gavel.
Rwanda has issued an international arrest warrant
for a top former Rwandan military official, Aloys Ntiwiragabo, who
is under investigation in France over his role in the country’s
1994 genocide which claimed 800,000 lives.
“We have issued an international arrest warrant against Aloys
Ntiwiragabo, the genocide suspect. We have investigated his case
and we are working with the French unit in charge of combating war
crimes and crimes against humanity,” prosecutor-general Aimable
Havugiyaremye told a press conference on Tuesday.
France opened a probe into alleged crimes against humanity by
Ntiwiragabo after he was found in the suburbs of the city of
Orleans, about 100 kilometres south-west of Paris.
French investigative news site Mediapart tracked down the former
Rwandan spy chief, who had been identified by the International
Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) as one of the architects of the
genocide.
Neither the ICTR, Interpol, France nor Rwanda were actively
seeking him now and had dropped arrest warrants years ago.
The revelation of his whereabouts came barely two months after
another suspected genocide architect, Felicien Kabuga, was arrested
on the fringes of Paris.
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Kabuga, who evaded police in several countries for 25 years, is
accused of financing the genocide.
Kabuga had asked for a trial in France, citing frail health and
claiming the UN court in Africa would be biased against him, and
possibly hand him over to Rwandan authorities.
A team of prosecutors and investigators from the international
tribunal handling Rwanda genocide matters arrived in Kigali Tuesday
for a two-week visit to investigate and gather evidence on Kabuga
and other genocide suspects at large.
France has long been known as a hiding place for wanted genocide
suspects and French investigators currently have dozens of cases
underway.
A plane carrying President Juvenal Habyarimana, from Rwanda’s
Hutu majority, was shot down in Kigali on April 6, 1994, unleashing
the killing spree that would leave mainly Tutsis but also moderate
Hutus dead.
AFP
Agenda 2050: Minister
Seeks Bottom-Up Approach for Implementation
The Minister of State, Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem
Ikanade Agba, has stated that the Technical Working
Groups (TWGs) Anchors and Heads of Secretariat are critical to the
development of the Medium and Long-Term National Development Plans,
especially in liaising with other stakeholders such as coordinators
and deputy coordinators drawn from state and non state actors.
The Minister stated this in Abuja, while declaring open a
3-day Capacity Building workshop organized for TWGs Anchors and
Heads of Secretariat constituted for the development of the
Medium Term National Development Plans (2021 – 2025 & 2026 – 2030)
and Long-Term National Development Plans (Agenda 2050).
He noted that the history of development planning in Nigeria showed
a general lack of coordination and harmonization of
programmes/policies, which he stated had also not benefited from a
bottom-up approach, which negatively affected implementation.
“As a responsible government desirous of changing the fortune of
Nigerians and the future of generations yet unborn, the
administration of President Muhammadu Buhari desires that we
periodically draw comprehensive plans through which the welfare of
citizens can be enhanced economically, socially and politically
among others,” he added.
Agba said that the new plans being articulated were expected to
address development challenges in all aspects of the country’s
national life within the agreed timeframe.
According to him, “the planning process is also inclusive and
participatory with the full involvement of the Sub-National
governments (States and Local Governments), the Organized Private
Sector, the major political parties, the National Assembly, youth
and women organizations, the physically challenged, and other
relevant stakeholders.”
“This way, we would have a truly Nigerian National Development Plan
and not a federal government plan,” he explained.
Agba further expressed satisfaction with the various topics
selected for the workshop, which included the history and
trajectory of development planning in Nigeria; development planning
process, Institutional Arrangements for Effective Plan
Implementation, Understanding the Macroeconomic Framework for the
MTNDP 2021-2025, MTNDP 2026-2030 and National Agenda 2050,
Institutional Arrangements for Effective Plan
Implementation.
The Minister commended Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) of Germany,
co-organizers, its Nigerian Country Representative, Dr. Vladimir
Kreck for their continuous support to the Ministry and especially
in organizing and funding the programme.
He recalled that just recently, KAS partnered the Ministry in
organizing a similar capacity building programme for Special
Advisers of the Ministers, stressing that the training was timely
and impact-full as attested to by the participants.
Earlier, KAS Country Representative said the organization decided
to support Nigeria in organizing the workshop given “the manifold
social and economic problems COVID-19 had entailed.”
“This seminar will empower the participants to contribute
efficiently and successfully to the process of creating a
substantial Medium-Term National Development Plan for Nigeria”, he
added.
Imaobong Udoh
for: Director(Information)BNP
26th August, 2020.