Human Rights Boss, Al-Awwad Thumbs Up For Saudi Arabia Over Human Rights Promotion

January 21, 2020

President of the Human Rights Commission (HRC) Dr. Awwad Al-Awwad has commended the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on its continued efforts and activities in protecting and promoting human rights.

At a meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet in Geneva yesterday, January 20, Al-Awwad recalled the recent World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2020 report which scored Saudi Arabia 70.6 percent on human rights observation.
According to him, the World Bank report ranked the Kingdom as the top reformer and top improver among 190 economies that it covered.

The report also places Saudi Arabia first among GCC countries and second in the Arab world.
Dr. Al-Awwad said that the Kingdom made such achievements under the leadership of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman who introduced a lot of reforms, development, change and modernization of all state facilities, the foremost of which is human rights.
He said that in the past three years, 60 reform-related decisions dealing with human rights as well as 22 decisions pertaining to women empowerment have been made.
“Among the foremost of these reforms is the launch of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which focuses on the human being as the center of development, and includes human rights goals.

“The Kingdom is still looking forward to achieving more accomplishments, and will continue in the development march led by Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense.”

Dr. Al-Awwad said that the Kingdom has fulfilled its international obligations to which it has become a party and submitted all its international reports, to be among the 36 countries that have committed to do so out of the total of 197 states parties.

Imo Traditional Rulers Storm Govt House, Assure Gov Uzodinma Of Their Support

Greenbarge Reporters

January 20, 2020

Traditional rulers from the twenty-seven local government areas of Imo State, today, January 20, stormed the state government House to assure the newly swarn-in governor, Hope Uzodinma of their loyalty and support.

Led by the Chairman of the State Council of Traditional Rulers, His Majesty, Eze Agunwa Ohiri, the rulers said that the purpose of the visit was to advise the new governor, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to be steadfast and take Imo to a greater height.

Eze Ohiri explained that leadership comes from God and promised the governor the support of the traditional rulers in the state.

Eze Ohiri said God gives power to whoever he likes, adising the governor to be “confident that Imo is behind you. You should not be afraid.”

The highlight of the visit was a special prayer for Governor Hope Uzodinma and his Deputy, Professor Placid Njoku.

Nana Akufo Begs Buhari To Reopen Borders, Says It Affects Ghanaian Economy

Greenbarge Reporters

January 20, 2020

President Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana has appealed to his Nigerian counterpart, Muhammadu Buhari to reopen the country’s borders because it is negatively affecting his country’s economy.

In a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 in London today, January 20, President Akufo-Addo said that his appeal for the reopening of the borders became necessary “because the Nigerian market is significant for certain categories of business people in Ghana.”

The Ghanaian leader acknowledged the need for Nigeria to protect is citizens but still pleaded for “an expedited process” towards the reopening of the border.

This was after President Buhari had said that the partial closure of Nigeria’s borders was not just because of food products, particularly rice, which were being smuggled into Nigeria, but also because of arms and ammunition, as well as hard drugs, which were also being smuggled into Nigeria.

Buhari said that he cannot keep his eyes open and watch the lives of youths being destroyed by cheap hard drugs, while the security of the country is compromised by the influx of arms.

“When most of the vehicles carrying rice and other food products through our land borders are intercepted, you find cheap hard drugs, and small arms, under the food products. This has terrible consequences for any country.”

PresidentvBuhari regretted that the partial border closure is having “negative economic impact on our neighbours.

“we cannot leave our country, particularly the youths, endangered.”

He said that the opening of the borders would not happen till the final report of a committee set up on the matter is submitted and considered.

“Once the committee comes up with its recommendations, we will sit and consider them.”

PDP’s Protests Over Imo Aimed At Bringing Buhari Govt Down, Gov Uzodinma Alleges

Editorial staff

January 20, 2020

Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State has called on security agencies to investigate the current protests being staged in different parts of the country purportely over the Supreme Court judgment on the election in the State.

