President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of eight new Permanent Secretaries in the Federal Civil Service .
This is contained in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Friday in Abuja.
The statement said the appointment followed the recently-concluded selection process by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation.
According to the statement, the new permanent secretaries include : Ndakayo-Aishetu Gogo, Adeoye Adeleye Ayodeji, Rimi Nura Abba and Bako Deborah Odoh.
Others are Omachi Raymond Omenka, Ahmed Dunoma Umar, Watti Tinuke and Ella Nicholas Agbo.
Tinubu tasked the new appointees, who were successful among other equally qualified candidates in the selection process, to deploy their expertise and competence in the effective execution of the Renewed Hope mandate.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the mandate is to revitalise service delivery in all Federal Ministries, Departments, and Agencies in the interest of the people of Nigeria.
[ThisNigeria]
President Bola Tinubu has approved an increase in the yearly recruitment into the Nigeria Police Force.
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, made this known on Friday during a one-day working visit to the Kwara State Police Command in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Egbetokun stated that there is a need to increase the police workforce in the country, adding that an increase in recruitment would be gradual following the president’s directive,
He also disclosed that his administration would also look into the welfare of policemen in the country and training to achieve a professionally competent Police Force.
He said: “We’re paying attention to manpower. I know there’s a shortage of manpower in the command. I know the stress that I went through while as CP in ensuring the job was done. I know one policeman does the job of two policemen.
“A policeman would close from night duty and resume for morning duty, and as he’s closing from morning duty, he’s resuming night duty. When he dozes off in public, his photograph is taken and posted and made an object of ridicule; I’m aware of all these.
“We’re making efforts to increase your strength. The President had recently given approval for a yearly recruitment into the police; that’s the way forward. We need to double the strength of the police in the country.
“We cannot do it overnight, but gradually, and gradually, we’ll get there. We’ll also emphasise training to achieve a professionally competent Police Force.
“We’re also looking into welfare in the increase in salary and other areas to improve the lives of officers, just as equipping the Police Force is a priority. We promise to take care of the insurance plan, too.”
Also speaking, the Commissioner of Police, Victor Olaiya, requested the supply of an armoured personnel carrier to enhance the security of banks further and improve crime-fighting capacity in the state.
[NaijaNews]
Press Statement Regarding the Discrepancy in the Court of Appeal's Judgement in the Kano Gubernatorial Election Appeal - Olumide Akpata
Admin1. While serving as the 30th President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and concurrently as a member of the Interview Committee of the National Judicial Council (NJC), I openly queried what I considered to be the sub-optimal manner in which potential Justices of the Court of Appeal were being screened by the said Committee and the fact that some of the candidates displayed a confounding lack of knowledge of very basic legal principles. Regrettably, the justification given by some members of the Committee in defence of these candidates who were aspiring to be elevated to the Court of Appeal was that these would-be Justices of that Appellate Court would learn on the job.
2. At the meeting of the National Executive Council of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA-NEC) held in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State, on March 18, 2021, I informed members of the NBA of this shocking state of affairs and I also warned of the potentially negative and detrimental consequences of this unfortunate situation. My statement, referred to above, was immediately publicised on social media, with some embellishments, by a lawyer who was present at that meeting, and this report immediately went viral, much to the chagrin of some of the operators of our Judicial system.
3. For starters, My Lord, Hon. Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, the President of the Court of Appeal (PCA), took umbrage at my well-intentioned comments and publicly and very stoutly defended this patently defective recruitment process.
4. Since the conclusion of my tenure as NBA President in August 2022, I have had cause, at different fora, to revisit and highlight this vexed issue of the sub-optimal recruitment process in the Nigerian Judiciary and what it portends not just for the future of the institution but of the entire nation.
5. My most recent intervention in this regard was at the Rule of Law Symposium held as part of the Annual Conference of the International Bar Association (IBA) on the 3rd of November, 2023, in Paris, France. At that event, I stated that the lethal combination of a shoddy recruitment process and the impoverishment of Judges and the Judiciary, by the executive arm of Government at both national and sub-national levels is an insidious attempt by the Nigerian political class and their collaborators to "capture" the Judiciary, and this constitutes a clear threat to the Rule of Law in Nigeria, a situation that calls for the urgent intervention of the IBA.
