Public Affairs Archives - TheCitizen - It's all about you

Boko Haram compounding Nigeria’s case – Punch

The Editor — Fri, 23 Oct 2026 10:24:05 +0000

Nigeria’s war against terrorism faces another challenge following its inclusion on the United States’ 2026 Child Soldiers Prevention Act blacklist. The designation raises legitimate questions about the recruitment and use of children by armed groups linked to the Nigerian state. But it also demands a critical distinction: Nigeria must answer for its own failures, not […]

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Economic stability must become shared prosperity – Punch

The Editor — Thu, 22 Oct 2026 18:34:34 +0000

Macroeconomic stability is meaningless to a hungry household, a struggling small business or a worker whose salary disappears before the middle of the month. Many Nigerians can relate to this harsh reality. Indeed, after more than three years of sweeping reforms by the Bola Tinubu administration, Nigeria is recording gains in key economic indicators. The […]

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Nigeria’s vote-buying scourge – Punch

The Editor — Wed, 21 Oct 2026 14:20:04 +0000

Election integrity in Nigeria is at a low ebb. Vote trading is a major contributor. Despite the laws meant to stop it, the scourge has continued to worsen. Unsurprisingly, the European Union Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Election Observation Hub reported recently that voters were rewarded heavily for selling their votes during the Ekiti […]

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Yes, voters, not courts, must decide elections – Punch

The Editor — Tue, 20 Oct 2026 02:07:48 +0000

With the judiciary replacing voters in Nigerian elections, it is time all stakeholders heed the call for voters, not the courts, to decide the winner of polls ahead of the 2027 general elections. John Onaiyekan, Archbishop Emeritus, Catholic Diocese of Abuja, recently joined the clamour to entrench credible elections as a way out of the […]

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Don’t involve civil servants in politics – Punch

The Editor — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 06:12:38 +0000

Nigeria’s culture of impunity has found another disturbing expression in the brazen involvement of senior public officials in partisan politics. In September, heads of federal agencies and parastatals reportedly formed a coalition to promote President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid in 2027. This is not merely inappropriate; it is a dangerous assault on the neutrality of […]

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Kano, Borno spreading tyranny – Punch

The Editor — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 20:54:24 +0000

Nigeria’s ruling class is steadily shrinking the democratic space through threats, intimidation and abuse of state power. From harassing critics to prosecuting citizens for expressing political opinions, the signs of creeping authoritarianism are increasingly difficult to ignore. Kano and Borno states offer the latest disturbing evidence. Amnesty International Nigeria has described growing intolerance in both […]

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Why are governors getting worse?

The Editor — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 08:56:10 +0000

By Paul C Nwabuikwu The 4th Republic kicked off in 1999 with a bunch of impressive governors across the country. In Cross River, 37-year-old Donald Duke turned the famous hospitality of his people into a highly effective revenue generating strategy after the state lost its oil wells to Akwa Ibom via a Supreme Court judgement. […]

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Nigeria’s revolving-door budgeting – Punch

The Editor — Mon, 12 Oct 2026 21:59:25 +0000

Nigeria’s fiscal system is in chaotic flux. This is evidenced by the Federal Government’s latest budget extension. It indicts the country’s entire system of fiscal planning, public expenditure, and democratic accountability. Now, the National Assembly has, for the fourth time, extended the implementation of the capital component of the 2025 Appropriation Act, this time from […]

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Tinubu’s extended absence – Punch

The Editor — Thu, 08 Oct 2026 02:54:09 +0000

Nigeria has a disturbing habit of allowing those in power to treat constitutional restraints as inconveniences rather than obligations. Once again, the country is confronted with questions over presidential absence, constitutional compliance and the willingness of its institutions to hold the powerful to account. At some point in September, President Bola Tinubu, Vice-President Kashim Shettima […]

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Disorder on Lagos-Calabar Highway – Punch

The Editor — Wed, 07 Oct 2026 16:43:20 +0000

The Federal Government’s threat to shut the Lagos section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway over widespread safety violations is a sobering reminder of how quickly major public assets can descend into disorder. The warning, issued by the Minister of Works, David Umahi, followed reports of speeding, illegal U-turns, indiscriminate parking, roadside trading and the unauthorised […]

