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Prime Minister Liz Truss appoints three Ministers with African origins

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L- Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade; Kwasi Kwarteng, Chancellor of the Exchequer and James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs 

By Favour Nnabugwu
Prime Minister Liz Truss named a 31-member cabinet that surprisingly includes three ministers of African origin.
These are Kemi Badenoch, Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade; Kwasi Kwarteng, Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance minister) and James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs
The new Conservative British leader’s appointments are historic as never before have there been as many as three Black ministers in the cabinet with two of them occupying two of the so-called four “Great Offices of State”.These are senior offices in the UK government: the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary and Home Secretary, respectively.
Kemi Badenoch – Secretary of State for Trade
Olukemi Olufunto Badenoch (née Adegoke) was born on 2 January 1980 in London to Nigerian parents. Her father, Femi Adegboke, was a medical doctor and her mother, Feyi Adegoke, is a professor of physiology.
Badenoch’s spent part of her childhood in Lagos, Nigeria, and in the United States. She returned to the UK at the age of 16 to live with a friend of her mother’s owing to the deteriorating political and economic situation in Nigeria which had affected her family.
After graduating from the University of Sussex, she worked as a software engineer at Logica before studying law at Birkbeck, University of London. Badenoch later pursued a career in banking, working for the Royal Bank of Scotland Group and Coutts.
The British politician had previously served as Minister of State for Local Government, Faith and Communities and Minister of State for Equalities from 2021 to 2022.
Although a British citizen and born in the UK, Badenoch stated that she was “to all intents and purposes a first-generation immigrant” during her parliamentary maiden speech. She became MP for Saffron Walden in Essex in 2017, and lists her interests as including engineering and technology, social mobility and integration.
Kemi Badenoch, who is married to surprised many by reaching the last four in the leadership contest in the Conservative Party.
Kemi is married to Hamish Badenoch and they have two daughters and a son.
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Kwasi Kwarteng – Chancellor of the Exchequer
Akwasi Addo Alfred Kwarteng (born on 26 May 1975), the first Black person to serve as Chancellor of the Exchequer, is the man in charge of the economy.
A member of the Conservative Party, Kwarteng was born in London to Ghanaian parents who had emigrated from Ghana as students in the 1960s. He’s the only child of his parents – Alfred K. Kwarteng, an economist, and Charlotte Boaitey-Kwarteng, a barrister.
The new finance minister, who has been a Member of Parliament since 2010, previously served as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy from 2021 to 2022.
Prior to that, Kwarteng had also served as Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Exiting the European Union, Minister of State for Business, Energy and Clean Growth,
Kwarteng attended the elite Eton College and studied at Cambridge for his bachelors, Harvard University for his masters and then returned to Cambridge where he earned a PhD in economic history in 2000.
Kwarteng is married to Harriet Edwards and the couple have a daughter.
James Spencer Cleverly – Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Born on 4 September 1969 in London to a British father and a mother from Sierra Leone, the British politician and Army Reserve officer has been a member of Parliament since 2015.
Cleverly previously served as Secretary of State for Education from July to September 2022, Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2020 and as the member of the London Assembly (AM) from 2008 to 2016.
James Cleverly/Photo: Richard Townshend/UK Parliament/Wikipedia
Cleverly was in the army but his military career was cut short by a leg injury in 1989. He went on to gain a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality Management from the Polytechnic of West London. He is a lieutenant colonel in the Reserve Army.
After graduating, Cleverly worked variously positions for several publishing companies before co-founding the web publishing company Point and Fire in 2007.
Cleverly stood unsuccessfully in a number of elections before he was elected into the UK Parliament in 2015 general election.
Cleverly is married to Susannah Sparks and the couple have two sons.
Patoma Admin by — September 8, 2022 in Foreign 0
Nigerian-German Cultural Carnival holds in Frankfurt September 10

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The Nigerian- German Cultural Carnival 2023 will hold in Frankfurt to celebrate the culture of Africa’s most populous country takes place on Saturday, September 10.

