Political parties are important institutions in a democracy. Opposition political parties are therefore, necessary for the sustenance of democracy. Infact there cannot be democracy without stable and virile opposition political parties. Recently, governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, met in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, where they deliberated on issues affecting the party. The PDP governors during the Ibadan meeting, reportedly resolved a number of issues affecting the party with a view to strengthening it as a major opposition party in Nigeria. The party among…
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National Assembly: Must Engrave E-transmission Of Election Results In The Electoral Act
Experience of the last general elections of 2023 in Nigeria points to the is the extent Nigerians believe in the potential of electronic transmission of election results to improve the country’s electoral system. The idea of e-transmission of election results is predicted on its ability to eliminate possible electoral fraud associated with manual collation of votes. E-transmission Of election results reportedly involves the use of an electronic device such as the BVAS, to transmit election results directly from the polling booths to the server of the electoral commission. In the…
Read MoreRanching: Solution To Herdsmen Menace.
All over the civilised world, cattle rearing as a form of agricultural practice, is carried out in ranches. Ranching provides jobs, meat, hides and skin including bones of the animals which are used in the leather and ceramic industries Meat from ranched animals are safer than those produced from open grazing because the animals are better treated when they are in a ranch. In most parts of the South-East and South-South of Nigeria, people traditionally keep or rear animals in small ranches also called ‘Ogba’ in Igbo Language. Whether one…
Read MoreMalaria: Reason Government Should Ban Open Drainages
Malaria which is caused by mosquitoe bites kills thousands of people in Nigeria and other sub-saharan African nations per annum. Experts say mosquitoes thrive more in tropical climates like Nigeria. Reports indicate that mosquito has killed many souls. A particular report titled, “World Mosquito Day: Group Advocates Policies To Eliminate Malaria,” published in 2024 by National Record, noted that “300,000 people are dying everywhere because of mosquito.” Besides deaths caused by malaria resulting from mosquito bites, millions of naira have been spent on drugs by infected people annually. It has…
Read MoreTask Before South East Development Commission, SEDC.
The establishment of the South East Development Commission, SEDC, has been seen as a welcome development by the people of the geopolitical zone. There has been widely-held belief that the South East geopolitical region suffers infrastructure deficit, especially, critical infrastructure. To illustrate, the South East has no functional inland port facility despite its proximity to the sea. On the other hand, the Onitsha inland port has remained moribund despite huge federal government investment there. Again, one may ask if the rail line in the South East is functional? How many…
Read MoreImo Govt Must Use Dry Season To Fix Rural Roads
The 2024 rainy season is inching closer. Meanwhile it is trite that roads are easier and better to construct, reconstruct or rehabilitate during the dry season. Government often use the rainy season as an excuse for not fixing bad roads. Government’s usual excuse is that rains hinder contractors from carrying out their work. However, experience has shown that oftentimes when the dry season sets in around November through April or May of the following year, the same government may not swing into action promptly, in order to fix the bad…
Read MoreNeed To Protect Farmers From Killer Herdsmen, Kidnappers As Farming Season Takes Off
This year’s farming season is taking off as the rainy season gradually sets in. One serious challenge facing farmers in Imo State presently, as well as in other parts of the country, is the menace of killer herdsmen and kidnappers who hide in the forests to carry out their satanic activities. There have been reports of nefarious activities of herdsmen and kidnappers terrorising innocent Imolites especially, farmers. From Owerri West LGA to Ngor Okpala, Okigwe, Ohaji/Egbema, Oguta, Isiala Mbano, among others, activities of herdsmen and kidnappers are said to have…
Read MoreNatasha’s Suspension By Senate, Affront On Free Speech.
The face-off between Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan representing Kogi Central in the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio which began with a row over reported adjustment of the sitting position of the female senator, finally culminated in her suspension on Thursday, last week. Senator Natasha’s suspension by the Senate has generated reactions across the nation. Some Nigerians have however, differed with the action of the Godswill Akpabio-led Senate in suspending the female senator simply because she alleged a case of sexual harassment against the…
Read MoreReviving Imo Healthcare System Is An Urgency.
If you have not been to hospitals in recent times [especially, private hospitals], you may not appreciate the subject matter of this Editorial, that is, the urgency for governments to resuscitate or increase investments in the health sector. The high cost of healthcare presently, has partly been blamed for reported high mortality and morbidity rates in the country. It has also been partly blamed for the rising ‘medical pilgrimage’ abroad on the part of a privileged few Nigerians. The CBN through its governor, Olayemi Cardoso, recently disclosed that in the…
Read MoreCBN’s Move To Pay Allocations To LGs’ Accounts, Laudable
Reports that Local Governments in Nigeria have begun the process of opening accounts with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to enable them receive direct Federal allocations, is indeed cheery. Local governments across the Nigeria are believed to have been ‘suffocating’ under the alleged chokehold of state governors who have been severally accused of meddling in LGs’ finances. The move to ensure that LGAs in Nigeria get their allocations directly from Abuja, follows the judgement of the Supreme Court on July 11, 2024, that affirmed the financial autonomy of Nigeria’s774…
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