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Lagos govt urges workers to redouble efforts

Lagos State Government yesterday urged civil servants to redouble their efforts in discharging their civic duties in 2024.

This was contained in the address of the Head of Service, Mr. Olabode Agoro, at the first work day inter-denominational prayers and thanksgiving session for public servants.

Agoro, who spoke to the workers via zoom at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium venue of the prayer meeting, acknowledged the commitment, loyalty and dedication of public servants.

He said there was need for them to redouble their efforts and be more dedicated to their work than before, because, according to him, “as we begin this new year with new resolutions, renewed hope and great

attainment of ministerial mandate, which in turn represents the attainment of expectations, I will like to urge us all to endeavour to redouble our efforts in the new year”.

He said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had approved 120 units new vehicles to be allocated to substantive Level 17 directors in the public service.

Read Also: Why Tinubu govt can’t avoid borrowing, by Osoba

The Chairman, Civil Service Commission, Mrs Olubunmi Fabamwo, FCIPM, admonished public servants to ensure that they are thankful to God at all times in everything they do.

The Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office (P.S.O.), Mrs. Sunkanmi Oyegbola, advised public servants to continue to be more thankful to God for his protection, provision and grace of God on all and sundry.

She said without doubt, 2024 would be a progressive year for all workers.

Prayers and words of exhortations were offered by Muslim and Christian clerics, including Imam Hakeem Kosoko, Dr. Saeid Ahmad and Christian clerics, namely the Presiding Chaplain, Chapel of Christ The Light, Rev’d Dr Oladele Ajayi and Dr Samson Kilanko, among others.

January 3, 2024
Attorney-General accused of stalling peace efforts

Despite the push for an out-of-court settlement by Governor Eno, legal fireworks over the amended Akwa Ibom Traditional Rulers Law began yesterday.

Monarchs from Annang, Oro and Obolo ethnic groups had proceeded to court to challenge the amended law, cap 155.

They are against the aspect of the law that confers in perpetuity the position of President-General of the Akwa Ibom State Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers on the Ibibio, the majority ethnic group in the state.

The monarchs through their counsel, Jumbo Uyo-Obong Udom, accused the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Uko Udom, SAN, of stalling the peace process.

Read Also: Bandits kill one, abduct 25 in Southern Kaduna

Addressing reporters in Abak Local Government yesterday, Udom, who spoke on behalf of other lawyers, said out of respect for the governor, and in view of the limitations period to the case in court, the traditional rulers sought a middle ground and filed a motion asking for leave to explore settlement and for adjournment sine die to enable parties meet and explore settlement with the governor.

He lamented that despite their efforts, the Attorney General opposed the plaintiffs’ application for leave and instead insisted that the only condition for settlement was to withdraw the case, otherwise the defendants were prepared for the case to proceed.

Efforts to speak with Udom were not successful, as he did not pick his calls at press time.

November 1, 2023
Our year of luck, efforts, and misunderstandings

Our president whose health brought concerns to citizens got well faster and better than expected, even by people who did not know what his health challenges were

“The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”—Gloria Steinem
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”—Nelson Mandela

So many good things happened in our country during 2017. Our president whose health brought concerns to citizens got well faster and better than expected, even by people who did not know what his health challenges were. His recovery encouraged his party members to gift him what seems like an automatic ticket for second term. In addition, the president, despite his absence from the country for about 145 days, has managed to break the back of Boko Haram and is still determined to improve on this, as most of the governors have voluntarily in the spirit of rare bi-partisanship resolved to transfer $1 billion from the federation’s Excess Crude Account to the presidency to annihilate Boko Haram and the spirit that caused it- over radicalisation or mindless indoctrination. Since everything revolves round the president in a presidential system, he has also tamed corruption and remains resolute to fight corruption, recently calling on the country’s clerisy to assist in his efforts to end political and bureaucratic corruption.

Even on the economic side, international institutions have publicly acknowledged that Nigeria has overcome (or is overcoming) recession, thus giving the country’s National Bureau of Statistics a round of applause that can silence those already used to ignoring claims by the country’s central data gathering and storing institution. So much for luck and efforts and the hope they have built in citizens toward 2018.

Yet, the country was also marked by misunderstanding of issues relating to how the country should manage matters of concern to its future. For a country that has become a global poster child for having nine lives, one simple word has caused more division in the country than any in its post-independence era, apart from the first call for Biafra in the late 1960s. And that word is not the Biafra of IPOB or Kanu, as unsettling as that has been. The word that has polarised the country during the outgoing year is Restructuring. Today’s piece focuses on demystifying a word that is dividing the country unnecessarily.

Frequency of use of the word restructuring increased phenomenally in 2017, one year after advocates for restructuring realised that the ruling party’s election promise to amend the constitution to entrench the country’s federal system had been put in abeyance. As one citizen who had used, along with many others, restructuring almost ad nauseam during the year, I had followed in print, online, and in the air, definitions of restructuring by those who claim to understand what the word means. In its generic use, restructuring has been used to mean re-design, re-form, re-arrange structural relationships between parts and whole of a thing. In contextual terms, users of the word have explained restructuring to mean, operationally, returning federal model of governance to the country’s constitution and by implication political and fiscal life. Many even say that restructuring means bringing an end to a constitution that is unitary in intention and spirit and replacing that constitution with new rules that bring balanced sharing of powers and functions between national and subnational governments in the country.

But all these definitions do not appear enough to let a critical region of the country grasp what the intentions of those calling for restructuring are. Spokesmen of regional socio-cultural groups including Northern Elders Forum under the leadership of Prof. Ango Abdullahi asked repeatedly for the meaning of restructuring. Later, expression of lack of understanding of restructuring was replaced by the Forum’s new leader Paul Unongo’s statement that the North is not afraid of restructuring but that it would not be stampeded into any action. Sequel to this statement, many groups including the ruling party at the centre, All Progressives Congress, and the Northern States Governors’ Forum and the Northern Traditional Leaders Council’s Committee on Restructuring has established think tanks to study calls for restructuring and make recommendations on how to respond to such calls.

