₦airaland Forum

Qatari authorities have turned down President Bola Tinubu’s request to visit the nation and hold a business and investment forum.

The Qatari government in a letter to the ministry of foreign affairs on Thursday disclosed that it would not be able to welcome Mr Tinubu and hold the proposed forum on March 2 and 3 due to the lack of a legally binding agreement between Qatar and Nigeria for the promotion of investment.

It also noted that its ministry of commerce had other commitments on the days Mr Tinubu desired to visit.

“The Embassy has the honour to inform that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Qatar apologises that it will not be able to hold a Business and Investment Forum as proposed by Nigerian side” because “there is no any agreement signed between the State of Qatar and the Federal Republic of Nigeria on Investment Promotion and Protection,” the letter sent to the foreign affairs ministry on February 22 stated.

The Gulf nation further stressed that its commerce and industry minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Qassim al-Thani “will be carrying out official missions outside the country during the upcoming visit period” which makes him unavailable to meet with the Nigerian leader.

It added that its officials would be too busy because Qatar was hosting its own “web summit” the same time Mr Tinubu planned to visit.

“The State of Qatar will be hosting a web summit during the suggested period and the state’s authorities will be preoccupied with this event,” the letter indicated.

The Qatari government’s failure to reschedule the business forum to a more convenient period, perhaps, suggested its unwillingness to forge any economic alliance with Nigeria.

Last year, the United Arab Emirates authorities faulted an announcement that a visa ban on Nigerians had been lifted after Mr Tinubu visited the UAE leader, Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

fergie001:
https://www.nairaland.com/8008712/dani-alves-sentenced-54-months

Former Barcelona defender Dani Alves has been sentenced to four years imprisonment after being found guilty of a nightclub rape charge by a Spanish court on Thursday.

The incident reportedly occurred in the VIP section bathroom of Sutton nightclub on December 31, 2022. He was arrested three weeks later on accusation of “sexual assault with penetration” and had been held without bail since.

In a TV interview, Mr Alves initially denied knowing the victim but later backtracked, admitting there was sex but claimed it was consensual — he later told Catalan newspaper La Vanguardia that he lied because he was afraid of losing his wife, Joanna Sanz.

Mr Alves denied that he raped the young woman during a three-day trial that ended last Wednesday. But on Thursday, a three-judge panel found him guilty of rape and sentenced the ex-Brazilian international to four and a half prison terms.

Also, Mr Alves is to pay $163,000 (€150,000) in compensation to the victim, a nine and a half year restraining order and will have to complete five years’ worth of probation upon completion of his sentence, Forbes reported.

Meanwhile, Mr Alves, who also played for Juventus, Sevilla, PSG and other clubs during his playing career, can appeal the sentence.

On Wednesday, Ondo residents and dignitaries paid their last respects to deceased Governor Rotimi Akeredolu.

Mr Akeredolu died on December 27, 2023, at a German hospital after battling a protracted prostrate cancer.

The body of Mr Akeredolu arrived in Ondo at exactly 12:30 p.m. for a brief lying-in-state programme at the Governor’s Office in Akure.


Both civil servants and residents, including students, were present to bid the deceased governor farewell.

Amid tears, many residents, admirers and supporters of the former governor trooped out en mass to the venue to wave at the motorcade that brought Mr Akeredolu’s corpse.

A special court session was held briefly at the Ondo High Court, with several personalities paying tributes to the deceased.

The former governor was described as a man of courage whose contribution to life was immense.

At the event, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa said Mr Akeredolu was a man of letters, learning, finesse and culture.

Mr Aiyedatiwa recalled Mr Akeredolu’s role as Ondo’s attorney before becoming the governor, noting that he was open-minded as he played his role as chief law officer of the state.

According to the Ondo governor, Mr Akeredolu served the state meritoriously with passion and equity and was also a lover of civil servants.

“We remember with pride today his sense of urgency and intervention and unusual dedication to the cause of access to justice. His support for the Multidoor Court System, improved delivery of the Alternate Dispute Resolution system and welfare for judges and judicial officers are well documented,” stated the Ondo governor.

Mr Aiyedatiwa added, “Shall we forget his drive for necessary and expeditious law-making? For records, he it was as governor, who sponsored the executive bill for a law to establish the Ondo State Security Agency and Amotekun Corps, to assist in maintaining law and order in the state. His government also sponsored a bill for a law to provide for the establishment of Ondo State Security Trust Fund.

