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Ethnic Diversity Should Not Be A Point Of Difference – Osinbajo

Published

4 years ago

January 30, 2022

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigerians should not see ethnic diversity as a point of difference, noting that all people, regardless of ethnicity and faith, deserves to be treated equally and fairly.

Speaking at the conferment of a chieftaincy title, The Oduma (Lion) of Auchi on the Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba by the Otaru of Auchi, HRH Alhaji Aliru Momoh, Ikelebe III on Saturday, the Vice President also stated that traditional institutions are meant to uphold values that binds people together.

He said: “Our country needs men and women who see and understands that our ethnic diversities is not a point of difference, men and women who understand that all people regardless of ethnicity and faith deserves to be treated equally, fairly and justly.

“And this is where the significance of the traditional institution comes to the fore because they are regarded and rightly so as the custodians of these values and noblest ideals of the people,” he added.

The Vice President said Auchi where he did his compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) symbolises what Nigeria should be due to the fact that it accommodates everyone irrespective of ethnic or religious background like in the case of Agba who is from Uzanu in Etsako East but found a home in Auchi where he has been living as a two year old.

He added: “The Auchi kingdom has its rich and special history. The celebrated innovation and enterprise of its sons and daughters has brought development and prominence to this kingdom and Edo State.

“It is remarkable and worthy of praise that in the great Auchi Kingdom adherence of both major religions in Nigeria, Islam and Christianity have lived and continue to live harmoniously for centuries sharing a common bond as members of this community and even of the same biological families.

“Auchi is therefore in a real sense not just the microcosm of Nigeria, but also an of our finest values of mutuality and community,” the VP added.

On his part, Agba said the conferment of the title was an appreciation and will continue to encourage him to continue to offer more services to humanity.

He commended the Edo State government for continuing the erosion check programmes across the state, which he said, began when he was the Commissioner for Environment under the administration of Comrade Oshiomhole, appealling that the Benin Water Storm Project which they also started should not be abandoned.

Dignitaries at the event were the Minister of Finance Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, her Transportation counterpart, Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Power, Engr Abubakar Aliyu, Minister of Youths and Sports, Sunday Dare, Accountant General of the Federation, Auditor General of the Federation, several political appointees and government officials.

Others included former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu who represented the state governor and traditional rulers led by the representative of the Oba of Benin.

Related Topics:Clem Agba Prof Yemi Osinbajo

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FULL LIST: US To Review Green Cards From 19 ‘Countries Of Concern’ After Washington Shooting

Published

2 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Trump administration announced on Thursday that it will review the immigration status of all permanent residents, or “Green Card” holders, from Afghanistan and 18 other countries following the attack on National Guard troops in Washington, D.C.

U.S. officials identified the suspect in Wednesday’s shooting as a 29-year-old Afghan national who previously worked alongside American forces in Afghanistan.

The individual was granted asylum earlier this year, not permanent residency, according to AfghanEvac, an organisation that assists Afghans resettled in the United States after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

“I have directed a full-scale, rigorous reexamination of every Green Card for every alien from every country of concern,” said Joseph Edlow, director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), on X.

The review follows a June executive order from President Trump classifying 19 countries as “of Identified Concern.”

The order banned entry for nearly all nationals from 12 countries, including Afghanistan. The full list of these countries is:

Afghanistan

Myanmar

Chad

Congo-Brazzaville

Equatorial Guinea

Eritrea

Haiti

Iran

Libya

Somalia

Sudan

Yemen

A partial travel ban applies to seven additional countries, though some temporary work visas remain allowed: Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.

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Romanian Defence Minister Quits After Admitting Error In Academic Record

Published

2 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

Romania’s defence minister resigned on Friday after saying he made a “mistake” on his CV about his university education, as controversy swirled over alleged lies on his resume.

Ionut Mosteanu – who has admitted to writing on his CV that he graduated from a university he never attended – said he did not want the row “to distract” the NATO member at a time when it and Europe are “under attack from Russia”.

