Russian President, Vladimir Putin and U.S President, Donald Trump
Russia has disagreed with the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump on his decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Russian Ambassador to Vatican, Alexander Avdeyev, who made the position of his country known, recalled that Pope Francis, leader of the Catholic Church, in one of his recent statements, said that the status quo of Jerusalem, which is a place of pilgrimage and worship for Jews, Christians and Muslims, should be respected.
The ambassador told Sputnik: “this is a city of three Abrahamic religions and it should not be politicised by recognition as a capital. I draw attention to the fact that this statement was made by the Pope, who usually expresses his position very carefully in order not to offend anyone.
“So we can see a clear disagreement with the U.S. decision here. We have the similar position.”
The diplomat also said that Russia and the Vatican share similar views on the world and the threats posed to it in the 21st century.
“We have much in common in our vision of the threats and dangers of the 21st century. This is an important issue that unites us.
“First of all, I speak about the threat of any terrorism, criminal, religious or separatist one. The second threat is the weakening of non-proliferation regimes.
“Of particular concern is the drug trafficking and the separation into rich and poor in the world.”
The ambassador added that the Russian Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church were concerned over the destruction of the moral and ethical values of the Christian civilization. [myad]
Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has described the former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo as “a bad and decayed element, lacking democratic credential here in Nigeria
In a statement today, Thursday, opposing the United Nations’ (UN) choice of the former Nigerian leader as a mediator in Liberia, Fayose described the appointment as misplaced.
“Someone like Obasanjo, who was at the center of the manipulation of George Weah’s electoral victory 12 years ago should not be the one to mediate now that he (Weah) has secured the victory that he was denied then.”
The statement, which was issued by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, quoted Fayose as calling on the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, to withdraw the nomination of Obasanjo as a mediator in Liberia.
“Obasanjo, who was a major actor in the Liberia 2005 election crisis, lacks moral rights to be a mediator in the affairs of that country now that it had the first peaceful transfer of power from one democratically-elected leader to another in more than 70 years.
“He will rather compound the problems in Liberia because I don’t see him being trusted by the President-Elect, whom he (Obasanjo) openly worked against in 2005 to impose the outgoing President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf for reasons best known to him.
“The UN should be mindful of the fact that someone like Obasanjo that may be seen as celebrity and champion of democracy internationally is actually a bad and decayed element, lacking democratic credential here in Nigeria, considering his failed third term agenda.”
The governor asked African leaders, especially the democrats among them, to always avoid leaders like Obasanjo with questionable antecedents, saying “he is the actual confusion in the continent.”[myad]
The Minister of the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has announced the settlement of court fines for 114 prison inmates to gain their freedom. The minister, announced this today, Thursday when the Presidential Committee on Prison De-congestion visited the Kuje Medium Security to review cases of inmates who have either been fined but could not pay the stipulated fines or have stayed beyond the terms which their offenses could have attracted by law. The Minister, who was represented at the event by the FCT permanent secretary, Christian Chinyaka Oha, said that the gesture was part of efforts to de-congest the prisons and assist the freed inmates to reintegrate back into the society. According to him, the FCT Administration will continue to partner with Presidential Committee to identify and support indigent inmates who do not have the means to pay the court fines. He said that the administration has been partnering with the Nigerian Prison Service to design and build new prison facilities in the Territory, adding that about 36.3 hectares of land had been provided for the building of a new prison in Abuja. Muhammad Bello said that locations have been identified in the six area councils to build correctional centres for youths and that the centres would be dedicated solely for underage inmates rather than putting them together with high profile criminals in prisons. Earlier, the FCT Chief Judge, Justice Ishaq Bello commended the Minister for the establishment of a standard family as well as children and young person’s Court in the FCT. He noted that the facility which is the first of its kind in the country, is expected to be completed by the end of 2018. He said that the two courts will go a long way in addressing various cases involving young persons who presently have to be taken to open courts where adults are arraigned. Justice Bello expressed the gratitude of the FCT Judiciary to the minister for the numerous interventions made to ensure improvements in the judicial system and speedy justice delivery. [myad]
