Headlines
No Cabal Can Impose President on Nigerians in 2023, Anyim Declares
A presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, Pius Anyim, has assured Nigerians that no cabal in Nigeria’s seat of power would dictate to the country who the next president will be.
Anyim said any Nigerian with the impression that some inner caucus arrangement would produce the president in 2023 should come off it, noting that he would have his first shot at the presidential seat in 2023 and would win it.
The former President of the Senate spoke while featuring on a programme, Political Roundtable, on Lagos Mainland FM on Sunday.
Asked by a caller how he intended to deal with the ‘cabal’ in Aso Rock to become the next president, Anyim said, “Maybe you still have the impression that it is Aso Rock that will ordain who the next president will be. I do not share that view.
“Whether cabal or no cabal, I am going to give my first shot at the presidency and I will win.”
Asked further if he would have a cabal in Aso Rock if he emerghed victorious at the 2023 polls, he said, “I want to say that I will run an inclusive government and the principles of democracy would be deployed.
“I am a young man with all respect and I have a whole lot of energy, so there is nothing to leave for anybody to do for me differently. I will be hands-on on the job and get the job done. It is when you are not hands-on before that you allow some people to come.”
Speaking on zoning, Anyim reiterated that it was only fair that the PDP zoned its presidential ticket to the south, which should, in turn, micro-zone it to the South-East.
According to him, if the PDP decides not to follow its constitution, it would, in the long run, weaken the system which would no longer have the power to protect its members.
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.”
