The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has voiced his support for the initiative by 60 members of the House of Representatives advocating for Nigeria’s return to a parliamentary system of government.
He expressed his stance while speaking to a delegation of lawmakers led by the House Minority Leader, Rep. Kingsley Chinda, and Rep. Abdulsamad Dasuki, who visited him in Abuja over the weekend.
The legislators visited the monarch to seek his counsel, blessings, and support for the proposed bills aimed at restructuring elections at the local, state, and federal levels.
Addressing the legislators, he described the current presidential system as accidental, expressing regret that the parliamentary system of government practiced after independence was short-lived due to military incursions that toppled democracy.
Ooni praised the lawmakers, stating the importance of fostering healthy competition among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. He also emphasised that a parliamentary system would effectively unlock and harness the country’s vast natural and human resources for development.
His words: “It’s a mistake of the past that people are saying it’s the northern people that are holding it; they want to. It’s a lie. If the people see the data of what is in the north now, I am very sure they will be the ones who say, Let us do that thing now.
“Some people call it restructuring; some people call it true federalism; some people call it devolution of powers; all in all, it’s the same thing.
“The white elephant—we don’t want to talk about it; it has gotten to the point unless we want another problem for us in this country. We have gotten to the wall, but you have made names for yourselves.
Earlier, Hon. Chinda, expressing deep concerns about the numerous challenges facing the country, expressed optimism that the ongoing consultations were aimed at gaining the support of key stakeholders in the Nigerian project.
He said, “If we try the local government system and it works, we graduate to the stage, where members from the state assembly among themselves elect a governor. If that works, while that is happening, we are looking at the faults, the problems, and the loopholes, and we keep making consequential amendments to our law before we get to the national level.
“So, that’s why we are looking at 2031 for the presidential; then we would have tried the local government, we would have tried the state, and then before we come to the presidential. If there’s a need and Nigerians think that we need to put A, B, and C in place, we will have time to do all that.
“But your Majesty, what we have come to do, like I’ve said earlier, is to seek your consent, seek your blessings, seek your advice, and tap from your wealth of knowledge.”
Hon. Abdulsamad Dasuki, on his part, expressed optimism about the ongoing consultations and argued that the transition to a parliamentary system of government would help address various concerns raised by all Nigerians.
He said, “Sir, the elections are over. The court cases, by God’s grace, are over. We all know from all parts of the country that there are complaints that things are not going as they should. Some are clamouring for decentralisation, and some are saying restructure. We, as parliamentarians, are saying the system is a parliamentary system of government. I think there’s no better time to put our words into action than now.
“So, your Majesty, we are here on behalf of the 60 of us who have started this very important journey, together with you and all leaders, in fact, all Nigerians, to start the action immediately because we believe something needs to be done to arrest the current situation we are in in Nigeria today. And I believe by the time we leave here, by God’s grace, it’s going to be action, and action to see is through the challenges that are before us.”
Says president doesn't care about North
Alleges 2024 budget padded by N3trn
The Senator representing Bauchi Central in the Senate, Abdul Ningi, has said that things were getting worse under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
According to the lawmaker, President Tinubu seemed not to understand the country and the issues affecting its components, especially the North.
Ningi, who is the chairman of the Northern Senators Forum (NSF), stated this in an interview with BBC Hausa Service on Saturday.
According to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senator, the federal government hasn’t performed to expectations, adding that things were getting worse compared to when President Tinubu took over the leadership of the country in May, 2023.
“People are going through a lot of difficulties. We live in villages. We are going there to interact with them and they are lamenting seriously. They have nowhere to go, so they have no one to express their grievances to than us.
“I think Bola Ahmed Tinubu doesn’t even understand this country and he doesn’t understand the difficulties of ruling a country like Nigeria. Probably, he has his thinking of what governance is, but I don’t blame him so much because when he was campaigning for the seat, there was no agreement or promise between him and the people. People were just blinded and voted for him because he supported former President Muhammadu Buhari when he was contesting. Some even voted for him because he is a Muslim, as such, he needed their votes on whether he can or cannot do the right thing for the country.
