Humanity
PDP salutes Governor Obaseki at 64
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has congratulated Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo State as he marks his 64th birthday. The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Kola Ologbondiyan, in Abuja on Thursday described Obaseki as a courageous leader. He also described him as a brilliant technocrat, highly resourceful and ingenious administrator. The party spokesman said that Obaseki had continued to exhibit an exceptional commitment towards the unity, stability and development of not only Edo State but the nation at large. Ologbondiyan said that the PDP was proud of the outstanding achievements recorded by Obaseki in the development of Edo State, particularly in the critical sectors, in line with the manifesto of the party. The sectors, according to him, include infrastructur...
Settlers in occupied West Bank agree to evacuate illegal outpost
Israeli settlers who constructed an unapproved outpost near Beita in the occupied West Bank said they have agreed to withdraw from the site. Tensions in the occupied West Bank reached new highs in the past months with the Evyatar settlement being one of the focal points of clashes as settlers refused to evacuate the land and Palestinians demonstrated against their presence. Several Palestinians have been killed and dozens wounded by Israeli forces supporting the illegal settlers. According to a statement on Wednesday by the Samaria Regional Council, a settlers’ organisation, the Israelis are due to leave by Friday following a compromise offered to them by the Israeli government. The Samaria Regional Council also reportedly said the settlement’s structures will not be demolished, but rather...
Private polytechnic owners set to clamp down on illegal operators
The National President of the Association of Private Polytechnic Founders/Rectors in Nigeria, Pastor Bassey James, has said that illegal school operators across the country would soon run out of business. He stated this in Uyo while briefing newsmen as part of the activities marking the maiden matriculation of Southern Atlantic Polytechnic, scheduled for Saturday, June 26, 2021. James mentioned that a total of 300 students would partake in the maiden matriculation ceremony of the Southern Atlantic Polytechnic, even as admissions were still ongoing in the institution. According to him, the association had written to both the national and state assemblies to inform them of the ugly incident even as he had met with some of the perpetrators of the illegal business and had given them a timeline...
Laurent Gbagbo files for divorce, to end 30-year marriage
Ivory Coast’s former president Laurent Gbagbo filed for divorce on Monday from his wife of three decades, his lawyer said, days after his highly anticipated return to the country. Gbagbo’s lawyer Claude Mentenon said in a statement that after years of “rejected requests for Simone Ehivet to consent to an amicable separation”, the ex-president had asked an Abidjan court for a divorce. The announcement comes four days after Gbagbo returned to Ivory Coast following a decade’s absence, during which he was tried for crimes against humanity during the post-election conflict of 2010-11. Simone Gbagbo wielded significant political influence as first lady, and was arrested alongside her husband in April 2011 after he refused to concede defeat, sparking a conflict that left some 3,000 people dead. G...
ICC swears in Karim Khan as new chief prosecutor
British lawyer Karim Asad Ahmad Khan has been sworn in as the new chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague. He will perform his duties “honourably, faithfully, impartially and conscientiously,’’ Khan promised before the judges in The Hague on Wednesday. The representatives of the court’s 123 state parties had elected Khan in February. The 51-year-old succeeds Fatou Bensouda, 60, who must step down after nine years under the court’s rules. Khan wants to significantly improve the performance of the prosecution. Proceedings must become more effective and trials before the court more successful, he said in a brief statement. According to him, the criminal court is a sign of hope for justice. “It is an awful testament of the horror of mankind in this 21 century, as we s...
CDHR calls for release of abducted Ebonyi children
Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) has urged the police and sister agencies to secure the unconditional release of the seven Ebonyi children abducted by suspected hoodlums at Enyigba community. The children were abducted from their respective homes at Enyigba community in Abakaliki Local Government Area (LGA) of Ebonyi by unknown persons, following alleged renewed conflict over a land dispute with Enyibichiri community in Ikwo LGA. A statement signed by the state secretary of CDHR, Jeremiah Oyibe, on Tuesday in Abakaliki, urged the police to ensure the safe and unconditional release of the seven abductees. The CDHR added that the police and the state government should ensure the arrest and trial of those involved in the criminal abduction of innocent children. The group expre...
