Posts

OPINION: CETA Amendment Bill: A Tax for Good Health

Image
By Robert Egbe Something strange happened to Enugu-based paediatrician, Dr. Chiwetalu Odoh, last Christmas eve. Summoned to the Children's Emergency Unit at the hospital in Enugu, he expected to meet a critically ill child. Instead, he found a little girl, her mother and her aunt, seated quietly in the waiting area. At first glance, she appeared to be healthy. But the night before – between bedtime and that morning – the child drank over 17 sachets of water. She repeatedly woke to urinate. Her aunt, a nurse, had also observed that the child seemed to have lost weight in three months and had developed a voracious appetite. The patient’s test result alarmed everyone. Her Random Blood Sugar read “Hi” and her urine ketones were significantly positive. She was diagnosed with Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) from newly diagnosed Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, like other noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), is generally an incurable, long-term or lifelong condition. She was ju...

Ember Months: LASTMA To Deploy 24-Hour Traffic Operation Across Lagos

Image
The Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) is set to activate a 24-hour traffic management strategy across the state during the Ember Months and festive season to tackle anticipated increases in vehicular and pedestrian movements. The General Manager of LASTMA, Olalekan Bakare-Oki, disclosed this in a statement, saying the intensified operation was designed to prevent avoidable gridlock and ensure smoother traffic flow across major roads and transportation corridors. Bakare-Oki said LASTMA personnel and specialised response teams would be strategically deployed to congestion-prone locations, major interchanges, bridges, arterial roads, transport terminals and commercial districts. He said the operation would deploy real-time traffic monitoring, strategic corridor management, intersection control, traffic-flow optimisation and rapid incident response to improve movement across the state. According to him, particular attention would be paid to traffic disruptions caused by veh...

APC Grassroots Supporters Become Dangote Refinery Shareholders

Image
About 600 residents of Lagos Island Local Government Area have become prospective shareholders in the Dangote Refinery as part of a new empowerment initiative designed to shift political support from conventional handouts to long-term economic ownership. The initiative, spearheaded by All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Biodun Coker, involves the sponsorship of 10,000 Dangote Refinery shares for selected beneficiaries drawn from political wards and groups across the council. Each beneficiary will receive between 10 and 20 shares, alongside financial literacy and investment education aimed at equipping them with the knowledge to manage and grow their investments. Speaking at the presentation of the share certificates, Coker said the initiative was designed to redefine the meaning of empowerment by giving party members an asset that could potentially create value beyond the immediate benefits of conventional political support. “Our members should not only participate in the politi...

WAEC Appoints Suleiman Kum New Head of Nigeria National Office

Image
The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has appointed Mr. Suleiman Danlami Kum as the new Head of the Nigeria National Office, succeeding Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut. The appointment was announced in a statement signed by WAEC’s Head, Public Affairs Department in Lagos, Moyosola Adesina, on Sunday. Kum, a seasoned test developer and administrator, joins the top leadership of the Council after more than 28 years of service, having joined WAEC on July 17, 1998, as Assistant Registrar II. He rose through the ranks to become Senior Deputy Registrar in 2024 and has served in several key positions across the Council, including Head of Examinations Security in Awka, Yola and Makurdi; Branch Controller in Gusau and Kano; Head of the Security Printing Department; Zonal Coordinator in Port Harcourt and Ikeja; Director of Administration; and Senior Deputy Registrar/Test Administration. Before his appointment as Head of the Nigeria National Office, Kum served as Deputy Registrar in the HNO’s Offic...

Criminals Outpace Police, Nigeria’s Security System Must Evolve - MBA

Image
A retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Frank Mba, has warned that the growing sophistication, technological capability and borderless nature of criminal activities require Nigeria to urgently upgrade its policing architecture. Mba, a legal practitioner, security consultant and reputation management expert, said criminals were increasingly exploiting technology, globalisation and sophisticated financial systems to commit crimes, making traditional policing methods inadequate to confront emerging threats. He spoke on Nigeria’s security situation as the country marked its 66th Independence Anniversary. According to the former police chief, criminal activities in Nigeria were previously dominated by conventional offences such as robbery, burglary and assault, which were largely physical and localised. He, however, said criminality had evolved significantly in its pattern, approach, spread, methodology, intensity, lethality and sophistication. Mba attributed the transformation partly...

WAEC Appoints Nigerian, Amos Dangut, As New Registrar

Image
Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has appointed Dr. Amos Josiah Dangut of Nigeria as its new Registrar and Chief Executive Officer for a five-year tenure from October 2026 to September 2031. Dangut succeeds Alhaji Pateh Bah of The Gambia and becomes the 14th Registrar of the examination body. Fhis was made known in a statement issued and signed by Head, Public Affairs, WAEC Headquarters, Accra, Ghana, Demianus G. Ojijeogu. His appointment was ratified by the WAEC Council, the organisation’s international governing board, at its 74th Annual Meeting held in Accra, Ghana, in March 2026. Dangut assumed office on October 1, 2026, after serving as Head of the WAEC National Office in Nigeria since October 2, 2023. Born on October 2, 1967, Dangut holds a Bachelor of Agriculture in Animal Production, a Master of Science in Animal Science, a Doctor of Philosophy in Animal Science and a Master of Education in Administration and Planning. He began his career in ed...

One Dies, Three Injured In Lexus Crash On Lagos Coastal Road

Image
One person has died while three others sustained serious injuries in a road crash involving a Lexus Jeep on the Coastal Road inward Eko Hotel, Lagos. The accident occurred earlier on Thursday and involved a grey Lexus Jeep 350 with registration number LSD 554 KV. According to preliminary information released by the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority's Director, Public Affairs and Enlightenment Department, Adebayo Taofiq, the vehicle reportedly lost control, collided with a roadside pole and overturned. LASTMA operatives monitoring traffic around the Coastal Road axis responded to the scene, secured the affected section and facilitated emergency response. The three injured victims were extricated from the vehicle with assistance from Good Samaritans and taken to Duck-Yard Hospital within the Military Zone for medical attention. Security personnel from Victoria Island also provided reinforcement at the scene, while LASTMA officers removed the damaged vehicle from the carriagewa...