“But the most painful thing is that Northerners stood for him and did all they could to bring him to power, but unfortunately, there was no agreement between them and the president on what should be done to the North and the Northerners. Especially taking into consideration the importance and significant projects that the North has been yearning and aspiring to get for a long time. For example, the Ajaokuta project, the Mambilla power project, the dredging of River Niger and other notable projects,” Ningi said.
He said what mostly disturbed their sleep were the national budgets of 2013 and 2014 in which they earmarked billions of Naira for critical projects but they were neglected by the then President Goodluck Jonathan, saying when President Buhari took over in 2015, they thought it was one of the projects he would pay attention to, but unfortunately, it wasn’t possible for over eight years.
“Even road construction like Kano-Abuja is not yet completed, as if it was cursed by someone, despite the road being the soul of our travellers in the North,” Ningi added.
Speaking further, Ningi said they don’t attack the government as the opposition party is supposed to do because religious and ethnic biases have been brought into politics, citing example that lawmakers from the North-West and North-East were stopped from opposition leaders in the Senate.
“If you look at it from this scenario, the majority of those in opposition are from the North-East and the North-West, but we were not allowed to be the leaders of the opposition in the Senate.
“This is one of the reasons why we said we would go back and look at what is happening under the umbrella of the Northern Senators Forum, which is under my leadership,” he noted.
On the transfer of some government agencies to Lagos, Ningi said:“As I speak, our people, especially the leaders are yet to take any action to find the solution. That is why I am not even surprised.
“These things that are happening are of two categories. Some affect the North only, and some affect the entire country. What we are doing now as leaders of the Forum of Northerners, we are trying to address the problem or reduce its strength without allowing politics to come in.”
On the 2024 budget, Ningi said for the past three months, they have engaged consultants to review the budget for them as members of the Northern Senators Forum.
“We have some experts that are working on it line by line. We have seen the huge damage that was done not only to the North but the entire country in that budget. We are supposed to sit with the Senate President to inform him about what we have observed.
“We want to show him what we have seen in the budget that is not acceptable, we will not accept them and we don’t want the country to continue spending money on those things. Apart from what the National Assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground, which we didn’t know.
“The new things we have discovered in the budget were not known to us. We haven’t seen them in the budget that was debated and considered on the floor of the National Assembly,” Ningi said, adding that there was a budget of N28 trillion but that what was officially passed by the National Assembly was N25 trillion.
“So there is N3 trillion on top. Where are they, where is it going? So, we need to know this. There are a lot of things. We are coming up with a report and we will show the president himself and ask him if he is aware or not.
“This is what we intended to do. We are to meet the president. We will talk to him about the Mambilla power project, Ajaokuta and the River Niger dredging. We will talk to him about the Niger Republic. Recently, they said they will construct a dam, this is not good for us,” Ningi said, adding that the action taken by ECOWAS has affected the relationship between Nigeria and Niger.
“There was an agreement that they would not construct a dam so that the Kainji Dam would be intact and we would give them electricity in return.
“Over one billion US dollars was spent on Mambila, BBC has reported. Where is that money? Who collected the money? We need to know and see what can be done. This Mambila is like the future of the North. Every part of the country has its holds as a symbol that will save them in the future.
“One of our weaknesses in the north is that we don’t love ourselves and our region so much that we don’t care about the future. We are just living anyhow. We just love the region in our mouths not at heart and I am seriously worried about that,” Ningi said, adding that the security challenges in the North are worrying.
“There is nowhere in the South where someone will be abducted and spend seven days in custody of the abductors. Look at Katsina, Zamfara, and Benue. I am even afraid that one day we’ll wake up and see that states like Zamfara have been taken away from the country. It is possible to go by what is happening,” Ningi added.
‘If there’s nothing in it, don’t struggle’ — Fubara, Akpabio differ on quest for power at Wigwe’s burial
AdminSiminalayi Fubara, governor of Rivers, and Senate President Godswill Akpabio have taken jibes at each other over a remark on the power struggle.
Fubara was speaking on Saturday during the funeral of Herbert Wigwe, the late group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Access Holdings Plc, and questioned the intentions behind political struggles and rivalries which he said “sometimes lead to deaths”.