Romania has repeatedly seen drone fragments fall on its soil since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, and reported a number of drone incursions.

On Tuesday, a drone crashed in eastern Romania, which borders Ukraine.

Romania has also accused Moscow of “hybrid attacks”, including meddling in presidential elections last year that were subsequently annulled.

“Today, I resigned from my position as minister of national defence,” Mosteanu said in a Facebook post, adding he wanted the country to be focused on its “difficult mission”.

“Romania and Europe are under attack from Russia. Our national security must be defended at all costs,” he added.

Mosteanu had come under pressure after a media investigation published on Thursday revealed that he wrote in a CV that he graduated from a university which he did not actually attend.

That same day he apologised for what he called “a mistake”.

“In a CV I quickly put together in 2016 using a template I found online, there is a mistake that I admit embarrasses me. I didn’t pay much attention to these details at the time,” he said on Facebook.

Mosteanu was appointed defence minister in June of this year, when a new pro-European government was formed after months of political turmoil.

Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan said in a press release that he would propose economy and tourism minister Radu Miruta take over the defence portfolio in the interim.

AFP

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Russia Insists Ukraine Must Cede Land Or Face Continued Military Push

Published

1 day ago

November 27, 2025

Editor

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that he would end his Ukraine offensive if Kyiv withdrew from territory Moscow claims at its own — otherwise his army would take it by force.

The Russian army has been slowly but steadily grinding through eastern Ukraine in costly battles against outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian forces.

Washington has meanwhile renewed its push to end the nearly four-year war, putting forward a surprise plan that it hopes to finalise through upcoming talks with Moscow and Kyiv.

“If Ukrainian forces leave the territories they hold, then we will stop combat operations,” Putin said during a visit to Kyrgyzstan. “If they don’t, then we will achieve it by military means.”

Russia controls around one-fifth of Ukraine’s territory. The issue of occupied land, which Kyiv has said it will never cede, is among the biggest stumbling blocks in the peace process.

Another important issue in the talks are Western security guarantees for Ukraine, which Kyiv says are needed to prevent Moscow from invading again in the future.

Washington’s original plan — drafted without input from Ukraine’s European allies — would have seen Kyiv withdraw from its eastern Donetsk region and the United States de facto recognise the Donetsk, Crimea and Lugansk regions as Russian.

The US pared back the original plan over the weekend following criticism from Kyiv and Europe, but has not yet released the new version.

Putin, who has seen the new plan, said it could be a negotiation starter.

“Overall, we agree that it could form the basis for future agreements,” he said of the latest draft, which the US is thought to have shortened to about 20 points.

US negotiator Steve Witkoff was expected in Moscow next week to discuss the revised document, Putin said.

US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is meanwhile due to visit Kyiv later this week, Ukraine’s top presidential aide Andriy Yermak said.

– ‘Little can be done’ –

In his remarks Thursday, Putin repeated the claim that Russia had encircled the Ukrainian army in Pokrovsk and Myrnograd in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region — the most fiercely embattled area and a key target for Moscow’s forces.

“Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov are completely surrounded,” he said, using the Russian names for the cities.

Moscow was also advancing in Vovchansk and Siversk, as well as approaching the important logistic hub of Guliaipole, he added.

The Russian offensive “is practically impossible to hold back, so there is little that can be done about it”, Putin said.

Ukraine has denied Pokrovsk and Myrnograd are encircled, insisting its forces continue to hold the enemy along the front line.

Putin also questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s legitimacy and said signing any agreement with him would be legally “almost impossible” at the moment, a suggestion that has drawn groans from Kyiv and its allies.

According to data analysed by AFP from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian forces have conquered an average of 467 square kilometres (180 square miles) each month in 2025 — a step up from 2024.

Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering the worst armed conflict in Europe since World War II.

The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people and forced millions to flee their homes.