Fashola bars civil servants from embarking on leaves

By Olawale Abdul-Fatah

Barely 48 hours after resuming as Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has barred staff of the ministry from embarking on any annual leaves.

Fashola stressed that approving leaves for staff would cripple the government plans for housing and works across the country.

The Minister, who gave the directives while addressing the senior management staff of the Ministry at the Conference Room in Mabushi, warned that that there was still work to be done to consolidate on the achievements recorded so far.

Fashola urged all the agencies and departments of the Ministry to work closely with the Permanent Secretary to achieve the feat adding that the budget remained the article of faith between the government and the governed.

He declared: “One of the first things we have to do is to quickly work out the budget for the Ministry of Works and Housing and we have to do that in the next two weeks”, adding that because the budget was the article of faith in governance, all agencies and departments of the Ministry must work together to produce a budget worthy of note by the Ministry.

Pointing out that the leadership of the National Assembly has expressed commitment to conduct all the budget defenses in the month of October, Fashola said in order to ensure that this was achieved and all documents were made ready for the defense, all leaves, travels and other less compelling engagements must be put aside for now.

He stressed the need for the nation’s professionals to be more committed and dedicated to the service of the country pointing out that the fortunes of every nation was determined by how their professionals engage in national service. He said the central purpose of public service was to create prosperity and deliver better life to the people.

Buhari apologises over errors in board members list

By Kehinde Olawale

President Muhammadu Buhari has acknowledged and apologised for the errors made in listing late Senator Francis Okpozu and two others among chairmen and members of boards of government agencies and parastatals.

Buhari said the errors identified with the list were not enough to describe the exercise as scandalous, insisting that “there is no scandal”.

The President’s spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Saturday, admitted the errors and said “no human undertaking can be free of mistakes”.

The President’s spokesman explained that the names of dead appointees in the list came about because the list had been compiled by the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir Lawal.

Garba Shehu said “the list has a history” which explained the controversy around it.

He said, “In 2015, Mr. President requested all state chapters of the party to submit names of 50 party members for board appointments,” Shehu said.

He said the names where compiled by the national secretariat of the APC and forwarded to the then secretary to the government of the federation, Babachir Lawal.

“However, complaint arose from some governors who felt they were not carried along in the process. To answer this, the president constituted a committee under the vice president to review and reflect the interest of the governors”.

Shehu said action was delayed on the report of the committee headed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as President Muhammadu Buhari took ill.

“The president’s trips for medical attention slowed down completion of the process.

“The current SGF was only directed to complete that process by releasing the list which he apparently did without altering it,” Mallam Shehu explained.

Three names of dead persons were contained in the list. Among them was Senator Francis Okpozo. He was appointed chairman of the Nigerian Press Council.

Okpozo, a Second Republic Senator from Delta state died in December 2016 at the age of 81. President Muhammadu Buhari sent a letter of condolence to the family and eulogised him for championing social justice in the Niger Delta, during his long history of service to the people.

Chief Donald Ugbaja, appointed a member of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC), died on the 29th of November, 2017.

Reverend Christopher Utov who was appointed member of the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research, died in March of 2017.

President Muhammadu Buhari had set up in October 2015 a Presidential Committee headed by the former SGF, Babachir Lawal to recommend people to be appointed to government boards and agencies. Members of the board were drawn from the six geo-political Zones of the Federation.

The members were Alhaji Mai Mala Buni (northeast), Alhaji Zakari Ede (northcentral), Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir (northwest), Chief Hillard Etagbo Eta (south-south), Chief Pius Akinyelure (southwest), Chief Emmanuel Eneukwe (southeast) and Mr. Gideon Sammani, a senior special assistant to the president as secretary

In November 2016, President Buhari removed Babachir from headship of the committee, following some allegations made against Babachir.

Vice President Osinbajo was asked to take over. The chairman of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agencies (NDLEA) Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah was also appointed to head the secretariat of the committee.

Part of Osinbajo’s mandate was to meet all the stakeholders, including the Senate President Bukola Saraki, House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara, Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) Chairman Abdulaziz Yari, APC Governors Forum Chairman Rochas Okorocha and representatives of the governors in each of the six geopolitical zones.