General
Abia and the December Local Government Election
By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu
The local government, which is referred to as the third tier of government in Nigeria, may be defined as the lowest level of government in a country established by law to ensure the effective and efficient administration of the localities or rural areas.
The United Nations Department of Public Administration defines the local government as the political sub-division of a country which is designed by law and has substantial control of local affairs including the power to impose levies and exact labour for prescribed purposes.
The local government is an indispensable unit of the federation. It is the tier of government nearest to the people. Part II, section 7 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended 2011) guarantees that the government state shall ensure the existence of local government under a law which provides for the establishment, structure, composition, finance and functions of such councils.
The local government is created to bring government nearer to the people; serve as the medium to articulate and promote local interest; act as the instrument for political education; and promotion of rural development. Others are to mobilise and harness local resources, and to serve as a link between the rural dwellers and other tiers of the government.
It will be recalled that there a time for more than half of a decade in Abia State, the local government elections were not been held in Abia State. The local government system was operated under a caretaker arrangement.
While this attracted barrage of criticisms in the past, it seriously hampered the progress and development of the local government areas in the state.
But fortunately, the narrative has changed as Abia is about to conduct the second local government election under Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s administration.
The Abia State Independent Election Commission (ABSIEC) recently fixed elections for chairmanship and councillorship positions in all the 17 local government councils and 292 ABSIEC wards in the state for December 18, 2020.
This is cheering news for all Abians despite their political divide. The commission has also issued a timetable for the poll.
Abians across the 17 local government areas are viewing the action beyond the exercise of the powers conferred on the commission by Part 11, Third Schedule, Section 4, sub-section (a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and pursuant to the Fifth Schedule, Section 160 of Abia State Local Government Law No. 9 of 2002.
This singular action portrays Governor Ikpeazu as a man whose words are his bond. It portrays him as a man who has departed from the previous ways of doing things and wants to do things differently.
The important roles the local government plays in a system cannot be overemphasised. They are divided into Mandatory, permissive and concurrent. The obligatory roles of the local government are those roles provided by Schedule IV of t Constitution. They are functions which the local government is bound to render to the people because of its knowledge of the local problems.
The obligatory roles include maintenance of rural roads, streets, and drainages; construction and maintenance of motor parks, public conveniences and cemeteries; provision of health facilities such as clinics, dispensaries and maternities.
Others are the disposal of refuse; the building of primary schools; the collection of rates; radio and television licenses; licensing of bicycles, trucks, wheelbarrows; naming of streets, roads and numbering of houses, registration of births, deaths and marriages; establishment and maintenance of recreational facilities; and regulation of outdoor advertisements, movement of domestic animals, shops and kiosks, restaurants and food and liquor renders.
Indeed, it is not out of place to state here that these functions have suffered for lack of democratically elected executives in the local government areas in the state.
Also, Governor Ikpeazu’s developmental strides in urban centres cannot be complete if there are no complementary efforts in rural centres because this is where the bulk of the residents dwell.
No wonder the Mr Ikpeazu’s administration in its bid to close the gap of infrastructural development between rural areas and the cities, is opening rural roads such as Agalaba Ring Road.
The forthcoming local government elections have provided Abians with another window to contribute meaningfully to the development of the state. There is a passionate appeal to shun our differences and embrace this golden opportunity. “There is no tomorrow better than today”!
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria recorded 57 recorded cases of electricity-related mishaps, according to the latest electricity sector data released by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).
The data, which covers the third quarter of 2025 (Q3 2025), spotlighted how 33 people lost their lives and another 33 sustained various degrees of injuries in power-related accidents across the country.
According to the Q3 2025 report, a total of 57 power-related accidents were reported across the country during the period under review.
The accidents were spread across several distribution zones, with Ikeja and Kano electricity distribution areas recording the highest number of incidents during the quarter.
Both zones reported 10 accidents each. Ikeja also recorded six injuries and four deaths, while Kano posted six deaths and four injuries.
While Abuja, Jos, Aba, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Yola recorded varying but still troubling levels of incidents, Eko, Kaduna, and the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) also featured prominently. In many of these cases, accidents resulted in either severe injuries or fatalities, or both.
Unsafe acts and hazardous conditions accounted for the highest number of injuries and tied for the highest number of fatalities, while wire snaps emerged as one of the deadliest hazards, accounting for 10 fatalities and seven injuries during the quarter.
