President Muhammadu Buhari joking with a Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) reporter and his aides: Femi Adesina (Special Adviser on Media and Publicity) to his left; Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari to his right (in red cap) and Garba Shehu, senior special assistant on media and publicity (behind the NTA reporter), over the 10-day leave he started today and his journey to London for medical check up – “your colleagues (reporters of social media) will go to town with the news that I was wheeled into the plane unconsciously.” Everybody laughed. [myad]
The Trump transition committee, Great Again, has denied reports in some sections of the media in Nigeria that President-elect, Donald Trump has invited former President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria to the U.S for his inauguration as 45th Presidential inauguration scheduled for Friday in Washington.
An official of the Great Again Team said in Washington today, Thursday that the inauguration was mostly a domestic event for America.
“The US State Department has advised that as in the past, foreign delegations will not be invited to Washington for the President-elect, Trump’s 2017 inauguration and that heads of state and governments will be represented by chiefs of diplomatic missions in Washington,” the official said.
A U.S State Department official said that “The ‘Heads of Mission’ are the only foreign officially invited. It will be an historic few days!” He further confirmed that one invitation card has been sent to the Nigerian Mission in Washington, DC.
According to the Great Again official, Trump’s Presidential Inaugural Committee has raised a record $90 million-plus in private donations, far more than President Barack Obama’s two inaugural committees.
But while Trump has raised more money for his inauguration than any president in history, lead inaugural planner Tom Barrack said theTrump team wants to avoid a “circus-like atmosphere” in favor of a more “back to work” mindset.
He said only few foreign leaders were invited, which includes Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Canadian Prime Minister.
Trump’s Homeland Security Secretary, Jeh Johnson also revealed Thursday that 28,000 officials are dedicated to security for the event, including 7,800 National Guard troops.
This is the shortlist of the Invitees
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton
former President Bill Clinton
former President George W. Bush
former First Lady Laura Bush
former President Jimmy Carter
Ohio Gov. John Kasich
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez
former UKIP leader Nigel Farage
Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak
Anson Chan, the former chief secretary in Hong Kong
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.
Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, D-Mass.
the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference
Rabbi Marvin Hier, the head of the Simon Wiesenthal Center
Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York
the Rev. Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse
televangelist Paula White
Bishop Wayne T. Jackson, leader of Great Faith Ministries International in Detroit
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
former President George H.W. Bush.
former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush
A twitter account of Deji Adeyanju, a PDP spokesperson had said that United States of America president-elect Donald Trump has invited ex-president of Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan to his inauguration on Friday, January 20, 2017. [myad]
The Gambia shouldn’t be at the centre of global attention. But it is. Thanks to the intransigence of a man who has been in power for too long, the tiny African country is in the spotlight. At stake is the future of democracy in the Gambia and the refusal of Yahya Jammeh, one of the parties in the just concluded election to accept the verdict of the people. There is equally the bruised ego of West African leaders whose spirited attempt to remedy the situation through diplomacy hit the rock. This is in addition to what is seen as the interest of the international community over the future of that small African country and the safety of their nationals who reside or do business within those boundaries. The Economic Community for West Africa came to be as a result of Nigeria’s quest to promote the unity as well as socio-political and economic ties of member countries.Within the west coast, tremendous progress is being recorded by democratic forces. In Nigeria and Ghana where multi-party democracy exists for instance, power has shifted from parties in power to parties in opposition. Most West Africans as well as their counterparts all over the world see this evolving trend as a healthy development. This would further explain why ECOWAS nations, irked by an attempt to thwart the outcome of a popular election, are on the verge of employing force to throw out a despotic regime.Yahya Jammeh was expected to step aside on January 19th. To have done so, would mean in part that he had elected to comply with the dictates of his country’s constitution. By yesterday, Senegalese troops had amassed at the border with the Gambia while elite Nigerian troops were airlifted to join the effort to safeguard the future of democracy in that part of the West African region. Ghana and other West African countries are expected to make similar contributions to the ECOMIG force. Interestingly, Nigeria which is the spearhead of ECOWAS is providing both sea and air power required to execute the peace enforcement plan. From a historic standpoint, this is not the first time that Nigerian troops would be called upon to act in any part of the sub region, Africa or the world. Our troops have been in Lebanon. Our troops have served in Liberia. They have indeed been everywhere that Nigeria has been required to fulfill regional, continental and international obligations. Now, they are out there in the Gambia as part of an ECOWAS plan to ensure that people like Yahya Jammeh and those who collaborate with them are not in any position to halt sweeping changes that democracy bringing across the world, especially in the face of growing globalisation. The outgoing Gambian leader who is increasingly being isolated could have left office a hero if he had stuck to his earlier posture to accept the outcome of the elections. Like most despots do, he chose rather to renege on his own words and shunned the flurry of diplomatic activity that was designed to give him a soft landing. Yahya’s options, as things are at the moment, are