A former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, has reacted to the return of the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to the country.
Naija News reported that the former Governor of Lagos State arrived in Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, on Monday evening after spending about one month in France.
The President-elect arrived at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport in Abuja on a private jet accompanied by his wife, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, and son, Seyi at exactly 4.30 pm.
Tinubu was received at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport by the Vice President-elect, Kashim Shettima, and other chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as many other supporters.
Reacting to the development via his Twitter handle, Fani-Kayode thanked God for the safe return of the president-elect to the country.
He wrote: “Our President-elect has arrived home safely! Thanks be to God!”
Our President-elect has arrived home safely! Thanks be to God! ???❤️❤️❤️??????? pic.twitter.com/e0LejvECaM
— Femi Fani-Kayode (@realFFK) April 24, 2023
Shehu Sani Reacts As Tinubu Returns To Nigeria
In a related development, former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani also joined the list of Nigerians who reacted to the return of the Tinubu to the country ahead of his inauguration.
Taking to his verified Twitter account on Monday evening, Sani jokingly said Nigerians online should have asked Tinubu about a football club in France, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) instead of just looking for signs of Plaster of Paris.
He wrote: “The Asiwaju is back from Paris instead of asking him about PSG most of you guys online are just looking for signs of plaster of paris.”
The Asiwaju is back from Paris instead of asking him about PSG most of you guys online are just looking for signs of plaster of paris.
— Senator Shehu Sani (@ShehuSani) April 24, 2023
Famous Nigerian journalist, author and businessman, Peter Enahoro, has reportedly died.
It was gathered that the veteran journalist and columnist passed away yesterday in London, the United Kingdom after battling an undisclosed ailment.
Nigeria’s foremost female journalist, Ms Bunmi Sofola, announced the demise of the columnist in a terse statement on Monday, saying Ehanoro, popularly known by his pen name, Peter Pan, died at age 88 on Monday, April 24, 2023.
“Regret to announce the passing on of our iconic journalist Peter Enahoro “Peter Pan” today in London at the age of 88. RIP.
“Also known by the pen name of “Peter Pan” because of his popular column in New African magazine under that name. He has been described as ‘perhaps Africa’s best-known international journalist,” Sofola wrote.
Naija News understands that Ehanoro is one of the pioneers of Nigerian journalism and became editor of the Daily Times at a young age.
The deceased attended the prestigious Government College, Ughelli (in present-day Delta State), and was a contemporary of the famous poet and Africa’s first professor of English, JP Clark.
The non-inclusion of any person from the South-East part of the country in the Transition Committee of president-elect Ahmed Bola Tinubu is a pointer that the former Lagos State governor might sideline the region in his administration.
This was the view of some persons interviewed by our correspondent in Enugu on Tuesday. According to Felix Okafor, Enugu State coordinator, All Progressives Congress Coalition for National Unity, Tinubu would not toe the line of the present administration because of his antecedents.
According to him, “Tinubu will not handle South East the way President Muhammadu Buhari treated us. As Lagos governor, he had the Igbo in his cabinet. He knows what to do. It is true that Tinubu got only around 4, 000 votes in Enugu, and about 5, 000 in Anambra states, but I believe that Tinubu will correct a lot of things. He is a listening president.”
However, Abuchi Anuenyiagu, a commentator on national issues, said the non-inclusion of the Igbo ‘portends a wrong signal for the people of South East’.
Quoting him, “The Transitional Committee is the body where decisions are made. It is a policy formulating body. They produce a blueprint upon which the chief executive will operate. It is critical, and for him to have excluded South East from the list speaks volumes. He is trying to give them impression that his regime might be worse than the outgoing one.”
Michael Eze, an Abakaliki-based business man, feels Tinubu should not sideline the South-East region because there were many die-hard supporters of APC from the region during the 2023 polls. According to him, “Many voices campaigned for Tinubu. One of them is Engr Arthur Eze. He openly campaigned for Tinubu even against his state man, Mr Peter Obi, of the Labour Party. Gov Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State delivered Ebonyi to Tinubu. Orji Kalu never also hid his loyalty to APC all through the electioneering. Tinubu could curry the favour of South East by the way he treats them.”
