Tag: Tunji-Ojo

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has assured the compliance of all agencies under the ministry to enroll on the Employees Compensation Scheme(ECS) of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund(NSITF).

The minister urged NSITFto work towards a fair and equitable work environment beneficial to both the strong and weak in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.     

Tunji-Ojo stated that the employees’ compensation Act was a law that must be obeyed to guarantee social safety net to workers in the formal and informal sectors.

He said this during an advocacy visit by the Managing Director of the NSITF, Oluwaseun Faleye over the weekend.  

In a statement by the General Manager, Corporate Affairs at the NSITF, Nwachukwu Godson, the minister said: “What the President wants is a new Nigeria, a Nigeria that will work not just for the strong but also for the weak, a renewed hope: to give hope even in the most hopeless situation, that’s what he wants.

“I believe that as young people, we are in a better position to think out of the box, to be able to create a new Nigeria, to change the story, re-write it that generations coming can be proud of. Nobody can write such a story better than we can.” 

Tunji-Ojo noted that the ECS is a creation of the law and pledged the compliance of all the agencies under the ministry of interior to the scheme. 

He said: “For us as the Ministry of Interior, Federal Fire Service, Correctional Service, Immigration Service, National Identity Management Commission, NSCDC, others, we will obey the law.

“Putting it in proper perspective, the risk my officers take every day is huge, my officers at the border, when they are there, you never know what can happen. They don’t sleep so that we all can sleep. They go hungry so that we can eat, they sacrifice their blood, their sweat, and everything for this country. We will make sure that all the agencies under the boards of the ministry obey the law. It is a law, and compliance is mandatory.” 

The minister, who congratulated Faleye on his appointment, also commended him for his impressive performance which the minister said has yielded results within months on saddle.

He said: “I congratulate you for the good job you started, but of course, you have a long way to go. Your biggest asset is what you have, your creativity, and innovation. I know you have the capacity to do that.”

The minister also highlighted the need for direct deductions of ECS contributions from the accounts of ministries, parastatals and agencies of the federal government in line with the law and stressed the need for accountable and transparent use of all funds.

The Managing Director of the NSITF underlined the preparedness of the NSITF to support the economic renaissance of the President.

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He stated that the Interior Ministry with agencies whose employees work in difficult terrains are better assured of better safety cover with the ECS. 

Faleye said: “It is also very important to speak about the benefits that are expected if there is compliance with the law. I have mentioned the payment of medical refunds, where there is any injury or sickness that is work related, NSITF will step in and be responsible for such medical bills. 

“In the unfortunate occurrence of death arising out of work, we will pay compensation to family members of the bereaved up to a certain threshold. There is also the payment of loss of productivity where employers are able to recoup loss of productivity that is associated with the death of an employee or sickness arising from work. 

“All of these we believe are important social safety nets that ultimately improve productivity in the country and that is our contribution to the economic renaissance that is being led by the President of the federal republic of Nigeria. So our visit essentially is to really look at all of these issues, address the compliance barriers that may be between us and the relevant agencies and drive strategic initiatives together to the benefits to the nation’s workforce.”

He said that the Federal Government had in October 2021 issued a circular for the commencement of the mandatory contributions of one per cent of the emoluments of all public servants to the NSITF’s Employees’ Compensation Scheme.

Minister of Interior, Hon Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has said that the creative industry fund as approved by the Federal Executive Council would boost the country’s culture and tourism sector.

Minister Tunji-Ojo said approving the fund was to show President Bola Tinubu’s commitment to growing the culture and tourism in the country.

Tunji-Ojo spoke at the weekend in Okeagbe, Akoko Northwest local government, at the 100th anniversary of the unification of four communities into Okeagbe.

The Interior Minister said President Tinubu was passionate about the country’s value and unique image, by rebranding the Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism, and Creative Economy (FMACTCE) to enhance peace and unity.

He said the ministry’s target was to foster culture and inclusivity by celebrating Nigeria’s diverse identity and empowering economic opportunities through the creative industries.

He said: “The President has rebranded the Ministry of Creative Economy and Tourism, which has been living up to expectations, and the FEC has also approved the creative industry.

