Author: Candid Reporters

Dr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, Founder and President of Masters Group of Companies and former Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development has delivered the Global Keynote Address at the Innovate Africa Conference. The event had African Heads of State, policymakers, investors, business leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, creatives, development institutions, and industry experts to unlock Africa’s trillion-dollar economic opportunities through strategic collaboration, investment, innovation, and policy transformation. “Energy as Economic Sovereignty: Powering Africa’s Industrial Rise to a Sustainable Trillion-Dollar Economy.” He also contributed to discussions on Energy, Oil & Gas, and Mining, and participated in the panel session titled “Prosperity: Energy and…

The Fundación para la Internacionalización de las Administraciones Públicas (FIAP) in collaboration with FactCheckAfrica, under the framework of the EU Support to ECOWAS in Peace, Security and Governance (EPSG) Project is strengthening journalists on indigenous–language electoral reporting ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 election. CANDID REPORTERS monitored the 3-day training held at Uyo, the capital city of Akwa Ibom state. from October 13-15, 2026. The three-day training programme was designed to strengthen the capacity of journalists, broadcasters, editors, fact-checkers and other media practitioners to produce accurate, ethical and inclusive electoral information in indigenous languages ahead of Nigeria’s 2027 elections. The workshop focused…

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says its operatives has revealed the seizure of packaging materials for alcoholic beverages and other products, worth more than N200 million in Aba, Abia state. In an X post on Wednesday, NaAFDAC said the officials raided five shops at Old Court road market in Aba following credible intelligence on the production and supply of counterfeit packaging materials. The agency said the seized items included fake labels, corks, packs and outer packaging materials bearing the names of several brands. “The operation uncovered counterfeit labels, corks, packs and outer packaging materials…

Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Olisa Agbakoba, has insisted that journalists have the legal right to publish election results, stressing that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, alone has the exclusive authority to formally declare the outcome of an election. Agbakoba argued that the distinction between publishing and declaring results was crucial ahead of the 2027 general election, adding that journalists could broadcast figures announced by electoral officers at polling units without waiting for INEC’s final declaration. He made the remarks while fielding questions on Arise Television’s Morning Show on Wednesday. The former NBA president cited a…

Governor Alex Otti, of Abia State has directed the new management of the Abia Industrial and Innovation Park (AIIP), Owaza, to accelerate work on the project, revealing that a steel plant operating in another state is being relocated to the facility despite the huge cost implication. Otti said the development demonstrated investors’ confidence in the industrial park, which his administration is positioning as a major hub for industrial production, commerce and innovation in Abia State. The governor gave the directive on Tuesday when he received his Chief of Staff, Pastor Caleb Ajagba, and members of the State Executive Council, who…

The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Hon. Chijioke Chukwu, has described the appointment of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, as Deputy Director II, South, of the APC Presidential Campaign Council as well deserved. In a statement signed by the APC National Secretary, Ajibola Basiru, the party also appointed Chukwu as the Abia State Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 general elections. Reacting to the development, Chukwu said Kalu’s appointment was a recognition of his legislative achievements, leadership qualities and ability to manage complex…

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has removed the names of the name of former Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Prof. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, Ladi Adebutu, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate in Ogun state, and his running mate from its final list of candidates for the 2027 governorship election. Isa Pantami, who recently won a fresh PDP governorship primary in Gombe state, is also removed from the commission’s final list for the state. The final list for Ogun state contains 13 governorship candidates, while the Gombe state list has 16 candidates, but neither document includes a…

This was Isi Gate, Umuahia, before Governor Alex Otti assumed office. The same sorry spectacle greeted Abians at every other junction and corner. Contrary to the Igbo adage “Ihe Oma na Anya Gbaba Ndu” (There is a covenant between the eyes and good things), in the past, what existed was “Ihe Ojo na Anya Gbaba Ndu” (There was a covenant between the eyes and bad things), and our people accepted their fate with equanimity during the period under review. This spectacle diminished the standing of every Abian at home and in the diaspora. It buried our dignity in the mud.…

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has given the federal government a 14-Day deadline to cut petrol price and commence renegotiation of the national minimum wage. According to NAN, the ultimatum is contained in a communiqué signed by Joe Ajaero, NLC president, after a joint meeting of the national executive council (NEC) and central working committee (CWC) on Thursday in Abuja. The meeting deliberated on the state of the nation, economic hardship, rising cost of living and what the NLC described as existential threats confronting workers and the masses. In the communiqué, Ajaero said the federal government should reduce petrol prices…

By Emenike Vincent Onyembi (EVO), There is a common saying in engineering that every bridge, every road, and every building starts to die the day it is finished. From the day a project is opened and called done, nature, time, and traffic begin their quiet and steady work of destruction. The question that separates great governments from governments people forget is not only how much they can build. It is also how honestly they understand that what has already been built must be kept working. This idea seems to guide Gov. Alex C. Otti of Abia State. And it is…