News

World Habitat Day 2023: Obaseki Charges Edo People On Preservation Of Environment For Sustainable Future

Published

2 years ago

October 3, 2023

Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki addressing stakeholders after a road walk to mark the 2023 World Habitat Day, at the Government House in Benin City, on Tuesday, October 3, 2023.

…tasks every child to plant a tree to mark birthday, targets one million trees annually

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has charged citizens and residents of the state on protection and preservation of the environment for a sustainable future.

Obaseki gave the charge when he received the Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning, Isoken Omo, members of the Ministry, environmentalists and school children, who embarked on an 8.5km walk to mark the 2023 World Habitat Day.

The walk kicked off from the Edo State Secretariat, Sapele Road, through Ring Road, to Oba Market, Siluko Road, Oliya Market, Akenzua, Airport Road, and terminated at the Government House, Benin City.

Receiving them after the walk at the Government House, the governor charged parents to plant trees for their children to celebrate their birthdays, noting that if one million children plant trees in a year, the State would have successfully planted one million trees.

He said, “Every child must plant a tree every year to commemorate their birthdays. If we have one million children under the age of 10 to 12 years old in Edo State and if they plant one tree each, we can boast of one million trees a year.

“We need to clean, green and restore the environment to how God has created it in the first place or else we, our children, and those that will succeed us on earth will suffer from our negligence.”

Obaseki continued: “I want to congratulate all that have been able to complete the 8.5km walk, as the significance of the walk is to let people know how important and significant the habitat is to mankind. We must make the habitat and environment sustainable for us.

“We all have seen what is going on, particularly with climate change. There is no greater evidence to show or let us know that we can’t take our habitat and environment for granted. With the negligence of our land and environment, you see what we are going through in terms of flood, erosion, and landslide. We need to do something urgently to save it or very soon it will be difficult for us to live in. Our continued deforestation will cause our rainforest to become savannah.

“What we are doing is not a joke but a very serious issue. We have taken the issue of the environment for granted for too long and we are losing it fast. As a government, we need support to green the environment, we will continue to give the charge but need our community, professionals in the built environment, teachers, and government workers among others to help us raise the alarm that we can’t continue to operate this way.”

He added, “Our responsibility is to fight back, to clean and green the environment by doing the right thing. We are very concerned that is why we are working on our 30-year Urban and Regional Master Plan which will be legislated into law beyond this administration, showing them the roadmap on what they should do to protect the environment, habitat and failure makes it unlawful.”

On her part, the Commissioner for Housing, Urban and Physical Planning, Isoken Omo, said, “Edo is known as a clean place that needs to be protected as any negligence of the environment will have a negative impact and effect on the people.”

She added, “World Habitat Day is celebrated every first Monday in October, and it’s a time to pause and look at our habitat if this is where we want to be. We need to do the right thing to keep the habitat to enable us to live comfortably with it. What we do with our habitat is important and we need to collaborate to make the habitat habitable.”

News

N200b Agric Credit Dispute: Appeal Court Slams NAIC, Upholds First Bank Victory

Published

6 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

The Court of Appeal, Abuja, has dismissed the appeal filed by the Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation (NAIC) against First Bank of Nigeria in the long-running dispute over the disbursement of the Federal Government’s N200 billion Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme.

The decision was one of seven precedent-setting judgments delivered in six hours on Friday by Justice Okon Abang, underscoring his reputation as a hardworking, firm, and uncompromisingly principled jurist whose rulings continue to shape Nigeria’s legal landscape across criminal, human rights, banking, and civil litigation.

In 2013, the NAIC dragged First Bank before the Federal High Court via originating summons, alleging that the bank failed to deduct the mandatory 2.5 per cent premium under the agriculture credit scheme. First Bank promptly filed a counter-affidavit and written address, with both sides joining issues and exchanging further processes over the years.

But when the case was ripe for hearing, NAIC sought to suddenly withdraw its suit—claiming an unnamed Bankers’ Committee representative had approached it for an out-of-court settlement.

First Bank objected, insisting that once pleadings had been exchanged, withdrawal without consent should lead to dismissal, not a mere striking out. To strike out, the bank argued, would allow NAIC a second bite at the cherry—an abuse of process.