The event organised by the Nigerian diplomatic mission in Germany will showcase the country’s diverse cultural heritage and promote Nigeria as a place to visit and do business to Germans.

The theme of the Carnival, which will henceforth take place annually, is ‘Promoting peaceful Coexistence across multi-diverse culture’ and will feature, among other activities, a street procession through the city of Frankfurt by Nigerian cultural associations.

A procession during the Adire International Carnival in Vienna, June 2022. The Nigerian-German Cultural Carnival 2022 will feature, among other activities, a street procession through the city of Frankfurt by Nigerian cultural groups

The festival, which also features live music performances and an exhibition by Nigerian associations in Germany, will be attended by leading Nigerian traditional rulers, including the Ooni of Ife, the Oba of Benin, the Obi of Onitsha and the Emir of Kano.

Nigeria’s culture minister, Lai Mohammed, and his foreign affairs counterpart, Geoffrey Onyeama, are expected at the 1st Nigerian-German Cultural Carnival, an initiative of the Nigeria Consulate Frankfurt under the leadership of its Consul General, Ambassador Wahab A. Akande.
The street procession will start at 9am at the Frankenallee and end at the Lotte-Spetch Park.

The festival is being eagerly awaited in the Nigerian community as it’s the first of its kind in Germany.

“Great success always starts with a simple idea and selfless commitment. Having an idea and the right person at the helm, everything works like a magic. The birth of NGCC is the first step in bringing Nigerians in the Diaspora closer to their roots and heritages. Awesome!,” Abela Emuebie, a Nigerian entrepreneur said.

Patoma Admin by — September 8, 2022 in Foreign 0
Nigerian Kemi Badenoch appointed as Secretary of State in UK

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 The new Prime  Minister of the United Kingdom, Liz Truss has appointed a British politician of Nigerian descent, Kemi Badenoch, as a member of her newly reshuffled cabinet.
Kemi was appointed on Tuesday as the new Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade.
The appointment, which was contained in a tweet posted on the verified Twitter page of the UK Prime Minister,
 Badenoch was born in January 1980 in Wimbledon, London, to parents of Nigerian origin, Femi and Feyi Adegoke. After spending her childhood in part, in the US and in Lagos, Nigeria, she returned to the United Kingdom at the age of 16.
While working at a branch of McDonald’s, she obtained A Levels from Phoenix College, a former further education college in Morden, London.
She studied Computer Systems Engineering at the University of Sussex and completed her MEng in 2003 and afterwards worked as a software engineer at Logica from 2003 to 2006. As a part-time student, at Birkbeck, University of London, she completed an LLB in 2009.
She also worked as a systems analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group before pursuing a career in consultancy and financial services while working as an associate director of private bank and wealth manager, Coutts & Co, from 2006 to 2013 and later as a digital director at The Spectator from 2015 to 2016.
At 25, Badenoch joined the Conservative Party in 2005 and contested in the 2010 general election for the Dulwich and West Norwood constituency against Labour’s Tessa Jowell and came third.
After two years, she stood for the Conservatives in the London Assembly election and she was placed fifth on the London-wide list. In 2015, she was declared the new Assembly Member after Victoria Borwick resigned her seat. She also retained her seat in the Assembly in the 2016 election.
In 2017, Badenoch was shortlisted to be the Conservative Party’s candidate for the marginal Hampstead and Kilburn constituency but was unsuccessful. She was however selected as the Conservative candidate for Saffron Walden.
In September 2017, Badenoch was selected to join the 1922 Executive Committee as she was appointed to the Parliamentary Justice Select Committee. A few months later, she was appointed as the Conservative Party’s Vice-Chair for Candidates.
In July 2019, Badenoch was appointed as Parliamentarian under Secretary of State for Children and Families by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and in February 2020, she was appointed Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and Parliamentary Under Secretary of State – Minister for Equalities – in the
In September 2021, Badenoch was promoted to Minister of State for Equalities and appointed Minister of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Department for International Trade in a government reshuffle.
in a joint statement with fellow Ministers Alex Burghart, Neil O’Brien, Lee Rowley and Julia Lopez on 6 July 2022, Badenoch resigned from government, citing Boris Johnson’s handling of the Chris Pincher scandal,
Two days later she launched a bid to replace Johnson as Conservative party leader. She announced that she wanted to tell the truth and advocated a strong but limited government. She also called the target of net-zero carbon emissions ‘ill-thought through’ and said that politicians had become hooked on the idea of the state fixing the majority of problems.
Kemi is married to Hamish Badenoch who works for Deutsche Bank and they have two daughters and a son. Kemi’s husband was a Conservative councillor from 2014 to 2018 on Merton London Borough Council who represented Wimbledon Village. At the 2015 general election, he also unsuccessfully contested Foyle for the Northern Ireland Conservatives.
Until 2016, Badenoch was a board member of the Charlton Triangle Homes housing association and was also a school governor at St Thomas the Apostle College in Southwark, and the Jubilee Primary School. Her father, Femi passed away in February 2022.
Patoma Admin by — September 7, 2022 in Foreign 0
ECOWAS Parliament kicks against violence in Sierra Leone

