The debate on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara at the C24 Caribbean Seminar, held in Caracas (May 14-16), ended with sharp exchange between Morocco's Ambassador to the UN, Omar Hilale and his Algerian counterpart Amar Benjama. The Moroccan diplomat vigorously denounced the acts of intimidation exerted by his Algerian colleague against the delegations which supported the Moroccanness of the Sahara during this meeting. Telling the participants of his shock and indignation at this harassment, he reminded the Algerian ambassador that "the C24 meetings have always been a space of freedom of expression respected by all. However, instead of answering my questions about the responsibility of his country in the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, my Algerian colleague went to terrorize a delegation for the simple reason that it defended the Moroccanness of the Sahara". Hilale added: "Algerian diplomatic terrorism is well known to friendly delegations supporting the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, both at the C24 , the Fourth Committee and the General Assembly in New York, including in their respective capitals, and unfortunately today in Caracas". "We are not in Algiers Mr. Ambassador', he told him. The Moroccan ambassador also decried Algeria's interference in the sovereign decisions of States, noting that Algiers did not hesitate to use its mandate in the Security Council to blackmail friendly countries under examination in the Council, with the shameful transaction 'Change your position on the Sahara question and you will have the support of Algeria', affirming that it is a lost cause for Algeria, because these countries are in no way intimidated. Hilale noted that the behavior of his colleague is not surprising, because it is the extension of a well-established practice in his country, regularly singled out by UN bodies and international organizations for its infamous record in matters of human rights violations. He explained that in Algeria "there is no freedom of expression, no freedom of movement, no freedo m of assembly. All human rights organizations have been dissolved. Your country has just promulgated the most liberticidal penal code, which allows the sentencing to 30 years in prison of any person simply expressing their opinion and you come to Caracas to give lessons on self-determination, freedom and independence'. Reacting in a second right of response to the Algerian ambassador's indecent confusion between the question of the Moroccan Sahara and that of Palestine, as well as his tendentious remarks on the American recognition of the Moroccanness of the Sahara, Hilale highlighted the Kingdom's constant and unwavering support for the Palestinian cause. He addressed his Algerian colleague directly, saying: "you pride yourself on defending Palestine in the Security Council, it is your role as representative of Arab countries within this body, but you forbid your people to demonstrate in favor of Palestine, because you are afraid of the Algerian people when they take to the streets, unlike you, demonstrati ons in support of the Palestinian population of Gaza know no restrictions in the Kingdom of Morocco. Ambassador Hilale also demystified the fabrication of his Algerian colleague according to which his country has no claim in the Sahara issue, reminding him that "Algeria grants itself the right to interfere in Morocco's internal affairs, the right to block the UN political process, the right to host and arm a separatist group which has links to terrorism in the Sahel. He concluded by saying 'this is what Algeria is, its true face, and it's true demands.' Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse
Sahara/C24: Saint Kitts and Nevis Supports Political Solution under Morocco’s Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity
Saint Kitts and Nevis called, during the C24 Caribbean Seminar held in Caracas (May 14-16), for a political solution to the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara under the Kingdom's national sovereignty and territorial integrity. 'My delegation supports the resolution of this regional dispute, under the sovereignty and the territorial and national integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco', underlined the Permanent representative of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations, ambassador Mutryce Williams. She recalled a recent visit that the Foreign Minister of her country paid to Rabat during which he reaffirmed St. Kitts and Nevis' support for the UN-led political process aimed at finding a just and lasting solution to this regional dispute, while highlighting the relevance of the Moroccan autonomy initiative as the "only credible, serious, and realistic solution". The diplomat also recognized the continued efforts and investments by the Kingdom of Morocco to ensure the socio-economic development taking pl ace in the Moroccan Sahara under the New development model for the Southern Provinces launched in 2015. She also supported the efforts undertaken by the UN Secretary General and his Personal Envoy for the Moroccan Sahara in order to lead this process towards achieving a realistic, practicable and enduring political solution based on compromise, as called for by the Security Council. The ambassador called on all parties to remain engaged in a spirit of good faith and cooperation in the UN political processus. Source: Agence Marocaine De Presse
