Headlines
Soludo Denies Allegation of Plan to Eliminate Peter Obi
The Anambra State Governor, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, has denied allegations that he had been contracted to eliminate the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi.
The governor also dismissed reports where it was alleged that he was part of a meeting at Imo State Government House, Owerri, on how to stop Peter Obi, from pursuing the process to reclaim the mandate through court.
Soludo said, as the governor, he remains the father of Anambra by his position and will not plot or collude to harm any lawful citizen of the state including Obi.
This was made known by Soludo through his Press Secretary, Christian Aburime, while speaking to journalists on Monday in Awka, on Monday.
The governor was reacting to a viral message on social media which alleged that he had been contracted to eliminate Obi for a fee.
Aburime in his statement dismissed the allegations as infantile, nauseating, mischievous, unnecessarily inflammatory and a figment of the imagination of the authors.
- He said, “None of the allegations is true. The governor has been in Anambra State engaging stakeholders for the Saturday election.
- “The general public is advised to disregard the allegations as falsehoods. Ndi Anambra should also disregard all the insinuations in the write-up as mere falsehoods, they should come out massively and vote APGA this Saturday for the state House of Assembly election in order to sustain the developmental strides of the present administration of governor Soludo.
- “If certain people could sit somewhere and cook up a story of this nature, it becomes highly reprehensible and certainly deserved to be condemned by every right-thinking person.
- “I want to state categorically that there is no iota of truth in that write up, he did not go to Owerri and he was not offered any sum of money to harm anyone, not even his brother, Mr. Peter Obi, an illustrious son of Anambra.
- “Soludo wishes Obi well, he appreciates Anambra voters for supporting him massively, of course, he predicted his victory in Anambra and remember, there was no form of violence or electoral malfeasance in Anambra, that speaks a lot about the peaceful nature of Soludo.”Aburime urged the Anambra people and Ndigbo home and abroad to disregard the information, noting that it is a plot to cause chaos in the forthcoming State Assembly election in the southeast geopolitical zone of the country.
He called on the Inspector general of police, Usman Alkali Baba, to immediately commence an investigation on the alleged report with a view to fishing out the perpetrators.
Nairametrics
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.”
