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Timi Frank accuses Wike of plot to block allocation to LGs in Rivers State

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4 months ago

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Former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, on Sunday, raised the alarm over an alleged plot by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, to secure a court injunction to block releases from the Federation Account to the 22 Local Government Councils in Rivers state.

Frank who made this disclosure in a statement in Abuja, said Wike and his co-travelers that are opposed to the Governor of Rivers State, Siminalayi Fubara, resorted to the plot following their failure to stop local government elections in the state which held successfully on Saturday the 5th of October, 2024.

According to him, Wike through his proxies will tomorrow (Monday) or any day soon, approach a Federal High Court in Abuja with spurious writ with prayers that monthly funds allocation to the 22 LGAs in Rivers State should henceforth be withheld with claims that the elections were held in violation of a court ruling.

However, the Bayelsa-born political activist called on Wike to abandon the plot in the interest of the people of Rivers State and find alternative means to settle his rift with Governor Fubara.

He also called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to allow Wike to dent his democratic credentials with such a retrogressive court action seeing that local councils in Lagos state suffered similar fate during his administration as Governor through the devious orchestration of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo.

Frank who is the United Liberation Movement for West Papua (ULMWP) Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East, also warned the Judiciary especially Judges and Justices always out to do Wike’s bidding for personal gain not to grant any frivolous prayer brought before them on this matter.

Besides, he condemned the partisan role the police have played so far in the
political crises rocking the state and called on them to protect all Rivers’ people instead of taking sides with the Ruling All Progressives Congress.

He said: “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu cannot afford to fold his arms and watch as Wike plots to reverse democracy in Rivers State and by extension Nigeria.

“The anti-democratic tendency of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who seized funds meant for local councils in Lagos during Tinubu’s administration as Governor must not be allowed to repeat itself in Rivers State.

“As we speak, Wike is putting finishing touches to plans to secure a kangaroo court order to stop monthly funds allocation to local government councils in Rivers State. This must not be allowed to happen.”

He warned that such a move could lead to economic disruption in Rivers State in particular and the country in general as well as reversal of of democratic gains the country has made since 1999.

“Any action capable of truncating democracy in the country similar to ongoing scenarios in some West African States must be avoided.

“The people of Rivers State have elected their council chairman and councilors in line with the recent ruling of the Supreme Court to democratize all LGAs in Nigeria and any attempt to truncate democracy in Rivers would be resisted by the people,” he said.

While urging Fubara not to be distracted by the evil machinations of his traducers and political opponents, he congratulated the people of Rivers for successfully electing their council representatives and urged them to redouble their support for the Governor.

END

Signed

Comrade Timi Frank
ULMWP Ambassador to East Africa and Middle East

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Politics

‘Time for American people to know TRUTH’: Donald Trump orders declassification of assassination files of John F Kennedy, Martin Luther King

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2 hours ago

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January 24, 2025

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US President-elect Donald Trump (File photo: Reuters) © Provided by Asian News International (ANI)
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Washington, DC [US], January 24 (ANI): United States President Donald Trumpsigned the executive order ordering the declassification of records regarding the assassinations of President John F Kennedy, Senator Robert F Kennedy, and the Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King Jr, and said it is time for the American people to know the “truth”.

Sharing the detailed document, the White House stated, “Providing Americans with the truth after six decades of secrecy.”

“The Executive Order establishes the policy that, more than 50 years after these assassinations, the victims’ families and the American people deserve the truth,” the statement added.

Specifically, the order directs the Director of National Intelligence and other appropriate officials to Present a plan within 15 days for the full and complete release of all John F Kennedyassassination records and Immediately review the records relating to the Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr assassinations and present a plan for their full and complete release within 45 days.

Notably, In Trump’s first term, he ordered agencies to move toward disclosing more information about the John F Kennedy assassination

According to the White House, the President John F Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992 required all records related to the assassination be released in 25 years, absent a presidential certification that: Continued postponement is necessary due to identifiable harm to the military defence, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations; and Such identifiable harm is of such gravity that it outweighs the public interest in disclosure.

“In October 2017 and April 2018 certifications, President Trump directed agencies to reevaluate redactions and disclose any information that no longer warranted withholding. President Biden delayed disclosure in 2021, 2022, and 2023,” the statement added.

