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Tag: governors

  • Governors urge action against regional decay

    Governors urge action against regional decay

    For over one and a half decades, the North has had little to cheer. Its economy has tanked, development hard to see and the region torn apart by war and ethnic strife.

    The good part, though, is that when the region’s governors met in Kaduna, they sought action, not lamentation.

    The residents would be happy because they want the governors to bring back the glorious days of the region.

    With about 14 governors and two deputies in attendance, the meeting of the Northern Governors Forum under the chairmanship of Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima expressed concern about the economy of the region which has lagged behind in recent years. Addressing his colleagues, Governor Shettima said, “Things have become so bad, so much so that we can say without fear of contradiction that in Nigeria today poverty glaringly wears a bold northern face. We have turned our region into a laughingstock, derided by friends and foes alike, and, not without justification, as having dragged the rest of the country down with us. Regrettably today, our region has become a thriving nest for war, terrorism, deep seated social divisions, senseless violence, mind-boggling intolerance, injustice, destitution, joblessness, and all manners of other social vices, the height of which is the madness called Boko Haram.”

    He warned that lamentation, which has become the order of the day in the north, will not solve the problems if necessary action is not taking, adding that it is time for all hands to be on deck and move into actions that will address the challenges.

    He said, “No amount of lamentation will, of course, solve our many problems. We need to act, and fast too. This generation of Northern leaders, led by us the governors, have both a moral and constitutional responsibility as well as a historic opportunity to reverse the negative fortunes of our people. We must do everything in our power to restore and entrench the lofty values of unity, understanding, tolerance, mutual respect, empathy, justice and mutual coexistence in the minds of our people and region. We must firmly and decisively commit ourselves to fighting poverty, illiteracy, unemployment, terrorism and other forms violent crimes in the North. I dare say that there is no better time to do that than now, when a sequence of events over the last few months is showing that a silver lining is beginning to appear in the dark clouds that have hovered over the North for so long. I urge us to take full advantage of this development and dedicate ourselves to, beginning from this meeting and within the shortest possible time, developing a comprehensive blueprint that will take our region and its long suffering people out of the woods. I solemnly enjoin all of us to put our heads down, get to work and come up with an agenda for the speedy transformation of Northern Nigeria from its current travails into a well modern, well developed, prosperous, progressive, just and united polity for the good of its people and the entire Nigeria”.

    Shettima recognised the efforts of the government in trying to reposition the country for good governance which he believes will give the region a new lease of life.

    He said “For the first time since the early 1980s, the political leadership of the Northern states seem poised to reverse the negative trends that had so readily sown the destructive seed of mutual suspicion, distrust and animosity among the teeming people that occupy the vast lands of of our states. I can see the signs of sincere effort and genuine optimism to draw strength in our diversity and change the narrative of our troubled history in the interest of our region’s history, and indeed,the rest of Nigeria. As leaders of our people at this crucial epoch of our history, and democratically elected ones at that, we are left with no choice but to rise up to the occasion and live up to people’s perfectly understandable expectations. We must seize this moment, for history is beckoning at us. The first generation of Northern leaders -May God Almighty bless them – bequeathed to us a polity, though vast in land mass and complex in its diversity, that showed enormous promise, and was indeed beginning to live to that promise: A polity where the social mantra was unity in diversity, where justice, fairness and equity reigned, where exemplary peaceful coexistence was the order of the day. Not only did succeeding generations of leaders including – sadly – our own, fail to sustain the benchmark handed over by our heroes, they let things to progressively and rapidly deteriorate, in the process exhibiting base irresponsibility of the worst kind. Thus, from those dizzying heights of the 1960s, 1970s and early 1980s when the North was the cynosure, if not the envy, of all eyes, we plunged to the nadir of the social ladder.”

    The Forum however identified unemployment amongst youths, high illiteracy level, arms and drugs proliferation, poverty, inactive preaching, Almajiri phenomenon, lack of recreational facilities and sporting events, inadequate use of traditional institutions and lack of cottage industries to engage the unemployed as major causes of insecurity in the region. It commended the Buhari government for taking proactive measures to end the insecurity especially in he north and for prioritising the fight against Boko Haram and for initiating of the joint Multinational task force and security agencies for the continued onslaught on insurgents and terrorist in the north east. On their part, they agreed to constitute a committee of Attorney Generals of the Northern States to look into criminal justice system taking into cognisance the current security challenges so as to proffer strict punishments to crimes such as cattle rustling, kidnapping, terrorism, rape and domestic violence.

