Joe Biden, the President-elect of the United States of America, has appointed Nigerian-born Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo into his cabinet.

The President-elect made announcement when he named additional 20 members of the office of the White House counsel.

Badejo is a lawyer and an alumna of Berkeley Law College in the US, and served as ethics counsel in the same office toward the end of the President Barrack Obama administration.

She, alongside other lawyers of the Office of White House Counsel will be advising the President, the executive office of the president, and the White House staff on legal issues pertaining to the president and the White House.

A statement on the Biden-Harris transition website said that Badejo was general counsel of the house select subcommittee on the coronavirus crisis which was chaired by James Clyburn, House Majority Whip.

“Her prior government service includes serving as Counsel for policy to the Assistant Attorney-General in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, Ethics Counsel at the White House Counsel’s Office and Attorney Advisor at the Administrative Conference of the United States during the Obama-Biden administration,” the statement read.

Biden will become the 46th President of the United States after his swearing-in slated for January 20, 2021

He defeated the incumbent President Donald Trump in the November 3 presidential election after scoring over 300 electoral college votes

Although Trump rejected the election result claiming electoral fraud, he could not provide proofs and has lost numerous cases he filed in court.

President Trump was however, impeached on Wednesday for the second time having been accused of inciting his supporters to launch a deadly attack on US Capitol In a final push to stop the confirmation of Biden as the winner of the election by the Congress.

Biden had earlier In December 2020 appointed a Nigerian-American, Osaremen Okolo, a Ni, a member of Biden’s COVID-19 response team.

Before then, Nigerian-born Adewale Adeyemo has been appointed as deputy secretary of the treasury department.

The Federal Government has finally decided to go ahead with the January 18, 2021 resumption date for schools nationwide.

This is despite the pressure being mounted by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other stakeholders that school should remain shut amid the second wave of the pandemic.

On Monday, the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, during the press briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday said the January 18 resumption date was not sacrosanct.

However, in a statement signed by the Director, Press and Public Relations, Bem Goong, Adamu explained that the decision to maintain the resumption date was the aftermath of “extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders, including state governors, commissioners of education, proprietors and heads of institutions, staff unions and students”, respectively.

The Minister, however, urged parents and respective institutions to ensure full compliance with COVID-19 protocols.

The statement read in full: “Sequel to the hint given during the press briefing on 12 January 2021 for the review of the proposed resumption date of 18th January 2021, the Federal Ministry of Education has undertaken a comprehensive appraisal of the situation.

“After extensive consultations with relevant stakeholders, including State Governors, Commissioners of Education, Proprietors and heads of institutions, staff unions and students, the consensus of opinion is that the resumption date of 18th January should remain, while parents and respective institutions must ensure full compliance with COVID-19 protocols including:- (i) Compulsory wearing of Facemasks by all students, teachers and workers in all schools (ii) Temperature checks and hand washing facilities at strategic locations in all schools (iii) Ensuring constant supply of water and sanitizers (iv) Enforcement of maintenance of social distancing and suspension of large gatherings such as assembly and visiting days. (v) Avoiding overcrowding, including limitations in class sizes and hostel occupancy (vi) Availability of functional health clinics with facilities for isolation and transportation of suspected cases to medical facilities (vii) Adherence to all other non-pharmaceutical protocols, restrictions and containment measures as may be prescribed/ approved by the PTF from time to time.

“These measures which are to ensure safe reopening of schools for academic activities will be subject to constant review as we urge teachers, school administrators and other stakeholders to ensure strict compliance.”

The All Progressives Congress, APC, on Thursday, opened up on the chances of Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, emerging as its presidential candidate in 2023.

Ex-Deputy National Publicity Secretary of APC, Yekini Nabena, said Tinubu’s chances are dependent on his alliances with party stakeholders from other zones in the country.

Speaking with DAILY POST, Nabena said: “I don’t know or tell how strong Tinubu’s chances are because politics is all about alliance.

“It depends on who he is aligning with and his alibi. A tree cannot make a forest, you can be strong in a particular state but what about others.

“However, politics is all about numbers, so i can’t say much about anybody’s chances. No matter the zone you are from you still need to work with other zones because it’s the people that will count.”

Meanwhile, former and current Speakers of State Houses of Assembly in the South West on Thursday threw their weight behind the projected presidential ambition of Tinubu.

They made their stand known during a meeting in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.