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Rivers State crisis: Expel Wike, FCT Minister from PDP now

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The internal squabbles and power tussle in PDP because of Nigeria’s 2027 presidential election and who controls once the biggest political party in the history of Africa has boxed the party into a struggling state of suffocation and Armageddon.
 
While APC as a ruling party has continued to carry out its role of trying to suffocate PDP to a total submission, PDP on its own has failed woefully as a major opposition party.
 
There are many different groups and forces within the party trying to firmly dictate what happens, and some of them are very vicious. However, two groups led by Atiku Abubakar and Nyesom Wike are the most powerful amongst them. But one thing they have in common is that they are all scheming for their selfish interests. 

 
For Wike, he has not hidden his interest to be the president of Nigeria especially after becoming the governor of Rivers State. His nursed desire of actually becoming president was propelled after his first ministerial appointment as education minister. All that have followed his political growth can testify that after that appointment he has tenaciously pursued his presidential vision calculatedly with all power and tools he could influence. The tenacity he attaches or his exhibition in pursuit of this dream drives down the impression of one who gives no fig, and this attitude appears to have been what led to his clash with Rotimi Amaechi (former Rivers State Governor), his predecessor. Amaechi who never knew that Wike had conceived the idea of occupying the same position he was scheming for in Aso Rock has in recent times confessed publicly in many occasions his regrets of having recommended him to be made a minister. Therefore, statistically, their political war of who controls Rivers State seemed anchored fundamentally on their selfish interests. It appeared like they wanted to have a very strong political and financial base basically to dictate things in their envisaged presidential election campaigns to their personal advantages. This interest was the genesis of their political enmity that led to the political militarization of Rivers State at that time. A similar scenario is again playing out between the current governor Similaye Fubara and Wike. The only difference for now is that Fubara has not shown any interest to occupy the number one position in Aso Rock like Wike.
 
Actions and unfolding events over the years seem to have continued to portray Wike as someone who is very desperate with his presidential ambition. He seems ready for any political adventure and can step on any toe as long as in his calculation it will bring him close to his desired destination of occupying the number one position in Aso Rock. That could be why it appears he wants to control every important political structure in Rivers State regardless of other stakeholders stand in the state, particularly Governor Fubara. The role he played in supporting President Tinubu of APC against his own party candidate Atiku Abubakar of PDP during the last presidential election was a huge betrayal and antiparty that called for a drastic punishment.
 
Wike succeeded in winning the political war against Amaechi in 2015 and taking total political control of Rivers State after the 2019 elections, he then critically considered the next thing that could be a hinderance to his presidential ambition in 2023. In his calculation, presumably, since PDP’s constitution does not allow the northern or southern part to produce the chairman of the party and at the same time the presidential candidate, the continuous stay of Prince Uche Secondus from south-south like himself as the national chairman of the party would be the obstacle or the biggest hinderance to his presidential aspiration. In his well thought out plan he smartly led the campaign of “Secondus must go” hiding under equity, and switched all his energy and resources in making sure that a northerner becomes the national chairman. The game was to pave way solely for the south to produce the presidential candidate, and he had believedconvincingly that he would be the one to emerge.
 
Having succeeded in influencing so much in installing a northerner as PDP’s chairman, Wike started the advocacy of the presidential candidate to be zoned to the south as stipulated by PDP’s constitution. As expected, it was obliged without any uproar. For the sake of equity, unity and inclusiveness some PDP stakeholders reasonably thought it wise that the zoning of the party’s ticket to the south should be exclusively reserved for the south-east. They argued that since the south-west and south-south had all produced presidents, it would be fair enough to also support the people of the south-east to produce a president. Wike who wielded enormous influence in PDP at that time refused the noble idea, because he wanted to be president. Consequently, party members from the north jettisoned zoning, and the party’s presidential candidate was then thrown open. This scheming and other political shameful dealings that allegedly took place in the party forced people like Peter Obi out of PDP.
 
During the presidential primary of PDP in Abuja Nwike was taught the political lessons of his life as he failed to the combined punches of political alliances and experiences’ of Atiku Abubakar. His later actions showed that he was disappointed and bitter from the outcome of the results, because he worked assiduously against the interest of his own party and Atiku Abubakar in favour of APC and Tinubu. In a normal working society and in a political party he ought to have been expelled or heavily sanctioned for such a grievous deed. But PDP is what it is, like Nigeria, many of them are the same in character. Some of them came from APC and may be planning to leave PDP and that is why they are silent in the face of the obvious spat, arrogance and insults from Wike.
 