By Favour Nnabugwu
ECOWAS Parliament has kicked against the violence the resulted to loss of lives and properties in Sierra Leone
The Speaker of the Parliament,  Sidie Mohamed Tunis at the delocalized meeting of the joint committee in Banjul Gambia, themed:“Community Texts relating to Peace, Security, Democracy and Good Governance: Challenges in their Implementation and the Oversight Role of ECOWAS Parliament” 
Represented by the 4the Deputy speaker, Adja Satu Camara Pinto call on all sides to adhere to the rule of law, which is the best path to channel and address grievances of every kind.
Tunis said, ”Many democracies are having difficulties globally, in this present day, these failures are often attributed to the lack of trust and accountability.
” We are seeing regime change and reforms in many parts of the world.  In Africa the fragility of our democracies is caused by electoral abuse, ethnic divisions, mismanagement of natural resources, poverty, and economic insecurity.
“”There is a need for political will and action to counter these problems, and these are better achieved through our institutions. It is said that integration is about people. Indeed, it is high time our region derives the benefits””He said .
Also speaking, Gambian Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Mamadou Tanagra told member state to collectively act swiftly to address the issues of insecurity and promote in the subregion
‘As nations sharing the same destiny, we have a moral obligation and a collective responsibility to act swiftly to address all issues hampering the institutional advancement, the consolidation of peace, security and the empowerment of women who as the driving forces of the Region”
He continued further, “Today , it is immensely gratifying to observe the overwhelming response of all partners and people of goodwill here present to affirm a faith in a common purpose, a common conviction and a common devotion in the consolidation of Peace, Security and Good Governance and other community achievements. ‘
Patoma Admin by — August 16, 2022 in Foreign 0
ECOWAS Parliamentarians to meet in The Gambia to tackle insecurity, others from today

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

 

A Joint Committee of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is slated to hold in Banjul, the capital city of The Gambia from Tuesday, 16 to Saturday, 20 August, 2022.

With the theme: Community texts relating to peace, security, democracy and good governance: challenges in their implementation and the oversight role of ECOWAS Parliament.

Three of the fourteen Standing Committees of the Parliament, comprising the following: Committees on Political Affairs, Peace, Security and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) / Legal affairs and human rights / Social Affairs, Gender and Women Empowerment, constitute the Joint Committee that will be meeting.

In a statement availed patomabusinessonline com by the Communication Department of the ECOWAS Parliament stated, “The main objective of the meeting is to create an opportunity for the Members of the Joint Committee to acquaint themselves with and take ownership of the ECOWAS texts on peace and security, democracy and good governance as well as identify the best mechanism for oversight for their effective implementation within Member States.”

It will be recalled that ECOWAS Parliament is composed of 115 seats. Each Member State is allotted a guaranteed minimum of five seats. The remaining forty seats are distributed in proportion to the population of each country. Consequently, in total, Nigeria has 35 seats, followed by Ghana, with eight seats and Côte d’Ivoire, with seven seats. Others are Burkina Faso, Guinea, Mali, Niger and Senegal. which are allotted six seats each, whereas Benin, Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Togo have five seats each.

