Swift Wave Reporter, Author at Swift Wave Radio

Photos from the traditional wedding of actor Michael Okon

The wedding of Nollywood actor Michael Okon to his fiancee, Kosi Obialor, took place in Imo state last weekend. Congrats to them.

See more photos below;

In 2016, news broke out that Michael Okon had secretly gotten married to a lady, a news which he debunked in a press statement stating that the pictures which many mistook for his wedding event were from a photo-shoot for a Nigerian UK-based designer, Afromodel Collections.

The statement reads: “I didn’t do any secret wedding but if I did, the media will be the first to know.

“We only did a photo shoot for a Nigerian UK-based designer, Afromodel Collections, and Bella Naija Weddings posted the pictures and “Boom!” everyone thought it was another pre wedding shoot. “The story really went viral because I’ve been getting congratulatory messages till today.

“We had only a private event meant for models and crew how that turned to a marriage ceremony crew how that turned to a marriage ceremony is what I don’t know.…

News

National Assembly Threatens To Impeach Buhari

After a three-hour closed door session, the National Assembly on Tuesday threatened President Muhammadu Buhari if he fails to prosecute those involved in the mace snatching saga in the Senate and address other issues raised by the lawmakers.
The lawmakers in the resolution read, passed a vote of confidence on the President of the Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, and affirmed their position that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, is not fit to hold public office and also passed vote of no confidence on him.
They said if the President fails to meet their demands, they will invoke the relevant section of the constitution, which has been largely interpreted to mean impeachment.
The lawmakers said: “We also hereby reaffirm our earlier resolution on the vote of no confidence on the Inspector General of Police, who does nothing but preside over innocent Nigerians with an outright disregard for constitutional authority of both the executive and the legislature.
“The Security Agencies must be given marching orders to curtail the sustained killings of Nigerians across the country and protect life and properties of Nigerians as this is the primary duty of any responsible Government.
“The systematic harassment and humiliation by the Executive of perceived political opponents, people with contrary opinions including Legislators and Judiciary by the police and other security agencies must stop.
“There must be strict adherence to the Rule of Law and protection for all citizens by the President and his appointees.
“The President must be held accountable for the actions of his appointees and must be ready to sanction those that carry out any act which will ridicule or endanger our country and democracy.
“The Government should show sincerity in the fight against corruption by not being selective, also prosecute current appointees that have cases pending against them.
“The sanctity of the National Assembly should be protected and preserved by the Federal Government of Nigeria by not interfering in its business and prosecuting those who invaded …

Sports

Joshua Close To Povetkin Deal

World heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is close to a deal to fight Alexander Povetkin – either before or after a bout with Deontay Wilder.

Joshua, 28, holds the WBA, IBF and WBO titles, with Povetkin in a mandatory challenger position for the WBA belt.

But talks continue for the Briton to face WBC title holder Deontay Wilder with all four titles on the line.

“We have to move because the WBA want to know what’s happening,” said Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn.

Hearn says he is hoping for clarity on a Joshua-Wilder fight “this week” and the WBA would be likely to sanction the contest as long as Russian Povetkin, 38, was able to face the winner.

“We pretty much have a deal in place with Povetkin,” Hearn told Fighthype.com. “At the moment it looks like we are fighting him but that could change.

“At the moment the two options we have are we either sign for Wilder now to fight him next or we sign for Wilder now but fight him after Povetkin.

“So what fans need to know is they are getting the fight – it’s just a case of whether it’s September-October or December-February.”

No heavyweight has ever held all four recognised world titles, meaning any Joshua-Wilder bout would be a likely box office hit regardless of which side of the Atlantic Ocean it was staged.

Hearn feels the location of the bout is now one of the main stumbling blocks, with Joshua and his trainer Rob McCracken intent on fighting in the UK.

…

Football / Sports

International Friendly: Rohr To Risk Ndidi Against Czech Rep

Leicester City midfielder, Wilfried Ndidi, may return action as the Super Eagles battle Czech Republic in a friendly on Wednesday ahead of the Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Ndidi, who missed the DR Congo tie and the glamour friendly against England at Wembley Stadium due to an injury, is raring to go according to the Super Eagles media officer, Toyin Ibitoye.

