ROYAL TOUR NEAR END

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27894, 16 February 1956, Page 13

ROYAL TOUR NEAR END

Queen To Open Parliament (Rec. 10 p.m.) IBADAN, Feb. 15. The Queen will open Western Nigeria's new Parliament, buildings in Ibadan today—one of her last official functions before she returns to London by air tomorrow night. Afterwards tens of thousands of Nigerians who have not yet seen the Royal Couple will gel their chance when the Queen and Duke travel 96 miles by road back f o Lagos. The journey, through miles of plantations, normally takes less than three hours. It will take the Royal couple nearly seven hours. The convoy will make two stops on the journey. One will be at Inebu, where the Queen and Duke will meet the Awaujale of Ijebuland and have lunch at the Residency. lhe other will be at Shagamu. headquarters of one of the two divisions into which the province is divided, where the Oba of Ijebu-Remo Moses Sowemimo Awolesi Erinwohle 11. will greet the Queen. The last few miles of the journey will be once again through the befiagged streets of Lagos, where tens of thousands of Nigerians are expected to give the Queen another great welcome. . The Queen will make a broadcast on all radio networks throughout West Africa tonight. Safety of Queen Nigerian police said at Ibadan last night that they could only guarantee about 50 per cent, insurance against an attack on the Queen or other incident during the Royal tour. In an area as vast as Nigeria, it was impossible to provide 100 per cent, security, the police said. Their comments followed an incident earlier in the day when a khakiclad Nigerian with a grievance ran to the Queen’s car and thrust a petition into the Duke of Edinburgh’s lap. The Queen and the Duke were visiting the University College Teaching Hospital in Ibadan. . Police escorting the Royal car were powerless to halt 19-year-old Michael Tayo as he raced from his hiding place past thousands of people massed outside the hospital. * A British officer of the Nigerian police said: “It might have been a bomb. We’ll have to tighten things up after this.”

Russia’s Population Rise.—Russia’s population in the last five y ear % had increased by 16,300,000, /”e Communist Party secretary, Mr Khrushchev, told the party s twentieth congress today. The partyhad 6,795 896 full members, he said.—Moscow, Feb.