Author: Chief Editor

• As Nigeria drops to lowest point on corruption index since 2013 • Buhari deserves credit for diminishing corruption, says Presidency • ‘War against corruption requires participation of all citizens’ Transparency International (TI) has, again, passed a damning verdict on Nigeria’s anti-corruption war, ranking the country 149th on its yearly Corruption Perception Index (CPI) after it picked 25 points, the worst since 2013. With the rating, Nigeria dropped three points from its last (2019) ranking when it sat 146th on the table. The 2020’s index was co-led by New Zealand and Denmark after they polled 88 points individually. They were…

President Muhammadu Buhari has warned that stoking ethnic and religious prejudices would not augur well for the development of the country. Speaking yesterday in Abuja, he said his administration would continue to create the enabling environment for religious freedom as guaranteed by the constitution. The President was addressing the leadership of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA), led by its President-General and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, during a courtesy call to the State House. He said: “The Federal Government will continue to promote religious freedom as it is a constitutional responsibility. I must thank the Muslim…

Reports credited to the Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello vowing never to negotiate with bandits as a way of ending banditry has raised a salient issue of how to stop banditry and other heinous criminality in the country. At least two other governors have, for good reason, spoken against negotiating with insurgents because they (the bandits) always fall short of their words. It is notable too that negotiating with bandits or other criminals go hand in hand with paying them ransom or some form of financial inducements which invariably, they deploy in furthering their nefarious activities. As it were,…

A civil rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety) has decried attempts by some persons and groups to change the existing power sharing arrangement in Anambra State. Intersociety disclosed that it has carefully studied the position of the governorship and its rotation among the three Senatorial Districts since May 29, 1999. “We found that going by the 1999 Constitution, which is the grundnorm or chief basic law of the country since 29th May 1999, the Anambra South Senatorial District, beyond all arguments, sentiments and excuses, is the next Senatorial District to produce the next…

Apart from announcing that governorship election in Anambra State would hold on November 6, 2021, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also disclosed that it would conduct the poll through electronic balloting. It should be noted that shortly after the Anambra State governorship, that of Ekiti and Osun would come in quick succession next year. That is a faint picture of the immediate burden of work that the electoral umpire would undertake. But, while INEC has set electoral timelines even up to 2023, Nigerians have begun to worry about the ability of the electoral body to live up to its…

Niran Adedokun niranadedokun@gmail.com Of all Nigeria’s many challenges, some of which are not uncommon to other countries, two things complicate its chances at quick emancipation. The first is the country’s almost pathological ineptitude to learning from experience, whether its own or others. The other is the perennial inability of leaders to grasp the import of their remit. Let me explain. Concerning the first, the English man says experience is the best teacher.  This means that if any challenge you have experienced ever comes your way again, lessons derived from your first encounter should handily help you tread that path more…

Abimbola Adelakun aadelakun@punchng.com Last Monday, the seemingly intractable crisis between Fulani herdsmen and South-West inhabitants got some breakthrough when the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria gave in to the demands of governors. According to reports, following a meeting with some members of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum, the National President of MACBAN, Alhaji Muhammadu Kiruwa, directed Fulani herders across the region to end both night and underage grazing with immediate effect. Not only did Kiruwa instruct his people to comply with state directives, but his conciliatory tone at the meeting was also different from the recalcitrant stance that the…

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is a doubt for Arsenal’s Premier League clash against Manchester United on Saturday after missing games due to his mother’s “health issues”. The club captain was absent for the FA Cup defeat at Southampton on Saturday as well as the 3-1 Premier League victory against the same opposition three days later. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta refused to answer questions on Thursday about whether Aubameyang had travelled abroad to spend time with his mother and if quarantine rules would therefore prevent him playing the weekend. Asked if the forward had left Britain, Arteta replied: “He had to support his…

Manchester United on Thursday called for stronger measures to be taken against “mindless idiots” who post-racial abuse after Anthony Martial and Axel Tuanzebe were targeted. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men fell to a shock 2-1 loss to the Premier League’s bottom side Sheffield United at Old Trafford on Wednesday. That defeat sparked a torrent of online invective aimed at United’s players, including racist abuse aimed at defender Tuanzebe, who inadvertently turned home Oliver Burke’s winner, and forward Martial. Racist terms and monkey emojis were put on Instagram comments of the pair’s most recent posts. “Everyone at Manchester United is disgusted by…

Cristiano Ronaldo broke coronavirus travel restrictions with a trip to a mountain resort, according to media reports Thursday. Juventus striker Ronaldo allegedly travelled to Courmayeur, 150 kilometres north-west of the Serie A club’s Turin headquarters, for his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez’ birthdahttps://guardian.ng/sport/cristiano-ronaldo-broke-coronavirus-rules-reports/y. When contacted by AFP, Juve declined to comment. Rodriguez, who turned 27 on Wednesday, apparently posted a video of the couple on a snowmobile on Instagram. She later removed it, but it was picked up by several Italian news sites. The Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper said Ronaldo and Rodriguez spent Tuesday night in a hotel and took a ride…