Politics
80-Year-Old Equatorial Guinea President Obiang Re-Elected For Sixth Term
President Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo on Saturday won a sixth term in office, a much-expected result in an authoritarian country with next to no political opposition.
The 80-year-old has been in power for 43 years — the longest rule of any leader alive in the world today except monarchs.
During his election campaign in 2009, Obiang promised “social housing for all” in the oil-rich central African state.
Obiang planned to provide enough housing to raise Malabo’s shanty towns, including Nubili, a mass of tin-roofed shacks along narrow paths that is home to thousands of families in the heart of the city.
Since, some 20,000 housing projects have sprung up in the country of around 1.5 million residents.
But sitting outside his shack in Nubili, 70-year-old Julio Ondo said none of them appeared to be for people like him.
“They’ve made fools of the poor,” he said. I’ve lost all hope of one day living in “dignified housing”.
Most people live in poverty in Equatorial Guinea, the World Bank estimates, while wealth is concentrated in the hands of just a few families.
– ‘I’ll be dead’ –
In some parts of Malabo today, lines of identical apartment blocks have sprung up as far as the eye can see, built with the profits of high international oil prices.
In the suburb of Buena Esperanza, some 2,300 small detached homes appeared during the 2010s, supposed to welcome families from Nubili.
But today, shiny four-wheel drives and other expensive cars line the neighbourhood’s streets, appearing to indicate the wealth of its new residents.
The homes are being sold for around $15,500, payable in monthly instalments of $78.
But that is astronomical for many in Nubili.
Plantain farmer Antonio Omecha, 72, is one of many who had hoped the housing plan would allow him to leave a slum plagued with disease and frequent fires.
He said he did receive a housing coupon to go and live in Buena Esperanza.
“But we had to pay 1.5 million francs (more than $2,350)” upfront first, he said.
It was impossible on his monthly income of $30.
His neighbour Tobias Ondo, 65, said the new homes were simply too expensive.
“Do you really think someone who works seven days and barely makes 2,000 francs can afford to own such a home?” he said.
“I’ll be dead before I go and live in the public housing promised by the president.”
– ‘Powerful’ landlords –
Equatorial Guinea is the region’s third richest country, with a GDP per capita of $8,462 last year, after the Seychelles and Mauritius, the World Bank says.
But in 2006, when the oil boom was in full swing, more than three quarters of the population lived in “extreme poverty”, or on less than $1.90 a day, the international financial body said. There have been no new figures since.
The country ranked 172 out of 180 in Transparency International’s 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index.
During his election campaign at the start of the month, Obiang admitted that social housing intended for “people without great means” had been snapped up instead by “people able to build their own home”.
But he did not offer a solution.
Martinez Obiang, of micro-financing firm Atom Finances, says he thinks the homes should have cost no more than the equivalent of $780, payable in tiny monthly instalments of less than $3.
Sociologist Nsogo Eyi said the new homes, including those in Buena Esperanza, did not seem to be serving their intended purpose.
“Some powerful men have bought them to rent them out, including to expats,” he said.
AFP reached out to several of these new owners, but they refused to comment.
AFP
Following his observations that ‘the momentum was strong’ Matt Gaetz whom 47th POTUS elect, Donald Trump nominated for Attorney General has withdrawn.
Biztellers reports that this follows his meeting with Senate and the feedback, which included two women, represented by their attorneys, who accused him of having paid for sex.
Consequently, Gaetz placed on record his full commitment to seeing “that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history.”
His withdrawal according his statement on micro-blogging site, X, was based on his conviction that “There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle”.
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In is view, “Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1”.
Gaetz wrote, “I had excellent meetings with Senators yesterday. I appreciate their thoughtful feedback – and the incredible support of so many. While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition. There is no time to waste on a needlessly protracted Washington scuffle, thus I’ll be withdrawing my name from consideration to serve as Attorney General. Trump’s DOJ must be in place and ready on Day 1.
“I remain fully committed to see that Donald J. Trump is the most successful President in history. I will forever be honored that President Trump nominated me to lead the Department of Justice and I’m certain he will Save America.”
His backers have promptly encouraged to take his seat in the House of Representatives, having been elected to the house under the flag of the Republicans to represent Florida.
