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Edo: Ijaw Decry Marginalisation, Demand Commissionership Position From Obaseki

Published

4 years ago

October 10, 2021

Editor

The Ijaw ethnic nationality has decried the continuous neglect and marginalization of her people in Edo State, insisting that the Ijaw speaking people, being aborigin of the state deserve commissionership position in the State Executive Council of the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led government.

They further added that in spite of their huge contributions economically and politically to the development of the state, they have been neglected in terms of infrastructure and anything that has to do with government providing for the people.

Addressing the press at the weekend in Benin on behalf of the five Ijaw clans in the state and the entire Ijaw nation, Secretary, Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, Western Zone, comprising Ondo, Edo and Delta states, Comrade Olu-Derimon Omaghomi said he was sent by the Ijaw nation to express their displeasure about happenings in the state politically.

Omaghomi, who was flanked by clan chairmen, secretaries and woman leaders from the five clans in the state, lamented that out of the eleven (11) commissioner-nominees and two Special Advicers forwarded by Mr. Governor to the state House of Assembly for screening and confirmation, not a single Ijaw name was included despite voting for Obaseki massively in the 2020 governoship election.

In an emotion laden-voice he lamented: “We are not happy as Ijaw people. We are Ijaw people and we have five clans in Edo State namely, Egbema, Olodiama, Gbaraun, Furupagha and Okomu. And all these clans are economically viable. We have contributed economically to the growth of Edo State. And not just economically, but politically. Our votes from these five clans in the three local government areas of Ovia South-West, Ovia North-East and Ikpob-Okha were massive in the 2020 governorship election, but as I speak, there is political marginalistion of the Ijaw ethnic group in Edo State.

“Mr. Governor Sir, prior to your re-election in 2020, you made a wide consultations with our leaders like Tompolo, Douye Diri, governor of Bayelsa State, our father, Edwin Clark and many other Ijaw leaders to help talk us to support you, and they did and our people yielded by voting for you massively. Of course, as we always have in politics, some of people may have not voted for you but majorly, the Ijaw people votes counted for the candidacy of Godwin Obaseki of the PDP and he was declared winner.”

He continues, “During the election, we lost a prominent woman who happens to be a major victim in the election, and till today as I speak, not a word of sympathy has come from the Governor let alone visiting the family particularly the children she left behind. This is an Ijaw woman that was in support of the PDP and Obaseki till her death.”

Further speaking on political marginalistion, he noted, “As we speak, Ijaw man is not in the state House of Assembly; Ijaw man is not in the House of Representives; Ijaw is not even consider for chairmanship position in Edo State. I want to state that we are part of the system; we are not strangers, we are aborigin. In the three local governments areas I mentioned earlier, at least if the Ijaw man is not the chairman, he should be the vice-chairman, that is what can be regarded as equity, justice.

“Appointing an Ijaw as a commissioner in the state, heaven will not fall. During the military era, an Ijaw man was appointed Commissioner for Finance and he performed excellently. Ijaw man was once a governor of this state, the then Bendel State , he did well,” he added.

Speaking on neglect in terms of infrastructure, Comrade Omaghomi lamented, “As we speak, things are not well with the Ijaw people in terms of infrastructure. About two months ago, about 109 roads were captured for construction and rehabilitation, not a single one falls within Ijaw communities.

“Even our water ways are not cleared for fishing. If the governor is not considering us for road construction, he should help us clear our waterways for fishing, this is our major livelihood.”

The IYC Western Zone Secretary therefore appealled to Obaseki to consider the Ijaw speaking people for commissionership position in his next appointment.

Headline

42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

14 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Gaza’s civil defence agency reported at least 42 people killed in Israeli attacks on Sunday, as the Israeli army prepared for a new assault on the Palestinian territory’s largest city.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said there had been several air strikes around Gaza City — which the military is gearing up to capture — including one in the Al-Sabra neighbourhood that killed eight people.

Attacks were also reported elsewhere across the territory, he said, with the “total tally currently rising to 42 dead”.

The army did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the figure.

“The situation is extremely dangerous… Each day, each minute, there are bombings, martyrs, death and blood — we can’t take it anymore,” Al-Sabra resident Ibrahim Al-Shurafa told AFP, explaining strikes and shelling were ongoing.

“We don’t know where to go. Death follows us everywhere,” he added.

Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency or the Israeli military.

The October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel’s offensive has killed at least 62,686 Palestinians, most of them civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza that the United Nations considers reliable.

AFP

Headline

Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

14 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Venezuelan authorities released eight opposition leaders from jail early Sunday, including a former congressman and two Italian citizens, and granted house arrest to five others, an opposition politician said.

Most of those released had been charged with corruption in opposition-run mayoral offices.

Also set free was Congressman, Amirico de Grazia, detained amid protests that erupted during President Nicolas Maduro’s reelection in 2024.

“Today, several families are once again embracing their loved ones. We know there are many left, and we have not forgotten them; we continue to fight for everyone,” two-time former presidential candidate Henrique Capriles said on X.

Opposition leaders Victor Jurado, Simon Vargas, Arelis Ojeda Escalante, Mayra Castro, Diana Berrio, Gorka Carnevalli, as well as Italian nationals Margarita Assenzo and de Grazia were released, Capriles said.

Nabil Maalouf, Valentin Gutierrez Pineda, Rafael Ramirez, Pedro Guanipa, and David Barroso were placed under house arrest.

The Italian government confirmed the release of de Grazia and Assenzo, who must appear in court to clarify the conditions of their release. It also vowed to continue working on securing the release of other detained Italians.

“We have always said, and we maintain it: we will talk to whomever we need to talk to so that there is not a single political prisoner in our Venezuela!” Capriles added.

AFP

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Russia, Ukraine Exchange Prisoners Of War, Civilians

Published

14 hours ago

August 24, 2025

Editor

Russia and Ukraine each sent back more prisoners of war on Sunday in the latest in a series of exchanges that have seen hundreds of POWs released this year, the two sides said.

Large-scale prisoner exchanges were the only tangible result of three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine in Istanbul between May and July.

They remain one of the few areas of cooperation between the two countries since Russia’s offensive began in 2022.

“On August 24, 146 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled” by Kyiv, the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram.

“In exchange, 146 prisoners of war of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were transferred” to Ukraine, it added. Ukraine did not confirm any figures for the release.

Russia also said that “eight citizens of the Russian Federation—residents of the Kursk region, illegally detained” by Kyiv were also returned.

Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August last year, seizing hundreds of square kilometres (miles) of territory in a major setback for the Kremlin.

Russia deployed thousands of troops from its ally North Korea as part of a counterattack but did not fully reclaim the region until April.

Among the Ukrainians released on Sunday was journalist Dmytro Khyliuk, President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

Khyliuk was kidnapped in the Kyiv region in March 2022. He is finally home in Ukraine,” Zelensky said on social media.

Also freed was former Kherson mayor Volodymyr Mykolayenko, “who spent more than three years in captivity,” Zelensky’s aide Andriy Yermak wrote on X.

“In 2022, he was on the list for return, but Volodymyr voluntarily refused to be exchanged in favour of a seriously ill prisoner with whom he was sharing a cell in a Russian prison,” Yermak said.

AFP