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Nigeria’s Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan yesterday arrived the United States of America for a four-day working visit during which he will participate in the international Nuclear Security Summit to be hosted by US President Barack Obama.

Mr. Jonathan, who was on his first official visit to a foreign country since he assumed leadership was scheduled to meet with Mr Obama at 5-30pm (11.30pm Nigerian time) and is expected to have lunch with US Vice President Joe Biden today.

Details of the meeting with Mr Obama were not known at press time, but a presidential source said the US had previously indicated interest in electoral reform, returning peace to the Niger Delta, the country’s unity, and Nigeria’s cooperation in the war against terrorism and nuclear proliferation, so these will probably form the focus of the discussions.

A Nigerian, Farouk Abdulmutallab, is facing trial in the US for attempting to blow up a US plane over Detroit on Christmas day and this led the American government to put Nigeria on its list of ‘countries of interest’ in terrorism.

The acting president arrived the Andrews Airforce Base, Virginia, at 9.30am local time (3.30pm Nigerian time) and was received by US Ambassador to Nigeria, Robin Sanders; her Nigerian counterpart, Ade Adefuye and other ranking Nigerian and US officials.

The Andrews Airforce Base is reserved for use by select foreign leaders and special dignitaries of the American government.

Mr Jonathan was accompanied on the trip by Foreign Affairs Minister, Odein Ajumogobia and former Nigerian ambassador to the US, Hassan Adamu.

On arrival, he proceeded to Westin Grand Hotel, Washington DC, where he was received by governors of Imo, Edo and Zamfara States, Ikedi Ohakim, Adams Oshiomhole and Aliyu Shinkafi; as well as Joy Ogwu, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations (UN) and other top diplomats at both the Washington DC mission and the UN office.

Important meetings

The acting president’s itinerary, released by presidential officials, shows that after lunch with Mr Biden, he will proceed for a meeting with the President of the World Bank, at the World Bank Building, also in Washington DC and later, in the evening, join other visiting Heads of Government and delegations for a working dinner with Mr Obama.

Hilary Clinton, the US Secretary of State and her energy counterpart, Steven Chu, will host Mr Ajumogobia and Diezani Allison-Madueke, Minister of Petroleum Resources.

Tomorrow, Mr Jonathan will join other world leaders for the first plenary session of the Nuclear Security Summit before proceeding for a working lunch with the US president. He will thereafter participate in the second plenary, which marks the end of the nuclear summit.

The Acting President will begin his schedule for Wednesday with a breakfast meeting with officials of the Centre for Global Development in Washington DC. The governors of Imo, Edo, Rivers and Zamfara along with the foreign affairs, petroleum and finance ministers are expected to be in attendance.

He will later meet with members of the Nigerian community in the US and the President of ExxonMobil Oil Company. These meetings are also to be attended by the governors and the ministers, along with other presidential aides.

The Acting President returns to Nigeria on Wednesday, 14th April,2010.

Closing gaps

Mr. Jonathan’s trip to the US also marks the first time in almost three years that a Nigerian leader will be visiting the US. Nigeria’s president, Umaru Yar’Adua studiously refused to visit the US after the caustic comments of US officials on the election that brought him to power. His ill health also stopped him from attending the United Nations General Assembly meeting which held in New York - leaving the former foreign affairs minister, Ojo Maduekwe, to meet US and UN officials.

Mr Obama pointedly avoided Nigeria during his last trip to Africa but he used his trip to Ghana to lecture African leaders on the virtue of free elections and financial accountability.

Commiserates with Poland

Mr Jonathan, yesterday sent his condolences to the acting president of Poland, Bronislaw Koromowshi and the Polish people over the death of President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, and other ranking officials of the Polish government in a plane crash on Saturday.

He described the incident as tragic, noting that Poland had, in one fell swoop, lost the commanding heights of its political leadership.

“On behalf of the Government and people of Nigeria, I condole with your good self and the people of Poland over the death of President Lech Kaczynski, his wife Maria, high ranking officials of your Government and other nationals in the tragic plane crash of Saturday.

“Poland has lost some of its best and brightest to this accident, and Nigeria mourns with you at this moment of grief.”

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Stephanie Okereke shines @ US female summit

Friday, March 26, 2010
Nigerian-born international actress/film maker; Stephanie Okereke has returned from the US, where she was among the few women chosen from around the globe to feature in the play, Seven, in New York City..

Stephanie & Hilary Clinton at the event hillary looks funny ! :

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She also participated in a three-day summit entitled: Women in the World: Stories and Solutions, alongside the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton among other leading female role models and icons. Miss Okereke, was one of the seven acclaimed actors that dramatized the issues highlighted in the play.

