‘No more acrimony, peace don come' - Wike tok afta e meet wit Tinubu and Fubara
'No more acrimony. Peace don finally come to di state.' Na wetin FCT Minister Nyesom Wike tok at di end of a peace meeting between im and Rivers State Govnor Siminialayi Fubara wit President Bola Tinubu for Aso Rock.
Photos of smiles and handshake between Govnor Fubara, di State Assembly members with Minister of FCT Nyesom Wike and President Tinubu don raise hopes of a possible end to di emergency rule for di state.
Govnor Fubara alongside Wike and Martins Amaewhule, speaker of di Rivers State House of Assembly and oda Assembly members meet with President Tinubu to broker a peace deal wey dey expected to return democratic governance to di state.
Dis meeting dey expected to be a crucial part of di peace building process since President Tinubu declare a state of emergency wey suspend elected state executives and di House of Assembly on 18 March 2025, over three months ago.
Afta di meeting, di FCT minister and Govnor Fubara say peace don return as dem don finally reconcile.
Wike say dem don agree to work togeda wit di govnor and di govnor too don agree to work with dem. E say dem be members of di same political family wey dey disagree sometimes but now, dem don settle and dem come togeda to inform Mr. president.
Photos from di meeting suggest a breakthrough in efforts to resolve di political crisis for di state as one photo show di president with Govnor Fubara and FCT minister all dey smile and shake hands.
Oda photos show di FCT Minister and di govnor dey waka side by side with di Speaker Amaewhule and oda state lawmakers dey follow dem.
Govnor Fubara say e happy say dis day of reconciliation don come to be as e dey necessary and important for di peace and progress of Rivers State.
'With di help of di president and di agreement of di leaders of di state, peace don return to Rivers State. We go do evritin within our power to make sure say we sustain am dis time around.' Govnor Fubara tok.
How we reach here?
All dis crises arise from disagreement between Govnor Fubara and di FCT Minister Wike with many reactions wey include:
Many pipo don criticise di emergency rule wey see di appointment of a Sole administrator, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas Rtd, from Cross River State to oversee affairs for di state.
E lead to many court cases wey dey challenge am for Federal High Courts both for Port Harcourt and Abuja as dem insist say a tsate of emergency no require di president to suspend di elected govnor and Assembly members and impose a non-indigene on di state to oversee affairs.
Even di appointment of sole administrators for di 23 LGAs for di State na anoda issue wey many criticize as dem say e no dey known to law and e only favour one party for di crises.
Odas also criticise di dissolution of boards and agencies for di state and even di one wey National Assembly don approve, over N1trillion 2025 state budget as well as clearing some officials for some boards.
Di approval of anoda Cross River State indigene, Michael Ekpai, to head di Rivers State Independent Electoral Commission RSIEC wey dey expected to conduct local goment elections also spark criticism.
But di main questions na weda dis reconciliation moves go bring an end to di emergency rule soon?
Wetin go happen to di court cases wey challenge di emergency rule wey di Federal High Courts never begin proper hearing for most of dem?
Wetin go happen to di recent appointments wey di Nigerian Senate approve, dem go still hold or dem go dey suspended?
All dis na wetin pipo dey wait to see how e go all play out.
