Express News

 NEWS EDITORIAL By Festus Alenkhe Education is the foundation upon which every thriving society is built. And at the heart of that foundation are teachers. In a landmark decision, the Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, has approved the employment of *6,000 teachers* into the state’s public school system. This is not just a recruitment exercise. It is a rescue mission for basic education in Edo State. For too long, many of our schools, especially in the rural areas, operated with skeletal staff. Some schools had more pupils than teachers. Others depended on PTA teachers and volunteers just to keep classes running. The result was predictable: poor learning outcomes, teacher burnout, and declining confidence in public schools. That narrative is changing. Reports from across the state confirm that most schools in rural areas now have teachers working in their schools. For communities that had almost given up on government presence in education, this is a new dawn. What makes...

The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has insisted that Comrade Osayuki Epele-Asemota remains its authentic candidate for the Edo South Senatorial District, dismissing claims that her name was substituted after the party’s primary. The party’s South-South Spokesperson, Hon. Dr. Isaiah Osifo, said the primary was conducted in line with the party’s guidelines after repeated efforts by its leadership to achieve consensus among the five aspirants failed. Osifo said party leaders held several meetings with the aspirants, giving each opportunity to express their views and preferences, but none was willing to formally endorse another aspirant as a consensus candidate. He said the National Working Committee (NWC) subsequently constituted a panel, chaired by a member of the committee, to conduct and supervise the primaries. According to him, the five aspirants contested across the various local government areas, with returning officers appointed to submit results to the state panel for collati...

TUESDAY FLAT OUT By Suyi Ayodele (Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, August 25, 2026) https://tribuneonlineng.com/day-a-father-asked-me-to-give-up-my-seat-for-his-seven-year-old-son/ So much noise lately about the black man's vanishing culture of respect. Several years ago, I arrived at my child’s primary school graduation ceremony with the swag of a father who has crossed a milestone. Everywhere was filled up; there was no space in the hall again. I moved to the tent outside and found a chair. I had hardly sat down when a child showed up. He would be about seven years old. The little boy looked at me, stood beside me but I did not know why. Then he went away. Minutes later, the boy returned with a man who introduced himself as his father. The man asked me to get off the seat because, he claimed, his child was the one occupying it before I came. Meanwhile, it was a vacant seat I met.  I was alarmed! I asked if he actually meant that I should get up for the little boy to ...

‎OTUEDON'GBENBE (Edo South Journalists Forum) has congratulated  Chief Emmanuel Iyase, the Okao Noreguae of Ologbo, Okuoromi and Ehor Dukedoms in Benin, on the occasion of his birthday. ‎In a congratulatory message signed by the Convener, Comrade Edosa Okunbo, and Secretary, Elder Patrick Ahanor, the group described Chief Iyase as a respected traditional leader whose contributions to peace, unity and community development had continued to earn him the goodwill of his people. ‎The group said the occasion provided an opportunity to celebrate Chief Iyase's commitment to preserving the cultural heritage, customs and values of the communities under his leadership. ‎OTUEDON'GBENBE noted that the traditional ruler's wisdom and experience had made him an important voice in efforts to foster harmonious relationships and peaceful coexistence among the people. ‎The group also stressed that traditional institutions remained vital to community development, particularly in promoting ...

TUESDAY FLAT OUT By Suyi Ayodele (Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, August 18, 2026) https://tribuneonlineng.com/adeleke-victory-after-victory / A long time ago, when wisdom was not yet upside down, two young men went out in search of knowledge. They both wanted the favour of the world, the type the wise men of my place call àánú ayé (favour of the world). They needed àánú ayé to be able to get the most important thing in their town. The two were differently positioned for what they both coveted. One was greatly favoured. He had the support of the king of their town. All the chiefs, prominent members (òtòkùlú ìlú) and all that mattered in the town were his friends. The chief custodian of the much-sought after object happened to be his ally. What more! Wherever the king is, is exactly where the town is (ibi tí oba wà làá pè ní ìlú). So, for the favoured, the search for wisdom was a mere formality for him; let it not be that he did not seek for wisdom when his mate di...

 Monday Lines By Lasisi Olagunju  (Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Monday, 17 August, 2026).  APC leaders are falling over one another to own Ademola Adeleke’s victory — the same people who, barely 24 hours earlier, fired missiles to bring down his plane. They now say he had all along been their preferred candidate. Since when did the hawk and the chicken become playmates? Ẹyẹ ń bá ẹyẹ ṣeré, ẹyẹ ń tu ìyẹ́ ẹyẹ. One bird claims to be playing with another while quietly plucking its feathers. How warmly should the saved, fresh from the gallows, embrace the executioner whose rope just failed? Tuesday last week, at the Arise News TV/Nigerian Tribune Town Hall meeting for candidates in the Osun State governorship election, I asked Governor Ademola Adeleke if he was not scared of contesting against the APC — a party with more than 30 governors, the presidency and virtually everything that comes with federal power. His response was vintage political boast: “You don’t know me ...

