The All Progressives Congress (APC) has secured all 13 chairmanship positions and 171 councillorship seats contested in the Ebonyi State local government election.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

• The Cost of Isolation: An APC chieftain, Ikenna Azomchine, has cautioned that the south-eastern region’s self-imposed political alienation from President Bola Tinubu’s administration is deeply disadvantageous to the Igbo nation.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

• • A Shift Toward Collaboration: Speaking during a regional mobilization tour in Nibo, Anambra State, Azomchine emphasized that meaningful progress and a future path to the presidency rely on active engagement and collaboration with the federal government rather than opposition or confrontation.

  • Acknowledging Policy Shifts: Reflecting on his own years in opposition, Azomchine noted that he previously criticized the administration’s policies, but commended the president for listening to feedback and making necessary policy adjustments.

  • Tangible Benefits: He highlighted that the current administration has delivered increased federal appointments and vital infrastructural projects to Igboland compared to previous eras.

  • Building Broad Alliances: Azomchine concluded that no single geopolitical zone possesses the unilateral capacity to produce a president, underscoring the necessity of building strong political bridges across Nigeria’s diverse regions to achieve national aspirations.

The National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA) has launched a new cost-sharing initiative to provide up to N400,000 in financial assistance for cancer patients requiring radiotherapy.....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

Announcing the intervention in Abuja during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Director-General of the NHIA, Dr. Kelechi Ohiri, stated that the programme is designed to alleviate the heavy financial burdens associated with cancer care and make treatments more accessible.

Under this arrangement, eligible patients will benefit from a 50 per cent reduction in radiotherapy costs, with the authority’s financial backing capped at N400,000 per individual. Dr. Ohiri noted that the initiative aims to bridge the gap for vulnerable patients facing advanced stages of the disease who might otherwise be unable to afford critical care.

To ensure effective implementation, the NHIA is collaborating with oncology centres nationwide, planning to accredit additional treatment facilities, and strengthening partnerships with medical equipment suppliers and pharmaceutical companies.

Furthermore, the NHIA’s healthcare coverage extends beyond radiotherapy. Through its formal sector programmes and the Group Individual and Family Social Health Insurance Programme (GIFSHIP), beneficiaries can access diagnostic procedures such as MRI and CT scans, mammograms, ultrasounds, and specific laboratory tests. Selected surgeries and chemotherapy drugs are also integrated into the framework, with over 200 patients across seven tertiary institutions already benefiting from the related medicine cost-sharing scheme.