Author: Candid Reporters

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…

By Iroabuchi James Chikezie “When political loyalty becomes stronger than the truth, even the facts standing before us can become invisible.” Professor Nnamdi Nwaeze is an academic whose intellectual standing I respect. But respect does not mean silence, and admiration does not mean that one should surrender the right to ask difficult questions. As we approach the 2027 general elections, I believe Professor Nwaeze owes Abians and indeed himself, the duty to distinguish between objective intellectual criticism and partisan political opposition. Professor, you have every right to criticise Governor Alex Otti. You have every right to support another political party…

A mother of one of the freed members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), abducted along the Owerri-Onitsha expressway last Thursday, says N6 million was paid to secure the release of her son. She spoke in an interview on Wednesday, where she said the abductors initially demanded N50 million for each victim before eventually settling for N6 million for her son. In her words: “Initially, they asked us to pay N50 million per head. We asked whether the amount was for all of them, but they insisted that no, it was for each person. Later, we started begging them…

The former Minister of State, Mines and Steel Development and President of Master Energy Group, Dr. Uchechukwu Sampson Ogah, has expressed deep sorrow over the tragic death of Abia/Ibeku-born Squadron Leader Ahamefule Aham Man-Ugwueje, one of the pilots of the Nigerian Air Force ATR-42 aircraft, NAF 931, which crashed in Igbokoda, Ondo State, on Monday, October 5, 2026. Dr. Uche Ogah described the tragic incident and the loss of Squadron Leader Man-Ugwueje and other military personnel aboard the aircraft as painful, devastating and deeply heartbreaking, noting that their deaths have brought immense sorrow to his families, colleagues, friends, loved ones,…

The Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Josh Amupitan has said that the commission’s staff have been removed from the civil service payment structure to allow the commission to operate under a separate electoral and salary structure. Amupitan spoke on Tuesday at a press conference and national stakeholders’ meeting in Abuja where he also added that INEC staff are the least paid in Nigeria. He said the commission had taken “radical steps” to improve the welfare of its personnel by removing them from the civil service salary structure. He noted the move was part of efforts to address gaps…