President Muhammadu Buhari has warmly congratulated Mr Boris Johnson as new British Prime Minister, while felicitating with Mrs Theresa May for providing visionary leadership for the country.
In a goodwill message, the President said, “In Nigeria, we respect the choice of British people and we are ready to work with the new Prime Minister to improve our close relations.
“Britain has been one of Nigeria’s most reliable allies, especially in supporting the efforts of this administration to improve security and stamp out corruption and graft.
“As Mr Johnson steps into Mrs May’s shoes, we look forward to continuation of the good relationships that bind us together for many years.’’
President Buhari, in a statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu, added that, “we value this relationship so deeply that, regardless of who is in charge, this relationship should survive the political changes in the UK.’’
The President praised the British democratic model, describing it as one of the most successful systems in the world, which has survived time.
Tag: Prime Minister
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Buhari congratulates Boris Johnson on election as new British Prime Minister
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Boris Johnson wins race for British Prime Minister
Boris Johnson has been elected leader of Britain’s ruling Conservative Party after defeating his rival, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Johnson won 92,000 votes and Hunt 46,000.
The former Mayor of London, famous for his mop of blonde hair and political and linguistic gaffes, will replace Theresa May as prime minister on Wednesday.
He has promised Tory members he would deliver Brexit before 31 October, despite a seemingly interminable stalemate in Parliament. -
My regrets as UK Prime Minister – Theresa May
Outgoing British Prime Minister, Theresa May, said she regrets allowing too much polarisation over Brexit and avoiding televised debates before a disastrous snap election in 2017, in an interview published on Friday.
May resigned as leader of the ruling Conservatives in June after she conceded defeat in her two-year battle to persuade parliament to approve the deal she had agreed to with Brussels for Britain to leave the EU.
“I did everything I could to get it over the line.
“I was willing to sit down with (opposition Labour leader) Jeremy Corbyn, willing to sacrifice my premiership, give up my job!” May told the popular right-wing tabloid The Daily Mail.
“I had assumed mistakenly that the tough bit of the negotiation was with the EU, that parliament would accept the vote of the British people (in the 2016 Brexit referendum) and just want to get it done.
She said that people who’d spent their lives campaigning for Brexit would vote to get us out,” she said. “But they didn’t.”
May agreed that she should have done more to halt “the polarisation between the language of soft and hard Brexit” that divided the Conservative and Labour parties, as well as British voters.
She is expected to hand over the reins on July 24 to the victor in a run-off to succeed her as leader of the Conservatives and the country, after a vote by the party’s 160,000 members between strong favourite Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
Johnson is backed by many of the “hard” Brexiteer Conservative lawmakers who strongly opposed May’s deal and played an important role in pushing May to resign.
May said she also regrets her refusal to take part in televised debates before a disastrous snap election in June 2017.
“I should have done the TV debates. I didn’t because I had seen them suck the life blood out of David Cameron’s campaign,’’she said, referring to her Conservative predecessor as prime minister, who resigned after losing the Brexit referendum.
May called the 2017 snap election to ask voters to back her leadership and her Brexit plan, but she lost her majority in parliament, forcing her to rely on Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party to keep her in power.She previously expressed regret that her focus on Brexit prevented her from promoting plans to improve social cohesion in Britain.
On Friday, she announced a new Office for Tackling Injustices to monitor progress by all government agencies in tackling social injustices.
“Deep-seated societal injustice requires a long-term focus and cannot be eliminated overnight,” May said in a statement.
She said she is “proud” of her efforts as prime minister to “make the UK a more just society.”
The new office “will go further, using the power of data… to shine a spotlight on key injustices and provide the catalyst for better policy solutions,” May added. -
Sri Lankan attacks: Prime Minister apologises for ‘failing to protect victims’
Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on Friday apologised to the nation for the failure to protect victims from Sunday’s explosions which killed 310 people and injured over 500.
In a statement on his official twitter account, Wickremesinghe said “We take collective responsibility and apologise to our fellow citizens for our failure to protect victims of these tragic events.”
“We pledge to rebuild our churches, revive our economy, and take all measures to prevent terrorism, with the support of the international community,” he added.
