Today's Headlines: US Mount Pressure On Tinubu as ECOWAS fumes over mixed Signal, Bobrisky Loses Dad
Niger: U.S. mounts pressure on Tinubu as ECOWAS fumes over mixed signals
Photo Credit: The Guardian Nigeria
After Sunday’s rapprochement by the military leaders in Niger Republic to embrace dialogue with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the West African bloc yesterday lashed out at threats by Niger’s military rulers to prosecute ousted president, Mohamed Bazoum, saying this contradicted the regime’s declared willingness to resolve the crisis peacefully.
Photo Credit: Google
The coup leaders, who toppled Bazoum, said late Sunday that they had gathered evidence enabling them to prosecute Bazoum for “high treason and undermining the internal and external security of Niger.”
This, it said, was based on “contacts Bazoum had with nationals, foreign heads of state and officials in international organisations.” But in a statement on Monday, ECOWAS, confronted by the mixed signals from Niamey, Niger’s capital, angrily condemned the coup leaders’ stance, saying it had learned of the threats “with stupefaction”. “This represents yet another form of provocation and contradicts the reported willingness of the military authorities in the Republic of Niger to restore constitutional order through peaceful means.”
Bazoum, 63, and his family have been held at the president’s official residence since the coup on July 26, with international concern mounting over his condition in detention. However, Niger has said it would be able to thwart sanctions imposed by ECOWAS in response to last month’s coup.
Bobrisky loses dad
Photo Credit: The Cable
The media personality took to his Facebook page on Monday to announce the demise of his father.
“Guys, I lost my dad this morning,” he wrote in a terse post.
It is understood that preparations for his burial are underway.
In 2021, Bobrisky surprised his father with a new Lexus SUV as a birthday present.
Bobrisky has severally made headlines after claiming to be Nigeria’s first transgender. He once admitted that he severed his genitals.
In 2019, the National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC) described him as a “national disaster” but human rights groups issued a statement to protest allegations of threat and harassment against him.
MRA Accuses Police Of Becoming Tool For Shielding Public Officials
Photo Credit: Independent Nigeria
Media Rights Agenda (MRA) on Monday called on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Kayode Egbetokun, to put an end to the growing trend of public officials and other powerful individuals using the Police to silence and punish journalists who publish negative reports about them, saying the law enforcement agency has become a tool in the hands of such people to shield themselves from scrutiny
In a statement issued in Lagos, MRA’s Deputy Executive Director, Ayode Longe, noted that “Section 22 of the Constitution imposes a duty on the media and also gives it the freedom to uphold the responsibility and accountability of the government to the people and it is certainly not the function of the Police to prevent the media from performing this duty or exercising this freedom.
The recurrent pattern of the Police being used to impede the media’s performance of a constitutionally mandated function constitutes an egregious abuse of Police powers.”
Why state governors, deputies are often at loggerheads, by Ganduje
Photo Credit: The Guardian Nigeria
National chairman of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has disclosed why state governors and their deputies often disagree.
The explanation came at the backdrop of rifts between Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki, and his deputy, Philip Shaibu.
Speaking, when members of a forum of former deputy governors paid him a visit at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja, Ganduje blamed sycophants for the unwholesome development.
Having served as deputy governor to Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso for two terms, Ganduje recalled how he consciously avoided sycophants to be able to serve out his tenure without clashing with his principal.
He said the importance of deputy governors cannot be underestimated, since they come handy when a governor is indisposed. He, however, added that serving deputies are more or less “spare tyres,” because the constitution does not spell out any defined roles for them.
According to him, desire to address recurring conflict between governors and their deputies informed his decision to write a book, titled ‘Deputising and Governance in Nigeria’.
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