FULL LIST:PenCom, NSITF, ICRC… Tinubu makes spree of appointments in one day

    President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of new leaders for 10 federal agencies and a national project. On Saturday, Ajuri Ngelale, presidential spokesperson, announced the appointments in a series of press statements. Some of the appointments are subject to senate confirmation. ADEYANJU TO HEAD NLTF Tinubu appointed Tosin Adeyanju as the new executive secretary of the National Lottery Trust Fund (NLTF). “Adeyanju is an accomplished administrator and good governance advocate,” the statement reads. “The President expects the new Chief Executive Officer to ensure transparency and efficiency in the operations of the agency to actualise the objective of the NLTF as a driver of good causes in Nigeria.” OLOWORARAN APPOINTED TO HEAD PenCom The president appointed Omolola Oloworaran as the new director-general (DG) of the National Pension Commission (PenCom). Ngelale said Oloworaran’s appointment is subject to senate confirmation. “Ms Oloworaran is a finance and banking expert with many years of experience,” the statement said. “The President anticipates goal-oriented leadership to drive efficiency and superlative performance in the National Pension Commission as the prime regulator of the Nigerian pension industry.” AGARA APPOINTED NDE DG Ngelale said Tinubu also approved the appointment of Silas Agara as the new DG of the National Directorate of Employment (NDE). Agara previously served as the deputy governor of Nasarawa state under Umaru Tanko Al-Makura and was also a former special adviser on sports. The presidential spokesperson said Tinubu anticipates an overhaul of the NDE under Agara for optimal performance in designing and implementing programmes to combat mass unemployment in the country. UMAR MOHAMMED IS NEW NIHSA DG Tinubu approved the appointment of Umar Mohammed as the DG of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA). “Mr. Mohammed is an architect, and also, a construction technology and environment professional,” the statement said. “The President expects improved outcomes in the agency’s objective of operating and maintaining hydrological stations nationwide, as well as carrying out groundwater exploration and monitoring using various scientific techniques in order to provide hydrological and hydrogeological data needed for the planning, design, execution, and management of water resources and allied projects.” DAN AGUNDI TO LEAD NPC Also, the president approved the appointment of Baffa Dan Agundi as the new DG of the National Productivity Centre (NPC). Dan Agundi was a former majority leader of the Kano state house of assembly. He was also the principal registrar of the Kano high court of justice. Ngelale said the president anticipates the DG’s utmost dedication and patriotic zeal in driving the centre’s mandate of developing a national culture of excellence in operational efficiency. According to Ngelale, Tinubu also expects a performance-driven orientation toward measurable productivity in the citizenry for the overall enhancement of service delivery and quality of life across the nation. UMAR KOGO TO OVERSEE CCT Mainasara Umar Kogo was appointed as chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). “Kogo is a seasoned lawyer and analyst in the fields of law, security, economy, politics, and international diplomacy,” the statement said. “The President anticipates professionalism, integrity, and fidelity to the nation in the discharge of the functions of the Office of the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).” EWALEFOH TO HEAD ICRC Ngelale also said Jobson Ewalefoh has been appointed as the new DG of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). “Ewalefoh is a professional with years of experience in government and development organizations, in addition to expertise in public-private partnerships, public policy reform, and development,” Ngelale said. The presidential spokesperson said the appointment is subject to