Ibitoye said: “Ndidi has resumed full training with the rest of the team. He is also ready for selection against Czech Republic.

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Basket Ball / Sports

2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifiers: D’Tigers To Open Camp

The national male basketball team, D’Tigers, will begin camping for their Group B qualifiers for the 2019 FIBA World Cup on June 19 in Lagos.
Afolabi Oni, the Nigeria Basketball Federation Media Officer, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
He quoted the NBBF Secretary-General, Chimezie Asiegbu, as saying the federation was intensifying efforts to ensure that the team maintained its 100 per cent winning record in the qualification series.
Asiegbu said: “With invited players already contacted and their availability confirmed for the June window being hosted by Nigeria, the official list is expected to be released next week.”
He added that the team was initially meant to camp at Buffalo in the U.S., but after considering all indices, the team would now camp in Lagos.
He said: “We had planned to open the camp in Buffalo but good thinking has advised that we shouldn’t and that we camp in Lagos.
Ogunade explained that the federation would have wanted the team to train together for a longer period, but this would not be possible because of the players’ club engagements.
He said: “We also considered the financial implications on the federation’s finances. So, the players will stay in camp for just 10 days.
“We have a long list of players, but most of our players are in the middle of different competitions with their clubs abroad.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Nigeria are currently leading Group B, and their first match will be when they file out against Uganda on June 29.
Their second game of the window will be against Rwanda on June 30, before they face Mali on July 1.…

Football / Sports

Breaking: Thieves Invade Super Falcons Camp In Gambia

Thieves in the early hours of Wednesday invaded the camp of the Super Falcons in Banjul, The Gambia.
The Super Falcons are due to play their Gambian counterpart for a ticket to the finals of the African Women Nations Cup.
Valuables were stolen from the camp by the invaders, including personal effects of the Nigerian players.
The second leg of the qualifying match is slated for the Agege Township Stadium in Lagos on Monday.

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News

How Buhari-Led Administration Has Contained Militancy – Iyamu

Edobor Iyamu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affairs, on Tuesday said that militancy in the Niger Delta region was being contained by the present administration through series of people-oriented programmes.

He said this while addressing State House correspondents after the unveiling of the Niger Delta Vision website: www.ndnewvision.gov.ng, by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo in Abuja.

The ceremony was held during the 2018 World Environment Day.

Iyamu said: “It (militancy) is being contained, this administration is doing a lot to ensure that we are in tune with all of the agreements reached and all of the things that we need to do to ensure that peace is maintained in the region.”

According to the presidential aide, following the palliative to the people of the region oil exploration has increased and has been sustained over a long period of time for almost a year or there about.

He said: “I think that to a very large extent militancy has been contained by this administration and I think there is peace and calm in the region and we are moving forward.”

The Presidential aide recalled that since the United Nations Environmental Protection report was produced on Ogoni cleanup in 2011 nothing was done until the Buhari administration intervened.

He said: “Since this administration came into power, it has commenced a number of activities in fulfillment of the UNEP report.”

According to him, the report says some preliminary steps should be taken, one of which is that a health impact assessment test, water contamination test and other medical outreaches must be carried out.

Iyamu said that such preliminaries were to bring in some kind of palliatives to the region.

He noted that Hypre, the agency in charge of the Ogoniland cleanup, had done a number of medical outreaches as well as a number of assessments in respect of water pollution extent.

He observed that the cleanup was at a point where advertisements had been published for interested companies to bid from where no fewer than 120 companies

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News

Designer Kate Spade Found Dead In Manhattan Apartment

American Fashion Designer Kate Spade was found dead in her Park Avenue apartment in Manhattan of an apparent suicide, according to law enforcement officials.
The officials say she was found hanging by housekeeping staff inside her Park Avenue apartment at about 10:20 a.m.Tuesday.
They say she left a note at the scene.
The officials were not authorized to divulge details of an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity
The officials didn’t know what the note said.
The 55-year-old Spade created a line of sleek handbags in the early 1990s that created a smash.
Her company, Kate Spade New York, has over 140 retail shops and outlet stores across the US and more than 175 shops internationally.

