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Cross River government, withsupport from Self Help Africa (SHA) under the WASH Systems for Health (WS4H) programme,funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), has officiallylaunched the Cross River Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Policy. The launch is aimed at strengthening improved WASH governance, service delivery and advance public health outcomes across the state. It also reflects the state’s commitment to improving WASH services, even as the policy promotes accountability and transparency in WASH service delivery, addressing the performance of state-owned service providers, internalising national and internationalpolicies, principles and approaches, as well as presenting a framework for legislative reform. Speaking at the launch, which took plac...

Mazi Afam Osigwe, SAN, President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), has alleged that the judiciary and legal profession are the most corrupt Nigerians.Osigwe said many judgments in the country are monetarily induced rather than on evidence.He made the allegations at the Ralph Opara Memorial Lecture organized by the National Association of Seadogs in Enugu, themed “Judicial Corruption in Nigeria: A Menace to Democracy and Social Justice.”Osigwe said the situation has led to “moral crisis and a democratic emergency” that threatens the foundation of Nigeria. “The judiciary, once revered as the last hope of the common man, is increasingly perceived as a marketplace where justice is auctioned to the highest bidder,” Osigwe said.He lamented that widespread disillusionment has emerged...

As part of the efforts to strengthen cultural ties, Nigeria and Turkey writers, cultural leaders, and artists gathered for a poetry exchange.The event, organised by Yunus Emre Enstitüsü in Abuja, aimed at promoting peace and mutual understanding.Director-General of the Kaduna International Film Festival, Israel Kashim Audu, said the gathering underscored the long-standing cultural relationship between Nigeria and Turkey, adding that poetry serves as a vital tool for intercultural dialogue and peacebuilding. Audu noted that while Turkish poetry is rooted in Anatolian mysticism, Nigerian poetry reflects post-colonial realities, identity, and nation-building. “Both traditions converge in their advocacy for justice and harmony,” he said.Abuja Coordinator of Yunus Emre Enstitüsü, Fatih ...

By Victor Okoye The World Crafts Council has honoured Otunba Olusegun Runsewe with the Icon of Crafts, Culture and Hospitality in Africa award for his contributions to arts and culture development. The award was presented during the second World Crafts Forum held in Kuwait from Feb. 1 to Feb. 3, 2026. In an award letter, the council praised Runsewe’s unwavering commitment to preserving, promoting, and sustaining handicrafts across Africa. The letter, signed by council president Sa’ad al-Qaddumi, also commended his efforts in empowering craft communities and advancing cultural heritage. The council noted that Runsewe’s work aligns strongly with its mission to promote arts, crafts, and creative industries globally. It said the commemorative plaque symbolised apprec...

A 20-year-old Nigerian student of De Montfort University, in Leicester, Khaleed Oladipo, was stabbed to death in a street attack on Tuesday evening. The incident happened outside a busy university building when he was on his way home to watch a semi-final Carabao Cup final between Arsenal and Chelsea. Daily Mail UK disclosed this in a report on Thursday, adding that Oladipo was a second-year student of the university who arrived in the United Kingdom in September 2024. The report said he was found with knife wounds, just feet away from the university’s Journalism and Media Department building. He was studying cybersecurity, and was a talented footballer from South London. Speaking about his death, the family said, “We cannot begin to put into words how sad we are to hav...

Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has called on the police authorities to lift the ban on Amotekun operations in the State.The Osun Amotekun outfit became a focus of investigation after its operatives unleashed terror on the people of Akinlalu, killing four persons and some operatives, including the field commandants, were arrested.Governor Adeleke, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Olawale Rasheed, on Friday, urged the police to unseal the Amotekun operation to combat the emerging threat. The Governor said the recent issues of kidnapping in Ora-Igbomina are attributed to the shortage of security personnel, hence the need to allow Amotekun to protect the people of the state.The governor posited that the Amotekun service had developed containment expertise, especially in ...

