The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Prime Minister

  • Bill for prime minister passes second reading

    Bill for prime minister passes second reading

    A Constitution amendment bill seeking a parliamentary system of government for the country yesterday passed a second reading in the House of Representatives.

    The bill is sponsored by Kingsley Chinda, minority leader of the House, and 59 other lawmakers.

    The proposed legislation canvasses the creation of the office of prime minister as head of government and the office of president as head of state.

    Nigeria currently practises a presidential system that allows for a direct election of a president.

    The key distinction between both systems lies in how leaders are chosen. In a presidential model,   citizens directly elect the president, whereas, in a parliamentary system, the Legislature appoints a prime minister.

    Read Also: PBAT@73: A leader of bold, audacious and tenacious reforms

    Nigeria practised the parliamentary model of government during the First Republic which lasted between 1960 and 1963.

    Debate over Nigeria’s system of government has persisted for decades.

    Proponents of the parliamentary system argue that it would reduce the cost of governance, unlike the presidential system which vests excessive powers in the Executive with appointees that are not directly accountable to the electorate.

    Immunity bill put on hold for robust debate

     The House said it rescinded the second reading of a bill seeking to strip the vice president, governors and deputy governors of immunity to allow for a thorough debate on it.  

    It also made a U-turn on the nod given another bill that wants a review of penalties for certain categories of capital offences. 

    The bill for immunity removal is sponsored by Solomon Bob while the second is by  Deputy Speaker  Benjamin  Kalu and six others. 

    Kalu, who presided over the plenary,  said the two bills would be brought back for debate.

      Spokesman for the House, Akintunde Rotimi, said the two bills remained an integral part of the constitutional amendment process.  

    Rotimi said: “During plenary on Thursday(yesterday), the House resolved to rescind the passage of these two bills and relist them for Second Reading to allow for an   extensive and robust debate on their general principles

    “These bills have not been discarded or removed from consideration. They remain part of the legislative process and will be revisited at a later date.”

    He assured that the House was committed to the review of certain aspects of the ‘’widespread calls’’   by Nigerians.

    The spokesman added: “As part of this effort, the House has prioritised 120 Constitution Amendment Bills upon resumption of legislative activities this week, fast-tracking their legislative progression, particularly at the second reading stage.

    “During plenary on Wednesday, the House passed 42 Constitution amendment bills for second reading and were referred to the  Committee on Constitution Review.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, at the first and second reading stages, the content of any bill reflects solely the views of its sponsor(s) and not the position of the House or its leadership. The House formally engages with a bill only after it progresses to the committee stage, where public hearings are conducted.’’

    60 years as maximum age for president, governors underway

    Another proposed law canvassing 60 years as the maximum age for presidential and governorship aspirants also scaled second reading in the House.

    Also, a bill that seeks to change the simple majority method for winning an election also got a nod. This will require the winners of presidential and governorship elections to score more than half of the total number of votes cast.  

    The bill that suggests a 60-year maximum age for the President and governors is sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere. The proposed law also seeks an amendment to  Section 131 of the 1999  Constitution to make a bachelor’s degree in any discipline the minimum educational qualification for the presidency and governorship positions. 

    The bill seeking to eliminate a simple majority for winning elections as President and governor was sponsored by Awaji   Abiante.  It suggests the  alteration of  Section 134 (1)(a), (2)(a), (4)(a) and Section 179 (2)(a) (3) (a) of the Constitution.  

    The sponsor argues that  the distrust   by Nigerians who do not give this Republic a chance has  become more palpable and may negatively affect the legitimacy of future elections ‘’if efforts are not made to reform our electoral process through purposeful legislations.’’

    He argued that the absolute majority system has been judged a better system of electing members of the Executive in the presidential system with the majority of African nations adopting it.

    Abiante added  the amendment seeks to correct this lacuna  in ‘’our present system of the election where a run-off election would be conducted to ensure that the winners in the presidential and governorship elections score more than half of the total votes cast to ensure.’’