Recall that there was never a person of South-East extraction in the Security Council of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
[TheWhistler]
The National Population Commission (NPC) has denied the claim by its Comptroller in Chanchaga Local Government Area (LGA) of Niger State, Sanusi Maigida, that the organization’s server had been hacked.
This was disclosed in a statement signed by the Director of Public Affairs Isiaka Yahaya, on Monday.
The denial by NPC is a result of the viral video where Maigida, disclosed that the commission server was hacked, leading to the postponement of the local government areas level training of the supervisors and enumerators for the census.
The national population and housing census is to hold between May 3-5 respectively this year.
Debunking the claim, Yahaya said that Maigida’s remarks were false and do not represent the true position of things.
“The attention of the NPC has been drawn to misleading and false information by its staff a Comptroller of Chanchaga LGA in Niger State Sanusi Maigida, who has limited knowledge about the NPC server or its workability.
“Maigida’s disclosure was the hacking of the NPC server, as the reason for the postponement of the LGA level training of the supervisors and enumerators for the 2023 population and housing census.
“For record purposes, the commission wishes to state that its server is solidly intact and ready to be deployed for the upcoming 2023 Population and Housing Census.
“As part of measures to ensure the confidentiality and integrity of data for the 2023 census, we have deployed state-of-the-art technologies and industry best practices to protect our systems from potential security threats.
“These security measures include robust firewalls, intrusion detection and prevention systems, regular security audits, encryption protocols, and multi-factor authentication for privileged accounts,” he said.
The commission also noted that as part of its regulatory duties, Maigida would face disciplinary action for such misinformation.
The NPC said, “He acted without directive and authorization from the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, and is currently facing disciplinary action for such embarrassing misinformation.
“We wish to assure the public that the security of the data for the 2023 population and housing census is absolutely guaranteed.”
A field operative with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has revealed how Internet fraudsters, also known as Yahoo Boys, organise and carryout Cybercrimes.
The operative who spoke off-the-record told THE WHISTLER that Yahoo Boys are organised criminals who use the Internet to perpetrate their evil acts.
According to the official, cybercrime is of different types and has different stages or levels, adding that the majority, if not all, operate as a syndicate.
“Most of the Yahoo boys operate as a group, and they usually share responsibilities among each member of that group.
“Some are still learners, while some are top ranking fraudsters. Each of the fraudsters has a part to play in the fraud just like normal organised crimes.
“There are what we call Catchers, Pickers and so on.
“The Catcher is the first person that will try to make you feel the business you are about to enter is legit, while Picker is the last man that accommodates the proceeds of crime.”
A video was also shared by the operative to demonstrate the extravagant lifestyles of Yahoo boys after acquiring their illegal funds.
In the video, a Yahoo Boy is seen seated on a stool with 3 stripers dancing around him in a club, while he sprayed them with dollar notes.
The Yahoo Boy who was the center of attraction in the room, was enjoying the act of displaying his money. There were also few men who were seen lurking behind him, likely his boys who serve as his guards.
“This is how Grade 1 Yahoo plus spends cash. Stripers are the ones enjoying it, and so they always mean business when operating,” the law enforcement officer said.
Explaining how EFCC burst Yahoo syndicates, the operative said, “Before arresting them, we work with intel, then conduct surveillance. When there is likelihood to succeed, we strike.
“The best form of doing this is to attack them first. We have guns with us when storming them. They also have guns with them most of the time, but they have no licensed guns to operate, so if they discover it’s us (EFCC), they hide their guns.
“Most of our intel comes from the convicted ones, we make it as a condition for them to snitch against their friends. Some Intel comes from random individuals and even us, we generate Intel on our own.
