From Francis Sadhere, Delta

The Founding Executive Director of the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Centre LSD), Dr. Otive Igbuzor, has called for urgent value reorientation as a key step in addressing Nigeria’s leadership and moral crisis.

Speaking during the weekend at the graduation of Set 8 and matriculation of Set 9 of the Warri Leadership School, Dr. Igbuzor stressed that the country’s leadership deficit is most visible in politics, even though Nigerians excel in leadership roles globally. “We have Nigerians providing excellent leadership at the United Nations, World Trade Organisation, Africa Development Bank, and other global institutions. The problem is not capacity — it is the lack of values and strategic leadership in governance,” he said.The event, held at the Holy Catholic Family Hall, Edjeba, was themed “Leadership and Value Decadence in Nigeria: Finding Local Implementable Solutions.” Dr. Igbuzor identified integrity, justice, empathy, accountability, patriotism, and respect for human dignity as core values that must be revived.He said that Nigeria’s solutions must be locally driven and culturally relevant, warning against over-reliance on foreign prescriptions. “Leadership is both the cause and cure of Nigeria’s challenges,” he stated.Dr. Igbuzor commended the Value Rebirth and Empowerment Initiative (VREI), led by Pastor Edewor Egedegbe, for providing tuition-free, high-quality leadership training in the Niger Delta over the past eight years.To the graduates, he charged: “True leadership is not about positions, titles, or power. It is about influence, service, and impact. Lead with character, competence, courage, and compassion.” He also encouraged matriculating students to embrace the rigorous, practical training ahead of them.Since its inception, the Centre LSD Leadership School has trained over 2,700 leaders in multiple Nigerian cities, equipping them to serve as change agents in politics, civil society, and business.The event was attended by partners, faculty members, traditional rulers, and representatives from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS), which has supported Centre LSD since 2010.

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

Benue State governor, Hyacinth Alia said he received with sadness the news of the passing of elder statesman, patriarch and former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Innocent Audu Ogbeh, whose demise took place on Saturday at the age of 78.He expressed regret over the death of the former lawmaker, who was elected into the Benue State House of Assembly on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN), in 1979, where he was the deputy speaker.

The governor however, stated that as a politician, former Federal Minister of Communications, former Minister of Steel Development, former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), farmer and playwright, the late Chief Ogbeh lived a successful and fulfilled life, and was greatly respected and admired by many, adding that his legacies will always be remembered.Alia in a statement by his chief press secretary, Tersoo Kula, prayed to God to grant his immediate family, the Idoma nation, the entire people of Benue State and Nigeria as a whole, the fortitude to bear this great loss, and to also grant the soul of Chief Audu Ogbeh eternal rest.Similarly, the senator representing Benue South Senatorial District and Senate Minority Leader, Comrade Abba Moro, has described late Chief Ogbeh as a good man and great personality who touched so many lives and contributed greatly to the development of Benue South, Benue State and Nigeria at large.Sen. Moro on behalf of the people of Zone C mourns former National Chairman of PDP, former Minister of Agriculture and an APC chieftain, Chief Audu Ogbeh who died on Saturday at the age of 78.He said the chief’s death is akin to a fallen iroko in the forest, stating that a large vacuum has been created.The senator recalled fond memories with the deceased and says his death is a personal loss to him.Comrade Moro in a statement by his Media Adviser, Emmanuel Eche’Ofun John, extended his heartfelt condolences to the immediate family and the entire people of Ogbadibo Local Government Area and prayed God to give them the hearts to bear the irreplaceable loss.

From Attah Ede, Makurdi

Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) has noted with concern, the recent remarks made by Mahmood Adegbite, Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage Services and Water Resources, Lagos State Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, acknowledging that residents of the Lekki Peninsula are “probably drinking what I will call ‘shit water” due to contaminated boreholes.

In a statement on Sunday, CAPPA noted that while the bluntness of the statement has drawn attention, it is the underlying failure it exposes that should concern all Lagosians. “The government is bad-mouthing a crisis it manufactured. Boreholes and even dug wells in Lagos are not luxury choices for residents. They are a survival response and the last resort of a people forced to become their own service providers while public institutions fail to meet this basic need.“For decades residents of Lekki and indeed much of Lagos State have been left with no choice but to rely on unsafe, self-supplied water through boreholes, due to the government’s inability to provide reliable and affordable public water. That the Lagos State Government is now openly admitting the severe health risks this poses, without accepting responsibility is as dishonest as it is troubling,” the organisation observed.CAPPA argued that rather than mock residents for drilling boreholes, the government must first confront the root cause, which is the chronic neglect of Lagos’ public water infrastructure that has now left many Lagosians depending on all kinds of “shit water” for their daily existence.The statement pointed out that the problem of faecal contamination, poor wastewater management, and untreated sewage is not new, but “are symptoms of a water governance and sanitation system that has been deliberately left to rot, while decision-makers flirt with discredited privatisation models that place profit above people. What is missing is not a diagnosis of the problem, but a comprehensive, transparent, and publicly accountable plan to fix it.”CAPPA stressed that it has repeatedly raised the alarm about Lagos’ crippling underinvestment in public water infrastructure, the lack of transparency in water governance, and the persistent attempts to impose private sector-led water models — many of which have failed in other parts of the globe. It added that the government now appears to be reviving market-based water reforms without public consultation or accountability, warning that Lagos cannot continue down this road.“You cannot neglect your constitutional duty for decades, then turn around to shame people for doing what they must to survive,” said Akinbode Oluwafemi, Executive Director of CAPPA.“When the state cannot provide clean and safe water, people will do what they must to survive. The question we must ask is: What is the Lagos State Government doing to ensure that its citizens no longer have to drink contaminated water, or live in fear of the next outbreak of disease?”The Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa (CAPPA) in a statement by its Media and Communication Officer, Robert Egbe, called for urgent and dedicated public investment in water and sanitation, suspension of all market-based reforms, and adoption of a publicly led, community-focused water governance framework.He urged the Lagos state government to convene residents, civil society, and relevant experts in an open and transparent process to co-develop a people-centred water policy. It further demanded a state-wide emergency plan that targets underserved communities, repair broken wastewater systems, and integrate climate-resilient approaches to water access and drainage.The organisation noted that while regulation of indiscriminate borehole drilling is important, “it cannot happen without first providing viable and accessible public water alternatives.”“Lagosians are not to blame for drinking unsafe water. They are victims of policy failure. This failure must be acknowledged and corrected not weaponised to justify even more anti-people reforms,” it concluded.