Kure the formal Niger Governor dies at 60

Former Niger state Governor, Late Engineer Abdulkadir Kure

Former Niger state Governor, Engineer Abdulkadir Kure, died yesterday at a German hospital at the age of 60.
The former governor was flown to Germany three weeks ago for medical attention but died yesterday afternoon.
His former Chief Press Secretary, Muhamud Abdullahi, who confirmed the death, said Kure died of kidney complication, and that arrangement was already being made to bring his remains to the country.
Kure was governor of Niger state from 1999 to 2007 under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
He was the Director of Engineering Services in the Federal Capital Territory before joining politics in 1998 when he contested for the governorship of the state.
After leaving office, Kure became a member of the Board of Trustees of the party, a position he held until his death. He was a member of the Senator Ahmed Makarfi faction of the PDP.
Born on February 26, 1956, late Kure is survived by wife, Senator Zaynab Kure, and six children.
Niger State government yesterday declared three days of mourning in honour of the former governor. A statement by the commissioner of information, Culture and Tourism Mr. Jonathan Vatsa said all flags would be at half mast.  
The statement said the state government led by Governor Abubakar Sani Bello would miss the wise counsel of the former governor who despite political differences never failed to offer meaningful advice to the government.
Also, former governor of the state, Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu described the death of Kure as devastating.
Aliyu said in a statement signed by his media adviser, Mr. Israel A. Ebije, that Nigeria had lost a great politician.
The PDP in the state, through its chairman Tanko Beji, said Kure’s death was sad as the late governor had contributed immensely to the socio-political development of Niger state and Nigeria as a whole.
In his own condolence message, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, said in a statement by his spokesman, Turaki Hassan, that the former governor’s death was a big loss, as Kure was a politician whose experience and wisdom would be missed.
Also commiserating with Kure’s family, Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State said in a statement signed by his special Assistant Media and Publicity, Ahmed Tukur that the late Kure was a community leader and stakeholder, who contributed immensely to the development of Niger state and the entire country.
Also, former governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Attahiru Bafarwa said Kure’s demise was a great loss to the political family and the future political unity and cohesion among Nigerians.

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Many more Chibok girls returning soon-Buhari

One thousand days after the abduction of Chibok girls, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said the country was not completely in the depths of despair, but buoyed with hope that they would yet rejoin their families and loved ones. 

He specifically expressed hope that with three of the girls recovered by the military and 21 others freed through engagement with their captors, many more would still return as soon as practicable.

Buhari, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina, re-committed the Federal Government to securing the release of the girls kidnapped by Boko Haram insurgents.

The president also declared that the return of the remaining Chibok girls was a goal his government remained steadfastly committed to.

According to him, the intelligence and security forces are unrelenting, and that whatever it takes, his administration remains resolute.

“I salute the fortitude of the distraught parents. As a parent also, I identify with their plight. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, months turned to years, and today, it is 1,000 days. The tears never dry, the ache is in our hearts. But hope remains constant, eternal, and we believe our pains will be assuaged. 

“Our hopes will not be shattered, and our hearts will leap for joy, as more and more of our daughters return. It is a goal we remain steadfastly committed to,” President Buhari said.

The president commended all those who had been in the vanguard for the recovery of the girls, both nationally and internationally.

He said: “Someday soon, we will all rejoice together. Chibok community, Nigeria, and, indeed, the world, will yet rise in brotherhood, to welcome our remaining girls back home. We trust God for that eventuality.”

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Police block Chibok girls’ protesters from Aso Rock

 

 Olalekan Adetayo and Adelani Adepegba, Abuja

 The #BringBackOurGirls group has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of conducting its affairs like the former administration of Goodluck Jonathan.

It noted that this was apparent in its handling of the issue of the abducted Chibok girls, insecurity across the country, welfare of the internally displaced persons, military welfare, corruption and poor governance.