narrowing as the clock ticks. He either has the chance to blink now, save his own life and quit gracefully, or face bullets and the deadly resolve of ECOWAS states. Should he be captured when all this over, Jammeh would become a criminal to be tried under the laws of the Gambia or under international law for acts against humanity. Students of foreign relations would most certainly agree that Nigeria is once again offering leadership in the sub continent through an articulated foreign policy perspective. There was a time that our foreign relations objectives was second to none in Africa. Those were the days when our diplomacy guaranteed the freedom of Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa. They were days when we sent clear signals to those who collaborated with forces that were desirous to put down Africa that Nigeria as an emerging power would stop at nothing to safeguard the dignity of the black man. Through the exhibition of mature diplomacy at this time, Nigeria is once again being looked upon to provide appropriate frameworks for joint action in solving African problems. For President Mohammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s Commander-in-Chief who is certainly making these decisions, it is not easy to contemplate placing Nigeria troops in harm’s way. When viewed in terms of efforts to protect the nation’s sphere of influence, and ensure the restoration of our battered image within the comity of nations, the decision taken by the C-in-C, the federal cabinet and the military high command is not in any way misplaced. As the world waits to see what will happen, it is instructive to note that a message is clearly being sent that the will of the people as expressed through the ballot box remains the only respectable way by which any leader in West Africa or Africa can lay claim to power. While we hope that Jammeh would give peace a chance and avoid a bloodbath, our heart is with our troops at this time. We pray for their safe return at the end of a glorious outing which we hope would make the west coast politically and economically stable.
Ogbonna Nwuke sent in this piece from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has, today, Thursday, began a ten-day leave and immediately left for medical check-up in London. A statement by the special adviser to the President on media and publicity, Femi Adesina confirmed that Buhari had left for the United Kingdom today on a short leave, “which is part of his annual vacation. He is expected to resume work on February 6, 2017. “During the vacation, the President will also undergo routine medical check-ups. “In line with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), the President of the Senate, and Speaker, House of Representatives, have been duly communicated. “While away, the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, will perform the functions of the Office of the President.” President Buhari had earlier in the day, written to the Senate on his intention to go on ten day medical vacation. In a letter addressed to the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, President Buhari said he was writing in line with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 constitution as amended. According to the letter which was read at plenary by Saraki, President Buhari said he will be away from Monday 23rd January to Monday 6th February. “In compliance with Section 145 (1) of the 1999 constitution as amended, I wish to inform the Distinguished Senate that I will be away on a short medical vacation from Monday January, 23 to February 6th, 2017 and while I am away, the Vice President (Osinbajo) will perform the functions of my office. “Please, accept, as always assurances of my highest esteemed consideration.” [myad]
Management of the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges, Ogun State has denied rumour going round that there was warning before the kidnappers came calling on January 13, during which students, teachers and operational staff were taken away. In a statement today by the spokesman of the College, Mr. Cemal Yigit, the management said that erroneous claim that the school had being warned three weeks before the attack is totally false. “Our focus now is the release of our students and staff. We are not to be drawn into any unproductive arguments. “Those who claimed to warn the school of imminent attack ought to be suspects of complicity.” The management said that the school has always taken the security of students and staff seriously, adding that there were resident armed mobile policemen and some internal security officers on ground on the day of the incident. The management, together with parents condemned the circumstances which led to the kidnapping of three students of the school alongside a Turkish teacher, a Cook, two assistant supervisors and the House Mistress. “We stand resolute in unshaken faith that our daughters and teachers would return without harm. “We also wish to extend our appreciation to the relevant security agencies for their effort so far. “We are aware that those behind the evil act have made contacts with some relatives of the victims and we are quite optimistic that the kidnappers would have a change of heart and release from hostage our daughters and their teachers. “Much as this is a very trying period for us, our strength is in God for his intervention. “We also wish to appreciate the efforts of the school management, the state government of Ogun and Lagos in collaboration with Federal Government in ensuring that the students and teachers are set free to reunite with their families in the shortest possible time. “In order to focus on the effort to free the abducted victims and to show solidarity with them, the school declare a break and this was deliberately twisted to claim parents are withdrawing their children. “We, however, appeal to the press and the general public to disregard most of the rumours currently making the rounds on this unfortunate development, and rely on the police and the school authorities for information on the matter.” [myad]
Vice President of Nigeria, Professor Yemi Osinbajo (extreme left) in Davos, with President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and others at the CNBC live panel on Building Africa at the World Economic Forum today, Wednesday, January 18. Photo by Novo Isioro. [myad]
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has encouraged local government workers to step up agitation for local government autonomy to give the lawmakers the strength to make law that would give the councils financial autonomy to guarantee development at the grass root level.
