President Muhammadu Buhari receives ex-President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House Abuja, Tuesday August 18, 2020. Photo: Femi Adesina
Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday led a team of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Mission to Mali on a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
Jonathan, who is ECOWAS Special Envoy on restoring peace to Mali was at the State House to brief President Buhari on the update in the troubled nation, said Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
A file photo of the presidents of Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Niger in a peace talk meeting with Malian President and leaders of a protest movement clamouring for the resignation of their President.
“We told them that no international organization, including the African Union (AU), United Nations (UN), and others, would agree with their position. We continued to emphasize the need for dialogue,” Jonathan was quoted as saying.
According to Adesina, the former President stated that the Constitutional Court had been reconstituted and inaugurated, while vacancies in the Supreme Court had been filled, thus sorting out the judicial arm of government.
In his remark, President Buhari thanked his predecessor, according to him, for “the stamina you have displayed” on the Mali issue.
He counselled further consultations with the Chairman of ECOWAS, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic.
About a month ago, Jonathan was at the State House to brief President Buhari on the political development in Mali.
During an unexpected visit on August 11, the night before opposition-led demonstrations against embattled President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Jonathan at a press briefing said “demonstrations do not solve problems per se”.
The lingering crisis led West African leaders in their quest to broker peace in the landlocked nation flew to Bamako on July 24 in the heat of protests calling for President Keita’s resignation.
However, as the intervention failed to seal a deal, Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou — at the talks along with the leaders of Senegal, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria — said Western African bloc ECOWAS would hold a summit on July 27.
The lingering crisis: The opposition movement continues to mount pressure on President Keita, who came to power in 2013, to end the nation’s jihadist conflict that has been ongoing for many years.
Despite the presence of foreign troops, the insurgency in the small nation of about 20 million people, mostly poor, has since 2012 displaced hundreds of thousands of people who are now homeless.
President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou arrives in Bamako on July 23, 2020, where West African leaders will gather in a fresh push to end an escalating political crisis in the fragile state of Mali. (Photo by MICHELE CATTANI / AFP)
In a recent violence according to French officials, a French soldier was killed and two others were wounded in a suicide bomb attack in northern Mali.
But much of the current tension was sparked in April, when the constitutional court tossed out 31 results from the parliamentary elections, benefiting Keita’s party and sparking protests.
Tensions then ratcheted up into a crisis on July 10 when an anti-Keita rally organised by the June 5 Movement turned violent.
Three days of clashes between protesters and security forces left 11 dead and 158 injured in the worst political unrest Mali had seen in years.
Seeking a way out, ECOWAS mediators suggested forming a new unity government including opposition members and appointing new constitutional court judges who could potentially re-examine disputed election results.
A file photo of men of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
A foreign national and a Nigerian have been abducted by suspected bandits between Yankila and Regina village in Rafi Local Government Area of Niger state.
The Police Commissioner in the state, Adamu Usman confirmed the abduction on Tuesday in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
Usman said on Aug. 17 at about 11.05 hours information was received that armed bandits attacked and kidnapped two staff of Transparent Construction company.
He said that the victims were on handling the rehabilitation of the bad portion of the federal road in the area.
A file photo of African Heads of State. Image: CGTN
With a provision of a $5 million institutional support grant by the African Development Bank Group, African Union Commission has launched the permanent secretariat of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to ensure the economic transformation of the continent.
AfCFTA permanent secretariat would be located in an ultra-modern office complex in the Central Business District of Ghanaian capital, Accra.
Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo hands over the AfCFTA permanent secretariat to African Union, Monday August 17, 2020. Image: CGTN
Speaking at the ceremony on Monday, Ghana’s President Nana Akufo-Addo and Chairperson, AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, reaffirmed the importance of the body to the continent’s economic transformation agenda.
“The economic integration of Africa will lay strong foundations for an Africa beyond aid. Africa’s new sense of urgency and aspiration of true self-reliance will be amply demonstrated by today’s ceremony,” Akufo-Addo said.
