TheNewsGuru

Tag: first lady

  • Ex-US First Lady, Barbara Bush for burial on Saturday

    Former first lady Barbara Bush’s funeral will be held on Saturday. Bush, who was also the mother of President George W. Bush, died Tuesday at age 92.

    First lady Melania Trump will attend the funeral. “Mrs. Trump intends to pay her respects to Barbara Bush and the entire family at the funeral on Saturday,” her spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, said Wednesday. The White House has not said whether President Trump will attend the funeral, but the flags at Mar-a-Lago and Trump International have been lowered to half mast in her honor.

    Saturday’s funeral is by invitation only. The public is invited to pay their respects as Bush lays in repose at St. Martin’s Church in Houston on Friday, according to the Bush family’s official funeral announcement.

    “My dear mother has passed on at age 92. Laura, Barbara, Jenna, and I are sad, but our souls are settled because we know hers was. Barbara Bush was a fabulous First Lady and a woman unlike any other who brought levity, love, and literacy to millions,” former president George W. Bush wrote in a statement Tuesday night.

    “To us, she was so much more,” the statement continued. “Mom kept us on our toes and kept us laughing until the end. I’m a lucky man that Barbara Bush was my mother. Our family will miss her dearly, and we thank you all for your prayers and good wishes.”

    Bush was the second woman in history to be the wife of one president, George H.W. Bush, and the mother of another, George W. Bush. Abigail Adams was married to John Adams and was the mother of John Quincy Adams.

    Bush’s family announced on Sunday that she would not be receiving additional medical treatment, and instead was seeking comfort care for unspecified medical conditions.

  • Sick ex-US first lady Barbara Bush snubs hospital

    Barbara Bush, the wife of former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, is in “failing health” and has decided to no longer seek medical treatment, the office of the ex-president said in a statement from Houston on Sunday.

    The former first lady, who is also the mother of former President George W. Bush, “will instead focus on comfort care,” the statement said. She is 92 years old.

    The brief statement did not indicate the nature of Bush’s illness but said that she had had a series of recent hospitalizations.

    CNN reported that Bush was suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and congestive heart failure. A Bush family spokesman said she was being cared for at her home. He did not provide information on the nature of her illness.

    “She is surrounded by a family she adores and appreciates the many kind messages and especially the prayers she is receiving,” the statement added.

    As first lady from 1989 until the start of 1993, Bush was a popular national figure known for her sometimes blunt talk and self-deprecating wit.

    Her husband, the 41st U.S. president, is 93 years old. Her son, the 43 U.S. president, is 71.

    Another son, Jeb, is a former governor of Florida who ran unsuccessfully for president in 2015 and early 2016, quitting after a series of lackluster performances highlighted by tough skirmishes with then-candidate Donald Trump.

    With hair that had turned white prematurely, Bush was known by family members as the “Silver Fox.”

    Her work as first lady focused on promoting literacy and reading. At the time, she said she was more interested in running a household than in helping her husband run the country.

    “Barbara Bush has a character that is as big, inspiring and iconic as Texas,” Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a statement on Sunday. The Bushes moved to Texas in the mid-1940s.

    Bush holds a unique place in U.S. history.

    She is the only woman to see her husband and son sworn in as U.S. president. Abigail Adams, first lady from 1797 to 1801, was a major influence on husband John Adams, the nation’s second president, but died before her son, John Quincy Adams, was elected president in 1824.

  • Int’l Women’s Day: First Lady commits N100m to women-owned SMEs

    First Lady of Edo state, Mrs Betsy Obaseki, has presented cheques of N50,000 to 2,000 female entrepreneurs who are into small and medium scale enterprises in the state.

    Mrs Obaseki presented the soft loan cheques during the 2018 International Women’s Day celebration organized by the state’s Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, in collaboration with the Office of the Edo State First Lady in Benin City, on Thursday.

    She said the initiative, which is supported by the Bank of Industry, is to assist women to grow and expand their small and medium-sized enterprises.