But individual members of Northern State Governors and Traditional Leaders Council have been offering new views on restructuring, without giving any impression of speaking think tanks set up to make recommendations. One such statement is Kashim Shettima’s: “People are talking about artificial intelligence, other nations are talking about nano technology or robotics engineering but unfortunately, the topical issue in Nigeria is restructuring. Restructuring my foot! The Nigeria that can meet the needs of its citizens and humanity in general, like other countries that produce robotics and nano technology, seems to be what is after the hearts of those demanding restructuring. They, like Shettima, do not want a Nigeria that is frozen in time and hobbled by obsession with traditions. Proponents of restructuring want Nigeria to join the group of successful nations that are innovative enough to solve various human problems. In addition, they also want an end to Nigeria’s failure to transform nomadic herdsmen into ranchers and farmers into technology-assisted growers of crops and vegetables. They believe that the current structure is the obstacle to creating a more enabling structure that gives various constituencies of Nigeria more freedom to grow and innovate, rather than losing many of its citizens to enslavers in Libya and to ocean waves on the Mediterranean.

Even in the last month of the year, the chairman of Northern Governors Forum and Traditional Leaders Council on Restructuring, Aminu Tambuwal, shows in his own words a fuzzy idea of what restructuring means: “I think we should first, as a country, agree on a mutual definition of the term restructuring. In my view, if restructuring means taking stock of our arrangement to ensure that no state takes a disproportionate amount of the resources, or most of the available space in the education or job sector, or subjugate the others’ culture or religion. Or lord it over the other so that the number of the poor and uneducated, whose future is circumscribed by their circumstance is shared proportionately, then we are game….” Tambuwal has a good idea of some of the goals of restructuring, and without doubt advocates for this political action should have some of the goals in their plan. But Tambuwal is still a little bit evasive on the nature of restructuring as a noun that describes an act. The goals that Tambuwal identifies must have a cause or causes. Calls for restructuring are meant to remove such causes. They believe that a flawed structure is objective and can be discontinued much more easily that bad character or personality disorder in leaders. It is not weaknesses of those in power that concern those asking for restructuring; it is the weakness in governance architecture that decades of military dictatorship had saddled the country with that is at issue.

Similarly, Senator Bukola Saraki has provided a personalised or customised definition of restructuring: “My own restructuring is when we educate our children so that they can realise their full potential and partake in the promise of the future. My own restructuring is when we place a premium on delivering good governance, fight against corruption, valorise honesty and live to serve the people – without betraying the trust reposed in us.” Believers in restructuring do not seem to have any issue with the noble goals that Saraki expects restructuring to produce. The fears of advocates for restructuring is that the current structure has failed over half a century to assure our children that Saraki’s high hopes can be achieved, without a new design that is more life and freedom-affirming than the status quo.

2018 is the only year between now and presidential and general elections. Patriotic leaders who are interested in the future of the country more than in its past need to realise that the average Nigerian sees through time wasting and obstacles courses that the fight over definition of restructuring has become. It is high time that honesty of purpose is given a chance across the country on this sensitive matter. The questions to be answered by all in the new year are the following: Is a unitary system masquerading as a federal one good for a multiethnic nation? Is it right for any group of citizens to insist that a structure created by military dictators should be accepted as immutable? Is a constitution that was created without input from all sections of the polity the best instrument for democratic federal governance? Advocates of restructuring need to create a manifesto for their demand in all Nigerian languages, to save citizens in the new year from struggling with the meaning of restructuring.

December 24, 2017
Anti-piracy efforts

•The war should be sustained for maximum impact

In one week, the anti-piracy war escalated with the arrest of four men suspected to be pirates of films and musical works, in separate raids carried out by the task force set up by the National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) against unauthorised distribution/uncensored and unclassified movies.

The first raid at Alaba International Market,  Ojo, Lagos,  on August 14 was led by a prominent marketer and member of the task force, Mr. Gabriel Okoye, aka Igwe Gabosky, and resulted in the seizure of  films and replicating machines estimated to be worth over N50million. Among the seized movies were: Ayamma, Wedding Party, Three Wise Men, 30 Days in Atlanta, A Trip to Jamaica, Lekki Wives, Wives on Strike, Jennifer’s Diary, and Fifty. The suspects are: Ndu Celestine, Okechukwu Ikuagwu, and Austine Ugokwe.

Two days later, another suspect was arrested at the same market, which has gained notoriety as a base of pirates. The fourth suspect, popularly called Mayor, is said to be the Assistant Financial Secretary of the Fancy and Furniture section of Alaba Market.  The following day, the task force also confiscated 103 sacks of DVDs of different titles, believed to have been imported from China.

It is noteworthy that the CD and DVD business thrives in this market, which makes the place a right target when it comes to hunting for pirates of films and musical works. The seizures and arrests indicate that the market was not wrongly targeted.

The special task force made up of members of the Film and Video Producers and Marketers Association of Nigeria (FVPMAN) should be commended for moving against suspected pirates, particularly considering that it was constituted only about two months ago to tackle the growing problem of unlicensed and unclassified movies in the country.  The Nigeria Police also deserves commendation for providing the needed support. This effective collaboration is important. Indeed, the partnership should be sustained in order to win the anti-piracy war.

It is to the credit of the Executive Director of NFVCB, Alhaji Adedayo Thomas, who was appointed barely six months ago, that his anti-piracy efforts are yielding the desired results.  He told reporters at the Area E Police Command after the first raid: “We are saying no to unwholesome, unclassified and uncensored content vis-a-vis piracy. Piracy is a serious economic crime. What they are doing to intellectual properties is worse than what you can imagine.” He added: “We had warned them to stop the unlawful act. Unfortunately, they didn’t stop and we promised the stakeholders and those concerned within the film and creative industry that we are going to start action. So, this is one of the actions that we have promised them, and it is going to be continuous because now, we have the full support of the police. It makes our job easier; the lawyers are ready to prosecute.”

The extent of the damage done by the activities of pirates was expressed by Okoye who painted a picture of pain:  ”The Bank of Industry floated a loan scheme for people to come and take and produce contents to engage Nigerians to be productive, but all those who took the loan are owing the bank. These films are genuinely produced but before my company, G-Media could release them, they had been pirated and we have been tracing most of these people who have been hiding themselves inside Alaba. Imagine Alaba operating as if it is a sovereign state of its own.”

