Author: Editor
By Owei Lakemfa We may never know what happened. But let me tell you what we know. On Sunday, April 24, 2022, in Owerri, the Imo State capital, there was a traffic snarl and unfortunately, officers of two Federal security agencies, the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, and the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, were caught in it. Given the age-long rivalry among the armed security services, there was an altercation on who will get off the road for the other. Forcing other motorists off the road in traffic is a way the military and security services terrorise the…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia As activities gradually gather momentum for the 2023 polls, major stakeholders in the media have frowned at the concentration of media coverage on only the big political parties and politicians at the expense of the smaller ones. The stakeholders argued that it is a disservice to the country if media attention is only focused on the ruling party and the major opposition parties without giving the minor parties opportunity to be heard. They equally charged media practitioners on objective reporting and investigative journalism, which according to them are very key in strengthening democracy. The stakeholders spoke Sunday…
By Osmund Agbo Two years prior to the 1976 US election, a Gallup poll listing 31 candidates for the Democratic Party presidential nomination did not include a little-known governor of Georgia named Jimmy Carter. Even a year later and after he emerged from a crowded race to win his party’s primary and later the general election with a narrow margin, Mr. Carter’s support among Democrats was abysmally low. But Jimmy Carter was even a better presidential candidate than he was a president, and Ronald Reagan defeated him in a landslide, winning 489 out of 538 electoral votes, ending his one-term colorless…
Chukwudike Ndubeze, Awka A newly established hospital in Anambra State, Dame Irene Okwuosa Memorial Hospital, has given hope to Nigerians suffering from heart-related ailments as it rolled out programmes for life-changing and life-saving medical interventions. This is coming at a time when the people are gasping for breath over the excruciating cost of obtaining high-profile medical surgeries and treatments abroad. The hospital, built by Sir Emeka Okwuosa Foundation is located at Oraifite community in Ekwusigo Local Government Area of Anambra State. According to the management, the hospital will offer free open-heart surgery and treatments to people with heart-related ailments. The…
Michael Onwuka, Enugu The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called on the Federal Government to address the industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in order to halt the collapse of public universities in the country. The main opposition party in the country made the appeal in its Workers’ Day goodwill message signed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Debo Ologunagba. Ologunagba said that it was sad that instead of improving on the welfare of the people, the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government had continued to renege on its promises for improved workers’ welfare. “The…
Michael Onwuka, Enugu Workers in Enugu State government parastatals, agencies and departments were on all-black attire on Sunday during the Workers’ Day celebration in the state. Ikengaonline reports that the workers marched with a banner captioned ‘Black May Day for Parastatals in Enugu: Nonpayment of new minimum wage, Long Denials of Retirement Benefits’ in protest of the nonpayment of the N30, 000 minimum wage to them. Recall that the state government had in February 2020 begun the implementation of the new wage. However, only workers in core ministries are receiving the minimum wage, leaving out their counterparts in government agencies…
By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu In the pantheon of current politicians in Nigeria, the most successful of them all seem to come from generous families with deep pockets and family trust funds. Or do they? Ahead of the country’s 2023 general elections, both of Nigeria’s leading parties – the ruling All Progressive’s Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) – have placed the country at the disposal of these generously monied political specimens, who are ready to go bidding for the rights to bring the country under the control of their non-existent family trusts of unknown provenance. To advance their…
Stephen Ukandu, News Features Editor The main opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has clarified that any of its card-carrying and financially up-to-date member does not need any other authentication to be eligible to participate in the congresses to elect the three-man ad-hoc delegates that would participate in the party’s primaries. This is contained in a press statement issued Saturday in Abuja, by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Hon. Debo Ologunagba. According to the statement, once a member has a genuine membership card of the party duly signed by the party’s National Chairman or Secretary, such a member does not need…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has given reasons why it suspended its three-man delegates election for Abia State, which was earlier scheduled for today (Saturday). National Organising Secretary of the PDP, Hon. Umar Bature, cited the court order restraining the party from conducting the exercise as reason for the suspension. Bature who spoke with our Correspondent on the telephone, however, said that the national leadership of the party took the action to enable it set up a panel to conduct the exercise on a later date. The National Organising Secretary said that the vacation of the court…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Minister of State for Mines and Steel Development, Dr Uchechukwu Ogah, has vowed to “make Abia work again,” if voted into power as Governor in 2023. Ogah made the vow at the state secretariat of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Umuahia while formally declaring for the governorship race. The oil magnet who said that Abia is endowed with abundant human and material resources, regretted that lack of vision and mismanagement were the reasons the state had not witnessed much progress. He promised to bring his wealth of experiences and success stories both in the private and…