PARENTS and guardians with their children and wards in both public and private primary and secondary schools – which were earlier scheduled to reopen by the third week of September after a long holiday that began late July – were directed by the Federal Government to adhere to a new date following the sudden outbreak of the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the country. Initially, the resumption was postponed to October 12 and in a twist, after a meeting of the Minister of Education, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and states’ commissioners of education, it was resolved that the schools would now reopen on September 22.

THE twin social ailments of unemployment and insecurity remain the most painful societal evils in Delta State today. Though pernicious and nearly permanent in the system, a well calculated approach can diminish, if not terminate, their influence in the society.

WHEN President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content, NOGIC Act, popularly known as the Nigerian Content (NC) Act on April 22, 2010, he meant well for the nation. But since then, the dubious activities of some foreign transnational oil companies, no doubt, has continued to undermine both the Content Board and whatever good intentions the Act itself was originally set to achieve in the nation’s oil and gas sector.

DEMOCRACY is popularly defined as the government of the people by the people and for the people. This presupposes that the generality of the eligible electorate is in charge of the election of their leaders. The leaders thus emerge through general, popular, free and fair election and not a process of discriminatory, irrational, dubious and devious selection.

WATCHING the Scotland debate:On Thursday September 18, 2014, Scottish group in the United Kingdom will be forming single files to the ballot box, to cast one-person one-vote in an historic referendum.