Speaker Dogara, who spoke when he received in audience in his office, the national executive members of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), said that the House is working on the issue in the ongoing constitution alteration exercise.
According to him, no progress can be achieved in the local government if the present status quo of interference and administration by state governors is retained, adding that local governments must be financially and politically autonomous to trigger development in the rural areas.
“It is a responsibility all of us owe to our people. As a matter of fact, we are not even doing it for you, we are doing it for the Nigerian people.”
The speaker said that some governors who opposed local government autonomy are of the view that local governments will collapse if their administration is handed over to the elected chairmen, arguing however that state governors would have “extricated themselves from blame if they let local governments free.”
He said that the House had chosen to ensure that the ongoing Constitution Amendment exercise captured the yearnings of millions of Nigerians for development in the grassroots.
“For us as representatives of the people, we have heard the cry of the people and we know that the only way we can add value to local government is by giving them political and financial independence. This will expand opportunites in the grassroots”, he added.
Earlier, the delegation from NULGE commended the Speaker for leading the campaign and advocacy for local government autonomy and described him as a patriot and statesman.
He called on the speaker to ensure that the ongoing Constitution Amendment captured local government autonomy and that he should involve all stakeholders that can bring it to fruition, including President Muhammadu Buhari, who they said is in the best position to ensure that governors stopped violation of the constitutionally provided roles of local government officials.
National president of NULGE, Ibrahim Khaleel, also appealed to the Speaker to pass their agitations to President Buhari whom they said is in the best position to rally for the support of state governors.
“You have the capacity as speaker of this House, together with your team, to make Mr President understand that it is only him and only him that can change the situation.
“No amount of agitation or campaign can change the minds of the governors. When he calls the governors and speakers of the House of Assembly, he can make the difference.” [myad]
The Gambian Vice President, Isatou Njie-Saidy,has threw in the towel, effectively isolating the embattled President, Yahya Jammeh who had vowed to remain in power against the international outcry and military build-up around him.
The Vice President announced her resignation hours before official end of the tenure of President Jammeh’s administration as the country’s political impasse gets worse over his refusal to relinquish power to the President-elect, Adama Barrow who was scheduled to be sworn in tomorrow, Thursday.
The country’s minister of higher education, Aboubacar Senghore, who was appointed to the position last July, also resigned today, saying that he cannot serve in the post beyond the tenure of the outgoing president.
“Given my strong religious and legal background, I feel it is now ethically and legally speaking time to step down as minister of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology and Religious Affairs as the constitutional mandate of the current government expires today, Wednesday 18th January 2017,” he wrote in his resignation letter to President Jammeh.
The resignation of Senghore, who was the country’s former foreign affairs minister, brings the number of minister that have resigned from President Jammeh’s cabinet since the political logjam to eight. [myad]
Heavy military presence is being felt around the Gambian borders as the tenure of President Yahya Jammeh ends in the midnight today, Wednesday, and are ready to push him out of office if he refuses to hand over to Adama Barrow, who won the December 1st President election.
Nigeria had already sent troops and fighter jets to Senegal, whose own forces massed on the Gambian border, awaiting the outcome of last-ditch attempts, including by Mauritania to defuse the political crisis peacefully.
