In spite of the ingenuity and efforts of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to tame smuggling in the country, perpetrators of illegal trade and economic saboteurs are not resting on their oars as they seem bent on continuing in their illicit activities. The heart-rending story of the alleged migration of more dangerous terrorists’ gangs into the country through porous and unmanned territories of the land borders is giving the country a deep concern.
This edition offers a rich account of the politics of 2027 with the gale of defection of governors elected on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a situation in which many Nigerians have expressed their discontent, insisting that the country is being steered towards a one party state and betrays all the trappings of a dictatorship.
Also, on the menu is what we see as a deft move by the presidency to consummate the final ‘annexation’ of Rivers State, wherein the Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu and the state legislators were suspended after a declaration of emergency rule in the state on March 18, 2025, exacerbated by rivalry between a former Governor of the state and Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike and deposed Fubara.
The final stroke aimed at the full annexation of the state, it must be admitted, is the president’s transmission of a new 2025 Appropriation Bill of N1.48 trillion hurriedly packaged by the Sole Administrator, Ibok Ette Ibas, as against Fubara’s N1.2 trillion budget of January 2025.
On the business and economy pages, we delight our readers with a promising collaboration between the Dangote Group and the Nigerian Ports Authority in a deal that promises to further boost the nation’s economy through the generation of more revenue for the Federal Government.
We also serve you the mining menaces being meted out to helpless communities in Ebonyi State by Chinese, Indian and Nigerian firms engaged in reckless mining of solid minerals that is posing existential threat to the environment, peoples livelihoods and creating health challenges for the locals, with a call on the government and all relevant authorities to intervene and save the communities from possible extinction.
These and many more informative stories are in the inside pages you cannot afford to miss. Enjoy the package!
