‘EMPTY BARRELS’ – OTTI DISMISSES UZOR KALU, ORJI, IKPEAZU OPPOSITION GANG-UP. (PHOTO)

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 ‘Empty barrels’ – Otti dismisses Uzor Kalu, Orji, Ikpeazu opposition gang-up Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, has urged Abians to disregard recent remarks by some leaders of the opposition in the state. Governor Otti who was speaking on Saturday at Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Umuoriehi, Umuahia North LGA, during the dedication of the church building, said that those who are gathering against him were the same people that failed to develop the state in the past. Otti was reacting to an alliance formed against his re-election by former Abia governors Orji Uzor Kalu, Theodore Orji and Okezie Ikpeazu. The governor slammed the opposition members for pursuing personal interest above the collective development of Abia, declaring that every gathering they are making against him would collapse. He said, “Pastor Uguru made reference to the noise that you may have been hearing in the last few days. “I want us to just dismiss it as noise, you know, and it’s always the empty barrel that makes...

MADAGASCAR’S PRESIDENT HAS LEFT THE COUNTRY AFTER GEN Z PROTESTS, OFFICIALS SAY (PHOTO).


 Madagascar’s president has left the country after Gen Z protests, officials say


Madagascar’s president has fled the African nation, the head of the opposition and other officials said on Monday, the second time that young protesters have toppled a government in weeks of worldwide Gen Z unrest.


Siteny Randrianasoloniaiko, leader of the opposition in parliament, told Reuters that President Andry Rajoelina left Madagascar on Sunday after units of the army defected and joined the protesters.


“We called the staff of the presidency, and they confirmed that he left the country,” Randrianasoloniaiko said, adding that Rajoelina’s current whereabouts were unknown.


The president’s office, which had earlier said Rajoelina would address the nation at 7 p.m. local time on Monday, did not reply to requests for comment.


'President left on French military plane'


A military source told Reuters that Rajoelina flew out of the country on a French military aircraft on Sunday. French radio RFI said he had struck a deal with President Emmanuel Macron.


The source said that a French Army Casa aircraft landed in Madagascar’s Sainte Marie airport on Sunday. “Five minutes later, a helicopter arrived and transferred its passenger into the Casa,” the source said, adding that Rajoelina was the passenger.


Demonstrations had erupted in the former French colony on September 25 over water and power shortages but quickly escalated into an uprising over broader grievances, including corruption, bad governance and lack of basic services.


The anger mirrors recent protests against ruling elites in countries including Nepal, where the prime minister was forced to resign last month, and Morocco.


'Lost support of army, gendarmerie'


Rajoelina had appeared increasingly isolated after losing the support of CAPSAT, an elite unit which had helped him seize power in a 2009 coup.


CAPSAT joined the protesters over the weekend, saying it refused to fire on them and escorting thousands of demonstrators in the main square of the capital Antananarivo.


It then said it was taking charge of the military and appointed a new army chief, prompting Rajoelina to warn on Sunday of an attempt to seize power in the island nation off the coast of southern Africa.


On Monday, a faction of the paramilitary gendarmerie supporting the protests also took control of the gendarmerie at a formal ceremony in the presence of senior government officials, a Reuters witness said.


The president of the Senate – a focus of public anger during the protests – was relieved of his functions, the Senate said in a statement, and Jean André Ndremanjary was appointed on a temporary basis.


In the absence of a president, the leader of the Senate takes the post until elections are held.

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