N52bn SPW Disbursement: Lawyer threatens NDE with court action

An Abuja-based legal practitioner and social crusader, Abdulazeez Tijani has invoked the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act against the National Directorate of Employment (NDE), demanding details of the disbursement of N52bn to some youths under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s Special Public Work (SPW) policy. The disbursement of the N52bn approved and released to NDE by the former President was said to have been supervised by the office of the immediate past Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Mr. Festus Keyamo. Keyamo who was taken up on the issue by some Senators during his screening as a Ministerial nominee had claimed on the floor of the Senate that all registers and records of the beneficiaries are domiciled with the NDE. Keyamo had told the lawmakers that the account details and Bank Verification Numbers (BVN) of the 774,000 youths who benefited under the SPW policy of former President Buhari can be accessed under the NDE. Armed with Keyamo’s revelation, the lawyer cum social crusader, in a letter to the Director General of the NDE applied for Certified True Copies of the list of the 774,000 beneficiaries, their account details and evidence of disbursement to the accounts. He cited section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information Act 2011, the enabling law to back up his demand for the N52 billion naira payment facts. In the letter dated August 10, 2023, and received the same day in the NDE Headquarters in Abuja, the lawyer claimed that as a law-abiding citizen of Nigeria, he became curious to know the true state of affairs in relation to the Special Public Works involving 774,000 youths and disbursement of N52bn to them as claimed in the Senate by the former Minister. In compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, the legal practitioner said he will undertake to be responsible for the cost of production of the demanded documents. In the letter obtained by our correspondent, the lawyer warned the NDE Director General to take the 30-day ultimatum as a pre-action notice and act within the period to meet up with his demands in line with the provision of the enabling law. The legal practitioner warned that unless his demands are met, he would have no option than to approach the Federal High Court for an order of Mandamus that would compel approval of his demands. It will be recalled that the sum of N52 billion was allocated for the SPW programme which was coordinated by the NDE under the supervision of the then Minister of State for Labour and Employment. The programme was targeted at employing 1,000 unskilled youths in each of the 774 local government areas for three months across the country. The beneficiaries were expected to engage in public service works and receive a monthly stipend of N20,000 each for three months.

FG adopts new automotive industry development plan 

The Federal Government has approved for implementation, the first-ever Nigeria investment policy (NInP), while adopting a new National Automotive Industry Development Plan (NADIP) that will span through 2023 to 2033. The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Otunba Adeniyi Adebayo, said this in a statement by Mrs Oluwakemi Ogunmakinwa, Deputy Director of Information at the ministry. Adebayo said both the national investment policy and the automotive industry development plan were given the necessary approval at the Federal Executive Council on Wednesday. He explained that trade and industry moguls over time agreed that there was a need to have an investment policy which would give confidence to investors in the country. Adebayo said: “What has been operational over the years is just investment-related regulations of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) acting as a guide. “This harmonised policy will develop rapidly through industrialisation, and then snowball into a sustainable investment climate to attract the kind of investment we desire. “The primary focus of the investment policy is on investment promotion, facilitation and sustainable development and it would promote responsible investor conduct for sustainable development. “By influencing investor behaviour in compliance with globally acceptable standards relating to the environment, human rights, health, labour, safety, corporate social responsibility (CSR) and anti- corruption.” According to Adebayo, the 2023-2033 automotive development plan, will help the country migrate seamlessly from combustible engines into electric solar-powered engines.  “This is an improvement on the 2013 automotive industry development plan, which was in place before,” said the Minister. “The National Automotive Design and Development Council (NADDC) developed the new plan to aggressively build on the successes that have been achieved so far in the Nigerian Automotive industry. “The new NAIDP will strategically provide outstandingly competitive fiscal and non-fiscal incentives needed by automotive industry manufacturers/producers, investors, developers and all relevant stakeholders” He said the newly approved NAIDP was aimed at enabling the exponential increase in the local production numbers of vehicles, reaching 40 per cent of local content. The minister said it would help attain 30 per cent locally produced Electric Vehicles, generate 1 million jobs, and enforce patronage of locally produced vehicles by the government and companies working on government contracts. He said it would also boost research and development and technology transfer. According to Adebayo, the country will soon start running a National Trade Policy that will guide trade in Nigeria from 2023-2027. He said this was basically a review of the old Trade Policy that was in place. He said the aim was to have a policy that would improve Nigeria’s trade within the World Trade Organisation and increase Nigeria’s capacity to GDP to bring in more revenue for the country.