News

UK state visit: Trump meets queen after insulting London mayor

Published

7 years ago

June 3, 2019

Eric

US President Donald Trump met Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Monday after kicking off his UK state visit by branding the London mayor a “loser” and weighing in on the Brexit debate.

With a 41-gun royal salute ringing out across the royal palace’s lawn, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles shook hands with the US leader and First Lady Melania Trump before British soldiers played the national anthems of the two countries.

The queen then led the couple inside for a private lunch, which will be followed in the evening by a glittering banquet.

Trump’s plane had not even touched down when he tweeted that London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has been highly critical of the red-carpet welcome laid on for Trump, was doing a “terrible job”.

The president called the mayor a “stone cold loser”, adding: “Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, (Bill) de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job – only half his height.

“In any event, I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom,” he added.

Backing for Boris

Trump’s three-day visit comes with Britain in political turmoil. Prime Minister Theresa May is due to step down within weeks over her handling of her country’s exit from the European Union.

Trump weighed in on the divisive issue, declaring before he arrived that Britain’s former foreign minister Boris Johnson would make an “excellent” choice to succeed May.

In a round of British newspaper interviews, he also recommended her successor walk away from talks with Brussels, refuse to pay Britain’s agreed divorce bill and leave the EU with no deal.

The UK-US “special relationship” was already under strain over different approaches to Iran, the use of Chinese technology in 5G networks, climate change, and Trump’s personal politics.

Labour’s Khan has led the opposition to the three-day visit, writing a newspaper article on Sunday in which he compared the US leader to European dictators from the 1930s and 1940s.

“Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat,” Khan wrote.

His spokesman called Trump’s tweets “childish” and “beneath the president of the United States”

News

Otunba of Lagos Adekunle Ojora is Dead

Published

1 day ago

January 28, 2026

Eric

A former Chairman of the Board of AGIP Nigeria Limited and Otunba of Lagos, Adekunle Ojora, is dead. He was aged 93.

The popular business tycoon reportedly died on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

Details soon…

News

Diezani Appears in London Court, Denies Bribery Allegations

Published

1 day ago

January 28, 2026

Eric

Former Nigerian petroleum minister Diezani Alison-Madueke on Tuesday denied multiple bribery charges as her trial opened at Southwark Crown Court in London, where prosecutors accused her of living a “life of luxury” funded by illicit payments.

British prosecutors told the court that Alison-Madueke, 65, accepted bribes between 2011 and 2015 while serving as Nigeria’s minister of petroleum resources under former President Goodluck Jonathan.

According to the prosecution, individuals seeking “lucrative oil and gas contracts” with Nigeria’s state-owned oil company provided her with “significant financial and other advantages” in exchange for influence.

“She should not have accepted benefits from those doing extremely lucrative business with government-owned entities,” the prosecutor said.

Alison-Madueke is accused of receiving financial and other inducements from individuals linked to the Atlantic Energy and SPOG Petrochemical groups, which secured contracts with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and its subsidiaries.

The court heard that the alleged benefits included £100,000 in cash, chauffeur-driven cars, private jet flights, refurbishment work and staff costs at London properties, as well as school fees for her son and luxury items from stores such as Harrods and Louis Vuitton.

Alison-Madueke, who also served as president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries from 2014 to 2015, has been linked to several legal cases globally, including in the United States.

In Nigeria, courts seized properties belonging to her and valued at several million dollars in 2017.

Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission still has pending cases against the former minister.

She has been on bail since her arrest in London in October 2015 and formally charged in 2023. She has consistently denied all allegations.

The UK National Crime Agency said at the time it suspected she had “abused her power in Nigeria and accepted financial rewards for awarding multi-million-pound contracts.”

Two others, Doye Agama, her brother, and Olatimbo Ayinde, are also standing trial on related bribery charges.

Trial Judge, Justine Thornton said she hoped the trial would conclude by April 24.

News

Tinubu Stumbles, Falls During Welcome Reception in Turkey

Published

2 days ago

January 27, 2026

Eric

The incident occurred as he walked alongside Turkish President Recep Erdogan.

Tinubu appeared to have missed his step but was quickly assisted by officials, helping him regain his balance.

Tinubu had arrived at the Turkish presidential palace with a black limousine car.

Immediately after Tinubu alighted from the car, the military band played Nigeria’s national anthem, which was followed by the Turkish national anthem.

After the band’s rendition, there was a moment when the Turkish president used his hands to adjust Tinubu’s body to properly face the band.

Tinubu had departed Abuja for the state visit to Turkey on Monday, to strengthen the “existing cordial relations between the two countries and exploring further areas of cooperation in security, education, social development, innovation, and aviation”, according to a statement by presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga.