Category: Opinion

Ododo, Bello’s Ultra vires, By Abubakar Yusuf

Emporium Reporters

Kogi is known for all forms of political misdemeanor both in government and out of government spanned for over eight years.   It is only in Kogi state that a former governor will still be parading himself with the paraphernalia of office, even out of government.   Embarrassingly, former Kogi governor , Yahaya Bello declared wanted by the anti graft agency , the first in the history of Nigeria came under a cover of a serving governor and immunity to reluctantly and ceremoniously submit himself to the EFCC neck to…

DANGOTE, WITCHES AND WHY WE NEED YAMS By Dare Babarinsa

Emporium Reporters

In the months and years ahead, Nigerians and Africans would have a choice of buying refined petroleum products produced on our soil. In North and West Africa, only Libya and Algeria have functioning refineries. Nigeria, in the past 20 years, has expended enormous resources in trying to revive its four comatose refineries. In the last few years, Aliko Dangote and his team have finally built the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical Complex; the largest industrial project in Africa and one of the largest in the world. The cost is 20…

Politics, governance and the value of time By abiodun KOMOLAFE

Emporium Reporters

Governance requires effective time management to thrive. Unfortunately, political systems often waste this precious resource, compromising citizens’ well-being and national prosperity. As a universal currency, time is equally distributed but unequally valued, with marginalized communities frequently bearing the brunt of temporal inefficiencies.   At the politics-time intersection, power dynamics emerge, shaping lives through prioritization, policy and resource allocation. To maximize productivity, strategies like prioritization and goal-setting are crucial, lest poor management leads to missed deadlines and lost opportunities. Historically, societies aligned tasks with natural rhythms, highlighting the tension between short-term…

Why The National Assembly Must Awaken From Its Slumber

Emporium Reporters

The current fuel crisis in Nigeria has reached unprecedented levels in its history. Prices of goods and services have soared beyond the reach of the vast population, and hunger looms over households like the rising sun. Amidst these challenges, our policymakers justify the increase in pump prices and the deregulation of the petroleum sector by referencing global market rates. The assertion by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited that the price of a litre of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) is N2,000 on the global market is presented as a reason…

The Theoretical Wale Edun, By Abubakar Yusuf

Emporium Reporters

Since his assumption of duty as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy over one year ago , Wale Edun , nothing works, except theoretical approaches to the economy and national development, no practical improvement to the economy of the country. With allegations of bringing cronies to the current cabinet by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rejig the Renewed Hope Agenda, I think it is better to consider Wale Edun as one of the Ministers to be relieved and removed from the Ministry of Finance in the impending…

The Potentials, Opportunities In The Nigeria Mining Sector By Oyiriaru Justice Ikedieze

Emporium Reporters

Nigeria is richly blessed with abundance of mineral resources. The country boasts of more than 40 valuable mineral deposits including clay and kaolin, gold, gypsum, iron ore, lead and zinc, phosphate, and tin across the 36 States. Baryte, bitumen, coal, gold, iron ore, and limestone, lead-zinc and coal have been identified by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development as Nigeria’s strategic mineral deposits on grounds of their economic value1. Quarrying dominates the output of the Mining and Quarrying sector by over 90 percent o2 and…

UBEC; Transforming Basic Education through more funding, BY ABUBAKAR YUSUF

Abubakar Yusuf

The clamour for more funding to Basic Education and by extension Education subsector from both the public and by extension the private sector in the country has began to yield positive results.   This was occasioned by the recent upward review and impressive assessment of the matching grants by the sub national to improve Basic Education, Infrastructure, manpower development among many others towards the progress and development of Basic Education in Nigeria.   The yearly counterpart funding arrangements between the federal and state government got a 100% increment in 2024…

Now That Tinubu Is Back… ,By Reuben Abati

Emporium Reporters

The return of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu from what looked like a long trip abroad must come to many as a relief. When the President travelled on August 29, his destination was announced in very clear terms. He was heading to China to attend the Forum for China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in his capacity as Nigeria’s leader and as Chairman of the Economic Community of West African states (ECOWAS). The President himself has described his trip to China as successful. On September 2, he met with President Xi Jinping in the…

Joe Ajaero, DSS and petrol price hike – Tunde Rahman

Emporium Reporters

By the time the Department of State Services released Nigeria Labour Congress President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, last Monday evening September 9, he had become contrite, remorseful and perhaps ashamed of his uninformed action. The labour leader was invited twice by the secret police and twice he failed to honour the invitation.   As I learnt, during the second invitation, Ajaero even told the new DSS boss who telephoned him that he was travelling out of the country and could only honour the invitation on his return. What an insufferable arrogance!…

Dangote’s Translucent Beginning, By Abubakar Yusuf

Emporium Reporters

It appears the over two decades of suffering by Nigerians to access petroleum products which the country is one of the major producers have just started with Dangote’s monopoly of all facets of our national life,w and the pretences of bringing to an end many years of scarcity and energy crisis in the country.   Nigeria should not contemplate cutting off importation of the products inspite of the shady deals surrounding the exercise and favouritism prevalent in the system over the decades.   The lack of transparency displayed by Dangote…