Headline

Tracing Putin’s 25-year Reign As Russians Vote

Published

2 months ago

March 15, 2024

Editor

The voting process in Russia is ongoing, with incumbent President Vladimir Putin widely anticipated to secure his fifth term as the country’s leader.

Putin is running as an independent candidate.

According to Al Jazeera, other candidates are perceived as “figureheads” and included in the process solely to show Putin’s popularity.

The three-day voting started on Friday, March 15, 2024.

However, based on the 2020 constitutional amendment that invalidated his previous terms, the upcoming March 15–17 election will be considered his first one.

112 million people aged 18 and above in Russia are eligible to vote.

People in annexed Crimea and occupied parts of Ukraine will also vote.

Putin has served four terms.

If he wins, the 71-year-old is anticipated to hold power for an additional six years, courtesy of the 2020 constitutional amendment.

Putin, born on October 7, 1952 in Leningrad, Russia, is a Russian intelligence officer and politician.

He held the position of President of Russia from 1999 to 2008 and again from 2012 onwards.

Additionally, he has also served as the country’s prime minister in 1999 and from 2008 to 2012.

Below is a timeline of Putin’s 25 years as a leader of the Eastern Europe federation:

Putin has an extensive background in foreign intelligence, having spent 15 years working for the KGB (Committee for State Security).
Shortly after, Putin began working as an advisor to Sobchak, who was the first democratically elected mayor of St. Petersburg.
By 1994, he had ascended to the position of first deputy mayor.

In 1996, Putin relocated to Moscow and became a part of the presidential staff, serving as the deputy to Pavel Borodin, the chief administrator of the Kremlin (The Kremlin is a fortified complex located in Moscow, Russia.
It serves as the official residence and workplace of the President of Russia. It is located at the heart of Russian political power and government).

In July 1998, President Boris Yeltsin appointed Putin as the director of the Federal Security Service
Shortly after, Putin assumed the role of secretary of the influential Security Council.

Yeltsin, in his quest for a successor to carry on his legacy, selected Putin as prime minister in 1999.
As reported by Voice of America, Yeltsin said in a televised speech on August 9, 1999, “I have decided to now name the person who is, in my opinion, able to consolidate society and, drawing support from the broadest political forces, to ensure the continuation of reforms in Russia.

“He will be able to unite around himself those who are to renew Great Russia in the new 21st century.”

According to Britannica, Putin’s public approval ratings experienced a significant boost when he successfully executed a highly organised military operation against secessionist rebels in Chechnya, despite his previous lack of recognition.
Tired of Yeltsin’s unpredictable actions, the Russian public admired Putin’s calmness and resolute nature in challenging situations, as per Britannica.

Putin’s backing of the new electoral bloc, Unity, played a crucial role in securing its triumph in the December parliamentary elections.
Yeltsin made the unexpected decision to step down on December 31, 1999, appointing Putin as the acting president.

Putin secured a decisive victory in the March 2000 elections, garnering approximately 53 per cent of the vote.

Putin was reelected in March 2004 after overseeing an economy that experienced growth following a prolonged recession in the 1990s.
In the December 2007 parliamentary elections, United Russia, Putin’s party, secured a significant majority of seats.

In 2008, Putin selected Dmitry Medvedev as his successor due to a constitutional provision that required him to step down.
Shortly after Medvedev’s victory in the March 2008 presidential election, Putin announced that he would be assuming the role of chairman of the United Russia party.

As anticipated, Medvedev wasted no time in nominating Putin as the country’s prime minister shortly after assuming office on May 7, 2008. The appointment was confirmed by Russia’s parliament the next day.

In September 2011, Medvedev announced that he and Putin would switch positions.
This decision put an end to the speculation about Medvedev running for a second term.

On March 4, 2012, Putin was elected to a third term as Russia’s president.
Prior to his inauguration, Putin stepped down as United Russia chairman, transferring control of the party to Medvedev.

On May 7, 2012, he took office as president and nominated Medvedev as prime minister.

On March 18, 2018, Putin secured a significant majority of the vote in an election that marked the beginning of his fourth term.

In January 2020, Putin announced his intention to bring about modifications that would eliminate term limits for presidents.
Medvedev promptly resigned as prime minister.

Putin signed the law that could extend his time in office until 2036, allowing him to run for the presidency twice more in his lifetime.

According to The Guardian UK, officially, the new law limits Russian citizens to two presidential terms in their lifetime.

It also outlawed the shuffling between the presidency and the role of prime minister that Putin employed earlier in his career.
However, according to the law, terms served before it entered into force are not counted. This means that Putin’s previous four terms, including the current one, are not considered, allowing him to potentially serve two more terms.
If he holds onto power until 2036, his time in office will exceed even that of Joseph Stalin, who governed the Soviet Union for 29 years.

This would make Putin the longest-serving leader in Moscow since the days of the Russian empire.

Headline

Kudos As Nigeria Gains Additional Territory ‘Five Times The Size Of Lagos’

Published

14 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has commended the High Powered Presidential Committee, HPPC, on Nigeria’s extended continental shelf project, a team of experts who worked hard over the years to advance the project.

The president gave the commendation when he received the report of the protect yesterday in Abuja.

According to Vanguard, the project aims to extend Nigeria’s maritime boundaries in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), 1982.

The president expressed his appreciation in Abuja after listening to technical presentations by Professor Larry Awosika, a marine scientist and member of the committee, and Surveyor Aliyu Omar, Secretary of HPPC.

The experts have been involved in the project since Nigeria’s initial submission to extend its continental shelf to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) in 2009.

They informed the President that the UN has approved Nigeria’s submission, granting sovereignty over additional square kilometres of maritime territory.

