LATEST data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, shows that Nigeria’s economy is technically out of a recession.  The gross domestic product, GDP, has grown by 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017 (Q2’17) fully returning the economy on the path of positive growth after five consecutive quarters of negative growth.

THE recent decision of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, to peg admission cut-off mark at 120 for universities and 100 for polytechnics and  colleges of education has continued to generate ripples from stakeholders in the education sector. This is not surprising because issues bordering on university admission in Nigeria have always been highly contentious.

THE Treasury Single Account, TSA, introduced two years ago to great applause by financial experts, was designed to curb corruption in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, despite its initial adverse impact on banks’ liquidity and job losses. Interest rates initially went up but are now moderating.

Though countries routinely deport illegal foreign nationals and migrants, news of the arrival of Nigerian deportees from various countries have become pervasive of late.

Friday last week’s interactive meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and leaders of the two major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC was a significant milestone in the polity.

News that the Budget Office of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Finance have commenced the processes for preparing the 2018 budget of the Federal Government must have delighted champions of fiscal discipline.

The seeming muscle-flexing between Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice,AGF, Abubakar Malami SAN, and Acting Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission,EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, reflects an absence of coordination in the Federal Government’s prosecution agencies.

We join millions of well-meaning Nigerians in welcoming President Muhammadu Buhari from his  medical vacation in the United Kingdom. It is gratifying that he is back to resume his duties.

The year 2000 was once the magic year when Nigeria was projected to reach most of her developmental goals, but as we have seen, this did not happen. The President Olusegun Obasanjo regime signed the Millennium Development Goals, MDG, but Nigeria failed to meet the targets by its 2015 deadline.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has embarked upon another “indefinite and total” strike, which has shut down no less than 40 Federal and 44 state universities.

Nigeria was once the first destination in Africa for Foreign Direct Investment, FDI. But now, according to a study, the country ranks nineteenth. Recently, the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, reported that FDI flow plummeted from $9.64 bn in 2015 to $5.12 bn in 2016, a whopping 46 per cent drop. That  drop only tells part of the story and does not reveal the challenges facing the nation which badly need a lot of FDI.

Lagos, Nigeria’s high density commercial and industrial capital, is back to wearing a garb of filth as heaps of refuse have taken over the metropolis. Not quite long after medical experts had, in reaction to the development warned of a possible outbreak of epidemic as a consequence, there have been reports of deaths arising from Lassa fever infection in the state, with a lot of people under surveillance due to exposure to the disease.

Nigerians were already acclaiming the decimation of Boko Haram Islamist insurgency as a major accomplishment of the President Muhammadu Buhari government after two years in power when, suddenly, it made a disheartening resurgence.

The atmosphere of disunity which appears about to overwhelm the Nigerian polity has become a matter of urgent national importance which must be arrested. The Federal Government must roll out all law enforcement instruments to guarantee the protection of lives and property of Nigerians.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, had last week in a public event, indicated that the Federal Government is set to compel International Oil Companies (IOCs) to cut the cost of producing oil in Nigeria. He said the move was to cope with the current low price of crude oil in the international market.