Rivers APC Chairman Refutes Claims of Wike’s Health Issues
Tony Okocha, the Chairman of the Rivers State All Progressives Congress (APC) Caretaker Committee, has dismissed rumors suggesting that Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, is unwell. Okocha, who is a close ally of Wike, addressed the speculations in an exclusive interview, following a media briefing on recent developments within the state’s APC and the court’s ruling blocking federal allocation access to Rivers. These rumours surfaced after Wike appeared on national television, looking frail while responding to an allegation from Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Social media users expressed concern over Wike’s appearance, questioning whether his weight loss indicated a hidden illness. Some even suggested he should step back from his political duties to focus on his health. Okocha quickly dismissed these claims, stating that Wike’s health is not an issue. He emphasized that such rumors were baseless, as the minister continues to fulfill his duties with vigor. Okocha noted that it is normal for individuals, especially those in demanding positions like Wike’s, to face criticism regarding their physical appearance, but he assured that Wike is neither sick nor struggling with any health issues.
President Tinubu reshuffles cabinet, nominates Bianca Ojukwu, 6 others, Minister
In a massive revamp of the Federal cabinet, President Bola Tinubu sacks five ministers, nominates 7, merges two ministries and scraps one. The reforms were encapsulated in what the presidency refers to as “eight far-reaching actions to reinvigorate the Administration’s capacity for optimal efficiency.” The action also entailed the reassignment of 10 ministerial portfolios, merger of two ministries and the scrapping of the Ministry of Sports. In a release titled, “Statement on the Restructuring of Ministries and Ministerial portfolios,” sighted by the Nigerian Anchor, the five ministers to be discharged are: Professor Tahir Mamman (Education), Dr. Jamila Bio Ibrahim (Youth Development), and Barr. Uju-Ken Ohannenye (Women Affairs). The other Ministers to be discharged are Lola Ade-John (Tourism Development) and Abdullahi Muhammad Gwarzo, Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development. The Ministerial nominees Bianca Odinaka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, Minister of State, Foreign Affairs; Nentawe Yilwatda for appointment as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction. Other nominees and their portfolios are: Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, Minister of Labour and Employment; Dr. Jumoke Oduwole, Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment; Idi Mukhrar Maiha, Ministry of Livestock Development; Rt Hon. Yusuf Abdulahi Ata, Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development; Suwaiba Said Ahmed (PhD), Minister of State, Education. Ministers re-assigned new portfolios are Dr. Morufu Olatunji Alausa, formerly Minister of State for health, now assigned the Ministry of Education and Dr. Doris Uzoka Anite, formerly Minister of Trade and Investment, now Minister of State, Finance. Others are Sen John Owan Enoh who is now reassigned to Minister of State, Trade and Investment, following the scrapping of the Ministry of Sports where analysts say he underperformed. Also re-assigned are: Hon Dr. Tanko Yusuf Sununu; Minister of state, Education, now Minister of State, Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction; Barr. Bello Muhammad Goronyo, Minister of State, Water Resources, now Minister of State, Works; Hon Abubakar Eshiokpekha Momoh, Minister of Niger Delta Development, now Minister of Regional development. Now re-assigned as Minister of Women Affairs is Hajiya Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim, formerly Minister of State, Police Affairs, while Maigari Ahmadu, formerly Minister of State, Steel Development is now re-assigned to Minister of State, Regional Development. Also appointed… In his ever-burgeoning cabinet, President Tinubu also brought on board his long time ally and former Minister of Sports, Sunday Akin Dare as Special Presidential Adviser on Public Communication and Orientation. Chief Dare, it was stated, shall operate from the Ministry of Information and National Orientation. Also appointed is Mr. Shehu Dikko, who shall function as the Chairman of the resurrected National Sports Commission.
Tinubu scraps two ministries, merges others
President Bola Tinubu has scrapped the Niger Delta Ministry and the Ministry of Sports Development. Special Adviser to the president on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a post on his official X handle on Wednesday. He said the decisions were taken at the meeting of the FEC in Abuja. According to him, “there will now be a Ministry of Regional Development to oversee all the regional development commissions, such as the Niger Delta Development Commission, North West Development Commission, South West Development Commission, North East Development Commission”. He also stated that the National Sports Commission will take over the role of the Ministry of Sports henceforth. During the FEC meeting, the president also approved the merger of the Ministry of Tourism with the Ministry of Culture and Creative Economy. Observers of governmental affairs opine that the creation of the new Ministry of Regional Development was anticipated following the recent creation of regional development commissions with some still to be announced. Already, legislative works are at advanced stages preparatory to the creation of North Central Development Commission and South East Development Commission to round off one development commission each for the six geopolitical zones of the country.
