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Charles III Crowned King of England in History, Tradition Filled Coronation

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King Charles III has been crowned at London’s Westminster Abbey at a solemn Christian coronation steeped in 1,000 years of history and tradition, but adapted to reflect 21st-century Britain.

The build-up to the ceremony — the religious confirmation of Charles’s accession after the death of his mother Queen Elizabeth II last September — has been mostly celebratory.

Thousands of people turned central London red, white and blue on Saturday, with a sea of Union Jack flags lining the streets for the coronation of King Charles III.

But even before Charles, 74, and Queen Camilla, 75, left Buckingham Palace aboard the Diamond Jubilee State Coach for a rainy procession to the abbey, police arrested dozens of protesters using new powers rushed onto the statute book to crack down on direct action groups.

The anti-monarchy movement Republic — which wants an elected head of state — said six of its organisers were detained, while climate activists Just Stop Oil said 19 of its number were held.

CNN reports that Britain’s King Charles III has been crowned in a once-in-a-generation royal event that is being witnessed by hundreds of high-profile guests inside Westminster Abbey, as well as tens of thousands of well-wishers who have gathered in central London despite the rain.

The intricate coronation service followed a traditional template that has stayed much the same for more than 1,000 years.

The King took the Coronation Oath and became the first monarch to pray aloud at his coronation. In his prayer he asked to “be a blessing” to people “of every faith and conviction.”

The anointment, considered the most sacred part of the ceremony, took place behind a screen.

The King was presented with the coronation regalia, including the royal Robe and Stole, in what is known as the investiture part of the service.

He was then crowned with the 360-year-old St. Edward’s Crown, the most significant part of the coronation ceremony. After crowning the King, Welby declared: “God Save the King.”

Wearing the crown, the King was seated on the throne, after which the Archbishop of Canterbury invited the British public, as well as those from “other Realms,” for the first time, to recite a pledge of allegiance to the new monarch and his “heirs and successors.”

Ahead of the event, some parts of the British media and public interpreted the invitation as a command, reporting that people had been “asked” and “called” to swear allegiance to the King. In the face of such criticism, the Church of England revised the text of the liturgy so that members of the public would be given a choice between saying simply “God save King Charles” or reciting the full pledge of allegiance.

Once the King was crowned, his wife, Queen Camilla, was crowned in her own, shorter ceremony with Queen Mary’s Crown — marking the first time in recent history that a new crown wasn’t made specifically for this occasion — and presented with the Sceptre and Rod.

While Charles became King on the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II in September last year, the coronation is the formal crowning of the monarch and is a profoundly religious affair, reflecting the fact that aside from being head of state of the United Kingdom and 14 other countries, Charles is also the Supreme Governor of the Church of England.

However, it has been modernized in certain key ways. The archbishop acknowledged the multiple faiths observed in the UK during the ceremony, saying the Church of England “will seek to foster an environment in which people of all faiths may live freely.”

By early Saturday, the London Metropolitan Police Service announced that all viewing areas along the procession route were full and closed off to new arrivals.

The Met said ahead of time that Saturday would be the largest one-day policing operation in decades, with more than 11,500 officers on duty in London. Security around the event came into focus earlier this week when a man was arrested just outside Buckingham Palace after he allegedly threw suspected shotgun cartridges into the palace grounds.

The ceremony was expected to last two hours — about an hour shorter than Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953. It began with the recognition and oath, followed by a reading from the Bible by UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and — in a coronation first — gospel music.

The congregation, while including some 2,300 people, is much smaller than it was in 1953 when temporary structures had to be erected within the abbey to accommodate the more than 8,000 people on the guest list.

The doors to the abbey opened just before 8 a.m. local time, with the first guests taking their seats a full three hours before the ceremony began.

Among the first people to arrive were singer Lionel Richie, musician Nick Cave, actresses Emma Thompson, Joanna Lumley and Judi Dench, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, UK Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, and broadcaster Stephen Fry.

Top British officials, faith leaders and international representatives followed in their steps. They all took their seats in the vast church with more than an hour to go — reflecting the huge logistical challenges presented by an event attended by hundreds of VIPs.

All Sunak’s living predecessors as prime minister were there: Liz Truss, Boris Johnson, Theresa May, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Tony Blair and John Major. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, UK opposition leader Keir Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt were also in attendance.

First Lady of the United States Jill Biden and the US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry were there, as was the Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, French President Emmanuel Macron and numerous other world leaders were also present.

Last to arrive, just before the King and Queen, were the most senior members of King Charles’ family, his siblings and children, including Prince Harry who traveled to the UK from the US without his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and their two young children. Saturday is also Prince Archie’s 4th birthday.

Music is playing a central part in the ceremony, and five new compositions have been commissioned for the main part of the service, including an anthem by Lloyd Webber, who is better known for West End musicals.

Charles’ consort Camilla will also be crowned in a shorter, simpler part of the ceremony.

Once done with the formalities, the newly crowned King and Queen will ride back in a much larger parade to Buckingham Palace, where they will be greeted by a royal salute.

The pomp and pageantry will conclude with the customary balcony appearance by the King and his family as they join the crowds below in watching a flypast of more than 60 aircraft.

