UN regrets U.S. withdrawal from postal agency
News & Trends •
by prudence arobani3 the second oldest international organisation worldwide upu became a un specialised agency in 19481 mr pascal clivaz the deputy director general of the unupu which was established in the 19th century recalled the tremendous and positive contribution made by the u.s to the agency1 it is therefore regrettable that the u.s. has taken this step. we however respect the decision because we believe it was taken after careful consideration and reflection clivaz said1 according to upu the official notification on wednesday from u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo said that the withdrawal shall be effective one year after the day on which the upu receives this notice1 reports stated that the u.s. withdrew on the grounds that international mailing rates set by the upu in the view of the u.s. give an unfair advantage in particular to china1 the union sets shipping rates for overseas mail at a lower rate for developing countries than developed nations1 the united nations specialised agency universal postal unionupu which coordinates the global postal system has expressed regret over u.s. withdrawal from the world bodys membership1 the decision of the united states of america to withdraw from the upu treaties is a serious one but i believe with the support of other members we can resolve the matter amicably1 we will therefore continue to seek a constructive dialogue and to try to resolve this situation while also upholding the upu constitution clivaz said1 he added that upu remained committed to support international collaboration in the postal sector1 this means ensuring that by working with all 192 member countries the upu treaties best serve everyone including the u.s1 established in 1874 upu is the primary global forum for cooperation between postal systems1 it works with its member countries to bring postal services to everyone on the planet1 clivaz said that upu director general bishar hussein would meet with u.s. officials to further discuss the matter and expressed hope that through discussion and a constructive dialogue we can help to resolve this issue to everyones satisfaction1

Aisha Buhari bags excellence, honorary citizens awards in U.S.
News & Trends •
by prudence arobani3 the news agency of nigeria nan reports that the occasion was attended by the first ladies of the gambia niger wives of governors heads of agencies and associates of the wife of the president among others1 buhari was also conferred with the honorary citizen of georgia award from the state of georgia1 she received the awards at the nigeria house in new york for her efforts at fighting gender-based victimisation human trafficking and for uplifting the women in nigeria1 founder and president of the organisation dr blessing itua said the organisation particularly commended mrs buhari for advancing the causes of women and children in nigeria through her pet project future assured1 mrs aisha buhari through her various programmes on women young girls and children support has assisted integrated and provided hope to numerous victims of some of the societal ills in nigeria including human trafficking1 mrs buhari through her pet project future assured campaigns for women and girl-child education empowerment and commitment to improving the lives of the people she serves1 she has also been a strong advocate against victimisation inhumanity including the rape of minors1 within this context she has complimented governments various initiatives by teaming up with relevant stakeholders in nigeria and beyond to address some feminine challenges in the country itua said1 receiving the awards the wife of the president thanked the organisation for considering her worthy of recognition for the award on fighting gender-based victimisation and uplifting womenfolk in nigeria through the future assured programme1 my driving force has been that of commitment and passion in this regard. women have been at the receiving end of conflict instances of abuse and victimisation all over the globe1 the wife of the president mrs aisha buhari has been conferred with distinguished global award for excellence in women empowerment and gender development by global empowerment movement corporation u.s1 as you are all aware my future assured initiative executes a number of programmes to uplift the status of women through health advocacy and support economic and educational empowerment protection against abuse and encouraging political involvement among the women1 our hope is that women will become more aware of the opportunities open to them to live better lives while being confident of the societys protection buhari said1 she dedicated the award to all struggling women and hope that the award will ginger more action in the area of protection against gender bias and victimisation and uplifting the lives of women all over the world1 buhari said that the first lady of the gambia had adopted the future assured to be replicated in her country1 the minister of health prof. isaac adewole testified about the work the future assured had been doing especially in the north east and congratulated the wife of the president for the recognition1 permanent representative of nigeria to the un prof. tijjani bande while commenting on the menace of human trafficking said nigerians are people who admit to our problems and we are starting to address them1 nigeria has what it takes to do what is right and to take its rightful place among the comity of nations1 in the u.s. great things are happening though nigerians nigerians are doing great works here. there are things they are not happy about just like those at home in nigeria1 but we are doing everything possible to address them. this will involve international cooperation the envoy said1 he commended the wife of the president for coming to the nigeria house adding this is nigeria house and we are very happy to do what is right here1 i make it my responsibility to do the very best i can to give hope to those affected and to discourage other cases from happening in nigeria1

Our administration has done well Buhari tells diasporas
News & Trends •
by prudence arobani3 more importantly as human capital is a vital resource for the development of any country i wish to call on nigerians in united states america to utilise the opportunities to invest at home and be good ambassadors of change in nigeria1 buhari who stated this during an interactive session with a select group of nigerian professionals based in the united states and canada said his administration had delivered within the available resources1 the president explained that boko haram had been decimated adding that it was most important for the country to be secured but regretted that the terrorist group was still targeting soft spots using girls for suicide bombings1 buhari declared that boko haram is not about religion but a pure terrorist group adding that is why we are dealing with them1 on corruption he regretted that nigeria made so much money from 1999 to 2014 when the price of crude oil per barrel was above 100 dollars while nigeria produced around 1.2 million barrels per day1 calculate 2.2 million barrels times 100 dollars times 16 years but everything went down the drain emphasising that if nigeria does not tame corruption corruption will tame nigeria1 the president also said that he was not slow as some people had assumed saying he was trying to follow the law especially as democracy is different from military rule1 he recalled that he put people in kirikiri maximum prison in lagos when he was a military head of state and then ensured they remained in custody until they were able to prove themselves innocent1 buhari however said his administration was making progress but had to go by the law assuring that if i win the next election and i survive the next four years i will do better1 president muhammadu buhari has told nigerians in the diaspora that his administration has done well in the areas of security economy and anti-corruption1 im always conscious of the ordinary people because they are the ones that always vote for me. a lot of big men have no time to go and queue on the line for hours1 there were even pregnant women who were on the line for hours and they delivered. they are my constituencies they always vote for me buhari said1 the president explained that he had warned the independent national electoral commission and the security agencies to ensure that every vote counts by allowing nigerians to vote whoever they want without harassment1 buhari said he recognised that nigerians in the diaspora were talented people and called on them to come to the support of the country particularly in education1 the news agency of nigeria reports that the diasporas appealed to the president to get them more involved in issues about the country considering that they are major stakeholders1 earlier the consul-general of nigeria in new york mr benaoyagha okoyen commended the willingness of the diasporas to support the efforts of the governments economic growth and diversification plans1 the purpose of this gathering is to allow nigerians in diaspora interact with mr president by offering useful suggestions for government to continually strengthen the existing bond of affection identity and sense of responsibility for the diaspora community to actively participate in development efforts of nigeria at home1 i feel delighted to state the obvious that among nigerians in the united states we have some of the most celebrated and outstanding in various fields of human endeavours1 i wish to report to mr president of the desire and passion of these nigerians to contribute and maintain an effective working partnership with government to integrate their valuable contributions into the domestic growth mechanisms1 he also recounted his bitter experience in politics saying that he suffered electoral corruption from 2013 when he started contesting for the presidency and had at each point pursued the case up to the supreme court but lost1