Minimum Wage Dilemma: States May Go Bankrupt, FEC Delays Decision
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently postponed a decision on the new minimum wage report from the tripartite committee, opting for further consultations amid concerns that many states could go bankrupt if the proposed wage increases are implemented. The FEC’s hesitance comes as President Bola Tinubu prepares to present the minimum wage bill to the National Assembly, an announcement that has stoked tensions across various states. Last week’s discussions at both the National Economic Council, chaired by Vice President, Kashim Shettima, and the Southern Governors’ Forum failed to yield a consensus on the wage structure, with the governors suggesting that wage negotiations should be state-specific. The labour unions have criticized the Nigeria Governors’ Forum for their significant sway in the wage negotiations, arguing that the proposed wages could push states towards financial insolvency. A report from the Nigeria Governors’ Forum Secretariat highlighted that increased recurrent expenditures have already strained budgets, leaving states like Abia, Ekiti, and Kogi in deficits as of 2022. The proposed ₦62,000 minimum wage, more than double the current ₦30,000, could destabilize state finances further, potentially leading only ten states, including Lagos and Rivers, to remain financially stable. According to the documents, sighted by Punch, Abia, with an employment size of about 58,631 workers, pays ₦5,837,899,980.40 as wage monthly. Anambra has a 20,541 employment size and pays ₦1,824,851,308.96 monthly as wages, apart from ₦894,480,399.62 as pension obligation and ₦579,694,680.33 for debt servicing. Bayelsa boasts of 48,213 workforce, paying ₦5,802,435,178.58 monthly, with ₦1,194,528,784.40 as pension obligation and ₦3,535,787,992.48 as debt servicing, totalling ₦10,532,751,955.46 as total recurrent expenditure monthly. Benue has about 13,366 workers in its workforce and pays ₦2,040,184,471.85 as monthly wage, ₦76,838,634.62 for pension, and ₦64,685,126,826.08 for debt servicing, totalling ₦66,802,149,932.56 monthly. Delta has about 50,871 workers, offering ₦8,973,081,853.50 as wages ₦1,499,886,303.39 as pension, and ₦72,417,433,139.00 as debt servicing, accumulating to ₦82,890,401,295.89 in a month. Jigawa has about 44,831 workers in its employ and pays ₦2,795,662,113.02 as wages, and ₦345,987,843.12 as a pension, totalling ₦3,141,649,956.14 monthly on recurrent expenditure. Katsina, Kwara and Niger have 19,062, 36,048 and 22,225 workers, with accumulated ₦139,294,944,565.27, ₦4,457,268,675.54 and ₦2,653,614,213.35 monthly recurrent expenditure respectively. According to the document, Abia has a total recurrent expenditure of ₦111,983,979,958.62, against a total revenue of ₦147,637,730,867.73. For Adamawa, the recurrent expenditure stands at ₦70,369,399,885.57, against a total revenue of ₦109,722,949,684.65, while Akwa Ibom boasts of a high revenue of ₦444,288,683,000, with recurrent expenditure of ₦235,144,539,000. Of the states, Lagos has the highest total revenue, amassing ₦1,243,778,878,170 in 2022, with a recurrent expenditure of ₦621,043,036,000, followed by Delta, with ₦702,020,717,460.08 and a recurrent expenditure of ₦377,905,100,451.83. Rivers amassed ₦525,588,159,714.88 in 2022, with recurrent expenditure of ₦186,974,715,774.87; Kaduna had a total revenue of ₦222,349,875,000 and expenditure of ₦95,987,999,472.10; Ogun, ₦297,249,009,626.83, recurrent expenditure of ₦178,519,010,628.42 and Oyo, with total revenue of ₦247,156,776,739.70 and recurrent expenditure of ₦152,077,804,384.65. Kebbi State had the lowest total revenue in 2022, raking in ₦92,132,444,588.16 and spent ₦57,601,464,374.96 on recurrent expenditure, followed by Taraba, with a total revenue of ₦101,177,283,069.87 and recurrent expenditure of ₦75,055,201,412.62. Aside from FAAC allocation, some states recorded poor IGR in the 2022 data compiled by the NGF S
FEC Steps Down Minimum Wage Memo For Consultation
The federal Executive Council (FEC) has stepped down the memo on the new minimum wage. Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, told State House Correspondents that 39 items were on the agenda and all were taken. On the Minimum wage, he said there was a report by the Tripartite committee which comprises of local government, States , NLC/ TUC and the federal government. He said the Tripartite Committee submitted its report and there was a memo to that effect. He, however, said Council could not take a decision on it because it involves Local Government, states, FG, Organized Private Sector and Labour unions. He therefore said the memo on the new minimum wage was stepped down so that President Bola Tinubu could consult widely before a final submission is made to the National Assembly.
