News
WTO: Okonjo-Iweala Didn’t Threaten to Resign
A source in Zurich, Switzerland, yesterday clarified that the Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, did not at any time threaten to resign her appointment at global trade body as being speculated by some media reports.
The source, however, stated that Okonjo-Iweala, the first female and first African to head the WTO, was feeling frustrated on the job.
Responding to a question on whether the director general threatened to resign her appointment, the source who pleaded to remain anonymous said: “She did not threaten. She did express quite a lot of frustration. I will tell you … she is an extraordinary person but at a very difficult job.
“I do not think it is easy to explain to someone how difficult the job actually is. There are only a handful of people that sat in that seat. I have seen closely a lot of director generals and any time you think you have a difficult job, just think about the director general of WTO.”
Also, Okonjo-Iweala was quoted to have told Bloomberg that: “I just got here, I’m enjoying what I am doing. It is a very exciting job and I am trying to have some success here.”
The apparent lack of consensus on intellectual property right, which has been hindering the transfer of technology to third world countries to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines as well as the thorny fishery subsidy negation were reportedly pilling up frustration on Okonjo-Iweala.
It was reported that the tone of negotiation at the WTO yesterday was marked with raised tampers but the source stated that what was needed currently at the WTO was how to build a convergence of opinion among members on the body of text already agreed upon the fisheries subsidies.
“Nobody pointed to any proposal and said because of them things are going backward. What they were saying is that any proposal at this stage that cannot lead to consensus is not healthy. We have text now. Putting things in there that will make it imbalance is not helpful,” source said.
The source added that the Okonjo-Iweala basically laid it on the table that not building a consensus to complete the fisheries subsidies negotiation should not be considered as an option by anyone.
“It was a sobering assessment and she made a very interesting kind of metaphor when she talked about when she was a girl how her mother used to take her to the market to teach her how to haggle with the people in the market stalls. She said that at one point everybody realises that if the price remained too high the customer will walk away.
“She, therefore, said that negotiation like this is an art form and not a science, warning that ‘we need to be conscious of the point where if you push this person too far and he says what is the point and he walks away.’
“That will bring about a very bad outcome, which means the process will breakdown and we will not get an outcome.”
Dike Onwuamaeze, Thisday Live
News
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.
In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.
He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.
The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.
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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.
“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”
Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.
“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.
“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.
Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name
News
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”
His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.
In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.
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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”
Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.
He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.
“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi
News
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.
The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.
The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.
The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.
The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.
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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”
Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.
Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.
Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.
However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.
Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll
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