Gov. Mai Mala-Buni of Yobe on Tuesday said his administration has no plan to retrench civil servants in spite of the state’s meagre resources. Mala-Buni gave the assurance in Damaturu on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of newly appointed permanent secretaries and board members. He said he would continue to attract investments to Yobe from both state and non-state actors in order to meet the financial obligations of the state. “People accuse me of frequenting Abuja; the truth is, if I remain in Damaturu, we cannot pay even our salary bills. “And that means we will have to join the league of states that are retrenching workers; we don’t have such plan. “You are aware of the projects we started, including the four modern markets we are building, the ongoing 3,600 houses, the over 87...
Prof. Charles Igwe, the Vice-Chancellor of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) has said that COVID-19 pandemic is arguably the most global challenge since world war II. Igwe said this in Nsukka on Monday during UNN 1st Annual International Conference titled: “A Whole New World; Research, Development and Innovation in the Pandemic Era.” He said that COVID-19 which has killed many people across the globe as well as infected many others has affected the economy, lives, people’s ways of living in virtually every country of the world. “COVID-19 pandemic is the most serious global challenge since the world war II the world has witnessed. “As this has affected the economy, people’s ways of life and behaviour of entire people of the world,” he said. He commended federal government on handling the ...
The Commissioners of Education in the 19 Northern States have urged development partners to support the ongoing efforts to ensure security in schools. The commissioners made the call in a communique issued in Kaduna on Wednesday, at the end of a meeting on Students Exchange Programme (SEP), held in Kano. The communique was signed by the Chairman, Shehu Muhammad, who is also the Commissioner of Education, Kaduna State. The meeting was organised to discuss pressing issues affecting education in the region. The commissioners suggested that community members and education ‘stakeholders’ be part of the security architecture to ensuring security in schools in the region and the country. They appealed to the federal, state governments, development partners, parents, non-governmental organisations...
President Muhammadu Buhari Tuesday called on the international community to support a peaceful transition from military to democratic government in Chad. He made this known at a summit put together to discuss recent developments in Chad after the death of President Idris Deby last April. At the summit, Mr Buhari called on: “development partners and countries particularly France, the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, and Russia; the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union, as well as other friendly and partner nations to support the transition framework put in place by Chad’s Transition Military Council led by General Mahamat Idris Deby.” ‘‘The need to support the Chadian government to effectively carry out its planned 18-month transition is sacrosanc...
Former President of the Senate, Sen. Bukola Saraki, has advised the Federal Government to seek help wherever it could to address the escalating insecurity in the country. Saraki, in a statement in Abuja on Tuesday, said that calling for help in the present situation of the country was not a sign of weakness. He said he was worried over cases of violence, kidnapping and terrorism recorded on Monday in Anambra, Kaduna, Yobe, Niger, Lagos states and many parts of the country. The ex-senate president reiterated the need for President Muhammadu Buhari to convene meeting of all those who could help in finding solutions to the problem at hand. ”The people include former presidents and heads of state, serving and former chief justices, serving and former presiding officers of the National Assembly...
Bauchi State Government has reassured development partners and other stakeholders in the health sector that, it will not relent in its effort of providing a safe and habitable environment in hospitals across the state. The reassurance was given on Sunday by Governor Bala Mohammed who also reassured development partners on the desire of his administration towards the timely release of counterpart funding for the fulfilment of all the agreements and commitments signed. The governor was speaking at the commissioning of an upgraded Hospital Sanitation Facility at Specialist Hospital Bauchi executed by the State Government in partnership with Water is Right Foundation, a German-based organisation. Bala Mohammed who described upgrading of the sanitation facilities as timely said that his adminis...
The last is yet to be heard about the entrenched corruption in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as the office of the Auditor General of the Federation (oAuGF) queried the Commission over N70 billion and secrecy shrouded in the multi-million dollar revenues paid by oil firms into the coffers of the Commission since inception. The query was part of numerous audit query issued by the oAuGF including the sum of N31.453 billion ‘some payment of 2012 not verified due to non-presentation of payment vouchers and bank mandates; non-remittance of N29 billion before 2008; N5.69 billion payment vouchers from Access Bank Account Number 0015078045 not presented for audit, and payments by unrecognized oil companies into the Commission’s final accounts to the tune of N3,280,818,832, among oth...
Nigeria has received an $890 million grant from the Global Fund to reduce the burden of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria over an implementation period of three years, beginning from 2021 to 2023. The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, announced the receipt of the grant at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja. The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF) is an innovative international financing mechanism established by the United Nations in 2002, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a global partnership of governments, civil society and private donors. It was established for the purpose of attracting, leveraging and investing resources to fund public health interventions to accelerate the eradication of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in affected high burden ...