Headlines
Aregbesola Accuses Oyetola of Destroying His Legacies As Aides Clash
A former governor of Osun State and current Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola, on Thursday, said his successor, Adegboyega Oyetola, waged a war against him after becoming the governor.
Aregbesola spoke in Ikire while addressing a rally held to garner support for his anointed candidate in Saturday’s governorship primary of the All Progressives Congress, Moshood Adeoti.
Speaking in Yoruba language, Aregbesola said he pleaded with Oyetola for about two years not to fight him, adding that his successor rejected his advice, which made him to call his supporters to salvage the party.
He said, “I begged him (Oyetola) for two years; I told him that people must not mock us; I told him that he was heading for destruction. I served this state with the whole of my heart; I also positioned Oyetola so that he could succeed me in office.
“When we came to this town (Ikire) for his campaign, we were drenched in rain from the Akire’s palace to this place. He got to the office and claimed I am his enemy; those who contested against him during our party primary he pulled closer, while he fights me.
“Since Oyetola assumes office, he has waged a war against me as if I once harmed him. He claimed that I did not want him to emerge as the governor; I told him that I heard him and that now that he had been governor, what else did he want?
“I begged him for two years; I sent people to help me beg him and that he should not love me, but he must not fight me; even if he wanted to fight me, he should not abuse me and destroy my legacies.
“All that I warned him not to do was what he did. He opposed what I did; all the things I did together with him for eight years, he opposed and reversed them. He thought he can destroy me through my work; nobody was pushing him, he is pushing himself. He deliberately towed that path. He waged a war against me and refused to listen to my pleas until he got rid of me.”
The Punch
The first hostages freed from Gaza under a long-awaited ceasefire agreement are back in Israel. The news sparked jubilant scenes in Tel Aviv where large crowds gathered ahead of their release.
The three freed Israeli hostages – the first of 33 to be released over the next six weeks – are Romi Gonen, Doron Steinbrecher and Emily Damari. They are said to be in good health and are receiving treatment at a medical center in Tel Aviv.
In exchange, 90 Palestinian prisoners and detainees are set to be released by Israel from Ofer Prison in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military withdrew from several locations in southern and northern Gaza after the truce began earlier on Sunday, an Israeli military official told CNN.
Displaced Gazans have started returning to their homes, while the aid trucks laden with much-needed supplies have crossed into Gaza. Here’s what we know about how the ceasefire deal will work.
Hamas, despite suffering devastating losses, is framing the Gaza ceasefire agreement as a victory for itself, and a failure for Israel.
One of Hamas’ main goals for taking some 250 people during its brazen October 7, 2023, attack on Israel was to secure the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails. As Israel pounded Gaza in response, Hamas vowed not to return the hostages until Israel withdrew its forces from the enclave, permanently ended the war, and allowed for rebuilding.
Source: CNN
The leader of UK’s Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, has said she doesn’t want Britain to be like Nigeria that is plagued by “terrible governments.”
Speaking on Thursday at an event organised by Onward, a British think tank producing research on economic and social issues, Badenoch expressed fears that Britain may become like Nigeria if the system is not reformed.
“And why does this matter so much to me? It’s because I know what it is like to have something and then to lose it,” Badenoch told the audience.
“I don’t want Britain to lose what it has.
“I grew up in a poor country and watched my relatively wealthy family become poorer and poorer, despite working harder and harder as their money disappeared with inflation.
“I came back to the UK aged 16 with my father’s last £100 in the hope of a better life.
“So I have lived with the consequences of terrible governments that destroy lives, and I never, ever want it to happen here.”
Badenoch has been in the news of late after she dissociated herself from Nigeria, saying she has nothing to do with the Islamic northern region.
She also accused the Nigeria Police of robbing citizens instead of protecting them.
She said: “My experience with the Nigeria Police was very negative. Coming to the UK, my experience with the British Police was very positive.
“The police in Nigeria will rob us (laughter). When people say I have this bad experience with the police because I’m black, I say well…I remember the police stole my brother’s shoe and his watch.”
