LTrailer Crushes Kogi Varsity Lecturer in Felele, Lokoj What began as an ordinary midweek commute for Mrs. Kemi Emmanuel, a lecturer in the Department of Theatre Arts at the Federal University Lokoja (FUL), ended in tragedy on Wednesday — another reminder of the peril that stalks the ever-busy Lokoja highways. Eyewitnesses say the scholar was riding on a commercial motorcycle when she reportedly lost balance and fell onto the road at the Crusher junction in Felele, only to be crushed by a speeding trailer. The Kogi State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Tenimu Etuku, confirmed…
Author: National Update
***Attack heightens security fears ahead of 2027 election Tension has gripped parts of Kogi State following the abduction of three female officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) by gunmen along the Aloma axis of Ofu Local Government Area. The victims — Chinenye Orji, Adamaka Anih, and Catherine Temaugee — were reportedly attacked on Tuesday while travelling to Awka, Anambra State, for official assignment ahead of the November 8 governorship election. Eyewitnesses said the assailants opened fire on their vehicle in an attempt to force it to stop. Though the windscreen was shattered by bullets, no one was hit.…
****Move seen as critical step to replace dwindling donor aid and rescue overstretched frontline services Nigeria’s Senate has taken a bold step toward reshaping the future of public health financing by advancing a bill that would double the Basic Health Care Provision Fund (BHCPF) from 1 to 2 percent of the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) — a move many see as long overdue in the face of dwindling donor aid and rising domestic health costs. The amendment to the National Health Act (2014), sponsored by Senator Ipalibo Harry, Chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health, received strong bipartisan support when…
***Call for Urgent Action on Road Safety The Northern Senators Forum (NSF) has expressed profound sorrow over the tragic tanker explosion that claimed at least 38 lives in Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State, describing it as a painful reminder of Nigeria’s recurring failures in transport safety and emergency response. The fatal incident occurred earlier in the week when a fuel-laden tanker reportedly lost control near a crowded market and exploded, engulfing homes, shops, and vehicles in flames. The fire left behind a trail of destruction, with survivors recounting scenes of chaos as families searched frantically for loved ones…
Says repeated fires, demolitions threaten unity, livelihoods, and investor confidence The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has expressed deep concern over what it described as a disturbing pattern of fires and demolition exercises affecting markets and commercial hubs largely populated by Igbo traders in Lagos, warning that the trend risks fanning ethnic tension and undermining national stability. The rights group’s statement came in the wake of Tuesday’s inferno at the Alaba International Market, Ojo, which destroyed shops and warehouses containing goods worth billions of naira. The Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service confirmed its personnel were on the…
BY: Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko “Quitting smoking is easy. I’ve done it a hundred times.” – Mark Twain with a hard truth on addiction recovery. “Addiction is just a way of trying to get at something else. Something bigger. Call it transcendence if you want, but it’s a rat in a maze. We all want the same thing. We all have this hole. The thing you want offers relief, but it’s a trap.” – Tess Callahan with one of our favorite drug addiction recovery quotes.” Even with unexpected encumbrances and the vicissitudes of undulating politics in contemporary Nigeria, the nation’s counter…
**Senate receives president’s request for confirmation ***Screening slated after Lagos retreat President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated Dr. Bernard Mohammed Doro from Plateau State as a minister to replace Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, who recently vacated his seat in the Federal Executive Council following his emergence as National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC). The president’s request for Senate confirmation was conveyed in a letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on Wednesday. In the letter, Tinubu cited Section 147(2) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers the president to appoint ministers subject to Senate approval. “In…
As Nigeria Tilts Toward One-Party Rule Amid Mass Defections Nigeria’s political landscape may be on the brink of a seismic realignment as top political heavyweights — former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, ex-Kaduna Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and former Rivers Governor Rotimi Amaechi — are reportedly considering a return to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if Sule Lamido, the former Jigawa State Governor, emerges as the party’s national chairman. The development comes at a time when Nigeria’s multi-party democracy appears increasingly fragile, with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) tightening its grip through a wave of defections by PDP governors, lawmakers, and…
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja Kogi State Polytechnic, Lokoja, has dismissed recent allegations of payroll irregularities, insisting that the current management under Rector, Prof. Salisu Ogbo Usman, did not perpetrate any fraud but rather uncovered and reported a payroll scam that dates back to 2014 — six years before the present administration assumed office. In a statement signed by Uredo Omale, Director of Public Relations and Protocol, the institution described the reports circulating in some online platforms as misleading and unfair, stressing that they misrepresented the facts already established before the Kogi State House of Assembly. “The issue began in 2014…
By Friday Idachaba, Lokoja Kogi State lawmakers have raised the alarm over the worsening state of the Lokoja–Koton Karfe–Abuja highway, describing it as a “national lifeline in ruins” and urging the Federal Government to immediately remobilize contractors to site before more lives are lost. The call, made through a resolution of the Kogi State House of Assembly, reflects growing frustration across communities and motorists who ply the corridor daily. The road, a major gateway linking the North and South, has suffered years of abandonment despite its strategic importance to trade, security, and national mobility. Leading the charge, Hon. Idrees Aliyu…