The embattled member of the House of Representatives, who has been on suspension, Abdulmumin Jibrin has admitted that he has learnt some lessons for the period he had been on suspension. “For every situation like this, there is always an opportunity to learn; it is a learning curve. So, it is fine.” Jibrin, who spoke to newsmen shortly after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja today, Thursday, said that he was in Aso Rock to greet the President since it had been long he saw him. “It Is a meeting between a son and a father. The most important thing is that I saw him and he is in a very high spirit. I greeted him like a son and he spoke to me like a father.” On the campaign to have him recalled to the House of Representatives, the suspended law maker said that such campaign is normal, adding that it is his constituency that has been on suspension in the 16 months. “So, it is only normal that people will talk and ask questions; why are we not back on the aspect of court case that has been lingering in the court for the past 16 months. I think these are some of the reasons people are raising issues in the public glare.” Jibrin, who likened his case to that of his counterpart in the Senate, Senator Ndume that was recently recalled, said it made the whole matter to be interesting. Because, it is the “same case, similar case, identical case which was dispensed with within two months. But here I am still hanging in the court system, but again, I know the Nigerian judiciary is just, so I’m pretty sure that soonest, I will be able to get judgement and my constituency will soon get back to the house.”
Thirty six prisoners are still at large in a prison jailbreak that occurred today, Wednesday, at Ikot Ekpene Prison in Akwa-Ibom State.
Reports reaching us said that four of the escaping prisoners were shot dead during the scuffle that followed the jailbreak attempt while seven others were recaptured at the point of escape.
Confirming the incident in a statement today, Wednesday, the State Prison Command Public Relations Officer, ASP Ogbajie J. Ogbajie, said that already search parties have been activated to effect recapture of the escaped inmates even as the Controller of Prisons in the State, Alex Oditah has ordered an investigation into the circumstance surrounding the unfortunate incident.
ASP Ogbajie narrated how it all happened, saying: “at about 1147hrs on Wednesday, 27 December 2017, there was an attack on kitchen staff that were on duty by some prisoners.
“They seized an axe from fellow inmate attached to the kitchen, inflicting a deep cut to inmates’ head in the process and immediately made for the rear entrance to the prison. They broke the door with the axe and engaged the staff that chased after them in battle.
“At the end of the scuffle, 4 of them that sustained gun shots lost their lives while 7 were recaptured.”
The prison authorities appealed to members of the public to assist them with useful intelligence information that would aid arrest of feeling prisoners, assuring that security has been strengthen in all prison formations in the State to forestall breach of security. [myad]
A retired boxer known as Everistus Ezehiri is said to have boxed his wife to death in the University town of Uli in Anambra state.
According to information reaching us, the wife, described as a hard-working petty trader in the local Ekeagbagba market, had asked the husband (now at large) for money with which to cook for the family on Christmas day.
It was gathered that instead of providing the money, Evaritus, said to be a pastor with a local branch of Our Lord Chosen Church in the town, turned her into a punching bag, leading to her instant death.
It was learnt that as a result of the incidence, youths from the deceased’s neighbouring village of Amamputu, also in Uli, descended on Evaritus’ Country home, setting it ablaze.
Information has it also that several charms and idols were discovered in the house of a purported pastor, including a moulded human statue clothed with the apron of Our Lord Chosen.
Since Alhaji Abubakar Atiku left the ruling All Progressive s Congress (APC), and later returned to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), it has been one political discourse or the other in the media.
Many political stalwarts across the platforms have reacted differently based on their opinions, leaving no one in doubt about the personality of the former number two man on the saddle of this great nation. The APC spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi said: “the former vice president found that his interest would be better served elsewhere and he decided based on that.” Abdullahi went on to say “no party would be happy to see its leaders depart, but politics is all about interest. ” Abdullahi’s assertion has countered insinuations in some quarters, regarding constant defections across platforms, by Atiku. The Nigerian political system is not new to defections, especially when such is done with the sole aim of realizing a noble ambition.
