaging the university’s resources. 

The Coordinator of the ANSA, Wole Olubanji, who led scores of students to stage the protest also asked the university to reinstate the students union leaders suspended for seeking better welfare for the students. 

The protesting students said many petitions had been written against the vice chancellor, saying they had enough evidence to back their allegations against him.

Olubanji said, “We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Assembly, EFCC, ICPC and the Code of Conduct Bureau to probe Prof. Bamitale Omole’s administration. 

“Prof. Omole administration has earned over N30bn from subventions, more than N1.5bn from school fees, billions of naira from ore-degree program besides funds received from special agencies such as World Bank, TETFUND etc and money from internal sources including  donations from corporate bodies. ”

Despite the fund, the students said their hostels were in very poor condition; the lecture rooms were over crowded  and epileptic power supply was the order of the day. 

With The PUNCH

INEC to Prosecute Under-Age Voters

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Wednesday that it would prosecute under-age voters in Plateau.

Dr Godwin Kwanga, the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC in the state made this known in a Stakeholders’ Forum in Jos ahead of re-run elections in the state fixed for Feb. 20.

Kwanga said that the state was replete with underage voters in possession of Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs).

The stakeholders at the forum included representatives of security agencies, politicians, media and election monitoring and observer groups.

He announced that the polls would hold in Langtang South, Pankshin North and Pankshin South state constituencies.

The REC said that the menace of underage voters almost marred the last general elections in the state.

According to him, the menace produced a lot of mutilated and voided votes during the April 11, 2015 polls in Quan’Pan Local Government Area.

“Our experience in Quan’Pan showed that a lot of underage voters were having the PVCs and this led to a lot of cancellations.

“One of the underage voters, who had PVC bearing his image and the age of 36 years, confessed to INEC officials that he was only 16 years old.

“We looked the other way even when in the same elections, our tags were photocopied and massively reproduced by agents of political parties,’’ he said.

He, however, said that unlike what happened in the April 11 polls, INEC was set to prosecute any case of underage voters in the coming rerun and supplementary polls.

Kwanga said that card reader machines would be solely used for the Feb. 20 polls and that newly registered voters were excluded from participation.

He assured that INEC would provide all political parties a level playing ground and appealed to party agents not to compromise ad hoc staff into tampering with materials to stall the polls.

“I beg agents of political parties not to lure ad hoc staff to tamper with materials as it will disrupt the process.

“Once you remove the battery from the machine, it malfunctions when you replace it, and ad hoc personnel are not trained on such duties,’’ he said.

He explained that accreditations and voting would hold simultaneously between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. as against past practices.

Akwanga announced that election in Langtang North would hold in 68 polling units and would be contested by only All Progressives Congress (APC) and Mega Progressive Peoples Party (MPPP).

He gave the names of their candidates as Jackson Ninmwang and Rinsmicit Emmanuel, respectively.

He said that Vincent Bulus of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was excluded.

“Pankshin South state constituency election will hold only in Nyelleng polling unit in Fier Area while that of Pankshin North will hold in Pyabor polling unit.

“The four political parties and candidates to contest in Pankshin North state constituency are Alice Dimlong, APC; Yakubu Zetgang, LP; Tamnakat David, MPPP and Diket Plang, PDP.

“Supplementary election in Pankshin South will feature Gideon Dashe, APC; Dagak Michael, APGA; Theresa Bartuk, MPPP and Mwamsat Istifanus, PDP,“ he said.

Trump, Sanders Victorious In New Hampshire Primary

Bernie Sander (Democrat) and Donald Trump (Republican) both winners of the New Hampshire Primaries.

Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders coasted to victory on a wave of voter anger in the New Hampshire presidential nominating contest, thrashing traditional U.S. politicians in a display of anti-establishment power.

Sweeping wins by Trump, a New York billionaire, and Sanders, a democratic socialist, on Tuesday testified to the sizable share of American voters upset at U.S. economic conditions and willing to send a shockwave to Washington in the Nov. 8 presidential election.