“The Joint Committee will meet to reflect on the role of parliamentary oversight in the effective implementation of the ECOWAS texts on Peace, Security, Democracy and Good Governance.”

“Since its creation on 28 May, 1975, ECOWAS has adopted a significant number of Texts aimed at preventing, managing and/or settling conflicts within the Community, as well as maintaining and promoting peace and regional security.

“However, attempts to effectively implement these Community Texts have thrown up, several apparent challenges.

“Consequently, the impact of these texts on improving the security and good governance climate and environment within the ECOWAS region, remains insufficiently evident,” the Statement read.

Patoma Admin by — August 16, 2022 in Foreign 0
Nigeria, India trade volume hit $14.95bn in 2021

By Favour Nnabugwu
Trade volume between Nigeria and India in 2021 stood at $14.95 billion even as 135 Indian companies are already in Nigeria, according to the Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Gangadharan Balasubramanian,
Balasubramanian stated at the 76th independence day of India in Abuja.
He said the trade volume has increased substantially after COVID-19 on both ways, noting that India is a major importer of oil from Nigeria.
“Nearly about $10 billion worth of oil is being imported from Nigeria.  India also exports various issues from agricultural products, to petroleum products, to pharmaceuticals, to textiles.
“So, there is a large possibility of increasing this trade and economic cooperation between our two countries,” he concluded.
He also said that they were new areas that India and Nigeria will be looking at in improving the bilateral ties between both countries.
He said, “Since then, our relationship has developed in a multi various ways, almost in all places.
“Human capacity development is one of the most important areas in which we are concentrating on and we are very happy that with the assistance and cooperation of successive Nigerian government, we can now say that our relationship is very strong and very cordial,” Balasubramanian said.
On the security challenges in Nigeria, the envoy further recalled the military and defence cooperation between India and Nigeria whereby many of the defence training of Nigerian military officers took place in military installations and training institutes in India.
Balasubramanian added that  India will be happy to continue with the partnership and in cooperation with the Federal Government, India is ready to assist in that direction.
“So, there is a large possibility of increasing this trade and economic cooperation between our two countries,” he concluded.
Patoma Admin by — August 15, 2022 in Foreign 0
ECOWAS Parliament suspends recruitment, sets up committee to investigate process

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

The speaker of the Parliament of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Dr. Sidie Mohamed Tunis, has ordered the immediate suspension of staff recruitment and set up a panel to investigate alleged malpractices in the recruitment process.

Dr. Tunis gave the directive in a statement by the parliament’s communications division, suspending the process following allegations by the Nigerian delegation at the parliament that the country’s candidates were marginalised in the recruitment.

The Nigerian representation to the bloc had threatened to withdraw its membership as its citizens were margininalised at the parliament in employment and promotions.

The speaker had received written complaints from the First Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Idris Wase, and Nigeria’s permanent representative to the ECOWAS Commission, Musa Sani Nuhu.

According to the statement, the work of the eight-man independent ad hoc investigation committee will start this month, with its findings expected within a week.

It added that a bureau meeting would be convened immediately to consider the report for onward submission to the plenary.

The Ad hoc Committee is headed by Senator Mohammed Ali Ndume, Chairman of the Committee on Administration, Finance, and Budget of the regional parliament.

Other committee members include Lynda Chuba Ikpeazu from Nigeria, Fatoumatta Njai from the Gambia, Amadou Djibo Ali from Niger, Kounon Nahou Agbandao from Togo, Caramo Camara from Guinea Bissau, Moussokora Chantal Fanny from Cote d’ Ivoire and Arboncana Oumarou Dicko.

“The terms of reference of the ad hoc committee shall be as follows: investigate allegations of inappropriate conduct in the ongoing recruitment process at the ECOWAS Parliament; investigate allegations of marginalisation of Nigerian candidates in the current recruitment process; investigate and determine if indeed the plenary adopted any resolution concerning the subject matter (recruitment of staff), using normal parliamentary procedure,” the statement added.