“After we have gathered enough intelligence, we walk out to the place like random passers-by, disguising ourselves and trying to understand when the boys used to be around, what type of doors are in the house, do they have dogs, how many vehicles there are, possible exits etc.”
Narrating further, the officer said there is no special treatment given to any fraudster operating as Yahoo Grade 1 plus when caught, adding
that they are all treated the same way as other criminals are treated when caught.
However, there are several challenges faced by EFCC operatives when bursting these syndicates, as explained by the officer:
“The challenges we normally face is when we pay them a visit and they refuse to open the doors by themselves, we then have to break it.
“Sometimes before you break it they would have deleted some of the incriminating items from either their phones or laptops.
“Some will even hide it, or destroy it, so you see, once they do that, it is difficult to get everything.”
He however revealed that the Commission is constantly working to outwit the criminals.
The Labour Party has disowned its former National Youth Leader, Anselem Eragbe, saying he can no longer speak on its behalf.
Mr Obiora Ifoh, the LP Acting National Publicity Secretary, said this in a statement in Abuja on Monday.
“The attention of the party has been drawn to series of letters emanating from the former National Youth Leader, Anselem Eragbe addressed to different groups and media organisations.
“In the last few days, Eragbe has churned out several press releases attacking the activities of the party particularly as it concerns the ongoing court cases.
“We have it on good authority that Eragbe has been heavily compromised to work against the interest of the party in our efforts to reclaim the mandate given to the party at the last presidential election,” Ifoh said.
He alleged that Eragbe had been trying to mislead Nigerians on the true situation in the party.
“Nigerians freely made their choice on who presides over the affairs of this nation but was snatched, a development we are working tirelessly to redress in the courts.
“He has instituted a case against the party and some of our leaders, it is really abnormal that he has resorted to self help instead of allowing the court to give judgement to the cases before it.
“For clarification, his allegation of forgery against the national chairman is already in the court and a date has been fixed for the determination of the matter.
“It therefore amounts to contempt of court to continue to peddle the lies while the matter is pending in the court.
“If he is certain about his claims, he should wait, observe some restraints and prove his allegations in the court,” he said.
President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reassured Nigerians of his plans toward birthing a new and better Nigeria via his incoming administration.
The former Lagos State governor gave the assurance in a tweet on his verified handle whil thanking Nigerians for the warm welcome he received on Monday when he landed in Abuja from France.
He wrote, “I am extremely excited to be back home and deeply humbled by the warm welcome I received on my return to Abuja today.
“Thank you all for your love and support. Our promise to deliver a nation of Renewed Hope for all Nigerians remains in motion”.
Tinubu, who traveled to France on March 22 to rest and plan his transition programme, returned to the country on Monday evening.
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has reportedly sealed a property belonging to the embattled National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Iyorchia Ayu, in Makurdi, Benue State.
It was gathered that Ayu’s property, sealed by the federal government agency, is located at Padre Pio Street, Judges Quarters (ext.).
According to Guardian, the property was shut for the owners’ failure to tender relevant documents relating to site plans on the property to the agency.
Giving reasons for the sealing of the property, a source told the publication, “It is an academic institution.”
However, Special Adviser to the PDP Chairman on Media and Publicity, Simon Imobo-Tswam, denied knowledge of the sealing of any of his principal’s properties by any agency.
He promised to find out and revert. Efforts to obtain clarification on the development from the NESREA coordinator in the state, Daniel Iormough, failed.
This is coming about a week after the Makurdi High Court presided by Justice Kpochi shifted the date for hearing the substantive suit seeking to remove Ayu from office as the National Chairman of the PDP till April 28, 2023.
Justice Kpochi also withdrew from the case and announced he would return the case file to the Chief Judge of Benue State to reassign to another judge as he is embarking on a national assignment at the elections petitions tribunal.
Naija News recalls the PDP executives suspended Ayu at his Igyorov ward, Gboko Local Government Area of Benue State, after they passed a vote of no confidence in him.