Trump said the continued withholding of the John F Kennedy records is “not in the public interest and is long overdue”, while further adding that releasing the Robert F Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassination records is in the ‘public interest’.

Notably, it was President Trump’s campaign promise to release assassination records to give Americans the truth.

President Trump pledged on multiple occasions to release the JFK files, specifically stating in June 2024 that he would do so “early on.”

“When I return to the White House, I will declassify and unseal all JFK assassination-related documents. It’s been 60 years, time for the American people to know the TRUTH!” Trump stated. (ANI)

Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info

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Niger Explosion: Governance must prioritize human lives through proactive policies – Peter Obi

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18 hours ago

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January 23, 2025

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Peter Obi, former governor and 2023 presidential candidate, has called for urgent safety measures to prevent recurring disasters like the tragic petrol tanker explosion that claimed over 100 lives in Suleja, Niger State.

Obi made this appeal during his visit to the site of the explosion, the gravesite, and the Sarkin Dikko palace along the Dikko-Maje Road.

“Today, emotion took the greater part of me as I left Lagos this morning and headed to the site of the tragic petrol tanker explosion, the gravesite, and also the Sarkin Dikko place along the Dikko-Maje Road in Suleja, Niger State, where over 100 lives were lost, more than 50 injured, and many properties destroyed,” Obi shared on his official X handle on Wednesday.

At the explosion site and the graveyard, where 80 victims were buried, Obi expressed sorrow over the preventable tragedy.

He also visited some of the injured victims at the hospital, offering them support and encouragement.

“These recurring disasters call for urgent safety measures: repairing roads, more enlightenment of tanker vehicle operators, investing in healthcare, and lifting people out of poverty to prevent such heartbreaking losses,” he added.

Obi extended his condolences and solidarity to the Dikko community during his meeting with Sarkin Dikko and his council.

He revealed the importance of proactive governance to safeguard human lives.

“Human lives are invaluable, and governance must prioritize their protection through proactive policies,” he stated.

“Together, we can ensure such tragedies become a thing of the past,” he said.

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Saudi crown prince says kingdom intends to invest billions in US during call with Trump

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19 hours ago

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January 23, 2025

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President Donald Trump meets with then deputy crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in the White house on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 Evan Vucci/Copyright 2017 The AP. All rights reserved.
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Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said on Thursday that the kingdom wants to invest $600 billion (€576 billion) in the United States over the next four years after a phone call with US President Donald Trump.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s comments come after Trump mused about returning to Saudi Arabia as his first foreign trip back in office.

State-run Saudi Press Agency said, “the crown prince affirmed the kingdom’s intention to broaden its investments and trade with the United States over the next four years, in the amount of $600 billion (€576 bn), and potentially beyond that.”

The agency did not elaborate on exactly how the money would be spent.

During their conversation, the two also reportedly discussed ways the two countries could cooperate to establish peace, security and stability in the Middle East.

There was no immediate response from the White House regarding the call. It also wasn’t clear whether Trump’s call with the crown prince was his first with a foreign leader since returning to the Oval Office.

However, it was his first reported abroad.

Trump’s relationship with Saudi Arabia

After his inauguration, Trump talked about the possibility of heading to the kingdom again as his first foreign trip, like he did in 2017.

“The first foreign trip typically has been with the UK but… I did it with Saudi Arabia last time because they agreed to buy $450 billion (€429 bn) worth of our products,” Trump told journalists in the Oval Office.

“I think I’d probably go (again),” the recently inaugurated leader said.

In recent years, the US has increasingly pulled away from relying on Saudi oil exports — once the bedrock the relationship between the two nations.

Trump maintained close relations with Saudi Arabia, even after the crown prince was embroiled in controversy after he was implicated in the 2018 murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in Istanbul.

The billion dollar pledge, which dwarves the gross domestic product of many nations, comes as the kingdom faces budgetary pressures of its own. Global oil prices remain depressed years after the height of the coronavirus pandemic, affecting the kingdom’s revenues.

Meanwhile, the crown prince has continued to invest in NEOM, a new city in the Saudi Arabian desert. The country also needs to build tens of billions of dollar’s worth of new stadiums and infrastructure ahead of the 2034 FIFA World Cup, which it is hosting.

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