Month: August 2023

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has denied online reports that some lawyers at the ongoing Annual General Conference of the NBA held in Abuja walked out of an all-night party organized by the association in the early hours of Thursday on the choice of Portable as guest artiste.

The late evening programme tagged, “unbarred” was held at the Velodrome of the MKO Abiola stadium, was part of the programme of the 2023 NBA Annual Conference with the theme, “Getting it right: Charting the course for Nigeria’s Nation Building”.

The National Publicity Secretary of the NBA, Mr Habeeb Lawal told Nigerian Tribune that the information as contained in the online report was not correct.

Hi-Speed performs at NBA General Conference
“That is not true, the closing party was a blast, members were happy and dancing till after 3 am when we have to close the party for people to rest for the Annual General Meeting (AGM),” he said.

But, the online report said, lawyers who had waited several hours after the plenary and the breakaway sessions earlier in the day for the programme to start were shocked when Portable was announced as the guest artist.

Many of the lawyers, according to the report questioned the choice of the Zazu singer and opted to walk out of the night show.

According to the report, the protesting members of the NBA were seen walking and driving out of the stadium around 1 am.

“How dare they call Portable to come and play for lawyers at the conference? Can you imagine? Normally, unbarred doesn’t end till 3 am or 4 am, but we are leaving for our hotels. We are upset,” the online report quoted one of the lawyers saying during the walkout.

“They spoilt my day with this Zazu. He couldn’t even wear a shirt”, another lawyer said and added that many of the conferees were unhappy that Portable was invited as the guest artist.

However, other lawyers stayed behind to watch the controversial singer perform.

Unbarred is a live entertainment session organized for lawyers as part of the Annual NBA conference and normally holds a day before the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the association.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will address the 78th Session of the high-level General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at the UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday, September 19.

The UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Tinubu, in his first outing to the Assembly, will be addressing world leaders in the evening of that day.

The Nigerian President would be the fifth African leader to speak on day one of the gathering, according to the speakers list from the Office of the General Assembly President,

According to the list, Tinubu will be the 14th speaker out of 20 leaders slated to speak on the first day.

The South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, the 10th speaker, will be the first African leader to speak in the morning session of the Assembly.

In the Afternoon session, five African leaders are expected to address the gathering.

The Nigerian president would deliver his statement around 6pm (11pm Nigerian time) to the world leaders during the afternoon session.

The President of Algeria, Abdelmadjid Tebboune will be the first African leader to speak at the afternoon session, followed by the Moroccan leader, Aziz Akhannouch and Mozambique President, Filipe Nyusi.

The President of Senegal, Macky Sall will be the firth African speaker to address the gathering and the last leader on the first day.

The President of Brazil, Luiz da Sliva would be the first world leader to present his address to the 78th session as it is tradition, followed by the U.S. President, Joe Biden, the traditional second speaker, being the host country.

NAN reports that the 78th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 78) will open on Tuesday, Sept 5. with the inauguration of a new President, Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago, who will take on the mantle for the next 12 months

The high level General Debate will be held from Sept 19 and to Sept. 29.

The Theme of the General Assembly including the general debate will be rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its sustainable development goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.

(NAN)

The Nation Newspaper

Africa is home to many of the world’s longest-ruling Heads of State.

They have held onto power for many years and show no signs of stepping down anytime soon.

This practice of holding on to power for longer terms which runs through several years perhaps 20, 30 or even 40 has sparked concerns.

The record-breaker is Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, who ruled for 44 years before being overthrown in 1974.

Libyan strongman Moamer Kadhafi held sway for almost 42 years. He was killed in 2011 as protests against his rule mushroomed into armed conflict.

Gabon’s Omar Bongo Ondimba had been at the helm for 41 years when he died in June 2009.

Angolan leader Jose Eduardo dos Santos stepped down in September 2017 after 38 years in charge. Never democratically elected, the former Marxist rebel died in July 2022 at 79.

Read Also: 20 things to know about Gabon’s military coup
Former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, who died in September 2019 almost two years after being forced to step down, held office for more than 37 years.

In Sudan, Omar al-Bashir, who came to power in a coup in June 1989, remained in charge for 30 years until the military overthrew him in 2019.

In Chad, Idriss Deby Itno ruled for 30 years from December 1990 until his death in April 2021. He was succeeded by his son, General Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno.

Here’s is the full list:

1. Paul Biya – Paul Biya is one of the oldest president in Africa, born on 13 February 1933. He has served as a Cameroonian president since 6 November 1982. Paul Biya is second Africa’s longest-serving president and the longest non-royal serving leader in the world. He is 90 years old.
2. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo – Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo of Equatorial Guinea has been in power since 1979, making him the longest-serving African president. In the early years of his rule, President Obiang was known for being a brutal dictator. He is 81 years old.

He is the longest-serving President of any country ever and the second-longest consecutively-serving current non-royal national leader in the world (after Paul Biya in Cameroon).

3. Denis Sassou Nguesso – Denis Sassou is also one of Africa’s longest-serving Presidents. He has been the President of the Republic of the Congo for 36 years. He first came to power in 1979 and has since been re-elected three times. Sassou is among the oldest head of state in Africa at 79.
4. Yoweri Museveni – Yoweri Museveni has been the President of Uganda for 34 years. He first came to power in 1986 and has since been re-elected three times. Museveni is the third oldest head of state in Africa, at 78.
5. Isaias Afwerki – Isaias Afwerki has been the President of Eritrea for 27 years. He first came to power in 1991 after leading the country’s independence movement from Ethiopia. Afwerki has since been re-elected twice. He is 77 years old.

The Nation Newspaper

The military on Wednesday ousted Ali Bongo Ondimba from the presidency following the results of the 2023 Gabonese general election.

