₦airaland Forum

The Duke of York's military titles and royal patronages have been returned to the Queen, Buckingham Palace has said.

Prince Andrew, 61, will also stop using the style His Royal Highness in an official capacity, a royal source said.

It comes as he faces a US civil action over sexual assault allegations - claims he has consistently denied.

A source close to the duke said he would "continue to defend himself" against the case brought in New York by Virginia Giuffre.

But the source insisted a judge's ruling on Wednesday that the civil action could proceed was "not a judgement on the merits of Ms Giuffre's allegations".

Buckingham Palace said in a statement: "With the Queen's approval and agreement, the Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to the Queen.

"The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."

All Prince Andrew's roles have been returned to the Queen with immediate effect, and will be redistributed to other members of the Royal Family, a source said.

The issue had been widely discussed with the Royal Family, the source said.

Like Harry and Meghan, Prince Andrew retains his title HRH but will not use it in any official capacity.

All of Prince Andrew's roles have been immediately returned to his mother, the Queen
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said it had no comment about the duke's military titles being handed back to the Queen, and that it was a matter for the Palace.

On Thursday, a letter - released by anti-monarchy pressure group Republic - was signed by more than 150 Royal Navy, RAF and Army veterans asking the Queen to strip Prince Andrew of his eight British military titles.

Lt Stuart Hunt, who served in The 1st Royal Tank Regiment and signed the letter, welcomed the prince losing his military titles but suggested the matter should have been resolved sooner.

The 52-year-old told the PA News Agency: "It's an unsavoury business... I'm just glad he's not associated with the military now.

"Whether he's guilty or not, he has brought things into disrepute... He's not fit to serve in an honorary rank. He has forgone that right by getting into this sort of situation."

IvarDboneless:
Which film be this abeg

Chief Whip of the Senate Orji Uzor Kalu on Thursday declared that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) does not belong to the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Tinubu, saying the party is owned by the people of Nigeria.

Kalu, who is eyeing the presidency, also said that he did not snub President Muhammadu Buhari by not going to inform him about his presidential bid at the Aso Rock Villa like other aspirants had done.

He spoke during an interview on ‘The Morning Show’ programme of the Arise News Television on Thursday.

Tinubu had on Monday visited Buhari and told him of his ambition to contest the presidency in the 2023 general elections, a development that may have narrowed the chances of the South East.

But the former governor of Abia State, shortly after Tinubu’s declaration, stated that the time was ripe for the south east to produce the next president of the country and that he has all it takes to match the APC national leader.

Kalu, in the interview, said there was no need for him to inform Buhari about his presidential ambition as it was not yet clear if the APC National Convention Committee would zone the party’s presidential ticket to the South East.

He said, “I don’t own the party, neither does Bola Tinubu or any other person in the party. The party is owned by the Nigerian people and they are the only people; in a democratic set up, majority always have their way.

“Unless the party zone this thing (ticket) directly to us (South East), if we go by majority in our next convention, if it’s not properly settled and agreed upon, none of us will get it. This is why I said there is no need going to talk (with the president) that I want to contest or not until the APC National Convention Committee says this is going to South, probably South East.

“I cannot snub the president, he is the leader of the party. You cannot snub a man that sits at the right side of the chair. What I’m just trying to do is to be careful in informing him. If I go to tell him I want to run for president and the party does not zone it to South East, it will not be nice to myself.”

According to the senator, it is only the North East and the South East that are yet to produce president in the country.

When asked what the priorities of his administration would be if he emerged the APC flag bearer and wins the presidential polls, Kalu listed security, restoration of confidence of the citizenry and electricity as some of the major planks of his policy drive.

He said, “My first priority will be to give Nigerian people freedom from terrorism, banditry, anything you call it from Sahara Desert to the Atlantic Ocean. I will like to give them freedom to go anywhere they want to go because that is the freedom everybody needs. And I’m capable of doing that. My first priority will be security of lives and property.