“This one has to do with our political class. What is all this struggle all about? You want to kill, you want to bury. What is it all about?” the Rivers governor asked.
Fubara has been having a running battle with Nyesome Wike, his predecessor, over the control of political structures in Rivers state.
However, when making remarks at the event, Akpabio recalled his experience in 2006 when he aspired to become the deputy governor of Akwa Ibom state.
The senate president recounted a conversation he had with the then-incumbent deputy governor, who he said discouraged him from vying for the position because the office has no “financial benefits.”
“I will answer you. We are not talking politics. In 2006, I wanted to become the deputy governor and the then deputy governor invited me and this office has no money, there is nothing in it. I don’t know why you still insist on removing me from here and take over,” Akpabio recalled.
“So, a woman who went with me said Your Excellency, don’t wait for impeachment, just resign since there is nothing in it
“He stood up and started punching the woman. I said Your Excellency, don’t punch the woman, she is telling the truth, there is nothing in it. That’s why I want it because you are too big for it.
“Your Excellency, Governor Fubara, if there is nothing in the struggle, don’t struggle.”
The late Wigwe was buried alongside his wife Chizoba, and Chizi, his son, in his home town, Ikwerre LGA of Rivers state.
In February, Wigwe, his wife and son as well as Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the former group chairman of Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group), were involved in a helicopter crash in California near the Nevada border.
All six passengers on board died.
[TheCable]
Trouble is brewing in the Senate after the Northern Senators Forum yesterday accused Senate President Godswill Akpabio and his associates of padding the 2024 budget to the tune of N3 trillion.
The forum said it would take the matter to President Bola Tinubu.
But the Senate leadership dismissed the allegation as false. The chairman of the Northern Senators Forum, Abdul Ningi (PDP – Bauchi Central) said on BBC Hausa Service that the alleged padding was discovered by consultants commissioned by the forum to scrutinise the budget. He also said the Forum would soon confront Akpabio with its findings.
“In the last three months, we have engaged consultants to review the budget for us. We have some experts that are working on it line by line,” Ningi said.
“We have seen the huge damage that was done not only to the north but the entire country in that budget. We are supposed to sit with the Senate President to inform him about what we have observed. We want to show him what we have seen in the budget that is not acceptable. We will not accept them and we don’t want the country to continue spending money on those things.
“Apart from what the National Assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground which we didn’t know.
“The new things we have discovered in the budget were not known to us. We haven’t seen them in the budget that was debated and considered on the floor of the National Assembly.”
He said: “For example, it was said that there was a budget of N28 trillion but what was passed was N25 trillion.
“So there is N3 trillion on top. Where is it, where is it going? So, we need to know this. There are a lot of things.
“We are coming up with a report and we will show the President himself and ask him if he is aware or not.”
He wondered why some projects earmarked for the north, like the Ajaokuta project, the Mambila power project, the dredging of River Niger and others have not materialised after many years.
He said: “What mostly disturbs my sleep is that we had budgets in 2013 and 2014 in which we earmarked billions of naira, but they were neglected by President Goodluck Jonathan.
The National Commission for Refugees Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) has said that over 6.1 million Nigerians were displaced by insecurity and natural disasters.
The NCFRMI Federal Commissioner, Alhaji Tijjani Aliyu, disclosed this during a visit to Gov. Dikko Radda of Katsina State on Friday in Katsina.
According to him, as of 2022, the commission had about 3 million displaced persons, “but with floods and other natural disasters, we now have an additional 100 per cent of such displaced people.”
He explained: “Today, I can authoritatively say that we have not less than 6.1 million Nigerians displaced out of their homes.
“What do we do if all of them cannot go back, how do we fend them? Can the government continue to feed them, providing them succour?
“Absolutely not possible, we have to find a way to teach these individuals trades, give them skills, so that at the end of the day, they can be on their own,” he said.
Aliyu disclosed the commission’s intention to construct three well-furnished skills acquisition centres across the Northeast, from the 2024/2025 budget.
