Connect with us

Politics

Senate President, Bukola Saraki Meets Secretly With US Ambassador, Stuart Symington, Over Sale Of A-29 Fighter Jets

Published

on

A-29 fighter jet

Ahead of plans to forward with the sale of high-tech aircraft to Nigeria for the nation’s campaign against Boko Haram Islamic extremists by the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, Senate President Bukola Saraki was yesterday engaged in a marathon meeting with the administration of the United States.

The meeting which took place at the Senate President’s office yesterday was with the United States Ambassador to Nigeria, W. Stuart Symington, just as the meeting which took place was a closed session between the Senate President and his guest.

A source at the end of the meeting told Vanguard that the discussions were not outside the planned sale of these aircraft to Nigeria to help fight Boko Haram insurgency.

According to the source, the visit was aimed at getting the side of the Senate to know whether the National Assembly would support the plans by the US government against the backdrop that before the contract scales through, the Senate must approve it.

The source said that the visit was also aimed at briefing the  Senate on the shape and form of forwarding the aircraft to Nigeria and what must have made the US government to take such a decision. There was however no official briefing as no one was allowed into the meeting that was strictly between Saraki and Symington.
It would be recalled that the Trump administration may have concluded plans to move forward with the sale of high-tech aircraft to Nigeria for its campaign against Boko Haram Islamic extremists despite concerns over abuses committed by the African nation’s security forces.
According to report, Congress is expected to receive formal notification within weeks, setting in motion a deal with Nigeria that the Obama administration had planned to approve at the very end of Barack Obama’s presidency. The arrangement will call for Nigeria to purchase up to 12 Embraer A-29 Super Tucano aircraft with sophisticated targeting gear for nearly $600 million. The officials were not authorized to discuss the terms of the sale publicly and requested anonymity to speak about internal diplomatic conversations.
Though President Donald Trump has made clear his intention to approve the sale of the aircraft, the National Security Council is still working on the issue. Military sales to several other countries are also expected to be approved but are caught up in an ongoing White House review. Nigeria has been trying to buy the aircraft since 2015.
The Nigerian air force has been accused of bombing civilian targets at least three times in recent years. In the worst incident, a fighter jet on Jan. 17 repeatedly bombed a camp at Rann, near the border with Cameroon, where civilians had fled from Boko Haram. Between 100 and 236 civilians and aid workers were killed, according to official and community leaders’ counts.
That bombing occurred on the same day the Obama administration intended to officially notify Congress the sale would go forward. Instead, it was abruptly put on hold, according to an individual who worked on the issue during Obama’s presidency.
Days later, Trump was inaugurated. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, said this past week that he supported the A-29 deal to Nigeria as well as the sale of U.S.-made fighter jets to Bahrain that had been stripped of human rights caveats imposed by the Obama administration.
Under Obama, the U.S. said Bahrain failed to make promised political and human rights reforms after its Sunni-ruled government crushed Arab Spring protests five years ago. “We need to deal with human rights issues, but not on weapons sales,” Corker said. The State Department said in a 2016 report that the Nigerian government has taken “few steps to investigate or prosecute officials who committed violations, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government, and impunity remained widespread at all levels of government.”
Amnesty International has accused Nigeria’s military of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the extrajudicial killings of an estimated 8,000 Boko Haram suspects. President Muhammadu Buhari promised to investigate the alleged abuses after he won office in March 2015, but no soldier has been prosecuted and thousands of people remain in illegal military detention. Nigeria’s military has denied the allegations.
The A-29 sale would improve the U.S. relationship with Nigeria, Africa’s largest consumer market of 170 million people, the continent’s biggest economy and its second-largest oil producer.
Nigeria also is strategically located on the edge of the Sahel, the largely lawless semi-desert region bridging north and sub-Saharan Africa where experts warn Islamic extremists like the Nigeria-based Boko Haram may expand their reach. The aircraft deal also would satisfy Trump’s priorities to support nations fighting Islamic uprisings, boost U.S. manufacturing and create high-wage jobs at home.
The A-29 aircraft, which allow pilots to pinpoint targets at night, are assembled in Jacksonville, Florida. “It’s hard to argue that any country in Africa is more important than Nigeria for the geopolitical and other strategic interests of the U.S.,” said J. Peter Pham, vice president of the Atlantic Council in Washington and head of its Africa Center.
Once Congress is officially notified of the sale, lawmakers who want to derail it have 30 days to pass veto-proof legislation. That’s a high hurdle given Corker’s support. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, also said he backs the sale. “We’ve really got to try to do what we can to contain them,” McCain said of Boko Haram.
In Trump’s first phone call with Buhari in February, he “assured the Nigerian president of U.S. readiness to cut a new deal in helping Nigeria in terms of military weapons to combat terrorism,” according to Buhari’s office. A Feb. 15 White House statement that provided a summary of the call said “President Trump expressed support for the sale of aircraft from the United States to support Nigeria’s fight against Boko Haram.”
Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said in mid-February he was “leery” of the sale because of the Nigerian military’s impunity. Cardin said this week he’s not trying to block the deal. “Ultimately we hope that the sale goes forward,” he said. “But there is progress that needs to be made in protecting the civilian population.”