6. Ever since the video recording of my aforementioned contribution to the Symposium surfaced on the internet, I have been, again, roundly criticised by some very defensive Judicial officers and their cohorts for airing what they considered to be internal national issues on the international stage.
7. It must be said, however, that my position on this issue, as enunciated at the IBA Conference in Paris, has also been supported and endorsed by many wellmeaning Nigerians, including senior Legal Practitioners and some Judges.
8. My position has also been very unfortunately vindicated by recent occurrences in our Judiciary. A case in point being the scandalous and extremely embarrassing report of an apparent discrepancy between the Judgement pronounced in open court and the Certified True Copy obtained from the Court Registry, in the Kano State Gubernatorial Petition Appeal. This rather bizarre incident has further accentuated the crisis in the Nigerian Judiciary, which is exacerbated by the many confounding decisions emanating from our Courts that continue to bewilder and befuddle observers of this once-revered arm of government.
9. As expected, the news media and the rumour mills are awash with suggestions that this Judgement may have been “intercepted” on its way to delivery and that this ostensible mix-up was in fact a Freudian slip that occurred in the course of a hastened heist. These suggestions and allegations, even though unsubstantiated, are very quickly gaining traction and taking root in the minds of very many Nigerians and indeed non-Nigerians - a situation that could very quickly imperil the Judiciary in Nigeria and, by extension, our nascent and floundering democracy.
10. I recently came across news reports from usually reliable media sources, quoting the Chief Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Umar Bangari, as having attributed the discrepancy in the said Judgement to a clerical error. Furthermore, he is reported to have requested parties to the Appeal to apply to the Court to correct the purported error pursuant to Order 23 Rule 4 of the Court of Appeal Rules. With the greatest respect, the Chief Registrar's approach to this matter is most untenable, as it flies in the face of reason and also does not conform with our extant laws on the subject. Whilst, acknowledging the fact of human fallibility and the possibility of mistakes occurring, the fundamental nature of this "error" and the impact it has on such a consequential part of the Judgement, make it extremely difficult to accept, without more, the aforementioned assertion by the Chief Registrar.
11. It is for this reason that I urgently call on the PCA, My Lord, Hon. Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, as the Head of the Nigerian Court of Appeal to provide, for the benefit of Nigerians and, indeed, the world, a hopefully cogent explanation and clarification of this quagmire. It is the very least My Lord can and should do in the circumstances.
12. It is imperative that His Lordship makes a categorical statement on this matter because the stakes are way too high and the current situation in the Judiciary (and indeed the country) too dire for the issue to be left in the hands of Registry officials.
Olumide Akpata
The convener of the National Peace Committee, Bishop Matthew Kukah, has stated that politicians who boast about their kinsmen’s extensive tenure in power are only concerned with looting public funds.
Kukah said this at the 8th House of Justice Summit and Burgundy Ball Banquet in Kaduna on Friday with the theme ‘Electoral Accountability and Democratic Stability’.
He expressed criticism over instances of Nigerian politicians boasting about how long they will remain in power.
“When somebody tells you, ‘Muslims will be in power, Igbos will be in power, Yoruba will be in power, Hausa will be in power’, the only reason they are making that point is that they are just saying, ‘Our people will continue to steal from Nigeria and we will continue’ because without stealing, you cannot win elections,” he said.
“These characters who are telling you, ‘We will be in power for this period of time,’ are just saying, ‘We will continue to control the stealing box.'”
According to Kukah, when politicians speak of their communities’ prolonged dominance in power, it is a veiled endorsement of a culture of corruption and electoral manipulation, where the primary focus is on sustaining a system that allows for the misappropriation of public resources.
In his address, the bishop highlighted what he described as the arrogance of politicians who, having designed systems to favour them, confidently project a 16-year grip on power.
The cleric took aim at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which held power for 16 years until former President Goodluck Jonathan conceded defeat in the 2015 presidential.
“I think that at the height of their arrogance, after they had designed this thing to suit them, they now said we would be in power for 16 years,” he said.
“They didn’t anticipate that Jonathan would come and drop the ball and say, ‘No, I am a gentleman.’ Now, the shoe is on the other foot and you are going to continue to watch this feeling of arrogance: ‘We have it; we will hold it for this number of years."
[Channels TV]
Election monitoring group, Yiaga Africa has blamed the unsuccessful attempt by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to clean up Nigeria’s voters register on the inability of the National Population Commission (NPC) and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) to produce reliable data’s of deceased persons and persons who have permanently relocated out of the country.
Yiaga Executive Director Samson Itodo who made this observation, Thursday in Abuja at the launch of a discussion paper on Improving the integrity of Nigeria’s voter register, regretted that the credibility and accuracy of the register remained a key concern for most electoral stakeholders despite efforts by the electoral body to updates and clean-up the register in line with legal requirements to improve the quality of the voter register.
“Consequently, there are still many persons who were legitimately registered but should no longer be on the Register, such as deceased
persons and persons who have permanently relocated out of the country.
“Part of the challenge with the clean-up of the register is that the National Population Commission (NPC) does not have reliable data on deceased persons. It is even more difficult to get reliable data from the Nigerian Immigration Service about Nigerians who may have relocated permanently out of the country.” He noted.
According to the director, one of the legends of the voters’ register in Nigeria is its inflation for political reasons through the inclusion of persons who are ineligible to be registered.
“This is a widely held view among politicians and the electorate alike. Yet, it is difficult to say by how much the register may be inflated. However, the repeated discovery of confirmed foreigners in the register, as well as a lingering problem of underage registrants, strongly suggests that the register may be inflated.
“Beyond registering the ineligible, there is also the lasting issue of multiple registrations. At the end of the last phase of CVR in July 2022, about 45% of all registrations nationwide, rising to as high as 50% in some states, were detected by the Automated Biometric ldentification System (ABIS) deployed by INEC as either multiple registration or incomplete registration.”
To address the issue, Itodo called for the creation of an interagency framework for the clean-up of the register to include INEC the lead in collaboration with the National Population Commission and National ldentity Management Commission, the National Bureau of Statistics, the Nigeria Immigrations Service, civil society and academia.
He went on: “The voters’ register should be effectively linked to census, civic registration and other databases for easy verification and updating.
“The register needs to be depoliticized by increasing citizens’ involvement in its compilation. Ironically, because of the mindset of politicians, the fact that INEC compiles the register immediately makes it prone to politicisation.
“Consequently, INEC should shift its focus from registration to management of the voters’ register. It should allow other agencies to collect data based on clear guidelines to procedure and quality of data and focus more on deduplication, verification and management of the data.
“INEC should commence full online registration of voters immediately.
“The existing portal should be equipped with all the necessary capabilities for registrants to provide their information, as well as to capture their biometrics.
“The portal should be able to return a message confirming the successful registration of a voter and offer an electronic PVC to be printed and laminated by the registrant.
“Discontinue the printing of PVCs and move the funds to voter registration. INEC should issue PVCs as paper documents at the point of registration, which can be printed and laminated by the holder. INEC should also offer downloadable PVCs from its registration portal, ensuring the necessary checks against identity theft.
“INEC should use specified identity documents such as international passports and National ldentity Cards for voting. This should be piloted in several off-cycle and by-elections.
“INEC should consider an independent audit of the voter register using qualified
external experts and organisations. This will build public confidence and transparency.
[Guardian]
Somtochukwu Okwuoha, a Nigerian master’s student in the United Kingdom, has been remanded in custody after a jury found him guilty of making terrorist threats against Dundee University, Scotland.
According to BBC, Okwuoha claimed he had enlisted ISIS, an international terrorist organization, to help bomb the university.
Also, the 26-year-old told staff members of the university that he planned to target Dundee in a chemical attack.
The jury found the international energy studies student guilty of seven charges and was remanded in custody.
He will be sentenced in December.
William Wood, the sheriff presiding over the case at the Perth Sheriff Court in Scotland, will consider the Crown’s request for an order to deport Okwuoha to Nigeria.
At trial, witnesses told the jury that Okwuoha told the university staff members he planned to carry out mass murder on the Dundee University campus.
The witnesses narrated how the student claimed he had a military background and was capable of making bombs and unleashing a deadly virus on the city.
Keith Mackle, a 58-year-old retired director of student services, told Perth Sheriff Court he became aware of “serious concerns” in the autumn of 2021.
He said staff members received emails making terrorist threats.
“Expect a massive bomb explosion at the University of Dundee. I have contacted ISIS terrorists to plant bombs on campus. I can assure you staff and students will die in great numbers. 9/11 will be a joke compared to what will happen. Blood will spill and flesh will be scattered,” one of the mails read.
Accommodation officer Shane Taylor told the court Okwuoha accused him of being racist and said he planned to wipe out Scottish people as revenge.
Okwuoha, a prisoner at Perth, was found guilty of threatening to murder staff members at the university and commit terrorist crimes between December 2021 and June 2022.
The embattled student was found guilty of threatening to commit mass murder, using biological weapons, revealing staff details to international authorities, and claiming to have planted bombs.
He was also found guilty of threatening to kill police officers and detonate bombs he had planted at Dundee University.
[DailyTrust]
The chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party in Rivers State, Desmond Akawor, has resigned.
His resignation letter surfaced on Friday barely a few hours after President Bola Tinubu appointed him Federal Commissioner—representing Rivers State in the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission.
Akawor, in the letter dated November 22, 2023, and addressed to the PDP acting National Chairman, Ambassador Umaru Damagun, said his resignation is connected to his appointment.
He noted that he has since handed over to his deputy, Aaron Chukwuemeka.
The letter read, “I have recently been nominated for a Federal appointment to the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission as the Federal Commissioner representing Rivers State.
” After consultation with my leaders and family, I have accepted this opportunity to serve our country, which I consider a national service.
“Consequently, I have resigned my position as the Rivers State party chairman of our great party- yhe PDP, and immediately handed over all duties to the Deputy Party Chairman, Aaron Chukwuemeka, who has commenced action in this stead.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to have steered the ship of our great party, the PDP at the state level from 2020 to 2023, and especially grateful for your support and the support of the national body during my
tenure.
“My family and I are extremely grateful to Mr. President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for his consideration and for finding me worthy to serve in this capacity.
“I remain committed to the ideals of our party always and will continue to be available to provide, steer, and support for all party affairs whenever I am called upon.”
Tinubu had on Thursday, appointed, Akawor, to serve as a Federal Commissioner—representing Rivers State—of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, pending confirmation by the Senate.
Akawor was appointed “following the tragic demise of the immediate past RMAFC Federal Commissioner from Rivers State, Asondu Temple earlier this month,” a statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, disclosed.
The statement was titled ‘President Tinubu approves appointment of RMAFC Federal Commissioner.’
Until his appointment, Akawor served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Korea; Minister of State of the Federal Capital Territory; Sole Administrator of the Greater Port Harcourt Development Authority; CEO, Niger Delta River Basin Development Authority, and Executive Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (Engineering & Technical Services).
The President tasked the new Federal Commissioner to “deploy his robust experience across tiers of government toward the comprehensive reformation of processes that will ensure the most efficient and productive utilisation of allocations to all three tiers of government in Nigeria.”
[Punch]
World Bank has blamed the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic that ravaged the world in 2019 for the increase of extreme poverty across the world.
In a report made available on its official website on Friday, the global apex bank detailed that the outbreak of coronavirus, with the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine stalled the gains recorded in the efforts to reducing extreme poverty in the world.
The report said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has reversed some of the progress made. In 2020, for the first time since the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the number of people living in extreme poverty increased. It is estimated that the number of extreme poor increased by about 70 million in 2020.
“Close to 11 percent more people lived in extreme poverty in 2020 compared to 2019. Since then, an uneven economic recovery, rising food prices, and conflict among some of the world’s biggest food producers have stalled progress further. As a result, it has become more difficult to reach SDG target of ending poverty by 2030 unless the poorest countries grow at rates not seen before. Current projections suggest that in 2030, 574 million people, equivalent to nearly seven percent of the world’s population, will remain in extreme poverty.”
The latest World Bank report comes as Nigerians continue to battle with the harsh impact of fuel subsidy removal and the decline in the value of naira.
Naija News recalls President Bola Tinubu had on assumption of office, immediately removed fuel subsidy. His action triggered an unprecedented rise in the pump price of fuel from N189 per litre to over N600, which it currently sells.
The Appeal Court will today deliver judgment on an appeal brought by the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State, Ladi Adebutu, against the election of Governor Dapo Abioudn of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Naija News recalls that Adebutu had earlier approached the tribunal to challenge the victory of Governor Abiodun in the March 18, 2023, governorship election.
The PDP candidate had alleged that the election that returned Abiodun did not comply with the provisions of the Electoral Act.
He also claimed that the election was marred with irregularities and corrupt practices, adding that over 40,000 voters were disenfranchised due to violence.
He asked the appellate court to nullify the election of Governor Abiodun and declare him the winner of the gubernatorial election.
But, the Hamidu Kunaza-led tribunal dismissed Adebutu’s petition, saying it lacked merit.
Not satisfied, Adebutu proceeded to the Appeal Court to seek redress, praying that the judgement of the trial tribunal be set aside.
However, members of both parties have left Ogun State to witness the court proceeding in Lagos State.
The sitting will start at 9 am at the Court of Appeal sitting in Igbosere, Lagos.
The Appeal Court will today deliver judgment on an appeal brought by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Delta State, Ovie Omo-Agege, against the election of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Recall that Omo-Agege, immediate past deputy Senate president, filed the appeal to challenge the judgment of the state governorship election petition tribunal, which upheld the election of Governor Oborevwori in the March 18th, 2023 governorship election.
Omo-Agege is asking the appellate court to declare him the winner of the gubernatorial election on the grounds that he garnered the majority of the lawful votes cast.
He accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of declaring Oborevwori winner with excess votes that resulted from over-voting.
But Governor Oborevwori contended that the appeal by the APC governorship candidate lacks merit and urged the Court of Appeal to dismiss same.
Meanwhile, a pressure group within the state PDP, Delta Political Vanguard (DPV), is apprehensive about the outcome of the court.
Speaking to journalists in Asaba, the Delta State capital, Secretary of the group, Ese Sanco, said the trend of judgment by the Court of Appeal across states of the federation tends to favour APC.
Sanco cited the cases of Zamfara, Kano, and Plateau states, where the Court of Appeal’s verdict sacked sitting governors of the opposition parties.
He added that the case of Nasarawa State, where the judgment of the election tribunal sacked the sitting APC governor, was reversed by the appellate court.
Sanco said: “I am indeed saddened by the worthless vituperation of Delta APC and the belief that Mr. President has promised to hand over Delta State to them through the court. If this is true, then Nigeria is finished.
“I am not here to doubt whatever they decide to say or believe because there are clearly ominous signs that threaten not just our faith in the electoral and judicial system but evincing that our democracy is compromised.
“It is also crystal clear that the ruling party will not desist from this inglorious ideology of ‘snatch, grab and run away with power’ as directed by Mr. President during the electioneering period.”
More...
…Establish Agric Production Clusters, Reduce Post-Harvest Losses
…Offer Support To 100,000 Farmers Nationwide, Boost Food Security
…WHO, Nigerian Governors To Sign Health Compact Agreement
There are indications that the level of hunger, including the inflationary trend in the country featured prominently at the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday, a development that may have prompted stakeholders at the meeting chaired by Vice President Kashim Shettima to announce plans to channel at least $1.52 billion in donor funds into 36 special agro-industrial processing zones nationwide.
NEC is also projecting that the agro-processing zones will create 17.5 million jobs and offer support to 100,000 farmers nationwide.
The first phase, which now runs in Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Imo, Cross River and the Federal Capital Territory, will gulp over $520 million and is set to conclude by 2028.
To this end, about 26 states have expressed interest in joining Phase II of the programme, where the $1 billion funding from the AfDB and other partners will be channeled.
The states will begin documentation for the second phase in early 2024.
Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Abubakar Kyari, gave the hint while briefing State House correspondents after the conclusion of the 137th National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.
Kyari said the funds are earlier pledges by the African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and the International Fund for Agricultural Development, who voted $1 billion to deliver SAPZs in 24 states at the Norman Borlaug International Dialogue, World Food Prize 202, in Des Moines, Iowa, USA, in late October.
This is aside from an initial $520 million voted by the development partners for the same purpose.
“The Vice President who attended the World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa, met with the president of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi A. Adesina, who has already pledged $1 billion to the second phase,” the minister noted.
He noted that his ministry made a presentation to the council outlining the collaborative programme with the African Development Bank, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Islamic Development Bank, various state governments, and private investors.
“The seven states are Kano, Kaduna, Kwara, Ogun, Oyo, Imo and Cross River and like I said, with the FCT being the eighth partner in this programme.
“The quick wins here are that even in the stage of construction, you will have the opportunity for over 3,000 jobs.
“And at the end of the construction, opportunities will be for almost 500,000 jobs on each zone that is for each state and then also to support about 100,000 farmers”, he explained.
The minister described the SAPZs as a cross-cutting initiative and platform to attract private sector investment, add value to Nigeria’s agro-processing, and unlock opportunities for improved food security and job creation.
He revealed that the programme, which commenced in 2022, saw the active participation of seven states and the Federal Capital Territory, even as the zones will not only serve as production sites “but also hubs for aggregation and processing of agricultural produce.”
The programme has earmarked approximately $530 million for the first phase, aiming to establish clusters of agricultural production and significantly reduce post-harvest losses, the former lawmaker noted.
“For instance, Kano has keyed in to do a lot of tomatoes in this zone. And we know that tomato losses run to almost 50 to 60 percent. It is unacceptable in today’s agricultural sector,” the minister pointed out.
On Phase II, Kyari said, “We have already received expressions of interest from about 26 states so far. The second phase is supposed to kick in from next year. This first phase will last for five years. And the documentation for Phase Two will begin by next year.
“There are only three states (Abia, Adamawa and Yobe) that have not expressed interest. But as we were leaving here, one (Abia State) had already signified and are working on sending the expression of interest.”
The council also acknowledged the leading role of Ogun State in the development of these zones.
Kyari said despite Ogun’s delay in signing the subsidiary loan agreement, a commitment was recently secured from the state government to sign it promptly.
To further expedite the initiative, the council approved “the accelerated transmission of the official documents to funders by the Federal Ministry of Finance” and granted a waiver from the same ministry for the payment of performance allowance to project staff by the funders as requested by the executing agency to “avoid project implementation risks.”
The NEC called for “a lot of enthusiasm from state governors to participate and key into” the project, which it said will drive significant economic growth through job creation and modernised agricultural practices.
WHO, Nigerian Governors To Sign Health Compact Agreement
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and all the 36 states governors will sign a compact agreement to improve healthcare services delivery in the country.
Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State stated this on Thursday while briefing newsmen at the end of the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting chaired by the Vice President Kashim Shettima, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
He explained that the decision to sign an agreement with WHO was reached at the council after a presentation on Nigeria’s Health Sector Renewal Programme by the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Ali Pate.
According to him, the presentation looks at all the challenges in health sector from financing, human capital, and supervisory point of view.
He also said that the presentation reviews the leadership level from the presidency to the local levels and the need for governors and local governments to put interest on the health sector.
The governor noted that without the health sector being taken care of, the country may not have the necessary technological development required.
“So there was a resolution of council that the World Health Organisation is coming on December 15, all the governors will come and sign a compact agreement in terms of service compact.
“Governors will be able to reiterate our determination to approach the health sector in terms of budgeting, given it the required impetus, the required attention that it deserves.
“The National Economic Council (NEC) received a presentation from the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare on Nigeria’s Health Sector Renewal Programme which looked and dissected in terms of very robust sector scan on health.
“From tertiary to the primary level, looking at all the gaps, the problem and challenges of funding, and even of the need for renewed interest by stakeholders, mostly governors at the subnational level, experts, doctors and everybody.
“And of course the Renewed Hope that President Bola Tinubu’s administration is trying to establish in trying to bring synergy and collaboration between all the various stakeholders in the country.
“And they are trying to make sure that they establish a compact in a manner that we will be able to generate resources from everywhere.”
The governor said that after presentation by the minister, suggestions were made on how to generate resources from taxes in communications, on airlines as well as taxes from the state government to bridge the gap.
“Certainly, we have huge problem on human capital and the need to develop strategy to retain our own experts to take care of our own health sector.”
President Bola Tinubu has assented to the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) Bill, 2023.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria was established on August 1, 1964, by an Act of Parliament and revised as the DICON Act in Chapter 94 of the Laws of the Federation, 2004.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2023, repeals the previous iteration of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act and empowers the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to operate, maintain, and control subsidiaries and ordnance factories to manufacture, store, and dispose of ordnance and ancillary stores and material.
The new Act also establishes the Defence Industry Technology, Research, and Development Institute (DITRDI) to create an elaborate scientific and research-based technological foundation for Nigeria’s defence industry through the leveraging of combined, multi-disciplinary research from multiple military research institutes for application that leads to commercialisation and the development of new military technology and capacity in Nigeria.
“It equally provides a comprehensive regulatory framework for the regulation of the manufacturing, distribution, storage, and disposal of defence articles in Nigeria.