Akufo-Addo appealed to member states that have not ratified to do so before the next AU summit in December in order “to pave the way for the smooth commencement of trading from 1 January, 2021.”
The global novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has heightened the importance of the success of AfCFTA, the Ghanaian president said.
“The destruction of global supply chains has reinforced the necessity for closer integration amongst us so that we can boost our mutual self-sufficiency, strengthen our economies and reduce our dependence on external sources,” he said.
Ghana was selected as the venue for the headquarters by African leaders during a Summit of AU Heads of states in Niamey in July last year, to launch the implementation phase of the agreement, which is expected to spur regional trade among member countries.
Currently, 54 states have signed on to AfCFTA, out of which 28 have ratified the agreement.
AfCFTA, the world’s largest free trade area, has the potential to transform the continent with its potential market of 1.2 billion people and combined GDP of around $3 trillion across the 54-member states of AU.
Mahamat said the opening of the secretariat marked a milestone in the vision of Africa’s founding founders for continental integration.
Also speaking, the first AfCFTA Secretary-General, Wamkele Mene, said the agreement offered an opportunity for Africa to confront the significant trade and economic development challenges: market fragmentation, small national economies, over-reliance on primary commodity exports, narrow export base, lack of export specialisation, under-developed regional value chains and high regulatory and tariff barriers to trade.
“We have to take action now. We have to take action to dismantle the colonial economic model that we inherited,” Mene reiterated.
The Vice President for the Private Sector, Infrastructure and Industrialisation of the African Development Bank, Solomon Quaynor, said the establishment of AfCFTA permanent secretariat is in keeping with the bank’s role of continental leadership in helping to build special-purpose vehicles that are critical to the successful implementation of crucial institutions to accelerate Africa’s economic development objectives.
“The African Development Bank congratulates the AU/AfCFTA on the investiture of the Secretariat hosted by Ghana on 17 August 2020.
“The bank is delighted to be associated with this groundbreaking, game-changing, transformational continental initiative in furtherance of the objective to create the Africa we want.
“Our support to AfCFTA is in keeping with the bank’s role of continental leadership in helping to build special-purpose vehicles that are critical to the successful implementation of crucial institutions to accelerate Africa’s economic development objectives,” Quaynor added.
The event also featured virtual goodwill remarks from AU Chairman, President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, and Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou.
Malam Wada Maida, he was until his death, Chairman, Board of Directors, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
A former Chief Press Secretary to President Muhammadu Buhari in 1983, Malam Wada Maida, has died.
Echotitbits gathered that a family member confirmed to NAN that Malam Maida died in Abuja on Monday at the age of 70.
Maida, one of the pioneer editors of the agency, was until his death, chairman, Board of Directors of NAN, where he had previously served as Editor-in-Chief and later Managing Director, including other various roles as Regional Editor in Kaduna, Political Editor and London correspondent.
When President Buhari became Military Head of State in December 1983, Maida was appointed chief press secretary and later returned to NAN in 1985 as Editor-in-Chief for eight years.
A native of Katsina State, Maida rose to become Managing Director at NAN in 1994 and served in that capacity for nine years before he retired in 2003.
He was also a member of the Executive Board of the International Press Institute and also a shareholder of Media Trust Limited until his demise.
Facebook Monday launched Avatars in Africa to give people new ways to express themselves online.
Avatars are digital personas that enable people to engage across Facebook and Messenger in a more personal and dynamic way.
Avatars include hundreds of global sticker packs and integrations with GIF providers and can also be shared across Facebook and Messenger by: setting as Profile Picture; sharing to News Feed; and using on Gaming Profile.
You can also use your personalised avatar to share a range of emotions and expressions via a digital persona that is unique to you.
There are many ways you can use your avatar including in comments, stories, messenger and soon, text posts with backgrounds too.
