News
Shocks as Enugu monarch dies a day before 90th birthday
The Preparations for the grand celebrations, scheduled for Wednesday, December 31, 2025, were already underway, with billboards announcing the monarch’s milestone birthday hoisted across the community.
•HRH Igwe PD Uzochukwu (Ezudo I of Mgbidi).
The people of Ezineze Mgbidi Autonomous Community in Awgu Local Government Area of Enugu State, have been thrown into mourning following the sudden death of their traditional ruler, HRH Igwe PD Uzochukwu (Ezudo I of Mgbidi). This was just 24 hours before his 90th birthday and 38th coronation anniversary.
The Preparations for the grand celebrations, scheduled for Wednesday, December 31, 2025, were already underway, with billboards announcing the monarch’s milestone birthday hoisted across the community.
Many subjects had returned home in anticipation of the event when news broke that the Igwe had been rushed to a hospital due to a health complication.
The monarch passed away in a private hospital in Enugu metropolis, leaving his family and subjects devastated.
His son, Prince Emeka Uzochukwu, confirmed the death ,saying that the palace never expected the monarch’s demise.
Igwe Uzochukwu, who ascended the throne 38 years ago, succeeded Chief G. I. Oko and oversaw the division of Mgbidi into two autonomous communities – Ezineze Mgbidi and Ezineri Communities.
He explained that Igwe Uzochukwu had gone for a routine medical checkup to ensure he was fit for the celebrations before his health suddenly deteriorated.
“Being with him at the hospital before he passed, it was difficult to accept that the Igwe was truly gone,” Prince Emeka said. In a show of respect, community members observed a minute of silence during a town hall meeting at Central School Mgbidi.
Theophilus Nzeh, Esq, President General of Mgbidi Central Union, described the death as a monumental loss to the two autonomous communities in Mgbidi.
Igwe Uzochukwu, who ascended the throne 38 years ago, succeeded Chief G. I. Oko and oversaw the division of Mgbidi into two autonomous communities – Ezineze Mgbidi and Ezineri Communities.
He will be remembered for his leadership, vision, and contributions to the development of his people.
News
NYSC warns against night travel as 2026 Batch B Stream I orientation begins June 10
The orientation exercise will officially end on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) announced Thursday that the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Stream I Orientation Course will begin on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, with the reception and registration of prospective corps members across the country.
In a statement signed by Caroline Embu, Director, Information and Public Relations, NYSC said that the registration would end at midnight on Friday, June 12, in all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The NYSC added that the swearing-in ceremony for prospective corps members mobilised for the 2026 Batch ‘B’ Stream I service year would also take place on Friday, June 12.
The orientation exercise will officially end on Tuesday, June 30, 2026.
The scheme wished all mobilised Nigerian graduates safe journeys to their various orientation camps nationwide and reiterated its warning against night travel.
It advised prospective corps members to suspend their journeys once it is 6pm and spend the night at any available corps members’ lodge, military formation, police station, outpost, or palace of a traditional ruler before continuing the next morning.
News
President Tinubu appoints 40 years old Prof Aina as JAMB Registrar
Prof Aina will succeed Prof Is-haq Oloyede, whose two-term tenure expires on July 31, 2026.
•Prof Segun Aina
President Bola Tinubu has appointed Professor Segun Aina as the new registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
Prof Aina will succeed Professor Is-haq Oloyede, whose two-term tenure expires on July 31, 2026.
Professor Aina, who will be 40 in July, is a distinguished academic and systems expert with extensive experience in national examination systems, digital infrastructure, and public-sector institutional reform.
A statement by the presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, stated that “President Tinubu expects Professor Aina to bring to bear his vast experience, knowledge and practical insight into the operations of the Board to take the critical educational organisation beyond the laudable heights achieved by his predecessor.”
A professor of computer engineering at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Aina began his career with JAMB during his National Youth Service, gaining foundational experience in national admissions and data-driven institutional processes.
These insights have shaped his ongoing contributions to examination reform and systems optimisation.
News
Nigeria now produces 10,000 passports per hour
In an address during the International Civil Service Conference 2026 in Abuja, the minister said that the reform has transformed passport production from a slow, manual and fragmented process into a system driven by automation, integration and efficiency.
Photo: Minister of Interior, Olatunji Olubunmi-Ojo
Minister of Interior, Olatunji Olubunmi-Ojo, said that Nigeria can now produce “nothing less than 10,000 passports per hour.”
The minister attributes the passport production fest to the establishment of a world-class centralised personalisation centre in Abuja, a development he described as the first of its kind since 1963.
In an address during the International Civil Service Conference 2026 in Abuja, the minister said that the reform has transformed passport production from a slow, manual and fragmented process into a system driven by automation, integration and efficiency.
“For the first time since 1963, we have a world-class centralised personalisation centre in Abuja,” said Olubunmi-Ojo.
“And what that means is that from a system that could do 400 or 500 passports per hour, all over the world, we could barely do three, four thousand a day or per hour.
Today, we are in a position to do nothing less than 10,000 passports per hour with a centralised level of control.”
He said the nder the new arrangement, stressing that the innovation marks a major shift in the management of internal security services and public administration.
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