Mr. Macaroni: President Buhari’s supporters have lost their humanity
Nigerian Comedian, Debo Adebayo, better known as Mr. Macaroni, has stated that those supporting President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had lost their humanity. Macaroni disclosed this on his social media page as he lamented the killings and oppression of Nigerians in the nation. The comedian stated that peaceful protest was a Fundamental Human Right and would not change because of “General Buhari’s tyranny.” His tweets read: “Peaceful protest is a Fundamental Human Right. That won’t change because of General Buhari’s tyranny. Anyone who supports this dictatorship has lost their humanity. “Nigerians are being killed, dehumanized and oppressed daily. This is not the Country we pray for!” The comedian tasked youths not to relent in asking for a better Nigeria and good governance. He adde...
Anambra election: PDP aspirant urges delegates to shun monetary inducement
Dr Godwin Maduka, a major contender for the gubernatorial ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Nov. 6 election in Anambra has urged party delegates to shun financial inducement. Maduka, America-based medical practitioner-cum politician, made the call while addressing journalists on Sunday in Awka on the need for party delegates to cast their votes without fear or coercion. He advised delegates to shun monetary inducement and develop boldness to vote for a candidate who has the capacity to develop the state.a He said though he has enough money to buy delegates at any cost but saw an act as undemocratic and should be discouraged for the people to get a sound polity. “Our delegates should be political active and not be passive any more in affairs that concerns their generation ...
Ex-US envoy: British museum holds over 700 pieces of Benin bronzes
The British Museum, the world’s first national public museum, currently holds 700 pieces of the Benin Bronzes collection, more than any other museum and other institutions globally, a former United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. John Campbell has said. Campbell, however, acknowledged that the authorities of the British Museum had agreed “to return the Benin Bronzes collection once the Edo Museum of West African Art, currently under construction in Benin City is completed.” He gave this figure in a blog post titled “Germany to Return Some African Art to Nigeria” published on the website of Council for Foreign Relations (CFR), a US non-profit think-tank specialising in international affairs on Wednesday. More than a century after British soldiers looted a collection of priceless artifacts...
Taraba governor: Senator Alhassan’s demise a personal loss
Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku has described the death of former minister of Women Affairs Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan as a personal loss to him. In a statement issued in Jalingo on Friday night and signed br Bala Dan Abu Special Adviser to the governor on Media, Ishaku said that he received the news with rude shock and is still trying to come to terms with it. He described Alhassan as a woman of courage and rare asset who have contributed immensely to the political emancipation of wen and her death would leave a gapping hole on the political landscape of the nation. “Governor of Taraba State, Arc Darius Dickson Ishaku, has received with deep shock news of the death of Senator Aisha Jumai Alhassan, a former governorship candidate in the state and frontline member of the People’s Demo...
US Senators urge Joe Biden to impose more sanctions on Myanmar junta
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Tuesday urged the Biden administration to slap more sanctions on the military junta in Myanmar, including choking revenues to a state energy company, in response to its coup and violent crackdown on protesters. Senators Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, and Marco Rubio, a Republican, and four others urged Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in a letter to “explore new avenues to support the people of Burma in their ongoing struggle for democracy in the face of escalating crimes against humanity.” They want the Biden administration to stop royalties flowing from businesses including U.S. energy major Chevron to Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise, or MOGE, an agency within the energy ministry, that provides financial support to mil...
Delta governor: We inherited N100 billion unpaid pension under compulsory pension scheme
Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta on Sunday said his administration inherited about N100 billion unpaid pensions under the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS). Okowa disclosed this at the third session of the 8th Synod of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Ughelli Diocese. The session was held at Bishop Agori-Iwe Memorial Church, Ughelli. Okowa said that the financial burden forced 18 state governments out of 26 that enlisted on the scheme to withdraw, leaving only eight state governments, including Delta, in the Programme. The governor explained that the major challenge which forced the states to withdraw and others not to enrol in the scheme, was the huge backlog running into billions of naira. He said that his administration was up-to-date with payment of pensioners in the old scheme. ...
