Ukrainian President has said more sanctions on Russia, particularly on the banking and energy sectors, will influence Russian decisions about making cease ceasefire permanent or temporary. Congratulating Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on his victory at the general elections on Wednesday, he discussed the issue of sanctions on Russia with the newly elected prime minister.

Zelenskyy welcomed cooperation on defense and strategy against Russia, but most importantly, they discussed the issue of an unconditional ceasefire and hope that further sanctions will influence Russia. 

Meanwhile Ukrainian President has signed the mineral deal with the US, which is generally being observed cautiously, whether it will fulfill the expectations in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy had referred to the deal as being fair and capable of paving the way for modern Ukraine

However, Zelenskyy and Putin are still not conclusive on the issue of a 3 or 30days ceasefire. The Ukrainian President wants a 30-day ceasefire, but Russia insists there are issues for further negotiations.

Sanctions on Russia, particularly on the banking and energy sectors, will influence Russian decisions about whether to make cease ceasefire permanent or temporary. Congratulating Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on his victory at the general elections on Wednesday, he discussed the issue of sanctions on Russia with the newly elected prime minister

Zelenskyy welcomed cooperation on defense and strategy against Russia, but most importantly, they discussed the issue of an unconditional ceasefire and hope that further sanctions will influence Russia. 

Meanwhile Ukrainian President has signed the mineral deal with the US, which is generally being observed cautiously, whether it will fulfill the expectations in Ukraine.

Zelenskyy had referred to the deal as being fair and capable of paving the way for modern Ukraine

However, Zelenskyy and Putin are still not conclusive on the issue of a 3 or 30days ceasefire. The Ukrainian President wants a 30-day ceasefire, but Russia insists there are issues for further negotiations.

Reconciliation is the best move for the suspended governor of Rivers State, as he can do little from outside government.

Many people believe that politics is all about right and wrong, but it's much more than that. It is the reason why people should always make clear-headed decisions only 

First of all, he didn't need to fight Wike because it was always going to be counterproductive. Negotiations were what would have happened.

Like Wile wanted commissioners, why not give him ten and you take fifteen so that you can have your men in the setup. 

Many people misinterpret the Machiavelli theory, but the good end that justifies the means is more apt. A good end can still be fostered for this relationship because it started with good things in mind. 

Truly, people are always skeptical of relationships like that. People outside of it erroneously feel it's like giving away your aces, but that's democracy, and in the long run, a lot more people will benefit from it. Democracy is all about benefits and people 

Four years is a very short time, and it is always better to use it to make accomplishments rather than spend it on beefing. Fubara would have learnt all about that by now.

Vice President Kashim Shettima and all APC governors gathered at Asaba yesterday to welcome Governor Oborevweri, formerly of the PDP, to the APC. 

This is probably one of the most extraordinary political decisions that have been taken in the country since the return to democracy, when every member of the Delta State PDP unanimously decided to leave their party, which had controlled Delta State for 26 years, and joined the APC

It will be recalled that some members of the APC left the party to join the SDP, citing a deviation from the shared vision of the party by the incumbent President of Nigeria, who is a member of the ruling party.

The Delta state governor is however citing the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the driving force behind their decision to join the APC. 

Governor Oborevwori probably had seen it all in PDP, a party that controlled every aspect of government in Delta state from 1999. They certainly should be counting the cost and probably had seen the best of PDP as a party, which may become moribund after its two early rivals, the AD and APP, came together with other parties in 2019 to defeat PDP for the first time in the Presidential election. 

When former Vice President Atiku Abubakar insisted he would contest the presidential election in 2023, he gave his enemies the point with which they could campaign against him.

 Many southerners asked that the candidacy be zoned to the south, but he refused, contending that zoning is unconstitutional. Therefore, he participated in the primaries but lost the election. 

Had he won the election, a northerner would have succeeded another northerner. One Fulani man would have succeeded the other. Today, he is the greatest PDP problem, and as long as he's in PDP, it will be difficult to move PDP forward.

He is the embodiment of the northern/Fulani agenda, which many see as the greatest threat to Nigeria as a nation, particularly because of the herders' issue and the Islamization agenda.

The Turaki's leadership style is also somewhat not strategic, but selfish and overly ambitious.  The impression being created by the former vice president, that the party is not only for the northerners but also only for the Fulanis.

Atiku broke the notion that no one can contest against a northerner and win when he contested against Bola Ahmed Tinubu and lost. He therefore destroyed the premises upon which PDP was built. And people began to lose confidence in the party the more. 

He, with hindsight, should have managed the Wike issue. He should have copied from the way the president managed El Rufai by allowing him to come along until an appropriate time. 

With the backlash Elon Musk is getting from his relationship with Trump, he seems to have little option but to back off.

This is in the wake of a serious drop in the value of Tesla stock. Some of his investors are already of the opinion that his pullback can return his business to its former levels 

Everything touched by Trump isn't just turning to gold, and the damage inflicted on Tesla because of the association with Elon Musk may not go away permanently 

Other automakers, particularly manufacturers of electric vehicles, are the beneficiaries of Tesla's downturn and are already announcing a rise in sales during this period. The negative impact of vandalism and hostility towards the Tesla brand and employees had an impact on the markets.

Many think that some of this brand damage will remain permanent and irreversible, but Mr Musk has announced a step back from D.O.G.E., believing his presence in Tesla will go a long way to ameliorating the damage.

