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PDP Concludes Campaign in the South West with Promises of Restructuring and Industrialisation
The People’s Democratic Party concluded the campaign in the South West region today, Thursday, 19th January 2023, with an astounding turnout of party supporters in Ibadan, the third most populous city in the country. The venue, Mapo Hall on Bere road has over the better part of the last century, hosted major political and social events. Indeed, it was on the very spot where Nnamdi Azikiwe delivered his presidential address and Chief Obafemi Awolowo held his campaign rally several decades ago, that the PDP presidential candidate made yet another contribution to history when he addressed the teeming crowd of Oyo indigenes who turned up for the rally.
After receiving a certificate of endorsement presented by the National Coordinator of Nigerian students on behalf of the students of South West Nigeria, HE Atiku Abubakar thanked all present at the rally for their support and loyalty. He also expressed his gratitude to Governor Seyi Makinde for ensuring that the rally was well organised and orchestrated. In his speech, he noted that the South West has always agitated for restructuring which is one of the five pillars of the PDP agenda. Granting them fiscal autonomy, he explained, would ensure that states and local governments develop their infrastructure more rapidly.
Furthermore, he promised an end to student strikes as lecturers would be paid promptly. The Presidential Candidate stated that the South West is a renowned business centre and consequently the PDP’s economic programme is committed to ensuring that the industrialisation of the South West is achieved. The incoming government, he said, will also promote unity by ensuring the inclusion of every part of the country, unlike the current APC government. He reiterated his commitment to take control of the security situation so that law and order will prevail in every geo-political zone. Finally, he assured his supporters that his promises will be kept unlike the present government that made several promises which they failed to honour.
Other speakers like Senator Dino Melaye and Senator Iyorchia Ayu, Chairman of the PDP party also commended Governor Seyi Makinde for creating an enabling environment for the campaign to take place. According to Senator Dino, the participation of all the stakeholders in Oyo, including the voters, was clear proof that indeed HE Atiku Abubakar will become the next president. Senator Adeleke, Governor of Osun state also exhibited similar confidence of certain victory when he assured the crowd that once the formula with which he defeated APC in the gubernatorial election is applied, they would stand no chance in the presidential election.
The Director General of the campaign, Honorable Tambuwal, expressed his delight at being present in Mapo Hall “at the beginning of a new dawn of the history of Nigeria.” He also commended Governor Makinde for his democratic spirit. “This is the last state in the South West. PDP has a great presence here and is determined to win. Unlike another candidate that went to Kano with absolutely no message offered other than dancing, the Unifier has a strong message for all Nigerians from the vintage position of the historic Mapo Hall,” he said.
Governor Emmanuel Udom, Chairman of the Campaign Council directed his main message to the youths and students. “It is one of the largest turnouts and shows that Ibadan is still the largest city. Amongst all the candidates that want to be president, there is only one candidate who is talking about restructuring. The implication of that to Oyo state is that it will be given an opportunity to regain its pride of place. The only candidate that understands industrialisation and appreciates the fact that Oyo deserves an inland port, is PDP’s candidate. A viable port in Oyo state will ensure rapid development. People from all over Nigeria will no longer need to go to Lagos as they can clear their goods in Oyo state. This will empower the youth, students and women. Under his industrialisation policy, he has promised to establish an inland port in Oyo state,” he said.
Speaking on the division in the party, the Chairman of the Party, Senator Iyochia Ayu pledged his commitment to reunite all members of the PDP. “Sometimes in a family, you have people who are unhappy but as the father of the party, I will bring all aggrieved members back home.”
The crash site of the helicopter carrying Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi has been located, Iranian state news agency IRNA and semi-official news outlet ISNA reported on Monday.
The helicopter crashed in a remote part of the country on Sunday.
As president of Iran, Raisi is the second most powerful individual in the Islamic Republic’s political structure after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini. He became president in a historically uncompetitive election in 2021, and he has overseen a period of intensified repression of dissent in a nation convulsed by youth-led protests against religious clerical rule.
The crash comes at a fraught moment in the Middle East, with war raging in Gaza and weeks after Iran launched a drone-and-missile attack on Israel in response to a deadly strike on its diplomatic compound in Damascus.
As the sun rose Monday, Raisi and the others on board remained missing more than 12 hours after the likely crash, with Turkish drone footage suggesting the helicopter went down in the mountains. Rescuers rushed to the site.
The incident comes as Iran under Raisi and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel last month and has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels.
Iran has also faced years of mass protests against its Shiite theocracy over an ailing economy and women’s rights — making the moment that much more sensitive for Tehran and the future of the country as the Israel-Hamas war inflames the wider Middle East.
