Headlines
Blinken’s Call to Tinubu America’s Acknowledgment of Nigeria’s ‘Fraudulent Election’ – Atiku
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, has faulted the telephone conversation between the United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, describing it as “demoralising.”
He said with the call, the US was acknowledging what he described as a “fraudulent election” in Nigeria.
Blinken spoke with Tinubu on the phone on Tuesday to emphasise his continued commitment to further strengthening the US-Nigeria relationship with the incoming administration.
During their conversation, Tinubu promised to hit the ground running and unify the country upon his assumption of office on May 29. He also pledged to ensure positive relations with the United States.
The President-elect said that among his immediate priorities would be to deliver institutional reforms and development programs to deepen our democratic institutions and bring help to poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
He also expressed his determination to strengthen Nigeria’s democracy and faithfully serve the people as their president.
During the talks that lasted about 20 minutes, Tinubu spoke about his eventful sojourn in America in the 70s, where he graduated with honours as an accountant in 1979.
He also recalled how he was granted asylum by the US when, due to his determined struggle for democracy in Nigeria, he was forced into exile by the late General Sani Abacha’s military junta.
But reacting to the development on Wednesday, Atiku, who was Tinubu’s challenger during the February 25, 2023 presidential election, said he was in “disbelief” with the telephone conversation.
In a tweet on his Twitter page on Wednesday, the former vice president and Peoples Democratic Party presidential candidate during the poll, said the call was a contradiction to the US earlier position on the election.
“I am in disbelief that @SecBlinken called Tinubu, a contradiction to the publicly stated position of the US on Nigeria’s 2023 presidential election. This is inconceivable considering that America, as the bastion of democracy, is well briefed on the sham election of February 25.
“To give legitimacy to the widely acknowledged fraudulent election in Nigeria can be demoralising to citizens who have hedged their bet on democracy and the sanctity of the ballot,” he wrote.
Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor, was declared the president-elect after the 70-year-old polled 8,794,726 votes to win the 2023 presidential election.
But both Atiku, and his Labour Party counterpart, Peter Obi, had rejected the results with the duo claiming to have won the election. They are presently in court challenging the election outcome.
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.”
