TheNewsGuru

Tag: President

  • Vanuatu elects pastor as president

    Vanuatu elects pastor as president

    Tallis Obed Moses has been sworn in as the new President of Vanuatu at a brief ceremony in the country’s capital Port Vila.

    One of 16 candidates that included former prime ministers and public servants, Mr Moses won the ballot as the ninth head of state after four rounds of voting.

    Mr Moses, 63, is a long-serving pastor and former leader of the Presbyterian Church in Vanuatu.

    He replaces former president Baldwin Lonsdale, who died suddenly of a heart attack several weeks ago while serving in office.

    Although the Vanuatu presidency is often seen as a ceremonial position, Lonsdale was widely revered in the Pacific nation, in part due to his handling of a corruption scandal that shook the country in 2015.

    Dan McGarry, the media director of the Vanuatu Daily Post who was at Parliament this morning, said Mr Moses’ reputation as a man of “impeccable moral character” was a decisive factor played a significant role in his being elected to succeed Lonsdale.

    Mr Moses had received religious training and education in Australia and Papua New Guinea before serving as head of Vanuatu’s Presbyterian Church.

  • BREAKING: Reps invite ex-President Goodluck Jonathan over controversial Malabu oil deal

    The House of Representatives’ Ad-hoc Committee has resolved to invite ex-President Goodluck Jonathan over the alleged diversion of $1 billion.

    The committee is investigating the alleged corruption, malpractices, breach of due process in the award of Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245, Rep.

    Rasak Atunwa, Chairman of the Committee disclosed this while interacting with journalists on Wednesday in Abuja on the outcome of the investigation the committee conducted so far.

    According to him, the invitation of the former President will determine the next steps to be taken by the committee.

    “The committee noted that it had conducted extensive investigation into the OPL 245 saga and that it is drawing to a close.

    “However, the committee is of the view that in the interest of thoroughness, natural justice and fair play, it is imperative that evidence should be taken from former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “In arriving at this decision, the committee took account of the following facts:

    ”Jonathan was the President at the material time the ministers brokered the so-called resolution agreement that led to the allegation of $1 billion diversion of funds.

    “Jonathan’s name features in the proceedings initiated by the Public Prosecutor of Milan in Italy,” he said.

    “A UK Court judgement in relation to an application to return part of the money being restrained castigated the Jonathan administration as not having acted in the best interest of Nigeria in relation to the deal.

    “The Attorney-General of the Federation at the material time, Mohammed Bello Adoke, who, of course, has been charged in relation to the case by the EFCC, has recently instituted proceedings in court.

    ‘’He pleaded that all his actions were as instructed by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

    “Accordingly, pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution, the committee has decided to request that former President Goodluck Jonathan give evidence to the committee, as to his role in the matter.

    “The secretariat will write, him asking for his response and submissions.”

    While responding to questions, he said that the former president was at liberty to make a written submission to the committee or otherwise.

    He also said that the former president’s response would determine the next line of action to be taken by the Adhoc Committee.

    “The proper thing is that the committee has taken a decision that he must give evidence.

    “Section 89 of the Constitution requires that we ask for the evidence; we’ve asked him for evidence and he must give evidence, we have asked him to give his response and submission.

    “A matter entirely for him is, he may desire to send us a written submission, and we consider every written submission. We take it one step at a time.

    “The normal proceeding for a committee hearing investigating such matter is to take a written submission and whatever comes out of that will have to be decided at the committee level.’’

  • We’ll resist plans by Yoruba leaders to make Osinbajo President – Northern groups

    We’ll resist plans by Yoruba leaders to make Osinbajo President – Northern groups

    A Coalition of Arewa Youths has alleged that some Yoruba leaders are plotting to make acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo President of the country in the absence of President Muhammadu Buhari who is currently receiving treatment at a London hospital.

    The group, however, insisted that the North will complete its eight years tenure and resist any attempt to abort it.