It is expected that the re-energised anti-piracy war will be fought with a sense of mission, and that what appears to be early success will be taken further. Indeed, the scope of this war should include other intellectual property such as books and artworks, which is why the Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) should also be vigorously involved. Those who profit unlawfully from the intellectual work of others must not be allowed to go unpunished.

August 25, 2017
FirstBank reviews impact of CSR efforts

To reposition for 2016, FirstBank of Nigeria has reviewed some of its corporate social investments in the past few years in critical sectors to fulfill its brand promise, writes ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI.

In recent years, corporate organisations have shown growing interest in corporate social responsibility(CSR). Unlike in recent time when their goals were to make sales, maximise profit, now they are concern about making impact on the enviroment through various interventions.

As a result, some companies have made CSR an important part of their brand promise and contribute to national growth in the areas of education, health, agriculture, among others.

In the light of this, several companies from telecommunications, fast moving consumer goods industry, set aside some budgets called ‘corporate social investment’ to support societial needs.

One of Nigeria’s oldest brands, FirstBank of Nigeria recently reveals how much it has supported research in nine higher higher institutions. While reviewing its CSR efforts, the bank stated that with its mission to set the ‘gold standard’ of customer experience, excellence in financial solutions across sub-saharan Africa with vision to be a partner of first choice in building future for people and communities where it operates, it has been promoting educational development in Nigeria, driving and sustaining the economy through academic research.

The bank said it has expressed these brand promises encoded in its mission and vision through the take-off of the Uyo Endowment Fund in Petroleum Engineering, the FUTA Endowment in Computer Science with focus on some of the research done by the Professorial Chair, Dr. B.K. Alese. The latest in social investment is Samuel Asabia Endowment in Business Ethics in the University of Lagos, which is about to take off

The Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, First Bank, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, said: “We will always deliver the ultimate ‘gold standard’ of value and excellence. Our financial services knowledge and practices lead the market in ensuring that we understand our customers and surpass expectations to strive for a better way of delivering first-class service and experience.

“FirstBank of Nigeria Limited established its endowment structure to complement the Federal Government’s efforts in the development and advancement of tertiary education in Nigeria. The Endowment Structure necessitates the funding of research projects in federal universities, selected around the six geographical regions of the country. The funds were set up in various departments as approved by the Bank’s Management to facilitate research work in the endowed universities.”

She said FirstBank Endowment Programme was initiated in 1994 has professorial endowments in nine federal universities each located in the different geopolitical zones of the country. Currently, the bank’s total endowment portfolio is N450 million.

According to Ani-Mumuney, the bank engaged its sister company FBN Capital to manage the investment portfolio of the various endowments to ensure maximum yield for each endowment investment in order to promote research and learning in the universities.

“Each Professorial Endowment usually has a professorial chair occupant selected through a rigorous but transparent process to ensure qualified candidates are engaged for the research. Candidates for the Chair are sourced from within the affected Department of the University. He/she may not necessarily be a substantive Professor but not less than a senior lecturer. The University’s representative on the Board of Trustees for the Endowment Fund is empowered to advertise, select and interview candidates and thereafter appoint an occupant for the professorial chair,” she said.

She said some of these CSR projects have impacted on the selected schools for global competitiveness. “Since the launch of the FBN FUTA Endowment Fund, it has witnessed a series of research projects that have resulted in knowledge creation and dissemination carefully articulated in organised public lectures and integrated into policies that have served as solutions to existing peculiar concerns in the country. One of the public lectures was delivered on April, 2014 and themed Security Issues in Nigeria: Getting Ready for The Digital Challenge.

“The bank’s unflagging commitment to promoting educational development through the FBNFUTA Endowment Fund has positioned FUTA as a citadel of excellence in the global competitive stage. This was evidenced in the feat achieved by the FBN FUTA Professorial Chair Occupant and his associates in the Computer Science Department at the Eighth International Conference for Internet Technology and Secured Transactions (ICITST-2013) in London, United Kingdom in December 2013,” she noted.

January 29, 2016
‘Efforts are on to rid Civil Service of bad eggs’

Civil servants have been fingered in most, if not all, cases of stealing in Ministries, Department and Agencies of government. The Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, Joan Ayo, in this interview with our correspondents, VINCENT IKUOMOLA and FRANCA OCHIGBO, describes the situation as an abnormality which the commission is set to correct.

There are reports that appointments go on in the ministries without recourse to the Federal Civil Service Commission

Let me first explain the issue of regularisation. Since I got in as the chairman of the commission, we started advertising vacancies for appointments, appointment is the same as what you call recruitment but we call it appointment because that is how it is spelt out in the constitution. Now, hitherto, if there was no advertisement, the positions would just be filled. But for transparency and meritocracy, I started advertising. But we can only advertise when vacancies are declared and brought here because the civil service commission does not create vacancies. The vacancies are declared and forwarded through the office of the Head of Service with a waver forwarded from the ministries, the parastatals are not under us. But for those ones we can speak for, we advertise. Initially, it used to be in newspapers but now we are building our own web portal which we now use for recruitment. Recruitment is now online as far as this commission is concerned. This is a major step we have taken, so we process only and then we interview personally. Now after we have interviewed and some people are selected, they are issued temporary letters of appointment. With that letter, they either report to office of Head of Service or straight to their ministries. With that temporary appointment, they document them; that is when they go through their certificates again with them to check their qualifications. After six months, the names of the candidates are forwarded back to us for regularisation. Regularisation simply means they have been documented and accepted.

The level of corruption in the service today is alarming; does this not bother the commission?

Only this last week I have had to deal with serious cases involving level 15 and above. We handed twenty-two to law enforcement agents, we’ve had to send three away from the service, just within these few weeks and some have gone in the process of answering query and all that. That is just at that level, and we have sent back this information to office of head of service for further investigation so we can follow the procedure.

Just as you have crimes all over the country, so we have offences here too and that’s why I told you that the civil service is a reflection of its society. So, I hope you now understand what is meant by regularisation; it is all part of the process of checks and balances in the way we absorb people into the service. The MDAs had to cope with the increasing responsibility of the service, and because of this increase in responsibility they have the opportunity to absorb more youths into the service and then of course we also have what we call waver for disadvantaged states. You know I’ve told you that even during recruitments some states have high scores, some have very low scores without compromising merit. You have to accept that because if your own best is 70, then that’s your best; if your best is 60 that’s your best, in life we are all not of the same height.