    The governors are also concerned about the state of industries in the north especially companies where they have joint investment such as the New Nigeria a Development Company, Kaduna Textile and the New Nigeria Newspapers. They spoke of the need to recapitalize the New Nigerian Development Company (NNDC) and build it into a profit oriented industry and a breeding ground for youth of Northern extraction to be professional in all facets of human endeavour. They also agree to resuscitate the Kaduna Textiles Limited to operate in line with international best practices and agreed to have bilateral and multilateral cooperation with organizations and international institutions in order to explore the opportunity of reviving textiles industries in the region. They also acknowledged that the challenges facing the New Nigerian Newspapers (NNN) limited is beyond mere injection of working capital and directed Secretaries to the northern state Governments to carry out an indepth study of the company and present a report for consideration at the forums next meeting.

     

     

  • Pressure mounts on governors, senators to declare assets

    Pressure mounts on governors, senators to declare assets

    Nigerians have applauded President Muhammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo for making their assets public. Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN examines what this development portends for accountability and good governance, particularly considering the war against corruption.

    The recent public declaration of assets by President Muhammadu Buhari  and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is putting pressure on other  public officers to follow suit. Analysts said though the law did not mandate them to declare their assets publicly, their moral conscience should persuade them to emulate the good example of the President and his deputy, otherwise they would be under suspicion. They argued that such public disclosure of assets is imperative for purposes of transparency and accountability in governance and to build public confidence people.

    Experts are in agreement that the gesture has taken transparency and accountability in governance a notch higher, compared to the time of former President Goodluck Jonathan. The former President had declined to make his asset public, despite repeated calls by the civil society and Nigerians in general that he should go beyond what the law required by doing so.

    But, according to experts, what the present leadership has done will eventually rob off on the legal and institutional frameworks for good governance, particularly those for fighting corruption.

    Legal luminary Chief Akintola (SAN) called for the amendment of the constitution to make public declaration of assets mandatory on public office holders. According to him, many public servants indulge in anticipatory declaration. “They do this by declaring what they don’t have before assuming office and work towards achieving them before the expiration of their tenure,” he said.

    Akintola added: “I know of a former governor who claimed in his asset declaration in 2000 that he had a house in London which he didn’t. He acquired the house in 2004 two years after he became governor. He implemented his agenda by stealing public funds to build a house in London. It was one of the charges that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) used to prosecute him.

    “It is high time we made false declaration of assets a criminal offence. Where public officers or civil servants declare what they don’t have, they should go to jail for perjury. I will even suggest we make official corruption like false declaration of assets an offence punishable with death like they do in China and Singapore.”

    The legal luminary wants verification of assets not to be limited to the Code of Conduct Bureau alone. He said civil society groups should be involved in the exercise.

    Second Republic lawmaker Dr Junaid Muhammed commended the president and his deputy for moving a step further in making public their assets. “What they did was not mandatory, but voluntary. They have set a good example for other public officers to emulate,” he said.

    Junaid described the gesture as a positive development, adding that it speaks volumes about the integrity of the duo. He said the development makes it incumbent on other public officers to emulate the example.

    The Kano-born politician said the expectation of Nigerians now is that governors, legislators, judges, ministers and other political appointees should follow the Buhari and Osinbajo example. He said: “The law in its present form does not make it compulsory that they should publish their assets. It is not part of the law to make public your assets; it is a personal decision. That doesn’t mean that we cannot embrace good idea.

    “I think we should now put pressure on the National Assembly to amend the law and make public declaration of assets compulsory for all public officers. Until that is done, we can’t fault those that are not willing to toe the line of Mr President and his deputy. Despite that, I think  those of them that have nothing to hide should make public what they have before assumption of office and after their tenure.”

    A lecturer in the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Mr. Wahab Shittu, said the gesture by President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo would assist in the fight against corruption. He noted that asset and interest disclosures have become a key global anti-corruption issue.