It stressed that in executing its mandate, the committee should be granted access to all documents relating to the recruitment exercise and work with the Advisory Committee on Recruitment and Promotions at the ECOWAS Parliament to under-study and review the exercise.

“The ad hoc committee would be guided by the provisions of the Supplementary Act and the ECOWAS Staff Regulations,” the institution said.

The leadership of the parliament said it was committed to upholding and protecting the rights of all citizens of the ECOWAS to aspire to positions in any ECOWAS institution, in line with the provisions of the group’s staff regulations and all related protocols.

Patoma Admin by — August 11, 2022 in Foreign 0
Nigeria to showcase culture in Germany August 13

By Favour Nnabugwu

 

Nigeria to showcase it’s culture in Germany city of Potsdam on Saturday, 13 August.

Organised for the first time by Deutsche und Immigranten e.V., ‘WAZOBIA Nigerian Day 2022’ will feature, among others, music and dance performances, a fashion show, culinary specialities of Nigeria, an exhibition of products from Nigeria and a children’s programme.

According to the organisers, the event, which is henceforth to hold annually, seeks to showcase Nigerian cultural expressions and thereby contribute to multicultural understanding in the eastern state of Brandenburg, whose capital city is Potsdam.

Other objectives of WAZOBIA Nigerian Day 2022 are to promote mutual tolerance and acceptance in society and create more opportunities for social participation for people of African descent.

Germans, Nigerians, other Africans and indeed friends of Nigeria and Africa are expected to attend the open event, which will take place at the Bassinplatz Potsdam, a famous square in the city of Potsdam

Patoma Admin by — August 11, 2022 in Foreign 0
Former Nigerian President, Good luck Jonathan tasks African Parliament on accountability

By admin

 

 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has charged African parliamentarians to rise above narrow partisan considerations and be committed to pursuing the public good.

Jonathan gave the advice in his remarks on Thursday in Banjul, Gambia, at the opening session of a two-day capacity building workshop for members of the Gambian parliament, organised by The Goodluck Jonathan Foundation (GJF) in collaboration with the ECOWAS Parliament.

Jonathan, who is the Chair of GJF, said that in the age of democracy and globalisation, Africans had no choice outside of conscious efforts to deepen democratic practices and use the instrumentality of democracy to advance the national interest and promote the public good.

The former President in in his remarks made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja, said that the parliament as the institutional pillar of democracy played a very important role in fostering political accountability and stability.
“It is understandable when parliamentarians want to assert their independence because they don’t want to be seen to be a rubber stamp or an appendage to the executive.

A parliament should exercise its independence to the extent that it does not compromise its duty to the people or loyalty to the state.

“This should be the foundation of politics. It is also at the heart of governance. Leadership is not about who gets what, how and when, but about impact and derivable benefits to the society.

“Democracy works better and delivers the most goods when the parliament promotes inter-party collaboration around good policies and initiatives,” Jonathan said.

The former President, who acknowledged the importance of separation of powers in a functional democracy, however, said that did not mean that the organs should function like three different governments within a system.

“It is important to emphasise that every country has only one government, one president, one speaker or leader of the parliament and one chief justice who is the head of the judiciary. Together, they form the government of a country.

“I believe that separation of powers works better when it functions like the concept of division of labour in elementary economics. Division of labour does not mean that a factory will have different production lines, working at cross purposes.
“It only means the sharing of responsibilities among different people or departments for optimal performance towards a common goal.”

He said that political leadership in Africa needed to renew their commitment to national aspirations and consciously seek to bridge the gap between partisan considerations and the imperative of national development.

“Many of us are not strangers to the stories of infighting and exchange of blows and punches in the parliament.

“Democracy loses its essence when politics is made to overshadow governance. Admittedly, politics, democracy and governance have the same goal; to advance the interest of the people through service.

“We notice that in most African parliaments it is either that the dominant party in the parliament is unconditionally shooting down all bills and motions from the opposition camps or the opposition is perpetually living up to its name by kicking against any initiative from the ruling party, no matter how good it is for the country.