On March 27, 2023, based on an ex-parte motion instituted by a PDP member, Conrad Utaan, Justice Kpochi issued an interim order restraining Ayu from parading himself as the PDP national chairman pending the hearing and determination of the suit.
[NaijaNews]
FG’s action, recipe for disaster-SSANU
•Says we’re yet to receive N50bn Earned Allowances
•Varsity workers captured in pay rise-FG
•Waiting for ASUU to conclude negotiation on condition of service
There are indications that unions in the university system may rise against the Federal Government over the alleged exclusion of their members in the 40 per cent pay rise for peculiar allowance and arrears.
The Federal Government had recently approved a 40 per cent increase for civil servants in federal ministries, agencies and departments, MDAs, under the Consolidated Public Salary Structure.
But workers in the university sector have kicked against their exclusion, describing the action of the government as a recipe for crisis.
But the Federal Government has said there was no cause for alarm, saying university workers were captured in the pay rise.
The government also said it was waiting for the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, to conclude its negotiation on the Collective Bargaining Agreement, CBA, on the condition of service with its employer, the Ministry of Education, so that it would be transmitted to the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.
Speaking to Vanguard yesterday, the President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, said the idea of denying university workers the salary increment was an invitation to the crisis in the university sector..
Comrade Ibrahim accused the government of abandoning the agreement it entered into with the university unions, alleging that the N50 billion Earned Allowances the government promised to include in the 2023 budget had not seen the light of the day as workers were yet to receive any payment on that.
He said: “This idea of denying university workers the salary increment is only a recipe for crisis in the education sector. Because the government had promised two years ago that they were going to review the salaries putting in the re-negotiation committee and re-negotiations never got concluded.
“There Is this N50 billion Earned Allowances which they said have been put in the 2023 budget, it has not seen the light of the day. There is a proposal for a salary increment which they made and which has not also seen the light of the day.
“I want to call on the government to immediately without much delay releases the N50 billion Earned Allowances and also implement the salary increment which we have been talking about with them in the last two years.”
However, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said the university workers were not excluded in the pay rise, explaining that the delay in paying them was due to the inability of ASUU to conclude negotiations with its employer.
He said: “ASUU has not concluded their Collective Bargaining with their employers, the Ministry of education. If you remember, there was the Prof. Nimi Briggs Committee and that Briggs Committee reached conclusion with NAAT, SSANU and NASU.
“But there were certain observations made on the conclusion they reached, ASUU never came for them to reach any conclusion with them. So, there were certain observations which were pointed out to the education ministry.
”So they will now go back to education and revalidate a new CBA and transmit immediately to salaries, income and wages. And salaries, income and wages will work on it urgently as a new CBA for the condition of service and transmit to the presidential committee on salaries. We expect all this will be done within the next fortnight.”
”The same will go with ASUU whenever they come back to education and accept whatever education has offered them, it will also go to salaries, income and wages commission for transmission to the presidential committee on salaries, that’s the route.
“Mark you, it is not only on salaries, it also includes their allowances. It is the entire wage structure, component of their wage, a monthly wage, and an annual wage that has been computed into that. Same is being done for NASU, SSANU and others.
“This time around we expect CONUA and NAMDA to go into CBA for their own members”
On the complaint by SSANU that the N50 billion Earned Allowances, captured in 2023 has not been released to them, he said: “This is what I am telling you. Even their condition of service review and everything have been captured in the 2023 budget. Not only them, the educational sector including ASUU and their allowances. These allowances are even being doubled.
“There is no promise to SSANU separately, we are dealing with University unions comprehensively. It is combined. The money is more than N50 billion dedicated to the education sector. Everything has its own components, it’s more than N50 billion. For the educational sector including the Polytechnics and everybody, I think it is up to N350 billion captured in the 2023 budget.”
Asked why the money has not been released yet, Senator Ngige said, “You do one line one step. This is a fall-out of industrial action, so we are tidying it up now starting with their condition of service of which their wage is first thing first. So it is when you do your wages that you now do extra allowances.”