Is there any benchmark?

There is always a benchmark based on each state, there is always a benchmark based on each recruitment exercise. Like JAMB, each exam differs in its own cut off point, so there can’t be a static measurement or benchmark. So, when we have this disadvantage, the one I have been involved with has to do with two states including the Federal Capital. We had taken the waiver before I got here, the waiver was conveyed by the president through the office of head of service to us and governors of the states concerned were involved in the exercise. The presidential waiver was to bring directors to fill the quota for some disadvantaged states. As at the time I came in as Chairman, there was discrimination in transfer within the service. I had to step in to ensure meritocracy and political neutrality. I insisted that all the candidates be interviewed and the best from different senatorial districts were picked in line with the federal character principles.

But the perception out there is that there is still serious imperfection in the system.

I can speak for myself. For me to have risen to the level of a director, the first set of directors in the service with decree 43 in 1988, for me to have become a permanent secretary and to have left without blemish by the grace of God. For me to have come back in 1999 to serve two presidents as a senior special assistant on economic matters without any blemish and for me to have risen to this level, excuse me it’s too late in the day for me to spoil this name. The only thing I have to my credit is my good name; the only thing I have given to my children is my good name. I am not going to spoil my name because I want to recruit somebody. I accepted this job because I felt that I needed to plough back to the society what the society has put in me. I have gone on courses all over the world as a civil servant. I want to see people behave the way I used to behave as a civil servant. I want to tell them what it means to be a civil servant and it is my effort in telling them that they are feeling inconvenient. Like I said, within the past four months, three officers at that level have left or are in the process of leaving the service because of the fraud they have been involved in. They don’t support the continuity of what we are doing.

Comparing what was obtainable then and what we have now in the service, where did we miss it?

Let me say this, we have lost the core values of the civil or public service and these core values are what we want to re-enact or re-enforce. When you see a soldier, you know who a soldier is. He greets you good morning even if its 2pm, that is part of their unwritten tradition. The civil service has its unwritten tradition also and it has its own formal tradition and we imbibed these core values on the job. Yes, you may have your own natural tendency to be polite, to have been brought up in some good families; but then the moment you come into the civil service the core values mould and sharpen you to the extent that you now comport yourself as a civil servant.

What are these core values?

Meritocracy; this is the first one. Our founding fathers, when they negotiated our independence during the constitutional conferences between 1952 and 1960, adopted for meritocracy and political neutrality as the first basic core value to shape what we call the public service then. The civil servant was only seen not heard. Impartiality, regardless of your tribe, your race, your ethnic background, your religion; once you are on this job, you must be impartial, accountable and transparent.

Talking about IPPIS, there is the rumour that the system is compromised, which has led to names of some people who are not workers on the federal government payroll

Since we started doing the capturing here, we have not had that. Before now, it was not done here, but since it was brought here and became part of the IPPIS committee, we have insisted that it must be put here because we have their files and that is the check and balances that we have brought into all this. Many things used to happen in the past, but with what we have put in place, it is not possible. If we have ICT integrated public service, it will cut down drastically on fraud in any form.

There is this argument that the waiver favours some region above others, and is also being abused..

No, there are two sets of presidential wavers that I met on ground. The first one originated from the office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation. It was a memo sent to Mr. President, I think between 2010 and 2011 just to provide jobs for our teeming youths. They expanded the work force in the service, they expanded each ministry to be able to accommodate more intake giving the new role each ministry was to play because over the years the roles of the departments have expanded. So, based on that, the then president approved what they called 984 presidential waver for 2011, 2012, 2013. By the time we got here in 2012, they had done the first set, they were on the second set because it was supposed to last for three years at that stage. It was something that was on-going.

Integrity crisis is one of the issues currently confronting the service, and many people would rather refer to them as “evil servants” for lots of reasons.

I never liked to hear these, because civil service is my only constituency and I accepted this job because integrity has to do with character. In fact, I was given this job, I’m sorry if I am being personal, but for that reason we have come to the system based on the integrity, the character that we have imbibed. Let me say this, every nation deserves the civil service it has because the civil service is a product of that society, but when you come in here we start imbibing in you the core values that I first mentioned and that is what has taken so long for everybody to imbibe because somewhere along the line these core values were dropped.

You asked me a question about how it happened. In the history of the civil service, I trace it back to the military era, when the public service commission was degraded by the then government of the day and since then the standard started falling because before now the public service commission was the epitome of service excellence. They were highly segregated and protected from the society, but then one government came and said the public service commission was too powerful and that very day, without any recourse to rules and regulations, it was dissolved and then it was the issue of things falling apart and the centre could no longer hold. The then chief justice of the federation, who tried to advise the then government that it was not in line with the constitution for the public service commission to be sent packing even without any reason, was sacked and then the constitution was suspended. Not only that, there was a massive purge of the public service.

The procedure in the service is that before anybody is sent packing, he or she must be given a fair trial or hearing. How do we do that in the service? You issue a query, but during the purge nobody was given this opportunity to explain; the whole thing was just done. But before this happened, the civil servant were so committed to the job because he had this sense of security on the job. But because it happened like an aberration, something that has never happened before, public servants now started saying that their job was no longer secure.

Has the commission disciplined any officer in recent time?

Several, I cannot list them. You know, they come from all the ministries; we discipline every day. But let me tell you the procedure for discipline. For grade levels 03 – 7 it is the junior staff committee within the ministry that handles that, while from 08-14 it is the senior staff committee that will handle that, and like I said the procedure is the same. The committees issue query and their recommendations are subsequently forwarded to the federal civil service commission and then we sit to decide whether they are fair or not because in everything we also maintain fairness and equity. Sometimes, we even increase the level of punishment far above the recommended disciplinary measure and sometimes we say no, that is too much for this offence, while sometimes and in most cases we concur.

For staff investigated by the ICPC or EFCC, do you wait for the case to be concluded before disciplinary measures are carried out?

No, immediately such happens they are suspended; they are issued query and suspended and once they are established they are handed over to the police for prosecution and we don’t interfere with that.

There are always huge crowd gathered in front of FCSC during recruitment exercise. Are there no better ways the exercise could be carried out?

That used to be, but now because of the efforts we have made, they now apply online. These are the measures we have put in place based on integrity. You cannot come here when there is an advertisement and say you want any form. When I got here, applicants in their numbers used to besiege the commission for forms and this encouraged fraud. In fact, the first one we did before we put the website in place, we found some people selling forms on the roadside and when they were nabbed by the police they confessed that it was printed at Oluwole in Mushin, Lagos. So it is all part of the product of our society. We have managed now to remove forms from advertisement, we tell you our website to fill online and we process online and you can see how quiet this place is, and if you see people coming in and out now, they may be people coming in for IPPIS.

What about the use of transfers to bring in cronies to the service?

When we came on board, we discussed that transfer, proper placement and conversion were abused. As a result, circulars were issued placing transfer on hold until situation was normalised while proper placement and conversion were completely abolished. This was done to address the frustration being faced by civil servants, especially as it affects promotion.

What about the alleged absorption of political office holders into the federal civil service?

No former aide of the former president, vice president, ministers or any key political appointee has been absorbed into the Federal Civil Service as being alleged in some quarters. Recall that in 2011, a presidential committee, under the chairmanship of Alhaji Adamu Fika, was set up, in which the Chairman of the Commission (FCSC) was a member. The committee recommended that anybody who has occupied a political position will not be absorbed into civil service. However, where a career civil servant is seconded to work in the office of a political appointee, he/she is allowed to come back to office because he has gone to serve as a career civil servant. There are extant circulars to this effect. Those making these allegations are challenged to name such persons and their ministries.

July 26, 2015
Osinbajo, Ambode, others call for collective efforts to reduce cancer

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has said the fight against cancer requires the cooperation of all.

Represented by former Attorney General of Lagos State, Ade Ipaye, Osinbajo said cancer is a deadly affliction that could affect anyone.

He said he would be ready to support the fight agianst the disease because the fight against the cancer scourge requires the support of everyone.

The VP spoke yesterday at a programme to celebrate the 52nd birthday of Lagos State Governor Akinwumi Ambode tagged ‘The Banquet of Stars Against Cancer’.

Ambode urged corporate organisations and individuals to invest in cancer awareness, diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research to reduce the burden of the disease.

The governor was represented by the Deputy Governor, Dr Oluranti Adebule. The programme was organised by the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy In Nigeria (CECP) to commemorate Cancer Awareness Week, raise fund and mobilise Nigerians to fight cancer scourge.

He said that government recognised the task to provide quality healthcare for the people.

‘’Lives are lost everyday to cancer and this is unacceptable. This triggered the annual health mission organised by the Lagos State Government to screen the public for cancer.

‘’Government alone cannot do it. I call on corporate bodies, NGOs and individuals to invest in healthcare to reduce disease burden.

‘’To this end, I urge those who planned gifts and adverts for the celebration of my birthday to channel the funds towards the fight against cancer, ‘’he said.

Mr Tony Elumelu, a former Chairman of the United Bank for Africa, highlighted lack of fund and private sector involvement as factors militating against adequate health care facilities in Nigeria.

“I can rightly say that funding is the most critical in the delivery of health care.

“Financing is a critical wall against the fight against cancer, so on realising this we proposed a fiscal policy aimed at improving our medical facilities.

“However on our part as organised private sector and Capital Market Community, we have resolved to raise more than N1 billion in 10 years to fight cancer.

“The specific goal is to raise funds to acquire and deploy 37 Mobile Cancer Centres (MCC), which would take health promotion to grassroots of Nigeria. Each Mobile unit costs N120 million.

‘’Therefore, I call on other organisations to be a part of this fight against cancer by donating generously to this course,” he said.

Dr Abia Nzelu, Secretary, CECP said one in three Nigerians would be diagnosed of cancer in their life time, 100, 000 new cases were diagnosed yearly and 80, 000 die annually of cancer in Nigeria.

‘’We need to act fast and now by providing these mobile cancer clinics, comprehensive cancer centre and a cancer institute to win the war against cancer.

‘’This move will screen, diagnose, treat and prevent cancers since early detection and prevention is the way to overcome the cancer burden,’’ she said.

Some of the victims, who spoke at the occasion, were Maiden Olorogun Ibru, who lost her husband Mr Alex Ibru to colon cancer, and Ms Adenike Oyetunde, lawyer and broadcaster, who lost her limb to cancer.

They appealed for generous donations towards saving many Nigerians from the scourge of cancer.

Olorogun-Ibru asked the Lagos State Government to kick-start the campaign by donating a mobile cancer centre, to set an example for other states.

Former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom Dr Christopher Kolade said the CECP is engaged to fight cancer because the body realises what cancer can do and that it is a serious war.

He said with the level of support demonstrated by the public to the cause, they are assured that every Nigerian would be able to have access to a means of diagnosis, prevention and treatment of cancer.

Foremost economist Dr Pat Utomi who stood in for the Chairman of the occasion, Mr Fola Adeola, said CECP is passionate about ensuring that mobile testing centres are provided for every Nigerian because early detection is key to the survival of cancer.

June 15, 2015
My efforts have not been recognised -Toriola

For more than two decades, Segun Toriola has given his best to ensure that the Nigerian flag is hoisted at major tournaments. His records in the continent remain unparalleled by any player even at 40 years of age, as he continues to shine. His recent memorable 41- shot rally against Singapore’s Gao Ning at the 2014 Commonwealth Games is already a talking point in major media across the globe especially the Cable News Network (CNN). In age, Toriola may be considered a dinosaur facing extinction, but the five-time All Africa Games champion believes he still has a lot to offer even after quitting the game that he admitted brought him fame and fortune. The first Commonwealth Games champion explained to OLALEKAN OKUSAN that he still believes he still has the quality to make his seventh Olympics appearance in 2016. He also spoke of his plans after his final exit from the game.

When Segun Toriola started his romance with the game of ping pong, his dream was to have fun, while his ambition of becoming an engineer was paramount. But what began in his father’s compound in the ancient city of Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State has taken him through the length and breadth of the world. There is no continent in the globe that Toriola has not played the game, where his name is now synonymous with table tennis. His heroic performance at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in China became the major highlight of the games.

Recalling how it all started, Toriola said: “I started playing table tennis early in life and with the help of my father, who also loves the game; my skill was honed at home. Although, my elder brothers were playing the game and I used to play with them on the wooden table provided by our father. I was already a good player before I started playing in a hall. In my first time of playing at the Abeokuta Sports Centre, a coach was thrilled by my skill and he wondered where I was training that he had never seen me playing before.”

Despite his interest in table tennis, Toriola wanted to pursue a career in Engineering that he did not take his education with levity. However, table tennis took a major part of him that he became an instant star in the game as a teen.

From 1988, he started making headlines as a junior player and it was not too long for him to break into the senior national team alongside great players like Atanda Musa and Fatai Adeyemo.

“I realised that before I knew what was happening, I started wining and it was easy for the national handlers to invite me to the national team. I started as a junior but I broke into the senior national team alongside some of my idols like Atanda and Adeyemo. My first outing for the senior team was at the 1990 African Championship in Cairo, Egypt and two years later I became the youngest of the team that featured at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain,” he said.

For Toriola, making the senior national team afforded him the opportunity to play alongside some of the top players on the continent. “I was so young when I started playing for the country and this alone gave me the opportunity to play with the best players in Africa. As a member of the national to the Barcelona 1992 Olympics was a great moment for me because that was the first time that table tennis became a medal-wining event at the Olympics. Although, I did not play many matches and I picked up some skills during the competition,” he added.

Since making his debut at the All Africa Games in 1995 in Harare, Toriola has won 13 gold, three silver and one bronze medals for Nigeria, while he remains the most successful table tennis player from the continent at the Commonwealth Games having clinched two gold medals gold and four bronze medals since table tennis was listed as a medal hauling event at the games in 2002.

In the African table tennis championships, Toriola won eight gold medals, four silver medals and a bronze medal. As the most successful African player, he became the first player to make it to the quarterfinal stage at the Olympics and with his six appearances at the Olympics; he joined the duo of Joao N’Tyamba of Angola and Maria Mutola of Mozambique as the third ever African athlete to compete in six Olympics consecutively.

Although many critics have questioned his Olympics appearance record, which it is said has not fetched him any medal. But Toriola said: “For appearing in six Olympics and five Commonwealth Games meant a lot to me because to make to the Olympics did not come on a platter of gold. Competing at the Olympics is the dream of every athlete. People must also realize that you have to qualify to play at the Olympics as you are not just handpicked. You have to compete with other players to be able to play at the Olympics and this alone for me has been very challenging especially qualifying alongside some of the top players in Africa.”

“Every Olympic that I had featured in; I fought hard against other top players in Africa to make it and this alone I think is what I love doing every four years. For me playing at the Olympics has been the climax of my career because you are going to play against the best players in the world. Also, the 2008 Olympics in China was the peak of my career because I won against some of the world best players and this memory will be with me for a very long time to come,” he said.

According to Wikipedia, a small fraction of the world’s population ever competes at the Olympic Games; an even smaller fraction ever competes in multiple Games. 488 athletes (119 women, 369 men) have participated in at least five editions of the Olympic Games from Athens 1896 to Vancouver 2010, but excluding the 1906 Intercalated Games. Just over a hundred of these have gone on to make at least a sixth Olympic appearance.

Several athletes would have made more appearances at the Olympics but for reasons out of their control, such as World Wars (no Olympics were held in 1916, 1940 or 1944), politically motivated boycotts, financial difficulties, or ill-timed injuries.

Two athletes have participated nine times: Austrian sailor Hubert Raudaschl and Canadian equestrian Ian Millar. The latter is still active and could yet add to his tally.

Well over half of six-time Olympians belong to the shooting, equestrian, sailing and fencing disciplines, which are known for allowing athletes more longevity at the elite level. Athletics and cross-country skiing also provide a large number of athletes who have competed at five Olympics.

Approximately a quarter of long-competing athletes are female. As of 2010, the closest a female athlete has come to competing at eight Olympics is 0.028 seconds, which is the time by which Jamaican-Slovenian sprinter Merlene Ottey failed to meet the qualification time required for her to make a remarkable eighth appearance at the 2008 Summer Olympics at age 48. Having changed nationality to Slovenia, Ottey, now 52, might be making her ninth appearance in London.

In table tennis, Toriola and Brazil’s Hugo Hoyama made their sixth appearance at the 2012 London Olympic Games, the quartet of Belgium’s Saive Jean-Michel, Sweden’s Jorgen Persson and Croatia’s Zoran Primorac will however, be making their seventh appearance in London.

Toriola’s achievement in table tennis is commendable. He made his debut in the table tennis event of the Olympic Games in Barcelona 1992 and he has not missed any since making his debut. But Beijing Olympics would remain indelible for Toriola following his scintillating performance against the world’s best.

“Making it to the quarterfinal in Beijing was memorable because nobody ever expected an African athlete to make it to the last eight of the championship since table tennis was included in the Olympics in 1988. Olympics being the biggest sporting event in the world and the top for every athlete, I am still enjoying the gains of the feat till date because people now respect me wherever I play and this alone is something worth savouring,” Toriola said.

Despite winning several laurels for the country, Toriola is never discouraged that the country he served had not deemed it fit to honour him. “I am not surprised that my efforts have not been recognised by the sports authority in the country. Nigeria is a nation that gives football more attention than other sports because I know if I had been a footballer, I would have been recognised by now.

“That I had not been honoured would not discourage me from doing my best for the country because I am a professional and I must do my work. I understand the Nigerian system and I had to focus on my career and not to allow this to bother me because I know somebody will recognise me one day,” he added.

“Whenever I am in the colours of the national team, I always give my best because I cherish the colour and I want to make my country proud. Many people are hoping to represent the country but few have the opportunity to fulfill the dream. Aside this, I don’t want to disappoint my fans who repose much confidence in me. This alone will always inspire me to give my best because representing Nigeria is not an easy task, especially when you are a champion, you will not want to let people down with your performance,” he admitted.

On why upcoming players fail to measure up to his level in the game, he said: “In Nigeria, we lack quality coaching and support. These two things are very important for players to excel at any level. Most players in Nigeria train without coaches’ guidance and this will not allow them to improve. When I started playing, I got tremendous support from the Ogun State Sports Council. Focus should not be on the National Sports Commission (NSC) alone because I always wonder what the states sports councils are doing.

“When I started playing the game, I got support from my sports council but I am surprised that most states pay little attention to their athletes these days. No state in Nigeria except Lagos, pays attention to table tennis. Even when the National Sports Festival is about to hold, most states will organise camping but after the festival what happens to the athletes? The states will have to wait for another festival before organising another camp. Even most of them don’t have table tennis equipment and how do you want players to excel at world stage. These are the problems these younger players are faced with.”

Despite being one of the oldest players in the Team Nigeria, Toriola has never been involved in doping and he vehemently cautioned athletes to desist from it. “I think any athlete engaging in doping should know that he or she is endangering his or herself because cheating would not take them far. I am what I am today because I believe in hardworking and this has been my secret since I made my debut in Barcelona 1992.”

Thrilled by the feat achieved by Toriola in the game, President of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Wahid Oshodi, described the Team Nigeria captain to the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games as one of the greatest players Nigeria has ever produced.

“Toriola is one of the greatest athletes this country has ever produced as we do not contextualise athletes’ performances properly. Six Olympic appearances, eight Commonwealth Games medals including an individual gold, countless African titles, he is a legend. He has also had to deal with severe injuries in the past four years. Toriola played very well but of course time tells on all of us. The respect Toriola commands from his peers is awe inspiring and of course his match against the world number 12, Singapore’s Gao Ning is considered one of the greatest of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

For his conduct and display at the 2011 All Africa Games in Mozambique, Toriola, was awarded the Fair Play Trophy by the Games Organising Committee. This was confirmed by the President of Africa Table Tennis Federation (ATTF), Khalid El-Salhy, who said the award showed that Toriola is a super role model for upcoming players and other athletes in the continent.

“I agree that the record of the super player, Toriola, is very difficult to be broken in Africa or even through continental competitions all over the world,” he said.

October 18, 2014
Efforts to save Enugu deputy governor fail

Efforts to save embattled Enugu state Deputy Governor Sunday Onyebuchi from impeachment hit the rocks at the weekend. The state PDP caucus failed to get him a soft landing.

The caucus which met on Saturday at the Governor’s Lodge reportedly advised the embattled Onyebuchi to resign or await the House of the Assembly is action after its investigations.

The House in the penultimate week, moved a motion for the deputy governor to be served with an impeachment notice. He was accused of gross misconduct.

The members of the PDP caucus were bitter that Onyebuchi allowed his relationship with the governor to degenerate to the level that the House had to intervene.

A source at the meeting said prominent members of the caucus, particularly Senator Ken Nnamani, Amb. Fidel Ayogu and Mr. Dubem Onyia, were not happy after listening to Governor Sullivan Chime narrate his experience with his deputy in the last seven years.

Senator Nnamani told the caucus members that the deputy governor ran to him to Abuja where he told him to return home to resign or wait for the House to complete its investigation the source said.

Onyia and Ayogu also were said to have took the line of Nnanami for the deputy governor to bow out since Chime told the caucus meeting that he was not prepared to work with Onyebuchi for any day longer.

However, the source said Senator Gil Nnaji and Peace Nnaji representing Nkanu East and West in the House of Representatives, pleaded with Chime to pardon his deputy.

The source said Senator Nnaji praised Chime for the good work he was doing in the state and urged him to give his deputy a second chance.

But Chime was said to have told Senator Nnaji that his plea was belated since his deputy came to him in Abuja and he did not deem it fit to call him until he was invited to the caucus meeting.

The source said majority of the caucus members were of the opinion that it would be futile to try to save the deputy governor since his boss said he could no longer work with him.

Besides the source said the caucus said asking the House to jettison the impeachment process would amount to “ridiculing democratic practice in the state”.

Chime was also said to have insisted at the meeting that members of the National Assembly from the state who had served for two or more terms should return home to serve in other capacities.

The majority of the caucus members who were not in the National Assembly had asked the members of the National Assembly who were all at the meeting except Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, to speak their mind but none opposed the governor.

The caucus advised the lawmakers to abide by the gentleman agreement reached in 2011 and consider running for other positions other than the ones they have occupied for more than two terms.

The House of Assembly had last Thursday advised its clerk to paste the impeachment notice on the known addresses of the deputy governor since he could not be physically served and it adjourned till Thursday.

July 28, 2014
Dankwambo’s efforts at providing potable water in Gombe

WATER and the environment are of great importance to mankind. No wonder it is said that water breeds life. For this reason, any effort at achieving the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) without providing water and protecting the environment is a waste.

The understanding of this, vis-à-vis the urgency of time in meeting the MDGs targets of 2015, explains why the administration of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo in Gombe State has given attention to both issues since assuming office on May 29, 2011. The administration has, therefore, sunk billion of naira into water and environmental projects that are of world standard.

As at the time Dankwambo assumed office, only a few could drink from the N8 billion Gombe Regional Water Supply Scheme. But the story is no longer the same as the supply of water has not only been properly addressed, but extended beyond the Gombe metropolis.

Even in the metropolis, water supply was a serious problem before Dankwambo assumed office. Places, such as Barunde, Bagadaza, Riyal, among others, which suffered water shortage, are now beneficiaries.

The water expansion scheme, therefore, covers Gadam, Garin Kwami, Bojude,Tappi and Komfulata in Kwami Local Government Area. Work in these areas has reached advanced stage and the perennial water scarcity in the areas will soon be a thing of the past.

The Commissioner of Water Resources and the Environment Mallam Idris Mahdi said the Dankwambo administration embarked on various projects to ensure that all parts of the state are covered by water supply, latest in 2014. This, no doubt, will be timely, as the dateline for the attainment of MDGs is 2015.

“We have the Gombe North water scheme extension and rehabilitation, which comprises extending water to the suburbs of Gombe.

“Prior to the coming of the Dankwambo administration, not more than a third of Gombe was covered by water scheme. So, there was need for places that were entitled to get water but not connected to water supply in Gombe water supply to be connected, though we call it Gombe North Water Scheme.

“The areas include BCGA, Bogo, Nasarawo, Malam Inna, London Maidorowa, Bagadaza, Riyal, Tumfure, which were not connected to a water scheme.

