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Thatcher For Burial,Today
The body of Baroness Thatcher has arrived at the Houses of Parliament for a private family service.
Draped in a union flag, her coffin was brought by hearse to the Palace of Westminster, to be laid in the crypt chapel of St Mary Undercroft before her ceremonial funeral at St Paul’s Cathedral,today.
Topped by a large bouquet of white flowers, it was lifted from the hearse and carried into Parliament by four pallbearers in black ties.
Lady Thatcher’s son and daughter, Sir Mark and Carol Thatcher, arrived to pay their respects.
A short private service to receive the body into the chapel was being led by the Dean of Westminster and attended by close relatives and senior figures from both Houses of Parliament who worked closely with Britain’s first female Prime Minister.
After the service, the chapel will remain open for MPs, peers and parliamentary staff to pay their respects to the woman who dominated Westminster as Prime Minister from 1979-90 and served as an MP and peer for more than half a century from 1959 until her death aged 87 last week.
The Speaker’s Chaplain, the Rev Rose Hudson-Wilkin, will then maintain a vigil through the night.
As her body lies in the chapel, MPs will later take part in a potentially bitter debate about her legacy – and the cancellation of Wednesday’s PMQs to allow politicians to attend the funeral.
MP George Galloway and Labour veteran Dennis Skinner have objected to the move, which means the proposed change in sitting time will now be voted on after a debate lasting up to three hours.
MPs had the chance to pay tribute to Lady Thatcher when Parliament was recalled at the request of David Cameron last week.
But Bradford West MP, Mr Galloway said he was prevented from making a “disrespectful” contribution and would relish the chance to give his verdict on her time in office.
“This was a wicked and divisive woman who was hated by half of the country and did great damage to a society she said didn’t exist,” he said.
He also hit out at plans to silence the bells of Big Ben and the Great Clock at Westminster.
“The muffling of the chimes of Big Ben is a step too far and now Mr Cameron will miss Prime Minister’s Questions for four weeks. It is unconscionable.
“It was indicated to me that no disrespectful contributions would be tolerated in the debate last week so … I will have a lot to say.”
The decision was taken to silence the famous London landmarks as a mark of respect to the UK’s first and so far only female prime minister, who died last week aged 87.
The last time the chimes of Westminster’s Great Clock were halted in this way was for the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill in 1965.
Lady Thatcher’s coffin will leave the Palace of Westminster by hearse before being transferred to a gun carriage for the final leg of its journey to St Paul’s during the ceremonial funeral service.
The international guestlist for the ceremony, particularly attendees from the United States, has been growing.
Former US vice president Dick Cheney and ex-Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger have confirmed their attendance.
The two former top US politicians join an increasing congregation of former leaders, current politicians, Falklands veterans and a string of celebrities who will pay their respects to the former Prime Minister.
The pair do not form part of Barack Obama’s official presidential delegation, which will be led by George Shultz and James Baker, who both served as Secretary of States during the Thatcher era.
No members of the current White House administration are expected to attend.
Also on the increasing list of attendees were King Constantine and Queen Anne Marie of Greece, two-times US presidential candidate Ross Perot and Olympics supremo Lord Coe.
However, there will be no official representative from Argentina.
President Cristina Kirchner was not invited, but, in keeping with diplomatic protocol, an invitation was sent to the Argentine Ambassador to the UK, Alicia Castro, who declined.
Former South African President, FW de Klerk is among the 2,000 guests attending the funeral.
In an interview with Sky News yesterday, he hailed Lady Thatcher’s “honest, open and purposeful leadership” and her ability to convince the majority to “follow that lead and to embrace that vision”.
“This she did for Britain, and she changed around the history of Britain,” he said.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.