Individuals across the globe, especially in developed countries, are aging at an unprecedented pace, making many countries increasingly reliant on migration to realise their long-term growth potential, says a new report from the World Bank.
The ‘World Development Report 2023: Migrants, Refugees and Societies’ identifies this trend as a unique opportunity to make migration work better for economies and people.
Conversely, Nigeria, Ghana and other developing countries that have rising youthful populations are set to benefit from the global aging population as young persons would take advantage of the migration to emigrate to developed countries.
The report said wealthy countries as well as a growing number of middle-income countries – traditionally among the main sources of migrants – face diminishing populations, intensifying the global competition for workers and talents.
Meanwhile, most low-income countries are expected to see rapid population growth, putting them under pressure to create more jobs for young people. The World Bank Senior Managing Director, Axel van Trotsenburg, said: “Migration can be a powerful force for prosperity and development. When it is managed properly, it provides benefits for all people – in origin and destination societies.”
The report highlighted that in the coming decades, the share of working-age adults will drop sharply in many countries. Spain, with a population of 47 million, is projected to shrink by more than one-third by 2100, with that above age 65 increasing from 20 per cent to 39 per cent of the population. Countries like Mexico, Thailand, Tunisia and Türkiye may soon need more foreign workers because their population is no longer growing.
Beyond this demographic shift, the forces driving migration are also changing, making cross border movements more diverse and complex. It added: “Today, destination and origin countries span all income levels, with many countries such as, Mexico, Nigeria, and the U.K. both sending and receiving migrants. The number of refugees nearly tripled over the last decade. Climate change threatens to fuel more migration.”
So far, most climate-driven movements were within countries, but about 40 per cent of the world’s population – 3.5 billion people – lives in places highly exposed to climate impacts.”
Current approaches not only fail to maximize the potential development gains of migration, they also cause great suffering for people moving in distress.
About 2.5 per cent of the world’s population – 184 million people, including 37 million refugees – now live outside their country of nationality. The largest share – 43 per cent – lives in developing countries.
The report underscores the urgency of managing migration better. The goal of policymakers should be to strengthen the match of migrants’ skills with the demand in destination societies while protecting refugees and reducing the need for distressed movements. The report provides a framework for policymakers on how to do this.
The Chief Economist of the World Bank Group and Senior Vice President for Development Economics, Indermit Gill, said: “This World Development Report proposes a simple but powerful framework to aid the making of migration and refugee policy. It tells us when such policies can be made unilaterally by destination countries when they are better made plurilaterally by destination, transit and origin countries and when they must be considered a multilateral responsibility.”
Origin countries should make labour migration an explicit part of their development strategy. They should lower remittance costs, facilitate knowledge transfers from their diaspora, build skills that are in high demand globally so that citizens can get better jobs if they migrate, mitigate the adverse effects of “brain drain,” protect their nationals while abroad, and support them upon return.
The report urged destination countries to encourage migration where the skills migrants bring are in high demand, facilitate their inclusion, and address social impacts that raise concerns among their citizens. They should let refugees move, get jobs, and access national services wherever they are available.
According to the report, international cooperation is essential to make migration a strong force for development, adding: “Bilateral cooperation can strengthen the match of migrants’ skills with the needs of destination societies. Multilateral efforts are needed to share the costs of refugee hosting and to address distressed migration. Voices that are underrepresented in the migration debate must be heard: this includes developing countries, the private sector and other stakeholders, and migrants and refugees themselves.”
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[Full List] Enugu Governor-elect Names Chioke, Joe Abah, Nebo, 61 Others In Transition Committee
AdminThe Enugu State Governor-elect, Dr. Peter Mbah, has named Ike Chioke, Dr. Joe Abah, Prof. Chidi Onyia, Prof Chinedu Nebo and 60 others as members of his Transition Committee.
