Greenland’s Prime Minister Mute Egede has called for the North Atlantic island to pursue independence from its former colonial ruler Denmark in a New Year speech.

The world’s biggest island — which is home to about 57,000 people — was a Danish colony until it become a self-governing territory of Denmark in 1979. Since 2009, Greenland has held the right to declare independence through a referendum.

“The history and current conditions have shown that our cooperation with the Kingdom of Denmark has not succeeded in creating full equality,” said Egede, who is a member of the pro-independence Community of the People (IA) party.

“It is now time for our country to take the next step,” he added. “Like other countries in the world, we must work to remove the obstacles to cooperation – which we can describe as the shackles of colonialism — and move forward.”

Egede’s speech this week came after US President-elect Donald Trump last month repeated his desire to purchase Greenland from Denmark, having first expressed the wish in 2019 during his first term in office. Responding to Trump’s latest comments, Egede last week said that Greenland is “not for sale and will never be for sale”.

An independence movement is gaining momentum partly because of multiple revelations of misconduct by Danish authorities last century, including a forced contraception campaign in the 1960s and 1970s.

Egede suggested an independence referendum could coincide with parliamentary elections in April.

“Work has already begun on creating the framework for Greenland as an independent state,” he said. “It is necessary to take major steps … The upcoming new election period must, together with the citizens, create these new steps.”

Greenland — whose capital Nuuk is nearer to New York than Copenhagen — is rich in mineral, oil, and natural gas resources, but it relies on annual subsidies from Denmark worth some €500 million a year.

Home to a large US Air Force air base, Greenland is strategically vital for the US military. Following Trump’s latest remarks about buying the island last month, Denmark announced it would increase defence spending there by at least €1.3 billion — though Danish Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the timing was just an “irony of fate”.

Forgive him, He doesn’t know what he was saying. It’s old age- Peter Odili’s kinsmen tenders public apology to Wike

Odili and WIke have been in a war of words after Odili while while speaking at the Christmas ballad organised by him in honour of Governor Sim Fubara and his family, said that Governor Fubara has summoned an unusual fortitude to confront the quest by Wike to capture Rivers State “Through ferocious, but unnecessary political war

Reacting, Wike slammed Odili, saying he brought Odili back to life, after his retirement into oblivion. Wike warned that as an elder statesman, Odili should not be a trader and sycophant all the time.

Peter Odili was governor of Rivers State in Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007 while Wike was governor from 2015 to 2023

The family of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, has expressed disappointment over the failure of President Ahmed Bola Tinubu to allegedly keep his promise of releasing the Biafra agitator.

Kanu’s younger brother, Prince Emmanuel Kanu, in a statement, claimed that there was an alleged agreement between Tinubu’s son Seyi, and the family before the 2023 general election.

According to him, it was agreed that IPOB would not boycott the polls on the condition that Tinubu would release Kanu if elected President.

He claimed that Seyi with the approval of his father, personally met with him in Abuja shortly before the election, where both parties agreed on conditions for Kanu’s release.

Emmanuel expressed disappointment that nearly two years after the emergence of Tinubu as President, his brother (Kanu), has continued to languish in detention despite the fact that the presiding Judge, Justice Binta Nyako recused herself from the matter.

”Before the last election, I received a message from an ex-governor that Seyi, the son of President Tinubu, wanted to see me,” he said.

“I agreed to meet with him on the condition that the overriding priority and hence the fulcrum of our discussion will be the release of my brother.

“The meeting was held in Abuja in the presence of another individual whom I asked along to witness the deliberations and provide independent verification should the need arise.”

Recently, IPOB berated Anambra State Governor, Chukwuma Charles Soludo for suggesting that the release of its leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, may not resolve insecurity in Nigeria’s Southeast region.
Soludo, during a recent interview on Arise TV, implied that some individuals responsible for insecurity in the Southeast claim to be acting in Kanu’s name.

IPOB argued that releasing its leader would expose and discredit such elements, effectively eliminating any justification for their actions.

IPOB expressed disappointment in Soludo, questioning why he would deviate from his initial support for Kanu’s release.,

The outlawed group also highlighted Kanu’s past efforts in combating insecurity, particularly his role in addressing the activities of armed herdsmen in the region.

IPOB also credited Kanu and its Eastern Security Network (ESN) with ending what it described as the “slaughter and humiliation” of the Igbo people during the peak of herdsmen attacks

Kanu has been in detention since 2021 after being re-arrested by Nigerian authorities. IPOB has consistently demanded his unconditional release, insisting that his freedom is essential for peace and stability in the Southeast.