Jammeh’s mandate was due to end at midnight (local and GMT) but he has steadfastly refused to leave office despite losing elections last month, prompting west African states to ramp up pressure on him after weeks of failed diplomacy.
Unsuccessful attempts by the 15-nation Economic Community Of West African States (ECOWAS) led Mauritanian President, Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz to fly into Banjul at the 11th hour for a final round of talks.
Mauritania is not part of ECOWAS and diplomats have previously reached out to the conservative desert nation in hopes of brokering an asylum deal with Jammeh.
He has just hours to broker an agreement before Senegal’s army declared it would enter Gambian territory to remove the president by force.
“Our troops are on alert… The ultimatum takes effect at midnight,” when Jammeh’s mandate is due to expire, Senegal army spokesman, Colonel Abdou Ndiaye told AFP ahead of the deadline.
“If a political solution fails, we will engage” in operations in The Gambia, he said, confirming that Senegalese troops were heading to the border.
Jammeh lost the poll to outsider Adama Barrow, who is currently sheltering in Senegal. In New York on Wednesday, its government requested United Nations support for regional action against the long-time president.
The Nigerian Air Force said it had deployed 200 soldiers and air assets — including fighter jets, transport aircraft and a helicopter — to Senegal as part of a regional force geared at enforcing Barrow’s election victory.
“The deployment is also to forestall hostilities or breakdown of law and order that may result from the current political impasse in The Gambia,” it added in a statement.
Barrow and his team maintain his inauguration will go ahead on Thursday on Gambian soil, and his spokesman said late Wednesday: “we do not feel any threat” from Senegalese troops on the ground.
James Gomez, the inauguration’s head organizer who spoke with Barrow twice on Tuesday, said plans for the transfer of power in a huge stadium outside the capital were now cancelled.
The 51-year-old Gambian leader announced a state of emergency on Tuesday, saying it was necessary because of interference from foreign powers in the country’s December 1 election, but the declaration has had little effect on attempts to remove him.
Under the Gambian constitution, a state of emergency lasts up to 90 days if the national assembly confirms it — which the legislature did late Tuesday.
As tensions rose, Britain and the Netherlands issued travel advisory warnings, with around 1,000 British tourists expected to leave on special flights on Wednesday alone.
Brian and Yvonne Souch, from Witney in southern England, told AFP they were unaware of the potential risk of flying to the country 10 days ago and felt tour company Thomas Cook should have kept them better informed.
“We didn’t know anything until we came down for breakfast,” Souch said, sitting in shorts and sleeveless T-shirt in the lobby of a hotel in the Kololi tourist strip as he awaited a bus to the airport.
Thomas Cook said additional flights into Banjul airport would bring home 1,000 package holidaymakers, followed by up 2,500 more at the “earliest possible flight availability”.
Holidaymakers were told that Thomas Cook flights would cease in a few days time, leaving them at risk of being stranded.
The Dutch travel firm TUI Nederland told AFP on Tuesday it would repatriate “about 800” clients.
Some were unfazed by the news as the state of emergency, however, as their countries had not issued travel alerts.
“We have over two weeks left and we are staying,” said Mariann Lundvall, who flew into Banjul to escape Finland’s freezing winter.
The panic caused by the state of emergency could prove financially devastating — experts say up to 20 percent of the economy comes from tourism.
Gambians were taking precautions and stocking up on food and supplies in the few shops that remained open in districts near the capital, with roads quiet and street hawkers notably absent.
A source told AFP that patients at Banjul’s Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, which sits opposite Jammeh’s seat of power, were removed for security reasons. Only those in intensive care remained. [myad]
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has called on motorists in Nigeria not to engage in any panic buying of petroleum products as it had no plan to increase the pump price of the white product from N145 per litre.
The NNPC also assured motorists that it has 1.3 billion litres stock of PMS, otherwise called petrol, which is sufficient to serve the nation for more than 38 days.
NNPC said that there is no iota of truth in the rumour that government is scheduled to adjust pump price of petrol.
“Indeed, with the resumption of production by the Corporation’s three refineries in Kaduna, Port Harcourt and Warri, complemented by imports, there is enough stock of PMS, Automotive Gas Oil (AGO), diesel and kerosene.”
The Corporation’s Chief Operating Officer, Mr. Anibor Kragha made these points when he briefed the Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream on the current status of the refineries at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.