FCTA trains agric. field officers, targets bumper harvest
The Agriculture and Rural Development Secretariat, FCT Administration has trained agricultural field officers to provide efficient services to farmers, towards achieving bumper harvest in the territory. The Mandate Secretary of the secretariat, Mr Lawan Geidam, said at the training in Abuja on Friday, that the training was designed to improve the capacity of the officers to provide technical support to farmers. Geidam, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Mrs Grace Adayilo, said that the training tagged, 'Prevention, Identification, Diagnosis, and Management of Common Crop Diseases,' would equally cut post-harvest losses. He explained that a significant number of famers recorded huge losses due to ignorance of good agricultural practices in mitigating crop diseases, pest infestation and poor storage management techniques. He urged the field officer to build the needed knowledge and capacity to be able to teach farmers how to combat crop diseases that impede productivity. The mandate secretary reassured farmers of FCT Administration's commitment to support farmers with a view to boost agricultural production. 'The Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, and the Minister of State, FCT, Dr Mariya Mahmoud are taking proactive steps towards achieving the collective aspiration for food and nutrition security for all residents of FCT,' he said. The Permanent Secretary also highlighted the importance of integrating traditional methods with modern agricultural practices to get the best of the planting season. Adayilo said that the integration was necessary considering the difficulties small-scale farmers face in accessing advanced agricultural technologies. She assured the farmers of the full support of the Agriculture Development Project, adding that the project was a grassroots initiative to ensure that government programmes achieved the desired impact. Mr Ofili Beneath, acting Director, Department of Agricultural Services, said that the department would continue to engage farmers across the 62 wards of th e FCT and provide them with critical information. Ofili expressed confidence that the training would strengthen knowledge-based agricultural practices and bring prosperity to the FCT farmers. (NAN) Source: News Agency of Nigeria
Tinubu to inaugurate FCT projects May 27 – June 6 – Wike
President Bola Tinubu has approved May 27 to June 6 as Federal Capital Territory Week for the inauguration of various projects executed under his administration. The Minister of FCT, Mr Nyesom Wike, stated this in Abuja on Friday, while inspecting some of the projects in preparation for inauguration to celebrate Tinubu's one year in office. 'By the approval of Mr President, we believe that from May 27, we shall begin the inauguration of various projects and will end on June 6. 'Particularly on May 27, President Tinubu will inaugurate commercial operations of the Abuja Light Rail also known as Abuja Metro Line, and we will carry out the final inspection of the project on May 20. 'From what we have seen, I think we are good to go,' he said. Wike also expressed confidence that the Vice-President's residence, located along Aso Drive, would be completed and may be inaugurated on June 6. He explained that the 9-day inauguration activities would demonstrate to the world the Tinubu-led administration's determi nation to renew the hope of Nigerians. He added: 'We have a lot of projects being executed that will be inaugurated. So many projects that I cannot begin to list them. 'We are happy; the contractors are meeting up, and all the promises made they have fulfilled. 'We have also fulfilled our own part, by making sure that we make the needed cash available and none of the contractors is complaining in terms of cash.' The minister added that other projects like the construction of bus terminals and the FCT Court of Appeal Division and other projects would be inaugurated within the period. On the non-functionality of some of the streetlights in parts of the city, Wike explained that some of the streetlights were being worked on, while others were being tested. He assured the residents that the streetlights would come on once the contractors finished working on them, 'As I speak to you, most of the streetlights are being worked on and with the project we are executing, you don't expect the light to be on. 'Th e contractors are test running them, so most of the ones that are not working are those that are being worked on. 'We believe that before the inauguration you will see that most of the streetlights will be on,' the minister said. When asked whether he was being distracted by the development in Rivers, Wike simply said: 'I am not distracted. If I am distracted you won't see this performance. 'I focus on my work. So, I am not interested. I am the Minister of FCT, and work is going on, why will I be distracted? I don't even think about it at all.' (NAN) Source: News Agency of Nigeria
ECOWAS, private sector unveil strategies to boost tourism