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Entertainment

‘Having girls dance Shaku Shaku in Hijab in my music video was intentional, is there any law against it?” Falz

Nigerian Rapper Folarin Falana aka falz who has come under fire from many Muslim groups and individuals for using ladies dressed in Hijab for his viral video ‘This is Nigeria’ has just reacted. He was even given a seven days ultimate by a Muslim group to take down the song. Read Here.

Speaking as a guest on Linda Ikeji TV’s show, Verified, hosted by Tope Olowoniyan, Falz spoke about his worries for Nigeria and how people missed the point of his new music video ”This is Nigeria”.

Controversies have continued to trail the music video because he used video vixens dressed in Hijab.

When asked if the video vixens dancing Shaku Shaku in Hijab was intentional, Falz said

”It was very intentional. We continue to forget or neglect the innocence of the girl child and because of all the issues that wer are having, the kidnappings and the killings especially in the Northern part of the country, the Chibok girls and very more recently the Dapchi girls, It is very disturbing and we don’t often talk about them and I was a bit surprised to hear people say why would you put girls in Hijab to dance Shaku Shaku…common, is there anything wrong with people dancing because they are wearing Hijabs? Is their any law against that?

Watch a clip from the interview below;

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Entertainment

Davido to perform alongside Nicki Minaj, CardiB, Nas & others at One Music Fest in New York

Davido joins a selected list of top rated artistes billed to perform at the One Music Festival holding in New York, US from September 8-9, 2018.

Fresh from being announced as one of the artistes that will grace the stage at Jay Z’s ‘Made in America’ Festival which is scheduled to hold on the weekend of September 1-2, Davido has again hit a big one as he has been listed to perform at the 8th edition of the One Music Festival.

In a tweet posted earlier today, June 5, this year’s edition will feature the likes of Nas, Cardi B, Big Sean, T.I, Common, Big K.R.I.T, Davido and more.

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Sports

Check Out The Latest Forbes List Of Top 10 Highest Earning Athletes

according to the list released by Forbes Magazine, US boxer Floyed Mayweatherhas regained his title in the Forbes rankings of the world’s top 100 earning athletes.

He earned a $275m (£205m) for his boxing match in August against UFC star Conor Mcgregor, who is number four on the US business magazine’s list.
Messi has overtaken rival, Cristiano Ronaldo on the list of the World’s top 100 earning athletes 2018.

Messi has edged out Ronaldo in this year’s latest list of top 100 earning athletes in the world.

Cristiano Ronaldo – top for the past two years – drops to third, with Lionel Messi edging him out of second place.

There are no women on the list, after the previous sole entrant, Serena Williams, dropped out of the chart.

The top 100 athletes earned a total of $3.8bn, up 23% from last year, Forbes said.

F1 driver Lewis Hamilton is the top Briton at number 12 with $51m.

Mayweather – one of whose nicknames is Money – saw his sports earnings added to by $10m from endorsements.

“Boxing’s biggest night of 2017 helped Mayweather and McGregor earn nearly $400m combined,” said Kurt Badenhausen, senior editor at Forbes Media.

“But basketball players dominate the top 100 overall thanks to a soaring salary cap triggered by the NBA’s $24bn TV contract.”

He added: “Forbes’ lists of top-earning athletes have long been testosterone heavy. But there has always been at least one female athlete, and as many as three, who qualified since the list was expanded to at least 50 names in 2010. Not this year.”

