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Urhobo, Isoko Ex-agitators Team Up, Inaugurate Exco

Published

4 years ago

September 28, 2021

With the aim of enlarging the frontier of members and the betterment of the Niger Delta region, ex-Agitators of Urhobo and Isoko extractions in Delta State have united to form a common front in the interest of all members of Phase 1, 2, and 3 under the Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, of the Federal Government.

The group, who gathered in Ughelli, the traditional headquarters of Urhobo nation for a brainstorming session over the weekend among other far-reaching decisions, sued for peace among members.

They noted that only a united body like they have formed can achieve goals of attracting development and human growth to the Delta region.

Members were drawn from among what the organisers described as dogged ex-agitators who had remained tenacious in their onerous desire for a better region and people.

The group inaugurated new executive members to steer its affairs in their drive for freedom and emancipation of the region and also to bring pressure to bear on both the PAP and members to activate the phase 3 ex-agitators to make members more formidably vibrant in the system of things.

Pointedly, the group decried what it called neglect of the phase 3 group in both the politics and administration of the Amnesty Programme and called for unity of purpose and togetherness by closing ranks to work and achieve glory together as a family.

During the parley, different speakers had raised issues touching on the neglect and undercurrent boardering on rumour-mongering, backbiting, and morbid gossip which it noted had impeded progress among phase 3 ex-warriors.

They, however, all all agreed to work together to change the trend of things for the best interest of members.

Recognition for ex-agitators, the Urhobo and Isoko group has been lopsided as it vowed to reinforce cohesiveness among former warriors of both extractions across divides to balance and whittle down ethnic dominance of those who see Amnesty Programme as their exclusive preserve adding the programme is for all and recognition should even across divides.

The keynote speaker at the event, Eshanekpe Israel, a.ka. Akpodoro, who was appointed the Chairman to the Board of Trustee, BoT of the group emphasised the need by Phase 3 ex-agitators to keep and maintain peaceful disposition at all times.

He vowed to double his efforts at repositioning and setting the group on the path of progress capable of thrusting it to the limelight and ensure that members are developed into imbibing better understanding of who they are and thereby cut down on mis-demeanours of errant members across phases particularly phase 3.

Headline

Sweden To Charge 18-year-old Over IS Terror Plot

Published

1 hour ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The Swedish Prosecution Authority said Tuesday it intended to charge an 18-year-old man for planning a terrorist act in Stockholm on behalf of the Islamic State group.

According to prosecutors, the planning took place between August 2024 and February 2025.

“We believe the purpose of the preparations was to induce serious fear in the population, in the name of the Islamic State. The criminal act could have seriously harmed Sweden,” Deputy Chief Prosecutor Henrik Olin said in a statement.

Prosecutors did not provide details of the plan but said the man was also suspected of “preparation for serious crimes under the act on flammable and explosive goods and training for terrorism”.

Prosecutors said they planned to file the charges on Thursday and that a press conference would be held the same day.

The young man will also be charged alongside a 17-year-old boy with attempted murder in Germany in August 2024.

Both of them are also suspected of “participation in a terrorist organisation,” according to the statement.

The man was arrested in Stockholm on February 11 and has been in custody since then.

AFP

Headline

US Shutdown Hits 35 Days, Tying Longest In History

Published

1 hour ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

The US government shutdown entered its 35th day on Tuesday, matching a record set during President Donald Trump’s first term, as lawmakers voiced hope over progress behind the scenes to end the dispute.

The federal closure appears almost certain to become the longest in history, with no breakthroughs expected before it goes into its sixth week at midnight — although there were fragile signs in Congress that an off-ramp is closer than ever.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune set the buoyant mood music on Monday when he told reporters he felt “optimistic” that newly energised talks between warring Republicans and Democrats could end in a deal before next week.

The government has been grinding to a halt since Congress failed to pass a bill to keep federal departments and agencies funded past the end of the last financial year on September 30.

“I’ll be honest with you, I don’t think any of us expected that it would drag on this long. We didn’t believe, we couldn’t have imagined,” House Speaker Mike Johnson told a news conference arranged to mark the six-week milestone.

“It’s now tied for the longest shutdown in US history. And we didn’t think we’d have to come in here every single day — day after day after day — and repeat the obvious facts to the American people and to put on display every day what is happening here.”

Some 1.4 million federal workers — from air traffic controllers to park wardens — have been placed on enforced leave without pay or made to work for nothing, while vital welfare programs and even paychecks for active-duty troops are under threat.

Both sides remain dug in over the main sticking point — health care spending.

Democrats say they will only provide votes to end the funding lapse after a deal has been struck to extend expiring insurance subsidies that make health care affordable for millions of Americans.

But Republicans insist they will only address health care once Democrats have voted to switch the lights back on in Washington.

While both sides’ leadership have shown little appetite for compromise, there have been signs of life on the back benches, with a handful of moderate Democrats working to find an escape hatch.

A separate bipartisan group of four centrist House members unveiled a compromise framework Monday for lowering health insurance costs.

Democrats believe that millions of Americans seeing skyrocketing premiums as they enroll onto health insurance programs for next year will pressure Republicans into seeking compromise.

But Trump has held firm on refusing to negotiate, telling CBS News in an interview broadcast Sunday that he would “not be extorted.”

The president has sought to apply his own pressure to force Democrats to cave, by threatening mass layoffs of federal workers and using the shutdown to target progressive priorities.

Last week his administration threatened to cut off a vital aid programme that helps 42 million Americans pay for groceries for the first time in its more than 60-year history, before the move was blocked in court.

And the president has returned to a familiar playbook of demanding the elimination of the Senate filibuster — the 60-vote threshold for passing most legislation — so Republicans can pass government funding themselves.

“Terminate the filibuster now, end the ridiculous shutdown immediately, and then, most importantly, pass every wonderful Republican policy that we have dreamt of for years, but never gotten,” Trump fulminated in an all-caps social media post.

Preserving the filibuster — which senators say protects the voice of the minority — is one of the few issues on which Republicans are willing to defy Trump and radical reform seems highly unlikely.

“The votes aren’t there,” Thune told reporters on Monday.

AFP

Headline

China Backs Nigeria, Warns Against Foreign Interference

Published

2 hours ago

November 4, 2025

Editor

China has urged the international community to respect Nigeria’s sovereignty following a US threat of military action.

The Chinese government reiterated its support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration, commending the government for guiding the country along a development path tailored to its national conditions.

According to a report sourced from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, People’s Republic of China’s website, the Spokesperson for China’s Foreign Ministry, Mao Ning, stated this at a press briefing on Tuesday in Beijing.

She said, “As Nigeria’s strategic partner, China opposes any attempt by foreign powers to use religion or human rights as a pretext to meddle in another country’s internal affairs or impose sanctions and military threats.”

Recently, the US threatened Nigeria with possible military action due to the alleged persecution of Christians in the country.

The United States President, Donald Trump, had threatened to deploy military forces in Nigeria if the alleged genocide against Christians is not stopped in the country.