Day: June 13, 2023

The Presidency on Monday made clarification on Vice-President Kashim Shettima’s remarks on support for southern Senate President.

Mr Olusola Abiola, Director of Information, Office of the Vice-President, stated in Abuja that the vice-president’s remarks were taken out context.

The vice-president met with senators campaigning for the emergence of Sen. Godswill Akpabio and Sen. Barau Jibrin to lead the 10th Senate on Sunday.

Shettima said at the interactive session that the nation’s current political structure demanded the emergence of a southern Christian and a northern Muslim as the fairest balance to promote inclusivity at the centre.

“Shettima’s statement was motivated by a profound awareness of the divisive factors within our great nation and was in harmony with the governing party’s pledge to ensure inclusivity across all regions and among all groups.

“President Bola Tinubu has wholeheartedly reassured the country of his dedication to providing every group with equal representation, which has resonated with the vice-president who shares the same commitment to this honourable endeavour.

“Unfortunately, the vice-president’s remarks have been stripped of context and mischievously circulated as an attempt to minimise the suitability of Muslim contestants in the race for the Senate leadership.

“The remarks have not only been taken out of context, but also misinterpreted to suit an agenda that sabotages our collective bid for unity,’’ Abiola stated.

He stressed that what Shettima advocated was the choice of a non-Muslim contestant, even if it was against a more qualified Muslim option, to achieve balance, since the president and the vice-president are Muslims.

Abiola added that it was alarming that such unambiguous plea was unfairly misconstrued to imply that the vice-president said the most incompetent Christian candidate was superior to a Muslim candidate.

“The vice-president’s position reflects the stance of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“APC assigned the leadership of the House of Representatives to the Northwest and designated the position of Deputy Senate President to the same region.

“At the time the vice-president made his remarks, three contenders for the Speakership race had withdrawn their candidacy to support the candidate from the Northwest.

“This well-considered balancing strategy aimed to mitigate the potential for crisis within the country, particularly by those anticipating the domination of leadership from the same religious faith in all branches of government.

“It will be illogical for the vice-president, a Muslim to second-guess the competence of fellow Muslims in a nation headed by a Muslim president.

“The president has demonstrated unmatched leadership qualities on the strength of which he and his deputy were elected in February,’’ he stated.

Abiola added that the vice-president wished to distance himself from the wrong and dangerous inferences drawn by a section of the public on his remarks.

He noted that while some inferences were made innocently and without mischief, there were entities that had seized on the story to cause further chaos that transcended the realm of power politics.

“Before the media interface, the vice-president was aware that some entities and individuals were covertly pushing for Muslim leadership of the National Assembly to use the instance to legitimise their grievances against the Nigerian state.

“They were doing this to prove to their communities that they had been marginalised and must rise to cause chaos.

“This is a paradoxical situation where lawmakers who opposed a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket are actively campaigning for political arrangements that would result in Muslims occupying the topmost four or five positions in the country.

“The covert intent of their actions is evident to astute observers of our politics.

“This is the dimension to which our politics have descended; a dimension that does not align with President Tinubu’s and the APC’s vision of a Nigeria for all.

“It is the vision and promise that propelled this government to power even when some interest groups attempted to mischaracterise the APC ticket,’’ Abiola stated.

He added that senators who met with the vice-president were known as the Stability Group, a group of 77 patriots who had signed up for the Akpabio/Barau ticket.

Senators in the Stability Group believe the pair would represent the interests of the nation and the party, he stated.

According to Abiola, the group is neither ethnic nor religious, but a collection of well-intentioned senators with a convincing solution to Nigeria’s stability dilemma, as its name implies.

“The vice-president remains grateful to media outlets that have seen through the mischaracterisation and have been able to provide context for those who missed it.

“We are at a critical point in our nation and cannot afford to lose our focus because of mischief-makers obsessed with starting a fire where there is none.

“Shettima remains grateful to those who have read beyond newspaper click bait and those who have given him the benefit of the doubt and remain allies for the betterment of Nigeria,’’ Abiola stressed.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Addressing the volatile, uncertain and ambiguous nature of security challenges globally, requires whole-of-society approach.

The declaration was made in Abuja on Tuesday by the Commandant, National Defence College (NDC), Rear Adm. Murtala Bashir.

He was addressing the opening of a Strategic Analysis Course organised by the NDC for participants of Course 31 and others from defence and services headquarters and Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

He recalled that there were crises, insurgencies, terrorism and conflicts globally such as between Russia and Ukraine and in Sudan and the Middle East.

“The world is becoming more volatile, uncertain and it is becoming increasingly difficult to predict the outcomes of the crises.

“The world is becoming more complex and it is difficult to understand the nature of some of these conflicts. Non-state actors are now challenging the authorities of sovereign nations.