With so many emotions and expressions to choose from, avatars let you share your authentic reactions and feelings with family and friends across the app. You can customise your avatar with hairstyles, complexions, outfits, COVID-19 support stickers and more.
“To create your avatar, go to the Facebook or Messenger comment composer, click on the ‘smiley’ button, and then the sticker tab. Click ‘Create Your Avatar.’
“Facebook is home to some of your most personal content and we want to allow people to share and react to that content in the most personalised way possible.
“We’re excited to give people more options to convey their identity on Facebook, allowing them to share in a more personal, light-hearted way,” said Regional Director, Facebook Africa, Nunu Ntshingila.
Israeli and United Arab Emirates flags line a road in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, on August 16, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP)
Telephone calls began ringing Sunday between the United Arab Emirates and Israel, marking the first concrete step of a US-brokered diplomatic deal between the nations that required Israel to halt plans to annex land sought by the Palestinians, AP has reported.
Direct telephone calls have been blocked in the Emirates, a US-allied federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula, since its founding in 1971. That backed the standing position of Arab nations at the time, that Israel must first grant concessions to the Palestinians before being recognised — one of their few points of leverage.
Since Thursday’s announcements, Associated Press journalists have tried to make calls between the nations without success. But around 1:15 p.m. Sunday, AP journalists in Jerusalem and Dubai could call each other from both landline and cellular phones registered to Israel’s country code +972.
Over an hour later, Emirati officials acknowledged that Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan had called his Israeli counterpart Gabi Ashkenazi. The Israelis later acknowledged the call as well, saying the block had been lifted from the Emiratis’ side.
Israeli Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel issued a statement “congratulating the United Arab Emirates on removing the blocks.”
“Many economic opportunities will open now, and these trust-building steps are an important step toward advancing states’ interests,” Hendel said.
Also Sunday, Israeli news websites that had previously been blocked by UAE authorities, like the Times of Israel, the Jerusalem Post and YNet, could be accessed without using means to bypass internet filtering in the Emirates.
In the UAE, a recorded message in Arabic and English would typically play prior to Sunday, saying calls to +972 numbers could not be connected. The advent of internet calling allowed people to get around the ban, although these too were often interrupted.
Some in Israel used Palestinian mobile phone numbers with +970 numbers, which those in the UAE could call.
Anger over the deal however continued as well, with protesters in Pakistan criticising UAE and Iran making new threats about the accord, which would see the Emirates become only the third Arab nation to currently recognise Israel. The UAE responded by summoning Iran’s chargé d’affairs to criticise earlier comments by Iran’s president it described as threatening.
But for Dubai’s small expatriate Jewish community, which has worshipped for years at an unmarked villa in this city-state, the calls represented so much more than just the convenience of being able to directly dial loved ones in Israel.
“There’s a sense of a miracle upon a miracle upon a miracle, as all of these hurdles fall away and people at last can come together and start talking,” Ross Kriel, the president of the Jewish Council of the Emirates, told The Associated Press.
Israel and the United Arab Emirates announced Thursday they were establishing full diplomatic relations in the US-brokered accord. The historic deal delivered a key foreign policy victory to President Donald Trump as he seeks reelection, and reflected a changing Middle East in which shared concerns about archenemy Iran have largely overtaken traditional Arab support for the Palestinians.
Palestinians maintain it puts a just resolution of the Middle East conflict even farther out of reach. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu contended Sunday that the deal with UAE shows Israel doesn’t need to retreat from occupied land sought by the Palestinians in order to have diplomatic ties with Arab states.
Deals between Israel and the UAE are expected in the coming weeks in such areas as tourism, direct flights and embassies. Early Sunday, the Emirates’ state-run WAM news agency announced a UAE company had signed an agreement with an Israeli company for research and study of the coronavirus pandemic.
The move has sparked anger among some who see it as a betrayal of longstanding efforts to establish an independent state of Palestinians. In Pakistan, hundreds of Islamists rallied Sunday to denounce the Emirati-Israeli deal. The Jamaat-e-Islami party chanted slogans against the United States and burned effigies of Trump. They also set ablaze American and Israeli flags.
