Headlines
Buhari Shocked by S’Court Verdict on Bayelsa, Cancels Yenagoa Trip
The Presidency was shocked by the judgment of the Supreme Court which sacked the Governor-elect, Mr. David Lyon that it abruptly cancelled a scheduled press conference on Thursday in Yenagoa as the news of the decision on Bayelsa State governorship poll shook the nation.
This came as The PUNCH gathered that the President Muhammadu Buhari had also put off his scheduled visit to Bayelsa on Friday (today).
He was billed to inaugurate some petroleum industry projects. The presidential media team had earlier in the day fixed 3pm to address the State House Press Corps.
Findings indicated that the agenda was to address sundry issues, including adequate reaction to the booing of the President by Maiduguri residents on Wednesday and the need to have regular engagements with reporters on the activities of the regime.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, and the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Garba Shehu, were to conduct the exercise.
But word suddenly came from their offices that the press conference had been cancelled, just as the apex court delivered its judgment.
The spokespersons gave no official explanations, but The PUNCH learnt that the cancellation was an immediate reaction to the court’s decision to avoid being put under pressure to comment on the development.
The PUNCH’s effort to get Shehu to comment on whether Buhari would still travel to Bayelsa today got no response.
The President’s advance party had since left Abuja ahead of him before the latest political development in Bayelsa happened on Thursday.
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.”