Governor Uzodinma, who addressed members of the APC who staged a solidarity march for him today, January 20 in Owerri,the state capital, said that members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who protested against his mandate might have done so in futility.
He asked: “Why are they organizing rally in Bayelsa, organizing rally in Cross River, organizing rally in Abuja, organizing rally in Katsina? Its because they want to bring down the government of President Mohammadu Buhari.
“We are not going to fold our hands and watch it. I am therefore calling on the Federal Government through this medium to go into full investigation to unravel the idea and those behind this organized near-synchronized crisis.”
Governor Uzodinma recalled his ordeal and travails during the events that led to the March 9, 2019 election and advised the people in the state not to entertain fear but to go about their normal businesses without fear.
He said that the unity of Nigeria supercedes any other interest.

PDP Takes To Street Protest In Abuja, Wants Supreme Court To Reverse Imo Judgment

Editorial staff

January 20, 2020

Leadership of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) took to street protest today, January 20 in Abuja, the nation’s federal capital to drive home it’s call for the reversal of the Supreme Court judgment on Imo State governorship election.

The protest, which started at the PDP’s Legacy House and passed through the Three Arms Zone was led by the PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus with the PDP Presidential running mate in the 2019 election, Peter Obi as well as other top party leaders in attendance.
Addressing party leaders at the Eagle Square, the National Chairman said that Supreme Court had misfired as the figures that gave Governor Hope Uzodinma victory were “not adding up.”
Secondus said all the protesters were demanding for was for the Supreme Court to reverse its judgment which removed Ihedioha as the governor of Imo.
According to him, the PDP leaders and supporters are out for a peaceful, non-violent protest to show they are all Nigerians.
He described PDP as “the most peaceful party, the largest party and well organised party in Africa.
“I want to congratulate you all for coming from all the nooks and crannies of this country, peacefully, to register our protest.
“We are here, under one God, under one nation; our nation is under the rule of law.
“We are a nation governed by law; therefore, all we are seeking today is for our very highly respected jurists at the highest court of the land to be just.
“We are not against you, we are against the error. And by the special grace of God, I know you will revisit the error. All we are saying is for you to review this error because the figures are not adding up. We, therefore, call on the leadership of the judiciary to please note that we are all human beings. God is the highest”.
“We know that they worship God, all of us worship God, to revisit and reverse the Imo State judgment because we believe that the figures are not adding up.”
Secondus said that the party believed that the Supreme Court judges would hear their cry, revisit, review, and if possible reverse the judgment.
“That is justice that will be done, not only to the people of Imo but for Nigerians who are crying. This is time to show courage,” Secondus said.
Also speaking, Peter Obi, who was once the governor of Anambra State said that he was not just speaking as member of PDP, but also as a beneficiary of the right thing done by the party during its 16 years administration.
Obi recalled how he was a member of a minority party (then APGA) and he won election, went to court and PDP did not intervene.
He added that Adams Oshiomhole, former Edo governor and National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC)couldn’t have been governor, or beneficiary of judiciary, if PDP had intervened.
“So as a beneficiary, I am appealing to the judiciary to save this country. What happened in Imo State is enough to kill our democracy. Let us ensure that the judiciary is the last hope of the common man.”
The Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe also said that the only message of PDP is that the judgment should be reviewed as figures were not adding up.
Source: NAN.

It’ll Have Been A Major Political Blow If APC Had Lost Kano, Plateau – Buhari

Editorial staff

January 20, 2020

President Muhammadu Buhari has the cause to jubilate over the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the Supreme Court today, January 20, which upheld the elections of Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State and Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State.

The President, who commended the APC National Executive Council (NEC), National Working Committee (NWC) and all members for the loyalty and consistency said: “it would have been a major blow if strategically important states like Kano and Plateau are lost.”

He said that after what he called “tough legal challenges,” the party is able to secure many victories, “particularly the politically strategic states: Kano and Plateau.

“I am glad this tortuous journey has ended in favour of the party and our governors. APC won the states and has proved it in court.”