Those protests mirror others by Palestinians that have seen images of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan burnt, torn and trampled upon. That enraged some in the UAE, a nation of autocratic rulers where speech is strictly monitored. Emiratis online encouraged fellow citizens to report comments critical of the country to law enforcement.
The deal also has enraged Iran and Turkey, regional rivals to the UAE.
On Sunday, the chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces called the UAE’s decision a “disaster.” Mohammad Hossein Bagheri urged Abu Dhabi to “revise” its position or the Iranian military may take a different approach to the nation. He did not elaborate on what that approach would entail.
“If an incident happens in the Persian Gulf and violates the national security of the Islamic Republic of Iran, even a tiny bit, and we see it from the UAE, we will not tolerate it,” Bagheri said.
On Sunday, the WAM news agency also reported the Emirates summoned Iran’s top diplomat in the country to complain about speeches by officials in Tehran it said were “unacceptable and inflammatory and had serious implications for security and stability in the Gulf region.”
The UAE reminded Iran its duty to protect its embassy in Tehran, where protesters had gathered the day before. Diplomatic posts have been overrun in the past in Iran, including in the 1979 U.S. Embassy hostage crisis.
For Dubai’s small but growing Jewish expatriate population, the UAE’s move toward diplomatic ties represents a new achievement. Alex Peterfreund, a cantor for the community, read a passage of the Torah for visiting AP journalists.
“To start from scratch is quite exciting, to know that you start a community where there was actually almost no Jews in all those centuries, it’s motivating you also,” Peterfreund said. ”We feel (like) pioneers.”
A former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Adams Oshiomhole, Monday met with President Muhammadu Buhari in State House, Abuja.
Speaking with journalists after his meeting with the President, Oshiomhole debunked allegations recently made by the Director-General of the Progressives Congress Forum (PGF), Salihu Lukman, accusing him of scheming to return as APC national chairman.
Oshiomhole, who ia also a former Edo State Governor, described Lukman as a tool allegedly foisted on PGF as director-general by the Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), Kayode Fayemi.
According to him, “You want me to engage in a fight with a pig? If you engage in a fight with a pig, the pig already is stained by its nature and you will wear your white garment, and in my own case, khaki to go and wrestle with a pig? I will not.
“You see, what I want the media to interrogate, how does winning Edo State governorship election translates to returning as the APC national chairman. When I was removed as national chairman, Edo State was APC. So, do I have to win Edo State to become the national chairman? Do I look so unemployed? I’m 68.
“What they don’t understand is that it is not the office of chairman that made me who I am.
“So, it takes an empty brain to suggest that Oshiomhole wants to stage a comeback to become the national chairman. For what? To go and do a resit?
“So, my attitude is not to reply the noise, which is coming from somebody who says he is an employee and appointee of Progressives Governors Forum.
“He is just like the cowards that are using him that are not able to come out. Otherwise, you should ask this guy, who is now an election expert.
“He contested for Senate against Makarfi, he lost. He even contested against Governor Nasir el-Rufai during the primaries and he lost before Fayemi unilaterally appointed him the DG.
“So, if he is now the spokesman abusing me and all of that, you want to drag me to his level? No!
“A gentleman does not wrestle with a pig, if you do you will always be stained”, the self styled Oshiomhole said.
Nigeria Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila. Monday, August 17, 2020. Photo- Office of the Speaker.
• Nigeria to host maiden Conference of African Speakers and Heads of Parliament
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila on Monday convened a meeting of some African Speakers of Parliaments where it was agreed that there is an urgent need to push for debt cancellation for the continent from their multilateral and bilateral partners.
At the virtual meeting, the Speaker’s proposed initiative to establish the Conference of African Speakers and Heads of Parliament (CoSAP), a body that will facilitate increased collaboration between Speakers, Heads of Parliament and National Assemblies across Africa got a boost.