“The battle line is becoming undefined. Belligerents are becoming undefined and non-governmental organisations are fuelling some of these crises.

“We have to examine how we can further build our capacity to understand these issues; to critically analyse them so that we can comprehensively address them and also predict future developments,’’ he said.

The commandant explained that the objective of the course was to enable participants to identify, define, and analyse issues to be able to predict future developments and proffer desired solutions.

Bashir said the NDC believed in the whole-of-society approach to addressing national security and developmental challenges hence the need to build capacity of participants.

“We have to invite participants from services headquarters, ministries, departments and agencies so that we can have a comprehensive approach to addressing our challenges.

“The military cannot address challenges alone. It has to adopt the whole-of-nation approach, for instance to tackle insurgency and terrorism,’’ he said.

In his remarks, the Director, ICT, at the NDC, Air Commodore Osichinaka Ubadike, said the course was designed to equip participants with skills needed in knowledge-based analysis and decision-making.

Ubadike said the course was also designed to raise a new corps of practical analysts in public and private sectors with knowledge on defining and analysing internal and external environments.

According to him, some of the objectives of the course are to examine contemporary global and national strategic environments in which Nigeria operates.

“It is designed to broaden the understanding and imperative of strategy; broaden understanding of various analytical tools, and enhance understanding of future perspective process.

“It is also designed to enhance understanding of net assessments and strategic estimates and enhance understanding of strategic analysis in general.

“Thirty-five of the 140 participants expected for this course are from NDC Course 31; 25 participants are from defence and services headquarters, while the others are from the Ministry of Defence and from MDAs.

“It is hoped that at the end, we will have strategic analysts that will challenge the course of security and development in Nigeria and in different other countries,’’ Obadike said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

A cross-section of the newly inaugurated senators have commended the emergence of Sen. God’swill Akpabio (APC-Akwa-Ibom) and Sen. Barau Jibrin (APC-Kano) as Senate President and Deputy Senate President of the 10th Assembly.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Akpabio and Jibrin were on Tuesday, inaugurated as leaders of the 10th Senate.

Sen. Neda Imasuen (LP-Edo) commended the emergence of the duo.

He said that with the multiplicity of parties in the National Assembly, there would be a robust parliament.

“I’m very excited because we now have a robust parliament. It used to be two parties and we now have eight parties in the Senate.

“So the conversation will not be one sided or two sided; the conversation is going to be more robust and enterprising.

“It is going to be a situation where the debates cannot be partisan, it has to be a Nigerian debate. It is going to be good and better for the country.”

Sen. Abdul Ningi (PDP- Bauchi) said that the election was free and fair without much anticipated drama.

“That is what makes the institution of the Senate different. The animosity, the fear of what happened in the last two days completely vanished.

“You go into the hall and you see how people are embracing themselves and that is parliament and that is democracy.

“We have refused to be intimidated by any enforcement and that is why we said there must be an election.

“And those who came with the idea of theater party and the sitting government had the day we have no problem.

“We know we are in the minority. The position I took was not the position of my party but that of the minority caucus and you could see not all of us actually voted on the same page.

“Some people actually went to negotiate and that is parliament. But I believe in the six months or so we are going to bind together by putting the nation first.”

For Sen. Ede Dafinone (APC-Delta), it was a great day. The 10th Senate has been launched.

“We have a dynamic Senate President with an outstanding Deputy both with excellent reputation and excellent track records.

“We are hoping and praying they will follow the lead already given by President Bola Tinubu who has hit the ground running. He has shone Nigerians that he is ready to get the job done and the national assembly must support him to do that.

“With two dynamic leaders in position, I hope Nigerians will see that the Senate is ready to hit the ground running as soon as possible.”

Dafinone said that he would bring his 30 years experience and qualification in accounting to bear as he takes up the task of legislation.

“In terms of the environment and accounting, I have quite some expertise. But aside from that, I’m a manufacturer and exporter. I have a rubber plantation in Delta we export rubber to Europe and China. I have been doing that for over 20 years.”

Sen. Osita Izunaso (APC-Imo) who had earlier stepped down for Akpabio said that the most important thing was that democracy has been deepened.

“So it is not about winner or loser. There was no winner or loser because we are still first among equals.

“And you have to work diligently to carry the Senate along. The Senate is far different from the Executive where one man calls the shot. We are all equals; we are all colleagues; we are all sworn in today as senators.

“I wish Akpabio well as Senate President. If I had won, I would also expect him to support me. I will give him support.”

One of the female senators Ipalibo Banigo (PDP-Rivers) said that the 10th Assembly would be a transformational assembly that would touch lives of Nigerians

“Nigerians will feel our impact, ” she said.

She thanked God and her constituents, Rivers West for electing her into the position.

“I will make sure that everything that is a problem to my constituents is given due attention in the Senate, in the National Assembly.