    Also passed for a second reading is a bill to involve the National Assembly in the process of negotiating for and entering into treaties with other countries. It is sponsored by  Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and six others. 

    It was passed alongside a bill that seeks to set a time within which civil and criminal matters are heard and determined at trials and Appellate courts in order to eliminate unnecessary delays in justice administration and delivery.

    There was also a bill to increase the number of  Justices of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal as well another for the review of the status of the Federal Capital Territory as regards the election of president. 

    Also passed for second reading were bills to provide for mandatory periodic conduct of the national census, strengthen transparency and regulate the issuance of waivers to  Ministries, Departments, Agencies, Parastatals, extra-ministerial departments, public companies and corporations.

    Proposed laws for new LGs scale second reading

    One of them canvasses the birth of  Bende North Local Government Area of Abia State sponsored by Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu.

    Others are seeking the creation of Ughievwen Local Government Area in  Delta State, Ideato-West in Imo State, Zurmi in  Zamfara State and an unspecified number of more councils in  Enugu state.

    On Wednesday, the House passed for second reading,  a bill seeking to recognise the 37 Development Area Councils of Lagos State as  LGAs.  

    The lawmakers also passed for second reading, bills seeking the establishment of the University of Nigerian Languages in  Aba, Abia State and the conduct of a population census every 10  years.

  • Bangladesh prime minister flees after  weeks of protests

    Bangladesh prime minister flees after  weeks of protests

    • 300 people killed in riots

    Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has resigned, following weeks of student violent protests that left roughly more than 300 people dead, Army chief Gen. Waker-Uz-Zaman said  yesterday.

    “An interim government will be formed,” the army chief told a news briefing after a meeting with leaders of different political parties, excluding those from Hasina’s Awami League party.

    “Justice will be done for all those killings and atrocities, please keep confidence on the army,” he urged, calling on protesting students to remain patient and refrain from further violence.

    Protesters, seen dancing and chanting slogans against Hasina, gathered at Dhaka University campus, the initial site of the protests against the controversial public job quota system.

    Read Also: Tinubu orders crackdown on those flying Russian flag

    Following news of Hasina’s resignation, numerous Awami League offices and leaders’ homes across Dhaka and other areas were attacked and looted.

    Thousands of protesters stormed the prime minister’s official residence in Dhaka after she reportedly fled the country.

    An official, preferring not to be named, at the foreign ministry confirmed that Hasina left for India in the afternoon.

    Earlier  yesterday, thousands of people again took to the streets and vowed to “march to Dhaka” to demand the resignation of the prime minister.

  • JUST IN: Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico shot

    JUST IN: Slovakia Prime Minister Robert Fico shot

    Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico was in a life-threatening condition in hospital Wednesday after he was shot multiple times in an assassination attempt.

    The shooting took place after an off-site government meeting in Handlova. Fico was first transported to a local hospital and then taken by helicopter to a major trauma center in Banska Bystrica, about 20 miles (30 kilometers) away.

    Footage from the scene shows the injured prime minister being bundled into a vehicle by several of his staff, with the car speeding away from the scene as soon as he is inside.

    “There was an assassination attempt on R. Fico. He was shot multiple times and is currently in a life-threatening condition. The next few hours will be decisive,” according to a statement on Fico’s official Facebook page.

    The suspected gunman was detained at the scene by law enforcement officers, according to Slovakia’s state news agency TASR.

    The official statement said the PM was taken to Banska Bystrica instead of the capital city of Bratislava because “an acute intervention” was necessary. Handlova is about two hours’ drive from the capital Bratislava.

    Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová condemned what she called a “brutal and reckless” attack on the 59-year-old politician. “I’m shocked. I wish Roberto Fico all the strength in this critical moment to recover from the attack,” Čaputová wrote on Facebook.