    She said some of the beneficiaries are successful participants of the Edo Women for Agriculture and Enterprise initiative while others were drawn from several cooperative societies across the state.

    “The 2000 women are going to be beneficiaries of the first phase of this scheme. Last year we empowered 500 women with poultry birds to make each of them earn at least N150,000 from the sale of eggs,” she said.

    Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor of Edo State, Rt. Hon. Philip Shaibu, launched the Betsy Obaseki After School Club (BOASC) and the Edo Women Monthly Farmers’ Market Initiative, urging women to lead the drive for economic emancipation and wealth creation.

    The First Lady said the BOASC seeks to address the root of economic hardship amongst women via empowering school girls with skills in shoemaking and vehicle repairs.

    “This initiative aims to build confidence in their abilities and give these girls a firm footing against traffickers who may approach them with promises of better lives abroad. 180 school girls drawn from 18 Public Secondary schools are participating in the first phase” she said.

    She said the Women Farmers’ Market initiative is to promote the purchase of healthy agricultural produce as well as provide ready markets for women farmers to sell their produce directly to buyers.

    She added that the theme for this year Women’s Day celebration: “Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women’s Life” was apt, noting that it reinforces the need for all hands to be on deck and work concertedly for the overall progress and stability of women.

    In her remarks, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Magdalene Ohenhen, said the occasion was put together to highlight the activities, progress and problems confronting women in all aspects of their lives.

    Ohenhen said women have continually been challenged by issues such as maternal and infant mortality, poverty, unemployment, low income and low participation in governance.

    She, however, commended the Edo State government for mainstreaming women in governance, particularly, the appointment of female Special Assistants on Gender.

    In his remarks to mark the International Women’s Day 2018 (IWD2018), the State governor, Mr Godwin Obaseki, called for inclusive policies and stronger collaboration on programmes that will create spaces for women to be properly represented in politics and business.

    He said that much as there are efforts to expand the frontier for women to participate in economic, politics and social institutions in society in urban and peri-urban centers, there was even a more urgent need to focus on those in rural areas who need inclusive policies, financial support and social structures to facilitate their contribution to development.

    According to the governor, the imperative to press for progress across different markers of development, especially for women, and ensure spaces are created for them to achieve their potentials.

    “As the world celebrates the International Women’s Day, it is important to stress the contribution of women to national development. But at the same time, it is an opportunity to call for inclusive policies and open space to address issues of gender parity. This will make it easier for women to not only reach their full potentials in politics and business, but also expand the space for representation for societal integration and growth,” he said.

    The International Women’s Day (IWD) is marked every March 8 by the United Nations and many other organisations across the globe.

     

  • [Photos] Ondo First Lady, Betty Akeredolu Crowned ‘Ada Emeabiam II’

    The wife of the Ondo State Governor, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu was crowned with the traditional title ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ of Emeabiam in Owerri West Local Government of Imo State by His Royal Majesty, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo autonomous community, Emeabiam. This honour is coming on the heels of her numerous contributions to the development of Emeabiam community.

    Top among the dignitaries that graced the occasion was the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the Governor of Imo State, ably represented by the SSG, Sir George Eche, the deputy of Ondo State, Hon. Agboola Ajayi, and the Secretary to the State Government, Otunba Ifedayo Abegunde among others.

    In her acceptance speech, Mrs. Akeredolu who thanked the people for considering her worthy of the title promised to do her best to better the lives of the people in the community just as she affirmed her readiness to work and surpass the legacies left behind by Mrs. Angela Abana, the first to be titled ‘Ada Emeabiam’

    Mrs. Akeredolu also used the opportunity to express her readiness to continue to give back and empower her people. “I intend to use this position as an avenue to campaign for the betterment of our people. I intend to set up a foundation made up of well meaning sons and daughters of Emeabiam with the sole aim of identifying the problems and constructively dealing with them”, she stressed.