The Federal High Court agreed and dismissed the suit, prompting NAIC to head to the Court of Appeal.

Delivering the unanimous judgment of the Court of Appeal, Justice Abang held that NAIC’s appeal was “grossly misconceived” and that, having seen the bank’s defence, NAIC attempted to retreat and re-strategise, “only being smart, believing that it could cunningly manipulate judicial proceedings to save a suit that appears weak and manifestly unsupported.”

He stressed that, once a defendant’s counter-affidavit has been served, any withdrawal by the claimant must naturally lead to dismissal, not striking out, to avoid overreaching the respondent.

Justice Abang agreed with the trial court that, “Since issues have been joined and the matter has previously been adjourned on several occasions, the proper order to make on the application of the plaintiff is to dismiss the suit.”

The Court of Appeal also questioned NAIC’s reliance on an alleged intervention by the Bankers’ Committee—a non-party that had earlier resisted being joined in the matter.

The appellate court concluded that NAIC, having sighted the bank’s counter-affidavit, simply lost confidence in its case and sought a “soft landing” to refile later.

News

Nigeria Records One Of Africa’s Widest Gaps In Policy Reputation Index

Published

6 hours ago

November 29, 2025

Editor

Nigeria has been identified as one of the African nations suffering the largest disconnect between policy delivery and citizen trust, a finding described as the “defining governance crisis” across the continent, according to the inaugural RPI African Policy Index 2025 released by Reputation Poll International (RPI).

The comprehensive Index, which evaluates governance and policy performance across all 54 African countries, places Nigeria in the middle tier of “Strugglers” with an overall score of 52.3. This category reflects nations that achieve partial policy results but fail to earn public confidence.

Drawing from hard data on policy implementation and perception surveys involving over 25,000 Africans, the report shows that Nigeria records one of the continent’s widest Trust Gaps, sometimes exceeding 25 points between objective performance and citizen confidence.

The report flags Nigeria alongside South Africa, Angola, Egypt, and Zimbabwe as countries with the most severe mismatches.

In Nigeria, anti-corruption laws and other initiatives score reasonably well on paper but fail to inspire public trust due to perceived elite impunity and inconsistent enforcement.

Similar patterns exist across these nations, where oil wealth, infrastructure spending, and progressive legislation do not convince ordinary citizens that governments genuinely serve their interests. This trust deficit is highlighted as Africa’s core governance challenge.

The Index emphasises that without deliberate measures to close the gap—through transparent data, citizen audits, and visible accountability—policy ambitions alone cannot produce stable or legitimate outcomes.

By contrast, a small group of nations scoring above 70 demonstrate that world-class governance is achievable when delivery is matched by citizen belief.

Mauritius leads with 78.9, followed by Seychelles at 76.4, Cabo Verde at 74.8, and Botswana at 73.2. These countries excel because strong economic management, high vaccination rates, transparent institutions, and consistent progress in education and digital reforms are reinforced by equally high public trust.

Botswana and Mauritius succeed not because they are wealthy, but because they systematically include citizens in monitoring and feedback, narrowing the trust deficit to near zero.

Over half of Africa, however, remains far from this standard. The Strugglers tier (50–69.9) encompasses 30 countries, while 18 “Systemic Challengers” score below 50, from Sierra Leone at 49.2 to South Sudan at 28.4.

In these countries, structural breakdowns, chronic insecurity, and collapsed legitimacy produce average Trust Gaps of 35 points, undermining even modest policy efforts amid daily experiences of violence and exclusion.

Central Africa records the lowest regional average at 41.2, while Southern Africa dominates the top tier. West, East, and North Africa deliver mixed results.

For Nigerian leadership, the Index sends a clear message: policy formulation alone is no longer sufficient. As the country grapples with debt, youth unemployment, and climate pressures, bridging the Trust Gap through better communication, transparency, and inclusive monitoring has become essential to achieve sustained development and restore public confidence.

The RPI African Policy Index 2025 stands as both a warning and a roadmap: unless the trust deficit is addressed, Africa’s governance crisis will only deepen.
(GUARDIAN)