Other international female figures that hugged the global stage with Okereke at the event were: Hollywood top actress, Meryl Streep, Marcia Gay Harden, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Archie Panjabi, Julyana Soelistyo and Lauren Vélez. The reading was directed by celebrated Broadway director, Julie Taymor in an evening made possible by HP.

Mrs. Clinton, unarguably one of the most powerful women in the world today, introduced an exclusive one-night reading at the Hudson Theatre of Seven. The documentary play was created for Vital Voices Global Partnership, to honour the courage of brave female activists from Afghanistan, Cambodia, Guatemala, Nigeria, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, and Russia.

According to the sexy actress, who is still basking in the success of the trip: “The play powerfully portrays the transformative ways that seven courageous women have changed their societies for the better – from peace-building, to fighting corruption to combating violence against women. The most powerful thing about Seven, was that it got to the heart of some of the most critical issues facing our world today. It reminded us of the power of the human spirit to rise up when faced with adversity and as we rise...it reminded us that we have a responsibility to bring others along with us”.

The three-day Women in the World summit also brought together an extraordinary group of 300 global leaders from government, media, social activism, business, and the arts. Topics that were discussed included: human trafficking and modern slavery, the rise of rape as a tool of war, the ways new technologies can help empower women financially, and how traditions can be toppled in cultures that devalue women.

Summit participants included: Valerie Jarrett, Her Majesty Queen Rania of Jordan, former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Fatima Bhutto, Cherie Blair, Luis CdeBaca, Thomas L. Friedman, Edna Adan Ismail, Christine Lagarde, Molly Melching, Somaly Mam, Frances Townsend, and Zainab Salbi. Moderators included: Christiane Amanpour, Mika Brzezinski, Katie Couric and Barbara Walters.
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Prostitutes of a Danish sex workers association will offer their services plus no charges to delegates of the UN climate summit in Copenhagen, an association official told AFP Saturday. Skip related content An undated photograph showing a prostitute solliciting a client Enlarge photo Susanne Moeller said the move was meant to protest an anti-prostitution initiative undertaken by Copenhagen city hall. The city, host of the December 7-18 UN climate summit, distributed postcards in Copenhagen's hotels that said "Be sustainable: Don't buy sex." It also sent letters to hotel managers inviting them to take measures to avoid prostitutes meeting clients in their establishments. The prostitutes, whose work is not illegal in Denmark, promptly reacted to the move. "All delegates who come to Copenhagen for the world climate summit will be able to use the postcards for payment after making a request on our website," Moeller, of the Danish association for the defense of sex workers, said. "We do not expect many delegates (to make use of the offer), but we want to protest what we consider discrimination," Moeller said, adding the offer was good for the duration of the climate talks. The Copenhagen summit aims to craft an international climate accord to replace the Kyoto protocol, which expires in 2012.
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Mandela, Rawlings, others to grace Mega Party summit

By Ehis OsajieTuesday, September 22, 2009Mega Party on Monday in Abuja announced the participation of international statesmen including revered former President Nelson Mandela of South Africa and JJ Rawlings of Ghana at its forth coming National Summit on Democracy initiated to give birth to a broad platform that will pursue unlimited political reform in the country.According to a statement by Alhaji Hamisu San Turaki, Director of Media and Publicity of the group, the event scheduled for 6th and 7th October will have in attendance not less than “95 eminent Nigerians, 45 political parties, 207 civil society/sectoral platforms and 12 associations of Nigerians in Diaspora have confirmed attendance at the summit, which promises to be the biggest independent political gathering since the 2006 PRONACO Confab.He added that “both Alhaji Atiku Abubarkar and General Mohammadu Buhari were among the first statesmen to confirm their presence at the summit.“The two day confab is also billed to also have either former President Nelson Mandella of South Africa or JJ Rawlings of Ghana as Chairman. But they are yet to confirm participation although they have been contacted by the MSM Secretariat to deliver keynote messages at the summit. Turaki saidAccording to him, “the confirmation of both Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and General Mohammadu Buhari last week is driven by a recent resolve by the two leaders that their best bet is to work within the proposed mega party, anchored by Mega Summit Movement so as to enrich the synergy with other prominent politicians from other geopolitical zones.”He also “debunked a false media report that the MSM secretariat is presently controlled by civil society component of the movement. He said “the claim is imaginary as the secretariat is currently being driven by seasoned politicians such as Engr Buba Galadima of The Buhari Organisation, Mallam Yinusa Tanko of National Conscience Party, Mr Sam Onimisi of Democratic Peoples’ Alliance, Mr Osita Okechukwu of ANPP, Sir Wale Okunniyi (HOS), National Reformation Party led by Chief Anthony Enahoro, Alhaji Hamisu San Turaki of Alliance for Democracy among others.
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