Iran’s mid-level officials and delegation walked out of the United Nations General Assembly after United States President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to “annihilate” Iran if Tehran fails to reach a deal with Washington, while declaring at the United Nations General Assembly that Cuba’s communist government was failing and “will fall”.

Trump made the remarks in a combative address to the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where he defended the United States’ failing months-long military campaign against Iran and warned that he could escalate the conflict rather than accept a settlement that allows Tehran to recover.

“I have a big decision to make,” Trump told world leaders gathered at the UN headquarters.

“Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before, maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world?

“Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?”

Trump nevertheless said he believed a deal with Iran would eventually be reached, but tied his expectation to the US midterm elections.

“I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election,” he said.

Trump also sought to distance himself from the electoral consequences of the November midterms, saying he was not personally on the ballot.

“I’m not running. I did that already and won in a landslide. The Republican Party is running, and I’ll be helping them, but I am not running,” he said.

The Iranian delegation walked out of the General Assembly Hall as Trump addressed the conflict, with most of the delegation leaving about 10 minutes into his speech.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in New York for the UN gathering but were not in the hall during Trump’s address.

Trump devoted much of his roughly 40-minute address to defending his administration’s foreign policy and military actions, portraying the campaign against Iran as necessary to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and claiming that American military power had altered the balance of power in the region.

He also turned his attention to Cuba, saying his administration was seeking “a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba”.

“It’s an absolutely failed state — it’s failing like never before, and it will fall,” Trump said.

The Cuban delegation subsequently walked out of the General Assembly Hall.

Reuters reported that Trump said the Cuban government was under the greatest pressure it had ever faced and that his administration expected its political system to fall.

Trump’s remarks contrasted sharply with the emphasis on diplomacy from Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who addressed the assembly shortly before him.

Lula said the wars and escalating tensions confronting the international community could not be resolved through military force alone.

“We all know there will be no winners on the battlefield,” Lula said in Portuguese. “Diplomacy is the only option.”

UN Secretary-General António Guterres also urged world leaders to strengthen international cooperation rather than retreat into confrontation.

“Military power alone cannot secure peace,” Guterres said in his opening address to the gathering.

Trump’s address ranged beyond Iran and Cuba to other foreign-policy disputes, including Venezuela, Gaza, Ukraine and the International Criminal Court.

He claimed credit for ending the war in Gaza and presented the United States as a central force in resolving international conflicts, even as negotiations over the next phase of the Gaza conflict remained unresolved.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in his own address, sharply criticised Israel, describing it as having a “genocidal mind-set.”

Israeli delegates subsequently left the General Assembly Hall as Erdogan spoke.

Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani also addressed the Gaza conflict, describing the situation there as “a genocide in every sense of the word.”

Trump’s UN appearance came against the backdrop of the continuing war with Iran and heightened international concern over the economic consequences of the conflict, including disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz and elevated energy prices.

Immediately after his address, Trump signed an agreement with Denmark concerning increased US military presence in Greenland, while maintaining Danish control of the territory.

Trump said the agreement would give the United States “permanent control over security and all other needs on that territory”.

“We will have the complete ability to do what is necessary to defend the American continent and also Europe and other places,” he said.

The US President has repeatedly expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, but when asked whether the agreement meant Washington had abandoned that objective, he did not rule it out.

The UN General Assembly, the organisation’s main deliberative and representative body, brings together leaders and delegations from its member states each year to address international conflicts, development, security and other global issues.

Source: punchng.com

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Former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and his successor, Lateef Fagbemi, have offered contrasting accounts of the controversial $200m settlement reached between the Federal Government and Sunrise Power over the Mambilla Hydroelectric Power Project.

While Malami said on Tuesday that the settlement was pursued in Nigeria’s interest and was not motivated by any promise of personal financial benefit, Fagbemi said the protracted dispute and litigation had held the Mambilla project “hostage” and deepened the country’s energy poverty.

Their differing positions followed a September 16 final award by an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration tribunal in Paris, which rejected Sunrise Power and Transmission Company Limited’s claims against Nigeria and ordered the company and its promoter, Leno Adesanya, to reimburse Nigeria $11.82m in legal fees and $414,125 in arbitration costs.

The dispute centres on the Mambilla project in Taraba State, whose development dates back to a 2003 agreement under which Sunrise was to construct a 3,050MW hydropower plant on a build-operate-transfer basis.

Sunrise subsequently commenced arbitration against Nigeria in 2017, seeking about $2.35bn over the project. The dispute later produced a January 2020 settlement under which Nigeria was to pay Sunrise $200m, followed by a March 2020 addendum that introduced a further $200m default provision, potentially raising Nigeria’s exposure to $400m plus interest.

In his reaction on Tuesday, Malami, through his Special Assistant on Media, Mohammed Bello Doka, rejected suggestions that his actions as AGF were undertaken pursuant to a corrupt agreement or in exchange for personal financial benefit.

“Malami rejects any suggestion that his official actions were undertaken pursuant to a corrupt agreement or in exchange for personal financial benefit,” the statement said.

Malami argued that the dispute predated his tenure as AGF, noting that the controversy had existed since 2003 and had passed through several administrations, attorneys-general and ministries.

He said the government’s consideration at the time was whether “an asserted multibillion-dollar exposure, continuing litigation, financing difficulties and delays to the Mambilla project could be brought to an end through a substantially smaller negotiated settlement.”

