General
Ambode Promises Review Of Retired Perm Secs Pension
By Dipo Olowookere
Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, on Tuesday said his administration would initiate a process of an upward review of pension of retired Permanent Secretaries in the state, just as he expressed the readiness of the state government to commence massive training of civil servants starting from 2017.
Governor Ambode, who spoke at Lagos House in Alausa, Ikeja when he received the report of the 2016 Summit of Association of Lagos State Retired Heads of Service and Permanent Secretaries, said the decision to review the pension was borne out of the need to reward appropriately those who have served the State meritoriously for several years.
While alluding to the years of experience of the retired Permanent Secretaries, the Governor said his administration would tap into the wealth of experience of the members of the association and use it to help the civil service and also develop the State.
He said: “We will collaborate together more vigorously and tap into your wealth of knowledge. We want to start this with our massive plan starting from next year for capacity building for the largest civil service in Nigeria, the Lagos Civil service. We will also use it as part of our own development plan and imbibe this knowledge into the existing public service.”
Speaking on the review of pension of members of the association, Mr Ambode said the struggle for dignity of labour for civil servants had been on for a while, but that it was time for it to be actualized.
According to the Governor, “We are going to look at the pension of Permanent Secretaries positively because the whole essence is that if people retire at that level, and those coming behind us, there must be dignity in labour and then there must be some sense of fulfilment.
“That is why we must reward glowingly those who have served the State meritoriously. When we go out and see all the beautiful things in Lagos, we must realize that some people actually built those things and this is the time to celebrate and reward them,” he said.
He said over the past fifty years, Lagos had distinguished itself as the only State that has continually progressed in a manner that anybody would be proud of, adding that the progress was largely attributable to civil servants both retired and the present ones, who he described as the best in the country.
“What people don’t understand is that there is a culture of excellence in the civil service; there is a culture of resilience; there is a culture of capacity building which cannot be seen in the textbooks.
“There is also a culture of tenacity in which you have all that it takes to bring out your competences, your capacities and characters. That is what this association personifies and today, whatever it is that we have done in terms of public sector reforms is never enough because the whole essence of governance is to give back to the people the real quality service delivery that the civil service stands for,” he said.
Besides, Governor Ambode said it was a thing of pride that a member of the association is now the Governor of the State, which is a also a pride to the civil service, adding that all necessary support would be given to the association to further contribute to the development of the State.
Earlier, leader of the delegation and first Vice President of the association, Mr Mohammed Ajibola Olagbeyi commended Governor Ambode for his various developmental initiatives in the State, and support for the association.
While reeling out some of the recommendations in the report of the 2016 Summit of the association, Mr Olagbeyi said the group was satisfied with the utilization of the Security Trust Fund, while it was recommended that Bi-annual security summit should be held at the Local Government level.
He said the association recommended the Inspectorate Department at Ministry of Local Government to ensure proper monitoring of Local Government to achieve targets, as well as the re-establishment of the Teaching Service Commission.
The association further recommended the reintroduction of primary health care activities and establishment of blood banks in all hospitals; strengthening of intermodal transport system, and review and harmonization of all environmental laws.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Bola Tinubu on Saturday, January 11, 2025, left the shores of Nigeria for the United Arab Emirates to take part in the 2025 Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week (ADSW 2025).
He was accompanied by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Yusuf Tuggar, and other senior government officials.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga, disclosed that Mr Tinubu was invited for the event by his UAE counterpart, Mr Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
He will attend the programme starting from today, Sunday, January 12 to Saturday, January 18, 2025.
However, President Tinubu is expected to return to Nigeria before the end of the summit on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
The event, themed The Nexus of Next; Supercharging Sustainable Progress, is expected to bring together global leaders to accelerate sustainable development and advance socioeconomic progress.
In addition, it will enable policymakers, business, and civil society leaders to explore pathways to fast-track the transformation to a sustainable economy and evolve a new era of prosperity for all.
