Obi Flays Tinubu Over Rivers Emergency Rule

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has faulted the six-month emergency rule imposed on Rivers State by President Bola Tinubu, describing it as a “constitutional misstep that should never have happened.”

Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, stated this in a post on his X handle on Thursday, noting that the suspension of democratic structures in the state dealt a heavy blow to the nation’s democratic process.

“The restoration of democracy in Rivers State after six months of needless disruption remains a sour side of our democracy today. It was a constitutional breach that will hurt our democracy for a long time,” Obi said.

He expressed hope that all political actors involved in the Rivers crisis had learnt lessons from the episode, warning that the real danger would be failing to learn anything from the disruption.

“I just hope that some lessons were learned by all the gladiators in the Rivers State impasse. The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing,” Obi added.

While congratulating the people of Rivers for their resilience, Obi urged Governor Siminalayi Fubara, members of the state House of Assembly and other stakeholders to embrace peace and move forward.

“A true leader is the one who admits his or her mistakes, is smart enough to learn from them, and is strong enough to correct them,” he said.

Obi assured Nigerians that despite the setback, the vision of a new Nigeria remained “possible and inevitable.”

UK Visit: Trump Skirts Mandelson–Epstein Controversy 

United States President, Donald Trump, on Thursday, rounded off his state visit to the United Kingdom with the signing of a new “technology prosperity deal” alongside Prime Minister Keir Starmer, even as sharp divisions and controversy trailed the trip.

Both leaders held a joint press conference at Chequers where Trump suggested that the British government could deploy military forces to curb the surge of small boat crossings into the UK, a crisis that has dominated the country’s political discourse.

On foreign policy, Trump and Starmer pledged sustained pressure on Russian President, Vladimir Putin, to accept a peace plan in Ukraine.

But the two men openly disagreed on Starmer’s proposal to recognise a Palestinian state, with Trump flatly stating, “I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score.”

The matter, however, did not escalate further.

The visit was overshadowed by the dismissal of Lord Peter Mandelson as UK ambassador to Washington following revelations of undisclosed ties to disgraced financier, Jeffrey Epstein.

Asked about Mandelson, Trump replied, “I don’t know him actually,” despite photographs showing both men together at the White House as recently as September.

Starmer, on his part, said the envoy’s removal was inevitable after emails surfaced confirming the undisclosed links to Epstein.

Trump also used the occasion to pay tribute to slain right-wing activist, Charlie Kirk, describing him as “heinously assassinated for speaking his mind,” and insisting Kirk “had a good shot at being president one day.”

He further dismissed questions on suspended US talk show host, Jimmy Kimmel, who had faced backlash over comments on Kirk, remarking that Kimmel was off-air due to “bad ratings” and “lack of talent.”

France Summons US Ambassador Over Allegations of Rising Antisemitism 

France has said it will summon the United States Ambassador to Paris, Charles Kushner, following remarks the diplomat made accusing French authorities of failing to address a surge in antisemitism linked to the Gaza war.

In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, the French foreign ministry described Kushner’s comments as “unacceptable” and a breach of diplomatic convention, stressing that the envoy would appear before officials on Monday.

Kushner, who is Jewish and the father-in-law of US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka, made the claims in an open letter to President Emmanuel Macron published in the Wall Street Journal.

He alleged that Jews in France faced “daily assaults,” vandalism of synagogues, schools, and businesses, and warned of a “long-standing scar” of antisemitism in French society.

The ambassador also urged Macron to tone down his criticism of Israel while offering to collaborate on what he described as a “serious plan” to confront the menace.

Paris swiftly dismissed the accusations, noting that France has stepped up security around Jewish institutions and categorically rejecting the notion that it tolerates antisemitism.

“France firmly refutes these latest allegations,” the foreign ministry said. “Since the 1961 Vienna Convention, ambassadors are not permitted to interfere in the internal affairs of the host country.”

Kushner’s intervention comes on the heels of a letter from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who accused Macron of fuelling antisemitism by pushing for international recognition of a Palestinian state.

France has announced plans to formally recognise Palestine in September, with Macron insisting that “there is no alternative” to a two-state solution that guarantees Israel’s security and Palestine’s viability.

The exchange underscores growing tensions between Paris, Washington, and Tel Aviv over the Gaza war, which erupted after Hamas attacked southern Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostage.

Israel’s military response has since left over 60,000 dead in Gaza, according to the enclave’s Hamas-run health ministry, with famine recently declared in parts of the territory.

Despite these humanitarian concerns, Israel continues to deny claims of starvation in Gaza, branding a UN-backed report on food insecurity an “outright lie.”

For France, however, the diplomatic row with Washington threatens to overshadow its domestic efforts to tackle antisemitism while balancing a firm stance on the Middle East peace process.