It is Christmas time again and a time for sharing. That was how I grew up to see it. Neighbours cooked and exchanged food with neighbours; children moved from one relative’s or family friend’s house to the other. This enabled them to have a taste of the culinary skills different from their mothers.’ These are no longer common in urban areas, but I hope it still happens in towns and villages where life is more personal and communal. 

The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, yesterday, accused petroleum marketers of hoarding and diversion of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol, thereby fuelling the scarcity of the commodity across the country.

THE International Monetary Fund, IMF, yesterday called for urgent structural reforms and sustenance of tight monetary policy in Nigeria to sustain the nation’s recovery from economic recession.

Take Army Chief, Yusuf Tukur Buratai, to the poll as a candidate today. His popularity is not in doubt. I guess the three-star general will not get enough votes to stay in office. Loathed in the North–East, his geo-political zone by Boko Haram, pilloried in the South-East by IPOB, despised in the Niger Delta by Avengers. He does not enjoy the backing of the Middle Belt and South-West where herdsmen  are on rampage.

There has been tension in Okpella community, Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State following the mining war between two giant companies in the production of cement in the country, the BUA Group and Dangote, over a disputed mining site in Obu community in Okpella. The disagreement between the two companies have polarized Okpella community, as supporters of both parties commenced the beating of drums of war heightening tension in the community.

What are you doing at Christmas? This is a question which often comes with the yuletide season from lovers, spouses, friends, children, parents, family members, social and business associates. It starts as early as three months to Christmas, but gets more frequent as we get nearer Christmas. And the answers can be as varied as the persons asking.

The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, has shut down operations at a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC-franchise filling station around Trans-Woji-Slaughter Road area of Port Harcourt.

The Chairman of the Ekiti State Electoral Commission(EKSIEC), Justice  Kayode Bamisile has disclosed that  five political parties will be participating in the State local government elections targeted at electing new chairmen and councilors to pilot the affairs of the third tier for the next two years.

A traditional ruler in Ondo State, Oba Pius Akinfesola Adewola, would spend this yuletide period in prison as a Chief Magistrate Court in the state sentenced him to two years imprisonment over allegation of fraudulent conversion, and obtaining money under false pretense.

Ms. Eeefy Ike is the Chief Executive Officer of Style is Innate, an outfit that is into hand-crafted jewellery, an actress, activist, motivational speaker, image consultant, author and the Communications Director of Gedisco Energy Solutions. In this chat in Abuja recently with Vanguard, she talks about her project with ex-militants in the Presidential Amnesty programme. She shares her experience, saying that if we don’t change our mindset, we should forget any form of progress. Excerpts:

An extra-ordinary meeting of Nigeria’s governors took place last Tuesday at the Presidential Villa. So extra-ordinary was the meeting that Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State who has made it a point of principle not to honour the Muhammadu Buhari administration with his presence in the Presidential Villa made it to the meeting.

Chief Andrew Uchendu is the senator representing Rivers East Senatorial District in the National Assembly. A seasoned technocrat, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress(APC), a major stakeholder in the party and a well known grassroot politician in Rivers State, Chief Uchendu has been a recurring decimal in the political equation of Rivers State since 1999. He had served for three terms of 12 years as a member of the House of Representatives, representing Ikwerre/Emohua Federal Constituency before he was encouraged by his people to move up to the Senate. He spoke to journalists on the crisis in the Rivers State chapter of the APC and the face off between his senate colleague from Rivers State, Sen. Magnus Abe and the immediate past governor of the state and Minister of Transport, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, who is the leader of APC in the State and South-South, and the political benefactor of both senators. 

The Itsekiri nation as an oil producing ethnic nationality is faced with the problem of underdevelopment. How best can the challenge be addressed?

IN the face of diminishing colourful decorations in offices, domiciles and shopping plazas across the country, Nigerians irrespective of religion and political persuasion acknowledged that it’s Christmas. The day has much significance to Christians, to whom it symbolises the birth of Jesus Christ. On Christmas day, even the most irregular of churchgoers attend the Christmas service.

General Overseer of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) Reformation Land (Ile-Atunse Special District headquarters) Olunloyo Akanran Road, Ibadan, in his Christmas message, described Christ as the greatest love of God to humanity, because God had mercy on humanity and after about 4,000 years, Christ was born, the greatest man in the history of the whole world.