Category Nigeria News

Vice President Kashim Shettima on Saturday represented President Bola Tinubu at the inauguration of Brice Nguema as President of Gabon President.

The inauguration ceremony, which held at the Stade de l’Amitié sino-gabonaise in Libreville, Gabon, saw military parades, marchpast and display of Gabon’s rich cultural heritage.

Vice President Shettima, was joined on the short trip by Chairman, House Committee on Police Affairs, Hon Usman Bello Kumo and the Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Aliyu Modibbo.

READ ALSO: &nbsp, Presidency Faults Claim Shettima Was Denied Access To Aso Villa

Other African Leaders who attended the event were President Teodoro Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, Paul Kagame of Rwanda, John Mahama of Ghana, Faustin-Archange Touadéra of Central African Republic, Adama Barrow of The Gambia, Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone, Félix Tshisekedi of Democratic Republic of Congo, Bassirou Faye of Senegal, and Mahamat Itno of Chad.

Others were Denis Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, Ismaïl Guelleh of Djibouti, Umaro Embaló of Guinea-Bissau and Évariste Ndayishimiye of Burundi among many others.

In his inauguration speech, President Nguema, thanked the Gabonese citizens for their overwhelming support for him, leading to his emergence as a democratically elected President.

He pledged to work hard for the development of Gabon as well as empower the youth in order to secure the future of the nation.

The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has criticised a group of women who walked out during an empowerment event organised by First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu in Port Harcourt, calling the act “disturbing and embarrassing”.

The protest happened on Friday at the EUI Event Centre and was allegedly led by women loyal to the suspended Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara.

Some of the protesters, said to include sacked local government vice chairpersons, left the venue while chanting pro-Fubara slogans.

They demanded that Governor Fubara’s wife, Valerie, address them instead of the wife of the state’s administrator, Mrs Theresa Ibas. Despite the protest, the event continued inside, with Mrs Ibas speaking on behalf of the First Lady.

Reacting to the incident in a statement released on Saturday through his Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and Social Media, Lere Olayinka, Minister Wike, currently on official engagements in China, expressed disappointment over what he termed a “show of shame”.

“This incident is very disturbing and embarrassing”, Wike stated. “An insult on anyone representing the First Lady of Nigeria at an event is a direct insult on the office of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. As a leader in Rivers State, I apologise”.

READ ALSO: Women Stage Walkout At Remi Tinubu Empowerment Programme In Rivers

The FCT Minister urged supporters of the suspended governor to desist from actions that ridicule the state and cautioned Siminalayi Fubara to be transparent about his political intentions.

He said, “It is not enough to visit people and plead for peace. Those who genuinely want peace must work and act for it.

” These are the same people who claim to want peace, yet they sponsor individuals to insult everyone, including the president and his wife. How can you plead for peace while orchestrating actions that undermine it? “

Wike added that sincerity is essential for true reconciliation and warned that political gimmicks and public embarrassment would only escalate tensions.

” All those shenanigans won’t bring peace. I am sure they know that because they are not sincere with their up-and-down pleadings, “he said”. As for me and those who subscribe to my leadership, we condemn in totality that disgraceful conduct. We apologise to our First Lady for the embarrassment caused by a few individuals who do not represent the character or ideals of the Rivers people. “

The Renewed Hope Initiative initiative’s goal was to provide training and support for 500 women in Rivers State. The Office of the First Lady and the Office of the President’s Senior Special Assistant to the President collaborate on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The leadership crisis rocking the Rivers State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has taken a fresh twist, with two rival factions interpreting a recent Court of Appeal ruling to suit their opposing claims to legitimacy.

On Friday, the Port Harcourt Division of the Court of Appeal ruled on an appeal filed by the APC’s National Executive Committee against a High Court injunction restraining the party from conducting its congresses in Rivers State.

The appellate court held that issues concerning the internal affairs and leadership of a political party are not justiciable, thereby nullifying the earlier High Court order and striking out the suit filed by Peter Ohochukwu on behalf of the dissolved state working committee led by Emeka Beke.

READ ALSO: APC Not Turning Nigeria Into One-Party State – National Secretary

In a swift reaction, the faction loyal to Chief Tony Okocha celebrated the judgment as a victory and a validation of its leadership. With the faction’s Publicity Secretary, Chibike Ikenga, claiming in a statement that the decision has reaffirmed Tony Okocha as the party’s chairman in the state.

However, in a counter-statement the Emeka Beke faction dismissed the interpretation of the judgment by the Okocha camp as misleading and false with their own publicity Secretary, Darlington Nwauju clarifying that the Court of Appeal ruling was merely on an interlocutory appeal and did not invalidate the subsisting High Court judgment affirming Beke’s leadership.

Siminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers State, has been advised by the Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to show sincerity by being bold enough to ask President Bola Tinubu to say what exactly he wanted rather than “saying something today and doing another thing tomorrow.”

Lere Olayinka, Wike’s Senior Special Assistant for Public Communications and Social Media, advised him on Saturday in a statement.

He continued, “Visiting people does not suffis to work for peace, those who genuinely want peace must work and act for it.”

These are the same people who are pleading for peace but also engage in activities that go against what they are asking for.

How can you claim to want peace while also supporting people who insult everyone, including the President and his wife?

Because they are not sincere in their up and down pleas for peace, all those shenanigans won’t bring peace, and I am certain they know that.

We express our condolences to our First Lady for the embarrassing behavior of those few women who do not represent the people of Rivers State and the people who follow my leadership in full and condemn that display of shame yesterday.

Despite the ongoing political conflict between Wike and Fubara, Wike’s advice is timely.

The minister also criticized the women’s protest against Senator Oluremi Tinubu, which he claimed are loyal to Fubara, and called it an insult to the people of Rivers State.

The minister, who expressed regret to the first lady and president of Rivers State, said: “It insults the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and as a leader in Rivers State, I apologise.

READ MORE: EFCC Investigates Former NPLC GMD, Kyari, and Others For allegedly Funds Mismanagement

Yesterday, some women staged a walkout during the Renewed Hope Initiative empowerment program held by the First Lady of Nigeria’s office in Port Harcourt. The state’s 500 women were given various empowerment items as part of the program.

The parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, Meta Platforms Inc., has issued a warning that it might have to stop Facebook and Instagram operations in Nigeria despite rising regulatory pressures and labeling government requests as “unrealistic.”

A court document obtained by the BBC revealed this warning. The Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) of Nigeria is currently contesting a $ 220 million fine for allegedly violating data privacy.

The FCCPC and the NDPC conducted a 38-month collaborative investigation into Meta’s and WhatsApp’s data handling practices.

Meta has vowed to file an appeal in spite of the Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal’s decision to uphold the fine up until the end of June.

According to Meta, it may need to “effectively shut down the Facebook and Instagram services in Nigeria” in order to “mitigate the risk of enforcement measures.”

Notably, the court document does not make any mention of WhatsApp.

The NDPC, which the company claims misinterprets, is one of Meta’s main concerns.

The NDPC fined Meta $32.8 million for alleged privacy breaches, while the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) imposed a separate $37.5 million fine for what it called unapproved advertising content.

One of the regulatory requirements, which the company describes as “unrealistic,” is that Meta must first obtain prior approval before sending Nigerian users’ data abroad.

Additionally, the NDPC has mandated that Meta create and display educational content on data privacy risks via a dedicated icon on its platforms.

These videos must address manipulative and unfair data processing practices because they must be co-produced with approved organizations and non-profits.

Meta has criticized these directives, calling them “unworkable” and alleging that Nigerian authorities have broken the law in question.