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Tag: SSG

  • Kaduna governor appoints SSG, aides

    Kaduna governor appoints SSG, aides

    Kaduna State Governor, Mukhtar Yero, has appointed Alhaji Ishaq Dan’Mahawayi as the new Secretary to the State Government.

    A statement by the Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Saidu Adamu on Thursday in Kaduna also announced four new aides for the governor who was making his first appointment since assuming the position on December 16 last year.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Dan’Mahawayi takes over from Alhaji Samaila Yakawada, who was appointed SSG by late Governor Patrick Yakowa.

    The new aides include Alhaji Yahaya Abdullahi, who replaces Mr. Aboki Galadima as Chief of Staff and Alhaji Aliyu Samaila, who takes over from Mr. Yohanna Alamagani as the governor’s Principal Private Secretary.

    The statement added that Mr. Abdullahi Maiyaki was appointed Director-General, Media and Publicity to the governor, while Malam Madami Garba replaces Alhaji Bala Garba as Special Adviser, Political Affairs.

    It also said that Mr. Nathaniel Hayab would remain as Head of the state Civil Service.

    All the appointments are with immediate effect.

     

  • Kaduna ACN to Yakowa: sack your SSG

    The Kaduna State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday accused the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Lawal Samaila Yakawada, of undermining the authority of Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa.

    The party urged the governor to sack him.

    In a statement in Kaduna, its Chairman, Mohammed Musa Soba, ACN alleged that Yakawada was positioning himself for the 2015 governorship election.

    The party noted that the SSG was playing on ethnic and religious sentiments to oil his political machinery ahead of the 2015 election at the expense of the unity and development of the state.

    The statement said: “It is an open secret that Yakawada’s actions and utterances are always at variance with the collective decisions reached by the government he serves, all in an attempt to garner support and sympathy from the populace pursuant to his political project.”

    ACN alleged that the SSG was calling clandestine meetings of “trusted” political aides to achieve his 2015 plan.

    The party also alleged that the money meant for state projects and security matters were diverted.

    It explained that since the SSG could not be trusted to handle state matters without undermining his duties, “we urge you to remove him from office with immediate effect to pave the way for the appointment of a competent person that would assist in surmounting the barrage of socio-economic, political and security problems confronting Kaduna State”.

    The statement added: “We have a stake in the Kaduna State project and we will not allow a few people in government to personalise and commercialise the operations of government in a manner that is detrimental to the unity, peace and development of Kaduna State.”

     

  • Kogi SSG seeks emergency intervention in education

    Kogi SSG seeks emergency intervention in education

    Unless the Federal Government declares a state of emergency in the education sector and completely re-drafts, from the scratch, its national policies on education, its dream of being among the top 20 economies by the year 2020 may not be realistic.

    According to the Secretary to Kogi State Government (SSG) Prof Olugbemiro Jegede, who made this observation in Abuja while speaking at the 25th anniversary of the Galilee International Management Institute, Israel, re-building the educational system in the country is the key to driving national development.

    While urging the Federal Government to prioritise capacity building in science, engineering and technology, the former Vice-Chancellor, National Open University, stated that the goals of the 21st century could not be achieved without a sound education.

    Jegede said the Federal Government must focus on capacity building at the higher education level to produce critical mass and employable graduates.

    He cautioned that the failure of the government to educate the mass of illiterate people across the country would be a catastrophe for the country lamenting that Nigeria, with all its quality policy documents has failed over the years to target the right kind of people to build critical mass in the country.

    Prof Jegede, who carpeted the Federal Government over its approach to the Vision 20:2020, argued that the government has no clear cut ways of getting to the vision noting that other countries which Nigeria aspire to beat or join in the league keep progressing while Nigeria contends with mediocrity.

    He maintained that except the Federal Government takes drastic steps in addressing the dearth of lecturers and researchers across the nation’s tertiary institutions, 1.5 million lecturers and researchers would be needed in that level of education by the year 2015.

    This was as he added that a total of 750,000 teachers would be needed in the secondary school level in the year 2015 noting that Nigeria has thrown quality into the dustbin and now celebrates mediocrity.

    While prasing the Israeli institute for its capacity building role in Nigeria over the years, he said Nigeria should be in creative partnership with Israel in many sectors such as agriculture, military, security, education and tourism.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Speaking earlier at the event, the President of Galilee International Management Institute, Dr. Joseph Shevel urged Nigerian government to emulate Israel by focusing on education and capacity building.

    He remarked that while Israel has succeeded in reducing illiteracy, Nigeria still has a huge population illiterate to contend with giving kudos to the Israeli first Prime Minister who according to him made education compulsory for every child in the country.

  • Jonathan tasks SGF, SSGs on service delivery

    Jonathan tasks SGF, SSGs on service delivery

    President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday advised secretaries to state governments to ensure good governance, accountability, due process and rule of law for effective service delivery.

    He gave the advice at the Presidential Retreat for the Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Secretaries to State Governments at Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the president urged state governments to partner with the Federal Government to promote democracy, constitutionalism, national development and transformation.

    “As secretaries to governments in our dear country, you are at the epicentre in implementing, monitoring and delivery of good governance to our citizens.

    “Thus, for effective discharge of your responsibilities, there must be effective application of sound governance practices involving the exercise of due diligence, high standards of integrity and transparency in the handling of the affairs of your offices.

    “This is in line with the current administration’s zero tolerance for corruption and the deepening of the Rule of Law principle in the conduct of government business.

    “No tier of government can afford to be an island unto itself. There must be cooperation between and amongst all tiers of government for overall national development,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the president as saying at the retreat.

    According to him, at the federal level the philosophy of governance is one of consultation, consensus building and cooperation for positive action to transform the country.

    He, therefore, reiterated the determination of the government to facilitate and participate in programmes to advance good governance and sound inter-governmental relations.

    Jonathan tasked the participants to always insist on excellence, fairness and the overall good of the people in their actions in and outside government.

    In his remark, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Anyim Pius Anyim, noted that the Presidential Retreat which was instituted in 2007 was meant to promote and strengthen inter-governmental relation between the Federal and State Governments.