Category: News

A delegation comprising officials of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), and other stakeholders has commended the Nkanu West Local Government Council for its project execution following an inspection tour of completed and ongoing projects in the area.

The delegation, led by the Chairman of the NUJ, Enugu State Council, Mr. Obinna Ogbuka; the Chairman of the NLC, Enugu State, Comrade Fabian Nwigbo; and the Chairman of CSOs in Enugu State, Mr. Onyebuchi Igboke, visited the council as part of a statewide assessment of projects being executed across local government areas.

During the tour of several wards in Nkanu West, the team inspected projects undertaken by the administration of the Executive Chairman of the council, Hon. John Chukwuma Ogbodo.

Speaking after the inspection, Ogbuka said the delegation was impressed by the quality and scope of the projects executed by the council. He noted that the committee had visited more than 10 local government areas across Enugu State and described Nkanu West as one of the most outstanding councils assessed so far in terms of project execution, impact, and commitment to grassroots development.

He commended Ogbodo for his commitment to service delivery and for implementing projects that have positively impacted residents of the local government.

Responding, Ogbodo thanked the delegation for what he described as its objective assessment and attributed his administration’s achievements to the enabling environment created by the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Ndubuisi Mbah.

The council chairman said the ongoing development projects across Nkanu West were made possible by the governor’s support, visionary leadership, and governance policies, which, according to him, have empowered local government councils to deliver effectively on their mandates.

He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to sustaining the pace of development and ensuring that more communities across the local government benefit from ongoing and future projects.

The delegation concluded the visit by expressing appreciation for the developmental strides recorded in Nkanu West and encouraging the council to sustain the momentum.

The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Executive Bill seeking to establish state police, bringing Nigeria closer to adopting a decentralised policing system, despite a walkout by opposition lawmakers protesting the procedure adopted during the bill’s consideration.

The bill was approved during plenary after the House withdrew its earlier constitutional amendment proposal on state police and adopted the Executive Bill instead.

Its passage follows the Senate’s approval of a similar measure, marking another significant step towards the creation of a dual policing system aimed at strengthening internal security and improving law enforcement across the country.

The proceedings, however, were marred by a rowdy session as members of the minority caucus staged a walkout, accusing the House leadership of violating parliamentary procedure.

The protest was triggered by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas’ decision to subject the bill to a voice vote without first reading and considering each of its 26 clauses individually.

During the proceedings, the Minority Leader, Frederick Agbedi, repeatedly sought to raise a point of order but was not recognised by the Speaker.

Instead of taking the bill clause-by-clause, Abbas called for a voice vote, asking members in support to say “aye” and those opposed to say “nay.”

After ruling that the “ayes” had prevailed, opposition lawmakers walked out of the Green Chamber in protest.

Defending his handling of the proceedings, Abbas maintained that the constitutional threshold required to pass the bill had already been met.

“A total of 276 honourable members signed the attendance register in support of the police bill while 35 more voted online. This brings the number of lawmakers in support of the state police bill to 311.

“What is required to pass a bill is two-thirds of our members, which is 240,” the Speaker said.

Speaking with journalists after the walkout, Agbedi clarified that the minority caucus was not opposed to the establishment of state police but objected to the procedure adopted in passing the bill.

“Let it be stated that the minority caucus is not against state police. We are in support of anything that will bring about peace and security in Nigeria.

“All we are saying is that there should be a clause-by-clause consideration of the bill, which the Speaker rejected,” he said.

The proposed legislation is one of the key constitutional reform initiatives aimed at restructuring Nigeria’s policing architecture in response to worsening insecurity across the country.

For years, state governors, traditional rulers, security experts and civil society organisations have advocated the establishment of state police, arguing that the current centralised policing system is overstretched and unable to effectively address local security challenges.

Supporters of the proposal believe decentralising policing will enhance intelligence gathering, improve response times and strengthen community-based law enforcement.

However, critics have warned that state police could be abused by state governments to intimidate political opponents, suppress dissent and influence electoral processes, calling for robust constitutional safeguards, operational independence and accountability mechanisms to prevent misuse.

With both the Senate and the House of Representatives now having passed the Executive Bill, the proposal moves closer to becoming law, subject to the remaining constitutional and legislative processes required for its enactment.

Enugu Air has confirmed that one of its aircraft was involved in a runway incursion after landing in Benin, assuring passengers that no injuries or casualties were recorded in the incident.

According to a public notice issued by Enugu Air, all passengers and crew members safely disembarked from the aircraft following the occurrence.

The airline said the aircraft has since been secured, while the relevant aviation authorities have been notified in accordance with established procedures. It added that an assessment of the aircraft and the circumstances surrounding the incident is currently underway.

Enugu Air also warned that the development could result in temporary adjustments to some of its flight schedules, noting that passengers affected by any changes would be contacted directly and provided with the necessary assistance.

The airline reaffirmed that the safety of its passengers, crew, and operations remains its highest priority and said it would continue to provide updates through its official communication channels as more information becomes available.

“Nothing pleases me more than when a government is investing in the development of the economy of our rural communities. Development of emerging markets economies is faster when you apply the bottom up approach. South Korea remains a valid example.

“Dr Peter Mbah’s investment in farm inputs for farmers is a clear form of subsidy program directly applied to the farmers themselves.

…Targets agro-processing, export

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State, on Tuesday, flagged off the 2026 distribution of fertilisers and other farm inputs to 63,000 registered smallholder farmers in the state.

Mbah also said the move was in line with his administration’s commitment to eradicating poverty and growing Enugu State into a $30 billion economy, noting that 40 per cent of the growth would come from agriculture.

