Author: Editor

 By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu It is incumbent on me now to write on the once-so-popular Pacesetters Series.  Many of us may have scoffed at the Pacesetters initially, but I have to admit here that the series did a world of good to the reading culture in Nigeria. Many secondary school boys and girls swore by the Pacesetters series! Take it from me here that it’s the absence of thrilling literature that has made the young ones to take to mind-bending drugs like Codeine and Tramadol! Instead of having reefers in their jeans back-pockets back then, the boys had Pacesetters novels tucked…

Our Reporter, Abuja The Corruption Anonymous  Whistleblowing platform is expected to provide opportunities to report corruption and rekindle interests in the Federal Government’s Whistleblower Policy. This was stated Thursday  by the Minister of Finance, Dr, Zainab Ahmed, at the official launch of CORA whistleblowing platform, a good governance  initiative of African Centre for Media and Information Literacy (AFRICMIL) in conjunction with the Yar’Adua Foundation at the Shehu Musa Yar’ Adua Centre in Abuja. The minister who was represented by the Permanent Secretary (Special Duties), Aliyu Shehu Shikafi, said that at the inception there was widespread enthusiasm for the whistleblower policy…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, has vowed to investigate the viral video of a stock of Permanent Voter’s Cards, PVCs, buried in the compound of a highly-placed personality. INEC, in a strongly-worded press statement, Thursday, by its National Commissioner and Chairman Information and Voter Education Committee, Festus Okoye, threatened severe penalty for anyone behind such unpatriotic act. The electoral umpire which said it had commenced investigation into the criminal act, urged anyone who found the stock to take it to the nearest INEC office. Below is a full text of the statement posted on INEC Twitter…

Lawrence Nwimo, Awka The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has raised alarm that enemies of the struggle for Biafra restoration, have hatched plans to assassinate the British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Catriona Laing, on South-East soil and blame it on the operatives of Eastern Security Network, ESN, in their desperation to instigate Britain against Biafra. The pro-Biafra movement, therefore, advised the British High Commissioner to cancel her planned visit to the South-East, to frustrate the wicked plot. The alarm was contained in a statement  by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, on Thursday. IPOB, in the statement,  claimed it got the information through…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The police, Thursday, folied an attempt by robbers to rob customers of one of the new generation banks located on Bank Road near Government House Umuahia. A police personnel and two civilians were reportedly wounded in an exchange of fire that ensued between the robbers and the police. The robbers according to a police source were said to have opened fire at the police team who arrived the scene of the robbery following a distress call. The robbers were said to have abandoned their Toyota car and fled in another car they snatched from a motorist at…

By Rudolf Ogoo Okonkwo While you were sleeping or staying up searching for the certificates of men angling to be your president, a changing moment in human history happened. It was just how a similar thing occurred some two thousand years ago when a baby was born in Bethlehem, and nobody in your hometown knew about it. Nobody took a selfie with the baby and posted it on social media. Not even the three wise men that visited him from the East bothered to do so. Thanks to Webb Space Telescope, we may soon see the picture of that moment and…

Michael Onwuka, Enugu The Founder, Women Aide Collective (WACOL), Prof. Joy Ezilo, says no fewer than 450 cases of violence against women were reported to the organisation between January and June 2022. Ezilo disclosed this on Thursday in Enugu while presenting the bi-annual report of the organisation. She said that the nature of the cases reported included rape, defilement, incest, domestic violence, child custody/neglect and maintenance. Others are denial of inheritance, harmful widowhood practices, malicious damage to property, forceful ejection, abandonment of spouses and early/forced marriage. She also said that a significant number of complaints were reported by male victims who…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Director MacArthur Foundation, Nigeria, Dr. Kole Shettima, has said that democracy cannot work in Nigeria without vibrant sub-national media. Shettima, represented by the Deputy Director of the Foundation, Dr. Oladayo Olaide, stated this in a remark during the official launch of C-Media by the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism, WSCIJ, on Wednesday. According to him, it is practically impossible to have a democracy that can deliver dividends without strong sub-national media platforms that can hold state and local governments accountable, as well as provide a platform for the voiceless in the local communities to be heard.…

Lawrence Nwimo, Awka A Coalition made up of 28 support groups of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has rejected the choice of Senator Kashim Shettima, as the Vice-Presidential candidate of the party for the 2023 Presidential election. The APC Presidential Candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, recently announced former governor of Borno State, Senator Kashim Shettima as his running mate. However, the coalitions, Wednesday, rejected the nomination in a joint statement signed by their leaders. They demanded the nomination of a young vice presidential candidate, Dr Ibrahim Bello Dauda, and urged the party leadership to hearken to their voice to reaffirm the much touted promise…

Lawrence Nwimo, Awka The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has responded to Islamic scholar, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi’s claim that IPOB’s agitation has slowed down after Peter Obi was nominated for President by the Labour Party. IPOB in a statement issued on Wednesday by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, reiterated its position, that its primary goal was to actualize a sovereign state of Biafra. The pro-Biafra movement said it had nothing to do with Peter Obi or Nigerian politics. Gumi, had posted on Facebook that, “The IPOB rhetoric and loud voice of Biafra agitations have muffled out with the emergence of Peter Obi…