Recall that President Buhari’s political journey started from APP to ANPP, CPC, ACN, and finally, he won elections in 2015 on the platform of APC. Ben Murray Bruce, a senator representing Bayelsa East says Atiku Abubakar is Nigeria’s next president following his formal return to the People’s Democratic Party, PDP. Senator Bruce further said that PDP has a good retirement plan for President Muhammad Buhari come 2019.
By a stretch of imagination, Atiku is a political phenomenon who has not only the means and capacity to prosecute elections, but also the sagacity and clout to wield influence and garner support for his cause. The Wazirin Adamawa has a pan-Nigeria spirit. Over the years, he has built bridges across the country. He has got the pedigree with regards to leadership and statecraft. The APC will, for a very long time, regret losing such a political heavyweight.
While addressing newsmen in Abuja on the occasion of his decamping, the former vice president said he made the mistake of his life to have joined the APC in the hope that it would adhere to the tenets of democracy. He also justified his resolve to dump the party, saying it was borne out of the fact that the Muhammad Buhari-led administration has not lived up to the expectations of Nigerians.
Also in a live Facebook chat with Nigerians, Atiku said “rather than the promise to create three million jobs annually, no fewer than three million Nigerians have instead lost their jobs in more than two years of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Atiku saw APC, not in the spectrum of a formidable political party, but a conspiracy amongst desperate politicians to seize power, yet without a clear-cut plan for governance. More so, president Buhari’s clear lack of direction and intelligent governance has sure left a great disillusionment amongst a wide spectrum of the citizenry.
Previously, at a forum in Federal Government College, Okigwe, Imo state, Atiku observed rather with great dismay, that Nigeria has never been so divided along ethnic and religious lines than it is now, under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“Our country is not at war in the sense of guns and bombs, but the level of interethnic discontent, hatred and hate speech is at an all-time high”, he maintained.” Secession threats, interethnic discontent, hatred and hate speech have plunged present-day Nigeria into a division that has probably never existed before,” Atiku had said.
The former vice president who was represented at the occasion by his media adviser, Paul Ibe emphasized the need for unity among different ethnic groups, the northern and southern regions, and members of different religious persuasions.
Exploring some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s vulnerabilities, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Olisa Agbakoba, said President Buhari is bereft of how a government should be run. The front line legal practitioner went on to describe the federal cabinet constituted by Buhari as incompetent, saying “Buhari is sleeping on the job.” “Government work is misunderstood even by the president. He doesn’t understand the nature of how to run a government “,Agbakoba told newsmen in Lagos recently.
Should Atiku emerge as the flag bearer of the PDP, the major opposition party, for the 2019 presidential polls, and eventually be voted as the president of Nigeria, this nation would be saved from imminent disintegration. Of course, many Nigerians across both sides of the divide see him as a credible alternative to the current leadership. Abubakar Atiku as vice president under former president Olusegun Obasanjo, was a powerful political figure, and a force to reckon with. He used his position to build and nurture a powerful political machine and rallied support for Obasanjo across the north and south divides. Given his experience as a bridge builder, the Wazirin Adamawa has all it takes to govern the most populous black nation on the globe.
Joseph Orjime, a journalist and public affairs analyst, wrote in from Abuja.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect Greenbarge Reporters’s editorial policy.
Former Vice president Atiku Abubakar has promised to rally round his family members in prayer for quick recovery of Yusuf, the son of President Muhammadu Buhari who was involved in bike accident during which time he sustained head injury in addition to breaking limb.
In a tweet today, Wednesday, Atiku wrote: “our thoughts are with the first family – our family will be praying for you. We wish Yusuf a speedy recovery.”
This was even as the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki expressed sympathy over the motorbike accident, praying in a tweet also for his quick recovery.
He wrote: “May the Almighty grant Yusuf Buhari a quick and full recovery. My prayers are with President Buhari and his family at this time.”
UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, has sent former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to support Liberia to peacefully transfer power to a democratically-elected president.
Guterres, who announced this today, Wednesday in New York through his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, commended the peaceful conduct of the second round of the presidential election in Liberia.
Guterres asked Obasanjo, who is a member of the Secretary-General’s High-Level Advisory Board on Mediation, to travel to the capital, Monrovia, tomorrow, Thursday, December 28 and to remain there till Saturday, December 30.