    He said: “In the light of the clear agenda of Mr. President on the basis of which he rode to power, the public declaration of asset is one clear signal that his administration is really serious and committed to the promise of fighting corruption.

    “If the number one and number two citizens have declared their assets publicly, what prevents any other public official from not following this worthy example? It is also important that this declaration is coming before the appointment and constitution of the cabinet ministers. My expectation is that all appointed ministers and other categories of public officials now have heavy moral and legal responsibilities to publicly declare their assets. There can be no excuse for non-compliance. Indirectly, the President and Vice President may have started the war against corruption on a very solid footing.

    “The understanding is that the asset declaration represents a veritable tool for transparency in governance, an important hallmark of the democratic tradition. On a personal level, I feel fulfilled that the two topmost public officials in the country have kept their promises, meaning that optimism that some of us expressed have not been betrayed.”

    Woman activist Mrs Raliat Usman said public asset declaration by President Buhari and his deputy is a phenomenal action. “It is remarkable and highly commendable. For whatever it may worth, the two leaders have made true their promise that they would make public declaration of their assets,” she observed.

    Usman urged other political officers to follow suit. She added: “It should not just be matter for the President and the Vice President alone. It should be a matter for all our leaders showing leadership by example, especially if they are sure they don’t have anything to hide. This is an era of governance by transparency. It is government of accountability and we now have a government through which citizens hope is being rekindled.

    “I think that the declaration is part of what is required in building confidence in the Nigerian people. It shows that they have leaders who have the capacity to keep to their words. We should give kudos to Mr President and the Vice President for daring to do this. It is a very good omen for Nigeria and now, we have high hopes that very soon things will begin to take shape.”

    Another lecturer, Dr. David Aworawo, also opined that the public declaration of assets by the President and the Vice President is a positive thing that should be commended. He said it is a step in the right direction because it will give Nigerians a yardstick to evaluate them after leaving office.

    Aworawo said considering the level of corruption in the country, Nigerians should capitalise on the Buhari factor to compel other public office holders to declare their assets publicly as a way of stemming corruption within the corridors of power. He suggested that there should be an amendment of the law to make public asset declaration mandatory for all public officers.

    The President of Arewa Consultative Youth Forum, Shetima Yerima, agrees. He described the action of President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo as encouraging. He said: “If other public office holders don’t follow their examples, then they would have fallen short of our expectations and as such they are not likely to deliver on their promises. The truth is that many of the public office holders have skeletons in their cupboards and may not want to follow the example.

    “The National Assembly should amend the constitution to make it compulsory for public office holders to publicly declare their interst.”

    Legal practitioner Kingsley Obasi also backed the call for a legislation to make public asset declaration compulsory . He urged President Buhari to take measures to ensure that such legal framework is put in place, to bring the country in line with international standards and best practices.

    Shittu explained that the international best practices on asset declaration vary from country to country, depending on the legal regime and the emphasis placed on combating corruption by the authorities. He added: “While some countries prefer to restrict the disclosure requirement to senior office holders or those in sensitive positions, others require the declaration of interests of less senior public officials more generally, with some also requiring information about the assets of public officials’ spouses.

    Few countries however, require asset disclosure of public officials at all levels. Examples of countries in this category include:  Belarus, Columbia, Egypt, Greece, Guatemala, Iraq, Italy, Lebanon and Malaysia.

    In Albania, there is a Revised Asset Disclosure Law approved by the Parliament on the strength of the demand by the Albanian Coalition against Corruption. It took over one and a half years to convince the government that drafting a new law was a necessary element to the reduction of corruption in public finance. The Albanian experience was informed by research findings indicating the lack of transparency of financial disclosures by public officials. The law is enforced by an independent body called the High Inspectorate.

    Similarly, there is a model for combating political corruption through asset disclosure in Liberia. It has demonstrated how effective asset disclosure can lead to public accountability. The National Election Commission (NEC) is actively involved. The political parties and candidates contesting elections publicly declare their assets.  

  • Stop tampering with local govts’ funds, NULGE urges governors

    Stop tampering with local govts’ funds, NULGE urges governors

    The National Union of Local Government Employees(NULGE) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to sanction state governors allegedly tampering with the local government funds to checkmate the drift in the third-tier of government in the country.

    Speaking, the  National Vice President of NULGE, Mr OludareFamoofo, who is also the Southwest Chairman said: “Our Union is constrained to point out that the body language of Mr. President has not reflected in the way the governors are handling the Local Government Joint Accounts.It has always been like this but be a  party to making it to endure forever.

    He lauded the governor of Kaduna State, MallamNasir El Rufai  of his decision  not to tamper with the local government funds.

    Famoofo said: “ Nasir El- Rufai is the only governor that is doing the right thing by not tampering with local government funds.  We want to state categorically that part of the root causes of insurgency in Nigeria is the hijack of local government funds by state governors for a long time, thereby robbing the grassroots of real development.”

  • Union demands probe of governors over judiciary’s autonomy

    Union demands probe of governors over judiciary’s autonomy

    The Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to probe governors who are against financial autonomy for the judiciary.

    Rising from its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting  in Abuja, JUSUN said the governor’s action amounted to floating the constitution and court order.

    According to a communique signed by the President, Comrade Marwan Mustapha Adamu and General Secretary, Isaiah Adetola, corruption can be reduced if judiciary is granted financial autonomy.

    The union said it had raised a committee on the matter.

  • PDP governors: Nigeria sliding into dictatorship

    Governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday morning claimed that Nigeria was gradually sliding into dictatorship under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Rising from a meeting of the PDP Governors Forum (PGF), held in the inner chamber of the Bayelsa State Governor’s Office in Yenagoa, the governors decried the activities of the Department of State Security (DSS).

    After the meeting that lasted for over two hours, the governors led by their chairman and Governor of Ondo State, Mr. Olusegun Mimiko, condemned the alleged invasion of Akwa Ibom State Government House by the DSS.

    Reading the communique of the forum to select reporters, Mimiko, said the action of the DSS was against the spirit, ethos, values and fundamental tenets of democratic norms and tradition, especially with the existence of a duly elected and inaugurated governor of the state.

    He said: “We insist that the trend must stop. No democracy survives without a viable opposition in any part of the world and we must also remember to remind the APC that they are the real beneficiaries of the liberal democratic ethos of the PDP.

    “We once more advise the DSS to preoccupy itself with the task of ensuring internal security and desist from daily harassing and intimidating members of the opposition.

    “We implore the international community, the civil society organisations and human rights activists to call the All Progressives Party led Federal Government to order and to insist that it respects the well entrenched democratic tradition.

    “We all have a duty to prevent what looks to us like a steady slide of this country into dictatorship.”

    Mimiko said the PDP governors were disturbed, alarmed and shocked by what he described as desecration adding that the action of the DSS was an assault on democracy.

    He said the Akwa Ibom incident spelt doom and posed serious danger to the country’s fledgling democracy.

    The governor described the development as one of the continuous attempts by the APC-controlled government to stifle the opposition.

    Two governors and four deputy governors of the 13 PDP-controlled states attended the meeting.

    The governors present at the meeting were Mimiko and the host, Seriake Dickson.

    The deputies that represented their governors were those of Delta, Kingsley Otuaro; Asia, Chris Akomas; Ebonyi, Kelechi Igwe and Kogi, Yomi Awoniyi.

    Governors of Enugu, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Cross River, Benue, Ekiti and Taraba states were absent at the meeting. They also did not send any representatives.

    It was, however, learnt that most of the governors were not present because of their intention to attend Dickson’s formal declaration for second term on yesterday.

     

  • APC, governors, others join row over Buhari’s choices

    APC, governors, others join row over Buhari’s choices

    SGF, Oshiomhole, Okorocha, Oyegun: they’re on merit

    Ohanaeze urges Igbo to be calm

    CRITICS of President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointments yesterday got a reply  – they are based on merit.

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) and some governors defended the appointments which have been criticised as sectional.

    The President’s men also denied that they were appointed based on sentiment, after three of them took the oath of office yesterday in Abuja.

    The Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Southeast’s leading socio-cultural group, urged the Igbo to remain calm. Governors Rochas Okorocha (Imo) and Adams Oshiomhole (Edo) said the appointments came strictly on merit.

