Senator Monday Okpebholo has been sworn in as the sixth civilian governor of Edo State since the creation of the state on August 27, 1991. The swearing-in ceremony took place on Tuesday, November 12, at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, the state capital, two months after the All Progressives Congress (APC) clinched the ticket to the Dennis Osadebay House in a keenly contested election.

Okpebholo took his oath of office alongside his running mate Dennis Idahosa.

Present at the swearing-in ceremony were VP Kashim Shettima, Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, Deputy Speaker House of Representatives Benjamin Kalu, Governor Hope Uzodinma, Governor Dapo Abiodun, APC National Chairman Abdullahi Ganduje and others.

Ekwutosblog has gathered that the immediate former Minister of State for Housing and Urban Development, Abdullahi Gwarzo, has revealed that his dismissal by President Bola Tinubu was politically motivated rather than due to any shortcomings in his ministerial performance.

The former minister added that the President should have chosen the 2023 All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Kano State, Nasiru Gawuna, as his replacement.

This follows the appointment of Yusuf Ata as the new minister.

In a State House release on October 23, 2024, Tinubu dismissed Gwarzo along with four others, including the Minister of Women Affairs, Uju-Ken Ohanenye; Minister of Tourism, Lola Ade-John; Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman; and the Minister of Youth Development, Dr Jamila Bio Ibrahim.

However, in an interview with BBC Hausa on Saturday, November 9, 2024, Gwarzo stated, “I was surprised because I wasn’t found guilty of any wrongdoing or poor performance. And I was minister of state, with the senior minister overseeing a large portion of the ministry’s activities.

“Before the announcement, the President had informed me of his decision.

“He said Kano North was overloaded with political officers, hence the need to strike a balance. We gave our advice, but it was ignored. From there, I began to suspect that certain individuals were behind this because, to me, that wasn’t a valid reason.”

The former minister remarked that Gawuna, as the party’s leader in Kano Central, should be considered for the ministerial position.

“If the ministerial slot is indeed meant for Kano Central, we have our 2023 governorship candidate, who is also our leader in Kano Central. Why not consider giving him the position?

“Gawuna should be offered the role first, unless he declines, in which case it could be given to someone else.

“All other candidates from Plateau and Zamfara states who contested for the governorships were appointed to positions,” Gwarzo added.

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Slovakia has suggested that reducing aid to Ukraine could be a pathway to resolving the conflict, which is soon to enter its third year.

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico argued that U.S. military assistance should be scaled back to encourage both sides to negotiate at the table.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Washington has provided over 200 billion dollars in military aid and recently committed an additional 90 billion dollars to Kyiv.

In a local television interview, Robert Fico expressed skepticism about this ongoing assistance, stating that it has not led to any concrete results. Previously, the Slovak leader asserted that Ukraine would not be able to join NATO as long as he is in office.

However, Robert Fico has voiced no objections to Ukraine’s potential membership in the European Union.

Slovakia joined NATO in 2004, alongside Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.