Governance
Pastor Adeboye hails Kogi governor’s handling of coronavirus
Pastor Enoch Adeboye, General Overseer, Redeem Christian Church of God, has lauded the governance and leadership style of Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, describing him as a man of faith. Speaking when he visited Bello on Saturday in Lokoja, Adeboye also commended the governor for his religious tolerance. Adeboye said that the show of faith by Bello in handling the Coronavirus pandemic was a rare demonstration from a political leader. “We have heard and seen your show of faith in God, particularly in dealing with the Coronavirus. It takes the man of faith to have acted the way you did and we are very, very pleased with you. “We have also heard the news of how you have been relating to people of every faith to the extent that you built the first chapel in the Government House, Lokoja, ...
APC: PDP governors’ meeting ‘mere jamboree’
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has described Monday’s meeting of governors of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP as a jamboree and a complete waste of time, accusing the state executives of engaging in name calling and abuses. National Secretary of the APC Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe disclosed this in a statement issued Monday in Abuja. The statement reads; “Going by the communique issued by the Peoples Democratic Party PDP Governors’ Forum, at the end of its meeting on Monday, it is unfortunate that the PDP governors chose to engage in misplaced name calling and abuses instead of seizing a golden opportunity provided by the meeting to offer meaningful and patriotic contributions on the review of the state...
African Union mission urges return to ‘constitutional order’ in Chad
An African Union mission recommended on Wednesday that Chad’s military share power with a civilian president, as one of three options towards restoring constitutional order following last month’s killing of president Idriss Deby. A military council led by Deby’s son Mahamat Idriss Deby seized power in April after his father was killed while visiting troops opposing a rebel insurgency. The African Union, which could suspend Chad over the military takeover, sent a fact-finding mission to develop strategies for a return to constitutional order and democratic governance. In a report, the mission recommended the AU’s security council could support the military transition as it stands, while appointing a special envoy to ensure the military keep their promise to organise elections with 18 months...
Gombe eyes World Bank loan to address erosion at Federal College
Gombe State is considering taking a World Bank loan to tackle erosion at the Federal College of Education (Technical) Gombe. The state’s Deputy Governor, Manassah Jatau, made the declaration in Gombe on Tuesday when a Presidential Visitation Panel, led by Prof. Kenneth Okiongbo, visited the school. Jatau said notwithstanding the fact that the school belonged to the Federal Government, the state government was considering taking the loan because its people benefited the most from the school. He said the state government had earlier intervened in erosion control in the school through the diversion of some major structures at the Mega Park located very close to the school. He said the government was doubling its efforts to ensure speedy completion of work at the erosion sites. Jatau stressed ...
NASU: Decision to reduce civil servants salaries ’provocative’
File Photo The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) says plan by the Federal Government to slash salaries of Federal civil servants is “provocative’’. NASU made this known in a statement by its General Secretary, Mr Peters Adeyemi on Sunday in Abuja. It will be recalled that Mrs Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, had given the hint on May 4, at the National Policy Dialogue on Corruption and Cost of Governance in Nigeria, organised by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in Abuja. Ahmed said during the dialogue that the review of salaries of civil servants and some federal agencies were part of measures to reduce cost of governance. She said the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission (NSIWC) had bee...
Kogi governor appoints cleaner as senior aide
The Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has announced the appointment of Peter Aliyu, a cleaner, as his Senior Special Assistant on Sanitation. Bello’s spokesperson, Onogwu Mohammed, who broke the news on Saturday, said Aliyu, who is speech impaired, was a former cleaner under the Geemoney Cleaning Scheme. “His appointment was announced at the state executive council alongside other new government appointees of government,” he said. “In a statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Folashade Arike Ayoade, said the young man’s appointment came on the heel of His Excellency’s observation of the man’s consistency, diligence and dedication which also endeared the new appointee to many other individuals who have hailed his appointment According to the statement, “Governor Bello ha...
