ANYONE who looks through the list of ministers the President has submitted to the Senate would move from surprise to wondering what ministers really do. In that list, the President appears to have set out only to fulfil the constitutional requirement that each State should be represented in the cabinet.

IT is obvious the Nigerian economy is in a precarious situation. Is it anything new? Even oil theft, and the unclear accounts of oil receipts, coupled with corruption that are speedily draining resources available to governments, are not new.

EKPO Una Owo Nta, the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, has narratives about corruption that make the issue seem more academic than practical. His experience in the federal public service should serve him well in the second year of his five-year tenure as head of one of Nigeria’s anti-corruption agencies.

CASES of kidney failure are alarming. Afflicted Nigerians would appreciate efforts to ameliorate the situation. The Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, said more than 5,000 Nigerians travel to India and other countries monthly for medical attention.

STATISTICS on rape incidents may still not be a good reflection of the extent of the crime. Stigmatisation of rape victims keeps the numbers low, a further armoury to the criminals.

THE United States of America positions itself as a great country.

IT would be dangerous to keep overlooking rising security challenges in Rivers State. The police and the state government have tangled over security issues for almost a year. Things are getting worse.

THE Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has decided that candidates in the 2014 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations, UTME, would compulsorily register only one university, one polytechnic, one college of education and one innovative enterprise institute. It is considered a solution to challenges with admissions to higher institutions.

ELECTIONS next year without the tumultuous crisis-ridden six North-East States of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe will bear grave consequences for the constitutional directions of the country.

SOMEWHERE in the midst of the self-excusing reasons that are being given for the bombing of courts in Ahoada and Okehi, Rivers State, the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has adopted the same self-defeating posture that has failed to improve the country’s security.