“But the new water scheme, that is the rehabilitation and expansion of Gombe water scheme, which came on stream in 2012, covers these areas. It is extended to other places outside Gombe, such as Kwami, Gadam, Tapi and Bojude towns and environs of Kwami Local Government Area of the state,” he said.

Apart from that project, the government, in this year’s budget, plans to begin the expansion of the water treatment plant at Gombe North. It will spend about N1.3 billion on it. The project will be an extension of water from Tumfure to the airport.

Thus, for the first time, residents of Tumfure and all the settlements along the route to the airport will have potable water.

A place known for its notorious water scarcity is Dukku with its environs.

The Dankwambo administration finished the documentation last year for the Dukku Water Scheme and the project will begin soon. The water source from Gombe Abba will be utilised, with a mini-plant, pumping facility and a reservoir for the distribution of water to Dukku and its environs.

In Nafada Local Government Area, the infiltration gallery is being maintained by the government for steady supply of water in the town and its environs.

Though there is no big water scheme in Funakaye Local GovernmentArea, many hand pumps, solar-powered boreholes and manual boreholes have been drilled in towns and villages of the council to ensure constant water supply.

It would sound ironical that many towns and villages in Yamaltu Deba Local Government Area are facing problems of water supply, despite their location in the same area with Dadin Kowa Dam, the source of Gombe Greater Water Supply.

There are, therefore, plans by the government to provide towns and villages in the area, such as Shinga, Wade, Kinafa, Gwani, Lubo and other settlements, with potable water to address the problem.

Similarly, as part of efforts to address water scarcity in the Southern part of the state, the government has initiated the Gombe South Regional Water Scheme, which will have its source from the Balanga Dam in Balanga Local Government Area.

The project is envisaged to draw water from Balanga Dam; it will cover Balanga, Billiri, Kaltungo, Shongom local governments and parts of Akko.

Though still at consultancy and documentation stage, the project is expected to gulp about N18 billion. By the time it is completed, communities in Gombe South and part of Akko Local Government Area will no longer experience water scarcity. Farmers will also use the facilities to irrigate their farms, as the area has an estimated capacity of 172 million cubic metres of water.

Other values to be derived from the dam include generation of a mini power project, estimated at 1.5 megawatts, to power the water supply scheme and surrounding villages, irrigation and fishing projects.

Before the execution of the Gombe South regional water scheme, the government felt that, as a matter of urgency and as temporary solution, water should be supplied to Tula, a historic community with water problems.

In fact, for several years, the community, with a large population, had relied on one borehole which was provided through communal effort.

Therefore, to fulfil its campaign promises, the Dankwambo administration has embarked on the Tula interim water supply project, where six boreholes were drilled to solve the age-long water problem in the area pending the execution of Gombe South water scheme.

Pleased with the availability of water in the town during the drilling of the six boreholes, Governor Dankwambo directed that additional three boreholes be drilled in the town.

The governor’s strong desire to diversify the income base, especially with regards to agriculture, gave impetus to the ‘desilting’ of the 42 kilometres of irrigation trench constructed along with the multipurpose dam. At the moment, about 24 kilometres is already ‘desilted’ and being put to use by farmers in the area.

The state Water Board as well the State Water and Sanitation Agency have been active in drilling boreholes and hand pumps, water schemes where greater water schemes do not reach the residents. This complementary effort can be seen in several towns and villages across the state.

Another area in which the present administration has made tremendous impact is tree planting. This is to mitigate the effects of desert encroachment. The government has embarked on massive planting of trees seedlings for free distribution to interested individuals, organisations and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

“Last year, over one million seedlings were distributed and our main objectives is to have the trees planted because they cannot be used for any other purpose,” Mahdi said.

Besides distribution of seedlings, the government has been also been at the forefront of cultivating trees by planting them along the roadsides and other public places. But the bigger demonstration is the creation of woodlots across the state. So far, six woodlots spread across 30 hectares have been developed and arrangements have been concluded to continue in subsequent rainy seasons.

To sustain the trend, government is embarking on aggressive tree planting campaigns while systematically fashioning punitive measures against those directly or indirectly involved in flagrant deforestation, especially in prohibited areas.

For instance, a village head was recently deposed for selling off a government-owned forest reserve located in his domain on the Gombe-Bauchi highway. The forest was retrieved from the buyer without any compensation. This is to underscore the importance of afforestation in the state.

Battling with the problem of deforestation on one hand, the Gombe State Government, despite its lean resources, is tackling erosion and flooding on the other hand. It is true that no life ought to be lost due to certain action or inaction of man. But the four residents, livestock, arable lands and farms lost in last year’s flood in the state are minimal compared to the 17 deaths and other losses recorded during the August 20, 2004 flooding in the state.

This is due to the proactive steps taken by the Dankwambo-led administration before the rains set in. The government plans to spend over N500million on erosion control project.

Presently, proper channeling and redirection of flood has gulped huge sums of money.

Before these projects, the government had embarked on clearing of drains and waterways in parts of the Gombe metropolis. This has become a continuous exercise; it has been observed that blocked waterways accounted for the unfortunate incidents in the past, even as it is in tandem with the saying that “cleanliness is next to godliness”.

As an experiment, 400 plastic waste bins were initially provided for sanitation in Gombe township. But due to the challenges the residents faced, the bins are being changed to bigger metal incinerators to avoid being stolen, rundown by vehicles or burnt through careless deposition of fire into them.

Four heavy duty waste disposal vehicles and a number of tractors were procured to dispose off the waste bins on a daily basis. Also, a firm has been contracted to daily clean the major roads and streets as well as the drains, even as the Gombe State Environmental Protection Agency (GOSEPA) is being reorganised to make it more proficient and effective in handling its responsibilities.

Gombe is practically the least on the Federation Account’s chart and one of those generating the poorest internal revenue. Therefore, to imagine that this giant stride is made in barely two years amidst other urgent competing demands is awesome. No wonder the Speaker House of Representatives, Alhaji Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, during a recent visit to the state, praised Governor Dankwambo for the giant strides his administration has made in all sectors, despite the fact that the state gets one of the smallest federal allocations.

The government, has no doubt, proved that it is determined to solve one of the nagging problems of the state – water scarcity – as can be seen from the various projects it has been executing.

• Dahiru writes from Gombe

March 25, 2013