News View Digest

ITV/Radio Holds Pre-Independence Lecture, Falana Speaks On Nigerian Dream Habiba Sam  The Independent Television and Radio (ITV/Radio) on Tuesday held its 2026 Pre-Independence Anniversary Public Lecture with the theme, "The Nigerian Dream: Still Valid or Dead On Arrival," at Airport Road, Benin City. The event featured a performance by an Edo cultural dance group. Welcoming dignitaries, the Managing Director of ITV/Radio, Engr. Elvis Obaseki, said the lecture was a call to duty. "This lecture is our call to duty. As we celebrate Nigeria's Independence tomorrow and look towards 2027, we ask: what kind of Nigeria do we want to bequeath to our children? A Nigeria where the dream is valid for all, not just for a few? A Nigeria where our vote brings hope, security and justice?" he said. He thanked guests on behalf of the Chairman-Emeritus, Sir (Chief) Dr. Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, the Advisory Board, Management and Staff of ITV/Radio. In his keynote address, Dr. P...

Edo NAWOJ Chairperson, Comrade Habiba Sam, Leads Women In Exciting Cooking Exercise By Admin  The Chairperson of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Edo State chapter, Comrade Habiba Sam, on Tuesday led members of the association in a special cooking exercise as part of activities to strengthen sisterhood among members. The event, which was the Second Edition of "Truth, Taste, and Tradition: NAWOJ Congress & Culinary Training" featured a repeat preparation of the popular Afang Soup. The atmosphere was filled with excitement as the women journalists actively participated in the cooking exercise, sharing moments of joy, laughter and learning. Addressing the women, Comrade Habiba Sam said the programme was deliberately designed to foster unity and promote sisterhood, which remains a core objective of NAWOJ. According to her, the initiative is aimed at encouraging members to help and stand by one another whenever the need arises. She explained that when wome...

Edo Special Court Sentences 3 Men, 1 Woman To Death By Hanging For Kidnapping, Cultism Habiba Sam  Barely three months after it was established, the special Edo State High Court sitting in Benin City dedicated to kidnapping, cultism and other violent crimes on Tuesday sentenced three men and a woman to death by hanging for kidnapping and membership of a secret cult. The judgment, which lasted over three hours, was delivered by Justice T. A. Momodu on an 11-count charge preferred against the convicts. The condemned persons are Marvelous Isaac, 32; Wisdom Michael, 36; Rufus Michael, 30; and Gift Raphael, 27. The special court was set up following a brazen daylight kidnapping and robbery incident at the popular Vegetable Market off Airport Road, Benin City. Days after the incident, and at the request of Governor Monday Okpebholo, the Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Andrew Okungbowa, dedicated two courts to handle kidnapping, cultism and other violent crimes. The suspects arrested in...

  NEWS  EDITORIAL OKPAGHA-AMUFI ROAD: FROM FLOOD AND DESPAIR TO PROSPERITY AND HOPE There are roads, and there are roads that redefine a people's destiny. The newly completed Okpagha-Amufi road, which strategically links the Benin-Auchi road to the Benin-Agbor road, constructed by the administration of His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Edo State, Senator Monday Okpebholo, clearly belongs to the latter. For decades, Amufi was a community defined by its challenges. The story was the same: impassable roads, inaccessible homes, and a perennial flood that held the entire area hostage every rainy season. Many landlords became tenants elsewhere. Many who had invested their life savings in building houses watched helplessly as flood water took over. The area was fast becoming abandoned. But today, the story has changed completely. And it is a story every Edo person should hear. Governor Monday Okpebholo did not just award a road contract; he provided a holistic solution. At th...

FG Moves In On Collapsed  Benin-Asaba Highway, Begins Emergency Rescue After Concessionaire Failure Habiba Sam  Worried by the total collapse and crippling gridlock on the 125-kilometre Benin-Asaba highway, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has ordered an immediate emergency rehabilitation of the critical federal road. The President, who was represented by Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, at the flag-off of the emergency works in Benin , said the intervention was a direct response to the outcry and untold hardship faced daily by motorists and residents along the Edo-Delta corridor. According to President Tinubu, the Benin-Asaba road was earlier concessioned under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model to the Benin-Asaba Expressway Concession Company (BAECC) with a three-year delivery timeline, but the company failed to live up to the terms of the agreement. Tinubu maintained that the federal government could no longer fold its arms while Nigerians suffer. “We are...

Edo Assures Refund Of Pension Contributions For Workers Moved From Contributory To Defined Benefit Scheme From: Razak Zekeri, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Affairs  The Edo State Government has given a firm assurance that it will refund the 8 percent pension contributions made by workers who were recently migrated from the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS) to the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS). The assurance was given by the Permanent Secretary of the Edo State Pension Bureau, Mr. Washington Abbe, while speaking with journalists in Benin City on the issues surrounding the transition of affected pensioners from CPS to DBS. Mr. Abbe said the state government is fully committed to ensuring that no pensioner suffers any loss or disadvantage as a result of the migration exercise, stressing that the welfare of workers and retirees remains a top priority of the present administration. According to him, all personal contributions made by the affected workers while under...