By: Festus Alenkhe When we talk about development, we must look beyond the city centers. Real development is measured by what happens in our villages, in our wards, and in the smallest health centre in our community.  In Edo State, Governor Monday Okpebholo has made Primary Health Care a key pillar of his administration. And the results are beginning to speak for themselves. First, infrastructure.Across the 18 Local Government Areas, several dilapidated Primary Health Care Centres have been renovated and equipped. Centres in places like Uromi, Auchi, Igarra, and parts of Ovia North East that were once abandoned are now wearing a new look. Solar power, clean water, and perimeter fencing have been provided in many of them to ensure 24-hour service delivery. Second, human resources.The government has prioritized the recruitment and redeployment of nurses, community health extension workers, and midwives to underserved areas. This has reduced the problem of "one nurse for 5 communitie...

 Senator Ikpea Assures Edo Central Constituents of Effective Representation, Accountability By Idahosa Moses | Benin The Senator representing Edo Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Senator Joseph Igiagbe Ikpea, has assured his constituents of sustained and effective representation, promising to deepen legislative accountability, attract development and ensure that the voices and aspirations of the people remain central to his mandate. Ikpea gave the assurance on Tuesday at the Edo Central Senatorial District Stakeholders’ Town Hall Meeting, held at the Uromi Town Hall, Uromi, with the theme, “Deepening Legislative Accountability, Development Dialogue and Inclusive Participation.” The meeting brought together political leaders, traditional stakeholders, community representatives, youths, women and other critical stakeholders to deliberate on the duties and functions of a lawmaker. The senator said the town hall meeting was designed to create a direct platform for ...

 TUESDAY FLAT  By Suyi Ayodele (Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, August 11, 2026) https://tribuneonlineng.com/efcc-tinubu-as-obasanjos-brilliant-student/ President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said that the timing of the freezing of the Osun State Government Statutory Allocation account by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) “deeply embarrassed” him. That is a loaded statement. It is also an interesting statement coming from a man who, as governor of Lagos State, watched President Olusegun Obasanjo deploy federal power against political opponents and, at one point, experienced that power personally. What the President is saying is that if the EFCC’s action had taken place earlier, he would have applauded it. This is not interpretative. But we would not delve into the academic exercise of subjecting the President’s statement to its semantic implicatures. Suffice it to say that the timing of the action — 10 days to the Osun governorship election — was the probl...

 NEWS EDITORIAL: OKPEBHOLO'S CRUSADE AGAINST CULTISM - EDO FINALLY BREATHES AGAIN  By Festus Alenkhe For years, Edo State wore the toga of shame. Our once peaceful communities became battlegrounds. Cultism, with its attendant bloodletting, extortion, and fear, became a second government. Our youths were the casualties, our mothers the mourners, and our future the ultimate victim. Today, there is reason to hope. There is reason to clap. There is reason to say that governance has returned to the business of protecting lives. Under Governor Senator Monday Okpebholo, the war against cultism in Edo State has moved from rhetoric to results. And the dividends are clear for all to see: peace and harmony are gradually returning to our streets Political Will, Decisive Action What changed? Political will.  This administration drew a red line and dared cultists to cross it. The Governor gave a marching order to security agencies: dismantle the networks, arrest the sponsors, and resto...

TUESDAY FLAT OUT By Suyi Ayodele (Published in the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, August 4, 2026) https://tribuneonlineng.com/a-president-and-nigerias-ancient-hunger-i / "History, it appears, cannot escape hunger. In the time it takes you to read this sentence, someone will have died of it. On a daily basis twenty-four thousand people die of hunger or diseases associated with it; that is a death every 3.6 seconds. As on every other day, on September 11, 2001, when terrorists murdered 2,973 people in the United States, almost twelve times that number, an estimated 35,000, were killed by hunger around the world."  - (Hunger: A Modern History by James Vernon). Hunger may be as ancient as the Garden of Eden, but no president is elected to chronicle its history; our president was elected to kill it. One of the world’s most pressing humanitarian challenges is hunger. The phenomenon cuts across the globe. The difference lies in how each leader tackles the problem without dis...