The President congratulated all the APC governors whose elections have been affirmed by the Supreme Court and called on the electorates and politicians to strengthen the country’s judicial processes by always seeking redress in court.

“It has now become standard procedure for the opposition to challenge any poll or judgement that does not return its candidates.

“Election is good when they win. The opposite is the case if someone else emerges. But that is not the way it works. “Democracy is not only about who wins or who loses, but also about the process.

“In disparaging every unfavourable result or judgement, they disparage the entire system.”

Nigeria’ll Be World Power In No Distant Future – British PM

Editorial staff

January 20, 2020

The British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson has predicted that Nigeria will become world power in no distant future with the way the government of President Muhammadu Buhari is carrying on with the development of the country.
Boris Johnson, who met with President Buhari on the sidelines of the UK-Africa Investment Summit 2020 today, January 20 in London, said: “In the future, Nigeria will not just be a continental but international power.”
The Prime Minister applauded the idea of the Commonwealth Free Trade, as being proposed by President Buhari and pledged a careful consideration.
He advised the Nigerian Leader to keep the national autonomy of his country intact.
This was even as President Buhari narrated the strides which his government has made in agriculture, leading almost to self-sufficiency in rice and other grains, saving the country billions in foreign exchange.
He also spoke about the war against insurgency, which he said is being won, even as he disabused of the minds of the people on the true philosophy of Boko Haram.
He acknowledged that the the main challenge in the insurgency war is in the area of resettling displaced people, which is being tackled frontally.
“We have a long history with the British military, and we are collaborating.”
President Buhari also spoke on the anti-corruption war, saying that though it has been slow but painstaking.
He said that the cooperation of the National Crime Agency of UK is still needed, particularly in the investigation of fugitives from Nigeria finding accommodation in the United Kingdom.
Climate change, President Buhari said, was a challenge to Nigeria and neighbouring African countries, especially with the shrinkage of the Lake Chad to a minuscule of its original size.
The Nigerian Leader also said the country is focused and making progress on education, particularly that of the girl child.

Ganduje Laughs Last As Supreme Court Retains Him Kano Gov

Greenbarge Reporters

January 20, 2020

Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has the cause to roll out drums to celebrate as Supreme Court has affirmed his election under the umbrella of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Abba Kabir Yusuf, filed an appeal at the apex court to dispute the March 24 supplementary election held in some electoral wards in Kano State.
In a unanimous judgment today, January 20, delivered by Justice Sylvester Ngwuta, the apex court dismissed the appeal filed by Abba Yusuf challenging the election of Governor Ganduje for lacking in merit.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had declared the March 9 election in Kano State inconclusive, which led to the supplementary election held on March 23.

Source: CHANNELS TV.

Huthi Rebels Kill More than 83 Yemeni Soldiers

Editorial staff

January 19, 2020

Huthi rebels have killed no fewer than 83 Yemeni Soldiers with scores sustaining various degrees of injuries in a missile and drone attack.

