A tax Collector who was once a journalist
By ETIM ETIM Not many people in Akwa Ibom State know that their chief taxman, Mr. Okon Okon, started his career as a journalist at The Guardian newspaper in Lagos.…
The cop Buhari loved
By FEMI ADESINA He and some other senior policemen had been demoted, I think from Commissioner of Police (CP) to Deputy Commissioner. It was untidy and unjust. I had known…
BEING THE TEXT OF THE BROADCAST SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PASTOR UMO ENO, Ph.D, GOVERNOR, AKWA IBOM STATE MARKING THE STATE’S 38TH ANNIVERSARY – SEPTEMBER 23, 2025
Fellow Akwa Ibomites. 1. I come to you this morning full of gratitude to God and to you my dear people for the great journey of purpose we have collectively…
Wike’s Florida properties and Tinubu’s reputation
By ETIM ETIM Although Nigerians have been case-hardened to many stories of corruption in high places since Independence, the revelation that the FCT Minister Nyesom Wike has acquired properties in…
NASS postpones plenary resumption to Oct. 7
Isaac Samuel The leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives have postponed the resumption of plenary previously scheduled for Tuesday, September 23 to Tuesday, October 7. A notice…
Tinubu-For-Life. For Where?
by Reuben Abati By some curious coincidence, the subject of tenure elongation and extension of Presidential term limits caught the headlines in the last few days in Nigeria. In Accra,…
Botswana ends America’s decade-long dominance in the 4×400 men’s relay
By Yusuf Bangura The 4×400 men’s relay was the most exhilarating event in the just-concluded World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. Before the race started I was 100 percent convinced that…
Debt crisis: House of Reps backs Tinubu’s borrowing plans – Abbas
Isaac Samuel The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, has said that the House stands solidly behind President Bola Tinubu’s borrowing plans. He said that such measures are…
National Assembly battles reputation challenges as lawmakers resume Tuesday
Isaac Samuel The National Assembly is set to resume plenary sessions on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, and it is returning under a cloud and challenges that could smear its reputation…
Gilbert Chagoury, Miziara, and the City on the Sea: The Lebanese who Found Home in Nigeria
By Simbo Olorunfemi and Ade Adefeko Miziara, with a population of 6,000 people, is a beautiful Lebanese village perched on the Hills of the North Governorate of the country, overlooking…
Tinubu, Next INEC Boss, and Liman Controversy
By Farooq A. Kperogi An older friend of mine, a denizen of the circles of power, told me a few days ago that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was considering a…
I have reconciled with Wike, we learnt hard lessons – Fubara
Isaac Samuel Rivers Stage Governor Siminalayi Fubara declared that Rivers State had emerged from six months of emergency rule with hard lessons that must guide its future, even as he…
Sale of crude oil JVs: Is Nigeria Winding Up?
By Umar Sani Nigeria is once again on the brink of another tragic misadventure. The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Petroleum Incorporated (MOPI) and the Ministry of Finance Incorporated…
Akwa Ibom govt to establish Electricity Regulatory Commission, Electrification Agency
… targets 2034 to achieve quality power for all The 2-day Electricity Summit convened by the Akwa Ibom State Government has ended with Governor Umo Eno disclosing plans to set…
Nigeria’s Economic Stability: Disinformation as Enlightenment?
By Marcel Okeke It looked very bizarre, that on September 3, 2025 when the leadership of the Buhari Organization visited President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he opted to use the occasion…
Wike dismisses rumours of medical trip abroad
Isaac Samuel Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, has dismissed speculations that he travelled abroad for medical treatment. Speaking on Thursday, at the flag-off of a road…
Akwa Ibom Hosts First-Ever Electricity Summit, Charts Path to State-Led Power Market
Akwa Ibom State has taken a major step towards energy independence with the launch of its first-ever Electricity Summit, aimed at creating a State-controlled electricity market to deliver reliable, affordable,…
Children Going Abroad to Study – A Candid Advice for Parents
By Femi Akinwumi I have a neighbor who sent her adolescent child for elementary school in America while she lived with her husband in Nigeria. Some parents did this for…
Four FIRS Directors, Managers die in Afriland towers fire
The management and staff of Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) have been thrown into deep mourning and grief over the death of four staff members in the fire incident at…
Tinubu lifts emergency rule in Rivers, restores Fubara, Assembly
Isaac Samuel President Bola Tinubu, on Wednesday, declared an end to the six-month state of emergency imposed on Rivers State. The President said the decision became necessary following renewed spirit…
Buhari gov’t printed N22.7 trillion, practiced ‘voodoo’ economics – Dogara
Isaac Samuel Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has attributed the decline of the value of naira to economic policies of the previous administration, which he said…
Gov Eno launches Security Trust Fund
Gov Umo Eno has launched the Akwa Ibom State Security Trust Fund (AKSTF), with stakeholders pledging billions in support to strengthen the state’s security architecture. Contractors announced a ₦10 billion…
Rivers After Ibok-Ette Ibas: What Next?
