Headlines
WTO: Nigeria Woos US, Others to Support Okonjo-Iweala
The Federal Government on Friday said that it was currently reaching out to the United States and other members of the World Trade Organization to clear all bottlenecks to the emergence of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as director-general of the WTO.
The Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, who doubles as the Chairperson of the Campaign Strategy Team for Okonjo-Iweala, Amb. Mariam Katagum, disclosed this at an emergency virtual meeting that she convened on Friday.
Katagum and her team met to review and strategise on the way forward in the light of recent developments in the selection process for the appointment of a director-general for the trade organisation.
She said in a statement she personally signed and was made available to our correspondents in Abuja that Nigeria was persuading the United States to adopt the Nigerian candidate as WTO DG following the overwhelming support which Okonjo-Iweala had garnered.
The minister said, “Nigeria is currently reaching out to all members of the WTO including the United States of America and South Korea to overcome the impasse as well as persuade the United States to join the consensus in adopting the recommendation of the appointment of Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala as DG-WTO.”
The third and final round of consultations for the selection of a DG for the WTO which commenced in Geneva on October 19, 2020 was concluded on October 27, 2020.
The Chairperson, WTO General Council, Amb. David Walker, of New Zealand, with the facilitators of the selection process, among others, on October 28, 2020, at the meeting of WTO Heads of Delegation in Geneva, informed the members of the organisation that Okonjo-Iweala secured overwhelming support of members.
However, the United States registered reservation on the outcome of the final round in view of the fact that its preference was still the candidate of South Korea.
The United States further informed the council that it would not join the consensus in selecting Okonjo Iweala as DG-WTO at the special general council of November 9, 2020.
Meanwhile, the Presidency on Friday quoted the President of the European Council, Mr Charles Michel, as reiterating Europe’s support for the bid of Okonjo-Iweala to become the next director-general of the WTO.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement titled ‘Okonjo-Iweala: President Buhari in video conference with President of European Council’.
Adesina said Michel gave the re-assurance during a video conference the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), had with him.
According to the presidential spokesman, issues bordering on debt relief for Africa as well as the recharge of Lake Chad were also discussed.
The Punch
The National Working Committee of the Peoples Democratic Party (NWC) has suspended the National Legal Adviser, Kamaldeen Ajibade; National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu; Deputy Legal Adviser, Okechukwu Osuoha; and National Organizing Secretary, Umaru Bature for one month.
The suspension comes on the heels of the judgement of the Federal High Court On Friday, which stopped the party’s planned national convention.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Debo Ologunagba, told journalists in Abuja on Saturday, that the decision followed an emergency meeting of the national working committee, which was held in Abuja.
President Donald Trump of the United States on Friday designated Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), in response to allegations of widespread persecution and genocide against Christians.
Writing on his Truth Social account, Trump stated that Christianity faces a serious threat in Nigeria.
The US leader also added Nigeria to a State Department watch list.
“Christianity is facing an existential threat in Nigeria. Thousands of Christians are being killed. Radical Islamists are responsible for this mass slaughter,” Trump wrote.
According to the US president, he was placing Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer and most populous nation, on a “Countries of Particular Concern” list of nations the US deems to have engaged in religious freedom violations.
According to the State Department’s website, the list includes China, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, and Pakistan, among others.
Trump said he had asked US Representatives Riley Moore and Tom Cole, as well as the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, to look into the matter and report back to him.
A Federal High Court in Abuja has removed Hon. Abubakar Gummi from the House of Representatives after he left the Peoples Democratic Party for the All Progressives Congress.
The lawmaker represented the Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency in Zamfara State.
Justice Obiora Egwuatu delivered the ruling, holding that Gummi’s defection breached the Constitution.
The court said the seat does not belong to any politician but to the political party that sponsored the election.
According to the judgment, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, is barred from recognising Gummi “as a member representing Gummi/Bukkuyum Federal Constituency.”
The judge also instructed the Independent National Electoral Commission to “conduct a fresh election” for the vacant seat within 30 days.
The case was instituted by the PDP and its Zamfara chairman, who insisted that Gummi’s move to the APC had no legal justification. They argued that there was no division in the PDP to support his defection, as required by Section 68(1)(g) of the Constitution.
Gummi, through his counsel, claimed he left the PDP due to internal crises which he said made it “impossible” to serve his constituents effectively. The judge, however, dismissed his arguments and granted all the reliefs requested by the plaintiffs.
Justice Egwuatu, in a firm comment, warned politicians against what he described as reckless party hopping.
“Political prostitution must not be rewarded,” he declared, adding that lawmakers must not transfer votes won on one party’s platform to another party.
The court also ordered Gummi to refund all salaries and allowances received from October 30, 2024, until the date of judgment. He is also barred from earning any further benefits as a member of the House.
Additionally, the judge imposed a N500,000 cost against the defendants in favour of the PDP.