A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, quoted the President as saying: ‘’When the HPPC briefed former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2022 on the status of the project, the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, CLCS, was still considering Nigeria’s submission and having technical interactions with the HPPC.

‘’These interactions and consideration have now culminated in the approval for Nigeria to extend its continental shelf beyond 200M (200 nautical miles).

‘’As it stands now, the area approved for Nigeria is about 16,300 square kilometres, which is about five times the size of Lagos State,” Surveyor Omar told the president.’’

He added that the official notification of the decision was conveyed to Nigeria by the UN Nations Commission on the limits of the Continental Shelf, CLCS, in August 2023, shortly after President Tinubu assumed office.

Omar outlined the available options for Nigeria following the approval: “The first option is to take the area gained and finalize the registration with the UN Secretary-General and close everything, meaning that we are satisfied with what we got. This will take at least one year.

“The second option is to take what we have right now, acquire more data, do a support write-up, and make a revised submission as recommended by CLCS for further consideration. This will take another four years. Either way (options), Nigeria will keep what has been approved.”

In his presentation, Professor Awosika explained that the approval came after years of meticulous scientific research on geophysics, geology, geography, and diplomatic efforts, which solidified Nigeria’s legal rights over a vast expanse of seabed and subsoil beyond its traditional territorial waters.

Awosika highlighted the economic potential of the newly acquired territory, which includes hydrocarbons, gas, solid minerals, and a wide variety of sedentary species.

He, however, cautioned against total disclosure of sensitive data acquired during surveys, noting that this will jeopardize confidentiality as Nigeria is expected to monetize the information to recover project expenses.

Responding, the president thanked the experts for their diligence, emphasizing the significance of the achievement for Nigeria’s economic and strategic interests.
VANGUARD

Headline

Police Give Tips On How To Report Erring Officers

Published

14 hours ago

May 15, 2024

Editor

The Police have urged Nigerians to take the advantage of its Complaint Response Unit, at the Force Headquarters, to report misconduct of its officers and men.

The Head of the unit, CSP El-Musta Sani, made the appeal at a Summit organised in Abuja by the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) in collaboration with the Foundation for Youth Empowerment and Social Justice.

Sanni said that the unit was created in 2015 to handle complaints against police officers from members of the public.

He said, so far, from the first quarter of 2024, the unit had received 459 complaints from members of the public against officers and men, through its social media platforms.

He further explained that 265 of the cases had been resolved while 195 were still being handled by the police.

According to him, “It takes the Unit 21 days to receive and conclude investigations on all complaints”.

He said it was worrisome that members of the public did not know about the platforms to channel their complaints.

“The major problem is that the institutions are there, but Nigerians do not know their functions.

“We receive complaints through WhatsApp, Twitter handles, phone calls, and walk-in petitions.

“And the Unit is directly responsible to the Office of the Inspector General of Police through the Public Relation Officer,” he said.

Sanni assured more sensitisation to enlighten the public to take advantage of the opportunity to lodge their complaint for proper handling.

In his remarks, the Chief Commissioner of PCC, Mr Abimbola Ayo-Yusuf emphasised the need to strengthen institutions to combat administrative injustice and corruption.

He noted that, properly developed institution is key to good governance, adding that the summit aimed to improve service delivery and ensure that the right to complain and raise issues was available to everyone.

“The purpose of this Summit, which is to foster collaboration between the Public Complaints Commission and other organisations, is quite timely and key to the understanding of the mandate of the Commission.

“The PCC, known as the Nigerian version of the Ombudsman, was established to investigate complaints regarding administrative actions,” he said.

Ms. Sandra Benson, the Director Administration, Foundation for Youth Empowerment and Social Justice, said that the Foundation and PCC were working hard to ensure justice for those who had faced injustices over the years.

Banson emphasised the need for collective action to address the issues, stating that now was the time to match voices with action for good governance.

She highlighted the importance of addressing citizens’ complaints about administrative actions and called for immediate responses, sensitisation of workers on grievance channels, and cooperation for swift justice.

“The Summit marks the beginning of important engagements with stakeholders and the PCC, aiming to restore trust in the system and liberate workers from bad leadership.”

Also speaking, Maurice Okoye, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jewel Social Empowerment Initiative, said that the critical need for consequence management in addressing issues in Nigeria was necessary.

Okoye cited the absence of consequence management as a major challenge, leading to lack of accountability among government agency heads.

He also mentioned the reluctance of many to seek justice due to a lack of confidence in the system.

He cited an example where one of his friends chose not to pursue justice after a robbery due to high costs and skepticism about the outcome.

Okoye called for a restoration of public confidence in the justice system and emphasised the need for accountability and responsibility among leaders.

NAN

Headline

Google To Offer AI-generated Answers In Search Results

Published

1 day ago

May 14, 2024

Editor

Google has announced it would introduce AI-generated answers to online queries made by users in the United States, in one of the biggest updates to its search engine in 25 years.

“I’m excited to announce that we will begin launching this fully revamped experience, ‘AI overviews,’ to everyone in the US this week,” Google chief executive Sundar Pichai said at an event in California on Tuesday, May 14.

Google’s search results will feature an AI summary at the top of the page before the more typical unfurling of links.

The AI answers generated by Google’s Gemini technology will offer succinct summaries of what it found on the internet with links to the online sources that supplied the information.

“You can ask whatever’s on your mind or whatever you need to get done – from researching to planning to brainstorming – and Google will take care of the legwork,” said Google Search team boss Liz Reid.

The change comes as Google feels growing pressure from AI-powered search engines like Perplexity, and from the rumors that OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is building its own AI search tool.

Searches through AI chats have also appeared on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with users able to get information from the web without Google.

The change will soon spread to other countries, Pichai added, making it accessible to more than a billion people.