Wike is presently fighting the governor of Rivers State who was elected under the platform of PDP. He is currently serving as a minister under APC, but it seems he is using the position against the interest of his acclaimed own party, yet members of PDP keep mute in a better described attitude of self-hatred and despair. After destroying the party he is likely going to dump PDP for another party like his loyalist in the State Assembly have been alleged to have done. So, his ambition is paramount and nothing else matters to him.
 
Wike wants to be the “Jagaban” of Rivers State politics and will not back down until he gets to his destination unless he is forcefully stopped by being knocked down politically. Remember, ihis quest to actualize his presidential ambition, Amaechi and Secondus have all fallen victims. But the earlier Wike realizes that Fubara is a sitting governor and as such the landlord of Rivers State, the better for him. But Fubara mustseriously activate those powers he has as a landlord now or he goes down in history as an impeached governor. His moves to probe Wike’s administration is one of those commendable landlord’s moves, and his swearing in of the Caretaker Committee Chairmen of the local governments was a well targeted uppercut of a landlord. PDP must follow the same steps now, by expelling, suspending, or at least forcingWike to retreat his dangerous steps against Fubara and the interests of PDP.
 
Will Fubara suffer the same fate like Amaechi and Secondus in the hands of Wike? Will Wike be successful in his alleged indirect influence of impeaching Fubara? Or will Fubara succeed in finding Wike culpable of misappropriation of Rivers fund as he probes his administration? I see Amaechi coming back to PDP and giving Fubara the supports he needs, because all seems not well with him and Tinubu in APC. Time will unveil. But one thing is certain in this political war, as 2027 draws near, the reality of PDP members’ silence will forcefully confront them and regrettably compel them to face the injurious consequences of their unceasing lukewarm attitudes to Wike’s actions. Anyone who thinks that Wike as the FCT Minister under this administration will work against the interest of Tinubu or APC in favor of PDP or any PDP candidate is a political toddler – a neophyte. Expel him from PDP now before he does more damages.

♦ Uzoma Ahamefule, a refined African traditionalist and a patriotic citizen writes from Vienna, Austria. WhatsApp: +436607369050; Email Contact Uzoma >>>>

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Africa

Trump’s sudden suspension of foreign aid puts millions of lives in Africa at risk

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  • The United States government funds HIV prevention, treatment and research programmes across the world but especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

  • US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on 20 January that halts foreign aid for 90 days.

  • The order, which is not clearly worded, has left in doubt the future of many life-saving HIV programmes in Africa.

The sudden decision by United States President Donald Trump to halt and review all foreign aid for 90 days could be devastating for HIV programmes in African countries. After Trump’s inauguration on 20 January, he signed numerous executive orders. One of these suspends aid to “foreign countries and implementing non-governmental organisations, international organisations, and contractors” pending review for whether it aligns with “American interests and … values”.

The order said, “no further [US] foreign assistance shall be disbursed in a manner that is not fully aligned with the foreign policy of the President of the United States”.

Foreign aid includes the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. PEPFAR has saved millions of lives since it was launched by former president George W. Bush in 2003.

PEPFAR statistics show that at the end of 2024, it was providing life-saving antiretroviral treatment to nearly 21-million people across 55 countries, many of them in sub-Saharan Africa. PEPFAR is also delivering pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) — which stops people from contracting HIV — to about 2.5 million people. In 2024, PEPFAR provided HIV testing to about 84-million people. It funds HIV treatment and intervention in Uganda, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and many others.

South Africa has about 5.6-million people on antiretroviral treatment. The medicines themselves are paid for by the South African government, but PEPFAR funds some of the staff at some ARV programmes. It also funds much of the prevention and information effort, including ARV user clubs, medical circumcision and public messaging.

South Africa does leading research on HIV and TB. Much of this is funded by the US National Institutes of Health. It’s unclear what the future status of this funding is.

It’s also unclear what the status is of money that has been committed. For example, some programmes get monthly tranches based on contracts that have already been signed. At least one project manager we spoke to said he wasn’t sure if commitments for February onwards would be arriving, and US government representatives who he deals with are themselves unsure.

This uncertainty is due to this phrase in the executive order, “shall immediately pause new obligations and disbursements”. It’s unclear if already-committed disbursements are affected.

Professor Linda-Gail Bekker, an infectious disease scientist at the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre at UCT, said that it’s unclear whether the PEPFAR funding will be reduced or stopped but that the outcome in African countries could be “disastrous”.

Bekker said that HIV treatment “doesn’t stand still” and that treatment, PrEP, and quality healthcare have to keep on getting to people.

Bekker also said that other countries in Africa are far more dependent on PEPFAR funding than South Africa. For example, Malawi, which has a minimal health budget.