Kragha told the legislators that the nation’s three refineries produced additional volumes of 4.6 million litres of kerosene and 7.7 million litres of diesel, in addition to millions of litres of petrol being refined daily at the nation’s refineries. [myad]
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
Management of the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges, Ogun State has denied rumour going round that there was warning before the kidnappers came calling on January 13, during which students, teachers and operational staff were taken away.
Rumble In The Gambia, By Ogbonna Nwuke
At stake is the future of democracy in the Gambia and the refusal of Yahya Jammeh, one of the parties in the just concluded election to accept the verdict of the people.
There is equally the bruised ego of West African leaders whose spirited attempt to remedy the situation through diplomacy hit the rock.
This is in addition to what is seen as the interest of the international community over the future of that small African country and the safety of their nationals who reside or do business within those boundaries.
The Economic Community for West Africa came to be as a result of Nigeria’s quest to promote the unity as well as socio-political and economic ties of member countries.Within the west coast, tremendous progress is being recorded by democratic forces. In Nigeria and Ghana where multi-party democracy exists for instance, power has shifted from parties in power to parties in opposition.
Most West Africans as well as their counterparts all over the world see this evolving trend as a healthy development. This would further explain why ECOWAS nations, irked by an attempt to thwart the outcome of a popular election, are on the verge of employing force to throw out a despotic regime.Yahya Jammeh was expected to step aside on January 19th. To have done so, would mean in part that he had elected to comply with the dictates of his country’s constitution.
By yesterday, Senegalese troops had amassed at the border with the Gambia while elite Nigerian troops were airlifted to join the effort to safeguard the future of democracy in that part of the West African region. Ghana and other West African countries are expected to make similar contributions to the ECOMIG force.
Interestingly, Nigeria which is the spearhead of ECOWAS is providing both sea and air power required to execute the peace enforcement plan.
From a historic standpoint, this is not the first time that Nigerian troops would be called upon to act in any part of the sub region, Africa or the world. Our troops have been in Lebanon. Our troops have served in Liberia. They have indeed been everywhere that Nigeria has been required to fulfill regional, continental and international obligations.
Now, they are out there in the Gambia as part of an ECOWAS plan to ensure that people like Yahya Jammeh and those who collaborate with them are not in any position to halt sweeping changes that democracy bringing across the world, especially in the face of growing globalisation.
The outgoing Gambian leader who is increasingly being isolated could have left office a hero if he had stuck to his earlier posture to accept the outcome of the elections.
Like most despots do, he chose rather to renege on his own words and shunned the flurry of diplomatic activity that was designed to give him a soft landing.
Yahya’s options, as things are at the moment, are narrowing as the clock ticks. He either has the chance to blink now, save his own life and quit gracefully, or face bullets and the deadly resolve of ECOWAS states.
Should he be captured when all this over, Jammeh would become a criminal to be tried under the laws of the Gambia or under international law for acts against humanity.
Students of foreign relations would most certainly agree that Nigeria is once again offering leadership in the sub continent through an articulated foreign policy perspective.
There was a time that our foreign relations objectives was second to none in Africa. Those were the days when our diplomacy guaranteed the freedom of Zimbabwe, Angola and South Africa.
They were days when we sent clear signals to those who collaborated with forces that were desirous to put down Africa that Nigeria as an emerging power would stop at nothing to safeguard the dignity of the black man.
Through the exhibition of mature diplomacy at this time, Nigeria is once again being looked upon to provide appropriate frameworks for joint action in solving African problems.
For President Mohammadu Buhari, Nigeria’s Commander-in-Chief who is certainly making these decisions, it is not easy to contemplate placing Nigeria troops in harm’s way.
When viewed in terms of efforts to protect the nation’s sphere of influence, and ensure the restoration of our battered image within the comity of nations, the decision taken by the C-in-C, the federal cabinet and the military high command is not in any way misplaced.
As the world waits to see what will happen, it is instructive to note that a message is clearly being sent that the will of the people as expressed through the ballot box remains the only respectable way by which any leader in West Africa or Africa can lay claim to power.
While we hope that Jammeh would give peace a chance and avoid a bloodbath, our heart is with our troops at this time.
We pray for their safe return at the end of a glorious outing which we hope would make the west coast politically and economically stable.
Ogbonna Nwuke sent in this piece from Port Harcourt, Rivers State. [myad]