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We’ll Do Our Best To Support Nigeria — DG WTO, Okonjo-Iweala

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2023

The Director-General of World Trade Organisation, WTO, Professor Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Tuesday said as the person at the helm of the world body, she alongside her team will do their best to support Nigeria at this difficult time.

Prof. Okonjo-Iweala stated this while speaking with State House correspondents after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The WTO DG flanked by the former Minister of State for Health during the Goodluck Jonathan, Mohammed Ali Pate, said they saw the President and that the focus of their discussion was on what they would do to support Nigeria.

She said they are contemplating a grassroot programme that they could put in place to help the young people as well as women.

She said the WTO would look at the kind of trade can do for the people on agriculture, textile and even in establishing pharmaceutical industry.

According to her, “We want to help them in digital trade so that they can create more jobs.”

She said, “We saw the President and the focus was on how do we support Nigerians at this time of need.

“We all know that things are very difficult for Nigerians outside, everyone is struggling. I’m here myself on a quiet visit. So this was not really an official WTO mission but we’re able to engage with Mr. President, talk about what are the kinds of programmes that could be put in place to make sure that the suffering of Nigerians are being alleviated.

“And we had a really good conversation on trying to look at the community and grassroots programmes that can be put in place to create jobs for young people, trying to support women and children, who are bearing the brunt of some of the suffering in the country.

“We talked about how for the longer term, we need to do that investment opportunities that Nigeria can cease including in the pharmaceutical industry.

“We also talked about what type of support the World Trade Organization can bring. We’re already working in Nigeria with women in particular, who own small and medium enterprises to try to help them upgrade the quality of their products. Whether it’s in the agricultural area, in textiles and in other areas so that they can sell more internationally.

“We’re trying to help them with digital trade. So how do we train and empower Nigerian women and owners of small and medium enterprises so that they can trade more and create more jobs?

“So that is what’s needed now, helping Nigerians to alleviate the difficult conditions that they are in.

“So that is what we discussed with Mr. President and as the Director General of the World Trade Organization, we are going to try to do the most we can to support Nigerians at this particular time.

Also speaking, Dr. Pate said that President Tinubu was fully aware of the difficulties people are facing and that efforts being made to alleviate it.

He said, “I think the DG has mentioned the purpose of this visit. I think I’ll just reaffirm, that Mr. President is fully aware of the difficulties that people are facing, and committed and I think he is doing all that he can and with his team to ensure that those sufferings are alleviated.

“That was the main thrust of the conversation that we had in terms of targeting those who are most vulnerable, women, children, youth, attracting investment opportunities, that can grow the economy so that people will get some succour because the difficulties that we’re facing is transitory.

“I think with the vision of the President there’s reason to be very hopeful that we’ll navigate through this difficult time and have a Nigeria that sees us stronger, united and conspired to the greatness that is in our future.

“So Mr. President also discussed with us some of the vision on health that he has and I think is great to see that health is one area where it connects everyone.

“Health affects everyone from the policy side, regulatory side, pharmaceuticals and quality of pharmaceuticals, the financing side, in terms of financial protection, health insurance, and all those elements, primary health care in every nook and cranny of this country, folks have ailments like malaria, vaccinations, treatment of basic diseases with primary healthcare system, as well as hospital care, which is very important.

“Because sometimes you have primary healthcare. And Mr President is very committed to all those policy interventions, not only on health, but in all other arenas that will bring succour to this country and to move our economy for the greatness that is in our future.

“So that was really the purpose of this very fruitful discussion with Mr. President.”

Headline

US Revokes Visas Of Foreigners Who Mocked Kirk’s Assassination

Published

22 hours ago

October 15, 2025

Editor

The United States has revoked the visas of several foreign nationals who publicly mocked or celebrated the killing of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials confirmed on Tuesday.

The State Department said the decision followed an internal review of social media posts deemed “offensive and contrary to U.S. values,” adding that the country “has no obligation to host foreigners who wish death on Americans.”

Kirk, 31, co-founder of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA and a strong ally of former President Donald Trump, was shot dead during a political rally on 10 September.

His killing drew widespread condemnation across the political spectrum, with many describing the act as a targeted attack on free speech.

According to U.S. authorities, at least six individuals from Argentina, South Africa, Brazil, Paraguay, Mexico, and Germany had their visas revoked after making comments online that celebrated Kirk’s murder or insulted his supporters.

Examples cited by officials included posts calling Kirk a racist who deserved it, and messages mocking grieving Americans.

“We will not tolerate foreigners who promote or celebrate acts of violence against U.S. citizens,” a State Department spokesperson said.

