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

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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Terror victims deserve care – Punch

The Editor — Fri, 21 Aug 2026 02:15:51 +0000

Terrorism is a global scourge that humanity must continue to combat by “Healing through Memory,” the theme of the 2026 International Day for the Remembrance of and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism. The annual commemoration on August 21 highlights the importance of keeping alive the memories of victims of terrorism while helping survivors and […]

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Unfilled tertiary education spaces debacle – Punch

The Editor — Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:50:43 +0000

Nigeria’s unfilled tertiary education spaces are an unsettling paradox. Although many candidates succeed in the annual matriculation examinations, universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education are unable to fill the vacant admission slots allocated to them by the education authorities. This leaves applicants stranded and delays their academic pursuits. This debacle was laid bare in an […]

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Accounting for recovered assets – Punch

The Editor — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 01:07:14 +0000

When the House of Representatives recently resolved to investigate all seized, forfeited, recovered and repatriated assets managed by government institutions since Nigeria’s return to democratic rule in 1999, it brought to the fore concerns about transparency, accountability and poor record-keeping. The resolution followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Ibe Osonwa, who called for […]

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Stop recruiting youths for election violence – Punch

The Editor — Wed, 12 Aug 2026 14:25:11 +0000

Political violence has become one of Nigeria’s most shameful democratic traditions. The youths, who should be the principal beneficiaries and custodians of the country’s future, are repeatedly recruited as cannon fodder in political battles they did not create. They are armed, paid to intimidate opponents, disrupt elections and unleash violence, only to end up dead, […]

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Country of ghost workers, ghost MDAs – Punch

The Editor — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 14:25:39 +0000

Nigeria increasingly looks like a country where even its public institutions can exist in the shadows and its workers can draw salaries without ever showing up for work. Amid the swirling controversy over a ‘ghost’ presidential tourism agency, the ghost workers menace reared its ugly head again in July — another reminder of an undying […]

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Prison reform can’t wait any longer – Punch

The Editor — Sun, 09 Aug 2026 22:44:00 +0000

Imagine spending five years in a messy, overcrowded prison without ever being convicted of any crime. Your case is repeatedly adjourned because the police cannot produce a file or a vehicle to take you to court. This is the reality for tens of thousands of Nigerians. The country’s prison system and, indeed, its entire criminal […]

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Osun’s toxic election buildup – Punch

The Editor — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 23:59:45 +0000

Osun stands on edge. As its people prepare to elect a governor on August 15, the state is gripped by fear and uncertainty. The political temperature has risen to a frightening level. This is disturbing because an election is not supposed to be war. Yet, the state is increasingly becoming a theatre of violence, intimidation […]

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We need strong civil aviation authority – Punch

The Editor — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 01:40:24 +0000

Every time an attempt is made to review the Civil Aviation Act, the aviation industry in Nigeria is always thrown into an unwarranted and divisive war of acrimony over the statutory five per cent Ticket Sales Charge [5% TSA] and five per cent Cargo Sales Charge (5 per cent CSC) collections accruing to the Nigeria […]

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Nigeria must stop misplaced budgetary allocations – Punch

The Editor — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 11:03:45 +0000

Budgeting in Nigeria too often descends into an exercise in misplaced priorities. The latest scrutiny of the 2026 Federal Government budget by civic organisation Tracka, an initiative of BudgIT, evokes a troubling sense of déjà vu. According to Tracka, about N8.05 billion has been earmarked for faith-based organisations—N6.14 billion for 52 mosque projects and N1.91 […]

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Kano must curb its drug epidemic – Punch

The Editor — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 21:47:29 +0000

Kano, the North’s largest urban centre, has a drug problem. Proof comes again from the fresh account rendered by the Chairman of the Kano State Joint Task Force Committee on Drug Abuse, Muhuyi Gado. Gado reiterated that about 70 per cent of major crimes recorded in Kano State are linked to substance abuse. The state […]

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Probe Habila’s death – Punch

The Editor — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 01:07:57 +0000

Every death diminishes the rest of humanity. The unfortunate death of a 26-year-old nurse, Mary Habila, and the controversies surrounding it have further cast Nigeria as a country where matters of life and death are not particularly taken seriously. The incident called for swift investigations. But more than one month after it, there is still […]

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There’s no escaping inflation, yet – Punch

The Editor — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 13:49:47 +0000

The apparent easing of Nigeria’s headline inflation to 15.91 per cent in June masks an unsettling reality. Inflation remains punishingly high across much of the country, exposing the limits of statistical rebasing and successive governments’ failure to address the structural drivers of the cost‑of‑living crisis. The National Bureau of Statistics’ latest Consumer Price Index report […]

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Africa’s hunger burden – Punch

The Editor — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 23:44:28 +0000

In Africa, policy failure is pervasive. It is a failure of vision, leadership and execution. While the continent’s population continues to grow rapidly, food production has failed to keep pace. Hunger is no longer a looming threat; it is an everyday reality. Yet governments display little urgency or seriousness in confronting it. The United Nations […]

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Apapa gridlock must be resolved permanently – Punch

The Editor — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 19:01:01 +0000

Apapa, host to Nigeria’s maritime hub, is in the news again. Indeed, the Mile 2-Apapa corridor in Lagos is once again buckling under suffocating gridlock. Users of the roads, especially between Mile 2 and Kirikiri, blame the proliferation of container terminals. According to Vanguard, trucks transporting empty containers routinely occupy the highway, creating bottlenecks despite […]

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Duty waivers must not become a fiscal hole – Punch

The Editor — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 00:02:36 +0000

The revelation by the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Bashir Adeniyi, that approvals under the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme reached about N34 trillion in 2025 has sent shockwaves through Nigeria’s fiscal policy landscape. It should. At a time when the country is struggling to generate enough revenue to finance development, service a mounting […]

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State airports: White elephant epidemic – Punch

The Editor — Fri, 17 Jul 2026 06:14:19 +0000

The warning from the Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Olubunmi Kuku, to state governments against the indiscriminate construction of airports cannot be taken lightly. It is one of the most candid assessments yet of a dangerous trend in which governors try to outdo each other in sinking billions of naira […]

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