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Fudge Leads Biden’s Delegation To Presidential Inauguration

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•Blair visits Tinubu, pledges support for his administration

Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Honourable Marcia L. Fudge, has been selected by President Joe Biden, Jr. to lead the United States delegation to the inauguration of Nigeria’s 16th President, Bola Tinubu, holding on May 29.

A White House press statement on Monday announced the US presidential delegation to attend the inauguration of the president-elect and the vice president-elect, Tinubu, and Senator Kashim Shettima, respectively.

Relatedly, former British Prime Minister, Sir Tony Blair, expressed his readiness to support the Tinubu administration to succeed, during a visit to the president-elect.

According to a statement by the White House, Fudge would lead members of the delegation, among whom are Mr. David Greene, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., U.S. Embassy Abuja; the Honourable Sydney Kamlager-Dove, United States Representative, California; the Honourable Marisa Lago, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce; and General Michael E. Langley, Commander of U.S. Africa Command.

Others are Honourable Enoh T. Ebong, Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency; the Honourable Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Honourable Judd Devermont, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for African Affairs, National Security Council; and Honourable Monde Muyangwa, Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development.

Meanwhile, Blair, who gave his commitment yesterday, when he visited the president-elect at the Defence House, Abuja, said the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, which he founded, would be a willing partner of the Tinubu administration, especially in prioritising its goals and delivery.

He said since leaving office as the UK prime minister, he had been working with governments around the world to help them deliver on their mandates, noting that the Blair Institute has a project in Nigeria and he feels it is incumbent upon him to meet Nigeria’s incoming president to understand the administration’s priorities.

A statement from the office of the president-elect, signed by Abdulaziz Abdulaziz, quoted Blair as telling Tinubu, “We would like to help in any way with your administration. We only need to know what the leadership priorities are and help in how to actualise them.”

Blair commended Tinubu’s campaign focus on key areas of security, economy, agriculture and power, describing the intertwined nature of the issues as critical to the development of any society.

He expressed optimism that with the appetite shown by investors in Nigeria, the Tinubu administration could get the support it needed to spur economic development in the country.

But Blair also acknowledged the difficult task before Tinubu and other leaders, at a time of global turmoil.

He said, “Being in government today anywhere in the world is tough. You have things happening around the world, which affect you and for which you can’t do anything much.”

Tinubu, in his response, expressed appreciation to Blair for the visit and for his offer to work with his administration. He spoke of the shared vision between him and Tony Blair Institute in their priority areas, but underlined the importance of tackling investment challenges and the need for social investment to fight poverty.

The president-elect said, “Yes, we are challenged. But where is our courage? We can eliminate ignorance, diseases and poverty in Africa. We must work hard to ensure democracy works for our people. We have to invest more, put technology in place and keep terrorists at bay, because without effective security, there is no guarantee investors will come.”

He promised to provide a conducive environment that would encourage investors and open up opportunities for the people.

Tinubu was accompanied to the meeting by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; Vice President-elect, Senator Kashim Shettima; member of Tinubu Transition Team, Mr. Wale Edun; former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; senator representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Adetokunbo Abiru; and Executive Secretary, National Sugar Development Council, Mr. Zacch Adedeji.

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Foreign News

UK Sacks Interior Minister Suella Braverman

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British leader Rishi Sunak on Monday sacked controversial interior minister Suella Braverman, as he reshuffles his top team ahead of a general election expected next year.

Sunak had come under growing pressure to axe Braverman, an outspoken right-winger, after critics accused her of heightening tensions during weeks of contentious pro-Palestinian demonstrations and counter-protests in Britain.

It was not immediately clear who will replace Braverman, who was appointed to the post when Sunak became prime minister just over a year ago.

Following her dismissal, Braverman said “it has been the greatest privilege of my life to serve as home secretary”.
“I will have more to say in due course,” she added.

The firing comes as the ruling Conservatives confirmed a major reshuffle of Sunak’s top ministers was underway — his first since becoming the country’s leader on October 25, 2022.
“Here we go,” the party said on X, formerly Twitter.

“Today @RishiSunak strengthens his team in government to deliver long-term decisions for a brighter future. Stay tuned for the latest.”

The changes, set to be announced through the morning, are expected to reward loyalists and younger emerging MPs, after nearly 14 years in power takes its toll on the Tories’ popularity.

The party has trailed the main Labour opposition by double-digit margins throughout Sunak’s time in power, and is widely tipped to lose the next election due next year.

Braverman had stoked controversy throughout her tenure, taking a hardline stance on immigration in particular and regularly wading into so-called culture wars issues which are seen as dividing the electorate.

The right-winger attacked her critics as liberal “tofu-eating wokerati” while saying shortly after she was appointed that sending asylum seekers to Rwanda was her “dream” and “obsession”.