U.S. President Donald Trump is considering a reversal of the hike in tariffs on Chinese imports to the U.S. Speaking to reporters in the white house on Tuesday, he promised to bring the tariffs down. Though he cautioned that it will not go back to zero. Experts believe that this is a signal that the US president is ready to reconsider his stand on the tariff war with China. 

Trade Secretary Bessent had said earlier in the day that the hike in tariffs had created something like an embargo on imports from China. However, if Trump's idea was to get China to the negotiating table, that has not been successful, as China has not responded that way. Instead, China is busy making diplomatic moves to counter the US attempt to isolate China

China, on the other hand, had received the news with caution and seems ready for negotiations only if the US will show a little more 'respect', but does not seem to share Trump's enthusiasm for a 'good' relationship between Xi and himself.

Donald Trump and his richest supporter, multibillionaire Elon Musk, gushed about each other and blamed the media for attempting to separate them. During their joint White House interview, the two spoke so highly of one another that Sean Hannity, the interviewer, was moved to remark, "I feel like I'm interviewing two brothers here."

The united front was maintained to reject accusations that Musk’s so-called “Department of Government of efficiency” (Doge) – which has upended huge swaths of the federal bureaucracy in a supposed attempt to find “waste, fraud, and corruption” – is a violation of the US constitution, saying their critics were themselves guilty of this. They also dismissed complaints that Musk, who has billions of dollars in government contracts through his ownership of companies such as SpaceX and Tesla, had serious conflicts of interest that could lead him to skew federal spending in his favor.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), has urged African countries to shift their attention from relying on foreign aid to mobilizing indigenous resources to draw investments and spur economic growth. African leaders must change their perspective, Okonjo-Iweala emphasized, pointing out that the continent is endowed with abundant untapped natural and financial resources that might promote sustainable development.

The WTO chief suggested that foreign aid should be viewed as a thing of the past while addressing the fringes of the African Union conference in Ethiopia.

"Africa has to shift its perspective on aid access," she stated. We ought to start considering it a thing of the past. "We should concentrate on two main areas: mobilizing domestic resources and attracting investment." Africa has over $250 billion in pension funds, but most of them are invested outside the continent instead of going into local economies, she claims. South Africa is home to the largest pension funds, with Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Botswana, and Namibia following closely behind. We must figure out how to use these resources since they are so important," she stated.

The former finance minister also demanded that the African Finance Corporation and other multilateral development banks in Africa be recapitalized. According to her, this would boost funding for important projects and broaden their financial sheets.

These organizations have a combined balance sheet of roughly $70 billion, yet our infrastructure requirements alone cost more than $200 billion a year. We need to bolster our institutions rather than seeking outside funding," she revealed. She also emphasized how critical it is that African countries seize control of their enormous mineral resources, especially copper, manganese, and lithium.

Those are essential resources for the manufacturing of batteries for electric vehicles.

To increase intercontinental trade, generate jobs, and stop exporting raw materials without value addition, she urged Africa to grow its processing industries.

Prof Femi Mimiko gave the 60th edition of the monthly lecture of the Nigerian Army resource center Abuja yesterday. The topic of the lecture is Nigeria's quest for a permanent UN Security Council seat and its implications on national security.

Kash Patel, the FBI director nominee nominated by President Donald Trump, said that the U.S. SEAL Team Six saved a kidnapped American citizen held captive in northern Nigeria in under sixty seconds.

This was said by Mr. Patel on January 30, 2025, at his confirmation hearing before the US Senate. His involvement in the covert operation to free Philip Walton, the 27-year-old son of American missionaries who had been abducted by armed bandits from neighboring Niger and taken to northern Nigeria for ransom, was the subject of intense questioning. On Thursday, Mr. Patel told the U.S. Congress, "The operation lasted for 60 seconds." He was also questioned about his apparent negligence in repeating a fictitious authorization that the SEAL Team Six had received from the Nigerian authorities to operate in Nigerian airspace.

Having gathered knowledge of the area where Mr. Walton was being held, Mr. Patel was the driving force behind the rescue effort. Since the bandits may relocate Mr. Walton, he saw an opening for the Seal Team Six to attack. Senior U.S. authorities discovered that the Nigerian government had not yet given the Navy SEALs permission to enter their airspace, much less land, while the plane was in midair carrying operatives. In his memoir, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper stated that it was one of Mr. Patel's many mistakes and that he was worried about the SEALs, especially if they would be shot down for the unauthorized operation.

 Mr. Esper's memoir, which described the operation, said, "I was worried that being crammed into an aircraft burning holes in the sky for an additional hour or so would wear on the special operators, that it might affect their readiness somehow." According to Mr. Esper, the SEALs suspected Mr. Patel of falsifying the clearance that the Nigerian government granted them. Mr. Esper writes, "My team suspected Patel made up the approval story, but they didn't have all the facts." In his book "Government Gangsters," Mr. Patel denied the accusations, saying that some individuals attempted to thwart the president's plans by putting obstacles in the way of counterterrorism operations in the Middle East and Africa.

After the State Department stepped in and moved quickly to secure airspace approval from the Nigerian authorities before the Navy SEALs landing, the operation ultimately proved successful. It's unclear if Mr. Patel's responses to the questions were satisfactory, and he has encountered a lot of resistance in his pursuit of the FBI directorship.