A day after the attacks, Wickremesinghe said the police had received prior information of possible terror attacks but had failed to take adequate measures against the threats.
Wickremesinghe said he and his cabinet of ministers had not been informed of the prior threats.
President Maithripala Sirisena, in a news briefing on Friday said that Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and Police Chief Pujith Jayasundara had received prior warnings from state intelligence over possible attacks but had failed to brief him as well.
He blamed both officials for severely neglecting their duties.
Fernando resigned from his post on Thursday following a request by the president. The president has requested the police chief to resign as well.
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Malian Prime Minister, entire cabinet resign over rising insecurity
The prime minister of Mali and his entire government have resigned, following an upsurge of violence in the country.
On Wednesday, a motion of no confidence was submitted as Members of Parliament (MPs) blamed Prime Minister Soumeylou Boubeye Maiga for failing to handle the unrest.
Last month, scores of herders were killed by a rival ethnic group.
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita said in a statement that he accepted Mr Maiga and his ministers’ resignation.
“A prime minister will be named very soon and a new government will be put in place after consultations with all political forces,” the statement said.
Mali has been struggling to control violence since al-Qaeda-linked Islamist extremists gripped the desert north of the country in 2012.
Despite an ongoing military drive and a 2015 peace agreement, jihadists still dominate areas huge areas of the country, having migrated from the north to the more heavily populated centre of the country.
The government has come under increasing pressure over its inability to restore stability, particularly after the massacre of 160 Fulani herders in the Mopti region.
Armed with guns and machetes, the attackers appeared to be members of the Dogon ethnic group, which has a long history of tension with the nomadic Fulani people.
The country was shocked by the killings and tens of thousands of people protested on the streets of the capital Bamako on April 5.
The president said in a televised address on Tuesday that he had “heard the anger”.
BBC NEWS
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Australian politicians condemn call for a ‘final solution’ to ban Muslim migration
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and all major political
parties on Wednesday condemned a speech by a minor senator who used the term “final solution”
in calling for a revival of a “White Australia” restrictive immigration policy.In one of the most divisive speeches seen in parliament since 1996 when far-right politician Pauline Hanson
declared incorrectly that Australia was being swamped by Asians, Sen. Fraser Anning on Tuesday
called for a national vote on whether to ban Muslim migration.Anning said Muslims were responsible for acts of terror and crime and were dependant on welfare.
Muslims account for less than three per cent of Australia’s population, census data shows.
Amid national outrage Turnbull, who will head to the polls within nine months, quickly condemned Anning.
“We reject, we condemn racism in any form, and the remarks by Sen. Anning are justly condemned and
rejected by us all,” Turnbull told Australia’s parliament.Opposition Labor party leader Bill Shorten told parliament on Wednesday: “You have to be pretty outrageous
to be condemned by everybody in the Australian parliament, but Sen. Anning has managed to do just this”.Australians will return to the polls by May 2019, and recent polls show the majority of the electorate back
multiculturalism, but far-right politicians are expected to pose a challenge to the mainstream parties.“Turnbull can and must bat this away,” said Haydon Manning, a political science professor at Flinders
University in South Australia.Anning, who has been in parliament for less than a year has entered into a lose alliance with several
conservative independent lawmakers that has boosted his otherwise inconsequential role in Australia’s
upper house.Anning split from Hanson’s One Nation party shortly after being sworn in, though his speech had many
of the hallmarks of his former leader who has called for cuts to Asian and Muslim immigration.“The final solution to the immigration problem, of course, is a popular vote,” Anning told parliament
in his maiden speech.The Final Solution or the Final Solution to the Jewish Question was a Nazi plan for the genocide or
extermination of the Jews during World War II.Anning has since said he did not know the history of the phrase.
Hanson joined the condemnation, telling the Senate she was appalled by Anning’s speech.
“We are a multi-racial society and I have always advocated you do not have to be white to be
Australian,” she said.Under what was commonly called a “White Australia” policy Australia restricted non-European
immigration from 1901 until the late 1960s using various laws. -
‘I’m bothered about Nigeria not 2019 elections,’ Buhari tells May
President Muhammadu Buhari has said that though his fellow politicians are currently preoccupied with the forthcoming general elections in 2019, he is more bothered about the need to provide security and revamp the economy.
