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Nigeria, Not ailed State, Says Jonathan …Inaugurates Exco
President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday, in Abuja dismissed insinuations that Nigeria was a failed State.
President Jonathan, who was speaking at the official inauguration of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), noted with delight that Nigeria was blessed with talented and hardworking people.
“Our nation has been described by certain persons as a failed state, but we are definitely not a failed state.
“We are a country of talented people who have the capacity to address whatever challenges our country may be facing now.
“Other nations have passed through their own trying moments. In no way is our experience peculiar.’’
Jonathan told the ministers that they were carefully selected to serve at a most trying and challenging period of the nation’s history.
According to him, some of the ministers are returning to their old portfolios to ensure not just continuity, but also the consolidation of projects and processes embarked upon in the administration.
He charged them to give proper account of their stewardship to the people at all times.
He noted that service to the nation was a patriotic duty that every citizen must look up to, and support, saying: “There is no greater responsibility than service to the nation.’’
He challenged the ministers to be the change agents that Nigerians craved.
He said: “We are expected to stabilise power supply in the country as a minimum pre-condition for strengthening national productivity.
“We are expected to generate employment for our unemployed youth; we are expected to revolutionise the agricultural sector and ensure food security for the people.
“We are expected to sanitise the oil and gas sector; the people also want good roads, a more qualitative public school system as well as more efficient public health and transportation systems, and so on.
“These expectations cut across all sectors. Most importantly, we are expected to protect life and property and guarantee the welfare and happiness of all Nigerians.’’
President Jonathan warned that his administration could not afford to disappoint the people.
Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan said yesterday that his administration would conduct a comprehensive audit of all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) of Federal Government beginning from June 2007 to date.
Jonathan stated this in his remarks at the swearing-in ceremony of the last set of nine ministers and the inauguration of his cabinet at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The President said the decision was in line with his administration’s zero tolerance for corruption and his resolve to remove the country from the embarrassing rating in the global corruption index.
“Corruption is therefore the monster that we need to confront and defeat, in order to raise the country’s integrity profile. The war against corruption in this dispensation will start at the centre.
“The anti-corruption agencies have been directed to beam their searchlights on the Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the Federal Government, and also focus on the states and local government areas, in order to send out a clear signal, that no form of abuse will be tolerated,’’ he said.
He asked members of the cabinet not to see their position as a reward for status, but as an opportunity to serve the people of Nigeria and to be an agent of transformation agenda of his administration.
Jonathan also told the ministers not to compromise their integrity but ensure that the ministry they head serves the interest of public good and promote the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct.
While promising the ministers that everything would be done to provide the enabling environment for them to function, the President reminded them that the tasks ahead would be arduous and tasking.
Jonathan restated his commitment to the transformation of the country and to deliver democracy dividends to the people while asking the ministers to be committed along the line of his agenda.
“Our task is to address the issues which preoccupy Nigerians. We must act quickly while at the same time, working on sustainable responses to long-term challenges.
“This is the debt we owe the electorate who turned out in large numbers in the April 2011 elections to make a statement with their votes.
He charged the Ministers and Ministers of State to work together as a team, eschew rivalry and one-upmanship that has been a problem in the past.
He also reiterated on his campaign promise to run a transparent government and ensure significant improvement in the economy.
The nine ministers who were sworn in include, Dr Mohammed Ali Pate (Bauchi), Chief Edwin Duke (Cross River), Mrs. Omobola Johnson (Ondo), Hajia Adiza Mailafia (Kaduna) and Dr Nurudeen Mohammed (Jigawa).
Also sworn in are Mrs Sarah Ochepe (Plateau), Ms Amma Pepple (Rivers), Mr Ezeilo Nweke (Rivers) and Dr Akinwumi Adeshina (Ogun). The ministers have yet to be assigned portfolios.
Our correspondent recalls that Jonathan had on July 2, sworn in the first group consisting of 14 ministers while the second set consisting of 17 ministers were sworn in on July 8.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.