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Telegraph
19 hours ago
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Leaked phone call could bring down Thai government
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To add insult to injury, Hun Sen, who remains the de facto leader of Cambodia despite relinquishing the premiership to his son in 2023, announced on social media that he was the one who recorded the conversation and shared it with 80 individuals across the government, which is how it was released. During the call, Ms Paetongtarn can be heard saying that one of her army commanders 'is on the opposing side'. She also pleaded with the Cambodian strongman not to be 'upset or angry' by comments the commander had made where he threatened Cambodia to a 'duel' over the border land. 'He just wanted to look tough and ended up saying things that are not helpful to either country,' Ms Paetongtarn was heard saying. Tensions between the two nations are at a record high. They are locked in an ongoing dispute that resulted in Thailand's army closing its border with Cambodia this week. Relations escalated in May after troops exchanged fire at a contested part of the border, during which a Cambodian soldier was killed. On Thursday, Ms Paetongtarn and Hun Sen made separate visits to the border areas, with the latter saying that more Cambodian troops and weapons have been mobilised to the area. He said that soldiers 'are constantly prepared to defend the territory in case of any invasion by the Thai army'. Amid mounting fears of further escalation, the feeling among Thai politicians and the public is that Ms Paetongtarn has betrayed them, and even committed treason with her damning leaked phone call. The Thai premier – who has only been in office for 10 months – is now fighting for her political life amid calls for her to resign. 'The last straw' Along with criticisms over Ms Paetongtarn's comments about the military, many in Thailand also took issue with her demeanour towards Hun Sen, which many saw as overly meek and friendly. At one point in the call she was heard saying: 'If there's anything you want, just let me know. I'll take care of it.' 'The leaked call was a bad look. Paetongtarn calling Hun Sen 'uncle' and referring to a Thai general as an 'opponent' made it seem like she was too soft or careless, especially on a sensitive issue like a border clash,' Saipaan, a 32-year-old marketing officer from Bangkok, told The Telegraph. Hundreds of protesters have been gathering outside of the government in the last week saying that the phone call was a 'failure of leadership' and demanding that Ms Paetongtarn step down. The leader of Thailand's opposition also called on Ms Paetongtarn to dissolve parliament, claiming that the leak was 'the last straw'. 'She was compromised by her conversation with Hun Sen whereby she is perceived to have given concessions to him at the expense of Thai sovereignty,' said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a professor of political science at Chulalongkorn University. Ms Paetongtarn has apologised and criticised Hun Sen, saying that all he cares about is 'his popularity'. After the recording was made public, the pro-military Bhumjaithai Party (BJT) announced that it would be withdrawing its 69 members of parliament from its coalition with Ms Paetongtarn's centre-left Pheu Thai Party, leaving her government with barely enough seats to remain in power. In its statement, the BJT called on Ms Paetongtarn to 'take responsibility for causing Thailand to lose its honour, dignity of the nation, the people and military'. As a pro-military party, the BJT's ties with Pheu Thai party – and the Shinawatra family specifically – were already tenuous. Ms Paetongtarn's father, Thaksin Shinawatra, and aunt, Yingluck Shinawatra, both previously served as prime ministers and were both ousted in consecutive military coups in 2006 and 2014, respectively. In the lead-up to the leaked phone call, the Pheu Thai party had also been pressuring the BJT to give up control of the Ministry of the Interior, one of the most prized portfolios during election seasons. 'BJT was haggling with Pheu Thai and it looked like they might have to concede on key portfolios,' said Mr Thitinan. 'When the leaked recording scandal came up, it gave the BJT just the right pretext to pull out.' Pushing out the prime minister The BJT have now said that they plan to submit a vote of no confidence against Ms Paetongtarn when parliament reopens on July 3. However, party discipline in Thailand means that most members of parliament tend to vote along party lines. 'Based on where things currently stand the government has enough MPs to survive, so there would have to be a significant number of defectors to the opposition [for Paetongtarn to lose],' said Ken Lohatepanont, a Thai politics expert and PhD candidate at the University of Michigan. More worrying for Ms Paetongtarn, experts say, are the cases that have been petitioned by Thailand's Constitutional Court, which allege that she committed treason. The court will convene on July 1 and decide whether to dismiss the cases, accept them and allow Ms Paetongtarn to continue serving as prime minister or accept the cases and suspend her from her duties. The court has removed four prime ministers in 16 years, including Ms Paetongtarn's predecessor, Srettha Thavisin, who served for less than a year. If Ms Paetongtarn is ousted, parliament would have to select a new prime minister. However, Thailand's political system requires that her replacement come from the pool of candidates submitted during the country's last election in 2023, which is very limited. 