    President Buhari swore in Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Mr. Babachir David Lawal, National Security Adviser (NSA) Gen. Babagana Monguno and Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Mr. Femi Adesina.

    Adesina was appointed on May 31.  Monguno was appointed on July 13 and Lawal was appointed August 27.

    At the brief ceremony, Lawal, who spoke on behalf of others, said: “We want to thank God for granting President the vision, wisdom, kindness and boldness to consider us worthy for positions of responsibilities.

    “We got appointed into these positions, not because of our tribes or our faiths or our political groups.

    “If it is such, I am sure none of us would have been considered worthy of these appointments. We appreciate the President and we appreciate God that he has blessed us with these privileged appointments.

    “It is a privilege to serve Nigerians in these capacities at this point in time. Nigeria is at the threshold of achieving greatness and it is our honour and privilege to be senior members of the team that will propel the country to this greatness.”

    He told the President: “We have in you and the Vice President leaders that lead by example, leaders that are focused; whose goal is to build a Nigeria where there is liberty, security, economic prosperity and the rule of law.

    “We are grateful that we are part of the team to deliver this goal. Accept our assurances that by the grace of God, we will not fail you, we will not fail our country, we will not fail ourselves, our families and our friends. By the grace of God. We will strive at all times to serve our country and to serve you with excellence, hardwork and integrity.”

    APC National Chairman Chief John Odigie-Oyegun assured Nigerians that President Buhari is not unmindful of the principle of federal character in the appointments of public officers.

    He said the President will definitely balance appointments across all the geopolitical regions.

    Speaking when he received a delegation from MBO Dynamic Support Group, led by its national coordinator, Hon. Usman Ibrahim, the APC chairman urged Nigerians who are aggrieved by the appointments to remain calm and give the President the chance to balance his appointments.

    Odigie-Oyegun said there was a lot of fight back from the people who want to draw back the nation under the Buhari administration, adding: “There have been a lot of unfortunate misinformation and uproar against appointments at this stage. We have two sets of appointments that have been made.

    “One set is the personal privilege of Mr. President –  as far as his personal staff are concerned. The other set has to do with a few important and strategic persons that are going to help him either in the fight against corruption or the fight against insurgency in the Northeast of our country, but this is not where to play the political balancing game.

    “These are serious and the President has the right to appoint those he has confidence in because these are the areas where he has made promises to Nigerians. But we have thousands of political appointments and he has just made a few appointments while thousands are still waiting.

    “The balancing must happen when the political appointments are being made but we must not at this particular point in time with the few appointments say that one must be from the North, one must be from South or from the East; not at this stage.

    “So, one must make that clear. Nobody, no leader can disadvantage any part of this nation, that will not happen.”

    On the anti-corruption battle, Odigie-Oyegun said: “If a particular group has ruled for 16 years, then who is guilty of corruption? And all the fight, witch-hunt are neither here no there.

    “What is important is that everybody who has a skeleton in his cupboard has something to fear; if you do not have any skeleton in the cupboard you go to sleep and sleep very sound but of course if you have, you will pretend and try to divert attention.”

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo yesterday urged Ndigbo in Nigeria and in the diaspora to avoid any confrontation with the government.

    Ohanaeze Ndigbo Secretary-General Dr. Joe Nwaorgu, told reporters in Enugu that the best option “especially in view of the present circumstance of skewed pattern of appointments by President Buhari, which has completely excluded Ndigbo from key strategic positions in the Federal Government is to remain calm and watch events as they unfold.”

    Okorocha said the President’s decision was in the nation’s best interest.

    He said the President had the right to appoint anyone from any part of the country and that no one could dictate to him who to appoint.

    “Most of the appointments the President has so far made are like his personal staff.  I don’t think the Southeast will ever be forgotten in this administration. We will get our due. He has the right to make appointments that will make him succeed and nobody should dictate to him who to appoint or who he should not appoint,” Okorocha said, adding:

    “What I can only do is to continue to appeal to the President to consider the Southeast in his appointments.  And as far as I am concerned, the President has executed what the office empowers him to do, and it is believed that he did that in the best interest of the nation.