    The warning was contained in a statement signed by Muhammed Shehu and Tanko Abdullahi.

    The group further revealed in the statement that the North ‘compensated’ the Yorubas by conceding the presidency to them (the Yorubas) in 1999 because of Abiola’s mandate which was annulled by the then Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB).

    It says despite all these efforts and much more, the Yorubas are beginning to ‘join forces’ with the Igbos by discrediting the person of President Muhammadu Buhari ahead of the 2019 polls.

    The statement reads, “We are very much aware that all the attacks against President Muhammadu Buhari were planted in the media by the Yoruba and spread by southerners generally just to discredit the north in order to pave way for their son, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to become president.

    “But their plans will fail Insha Allah.

    “We shall resist every of such plans and ensure by all means possible, that the North completes its eight-year tenure and possibly even continue after then, and that the federal structure of Nigeria as it currently is, is not tampered with by secession mongers and their collaborators.”

    Describing Yoruba’s as the “most ungrateful stock in Nigeria,” the group said, “Having given power to the Yoruba on a platter of gold in 1999 as a way of compensating them for the June 12 saga, it is quite worrisome and unfortunate that they have lived up to their legendary reputation of backstabbing and betrayal by supporting the divisive calls for restructuring or dismemberment of the nation against the will and desire of the north.

    “We gave the late Chief MKO Abiola the mandate in 1993 but shortly after that, as it is with the Yoruba as a culture, they immediately started circling around Abiola plotting on how to emasculate the north and strip us of every access we had to the politics and economy of this nation.

    “They had also raised a secret army of their elites to carry out these sinister plans against the north if Abiola eventually became president. It was this army that was unleashed on the nation in the guise of NADECO during the June 12 impasse.

    “May we remind the Yoruba that without the willingness and magnanimity of the north, there was no way Abiola could have purportedly won that election and that all the Yoruba have now as assets in the south-west, especially Lagos, were given to them by our leaders out of our own usual magnanimity.

    “However, time and time again, the Yoruba have always turned their back on us whenever their support is needed. They have chosen to pitch tent with the Igbo this time around just to spite us, but we shall not succumb to their antics.”

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that recently, some prominent Northern youth associations after a joint meeting tagged ‘Kaduna Declaration’ issued a serious threat to Igbos residing in the region to vacate on or before October 1(Nigeria’s Independence Day) 2017 or face physical attacks.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that one of the major conveners of the meeting, Yerima Shettima has however promised to turn himself in when declared wanted by the security agencies.

  • No president can do magic if there is so much tension- Ex-President Jonathan

    No president can do magic if there is so much tension- Ex-President Jonathan

    Former President of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan has appealed to all Nigerians to see the unity of Nigeria as a paramount issue that must not be toyed with.

    Dr. Jonathan made the appeal on Monday while playing host to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Former Ministers’ Forum in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

    “The unity of the country is paramount, we cannot develop as a nation. No matter how people demonstrate, no president can do magic if there is so much tension in the land,” he said.

    Amidst calls for cessation and quit notices, the former President noted that no country can develop under an atmosphere of insecurity and threats to its existence.

    He stressed the need for Nigerians to live peacefully with one another, stressing that it would help to build the nation’s economy by attracting more investors.

    “Immediately there is a sense of insecurity in any country investors will pull back and when investors pull back, then the economy will drop. What improves the economy is confidence and what makes investors have that confidence is peace. We should all pray and work towards that peace and that is the only way we can grow the economy as a nation.

  • 2019: Vote your president out if he performed below expectation – Ooni tells Nigerians

    The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi has said the Nigerian electorates have the powers to vote out any the president or leader who performed below their expectations in office.

    The Ooni stated this in an interview with Osasu Igbinedion on The Osasu Show.

    Oba Adeyeye noted that until Nigerians realise the powers they carry, politicians will continue to take them for granted

    In his words: “If you are not happy with your president, you go for another election, and you will vote your president out. If you are happy with your president, you will continue with that government for them to be in power.

