Nation
Senate Kicks Against Removal Of Argungun As NDE Boss
Nigerian Senate has expressed displeasure over the removal of Dr. Nasir Ladan Argungun as the Director-General, National Directorate for Employment (NDE) and urged President Muhammadu Buhari to reconsider the action with a view to reverse it .
The lawmakers also urged President Buhari to direct an investigation into causes of the frictions between the sacked DG and the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Kayamo.
The Senate’s resolution was sequel to the consideration of a motion sponsored by. Senator Ibrahim Hadejia ( Jigawa State ), which came to the floor under, Orders 42 and 52 of Senate rules
Senator Hadeja in his motion said it was a matter of concern to the upper legislative chamber rover media reports of the removal of Argungun as the NDE director general as announced by the Presidency on December 8.
Though Senator Hadejia noted that it was within the executive powers of the President to appoint and remove any of his appointees, he informed his colleagues of the controversy surrounding Argungun’s removal from office.
He specifically pointed out that the Presidential directive on the removal gave room for speculations in some quarters that some unpatriotic people were out to undermine the laudable programme of the federal government.
Senator Hadejia said the removal was capable of creating needles and avoidable leadership crisis at the NDE at this critical time that the federal government was leveraging on public works programme to address issues of unemployment and youth empowerment in the country.
According to him, it is in the overriding public interest to reconsider and rescind the said Presidential directive on the removal to ensure leadership stability in the agency.
This, he said maintaining the the Directorate’s leadership would aid and sustain smooth implementation of jobs creation, skills acquisition and the federal government’s SPW programme aimed at benefiting the youths, many of whom were unemployed.
Contributing, Senator Rochas Okorocha, (APC Imo West) advised the Senate to apply wisdom in handling this the matter given the political and economic situations in the country.
“Let us adopt a non formal method of resolving these issue and not create more conflicts among arms of governments,” he stressed.
In his remarks, the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan said his understanding of the motion was that the National Assembly was in support of the NDE programme.
Lawan said the leadership of NDE, under the sacked director general had successfully embarked on a pilot implementation of the federal government’s SPW progra-mme in six states.
He stressed the need for solution to the issue so that the minister and the NDE boss could work together harmoniously, warning that the change in leadership of the agency at the moment could derail the genuine intentions of the programme.
By: Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi, Abuja
Nation
Gombe Opens Bid For Construction Of Three-Arm Zone Project
Gombe State Ministry of Works, Housing and Transportation has opened bids for the construction of three arms zone complexes within the Gombe Capital Special Development Zone which held at the Ministry’s conference hall.
Speaking while presiding over the bid opening proceedings, the Commissioner, Engr. . Usman Maijama’a Kallamu assured the bidders that the bid opening would be carried out using procurement process which is based on specific regulations that are credible, fair, and transparent.
The Commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alh. Idris Yambiu Buba said that the Ministry will continue to align itself for optimal results in the implementation of government policies and projects in line with Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s commitment to bringing development to the State.
While assuring the bidders of a transparent process, the SSA to the Governor on Special Project, Arch. Yakubu Mamman thanked Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya for his foresight in infrastructural development of the State, adding that government is committed to ensuring that all bidders had an equal chance to participate and compete based on merit to maintain standards and specifications.
Nation
Gov Mbah Signs Bill To Establish Teaching Hospital In Enugu
Governor of Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, yesterday, signed the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) Teaching Hospital Bill 2024 into Law, promising to expedite action to actualise the teaching hospital immediately to provide quality training and healthcare services in the Enugu North part of the State and the State in general.
Mbah, while commending the Enugu State House of Assembly for accelerating action on the processing and passage of the Executive Bill, said that establishing SUMAS Teaching Hospital was in line with his manifesto.
He said, “What we have done by signing into law the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences Teaching Hospital Bill is that we now have in place a legal framework to immediately begin to put in place all that is required to upgrade SUMAS to a teaching hospital. This is part of our campaign promises and we are committed to delivering on that expeditiously.
“We believe that the importance and significance of siting a teaching hospital in our Enugu North zone can never be lost on us. So, we are not going to spend any time in making sure that everything that is necessary and required to upgrade and get the teaching hospital operational is put in place. With this Law, we are going to redouble our commitment and our efforts to achieve that.”
He assured the Governing Council and the Management of SUMAS of his continued support, adding that his administration would equally be counting on their pedigree and contacts to bring the teaching hospital to fruition in record time.
“We are going to continue to support you and we are also going to continue to count on your experience, network, and profile in raising resources to actualize the project.
“This year alone, we are going to spend 33 per cent of our budget on education. This underscores the importance of education to this administration. So, be sure to come to us whenever there is a need. We are going to support you because we are interested in education and we are investing heavily in it,” he said.
On his part, the Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu, who also spoke at the Bill signing witnessed by the Chairman of SUMAS Governing Council, Msgr. Obiora Ike, and the Vice Chancellor, Prof. James Ogbonna, and top hierarchies of the institution, commended Governor Mbah’s speed and faithfulness in delivering on his campaign promises. He assured that the House of Assembly was ever ready to fast-track every executive bill that would impact positively on the state and its people.
“We promised we are going to support this administration by doing our job expeditiously to ensure that there is no delay in your delivery of democracy dividends to our people. Therefore, the SUMAS Teaching Hospital Bill received expedited hearing and today you have the signing of the bill into law,” he stated.
Nation
Ododo Applauds Security Agencies Over Rescue Of 43 Bus Passengers
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo has applauded security agencies in the State for their efforts in the rescue of 43 bus passengers.
The Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Ismaila Isah disclosed this in a statement yesterday.
The statement noted that the governor welcomed the news of the release of the abducted bus passengers in Okehi Local Government Area of the State and called for sustained collaboration between security agencies and local communities to improve intelligence gathering and prevent crime and criminality in all parts of the state.
Ododo commended the caretaker chairman of Okehi LGA, Mr Amoka Eneji, the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Professional Hunters, Ebira Local Hunters Group and other security agencies for their intervention, which led to the rescue of the passengers who were abducted outside the state.
“Governor Ododo also commends the response of security agencies to the robbery incidence in Felele area of Lokoja and called for more urgency in addressing cases of insecurity in any part of the state.
“The Governor reassured the people of the state that his administration will not relent in its efforts in deploying maximum resources to ensure that all communities in the state remain unsafe for criminal elements.”
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