Hamza Al-Mustapha, ex-chief security officer to Sani Abacha, former head of state, says Nigeria doesn’t have any excuse for inadequate power supply. Al-Mustapha said this during an interview with newsmen on Sunday, noting that Nigeria has abundant resources that should reflect in its power supply. He said electricity supply is still very expensive in the country, adding that the country has what it takes to have a stable and cheap power supply. “Up till this moment, electricity supply in Nigeria is still very very expensive compared to other countries in spite of the fact that we have all it takes to have one of the most stable and cheap power supply in the world,” Al Mustapha said. “We have the resources in abundance, we have coal and gas, we have solar energy in abundance because we are ...
International Boxing Association (AIBA) has taken a step towards repairing a much-maligned governance structure that has been frequently criticised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) after it approved an updated constitution at its virtual Congress. Under the new constitution, AIBA has installed term limits, rebranded the Executive Committee to the Board of Directors and reduced the number of members on the ruling body from 32 to 22. AIBA is hopeful the renewed document will appease the IOC, which last year suspended it as the Olympic governing body for the sport and stripped it of any involvement in the boxing tournament at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games because of concerns over its governance, finances and refereeing and judging. The Inquiry Committee, led by IOC Executive Board ...
South Africa’s largest opposition party on Sunday elected John Steenhuisen as their leader, who vowed to take the centre-right Democratic Alliance (DA) to greater heights after a slump in electoral support. Steenhuisen, who has acted as interim party leader since its first black leader Mmusi Maimane quit over a year ago, has also served as party chief whip in parliament. The triumph will see him lead the DA in the 2024 presidential elections against the ruling African National Congress (ANC). In his acceptance speech, Steenhuisen said under his leadership “people power” would be the order of the day, promising to “fight to give power and opportunities to every law-abiding, honest and hard-working citizen, regardless of their background”. Securing a whopping 80 per cent of the historic virt...
The 44th Ordinary Meeting of the Mediation and Security Council of the Economic Community of West African States has called attention to the ongoing insurgency in Nigeria, Gambia and Guinea Bissau as well as the political crisis in Mali. The Council at its meeting in Niamey, Niger, on Friday, also focused on forthcoming presidential elections in Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Ghana, and Niger. The meeting was presided over by the Nigerien Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chair of the Mediation and Security Council, Kalla Ankourao. Ankourao recalled the challenges COVID-19 has brought upon the region coupled with the breakdown in democratic governance in Mali. He urged the ECOWAS body to take the necessary steps for the preparation and smooth conduct of the upcoming presidential electi...
Ivory Coast has banned all outdoor protests until 15 September, according to a statement Thursday issued after deadly clashes ahead of presidential elections in October. The cabinet late Wednesday “decided to suspend protests in public areas, authorising them only in enclosed spaces… until 15 September,” the government said in a statement. The measure “draws the consequences of the impact, in human and property terms, from previous demonstrations and the risk that pockets of inter-community conflicts could open up,” it said. On 13 August, angry protests erupted in the economic hub Abidjan, and demonstrations in the central town of Daoukro turned to bloody ethnic clashes, after President Alassane Ouattara announced he would bid for a third term. Critics of Ouattara say the 78-year-old is on...
The immediate past National Chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, has underscored an urgent need for National Executive Committee (NEC) of the ruling party to meet and institute a Caretaker Committee whose main responsibility will be to arrange for a special National Convention through the invocation of “the doctrine of necessity”. Chief Odigie-Oyegun, in a statement titled “BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE”, called on leaders of the party, particularly the Governors and President Muhammadu Buhari to bring a stop to what he called the “disgraceful and humiliating charade” occurring within the National Secretariat of the party. “The All Progressives Congress was built on the blood and sweat of Nigerians, young and old, too numerous to count, who were willing...