The axe is dangling on the neck of the Coordinator, Satellite Towns Development Department STDD, Abdulkadir Zulkiflu.Minister of the Federal Capital Territory FCT, Nyesom Wike, said failure by the STDD Coordinator to tackle refuse heap will attract sack.Wike gave the warning on Friday after inspecting ongoing infrastructure projects across several Satellite Towns in the FCT. The visit, which covered Karshi, Bwari and Kubwa, was aimed at assessing the progress of President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the capital. The minister went red when his attention was drawn to a massive refuse dump along the Orozo-Karshi road. Expressing visible displeasure at the negligence, Wike took a hardline stance on performance standards, stating that he was prepared to take a decisive a...

The Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) on Friday announced the suspension of its 84-day nationwide strike following agreements reached with the Federal Government. This is contained in a communiqué jointly signed by JOHESU National Chairman, Mr Kabiru Ado-Minjibir, and National Secretary, Mr Martin Egbanubi, in Abuja. The union said the decision followed resolutions reached at an emergency expanded National Executive Council (NEC) meeting. It said the meeting was convened to review the outcome of a Feb. 5 conciliation meeting with the federal government at the Ministry of Labour and Employment. According to the communiqué, key resolutions include the commencement of Collective Bargaining Agreement(CBA) negotiations and immediate prioritisation of outstanding issues on the...

By Joan Nwagwu The Nigeria Union of Pensioners said the compulsory retirement of its General Secretary, Actor Zal, followed the union’s constitution and staff regulations. The National President of NUP, Mr Godwin Abumis, gave the clarification at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday. Recall that Zal, having reached the age of 65 as a career officer, was issued a notice of compulsory retirement on Febuary 3. He explained that the decision came after constitutional amendments adopted at the 2025 delegates’ conference in Kano. According to him, the amendments were necessary to fill gaps in the previous constitution affecting leadership and staff management. “The general secretary has faithfully served the union for over 42 years, and he has also reached the retirement...

​The Commandant General (CG) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Prof. Ahmed Audi has issued a stern mandate to officers to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and commitment in the protection of Very Important Persons (VIPs). The CG gave this charge during his keynote address at a three-day VIP leadership and management workshop held at the NSCDC National Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday. The intensive training brought together state commandants, VIP commanders, and armorers from across the country. ​ ​Audi emphasized that the mandate for VIP protection as conferred by President Bola Tinubu is a sacred trust that must not be compromised. He warned that his administration maintains a zero tolerance policy for any form of misco...

The Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (retd) has urged Nigerian youths to prioritise skills acquisition and empowerment opportunities as a strategic defence against drug abuse, unemployment and other social vices threatening national stability. Marwa gave the charge in Abuja on Thursday while speaking as Special Guest of Honour at the launch of a youth empowerment and skills acquisition programme organised by Grassroots Bridge Builders, a non-governmental organisation. He described the initiative as a critical intervention that supports the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly its focus on youth empowerment, job creation, social inclusion and crime prevention. According to him, equipp...

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), Kemi Nandap has identified corruption as a serious threat to national security, economic development, and Nigeria’s global reputation.Nandap disclosed this on Thursday at the inauguration ceremony of the NIS Anti-Corruption and Transparency Unit (ACTU) Desk Officers for formations and commands across the country.She said the fight against corruption is inseparable from effective border management.According to her: “Today marks a deliberate and consequential milestone in our collective resolve to strengthen institutional integrity, transparency, and operational excellence within the Nigeria Immigration Service. We are gathered not merely to inaugurate officers, but to entrench a proactive, grassroots framework for ethica...

The post–Cold War international order was never perfect, but it rested on an implicit bargain: economic integration, shared security frameworks, and a rules-based multilateral system that, however asymmetrical, offered predictability. Today, that fragile system is cracking. What we are witnessing is not merely a shift in global power centres; it is a contest for the very architecture that governs the relations between the powerful and the weak. In Davos earlier this year, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney delivered a speech that resonated far beyond Canadian audiences. He warned that the world is experiencing “a rupture, not a transition” in the international order—a rupture driven by great power rivalry, coercive economic instruments, and the abandonment of long-standing norms that ...

The Northern State Governors Forum has condemned the recent spate of violent attacks and killings in parts of Kwara, Katsina and Benue States. It said the violence against innocent citizens is unacceptable, demands decisive action and must be brought to an end. Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Gombe State, Mohammadu Inuwa Yahaya, in statement through the DG Press Affairs, Government House Gombe, Ismaila Uba Misilli, on behalf of the Governors, described the attacks as barbaric, senseless and a direct assault on the collective conscience of the nation. The condemnation follows deadly attacks on Woro and Nuku communities in Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, where suspected terrorists struck on Tuesday night; the killing of at least 20 persons in Doma A and Doma ...