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Averting another workers’ strike – Punch

The Editor — Tue, 06 Oct 2026 14:35:16 +0000

As expected, workers under the aegis of the Joint National Public Service Negotiating Council held a three-day warning strike on Friday. The JNPSNC had repeatedly warned that it would down tools if the Federal Government failed to heed its September 30 ultimatum. The unions are demanding negotiations over the rising cost of petroleum products, a […]

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Tele-robotic surgery: Nigeria needs more medical feats – Punch

The Editor — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 06:07:37 +0000

A ray of light has broken through Nigeria’s otherwise gloomy health sector. At a time when the country’s healthcare system is groaning under inadequate funding, manpower shortages and medical migration, a remarkable technological breakthrough has demonstrated what Nigerian medicine can achieve when expertise, technology and investment converge. Nigeria must not allow the moment to pass. Surgeons […]

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2027: Voter registration figures must mirror turnout – Punch

The Editor — Thu, 17 Sep 2026 22:39:13 +0000

Ordinarily, the Independent National Electoral Commission’s announcement that voter registration has crossed the 100-million-mark should be cause for celebration. For a country desperate to deepen democratic participation, a nine-figure electorate should translate into massive turnout at the polls. But Nigeria’s electoral history counsels caution. Registration has repeatedly risen while voter turnout has fallen. Unless INEC, […]

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EFCC recoveries: The good, the bad and the ugly – Punch

The Editor — Fri, 11 Sep 2026 01:39:45 +0000

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has come a long way since its creation, and its contribution to Nigeria’s fight against corruption cannot be dismissed. But neither can its failures, contradictions and growing credibility problems. It started strongly under its pioneer chairman, Nuhu Ribadu. The incumbent, Ola Olukoyede, has his work cut out for […]

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Football’s house of failure – Punch

The Editor — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 09:46:06 +0000

Nigerian football faces a sombre moment. For a country once regarded as a continental power, it should not be. The corrosive gloom deepened between July and August after the Super Falcons’ landmark failure to qualify for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup Finals in Brazil. Nigeria’s pride as the African women’s football lodestar was extinguished […]

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FAAC bonanza: Nigeria’s fiscal paradox – Punch

The Editor — Thu, 03 Sep 2026 17:45:39 +0000

Nigeria’s post-subsidy fiscal paradox is becoming too painfully obvious to overlook. Governments have never had so much money to spend, yet for millions of Nigerians, government has never seemed so absent from what matters most. The Federation Account Allocation Committee disbursements in recent years point to this anomaly. Net Federation Account distributions rose from N9.18 […]

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Interstate highways of agony, hollow excuses – Punch

The Editor — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 00:21:21 +0000

Granted, the present government inherited a shabby road network from the previous administration. But the current condition of many Nigerian roads has become more decrepit. Indeed, major interstate arteries around the country are fast becoming highways of agony, frustration, excruciating delays and broken-down vehicles. In turn, the government rolls out hollow excuses as suffering mounts […]

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Mass presence of governors in off-cycle elections – Punch

The Editor — Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:32:53 +0000

Observations by former President Goodluck Jonathan that governors, party bigwigs and political leaders are undermining Nigeria’s democracy by massing up in states where off-cycle elections are held are weighty. Therefore, the political class should stop abusing the privileges of their positions to undermine the country’s democracy. In a strong rebuke, the former president castigated the […]

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Clerics must preach peace, not division – Punch

The Editor — Tue, 25 Aug 2026 07:41:16 +0000

Nigeria is never too far away from religious heat. For a while now, the description of Christians as “infidels” by Islamic cleric Sani Jingir, while canvassing support for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket ahead of the 2027 elections, fits into this increasingly unwholesome scenario. Jingir’s comments are not merely inflammatory rhetoric carried too far, but are […]

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Tax reform must end multiple taxation – Punch

The Editor — Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:53:40 +0000

At its core, Nigeria’s tax reform aims for the government to collect higher revenue without making it harder for businesses to survive, invest, and create jobs. The challenge now is to ensure that this proposition does not remain trapped in legislation. Businesses cannot continue to face the old reality of multiple taxes, levies, permits and charges, […]

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