News
Imo Assembly Sacks Dep Gov
Members of the Imo State House of Assembly yesterday voted to impeach the Deputy Governor of the state, Mr Jude Agbaso.
With 23 affirmative votes from the legislators present, the House Majority Leader, Mr Adaku Ihuoma (representing Ahiazu Mbaise Constituency), moved the motion for the impeachment.
The motion was seconded by the Minority Leader (Aboh Mbaise Constituency), Mr Pat Ekeji.
The Speaker, Mr Benjamin Uwajumogu, confirmed the resolution in favour of the impeachment after its adoption.
Following the impeachment, the Speaker read out a letter from Governor Rochas Okorocha where he nominated the Chief of Staff, Eze Madumere, to replace the deputy governor.
The legislators withdrew into a session to deliberate on the replacement.
Meanwhile, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up to investigate the N458 million contract scam against the Deputy Governor, Mr Jude Agbaso, has rejected the request by the deputy governor, urging it to suspend its investigation.
The Chairman of the panel, Justice Godwin Ihekire, announced the rejection while ruling on the request yesterday in Owerri.
He said the request was lacking in merit and therefore the panel would continue with the investigation.
Our correspondent reports that a judicial panel of inquiry was set up on March 23 by the Chief Judge of the state.
The panel is charged with the task of investigating the N458 million bribe allegedly given to the deputy governor by a construction company (J-Bros Ltd).
Agbaso, in a letter to the panel through his counsel, claimed that he was not served any summons on the matter.
He also drew the attention of the panel to two law suits he instituted at the Imo High Court on the “purported impeachment against me.”
“From the foregoing, it is clear that I am not only challenging the purported steps or actions leading to the constitution of your panel but also challenging the appointment/constitution of your panel by the Chief Judge of Imo State.
“Since we are in a constitutional democracy where the rule of law ought to be upheld, all activities and or proceedings of your panel ought to automatically terminate or be suspended as a mark of respect to the State High Court, before which the suits are pending.”
However, the counsel to the Imo Assembly, Mr Niyi Akintola (SAN), argued that the panel was not party to any suit in any court in Nigeria regarding the deputy governor.
Akintola described the letter as premature, and urged the panel to proceed with the investigation.
He said that the deputy governor could not claim to be ignorant of the panel when he had instituted two suits urging the court to stop his impeachment process.
Akintola explained that the panel was constituted by law and that Sections 101 and 102 of the Constitution permit State Houses to regulate its proceedings and that ignorance was no excuse in law.
“The letter holds no water. It is not binding on you (panel). You are not party to any suit in any court and have no need to adjourn because of the letter but to proceed with the investigation,” he said.
The counsel to the Managing Director of J-Bros Ltd, Mr Joseph Dina, the construction company involved in the alleged contract scam, raised no objection to Akintola’s submission.
The Clerk of the House, Mr Chris Duru, had earlier submitted the proceedings of the process of impeachment against the deputy governor and the notice informing him of the setting up of the panel to members of the panel.
He said the letter was posted on the door of the deputy governor’s office and the gate of his official residence aside announcements made in various media houses.
Our correspondent reports that a six-man special adhoc committee constituted by the state legislature had earlier indicted the deputy governor.
The committee investigated the award and abandonment of the road contract to which N1.3 billion was given without a voucher.
The House also got two-third majority of the members’ consent to impeach the deputy governor and a motion which sought that the allegations as contained in the particulars of the contract scam attached to the impeachment notice be investigated.
After looking into Akintola’s submission, the chairman of the panel discountenanced Agbaso’s letter and announced that hearing into the matter had ended while he would go ahead with his team to write their report.
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.