“As a woman, I will work with other women to progress on the issue of gender.”

Sen. Francis Fadahunsi (PDP-Osun) said that the election was keenly contested.

“We will work together to ensure a rancour-free parliament.”(NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

National Dialogue Chief Commissioner Professor Mesfin Araya urged all stakeholders to work together responsibly for Ethiopia’s long-lasting peace.

The National Dialogue Commission has started training in the Gambella region today for representatives who will be involved in agenda selection and recruiting participants in the national dialogue.

Opening the training, Chief Commissioner, Professor Mesfin said stakeholders are duty-bound to work for lasting peace and build a better Ethiopia common to us all.

The commissioner underlined instances in the past had not ensured equal benefits for all but resulted in differences and unwanted conflicts..

Therefore, Mesfin urged all Ethiopians to resolve differences and misunderstandings through dialogue and work together to build a better Ethiopia where everyone will benefit equally.

Civic associations, religious leaders, elders, representatives of political parties and others are participating in the training.

Ethiopia’s national consultations will be held throughout the country in the upcoming Ethiopian New Year, Professor Mesfin told ENA last week.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The 14th Ordinary Assembly of IGAD heads of state and government has reappointed Workineh Gebeyehu (PhD) to serve as an executive Secretary of the regional bloc for a second term.

I am deeply grateful for the Assembly's full confidence in me as they have extended my tenure for a second 4-year term. I congratulate Djibouti on assuming the chairmanship & thank Sudan for ably steering the organization during their chairmanship,” he twitted.

The decision was taken at the end of the 14th Ordinary Assembly of IGAD Heads of state and government.

Djibouti has taken over the presidency from Sudan and the Executive Secretary has also congratulated Djibouti on assuming the chairmanship of the organization at the summit, replacing Sudan.

Djibouti President Ismael Omar Guelleh also took over the Chairmanship of the IGAD after Sudan’s term came to an end.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Ethiopia’s Long Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) is exemplary for other African countries and would help to reduce carbon emissions, ECA Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management, Jean Paul Adam said.

It is to be recalled that the government of Ethiopia officially launched the Long Term Low Emission Development Strategy (LT-LEDS) last month with the view to overcoming climate change related challenges.

The overarching objective of Ethiopia's LT-LED strategy is to help Ethiopia pursue a green growth pathway by keeping its carbon emissions target to net zero by 2050 entailing an increased climate resilience and delivery of multiple economic and social benefits.

In an exclusive interview with Ethiopian News Agency, Economic Commission for Africa Director for Technology, Climate Change and Natural Resources Management, Jean Paul Adam said the strategy is a key tool in achieving Ethiopia’s sustainable development and climate mitigation and adaptation objective, following a holistic long term planning approach and is the best example to other African countries to tackle climate change.

The director stated the fact that climate change continues to drastically affect the livelihoods of people in multiple challenges including drought, flood, and other calamities witnessed over the years are due to the impact of climate change.

Therefore, investing in climate change is protecting the livelihood of our people, he said, adding that all what we need is to work together to mobilize resources and realize this ambitious plan.

The efforts of the Ethiopian government are very important and we are pleased and proud to be able to support the launch of this LD-LED strategy, he pointed out.

He also explained that the Green Legacy Initiatives is part of this strategy and Ethiopia has been giving attention to climate change and carried out massive activities in reducing carbon emissions.

According to him, the plantation scheme is not only a very good example of protecting the environment but has also positive impact on people lives.

He further said the initiative is an example that can be followed by many countries.

"This initiative is an example which can be followed by many countries and need more support to be able to undertake this kind of activities as well as this kind of resilience, including investing in energy or investing in production system, that has less impact on the climate,’’ Adam added.

Investing in tree planting can reduce risk of flooding and improve access to water, Adam said, adding that the way Ethiopia is doing in planting trees is also part of the effort of creating economic opportunities for livelihood.

When we plant trees we are not only addressing the current climate change, but also ensuring safe environment for the next generation, he added.

Furthermore, the director pointed out that the region can boost its drought resilience by planting trees and the significance of the Green Legacy in this regard is paramount.

Moreover, the country is also looking at the opportunity to build capacity for agro-forestry while planting trees in areas affected by deforestation.

ECA has been providing technical support to Ethiopia’s green legacy initiative, he said.

“ We want to support Ethiopia on identifying economic activities that can generate more resources in the future, so one sector that the ECA has started to work on is the development of carbon credits,” the director pointed out.

The Green Legacy Initiative is a flagship program initiated by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in June 2019 with a target of planting 20 billion seedlings within a period of four years.

However, by the fourth year, 25 billion seedlings, including fruit trees and cattle feeds, have been planted as part of the national Green Legacy Initiative across the nation.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency