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Tag: Kingsley Fanwo

  • Kogi to inaugurate World class diagnostic centre

    Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi on Wednesday said the state’s World class Diagnostic Centre would soon be inaugurated to serve Nigerians.
    A statement by the governor’s Director-General, Media and Publicity, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, issued in Lokoja assured that the centre would be one of the best in the country.
    “The state government is working hard to complete and commission the project that has gulped hundreds of millions of naira since our assumption of office in 2016.
    “Medical diagnosis is a critical aspect of health management as it serves the double purposes of preventing ill health as well as managing health conditions.
    “As a responsible governor, I feel sad when citizens die not because we don’t have the medical facilities to manage their ill health; but because the culture of early diagnosis was poor,” Bello said.
    The governor assured people of the state that his administration was committed to strengthen the healthcare sector to ensure their healthy living.
    Bello commiserated with the family of one of the state’s directors in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr Haruna David, who suddenly slumped and died in his office at about 3 p.m on Tuesday.

    Read Also: Kogi civil servant slumps, dies

    He described the late director as very hardworking and dedicated to his duties, saying “our hearts are with his family and the entire Kogi state civil servants’’.
    “To this end, I have directed the Commissioner for Health to quickly put together a healthcare programme that will enable us know the health conditions of our dear civil servants in the state,” the governor said.
    He assured the people that the Healthcare Plus Initiative would continue to make healthcare accessible and affordable to the poor, adding that expectant mothers now enjoy free child delivery.
    “As part of my electioneering promises, we have done a lot in improving our health training institutions and upgrade the standards of our health facilities, reduce maternal mortality and accomplishing other laudable projects,” Bello said.

    NAN

  • Umar Jibril: Kogi has lost a great leader, says Bello

    Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi, on Friday in Lokoja expressed “deep shock” over the demise of one of the state’s most astute politicians, Hon. Buba Umar Jibril.

    Bello described the late Jibril as a man who “lived in the hearts of his people”, saying the vacuum he left in the state and the ruling party will be difficult to fill, according to a statement by Kingsley Fanwo, the Director General of Media and Publicity.

    “The late former Kogi State House of Assembly Speaker and a Principal Officer of the House of Representatives was a man of the people. His life is a book for anyone aspiring for greatness to read.

    “The late Jibril identified with his people and lived a life of serving the poor in his constituency.

    “He was a successful politician and a lesson in positivism; a man who chose to take his destiny in his hand on several occasions.

    Read Also: Bello commends NGOs on eradication of poverty in Africa

    “He will be remembered for his astuteness and purposeful leadership as well as his philanthropic life and service to humanity.

    “The New generation of Kogites and Nigerians at large will have a lot to learn from the life of the great patriot”.

    The governor assured the people of Kogi that the “departed hero and indomitable grassroots commander” would be immortalised to keep the memories of his great contributions to the development of Kogi and Nigeria as a whole.

    Jibril, 58, who was a Deputy Majority Leader and an APC member representing Lokoja/Kogi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, died in the early hours of Friday in Abuja.

    NAN

     

     

  • Herdsmen attack: Bello on spot check to affected areas

    Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, is to make on the spot assessment of the affected communities attacked by suspected Fulani herdsmen.

    The Director-General on Media and Publicity to the Governor, Kingsley Fanwo, in a statement said that the governor will visit the areas to assess the situation and condole with the people of the affected communities.

    Reports had it that scores of people died in attacks by suspected Fulani herdsmen, in Ogane-Nigu and nearby communities in Kogi East.

    The statement read: ” On 14th March, 2018 at about 05:00hrs,  an attack was carried out on Ogane-Nigu and nearby communities in the Eastern Senatorial Zone of Kogi State by armed bandits suspected to be herdsmen.

    “The Kogi State government ensured that the military, the police and other relevant security agencies, including members of the Kogi State Vigilante Services were immediately mobilised to the affected areas following the initial reports.

    “The violence has since been contained and brought under control. The incident however remains under investigation while efforts are ongoing to apprehend the attackers and bring them to justice.

    “His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, the Executive Governor of Kogi State will conduct on the spot assessment of the distressed communities today. He will meet with security chiefs and community leaders after which more information will be forthcoming based on available facts.

    “The governor believes nothing compares to the sanctity of the human life and that must be protected by all who believes in humanity.

    “We urge the people of Kogi State to ignore the conflicting casualty and other figures thrown about by different individuals, organisations and sections of the press as they are mostly baseless and speculative”.

     

  • Kogi partners Julius Berger to construct 10 key roads

    Kogi State Government says it is in partnership with Julius Berger Nigeria PLC to construct 10 key roads across the three Senatorial districts of the state for infrastructure development of the state.

    Mr Abdulmumuni Sadiq, Commissioner for Works, disclosed this on Monday in Lokoja while addressing journalists at the end of a Reconnaissance Survey of the roads by a team of government officials.

    The team also include officials from Julius Berger on Monday in Lokoja.

    Sadiq said that invitation and visit of the construction company was part of efforts of Gov. Yahaya Bello’s administration to provide world class infrastructure for the state capital and the three senatorial districts.

    “Their visit to the state, today, is to do the reconnaissance survey of all the roads that we have enumerated in our proposal to them.

    ‘’This is necessary so that they can go back and come up with the design and estimate to construct the roads,” he said.

    Contributing, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, Director-General, Media and Publicity to the governor said the state government was very close to concluding a workable partnership with Julius Berger to buttress its commitment to infrastructure development in the state.
    “This will go a long way in fixing many of our roads. We are conscious of the fact that for the state to develop, our infrastructure must be top notch,’’ he said.

    Also speaking, Mr Abel Ozigi, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to Gov. Bello on Project Liaison and Management, described the partnership with Julius Berger as a long-term one aimed at transforming the infrastructure map of the state.

    Ozigi disclosed that the first phase of the project would address Lokoja, Kabba township roads and Takete-Idde road in the West senatorial district.

    “Shintakun-Anyigba road in the East,  Okene township roads and Eika-Okene road in the Central Senatorial District among the 10 roads slated for the construction,” he said.

    He expressed confidence in the ability of Julius Berger to handle the projects with the governor, given the political and goodwill of the state government to prosecute the partnership.

    NAN

  • Bello’s new house: Kogi PDP clutching at the irrelevant- Fanwo

    Bello’s new house: Kogi PDP clutching at the irrelevant- Fanwo

    The Director General on Media and Publicity to the Kogi State Governor, Kingsley Fanwo has called on the Peoples Democratic Party in the state to stop currying irrelevancy and put its house in order.

    Reacting to the PDP’s criticism over Governor Bello’s newly opened private residence in Okene, Fanwo said that the former has the right to own a personal house in his home town.

    The governor’s aide yesterday in a statement issued in Lokoja, said that PDP should concentrate on bringing its highly “fragmented house together” and leave the governor out of its woes.

    According to him: “When has it become a sin to own a house? The governor doesn’t need to commission his house. He didn’t do so, but only went home to celebrate an important festival with his people. Has PDP forgotten how our resources were deployed into building and remodeling hotels in Abuja within a space of 13 years?

    “The issue of salaries have been the only item on the tray of the opposition. They are trying hard to conquer the truth. We have done very well in paying salaries and it will get better.

    “PDP has refused to tell us what happened to our allocations in the last four months of the last administration as they refused to pay salaries, plunging Kogi workers into excruciating suffering.

    “Kogi PDP has not told us why their members were arrested by anti-graft agencies because their leaders allegedly shared the two billion naira that would have empowered thousands of youth. Where is our CBN/SME Loan?

    “Kogi PDP should tell us what they know about our current financial situation as we continue to repay loans that were either outrightly stolen or misapplied to unproductive venture.

    “It is immoral for the creator of a problem to accuse the person trying to solve it of being slow. PDP suffocated the finances of Kogi State while its leaders held sway”.

    He assured the workers that the government was working hard to settle salary arrears owed them, insisting that the situation was not as gory as the opposition are painting it.

  • Kogi workers embark on indefinite strike

    Kogi workers embark on indefinite strike

    The organized Labour in Kogi State has directed workers in ministries, agencies and parastatals to commence an indefinite strike as from Friday, Sept. 22.

    The Chairman of the state chapter of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr Ranti Ojo flanked by his Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), counterpart, Mr Onu Edoka gave the order while briefing newsmen in Lokoja On Thursday.

    He asked the workers to shun offices indefinitely until directed otherwise.

    He said that labor was forced to call out workers on strike because of refusal of government to invite them for negotiation over their demands.

    According to him, the strike is the only lifeline left for the workers to negotiate their survival in the hands of the administration of Gov. Yahaya Bello.

    Ojo directed the workers to ensure maximum compliance, saying that all government establishments, offices, facilities and institutions be shut down by workers.

    The organized Labour had on Sept. 13, issued a seven -day strike notice to the state government to meet its demands or risk industrial action by its members.

    In its reaction to the notice , the state government through the Director -General , media and publicity to the governor, Mr Kingsley Fanwo described the tone of the lanour’s notice as harsh and described signatories to the notice as unknown.

    The state Head of Service , Mrs Deborah Ogunmola made a last minute ditch to halt the strike when she called the Labour leaders for a meeting in her office on Sept. 21.

    The meeting, however, failed to stop the workers to declare a strike.

    The Labour is demanding among others , full payments of salary and allowances to workers being owed between two and 21 months arrears. The workers are also demanding payment of outstanding leave, yearly incremental allowances and reinstatement of workers unjustly treated during the recently concluded screening exercise.

    “Be prepared to stay at home till eternity if it takes government to eternity to meet our demands,” Ojo admonished the workers.

    The Labour lampooned the government for its poor attitude to workers’ welfare , saying that never in the history of the state has civil service records the massive hunger -induced deaths as being witnessed currently.

    “Workers and pensioners are going through trauma, anguish, pains, sickness, penury, truncation of children’s education , huge unsettled house rent/medical bills . We must rise against these now or never , he said.

    However, he said that , only workers under the umbrellas of NLC, TUC, and the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council will be marking on the strike while members of the National Union of Teachers , National Union of Local Government Employees and the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria will join on Sept. 27.

    He urged workers to resist any form of threat, intimidation and blackmail from the state government , urging them to put on uncommon courage, perseverance and resoluteness to confront the bad situation.

    Ojo asked all civil servants and members of the public to pray in mosques and churches on Sept. 22 and Sept 24 to God to deliver the state from bad governance.

    The TUC, NOC and the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council will not budge until their demands are met by the government.

    “Our fidelity to this struggle is non-negotiable ,” the TUC Chairman said and accused the government of insincerity in its dealings with the workers all these years.

    The state President of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Mr Tade Adyemi who was also present at the briefing said that teachers, local government workers and workers in the health sector will join the strike on Sept. 27.

    Adeyemi said that workers in the sectors issued a separate strike notice to the 21 local government councils in the state who were their employers.

    Mr Thomas Ayodele, the state NUT Chairman said that workers at the local government level were solidly in support and party to the strike declared by the TUC , NLC and the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council.

  • PDP, ICF, criticise Kogi’s work free day over Buhari’s return

    PDP, ICF, criticise Kogi’s work free day over Buhari’s return

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Kogi State chapter yesterday criticised the declaration of Monday as a public holiday, by the Kogi State government, for the return of President Muhammadu Buhari to the country.
    The PDP described as an aberration, the public holiday declared by the government in honor of the return of President Mohammadu Buhari and Thanksgiving for the safe return from medical trip abroad.
    The Director General on Media and Publicity to the Governor, Mr Kingsley Fanwo, in announcing the holiday, on Sunday, said it was in line with the “support of the Kogi people for the renaissance of our nation by Mr. President”.
    He added: “We urge Kogites to also use the occasion of the public holiday to pray for Mr. President, as he resumes his responsibilities of repositioning Nigeria”.
    Relatedly, the members of the Igala Consultative Forum (ICF) said they condemn in totality the sudden declaration of the public holiday, which they described as diversionary.
    The group in a statement issued yesterday in Lokoja and by the
    National secretary, Sam Ugbede said: “In as much as we all are happy for his health improvement and smooth trip back home, which is to the delight of all Nigerians, we thank God and the British doctors for the healing and treatment.
    “We all remain eternally grateful to God for answering our collective prayer, by granting our leader abundant health. The Buhari we saw; we all are happy but our surprise is the sudden declaration of public holiday by the government of Kogi State suddenly, what is it for?
    “Imagine a governor of a state where a dangerous disease has already claimed over ’62 lives’ and still claiming more, particularly in the western senatorial district of the state (Okun land), instead of declaring state of emergency in the health sector, has the temerity to shutdown the state to declare public holiday.
    “As we speak, lives of innocent kogites are in danger as a result of the epidemic, which diagnosis revealed as ‘gastroenteritis’. What is our governor doing to stop the spread of this deadly disease?
    The PDP  in a statement signed by Achadu Dickson, Director, Research and Documentation, said that “while it is an acknowledged fact that governance in the state has drifted in the last 17 months, declaring a public holiday in the state is the height of lack and loss of ideas”.
    According to him: “While governance in the state has been brought to its lowest ebb, with workers owed salaries and pensions for as much as 17 months, the heavy indebtedness by the state to commercial banks to the tune of N35 billion, with nothing to show in terms of infrastructure, it leaves much to be desired by the declaration of a public holiday.
    “The PDP shares in the joy of the recovery of Mr. President, and has always joined in the prayers for the quick recovery of the nation’s number one citizen, loss of man hour with the declaration of a public holiday is an indication that we have reached the lowest ebb in terms of governance.
    “The action shows that we’ve entered a one-chance administration in which the ship of state is heading in no direction.
    Citizens should pray for God to heal Kogi State. The state has lost focus and is losing the decency of comity of serious states in the country.
    “President Buhari must be disgusted by the bootlicking attitude of the governor. Kastina State, the home state of our beloved president has not declared public holiday, why then, is Yahaya Bello taking panadol for another man’s headache”.