    Read Also: World leaders condemn attack in France

    Fico won a third term as Slovakian prime minister last October after running a campaign that criticized western support for Ukraine. Fico had pledged an immediate end to Slovak military support for Ukraine and promised to block Ukraine’s NATO ambitions in what would upend Slovakia’s staunch backing for Ukraine.

    Ahead of the election, Fico made no secret of his sympathies towards the Kremlin and blamed “Ukrainian Nazis and fascists” for provoking Vladimir Putin into launching the invasion, repeating the false narrative Russia’s president has used to justify his invasion.

    While in opposition, Fico became a close ally of Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, especially when it came to criticism of the European Union.

    Fico previously served as Slovakia’s prime minister for more than a decade, first between 2006 and 2010 and then again from 2012 to 2018. He was forced to resign in March 2018 after weeks of mass protests over the murder of investigative journalist Jan Kuciak and his fiancée, Martina Kušnírová. Kuciak reported on corruption among the country’s elite, including people directly connected to Fico and his party SMER.

    European leaders immediately condemned the attack. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, tweeted: “I strongly condemn the vile attack on Prime Minister Robert Fico. Such acts of violence have no place in our society and undermine democracy, our most precious common good. My thoughts are with PM Fico, his family.”

    And Hungarian Prime Minister Orban added: “I was deeply shocked by the heinous attack against my friend, Prime Minister Robert Fico. We pray for his health and quick recovery! God bless him and his country!”

    Details shortly…

    CNN

  • Gabriel Attal, 34, becomes France’s youngest Prime Minister

    Gabriel Attal, 34, becomes France’s youngest Prime Minister

    French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday appointed  34-year-old Education Minister Gabriel Attal as France’s new Prime Minister.

    This is in a bid to seek to breathe new life into Macron’s second mandate ahead of European parliament elections.

    The move will not necessarily lead to any major political shift, but signals a desire for Macron to try to move beyond last year’s unpopular pension and immigration reforms and improve his centrist party’s chances in the June EU ballot.

    Opinion polls show Macron’s camp trailing far-right leader Marine Le Pen’s party by around eight to 10 percentage points.

    Attal, a close Macron ally, who became a household name as government spokesman during the COVID pandemic, will replace outgoing Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne.

    Attal, one of the country’s most popular politicians in recent opinion polls,  has made a name for himself as a savvy minister at ease, on radio shows and in parliament.

    Macron, at the end of 2023, had said he would announce new political initiatives.

    “Dear @GabrielAttal, I know I can count on your energy and your commitment to implement the project of revitalisation and regeneration that I announced,” Macron said.

    Attal will be France’s youngest Prime Minister and the first to be openly gay.

    He and Macron have a combined age just below that of Joe Biden, who is running for a second mandate in this year’s U.S. presidential election.

    Macron has struggled to deal with a more turbulent parliament since losing his absolute majority shortly after being re-elected in 2022.

    Jordan Bardella, the 28-year old leader of Le Pen’s National Rally party, said: “By appointing Gabriel Attal, Emmanuel Macron wants to cling to his popularity in opinion polls to alleviate the pain of an interminable end to his reign.

    Read Also: French Prime Minister resigns

    “Instead, he risks taking the short-lived education minister with him in his fall.”

    Other opposition leaders were quick to say they did not expect much from the change in prime minister, with Macron himself taking on much of the decision-making.

    “Elisabeth Borne, Gabriel Attal or someone else, I don’t care. It will just be the same policies,” Socialist Party Leader Olivier Faure told France Inter radio.

    However, MP Patrick Vignal, who belongs to Macron’s Renaissance party, said Attal is “a bit like the Macron of 2017”, referring to the point at which the president first took office as the youngest leader in modern French history – at the time, a popular figure among voters.

    “It is clear, he has authority,” Vignal said.

    (Reuters/NAN)

  • French Prime Minister resigns

    French Prime Minister resigns

    The French Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, has resigned, the French presidency confirmed.