The African Speakers will also seek to advance the African development agenda within and outside the continent in conjunction with both the executive arms of government as well as African regional institutions.
African Heads of Parliament who participated in the meeting include Hon. Tagesse Chafo, Speaker, House of Peoples Representatives, Ethiopia; Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, PhD, Speaker of Parliament, Ghana; Hon. Justin Bedan Muturi, Speaker, National Assembly, Republic of Kenya; Rt. Hon. Donatille Mukabalisa, Speaker, Chamber of Deputies, Rwanda; and President Moustapha Niasse, AFP, President, National Assembly, Senegal.
In his opening remarks, Gbajabiamila said there was an urgent need to join local and global efforts to push for the cancellation of external debt owed by various countries on the continent.
He submitted that development across the continent has become stunted due to the heavy burden of the debts, noting that the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has compounded the issue for the continent, considering the socio-political and economic consequences of the disease.
“We all agree that Africa’s debt burden has become an existential threat to our societies, our economies and the future; we leave to posterity, and we need to do something about this and treat it as a continent-wide priority.
“It is safe to say that the burden of debt servicing, vis-à-vis spending on education and health care for example, is a threat to our continent’s stability and development, especially in the era of Covid-19.
“When we find ourselves having to make policy choices between paying debts or saving lives, we know something is not morally right. And as democratically elected representatives of our people, we cannot be silent. We must speak up and we must act. And the time to act is now.
“Furthermore, is the need for us to reflect on, the processes that led to Africa’s heavy indebtedness in the first place, the role parliamentarians can play to address this going forward and what assurances we as parliamentarians can give our borrowers that if our debt is cancelled, the freed-up resources will be invested in social and economic development of our citizens.
“If we want debt cancellation, we must be able to build the confidence of the borrowers that the cancellation will indeed save lives and livelihoods across the continent, and we, as Speakers and Heads of our parliaments, will ensure that is indeed the case”.
On the need for the establishment of the Pan-African Speaker’s Conference, Gbajabiamila noted that collective efforts at tackling challenges facing the continent have become expedient.
He said: “The motive behind this initiative is that each year we identify a theme, issue, or challenge that is pan-African in scope and we meet to deliberate on how we can work together across parliaments in Africa to tackle these continental issues and challenges.
“As heads of our respective parliamentary entities, it will also be a good platform to share experiences and expertise in different aspects of our legislative duties pertinent to the growth, development and sustenance of our economies and our societies; and on ways to enhance the capacity and impact of our parliaments on our democracies and the lives of the peoples we all represent.
“We have spent decades learning from the rest of the world, now we must begin to learn from one another”.
Throwing his weight behind the two initiatives, Hon. Tagesse Chafo, Speaker, House of Peoples Representatives, Ethiopia, noted that though almost every government on the continent has been trying to seek debt forgiveness, this should not, however, stop the parliaments from contributing to the efforts through a platform such as this.
“As representatives of our people, we are to come together, advise and campaign about the issue, we don’t have to keep quiet because debt cancellation would be good for the resuscitation of our economies that have been ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic,” he added.
In the same vein, Rt. Hon. Prof. Aaron Mike Oquaye, Speaker of Parliament, Ghana noted that the debt burden is essentially a common challenge on the continent, as most African countries have to depend on foreign loans to execute their national budgets.
He, however, noted that the Speaker’s group, in its efforts to push for debt cancellation must be able to convince the creditors about accountability if they hope to succeed.
He said: “Donor agencies are interested in accountability because they are confounded about the issue of corruption, and we must be able to give the assurance and that is why the Speakers Conference is critical. And if nothing is done, there may be no economy to service the loans”
Hon. Justin Bedan Muturi, Speaker, National Assembly, Republic of Kenya also emphasised the need for the initiative, adding that, the coronavirus pandemic has undermined most African economies because conditions attached to most of the loans have been eroded by the consequences of the novel pandemic.