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'I'm still slightly puzzled by exactly what Hun Sen thought he would get from this,' said Sebastian Strangio, an expert on Cambodia and the author of Hun Sen's Cambodia. To make matters more confusing, Hun Sen made a number of veiled threats towards Ms Paetongtarn's father and their family yesterday while visiting the border. While Hun Sen had previously referred to Mr Thaksin as a 'God brother', his tone on Saturday was very different. He said: 'Now that I've been betrayed, I feel I must reveal what the Thaksin family did to betray their nation. This is a warning.' A week after releasing the tape, Hun Sen had also said that Thailand 'will have a new prime minister within the next three months', suggesting that he was eager to see a reshuffle in Bangkok. 'The relationship between Cambodia and Thailand is pretty asymmetric. Thailand is a much wealthier country, it's more powerful militarily,' said Mr Strangio. 'So this sort of approach is a way of leveraging Cambodia's relative advantages over Thailand in order to score nationalistic points with domestic political constituents.' Although Cambodia and Thailand have faced border disputes in the past, the leaked phone call and subsequent fallout sparked by this latest incident could have a long-term impact on relations between the two countries, according to Mr Napon. 'Relations between Thailand and Cambodia are likely to remain severely strained for the foreseeable future,' he said. 'The leaked phone call controversy has fundamentally damaged trust between the two nations, not just between the Hun and Shinawatra dynasties.'
BBC News
21 hours ago
- BBC News
The Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda sign a peace deal
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The Guardian
21 hours ago
- The Guardian
How will Israel's war with Iran affect Benjamin Netanyahu's future?
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We are living through a profound security transformation – and for that, great credit is due to the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] and to the government,' said Tenne. Others are less convinced, and recent polls are inconclusive. The relatively minor gains made by Netanyahu's ruling Likud party have largely been at the expense of other coalition parties, notably the far right, and would not necessarily guarantee a win at any election. And a requirement for a 90-day gap between a dissolution of parliament and new elections means a snap poll would be a big risk for Netanyahu, even if his personal ratings have risen. 'People are going to give Netanyahu a lot of credit for the operation against Iran and polls show this. But they haven't forgotten [the 7 October attack] and politics have not become less divisive,' said Lahav Harkov, a senior political correspondent at the US-based Jewish Insider. Netanyahu's tactical instincts have never been in doubt throughout his long and controversial career. They are still admired by his supporters and bitterly regretted by detractors. 'One of his greatest political talents is he knows how to delay and come up with temporary workarounds so he can live another day,' said Harkov. Advisers to leaders of Israel's opposition parties said last week they were encouraged by recent polls and believed that the many other issues that have riled voters – persistent corruption allegations, Netanyahu's ongoing graft trial, a bitter row over whether Orthodox Jews should be exemption from conscription and the rising cost of living – will come to the fore as new elections loom. Others point out that Netanyahu's political base is far from monolithic, and that his comments about the cost to his family of the recent conflict have provoked much anger. Netanyahu's political demise has been often predicted, most recently in October 2023. However, he has not only retained power but consistently outmanoeuvred rivals and opponents. A bid to bring down his government was only narrowly defeated a day before he launched Israel's warplanes against Iran. 'He desperately needed some success. I don't think it was a coincidence that it happened as he was being cross-examined in his corruption trial,' said Mekelberg. Loyalists have no doubt who will be in charge in the coming years. 'He has returned to power with a firm grip,' said Tenne. 'If David Ben-Gurion declared Israel's independence, then it is Benjamin Netanyahu who is now securing its future.' Netanyahu appears convinced, too. With only weeks of the parliamentary term to go before a three-month summer recess, he has at least bought himself time until the late autumn. 'I have many more objectives, and as long as I believe I can fulfilthem, I will,' he said last week.
