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Senate slams UK over Omicron travel ban, asks British parliament to intervene

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Senate slams UK over Omicron travel ban, asks British parliament to intervene

 

***Insists travel ban is affront on diplomatic relations

The Nigerian senate on Tuesday kicked against the UK’s Omicron travel ban as the lawmakers called on their British counterparts to prevail on their Government to remove Nigeria from the red list.
The UK had added Nigeria to its travel ‘red list’ over the weekend, meaning arrivals from there will be banned except for British and Irish residents.
This was coming following a Motion pursuant to orders 42 and 52 of the senate standing rules on the need for the Government of the United Kingdom(UK) to remove Nigeria from the red list sponsored by senator Ike Ekweremadu
The President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan while commenting on the issue said
“I am using this opportunity to urge the British Parliament to mount Pressure on their Government to remove Nigeria from the so-called red list.
“Well I am sure with this motion Nigerians have spoken to the British authorities that enlisting of Nigeria is seriously geopardising the relationship between the two countries.
“We are saying let there be justification for it. We are not saying that they cannot put any country on the red list without any cogent reasons for doing that.
He said it is a known fact that Nigeria has done so well to the admiration of many countries in the area of containment of COVID-19.
“So there is no need why Nigeria should be on the so-called red list, I believe
Nigeria deserves a better treatment from the British Government.”
The senate in its resolution earlier condemned in strong terms the U.K Government’s inclusion of Nigeria in their COVID-19 red list without justification.
They called on the Federal Government to constructively engage the British authorities with a view to reversing the inclusion.
They also called on the British authorities to consider removing Nigeria from the COVID-19 red list and to be sensitive to the diplomatic relationship between the two countries in taking decisions that affect Nigerian citizens.
The lawmakers called on the Nigerian Government to remain firm in the enforcement of all necessary protocols in the containment of every COVID-19 variant in Nigeria.
They urged the major vaccine powers, namely, Britain, Canada, America, and the European Union, among others, to take urgent and bold steps to ensure vaccine equity in the best interest of the entire human race.
Senator Ejweremadu while presenting his motion noted with satisfaction the efforts of the Government of Nigeria in the containment and treatment of COVID-19 cases.
He added that Nigeria is among the countries with the lowest cases of COVID-19.
He expressed the concern that the decision by the British Government to include Nigeria in their COIVD-19 list, with its concomitant implications, will affect many citizens of Nigeria, who had planned to spend their Christmas and New Year holiday with their families.
According to him, Nigerians with genuine needs to visit the U.K within the period will be denied VISA and those with Visa will not be allowed to enter the U.K.
Explaining further he indicated that Nigerians have consistently complied with all the COVID-19 protocols required by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and U.K Government for travellers prior to this ban.
Therefore he said targeting African countries, especially in the COVID-19 travel ban, amounts to profiling and discrimination as well as an attack on our cordial diplomatic relationship with the U.K.
Yet he said the global concerns over vaccines hoarding and inequity and the resulting consequences on low-income nations in the fight against COVID-19 is well known to the British Government

NEWS

Moghalu Prescribes Good Governance As Panacea To Ethnic Agitation

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The President of the African School of Governance, Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu has admonished state actors against resorting to brutal force in the bid to muscle out separatist agitators.

In the aftermath of Mazi Simon Ekpa, the Finland based Biafran nationalist agitator being caught in legal web and the Nigerian government moving swiftly to seek his repatriation, the former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has cautioned that ‘We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.’

ALSO READ: Finnish Police Arrest Simon Ekpa Over Terror-Related Allegations

The political economist, while expressing his hope in Nigeria, made it clear that “hope is not a strategy”.

He bared his mind in a series of posts on his verified handle on micro-blogging site, X on Friday.

Moghalu wrote, “Despite sustained contemporary difficulties, I am hopeful about Nigeria. But hope is not a strategy. We need to improve state capacity for effective governance.

“We either fix our problems, or our problems will eventually “fix” us. No alternative to a renegotiated union.

“We must learn to be honest with ourselves and address the root causes of our problems. Why ignore them, when the problem is actually quite solvable? The problem with continuing with this approach is that when the danger crystallizes, those who thought they were benefiting from

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NEWS

N1.7trn Loan: Atiku Blames NASS For Worsening Nigeria’s Debt Burden

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Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.

In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.

READ ALSO: CSR: Dangote Cement Fuels Education With Support Projects At Lagos Schools

He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.

The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.

“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.

He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.

“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.

Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.

“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said

He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.

“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”

Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.

He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.

“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.

Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.

“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.

He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.

 

 

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International News

ICC Issues Arrest Warrants For Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Others

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The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.

The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.

In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”

READ MORE: Osun Govt Decries Attempted Murder Of Park Mgt  Chairman By Police

The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.

Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.

The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.

With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.

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