The Executive Governors from Nigeria’s South West have unanimously nominated Senator Ademola Adeleke as the chairman of the zone on the National Economic Council (NEC).
Adeleke is the Executive Governor of Osun State, southwest, Nigeria.
This, according to the Spokesperson to Governor Adeleke, Olawale Rasheed, transpired on Thursday, at a meeting of the NEC.
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He noted that the meeting reviewed the state of Nigeria’s electricity sector and resolved to engage subnational structures to address current challenges in the sector.
“The meeting particularly sought to build on the devolution of the electricity sector and its movement into the concurrent legislative list which empowers state governments to regulate the sector in their respective areas,” he stated.
Consequently, the NEC, therefore set up an ad hoc committee to review actions in the sector by state governments and explore ways to ramp up activities through coordination, Rasheed highlighted.
The full list of members of NEC’s Ad-hoc Committee on National Electrification:
- Governor of Cross Rivers State, Bassey Out – Chairman, South-South
- Governor of Katsina State, Mallam Dikko Umaru Radda – Chairman, North-West
- Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya – Chairman, North-East
- Governor of Osun State, Senator Ademola Adeleke – Chairman, South-West
- Governor of Imo State, Senator Hope Uzodinma – Chairman, South-East
- Governor of Plateau State, Barr. Caleb Mutfwang – Chairman, North-Central
- Hon. Minister of Finance, Wale Edun
- Hon. Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu
- Special Adviser, NEC and Climate Change, Rukaiya El-Rufai
- Special Adviser, Power Minister, Hon. Bolaji Tunji
- MD/CEO Rural Electrification Agency, Abba Aliyu
- MD/CEO Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Jennifer Adighije
- Chairman, Nigeria Governors Forum, AbdulRahman AbdulRazak
- NEC Secretariat
The Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) has announced its decision to back Northern candidates in the 2027 general elections, citing the urgent need to address the worsening socio-economic and security challenges facing the region.
In a communique issued after its National Executive Council meeting in Kaduna on Wednesday, the forum expressed deep concern over the economic state of Northern Nigeria under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, attributing the region’s struggles to flawed governance and poor policy decisions.
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The ACF criticized the Federal Government’s economic policies, describing them as detrimental to the livelihoods of Northern citizens.
According to the communique, signed by the forum’s National Publicity Secretary, Professor Tukur Muhammad-Baba, the policies have compounded the already dire economic conditions in the region.
The statement reads, “Arewa people remain at a great disadvantage, being already worse off economically compared to other parts of Nigeria. While economic reforms are indeed desirable, they should not impoverish the same people they are meant to serve. Policies must have a human face.”
The forum noted that the North faces chronic food insecurity, limited educational and vocational opportunities for youth, and a heavy reliance on small-scale economic activities.
“Livelihoods are currently dependent on micro activities. The region faces acute and chronic food insecurity; its youths lack education and skills training. Daunting as these may be, they can be reversed. The time to think big is now,” the communique emphasized.
The ACF also addressed the pervasive insecurity in the North, warning that the situation has begun to erode public confidence in the government.
“Security is an irreducible minimum of human existence. In this regard, insecurity in its various manifestations remains the most worrisome challenge of Arewa people, that has even started to corrosively undermine the authority of government,” the forum stated.
It condemned the government’s response to the crisis, arguing that the Federal Government has failed to meet its primary duty of safeguarding lives and property.
“That those whose responsibility it is to provide security will be saying they are doing their best is unacceptable,” the communique said. “The minimum duty of government is to safeguard life and property, and doing anything less is a failure.”
The ACF faulted what it described as the “flawed leadership selection process” under the Tinubu administration, claiming it has elevated individuals without the requisite competence or experience to key positions.
It urged the Federal Government to “review, reassess, reevaluate, and re-order the direction of its economic policies with a view to giving it the needed human face.”
Looking ahead to the next general elections, the ACF pledged its support for Northern politicians who demonstrate a clear commitment to addressing the region’s challenges and fostering national development.
“Notwithstanding the parlous state of Arewa’s glaring economic conditions, the policies of the current Federal Government have continued to make matters much worse,” the communique stated.
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