He said the essence of the visit was to distribute food items to about 700 displaced people in the state.
“Before today, the commission has been putting its efforts to ensure that these people were not left in an undignified way. Their children have received educational training funds from us.
“About 120 of them were trained, and also about 70 of their mothers were given some small starter packs to improve their living standard,” he said.
Aliyu said, in addition to that, the commission identified the problem of water in the IDPs camp but immediately intervened by providing a solar-powered borehole.
“We have also built settlement cities in IDPs camp located areas, for those who may not want to go back to their ancestral homes, and Katsina is one of the beneficiaries,” he said.
The NCFRMI boss said the commission also intended to enrol the IDPs in a health insurance scheme to take care of their health challenges.
Responding, Gov. Radda commended the commission’s gesture, describing it as a collective responsibility of both the state and the federal government to ensure the welfare and well-being of the IDPs.
He said the state had recently witnessed a lot of security challenges, especially in eight frontline local government councils of the state.
The governor lamented that the worst affected areas were the food basket of the state, adding that most of the communities were displaced.
Radda, however, noted with satisfaction that with the inauguration of the Katsina Security Watch Corps (SWC), the security situation had improved.
While pleading for more collaboration with neighbouring states, the governor expressed optimism that with the recent deployment of additional security operatives by the federal government, criminals would not be given breathing space.
The federal commissioner later led other officials to flag-off the distribution of food items to the IDPs. (NAN)
The Nigerian Labour Congress has distanced itself from the N500,000 being canvassed as the new minimum wage, saying it has yet to adopt a position on an amount to be presented to the tripartite committee on the new minimum wage for workers.
The President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, disclosed this on Sunday with our correspondent in Yola, Adamawa State.
Speaking at the sidelines of the North-East zonal public hearing by the tripartite committee on national wage, Ajaero noted that the N500,000 and N700,000 being proposed as new minimum wage is unknown to the NLC.
According to him, all the figures flying around should be disregarded because the NLC as a body had yet to adopt a common presentation on the new minimum wage.
He said, “The N500,000, N700,000 you are hearing are being collated at the level of the states. In Lagos and other places, I think they are about N700,000 while in other places they are talking about N500,000 which are inputs collated from geopolitical zones.
“But the NLC secretariat has not made any presentation, these minimum figures are what is coming from the states. When we collate them then we’ll do a central presentation based on the raw materials we are getting from states.
“It (minimum wage) has to be relative to the cost of living in those states. You will agree with me that rent here is not as that in Abuja, and not the same thing as in Lagos. So relatively speaking you won’t have a straitjacket-like presentation by Labour in all the states.”
On his part, the Chairman of the Nigerian Medical Association, Adamawa State, Dr Solomon Bulus, said the Nigerian Medical and Dental Council backed the implementation of the N500,000 new minimum wage because it would drive down the hardship being experienced nationally.
The Minister of State for Health, Dr Tunji Alausa, on Saturday that the Federal Government had directed that health workers who plan to relocate abroad for greener pastures must henceforth resign their appointment beforehand.
Alausa added that the era of health workers exiting to other countries of the world in search of better offers after applying for their leave of absence is no longer acceptable.
The Minister stated this on Saturday during his visit to The Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Aro, Abeokuta.
Alausa said, “The government is not unmindful of the Japa effect on our manpower in the health sector and the President has ordered for massive production of manpower such that when people go, there will always be replacement.
“However, you cannot eat your cake and have it. If you are going, just resign your appointments with the Federal Government, rather than applying for leave of absence, that is the presidential executive order which has been communicated to all the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government-owned health facilities to implement.
“The problem with the leave of absence is that such a fellow is out there in the UK or Australia working, making money but his name still appears on the payment roll of the government and so to replace him is difficult because he is still being considered as a staff whereas he has left the country.
“So, to solve this problem, the President has directed that any health workers going abroad to work should just resign their appointment and not apply for leave of absence. This way, you won’t be blocking others who want to work and of course piling burdens for your colleagues that you left behind.”