CBN governor seeks PPP model to improve healthcare infrastructure
Bloomberg The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has urged stakeholders in the public and private sectors to collaborate to build a more healthy and robust healthcare infrastructure in Nigeria. The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, made the call at a movie launch titled: “UNMASKED”, a feature documentary on leadership, trust and the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. The movie was produced and directed by Mr Femi Odugbemi, a Nigerian documentary filmmaker, and co-produced by Ms Kadaria Ahmed, a renowned journalist, media entrepreneur and television host, on Friday in Lagos. According to Emefiele, addressing the public health crisis along with the downturn in the economy required strong coordination. He said the measures and interventions put in place by the CBN and private sector to improve governme...
Afenifere: We’ll not support military takeover
Pan-Yoruba sociocultural group, Afenifere, has said it is against military takeover of any kind. In a statement, National Publicity Secretary of the group, Comrade Jare Ajayi, described military intervention in government as a curse. He said the recent clamour for change in the country was borne out of frustration over the state of the nation. Ajayi said, “Going by what the nation went through under the military, we will certainly not support another military rule in Nigeria under any guise. “It is on record for example that apart from the general abridgement of the rights of Nigerians under the military, members of the the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) masterminded by Afenifere suffered greatly. “It is on record that we lost a lot of patriotic Nigerians all because they were prot...
NOA sensitises Oyo residents ahead of council election
File Photo The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has embarked on sensitisation of residents of some local government areas in Oyo State, ahead of the May 22 council elections. Newsmen report that the programme was tagged: “Voter education and mobilisation campaign towards free, fair, peaceful and credible local government elections.’’ NAN also reports that the exercise, led by the NOA Director in the state, Mrs Folake Ayoola, took the agency to Ibarapa, Ogbomoso, Iseyin and Egbeda local government areas of the state. Other council areas, which had earlier been visited, included: Ibadan North, Ido, Ibadan South-West, Ibadan South-East, Ibadan North-East and Ibadan North-West council areas. Ayoola said that the sensitisation was aimed at intimating the electorate in the state on the importan...
House asks federal government to suspend upcoming census exercise
Following the ravaging insecurity in the country, the House of Representatives yesterday called on the federal government to suspend the upcoming census exercise until security improved. The House also said it will be counter-productive and a waste of scarce financial resources to conduct such exercise amidst the economic recession. The call was made on the heel of a motion under matters of urgent public importance titled “Call on the federal government of Nigeria to Suspend the Proposed 2021 Population and Housing Census to be conducted by the National Population Commission” sponsored by Shelia Barwa Bell. Moving the motion, Bell said that the state of insecurity would not guarantee accuracy if the census was conducted now, arguing that many Nigerians have fled their homes and villages. H...
APC taunts PDP over ‘connivance’ with terrorists
The ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, has disclosed ongoing high-level investigations to unravel those behind the growing wave of terrorism and other violent crimes across the country, expressing hope that at the end of the probe, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party PDP would not be found to be sponsoring destabilizing elements ahead of the 2023 general elections. The APC stated this on Sunday in Abuja in a statement issued by the National Secretary of its Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, CECPC, Sen. John James Akpanudoedehe. APC was reacting to a statement by the PDP after its national caucus at the weekend to the effect that the country was fast descending into anarchy and that the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration has no solutions having been o...
South East leaders decry injustice against Igbo
Pool Photo A leading Igbo social-political group, Nzuko Umuna, says that Nigeria, particularly the South East, is witnessing insecurity because of injustice, inequalities and lack of governance. Addressing reporters in Abuja on Monday, Sam Amadi, chairman of the legal committee of the think tank, said the unfair and unequal treatment of citizens have compounded the insecurity crisis. Amadi said the South East used to be the ‘safest region in Nigeria, but has become a site of organised criminality.’ ‘Nzuko Umuna recognises that Nigeria has descended into a depth of insecurity partly because of the failure of governance across the country and particularly because of inequities and injustices of political leadership in Nigeria,’ the former chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commi...