ADSW, a testament to the power of collaboration, has been held annually for over 15 years. It provides a global platform to foster multi-stakeholder cooperation in addressing global challenges and accelerating growth.
It has birthed high-value agreements and strategic partnerships between governments, industry leaders, and clean energy pioneers worldwide, driving impactful alliances and advancing the sustainability agenda worldwide.
At the event, President Tinubu will stress his administration’s reforms, including those related to energy sufficiency, transportation, public health, and economic development.
The Nigerian leader and his entourage will also meet with the emirate’s leadership to discuss issues of interest affecting the two nations.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, remains at the centre of a storm of corruption allegations that have plagued his tenure.
Critics, anti-corruption groups, and opposition leaders have accused him of financial mismanagement, extravagant spending, and abuse of office, yet no substantive action has been taken against him.
Recent reports by People’s Gazette revealed that the 40-member Lagos State House of Assembly, under Mr Obasa’s leadership, spent over N43 billion on “back-up vehicles for honourable members” between January 2023 and the third quarter of 2024.
This expenditure, part of a larger N90.5 billion disbursed for questionable projects, has raised concerns among Lagos residents about the state’s priorities amid widespread economic hardship.
Budget documents showed the Assembly spent about N30.1 billion on vehicles in 2023 and about N13.3 billion in the first three quarters of 2024. Critics argued that these sums, which equate to roughly N1.1 billion per lawmaker, were frivolous.
Mr Obasa has faced allegations of corruptions since early in his tenure, including reports of owning over 60 bank accounts used to misappropriate public funds. In 2019, People’s Gazette reported that the lawmaker conducted suspicious foreign exchange transactions totaling $2.4 million (N1.1 billion). These funds were allegedly funneled through personal accounts and mutual fund investments.
In October 2020, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) invited the Speaker for questioning over allegations of fraud. Despite evidence of financial impropriety, including allegations of inflated contracts and misappropriated Assembly funds, the EFCC has yet to take decisive action. Protests led by civil society groups like the Civil Society Network Against Corruption (CISNAC) demanding accountability have yielded little progress.
Mr Obasa has consistently denied these allegations. Speaking at a recent plenary, he dismissed claims of spending N17 billion on constructing a gate as “spurious and funny.”
He also refuted allegations of spending N200 million on a nonexistent thanksgiving service, attributing the accusations to political fear-mongering ahead of the 2027 elections.
However, critics have dismissed these defenses as self-serving. A 2020 House panel, composed of Mr Obasa’s allies, cleared him of wrongdoing—a decision labeled a “kangaroo judgment” by anti-corruption advocates.
Prominent anti-corruption campaigner, Mr Olanrewaju Suraju, has urged the EFCC to act on the mounting evidence against Mr Obasa, warning that his actions undermine legislative independence and public trust.
“These revelations justify the urgent need for mechanisms to enforce probity and accountability in public office,” Mr Suraju said.
Despite the scandals, Mr Obasa appears unperturbed and untouchable, with analysts attributing his survival to political connections and an entrenched culture of impunity.
As Lagos State prepares for the 2027 elections, the Speaker’s continued tenure symbolizes a broader challenge of corruption and governance in Nigeria’s political landscape.
Observers now await further developments as pressure mounts on anti-graft agencies to act decisively.
For Lagos residents, however, the scandals highlight a troubling disconnect between political leadership and the needs of the people.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Residents of Nigeria experienced a power outage on Saturday, January 11, 2025, after the national grid collapsed.
It was the first that occurred this year and it happened at about 3 pm today, according to information gathered by Business Post.
Last year, the nation recorded about 12 grid collapse that almost embarrassed the government, which later set up a team to look into the causes of the frequent collapse of the grid.
It was later that today’s incident occurred after power generation went down from 2,111.01 megawatts at 2:00 pm to about 390.20 megawatts by 4:55 pm.
This development caused a cut in power supply in most parts of the country, but the situation has been brought under control, with electricity restored in most affected areas.
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