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UNGA 78: Tinubu departs New York after first outing
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday has departed New York after attending the 78th session high-level meetings of the UN General Assembly.
The UN correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Tinubu, while in New York, participated in some of the high-level events, including a bilateral meeting.
The Nigerian President who arrived New York on Sunday, was among the leaders that adopted the political declaration to accelerate the 17 goals on Monday at the SDG summit.
Ahead of the opening of the session, Tinubu met with his South African counterpart, Cyril Ramaphosa to discuss stronger economic and regional ties.
On Tuesday, the President attended the opening of the UN General Debate in the company of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar and the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the UN, Amb.Tijjani Muhammad-Bande and the Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Still on Tuesday, Tinubu delivered Nigeria’s statement to the world leaders, affirming democratic governance as the best guarantor of the sovereign will and well-being of the people, saying military coups are wrong.
In his inaugural speech on behalf of Nigeria and Africa, he said Nigeria’s accord with the objectives and guiding principles of the world body: peace, security, human rights and development.
Tinubu, as Chairman of ECOWAS, solicited help to re-establish democratic governance in a manner that addresses the political and economic challenges confronting that nation, including the violent extremists who seek to foment instability in our region.
On Wednesday, he met with some Nigerians in the U.S., where he urged them to change their mindset to succeed.
Tinubu, at the Presidential Town Hall Meeting with Nigerians in the diaspora urged them to come back home, noting that Nigeria has arrived and that they should forget the frustration of the previous year’s leadership,
After his interaction with Nigerians, he met with the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, where he noted that African nations would start to take appropriate actions against actors that illicitly siphon and smuggle out the continent’s vast mineral resources.
The Nigerian leader told the UN chief that human rights had been used to deter actions against such actors that smuggle out African resources and bring in western-made weapons.
On Thursday, he rang the bell at the National Association of Securities Dealers Automatic Quotation System (NASDAQ), becoming the first African Head of Government to do so.
The president rang the bell at the world’s financial capital, New York and became the first African President to perform such task.
NAN reports that the Nigerian delegation participated in other high-level events such as High-level dialogue on Financing for Development; High-level meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response.
In addition, the delegation attended Climate Ambition Summit, convened by the Secretary-General; the Ministerial meeting of the Summit of the Future; High-level meeting of the Universal Health Coverage,.
Also, the delegation participated in High-level meeting of the on the fight Against Tuberculosis.
The delegation, made up of 16 ministers, seven governors, Chief of Staff and some heads of Ministries , Department and agencies(MDAs) also attended other events.
Similarly the First Lady, Mrs Oluremi Tinubu, spoke at the at the New York 2023 Nigeria Economic Growth and Trade Summit with the theme“ Stemming Migration Flows by Providing Basic Needs’’
In the summit organised by Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum on the sidelines of the session, the First Lady called on the diasporas to contribute their quota to the “Renewed Hope Agenda” of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
She also called on Nigerian youths to have hope in the efforts of the current administration to deliver on the dividends of democracy and provide for their basic needs.
Mrs Tinubu also attended the First Ladies High Level Forum on the sidelines of the session to commemorate the 2023 United Nations Day of Peace.
The theme of the General Assembly is 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.
The Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN has warned against obstructing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from carrying out its lawful duty .
Fagbemi’s warning is contained in a statement in Abuja.
“This is a matter of very grave concern, it is now beyond doubt that the EFCC is given power by the law to invite any person of interest to interact with them in the course of their investigations into any matter, regardless of status.
“Therefore, the least that we can all do when invited, is not to put any obstruction in the way of EFCC, but to honourably answer their invitation.
“A situation where public officials who are themselves subject of protection by law enforcement agents will set up a stratagem of obstruction to the civil and commendable efforts of the EFCC to perform its duty is to say the least, insufferably disquieting’’.
He added that running away from the law will not resolve issues at stake but only exacerbate them.
“Nigeria has a vibrant judicial system that is capable of protecting everyone who follows the rule of law in seeking protection.
“I therefore encourage anyone who has been invited by the EFCC or any other agency to immediately toe the path of decency and civility by honouring such invitation instead of embarking on a temporising self-help and escapism.
“This can only put our country in bad light before the rest of the world’’.
He said institutions of state should be allowed to function effectively and efficiently.
“I stand for the rule of law and will promptly call EFCC, and indeed any other agency to order when there is an indication of any transgressions of the fundamental rights of any Nigerian by any of the agencies’’.
NAN reports that the EFCC had on Wednesday warned members of the public that it was a criminal offence to obstruct officers of the Commission from carrying out their lawful duties.
Section 38(2)(a(b) of the EFCC Establishment Act makes it an offence to prevent officers of the Commission from carrying out their lawful duties. Culprits risk a jail term of not less than five years.
The warning , the EFCC said, became necessary against the background of the increasing tendency by persons and groups under investigation by the Commission to take the laws into their hands by recruiting thugs to obstruct lawful operations of the EFCC.
On several occasions, the anti graft agency said, operatives of the Commission have had to exercise utmost restraint in the face of such provocation to avoid a breakdown of law and order.
Some unknown gunmen have kidnapped Joshua Rogers, the ChannelsTV reporter in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Politics Nigeria learnt that Rogers was picked up close to his residence at Rumuosi in Port Harcourt and to an unknown destination by the gunmen around 9pm on Thursday, April 11.
The reporter was driving his official ChannelsTV branded car when the hoodlums accosted, pointed a gun at him and took him away in the same vehicle.
Rogers was said to be returning from his official assignment in Government House after a trip to Andoni for a government event when the incident happened.
Already, the gunmen were said to have contacted his wife and demanded a N30million ransom for bis release.
His cameraman confirmed the incident and appealed to his abductors to set him free unconditionally.
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