Naija News reports that Mbah will on May 29th take over of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The Transition Committee constituted by Mbah includes internationally-recognised technocrats, good governance, transparency and accountability advocates, financial and management experts, entrepreneurs, as well as tech and innovation specialists.
According to Mbah, the Committee would help articulate and fine-tune the incoming administration’s “implementable and impactful development plan” when it assumes office in May.
This was disclosed in a statement issued on Monday by the head of the Peter Mbah Media Office, Dan Nwomeh.
The Governor-elect said the committee will be chaired by Ike Chioke, an engineer, renowned investment banker, and Group Managing Director of Afrinvest (West Africa) Ltd. He is also the President of the Association of Issuing Houses of Nigeria, Chief Executive Officer of Triple-A Infrastructure Nigeria Ltd, and Chairman of Royal Exchange General Insurance Company. Mr. Chioke has over 30 years of experience in the banking industry, project and structured finance, debt and equity capital markets, media, telecommunications, financial services, and industrial reform.
Other committee members are the Country Director of DAI Nigeria, an international development company and former Director-General of the Bureau of Public Service Reforms in Nigeria, Dr. Joe Abah; the Managing Director of United Kingdom Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility (UK-NIAF), Prof Chidi Onyia; a former Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo; a former Chief Executive Officer of Pricewaterhouse Coopers Nigeria and West Africa and current Chairman of Execution Edge, Ken Igbokwe; a former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo; a former Executive Director at First Bank and Founder, Krystle Group, Mrs. Christy Okoye.
The Transition Committee members include the Director, Industrial and Trade Development at the African Development Bank (AFDB), Dr. Abdu Mukhtar; the Director, Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institutions, Dr. Aloysius Ardu; a renowned transporter and university proprietor, Chief Dr. Sam Onyishi; President of the Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria, Mr. Chinenye Mba-Uzoukwu; a former Commissioner at the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission and Co-Founder, Excredite, Mr. Eyo Ekpo; former CEO at Neconde Gas, Engr. Frank Edozie; the Group CEO, PanAfrican Capital Holdings Ltd, Chris Oshiafi, and foreign direct investment promoter, Mr. Andrew Thorburn.
Also included are the Vice Chancellor of Godfrey Okoye University, Prof. Christian Anieke; Mrs. Ijeoma Emezie-Ezigbo (KPMG), Kingsley Eze (Tenece), Prof. Obiamaka Egbo (USAID), Chief Chinedu Anih (Coal City University), Mr. Chuka Mordi (Ellah Lakes), Dr. Nnenna Mba-Oduwusi (InSiGHT Health), Dr. Dorothy Jeff-Nnamani (Nova Health), Mrs. Modupe Adefeso-Olateju (The Education Partnership Centre), Mrs. Nneka Okekearu (Pan African University), Mr. Joseph Aneke (Transnetwork), Mr. Tobenna Erojikwe (The Law Crest), and Mr. Obi Ozor (Kobo 360).
Also on the list are Monsignor Prof. Obiora Ike, Prof. Joy Ezeilo, SAN, Prof Chris Ohuruogu, Mr. Ikeazor Akaraiwe, SAN, Lady Ada Chukwudozie, Dr. Simon Gusah, Mr. Aronu Ugochukwu, Mr. Gerald Asogwa, Mr. George Agu, Dr. O. J. Mbonu, Mr. Chinedu Ani, Mr. Chris Roberts Ngwu, Mr. Chinedu Eze, Barr. Osinachi Nnajieze, Dr. Kingsley Udeh, Mr. Dubem Njeze and Engr. Barr. Steve Avah.
Others are Mr. Obi Asika, Mr. Oliver Nnona, Dr. Andreas Gebauer, Mr. Chibuzo Okafor, Mr. Victor Edeh, Mr. Obinna Ike, Dr. Damian Ozoani, Ms. Vivian Ngozi Ani, Mr. Arinze Chilo-Offiah, Mr. Mike Ogbuekwe, Mr. Osita Onuma, Mr. Emeka Onyebuchi, Mrs. Rita Mbah, Mr. Nkenna Emehelu and Mr. Emeka Ani.