The top 10

1. Floyd Mayweather – boxing ($285m)

2. Lionel Messi – football ($111m)

3. Cristiano Ronaldo – football ($108m)

4. Conor McGregor – mixed martial arts ($99m)

5. Neymar – football ($90m)

6. LeBron James – basketball ($85,5m)

7. Roger Federer – tennis ($77.2m)

8. Stephen Curry – basketball ($76.9m)

9. Matt Ryan – American football ($67.3m)

10. Matthew Stafford – American football ($59.5m)…

Entertainment

Nina reveals she would be going back to school

Big Brother Naija finalist, Nina has just revealed that she would be going back to school on Monday being the 11th of June.

The ex-housemate who has been trending ever since she left the BBNaija TV show has been chasing the money ever since, trying to make a living out of her hair business she recently launched on her birthday on May 31st.

Now the reality star has now taken the advise of some Nigerians to go back to school and complete her studies at the Imo State University (IMSU)

She made this declaration on twitter where she wrote saying;

“I really can’t wait to be in school on monday”

Now, Nigerians are now reacting, read what they are saying;

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News

‘Nigeria is safe and secure for tourism’ – President Buhari, Says

President Buhari today in Abuja declared that Nigeria is safe and secure for tourism, citing improved security and country’s burgeoning economy.

Receiving Zurab Pololikashvili, the Secretary-General of United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) at the Presidential Villa, the President said it would have been inconceivable to host an international tourism conference in Abuja four years ago, because of security concerns.

‘‘I am pleased that the country is now sufficiently safe and secure, and the message should go out to the world for all tourists and business travellers. The first thing tourists look out for is security and I am happy we have it now. Minister Lai Mohammed has been trying to convince the world that Nigeria is safe and has great potentials for tourism and investment. I am glad that you and your team have come here to see things for yourself,’’ the President told the UN tourism chief, who is in Abuja for the 61st UNWTO Commission for Africa (CAF) conference.

Highlighting the nexus between tourism and sustainable development, the President said Nigeria would not be left behind in ensuring that communities and businesses benefit from tourism development.

In his remarks, Pololikashvili commended Nigeria for the successful hosting of the conference which brings together African Ministers of Tourism, principal executives of the global tourism body and other stakeholders in the tourism sector.

The UN tourism chief told the President Nigeria had huge potential to develop the tourism sector considering its large economy.

‘‘We can do it in Nigeria, we can create, convert Nigeria to the main tourist destination in Africa. There is a huge potential here. Culture, nature, food you have everything here. You are investing in agriculture, improving seamless travel through visa-on-arrival programme, reforming the economy and doing so much on security. Nigeria is safe,’’ Pololikashvili said.

Also speaking, the Information and Culture Minister said 166 delegates, including 26 tourism ministers from Africa are attending the UN tourism conference, holding from June 4 to June 6 in Abuja.

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Entertainment

US Rapper, Snoop Dogg Shades Ghana For World Cup Failure

Ghana’s failure to make it to the global showpiece in Russia has attracted the attention of American rapper, Snoop Dogg who saw it as an opportunity to poke fun at Ghana.

Even before the World Cup itself commences, the Super Eagles of Nigeria are trending for their sleek jersey which has reportedly created a buzz everywhere.

For this reason, the iconic superstar could not think far on why Ghana not appear with their ‘brothers’ Nigeria hence he took to his official Instagram page to share a hilarious collage picture.

He posted a picture of Nigerians in their world cup gear and a picture of a random Ghanaian in a funny outfit.

Ghana failed to make it to the World Cup after three successive appearances in 2006, 2010 and 2014.

See below:

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News

Ghanaian police arrest 50 Nigerians for Internet fraud & robbery

A total of forty-six laptops, mobile phones and several electronic gadgets was retrieved from 50 Nigerians, who were arrested in Kasoa, Ghana for internet fraud and armed robbery attacks.

They are aged between 20 and 37, and claimed they were students or businessmen but had no proof.

Personnel of the Police Intelligence Directorate who launched the raid, disclosed that it was conducted based on intelligence received from residents, who complained about the rise in criminal activities in the area.