    While also appreciating HRH, Eze Eunan Eke, Ohazurume 1 of Umuokpo for the honour done her, Mrs. Akeredolu expressed the notion that it is going to be a new dawn thus calling for supports from all and sundry.

    In his remark, the Governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Akeredolu congratulated his wife stressing that it was a honour well deserved.

    According to him, it was not a surprise that she was honoured with the traditional chieftaincy title as her love for her community cannot be quantified and the love of her people is very dear to her heart.

    Arakurin Akeredolu further assured the people of the community that the Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha will fix the road leading to the village.
    Earlier in his remark, Eze of Emeabiam described Arabinrin Akeredolu as a woman who has been working for the development of the community for a very long time noting that it was indeed a honour well deserved.

    He also used the opportunity to call on his people to continue to support the newly crown ‘Ada Emeabiam II’ so that she can be able to achieve her goals for the community.

  • Help! EFCC, NDLEA, harassing me, former first lady, Patience Jonathan tells Reps

    Help! EFCC, NDLEA, harassing me, former first lady, Patience Jonathan tells Reps

    Nigeria’s former First Lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan has formally sought the intervention of the House of Representatives over an alleged harassment of her family by security and other law enforcement government agencies in the country.

    In a petition to the Lower Chamber on Thursday, Jonathan urged the Federal Government to call the agencies to order.

    The petition was presented at the House’s plenary by the lawmaker representing Okrika Constituency of Rivers, Rep. Bright Tamuno.

    Presenting the document, Tamuno urged the House to wade into the matter in consideration of the sacrifices her husband, former President Goodluck Jonathan, made for the country.

    According to him, no former first lady has been harassed like this before, and in view of the sacrifices that her husband has made for the country, the House should consider and call the security agencies to order.

    In the petition, Jonathan alleged that the harassment was being orchestrated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and other agencies of the Federal Government.

    The Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, referred the petition to the Committee on Public Petitions for further legislative action.

    TheNewsGuru.com recalls that the former first lady had petitioned the House in a similar vain in December 2016.

     

     

    NAN

  • France’s new First Lady ran in local elections when Emmanuel Macron was 11 years old

    France’s new First Lady, Brigitte Trogneux, is no stranger to politics. Unlike her husband, who had never run for office until he won the recent presidential election, Mrs Trogneux, 64, stood as a local councillor in eastern France 28 years ago, when her husband was only 11.

    ImageFile: France’s new First Lady ran in local elections when Emmanuel Macron was 11 years old
    Emmanuel Macron and wife, Brigitte Macron

    At the time, her first husband, André-Louis Auzière, held a senior position in the French External Trade Bank and she was a teacher.

    The couple lived in the prosperous farming village of Truchtersheim, nicknamed the granary of Strasbourg, the nearby seat of the European Parliament.

    Mrs Auzière, as she then was, ran as a Right-wing candidate, according to a fellow activist, Jeannine Briard, now 83, a primary teacher whom the future First Lady encouraged to enter politics.

    Mrs Briard said: “Brigitte told me, ‘Listen, we’re missing one person … There are fourteen of us and we need 15 [to form an electoral group].’ I was a primary school teacher, I had never done that, but neither had she, so I said yes.”

    Campaign meetings were held at a local restaurant over beer and sauerkraut, a speciality of the Alsace region, which borders Germany.

    Mrs Briard added: “We were all on the Right, Brigitte too. I’d even say we were a bit too far to the Right.”

    The campaign slogan was “with respect for all”.

    Mrs Briard attributed their defeat to the prominence of the existing mayor and the elitist character of the movement. “There were too many differences between the population and us. We were all intellectual people.”

    Jean-Paul Debes, who was also a candidate, said: “We wanted to set up a new health centre, a skate park and new council housing. Brigitte also believed there were problems for young people, who couldn’t stay in the village because of high property prices.”

    Simone Uhl, another local resident, said she knew Brigitte Trogneux well as their children had attended school together.