Obasanjo is one of 18 global leaders, senior officials and experts on the high-level board created earlier this year to advise the Secretary-General on mediation and back those efforts around the world. He was involved in mediation efforts in Angola, Burundi, Mozambique, Namibia and South Africa, among others.
The high-level board is part of the Secretary-General’s pledge for the UN to embark on a “surge in diplomacy for peace.”
Liberians yesterday, Tuesday, voted in a second round of elections, deciding between Vice-President Joseph Boakai and George Weah, a politician and former soccer star.
This would be Liberia’s first peaceful transfer of power from one democratically-elected leader to another in more than 70 years.
“The Secretary-General hopes that the will of the Liberian electorate will be respected and that a seamless transfer of power will take place within constitutional timelines,” the statement said.
The first round of elections in the West African country was held in October.
A runoff was originally scheduled for November, but was delayed due to allegations of voter irregularities by a third candidate.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in September, outgoing Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, said that the polls would signal an “irreversible course” towards democracy in the country.
Sirleaf, the first woman elected as head of an African country, took office in 2006, ending a civil war that erupted under the leadership of her predecessor, Charles Taylor.
The United States of America has agreed to sell A29 Super Tucano Aircraft to Nigeria, according to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, to help Nigeria to completely defeat the Boko Haram Terrorists.
The Ambassador who presented the Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) to the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, at NAF Headquarters in Abuja, today, Wednesday, said that the LOA represents the official US Government offer to sell US defence articles and services to the Nigerian Government.
He said that the US government is making the offer because of its belief that peaceful existence in Nigeria is strategic to the security of the entire West African Sub-Region in particular and the entire world at large. Ambassador Symington emphasized the commitment of the US Government to help Nigeria to also eliminate all forms of terrorism from its territory even as he said that the US Government believed that the capacity of the Nigerian Air Force could greatly be enhanced by the acquisition of the Super Tucano Aircraft. According to him, the US Government would continue to support the NAF in its capacity-building efforts, including the timely supply of needed aircraft spares. The US Ambassador also indicated the readiness of relevant US Government officials to work with NAF officials to facilitate the early delivery of the aircraft once payment had been made. In that regard, officials of both the US Government and the NAF would be meeting in early January 2018 to jointly study the LOA prior to subsequent endorsements by both parties. Receiving the LOA, the Chief of Air Staff expressed the appreciation to the US Government for its steady support towards sustaining NAF air operations. He also praised the personal commitment of the US Ambassador to ensuring that the Super Tucano Aircraft deal became a reality. Air Marshal Abubakar agreed with Ambassador Symington that the wellbeing of Nigeria was closely linked to those of other African countries, and indeed the entire world, as terrorism is a global phenomenon, which had to be confronted by all stakeholders. He then reassured the US Ambassador of the commitment of the NAF to the stipulated deadlines in the LOA. Furthermore, the CAS assured the US Ambassador that the NAF would ensure the readiness of proposed home base of the Super Tucano Aircraft in Nigeria before the aircraft’s delivery. He further said that the NAF would nominate and prepare all the pilots and maintenance crew to be trained on the Super Tucano Aircraft, ahead of their training in the US. It is expected that the LOA would have been signed and necessary payments made before 20 February 2018 to ensure the commencement of production of the NAF’s Super Tucano Aircraft. It would be recalled that the US State Department had earlier approved the sale of 12 x A29 Super Tucano Aircraft to the NAF to further aid the nation’s counterinsurgency campaign.[myad]
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Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State has described the former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo as “a bad and decayed element, lacking democratic credential here in Nigeria
The Minister of the Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has announced the settlement of court fines for 114 prison inmates to gain their freedom.
The embattled member of the House of Representatives, who has been on suspension, Abdulmumin Jibrin has admitted that he has learnt some lessons for the period he had been on suspension.
[myad]
The United States of America has agreed to sell A29 Super Tucano Aircraft to Nigeria, according to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Stuart Symington, to help Nigeria to completely defeat the Boko Haram Terrorists.