Tinubu presides over FEC meeting, swears in NPC Commissioners
President Bola Tinubu has sworn in two more commissioners of the National Population Commission. Mr. Fasuwa Johnson and Dr. Amid Tadese Raheem from Ogun and Osun States respectively took the oath of office at 12:15 pm at the Council Chamber of the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, after their abridged citations were read. Monday’s ceremony comes three months after Tinubu, on February 13, asked the senate to confirm Raheem as a commissioner of the NPC. The Senate also confirmed Johnson on March 6. On November 8, 2023, Tinubu had appointed 20 federal commissioners in the NPC with nine of them reappointed for a second term in office. He swore 17 of them into office on March 14. Johnson was born in 1973 in Ododeyo, in the Ijebu North East area of Ogun State, where he had his primary and secondary education. He holds a Master of Science in Geography in 2004 and a Master in Business Administration in 2009 from the University of Ibadan and Ladoke Akintola University, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, respectively. He was elected as a member of the Ogun State House of Assembly in 2019 representing Ijebu North East till June 2023 during which he was the Chairman of the House Committee on Works and Infrastructure among other positions. Raheem was born on December 12, 1964, in Iwo, Osun State. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and Master’s and Doctorate degrees in Public Administration from the same university. He had served as Commissioner for Water Resources & Energy in Osun State and was elected member of the Osun State House of Assembly, becoming its first Chief Whip in 1992. Until his nomination, Raheem was the Head of the Department of Public Administration at Fountain University, Osogbo, Osun State.
Surmounting the Tunji-Ojo Hurdle
As President Tinubu promises not to spare anyone found culpable by the probe of the fraud at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty alleviation, shall we now call this frenzy a hurricane? Because that’s what it is beginning to look like. For many, the jury may still be out on the streets. But it will seem like President Tinubu don vex. That’s why one can, for the want of a better moniker describe the current disruption in the executive branch as the reveling of a Hurricane Tinubu on the Three Arms Zone which, to all intents and purpose, it is safe to say, Nigerians are savouring the storm. But many fear that President Tinubu may not have the liver to go the full hog in the battle to clear the swamp. As we say, Nigeria is so lucky. It does not suffer natural disasters, except that the effect of bad behaviour of our public officials’ wrecks havocs greater than the worst tsunami. What should have been a land flowing with milk and honey, Nigeria has been despoiled by the successive reign of kleptocratic and ruinous rulers who simply steal public funds just for the fun of it. The theft of public funds by politicians, civil servants and their associates exerts the greatest pressure on the public purse in Nigeria. It has been estimated that from independence in 1960 till date, over US$582bin had been stolen from the public treasury in Nigeria by those into whose care it was entrusted. Stealing by public officials in Nigeria has become so bad that it is the major feature that describes successive regimes since the dawn of the Furth Republic in 1999, such that every succeeding administration, from the President Olusegun Obasanjo government, through late President Yar’adua, till date, had been more corrupt than its predecessor, not only in terms of their ranking in the Global Corruption Perception Index but the actual heist. The greatest shocker was the eight years of unmitigated disaster that was the Buhari reign of banditry, theft, cluelessness, and ignominy. So, when the lid blew open on what has now been termed as BETTAGATE at the cesspool called the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, not a few Nigerians heaved a sigh of relief, hoping the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu had found an opportunity to get Nigerians to ‘vibe to its rhythm’, unbeknownst that the Tunji-Ojo hurdle would prove to be a litmus test too complex to decipher. Certainly, it proves how broad it is that ethnic bias is a Faultline in the fight against corruption. But President Tinubu must know better than to drop the ball at this point, just to save the career of a wily dealer whose ugly backside was revealed too early before attaining a crescendo when he would make the kill. Mr. President must know that he is the boss at whose desk the buck stops. It is his presidency for crying out loud! If he allows this buildup to stall, it may be sunset at dawn for his presidency. Bettagate presents a great opportunity for him to recalibrate and relaunch his regime’s chequered agenda. Before the big seizure at Hajiya Halima’s drawers that provided the tip-off leading to this cache, Nigerians gazed in vain into the midnight sky, on a daily basis, hoping they could locate a sign that gives confidence to hope in President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda. The same Minister Betta Edu was one of the early signs that a gadfly of a lady