Editorial

THE appointment of a new management for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), led by Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu as Group Managing Director portends a refreshing and hope-lifting re-organisation that must not only rebuild the corporation, but also direct the fortunes of the oil and gas sector to the benefit of the Nigerian people.

THAT it took so long for countries in the West African sub-region to collectively move to tackle the scourge of trafficking in persons across borders is bad enough.

WITH more than a million victims of Boko Haram’s insurgency in camps and with diverse needs, the N5 billion President Muhammadu Buhari ordered to be released to them may not be much.

ON account of the gruesomeness of the killing of some prominent Nigerians, the passage of time has not healed the wounds inflicted on the nation. And the cry for justice remains justifiably loud.

The revelation in the valedictory speech of retired Chief of Defence Staff  (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, that the military forces with which he fought the Boko Haram insurgency were ill-equipped for the onerous and risky assignment is only a confirmation from the highest military level of what had been widely known within and outside Nigeria.

THE West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has made good its threat to withhold the results of students from the states that owe the Council a whopping N4 billion in unpaid fees, a situation which has rendered WAEC incapable of meeting its obligations to its examiners and unable even to pay salaries as well as meet other overhead costs in running the head office in Nigeria.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari’s appointment the other day of Brig.-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd.) as the chairman of the Presidential Amnesty Implementation Committee that coordinates the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP)

THAT the perceived anti-corruption agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari has caused the state governors of the federation to rush to the Code of Conduct Bureau to declare their assets should not surprise many. When the president has a history of frugality, a sense of accountability and has practically demonstrated his commitment to leading by example in rejecting opulence, slashing his salary and declaring his assets, then there is no excuse for non-compliance by other public office holders. Indeed, apart from state governors, it is expected that members of the National Assembly and state legislators will genuinely follow in this direction.

Sir: It is really disconcerting the way the EFCC is being castigated from every angle by some politically exposed persons and members of the public. One would ordinarily think that the activities of the EFCC would be applauded by all and sundry considering their doggedness in the fight against corruption.

WHEN, in appreciation of the enormous challenges facing Nigeria, which his government alone cannot handle, President Muhammadu Buhari, the other day, appealed to the media to assist him in rebuilding the country, he merely reminded journalists of a responsibility they have seemed to have overlooked in recent times.

IT is heartening that action on rebuilding the devastated North-East region of Nigeria, long at the mercy of an insurgency that has claimed more than 20,000 lives and left over one million people displaced from homes, is being intensified. Certainly, the traumatized citizens, especially women and children in that area, need the succour urgently.

ONE common trend that runs through Nigeria’s successive administrations is the expressed objective to promote national economic prosperity.