Headlines
Osinbajo, Other World Leaders in Attendance As Queen Elizabeth II Goes Home
The remains of Queen Elizabeth II will be laid to rest today, as world leaders, royals and the entire UK bid her farewell at a grandeur funeral ceremony.
The longest resigning monarch died on September 8 at the age of 96 due to old age at the Balmoral Castle, Scotland. She was on the throne for 70 years.
Life will come to a standstill for millions on Monday as the UK says goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II. The state funeral for her will take place at Westminster Abbey in London at 11:0oBST, with 2,000 people in attendance, including about 500 heads of state.
According to the BBC, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to line the streets of the capital.
A holiday has been declared in the entire UK for millions to bid their late Queen farewell. Ahead of the funeral, King Charles said he had been “deeply touched” by public support for him and his family
Foreign royals and world leaders will join the Queen’s family for a service that will be watched by hundreds of millions globally.
By 6:30am, the window for the public to see Elizabeth II lying in state comes to an end, as the doors to Westminster Hall are closed. By 8:00am, doors of Westminster Abbey open for the 2,000 guests expected – from world leaders to charity workers and the Japanese emperor, while at 10.44am, the day’s first procession will set off, with King Charles and other senior royals walking behind the Queen’s coffin as it’s pulled by sailors on the State Gun Carriage from Westminster Hall to Westminster Abbey.
The funeral service, which will begin by 11.00am will end at 12:15pm a second, larger procession brings her coffin to Wellington Arch.
at 13.00, her coffin is transferred to the state hearse and driven to Windsor along a route expected to be lined by crowds, while at 15:00, the day’s third procession begins, through the grounds of Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel.
At 16:00, Committal service takes place at St George’s Chapel while at 19:30, Royal Family returns to the chapel for a private burial service that will see Elizabeth II interred alongside her late husband, the Duke of Edinburgh.
The Presidency has dismissed claims that Vice President Kashim Shettima’s recent comments were directed at the political situation in Rivers State or President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s constitutional decisions on the matter.
In a statement on Friday by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Communications (Office of the Vice President), Stanley Nkwocha, the Presidency described the reports as a “gross misrepresentation.”
The statement clarified that Vice President Shettima’s remarks at the public presentation of a book by former Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN), were misconstrued by some online platforms and individuals.
“These reports have distorted the Vice President’s comments in pursuit of a mischievous agenda,” it stated.
“They twisted his account of how the administration of former President Jonathan considered removing him as Borno Governor during the insurgency to falsely link it with current events in Rivers State.”
The Vice President, who spoke at the launch of OPL 245: The Inside Story of the $1.3 Billion Oil Block in Abuja on Thursday, was said to have referenced the past solely to commend Adoke’s professionalism while in office, and to reflect on Nigeria’s constitutional evolution regarding federal and state relations.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Tinubu did not remove Governor Fubara from office. The constitutional measure implemented was a suspension, not an outright removal.
“This action was taken in response to the grave political crisis in Rivers State at the time, with the governor facing a looming impeachment and the State Assembly complex under demolition,” Nkwocha clarified.
The Presidency insisted that the action taken by President Tinubu in declaring a state of emergency and suspending the Governor was fully in line with Section 305 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which authorises such measures when there is a breakdown of public order requiring extraordinary intervention.
According to the statement, the President’s proclamation invoking Section 305(2) was subsequently ratified by an overwhelming bipartisan majority in the National Assembly, confirming the legitimacy and constitutional propriety of the decision.
“The action of President Tinubu in suspending Mr. Fubara and others from exercising the functions of office averted the governor’s outright removal. To conflate suspension with removal is misleading,” the statement further noted.
Nkwocha also stressed that Vice President Shettima’s comments were delivered extemporaneously and intended to underline the importance of public accountability and historical documentation.
He referenced the Vice President’s mention of past public servants, including Adoke and former Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to illustrate principled leadership.
“His remarks were not in any way a criticism of President Tinubu’s actions, which the Vice President and the entire administration fully support and stand by without reservation,” the spokesman stated.
The Vice President, the statement added, remains in “loyal concert” with President Tinubu and is committed to implementing all constitutional measures necessary to safeguard democracy and uphold order across the country.
Concluding, the Presidency called on media organisations and political actors to desist from misrepresenting public remarks for sensational or partisan purposes.
“We urge media organisations and political actors to desist from the destructive practice of wrenching statements from context in order to fabricate nonexistent conflicts,” Nkwocha said.
Headlines
Akpabio Relieves Natasha of Committee Chairmanship Position, Appoints Akwa Ibom Senator As Replacement
Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has replaced suspended Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Diaspora/Non-Governmental Organisations.
In her place, Akpabio named Senator Bassey Aniekun Etim (Akwa Ibom -East).
The Senate President, who made the announcement on the floor in Abuja on Thursday, did not give any reasons.
The committee position had remained vacant since March when the Senate suspended the Kogi-Central Senatorial District lawmaker for six months for flouting the Senate’s rule on the seating arrangement and seat allocation.
The suspended lawmaker, at a point, chaired the Senate Committee on Local Content before Akpabio reassigned her to the Committee on Diaspora/NGO, shortly before she ran into trouble with the Senate over her conduct on seat allocation.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the 2024 governorship election victory of Governor Monday Okpebholo of the All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissing the appeal filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Asuerinme Ighodalo.
In a unanimous decision by a five-member panel led by Justice Mohammed Garba, the apex court ruled that the appeal lacked merit. It upheld the earlier judgments of the Court of Appeal and the Edo State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which had both declared Okpebholo the validly elected governor.