The Director-General in-charge of the Police Intelligence Directorate, Commissioner of Police (COP) Christian Tetteh Yohuno, who spoke to newsmen said the suspects, comprising 49 men and a female, reportedly rented several apartments in the area to plan their nefarious activities. According to him, the police personnel from the unit carried out the operation in the said areas at Gomoa Budumburam around 9.00am and about 20 suspects were rounded up in the first apartment, which is a two-bedroom facility.

“During the arrest, most of the suspects were busy on their laptops while the others were sleeping” he said.

COP Tetteh Yohuno who disclosed that 21 out of the 46 suspected Nigerians rounded up in a similar exercise two weeks ago at Amanfrom, are to be repatriated by the Ghana Immigration Service for illegal immigration, added that the exhibits gotten from the new raid would be forwarded to the Cyber Crime Unit of the Police CID for further investigations.

“We are currently screening them for varying criminal offences, including cyber related crimes and robberies after which they would be handed over to the Ghana Immigration Service for residence status investigations,” the Director-General of the Unit revealed.

Mr Yohuno advised foreigners in Ghana whose permits had expired to regularise their stay with the GIS and also ensure that they engaged in meaningful jobs, “otherwise they may be suspected of being involved in criminal activities”…

News

‘APC Will Rule Nigeria Forever’ -Aisha Alhassan, Minister of Women Affairs

The honorable Minister of Women Affairs, Aisha Alhassan, is of the opinion that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will remain in power forever.

Alhassan said this in Abuja on Monday while addressing journalists shortly after the inauguration of state chairmen of the party.

She maintained that despite the wide-ranging rancour in the party, nothing would stop it from retaining power in 2019 and beyond. “Crisis is normal in a big party like APC,” she said.

“Once we can do our national convention, then we face the opposition PDP and I assure you that APC will win more states like Taraba in 2019.

I will make sure that in my zone, I follow up and by God’s grace Gombe and Taraba will be taken over in 2019. And don’t even talk about Nigeria because it’s already APC and it will continue to be APC forever.”…

Entertainment

Muslim group give a 7-day ultimatum; demands the withdrawal of Falz’s ‘This is Nigeria’ video

In the recently released video, some girls dressed in hijab were seen dancing the “shaku shaku” dance.

Responding to criticisms that trailed the video, Falz explained that the girls were a representation of the abducted Chibok girls still in Boko Haram captivity.

But MURIC, in a statement by Ishaq Akintola, its director, said the dancers in the video in no way depict the situation of the girls.

The group also condemned “a character that dressed like a Fulani man, who suddenly abandoned his traditional guitar and beheaded a man” featured in the video.

Describing the video as “thoughtless, insensitive and highly provocative,” MURIC said it could brew religious and ethnic crisis.

It also said the video is spiteful and intended to denigrate Islam and Muslims.

“MURIC rejects Falz’ explanation that the girls in hijab in his ‘Shaku Shaku’ dance symbolize the Chibok girls because nothing in the video indicates that the girls represent the Chibok girls,” the statement read.

“At least none of the Chibok girls have been seen dancing like a drunkard. They are always in pensive mood. Do they have any cause to be dancing? Are they happy?

“The video manifests ethnic bias against Fulanis while it ignored the criminal activities of ethnic militia of the Middle Belt who have also massacred Fulanis and rustled their cattle in their thousands.

“It is a hate video. This video has the potential of causing religious crisis of unprecedented dimension.

“It is an assault on the self-dignity of every Muslim. It is freedom of expression gone haywire.

“We therefore demand its withdrawal and an apology to Nigerian Muslims within seven days or the authors and their agents will face legal action if they fail to comply.

“Only the scenes portraying police brutality and the money-swallowing snake in the video are near the truth.”

The group called on security agencies and the National Film And Video Censors Board (NFVCB) to clamp down on the video.

“We call the attention of security agencies to this hate action,” the statement continued.

“We remind Nigerians …

News

Woman murders her husband because he beat the family cat

A woman admitted to detectives on Saturday that she shot and killed her husband because he was beating the family cat.

Mary Harrison, 47, was charged with murdering her husband, Dexter Harrison, 49, in Fall Manor Drive in Dallas, Texas. She told detectives in Dallas that she shot her husband during a heated argument on Saturday, June 2, 2018.