“Parliamentarians, therefore, must be ready to support initiatives that are good for the country, irrespective of the source, so long as it promotes progress,” Jonathan said.

The former Nigeria president further said that the interest of a politician, either in the executive or the parliament should be to make the citizens happy.

He said added that for the citizens to be happy, they must be in a position to meet their daily needs and be free to travel to any part of their state without fear.

The former president said that the state fulfilled its responsibility to the people when the citizens could afford their basic needs and were able to exercise their constitutionally given freedoms freely without fear.

“Democracy as a government of the people implies a dialogical engagement between government and its people and the mutual understanding between the aspirations of the people and what the government is able to do to achieve these goals.

“The parliament is the centrepiece of this civic engagement.

“Through bills, motions and other debates, the parliament becomes a theatre of civic engagement where representatives of the people amplify the concerns of the common people whose voices cannot, ordinarily, be heard.

“Parliamentarians therefore are torchbearers who carry on their shoulders the interest of the masses and give strength, faith and hope to the ordinary citizens.
The parliament deepens democracy by providing checks and balances to the executive arm of government and its oversight functions, thereby promoting good governance and accountability,” he said.(NAN)

Patoma Admin by — July 15, 2022 in Foreign 0
Omar Alieu Touray is ECOWAS COMMISSION new president

By Favour Nnabugwu
Gambian diplomat, Dr. Omar Alieu Touray is the  New President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission alongside new statutory appointees of the Commission assumed office.
Dr Touray, is expected to head the Commission alongside the new management for a four-year term, 2022 to 2026.
Touray in his inaugural remark pledged to build on the legacies and successes of the outgoing President, Jean-Claude Brou and his team to ensure a more sustainable and secured West African sub-region.
He also harped on the need for institutional reforms, payment of community levies by ECOWAS Member states and the collaboration of citizens to address the challenges confronting the region.
This is also as Touray called for the collaboration and partnership of ECOWAS institutions and governments to lift community citizens out of abject poverty.
“For our member countries who are represented here by their permanent representatives to ECOWAS institutions, I would like to thank you for the confidence you have imposed in my colleagues and me.
“On behalf of my colleagues, I renew our commitments to work diligently for the welfare of our community.
“At the same time, I call upon you to continue to support ECOWAS by ensuring the full payment of community levies and the full implementation of ECOWAS protocols.
“You as permanent representatives of your various countries to ECOWAS is important and we look forward to deeper collaboration.
“Our multilateral and bilateral partners will all agree that no time has partnership been so important than now. The insecurity we face at various levels will require deeper partnerships and consistent collaboration.
“Our partnership should therefore be sufficiently equitable and efficient to enable us lift our people from abject poverty through capacity building, investment.
“Most importantly our partnership should enable us achieve lasting peace, security across the region and across the African continent.
“Allow me to reiterate the importance our leaders attach to institutional reforms. These reforms must be expedited to ensure more effective and efficient community institutions.
“Reforms entails trust, entails taking top positions but we are confident that with the full support and collaboration of staff and Member States, we will be able to the process to its logical conclusion,” Touray said.
Touray thanked the Nigerian government for being a generous host to ECOWAS institutions and for also for providing leadership to ECOWAS’s integration and peaceful efforts.
In his remarks, Brou said that the region under his leadership experienced a deepening and strengthened democratic culture despite the unconstitutional change of government in Mali, Guine and Burkina Faso.
He however bemoaned the spate of terrorist attacks and insecurity in Member states which he said has resulted in over fourteen thousand deaths with over five million ECOWAS citizens in need of humanitarian assistance.
He urged community citizens to remain united and extend their support to the incoming management,
Nigeria’s Minister of State for Foreign Affair, Zubairu Dada also commended the Brou and the outgoing management of the ECOWAS Commission for a job well done amid all the challenges.
Dada also urged Touray and his new team to put the interest of the region ahead of other interest while dispensing their duties.
He also tasked them to carry out internal and external reforms, and meet the African Union and United Nations agendas for ECOWAS.
Patoma Admin by — July 13, 2022 in Foreign 0