Nigerian Economy Cannot Survive Current Exchange Rate, Urges Shift To Export-Oriented Manufacturing - AfDB President Adesina
AdminAkinwumi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), recently shared his thoughts on various aspects of the Nigerian economy, agriculture, and his personal life in an interview with OYETUNJI ABIOYE.
Regarding the current exchange rate of over N1,500 to a dollar, Adesina stated that the Nigerian economy cannot survive under such conditions. He emphasized the need to expand foreign exchange inflows and shift towards an export-oriented industrial manufacturing stance to address the issue. Adesina also highlighted the importance of solving Nigeria’s power problem, stating that the country should aim for a capacity of 60,000 to 70,000 megawatts to support double-digit economic growth.
When asked about the food crisis in Nigeria, Adesina revealed that the AfDB has approved $134 million for the country to implement an emergency food production plan. The bank is supporting the cultivation of various crops, including wheat, maize, rice, cassava, and soybeans, to boost food supply. Adesina also advised the government to revive the electronic wallet system he implemented as a minister to provide farmers with direct access to seeds and fertilizers.
Adesina, who was recently awarded the Obafemi Awolowo Prize for Leadership, expressed his emotional connection to the award, stating that Awolowo’s welfarist policies had a significant impact on his own life and philosophy. He emphasized the importance of people-centric policies and the need for leaders to lead with their hearts.
The AfDB president also discussed the bank’s efforts to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment through initiatives such as the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa, which aims to mobilize $5 billion for women-owned businesses on the continent.
On a personal note, Adesina shared the story of how he met his wife while studying at the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University). He credited her intelligence and support for his success. Adesina also expressed his deep commitment to his Nigerian identity, stating that he proudly represents his country in his work at the AfDB.
In conclusion, Akinwumi Adesina’s insights shed light on the challenges facing the Nigerian economy and the potential solutions that can be implemented to address them.
The Northern Senators Forum has vowed to meet President Bola Tinubu over alleged N3trillion padding it ‘discovered’ in the 2024 budget.
The Chairman of the Forum, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP – Bauchi Central) disclosed this during an interview by the BBC, Hausa Service.
Ningi said the forum has commissioned consultants to thoroughly scrutinise the 2024 budget to reveal how N3trillion was surreptitiously added to the amount passed by lawmakers.
He also said the Forum would soon confront Senate President Godswill Akpabio with its findings concerning the N3trillion alleged ‘padding.’
On plans by the forum to review the 2024 budget, Ningi said: “This is true, for the past three months, we have engaged consultants to review the budget for us. We have some experts that are working on it line by line.
“We have seen the huge damage that was done not only to the north but the entire country in that budget. We are supposed to sit with the Senate President to inform him about what we have observed.
“We want to show him what we have seen in the budget that is not acceptable, we will not accept them and we don’t want the country to continue spending money on those things.
“Apart from what the National Assembly did on the floor, there was another budget that was done underground which we didn’t know.
“The new things we have discovered in the budget were not known to us. We haven’t seen them in the budget that was debated and considered on the floor of the National Assembly.”
On alleged discovery of N3trillion padding in the budget, Ningi added: “For example, it was said that there was a budget of N28 trillion but what was passed was N25 trillion.
“So there is N3 trillion on top. Where are they, where is it going? So, we need to know this. There are a lot of things.
“We are coming up with a report and we will show the president himself and ask him if he is aware or not.”
Responding to questions during the BBC interview, Ningi said the present administration has in his opinion, not performed to expectation.
He said: “First of all, I want you to know that I am a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a representative of the people. Based on my opinion, the government hasn’t performed to our expectations.
“Things are getting worse compared to when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took the leadership of the country. People are going through a lot of difficulties. We live in villages.
“We are going there to interact with them and they are lamenting seriously. They have nowhere to go, so they have no one to express their grievances to than us.
“I think Bola Ahmed Tinubu didn’t even understand this country and he didn’t understand the difficulties of ruling a country like Nigeria.
“Probably, he has his thinking of what governance is, but I don’t blame him so much because when he was campaigning for the seat, there was no agreement or promise between him and the people.
“People were just blinded and voted for him because he supported former president Muhammadu Buhari when he was contesting.
