Author: Editor
Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki At least 24 million Nigerians are currently living with sight loss, the Vice Chancellor of David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences (DUFUHS), Uburu, Prof. Jesse Uneke, has revealed. Uneke, a Professor of Medical Parasitology and Health Policy/Health Systems, disclosed this during a press briefing at the unveiling of the university’s Free Eye Care Initiative and Eye Research Programme at the Institute for Eye Health and Visual Sciences Research (IEHVSR) in Ebonyi State. Citing findings from the Nigeria National Blindness and Visual Impairment Survey, he said about 4.2% of Nigerians above 40 years are blind, while an…
Our Reporter, Abuja Former Akwa Ibom State governor, Obong Victor Attah, has accused some judges of selling themselves cheap to politicians and blamed Nigeria’s judiciary and legislature for weakening their own independence. Speaking in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Thursday, Attah said: “You talk about these institutions having been weakened. Who weakened them? They weakened themselves by their actions.” The elder statesman also faulted the judiciary for what he described as inconsistent rulings that erode public trust, citing the Supreme Court’s judgment on the boundary dispute between Akwa Ibom and the Federal Government as an example. He argued that…
…Accuses Whitemen of destroying Africa’s entrepreneurship system Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Methodist Archbishop of Aba Diocese, the Most Rev. Godfrey Agupusi, has decried the rot and falling standard of education in Nigeria. He also accused Whitemen of distorting Africa’s education system, which originally focused on ability and skills. The Archbishop, who stated this during a press conference in Aba, contended that placing certificates above ability and skills was defective. Rev. Agupusi, who spoke on the forthcoming silver jubilee of the Methodist High School, Aba, said the school is prioritizing skills acquisition and vocational studies to make its products self-reliant. The…
Our Reporter, New York The World Igbo Congress (WIC) is on course to establish an Igbo Federal Credit Union in the United States. At its convention held penultimate weekend at the Marriott Hotel in Quincy, Massachusetts, the diaspora advocacy group successfully raised the seed money required to register the bank. Delivering the keynote address, Chief Gaius Chibueze, CEO of Voice of the East Radio and TV in Enugu, urged young Igbo men and women born abroad to actively participate in WIC’s activities. “We are planting this (bank) for your own good,” he said. “Don’t just say it is for old…
Our Reporter, Abuja The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has raised fresh concerns over the growing menace of premature political campaigns in the country, warning that the trend undermines the integrity of elections, distorts fair competition, and erodes public confidence in the electoral system. The alarm was sounded on Wednesday at a one-day stakeholders’ roundtable on premature political campaigns, convened by The Electoral Institute (TEI), the research and training arm of INEC, at its headquarters in Abuja. Chairman of the TEI Board, Prof. Abdullahi Abdu Zuru, in his welcome address, said the dialogue was aimed at interrogating what he described…
Our Reporter, Abuja Labour Party governorship candidate in Anambra State, Dr. George Moghalu, has condemned the killing of four citizens, including a pregnant woman, at Onitsha Main Market, allegedly by operatives of the OCHA Brigade. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Moghalu described the incident as a tragic reflection of the worsening state of insecurity in Anambra under the present administration. “I received with deep shock and profound sadness the heartbreaking news of the killing of four innocent citizens, including a pregnant woman, at the Onitsha Main Market, Emeka Offor Plaza axis, allegedly by operatives of the government-backed OCHA Brigade,”…
By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu The plan was that I should come in daytime, but I arrived at night. It was already completely dark when I dropped off from the interstate bus under the Osisioma flyover at the outskirts of Aba township. Then I took a motorbike for a five-minute ride to the gate of Geometric Power Limited, Aba, Abia State. The genial man at the gate asked me to make a phone call to his leader as I had told him I had his number. The answer from the other end was so welcoming: “Maxim, so you are here now.…
Our Reporter, Abuja Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi, and Anambra State Governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, have condemned the fatal shooting of traders in Onitsha by operatives of the Operation Clean and Healthy Anambra (OCHA) Brigade, which reportedly claimed the life of a pregnant woman. Obi, in a statement, described the development as a tragic reflection of the dangers posed by poorly regulated state-backed security outfits. He warned that rather than mitigating insecurity, such groups were becoming a source of fear and oppression for already vulnerable citizens. “At a time when our nation is grappling…
Our Reporter, Abuja Former Minister of Education and good governance advocate, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has condemned the Nigerian Senate over the continued suspension of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, describing it as “an existential threat to constitutional democracy.” In a memo titled “The Senate’s Constitutional Overreach in the Case of Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan” shared via her verified X account on Wednesday, Ezekwesili warned that democracy “dies when laws become weapons and lawmakers become serial lawbreakers.” Senator Akpoti-Uduaghan, representing Kogi Central, was suspended on March 6, 2025, after she accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio of sexual harassment. Six months later, the suspension remains…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Abia State Government has re-stated its commitment to good governance and social welfare protection, particularly for vulnerable groups. Commissioner for Poverty Alleviation and Social Protection in the state, Mrs. Ngozi Blessings Felix, stated this in Umuahia, the state capital, on Tuesday during a one-day workshop for social protection capacity needs assessment in Nigeria. The Commissioner, who was represented by Mr. Obinna Uzuegbu, the ministry’s Social Policy Officer and Technical Assistant on Donor-Funded Programmes, said: “Abia is poised to design programmes to advance social protection and effectively implement them.” She commended the International Labour Organization (ILO), UNICEF, the…