Presidency reacts to Trump’s alleged “lifeless” statement on Buhari

US President Donald Trump and Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari shake hands as they take part in a joint press conference in the Rose Garden of the White House on April 30, 2018 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / Mandel NGAN

The Nigerian presidency Tuesday said the alleged statement credited to American president Donald Trump describing his Nigerian counterpart as “lifeless” may have been planted in the media by the opposition.

Buhari, the first sub-Saharan Africa president to meet Trump since he was sworn in January 2017 as the 45th American president, was in the US for bilateral talks on Trump’s invitation.

That meeting ended with Trump saying he never wanted to meet someone as lifeless as Buhari again, Financial Times reported citing three persons familiar with the matter.

But Adesina said the statement may not be true after all.

“It is unsubstantiated, it is unverified. Anybody could have planted,” Adesina said on Channels TV’s Sunrise Daily.

“In the jostle for power, people can do anything.”

Nigeria’s main opposition, the People’s Democratic Party, said the alleged statement showed how world leaders think of the Nigerian president.

The statement, it said, was an indication of how the Buhari government has failed Nigeria.

“This embarrassment is a backlash a nation gets when incompetent leaders, out of inferiority complex and misgovernance, resort to jumping around the world, desperately shopping for endorsements from world leaders,” PDP’s spokesman Kola Ologbodiyan said in a statement.

The Financial Times report is a contrast to what Trump said of Buhari at a joint press briefing held after their bilateral talks.

Trump said he had in implicit belief in the Nigerian president to rein in the “massive corruption” in the country and commended his efforts at doing that.

“Nigeria has a reputation for very massive corruption. I also know that the President has been able to cut that down very substantially,” Trump said.

“We talked about that, he is working on it and they have made a lot of progress and I think they will continue to make a lot of progress.”

John McCain, a war hero and towering figure in American politics, known for reaching across the aisle in an increasingly divided nation, died Saturday following a battle with brain cancer. He was 81.

The senator’s passing marked the end of a storied, 35-year political career that brought the independent-minded Republican within reach of the White House as his party’s presidential nominee.

“It’s been quite a ride,” McCain, who was tortured during five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam, wrote in a memoir published earlier this year.

“I’ve known great passions, seen amazing wonders, fought in a war and helped make peace. I made a small place for myself in the story of America and the history of my times.”

McCain, who had been receiving treatment in his home state of Arizona, was surrounded by his wife Cindy and his family during his final hours.

“He was a great fire who burned bright, and we lived in his light and warmth,” said Meghan McCain, one of the late senator’s seven children — three of them from a previous marriage.

Near the driveway to his ranch in a rural part of Sedona, Arizona, a sign read “Sen McCain, thank you for your service.”

A police escort accompanied the hearse that carried his body, as a fiery sunset cast its last light over the rustic countryside McCain loved dearly, and local residents came bearing flowers for the late political titan.

A steady stream of friends and colleagues had come to bid him farewell at his Arizona ranch in the months since his cancer diagnosis, in July 2017.

US President Donald Trump, who once mocked McCain’s war record, said he sent his “deepest sympathies and respect.”

McCain had been a rare and outspoken Republican critic of Trump, accusing him of “naivete,” “egotism” and of sympathizing with autocrats. He made a decisive vote last year that killed Republican attempts to repeal Barack Obama’s health care reforms, and Trump never forgave him.

Source : Global News | Aug. 26, 2018

Demolition: Ajimobi meets Ayefele, sets up reconciliation committee

       
Oyo State Governor, Abiola Ajimobi

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has set up a committee to resolve the impasse over the demolition of Yinka Ayefele’s Music House in Ibadan.

Mr Ajimobi had set up the committee at a reconciliatory meeting with the popular musician in his office on Thursday in Ibadan.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Ayefele in company with some of his workers had arrived at the Governor’s Office at about 11.30 a.m.

The governor said the demolition exercise was neither a witch-hunt nor politically motivated, insisting it was due to contravention of the state ’s property laws.

Mr Ajimobi described Mr Ayefele as a good man and a responsible citizen, stressing that the next step was to find a compassionate means of resolving the issue.

He also urged Mr Ayefele to ensure that his radio station embraced ethical reportage of the issue.

The Alaafin of Oyo, Lamidi Adeyemi, who was at the Governor’s Office in company of some monarchs, also pleaded with the governor to resolve the impasse.

Earlier, Mr Ayefele had stated that his office responded to all letters forwarded to it by the state government.

He expressed regrets at not being able to see the governor, adding that the emissaries he sent failed to deliver his messages.

        
Mr Ayefele stated that he remains a law-abiding citizen who is ready to comply with the regulations of the state government.

NAN reports that the committee, comprising of government official and some workers of Fresh FM station, including Mr Ayefele, had since commenced the resolution process.

The meeting, which lasted hours, was later adjourned for another day. (NAN)