“Some even voted for him because he is a Muslim, as such he needed their vote on whether he can or cannot do the right thing for the country.
“But the most painful thing is that Northerners stood for him and did all they could to bring him to power, but unfortunately, there was no agreement between them and the president on what should be done to the North and the Northerners.
“Especially taking into consideration the importance and significant projects that North has been yearning and aspiring to get for a long. For example, the Ajaokuta project, the Mambila power project, the dredging of river Niger and other notable projects.
“What mostly disturbs my sleep is that we had a budget in 2013 and 2014 in which we earmarked billions of Naira but it was neglected by President Goodluck Jonathan, when President Buhari came, we thought it was one of the projects he would pay attention to, but unfortunately, it wasn’t possible for over eight years.
“Even road construction like Kano-Abuja is not yet completed, as if it was cursed by someone, despite the road being the soul of our travelers in the North.
“Indeed, we don’t attack the government as the opposition is supposed to do. But this is a result of the situation and the government we have.
“These so-called leaders they forced on us, were not voted by us. They brought religious issues, and ethnic and tribal issues into the process, they used propaganda saying that no Hausa/Fulani would be trusted to lead the opposition because there would be no peace.
“If you look at it from this scenario, the majority of those in opposition are from the Northeast and the Northwest, but we were not allowed to be the leaders of the opposition in the Senate.
“This is one of the reasons why we said we would go back and look at what is happening under the umbrella of the Northern Senators Forum which is under my leadership. But you can’t do everything here, because it involves members of the ruling and opposition parties. It is very difficult to challenge the ruling party under that umbrella once you want the unity of the North.”
On transferring of some departments of federal agencies to Lagos, he said: “I will speak not as a member of opposition, but as a northerner. As a northerner, I know that this is going to happen.
“We heard about it and we saw several examples in the past that tell us that all this is possible. But as I speak, our people, especially the leaders are yet to take any action to find the solution. That is why I am not even surprised.
“These things that are happening are of two categories. Some affect the North only, and some affect the entire country. What we are doing now as leaders of the Forum of Northerners, we are trying to address the problem or reduce its strength without allowing politics to come in.”
Ningi also said the forum
plans to meet the President on need to complete the Mambilla power project.
“This is what we intended to do. We are to meet the president. We will talk to him about the Mambila power project, Ajaokuta and the River Niger dredging. We will talk to him about the Niger Republic. Recently, they said they will construct a dam, this is not good for us,” he said.
He claimed that the action taken by ECOWAS has affected the relationship between Nigeria and Niger Republic.
He added: “There was an agreement that they would not construct a dam so that the Kainji Dam would be intact and we will give them electricity in return.
“Over one billion US dollars was spent on Mambila, BBC has reported. Where is that money? Who collected the money? We need to know and see what can be done.
“This Mambila is like the future of the North. Every part of the country has its holds as a symbol that will save them in the future.
“One of our weaknesses in the north is that we don’t love ourselves and our region so much that we don’t care about the future. We are just living anyhow.
“We just love the region in our mouths not at heart and I am seriously worried about that.”
On security challenges in the North, he said: “These security challenges are happening in the North. There is nowhere in the South where someone will be abducted and spend seven days in custody of the abductors.
“Look at Katsina, Zamfara, and Benue. I am even afraid that one day we will wake up and see that states like Zamfara are been taken away from the country. It is possible going by what is happening.”
[TheNation]
The Nigerian government says citizens in the Diaspora can now apply for the issuance of their international passports seamlessly online.
The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, disclosed this in a statement on his official X handle on Saturday.
According to the Minister, Nigerians in the Diaspora can now apply for their passport in the comfort of their homes through Nigeria’s official passport issuance website.
“Dear Nigerians in Diaspora, the sweet experience is here,” he wrote.
During an interview on Channels Television two months ago, Tunji-Ojo said that Nigerians in the Diaspora can apply for passport issuance in the comfort of their homes starting March 8.
He noted that the development would be the third stage of the ongoing automation of Nigeria’s Immigration Service Passport issuance system.
