Politics
Democrats in crucial US election states criticize Trump’s stance on abortion
Democrats blitzed target states Tuesday with a campaign to mobilize voters on reproductive rights ahead of November’s election, highlighting efforts by Donald Trump and the Republicans to curb abortion access.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries headlined a “field hearing” in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, a day after a ruling by the state’s Supreme Court paved the way for a six-week abortion ban to come into effect next month.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden’s election campaign launched an ad reminding voters of Trump’s role in ending the federal right to abortion.
Conservatives have been seeking to enact severe curbs on reproductive health care nationwide since the US Supreme Court — bolstered by three Trump appointees — gutted abortion access in 2022.
Republicans claimed victory in the ruling — which overturned the 40-year-old “Roe v. Wade” precedent — and quickly enacted strict bans or restrictions in most states they control.
But a comfortable majority of Americans think abortion should be legal in most cases, according to extensive polling, and around half of states have measures in place to protect access.
Jeffries was joined in the southeastern city of Fort Lauderdale by health secretary Xavier Becerra, members of Congress and women from Florida who faced difficulty getting access to abortions.
“Florida is now ground zero in the fight to protect a woman’s freedom to make her own reproductive healthcare decisions,” Jeffries said.
“And as House Democrats, we are here to make clear we stand with you to protect reproductive freedom.”
While the Florida ruling makes it one of the most restrictive states, the state’s high court also decided that November’s ballot can include an amendment to enshrine abortion rights in Florida’s constitution.
The amendment — which has the 60 per cent support it needs to pass, according to early polling — would permit abortions until “viability,” or about 24 weeks.
– Democrats target ‘winnable’ Florida –
Since Roe fell, abortion rights advocates have won seven straight referendum victories.
Meanwhile, Republicans have struggled to stake out a definitive position on the issue and were punished in the 2022 midterm elections as candidates lost key battlegrounds to pro-choice candidates.
Trump criticized Florida’s ban when he was competing for the Republican presidential nomination against the Sunshine State’s popular governor, Ron DeSantis, who signed it into law.
The 77-year-old former president gets a vote on the ballot initiative as a Florida resident but hasn’t said whether he will support it.
Democrats are giving women’s bodily autonomy top billing again in 2024, characterizing Trump as the architect of attacks on reproductive rights in a long-shot bid to make Florida competitive in the state’s Senate race.
The Biden campaign argued in a memo that Florida is “winnable” if abortion remains “front and centre” in the election.
In a new 30-second ad launched Tuesday, the campaign shows Trump bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade, part of a $30 million effort targeting voters in the swing states.
“Because for 54 years they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated — and I did it. And I’m proud to have done it,” Trump is seen saying.
Vice President Kamala Harris warned that millions of women in Florida and beyond would experience the “cruel reality” of travelling hundreds or thousands of miles to get abortions, while doctors would be threatened with prosecution “for doing their jobs.”
“For Donald Trump, it is not enough that more than one in three women of reproductive age in America live in a state with a ban,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement.
“It is not enough that millions of women in America have fewer rights than their mothers and grandmothers. Yet, if Donald Trump has his way, he’ll gut abortion care in every state across the country — and he has the plans to do it.”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State has criticized the alleged forceful conversion of public reading and learning facilities in Dugbe, Ibadan, into shopping malls and lock-up shops by the state government, describing the development as shameful, ill-conceived, and unacceptable.
In a statement released over the weekend by its Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, and made available to journalists in Ibadan, the APC also raised concerns about the alleged sale of the modern motor park facility at Wema Area on New Ife Road, Ibadan, built during the administration of the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi.
According to the party, the motor park has been sold to a pastor who presides over a popular church near the facility.
Residents of Ibadan, the state capital, were reportedly stunned when they noticed the sudden erection of massive private business complexes within the premises of the Oyo State Library Board.
The facilities, built by the defunct Western Region government, had served as public libraries and archives for decades, benefitting students, researchers, and tourists until recently.
“It is a sad reality that the buildings which used to serve as public libraries and archives in Dugbe axis of Ibadan have now paved the way for the development of commercial and business structures,” Sadare said.
