Tag: Nigeria

 

Hamas’ armed wing has announced it will begin executing an Israeli civilian captive in return for any new Israeli bombing of civilian houses without pre-warning.

Abu Obaida, spokesperson for Hamas’ armed wing, the IQB, said they have been acting in accordance with Islamic instructions by keeping Israeli captives safe.

 

‘We have decided to put an end to this and as of now, we declare that any targeting of our people in their homes without prior warning will be regrettably faced with the execution of one the hostages of civilians we are holding,’ he said.

 

Gaza City has been devastated by airstrikes today in response to the surprise attack launched by Hamas on Saturday.

In a video statement Monday, Israel’s foreign minister warned Hamas against harming any of the hostages who were taken from Israel and being held in Gaza.

 

Eli Cohen said Israel was committed to bringing the hostages home ‘in the spirit of mutual responsibility.’

‘We demand Hamas not to harm any of the hostages, Cohen said. ‘This war crime will not be forgiven,’ he added.

Dozens of people are believed to have been taken hostage in Israel by Hamas fighters since the weekend.

 

They are now reportedly being held in locations across Gaza.

The Israel Defense Forces announced on October 9 it had carried out more than 500 strikes on targets across the Gaza Strip overnight.

 

Palestinian officials said almost 500 people were killed, including 91 children, and over 2,700 were injured.

 

This is after Israel had declared a ‘complete siege’ on Gaza earlier today, ensuring ‘no electricity, no food, no fuel’ for the 2.3mn people living in the Gaza Strip.

The country’s defence minister said earlier today: ‘We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly.’

 

The EU also said today it would review all of its development funding to the Palestinian territories in response to Hamas’ attack on Israel. 
 

Despite its debt burden, Enugu State Governor, Dr Peter Mbah is seeking the approval of the State House of Assembly to raise the sum of N170 billion in loans.

 

If granted, it will raise the total debt burden of the state to over N300 billion, Saharareporters can report.

 

In an order paper of the House of Assembly for Monday, October 9, 2023, which was obtained by SaharaReporters, the Assembly members were informed about a message from Governor Mbah, requesting approval for the loan facility.

 

According to the memo, a breakdown of the loan shows that Governor Mbah wants N100 billion in bank guarantees, an N10 billion term loan, another N10 billion overdraft, and an N50 billion credit facility.

 

Although the memo did not indicate the purpose of the loan, it is noteworthy that the credit facilities being demanded by Governor Mbah are N3.38 billion higher than the entire budget presented by former Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi for the entire 2023 fiscal year.

 

This also comes four weeks after the House of Assembly approved the sum of N58 billion supplementary budget for the governor – on September 12, 2023.

 

Several reports on September 18, 2023, claimed that Governor Mbah was planning to raise the sum of N50 billion from the bond market.

 

It is also not clear if the N50 billion bonds were floated to finance the N58 billion supplementary budget already approved, or whether it is going to be used as part of the financing for the N170 billion fresh loans being sought.

 

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data released in February 2023 ranked Enugu State as the 7th most indebted state in the federation with a total of $123.02 million (N167 billion) of external debts.

 

Meanwhile, some stakeholders in Enugu State are worried about the rising debt profile of the state, especially as there are no signs of development projects on the ground to justify all the monies received by the government since it came into office on May 29, 2023.

 

Apart from the N5 billion fuel subsidy palliative, which the government has yet to justify how it was spent, the state government has received more than N40 billion through federal allocations since June 2023.

But apart from announcements of projects it intends to embark upon, there has been nothing on the ground to indicate the projects to which the monies were allocated.

 

Governor Mbah has talked about increasing the state’s revenue from its current $4 billion (N3.8 trillion) to $30 billion (N28.5 trillion) in eight years.

 

In an interview published in This Day newspapers on September 4, 2023, Governor Mbah said the revenue growth was going to be anchored on growing the private sector.

 

“You would recall that we got the mandate of the Enugu people entrusted into our hands based on all the promises that we made. One of them was to grow the economy from $4 billion to $30 billion. And we also said to them that that growth will be driven by the private sector, it will be enabled by the government, but driven by the private sector.

 

“We were deliberate because we knew that for us to tackle unemployment and generate wealth, we needed private sector investments. It is not going to come from the public sector. And for the private sector to invest, they also need the government to do certain things,” the governor had said.

 

With a minimum total external debt of N300 billion, Enugu State appears to be too indebted to be attractive to any private sector investment.