  • Kogi govt., NMA will resolve dispute amicably – official

    The Kogi Government said on Sunday that it would resolve its lingering dispute with striking medical doctors amicably.

    “The government is not at war with the doctors. We merely have a little disagreement and we are working toward resolving the issue amicably,” Mr Kingsley Fanwo, Director-General, Media and Strategy, told the News of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja.

    He said that government would explore peaceful means toward addressing the issues so as to ensure effective service delivery in the health sector.

    “Government has already declared its stance in a statement by the Head of Service, Mrs Kehinde Lawal; we have urged the doctors to have a humanitarian heart. Healthcare issues are about life, government will never trivialize them,” he said.

    He advised doctors to choose the path of negotiations and always have the patients in mind in all their actions.

    The aide said that government was prepared to listen to all grievances and give truthful positions, alleging that most critics were hiding behind the transparent curtains of political interests to subvert public interest.

    “Doctors are trained to save lives. They have been very cooperative and we want them to keep cooperating with government. We know they will not be happy to watch the sick die on account of pursuing an interest that could be resolved amicably.

    “We are appealing to doctors to go back to work and give government the benefit of the doubt,” Fanwo said.

    NAN reports that the doctors have been on strike over the non-payment of their salaries, with government threatening to sack any doctor absent from work on Monday, May 8.

    The state chapter of the NMA has, however, directed its members to disregard the threat, and vowed to stay off the hospitals until the demands were met.

    NMA, in a statement by its Chairman, Dr. Tijani Godwin, declared on Saturday that it would not be intimidated by the threats, and advised government to “do the needful”.

     

  • Doctors strike, a betrayal of agreement – Gov. Bello

    Doctors strike, a betrayal of agreement – Gov. Bello

    Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has described the indefinite strike embarked by the state chapter of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) as a “betrayal of mutual agreement and a bridge of trust’’.

    Bello said this on Wednesday in a statement by his Director-General on Media and Strategy, Mr. Kingsley Fanwo.

    The governor assured residents that his administration would continue to protect their rights to quality healthcare service delivery.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the association had directed its members to embark on an indefinite strike over government’s failure to pay doctors’ salaries and other issues bordering on the staff verification exercise in the state.

    In a communique jointly signed by its Chairman, Dr Tijani Godwin, and Secretary, Dr Zubair Kabiru, after an emergency congress on Tuesday in Lokoja, directed the doctors to commence the strike on Wednesday.

    However, the governor assured the people of the state that his administration would do everything within the ambit of the law to avert the indefinite strike.

    Bello said that the wisdom behind the inclusion of NMA representative in the screening was for them to give their expert advice that would lead the committee to make informed decisions.

    “The Staff Verification Exercise received the backings of labour; NMA was duly represented in the exercise and they signed the report, which signified their acceptance for the report.

    “For NMA to turn around to condemn the report is a betrayal of agreement and an attempt to condemn the home they joined hands with government in building.

    “The decision to unnecessarily punish the people by going on strike is unfortunate and will be resisted by government.

    “In an era of recession, it is an economic sin against the people to pay workers for doing nothing.

    “We will explore legal and administrative avenues to stop the ill-fated strike.

    “As we explore negotiations and diplomatic settlement; this government will also continue the ongoing recruitment process in the health sector to bridge any gap which may tend to endanger the healthcare of our people.

    “Our doors are always open; we will always listen to unionists. We believe in inclusiveness; but we will not hesitate to take drastic decisions that will help the people of our dear state,’’ Bello said.

    The governor, however, appealed to the association not to declare war on the state, saying their primary responsibility is to save lives and ensure healthcare service delivery for the people of the state.

     

  • Gov. Bello approves payment of N1.388 bn to Kogi pensioners

    Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi had approved N1.338 billion for the payment of 14 months’ arrears to pensioners in the state.

    A statement issued in Lokoja on Sunday said that Bello made the approval during the last state executive council meeting held on March 9.

    Mr Kingsley Fanwo, the Director-General (D-G) to the governor on media and strategy, said in the statement that the money was to cover outstanding pension arrears of retirees from January 2016 to February 2017.

    He, however, said that those to be paid were pensioners on the cleared-list of the just concluded screening.

    According to him, payment will commence immediately as all necessary arrangements have been put in place.

    The D-G quoted the governor as commending the pensioners for bearing with the government during the period of the screening, it said.

    The governor was said to have promised to continue to place top priority on the pensioners’ welfare.