Headlines
I’m Not Running for President – Akpabio
The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, Thursday in Abuja said he was not in the presidential race ahead of the 2023 elections.
Akpabio said he was engrossed with his portfolio to assist President Muhammadu Buhari to complete his assignment in 2023.
He disclosed this to journalists in Abuja shortly after a meeting with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, at the party’s national secretariat.
The former governor of Akwa Ibom State, who said he was not eyeing the APC presidential ticket, said asides from his ministerial assignment, he was working for the development of the Niger Delta region and nurturing the APC chapter there to ensure a harmonious relationship among stakeholders.
Speaking of the 2023 presidency, he said, “People have mentioned my name. You know I’m a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and I work with the very focused President and I’m determined to ensure that he ends well. So, my job as a Minister of Niger Delta is to continue to interact with stakeholders for the Niger Delta.
“As you have seen me, I’m with one of my leaders, Chief of Niger Delta, Don Etiebet. We want to continue to interact with each other, discuss issues and ensure the peace of that region and I can tell you that South-South Nigeria today, is one of the peaceful regions in the country and we want to keep it.
“So there is no doubt that my job has not ended, my job is to continue to support Mr President, not just to ensure the completion of his legacy projects but also to ensure that his projects and legacy lead beyond 2023.”
Speaking of the leadership crisis rocking the Akwa Ibom APC and the lawsuit that tried to stop the emergence of Stephen Ntukekpo, Akpabio lauded the party leadership for following the court’s pronouncement; urging party stakeholders to cooperate with the Ntukekpo-led working committee.
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.”
