Buhari to Biden: We look forward to working with you

• Biden calls Nigerian girl, her father who contributed to his victory
• US President signs 17 executive orders

President Muhammadu Buhari has welcomed the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as President and Vice President of the United States of America on Wednesday.

President Buhari, in a statement issued on Wednesday by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, expressed hope that their tenure would engender more cooperation and support for Nigeria as well as the African continent.

“We look forward to the Biden presidency with great hope and optimism for strengthening of existing cordial relationships, working together to tackle global terrorism, climate change, poverty and improvement of economic ties and expansion of trade,” the President said.

Buhari congratulated the new leaders and the entire country on the successful transition, noting that it marked an important historical inflection point for democracy as a system of government and for the global community as a whole.

 “We hope that this will be an era of great positivity between our two nations, as we jointly address issues of mutual interest,” the President added.

The statement said President Buhari and all Nigerians rejoiced with President Biden, sharing the proud feeling that the first woman elected Vice President of the United States has an African and Asian ancestry.

Biden praises Nigerian girl, her father 

Meanwhile, it will be a memorable day for a Nigerian girl named Josephine who contributed towards Biden’s victory as she received a call from the new president and she and her family are so happy.

The Oyo State girl answered the call from Biden who showered her with praises for her smartness, leaving her proud dad all smile.

Biden targets Trump, signs 17 executive orders  

 President Biden began signing of 17 executive orders just hours after his inauguration on Wednesday, moving faster and more aggressively to dismantle his predecessor’s legacies than any other modern president.

“There’s no time to start like today,” Biden told reporters in the Oval Office as he began signing a stack of orders and memoranda. “I’m going to start by keeping the promises I made to the American people.”

With the stroke of a pen, Biden has halted funding for the construction of Trump’s border wall, reversed his travel ban targeting largely Muslim countries and embraced progressive policies on the environment and diversity that Trump spent four years blocking.

Biden also reversed several of Trump’s attempts to withdraw from international agreements, beginning the process of rejoining the Paris climate accord and halting the United States’ departure from the World Health Organization — where Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, will lead the US delegation.

His first action was to impose a mask mandate on federal property, a break in approach to dealing with the pandemic from Trump, who repeatedly downplayed the virus. Biden also installed a coronavirus response coordinator to oversee the White House’s efforts to distribute vaccines and medical supplies.

Press secretary Jen Psaki and other top Biden officials had told reporters on the eve of his inauguration that the first-day actions are only part of what will be a series of moves to undo Trump policies and implement Biden’s campaign promises in his first weeks in office.

He plans to follow Inauguration Day by centering each day of January on a specific theme, according to a draft of a calendar document sent to administration allies and viewed by CNN.

Thursday, Biden’s first full day in office, will be focused on the coronavirus pandemic, and Friday will highlight Biden’s push for economic relief — including executive orders restoring federal employees’ collective bargaining rights and directing agency action on safety net programs, including Medicaid and unemployment insurance.

The themes next week will be “Buy American,” with a Monday executive order beefing up requirements for government purchases of goods and services from US companies; equity on Tuesday, coupled with a push to eliminate private prisons; climate on Wednesday with an executive order kicking off regulatory actions reestablishing the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and combating climate change; health care on Thursday, a day on which Biden will rescind the so-called Mexico City Policy blocking federal funding for non-governmental organizations that provide abortion services; and immigration on Friday, when Biden plans to sign executive orders focused on border processing and refugee policies and establish a family reunification task force.

February will focus on what’s identified in the calendar document as “restoring America’s place in the world.”

-CNN