Source: CNN

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Tinubu Presents N27.5tr 2024 budget to NASS, Seeks Speedy Passage

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President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, presented the Appropriation Bill of the Federal government for the year 2024 tagged ‘Budget of Renewed Hope’ to a joint session of the National Assembly.

This is the president’s first budget presentation to the National Assembly since assuming office on May 29.

The President arrived at the National Assembly for the presentation of the 2024 budget at about 11:09 am accompanied some ministers and aides. and senior officials.

He was led into the chamber of the House of Representatives for the presentation of the N27.5trillion Appropriation Bill to a joint session of the National Assembly which began after the rendition of the National Anthem and opening prayers.

The Federal Executive Council (FEC)on Monday approved N27.5 trillion as the 2024 budget estimate.

It will be recalled that Tinubu had about three weeks ago forwarded the 2024-2026 Medium Term Expenditure Framework ( MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper ( FSP), proposing an expenditure of N26.1 for the 2024 fiscal year.

After two weeks of deliberations and interface with heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies on the revenue and expenditure projections, the Senate through its Committee on Finance approved the MTEF.

It specifically approved the N26.1 trillion proposed as 2024 budget and other parameters proposed by Tinubu.

It also approved new borrowings of N7.8 trillion, while pegging the oil price benchmark for 2024 at $73.96 and oil production at 1.78 million barrels per day.

Other parameters approved are GDP growth rate of 3.76 per cent, the inflation rate of 21.40 per cent, a suggested benchmark exchange rate of N700 to $1 and a projected budget deficit of N9.04 trillion.

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Emefiele Yet to Meet Bail Conditions, May Stay in Prison Till 2024

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A Federal Capital Territory High Court, Abuja, has adjourned an alleged procurement fraud case involving a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele.

The court adjourned the trial of the former apex bank chief to January 18 and 19, 2024 for continuation of trial.

Emefiele is standing trial on a six count amended charge on alleged procurement of vehicles to the tune of N1.6billion.

He had pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He was granted bail on November 17, 2023 to the tune of N300million and two sureties, but remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre, pending when he meets his bail conditions.

At the resumed hearing, the prosecution witness, who is a top official of the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) told the court that the Emefiele is not the owner or a shareholder of the April1616 Investment Limited awarded N1.2 billion vehicle supply contract by CBN under his watch.

He was led in evidence by counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo , while tendering several documents on how the company was incorporated on August 1, 2016.

He further read out the names of the shareholders of the company as Aminu Yaro, Maryam Abdullahi and Saadatu Yaro as joint owners of the entity.

Emefiele’s lawyer, Mathew Burkaa, who declined to speak on camera, said Emefiele is yet to meet his bail conditions.

Counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Federal government declined to speak on the day’s proceedings.

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One Year in Office: Adeleke Gives Scorecard, Pledges Continuous Democracy Dividends

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By Eric Elezuo

The Governor of Osun State, Ademola Adeleke, has felicitated with the people of Osun State as his administration marks one in office.

In the statement he personally signed, the governor informed that the last one year has been characterized by reconstruction and reconfiguration of various of the state’s economy, adding that the administration has been able to navigate through “numerous land mines deliberately set by the past administration to frustrate our administration” to provide appropriate leadership and benefits for the people of Osun state.

Adeleke further intimated that he is on a working visit to Europe and Asia, where he hope to attract investment opportunities foe the state.

The governor highlighted stability of the civil service, improved intercity road networks, surgical and medical outreaches as well as the #Imole100BInfrastructure as some of the laudable achievements of his administration in the last one year.

Below is the detailed statement:

It is one year ago today since our administration came into office. It has been a year of reconstruction and reconfiguration across the various sectors of the osun economy.

Due to the current economic situation in the state and our country in general, I have directed that this anniversary be conducted in a low key atmosphere. I remain committed to prudent use of our scarce resources on more pressing issues.

I am currently on a working vacation to Europe and Asia where I am advancing partnership discussion with potential investors needed to improve our state economy.

It is important to recognize the enormous challenges and obstacles we have overcome and the progress we have made thus far. Despite the numerous land mines deliberately set by the past administration to frustrate our administration, we have developed a robust mechanism to successfully navigate and overcome these challenges.

We have stabilized the state civil service with continuous commitment to the welfare of the state civil servants and pensioners, this we will continue to focus on in fulfillment of a critical part of our 5 point agenda.

We have massively improved intracity road network across the state by constructing over 90KM of roads, completion of the Phase II of Òṣogbo-Ikirun road and ongoing construction of Osun ring road (Ona Baba Ona) both abandoned by the past administration.

We have embarked on surgical and medical outreach that benefited over 50,000 vulnerable citizens. Also, we have completely rehabilitated over 31 schools across the state.

Recently, I launched the #Imole100BInfrastructure that focuses on education, health, road construction and water. These are critical sectors that we have identified to urgently revamp for the sustainability and development of the state economy.

I am happy to share that as we move forward, the positive results of our collaborative efforts for the past one year are expected to bear fruit. With projected increase in our internally generated revenue and prudent application of public funds, our infrastructure plan will be fully funded without seeking external loan.

Today, I re-affirm my commitment to serving with the fear of God and focused on delivering on my 5 point agenda as promised during the campaign season.

I thank you for your continuous support and prayer as you continue to support our efforts to develop our dear state.

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