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Banters, Laughter As Buhari Commissions Police Barracks

Published

4 years ago

September 29, 2021

An excited audience comprising Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Inspector General of Police, ministers, National Assembly members, the Interim Administrator of NDDC and directors, senior police officers and government officials, as well as religious and traditional leaders cracked up in laughter yesterday as Gov. Nyesom Wike and Senator Godswill Akpabio exchanged banters publicly at the commissioning of a police barracks in Omagwa, Port Harcourt.

The complex was built and donated by the Niger Delta Development Commission to the Special Protection Unit of the Nigeria Police Force.

Ordinary folks and community members, not used to such high-profile hilarity, could not contain their excitement. Even before the two men went up the podium to make their speeches, I could tell from my vantage position that their conversations were largely filled with some repartees, and Prof Osinbajo, seated between them, was enjoying their jokes.

Senator Akapbio started it all in his speech, saying that although Governor Wike was doing well as a governor; he would not acknowledge it publicly, “because he is not a member of APC.” (Laughs.) Then he added, ‘’I will not even join the bandwagon of those calling for the governor to join APC. We have enough troubles in our party already’.” (More laughter.)

Soon after, the governor had his turn. ‘’I thought we came here to commission this beautiful complex. I did not know that the minister was planning to turn the event into a political arena.” (More laughter. Applause.)

The governor was not done. ‘’I cannot leave a place where I am having malaria to where I will get cancer,” he continued, in an apparent reference to calls for him to join APC. The audience, led by Vice President Osinbajo, doubled up in more laughter.

Gov. Wike commended NDDC for completing the barracks and while handing over to the police said ‘’I don’t know who leaked my secret plans to NDDC. Just seven months ago, I was planning to take over this place and complete it. But apparently the Commission got a hint of my plan and quickly mobilized contractors to site’,” he joked.

The governor commended the Commission for a good job done, essentially returning the compliments which its chief executive, Mr Efiong Akwa, had paid him in his welcome remarks.

We had thought that the banters were all over until Prof Osinbanjo got on to the podium to read President Buhari’s speech. ‘’Well’’, the Vice President started with a smile, ‘’I will eventually settle the controversy between the governor and the minister at a later date…’’. The crowd roared.

The executive conviviality beamed live on national television was a clear indication that despite political differences, our leaders do share a good dose of friendliness. ‘’But we ordinary folks take our differences to the extreme. It should not be’’, a middle-aged man who sat by me said just before the police band struck the first note of the National Anthem to close the day’s events.

Headline

12 Die, 30 Missing In Peru Landslide

Published

16 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

At least 12 people, including three children, died in a landslide at a river port in central Peru on Monday, and 30 were reported missing, officials said.

The landslide submerged a boat with about 50 passengers on board, and another with none, as they were docked at the port of Iparia in the Amazon jungle region of Ucayali, according to a police report cited by the Andina news agency.

Six people were injured, it added, and a search and rescue operation was underway at the start of the Peruvian rainy season.

Without giving a toll, Peru’s COEN national emergency operations centre said on X that tragedy struck at dawn due to “erosion” of the bank of the Ucayali river.

It said the navy has been called in to help.

AFP

Headline

Nigeria Grants Asylum To Guinea-Bissau Opposition Candidate

Published

17 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The Nigerian embassy in Guinea-Bissau has granted asylum to Fernando Dias da Costa, the country’s opposition presidential candidate, following alleged threats to his life after last week’s military coup, The Cable Reports.

The coup was announced by military officers on Wednesday, just days after Guinea-Bissau’s presidential election in which both incumbent President Umaro Embaló and his main challenger, da Costa, claimed victory before official results were released.

Nigeria condemned the takeover and urged an immediate return to constitutional order.

In a letter to the President of the Economic Community of West African States Commission, Omar Touray, dated November 30, the Foreign Affairs Minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said President Bola Tinubu had approved asylum and protection for da Costa inside the Nigerian embassy in Bissau.

Tuggar wrote that the decision was made “in response to threats made against da Costa’s life.”

“In this regard, it would be appreciated if you would kindly mandate the ECOWAS Stabilisation Support Mission in Guinea-Bissau to provide him protection and security while in the premises of the Nigerian embassy,” the letter stated.

The foreign affairs minister’s Special Assistant on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, confirmed the letter’s authenticity to The Cable on Monday.

He said, “The decision of the Federal Government of Nigeria to grant asylum and provide protection to Fernando Dia Da Costa falls squarely within Nigeria’s sovereign responsibility and longstanding commitment to regional peace, stability, and democratic governance.”

He added that Nigeria acted “in the broader interest of de-escalation,” saying the government had exercised its discretion “to prevent further deterioration of tensions and to promote social cohesion in Guinea-Bissau and the wider West African sub-region.”

According to Abdulkadir, the intervention aligns with ECOWAS principles and reflects Nigeria’s role as a stabilising force in West Africa.

Following the coup, ECOWAS held an emergency virtual summit of heads of state and subsequently suspended Guinea-Bissau from the regional bloc until constitutional order is restored.

Headline

Trump To Attend FIFA World Cup Finals Draw On Friday

Published

17 hours ago

December 1, 2025

Editor

The White House on Monday confirmed US President Donald Trump would attend the draw for the FIFA World Cup finals in Washington later this week.

The United States will co-host the 2026 tournament alongside Canada and Mexico.

“On Friday, President Trump will attend the FIFA World Cup final draw at the Kennedy Centre,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Trump has made the World Cup a centrepiece event of both his second presidency and the 250th anniversary of US independence next year.

But the giant sporting extravaganza has not escaped the political turmoil caused by Trump’s hardline stance on a host of issues.

Trump, a Republican, has raised the possibility of moving games from some US host cities amid a crackdown on what he says is crime and illegal migration in some Democratic-run areas.

AFP