Headlines
Peter Obi Candidacy Excites All Classes of Nigerians, Group, IPOB Reply Miyetti Allah
The Peter Obi Support Network has described the claims by Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore Fulani Socio-Cultural Association that the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is being sponsored by the Indigenous People of Biafra as the handiwork of the opponents of the former Anambra State governor.
The National Secretary of the Miyetti Allah group, Saleh Alhassan, had said the promoters of IPOB and Nnamdi Kanu have switched allegiance to Obi, adding that no Fulani man would vote for the LP presidential candidate.
Speaking with The PUNCH on Sunday, the Director, Strategic Communication, POSN, Onwuasoanya Jones, stated that many members of the Miyetti Allah are key supporters of the “Obidient Movement” and have consistently committed their personal resources into the project.
Jones said, “I do not know how that individual came about such conclusions, but what I can tell you is that the Peter Obi candidacy excites all classes of Nigerians, including millions of those who, for one reason or the other, are dissatisfied by the way Nigeria is being governed at the moment.
“In Peter Obi, they see a renewed reason to believe in a prosperous and equitable Nigeria.
IPOB has also faulted the Miyetti Allah group.
IPOB’s Director of Media and Publicity, Emma Powerful, who stated these in an interview with The PUNCH, on Sunday, said, “IPOB knows that those constantly linking Peter Obi with IPOB and Biafra agitation are doing so because of their hatred against Igbos and their fear for Biafra. They never linked their presidential candidates to Boko Haram terrorists and bandits.”
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.”
