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Group Hits Obaseki Hard, Describes Edo Assembly Rubber Stamp, Opposition Parties Comatose

Published

3 years ago

July 20, 2022

Editor

An Edo State-based pressure group, Coalition of Benin Socio Cultural Organisations, Wednesday, carpeted the Edo State Government, accusing it of not fulfilling numerous campaign promises.

The Edo group also described the state House of Assembly as rubber stamp

Addressing a press conference in Benin City, Coordinator-General of the group, Osaze Amas Edobor, who was flanked by other leaders of the group, accused the government of ceding community lands to his cronies for private uses, just he queried what has become of the Benin River Port, Industrial Park and others.

He also accused the governor of not adequately deploying his monthly security votes to check the spate of insecurity in the state.

He said: “Why haven’t you been able to conduct local government elections in the state, and why are allocations meant for local governments diverted?

“What was your intention of privatizing Edo Specialist Hospital which was built to deliver affordable healthcare services to the downtrodden and general good of Edo people?

“Why are you not willing to sign the Anti-Open Grazing Bill into Law inspite of the persistent menace/killings by herdsmen?

“What was the N16 billion given to you by the Federal Government for the construction of Federal roads executed by your Predecessor used for by your administration?

“Why haven’t you implement the EndSars Panel Report even after you publicly promised that you will implement it to the fullest?

“Before the construction of Azura Power Plant , we were told 14 -15 per cent shares were for Edo State but after the completion of the Power Plant, the entire shares were sold. Therefore, we want to know why you sold our shares, who you sold it to and where are the proceeds?”

The group also berated the opposition parties in the state, saying they were not living up to expectations as checks on the government.

“Why are opposition parties in the state not playing their roles as alternative force by keeping the Governor on his toes with constructive criticism and providing succour to Edo people?,” he questioned.

But in a swift reaction, the Special Adviser, Media Projects to Governor Godwin Obaseki, Crusoe Osagie, described the group as an unknown association sponsored by politicians that he said his boss has sent out of job since the 2020 governorship election with his new brand of politics.

He said: “As reputable organisations, the media should know the difference between empty allegations from a group of politicians displaced by the new brand of politics promoted by His Excellency, Governor Godwin Obaseki and real criticism meant to promote good governance.

“The only thing new about these lies and those who promote them is that they have incorporated a few more recently displaced individuals who for their personal, pecuniary interests recently tried to destabilise the harmony within the PDP in Edo State but failed miserably.

“As for each and every point made in their copious allegations, they are all complete lies, which are not even intelligently told. We call on all Edo people and Nigerians to completely ignore them.”

Headline

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

Published

4 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

4 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

4 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