Mbah said his administration had always seen agriculture as more than just a mere source of food, but as big business, hence the efforts to migrate Enugu farmers from subsistence to commercial farming.

“We have done this in the last three years, essentially providing fertilisers, agrochemicals, stems, seeds, and seedlings to improve our yields. Today, we have 63,000 bags of fertilisers. We have to train our farmers.

“We also have to migrate our smallholder farmers from subsistence farming to mechanised farming, which is why we also invested in machinery. And that means that we are going to start thinking about a full value chain.

“We are looking at exports, playing in all the value chains, being able to export fresh produce from here to other parts of the world, being able to process our produce, add value, package, and then export. This is also why the airport concession and cargo terminal are important to us,” he said.

Mbah called on those saddled with the distribution to ensure that the inputs got to the farmers by sticking to the database and also warned the farmers against selling the inputs.

“We are working with our database. We are also going to implore all our stakeholders, the Local Government Chairmen, and the priests in the various communities to make sure that these inputs get to the end users, free of charge. Please, make sure that these inputs get to our farmers. We do not want middlemen.

“The fertilisers also have ‘Not for Sale’ boldly written on them. So, you must make sure that you use this to scale up our production so that we can have a bumper harvest and drive down the cost of food in Enugu,” he stressed.

He said the Special Agro-Processing Zones, one of the agro-industrialisation initiatives of his administration, would soon come on board to scale up production and cut post-harvest losses.

“We want to make sure that we increase the earning capacity of our various communities where we actually have a lot of our poor people. We’re building our farm roads so that it will be easy for us to evacuate what we have produced,” he stated.

Earlier in his remarks, the Commissioner for Agriculture and Agro-Industrialisation, Dr. Patrick Ubru, announced a significant increase in the 2026 Agricultural Free Inputs Distribution Programme compared to 2024.

“In 2024, over 12,000 bags of fertiliser, improved seeds, and chemicals were distributed, rising to over 40,000 last year.

“Today, over 63,000 bags will be distributed, representing a 58 per cent increase from last year.

“Thousands of farmers across the 17 Local Government Areas will receive free improved rice, maize, tomato and pepper seeds, cassava stems, fertilisers, and agrochemicals to boost productivity and reduce costs,” he said.

Beyond the support through inputs, Ubru said the Mbah administration had established a modern Seed Testing Laboratory and Seed Gallery, digitally profiled over 84,000 farmers, and integrated agricultural data into the state’s Geographic Information System (GIS).

“Over 25,000 farmers have been trained in climate-smart agriculture, while we are also providing Seasonal Climate Prediction Information through our partnership with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet).

“The 260 Farm Estate Programme is underway in Enugu State, and a tractor assembly plant has been established through a partnership with Nortra Tractors, making mechanisation more accessible.

“Additionally, centre pivot irrigation systems are being rehabilitated to enable year-round cultivation of crops like rice,” he added.

In his remarks, the Agricultural Transformation Agenda Support Programme Phase One (ATASP-1) Coordinator, Romanus Egba, assured the governor of well-planned distribution channels, using clergy and community leaders to ensure that the various items reached the intended beneficiaries.

In addition to a bag of fertiliser, he said, “each farmer will get one bag of maize or rice, cassava cuttings, herbicide, and vegetable seeds such as tomatoes or pepper.”

The representative of the Farmers Association of Nigeria (FAN), Enugu State Chapter, Sir Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Eneh, while thanking Governor Mbah for his consistent massive investment in agriculture, warned any farmer or anybody who colludes to sell any of the farm inputs to be ready to go to jail.

The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Mainstream Media, in partnership with the Tomorrow Is Here Movement (TIH), has announced a 2026 campaign jingles competition with more than ₦7 million in cash prizes to encourage creative works promoting the achievements and re-election bid of Enugu State Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah.

According to a joint announcement signed by Dan Nwomeh, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Mainstream Media, and Hon. Tony Okonkwo, State Coordinator of the Tomorrow Is Here Movement (TIH), the competition is aimed at discovering and promoting home-grown musical talents while providing musicians and content creators with a platform to showcase their creativity.

The organisers said participants are expected to produce original campaign jingles highlighting Governor Mbah’s transformational leadership, developmental achievements, and people-centred programmes, while encouraging voters to re-elect him in the forthcoming governorship election.

Under the competition, the winner will receive ₦2 million, while the second and third-placed entries will earn ₦1 million and ₦750,000, respectively. Cash prizes of ₦600,000 and ₦500,000 have been earmarked for the fourth and fifth positions, while contestants who finish sixth to 10th will receive ₦250,000 each. Ten additional consolation prizes will also be awarded.

The announcement stated that the competition is open to musicians, songwriters, vocalists, music producers, and other creative talents who are indigenes, residents, or well-wishers of Enugu State. Entries may be submitted by individuals or groups, with each participant permitted to submit a maximum of five original jingles.

It added that entries must promote the achievements, vision, leadership, and transformational programmes of Governor Mbah, while urging voters to support his re-election and vote for the All Progressives Congress (APC), including a reference to the party’s symbol, the broom.

According to the organisers, jingles may be recorded in English, Igbo, a local dialect, Pidgin English, or a combination of the languages, provided they do not exceed 60 seconds and are submitted in MP3 format.

The organisers said entries, accompanied by the participant’s personal details and brief profile, should be submitted via WhatsApp to 09063106930 on or before August 20, 2026. They added that selected entries may be adopted for public enlightenment, mobilisation, publicity, and campaign activities, while winners will be announced on a date to be communicated later.