On her part, Rt. Hon. Donatille Mukabalisa, Speaker, Chamber of Deputies, Rwanda, while noting that African countries depend on and are heavily burdened by loans even before the pandemic, however, added that the group must be clear about the kind of debt it is seeking to address and from which partners.
While President Moustapha Niasse, AFP, President, National Assembly, Senegal also regretted that the pandemic has affected all economies on the continent negatively, he, however, suggested that opinions of members of the forum must be sought on how to solve the issues between suspension or cancellation of debt
“We must be convinced that we have a job to do at the level of parliament,” he added.
It was also agreed that a Communique would be released in the first week of September 2020, while the campaign for implementations of the plan of action would begin in the second week of September 2020 as well.
According to the forum, the third week of September would be devoted to the planning for the 2021 conference by the Secretariat.
While it was decided that Nigeria would host the maiden edition of CoSAP, chaired by Nigerian Speaker the Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, the new body is expected to meet again in the first week of September to approve the plans and swing into action.
Nigeria Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila. Monday, August 17, 2020. Photo- Office of the Speaker.
Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos
The President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government Monday announced August 29 as the resumption date for international flight operations, months after the aviation space was shut due to global novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, who announced the date on behalf of the Federal Government, explained that international flights would first resume at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos and Nnamidi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja.
“Protocols and procedures will be announced in due course.
“We thank you for your patience.”
Meanwhile, the management team of Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has commenced inspection of facilities at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos to ensure preparedness ahead of reopening.
File: A collage photo of Presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church and Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari.
An aide of President Muhammadu Buhari, Lauretta Onochie on Monday condemned statements credited to the presiding Bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners Chapel), David Oyedepo, for rejecting a section of the Company and Allied Matters Acts (CAMA) on churches.
The Social Media Aide to the President, criticised Oyedepo for kicking against CAMA which was signed into law by Buhari on August 7, 2020. She told the cleric to go ahead and create his own country where he would apply and impose his own rules.
Oyedepo had, on Sunday in his sermon, questioned the application of CAMA in churches, criticising the rationality of the law which permits the Registrar-General of Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) and a supervising minister to strictly supervise religious bodies and charity organisations.
CAMA also gives the commission power to suspend the trustees of an association or a religious body and appoint an interim manager or managers to coordinate its affairs where it reasonably believes that there has been any misconduct or mismanagement, or where the affairs of the association is being run fraudulently or where it’s necessary or desirable for the purpose of public interest.
“The church is God’s heritage on earth. Molest the wife of somebody and you will see the anger of that person. The church is the bride of Christ. You know how a strong man is when you tamper with his wife. The church is the body of Christ. We are under obligation to give warnings to wicked rulers so we could be free from their blood.
“Who was Paul persecuting? The church! Who said, ‘I’m the one you are persecuting?’ Jesus! This country is going too far and it’s a risk. I saw something on CAMA and they put religious bodies there that Registrar-General can remove trustees without a recourse to the court. Don’t try it! You can’t gag anybody. We own this country together.
“The church works on the pattern delivered by God not the pattern of man. Government has no power to appoint people over churches. This is a secular nation. The church is the greatest asset of God in this country. Please be warned. Judgment is coming. The Lord says I have been still but now I will arise. Anybody that is in this deal is taking poison. This will never work. I am waiting for a day when anybody will appoint a trustee over this church.
“It is only in Africa that people who are over 80 years still run around to become president. I know that it is the prosperity of the church that is making them jealous. But I am going to live to see an army of many winners soar greater. In this church shall emerge one of the largest concentration of giants on earth,” Oyedepo said.
But, reacting to Oyedepo’s position, Onochie said: “I hope this is not true. If it is, Oyedepo will have to manufacture his own country and live by his own laws.
“As long as he lives and operates within the entity called Nigeria, he will live by Nigerian rules and laws. He will do as he’s told by the law.
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