The All Progressives Congress in Osun State has argued that the economic crisis ravaging millions of Nigerians was not the handiwork of the party at the centre.

A former Speaker, Osun State House of Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, made this known Monday.

He said the APC-led Federal Government inherited the hardship in the country which has been in existence for years.

Owoeye, a chieftain of APC in the state was addressing a press conference in Osogbo, capital of Osun State on the activities lined up to mark the 70th birthday anniversary of the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola.

Fielding questions from journalists on whether the decision of Oyetola to distribute raw food items was to partly address the hunger allegedly caused by the incumbent administration in the country, Owoeye said the former governor of Osun State would be giving out food to identify with the less privileged and also as a way of appreciating God’s mercy in his life.

He disagreed that the ruling APC plunged the nation into economic woes, saying the current situation dated many years back.

“I want you to know that the present situation in Nigeria was not caused by the APC. It has been there for ages. And for our leader to celebrate the 70th birthday at this time is a way to identify himself with the less privileged people across the state. Giving out foods is not new, it is a way to let you know that our leader, our amiable Honourable Minister for Marine and Blue Economy is a lover of the masses. For him to deem it fit to distribute food for the less privileged is a way of identifying himself with other people, not only the first class elites.

“Those who are close to our principal (Oyetola) will agree with me that Oyetola is a person that considers others. So, with his magnanimity, he believes that sharing food is a way to celebrate God’s mercy in his life and he is doing this by himself to distribute food across the state. The food will be taken to churches, mosques and accredited centers across the state. So, he is doing it by himself. And as of now, there is no way we can categorically say that this is the number of the people that will benefit but I know they are in thousands,” the former lawmaker said.

While disclosing that the Minister would be carrying out medical outreach for about 5,000 residents of the state as part of activities marking his birthday, Owoeye said Osun APC would be celebrating the Minister moderately.

He said, “As far as the medical outreach is concerned, our target is 1,000 patients per centre. The four-day medical outreach is to treat the vulnerable and the needy beginning from Osogbo on Tuesday, 24th September, 2024 at Tinubu/Shettima Campaign Office at 9:00am while the medical outreach train would move to Ilesa on Wednesday 25th, September, 2024 starting from 9:00am.

“The people of Iwo would have the opportunity to patronize the medical outreach programme on Thursday 26th September, 2024 at 9:00am while it would be the turn of the people of Iragbiji to have an access to the medical outreach on  Friday 26th September, 2024 with the climax of the programme in Ilesa with surgery on Saturday 28th September, 2024.

“We shall be distributing raw food items to the less-privileged members of the society at selected mosques, churches and other accredited centres across the state on Friday 27th September and Sunday 28th September, 2024.

“Finally, the 70th birthday celebration anniversary grand finale will hold in Iragbiji with a lecture and prayer session at the Iragbiji residence of the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.”

Israel stepped up air strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon and told civilians in the south to leave areas near where the group operates, as hostilities between the two sides intensified.

Israel targeted several towns on Monday including Tyre and Bint Jbeil in the south, Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported, while the northern Jbeil reported its first missile hit — some 170 kilometers (106 miles) from the border. The Lebanese Health Ministry said at least one person was killed and six were injured in an air strike on the eastern town of Hermel.

In northern Israel, hundreds of thousands of people rushed to bomb shelters after 150 projectiles were fired. Hezbollah has access to a new type of rocket that can reach as far as 100 kilometers and carry 170 kilograms of explosives in its warhead, the group said on its Telegram channel over the weekend.

Israel is looking to destroy Hezbollah’s launchers, missiles and rockets to degrade the Iran-backed group’s military capabilities and is focusing on an aerial campaign for now, an Israeli military official said, indicating a ground invasion isn’t imminent. The person asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information.

The two sides have been exchanging cross-border rocket fire almost daily since Israel’s war with Hamas erupted last October, but the conflict has stepped up a level in the past week. The US is urging restraint and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has spoken to Israeli counterpart Yoav Gallant several times in recent days, stressing “the importance of achieving a diplomatic solution,” the Pentagon said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he shares that objective, but such efforts have failed to stop Hezbollah’s attacks. His cabinet has made the return of tens of thousands of displaced civilians a primary war objective, while Gallant has indicated a shift of focus north from the battlegrounds of Gaza.

Netanyahu is scheduled to address the United Nations General Assembly at its summit in New York this week, though his travel itinerary hasn’t yet been published.

The escalation in fighting, which until last week remained within the so-called rules of engagement, came after Hezbollah and Lebanon blamed Israel for blowing up thousands of pagers and walkie talkies, mostly used by members of the group, in a two-day operation in Lebanon that killed at least 39 people, including civilians and children, and injured thousands.

Israel’s Increasingly Focused On the Threat of Hezbollah

Hezbollah said the attack was a major blow to its security and vowed to respond.

On Friday, Israel killed a top Hezbollah commander in an air strike on a building in Beirut’s southern suburbs, where the group has a strong presence. The bombing killed many other fighters and senior individuals who local media said were in a meeting. The death toll from the air strike rose to 52 and Civil Defense teams are still searching for survivors, according to health officials.

Civilians in the south of Lebanon should “immediately move out of harm’s way,” a spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces, Daniel Hagari, said in a briefing on Monday. Residents of some villages reported they received phone calls urging them to leave their homes.

Lebanon’s Information Minister Ziyad Makari received a similar call to evacuate the building he was in.

Hagari said it’s possible Hamas chief Yahya Sinwar has been wounded or killed in air strikes on Gaza, after local media reported he has recently been incommunicado.

“Regarding what has surfaced over the last day about Sinwar, I do not rule it out nor do I confirm it,” he said.

The Israeli government says Sinwar masterminded the Oct. 7 attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing war in Gaza. Last month, he was promoted to succeed the group’s political head, Ismail Haniyeh, who was assassinated in Tehran, and is now the point-man for long-running truce talks mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt.

Hezbollah started firing on Israel on Oct. 8 in solidarity with Hamas. Both groups are backed by Iran and designated as terrorist organizations by the US.