Author: Editor
Our Reporter, Abuja The Enugu Zonal Directorate of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has secured the conviction and sentencing of two former bankers, Sani Endurance Aferokhe and Hillary Odo, for the criminal diversion of N10.3 million belonging to pensioner-customers of their bank. The convicts were found guilty by Justice A. O. Onovo of the Enugu State High Court sitting in Independence Layout, Enugu. Aferokhe and Odo, former staff of Intercontinental Bank Plc (now Access Bank Plc), were arraigned on January 18, 2016, on a 15-count charge bordering on conspiracy, forgery and stealing. One of the charges, count seven,…
Lawrence Nwimo, Awka A former Majority Leader of the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Humphrey Nsofor, has filed a lawsuit at the High Court of Anambra State, Nnewi Judicial Division, seeking judicial intervention over the alleged unlawful suspension of development approvals in Oraifite, Ekwusigo Local Government Area. The suit, marked HN/409/2025, is against the President-General of the Oraifite Improvement Union (OIU), Mr. Vincent Dike, over a public announcement allegedly issued on September 18, 2025, suspending approvals for new commercial development projects in Oraifite pending the formulation of an “Oraifite Land Use Policy.” According to court documents, the announcement further…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Abia State has been awarded $500,000 (approximately N700 million) for being recognized as the best in Primary Health Care delivery service among South-East states and ranking among the top six nationwide in Nigeria. This peer review award, organized by the Nigeria Governors Forum, was jointly sponsored by UNICEF, the Federal Ministry of Health, the Bill Gates Foundation, and the Dangote Foundation. During a recent press conference in Umuahia following the State Executive Council meeting, Commissioner for Information, Prince Okey Kanu, revealed that over 3,000 patients benefited from the 2025 Global Medical Outreach, which successfully took place from…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Professor Simon Ortuanya, has appointed renowned writer and novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; African Development Bank (AfDB) executive Professor, Kevin Chika Urama; and Professor James Robinson of the University of Chicago; as Visiting Professors of the University. A statement issued by the University said the appointments are part of efforts to reposition UNN on the global academic stage. The appointments were conveyed through official letters dated December 18, 2025, and signed by the Vice-Chancellor. According to the statement, the letters outlined the roles and expectations of the Visiting Professors,…
By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu A lot of wannabes want to flee from Nigeria, but I am very different. The country turns me up and down anyhow such that one would have latched at any opportunity to “Japa” as they call it in the new lingo. Journalism can take one to the end of the world and back in a jiffy. In the Nigerian scheme of things, the journalist is involved in a waka-waka job. It’s cool by me that the added dimension of creative writing makes the travelling to be more comfy. The journalist has a deadline to beat while…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia After nine years of living in darkness, public power supply has been restored to 33 communities in the oil-rich Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State. Residents of the area trooped out in large numbers on Tuesday to welcome Governor Alex Otti, who officially inaugurated the power restoration project. Ukwa West, the only oil-producing local government area in Abia State, had been without electricity for nearly a decade following the vandalisation of power lines supplying the area. The restoration project was executed by the Abia State Government through the Abia State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has vowed to work against President Bola Tinubu’s second-term bid in 2027, expressing regret over his support for the President during the 2023 presidential election. Makinde said his decision to back Tinubu in 2023 had failed to achieve its intended purpose, stressing that he would not support the President again. The governor, who spoke with journalists on Tuesday at the Government House in Ibadan, lamented that Tinubu had not lived up to his promises to fix the country. Makinde also accused the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, of…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia There was jubilation in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, unveiled 20 electric buses introduced by Governor Alex Otti for urban mass transit. At the unveiling ceremony at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, Okonjo-Iweala commended Governor Otti for the environmentally friendly initiative, describing it as a practical response to pollution and climate change. She said the project marked an extraordinary step for Abia State and expressed hope that it would continue to grow from strength to strength. Governor Otti said the initiative symbolised Abia’s journey into…
Our Reporter, Abuja Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has said President Bola Tinubu did not assign the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, to undermine the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but that the former Rivers State governor was running an errand, which nobody sent him. Speaking during a media chat with journalists on Tuesday, Makinde disclosed that he once attended a meeting with President Tinubu, Wike and others where the FCT minister allegedly volunteered to “hold the PDP” for Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election. Makinde said the comment left him stunned and led to a private…
…Questions legitimacy of lawmaking process Our Reporter, Abuja The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has raised serious concerns over the controversies trailing the recently enacted Tax Reform Acts, warning that the developments cast doubt on the integrity and credibility of Nigeria’s lawmaking process. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the President of the NBA, Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, said the disputes surrounding the passage of the laws strike at the core of constitutional governance and threaten the procedural sanctity expected in a democratic society. According to Osigwe, the association considers it imperative that a “comprehensive, open, and transparent investigation” be carried…