Ola-Wura Adepoju, the former Comptroller General of NIS, had corroborated with the minister’s assurance on the commencement of automated passport issuance.
Earlier on January 9, the automation of the passport issuance process had commenced for applicants within Nigeria.
More...
The Minister of State for Health, Dr. Tunji Alausa, on Saturday, said that the Federal Government had directed that health workers going abroad to seek greener pastures must henceforth resign their appointments before embarking on such journeys.
Alausa said the era of health workers exiting to other countries in search of better offers after applying for a leave of absence is no longer acceptable.
The minister said that the ban on the leave of absence for health workers emanated from the executive order issued by President Bola Tinubu as part of drastic steps to combat the challenge of brain drain fondly called ‘Japa Syndrome’ confronting the nation’s health sector.
This is just as Alausa also revealed that the FG has commenced the production of manpower in the health sector such that the annual enrolment of nurses which used to be 28,000 is now 68,000 and that by the end of this year, it would have gone up to 120,000.
The minister stated this on Saturday during his visit to the Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Aro, Abeokuta, Ogun State.
He said that the President considered the biggest asset of the country to be the people and has not only vowed but has taken proactive actions to ensure the health sector is in good shape so that the health of the citizens won’t suffer.
Speaking on the challenge of manpower shortages across the FG-owned health institutions, Alausa said, “The government is not unmindful of the Japa effect on our manpower in the health sector and the President has ordered for massive production of manpower such that when people go, there will always be replacement.
“It is against this background that we are working intensely on the enrolment of our nurses. What used to be 28,000 is now 68,000 and our intention is to take it to 120,000 by the end of the year, so there will always be abundant skilled manpower to take over from those leaving the job.
“We have equally doubled our enrolment for doctors, dentistry, pharmacists among others
“Again, we didn’t say anyone who wants to move or japa to the UK or Australia to take up appointments there should not go, it is a free world.”
The minister continued, “However, you cannot eat your cake and have it. If you are going, just resign your appointments with the Federal Government, rather than applying for leave of absence, that is the Presidential executive order that has been communicated to all the Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government-owned health facilities to implement.
“The problem with the leave of absence is that such a fellow is out there in the UK or Australia working, making money but his name still appears on the payment roll of the government and so to replace him is difficult because he is still being considered as a staff whereas he has left the country.
“So, to solve this problem, the President has directed that health workers going abroad to work should just resign their appointments and not apply for leave of absence. This way, you won’t be blocking others who want to work and of course piling burdens for your colleagues that you left behind.”
Responding to some of the demands of the hospital such as increased funding, infrastructural development, among other welfare packages, Alausa said that the ministry would leave no stone unturned to do all that is necessary to improve the fortunes of the health sector in the country.
Speaking earlier, the Provost and Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Paul Agboola, lauded the Minister for his selflessness and passion to turn things around for good in the health sector.
The CMD said that as a result of the approval given by the Minister, his administration had started projects such as the Institute of Psychiatric for the hospital which had been in the pipeline for about 40 years, amongst others.
[Punch]
Bandits have reportedly abducted some Tsangaya students at Gidan Bakuso in Gada LGA of Sokoto.
Tsangaya is a school that combines Islamic and Western education.
The students were said to have been abducted at about 1a.m. on Saturday.
Multiple reports quoted Liman Abubakar, the proprietor of the school, as saying that 15 students were unaccounted for after the attack.
Abubakar noted that the bandits invaded the town, shot one person and abducted a woman before attacking the school.
He added that it was not the first time the village was attacked by bandits.
“As they were leaving the town, they sighted our students rushing into their rooms and they kidnapped many of them,” Abubakar said.
“We have so far counted 15 who are missing and we are still searching for more.”
Ahmed Rufai, the police spokesperson in Sokoto, could not confirm the incident at the time TheCable reached out to him.
Rufai said operatives from the police headquarters have been deployed to the area to ascertain the situation of things.
[TheCable]
The remains of the late Chief Executive Officer of Access Holdings Plc, Herbert Wigwe, his wife, Chizoba and son, Chizi, have been buried in his hometown of Omueke, Isiokpo, in Rivers State.