The Ondo chief judge, Olawale Odunsola, described the late governor, Akeredolu, as a courageous fighter who faced serious security challenges in the state with ingenious courage and whose approach later became a national model.

mariahAngel:
Let me suggest this one.

RepoMan007:
which of the ijebus?
Ijebu Igbo ?
Ijebu Ode ?
Ijebu mushin?

No serious journalist will write ijebu, and use a laughing picture of Tinubu for such piece.

RepoMan007:
That picture though. The writer or OP is anti-tinubu

A 12Kg bag of semo; flour made from maize used for making ‘swallow,’ now sells for N13, 200, as against N6, 000 for which it was sold around this time last year.

A 12kg of cooking gas sold for N7, 500 at the same time last year is now N15, 500, while 4kg of cooking gas which sold for N1200 now sells for N5,000.

In Ijebu, Ogun State, a bag of sachet water is now N620, thrice its former price. With a bag costing N620, one piece of sachet water sells for N30 in Ijebu.

Spiking prices of food predated Mr Tinubu’s government. However, Mr Tinubu’s sudden fuel subsidy removal and floating of the naira, which were lauded by experts as good policies, have seen petrol price jump from N145 to N630, shooting food prices up as the naira continue its freefall against the dollar, trading at N1,825 against a dollar on Tuesday.

On Monday, Nigerians protested over skyrocketing food prices in Ibadan, Oyo State capital, chanting “Tinubu ole.” Similar protests had been held in Osun, Niger, Kano and Lagos states, Mr Tinubu’s home state, last week.

Over economic hardships in the country, the Nigerian Labour Congress announced a two-day nationwide protest scheduled for between February 27 and 28th.

However, the State Security Service has warned the NLC to shun its planned nationwide protest, claiming some elements were scheming to take advantage of the protest to cause a crisis and widespread violence.

Mr Tinubu, in response to public outcry on rising cost of food driven by inflation in the country, directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security to release about 42,000 metric tonnes of grain, including maize, millet and garri.

He also charged National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, State Security Service and the police to go after food hoarders, while the Nigerian Customs had announced plans to distribute confiscated food items to Nigeria to ameliorate hunger in the country.

A Lagos-based constitutional lawyer and public affairs analyst, Jide Ologun, has urged Bola Tinubu to deal with all saboteurs frustrating his reforms and governance agenda.

Mr Ologun, a former chairman of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Ikeja branch, made the call in an interview on Wednesday in Lagos.

He was reacting to the nation’s current socio-economic and other challenges.

The legal practitioner and social commentator urged Tinubu to tackle the nation’s challenges by dealing decisively with those instigating the challenges.

“The Nigerian problem is in the hands of the cabal and as long as any government fails to deal with the cabals, the nation will continue to groan. I have said it openly: it is left in the hands of the president to deal with the cabal working to frustrate his administration.

“Our country is too crime-permissive. Where there are no consequences, the situation like what the nation is currently going through will be happening,” Mr Ologun said.

Commending the president for showing the door to corrupt persons in the cabinet, the lawyer said Mr Tinubu must go further to ensure the prosecution of all corrupt public officers to send deeper signals.

He said that efforts must be made to sanitise and cleanse Nigeria’s political and economic environment of all saboteurs.

Mr Ologun described the prevalent distribution of palliatives to vulnerable Nigerians in the current economic challenges as dealing with symptoms, “we are not dealing with the substantial issue.”

“The substantial issue is that there are some wicked personalities and organisations in the country that are ready to sink the nation. They have amassed so much wealth and they are determined to frustrate the system. They do not care who pays for it, whether the citizens or anybody.

“These are the sponsors of terrorism and poverty: when some people hijack the resources that should be engaged to create wealth for the generality of citizens,” he said.

According to him, the president has been given executive power by Section 5 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended) and has substantial powers under his control to bring about his renewed hope agenda.

Mr Ologun said blame games would take Nigeria nowhere, adding that all hands should be on deck to reverse the current trend.

He urged Nigerians to remain hopeful, avoid a lavish lifestyle, exercise themselves and cut their coats according to their clothes in the face of the current economic challenges.

Ogiame:
So can you STFU now? 😊

Babalegba:
He should stop wasting his money. He is never going to be president

Forest122:
Atiku will lose at the end

Supremos:
....

MotiveU:
Why is this country like this.

How can you grant person that commit such heinous crime.

Truely confirmed Justice is for the highest bidder.

princepeter566:
In as much as I don't like tinubu. I give him thumb up on this one.