Author: Drum Africa Correspondent

The Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, has approved the appointment of 101 persons as Special Advisers (SPAs), Senior Special Assistants (SSAs) and Special Assistants (SAs): SPECIAL ADVISERS (SPAs) 1. Chief S.N.C. Nwagu — Special Adviser on Conflict Resolution and Mediation 2. Hon. Dr. Fidelis Odo — Special Adviser on Inter-Governmental Affairs and Co-ordination 3. Augustine Okoli — Special Adviser on Policy Affairs and Analysis 4. Hon. Pedro Nwankwo — Special Adviser on Stakeholders Relations and Community Affairs 5. Chimezie Nkwuo — Special Adviser on Economic Development 6. Chief Vitalis Okonkwo — Special Adviser on Grassroot Coordination 7. Peter…

The people of the Bende Federal Constituency in Abia have said that the re-election of the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, is non-negotiable because while others were busy displaying empowerment without a foundation, Kalu was busy training, equipping, and funding thousands of young people to become entrepreneurs who will, in turn, build businesses that will sustain their families and grow the economy of Bende. Trooping out in their numbers for a recent solidarity march, the constituents said that the only thing currently delaying the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives’ re-election is the fact that the election has not…

The Ahiaba Ubi community in the Isiala Ngwa North Local Government Area of Abia State have called on the Abia State Police Command to ensure that Mr Chukwudi AKA Evergreen is prosecuted for an alleged involvement in illicit drug peddling. DrumAfricanews reports that some indigenous people of Ahiaba Ubi, under the aegis of ‘concerned citizen of Ahiaba Ubi’, approached newsmen in Aba Monday, 21st September, 2026, alleging that the Violent Crime Response Unit (VCRU), Olokoro, on Thursday, 17th September, 2026, arrested a notorious drug kingpin that has been terrorising their community. According to them, they have been crying and writing…

…says her support for Women, families, vulnerable citizens are highly commendable Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has felicitated the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on her 66th birthday, describing her as the Mother of the Nation. In his congratulatory message, Kalu lauded Senator Tinubu for her service to the nation, describing her as a mother figure whose leadership exemplifies compassion at its peak. He commended her interventions across the federation, particularly her commitment to women empowerment, support for families and vulnerable citizens, and investment in young Nigerians, noting that she has brought a profoundly…

…a Chronicle of Parliamentary Diplomacy By Sam Hart There is a certain kind of representation that begins at home but refuses to be confined by geography. It begins with a constituency, in this case, Bende Federal Constituency in Abia State, but expands into the national arena, across Africa and ultimately into the rooms where legislators from around the world debate peace, trade, development, security and the future of multilateralism. That is the international parliamentary journey of Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Ph.D, CFR, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Bende’s representative in Nigeria’s…

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, today (Friday 18th Sept) in Geneva, Switzerland urged the World Trade Organization (WTO) to deliver concrete outcomes on public stockholding for food security and investment facilitation. Kalu spoke during the 57th Session of the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the World Trade Organization, PCWTO which had the WTO Director-General, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as a special guest, warned that prolonged delays are eroding confidence in the multilateral trading system. Co-chaired by Hon. Bernd Lange of the European Parliament and Ms. Anda Filip, Secretary-General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU),…

The management of the Abia State College of Health Sciences and Management Technology (ABSCOHMAT), Aba, has reveled that come October 2026, the institution will begin commercial production of biogas. The Rector of the institution, Aloysius Ekeleme Okezie, while speaking to newsmen, said that inasmuch as he met the school at a low stage, the management under him has intensified efforts to ensure that the effects of the new Abia, a vision of Governor Alex Otti, are seen and replicated in the institution. Explaining what led to the vision, Okezie said that when he became the rector of the school, he…

The Executive Director of National Institute For Nigerian Languages (NINLAN), Prof. Ogbonna Onuoha, has hailed the NINLAN International Schools (NIS) Alumni for her voluntary contributions to the development of their alma mater. Prof. Onuoha said he was excited at the curious and active involvement of the Alumni in helping to maintain standards at the NIS through rehabilitation of dilapidated infrastructure and furniture. The Executive Director who made his feelings known during an interaction with principal officers of the Association in his office recently, thanked them for their massive contributions. Godson Ugbor, Public Relations Officer of NINLAN in a statement said…

The Imo State Government has demolished identified criminal hideouts around the Coca-Cola area and other locations along Onitsha Road, Owerri, as the ongoing operation to dismantle criminal enclaves across the state intensifies. DrumAfricanews reports that the operation was led by the Office of the Governor on Monitoring and Compliance, headed by Nze Chinasa Nwaneri. Nwaneri as gathered went on the operation with technical support from the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of the Nigeria Police Force, Imo State Command. During the operation, several suspected bandits were arrested, while weapons, quantities of suspected hard drugs and several vehicle number plates suspected to have been…

The Imo State Government has stepped up efforts to increase cassava production across the state, with a target of between 40 and 45 tonnes per hectare. Records available to DrumAfricanews has it that Imo State currently boast of average yield of about 30 tonnes per hectare. The Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Security, Chief Longers Anyanwu, disclosed this in a release while calling on farmers, traditional rulers and community leaders to support a renewed return to agriculture and make greater use of available farmlands. Chief Anyanwu said the state government, under Governor Hope Uzodimma, has continued to introduce measures aimed…