As poor as some residents of Ido Local Government area of the state are, they paid through their noses to get health care delivery. Though, the last administration in Oyo State gave the impression that health care was free, many patients in the 33 local government areas in the state, especially in Akufo, Onigbinde, Ogundele Alaho and its environs still paid for medical treatment. No wonder, many of them preferred the alternative traditional treatment.

It was indeed a sad day of reckoning for three suspected drug traffickers as their get-rich-quick escapade was effectively foiled by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos. Among the suspects was a 35-year-old man, Udeh Donatus Chukwuka, 35, who ingested both cocaine and heroin.

When Vanguard Metro, VM first met him, his condition was visibly pathetic. He was living in a house with perforated roof, with nylon hanging loosely under the ceiling, which serves as a protection against leakage from rain and intrusion of creeping creatures.

The crisis rocking the Irri Development Union, IDU, an umbrella body of indigenes of Irri community in Isoko South Local Government Area of Delta State, appears far from being over, given the accusation and counter-accusation trailing alleged killings in the town.

It was another day of terror in Misau Local Government Area of Bauchi State, when gunmen attacked a first generation bank and a police station, in what was described as a double operational invasion. The attack which was not the first of its kind in the area, left six police men and one civilian dead, while several others sustained injuries. And while it lasted, it created pandemonium in the entire area.

Peace Mass Transit, PMT, Limited, a subsidiary of Peace Group Limited, founded in the year 1995, could be regarded as a “national career” in terms of land transport, as it moves over 24 million Nigerians around the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria annually.

IN a practical demonstration of corporate social responsibility, a private owned media and public relations organisation, Core Media Services, has built and donated two boreholes to boost supply of potable water for the residents of Oremeji area of Mushin Local Government Area.

For most Ogoni, the multinational oil giant, Shell is their number one enemy because of the strong impression they have that the operations of the oil giant in their area before it was halted only brought them misery, anguish and pain. The bitterness was evident as residents of Ogale community, Eleme spoke to the Vanguard Metro, VM, recently about the impact of benzene on their water.

The Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA is presently thumping its chest in self-congratulation. The Authority has made bold to declare that there is a new dawn in waste management after it introduced a fresh approach to waste disposal in the state.

Barely one month after the Lagos State Government instituted a panel of highly placed security chiefs to investigate the lingering civil unrest which ravaged most parts of the state, many Lagosians were shocked to witness last week another bloody clash in the city, an indication that there is as yet no end to ugly episode.

The Executive Chairman of Apapa Local Government Area, Mr.Ayodeji Joseph, has improved the education standard on primary and secondary students in the council, upon assuming office three years ago.

It is not a good moment for residents of Prince Clifford’s Street and other streets off Airport Road Benin City. The reason is that increased flooding in the area as a result of the on-going road construction had caused more devastation rather than relief to the inhabitants of the area.

Mr Ikpomwonsa Edebiri, a member of Edo State Football Association, was kidnapped penultimate Friday, along the Warri Sapele Road, while on his way to Benin City to watch the semi-final match between Enyimba and Ocean Boys football clubs. He was picked up by armed men suspected to be kidnappers in a village between Warri and Sapele few days after the burial of his mother in Benin City. However, he was released the evening of the following day after a horrible experience in the hands of his captives. He shared his experience with Vanguard Metro.

The National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has urged the immediate relocations of communities from floodplains and those that built houses on waterways as four states in Nigeria prepare for impending heavy rainfall based on recent flood alert.

Most motorists plying the East-West road straddling the Niger Delta states of Delta, Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom will not forget Tuesday September 6, 2011 in a hurry.