Author: Editor

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia The Abia State Government says it has concluded integrity tests on high-rising billboards and other outdoor advertising structures across the state and is now set to engage their owners to review the findings. This was disclosed in a press statement issued on Wednesday by the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Abia Structures Signage and Advertisement Agency (ABSSAA), Mrs. Victoria Onwubiko. According to the statement, the exercise is part of ongoing efforts to strengthen environmental order and prevent future billboard collapses. The development comes barely a week after the State Government paid N20 million compensation to families…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia Forty-four members of the House of Representatives, drawn from various geopolitical zones, on Tuesday wrote to President Ahmed Bola Tinubu seeking the release of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu. Their appeal comes less than 48 hours before Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, is expected to deliver judgment on the terrorism charges filed against the IPOB leader. The lawmakers urged the President to discontinue Kanu’s prosecution and initiate a broad-based consultation with stakeholders to pursue a political solution to the matter. In what appears to be…

Ike Nnachi, Abakaliki The lawmaker representing Ezza South/Ikwo Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, has raised the alarm over what he described as a coordinated, heavily sponsored social-media campaign aimed at smearing his reputation. Ogah, who chairs the House Committee on Reformatory Institutions, made the allegations in a statement issued on Wednesday by his media office. He claimed that the individuals sponsoring the attacks are political actors nursing ambitions to contest the seat he currently occupies. According to him, in recent weeks he has been targeted with “a barrage of fabricated allegations,” including accusations of kidnapping,…

By Uzor Maxim Uzoatu The recent news on the slashing of hajj fares in Nigeria soured my mood immensely.  In a statement from the National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON),it was stated that pilgrims from the Maiduguri/Yola Zone, previously required to pay N8,118,033.67, will now pay N7,579,020.96, while those from other parts of the Northern Zone will now pay N7,696,769.76, down from N8,244,813.67 in 2025. It was also stated that pilgrims from the Southern Zone will pay N7,991,141.76, compared to N8,561,013.67 last year. According to the NAHCON release, “the revised fares were computed based on an exchange rate of N1,443…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu The National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has engaged table water and bread producers in Enugu State in a sensitisation programme aimed at ensuring the production of safe and high-quality products across the South-East. Director of NAFDAC, South-East Zone, Dr. Festus Ukadike, stated this on Tuesday in Enugu while addressing participants at the NAFDAC Stakeholders’ Sensitisation for Producers of Table/Packaged Water and Bread Products. Ukadike noted that although the agency had over the years made significant progress in sanitising the water and bread production sectors, there was still more work to be done. “The…

Stephen Ukandu with Agency Report The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that it may resume its suspended nationwide strike if its ongoing negotiations with the Federal Government fail to yield meaningful results before the expiration of its one-month ultimatum. ASUU’s Kano Zonal Coordinator, Abdulkadir Muhammad, issued the warning on Monday in Kano during a news conference held after the zone’s meeting. The union had in October suspended its warning strike and gave the Federal Government one month to address its demands, which revolve around improved welfare for lecturers and the provision of a conducive teaching and learning…

Our Reporter, Abuja  National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Kabiru Turaki, SAN, has issued an emotional appeal to United States president, Donald Trump, and the international community to come and save Nigeria’s democracy following an alleged invasion of the PDP National Secretariat in Abuja on Monday. The newly elected chairman of the main opposition party cried out on Tuesday after a violent incident reportedly involving thugs alleged to have been sponsored by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, who was expelled from the PDP during the party’s National Convention held over the weekend…

Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia About 75% of mental health challenges in Abia State are linked to substance abuse, including nkpuru mmiri and other narcotics, according to a recent study conducted by BanStopPrevent. The research, carried out in Apumini, Mgbarakuma, and Nsukwe communities in Umuahia South Local Government Area, was presented on Tuesday to the Abia State House of Assembly Committee on Health by the team lead, Dr. Christian Abuajah. Dr. Abuajah called for stricter measures against the production and distribution of hard drugs to curb their accessibility, warning that substance abuse continues to drive rising mental health cases across communities. He…

By Jude Eze  There is an old saying, drawn from the 1959 documentary, “The Hate That Hate Produced,” that cycles of resentment rarely die; they merely reproduce themselves in new forms. The documentary examined how decades of racial oppression in America gave birth to radical resistance movements. But more importantly, it revealed a universal truth: hate breeds more hate, often blinding people to facts, context, and fairness. In Nigeria today, this pattern is alive and thriving. Our national discourse, particularly around political controversies, shows that most citizens do not choose sides based on logic or evidence, but on a deep-seated…

Ben Ezechime, Enugu The Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), a non-governmental organisation, has petitioned Governor Peter Mbah, calling for urgent reforms in the administration of justice in magistrates’ courts across Enugu State. In a statement issued by its President, Olu Omotayo, Esq., and made available to journalists in Enugu, the group said the call had become necessary due to what it described as “gross denial and frustration of justice.” CRRAN cited the cases of Godwin Odey and Yusuf Omotara as examples of “grave violations of citizens’ rights to access justice” and the authorities’ alleged refusal to take prompt…