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“Our president is committed to promoting culture and tourism. So I congratulate our people in Okeagbe over the 100 years of unification, harmony, and co-existence, and we are looking forward to the next 100 years full of bliss.

“The People are also appreciating the President for appointing their son as the Minister of Interior. Also, we thank His Excellency, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, for the good jobs he is doing to take the state to an enviable height,” he said.

On his part, Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa urged the people of the Okeagbe community to continue to live in peace.

Represented by the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Hon. Rasheed Badmus, the governor urged traditional rulers to always showcase their various cultures for the essence of promoting them.

“We are happy that there is peace everywhere in Ondo State, for instance, trace it from Ikare-Arigidi-Okeagbe and all other places. So there is peace in the state.

“We have four traditional rulers here, and they are all living as one, so we want them to continue in that spirit.

“The government of Ondo State believes in our traditional leaders. Once there is peace among traditional rulers, it will be easier for us to promote our culture.

“However, we have reached out to our traditional rulers to keep exhibiting the culture of their various communities,” Aiyedatiwa said.

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, will deliver Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) convocation lecture on Friday.

Briefing reporters on the activities lined up for the institution’s combined 34th and 35th convocations, Vice Chancellor, Prof. Adenike Oladiji, said the minister would speak on: ‘Technological Innovations: A Panacea for Food Insecurity.’

The don said the week-long event began last Friday and would end with the award of first degrees, postgraduate diplomas, master’s and doctoral degrees on November 29 and 30.

She said no fewer than 6,500 undergraduates and postgraduate students would graduate at the 34th and 35th combined convocation for the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 academic sessions.

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Giving a breakdown of the class of degrees, she said 519 finished in the First-Class division, 3,408 with Second Class Upper, 2,139 with Second Class Lower and 339 in the Third-Class division.

She said the university would confer Postgraduate Diploma, Master’s and Doctoral degrees on 1,280 graduands.

The VC noted that the main event scheduled for Friday and Saturday would be presided over by the Chancellor, the Emir of Katagum, HRH Alhaji Umar Farouk II.

She said:  “This year’s convocation is a combination of the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 academic sessions and will have three valedictorians emerging as overall best students.”

• Our jobs on the line, says minister

The Minister of Interior, Dr. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has urged comptrollers-general of services and heads of agencies under the ministry to work towards meeting set targets.

The minister spoke yesterday at the Transcorp Hotel in Abuja during the closing ceremony of a two-day performance contract retreat organised for departments and agencies under the ministry.

The performance contract was signed by the Federal Fire Service (FFS), the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCoS), the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC), and the Board of the Civil Defence, Immigration, Fire and Correctional Service.

“Mr. President said it clearly that my performance will determine my relevance and stay in the ministry. I am also passing the same message to all personnel and heads of departments and agencies in the ministry.

“My job is on the line, based on the performance contract I signed with Mr. President that this is what I should do in the Ministry of Interior. I know that Mr. President will not spare me if I fail to deliver.

“If you, as Comptroller-General (CG) or head of agency, cannot deliver based on this performance contract, your jobs are also on the line. And let me tell you that you will go first before I go,” Tunji-Ojo said.

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The minister assured the agencies and departments under the ministry that they would always get government’s support but insisted that there would be a review of the performances of personnel and agencies on a quarterly basis.

He said all the takeaways from the retreat should trickle down all categories of workers in government agencies and departments.

Narrating a scenario during his visit to six departments of a particular service in Lagos, Tunji-Ojo said only one head of department out of the six departments was able to explain the responsibilities of his department.

The minister said such a development was not only unacceptable but a clear recipe for failure on the part of the other five departments.

The Minister of Interior, Dr.Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, on Monday, September 30, inaugurated an independent investigative panel to probe allegations of corruption and gross abuse of office levelled against some personnel of the Nigeria Correctional Service, NCoS.

Tunji-Ojo said the inauguration of the panel became necessary to sanitize the service towards attaining transparency and accountability.

Last week, the Minister, who is also the Chairman of the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire, and Immigration Services Board (CDCFIB), suspended several officers overseeing the Maximum and Minimum Custodial Centres in Kirikiri, Lagos State, following allegations of misconduct involving the handling of cross-dresser Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky.