    “Truth be told, we Nigerians don’t know our power yet. We don’t know our voting power, yet. Until we know it, we won’t stop complaining, especially the youth. Once we know it, we won’t complain again.

    “My school of thought is let us, first of all, organise ourselves and let us talk positively about this country. Let us stop derogatory, hate speeches. Things that will continue to divide everybody further.”

  • Buhari: Nigeria needs young, energetic president – Bakare

    Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly has said Nigeria needs to go back to the days when leaders in their 30s managed the affairs of the nation.

    The former vice-presidential candidate of the defunct Congress for Progressive Change, who spoke during a press conference after his Sunday morning sermon titled, ‘The birth pangs of a new Nigeria,’ noted that France’s recent election of 39-year-old Emmanuel Macron as president was indicative of a global paradigm shift.

    Bakare said, “If you want to know whether the President (Muhammadu Buhari) is getting better (and) recovering, I said in the course of that message – he’s on the sure path to recovery. Give him time. Niger Republic has not seen their president for a while.

    “Nigeria needs an energetic leader but the circumstances of our polity have brought us to where we are that the same country that the likes of (Yakubu) Godwin ruled at the age of 30 is now considering people in their 60s and 70s to administer it.

    “What happened in France recently is a clear sign that there is going to be a change of guards almost worldwide. But let’s accept our own thing and resolve our issues with wisdom.

    “(Between) the man in the intensive care unit and the doctor treating him or wishing him dead, you don’t know who will die first. If God sent Isaiah back to go and tell Hezekiah that He was adding 15 years to his life, He is the only one who can do what He wills to do. Nobody should wish another person dead. We should just pray, because you would put Nigeria in disaster.”

    According to the pastor, who ran alongside Buhari for the presidency in 2011, whenever leaders served with diminishing energy, a leadership vacuum would be created.

    He noted that nature abhorred vacuums and that leadership vacuums often allowed the likes of Adonijah and Absalom in the Bible to have a field day.

    Bakare said, “If the President is very healthy and able to discharge his duties, there would be no room for Absaloms and Adonijahs. Absalom was the firstborn whose inordinate ambition had no respect for his father, his benefactor, and was willing to consume him and drag him out of power.

    “Those who don’t learn (from) the blunder of history will repeat the blunder of history until they become history. Adonijah did not learn from what happened to Absalom and he came to a wrong conclusion because his scenario postulation was wrong. He assumed that ‘if the king is this old and weak, the next in line is automatically the next king’.”

    The clergyman added that though the constitution was ‘full of flaws’, it provided that in the event that the President could not discharge his duties, he must transmit power to the Vice-President to become acting President.

    “(Buhari) had never left without transmitting that power. So, there’s no trouble (this time round),” he noted.

    The vocal pastor however warned military officers to defend and remain loyal to the country’s nascent democracy.

  • 2019: I will contest, defeat Buhari in office – Fayose

    …says I am next President of Nigeria

    Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State on Friday in Ado Ekiti, declared that he would become the next president of Nigeria.

    The chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, boasted that he would oust President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress, APC, from power in 2019.

    His words: “I have penchant for taking powers; that one in Buhari’s hand. I will take it. I’m going straight to that villa. I’m the next president.

    “I want to be the next president of Nigeria. My own won’t be this change that has brought nothing, we are going to represent the people well and tell them the truth.”

    The governor also said that irrespective of the outcome of the forthcoming Supreme Court ruling on the leadership crisis rocking the PDP, members will remain united.

    Fayose said all stakeholders had resolved that the anticipated judgement of the Apex Court will be considered as a ‘No Victor, No vanquished’ position.

    He stated this while speaking at the sidelines of a meeting of the PDP Governors’ Forum (PDPGF) held at Ekiti Government Lodge.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that Governors Fayose and Wike (Rivers) had earlier threaten to leave the party should the Supreme Court judgement favours the embattled national chairman, Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff insisting they (Wike and Fayose) can’t work with him (Sheriff).