    “In fact, if you ask me, I would say we should be more interested in the projects coming down to the Southeast, and as much as we can get.  The projects will bring about development of the Southeast. There is no cause for alarm.  It is too early in the day to begin to judge Buhari’s intention.  I think he means well.  Let us give him a chance.  Nigeria is one nation.  A nation for all of us.  We must start thinking about the nation rather than thinking about sentiment of where we come from.

    “Although the Southeast had expected so much, we believe all will be well with the Buhari presidency and for the development of the Southeast.  It is wrong for some people to begin to use the issue to incite the people of the Southeast against the President.  The government is about to celebrate its 100 days and the appointments are just beginning to come and, by and large, the Southeast will get its due.

    “The point is that we cannot begin to judge President Buhari with the appointments so far made.  We cannot obviously use it to judge his intention.  I think he means well for the nation and with every geo-political zone inclusive.  So let us give him a chance.”

    Oshiomhole said Nigerians should praise Buhari “for having the uncommon courage to take plausible decisions in the appointments”.

    He said the appointments were based on merits and not political sentiments or ethnic consideration as some tribal jingoists would want Nigerians to believe.

    In a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Peter Okhiria, Oshiomhole said it was time to use the best hands to confront the peculiarity of the country’s problems and not descend to the level of geopolitical balancing.

    Oshiomhole noted that unusual methods should be used to solve an unusual problem and added that the level of decay required very seasoned hands and incorruptible Nigerians that would help to translate the APC agenda of change for the benefit of all Nigerians.

    “We must not reduce governance to political patronage of bread and butter. The Comrade Governor wishes them well in their new jobs of helping to sanitise a system that has become so rotten and corrupt as a result of manifest incompetence and mismanagement.

    “If we must make a huge difference in the lives of Nigerians, things must be done differently. We cannot continue to apply same template in the recruitment of persons and expect different results. The new appointees are Nigerians who have served the country in different capacities before now and deserved every bit of our cooperation and support to make them excel in their new jobs.”

     

  • Police cut governors’ security detail

    Police cut governors’ security detail

    Governors have lost a chunk of their security detail as a result of the reorganisation of the functions of police officers and men.

    Police security attached to the governors has been reduced to a maximum of 62 men – which is a unit – according to Inspector General of Police Solomon Arase.

    Hitherto some governors had 150 policemen to secure them.

    Arase, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend, said the police were worried that too many of their officers and men were doing jobs other than their core police duties, yet they were being promoted.

    “When these people now have to be deployed from these special assignments back to their core duties, they may have lost touch,” he said.

    According to him, that was behind the decision to withdrawal security from unauthorised persons who use police orderlies for personal aggrandisement rather than as a result of a real threat to their lives. Such people, he said, should find other ways to secure themselves.

    He denied that policemen working with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) were recalled to undermine the anti-corruption crusade of the government.

    According to him, policemen working in other agencies like the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), NAPTIP, ICPC and others, who had stayed more than five years, were recalled to be replaced with another set, if necessary.

    He said the EFCC Chairman Ibrahim Lamorde requested the retention of some of them because they were on special assignments, which, he said, he agreed to do.

    The Police Service Commission said last week that a special squad would be deployed on the highways and airports to stop policemen doing illegal guard duties.

    Arase said deployment of policemen for guard duties had ensured that of the about 305, 000 policemen engaged by the government, only about 150,000 were available for core duties.

    He added that 40,000 policemen across ranks were due to attend promotion courses which he would ensure as soon as funding is available.

    The recruitment of 10,000 policemen as announced by the Federal Government would have to wait till next year when there would be budget for it, Arase said adding that only the best hands would be recruited to ensuring that people of integrity are hired.

    He expressed his determination to build a data base crime investigation with the support of a $10millon grant from a foreign country.

    “I assure you that I will leave the police better than I met it at the end of my tenure next year,” he said.

  • APC governors commiserate with Shettima

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Governors’ Forum yesterday commiserated with the Borno State Governor, Kashim Shettima, on the death of his deputy, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha.

    The Imo State Governor and Chairman of the APC Governors’ Forum, Rochas Okorocha, in a letter by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, described the death of the Borno deputy governor as shocking.

    The letter, issued on behalf of the APC Governors, said: “On behalf of the APC governors I extend my heartfelt condolences to our colleague, the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima, on the shocking death of his deputy, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha.

    “The news of the death of Alhaji Mustapha came to us as a rude shock, because nobody would have expected the death of the gentle deputy governor at this time, especially when the good people of Borno State in particular and Nigerians in general had wished to reap from his wealth of experience in the current dispensation.

    “The APC governors would stand by the Borno State governor in this moment of grief and would also wish to ask the governor to see the demise of his deputy as an act of Allah because if that was not the case, the deputy governor would have remained alive.”

    The APC governors prayed that the Almighty God would grant the Borno State governor, the people of the state and those the late deputy governor left behind the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. They prayed that Allah would grant the deceased eternal rest.

    Imo State Deputy Governor Eze Madumere has joined other well-meaning Nigerians to mourn the unfortunate and shocking demise of his Borno State counterpart.

    Madumere, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Uche Onwuchekwa, described the late Zannah as a young and vibrant politician.

    The Imo deputy governor, who said the late politician was his close friend and associate, said he received the unfortunate news of Zanna’s death with shock, adding: “He died at his prime when his experience and sense of responsibility are needed most.”

    He prayed God to grant his family and the people of Borno State the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

  • NEC: Osinbajo, governors meet at Aso Rock

    NEC: Osinbajo, governors meet at Aso Rock

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and state governors on Thursday began the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The meeting started when Osinbajo, who presided over the closed-door meeting, arrived the Council Chamber at few minutes past 11.00am.

    Issues that would likely be discussed at the meeting include the report of a four- man committee mandated to investigate incomes and spending  from the Excess Crude Account and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) account from 2012 till the end of last administration.

    The committee which was set up during the last NEC meeting has governors Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna), Adams Oshiomhole (Edo), Emmanuel Udom (Akwa Ibom)  and Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), as members.

    The meeting may also consider bailout for states owing workers’ salaries.

    The states represented at the meeting, which is still in progress, are – Cross River, Kaduna, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Enugu, Anambra, Imo, Kogi , Gombe, Delta, Kano, Lagos and Niger.

    Others are – Adamawa, Ondo, Sokoto, Yobe, Osun, Bauchi, Ebonyi, Kebbi, Oyo, Plateau, Taraba, Zamfara, Bayelsa and Abia.

  • Governors seek further bailout

    Due to huge indebtedness in states, Governors will on Thursday press further for bailout fund from the Federal Government when the National Economic Council (NEC) meets at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Some of the states are still owing workers’ salaries despite benefitting from the share of $2.1 billion from Nigeria Liquidified Natural Gas (NLNG) about three weeks ago.

    Speaking with State House correspondents after meeting, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Zamfara State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Abdulaziz Yari, said he came to find out the update on the agreement for a bailout fund to be facilitated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for governors during last NEC meeting.

    According to him, he wanted to know how far the Presidency has gone with the CBN in sourcing the bailout funds ahead of the NEC meeting for Thursday.

    He said: “Any way, we discussed about the issue of the special intervention funds. In our last meeting with the President, we agreed in the National Economic Council that there will be a special intervention from the Federal for the states that cannot be able to foot their salary arrears to their workers.

    “More especially, both the states and Federal government were affected by the unpaid salaries. Because this issue of unpaid salaries is not only for the states, even the federal government is suffering the same thing.

    “We followed up to know how far they have gone with the CBN Governor and now we have gotten the brief but the CBN governor is out in Washington and immediately he comes back, we are going to take up the matter to see the end of issue of unpaid salaries to the workers.

    On the issue of Boko Haram attacks, he said that the government was doing everything possible to counter the insurgents, prevent their bombs and dislodge their suicide bombings.

    “So the government and the security agencies are doing their best to ensure that peace is restored.

    “We are working and now it is responsibility of our government to ensure security of lives and property of the people. And the issue of Boko Haram is number one that Mr. President is discussing with the President of the United States and the supports he is going to give Nigeria to ensure that the issue of insurgency comes to an end.”

    He added: “And the government is going to put their machinery in place, most especially the military and security in place to ensure that the insurgency comes to an end.”