News
1,000 Detained Pilgrims: Nigeria Tackles Saudi …As 24 Hour Ultimatum Expires
President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the constitution of
a presidential delegation to interface with the Saudi authorities over the
detention of Nigerian female pilgrims at King Abdul-Azziz International
Airport, Jeddah
The approval is contained in a statement signed by Secretary
to the Government of the Federation, Senator
Anyim Pius Anyim,.
The statement listed members of the delegation to include
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, who would lead the
team, Minister of State 11, Foreign Affairs, Dr Nurudeen Mohammed.
Other members are Ambassador Shehu Galadanchi, Sheikh Sherif
Saleh and Muhammad Bello, Chairman of the National Hajj Commission.
The delegation will depart for Saudi Arabia as soon as
appointment is finalised with the appropriate authority.
It would be recalled that the House of Representatives, on
Wednesday, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to intervene in the plight of
stranded 1,000 Nigerian female pilgrims now in detention in Jeddah, Saudi
Arabia.
The Chairman, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Rep.
Nnenna Elendu-Ukeje (PDP-Abia) made the call at a meeting with officials of the
Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Hajj Commission of Nigeria
(NAHCON).
She said that a mechanism should be put in place to ensure
that those in detention were either allowed to move into Saudi Arabia to
perform the pilgrimage or brought back to stop their being subjected to further
hardship.
“Our preferred option will be to get them into the holy land
to perform the pilgrimage but if this does not work we have to bring our people
back.
“We are very concerned, we thought we have settled with
issues of deportation.
“This is the first time this is happening in this magnitude.
So, for us it is a very grave issue bearing in mind that over 95,000 Nigerians
are expected to be in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage.
In his submission, Mr Martin Uhumoibhi, the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Nigerian Consulate in
Jeddah was acting accordingly to ameliorate the condition of the detained
pilgrims.
He said the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs II, Dr
Nurudeen Mohammed, also met with the Saudi officials and got assurance that all
would be well.
The Chairman, NAHCON, Malam Mohammad Bello, said the commission thought the issue was
something that could be resolved within 24 hours.
It seems there is a disconnect between Nigeria and Saudi
officials. It is beyond the Hajj commission.
He said that the commission had airlifted 24,886 pilgrims to
Saudi Arabia before the problems started, and wondered why the Saudi government
has not replied to any of the letters the commission wrote to them.
The Federal Government had Wednesday in Abuja given the
Saudi Arabia government 24 hours to expedite action in resolving the issues
surrounding the detention of some Nigerian female pilgrims.
Vice President Namadi Sambo gave the ultimatum which expired
yesterday, when he summoned the Saudi Arabian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Khaled
Abdrabuh, to his office.
Our correspondent reports that the Nigerian female pilgrims in Saudi Arabia
adjudged by the authority to be without male companion (Muharram) have been
detained in Jeddah and Madinah.
Sambo had expressed the country’s displeasure over the
treatment being meted out to Nigerian pilgrims performing this year’s
pilgrimage in the holy land.
He said reports available to him suggested that only
Nigerian pilgrims were being subjected to such dehumanising treatment.
Sambo, therefore, requested the Saudi Arabian authorities to
apply caution and flexibility to allow the pilgrims undertake their sacred
religious duties.
“Should the Saudi authorities not desire our pilgrims to
perform this year’s Hajj, they should let the country know.”
He said that no reasonable and responsible government would
sit and fold its arms while its citizens are manhandled.
The vice president, therefore, requested the Ambassador to
do all within his powers to ensure that the issues were resolved within 24
hours, and the outcome communicated to him.
In a mixed reactions from across the states trail the plight
of the Nigerian female Muslim pilgrims who were denied entry into Saudi Arabia
by its authorities because they were not accompanied by their male guardians.
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON) in Abuja confirmed
the repatriation of some female pilgrims to the country while flights were
suspended for 48 hours to resolve the matter with Saudi Authorities.
At least, 102 female intending pilgrims from Sokoto State
were brought back to the country in the early hours of Thursday from Saudi
Arabia.
Our correspondent
reports that the pilgrims were transported back to Sokoto aboard a Max
Air aircraft.
The Manager of the Sultan Abubakar III International
Airport, Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Lawal, told newsmen yesterday in Sokoto that
the deported pilgrims had since travelled to their respective local government
areas.
He said that the affected pilgrims were hale and hearty.
All efforts to get the Chairman of the State Pilgrims’
Welfare Agency, Alhaji Muntari Maigona or its Public Relations Officer, Faruk
Umar, proved abortive.
In Jalingo, Taraba State capital, no fewer than 62 female
pilgrims were brought back to Nigeria.
The Chairman of the Taraba Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board,
Alhaji Hamman-Adama Tukur, explained that the women were transported from the
King Abdulazeez International Airport, Jeddah, to Aminu Kano International
Airport, Kano.
He said that the women were actually accompanied but that
the checking system at the Jeddah Airport was such that men were checked,
cleared and asked to proceed.
“When it was the turn of the women to be checked and
cleared, the Security claimed they were not accompanied by their guardians
(Mahram) and were unwilling to listen to any explanation and went ahead to
detained them.”
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.