Nigeria’s fourth successive general elections since the return of democracy in 1999 were held last April. Expectedly, numerous bodies including civil society groups who played key roles in ensuring effective participation of the citizens in the electoral process and that its outcomes were credible and acceptable, have taken a backward look at the electoral experience, taking stock, with a view to creating a pathway for sustainable and wholesome democratic elections for the country.

Amid the raging controversy over the oil exploration activities of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) which left the Ogoni area of the Niger Delta severely polluted, there is a fresh outbreak of oil spillage in four communities in Delta State allegedly from the activities of an oil firm identified as Seplat Petroleum Development Company Limited.

The FCT Administration is working towards meeting the target of freeing all the entrance and exit roads into the Federal Capital City from traffic bottlenecks which has resulted in the loss of human lives and waste of valuable man hour during the working days.

Chidi Okafor who lived in Owerri had no premonition that his elder brother Ifeanyi Okafor was involved in an armed robbery attack and killed by a passenger luxury bus at Zariagi near Kabba junction in Kogi state.

Tongues have already started wagging! Whose interest was the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Bello Adoke,SAN, representing when he gazetted regulations he insisted should be religiously followed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, in its operations.

The Federal Government has set a $2 billion fund target for Nigerians in Diaspora to serve as an instrument of sale to the Diaspora for the development in Nigeria.

For more than seven months now, motorists and commuters plying Lagos – Badagry and Oshodi/Apapa expressways have been subjected to untold hardship following regular traffic gridlock on the roads. The situation worsened when the construction works on the Lagos-Badagry expressway reached Mile 2.

They come in one after the other in their regalia. Some of them are wearing their robes for the very first time. Some actually went the extra mile to buy or make the apparel specially, for the day’s meeting. They black-slap; some grin; a few grimace; some smile with their teeth; a few, very few others are actually happy smiling; yet, some are fidgeting, being their second time in the council chambers, the first being the day of swearing in; indeed, there are those who are just fishing for the camera lights for pure publicity; to be fair, there are those whose main concern is to really fashion out a way to develop Nigeria. Welcome to the inaugural meeting of the Executive Council of the Federation, EXCOF, in this tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan.

When Professor Dora Akunyili assumed duty as the minister of information and communications in 2008, she was quick to announce to Nigerians that her tenure would be on re-branding the country thereby attracting good perception of its image both among Nigerians and foreigners alike.

“WARRI Boys”, under the auspices of the Warri Rebirth Initiative, WRI, are planning to revive the good old days of the oil city of Warri in Delta State, which was detribalized and united, by collaborating with the state government, development agencies and stakeholders to build a new Warri mega city .