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Recently Signed Petroleum Industry Bill, Another Recipe For Anarchy – Gov Diri

Published

4 years ago

October 2, 2021

Editor

Bayelsa State Governor, Douye Diri, has said the recent passage of the Petroleum Industry Acts (PIA), by President Muhammadu Buhari, is a recipe for anarchy in the country.

Diri claims the passage is yet another step taken to subordinate oil-producing states, making it more like a subordinate and superordinate relationship.

The governor noted that there’s a missing gap in the relationship of the state, the Niger Delta region and the government at the centre.

Diri made the remark on Friday evening during the Independence Anniversary Dinner celebration at the DSP Alamieaeigha banquet hall, Yenagoa, the state capital.

“There’s a missing gap in the relationship of our dear state, the region and the federal government. The point is that even as Christians we worship God on Sundays, while the Moslems on Fridays, yet we still have sins therefore in the same vein we will not be tired of talking about justice and freedom for the state and the Niger Delta region.

”May I appeal to those who are aggrieved to stop the bloodletting across the country, just recently we lost very meaningful Nigerians in Anambra State; that is an ill wind that will not our state good. Let us look for dialogue to resolve our differences, we know it is painful when people shove aside dialogue.

“I have always reminded people that for those who make peaceful change impossible, violent change becomes inevitable. Let us not tread the route and road of violent change, this country is blessed and I believe the founding fathers have seen the greatness and not the misery of Nigeria.”

On the issue of diminishing oil, he said there is a forecast that soon nobody will trade on oil, therefore while the oil lasts, just 13 percent is given to host communities and 87 percent taken by the federal government, the people must continue to talk about it.

He called for diversification into other areas of revenue generation not explored and appealed to leaders in the state to support his administration to succeed.

“I will remind us that we have to look into diversification so we can have more development. Let us also play politics according to the rules, and not politics of thumb. I believe if we play according to rules, we will transit from one developing government to another development-oriented government because ultimate power belongs to the people. Let us build strong institutions instead of strong humans, so our institutions can outlive us.

”This is the time we Bayelsans need to exhibit that spirit of oneness and unity shown during the creation of the state.”

(DAILY POST)

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

Published

11 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

11 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

11 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