The Director General of the State PDP Campaign Council/Peter Mbah Campaign Organization, Chief Ikeje Asogwa; Deputy Director General (Enugu North Zone) and former Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Dan Shere; Deputy Director General (Enugu West Zone) and former ranking member of the House of Representatives for Ezeagu/Udi Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Chief Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi; and Deputy Director General (Enugu East Zone) and former State Commissioner for Finance, Hon. Deacon Okechukwu Ogbodo are also members of the committee.
Nextier, a multi-competency advisory firm led by Patrick Okigbo III, will provide technical support and policy advisory to the Transition Committee.
The statement said the committee would commence work upon inauguration on April 27, 2023, and end on May 29, 2023.
[NaijaNews]
A former president of Guinea, Alpha Conde on Sunday revealed how the Nigeria President-elect, Bola Tinubu got his Guinean citizenship
Conde in a video call with African Union Ambassador, Ousmane Yara, who was been interview by Daily Sun, however, stated that the recognition was as Ambassador extraordinaire (special envoy) of Guinea.
He promised to reveal more details on how Tinubu was made Ambassador Extraordinaire in the country in due time.
The ex-president described Tinubu as the biggest pan-Africanist, adding that Tinubu had always supported African presidents.
Speaking on his relationship with Tinubu, he said: “Tinubu is the biggest pan-Africanist I have seen. Before I met Tinubu, I had noted his accomplishments, right from when he was governor. I see him as a ‘Lion of Africa’ because of his contributions towards the stability and development of Africa. He has always supported African presidents who were pan-Africanists in disposition and others.”
The former president expressed confidence in the ability of Tinubu to do well as president.
Conde said, “I am convinced that Tinubu’s leadership will be good for Nigeria. Nigeria is a country other West African nations look up to. I am happy for Tinubu. Anything he may require of me to make his government successful, in my personal capacity, I will willingly do. He helped us in Guinea and I will never forget that. Nigerians should pray for the success of Tinubu’s government because his leadership will be impactful.”
[NaijaNews]
The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced that Sudan’s warring generals had agreed to a three-day ceasefire starting Tuesday (2200 GMT Monday).
Naija News understands that this is coming after previous bids to pause the conflict quickly disintegrated.
Blinken disclosed the ceasefire in a statement released about two hours before the truce was to go into effect.
He said: “Following intense negotiation over the past 48 hours, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have agreed to implement a nationwide ceasefire starting at midnight on April 24, to last for 72 hours.”
“During this period, the United States urges the SAF and RSF to immediately and fully uphold the ceasefire,” Blinken added.
Blinken said that the United States was also working with partners to set up a committee that would negotiate a permanent ceasefire in Sudan.
The US Secretary of State had met earlier Monday in Washington on the peace efforts with Kenya’s top diplomat and has held phone conversations with counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Angry youths from Konshisha local Government area of Benue State have buried two persons alive for allegedly being behind the thunder strike that had affected one Henry Ihwakaa, wife and their two weeks old child.
Ihwakaa who is said to be the father of Henry, the victims, was accused by the youths of witching people in the area with thunder storm any time it rains.
LEADERSHIP gathered that on that fateful day, the youths mobilized and attack Mr Ihwakaa and his alleged collaborator and later dug a shallow grave and buried them alive.
An eye witness and elder in the community, Engr Baba Agan, said following the development, the matter was reported to the police in Konshisha local government where the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), mobilized his men to the scene
of the incident.
It was learnt that when the police team arrived, the two had already died in the grave and their bodies were exhumed.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer for Benue State command, Cathrine Anene confirmed the incident; said two suspects have been arrested in connection with the act while investigation was on going.
The PPRO warned members of the public against act of jungle justice, urging them to always report to the police any case of disagreement for investigation and necessary action.