The report noted that 10 deaths and 18 injuries were attributed to unsafe practices or conditions, pointing to a mix of human error, poor safety culture, and inadequate enforcement of operational standards by licensees.
Illegal or unauthorised access to electricity installations also contributed to the casualty figures, leading to two fatalities and three injuries during the period under review.
Vandalism, while responsible for fewer casualties in the quarter, still resulted in two deaths.
The report also noted that the TCN recorded four cases of damage to property and infrastructure arising from explosions, fire outbreaks, or acts of vandalism during the quarter.
However, NERC said it initiated investigations into all reported accidents and signalled its intention to enforce appropriate actions where necessary.
The regulator said it organised periodic health and safety managers’ meetings aimed at improving safety performance across the industry, where it brings together health and safety officers from electricity companies to review incident reports, share lessons learned, and identify areas requiring urgent improvement.
During the period under consideration, the regulator disclosed that it supervised the successful conclusion of two compensation negotiations between electricity companies and families of victims, an indication of ongoing efforts to address the aftermath of such incidents.
However, the report showed that in the previous quarter (Q2), 38 fatalities were recorded, 19 persons were injured, and 60 accidents were reported.
“Relative to 2025/Q2, the number of accidents decreased from 60 to 57, the number of fatalities decreased from 38 to 33, but the number of injuries increased from 19 to 33,” the NERC report stressed.
“During the quarter, all the accidents occurred at the distribution level, i.e., neither TCN nor any of the Gencos recorded safety accidents. Although all Discos recorded casualties, the licensees with the highest number of casualties out of the total 66 recorded during the quarter are Ikeja and Kano (10), Eko and Kaduna (8), representing 15.15 per cent and 12.12 per cent of the total, respectively.
“This quarter continues the trend of the distribution sub-segment being the biggest driver of safety accidents in the sector. Discos accounted for 93.33 per cent, 100 per cent, and 100 per cent in 2024/Q4, 2025/Q1, and 2025/Q2, respectively,” the NERC report pointed out.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Contrary to reports making the rounds, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly is not considering passing a bill to make it a criminal offence for single ladies having romantic affairs with married men in the state.
On Monday, unconfirmed news went viral, purporting that a phantom Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mrs Akon Etim, had sponsored a bill to ensure single ladies having sexual relationship with married men spend 10 years in prison, while the men pay a fine of N2 million.
It was claimed that the bill was to be passed by the state parliament, today, Tuesday, January 13, 2026.
Business Post reports that the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom State is Mrs Akon Eyakenyi, not Mrs Akon Etim.
Reacting to the reports, the chairman of the House Committee on Information, Mr Jerry Anson Otu, described the reports as “false.”
“The Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly wishes to categorically state that this report is entirely false and has no basis in fact. The Assembly has not received or considered any such bill, and the Deputy Governor has not sponsored it.
“We condemn this malicious attempt to tarnish the image of the Deputy Governor and the Assembly, and urge the public to disregard this fake news and any associated commentaries.
“The House remains committed to its constitutional role of law-making, and will not be swayed by mischievous attempts to undermine its integrity,” parts of the statement issued by the parliament stated.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is eyeing stronger diplomatic and strategic ties when it comes to sustainable development as it participates in the 2026 edition of Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW).
President Bola Tinubu arrived in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), on Sunday. His plane landed at the Presidential Wing of Zayed International Airport at exactly 11:30 pm local time.
He was received by Sheikh Shakhboot Nahyan Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs; the UAE Ambassador to Nigeria, Salem Saeed Al-Shamsi; Nigeria’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar; and members of the Nigerian diplomatic mission in Abu Dhabi.
Several other ministers, including the Minister of Budget and Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu; the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mrs Jumoke Oduwole; and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mr Mohammed Mohammed, welcomed President Tinubu at his hotel.
President Tinubu arrived in Abu Dhabi from Europe, where he spent part of his end-of-year break, engaging in fruitful discussions with Rwandan President Paul Kagame and French President Emmanuel Macron, according to a statement by the presidency.
The 2026 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, with the theme The Nexus of Next, All Systems Go, is a global platform that brings together world leaders, policymakers, investors, and experts to advance dialogue and action on sustainable development, climate action, energy transition, and inclusive economic growth.
This visit further reinforces the strong diplomatic and economic ties between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), while positioning Nigeria as an active contributor to global conversations on sustainable development.
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