News View Digest

SECOND TERM BID FOR SENATE PRESIDENT IN 11TH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL: NIGERIANS REJECT AKPABIO, BARAU, SAY SENATE IS NOT A RETIREMENT HOME. By Comrade Dr. Kenneth Oshiogwemoh, Public Communicator & Political Affairs Analyst, Edo North Senatorial Stakeholders 16th October, 2026. The report that some members of the 10th Senate on Thursday, October 15, 2026, staged a "No Vacancy" endorsement for Senate President Godswill Akpabio and Deputy Senate President Jibrin Barau ahead of the 11th National Assembly in 2027 raises serious concerns about democratic process and constitutionalism. Nigerians Are Asking: What Are the Achievements of the 10th Senate Under Akpabio? A pertinent question being asked by Nigerians is: What are the measurable achievements of the 10th Senate under the leadership of Senator Godswill Akpabio? Where is the legislative impact? Where is the effect on the common man? Under this leadership, capital budget implementation has suffered  .repeate...

Help Me Give My Baby A Better Life - 45-Year-Old Edo Woman Cries Out After Father Denied Paternity Habiba Sam Benin City - A 45-year-old woman, Miss Joy Williams, from Ebelle in  (Igueben ) Local Government Area of Edo State, has cried out to well-meaning Nigerians to help her give her innocent baby girl a better life. Joy, who gave birth four months ago, said the father of the child has since denied responsibility for the baby, leaving her alone to face the burden of motherhood. Narrating her ordeal, the struggling mother said she has been at the mercy of her kind-hearted landlord and landlady who have been her only support system since she delivered. "My baby girl deserves a better life, I cannot continue to put my burden on this wonderful family who have been so caring to me and my daughter," Joy lamented. According to her, she is currently owing one. year  house rent, including electricity bills and waste bills, yet the family has never troubled her. Instead, they still f...

Razak Zekeri Urges Urgent Rehabilitation of Failed Portion At Ramat Park, Ikpoba Hill The Senior Special Assistant on Public Affairs to the Edo State Governor, Comrade Razak Zekeri, has drawn the attention of Governor Monday Okpebholo to the failed portion of the road at Ramat Park, Ikpoba Hill, directly beneath the flyover. In a letter addressed to His Excellency, Governor Monday Okpebholo, through the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Zekeri said he was compelled to bring the rapidly deteriorating condition of the road to the Governor's attention following public outcry and personal assessment of the spot. According to him, a portion of the road has failed at the said location, with wide craters and deep potholes making it almost impassable, particularly for smaller vehicles, following recent rainfall. Zekeri noted that the failed portion has become a major bottleneck, resulting in serious traffic hold-up and gridlock for motorists plying the busy Benin-Auchi and Benin-Lagos corrid...

OFFICE OF THE SENIOR SPECIAL ASSISTANT (SSA) ON PUBLIC AFFAIRS TO THE GOVERNOR EDO STATE GOVERNMENT, BENIN CITY Date: October 14, 2026 To: His Excellency, Senator Monday Okpebholo, The Executive Governor of Edo State, Government House, Benin City. Through:The Chief of Staff to the Governor. Subject: URGENT ATTENTION REQUIRED ON THE FAILED PORTION OF ROAD AT RAMAT PARK, IKPOBA HILL BENEATH THE FLYOVER Your Excellency, I write to draw Your Excellency’s urgent attention to the deplorable and failed portion of the road at Ramat Park, Ikpoba Hill, directly beneath the flyover. Upon an on-the-spot assessment and following several complaints from motorists and residents, it was observed that the said portion has completely failed, with deep potholes and craters developing. The situation has worsened due to the constant heavy vehicular traffic on that corridor, which is a major entry and exit point into Benin City. The failed portion has resulted in severe traffic gridlock and hold-ups for mot...

BUDGET ROLLOVER SYNDROME (PART 2): WHEN THE RED CHAMBER BECAME DOCILE By Comrade Dr. Kenneth Oshiogwemoh, Public Communicator and Political Affairs Analyst, Abuja. 13th October, 2026. The most tragic part of the budget rollover syndrome is not in the Villa. It is in the Red Chamber. In Part 1 of this series, I warned that Nigeria has dangerously moved from annual budgeting to perpetual budgeting. Today, I ask a more painful question: where is the National Assembly? Under Sections 59, 80, 81, 88, 89 and 318 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), Nigeria operates a 12-month financial year. The Constitution gives the National Assembly the power of the purse and the duty of oversight. That sacred duty is currently failing. The Facts on Ground: As of today, 13th October 2026, contractors who executed 2024 capital projects across the federation have not been paid. The capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act has been extended four times - from December 2025 to March 2026, to June 2026...

Okpebholo Sends 2026 Supplementary Budget To Edo Assembly For Approval Habiba Sam The Edo State House of Assembly on Monday received the 2026 Supplementary Appropriation Bill transmitted by Governor Monday Okpebholo for consideration and approval. The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Yekini Idaiye, who read the Governor’s letter during plenary in Benin City, disclosed that the supplementary budget proposal was forwarded to the House for necessary legislative action. He noted that the bill would be listed on the Order Paper for deliberation at a later legislative date. In another development, the House referred a Bill for a Law to establish the Edo State Emergency Management Agency (EdoSEMA) to the House Committee on Environment and Sustainability for further legislative scrutiny. The referral followed a motion moved by the Majority Leader, Hon. Sunday Ojezele, and seconded by Hon. Charity Aiguobarueghian, representing Ovia North-East II. Leading debate on the bill, Ojezele cited Section 14 of the 199...

Hundreds of Edo Youths Dump Cultism In Mass Denunciation As Okpebholo Offers Rehabilitation Habiba Sam I n a decisive move to break away from violence and embrace a new lease of life, scores of youths formerly involved in cult activities in Edo State on Monday publicly renounced cultism, pledging to abandon the vice and live peaceful, law-abiding lives. The mass renunciation ceremony, themed "Restitution, Rehabilitation and Safer Edo State," was held at the Sir Victor Uwaifo Creative Hub, Airport Road, Benin City. Addressing the repentant youths, Governor Monday Okpebholo lauded them for taking the bold step, and called on others still enmeshed in cultism to emulate them and seize the opportunity to turn their lives around. The Governor said his administration is providing genuine rehabilitation opportunities and a fresh start for those willing to abandon criminality, stressing that their past should not define their future. Okpebholo disclosed that Edo State was recording ov...