The group said this on Sunday during its commemoration of the 1000th day of the abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls in Borno State by the Boko Haram sect.

The coalition members, who marched towards the Presidential Villa, Abuja, were blocked by riot policemen and women who cordoned off the entrance road to the seat of government.

But the Co-coordinator of the group, Oby Ezekwesili, informed the leader of the police team who was in mufti that the BBOG members were not interested in marching to the villa.

The group thereafter addressed newsmen and pasted the posters of the Chibok schoolgirls on the bridge.

A co-coordinator of the coalition, Aisha Yesufu, who read a statement on behalf of the movement, noted that the Federal Government had not given any update on the status of the remaining girls in the Boko Haram custody after 21 of them were released last year.

“As with the Jonathan administration, the Buhari administration’s response to issues about the Chibok girls is representative of its handling of other issues — insecurity, welfare of internally displaced persons, military welfare, corruption and poor governance,” the BBOG stated.

The group said it had resolved to carry out a series of activities for a period of one week to compel the government “to accelerate the decision and actions necessary to bring back the rest of our Chibok Girls to an anxiously waiting nation.”

The actions, it added, would also serve to remind Nigerians and the international community of the continued state of insecurity in the country.

 “Painfully, #Day1000 of their tragic abduction is here and there has been no status report provided by the Federal Government. As such, we are constrained to resume our various activities to mark this tragic milestone, expecting Mr. President to regard this #Day1000 milestone as an overdue time to bring this horrific saga to an end,” Yesufu stated.

She explained that since 2014 when the 279 girls were abducted, 57 escaped, four were found and 21 were released with four infants.

She added that 19 Chibok parents had died during the period while 195 girls were still missing.

However, President Buhari on Sunday assured all stakeholders that the remaining girls would soon be reunited with their parents.

In a statement on Sunday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President restated the commitment of the Federal Government to securing the release of the girls.

Buhari said, “We are grateful to God that on this landmark day, we are not completely in the depths of despair, but buoyed with hope that our daughters will yet rejoin their families and loved ones.

“Three of them have been recovered by our diligent military, while the freedom of 21 others was secured through engagement with their captors.

“We are hopeful that many more will still return as soon as practicable.”

The President reiterated his pledge, pronounced many times in the past, that government would not spare any effort to reunite the girls with their families.

“I salute the fortitude of the distraught parents. As a parent also, I identify with their plight.  Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months, months turned to years, and today, it is 1,000 days.

“The tears never dry, the ache is in our hearts. But hope remains constant, eternal, and we believe our pains will be assuaged.

“Our hopes will not be shattered, and our hearts will leap for joy, as more and more of our daughters return. It is a goal we remain steadfastly committed to,” the President said.

On the occasion of the 1,000 days,  Buhari commended all who had been in the vanguard for the recovery of the girls, nationally and internationally.

“Someday soon, we will all rejoice together. Our intelligence and security forces are unrelenting, and whatever it takes, we remain resolute. Chibok community, Nigeria, and, indeed, the world, will yet rise in brotherhood, to welcome our remaining girls back home. We trust God for that eventuality,” the President stressed.

Meanwhile, Governor David Umahi of Ebonyi State has hailed Buhari for the Nigerian Army’s impeccable feat of routing the Boko Haram insurgents from their Sambisa Forest stronghold.

Umahi gave the commendation at an inter-denominational service to mark the 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration in Abakaliki on Sunday.

Represented by Dr. Kelechi Igwe, his deputy, Umahi said Buhari had shown that he was commanding the Nigerian armed forces effectively.

“The feat is unprecedented in the nation’s long years of fighting insurgency and militancy and it signifies continued security for the nation’s troubled areas.

“The president’s military expertise was brought to bear in routing the insurgents from their stronghold as he combined military skills and finesse to achieve the feat.

“He also assembled the best, high-ranking officers in the military to storm the Sambisa Forest an haven of the insurgents and matched them force to force which destabilised them,” he said.

