News
CAN, C&S Urge FG To Address Issues Raised By Youths During Protest
The Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim (ESOCS) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) have urged the Federal Government to address issues raised by youths during #EndBadGovernance# protest.
They also highlighted the need to confront modern wickedness with truth, advising leaders to return to bold and unyielding truth in addressing societal challenges.
They made the call at a news conference last Saturday in Lagos to unveil the Cherubim and Seraphim Church Centenary Plans, Logo, Theme and Song, for centenary celebration of the church.
The Tide’s source reports that the Cherubim and Seraphim Church was established by Almighty God through His elect, Saint Moses Orimolade Tunolase on September 9, 1925.
Baba Aladura David Bob-Manuel (Orimolade IX), Prelate of Eternal Sacred Order of the Cherubim and Seraphim (ESOCS), said Nigeria is a nation rich in diversity and resilience, but presently facing socio-economic crisis.
“Millions of families are living under abject poverty, the burgeoning youth are grappling with unemployment and are labelled as being lazy.
“There is incredibly high cost of living, Naira has depreciated grossly thereby eroding the purchasing power and fuelling economic hardship and anxiety.
“Indeed, millions of Nigerians are hungry and angry, hopes have dwindled and anger is ignited,” he said.
He urged the Federal Government to address issues raised by youths during #EndBadGovernance# protest.
“Notably, protests, when conducted within the ambit of the law, are the lifeblood of a healthy democracy.
“It is the expression of the people’s discontent against systemic corruption within various levels of Government which has eroded public trust, worsen economic hardship and socio-political differences.
“Due to the communication gap and differences between the government and the governed, there was massive protest in various parts of the country some few weeks ago.
“The economy of the country was grounded to a halt,” he said.
The ESOCS Supreme Head said: “May I humbly call on various levels of government to facilitate critical and realistic dialogue before the situation degenerates or snowballs into total breakdown of law and order, reign of anarchy, chaos and blood shedding”.
Bob-Manuel said that it was government’s undeniable responsibility to provide subsidised farming materials, promote industrialisation and create self-sustaining agro-business in the six-geopolitical zones.
He urged the government to curtail the rate of its importation and be refining all the nation’s products, be it crude oil, cocoa etc. and be exporting finished goods.
Bob-Manuel said that this would promote job opportunities to the teeming youths, enhance the value of the currency and promote general developmental projects in the country.
“It is instructive to note that Nigeria is a great country blessed with natural and intellectual resources.
“Nigerians are creative, intelligent and hardworking people.
“We have great Nigerians in all fields of human endeavours doing great things.
“There is no part of the world you will not find Nigerians trailing the blaze,” he said.
According to him, since Nigeria is indeed a great country, let us affirm that greatness not only in words, but in action.
Bob-Manuel appealed to all Nigerians to jointly harness these natural and intellectual resources to make Nigeria very great.
Also, the President of CAN, Archbishop Daniel Okoh, in an interview with newsmen, called on leaders to be courageous to speak truth to power, ensuring governance was just and beneficial for the majority, including the poor.
In his message, he underscored the necessity of using the word of God to combat deceit, oppression, and troubles, and to guide governance toward the greater good.
Accordingly, he urged leaders to return to the bold truth and address current challenges with the word of God, combating deceit and oppression.
“ Like what I said when I was giving my speech, we have a lot of challenges today, but what we must take away from this particular celebration is the founding vision of the founder of this ministry.
“ The founding vision was to come out with the power of the gospel to reduce the level of wickedness in the society.
“We are seeing wickedness manifesting in various ways in modern times, and the church will go back to the same tool that we have, which is the truth.
“There is nothing like bold truth or new truth. Truth is truth, and leaders must go back to pick the truth and address whatever challenge we have now and confront it with the Lord of Creation.
“We must confront all the lies, all the oppression, all the troubles that we have for the word of truth and the word of God.
“ And so we have to go back again to look at how the people of God were able to speak out in truth against all forms of people and to speak truth to power and to make sure that governance is done the right way”
“In our own time, we must rise with courage and speak truth to power and give guidance to the people in governance.
“This is so that we can actually have a very happy country where you have everyone being committed to doing what is right for the generality of the people and for the interests of the poor masses,” he said.
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.