News
Pope Francis advocates debt forgiveness for poor countries
His Holiness, Pope Francis, on Wednesday, advocated debt forgiveness for poor countries to enable the internationally indebted nations to come out of the woods and to develop.
He made the call in his 2025 World Day of Peace message, annually marked on Jan. 1 to encourage peace in the world.
The theme of the global event for 2025 is “Forgive Us Our Trespasses, Grant Us Your Peace.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Pope’s message was read by the Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, Most. Rev. Alfred Martins, during Mass to commemorate the day.
The event was marked at the Holy Cross Catholic Cathedral, Lagos, to promote peaceful co-existence.
The Lagos Catholic Archbishop quoted the Pope as saying “God does not weigh up the evils we commit, rather, He is immensely rich in mercy, for the great love with which He loved us ( Eph 2:4).
“That yet He also hears the plea of the poor and the cry of the earth.
“What the world will do, is simply to stop for a moment, at the beginning of 2025 to think of the mercy with which He constantly forgives our sins and forgives our every debt, so that our hearts may overflow with hope and peace.”
The leader of the Vatican added that “in teaching us to pray the “Our Father”, Jesus started by asking the Father to forgive our trespasses, but passes immediately to the challenging words, ‘as we forgive those who trespass against us (cf. Mt 6:12).
“In order to forgive others their trespasses and to offer them hope, we need to be filled with that same hope, the fruits of our experiences of God’s mercies.”
According to him, hope overflows in generosity and it is free of calculation, making no hidden demands, with the aim of raising those who have fallen, heal broken hearts and set free those in bondage.
He said that “at the beginning of this Year of Grace, I will like to offer three proposals capable of restoring dignity to lives, enable people to set out anew on the journey of hope.
“In this way, the debt crisis can be overcome and all of us can once more realise that we are debtors whose debts have been forgiven.”
He renewed the appeal launched by Saint John Paul II on the occasion of the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 to consider reducing substantially, if not cancelling outright, the international debt which threatens the future of many nations.
He appealed to more prosperous countries to forgive the debts of those nations that have no capacity to repay the amount they owe.
A new financial framework must be devised to create a global charter based on solidarity and harmony between peoples, he suggested.
President Bola Tinubu has nominated Melvin Ayogu to the board of the Central Bank of Nigeria and has sought Senate confirmation for the appointment.
The Special Adviser to Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, made this in a statement on Wednesday.
Tinubu also sought Senate confirmation for Nwakuche Ndidi as controller-general of the Nigerian Correctional Service.
He said the requests, conveyed in letters to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, were read during Tuesday’s plenary.
Tinubu had previously nominated Robert Agbide, Ado Wanga, Murtala Sagaley, Urom Eke, and Olayinka Aliyu to the CBN board in February 2024.
However, on February 29, 2024, the senate confirmed four people as members of the board of the CBN after Eke rejected the offer, citing “conflict of interest”.
Tinubu replaced Eke with Ruby Onwudiwe on March 13, 2024; however, a day after, reports circulated that the president withdrew her nomination over political affiliation with the Labour Party, an opposition of the All Progressives Congress.
The decision reportedly followed pressure mounted on the president by members of the APC, as Onwudiwe publicly supported Peter Obi, who contested on the LP platform against Tinubu, at the 2023 presidential elections.
Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly have arrived the State House, Abuja, to meet with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The legislators who arrived in two coaster buses had been allowed into the President’s office area to wait for the meeting.
Both the reinstated Speaker of the Assembly, Hon Mudashiru Obasa, and the ousted one, Hon Mojisola Miranda, were also sighted in the team.
While Meranda arrived with her colleagues at some minutes past 2pm, Obasa arrived separately at about 2:50pm.
The meeting may not be unconnected with the recent leadership crisis in the State House of Assembly.
It would be recalled that Hon. Obasa was impeached as Speaker by a majority of his colleagues, but he was latter reinstated after the intervention of the political leaders especially the Governor’s Advisory Council, (GAC)
Despite the Speaker’s reinstatement, it was gathered that the bad blood as a result of his impeachment is yet to be over.
The Nation
The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has discribed as “useless” the letter sent by Governor Siminalayi Fubara to the Rivers State House of Assembly, requesting a meeting regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling on the state’s political matters.
During a conversation with journalists in Abuja on Wednesday, Wike, the former governor of Rivers State, voiced his disapproval, emphasizing that Speaker Martins Amaewhule and other members of the Rivers Assembly are independent individuals who deserve respect.
Wike argued that instead of issuing a public letter to invite the lawmakers, Fubara should have contacted Amaewhule and his team directly by phone to schedule a private meeting at a convenient time.
Tinubu nominates Melvin Ayogu to CBN board, requests Senate approval
Marrying One Wife Is Alien To African Tradition – Actor, Kanayo O. Kanayo
LSHA crisis: Tinubu meets Obasa, Meranda at Presidential Villa
Just in: Terrorists ambush military truck, kill all soldiers on board
Nigerian Dancer, Korra Obidi Attacked with acid, stabbed on stage In UK
Meet Rare Gem 16 Years Old Chiaza, CEO of ‘RUN MARKET PLACE’
-
News13 hours agoVideo: WATCH tearful Senator Natasha reporting Akpabio to IPU
-
News18 hours agoTinubu to Fubara: comply fully with S’Court verdict
-
News8 hours agoAuthentic Lawmakers Resume Sitting At Rivers Assembly After Shutting Out Governor Fubara From Presenting 2025 Budget
-
News9 hours agoNigerian ‘Dead Woman’ Appears In Court To Reclaim £350k London Home From Scammer
-
News7 hours agoSAD! Angry fan k!lls female influencer during live stream
-
News24 hours agoJust in: Tinubu meets with PANDEF leaders at Aso Rock
-
News13 hours agoFRESH TWIST! Obasa Drags Meranda To Court Over N5BN SUV Purchase
-
News3 hours agoFubara’s Letter To Rivers Assembly Over S’Court Verdict Is ‘Useless’-Wike declares