constituted a major distraction to the realization of this agenda. Like her predecessor, Hajiya Sadiya Umar Faruk, she baffled Nigerians on a daily basis with unbelievable tales about how she was empowering Nigerians with magical cash transfers, even as many discerning individuals struggled to trace her footprints on the nation’s poverty landscape. As they say, it is many days for the thief, and one day for the owner of the house. Even the least endowed could tell that the economic empowerment strategy being deployed by the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry was nowhere near tackling the poverty challenge. Many expect that President Tinubu would be swift in clearing this Augean stable currently littered with the Bettagate scandal. But it would seem that the President has buckled, unable to surmount the Tunji-Ojo huddle. Many had foretold this difficult juncture with exactitude, basing their confidence on the suspicion that Tunji-Ojo represents the interests of some deadly masquerades at the seat of power. Recall that this was the same Tunji-Ojo of the infamous “Honorable Minister, off your mic” as he prevailed on then Minister of the Niger Delta, Senator Godswill Akpabio from spilling the beans about how he and other members of the National Assembly benefitted from contracts awarded by the commission. It is déjà vu all over, as it would seem like we are back at the President Muhammadu Buhari era when, as Senator Shehu Sani poetically put it, members of the kitchen cabinet caught stealing were deodorised with fragrance while others, who were not members of the cabal, were sprayed with insecticides if caught. This is why one can not, therefore, help but to be reminded of the pledge by then candidate Tinubu when he promised that his would be an administration that would continue from where Buhari stopped. In what seems like a resort to the usual distraction and subterfuge, the president has announced the suspension of the NSIP programme. Many think this is just to divert attention from the call for suspension of Minister Tunji-Ojo, pending the conclusion of ongoing investigation by anti-graft agencies to determine the extent of his involvement. To date, the white paper issued based on the probe of the NNDC contract scam is yet to see the light of day. Meanwhile, the same man pleading with the honorable minister to off his mic is now a minister of the Federal Republic. Is there any wonder, therefore, that he is enmeshed in another contract scam? This may be why many think
Tinubu Swears In 3 New Cabinet Members
President Bola Tinubu administered the oath of office to three new ministers during the second Federal Executive Council meeting held at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Monday. The newly appointed cabinet members are as follows: Malam Balarabe Lawal from Kaduna State as the Minister of Environment, Jamila Bio-Ibrahim from Kwara as the Minister of Youths, and Ayodele Olawande from Ondo as the Minister of State for Youths. These appointments follow the creation of the Ministry of Youths, with Tinubu nominating these individuals to lead it and serve as a replacement for former Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai. Recall that El-Rufai’s nomination was previously rejected during the Senate ministerial screening due to a petition against him. Tinubu, who chaired the FEC meeting, oversaw the swearing-in ceremony and also posed for photographs with the new cabinet members. The council also observed a minute of silence in honor of Late Mobolaji Ajose-Adeogun, a former member of the cabinet who served as the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. This second FEC meeting further solidified the administration’s commitment to delivering on its “Renewed Hope Agenda” and addressing the eight-point economic agenda unveiled by President Tinubu during the inaugural meeting held in August. The Federal Executive Council serves as a constitutional institution where government policies are discussed and endorsed by ministers, with the President serving as the Chairman and the Vice President as the Vice Chairman.
Economy, Social Issues Top Agenda As Tinubu Presides Over 2nd FEC Meeting
The Federal Executive Council meeting is scheduled for today, Monday. Ajuri Ngelale, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, announced this to State House Correspondents. President Bola Tinubu will chair the meeting, with the attendance of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief of Staff to the President, and various Ministers. Other high-ranking government officials, such as the Head of Service of the Federation and Special Advisers, will also be present. Ngelale highlighted that this second edition of the meeting during this administration will address matters related to the president’s approvals concerning economic and social issues. The inaugural meeting took place in August, where new ministers received their initial briefings on their roles and responsibilities in the Renewed Hope Agenda. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) is a constitutional institution where government policies are deliberated and endorsed by Ministers. The President serves as the Chairman, while the Vice President serves as the Vice Chairman.