Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar on Thursday asked newly inaugurated US leaders – Joe Biden and Kamala Harris – to support Nigeria’s fight against terror and remove all travel restrictions imposed on Nigerian citizens by the Donald Trump administration. Since 2009, Nigeria has battled an insurgency across its northeast region and bandit attacks have increased in recent years. The Trump administration, in a four-year crackdown on immigration into the US, also passed policies that restricted Nigerians and other countries from pursuing long-term visits to the world’s largest economy. In a tweet, Atiku said Nigeria has enjoyed good relations with the…
Author: ACNN TV
Newly inaugurated US President Joe Biden has reversed a Donald Trump policy that restricted the granting of immigrant visas to Nigerians. In January 2020, Trump had expanded curbs on immigration to include six more countries, including Nigeria. At the time, the US government said the policy was designed to tighten security for countries that don’t comply with the U.S. minimum security standards or cooperate to prevent illegal immigration. But the Biden administration, which campaigned partly on a message of diversity, is seeking to re-open America to the world. The reversal is part of a 10-day onslaught of executive actions intended…
The European Union (EU) has expressed concern over the continued harassment of politicians and civil society actors in Uganda after last week’s general election. The incumbent, President Yoweri Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, won his sixth elective term. In a statement, the EU Council of Ministers called on the government to restrain its security agencies, investigate claims of abuses and bring to account all those responsible for violations. The vote was marred by harassment of opposition candidates, suppression of media and a nationwide internet shutdown. Opposition presidential candidate, Robert Kyagulanyi, also known as Bobi Wine, has been…
Ohaneze Ndigbo Worldwide has reemphasised the commitment of citizens of Igbo extraction to a united and prosperous Nigeria but noted that the story of insecurity of Ndigbo has reached an incrementally dangerous level of existential threat. Professor George Obiozor, President-General of the foremost Igbo socio-cultural organisation said nothing demands the separate existence of the Igbo nation from the rest of Nigeria. Obiozor, a former Ambassador to the United States spoke on Wednesday in Enugu during his inaugural press conference reiterating the belief of the Igbo nation in a united Nigeria advising all separatist groups, especially the leader of the proscribed…
President Donald Trump left the White House for the last time on Wednesday, skipping the inauguration of successor Joe Biden as the 46th US president in an extraordinary break with tradition. Drawing a curtain on the most tumultuous administration of modern times, Trump is being ousted by a polar opposite with the Democrat Biden intent on charting a new course to tackle Covid-19 and unite a splintered nation. A small crowd waved goodbye as Trump, 74, and First Lady Melania Trump walked a short red carpet and boarded the Marine One helicopter shortly after 8:15 am (1315 GMT), for the…
Ayodele Fayose, former Governor of Ekiti State, has said Nigerians would remember President Muhammadu Buhari like Americans will recall the distasteful administration of the outgoing President of the United States, US, Donald Trump. Fayose made the remark while describing Buhari as a “low budget Trump.” Trump’s tenure would expire in the next few hours as the US President-Elect, Joe Biden would be inaugurated. However, Fayose said Nigerians can’t wait to see the end of Buhari’s regime just as Americans look forward to Trump’s exit. In a series of tweets, the former governor wrote: “As Americans look forward to the exit…
Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, on Wednesday, said Nigerians should reject the presidential ambition of Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC. Kanu warned that Nigeria will be doomed if Tinubu is allowed to sail through with his presidential ambition. The IPOB leader issued the warning in a statement he signed personally. In the statement, the separatist leader also insisted on a referendum. “If AMOTEKUN fails to drive away from this Fulani army of darkness from Yoruba forests, as #ESN is now gallantly doing in the East, the whole of Yoruba land…
United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday pardoned 73 people, including his former aide Steve Bannon and other allies, just hours before he was due to leave office. The list of those pardoned — as well as 70 others whose sentences were commuted — was released by the White House in a statement during the early hours. Neither Trump nor his relatives were on the list. Bannon had been charged with, and pleaded not guilty to, defrauding people over funds raised to build the Mexico border wall, a flagship Trump policy. He was Trump’s campaign manager during the 2016 election,…
Foreigners caught not wearing face masks on the Indonesian resort island of Bali are being subject to an unusual punishment: push-ups. Video footage circulating on social media this week shows tourists in T-shirts and shorts being made to do the exercise in sweltering tropical heat as masked security officials stood over them. Bali authorities made wearing a face mask in public mandatory last year as Indonesia battled a raging Covid-19 outbreak. In recent days, however, scores of foreigners have been caught without face coverings, said security official Gusti Agung Ketut Suryanegara. More than 70 people paid a fine of 100,000…
The Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has urged Lagosians to consider any malaria-like symptoms experienced as COVID-19 infection unless and until proven otherwise. The governor said this on Tuesday during a Press Conference on COVID-19 Update at the Lagos House, Ikeja, following the increase in number of recorded cases of coronavirus in the country. He, therefore, advised that anyone with such symptoms should proceed to any of the state’s public health facilities or laboratories to get tested for free, noting that “seeking help early and quickly significantly improves the chances of survival for severe to critical cases.” Governor Sanwo-Olu…