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Soyinka Calls For Decentralisation Of Govt To Maximise Development

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Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has again called for the decentralisation of the governance structure in the country, saying such will help in the maximisation of development. 

He spoke on Thursday while delivering a public lecture in celebration of the 50th anniversary of PUNCH Nigeria Limited.

“When the world restructuring is brooded around, we often hear the challenge. What do you mean by restructuring? Well, I don’t even like the word restructuring I use. I prefer the expressions like reconfiguration, decentralisation,” he said.

“Everybody can grasp that decentralisation and those who lead us. They recognise the necessity of it. They recognise the importance, almost the inevitability of it until they get into power. Yes, that’s the difference until they get in power. Deconstruction, reconfiguration, decentralisation. All this is necessary in order to maximise development.”

Since the removal of fuel subsidy which triggered a hike in the cost of living, governments have rolled out several measures including palliatives.

But Soyinka has faulted the move, describing it as “temporary”.

“We speak about food, and hunger because it is real. But palliatives are temporary, stop-gap policies. They do not reach the heart of the problem, which is one of decentralised development as massively as possible,” the celebrated writer said.

“Palliatives remain crude, short-term, stop-gap measures only. As a veteran of food security working conferences from Uganda to India, from Paris to Sochi, I insist that, for a nation to be food self-sufficient, and sustainably, decentralization is the key, not collectivisation,” he said.

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I knew what poverty is when I became Emir – Sanusi Lamido

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The Emir of Kano and former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has said he got to know what poverty truly is when he mounted the throne.

Sanusi said this in a goodwill message at a public lecture with the theme: “Weaponization of poverty as a means of underdevelopment: A case study of Nigeria,” commemorating the 60th birthday celebration of former Rivers State Governor, Rotimi Amaechi, in Abuja, on Saturday.

The former CBN Governor said, “Many of the elite in Nigeria do not know what poverty is.

As an economist, former CBN Governor, I see the numbers. I did not know poverty until I became Emir.

“And you go to the village and see the water they drink, the houses they live in, they two block classrooms without roofs.

“Do we actually love the people or do we just love ruling over them? What are our priorities.

We make overheads and underpasses for ourselves in the cities while there in the rural areas cannot reach hospitals. We are in crisis, how do we get out should be our focus.”

Sanusi charged those saddled with the responsibility of leadership to inculcate the virtues of empathy with those they’ve been given a responsibility to lead.

Also speaking at the event, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai expressed concern that Nigerians kept repeating the same mistake of electing the worst among us into leadership positions.

According to him, “We keep electing people who only know how to grab power but don’t know what to do with it.”

A former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf, in his intervention, explained that most of the cases being handled in hospitals were not medical.

Yusuf blamed corruption and bad governance for the multidimensional poverty in Nigeria. He said unless citizens live up to their responsibilities and vote for what is right.

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Defamation: Natasha will appear in court on Tuesday says Lead Counsel, Idahosa

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West Idahosa (SAN), the lead counsel to suspended senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District of Kogi State, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has confirmed that she will appear in court on Tuesday, as summoned.

However, he expressed uncertainty about whether the Federal Government planned to arraign her on Tuesday.

He said that whatever the plans of the Federal Government, Akpoti-Uduaghan, as a law-abiding citizen, would comply with the court’s directives.

The Federal Government, through the Director of Public Prosecutions, Mohammed Abubakar, filed criminal charges against Akpoti-Uduaghan, alleging that she made defamatory statements during a live television broadcast and a private telephone conversation.

These statements reportedly targeted the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio and former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello.

According to the charge, filed on May 16, 2025, at the Federal Capital Territory High Court and marked CR/297/25, Akpoti-Uduaghan is accused of making a statement during an appearance on Politics Today on Channels TV on April 3, 2025, where she alleged that Akpabio and Bello discussed plans to assassinate her.

“It was part of the meeting, the discussions that Akpabio had with Yahaya Bello that night— to eliminate me… he then emphasised that I should be killed in Kogi,” the charge quotes her as saying.

Additionally, the government accused Akpoti-Uduaghan of making defamatory remarks in a telephone conversation on March 27, 2025.

In the conversation with a woman named Dr Sandra Duru, Akpoti-Uduaghan allegedly claimed that Akpabio was linked to organ harvesting involving the late Iniubong Umoren, purportedly for the benefit of his ailing wife.

Akpabio, Bello, and four others have been listed as key witnesses in the trial.

Idahosa also reiterated the readiness of the legal team to defend Akpoti-Uduaghan in court.

He said, “If the case is called tomorrow, we will respond accordingly with our client.

“The issue of protest is irrelevant to us — we are lawyers, and our focus is on defending charges we believe can be contested. Protests are the domain of civil societies and others in that terrain,” Idahosa said.

He further stated, “Our client is a law-abiding citizen. Why wouldn’t she be there? It’s a summons we have undertaken. Only disrespectful institutions that disregard court orders would fail to appear, and she is not in that category.

”When asked about the possibility of arraignment, Idahosa noted, “We don’t know.

We saw a notice of amended charges. We don’t know what they are trying to do.

They’ve amended the charges once and could do so again—it’s their decision.”

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NSEMA Recovers 153 Dead Body in Mokwa Flood

The director- general of NSEMA, Abdullahi Baba Arah, disclosed this yesterday while giving the daily update on the Disaster.

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The Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) has announced the discoveries of more dead bodies under a bridge bringing the death toll to 153 in the Mokwa Flood.

The director- general of NSEMA, Abdullahi Baba Arah, disclosed this yesterday while giving the daily update on the Disaster.

He said, “Two more dead bodies were recovered late yesterday (Saturday) under the bridge.

They were buried this morning (yesterday).”The director general said that with the latest development, the death toll has now been put at 153, and the affected population is now 3,018.

He said at Ndayako village, no death was recorded, but that 98 people were displaced and 58 houses were also washed away.

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