The move underscores Washington’s growing use of immigration powers to respond to online behaviour perceived as threatening or disrespectful towards the country.

The Department said it continues to monitor social media content for evidence of incitement or endorsement of violence.
Civil liberties advocates, however, have questioned the decision, arguing that revoking visas for social media comments could set a worrying precedent.

Officials maintained that the visa cancellations were lawful, limited in scope, and aimed at protecting national integrity.

“Freedom of speech does not extend to foreigners seeking the privilege of entry while glorifying violence,” the spokesperson added.

The United States has increased visa scrutiny in recent years, requiring applicants to disclose social media handles and online activity.

The policy, officials say, is designed to prevent extremist sympathisers or those expressing hostility towards the country from entering its borders

Headline

Israeli PM Netanyahu Back In Court For Graft Trial

Published

24 hours ago

October 15, 2025

Editor

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was back in a Tel Aviv court on Wednesday for the latest hearing in his long-running corruption trial, which opened in May 2020.

The prime minister kept a smiling face as he and his entourage of several ministers from his conservative Likud party were heckled by protesters en route to the tribunal.

It comes after US President Donald Trump suggested on Monday that the Israeli premier should be pardoned in his three separate corruption cases.

His latest appearance at the Tel Aviv court also follows the return of the hostages taken by Hamas as part of Trump’s US-brokered plan to end the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

In one case, Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, are accused of accepting more than $260,000 worth of luxury goods, including champagne, cigars and jewellery, from billionaires in exchange for political favours.

In two other instances, Netanyahu is also charged with attempting to negotiate better press coverage from two Israeli media outlets. He has denied any wrongdoing, claiming to be the victim of a political plot.

During his current term, which started in late 2022, Netanyahu has proposed far-reaching judicial reforms that critics say sought to weaken the courts.

Those prompted massive protests that only abated after the onset of the Gaza war, sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.

In an address on Monday to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, Trump told the chamber that Netanyahu should receive a pardon in the graft cases.

“Cigars and champagne, who the hell cares about that?” Trump joked, before asking his Israeli counterpart Isaac Herzog: “Why don’t you give him a pardon?”

The Israeli premier is also subject to an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on suspicion of ordering war crimes in his government’s assault on Hamas militants in Gaza.

Netanyahu holds the record for the most years spent at the head of Israel’s government, having served 18 years in several stints as premier since 1996.

AFP

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FULL LIST: US Set To Carry Out Four Executions This Week

Published

1 day ago

October 15, 2025

Editor

A Florida man convicted of murdering two women he hired for sex was put to death by lethal injection on Tuesday, one of four executions to be carried out in the United States this week.

Samuel Smithers, 72, was sentenced to death in 1999 for the 1996 killings of Christy Cowan and Denise Roach in Tampa. They had been beaten and strangled and their bodies were found in a pond.

Smithers was executed at a Florida state prison at 6:15 pm (2215 GMT), the 14th execution in the southern state this year.

Another convicted murderer was also put to death by lethal injection in the midwestern state of Missouri on Tuesday.

The execution of Lance Shockley, 48, was carried out at 6:13 pm (2313 GMT) for the 2005 murder of a police sergeant, Carl Graham.

Graham was gunned down in an ambush at his home. The officer had been investigating a fatal car accident involving Shockley at the time.

Shockley maintained his innocence but his appeals were rejected by numerous courts, including the Supreme Court. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe rejected his clemency request on Monday.

Two other executions are scheduled this week.

Charles Crawford, 59, is to be put to death by lethal injection in Mississippi on Wednesday for the 1994 rape and murder of Kristy Ray, a 20-year-old college student.

Richard Djerf, 55, is to be executed by lethal injection in Arizona on Friday for the brutal 1993 murders of four members of a Phoenix family.

In a letter last month apologizing for the crime, Djerf said he was ready to die and would not seek clemency.

“If I can’t find reason to spare my life, what reason would anyone else have?” he wrote.

There have been 37 executions in the United States this year, the most since 2013, when 39 inmates were put to death.

Florida has carried out the most executions with 14, followed by Texas with five and South Carolina and Alabama with four.

Thirty-one of this year’s executions have been carried out by lethal injection, two by firing squad and four by nitrogen hypoxia, which involves pumping nitrogen gas into a face mask, causing the prisoner to suffocate.

The use of nitrogen gas as a method of capital punishment has been denounced by United Nations experts as cruel and inhumane.

The death penalty has been abolished in 23 of the 50 US states, while three others — California, Oregon and Pennsylvania — have moratoriums in place.

President Donald Trump is a proponent of capital punishment and, on his first day in office, called for an expansion of its use “for the vilest crimes.”