Category: EDITORIAL

Streetlights are hallmarks of any modern city. They do not only enhance the security of the city, but also help to create nightlife in a city. Numbers of streets in Owerri, the capital city of Imo State, do not have streetlights, although this situation may not have begun with the present administration in Imo. The absence of streetlights render  streets and roads not only very dark in the night, but also, as operational ground for hoodlums who leverage the prevailing darkness to rob innocent citizens  of their valuables, even harm…

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True to several warnings issued by the Nimet, Nigeria has witnessed massive flooding in different states of the federation. Floods have reportedly displaced over 300,000 people and damaged thousands of buildings, affecting about one million people in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State alone. Borno is not the only state in Nigeria hit by flood disaster this year. About eleven to fifteen states are affected one way or the other. Heavy rainfall in recent weeks were said to have “caused the Alau Dam, located just a few kilometres outside Maiduguri,…

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Reactions trailing the outcome of the 2024 Edo State gubernatorial poll held recently, appears to suggest that Nigerians are seriously losing faith (if they have not completely lost faith) in the possibility of any credible electoral process in the country. For former President Goodluck Jonathan, “there was more tension after the Edo election than before it, due to the feelings that some things were not done rightly.” Jonathan still remains the only Nigerian President to hand over to an opposition party after he was defeated at the polls. The former…

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It is trite to say that there are by far, more worship centres in society today than before. Yet it is easy to observe that the development does not appear to have brought corresponding decline in corruption, crime and immoral behaviors. Christian worship centres seem to take the lead in terms of the manner churches, synagogues and the likes are being set up everywhere. Ordinarily, there is nothing wrong with this, but the question is whether the springing up of worship centres like churches  or erection of mosques has necessitated…

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As public schools are set to resume in Imo for the 2023/2024 Academic year, one issue that will bother many parents and guardians in the state, is the reality that public primary schools are yet to conduct the Common Entrance examination for the outgone Basic Six pupils who are supposed to be admitted into Junior Secondary School One, JSS 1 this term. It will be recalled that public primary schools in Imo State ended the 2023/2024 session without sitting for the Common Entrance and the First School Leaving Certificate, FSLC,…

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The last time Imo people enjoyed a subsidised Mass transport scheme  was between 2007 and 2011, when Chief Ikedi Ohakim was the Imo State governor. The scheme which was named Imo Municipal Bus service, was the then Governor Ohakim’s response to the economic meltdown that had hit Nigeria and other parts of the world. Each of the luxury buses which had capacity to convey nearly fifty passengers at a time, had dedicated routes and charged fares that were much lesser than what commercial buses charged in the state. It was…

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Persisting rise in energy  and food prices in Nigeria remains a nightmare for every average Nigerian today. Prices of goods and services continue to rise inspite of assurances by  the Bola Ahmed Tinubu led  Federal Government that the situation was going to improve. The recent hike in petrol pump price  to  N1000 or more, tends to worsen matters for the already beleaguered masses of the country. Even the promise by the President in 2023, that some local refineries like the Port Harcourt refinery, would begin operations in 2024, appears to…

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The need for a clean environment cannot be overemphasized. Medical experts  hold that cleanliness reduces  incidents of outbreak of diseases. This fact cannot be disputed. Indeed nexus exists between a clean environment and a healthy society. Anyone who looks around Owerri, the Imo State capital with sincerity will agree that the city and its environs have profound lapses in environmental cleanliness. The reasons for Owerri ‘s apparent decline in terms of environmental sanitation range from  dumping of refuse indiscriminately especially, when some people including road sweepers make a habit of…

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Nigerians are grappling with reported unavailability of cash at the Automated Teller Machines,ATM installed in various commercial banks. The situation compels many to resort to the services of POS operators who are seen to have been making brisk business as a result. A Business Day report of July 3 this year, observed “unusual pattern of cash dispensation” in the banks.” The report further observed, “The Nigerian banking sector is facing a crisis of trust and transparency due to an unusual pattern of cash dispensation. There is a growing trend in…

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Come September this year, Imo State will hold local government elections in the 27 Local Government Areas of the state.  The election is expected to bring to end, years of non conduct of Local Government elections that culminated in  unconstitutional use of Sole Administrators,  Transition Committees, and Interim management committees in the Local Government system. Local Government elections are expected to deepen democracy at the grassroots, in line with the provisions of Section 7 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, As Amended. Section 7 of the Nigerian …

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