“Secondly, I will restore Nigerian people’s confidence. I will give them confidence. The youths, elderly, men and women need the confidence to go to the United States, United Kingdom and anywhere in the world and proudly say they are Nigerians. Confidence is everything. We have lost confidence from where we are coming from.

“Number three is to go back to re-commercialize electricity, to make sure that we restore electricity to our people. Once we have electricity, everything will follow. I don’t want to talk about roads. I will create economic miracle for Nigerians.”

Kalu also alleged that some persons “who want to be president” were bent on destroying him, stressing that there was jealousy in the Nigerian system.

Responding to a question on those pursuing him in apparent reference to his legal travails, the senator said, “They are Nigerians who want to be president, they are Nigerians who want to set me aside, they are Nigerians who just want to destroy me.

“A lot of jealousy in the system. People think I became successful at early age; why must I have money and power? These people carelessly put me in prison for six months for doing nothing. I’m not bitter about it.

An Abuja Federal High Court has ordered the interim forfeiture of N110.4 million traced to the bank accounts of one James Erebuoye and seven other suspects by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) for allegedly being proceeds of crime.

A statement issued on Thursday by the ICPC spokesperson, Azuka Ogugua, said, an ex-parte motion filed by Raheem Adesina on behalf of ICOC before Justice D. Okorowa, further prayed for an order of interim forfeiture of a Toyota Lexus Jeep and a Toyota Venza car, including an Ipad device.

The statement explained that the properties were seized by the Commission from Erebuoye and his accomplices who were alleged to have benefitted from over N500 million illicit fund stashed in the account of a primary school teacher, Mrs. Roseline Uche Egbuha.

ICPC said, it found that N110,364,592.4 was surreptitiously moved sometime in 2020, from the bank account of the primary school teacher, who was being investigated for money laundering and other fraud, into different accounts owned by Erebuoye and eight other persons, including two companies.

“The money to be forfeited includes N17.4 million that was transferred to the bank account of Erebuoye, N14.2 million to an account owned by one Ojo Alonge, N16.4 million to a company called DY Bako and Sons Ltd and N30.8 million to another company known as Dorason Construction ltd.

“The order for interim forfeiture also covers the sums of N7.1 million traced to an account owned by Owoyemi Mayowa, N8.2 million, and N6.5 million traced to the bank accounts of Emon Aje Okune and Maureen Chidinma, respectively”, the statement added.

Mrs Egbuha, a teacher at Ozala Primary School, Abagana, Anambra State, was arrested in June 2020 by the Commission for allegedly laundering N550 million.

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Must you be this wicked?

samonak:
This guy with specs na one of the greatest pornster of all time.

Social media giant Twitter has agreed to pay “applicable tax” and establish a legal entity in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2022, a senior government official said on Wednesday.

Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, the director-general of the National Information Technology Development Agency, who headed the Nigerian team that negotiated with Twitter, said in a statement while announcing the lifting of the more than six-month long suspension of the social media platform in the country.

Twitter will also appoint a “designated country representative to interface with Nigerian authorities” by 2023, Abdullahi said.

The platform is also expected to enrol Nigeria in its Partner Support and Law Enforcement Portals. The Law Enforcement Portal provides a channel for the law enforcement agencies to submit a report with a legal justification where it suspects that content violates Nigerian Laws.

“Twitter has agreed to act with a respectful acknowledgement of Nigerian laws and the national culture and history on which such legislation has been built and work with the FGN and the broader industry to develop a Code of Conduct in line with global best practices, applicable in almost all developed countries,” Abdullahi said.

Nigeria suspended Twitter in June 2021, days after the platform deleted a remark from Buhari’s account, provoking outcry over freedom of expression in Africa’s most populous country.

Nigerian officials defended the suspension saying Twitter was used to promote fake news and for destabilising activities, especially by separatists in the southeast.

Buhari’s government and Twitter have been in talks over a list of conditions for ending the suspension, including discussions on taxes, content, and registering locally in Nigeria.

“The issues are being addressed and I have directed that the suspension be lifted, but only if the conditions are met to allow our citizens to continue the use of the platform for business and positive engagements,” Buhari said in a speech marking Nigeria’s independence day.