From Joseph Amedu, Lokoja

National Youth Service Corps(NYSC), Kogi State yesterday organised a 2025 Employers Workshop to boost cordial relationship between corps members and their various establishments where they are serving.The Kogi State Coordinator of National Youth Service Corps, Femi Osungbohun while declaring the workshop open, disclosed that NYSC Employers Workshop is a yearly event aimed at bringing core employers of labour and corps members together to brainstorm on how best to unite and relate for effective service delivery.

The Coordinator said that the NYSC/Corps Employers Workshop with the Theme: Deepening the NYSC/Corps Employers Working Relationship for Optimal Performance would go a long way in bridging the communication gap and smooth operations of serving corps members in Kogi State.”I implore NYSC stakeholders and partners not to relent in their commitment to the success of this noble scheme in Kogi. We are honoured for your presence for the workshop which enabled us to gather together today to rub minds with the core employers on the way forward to boost the comfort of our corps members”He urged the core employers to continue to create conducive working environment for corps members serving under their establishments through the provision of comfortably accommodation, enhanced monthly allowances and transportationOsungbohun begged the core employers to extend the spirit of love and sense of belonging to corpers serving with their organisations.He solicited for the collective mission of improving the welfare packages for corps members serving in public, private and educational institutions.According to him “Core employers have critical role to play as driven source for the success of the NYSC scheme”Your contributions will be highly appreciated as you strive towards uniting strong bonds to enhance service delivery”Your understanding of our operation policies would help matters in ensuring better utilisation of corps members posted to your establishments”Governor Usman Ododo who spoke through his Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Monday Anyebe gave an assurance that the state government would make the year of corps members serving in the state a memorable oneIn a lecture titled: The Corps Employer as a Critical Stakeholder in Achieving the NYSC Mandate in our Contemporary World, delivered by the NYSC retired Deputy Director, Pastor Oladele Jacob, recommended for the expansion of the scope of the annual employers workshop for more impact.The guest speaker also recommended that the management of NYSC should resuscitate the annual award to the best employer of the yearHe urged the NYSC management to institute better or more interactions with the core employersPastor Oladele Jacob further urged core employers to embrace new policy changes of the NYSC which must be made known to them and should as well be included in policy deliberations and implementation and be equipped to offer mentorship to corppers.

By Eze Okechukwu, AbujaThe former Governor of Abia State and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu has blamed the worsening insecurity, especially across Nigeria’s farming communities, on political sabotage, alleging that some elite interests are sponsoring unrest to destabilize Tinubu’s administration and seize political power.

Kalu, who said he had advised the President privately on specific Security Chiefs who in his opinion should be relieved of their duties, including underperforming Ministers, however warned that sentimental leadership decisions could worsen Nigeria’s socio-economic instability. Speaking in a wide-ranging interview on a TV programme on Monday, Kalu, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on the South-East Development Commission (SEDC), pointed out that President Tinubu must demonstrate political will and courage in reshuffling his cabinet and security leadership to address insecurity and economic discontent.”Both Security Chiefs and Ministers, some of them should go. President Tinubu must be courageous enough to sack some of these Ministers.“The insecurity in Nigeria is politically induced by politicians and businessmen. Some of them are not even looking for money; they just want to grab power.If he will take my advice, most of these Ministers I have apprised of, and I’ve talked to him privately, should go. If he will take my advice, some of these Security Chiefs should go. There must be no sentiment when it comes to redeeming Nigeria, Kalu declared during an interview with Seun Okinbaloye.Kalu also criticized the widespread use of U.S. dollars in real estate and street transactions, calling it a symptom of Nigeria’s weak currency controls and a threat to economic sovereignty.According to him, the government must outlaw street-level use of foreign currencies and emulate countries like South Africa, India, and the UK which tightly regulate currency exchange.“The use of dollar bills on the street should stop. Landlords and estate agents using dollars as exchange should not happen in Nigeria. If we want to survive, we must take control of our currency, he emphasized.While acknowledging that Nigerians are suffering and many reforms are yet to yield tangible benefits, Kalu argued that President Tinubu’s economic policies are on the right path, citing improvements in macroeconomic indicators such as exchange rate stability and industrial capacity utilization, even as he admitted the effects were yet to reach the average Nigerians.“The macro side is coming up, but Nigerians in the lower area are still suffering.These changes are still trickling down; it’s going to take another one to two years”, he said.He urged Nigerians to give the administration more time, citing historical reform examples such as Singapore under Lee Kuan Yew, while emphasizing the need for unity, economic patriotism, and depoliticization of national development.The interview comes amid mounting public frustration over economic hardship, rising insecurity, and widespread political tensions as the country nears the midpoint of President Tinubu’s first term.

From Sylvia Udegbunam, Enugu

Police Operatives of the Enugu State Command attached to the Thinkers Corner Division, in collaboration with members of the Neighbourhood Watch, on June 1, 2025, at about 11:30 p.m., arrested a male armed robbery suspect, one Nwachukwu Chukwuma aged 20.

The police public relations officer Enugu State command headquarters Daniel Ndukwe in a statement said that the suspect was apprehended while loitering suspiciously on a street within the Thinkers Corner area of Enugu. A search conducted on him led to the recovery of one locally made pistol loaded with one live cartridge.According to the statement, investigation is ongoing to determine the suspect’s criminal intentions and involvement in armed robbery cases in the area.The Commissioner of Police, Enugu State Command, Mamman Bitrus Giwa, has directed the investigation to be meticulously conducted to identify and apprehend the suspect’s accomplices and recover additional exhibits.