Raisi was traveling in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province. State TV said what it called a “hard landing” happened near Jolfa, a city on the border with the nation of Azerbaijan, some 600 kilometers (375 miles) northwest of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Later, state TV put it farther east near the village of Uzi, but details remained contradictory.
Traveling with Raisi were Iran’s Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, the governor of Iran’s East Azerbaijan province and other officials and bodyguards, the state-run IRNA news agency reported. One local government official used the word “crash,” but others referred to either a “hard landing” or an “incident.”
Neither IRNA nor state TV offered any information on Raisi’s condition in the hours afterward.
Early Monday morning, Turkish authorities released what they described as drone footage showing what appeared to be a fire in the wilderness that they “suspected to be wreckage of helicopter.” The coordinates listed in the footage put the fire some 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the Azerbaijan-Iranian border on the side of a steep mountain.
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‘I’ll bring my plane… I plan on keeping it for another four years’ – Biden on second debate with Trump
President Biden and former President Trump agreed to hold a second debate Sept. 10 hosted by ABC News.
The two candidates had already accepted an invitation earlier Wednesday to attend a CNN debate on June 27, and both confirmed later in the day on social media that they plan to attend the ABC debate in September.
“I’ve also received and accepted an invitation to a debate hosted by ABC on Tuesday, September 10th,” Biden posted on the social platform X. “Trump says he’ll arrange his own transportation. I’ll bring my plane, too. I plan on keeping it for another four years.”
Biden, of course, is referring to the presidential jet, Air Force One.
“It is my great honor to accept the CNN Debate against Crooked Joe Biden, the WORST PRESIDENT in the History of the United States and a true Threat to Democracy, on June 27th,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Likewise, I accept the ABC News Debate against Crooked Joe on September 10th.”
It marked a whirlwind few hours that started with Biden’s campaign publicly proposing two deabtes in June and September and ended with both candidates agreeing to a date and host.
ABC News had planned to host a GOP primary debate in New Hampshire, but it was canceled after Trump and Nikki Haley said they would not attend. Martha Raddatz of ABC co-moderated one of the 2016 presidential debates; the network did not host a debate in 2020.
The candidates have chosen to go around the Commission on Presidential Debates, the organization that has arranged the showdowns dating back to 1988.
Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon suggested working with outlets that hosted GOP primary debates in 2016 and Democratic primary debates in 2020 to avoid any perceptions of bias.
ABUJA, NIGERIA — Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Women Affairs says it is investigating a plan by a lawmaker in central Niger state to marry off some 100 female orphans of unknown ages later this month.
Speaker of the Niger State Assembly Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji announced the mass wedding last week but called off the ceremony following widespread outrage.
Minister of Women Affairs Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, speaking to journalists in Abuja on Tuesday, condemned the plans.
Kennedy-Ohanenye said she had petitioned the police and filed a lawsuit to stop the marriages pending an investigation to ascertain the age of the orphans and whether they consented to the marriages.
“This is totally unacceptable by the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and by the government” of Nigeria, she said.
Last week, Sarkin-Daji announced his support for the mass wedding of the orphans, whose relatives were killed during attacks by armed bandits. He said it was part of his support to his constituents following an appeal for wedding funding by local traditional and religious leaders.
The mass wedding had been scheduled for May 24.
“That support I intend to give for the marriage of those orphans, I’m withdrawing it,” he said. “The parents can have the support [money], if they wish, let them go ahead and marry them off. As it is right now, I’m not threatened by the action of the minister.”
Despite national laws prohibiting it, forced or arranged marriage is a common phenomenon in Nigeria, especially among rural communities in the predominantly Muslim north, where religious and cultural norms such as polygamy favor the practice.
Poor families often use forced marriage to ease financial pressure, and the European Union Agency for Asylum says girls who refuse could face repercussions such as neglect, ostracism, physical assault and rape.
Raquel Kasham Daniel escaped being married off as a teenager when her father died and now runs a nonprofit helping children, especially less-privileged girls, get a formal education for free.
She said the ability of women to avoid forced marriage in Nigeria depends on their income and education.
“I was 16 when I lost my dad and I was almost married off, but then I ran away from home. And that gave me the opportunity to complete my education, and now I have a better life,” Daniel said.
“So, the reason why I prioritize education is to make sure that other girls have access to quality schooling so that it will help them make informed decisions about their lives. Education not only increases our awareness as girls about our rights but also enhances our prospects for higher income earning,” she said.
Thirty percent of girls in Nigeria are married before they turn 18, according to Girls Not Brides, a global network of more than 1,400 civil society groups working to end child marriage.
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