A young Israeli were murdered by Hamas terrorists in their home in Israel after they managed to save their 10-month-old twin babies from the same tragic fate by hiding them in a hidden shelter.

 

 

Itay and Hadar Berdichevsky, both 30, quickly reacted when they heard the gunmen trying to smash down their front door, 

 

 

The terrified parents frantically bundled their two babies into a hidden shelter moments before the Hamas terrorists stormed into their home, the Israeli ambassador to Colombia Gali Dagan revealed.

 

 

Itay and Hadar ‘bravely fought’ the gunmen before they were shot and killed during their assault on Israel, which has left more than 700 Israelis dead.

 

 

Luckily, their two babies were found and rescued by Israeli soldiers after being left alone for more than 12 hours, Dagan said, hailing the couple as ‘heroes’ who did ‘everything they could to save their children’. 

 

 

‘They hid their 10-month-old twin children in the shelter while terrorists infiltrated their home,’ Dagan wrote on Twitter. ‘Itay and Hadar were brutally murdered after bravely fighting the terrorists.

 

 

“The babies were left alone for more than 12 hours until they were rescued. Imagine the horror. Two terrified parents doing everything they can to save their children, who are now orphaned. Blessed be the memory of these heroes.’’

 

 

Itay and Hadar are now among the more than 700 Israelis who have been killed by Hamas terrorists, after the gunmen launched a surprise assault on Israel at the weekend. 

 

An Ondo State socio-political group, Ondo Redemption Front (ORF), has called on the State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu to address the state or resign from his position if he is no longer medically fit to continue to govern the state.

The group which stated this on Monday during a press conference held in Ondo State, decried the lack of governance at the executive level in the state and appealed to the House of Assembly to foster cohesion instead of allowing itself to be used as a tool for destabilisation and distraction by the purported impeachment plan of the deputy governor of the state, Lucky Aiyedatiwa.

ORF in the release by its Chairman, Ayodeji Ologun, reminded the people of the state that at such critical time in the history of the state, what was urgently needed were healing, mutual trust and collective advancement of the delivery of good governance.

According to the group in a conference text made available to SaharaReporters, “It is visible to the blind and audible to the deaf, the state of comatose that Ondo State has found herself in recent time and regrettably so because she used to be the shining star of the west and a reference point in good governance and social welfare of the citizens. Governance has suddenly taken flight, leaving the people without leadership, direction or representation in all forms.

“We condemn the absence of leadership and representation by the Ondo State hierarchy and demand that henceforth, individuals so elected should be allowed to perform their democratic duties as provided for by the laws of the land. We are a people of pride and a voice. We can not be silenced to the advantage of a few.

“It has been thirty one full days that Governor Akeredolu was “smuggled” into Nigeria after about initial four months of absence from not only his duty but the state. The purported return of the Governor established an aberration in history whereby state duties were transferred to personal residence of the governor where he met with the House of assembly members of the state and purportedly transmitted a letter notifying the assembly of his return and resumption of duty.

“Since the purported resumption of duty, not only has the Governor been seen in any public gathering, he has failed to carry out any state function even in the least, an address to the good people of the state. This leaves so much to be desired and further reinstate the fact that the Governor is unwell and his handlers are only marauding to give the people of the state the true status of the health of their governor.

“While we understand the fallibility of men and the sovereignty of God in matters of health, there is a duty to perform and only the physically fit as provided for by the constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria can perform such duty and one, the health of Akeredolu is being doubted.

“The secrecy by which the return and whereabouts of Governor Akeredolu have been shrouded call for concern and suspicion and we dare say that we can’t afford to again have a repeat of the Yaradua scenario where the nation was in the dark of the living or otherwise of the then president. The life of a public office holder should be a transparent one and the people of the state deserve to know the true state of the health of Mr. Governor.

“The people and by the virtue of this press conference are demanding an address by the Governor to the people of the state to clear the controversy surrounding the state of his health and his capability to continue to lead the state.

“We state and unequivocally too, that should the governor fail to address the state in a couple of days, we call for his resignation and in the alternative, the State House of Assembly is hereby called upon to immediately constitute a medical board comprising qualified and unbiased professionals and experts who can provide an impartial assessment of the Governor’s health status and the findings of which should be made public as provided for by the law and put to rest any speculation and should the Governor be found incapable of the discharge of the duties of his office, the provision of the law should take its course.”