    Borne’s announcement coincides with President Emmanuel Macron’s preparation to unveil a long-awaited cabinet reshuffle in an attempt to give a new impetus to his presidency.

    The presidency in a statement yesterday said: “Ms Elisabeth Borne today submitted the resignation of the government to the president, who accepted it,”

    Macron in a post on X, formerly Twitter thanked Borne for “work in the service of our nation that has been exemplary every day,”

    Borne, appointed in May 2022, was only the second female prime minister in French history. She will act as a caretaker until a new government is named.

    In December, the president had promised a fresh political initiative, which ignited rumors of a government shake-up. 

    This occurred following political events in 2023 that were triggered by strongly contested changes to the immigration and pension systems.

    The move comes just five months before European Parliament elections, with Eurosceptics expected to make strong gains at a time of widespread public discontent over surging living costs and the difficulties European governments face in curbing migration flows.

    Opinion polls show Macron’s party is trailing that of far-right leader Marine Le Pen by around eight to 10 points ahead of the June vote.

     Among those cited as potential candidates to replace Borne are 34-year-old Education Minister Gabriel Attal and 37-year-old Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu, either of whom would become France’s youngest-ever prime minister.

     Finance Minister, Bruno Le Maire, and former Agriculture Minister, Julien Denormandie have also been mentioned by pundits as possible options.

    Read Also: Court adjourns Nnamdi Kanu’s N1b suit against Fed Govt, DSS till March 4

    The change in prime minister will not necessarily lead to a shift in political tack but rather signal a desire to move beyond the pension and immigration reforms and focus on new priorities, including hitting full employment.

    Macron and his government, led by Borne, have struggled to deal with a more turbulent parliament to pass laws since losing their absolute majority shortly after Macron was re-elected for a second mandate in 2022.

    The French president’s advisers say he has managed to pass the most challenging parts of his economic manifesto in the first year and a half of his second mandate, despite the lack of an absolute majority, and that future reforms, on education and euthanasia for instance, would be more consensual.

    But Macron’s decision to use executive powers last year to pass a contested increase in the pension age to 64 triggered weeks of protests.

    The reshuffle is likely to intensify the race in Macron’s camp to succeed him in the next presidential election in 2027, with Le Maire, former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, and current Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin all seen as potential candidates.

  • Glamour as Omu-Aran installs Prime Minister

    History was made in the ancient town of Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, on May 11, 2018 when Chief Olaniyi Jide Adebayo, was installed as the 6th Eesa.

    The four day coronation ceremony kicked off on Thursday morning with religious prayers at the family residence of the Eesa at Afin Quarters, Ihaye ward. The prayer session which illustrated the height of religious tolerance, unity and peaceful co-existence as a whole was done in both Christian and Muslim ways.

    In the evening of the same day, a dinner for family, friends and well-wishers of the new Eesa took place at Mucenty Hotel till the early hours of Friday.

    On Friday which was the installation proper, well-wishers trooped in as early as 8am to wish Adebayo well.

    Inside a well-furnished palace in his ancestral home, the Eesa was surrounded by some chiefs and friends as he sat regally with all the glamour befitting the Prime Minister.

    Sitting on a black leather chair, he donned a white agbada with a chocolate-coloured cap to match and customized blue shoes boldly engraved with the name and insignia of his new title.

    Colourful costumes

    Among those who came to wish him well were masquerades believed to be heavenly beings, in colourful costumes, with wild singing and dancing. The first group of masquerades named Jelenke made their entrance at exactly 10:08 and were closely followed by Amuludun group. Okin masquerades came next with Areekejegbo following.

    In an orderly manner, the masquerades came before the Eesa to give him their blessings and were generously acknowledged with monetary gifts. Having given their blessings, they came out into the open to entertain onlookers.

