Politics

Presidential ambition renewed as Nigerian politician, Peter Obi, joins Labour Party

Published

3 years ago

May 27, 2022

Nigerian politician, Peter Obi, who dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Wednesday has joined the Labour Party.

Mr. Obi confirmed the move on his Twitter account.

“Since I resigned from the PDP because of issues that are at variance with my persona and principles, I have consulted widely with various parties and personalities to ensure we do not complicate the route to our desired destination.”

Since I resigned from the PDP because of issues that are at variance with my persona and principles, I have consulted widely with various parties and personalities to ensure we do not complicate the route to our desired destination.

— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) May 27, 2022

“Therefore, I have chosen a route that I consider to be in line with our aspirations and my mantra of taking the country from consumption to production; and that is the Labour Party which is synonymous with the people, workers, development, production, securing and uniting Nigerians as one family. I invite all Nigerians to join me in taking back our country. Be assured that I’ll never let you down.” Obi tweeted.

The Labour Party also confirmed Obi’s admission on its Twitter handle, “Dear Peter Obi, welcome to the Labour party, the party of productivity. Together we will Take back Nigeria.”

Peter Obi was running mate to Atiku Abubakar in the last presidential election in 2019. With president Muhammadu Buhari who is from the Northern part of Nigeria due to leave office in 2023, after having spent eight years as Nigeria’s president, it widely believed Nigeria’s next president should be from the South, specifically the South East region that has not produced a president since Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe during Nigeria independence in 1960 and General Aguyi Ironsi also in the 60s as military head of state.

The presidential primary elections for Nigeria’s two major political parties is scheduled to hold this weekend and eyes will be on Abuja, Nigeria’s capital city hosting the primaries to see who and who are likely to be the parties’ flag bearers for the Nigerian top job in next year’s election.

The Labour Party presidential primary is meant to hold next Tuesday.

In a related development, Nigeria’s Minority Leader and governorship aspirant in Abia State, Enyinnaya Abaribe, has dumped the Peoples Democratic Party and resigned as the Minority Leader in the upper chamber of the National Assembly.

Politics

Mali: 7 Russian mercenaries killed

Published

12 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

An al Qaeda offshoot in North Africa has claimed responsibility for the attack in central Mali, killing at least seven mercenaries from Russia’s Wagner private military contractor company.

Wagner earlier lost a battle in July with mostly Tuareg rebels and Islamists close to Mali’s Algerian border, exposing the perils faced by mercenaries used by military juntas in the Sahel area of West Africa.

The separatists and strong branches of Al Qaeda and Islamic State, which have taken over large areas of the Sahel over the past 12 years, are difficult for Mali and its neighbours Burkina Faso and Niger to control.

The al Qaeda offshoot JNIM claimed responsibility for the Thursday attack, according to a statement from SITE Intelligence Group, which keeps an eye on extremist activity in the area. According to SITE, JNIM captured several weapons and killed seven Russian Wagner mercenaries.

Following an attack, the bodies of at least five white males wearing army fatigues were seen laying near a military truck in a video obtained by Reuters. The validity of the footage could not be confirmed by Reuters.

SITE Intelligence posted images allegedly from JNIM that showed many crates of weapons and ammo together with the dead and bloodied bodies of troops.

Although two local officials acknowledged the incident, a Malian army source claimed to have seen seven dead bodies, including Russian fighters. Five Wagner warriors were slain, according to one of them.

At least six Russians have been murdered in the attack, which was carried out by Katiba Macina, a division of JNIM, according to a consultant working on security in the area.

The expert referred to the Russians as Africa Corps warriors, a paramilitary group under Kremlin leadership that has taken Wagner’s position in Africa throughout the previous 12 months.

Mali has previously said that Russian servicemen trainers are assisting local troops with Russian-purchased weaponry rather than mercenaries.

Politics

Mauritius’ Prime Minister to double as Finance Minister

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In an effort to maintain a tight eye on the economy, Mauritius’ Prime Minister, Navin Ramgoolam, who took office this month following a resounding election victory, said on Friday that he would retain the position of finance minister for himself.

“We are doing an audit of the economy to see to what extent the outgoing government has destroyed it,” Ramgoolam told reporters in the capital Port Louis after he presided over the swearing-in of other ministers.

Ten years after he stepped down as prime minister, the seasoned politician returned to the position when his Alliance du Changement (ADC) alliance won 60 of the 62 seats in the national legislature.

The 77-year-old Ramgoolam said earlier this week that he would be auditing governmental finances. Before this, he was prime minister from 1995 to 2000 and again from 2005 to 2014.

Ramgoolam started a campaign in 2006 to streamline taxes and reduce bureaucracy to diversify the $10 billion economy beyond exports of sugar, textiles, and tourism.

Since then, the 1.3 million-person nation, which positions itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, has developed into a major offshore financial hub and has been rated by the World Bank as the easiest location to do business in Africa regularly.