Headlines
Edo Political Crisis: Obaseki Blows Hot, Indicts Godfathers
Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki has said as long as he remains governor the state will not be used as a mere pawn in a political game.
Obaseki said he would no longer allow a certain individual to continue to lord over the state, making all federal appointments and cancelling the elections he had conducted.
He said these while speaking with members of the Benin Community resident in the Federal Capital Territory at Edo State Lodge, Abuja, on Friday.
Obaseki told the group led by Dickson Omoregie that individuals who were unhappy with his administration’s refusal to share state resources were behind the political crisis in the state.
He said he was focused on fulfilling his promise to the people of the state and that he would not be deterred even if he would serve for only one term.
According to him, he is not in office for money or fame.
He insisted the state was peaceful despite the political crisis.
He said the people would have taken to the streets to protest against the decision of the House of Representatives to take over the state House of Assembly if there was no peace in the state.
He said he promised during his campaign to help develop the state.
The governor said, “I did this (developing the state) silently behind the scenes for eight years before I became governor.”
“I have gone to great lengths to try to explain; it is about reform to change Edo from what it is to what we hope and pray for it to be.
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.”