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Iraq Ex-president Rafsanjani died of heart attack

Mr Rafsanjani, president from 1989 to 1997, suffered a heart attack.
He played a pivotal role in the 1979 revolution but later in life became a counterpoint to hardline conservatives.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei hailed a "companion of struggle" despite their differences, saying that the loss was "difficult and overwhelming".
"The different opinions and interpretations at time in this long period could never entirely break up the friendship" between us, Ayatollah Khamenei said.
There will be three days of national mourning and a funeral in Tehran is due on Tuesday, which has been declared a public holiday.
Mr Rafsanjani was admitted to the Shohadaa Hospital in Tehran on Sunday, where doctors tried unsuccessfully for an hour to save him, media said.
A TV broadcaster broke into programmes to bring the news, saying Mr Rafsanjani "after a life full of restless efforts in the path of Islam and revolution, had departed for lofty heaven".
Mr Rafsanjani had warm relations with President Hassan Rouhani, who was seen at the hospital shortly before the death was announced. A crowd reportedly gathered at the hospital later to mourn.
In a tweet, the president said: "The soul of the great man of the Revolution, symbol of patience and resistance, has gone to Heaven."

The BBC's Kasra Naji says Mr Rafsanjani was a great survivor of the Iranian revolution, always managing to stay afloat in the unending political struggles between the hardliners and the moderates, always remaining influential.
In recent years, our correspondent says, he has been a central figure in the reform movement that has been trying to have a moderating influence on Iran and Ayatollah Khamenei.
He has been a mentor to President Rouhani, whom he supported after his own attempt to run in the 2013 election as a reformist candidate was rejected by the powerful Guardian Council.
Mr Rafsanjani's final role was head of the Expediency Council, which tries to resolve disputes between parliament and the Guardian Council.
A US state department official described him as a "prominent figure" throughout the history of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Blow to reformists? Parham Pourparsa, BBC Monitoring

The sudden death of the veteran pragmatist politician will be a major blow to President Rouhani. The president, who is preparing himself for re-election in May, has lost a valuable ally and influential figure who was a founding father of the Islamic Republic.
This explains why Mr Rouhani was the first top official to attend the hospital where Mr Rafsanjani died. Reports say Mr Rouhani was in tears.
Since the 2013 presidential election, Mr Rafsanjani has fully backed Mr Rouhani. Mr Rafsanjani was also a staunch supporter of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.
But in Iran's complicated political landscape, his death could also mobilise pro-Rouhani moderates and reformists ahead of the election.

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Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was born in 1934 in south-eastern Iran to a family of farmers.


He studied theology in the holy city of Qom with Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini - who went on to lead the Islamic revolution of 1979 - and was imprisoned several times under the Shah.
In the last year of the 1980-88 war with Iraq, Ayatollah Khomeini appointed him acting commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
He was seen as the main mover behind Iran's acceptance of the UN Security Council resolution that ended the war.
Mr Rafsanjani was also a key player in the development of Iran's nuclear programme.
He was a man known for a sharp wit but who could also be ruthless.
He advocated progressive economic policies, encouraging private businesses and improving infrastructure. His own business holdings were reported to be widespread.

Mr Rafsanjani ran for a third time for president in 2005 but lost to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Mr Rafsanjani became openly critical of the victorious president and in 2009, he sided with reformers who disputed that year's elections. Nevertheless, Mr Ahmadinejad won a second term.
Mr Rafsanjani continued to champion moderate causes, such as the release of political prisoners and greater political freedoms for parties prepared to work within the constitution.
Some of the members of Mr Rafsanjani's family have also made the headlines. His daughter, Faezeh Hashemi, attracted the ire of hardliners when she met a leader of the Bahai religious minority - which Iran's leadership regards as a heretical sect - last year.
And his son, Mehdi Hashemi Rafsanjani, was jailed in 2015 after being convicted of "security offences and financial crimes".


source: BBC news

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