“There is no doubt our own national governments need to step up. We know there needs to be more self-reliance,” she said, but added that the sudden stop of donor funding can be “disastrous”.

study from 2024 looking at the rate of mortality amongst South African adults who experienced interruption in antiretroviral treatment, shows that interrupting antiretroviral treatment leads to much greater risk of death.

Over the years, Bekker says, PEPFAR funding has also gradually transitioned from where there was an emergency situation, at the height of the AIDS epidemic in the early 2000s, to helping countries’ health systems cope.

PEPFAR allocations in Malawi for 2024 and 2025 are $180-million and $178-million respectively. It is one of two of the biggest funders of HIV interventions in Malawi, along with the Global Fund, according to the National Aids Commission (NAC) of Malawi. In a recent strategic plan, the NAC noted that, “There is an urgent need to sustain and accelerate the national response between 2020 and 2025 in order to put Malawi on the path towards ending AIDS as a public health threat in Malawi by 2030.”

It is unclear how Trump’s order to pause and review foreign aid will affect PEPFAR in the future. The US Agency for International Development (USAID) media office did not respond to questions by the time of publication.

Trump also issued an executive order withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organisation (WHO). According to Reuters there is a 12-month notice period for the US, the WHO’s largest funder, to leave the organisation and stop all financial contributions to its work.

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Trump Administration to Address Non-Citizen Immigrants as ‘Aliens’

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The Trump administration has decided to officially refer to non-citizen immigrants as “aliens.” Caleb Vitello, the Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), issued an internal memo directing the use of the term “alien” instead of “non-citizen.”

From now on, “non-citizen” will be replaced with “alien,” “non-citizenship” with “alienage,” “undocumented non-citizen” with “undocumented alien,” and “non-citizen children” with “alien children.” Before the Biden administration, the term “alien” was commonly used to refer to non-citizens.

“This memorandum supersedes and rescinds the April 19, 2021, Updated Terminology for Communications and Materials memorandum from Acting Director Tae Johnson. Moving forward, for all communications materials and internal and external communications, ICE employees are directed to use the lexicon consistent with the Immigration and Nationality Act and the language historically used by the agency. Specifically, ICE will revert to its prior lexicon,” the memo sent to ICE leadership by Acting Director Caleb Vitello reads.

On April 19, 2021, the Biden administration changed these terminologies. Since then, ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had stopped referring to immigrants as “aliens” or “illegal aliens.” The Biden administration had instructed U.S. immigration enforcement agencies not to use terms like “alien” or “illegal alien” when referring to immigrants. However, under the previous Trump administration, such terms were widely used.

ICE and CBP are the primary federal agencies responsible for enforcing immigration laws in the U.S. The Biden administration had changed these terms as part of its efforts to make the immigration system more humane.

Under the changes, the term “alien” was replaced with “non-citizen” or “migrant,” and “illegal” was replaced with “undocumented.” ICE’s then-Acting Director, Tae Johnson, had emphasized the use of more inclusive language.

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African American

Over 10,000 Black Women Come Together to Thank Kamala Harris

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Over 10,000 Black women, led by the Black Women’s Leadership Collective and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., have united to express their gratitude to Kamala Harris in an open letter celebrating her legacy of service, leadership, and inspiration.

The heartfelt letter highlights Harris’s historic role as the first Black and South Asian woman to serve as Vice President of the United States and acknowledges her tireless dedication to advancing justice, equity, and representation for marginalized communities.

“As the first Black woman to hold the office of Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris leaves behind an incredible legacy of strength, resilience, grace, and determination,” said Dr. Stacie NC Grant, President and CEO of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.

She reflected on the historic moment Harris addressed the sorority’s Grand Boule in Indianapolis in July 2024, her first public appearance as the sitting Vice President and presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee.

Although the 2024 presidential election did not result in a victory, the letter acknowledges Harris’s profound impact on millions, particularly Black women and girls. Her presidential campaign symbolized hope and progress, inspiring her supporters to continue fighting for justice and equity.

The letter, signed by prominent Black women leaders such as Donna Brazile, LaTosha Brown, Symone Sanders Townsend, and Secretary Marcia Fudge, praises Harris’s work on key issues such as voting rights, economic justice, and healthcare. It also acknowledges the sacrifices and resilience she displayed while breaking barriers in U.S. politics.

“Your work does not go unnoticed, and it inspires generations of women and girls to dream bigger and fight harder for the future they deserve,” the letter states.

The initiative underscores the vital role Black women have played in Harris’s political journey. From her historic election as Vice President in 2020 to her unprecedented presidential campaign in 2024, Black women have mobilized to support her vision of dismantling barriers and amplifying marginalized voices.

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