Tunji-Ojo emphasised the need for a holistic approach to unravel the issues being investigated, through empirical and fact-finding processes, saying doing so would proffer lasting solutions to the challenges.

“We want to really reform the correctional service. Your core responsibility is to investigate specific allegations of corruption, torture, and mistreatment of inmates by correctional officers, especially the immediate one on Bobrisky which I expect to be out in 2 weeks,” the Minister said.

Headed by the Permanent Secretary, Dr Magdalena Ajani, the Minister charged the Panel to uphold justice, without fear or favour to any party.

He said: “We will rely on your legal guidance to be sure that whatever we do is in line with the law of the land. We will rely on you to be able to come up with a way forward, as well as facts that would be made public to Nigerians. I want to say this very clearly, nobody will be shielded. Nobody, no matter how highly placed, will be shielded.”

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While proposing medium- and long-term solutions to prevent future occurrences, the minister further charged the committee to identify systemic issues contributing to violations within the service and recommend concrete actions for immediate redress and policy reforms.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, who is also the Chairperson of the Investigation Panel, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, stated that the committee would do their best to deliver on the mandate.

The committee comprises Omotese Eva (Mrs.), Director Legal; Nasir Usman, Director, Joint Services; Dr. Uju Agomoh, President, Prisoners’ Rehabilitation and Welfare Action (PRAWA) who is a former Board Member of the International Corrections and Prisons Association (ICPA); and Dr. Ikechukwu Ezeugo, Human Rights Radio consultant, a Forensic Researcher and Social Impact Expert with over 27 years’ experience in corporate leadership.

…says passports stocks hit 80,000

Nigerians in diaspora would henceforth enjoy seamless acquisition of passports, especially those in United States, Canada and United Kingdom.

This comes into effect as the Federal Government activates Automated Application system by October. 

The government also said that all backlogs of Passports have been cleared, noting that the Nigeria Immigration Service, (NIS) no longer owe its service providers regarding printing and supply of passports. 

“We now have about 80,000 Passports in our stocks, both the 32 pages and the 70 pages ” the government said. 

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo stated this at a media briefing in Abuja to mark his one year in office. 

Tunji-Ojo said henceforth Nigerians in the diaspora would not need to travel from one country to another to obtained Passports, saying the era of wasting working hours, resources and risking their lives on long journey is gone. 

Read Also: Tunji-Ojo hailed for significant reforms in correctional services

“We are going to do a pre-launch of this automated systems very soon. And by October they will be fully operational. We have a situation in London where we have 16,000 Nigerians applying for Passports, and the capacity of our systems in the Embassy is about 200.

“But now that we have this systems in place, Nigerians would not have to embark on different journeys across the world for Passport acquisition,” Tunji-Ojo said. 

Tunji-Ojo also justified the increase in Passports fees, saying it is a matter of cost benefits analysis especially “when you look at the rate of dollar compared to naira”. 

He also said the increase didn’t affect the cost of Passports outside Nigeria, saying the increase was only about 45 percent. 

He said government is not exploiting Nigerians but to cover the cost of procurement of Passports. 

“If at all government should subsidize anything, I don’t think it should be Passports. The increase is just from 35, 000 naira to 50,000 naira. No increase outside Nigeria”, Tunji-Ojo said.

He urged journalists to focus magnifying the policy thrust of the present administration, rather than looking at the negatives as President Bola Tinubu inherited most of the challenges facing the country. 

Details later…

The Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, has ordered a comprehensive investigation into the allegations of bribery and corruption within the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCoS).

Tunji-Ojo condemned any act of malfeasance and bribery allegations in the Service, describing it as reprehensible behaviour.

He warned that any form of indiscipline, unprofessionalism, and corruption would be met with zero tolerance and severe consequences within the paramilitary services under the Ministry.

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“The ministry will not tolerate any compromise on its core values of integrity, transparency, and accountability. We will leave no stone unturned in rooting out corruption and ensuring that those found culpable face the full wrath of the law,” Tunji-Ojo said.

The minister said in a statement by his media aide, Babatunde Alao that a special investigative team, headed by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Magdalene Ajani, would probe the allegations and submit a comprehensive report.

He said the investigation would be rigorous, transparent, and impartial, assuring that appropriate disciplinary actions would be taken against any personnel found guilty.