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FG To Recruit 40,000 Policemen For Community Policing -IGP
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, says the Federal Government is to recruit 40,000 Community Police Constables across the federation as part of the measures to strengthen community policing in the country.
Adamu said this, yesterday, in Enugu during the launch of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV).
He said: “Each of the 774 council areas in the country will have a minimum of 50 constables to strengthen security at the local levels.
“It will also involve engaging community-based organisations, groups and institutions to see that it works for the betterment of all.’’
The I-G, represented by the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 9, Mr Baba Tijini, said that the adoption of POCACOV as a national programme was in line with Federal Government’s community policing agenda.
He said that the idea of community policing was to involve all stakeholders in the onerous task of crime reduction in Nigeria.
He said that the police would sensitise members of the public to join the fight against crime and criminality at the community level.
The I-G said: “I want all Nigerians to key into this programme for the overall reduction of crime in all our communities in the country.
“We want to engage and work together with local citizens to easily identify security threats and proffer local solutions to them”.
Earlier, the General Officer Commanding 82 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Abubakar Maikobi, who spoke on behalf of service chiefs in the state, assured the I-G of the continuous support of the security agencies.
Maikobi, represented by the 82 Division Garrison Commander, Brig.-Gen. Sylvester Oloyede, said that the existing synergy among the security agencies in Enugu state and other parts of the country had continued to yield positive results.
“The I-G should be assured that he will get our unwavering support towards this campaign to ensure that it succeeds,’’ he said.
In a message, Team Leader, Nigeria Policing Programme (NPP), Mrs Kemi Okenyodo, said that the launch of POCACOV was an illustration of the commitment of the police to fully adopt community policing as a strategy in the country.
Okenyodo described the joint identification of societal problems and cross-sectorial consultation to achieve local solutions to local problems as the key message from the event to all Nigerians.
The Chairman of the occasion and Chairman of Enugu State Traditional Rulers’ Council, Igwe Lawrance Agubuzu, thanked the I-G for involving everyone and taking the fight against cultism and crime to the community level.
According to Agubuzu, POCACOV is a bottom-up approach meant to tackle the root cause of most crimes.
“We also have to look inwards and ensure that those that supply or sell hard drugs to children in the communities are apprehended,’’ he said.
In an address of welcome, Enugu State Governor, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi lauded the I-G for choosing Enugu for the launch of the campaign meant to reform the life-style of the nation’s future leaders.
Ugwuanyi, represented by the state Head of Service, Mr Chidi Ezema, extolled the qualities of the I-G, citing his achievements in crime prevention as commissioner of police in the state.
He said, “It was during your time as commissioner of police here that POCACOV was initiated by you and it made the state to be ranked as the most peaceful in the country.
“The state government will continue to support the activities of the police to ensure that the state remains safe and secure while protecting the future of our children.”
The governor commended the efforts of the police and other security agencies for stemming insecurity in the state.
He specifically thanked the security agencies for the rescue of a permanent secretary in the state from the hands of his abductors unhurt.
Highlights of the event were the inauguration of the POCACOV ambassadors, comprising celebrities from the state, and POCACOV NYSC Community Development Service group.
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.
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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.