THE legislature, the executive and the judiciary are the three arms of government and the fulcrum on which democracy functions. Constitutionally and legally, they are supposed to function independently of one another in order to preserve the principle of checks and balances to ensure a healthy democracy.

HAJIYA Amina Zakari, the Acting National Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is still in the news. Her historic appointment made her the first woman to take the helms of the Commission. The appointment is, however, steeped in much controversy.

One of the earliest demands placed before President Muhammadu Buhari, even before he was sworn-in, was a request for financial bailout of states which could not pay their workers’ salaries. It was championed by the governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC) led by Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State.

THE crisis in the House of Represen-tatives, was finally resolved on Tuesday last week when the leadership of the House bowed to the demands of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to install its preferred candidates as principal officers.

THE Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sat last week to review developments in the global and domestic economic environments since its last meeting of 18th and 19th May, 2015 to address emerging challenges in the economic landscape.

WHEN President Muhammadu Buhari set out with his 32-man official delegation to the United States of America for an official visit to President Barack Obama, top on his shopping list was the quest to procure weapons and sundry support from the world’s sole superpower to flush out the Boko Haram jihadists from our embattled North East.

FROM the central parts of Nigeria are gory tales of wanton killings that should elicit shock and urgent action from all Nigerians. Indeed a sizeable part of the area has for years remained a killing field where hundreds of lives have been wasted, no thanks to the frequent clashes between local farmers and nomadic Fulani herdsmen. In fact, no week passes without media reports of fresh attacks resulting in the killing of several innocent individuals, especially women and children.

HUMAN rights are guaranteed in our constitution. That explains why countries all over the world ratified different conventions and treaties on the issue. These include the United Nations Charter on Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights. Nigeria is a signatory to most of these laws. Virtually all of them have been domesticated.

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has hinted that his government may not remove the petroleum subsidy, saying that the reasons so far canvassed for its removal did not sound plausible.

THERE was widespread anxiety about the fate of the Amnesty programme for former militants of the Niger Delta when Muhammadu Buhari emerged as the President of Nigeria. Given the dynamics of the election, and the fact that the programme was established by the former People’s Democratic Party (PDP) federal government under late President Umar Musa Yar’ Adua and sustained by the regime of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, people were not sure what Buhari would do with it.

EMBATTLED Governor Kassim Shettima of Borno State told newsmen that the appointment of two top defence functionaries from the state is a sign that the war against the Boko Haram terrorists will soon enter the end-game stage. The new National Security Adviser (NSA), retired Major General Babagana Monguno, and the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Tukur Buratai, are from the State.

MANY Nigerians once again demonstrated their usual disdain for deadline in respect of the ongoing Bank Verification Number,(BVN), registration. During its launch on February 14, 2014 by the then Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, the apex bank had fixed July 2014 as the commencement date for the BVN registration and December 31, 2014 as the deadline for all bank customers to have their BVNs.

ON Wednesday, 15th July 2015, Nigeria hopefully took a major step towards the repair of its tattered football when Mr. Sunday Oliseh was unveiled as the new Chief Coach of the Super Eagles following the sack of former coach, Mr. Stephen Keshi.

THE Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) is an independent union voluntarily formed by the leaders of the nation’s two recognised religious faiths – Christianity and Islam. It is composed of 50 members, made up of 25 Christian and 25 Muslim leaders and co-chaired by the Sultan of Sokoto, the leader of the Muslims in Nigeria and his counterpart, the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria.

FOR years, it was more of a rumour. But now, it is no longer a secret. No one can keep that kind of secret for long in these days of highly inquisitive and vibrant social media. It is official: iconic reggae star, Majekodunmi Fasheke, better known as “Majek Fashek the Rainmaker”, is a drug wreck.