    With the entrance of the masquerades the atmosphere was charged and some people who were earlier aloof to happenings in the compound came closer not only to watch the cultural display but also to partake in the celebration.

    It was easier for the people to interact with the masquerades because, unlike in some areas where fierce looking,  blood-chilling masquerades brandishing whips or even other dangerous objects usually come out they were friendly, colourful and accommodating and carried no whips.

    At 10:29am when it was time for the Eesa and his entourage to proceed to the Palace of the Olomu of Omu-Aran for the installation, women of Afin Quarters were already stationed at the entrance to the palace hall where the Eesa sat, singing and dancing and requesting for the traditional ‘feeding money’.

    The Eesa emerged flanked by his wife Alice and like the benevolent father and husband he stepped into the waiting arms of the women who eulogized him as he patiently distributed monetary gifts to them. Done, he then made his way to waiting vehicles which conveyed him and his entourage to the palace.

    The palace of the Olomu of Omu-Aran wore a merry mien as gaily dressed men and women in traditional outfits trooped into the vast compound.  The facade of the palace was decked in bright colours of posters felicitating with the new Eesa and wishing him a fruitful reign.

    While guests awaited the commencement of the installation ceremony, the Fakalayo cultural troupe and ‘wives of Eesa’ were on ground to entertain guests with cultural music. The ‘wives of Eesa’ comprised of young women who wore white clothes and adorned their hair, wrists, necks and ankles with red colourful beads.  They danced around the compound greeting people and felicitating with the Eesa.

    On the other hand, the Fakalayo cultural troupe lit the compound with scintillating Bata drum beats and deft, nimble dance steps.

    A mild drama was enacted as the family of the Eesa came forward to formally request the Olomu-in-Council for the title of Eesa for their son, Adebayo. With permission granted, the family showed their appreciation with monetary gifts while each segment of the community also supported them. Immediately after the show of appreciation, the Eesa was brought forward amidst a crowd of family, friends and well-wishers.

    Adebayo was presented to the Olomu-in-Council and he was accepted with each of the chiefs praying for him and wishing him a fruitful reign.

    At 12:01 when he was formally installed as the as the sixth Eesa of Omu-Aran, his family members were called upon to kneel in solidarity with him as he knelt to receive the coveted title.

    The acting Traditional Head of the community, Chief Festus Awoniyi, who performed the traditional rites urged the new Eesa to be a good ambassador of the Olomu-in-Council and Omu-Aran community in particular and charged him to imbibe the act of humility, transparency, diligence and trustworthiness in the discharge of his traditional duties.

    In his acceptance speech, Adebayo, who is also a former Executive Director (Marketing), News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), expressed gratitude to God and the good people of Omu-Aran for the opportunity given him to serve.

    He pledged his allegiance to the Olomu of Omu-Aran, the Olomu-in-Council and Omu-Aran community in general. He promised to work with all segments of the community and appealed for the support and cooperation of the people to make his reign a smooth and successful one.

    Immediately after his acceptance speech, local hunters added their voices to the ceremony with gunshots at intervals.

    Led by boisterous masquerades, traditional drummers and women singers the new Eesa was led away from the Olomu’s palace to his palace at Afin Quarters accompanied by a mammoth crowd of family, friends and well-wishers thereby shutting down the whole town as they proceeded through the major street of the town.

    The day ended with guests and friends of the new Eesa being treated to an elaborate reception at the Omu-Aran Town Hall.

    The climax of the four day installation took place yesterday with a thanksgiving service held at 2nd ECWA Church, Agamo, Omu-Aran.

    The Eeesa was born on December 14, 1955, into the family of Mallam Karimu Adebayo Iyanda and Madam Munirat Adeponle Atunke (both of blessed memory).

    He attended SIM/ECWA Primary School, Agamo, Omu-Aran from 1960 to 1967; Government Secondary School, Omu-Aran (1969 to 1973) Nigeria Institute of Journalism (NIJ), Lagos (1978) for a Certificate Course in News Writing and the University of Lagos for Diploma in Mass Communication from 1978-1979).

