Author: Editor
By Onwubiko Agozino Do you agree with anything or everything that Wole Soyinka said about the embarrassingly organised and badly marred 2023 elections in Nigeria in which he singled out one party for apparently undeserved harsh words? Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie expressed her disagreement with the ‘strong words’ that Soyinka used in describing one of the candidates, but Adichie did not point out if there is any area of agreement with Soyinka. Baba Sho done old now. But no matter what he says, he will remain a hero for many; and whatever he says matters to most. We may not always…
By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu Mbabai, the village where Tarnongo Mike Utsaha was buried on 1 April, 2023, used to be part of the municipality of Makurdi, the capital of Benue State. It only became part of Guma Local Government Area in Benue North-West in 1987. Current governor of Benue State, Samuel Ortom, also comes from Guma. The LGA derives its name from River Guma, which empties into the River Benue, part of a network of fresh water sources that have historically defined that part of Nigeria as the nation’s food basket. With arable land drained by an abundance of freshwater sources…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu No fewer than sixty taekwondo athletes of various categories are currently participating in an ongoing taekwondo grading programme at the Indoor Sports Complex of the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu. The seven-day grading programme is headed and supervised by Taekwondo Grandmaster, Dennis Ani, and assisted by other taekwondo instructors within the country. Speaking with newsmen after the official commencement on Saturday, the Chairman of Enugu State Taekwondo Association, Ebere Amaraizu, said that the grading in taekwondo determines the development and growth of the individual athletes in the sports. According to Amaraizu, grading in taekwondo is very important since it…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu Osita Eze of Labour Party (LP) has been declared winner of Saturdays supplementary election for Oji River State Constituency of Enugu State. Eze defeated the incumbent, Jeff Mba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the rerun of the election in just one polling unit; Central school Oji-River which had 2489 registered voters. INEC had on March 18 declared election in the polling unit inconclusive due to irregularities and the margin of lead was less than the number of registered voters. Meanwhile, at the of the rescheduled April 15 election, the Labour Party candidate garnered one hundred and…
Nonsochukwu Uwa, Owerri Thugs suspected to be loyal to the Imo State Government on Saturday invaded the house of the state Assembly candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for Isu State Constituency, Modestus Osakwe. The state Publicity Secretary, of the PDP, Collins Opurozor, made this known to newsmen in Owerri. This came after the ballot box for the election was snatched at Umuarusi Amandugba hall in the Isu Local Government Area. There were lamentations about the use of armored vehicles and security personnel to intimidate the opposition. The thugs were said to have been backed by suspected security officers. He…
Lawrence Nwimo, Awka The supplementary election for the Ogbaru Federal Constituency in Anambra State, Saturday, witnessed massive vote buying by representatives of various contesting political parties. This is as three of the leading political parties in the election have also unleashed thugs in various parts of the local government where the election is being conducted. Massive vote buying was recorded at many polling units in the area, most especially at Okpoko community, where the heavyweight politicians bought one vote to the tune of ₦10,000. It was gathered that some voters smartly collected up to ₦50,000 each on a rotational basis for their individual votes.…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu Health Policy Research Group (HPRG), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), has partnered journalists on how to use their media platforms to communicate research findings to policymakers to improve the health of people living in urban slums. The partnership entails using media houses to showcase quality evidence from health policy and systems research to policymakers and the public to improve the delivery of health services of slums dwellers. HPRG which based at the College of Medicine, UNN, is drawn from the experiences of researchers across several fields in health, social, and environmental sciences through Community-Led Responsive and Effective Urban…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu Rt. Rev. Christian Onyia, Bishop of the Anglican Communion, Diocese of Nike, Enugu State, has said that the 2023 elections, to a larger extent, did not meet the credibility criterion. Onyia said this on Saturday while delivering his Bishop’s Charge at the 2nd Session of the 6th Synod of the Diocese at the Church of the Beatitudes, Trans Ekulu, Enugu. According to him: “As expected in every contest/competition, winners have emerged. “Nonetheless, it is more honorable to accept defeat in a competition if the process and the resultant outcome are seen to be fair, open and credible.” The…
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has tasked the Abia State Governor-Elect, Dr Alex Otti, on transparency and accountability. Okonjo-Iweala who gave the charge while speaking at the formal inauguration of Otti’s Transition Council, noted with regret that Nigerians had lost confidence in Government. Delivering a virtual keynote speech at the event, the former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, said the erosion of confidence in public office holders was as a result of lack of transparency among those in power. According to her, many Nigerians no longer…
Ben Ezechime, Enugu The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) says it has made adequate preparations and arrangements for the forthcoming Oji River State Constituency Supplementary Election in Enugu State. Mr Rex Achumie, the INEC Head of Department, Voter Education and Publicity (VEP) in Enugu State, disclosed this to newsmen in Enugu on Friday. INEC has scheduled Saturday, April 15, for the Oji River State Constituency Supplementary Election. It would be recalled that INEC declared Oji River State Constituency inconclusive following the inability of election to hold at a polling unit on March 18. Achumie noted that the supplementary election “is no big…