The 57-year-old banker Plc, his wife and his son were laid to rest in a private interment following a funeral service at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Isiokpo, Ikwere Local Government Area of the state.
Naija News reports that their burial followed a week-long funeral rites to celebrate the life of the founder of Wigwe University.
Several business leaders, friends, captains of industry, family members and associates had paid tributes to the late banking guru at the events held in Lagos.
The funeral service for the esteemed banker and philanthropist commenced promptly at 11:00 am today, with friends, associates, and well-wishers from both local and international communities, gathered to pay their final respects.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Governor Sim Fubara of Rivers, Rivers Commissioner of Police Olatunji Disu, former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, Minister of the Federal Capital Territory Nyesom Wike, business leader Aliko Dangote, former Emir of Kano, HRH Muhammadu Sanusi II, Governor Alex Otti of Abia, and Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun were present at the service.
Others are former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Governor Babajide Sawno-Olu of Lagos, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa, and a former Nigerian diplomat, Dr. Godknows Igali.
His Eminence, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, has said that it was time for Nigeria to change to a system of government that would reduce corruption and bring government closer to the people.
The Emeritus Catholic Bishop of Abuja, stated this at a policy dialogue on new governance structure for Nigeria, organised by Abuja School Social and Political Thought (ASSPT), in Abuja.
“It is time for a change. One thing is definitely sure, we cannot continue the way we are going.
”If we decide to retain the system we have now, it must change the way it is been practiced.
“If the easiest way to change is to change the system, then let’s go ahead and change the system to parliamentary, with all its advantages and disadvantages,” he added.
According to him, anything that will bring government closer to the people, reduce discretion for stealing and corruption will be good for the nation.
“My understanding is that the parliamentary system is built in such a way that will not be so easy to steal such humongous sums of money, and misuse of our natural resources legally.
“The problem of this nation is that government people are stealing legally, they don’t even feel that they are stealing.
Onaiyekan cited the provision of pension for governors, saying it was not fair after being well paid to be legally entitled to houses, cars and other things, while a retired police officer goes home with meagre sum as pension.
He also said that restructuring, not constitutional amendment will save Nigeria.
The Cardinal said that the Nigerian constitution has consistently failed to provide a clear framework for governance and religious affairs, resulting in confusion and inefficiency within the governance system.
He also advocated decentralisation of power to allow for effective governance and decision-making at the local level.
The Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Mr Kingsley Chinda, an advocate of parliamentary system, said Nigeria needed to move from a system with so much baggage to the one that provides for reward and sanctions.
Chinda is one the 60 members of the House of Representatives that introduced three bills seeking to alter the current Constitution to parliamentary system of government.
“The presidential system we adopted from US is peculiar to their country, not Nigeria,” he said, adding that the parliamentary would solve most of Nigeria’s problems.
Chinda said that the members that proposed the bill welcome observations and contributions from Nigerians to enrich its content.
A representative of the pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Dr Akin Fapohunda, called for the provision of clearly defined process for the restructuring of the country.
“The bottom line is that we have no process. We are seeing the good but we have not defined the process, milestones and timelines that’s what is missing.
“We agree that the house is rotten and it needs to be pulled down and we should design an alternative model, which you are now selling,” Fapounda said.
A Catholic priest, Fr George Ehusani, said integrity is key to nation building and national prosperity.
Ehusani added that “elite idiocy” would ruin any nation, no matter how perfect its structural blueprint.
The Director of ASSPT, Dr Sam Amadi, argued that the parliamentary system of government was better than the presidential system currently being practiced in Nigeria.
According to him, the parliamentary system is less expensive to run when compared to presidential system, and provides better mechanisms for peer review and accountability.
“Evidence shows across the world that only few countries with presidential system of government are doing well economically,’’ he added.
Amadi said that the school believed it was key to first discuss with critical stockholders before adoption of the parliamentary system of government in Nigeria.
He said that the discussions would be escalated to include different national institutions, religious groups and regions, so as to agree to a win-win system of government.
“We want to get more people from the north and the south and the east and the west, to come together and have them shape issues,’’ Amadi added.
(NAN)