    He had served as a reporter and city editor of the Nigeria Herald newspapers in Ilorin, Kaduna and Akure between 1974 and early 1980 and was one time the State Commissioner for Information.

    Eesa is not a honorary title but one of the three highest chieftaincy titles in Omu-Aran community. The other titles are Asenlu and Odofin titles. While the Eesa is head of the Ihaye ward, Asenlu is head of Ifaja ward and Odofin is head of the Aran ward.

     

  • Thailand’s crown prince returns, to become King Rama X

    Thailand’s crown prince returns, to become King Rama X

    Thailand’s Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, returned to Bangkok on Thursday, two days after parliament said it would invite him to become the country’s new king following the death of his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

    The prince would meet with the head of parliament, Pornpetch Wichitcholchai, following a Buddhist rite marking 50 days since the king’s death.

    He is expected to formally accept parliament’s invitation to ascend the throne.

    According to a palace schedule, Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha and Prem Tinsulanonda, a former head of the royal advisory council who has been standing in as regent, will also be in attendance.

    According to two senior military officials with knowledge of the matter, the prince arrived in Bangkok from Germany.

    “We can confirm that His Majesty arrived safely this morning,’’ a senior military official who asked not to named, said.

    The prince, who will be known as King Rama X, or the 10th king of the 234-year-old Chakri Dynasty, must formally accept the invitation from parliament before he can be proclaimed king.

    According to palace protocol, an official announcement from the royal household is expected to come soon afterwards.

    Thailand has been without a monarch since King Bhumibol died on Oct. 13.

    The monarchy has been run by 96-year-old regent Prem after the prince asked to delay the succession in order to grieve.

    King Bhumibol, who was the longest-serving head of state in the world when he died at the age of 88, was instrumental in reviving the prestige of the monarchy.

    He was widely seen as a stabilising force through an era of rapid change and decades of often violent political upheaval.

    A Thai lese-majeste, or royal insult law criminalises anything deemed to be an insult to the monarchy.

    The law has curtailed public discussion about the succession, the future of the monarchy or criticism about the crown prince.

    Prime Minister Prayuth said on Tuesday a year-long mourning period for King Bhumibol would not affect a general election scheduled for 2017.

  • UK Prime Minister appoints new cabinet

    UK Prime Minister appoints new cabinet

    Former Mayor of London Boris Johnson has been appointed as the Foreign Secretary by Britain’s new Prime Minister, Theresa May, a report said on Thursday.

    Until now a back-bencher, the promotion will cascade Johnson onto the world stage.

    Johnson served as Mayor of London from 2008 until this year when he was replaced by Sadiq Khan.

    He was elected last year as MP for Uxbridge and South Ruislip, but had served previously as an MP from 2001, resigning in 2008 when he became Mayor of London.

    He has taken over the job from Philip Hammond who has replaced George Osborne as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

    May has also created a new cabinet job, Secretary of State for Brexit, likely to be called the Brexit Secretary, tasked with steering Britain out of Europe following last month’s referendum vote.

    The job has been handed to David Davis who has previously served as a Europe Minister. Current Defense Secretary Michael Fallon has kept his job.

    After Cameron resigned as prime minister following the Remain camp’s defeat in the EU referendum, Johnson had been tipped as a favorite to replace him at 10 Downing Street.

    However, on the day nominations closed Johnson caused a shock by announcing he had decided not to stand in the leadership contest.

    Hammond was the first cabinet member to be announced by May, naming him as her next door neighbor at 11 Downing Street.

    Hammond had served as foreign secretary in Cameron’s cabinet, but he has had previous experience of a Treasury role.

    George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer in David Cameron’s cabinet, has resigned from the government.

    This was a shock as new Prime Minister Theresa May started the task of appointing her own front bench team.