Malami also pointed out that the $200m settlement was never paid to Sunrise, adding that there was no evidence before the tribunal linking him to any financial benefit from the proposed arrangement.

“One obvious factual question is whether any money or other financial benefit from Sunrise, Adesanya or any connected entity was ever received by Malami pursuant to the alleged arrangement,” he said.

“The settlement money itself was never paid by the federal government to Sunrise.”

The former AGF also acknowledged that former President Muhammadu Buhari did not approve the payment, saying he subsequently instructed government lawyers to resist Sunrise’s attempt to enforce the settlement against Nigeria and preserve the Federal Government’s legal position.

Malami further cautioned against presenting the tribunal’s findings as a criminal conviction, noting that the proceedings were commercial arbitration between parties to a dispute and that he was neither a party to the proceedings nor given an opportunity to state his own side of the story.

Fagbemi, however, said the legal battle had come at a substantial cost to Nigeria, particularly in terms of the delay to the power project.

According to the AGF, the progress of the Mambilla project was “held hostage” by the “relentless litigation and arbitration” instituted by Sunrise.

He said the tribunal had established that the settlement agreement and its addendum were not binding on Nigeria because the former government officials who signed them lacked the requisite authority.

“As a result, the project has been unable to achieve financial close, depriving Nigeria and its people of the enormous economic benefits of 3,050 megawatts of clean, renewable hydroelectric power,” Fagbemi said.

He added that the consequences of the delay included “lost power generation, foregone industrial output, and continued energy poverty.”

The AGF said the tribunal’s decision sent a message that Nigeria “will not be a soft target for predatory litigation and arbitration.”

Fagbemi also commended President Bola Tinubu for maintaining that Nigeria should not succumb to what he described as “fraudulently contrived contractual agreements” and adverse claims arising from them.

The ICC tribunal, in its 616-page award, found the settlement agreements unenforceable, including on grounds of corruption and violation of Nigerian public policy. It also rejected Sunrise’s claim for $400m, while directing the company and Adesanya to bear their own legal expenses.

Malami said he would issue a comprehensive response to the tribunal’s individual findings after reviewing the full award and the underlying records.

Source: punchng.com

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The Osun State House of Assembly on Tuesday became the first state legislature to approve the proposed constitutional amendment for the establishment of state police, as the National Assembly clarified that only the State Police Services Bill had been transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly.

The clarification came amid reports suggesting that the National Assembly had forwarded the entire package of proposed Constitution alterations to the state legislatures for consideration.

In a statement signed by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, the National Assembly said the State Police Services Bill was the only constitutional alteration proposal so far transmitted to the states, while other bills would be forwarded after being passed in identical form by both chambers.

The statement was titled, “National Assembly Clarifies Transmission of Constitution Alteration Bill to State Houses of Assembly.”

Ogunlana recalled that on September 16, 2026, the National Assembly announced the transmission of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (Sixth Alteration) Bill, 2026, titled, “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 to Provide for the Establishment of State Police Services; and for Related Matters.”

He said, “For the avoidance of doubt, it is only this particular Constitution Alteration Bill that has so far been transmitted to the state Houses of Assembly.

“It is, therefore, incorrect to suggest or create the impression that all the Constitution Alteration Bills before the National Assembly have been transmitted to the states.”

According to him, the decision to prioritise the State Police Bill was in response to widespread public demands and concerns over security and policing in the country.

The clerk explained that the remaining Constitution Alteration Bills would be transmitted to the 36 state Houses of Assembly after they had been passed in identical form by both chambers of the National Assembly.

“The other Constitution (Sixth Alteration) Bills before the National Assembly will be transmitted to the Houses of Assembly of the 36 states of the federation upon their passage in identical form by both chambers of the National Assembly, in accordance with the constitutional amendment process,” the statement added.

Following the transmission of the bill, lawmakers of the Osun State House of Assembly, at plenary on Tuesday, unanimously approved the proposed constitutional amendment after deliberations.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Adewale Egbedun, earlier read a letter from the National Assembly, “requesting state Houses of Assembly across the federation to deliberate on and approve the proposed constitutional amendment.”

The Speaker further explained that “the amendment had been forwarded to the House for its consideration and approval as part of the constitutional amendment process.”

In separate submissions, the lawmaker representing Ife South State Constituency, Lawrence Adeoti, and Taofeek Olayiwola, representing Ede South State Constituency, supported the passage of the bill, noting that the establishment of state police would further enhance security across the country.

Also contributing to the debate, Adewumi Adeyemi, representing Obokun State Constituency, and Jeremiah Awoyeye, representing Ife Central State Constituency, described the proposed establishment of state police as timely.

They also said that, when established, state police would strengthen the security architecture of the country, particularly at the state and local government levels.

They maintained that the proposed amendment would “enhance the ability of states to provide adequate security personnel and respond more effectively to security challenges within their respective jurisdictions.”

After the deliberations, the Assembly’s Majority Leader, Babajide Kofoworola, representing Ede North State Constituency, moved the motion for the House to support the proposed amendment.

The motion was subsequently seconded by Tajudeen Adeyemi, representing Ifelodun State Constituency.

Also during Tuesday’s plenary, the House dissolved into the Committee of the Whole for further consideration of the Osun State Park Management System Bill, 2026.

The committee considered the proposed amendments and corrections to the bill and adopted them as part of the proposal.

Source: punchng.com

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