He has ruled Gabon for 14 years while his father Albert-Bernard Bongo ruled for 42-years.

Here are things to know about ousted Gabon President Ali Bongo:

1. Ali Bongo Ondimba was born Alain Bernard Bongo in Brazzaville on February 9, 1959.
2. He is the son of Albert-Bernard Bongo (later Omar Bongo Ondimba) who was president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009.
3. His mum, Josephine Kama (later Patience Dabany) was 18 years old at the time of his birth.
4. He was conceived 18 months before Albert-Bernard’s marriage and there have been rumours of him being Bongo’s adopted son, a claim that he dismisses.
5. Bongo was educated at a private school in Neuilly, France, and then studied law at the Sorbonne.
6. In 2018, he received an honorary doctorate of law degree from Wuhan University in China.
7. In 1977, he released a funk album, A Brand New Man, produced by Charles Bobbit.

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8. After graduating from his law course, he entered politics, joining the Gabonese Democratic Party in 1981.

Read Also: 20 things to know about Gabon’s military coup

9. He was elected to the PDG Central Committee at the party’s Third Extraordinary Congress in March 1983.

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10. Subsequently, he was his father’s Personal Representative to the PDG and in that capacity he entered the PDG Political Bureau in 1984.
11. He was then elected to the Political Bureau at an ordinary party congress in September 1986.
12. He is the third president of Gabon from 2009 to 2023.
13. Bongo is a member of the Gabonese Democratic Party.
14. During his father’s presidency, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1989 to 1991, represented Bongoville as a Deputy in the National Assembly from 1991 to 1999, and was Minister of Defense from 1999 to 2009.
15. After his father’s death, he won the 2009 Gabonese presidential election.
16. He was reelected in 2016, in elections marred by numerous irregularities, arrests, human rights violations and post-election protests and violence.
17. Bongo held the post of High Personal Representative of the President of the Republic from 1987 to 1989.
18. The Gabonese Democratic Party, of which Bongo is a member, has ruled the country continuously since independence from France in 1960, including 41 years under Bongo’s father, Omar.
19. Allegations of electoral fraud and irregularities immediately emerged from opposition parties and independent observers, casting a shadow of doubt over the legitimacy of the election results
20. Bongo was declared the winner on 29 August.
21. Albert Ondo Ossa, who came second in the elections, alleged electoral irregularities.
22. He had already claimed victory and urged Bongo to facilitate a peaceful transfer of power based on his own purported vote count.
23. The election result was annulled following the coup d’état.

The Military junta in Gabon under the aegis of the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions on Wednesday morning announced on national television why they are taking over power from President Ali Bongo in the country.

The soldiers highlighted serious institutional, political, economic and social crises as factors responsible for the coup that they tagged, ‘necessary’ for the progress of the West African country.

In a nationwide address rendered in French but translated to English by AFP, the junta said, “Our beautiful country, Gabon, has always been a haven of peace.

“Today, the country is going through a serious institutional, political, economic and social crisis.

“We are therefore forced to admit that the organisation of the general elections of August 26, 2023, did not meet the conditions for a transparent, credible and inclusive ballot so much hoped for by the people of Gabon.

“Added to this is irresponsible and unpredictable governance, resulting in a continuing deterioration in social cohesion, with the risk of leading the country into chaos.

“Today, 30 August 2023, we, the defence and security forces, gathered as the Committee for the Transition and Restoration of Institutions (CTRI) on behalf of the people of Gabon and as guarantors of the institutions’ protection — have decided to defend the peace by putting an end to the current regime.

“To this end, the general elections of 26 August 2023 and the truncated results are cancelled.

“The borders are closed until further notice.

The junta resolved that all of the institutions of the country be dissolved including the Federal Government, the Senate, the National Assembly, the Constitutional Court, the Economic, Social and Environmental Council and the Gabonese Elections Centre.

They therefore called for calm and serenity from the public, the communities of sister countries settled in Gabon, and the Gabonese diaspora.

“We reaffirm our commitment to respecting Gabon’s commitments to the national and international community.

“People of Gabon, we are finally on the road to happiness.

“May God and the spirits of our ancestors bless Gabon. Honour and loyalty to our homeland.”

A 200-level student of the University of Port Harcourt, Victor Ochonogor, has been arrested by operatives of Edo State Police Command for allegedly killing his girlfriend, who was a 500-level student of Ambrose Ali University, Ekpoma.

Parading Ochonogor alongside other suspects in Benin, the state Commissioner of Police, Muhammed Dankwara, said the suspect was arrested following a report from his landlord, one Emmanuel Momoh.

He said his landlord reported that the suspect, who is his tenant, locked his girlfriend, Success Regha, in his one-bedroom apartments and a quarrel ensued, adding that in the process, he stabbed her in the neck and chest with a knife and she died instantly.

He said police operatives swung into action, arrested the suspect, recovered the knife, and rushed the suspect, who had knife injury on his neck to Stella Obasanjo hospital for treatment.

He said the police deposited the corpse of his girlfriend at the hospital’s morgue.

He listed Items recovered from the suspect to include two blood-stained knives, two iPhones, one Nokia phone, one laptop, and two ATM cards.

The commissioner said the suspect would be charged to court for murder.

In an interview with the journalists, the suspect said he had been in a relationship with the deceased for over three years.

“She came from Asaba to Benin to visit me and while we were together, I found in her possession substance suspected to be diabolical.

“I have been dating her for three years now and the family accused me of being a kidnapper. I asked her why must her family accused me of such when we had been together for such a time?

“I have been seen her with kayamata and I also saw a message in her phone that she was also dating another person. An argument ensued and we started fighting, so I stabbed her.’’