According to medical and military sources today, January 20, the Huthi rebels in central Yemen, launched the attack after months of relative calm in the war between the Iran-backed Huthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by a Saudi-led military coalition.
The Huthis attacked a mosque in a military camp in the central province of Marib — about 170 kilometres (105 miles) east of the capital Sanaa — during evening prayers, military sources told AFP.
A medical source at a Marib city hospital, where the casualties were transported, said that 83 soldiers were killed and 148 injured in the strike.
Death tolls in Yemen’s grinding conflict are often disputed, but the huge toll in Marib represents one of the bloodiest single attacks since the war erupted in 2014 when the rebels seized Sanaa.
The drone and missile strike came a day after coalition-backed government forces launched a large-scale operation against the Huthis in the Nihm region, north of Sanaa.
Fighting in Nihm was ongoing on Sunday, a military source said according to the official Saba news agency.
“Dozens from the (Huthi) militia were killed and injured,” the source added.
Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi condemned the “cowardly and terrorist” attack on the mosque, Saba reported.
“The disgraceful actions of the Huthi militia without a doubt confirm its unwillingness to (achieve) peace, because it knows nothing but death and destruction and is a cheap Iranian tool in the region,” it quoted Hadi as saying.
The president also stressed the importance of increasing military vigilance “to foil hostile and destructive plans and maintain security and stability”.
The Huthis did not make any immediate claim of responsibility and the Saba report did not give a death toll.
The uptick in violence comes shortly after United Nations envoy, Martin Griffiths welcomed a sharp reduction in air strikes and the movement of ground forces.
“We are surely, and I hope this is true and I hope it will remain so, witnessing one of the quietest periods of this conflict,” he said in a briefing to the UN Security Council on Thursday.
“Experience however tells us that military de-escalation cannot be sustained without political progress between the parties, and this has become the next challenge.” A year after Yemen’s warring sides agreed to a UN-brokered truce for the key Red Sea port city of Hodeida and its surroundings, fighting in the province has subsided but the slow implementation of the deal has quashed hopes for an end to the conflict.
The landmark agreement signed in Sweden in December 2018 had been hailed as Yemen’s best chance so far to end the fighting that has pushed the country to the brink of famine.
Tens of thousands of people, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced in the war that has ravaged the country, triggering what the UN describes as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened in the conflict to back the government against the Huthis in March 2015, shortly after the rebels seized control of Sanaa.
A senior UN official warned Thursday that certain key factors that threatened to trigger a famine in Yemen last year were once again looming large, including a plunge in the value of the national currency.
“With a rapidly depreciating rial and disrupted salary payments, we are again seeing some of the key conditions that brought Yemen to the brink of famine a year ago,” Ramesh Rajasingham, who coordinates humanitarian aid in Yemen, told the UN Security Council.
“We must not let that happen again,” he said.

Federal Government Exempts 20 More Basic Food, Others From 7.5 Percent VAT Regime

Editorial staff

January 19, 2020

The President said that the 2020 Appropriation Bill is based on this new VAT rate.

Nigeria’s federal government has announced the exemption of no fewer than 20 more food, sanitary and other items from the Finance Act which increased the Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5 percent to 7.5 percent.

In a statement today, January 20, the senior special assistant to the President on media and publicity, office of the Vice President, Laolu Akande said that in a bid to ensure that the cost of living does not rise for Nigerians because of the changes in the Value-Added Tax, several basic food items, locally manufactured sanitary towels, pads and tuition relating to nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary education have been added to the exemption list of goods and services on the VAT under the Finance Bill 2019.
“To allay fears that low-income persons and companies will be marginalized by the new law, reduce the burden of taxation on vulnerable segments, and promote equitable taxation, the Finance Act 2019 has extended the list of goods and services exempted from VAT. The additional exemptions include the following:
“Basic food items – Additives (honey), bread, cereals, cooking oils, culinary herbs, fish, flour and starch, fruits (fresh or dried), live or raw meat and poultry, milk, nuts, pulses, roots, salt, vegetables, water (natural water and table water), Locally manufactured sanitary towels, pads or tampons.
“Services rendered by microfinance banks, Tuition relating to nursery, primary, secondary and tertiary education.”
Laolu Akande said that Nigeria’s increased new VAT rate of 7.5 percent is still the lowest in Africa, and one of the lowest anywhere in the world.
According to him, South Africa VAT is 15 percent; Ghana is 12.5 percent; Kenya is 16 percent; Egypt is 14 percent; Rwanda is 18 percent and Senegal is 18 percent.
The Presidential spokesman listed the benefit of the new law to include consolidating the efforts already made in creating the enabling environment for improved private sector participation and contribution to the economy as well as boost states’ revenues.
He quoted President Buhari as saying that the Finance Bill will support the funding and implementation of the 2020 Budget, adding: “We shall sustain this tradition by ensuring that subsequent budgets are also accompanied by a Finance Bill.”

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