    “I think my son had a crush on her,” Mrs Uhl said. “Brigitte had a very intense, energetic presence, but with femininity.”

    Four years after her election defeat, Emmanuel Macron, 15, fell in love with his drama teacher in the northern town of Amiens.

    The relationship between France’s youngest president and his wife, more than 24 years his senior, fascinates the French public.

    Mrs Trogneux is adored by some, but mocked and insulted by others. And yet overall, her image is positive, especially among women. Many are angry that the couple’s age difference has become an issue, arguing that it would not have been so controversial had the president been a quarter of a century older than his wife.

    “At the beginning [of Mr Macron’s presidential campaign], they feared that it [the relationship] would be seen in a negative light. She had often been rejected and criticised by their circle,” commented Isabelle Veyrat-Masson, a politics and communications expert at Paris University.

    After the couple appeared for the first time on the cover of the weekly Paris-Match last year, “they realised that the public viewed their relationship in a positive light and it would be advantageous to give it prominence,” Ms Veyrat-Masson said.

    “Falling in love and marrying his teacher, a mother of three and 24 years his senior, made Emmanuel Macron a romantic and non-conformist character … It was an asset for his image.”

    Mrs Trogneux now plans to play a Michelle Obama-style role in French politics, taking a special interest in education and disabled children, according to The Telegraph.

    The position of First Lady has no legal status under French law, but Mr Macron wants to define and codify it. He has promised that she will have responsibilities and a budget — but no salary.

    Before the election, Mr Macron hit out at critics of the couple: “Saying that it’s impossible for a man living with an older woman to be anything but a homosexual or a hidden gigolo is misogynistic.”

     

     

    The Telegraph

  • Anointing Service Saga: Ambode sacks chaplain 24 hours after ‘disrespecting’ first lady

    Anointing Service Saga: Ambode sacks chaplain 24 hours after ‘disrespecting’ first lady

    …the chaplain has had it full, he got sack for his insouciance, LASG reacts

    Members of Chapel of Christ the Light, Alausa, Lagos State, have protested the sacking of the Presiding Chaplain, Venerable Femi Taiwo, by the Governing Council allegedly on the order of the state Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode.

    Taiwo got the sack on Monday, May 15, without any query or official reason stated in the sack letter.

    According to a report by The Punch, the Venerable was said to have been ordered out of his official quarters where he lived with his wife and two children within 24 hours of receiving the letter.

    Despite pleadings from church leaders and other reputable elders in the church, the government was said to have insisted that the cleric must leave the church.

    Some church members reportedly contributed money to buy gas cooker, and other household items for the family as they vacated the vicarage.

    According to investigations, Taiwo was said to have had angered the Governor’s wife, Bolanle Ambode, who visited the chapel on Sunday, May 14, when the church held an anointing service.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the church is under the Lagos State Ministry of Home Affairs, while the Office of the Lagos State First Lady supervises church.

    Church members were said to have filed out to receive anointing oil during the May 14 service without any preference given to Bolanle, who waited endlessly with her entourage.

    She was said to have later moved to be anointed and moments later, stormed out of the church, as some of the women leaders ran after her.

    Bolanle, who was reported to be visibly angry, allegedly shunned entreaties from the women, which included the wife of the presiding chaplain.

    The cleric got the sack the following day.

    The directive was issued in a letter dated, May 15, 2017, and signed by the Chairman, Governing Council of CCTL, Mr. Olugbenga Solomon. The letter also ordered the Assistant Chaplain, Very Rev. Ayo Oyadotun, to take over with immediate effect.

    A church member, who witnessed the drama and begged not to be identified, said , “The church had declared seven-day fasting after we lost two prominent members.

    “The Sunday service, which was declared as anointing service, was supposed to end the fasting.

    “The First Lady, Mrs. Bolanle Ambode, was present with her entourage. She comes to the church once in a while.