    For Hammond, the job means a return to the Conservative’s Treasury team where he previously served as Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

    In 2007 he became Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury.

    Amber Rudd, Energy Secretary under Cameron, has taken over May’s old job as Home Secretary.

    She was only given a front bench job a year ago when she became Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change.

  •  “Brexit” will affect Diaspora remittances to Nigeria- Don

     “Brexit” will affect Diaspora remittances to Nigeria- Don

    Britain’s exit from the European Union (EU) will cause a contraction of the Diaspora remittances from Britain, a don, Prof. Isaac Albert, said on Monday.

    Albert, the Director, Institute for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ibadan, made the assertion while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on the impact of Brexit.

    Brexit is the exit of Britain from the EU on June 23 through a referendum.

    He noted that Britain hosted many Nigerians and a contraction of its economy would discourage Nigerians from travelling there.

    “We have a very large Diaspora population in the U.K; with Brexit, I see the British economy contracting.

    “As the British economy becomes affected negatively by their exit from the EU, fewer Nigerians will be willing to travel to Britain,” Albert said.

    The don expressed optimism that Britain would get over the present challenges sooner than later, but noted that it might exploit countries with close ties to it on its way to recovery.

    On the political dimension to the Brexit, Albert said that Britain opted out from the EU because it felt it did not have much to gain from it.

    He, however, said that it was contradictory for Britain to respect the rights and wishes of its citizens in pulling out from the EU, since it stood in the way of other groups in Nigeria in their quest for self-determination.

    While noting that as a scholar, he had never been an advocate for secession, Albert said that it was a universally accepted principle that if a group of people wanted to be on their own, they should be allowed to do so.

    He urged the leadership of Britain to be more altruistic and sincere in superintending over the wishes of people of other nationalities in their quest for self-determination.

    NAN recalls that the British people had voted to pull out of the EU, a decision that prompted the Prime Minister, David Cameron’s decision to resign.

    Brexit had also affected global stocks negatively as seen by a contraction in most developed and emerging economies, especially in Asia.

    At the parallel market segment of the market, traders were confused as to the price they could place on the British Pound Sterling as uncertainties stared them in the face at the outcome of the referendum.

  • Israel passes new anti-terrorism law

    Israel passes new anti-terrorism law

    Israel has passed a new anti-terrorism law, which the government of the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu says will strengthen the fight against terrorism, but critics call it anti-democratic.

    Among others, a terrorist sentenced to life imprisonment can no longer have his sentence reduced during the first 15 years, the report said.

    It said that for the first time, tunnel-digging is defined as a criminal offence.

    The Law Combating Terrorism initiated by the far-right Jewish Home coalition party passed two final readings in Israel’s 120-seat parliament late on Wednesday, with 57 lawmakers voting in favour and 16 against.

    The rest either abstained or were absent.

    The law sets harsher punishments for terrorists including longer minimum and maximum jail sentences and grants broader liberties to law enforcement agents to combat terrorism.

    It replaces a series of older laws, clauses in older laws and emergency regulations.

    One example of a harsher punishment is a maximum prison sentence of seven years for anyone who threatens to carry out a crime that carries a life sentence.

    The new terrorist offences called for a terrorist act, without previous stipulations that there must be a real possibility that the act will be implemented as a direct result of the call.

    It also allows Israel’s defence minister to confiscate the property of security offenders.

    Jewish Home lawmaker, Nissan Slomiansky said that security officials, including of the Shin Bet internal security organisation, had helped formulate the new law.

    Opposition lawmakers slammed the law as anti-democratic and violating human rights.
    “We should uproot the motivation for terrorism and what fuels the factory that creates motivation for terrorism is the occupation.

    “I don’t mean, heaven forbid, to justify terrorism”, she said, but while fighting terrorism “we must not sacrifice basic values,” Zahava Galon of the left-liberal Meretz party said.