But her position became increasingly untenable after she last week wrote an explosive newspaper article, apparently without Sunak’s approval, accusing police of bias towards left-wing causes.

It was blamed for stoking tensions ahead of a weekend of protests over Israel’s war in Gaza, which coincided with Armistice Day events, and prompted calls for her to be sacked.

AFP

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20 Killed In Cameroon Separatist Attack

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Separatist rebels on Monday killed around 20 people, including women and children, in an attack on a village in one of Cameroon’s restive anglophone regions, the government said.

The overnight assault occurred at Egbekaw village, western Cameroon, the scene of deadly clashes between rebels and government forces for seven years.

“There were men, women and children, more than 20 killed,” minister at the presidency Mengot Victor Arrey-Nkongho told public radio. “It’s intolerable.”

Cameroon’s primarily English-speaking Northwest and Southwest regions have been gripped by conflict since separatists declared independence in 2017.

That followed decades of grievances over perceived discrimination by the francophone majority.

In the middle of the night “terrorists” opened fire with guns and used “traditional arms”, Manyu department prefect Viang Mekala said on the radio.

“There are about 20 dead and seven seriously wounded, a dozen houses burnt,” he added.


President Paul Biya, 90, who has ruled the central African nation with an iron fist for 41 years to the day, has resisted calls for wider autonomy and responded with a crackdown.

The conflict has claimed more than 6,000 lives and forced more than a million people to flee their homes, according to the International Crisis Group.

“It happened at 4:00 am. Armed young people came and fired on sleeping residents in their houses and set a whole block of houses on fire,” a resident told AFP by telephone requesting not to be identified out of security concerns.

“Twenty-three people have already been removed from the debris, some of whom are not even recognisable because of the fire.”

He said there was reason to believe it was connected to the November 6 anniversary of Biya assuming power as president in 1982.

A meeting of the ruling Cameroon People’s Democratic Movement (RDPC) was planned in the area, he added.

Both the separatists and government forces have been accused of atrocities in the fighting.

There had been no claim of responsibility over the attack on Egbekaw.

Guardian

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Israel Gives Condition For Ceasefire, Deaths Hit 11,000

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The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Sunday that at least 9,770 people had been killed in the Palestinian territory since the war with Israel erupted last month.

The ministry said at least 4,800 children were among those killed since Israel began striking the Gaza Strip in retaliation to the October 7 attacks carried out by Hamas militants in southern Israel, which Israeli officials said killed over 1,400, most of them civilians, AFP reports.

The latest information brings the death toll on both sides to 11,187.

Meanwhile, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday gave a condition for a ceasefire.

Israel won’t agree to any ceasefire activity in the Gaza war without the return of the hostages, Netanyahu said during a visit to the Ramon Air Force base in southern Israel, as he explained that he was delivering this message both to the country’s allies and enemies.

 “I also want you to know that there is one thing that we will not do – there will be no ceasefire without the return of the captives,” Netanyahu told the pilots according to The Jerusalem Post. “The very idea of doing that has to be removed from the conversation,” he added.

 “We (are saying) this to both our enemies and our friends. We will continue (the battle) until we have defeated them (our enemy). We have no alternative. I think today everyone understands that “The Jerusalem Post quoted him as saying.

Also, Pope Francis said on Sunday that he “begs” in God’s name for a ceasefire in the Israeli-Hamas war. 

“I continue to think about the serious situation in Palestine and in Israel where many, many people have lost their lives. In God’s name, I beg you to stop; cease using weapons!” the pope said on X, formerly Twitter, via @Pontifex.

 “I hope that avenues will be pursued so that an escalation of the conflict might be absolutely avoided,” Francis said, adding “Let the hostages be freed immediately. Let’s think of the children, of all the children affected by this war, as well as in Ukraine and by other conflicts: this is how their future is being killed. Let us pray that there might be the strength to say, ‘enough.’

More than 300 Americans, United States residents and their families have been evacuated from the Gaza Strip, the White House said on Sunday.

The evacuation, carried out in recent days, was the result of “pretty intensive negotiations with all sides relevant to this conflict,” White House Deputy National Security Advisor Jonathan Finer told CBS News.

Despite these efforts, the US believes there are still “a number” of Americans inside Gaza, he added.

“This is obviously a major priority and one that we’re going to continue to work out until every American who wants to leave is able to do so,” Finer said.

AFP reports that the Rafah border crossing from Gaza to Egypt opened up Wednesday after weeks of war, allowing a trickle of wounded Palestinians and people with dual nationality to leave, all desperate to escape Israel’s bombardment.

Egypt has said it would help evacuate 7,000 foreigners through the crossing, but Hamas said late Saturday that the evacuation of dual nationals and foreigners was being suspended until Israel lets some wounded Palestinians reach Rafah so they can cross the border for hospital treatment.

Punch

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