    “When it was time to be anointed, the cleric asked people to come forward, adding that it was optional. Three people stood at the stage to anoint people. They included the chaplain, the presiding chaplain and one other person.

    “People started stepping out one after another. The governor’s wife, after some time, also stepped out and was anointed.”

    The source said within a few minutes of taking the oil, Bolanle, who felt disrespected, stepped out with her entourage.

    Another member of the church said, “As she stepped out, it was obvious that she was angry.

    “The president of the women’s fellowship and the pastor’s wife ran after her. She shunned them, entered her car and zoomed off.

    “When we came to the church on Tuesday, we heard that Venerable Taiwo had been sacked. We were told that he was sacked because the the governor’s wife didn’t get the anointing oil first and she felt disrespected.

    “The man that signed the letter is also a civil servant,” the source said.

    The governing council is said to be made up of members of the church and some appointees of the government.

    Taiwo still had two years to spend as the presiding chaplain when he was fired.

    The source said some church members quickly bought household items for his family as they vacated the church premises on Thursday.

    He said, “The children went to school on Thursday without knowing that they would not be staying in the vicarage that evening. Church members bought bed and other household items for them because they did not have their own property.

    “The members said their pastor did not offend them, and protested the sacking. The governing council members, however, said they should forget it because whatever came from Alausa was final. Most of the church members are civil servants who can’t talk too much.”

    Confirming the incident anonymously to The Punch, one of the leaders of the church said the reason Taiwo got the sack was not stated in the letter, adding that the action was not unconnected from the visit of the wife of the governor.

    He said, “Let me be straight with you, in the letter there was no reason for the sack. Whatever you are hearing are what members of the church believed could have happened. And there was indeed a protest by the church and the governing council assuaged them on the sacking. “There was nothing official in that sacking. No investigation, no query, nothing. We had an anointing service on that Sunday. The following day, the venerable was served the sack letter.”

    However, when Taiwo was contacted, he said he did not want to comment.

    He said, “If you have any enquiry, direct it to the church. But one thing I can say is that I have tried as a pastor to live above board. It will not be right engaging the church or the government on the pages of a newspaper.”

    The state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Steve Ayorinde, said, “The former chaplain had been queried a number of times in the past for conducts unbecoming of his office. The culmination of various indiscretions led to the Governing Council of the church issuing yet another query that led to his being relieved of his post.

    “This has got nothing to do with the First Lady. The Chaplain is looking for an excuse to cover his insouciance. It’s nothing but cheap blackmail.”

  • Patience Jonathan petitions Nat’l Assembly

    Patience Jonathan petitions Nat’l Assembly

    The House of Representatives on Wednesday, received a petition from former first lady, Mrs Patience Jonathan, against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

    In the petition presented to the House by Lovette Idisi, the former first lady alleged that she was being “incessantly harassed” by the anti-graft agency.

    Commenting on the petition, Idisi said that the wife of former President Goodluck Jonathan was presumed to be innocent until proven guilty as enshrined in Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    “This petition is in line with Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution, where every citizen of the country is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

    “Mr Speaker, the constant harassment of the former first lady is a petition emanating from her which was sent to my office.

    “With the leave of the house, I seek your permission to lay the petition before the house,” Idisi said.

    After Idisi laid the petition, the Speaker, Mr Yakubu Dogara, referred it to the Committee on Public Petitions.

    It would be recalled that Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court Lagos, on Wednesday, adjourned till Jan. 18, 2017, hearing in a suit by former first lady, Patience Jonathan, seeking enforcement of her fundamental rights.

    Jonathan had instituted the fundamental rights suit against the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, claiming the sum of $200m as damages for inconveniences suffered.

    In her suit, she also joined Skye bank Plc, and a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, Warampo Dudafa, as respondents.

    Also joined in the suit are four companies namely: Pluto Property Ltd, Seagate Property Development and Investment Company Ltd, Transocean company Ltd and Globus Integrated Service Ltd.