Foreign

China Removes Foreign Minister Months After Appointment

By Web News 430

China removed Qin Gang as foreign minister less than seven months after he was appointed to the post.

According to the report, the role will be taken up by the Communist Party’s foreign affairs chief, Wang Yi, who was previously foreign minister.

Mr. Qin’s prolonged disappearance from public view – and his ministry’s silence over it – has fuelled furious speculation.

The 57-year-old’s last known public engagements were on 25 June.

Appointed to his post last December, Mr. Qin was seen as a trusted aide of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

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BBC/Taiwo Akinola

Politics

Akeredolu Throws Weight Behind Buni’s Removal

By Web News 537

Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has expressed support for President Muhammadu Buhari, ordering the removal of the Yobe state governor, Mai Mala Buni as the APC Caretaker National Chairman and replacement with the Niger state governor, Sanni Bello.

A statement personally signed by Governor Akeredolu, expresses confidence in the ability and capacity of Governor Sanni Bello to take APC through a successful National Convention.

Mr Akeredolu insisted that only a few APC governors who he called “Yahoo, Yahoo Governors” were hand in glove with Mr Buni to circumvent the will of the majority of the party’s members and leaders nationwide.

The Ondo governor said no fraudulently procured court injunction could stop the forthcoming APC national convention, adding that Governor Sanni Bello, would be given the full backing of majority of the Progressives governors during the next week Thursday, National Executive Committee, NEC meeting of the party in Abuja.

PR/Leke Adegbite

Foreign

US Removes Nigeria From List Of Religious Violators

By Web News 499

The US has removed Nigeria from the list of religious violators, ahead of the visit by the Secretary of State Antony Blinken to the country.

The US government last year placed Nigeria on its special watch list of states that had engaged in or tolerated the severe violation of religious freedom

Nigeria is not on the 2021 list which has Myanmar, China, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.

Algeria, Comoros, Cuba, and Nicaragua are also on the special list of governments that have violated religious freedom, according to the US state department.

However, the jihadist groups Boko Haram and ISWAP operating in northeast Nigeria, are still designated as entities of particular concern.

Mr Blinken is visiting Nigeria on Thursday on the second leg of his three-nation trip that includes Kenya and Senegal.

He is expected to meet Nigerian President Muhamadu Buhari to discuss how both countries can further co-operate on global health, security, expanding energy access and economic growth.

Nigeria is battling a range of security threats, including the long-running Boko Haram insurgency, inter-communal clashes and more recently, a wave of mass abductions at schools by armed gangs.

BBC