According to the Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), Femi Adesina, this was part of the discussions Buhari had with the British Prime Minister, Mrs. Theresa May, during their meeting in London on Monday.
Adesina made this known via his Facebook wall on Monday.
See the full text:
The three-pronged focus of the current administration resonated through the conversation, as President Muhammadu Buhari held a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister, Theresa May, on Monday at 10, Downing Street, London.
“We campaigned on three major issues: to secure the country, revive the economy and fight corruption,” said the President. “We have elections next year, politicians are already preoccupied with the polls, but I am bothered more about security and the economy,” he stressed.
Recalling that Nigeria and Britain have a long history of cooperation on several fronts, President Buhari stated: “People ought to know how they arrived where they are, if they would move forward. It was a mistake for us to have stopped the teaching of history as a subject in schools, but we are returning it to the curriculum now.”
He commended British companies like Unilever, Cadbury, and many others, “who have stood with Nigeria through thick and thin. Even when we fought a Civil War, they never left.
“But like Oliver Twist, we ask for more investments. We are encouraging more British companies to come to Nigeria. We appreciate the support you have given in training and equipping our military, particularly in the war against insurgency, but we want to also continue to work with you on trade and investment.”
President Buhari briefed Prime Minister May on the strides in agriculture, which he said has put Nigeria firmly on the road to food self-sufficiency.
“I am very pleased with the successes in agriculture,” he said, adding: “We have cut rice importation by about 90%, made lots of savings of foreign exchange, and generated employment. People had rushed to the cities to get oil money, at the expense of farming. But luckily, they are now going back to the farms. Even professionals are going back to the land. We are making steady progress on the road to food security.”
On education, President Buhari said more investment was being made, because “people can look after themselves if well educated. In this age of technology, education is very important. We need well-staffed and well-equipped institutions to move into the next generation.”
Climate change and environmental issues also came up for discussion, and President Buhari brought up the necessity of inter-basin water transfer from Congo Basin to Lake Chad.
According to him: “The Lake Chad is now about 10% of its original size, and it is perhaps one of the reasons our youths dare both the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean, to get to Europe. But if there is inter-basin water transfer, about 40 million people in Nigeria, Niger, Cameroon, Chad, and other countries stand to benefit. I made the case during the Climate Change Summit in France. If Lake Chad is recharged, it will reduce the number of youths coming to Europe to increase social problems. We brought back about 4,000 people from Libya recently. Almost all of them were below 30, and Libya was not their final destination. They were headed to Europe.”
Prime Minister May, in her remarks, said Britain would continue to work with Nigeria in the areas of training and equipping the military.
She was particular about abduction of young schoolgirls by Boko Haram, noting that Britain would continue to give Nigeria needed assistance.The Prime Minister said the Buhari administration has “been making good progress on the economy,” and urged it to maintain the focus, despite approaching elections, and increase in political activities.
On education and climate change, she declared: “Good grounding in education is good. It is important to equip young people for today’s world. It is also a good bastion and defence against modern slavery. The issue of the environment and climate change is very important, because of its impact on many countries in the Commonwealth. Stability at home is important, to curb illegal migration.”
Prime Minister May, who commended President Buhari for the much he has been doing on improving trade and business for Nigeria, noted that it was also time to boost intra-Commonwealth trade.
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Ethiopia Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn resigns
Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn said on Thursday he had submitted his resignation as both premier and the chairman of the ruling coalition in an effort to facilitate reforms following a period of mass unrest.
Hundreds of people have died in violence sparked initially by an urban development plan for the capital Addis Ababa.
The unrest spread in 2015 and 2016 as demonstrations against political restrictions and human rights abuses broke out.
“Unrest and a political crisis have led to the loss of lives and displacement of many,” Hailemariam said in a televised address to the nation.
“… I see my resignation as vital in the bid to carry out reforms that would lead to sustainable peace and democracy,” he said.
Hailemariam said he would stay on as prime minister in a caretaker capacity until the ruling Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the country’s parliament accepted his resignation and named a new premier.
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New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern pregnant with first child
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Friday that she was pregnant with her first child, prompting an outpouring of support from women rights groups and labour activists.