“Incentivises the development of a nuanced financing architecture that enables private capital to facilitate research, development, and production in the defence sector in a transparent and predictable fashion.
“The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Bill, 2023, was sponsored by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Hon. Babajimi Benson (APC: Ikorodu Federal Constituency)”, Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media & Publicity noted.
Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo, has defended the country’s current economic situation, saying that President Bola Tinubu’s administration inherited a dead economy.
Naija News reports that Soludo stated this while commenting on the current naira-dollar exchange during an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Thursday night.
The former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) faulted the apex bank for illegally printing money in total violation of the 2007 Act governing the financial institution.
He maintained that Tinubu inherited a dead economy many Nigerians saw as standing.
He said, “We must realize where we were coming from. We sat here in this country and saw the monetary authorities literally printing money. And to prevent us from getting to where we are today, that was why we had an explicit clause that prevented the Central Bank from landing recklessly, granting ways and means to the federal government.
“We explicitly put into the law that you can’t grant the federal government more than 5% of the previous year’s actual revenue. And that so granted must be retired by the end of the year in which it was granted. And when the federal government fails to retire, the central bank is forbidden by that law from further advancing ways and means. That was the law 2007 act of the Central Bank.
“But we sat all of us Nigerians watching the CBN illegally and brazenly violating that act year on year and kept on printing money. That is when advance money is not backed by nothing; you just credit the federal government with trillions N 4 trillion, N10 trillion, N15 trillion and we kept going.
“I said it before. This particular government inherited a dead economy from a micro economic point of view, this government inherited a dead horse that was seen standing but people didn’t know that it was dead. I think it’s important for Nigerians to understand this.”
The political fate of the Minister of Labour and Employment and Senator-elect Simon Lalong will be decided by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
It was learned last night that the President would decide if Lalong remains in the Federal Executive Council (FEC) or quit for the Senate.
Recall that Lalong on Thursday received his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) National Commissioner Mohammed Haruna as Senator-elect for Plateau South.
Lalong got the Certificate of Return, which was withdrawn from his opponent in the February 20 election, Air Vice Marshall Napoleon Bali of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on the order of the tribunal and the Court of Appeal.
The minister was accompanied to the INEC National Headquarters by his wife Regina, children, and prominent party leaders from Plateau State.
They included former House of Representatives Deputy Speaker Idris Wase, Member Representing QuanPan, Shendam, House Representatives member John Dafaan (Mikang Constituency), APC Deputy National Secretary Festus Fuanter, Minority leader of Plateau State House of Assembly Joe Bukar, former Majority Leader Naalong, former Head of Service Sunday Hyat, former commissioners and many council chairmen.
This raised speculations that he might resign his ministerial position and go to the Senate.
But a source told The Nation that the former Plateau State governor told him earlier in the week that the President would decide on the matter on his return from Germany.
Lalong’s aides also confirmed that he was waiting for the President to decide what he would do.
However, an All Progressives Congress (APC) leader said Lalong would take his seat in the Senate. According to him, this had been decided at all the appropriate levels.
The party chieftain said APC leaders are excited that the resolution of the litigation arising from the Plateau South Senatorial poll in Lalong’s favour will swell APC’s ranks in the Senate.
A party source said Lalong, who is a loyal party member, would abide by the decision on the next move the president may suggest.
The source said if he resumes at the Senate, his experience as a two-term House of Assembly Speaker will come in handy, adding that he will enjoy the status of a ranking senator.
Besides, the source said the thinking in the APC favoured avoiding an inevitable supplementary senatorial election which Lalong’s resignation from the Senate will cause.
The source said: “Lalong has conceded to the President, who is his boss in the FEC and National Leader of his party, to, in consultation with other leaders, particularly from the Northcentral, suggest the way forward. He is not opposed to making sacrifices in honour of the party.
“He is a treasured member of the cabinet who has been very active. He is a dependable ally of the President, and in fact, the leader of cabinet members from the Northcentral, whose profile cannot diminish if he quits for the Senate, which is his political right and electoral entitlement.”
The source acknowledged that if Lalong quits, there may be jostling for the vacancy in FEC.
Party chieftains likely to be considered as replacements are Dr Amos Gizo, Director of Artisans of the defunct Presidential Campaign Council, and Faunter.
The source added: “If it turns out to leaving the cabinet, Lalong will make a significant input into the choice of his successor as minister.”
[NaijaNews]