Senate Confirms 47 Career Ambassadorial Nominees; Senate rejects Buhari’s 46 ambassadorial nominees; Niger Delta militants claim attack on Nembe Creek pipeline; Why we killed Shiite members in Kano – Police; Obasanjo gets ‘made in Aba’ shoes as gifts from Gov Ikpeazu; Dasuki, ex-Sultan of Sokoto, dies at 93; FG blocks Dasuki from attending father’s funeral: Report; Soyinka will not face charges if he destroys his green card — U.S. Immigration Lawyers; Boko Haram leader Shekau to Trump: war has just begun . . .
Senate Confirms 47 Career Ambassadorial Nominees
Abuja (LEADERSHIP) — The Senate on Tuesday afternoon confirmed the appointment all the 47 career ambassadorial nominees sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Red Chamber however rejected another list of 46 non-career ambassadorial nominees over 250 petitions received by its Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs against the nominees.
Those confirmed as ambassadors-designate are Obinna Chukwuemeka (Abia); Salisu Umaru (Adamawa); Inyan Udo-Iyang (Akwa Ibom), Okeke Vivian Nwanaku (Anambra); Liman Munir (Bauchi); Ndem Jane Ada(Benue); Mohammed Hassan Hassan(Borno); Martin Young Cobham (Cross River); Janet Omoleegho Olisah (Delta); and Itegboje Sunday (Edo).
Others are: Olatunde Adesesan(Ekiti) Lilian Ijeukwu Onoh(Enugu); Manaja Tulah Isa(Gombe); Ngozi Ukaeje (Imo); Bello Kazaure Husseini(Jigawa), Enoch Pear Duchi (Kaduna), Garba Baba (Kano), Usman Bakori Aliyu (Katsina); Umar Zainab Salisu (Kebbi); Momoh Sheidu Omeiza (Kogi); and Kadiri Audu (Kwara).
Others who also made the list are: Balogun Hakeem (Lagos); Inusa Ahmed (Nasarawa); Ibrahim Isah (Niger); Bankole Adegboyega Adeoye (Ogun); Ibidapo-Obe Oluwasegun (Osun); Ogundero Sakirat(Oyo); Eric A. Bell-Gam (Rivers); Attahiru Halliru (Sokoto); Rahmatu Dunama (Taraba); Musa Mamman (Yobe); and Kabiru Bala (Zamfara).
Others on the list include Adamu Shuaibu (FCT); D.A Agev (Benue); T.K Gongulong (Borno); Ibrahim Hamza (Katsina); K.C Nwachukwu (Imo); Q.I Worlu(Edo); E.K Oguntuase (Ekiti); A. I. Paragalda (Adamawa); L.A Gasharga (Borno); Olufemi Abikoye (Kwara); Habu Abubakar Ibrahim(Gombe) Rabiu Akawu(Kano); Nonye Udo (Anambra) Odeka Janet Bisong (Cross River); and Sonaike Adekunbi Abibat (Ogun).
LEADERSHIP reports that the trio states of Bayelsa, Ebonyi and Plateau are not represented in the career-ambassadorial nominees’ list.
Senate rejects Buhari’s 46 ambassadorial nominees
Abuja (PUNCH) — The Nigerian Senate has rejected the 46 non-career ambassadorial nominees sent to it by President Muhammadu Buhari for approval. The Senate said the list will be sent back to the President “for resubmission and re-jigging” according to reports.
State governors had protested against their non-involvement in the selection of the non-career ambassadorial nominees by President Buhari, even as two of the nominees, Tallen and Bugaje, had rejected their nominations, citing failure to duly consult them.
The Punch reported that Imo State and the Federal Capital Territory, which had representatives among the 47 career ambassadorial nominees, did not get any nominees in the non-career batch.
Niger Delta militants claim attack on Nembe Creek pipeline
NDA Website (DAILY TRUST) — Nigerian militant group Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) said on Tuesday it had attacked the Nembe Creek Trunk Line pipeline in the southern Niger Delta in a blow to the government’s efforts to quell militancy in the region. The group, which in August said it would halt hostilities to pursue talks with the government, said on Sunday that it had resumed attacks because of the continued presence of the army in the region.
The NDA, which wants more energy wealth to go to the swampland region that is the source of most of Nigeria’s oil, said on its website its strike team attacked the Nembe 1, 2 and 3 branches of the pipeline. On Nov. 1, Nigeria’s president met leaders from the region for the first time since the attacks began.
They gave him a list of 16 demands including the withdrawal of the army from the region, ordering oil firms to move their headquarters there and spending more on development. “We are determined to continue this war by all means necessary, until that environment prevails for a genuine dialogue and negotiations within the framework of the 16-point key demands presented,” NDA spokesman Mudoch Agbinibo said in a statement posted on the group’s website on Tuesday.
