Tributes and expressions of sympathy have poured in from world leaders and fellow monarchs around the globe following the death of Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II, the country’s longest-reigning head of state. UN Secretary General António Guterres said he was “deeply saddened” by the news. “Queen Elizabeth II was widely admired for her grace, dignity, and dedication around the world. She was a reassuring presence throughout decades of sweeping change, including the decolonisation of Africa and Asia and the evolution of the Commonwealth,” he said. U.S. President Joe Biden called Elizabeth a “stateswoman of unmatched dignity and constancy” who deepened the…
Author: Abdallah el-Kurebe
The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) says it has achieved 90 per cent completion on the ongoing repair of 18L/36R runway at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja. The Managing Director of FAAN, Capt. Rabiu Yadudu, made this known during an inspection tour of the runway in Lagos on Thursday. FAAN, on July 7, closed the Muritala Muhammed Airport (MMA) runway for 90 days, for installation of Airfield Lighting (AFL). FAAN said it would also install the approach lights, runway lights, (threshold, centerline, edge lights) for runway 18L/ 36R so as to return to 24/7 operations. Yadudu told newsmen that…
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has adopted a grassroots structure for its electioneering campaign for the 2023 general election. The PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr Debo Ologunagba said this at the end of the meeting of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the party in Abuja. Ologunagba said that the party also approved a unified campaign structure for its campaign across the country, for the general election. He said that the NWC at its 97th meeting deliberated on issues of urgent national importance as well as the preparations for the 2023 general election. “NEC also approved the structure for campaign councils at the…
Newly confirmed British Prime Minister Liz Truss revealed Thursday how Queen Elizabeth II’s successor, Charles, the former prince of Wales, will be known as king – one of the more scrutinized questions in anticipation of the prior sovereign’s death and one that has carried great symbolism in past royal transitions. “Today the crown passes, as it has done for more than a thousand years, to our new monarch, our new head of state: his majesty, King Charles III,” Truss, who met with the queen at her estate in Scotland on Tuesday to request permission to form a new government, said…
North Korea has officially enshrined the right to use preemptive nuclear strikes to protect itself in a new law that leader Kim Jong Un said makes its nuclear status “irreversible” and bars denuclearisation talks, state media reported on Friday. The move comes as observers say North Korea appears to be preparing to resume nuclear testing for the first time since 2017, after historic summits with then-U.S. President Donald Trump and other world leaders in 2018 failed to persuade Kim to abandon his weapons development. The North’s rubber-stamp parliament, the Supreme People’s Assembly, passed the legislation on Thursday as a replacement…
This week, I was in Dakar for a conference on the framework and tools for sustaining democratic governance in West Africa organised by the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel in conjunction with the Open Society, Kofi Anan and the National Democratic Institutes. The context is dramatic. West Africa has taken the African leadership position in developing the tools and dynamics for democratisation since the 1990 Benin National Sovereign Conference and ECOWAS has played a very active role in the process, developing and operationalising the normative framework for democratic sustenance. The Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good…
Doctors at Balmoral Castle have announced the death of Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen, who was 96, was placed under medical supervision at Balmoral Castle, her estate in the Scottish Highlands. Prince Charles traveled to Balmoral to be at his mother’s side. The death of Queen Elizabeth II is a watershed moment for Britain, at once incomparable and incalculable. It marks both the loss of a revered monarch — the only one most Britons have ever known — and the end of a figure who served as a living link to the glories of World War II Britain, presided over…
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has emphasised that it has not reversed its position on the Yobe North Senatorial Primary election, contrary to some reports. Recall that Bashir Machina was declared winner of the APC Primary but Senate President Ahmed Lawan was reported to be making efforts to claim the seat, after losing the presidential primaries, to no avail so far. The National Commissioner and Chairman, Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye in a statement on Thursday, said the Commission stands by its Monitoring Team’s Report. “The attention of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has been drawn…
By Babagana Wakil, Maiduguri More than 90,000 vulnerable male and female residents as well as community groups on Wednesday in Bama, received combine sum of about N400 million alongside thousands of bags of food and textiles as humanitarian support and social protection on the second day of the visit of Borno Governor, Professor Babagana Zulum. Zulum arrived Bama on Monday as he approaches his third day of undertaking humanitarian and developmental activities. According to a 2016 assessment report co-authored by the World Bank, the EU, United Nations and Nigerian Government, Bama is identified as the worst affected by Boko Haram’s…
By Babagana Wakil, Maiduguri Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum has directed the immediate rehabilitation of unoccupied and deteriorated bungalows meant for medical doctors, including the chief medical director (CMD), at the General Hospital in Bama. The Governor gave the directive on Tuesday evening after inspecting the quarters. Zulum’s Tuesday visit was a follow-up to his initial surprise showing at the hospital around 10pm on Monday night, for on-the-spot monitoring of public healthcare services. Zulum directed relevant officials of the Borno State Government to ensure rehabilitation began today, Wednesday, expressing his readiness to immediately approve the release of…