News
Trump to boycott Biden inauguration, Twitter permanently suspends president
President Donald Trump on Friday said he would not attend Joe Biden’s inauguration later this month.
“To all of those who have asked, I will not be going to the inauguration on January 20th,” he announced on Twitter.
This also ‘provoked’ a permanent suspension order slammed on the US President by Twitter.
Trump’s decision to boycott Biden’s swearing-in ceremony comes after weeks of his refusing to acknowledge that Biden defeated him in the November 3, 2020 presidential election, US Today reports.
Trump finally acknowledged his loss in a video on Thursday, saying a new administration would take office on January 20.
But Biden said he won’t miss Trump and called Trump’s decision to boycott his inaugural “one of the few things he and I have ever agreed on.”
“It’s a good thing he’s not showing up,” Biden said on Friday at a news conference in Wilmington, Delaware.
Trump is not the first outgoing president to skip his successor’s inauguration. John Adams, John Quincy Adams and Andrew Johnson did not attend the inaugurals of the men who succeeded them. Richard Nixon left the White House after resigning and did not go to Gerald Ford’s swearing-in.
After reports on Thursday that Vice President Mike Pence was expected to attend the inauguration, spokesman Devin O’Malley tweeted: “You can’t attend something you haven’t received an invitation to.”
But a spokeswoman for Biden’s inaugural committee said Pence is “of course invited to attend the Inaugural.” She said the president and vice president traditionally do not receive formal invitations. Attendance is coordinated at a staff level “and that is taking place,” the spokeswoman said.
Pence and his wife “have yet to make a decision regarding their attendance,” O’Malley said Friday.
Asked if Pence should attend his inauguration, Biden said it was important to stick to historical precedence “as much as we can.”
“The vice president is welcome to come,” Biden said, adding he’d “be honored to have him there.”
Biden’s inauguration will be a scaled-down event because of the health risks posed by the coronavirus pandemic.
Tickets to the swearing-in ceremony will be limited. The traditional parade down Pennsylvania Avenue will be replaced by a virtual parade that will be televised.
Meanwhile, Twitter has announced that it has permanently suspended Trump.
“After close review of recent Tweets from the @realDonaldTrump account and the context around them — specifically how they are being received and interpreted on and off Twitter — we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence,” Twitter wrote in a statement Friday evening.
Trump’s final tweet said he would not be attending the inauguration of Biden.
Hashtags for “TrumpBanned” and “Thank you Twitter” quickly rose to the top of the social media site in the wake of the permanent suspension, according to abcnews.go.com.
Hours after his suspension, Trump released a statement criticising the ban, and teasing a possible new platform.
“I predicted this would happen,” he wrote in part. “We have been negotiating with various other sites, and will have a big announcement soon, while we also look at the possibilities of building out our own platform in the near future. We will not be SILENCED!”
“Twitter is not about FREE SPEECH. They are all about promoting a Radical Left platform where some of the most vicious people in the world are allowed to speak freely,” he added.
Trump had attempted to post the same statement on Twitter, using the official @POTUS account, but the platform deleted the thread, saying users who are banned cannot post from other accounts.
The @POTUS account, rarely used by Trump himself over the past four years, will be transferred over to the Biden administration following his inauguration, the ABC News report adds.
News
Late COAS Lagbaja gets CFR honour, buried amid tributes
Late COAS Lagbaja gets CFR honour, buried amid tributes
The late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, was on Friday laid to rest in Abuja, amid tears and tributes.
President Bola Tinubu conferred a posthumous award of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR) on the late Chief of Army Staff.
The burial took place at the National Cemetery in Abuja to end two days of funeral rites that began in Lagos earlier in the week.
His body was lowered into the grave at exactly 4:41pm after the ceremony that lasted over two hours.
Lagbaja’s casket, draped in Nigeria’s green and white colours, arrived at the cemetery around 3pm in a white funeral wagon after a funeral service at the National Christian Centre in Abuja.
Dignitaries were led to the event by President Bola Tinubu. Others are Vice President Kashim Shettima; the Acting Chief of Army Staff, Lt.Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa; Minister of Defence, Abubakar Badaru, and other top government officials and military brass.
President Tinubu announced the conferment of the CFR on the late COAS during the interment at the National Cemetery in Abuja.
The President extolled the virtues of the late warrior, especially his contributions to national security.
According to him, the appointment of Lagbaja as the COAS was one of his finest made so far.
“As an eternal symbol of our appreciation, I have granted the late Chief of Army Staff, the posthumous national honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic of the Niger (CFR),” Tinubu declared.
He thereafter invited the wife of the late COAS, Mariya, to collect the award on behalf of the Lagbaja family amid applause from the congregation.
News
Supreme Court dismisses 16 govs suit challenging EFCC legality
Supreme Court dismisses 16 govs suit challenging EFCC legality
The Supreme Court has dismissed the suit by 16 states challenging the constitutionality of the acts establishing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and two others.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the other agencies are the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU).
In the lead judgment by Justice Uwani Abba-Aji delivered on Friday, the Supreme Court resolved the six issues raised for determination in the suit against the plaintiffs.
The court held that the laws establishing the anti-corruption agencies were validly enacted by the National Assembly within its legislative competence.
It faulted the claim by the plaintiffs that the EFCC Act, being a product of the United Nations convention on corruption, ought to be ratified by majority of the state houses of assembly.
Delivering judgement on Friday, Justice Abba-Aji ruled that “the EFCC Act, which was not established from a treaty but a convention, does not need the ratification of the houses of assembly.”
News
Executive Secretary FCDA Hadi Ahmad suspended indefinitely
Executive Secretary FCDA Hadi Ahmad suspended indefinitely
Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA, Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad, has been suspended indefinitely.
His suspicion was on the order of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike.
Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Minister, Lere Olayinka, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday evening.
No reason was given for the suspension.
Ahmad was directed to hand over to the Director, Engineering Services in the FCDA.
The statement read: “The Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority FCDA, Engr. Shehu Hadi Ahmad, has been suspended indefinitely.
“According to a statement on Thursday, by Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media to the Minister of Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, the suspension of Engr Hadi Ahmad is with immediate effect.
“The suspended Executive Secretary has consequently been directed to hand over to the Director of Engineering Services, Engr in the FCDA.”
-
Sports1 day agoBREAKING: Super Eagles qualify for AFCON 2025
-
Aviation2 days agoDisaster averted as bird strike hits Abuja-Lagos Air Peace flight
-
metro22 hours agoCourt orders varsity to pay lecturer N40m compensation for wrongful dismissal
-
Opinion22 hours agoApomu king turns warmonger for PDP
-
Education3 days ago12-year-old Nigerian girl Eniola Shokunbi invents air filter to reduce spread of diseases in US schools
-
Politics22 hours agoOndo poll: Three gov candidates withdraw for Aiyedatiwa
-
Politics3 days agoWhy I can’t form coalition with Peter Obi – Sowore
-
News2 days agoEdo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
You must be logged in to post a comment Login