Crude oil exploration has witnessed an upward growth since the commodity was first discovered in the country in the 1950s. While it has sustained the Nigerian economy, the oil exploration activities have taken its toll on the Nigerian environment.

Nigerians have commended the federal government move to tackle the hydry-headed corruption in the power sector with the take-over of the management of Transmission Comapany of Nigeria, TCN one of the successor companies created from the unbundling process of PHCN by Manitoba Hydro International, a Canadian power management company. Electricity consumers who spoke to Saturday Vanguard expressed hapiness that sanity is underway in the sector.

Scorned by lawmakers, despised by workers but discharged by the Federal government from any criminal breaches, Arunma Oteh, the Director General of the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has demonstrated uncommon guts which set her apart as an amazon made up of a stainer stuff.

The percentage difference between the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) under Pension Reform Act 2004 and the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS) run from superannuation fund in calculated monetary terminal benefits of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers among other related issues, have caused serious labour upheaval in the power sector.

The current impasse over the takeover of management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria, TCN, by the Canadian firm, Manitoba Hydro International, has brought into sharper focus the challenge of implementing power reform that would ensure provision of adequate and stable electricity for millions of Nigerian businesses and homes.

To me, privatizing PHCN is overdue in this nation. By overdue I mean there is gross inefficiency in the system. People are billed for what they did not consume and you cannot sue PHCN. The management is inefficient and there are lots of fraudulent activities going on in the sector.

AKURE, the Ondo State capital stood still for over five hours as the state governor, Olusegun Mimiko, made known his intention to contest the October 20 governorship election.

Ghanaian President John Evans Atta Mills died of cardiac arrest yesterday at a military hospital in Accra on the day he was scheduled to be in Abuja on a one day working visit.

The way SPDC managed the Bonga oil spill incident of December 20, 2011 indicates that we are yet to see a “new improved” SPDC, which is the current slogan of SPDC. Implementation of the Gmou so far has been bedeviled by lip service and fleeting commitment to the unambiguous provisions by operators of the GmOu in SPDC’s Central Division.

All the programmes in the college of science, which are due for accreditation, had all been accredited. The programmes we are now working for their accreditation are the programmes in the college of technology, which, as against the science programmes, which are four- year degree programmes, four years in terms of length of residency of the students – the engineering programmes, we are working towards their accreditation.

This will shock you. It is the report of Sunday Vanguard’s painstaking investigation with sources inside Aso Rock Presidential Villa, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, the Petroleum Equalization Fund, PSF, and the Petroleum Support Fund, PSF, just to mention a few.

In a way, yes. This is evident in the panels set up to probe the activities of fuel marketers and also the Presidency’s vow to deal with the culprits. But government can do a lot more to instil transparency in the system. We must stop the barefaced stealing that is going on in the oil sector.

For many Nigerians as well as the global investment community, this is a welcome development – although nobody accustomed to the way this particular government works will heave a sigh of relief yet. The reasons are not hard to discover and the Minister provided some reasons for skepticism.

Nigerians especially, the teeming graduates who are roaming the streets in search of good jobs have reacted to the recent statement by the minister for finance, Dr Okonjo Iweala that our graduates are not employable. Some of them who spoke angrily to Saturday Vanguard said that it is very wrong for her to make such a pronouncement.

Hon. Avoseh Hodewu Suru, member Lagos State House of Assembly and Chairman House committee on Health representing Badagry constituency is the sponsor of the bill seeking to legalise voluntary cremation and unclaimed corpse in the state.