I HAVE watched with utter dismay O’tega Emerhor’s attempt to discredit the results of the governorship and House of Assembly election in Delta State. Not a few in Delta are amused and puzzled by his antics given the obvious facts on the ground that APC and Emerhor did not stand a chance of winning the governorship election in the State.

THE Nigeria Labour Congress ,NLC, the apex labour organisation for all workers, announced five months ago, that 11 state governments had not paid December salaries to their workers. The President of the NLC, Mr. Abdulwahed Omar, who made the comment in an ‘End of Year Message’ stated that three of the states, Benue, Plateau and Osun, were also owing between three to eight months workers’ salary arrears.

Nkurunziza may be technically right or wrong in his argument for a Third Term, but is it worth so much bloodshed and instability for his country? Is his ambition worth the blood of Burundians? An Idi Amin might have insisted in running, no matter the costs, but definitely, not a Nelson Mandela. One reason why leaders like Nkurunziza fester on the African continent, is the lack of Social Movements comprising workers, students, the informal sector, conscientious intellectuals and other progressive forces who can bring pressure to bear on the AU or any African leader.

Only very few cities in the world can match the cost of living in Abuja, the Federal Capital City of Nigeria. Of all Abuja’s mounting needs, as in all new cities, housing remains the most acute. It is so bad that one-room self-contained goes for up to half a million Naira in the city centre, and only slightly less in the adjourning districts.

YOUR Excellences, Kindly permit me to use this medium to congratulate all of you on your most deserving but hard earned victory at the polls. I thank God for finding you worthy to occupy this position of responsibility and pray for wisdom and good health to enable you succeed in this national assignment.

A new Speaker of the House of Representatives will emerge in less than a month. The change promised by the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) had been apparent in the former’s refusal to meddle in the process of (s)electing a new Speaker. While this does not necessarily prohibit other stakeholders from attempting to install a preferred candidate, it is the hope of many that the eventual choice resonates with Nigerians and inspires hope for the future.

A RECURRENT feature of the politics of in this country is petition writing at all levels of Government – Local Government, State and Federal. There is no government Agency, no matter how good intentioned that is not unduly criticised, harassed or blackmailed by petition writers. The ridiculous thing about most of these petitions is that the allegations contained therein are false when investigated and sometimes, fabricated.

AN American president once made the statement; “don’t ask what your country can do for you but ask what you can do for your country”. In the same vein, there is this question that we usually ask ourselves; “can one die for his country?” Many people in countries like the United States, Japan, Canada, Russia, etc will answer in the affirmative but why can’t we Nigerians do same? Why are we unwilling to make the supreme sacrifice for our country? Is it in our genes or environmental make up or simply the faulty foundation as a country?

The battle for the chairmanship of Enugu State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) is already hotting up and throwing up interesting permutations, even though the outgoing executive committee is yet to be formally dissolved.

By personal choice and discipline, I act and think on the basis that I am first a Nigerian, before I am from the Niger Delta.

It is on that basis that I want to urge stake holders to not only take action on the Petroleum Industry Bill, but to take the appropriate action.