“The implication is that education and research development have been relegated to the background in the state by an administration that has done little to address the poor reading culture among young students.”
The APC expressed alarm over what it termed the erosion of public heritage under Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration, alleging that public properties are being sold or leased to private individuals and groups under questionable circumstances.
“How can a government wake up one day and convert public reading facilities and archives into lock-up shops in the name of making money, thereby subjecting society to the dangers of illiteracy and ignorance?” the statement queried.
The party also cited other instances of alleged mismanagement of public assets, including the concession of OYSADEP Guest House in Saki and Agbowo Shopping Complex in Ibadan, warning that the trend poses a serious threat to the state’s socio-economic development.
“Sad enough, the ignoble activities of the governor and a few other characters around him as they involve mismanagement of land and other resources belonging to the state have paved the way for a surge in land grabbing cases in most parts of the state capital. There are many cases involving appointees of the governor, PDP lawmakers, local government officials, and party chieftains,” the statement added.
The APC called on well-meaning individuals and stakeholders in the state to demand accountability from the Makinde administration and halt what it described as the systematic erosion of public resources and heritage.
Over 300 constituents of Akinyele/Lagelu Federal Constituency in Oyo State benefitted from a skill acquisition and empowerment programme organized by their representative in the National Assembly, Hon. Akinmoyede Olafisoye.
The event, held at Faith Joe Event Centre, Alegongo, Akobo, Ibadan, aimed to address the challenges of unemployment and economic hardship by equipping participants with practical skills and financial support.
The programme focused on empowering youths, students, and unemployed graduates to become self-reliant. Each participant was provided with a certificate, a Point of Sale (POS) terminal, an umbrella, and ₦100,000 as a startup grant to kickstart their businesses.
The tools and financial aid were designed to enable beneficiaries to establish sustainable sources of income.
Participants received comprehensive training, gaining hands-on experience to ensure they could effectively utilize the tools provided. The POS machines were configured with the personal details of the recipients, ensuring proper use and discouraging unauthorized transfers.
Addressing the participants, Akinmoyede who is the Chairman House Committee on Nigeria/ Mexico Parliamentary Friendship enjoined the beneficiaries to explore the opportunity for their benefit by ensuring that they use the machines for the purpose it was meant for.
He added that all the machines have been configured with the documents of individual beneficiaries which will make it very difficult to transfer to another person.
In his goodwill message, the Oyo Central Senatorial chairman of APC, Hon. Joshua Oyebamiji said comparing what the lawmaker has been doing in the area of dishing out empowerment and palliatives to his constituents, it is difficult to tag him a first-timer at the national assembly.
While appreciating Akinmoyede for his gesture at the event, former APC Deputy State Chairman, Alhaji Isiaka Alimi, Hon. Fatai Awoyoola, and Hon. Akinbode Emmanuel said they were yet to discover the magic wand being used by the lawmaker for his constant and habitual empowerment programmes.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke at the end of the training, Afolabi Kuburat, Akinropo Akindotun, Ajala Abisade Iyabo, and Grace Anuoluwapo Ayinde lauded the lawmaker for giving them the opportunity to be self-reliant at this time when Nigerians are facing economic hardship.
The House of Representatives member representing Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency Oyo State, Hon. Prince Akinmoyede Olafisoye Wasiu has initiated another skill acquisition and capacity-building training for no fewer than 300 members of his constituency.
The initiative which is being organized in partnership with Federal Cooperative College, Ibadan is part of a strategic effort by the lawmaker to foster rural development of cooperative for their economic emancipation and break the shackles of poverty so as to alleviate the impact of the high cost of living among the people in Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency he represents.
The training programme is coming up on Monday 18th November, 2024 at Faith Joe Event Centre hall. Alegongo, Ibadan by 8.00am.
A statement issued by the Special Assistant on Media to the lawmaker, Alimi Abdullahi stated that the capacity-building is designed to equip participants with essential entrepreneurial skills with a view to building sustainable livelihoods and improve the quality of lives of the people of Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency.
All the participants for the training are expected to be at the venue by 8am so as not to miss any part of the training.
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