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Obaseki’s Convoy Trapped As Flood Overruns Sapele Road [VIDEO]

Published

2 years ago

July 23, 2023

Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, was stranded at the RCC junction on Sapele Road, Benin, Edo State after heavy rain made the road flooded and unpassable.

A video of the incident which occurred on Friday is trending online with a background voice urging viewers to share the video to show that it is payback time for leaders who fail to take needed action to help the people.

The background (male) voice said, “When we told the government to fix the road, they were busy filling the potholes with broken blocks. They think they are suffering the masses. Now it is payback time as the masses are not the only ones suffering the collapse of this road.

“The governor is the one inside the vehicle but it has stopped moving. This is his vehicle (pointing at it), he cannot come down as he is ashamed. Everyone (both the poor and the rich) is feeling the brunt of bad policies in the country,” he added.

After a while, the convoy was seen moving away from the flooded part of the road.

Meanwhile, Governor Obaaseki in a statement released on Sunday confirmed he was stranded on Sapele road due to the flooding.

He said: “I was on Sapele Road recently. After the heavy downpour, the road was impassable. What is going on in Benin-Sapele Road is scandalous. I don’t think that any region where the oil resources that sustain the country come from should be neglected. We have done everything possible. We don’t know what to do again to draw the attention of the federal government to these roads.”

Obaseki also said the state government cannot intervene in fixing the Benin-Auchi and Benin-Sapele roads because the Federal Government has awarded contracts for its repair.

The governor said that it is concerning that the major Federal road networks in the state, which connect several parts of the country are in bad condition.

He noted that his administration has done everything in its power to appeal to the Federal Government to look into the repairs of the wide span of damaged Federal Roads in Edo State.

Obaseki added that his administration has drawn the attention of the Federal Government to the failed portions of the Benin-Auchi Roads, Benin-Sapele Road, and the Benin-Lagos Road, particularly the Ovia River Bridge but nothing has been done yet.

He said, “Look at the incident that happened on Ovia River Bridge three weeks ago, in which we lost several lives following multiple accidents. Nothing has been done till now. This shows they don’t care about us in the State.

“The issue on the Benin-Lagos Road, particularly the Ovia River Crossing is becoming catastrophic. We have lost a lot of lives and done everything to get the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Works to work with us and put in place a palliative measure to stop the carnage on that road.”

On Sapele Road, he said: “I was on Sapele Road recently. After the heavy downpour, the road was impassable. What is going on in Benin-Sapele Road is scandalous. I don’t think that any region where the oil resources that sustain the country come from should be neglected. We have done everything possible. We don’t know what to do again to draw the attention of the federal government to these roads.”

“The Auchi-Ibillo Road was so bad that some of our contractors couldn’t go to their quarry site. We appealed to the Federal Government to do palliative work on that road but they refused, saying the road is under contract. If I want to do the same for Benin-Sapele Road, I am not allowed to do so. They claim the road has been given out to a contractor.

“Last year, the Benin-Auchi Road was locked for about two weeks as food, animals, and petroleum products could not reach their destination. We don’t want such situations this year so they should help us. We are not here to criticize them but to appeal for help.”

The governor noted that the federal government’s policy relating to these roads is very confusing, noting that in the past, states could rehabilitate Federal roads and give the Federal Government the bills, but that is no longer obtainable.

“At a point, they said we can apply and take over the repair of federal roads but I am yet to see a state they have given federal roads to fix,” he noted.

Watch video below:

Lmaooooo! Bad Government don touch Edo state Governor. 😂😂😂😂
You no gree do road, now your motor don hang for your bad roads 😂😂😂
E sweet me die 📌 pic.twitter.com/inUaNM0gRa
— Chlorpheniramine (@VictorIsrael_) July 22, 2023
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42 Killed In Israeli Attacks, Says Gaza’s Civil Defense

Published

10 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

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Venezuela Frees Eight Opposition Leaders

Published

10 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

10 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