By Reuben Abati On Thursday, 18 September 2025, the six months state of emergency declared in Rivers State on 18 March would have expired and this has led to high…
Yemi Cardoso: Two years after…
By ETIM ETIM Olayemi Michael Cardoso was named Nigeria’s twelfth Central Bank Governor on September 15, 2023 by President Tinubu; and after a rigorous senate confirmation hearing, he and…
I AM GOING TO JAIL FOR POWER
[Prequel to Breaking Chains of Darkness, One Idea at a Time] By: Celestine Mel In a few days, I will voluntarily walk into a prison. Not one of iron bars…
Tinubu’s Presidential Dissociative Disorder
By Farooq A. Kperogi There have been at least two prominent instances when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu betrayed what I have called presidential dissociative disorder, which I define as power-induced…
Nigeria’s 2.8bn metric tonnes of coal wasting as lawmakers push revival bill
Tinubu’s campaign promises resurface amid stalled mines in Enugu, Kogi, Benue Isaac Samuel Nigeria is estimated to have 2.8 billion metric tonnes of coal, with proven reserves of approximately 639…
Nigeria: From Fuel Subsidy to Petrol Tax
By Marcel Okeke Nigeria has really turned a full circle in so short a time: from the government paying heavy subsidy on fuel (premium motor spirit, PMS) consumption to Nigerians…
2027: INEC clears 14 associations for political party registration
Isaac Samuel The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on Thursday, said 14 associations seeking to register as political parties have been cleared to proceed to the next stage of the…
Paradoxical Privilege of Success
By Farooq Kperogi One of the English proverbs I memorized in high school is, “Nothing succeeds like success.” This simple proverb encapsulates why it’s easier to get a job when…
The Doyin Abiola I knew
By FEMI ADESINA When you have a bachelors degree in English and Drama tucked in your belt, and follow up with higher degrees in Communication Studies up to doctoral level,…
FG puts 2024 budget performance at 80% as Reps raise concerns
Isaac Samuel The Federal Government Wednesday declared that the performance of the 2024 budget has reached about 80 per cent, with critical projects still underway across the country. Minister of…
2027: We lack power to punish politicians engaging in early campaign — INEC
Isaac Samuel The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has admitted that it currently lacks the legal powers to sanction politicians and political parties engaging in premature campaigns ahead of the…
Our Man in France
By Reuben Abati “So, where is President Tinubu, my brother?” “What do you mean where is President Tinubu? He told you and everyone else that he is travelling to France…
Edun, Abbas clash as Nigeria’s debts hit N149.39trn
Isaac Samuel The Minister of Finance Wale Edun and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, on Monday, clashed over the true state of Nigeria’s debt profile. While Abbas…
You are not my mentor, Uba Sani tells El-Rufai
Isaac Samuel Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, has distanced himself from claims of being under the mentorship of his predecessor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, declaring that his political inspiration comes…
Taxation, increased revenues and the limits of fiscal reforms
By ETIM ETIM If any evidence was needed to prove the efficacy of President Tinubu’s fiscal reforms, the latest report from the Ministry of Budget & National Planning would suffice.…
APC versus PDP: Will Umo Eno and Udom Emmanuel start fighting?
By ETIM ETIM The visit of former Governor Udom Emmanuel to Akwa Ibom State last Wednesday has triggered spirited discussions in some quarters, particularly because some appointees of Gov. Umo…
From Miracle to Meltdown: Botswana’s collapse is no longer a warning – It’s a Prototype
By Paul Hattingh BOTSWANA WASN’T SUPPOSED TO FALL — BUT IT DID For six decades, Botswana stood as the poster child of African stability. No coups. No hyperinflation. No dictatorships.…
Why Moghalu’s Exit from ASG Matters for Africa
By Farooq A. Kperogi When former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) deputy governor Professor Kingsley Moghalu was appointed last year as the inaugural President and Vice Chancellor of the Kigali-based…
How Sujimoto CEO, Ogundele, defrauded Enugu gov’t of N5.7bn – official
ENUGU VS SUJIMOTO Enugu State Government has accused the CEO of Sujimoto Luxury Construction Limited, Olasijibomi Ogundele, of defrauding the state of nearly N6bn, noting that Ogundele vanished into thin…
Simon Ekpa’s loyalists to appeal six-year jail sentence
Isaac Samuel Loyalists of Finland-based pro-Biafra agitator, Simon Ekpa, under the auspices of Biafra Republic Government in Exile (BRGIE) has vowed to appeal the six-year jail sentence handed to Ekpa,…
Pregnant Woman’s Death: Akwa Ibom Assembly demands disciplinary action against on-duty medical personnel
Comfort Isaac Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly committee on health has called on the Ministry of Health and the Hospitals Management Board, to take immediate disciplinary action against medical…
Nigeria: Any Hope in Renewed Hope Economic Blueprint?
By Marcel Okeke Well over two years into its four-year tenure, the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) seems to be making moves to take the critical…
NCAA DG decries rise in aviation fraud, seeks EFCC’s intervention
Comfort Isaac The Director General, DG, of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Captain Chris Najomo has raised the alarm over the rising cases of fraudulent activities in the aviation…
We’ll not run Ibom Hotels at a loss again – Gov. Umo Eno
Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has said hospitality facilities belonging to the state government would no longer be run at a loss, under his administration. Governor Eno gave…
PDP governors, Wike loyalists in showdown ahead of Nov. convention
Isaac Samuel Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have drawn a battle line with loyalists of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom…
CVR: INEC registers 2.5m in two weeks
Isaac Samuel The Independent National Electoral Commission has disclosed that 2,532,062 Nigerians have pre-registered online in the first two weeks of the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise. According to…
Medical negligence and poor work attitude in public service
By ETIM ETIM The death of a pregnant woman at Ikot Ekpene General Hospital due to the absence of a doctor has once again proven that without a team of…
No mistake choosing you as VP, Tinubu tells Shettima at 59
Isaac Samuel President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has extolled Vice President Kashim Shettima on his 59th birthday, saying his choice of him as deputy was deliberate and has proven right. Tinubu…