The shooting occurred just before 7:00 a.m. in the 13200 block of Fall Manor Drive in Dallas, according to police. Dexter Harrison was transported to Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, where he was pronounced dead.

Neighbors told CBS that the couple moved into the neighborhood with their two teenage sons several months ago. They said the family’s pet cat went missing, but after the wife posted several signs, it was eventually returned.

“They were some good people. They don’t bother anybody,” neighbor Carl Phillips said. “A man got shot over a cat? It’s kind of crazy.”…

News

FG Bans Shisha Smoking In Public, Police To Arrest Culprits

The Nigerian government, on Monday, June 4, declared the banning of the use of flavoured tobacco, especially shisha, in public places, and directed security agencies to arrest anyone found inhaling the substance.

While speaking at the 2018 World No Tobacco Day celebration, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, on Monday in Abuja, said the Federal Government has banned the use of flavoured tobacco, especially Shisha, in public places, and directed security agencies to arrest anyone found inhaling the substance.

According to New Telegraph, the minister who spoke during the event with the theme,‘Tobacco Breaks the Heart Choose Health, Not Tobacco’, explained that evidence has shown that for every $1 gain from tobacco business about $3 was expended on healthcare cost.

Worried over the increasing rate of tobacco-related deaths in the country and the world in general, a work plan was developed and launched by the minister on the National Tobacco Control (NTC) Act, which could be implemented by stakeholders before the approval of the NTC Regulations, to curb the use of tobacco products in the country.

“The work plan outlines education, enforcement and monitoring for compliance including the ban on sale of tobacco products to and by anyone below 18 years of age; ban on tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship of any kind; ban on smoking in public places; and ban on sale of tobacco products in piecemeal quantity but in packs of 20 sticks for cigarettes or 30g for smokeless tobacco.

“The FMOH is also looking beyond the work plan as we are developing a comprehensive 5-year National Tobacco Control Strategic Plan that will provide the roadmap for complete tobacco control. In addition to this, the FMOH participated actively in the review of the Nigeria Industrial Standard for tobacco products convened by Standards Organisation of Nigeria in collaboration with Consumer Protection Council (CPC).

“A key outcome of this review was the ban on all characterizing flavours including the addition of menthol into tobacco products. This decision is to protect our children from getting enticed by flavoured tobacco

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News

US To Reduce Troops In Africa

The United States is considering to reduce by half its counter-terrorism troops based in Africa over the next three years.

This followed a consideration for a sharp reduction in its special forces operations in Somalia and other African countries.

About 6,000 American soldiers are currently assigned to several African countries, according to the US Africa Command.

Some 500 of those commandos, trainers and logistics specialists are based in Somalia, where they assist African Union and Somali national forces in carrying out attacks on Al-Shabaab.

US military action in Somalia mainly consists of drone strikes that are said to have killed dozens of Shabaab militants in the past year.

But some US troops operate on the ground in an advisory capacity, and a steep reduction in their numbers could have negative consequences for the 11-year-long war against Al-Shabaab.

The contemplated reduction in US troop levels in Africa is mainly a product of two factors.

One is the political furore that erupted following the killing of four US soldiers last October during a counter-insurgency operation in Niger.

A Pentagon investigation into that attack “exposed a risk-taking culture among commandos”.

And that finding strengthened US Defence Secretary James Mattis’s inclination to reduce counter-insurgency missions in Africa, the newspaper said.

At the same time, the US is putting greater emphasis on responding to perceived military threats posed by Russia, China, North Korea and Iran.

A share of the special forces currently based in Africa would be reassigned to missions elsewhere in the world in accordance with that strategic reassessment.

Last year, President Donald Trump loosened restrictions on US military operations in Somalia that the Obama administration had put in place with the aim of avoiding civilian casualties.

An escalation in drone strikes ensued, along with an increase in the number of US military personnel inside Somalia.

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Author: Swift Wave Reporter