Author: Emporium Reporters

Senate and the Electoral Act Amendment by Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

The Senate returns from a two-week recess today to attend an emergency plenary session at noon to address the lingering and vexed matter of the ongoing amendment of the Electoral Act 2022. Expectations are high. Opinions are divided as to what may well be the outcome of today’s meeting. Since the return to civilian rule in 1999, Nigerians have been fixated on the subject of how to arrive at the best electoral framework that would guarantee free, fair, and credible elections, and yet before and after every election cycle, this…

Navy Hospital gives two-week ultimatum to claim unidentified bodies in Lagos mortuary

Emporium Reporters

The Nigerian Navy Reference Hospital (NNRH), Ojo, Lagos State, has issued a two-week ultimatum to families and relatives to identify and claim several unclaimed bodies currently deposited at its mortuary. The hospital said the notice followed prolonged and unsuccessful efforts to trace the families of the deceased, warned that a mass burial would be carried out if the bodies remain unclaimed after the stipulated period. Speaking on the development, the Commander of NNRH Ojo, Captain Aliyu Ope Oyeneyin, said the hospital had exhausted all reasonable means of locating the relatives,…

Electricity costs, manpower shortages crippling tertiary healthcare – FMC Abuja CMD

Emporium Reporters

By James Isaac, Abuja     Nigeria’s tertiary healthcare system is facing severe operational strain due to rising electricity costs, acute manpower shortages and emergency response challenges, the Medical Director of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abuja, Professor Saad Ahmed, has said. Professor Ahmed disclosed this while briefing the Senate Committee on Health during a budget defence session by chief medical directors of federal hospitals for the 2026 fiscal year. He told lawmakers that escalating overhead costs, particularly electricity and diesel expenses, have become a major threat to the sustainability…

Iran, Beware the Fangs of January, the Scourge of February, the Ides of March, by Hassan Gimba (3)

Emporium Reporters

Israel’s message to one of the intermediaries was that it would not participate in the US attack, and therefore asked Iran not to target it. This request was also met with a negative response from Iran, which explicitly stated that with the start of US military action, Israel would be attacked. This made Netanyahu threaten to attack Iran with a force “1,000 times more than they have known”, alluding to the use of nuclear bombs. The US and Europe have been, as part of their propaganda, telling whoever cares to…

Akpabio’s Gaddafi and Mrs Tinubu’s Trump honour By Festus Adedayo

Emporium Reporters

I am reading a copy of Marcel Dirsus’ How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive. A 2024 non-fiction book, in it, Dirsus examines historical strategies for overthrowing dictators. He also looks at how effective dictators can be in this modern era, especially in a world of contemporary mass surveillance technologies. One of Dirsus’ narratives that prologues the book is the imperious reign of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. Cosseted by his Amazonian Guards, an unofficial all-female elite cadre of bodyguards officially known as the Revolutionary Nuns, a frighteningly high physical and mental…

Excel Optoelectronics, CEO Deny Fraud Allegations, Demand Retraction from Media Houses

Emporium Reporters

Excel Optoelectronics Company Limited and its Chief Executive Officer, Amb. Emmanuel Shoon Patrick, have rejected allegations of fraud and financial impropriety contained in recent media reports, describing them as misleading, unverified and damaging to their reputation.   In a detailed Right of Reply issued in response to publications dated December 16, 2025 and February 5, 2026, the company faulted reports claiming that the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) had referred Excel LED and Amb. Patrick to the Inspector-General of Police over alleged diversion of funds linked to airport…

Weak Lawmakers at Mercy of Governors – David Mark

Emporium Reporters

By Nelson Ogbu     Former Senate President and National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Senator David Mark, has warned that Nigerian legislators who lack strong grassroots support often become political hostages in the hands of state governors. Mark made this assertion while chairing the public presentation of the book The Burden of Legislators in Nigeria at the NAF Conference Centre, Abuja, where he offered a frank assessment of the imbalance of power between the executive and legislative arms of government. According to him, although the legislature remained…

Nigeria’s economy: What is to be done? By abiodun KOMOLAFE

Emporium Reporters

Using the phrase ‘What is to be done?’ in the headline to this analysis is deliberate. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin used the title in a brilliant 1902 treatise to outline the strategic methodology needed for a successful transformation of the state. It is a question that remains hauntingly relevant whenever a nation faces structural decay. ‘What is to be done?’ is important because out of it came solutions which, through their focus on organizational discipline and ideological clarity, continue to illuminate the path for any leadership seeking to dismantle a dysfunctional…

Friday Sermon: Calling On Our Politicians, Traditional Leaders, Business And Wealthy Men And Women, Government Agencies, Private Sectors, Muslim Brothers And Sisters To Give Charity And Sadaqah In Coming Ramadan! By Imam Murtadha Gusau

Emporium Reporters

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful Praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, may the blessings and peace be upon our beloved master, Prophet Muhammad, the last of Prophets, on his family, and all his companions. Dear brothers and sisters! There are lots of Prophetic Hadiths about given out charity and Sadaqah in Ramadan that describe the virtues and significance of donations in Ramadan. Here, I have mentioned some of them: The Messenger of Allah (Peace be upon him) was asked: “Which charity…

Senate retains Electronic Transmission of Election Results — Minority Caucus

Emporium Reporters

The Senate Minority Caucus has clarified that the National Assembly did not reject electronic transmission of election results during the passage of the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill. The caucus said lawmakers retained the provision for electronic transfer of results as contained in the Electoral Act 2022, contrary to reports suggesting otherwise. Addressing National Assembly Correspondents on Thursday, former Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, described the reports as misleading and said they created widespread misunderstanding among the public. Abaribe stated that the Senate did not at any time vote against…