Why we killed Shiite members in Kano – Police
Abuja (NigerianEye) — The Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Idris Ibrahim, on Tuesday justified the killing of some Shiites members by policemen in Kano on Monday. Ibrahim spoke with State House correspondents shortly after attending the launch of the 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Emblem and Appeal Fund at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
About 15 Shiite members and one policeman were said to have lost their lives during the clash between the members of the sect and the police. The clash was also said to have left no fewer than four policemen and 10 Shiite members injured. When asked why policemen would resort to killing people while quelling protests, Ibrahim said his men were confronted by protesters who were armed to the teeth.
He said rather than condemning police action, Nigerians should sympathise with the policemen who were killed by those he described as miscreants. “I agree with what you said (that Nigerians should not be killed while quelling riot) but when you have Nigerians armed to the teeth, killing police officers, I don’t think it happens anywhere.
Obasanjo gets ‘made in Aba’ shoes as gifts from Gov Ikpeazu
Abeokuta (THE NATION) — Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, an ardent campaigner for ‘Made in Nigeria’ products, has received pairs of shoes – all made in Aba, Abia State, as gifts from Governor Victor Okezie Ikpeazu. Obasanjo who sized and adorned one of them fittingly, said since the Aba made shoe was nice on his feet, it would also look good on anybody in Nigeria, Africa and the rest of the world.
The shoes, half a dozen of them, were presented to him on Monday evening when Governor Ikpeazu, who doubles as the Ambassador of ‘Made in Aba’ products visited the ex-President at his residence on Presidential Hilltop Estate, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital. Ikpeazu who was accompanied by aides, explained to his host that “the shoes are all hand made by the boys in Aba,” saying they are also making 50,000 pairs of shoes for the Nigerian army.
Obasanjo who lauded the Aba boys for their ingenuity and creativity, hinting that the African Export–Import Bank (AFREXIM) may soon establish an industrial park in Aba to “encourage and support made in african products.” He urged the Governor to give the African Export–Import Bank (AFREXIM) team the necessary support whenever they arrived the state at later date for such industrial park project.
Dasuki, ex-Sultan of Sokoto, dies at 93
Sokoto (The Sun) — Former Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Ibrahim Dasuki, is dead. He died yesterday and will be buried today, according to Muslim rites.
The late Sultan Dasuki, father of ex-National Security Adviser, Sambo Dasuki, was deposed in 1996 by the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, after he was installed by Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, in 1988. He was on the throne for eight years before his deposition and banishment to Zing, in Taraba State.
Dasuki was the first Sultan from the Buhari line of the House of Dan Fodio. He was a close associate of Ahmadu Bello and held the traditional title of Baraden Sokoto before becoming Sultan.
FG blocks Dasuki from attending father’s funeral: Report
Abuja (Niger Reporters) — The embattled former National Security Adviser (NSA) Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd.) will not be allowed to attend his father’s funeral in Sokoto state. The Nigerian government has no plans to release him for his late father’s burial rites, according to an unconfirmed report.
The former NSA has been detained by the Federal Government since December 1, 2015 for the infamous scandal involving defence funds for waging wat against the Boko Haram Islamic insurgents in the northeast of Nigeria. Dasuki has been in detention spite of the bails granted him by three different High Courts in Abuja.
Soyinka will not face charges if he destroys his green card — U.S. Immigration Lawyers
Abuja (NigerianEye) — The United States government will not bring any civil or criminal charges against Nobel laureate, Wole Soyinka, if he eventually destroys his American green card as openly threatened, U.S. immigration experts told newsmen. In fact, Mr. Soyinka will still be able to visit the United States at any time he desires even after destroying his green card before the public glare, the lawyers said.
Immigration attorneys, Isaac Falusi and Samuel Adewusi, said in separate interviews with PREMIUM TIMES that the controversies surrounding the decision of the professor are inconsequential in the U.S. Mr. Falusi, an expert in immigration and international trade law, said Mr. Soyinka would have merely exercised his free speech by destroying his green card.
“Destroying a green card is an expression of free speech which no one will ever be penalised for in America,” Mr. Falusi said. “Being a resident in America is a voluntary thing. The government gave him the green card because he was qualified when he applied for it,” Mr. Falusi said.
The lawyer said the U.S. Homeland Security, which handles such documents, may not even be aware of the controversy and even if it were, it still won’t mean an action will be taken. “If he has made a public show of destroying his card, that doesn’t mean the Homeland Security is aware of it,” Mr. Falusi said.
Boko Haram leader Shekau to Trump: war has just begun
Maiduguri (THE NATION) — Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau, has reacted to the election of Donald Trump as United States President with a warning that “the war has just begun” against the West.
“Do not be overwhelmed by people like Donald Trump and the global coalition fighting our brethren in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and everywhere,” Shekau said in an audio message posted on YouTube late on Sunday.
Nigerian News Desk 