Punch Editorial Board
Nigeria’s donor dependence for healthcare
PRESIDENT Donald Trump’s partial withdrawal of donor support for global health services marks a critical moment worldwide. As the US is the largest donor to this cause, this funding shortfall has ...
6th June 2025
Lagos’ ban on single-use plastics
BY July 1, 2025, the Lagos State Government will commence the enforcement of the ban on single-use plastics. The ban is in line with a global trend where many governments are placing restrictions on t...
6th June 2025
Workers deserve workplace safety, dignity
THE dignity of the Nigerian worker has been steadily eroded. It is imperative that the federal and state governments, alongside the Nigeria Labour Congress, join forces to restore the dignity and safe...
5th June 2025
Assets recovery: How far can Tinubu go?
THERE will be no safe haven for corruption in Nigeria. Our government will take deliberate steps to strengthen anti-corruption institutions, enforce accountability, and ensure that justice is served, ...
5th June 2025
Save the pharmaceutical sector
NIGERIA’S pharmaceutical sector is hampered by import dependency and years of economic and infrastructural shocks. The industry is further stifled by the cost-of-living crisis imposed by the petrol ...
4th June 2025
Mandatory voting bill withdrawal
A vexatious bill introduced in the House of Representatives seeking to make voting compulsory was, as expected, withdrawn after widespread public outrage. The bill aimed to amend the Electoral Act and...
4th June 2025
Mokwa floods: A predictable tragedy unfolds
THE latest flood disaster in Mokwa, Niger State, stands as a tragic reminder of the devastating impact of environmental and infrastructural neglect, and poor disaster preparedness compounded by climat...
3rd June 2025
NNPC’s refineries of waste
Nigeria’s public refineries, under perpetual government control, remain trapped in a cycle of dormancy and inefficiency. At best, they operate sporadically, with the country squandering resource...
2nd June 2025
Tinubu chants tiresome borrowing tune
President Bola Tinubu’s fresh request to the National Assembly to approve new external loans totalling $24.14 billion is tiresome. Once again, it raises concerns that Nigeria is hurtling towards a f...
1st June 2025
Nigeria’s health sector needs new energy
NIGERIA’S healthcare sector remains deeply troubled, despite interventions by President Bola Tinubu’s administration. The government must not only acknowledge the sector’s persistent challenges ...
30th May 2025
Disgraceful police extortion
ENDEMIC corruption within the Nigeria Police Force remains a grave concern for most Nigerians. Recent evidence, captured in a viral video, shows a police officer at a checkpoint on the Benin Bypass in...
30th May 2025
May 29: 26 years of shaky democracy
NIGERIA’S Fourth Republic is 26 years old today. Ordinarily, citizens should roll out the drums to celebrate half a century of civil rule, the longest after 64 years of flag independence. Unfortunat...
29th May 2025
World Hunger Day 2025: Nigerians are hungry
AS the world marks World Hunger Day on Wednesday, under the theme “Sowing Resilience”, Nigeria stands at a critical juncture. This year’s theme underscores the pressing need to address the inter...
28th May 2025
NAFDAC’s renewed ban on sachet alcohol
AS anticipated, the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control’s decision to reinstate its ban on sachet alcoholic products containing less than 200 millilitres, effective December...
28th May 2025
Auctioning Emefiele’s duplexes
THERE can be little progress in Nigeria until the country becomes serious about fighting corruption. The fact that one government official could acquire a 753-unit housing estate in Abuja without rais...
27th May 2025
Stopping doping in Nigerian sports
THE menace of doping has tainted the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, Ogun State. At least 14 athletes have tested positive for banned substances. These athletes were selected from t...
27th May 2025
Corruption-ridden constituency projects
THE details of the 2025 federal budget have once again exposed the disconcerting dysfunction that has defined governance in Nigeria. BudgIT, a civic-tech organisation advocating for budget transparenc...
26th May 2025
Tinubu ministers’ mid-term scorecard
As President Bola Tinubu marks the midpoint of his tenure, it is a fitting moment to critically assess the performance of his cabinet. Having assumed office on May 29, 2023, Tinubu’s administration ...
25th May 2025
Abbas and World Bank Mission 300 Project
TAJUDEEN Abbas, Speaker of the House of Representatives, has underscored Nigeria’s commitment to the Mission 300 Project, a landmark collaboration aimed at providing electricity to 300 million Afric...
23rd May 2025
Reckless police killings must stop
ON May 20, Kehinde Alade, 14, was killed by a stray bullet in his father’s car on his way to school in Ibadan, Oyo State. The bullet fired by a police officer during a joint traffic enforcement oper...
23rd May 2025
Weak state, besieged military
NIGERIA is teetering towards failure. Over two million of the citizens are displaced, many of whom are clustered in unsecured IDP camps due to terror attacks. The military, tasked with protecting the ...
22nd May 2025
Nigeria’s underwhelming airports
AN airport is not merely where planes land and take off. It is a window through which the first-time traveller observes the country he is visiting. He is either enthralled or disgusted. Unfortunately,...
22nd May 2025
Public officers must declare assets
THE law establishing the Code of Conduct Bureau is currently ineffective, which is unacceptable in a country plagued by widespread corruption. It is against this backdrop that the CCB Chairman, Abdull...
21st May 2025
Fresh excise duty on telecom services ill-timed
NIGERIA’S economy remains in a precarious state, and the path to recovery requires careful nurturing rather than additional burdens on businesses and citizens. Therefore, the revival of the 5.0 per ...
21st May 2025
Nigeria’s death-trap roads
THE rains have returned, bringing with them a familiar sense of dread. Nigeria’s roads, infamously dubbed ‘death-traps’, are once again claiming lives at an alarming rate. Across Nigeria, anguis...
20th May 2025
Managing failure-induced shocks
CASES of suicide among young people, triggered by their inability to manage failure-induced shocks, are becoming increasingly alarming. This situation underscores the urgent need for measures to prepa...
20th May 2025
Establish state police now!
A rare consensus is emerging across Nigeria regarding the establishment of state police. Many prominent individuals and groups have advocated for it. All 36 states have submitted reports supporting a ...
19th May 2025
Maximise the potential of maritime economy
NIGERIA’S vast marine resources have remained grossly underutilised despite their immense potential for economic transformation. With over 853 kilometres of coastline, an expansive Exclusive Economi...
19th May 2025
LG elections: Grassroots democracy in crisis
NIGERIA’S local government elections have become a national embarrassment, a carefully orchestrated charade where the outcomes are a ghastly farce. State governors must choose to be on the right sid...
18th May 2025
No more deaths from electrocution
ELECTRICITY-RELATED deaths continue to claim lives across Nigeria, yet many of these tragedies are entirely preventable. The threats are widespread and often ignored, from high-tension power lines pas...
16th May 2025
Rivers’ emergency: Supreme Court must act swiftly
NEARLY two months after President Bola Tinubu controversially declared a state of emergency in Rivers State and suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and members of the House of Assembly, ...
16th May 2025