She declared “I’ll be a prime minister and a mum”.
Ardern said she planned to work until the end of her pregnancy in June and then take six-weeks leave, during which time Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters would run the country.
Speaking to reporters outside her Auckland home, Ardern said her partner Clarke Gayford would care for the “surprise” addition full-time and that the whole family would travel together when necessary.
“I am not the first woman to work and have a baby.
“I know these are special circumstances but there are many women who have done it well before I have,” she said.
The popular 37-year-old politician’s pregnancy is one of the very few examples of an elected leader holding office while pregnant and the first in New Zealand’s history.
Pakistan’s Benazir Bhutto gave birth while she was prime minister in 1990.
Ardern, who came to power through a coalition deal after a closely fought election in 2017, has experienced a meteoric rise to power as New Zealand’s youngest prime minister in more than a century.
Ardern is the country’s third female leader, her rise to power has generated intense interest in her personal life and drawn comparisons with other youthful leaders such as France’s Emmanuel Macron and Canada’s Justin Trudeau.
She was quick to assure the public that she would only take six weeks off, during which time she would still be contactable, so that the country would run as usual.
The short period contrasts with her party’s parental leave policies, with the Labour-led coalition expanding paid parental leave from 18 to 22 weeks in one of its first legislative changes. That is set to rise again to 26 weeks in 2020.
Ardern acknowledged that she was “lucky” that her partner, a well-known television fishing show presenter, could take time off to travel with her while he cared for the baby full-time.
She had no plans to stop work until June and would fly to London in April to attend a Commonwealth leader’s meeting.
Advocacy groups and politicians from across the political spectrum were quick to offer support.
“It’s really inspiring…having our prime minister lead by example is a great sign of how far we’ve come in women’s industrial rights in New Zealand,” said Council of Trade Unions President Richard Wagstaff in an emailed statement to Reuters.
New Zealand has long held a progressive reputation, having been the first country to give women the right to vote in 1893.
“It’s amazing timing…125 years later we have a prime minister who’s going to give birth in office,” said Minister for Women Julie Anne Genter.
Ardern said that she had unexpectedly found out she was pregnant on Oct. 13, six days before she was propelled into the country’s top job when New Zealand First Party leader Peters announced he was siding with Labour in post-election negotiations.
When asked by a reporter how she had managed putting together a government while suffering from morning sickness, she replied, “it’s just what ladies do”.
Reuters/NAN
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London terror attack: Internet must be regulated to stop terrorism – May
Prime Minister Theresa May has called for closer regulation of the internet following a deadly terror attack in London.
At least seven people were killed in a short but violent assault that unfolded late Saturday night in the heart of the capital, the third such attack to hit Britain this year.
May said on Sunday that a new approach to tackling extremism is required, including changes that would deny terrorists and extremist sympathizers digital tools used to communicate and plan attacks.
“We cannot allow this ideology the safe space it needs to breed,” May said. “Yet that is precisely what the internet and the big companies that provide internet-based services provide.”
“We need to work with allied democratic governments to reach international agreements that regulate cyberspace to prevent the spread of extremist and terrorism planning,” she continued. “We need to do everything we can at home to reduce the risks of extremism online.”
May’s call for new internet regulations was part of a larger strategy to combat terror, including what she described as “far too much tolerance of extremism in our country.”
The attack comes as tech giants come under increased pressure in Europe over their policing of violent and hate speech.
Europe’s top regulator released data last week that showed that Twitter has failed to take down a majority of hate speech posts after they had been flagged. Facebook and YouTube fared better, removing 66% of reported hate speech.
In the U.K., a parliamentary committee report published last month alleged that social media firms have prioritized profit over user safety by continuing to host unlawful content. The report also called for “meaningful fines” if the companies do not quickly improve.
“The biggest and richest social media companies are shamefully far from taking sufficient action to tackle illegal and dangerous content,” the report said. “Given their immense size, resources and global reach, it is completely irresponsible of them to fail to abide by the law.”
Forty-eight people were injured in Saturday’s attack on London Bridge and Borough Market. Police officers pursued and shot dead three attackers within eight minutes of the first emergency call, London police said.
CNN