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the private tourism sector and other stakeholders have unveiled strategic initiatives aimed at creating a robust regional tourism confederation across the bloc. The decision is contained in a communique issued following a 3-day high level strategic dialogue between ECOWAS, West African private sector tourism stakeholders and experts in Abuja on Thursday. According to the communique, the meeting recommended that the private tourism sector should formulate a request for funding for the activities of ECOTOUR 19-29 Country Operational Units to the ECOWAS Commission. It also recommended that the private tourism sector should generate funds from Technical and Financial Partners (TFPs) with a view to implementing a robust and sustainable regional tourism for economic growth. The communique also urged the private tourism sector to identify and seek the support of technical and financial partners (TFPs) to support the private tourism sector. It further reco mmended that the private tourism sector should initiate and sign a partnership agreement between it and the ECOWAS Commission. The communique also recommended that ECOWAS Member States should provide national classification commissions and structures in charge of resource regulation. It also urged them to organise awareness-raising sessions for industry stakeholders on the new regulations. The communique also recommended that the ECOWAS Commission should organise capacity building sessions for national classification commissions and regulatory structures. It also recommended that Member States should establish harmonised tourism satellite accounts, as well as transmit and make available the new regulations for their individual countries. The communique also recommended that the ECOWAS Commission should conduct a mid-term evaluation of ECOTOUR 19-29. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the communique was signed by Mrs Ruth Ndam, Director, Hospitality and Travel Trade, Nigerian Tourism Developme nt Authority. Others are Mr Boka Georges, President, Hotel Ranking Commission of Côte d'Ivoire, and Mr Massa Cande, Director General of Tourism of Guinea Bissau. Source: News Agency of Nigeria
Move more for improved mental health, Centre urges Nigerians
Greyhub Therapeutic Centre, a mental health centre, has urged Nigerians to always exercise to improve their mental health and well-being. Dr Oluwakemi Akintoyese, Clinical Psychologist, Grey insights/Grey Hub Therapeutic Centre, gave the advice at a mental health awareness walk organised by the centre in commemoration of the 2024 Mental Health Awareness Week on Thursday in Lagos. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Mental Health Awareness Week, which has the theme, 'Movement: Moving More for our Mental Health'' aims to promote awareness about mental health. Akintoyese explained that exercise helps to release endorphins, which aid improvement of moods and combats physical illnesses. She said: 'So, annually there is an international mental awareness week. 'Each year, there is a theme to sensitise people about the nature of mental health and to also understand that mental illness is real and that people can actually get help. 'But this year they are looking at the theme, `Movement: Moving Mo re for our Mental Health' and what the emphasis is, is that we need to move more. 'Exercises helps to release what we call the endorphins hormones, with the endorphins hormones, a feel good hormones, it helps us psychologically and helps us physically to be able to combat a lot of physical illnesses like depression, colon cancer and quite a whole lot of issues.'' The clinical psychologist added that the walk, beyond raising awareness about mental health, was also aimed at reducing stigma. According to her, stigma often prevents people from seeking help. She noted that the economic hardship had led many Nigerians into depression, which according to her, could lead to faulty thinking patterns, negativity, social withdrawal and anxiety about the future. She advised that it was crucial for people to open up communication about mental health, saying there was no shame in seeking help. Akintoyese said that there were resources available, like Grey Hub Therapeutic Centre, where people could talk to professiona ls and receive support. She said: 'At GreyHub Therapeutic Centre, one of the things we do and will be doing during this mental health awareness week is to create a space on Thursday and Friday where people can come in and get help. 'They can talk to professionals and then they can express themselves, assessment will be done and then they will tell you what you need to do.'' Yussuff Alawode, Clinical Psychologist, GreyInsights Limited /GreyHub Therapeutic Centre, advised people against using substances like alcohol, cannabis, and gambling to cope with mental health challenges. He said that self-medicating with alcohol, cannabis, or gambling was not a solution to these problems. These crutches, he said, could lead to addiction and worsen their situation. Alawode said: 'You are stronger than your problems; you have the inner strength to overcome difficult circumstances. Don't rely on unhealthy coping mechanisms. 'Gambling creates a cycle of debt and disappointment. It's based on luck, not skill, and will likely lead to financial ruin. 'Regular cannabis use can become an addiction, and will make it difficult for you to function without it.'' Source: News Agency of Nigeria