Headlines
Peter Obi Anointed by Youths to End Corruption, Says Senator
An Anambra State senator, Annie Okonkwo, has stated that Nigerian youths have anointed the presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, to break the yoke of corruption in the country.
Okonkwo stated this on Tuesday night when he chaired the reception for Obi in Los Angeles, California, United States.
This was contained in a statement by Okonkwo’s media adviser, Collins Steve Ugwu, made available to The PUNCH on Saturday.
Making his remarks at the Beverly Hilton venue, attended by global diasporans, Okonkwo noted that God and man have chosen Obi to take back Nigeria.
He added, “I state with responsibility and civic experience, that given the fever of excitement to this unique team, never seen in our recent campaign history, our energetic youths have ‘anointed’ Peter to break the yoke of corruption and senile leadership in Nigeria, and that shall be done deservedly.
“Leadership afflictions and corruption insanity are pulling people together around the ‘mantle of fidelity in governance’ that Obi has raised and preserved. That is a great cause to proudly support.
“But I must caution that there are works to be done and keep doing, to assure the guaranteed outcome is accomplished.”
Okonkwo, who represented the Anambra South constituency from 2007 to 2011 noted that he can testify of Obi’s capacity to govern the country.
He said, “I was a Senator in a different party; same time in Anambra state when Obi was governor, and I can confirm that the state is, unarguably, the toughest state to govern in Nigeria.
“Yet Obi raised the bar of governance there exceptionally, by making integrity, character and prudence his unshaken performance parameter.
“The results became so visibly commonplace that nobody was clapping, because he had no ‘shishi’ for celebrations. That is the state with the highest concentration of billionaires in Nigeria, with very lean tolerance for attitudes in the gallery.
“He was instead labelled and sneered at, kicked and knocked viciously, but the Rock (Okute) kept focus.
“Today, Nigerians have recognised him as the thermometer for accountable governance.
“He has remained the same and constant, only better and still improving. Nigeria is bigger than Anambra, but the challenges are not bigger than his experience. That is why they want him and that is why they will have him.”
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.”
