Author: Editor
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia As the cold war between Governor Alex Otti and the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, continues to simmer, the Abia State Liaison Officer at the National Assembly, Chief Iheanyi Chinasa, has faulted the Deputy Speaker for demanding accountability over a $263.8 million loan facility obtained by the state government. The facility was secured for the Abia State Integrated Infrastructural Development Project (ABSIID)—an initiative aimed at boosting infrastructural development across the state. According to Chief Chinasa, the loan was sourced from a consortium of three financial institutions: the Islamic Development Bank ($125…
Lawrence Ndubeze, Awka The Chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD), Anambra State Chapter, Comrade Ugochukwu Okeke, has disclosed that no fewer than 1,000 persons with disabilities (PWDs) are ready to participate in the November 8 governorship election in the state. Okeke made this known on Saturday during the JONAPWD quarterly meeting held at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church, Amawbia, in Awka South Local Government Area. According to him, members of the association across the state have been sensitized and trained to not only vote correctly but also to participate actively in the entire electoral process. “We…
By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu The ritual of the “Call to Bar” is the formal ceremony for the admission of new entrants into Nigeria’s legal profession. The responsibility for administering it resides in the Body of Benchers (BoB), a statutory entity described by law as “a body of legal practitioners of the highest distinction in the legal profession in Nigeria.” The solemnity of the Call to Bar is guaranteed by the presence of members of the BoB who administer the ceremony resplendent in ceremonial gowns supposed to testify to their high distinction in matters legal. The criteria for the determination of…
Lawrence Ndubeze, Awka Indigenes of Enugwu-Agidi community in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State have petitioned Governor Chukwuma Soludo to intervene in the community’s lingering leadership crisis. In an open letter addressed to the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Tony-Collins Nwabunwanne, a community leader, Dr. Prince Chinedu Ikeanyi, accused the President General (PG), Mr. Ebuka Onuorah, of tyranny, violence, and lawlessness. Ikeanyi, a son of the late traditional ruler, HRH Igwe Davison-Okafor Ikeanyi (Okpalariam II), alleged that Onuorah’s administration had desecrated the community’s traditional institutions and introduced acts of violence, land grabbing, and disruption of burial…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Igbo women, under the aegis of the Igbo Women Assembly (IWA), have declared their full support for the October 20 nationwide protest championed by rights activist Omoyele Sowore for the release of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. In a statement on Saturday, the National President of IWA, Lolo Nneka Chimezie, announced the group’s “full and total support” for the initiative, describing it as “a step in the right direction.” The pan-Igbo women’s group, which has been vocal about Kanu’s continued detention, said it would mobilize women across Igboland to join the protest. IWA urged all Nigerians—irrespective of tribe, religion,…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu The Chairman of Public Affairs Analysts in Enugu State, Dr. Ambrose Igboke, has commended Nigerian journalists for their steadfast role as watchdogs of society. Dr. Igboke made the commendation during a live television programme on Afia TV, while reacting to the forgery allegations leveled against Chief Uche Nnaji, former Minister of Science, Technology, and Innovation. It will be recalled that Premium Times recently reported that the former minister allegedly forged his degree certificate from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), as well as his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) discharge certificate — a revelation that eventually led…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu Wife of the Enugu State Governor, Mrs. Nkechinyere Mbah, has reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to creating an enabling environment for girls to become leaders of change through educational and economic empowerment. Speaking at an event marking the 2025 International Day of the Girl Child held at the International Conference Centre, Enugu, Mrs. Mbah said the government was establishing modern Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges to equip girls with market-relevant skills that would make them self-reliant and economically independent. The event, themed “The Girl I Am, the Change I Lead: Girls on the Frontlines…
By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo Poor Umahi. Clearly, his education failed him. None of the distinguished professors at the “Ivory League” institutions he claims to have attended ever told him that a journalist questioning a public official carries the weight of 200 million Nigerians behind that question.” For a Nigerian politician, David Umahi isn’t big. He isn’t fat. But he is still an idiot. Rufai Oseni finally—and decisively—flogged him in public on Arise TV. It took a journalist with real courage to tell Umahi what many have long known: that he has been full of himself ever since he stumbled into Nigeria’s…
By Owei Lakemfa As the Gaza War entered its third year on October 7, 2025, and multinational peace negotiators gathered in Egypt to panel-beat a peace agreement, Palestinian rallies rocked New York. The rallies took on added importance as the city’s November 4, 2025 elections may be determined by the voters position on the genocide. A few years ago, it would have been unthinkable that Americans, who used to believe that the world rotated round them, would hold local elections whose outcome may be determined by where candidates stand on a foreign issue. But no conscious humans can ignore the…
By Azu Ishiekwene The grave is never satisfied, but other things compete with it for insatiability. I can’t help feeling that some members of Nigeria’s National Assembly will vie for the top place of never enough with the grave, water and fire. Enough is a stranger to them. What happens in these chambers in Abuja, in the name of the people, only God knows. That’s not to suggest that other arms of government are significantly better. But when we reach the point where we have to decide whose greed is eating us more, then we’re in trouble. Last week, the…