The outgoing U.S. President Barack Obama has told incoming President Donald Trump to accept the fact that there is only one U.S. President at a time.
Obama also stressed that the president-elect that he remains the U.S. President till Jan. 20, 2017, when he would complete his two-term presidency of the U.S. and handover to Trump.
It was reported that Obama’s remarks followed what the White House termed as Trump’s undue interference in U.S. policies since his election.
Reports also state that the president-elect had on Thursday, directed the U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Ms Samantha Power, to veto the Security Council’s Resolution on Israeli settlements in Palestinian territory.
However, the Obama’s administration disregarded Trump’s directive and went ahead to abstain from voting on the resolution when it finally came up on Friday, drawing criticisms from the president-elect and his team.
The White House, in a response by Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications, Mr Ben Rhodes, said the UN Security Council’s Resolution was a policy issue that Trump should not meddle in.
“On the President-elect, the first thing I’d just say is that there’s one President at a time.
“President Obama is the President of the United States until January 20th, and we are taking this action (abstention), of course, as U.S. policy,” he said.
Rhodes explained that there was no any communication between the White House and the President-elect or his staff between when Obama made his decision and when the vote took place.
“So I’m not aware that President Obama and the President-elect spoke about this, but again, I’m not — President Obama definitely made no reference to that, so I can’t confirm that this hasn’t come up at all, but I’m not aware of any particular conversation they had about this.
“We did hear from the President-elect’s team. Again, our position has been there’s one President at a time.
“We’re going to make our decision on this and, frankly, believe that it’s important that there’s a principle here that the world understands who is speaking on behalf of the United States until January 20th and who is speaking on behalf of the United States after January 20th.
“And look, the new team will have every opportunity after January 20th to pursue their own policies, to take different approaches.
“I’m certain that they will on any number of issues. We’re just reflecting the simple principle that I think has guided the President-elect transitions historically.
“Which is that there is one President at a time and we’re going to execute our duties until the new team is in place and the new President is inaugurated,” the Obama’s aide said.
It could be recalled that following the pressure that Trump reportedly put on Egypt, the sponsor of the resolution, Egypt withdrew it on Thursday and the vote was consequently delayed till Friday.
However, the resolution was put forward on Friday by Malaysia, New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela and the 15-member Council adopted the resolution by a vote of 14 in favour and with one abstention – the U.S., which abstained from voting rather than veto the resolution.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")