A leading finance institution with headquarters in Calabar, Ekondo Microfinance Bank, has expressed interest for a groundbreaking partnership with Toilet pride Initiative aimed at tackling sanitation crisis in Cross River. The partnership, "Sanitation financing for low-income families in Cross River," outlines a strategic collaboration to provide affordable loans for household toilets and to support small sanitation businesses. It would be recalled that Cross River continues to grapple with significant sanitation challenges, with official data from the State Roadmap for Elimination of Open Defecation indicating that approximately 80% of the population, around 2.3 million out of about 2.9 million people, lack access to improved sanitation facilities. Arising from a technical meeti...

Akure, Nigeria — February 5, 2026. The Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), has clarified the status of its Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) programme, affirming that the course remains fully operational and has neither been suspended nor discontinued.In a press statement issued on February 4, 2026, the university addressed what it described as false and misleading insinuations suggesting that the medical programme had been put on hold. FUTA explained that while admission into the MBBS programme for the 2026/2027 academic session has been paused, the decision affects only one admission cycle and does not in any way indicate the termination of the programme. According to the statement, the temporary pause in admissions is a strategic administrative m...

FUTA MEDICAL PROGRAMME INTACT, UP AND RUNNING The Federal University of Technology Akure, FUTA hereby restates that its medical programme , the MBBS is up and running and has not been suspended or put in abeyance in any way or form. The suspension of admission into the programme for the 2026/2027Academic Session ( One Session Only) is to engender seamless academic calendar, and facilitate hitch free clinical training. Any information contrary to the above, especially insinuation about the discontinuation of the programme is false , misleading and completely at variance with the reality on the ground.The FUTA College of Health Sciences continues to work with the FUTA Teaching Hospital to ensure hitch free clinical training for students already on the programme. FUTA remains gratef...

Mrs. Nnenna Ukoha, Head of Public Affairs, Nigerian Communications Commission has charged media professionals on the need for right narratives that will spur national conversations for healthy sustainability of the telecommunications sector of the economy.Ukoha spoke on Wednesday January 28, 2026, at the media engagement on the release of the Commission’s Fourth Quarter (Q4) 2025 Network Performance Reports, in Abuja.She described media as critical partners, whose roles and contributions are “critical to the health and sustainability of the telecommunications sector. She stressed that the commission remains committed to accountability and transparency, and a data-driven approach in implementing its mandate.She therefore added that media engagement was part of the Commission’s commitmen...

By Victor Okoye A legal practitioner in Imo, Barr. Clement Chinaka has petitioned the Imo State Police Command and the Department of State Services (DSS) over the alleged abduction and attempted murder of his clients. The victims, Mr. Matthew Chigbu and Mr. Benjamin Chigbu were reportedly attacked by suspected thugs acting on behalf of a relative, Mr. Clifford Chigbu in separate incidents on Dec. 30, 2025, and Jan. 10, 2026, respectively. Chinaka also petitioned the Ngor-Okpala Local Government Council through its Chairman, Hon. Chika Ibekwe, urging urgent intervention to prevent further violence. Addressing newsmen at the weekend, Chinaka said the lives of his clients were in grave danger following what he described as a coordinated and violent attack. “My clients are ...

The Nigerian Communications Commission’s fourth-quarter Network Performance Report, revealed that 5G connectivity remains limited in major cities such as Lagos and Abuja three years after launch.The NCC report indicated that MTN recorded a 5G availability gap of about 50 per cent, while other operators, including Airtel, Globacom, and T2, posted gaps ranging from 83 per cent to as high as 99 per cent, depending on location.The report which was released on 28 January 2026 attributed the shortcomings to the failure of mobile network operators (MNOs) to deploy sufficient infrastructure to support 5G-enabled devices.5G service was introduced in the country over three years ago. The 5G network was launched in September 2022, pioneered by MTN Nigeria.However majority of subscribers are stil...