Politics

2027 election: LP considers automatic tickets for Obi, Otti

Published

on

By

The Labour Party has reserved its 2027 presidential ticket for its candidate in the 2023 election, Peter Obi.

This was contained in a communiqué issued after the party’s national convention held in Nnewi, Anambra State, on Wednesday.

The communiqué was signed by the National Chairman of the party, Julius Abure, and the party’s National Secretary, Umar Ibrahim.

“The convention in session, based on the antecedents of the presidential candidate before, during and after the 2023 general election, recommend that the 2027 presidential ticket of the party be solely reserved for His Excellency, Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, the national leader of the party,” the communique read.

Obi, who was the party’s presidential candidate in 2023, came third behind President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.

The party also recommended that the governorship ticket of the party be reserved for the Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti.

The convention was initially set to be held in Umuahia, Abia State, but was moved to Nnewi, Anambra State.

This is coming after the Nigeria Labour Congress described the convention as illegal.

The political wing of the NLC also called for Abure’s resignation as party chairman.

However, on Wednesday, Abure was re-elected as the party’s chair.

The communique further read, “The national convention reviewed the state of the nation and concluded that it is not grabbing power that matters but what you do with it.

“After the 2023 general election, the security situation of the nation has not improved as there is a geometrical increase in numbers of lives lost and the economy has worsened as the standard and conditions of living of the Nigerian populace has continue to deteriorate.

“Inflation is skyrocketing, unemployment rate is high, this has led to massive hunger and poverty in the land. This is a result of the continuous devaluation of the currency and increase in petroleum product prices.”

The convention called on President Bola Tinubu to quickly take drastic and proactive steps to save the economy from total collapse.

Continue Reading

Politics

Abure re-elected as LP National Chairman despite battle with NLC

Published

on

By

Julius Abure has been re-elected as the National Chairman of the Labour Party for a second term.

He was re-elected on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, during the party’s national convention in Anambra State.

Ikechukwu Emetu, the Chairman of the National Convention and Deputy Governor of Abia State declared him the winner at the convention.

Abure will steer the affairs of the Labour Party for another term despite his lingering battle with the NLC leadership led by Joe Ajaero.

Before the convention, the leadership of the NLC had called for Abure’s resignation.

Continue Reading

Politics

FG approves 30% youth representation in all government appointments

Published

on

By

The federal government has approved 30 percent youth representation in all government appointments.

Speaking on Monday after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting in Abuja, Jamila Ibrahim, minister of youth development, said the 30 percent quota will address issues of youth exclusion in decision-making processes in the country.

She said the council also approved the restructuring of the youth investment fund, adding that a technical committee has been established for its review.

“We have received council’s approval to institutionalise a 30% youth quota, representation of young people in all government appointments and equitable young women representation inclusive of this 30%,” she said.

“This will go a long way to address the long marginalisation and exclusion of young people in decision-making and it will also go a long way to encourage young people to participate in decision-making process and in civic engagement.

“This will in turn lead to young people contributing tremendously to the national development agenda.

“I am also pleased to announce the second council approval to restructure and institutionalise the Nigerian youth investment fund.

“This is a fund that was approved in 2020 and on assumption of office of this administration, we commissioned a technical committee to review the fund and restructure it with the aim of institutionalising it through a legal framework which will lead to the establishment of the Nigerian Youth Fund.”

Continue Reading

Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

Most Read...