New Hampshire’s verdict sets up a tough fight for Republicans in South Carolina on Feb. 20 and for Democrats there on Feb. 27. Some of the most monumental campaign battles in elections past have been fought in the state that holds the first primary election of the American South.

For Trump, New Hampshire showed he has staying power and can take a punch after losing on Feb. 1 to Texas Senator Ted Cruz in the first contest, the Iowa caucuses. His win showed pundits were wrong to think he would ultimately self-destruct based on his penchant for insults and imprecise plans for the presidency.

Democrat Hillary Clinton, the former U.S. secretary of state and former U.S. senator, now looks wounded, trailing Sanders by 60 to 39 percent based on 86 percent of the returns.The wife of former President Bill Clinton, Clinton barely won Iowa and now has been trounced in New Hampshire, where young voters liked Sanders’ populist proposals to break up big banks and have the government pay for free college tuition.

“People have every right to be angry but they’re also hungry, they’re hungry for solutions,” Clinton, 68, said after congratulating the 74-year-old Sanders. “I will work harder than anyone to actually make the changes that make your lives better.”

Clinton was headed to New York, home to her campaign headquarters, to regroup with top aides and prepare for Thursday’s Democratic debate. Her campaign has denied reports it is considering a shakeup but acknowledged it would be natural to add members to their team as the campaign progresses.

Sanders said his victory showed “we have sent the message that will echo from Wall Street to Washington, from Maine to California, and that is that the government of our great country belongs to all of the people and not just a handful of wealthy campaign contributors.”

Some 73 percent of voters say they think the United States is on the wrong track, and these disaffected people make up a majority of the support bases for Trump and Sanders, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

They are worried about the economy and distrust establishment politicians they perceive as being part of the problem.

Republican Presidential Candidate Donald Trump New Hampshire Primaries (Photo: AP)

Trump, 69, who has campaigned to deport illegal immigrants and temporarily ban Muslims from entering the United States, was in first place with 35 percent of the vote on the Republican side based on 88 percent of returns.

At his victory rally, Trump dispensed with niceties. He congratulated other candidates in the race but promised to soon return to his pugnacious approach.

“Tomorrow: boom, boom,” he said, shadow boxing while his supporters cheered.

The New Hampshire Republican race did little to clear up confusion about who would emerge as the establishment contender to Trump on the Republican side.

Ohio’s Republican governor, John Kasich, won a spirited fight for second place in New Hampshire, with Cruz, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida fighting for third place. All four were headed to South Carolina.

Bush, the son and brother of former presidents, lived to fight another day, making something of a comeback after a strong debate performance and solid weekend of campaigning.

“While the reality TV star is doing well, it looks like you all have reset the race,” Bush told supporters. “This campaign is not dead. We’re going on to South Carolina.”

Rubio failed to dispatch Bush, seeing a drop in his support after a debate on Saturday in which he drew criticism for repeating rehearsed lines from his stump speech.

“I did not do well on Saturday night – listen to this: that will never happen again,” Rubio told supporters.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who called out Rubio for his robotic debate, fell behind the others in the voting and canceled plans to go to South Carolina, a sign he could drop out soon.

Independent voters wield special clout in New Hampshire, second in the series of state-by-state contests that lead to the parties’ formal presidential nominating conventions in July, because they can vote in either party’s primary.

At a polling station in Manchester, Joan and Roland Martineau said they voted for the two candidates they believed they could trust to shake things up.

Joan, 68, went for Sanders. “I like this views, I like the way he speaks, I think I can trust him,” she said.

Roland, 73, a registered Republican, went for Trump, a man he said was “more honest” than other candidates. But he said he would back Sanders over Trump in the general election in November.

Clinton had for months been the front-runner nationally. But a Reuters/Ipsos poll done Feb 2-5 showed Clinton and Sanders now in a dead heat.

Clinton campaign manager Robby Mook said in a memo that the Democratic nomination would “very likely” be decided in March, with the support of black and Hispanic voters key to victory. The next primary races are in Nevada and South Carolina later this month.

“It will be very difficult, if not impossible, for a Democrat to win the nomination without strong levels of support among African-American and Hispanic voters,” Mook wrote.

With Reuters