  • American University of Nigeria appoints Dekle as new President

    American University of Nigeria appoints Dekle as new President

    The American University of Nigeria (AUN) , Yola, Adamawa state, has appointed Dr Dawn Dekle, as its new president.

    Dr. Dekle was selected after an international search and was endorsed unanimously by the Board of Trustees to assume the leadership role for the university.

    Mr. Akin Kekere-Ekun, chairman of the board, said, “We are delighted that Dr. Dekle has accepted our offer and will join our learning community. I am confident that she will take our university into the next phase of development. Her vision for AUN in a global era resonated with the entire board and we welcome her with great enthusiasm and anticipation in the coming years.”

    Dr. Dekle visited the AUN campus during the May commencement weekend and met with members of the Board and the AUN Community, and said afterward, “I believe AUN is the best kept secret in Nigeria. The campus is buzzing with potential, and I was inspired by this new generation of talent, the engaged learning experiences, and community collaborations.”

    Dr. Dekle is currently serving as president of Orkhon University in Mongolia. Before joining Orkhon University, Dr. Dekle was president of the American University of Iraq, provost at the American University of Afghanistan, and dean at the S P Jain School of Global Management in Singapore.

    Prior to becoming a senior administrator, she was a faculty member at Singapore Management University, the National University of Singapore, James Madison University, and Dartmouth College.

    Dr. Dekle has held leadership positions outside of academia, such as council member for the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and as leadership specialist and global knowledge manager at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co., where she helped launch the McKinsey Center for Asian Leadership.

    As a scholar of psychology, law, leadership, and management, Dr. Dekle has published in academic journals, presented at international conferences, given keynote addresses for the Young Presidents Organization, and served as an analyst for television and radio regarding President Obama and his strategies in Asia and the Middle East.

    Dr. Dekle earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Texas A&M University, Ph.D. in psychology from Dartmouth College, and J.D. in law from Stanford University.

    The AUN Board of Trustees invites everyone to welcome Dr. Dekle and join in the celebrations of her arrival to Yola this summer.

  • 2019: I might consider running for presidency – Donald Duke

    Former Governor of Cross River State, Donald Duke has said he still has some energy left in him to run for the office of the President of Nigeria if the opportunity comes calling.

    The former governor made the declaration at a symposium titled: ‘Young and Emerging Leaders’ which held in Lagos on Tuesday (today).

    The former governor who was one of the panelist for the programme while answering a question from one of the participants on why he has not contested or seek appointment after leaving office in 2007 said: ‘I am a hands on person. I am not wired to sit and contribute like Senators or House of Reps members do.

    “I believe in execution and the only position I can achieve that is in the office of the president of Nigeria. At my age, I think i still have some energy left in me and I might consider it if the opportunity presents itself.”

  • Egyptian president calls security meeting after attack on Christians

    Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi called a meeting of security officials in the wake of a deadly attack on a group of Christians in the south of the country on Friday, the state news agency said.

    Masked gunmen attacked a group of Coptic Christians in southern Egypt, killing 26 people and wounding 26 others as they were driving to a monastery, medical sources and eyewitnesses said.

    The group was traveling in two buses and a small truck in Minya province, which is home to a sizeable Christian minority, the sources said.

    Provincial governor Essam al-Bedaiwy said earlier that 23 people had been killed and 25 wounded.

    Eyewitnesses said the Copts were attacked as they were going to pray at the monastery of Saint Samuel the Confessor in the western part of the province.

    They said masked men stopped the vehicles on a road leading to the monastery and opened fire.

    Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt’s population of 92 million, have been the subject of a series of deadly attacks in recent months.

    About 70 have been killed in bomb attacks on churches in the cities of Cairo, Alexandria and Tanta since December.

    Those attacks were claimed by Islamic State.

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Friday’s attack.