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 Aduragbemi Omiyale
The 2025 camp meeting of Dominion City Church will commence from Thursday, April 17 to Monday, April 21 at Golden Heart Place, Km 22, Lekki-Epe Expressway, beside Lagos Business School, Ajah, Lagos.
The Senior Pastor of Dominion City and President of the Dominion Leadership Institute, Pastor David Ogbueli, will lead the event alongside other anointed ministers, including Apostle Michael Orokpo, Pastor Randy Mitchell from the USA, Apostle Ben Noobe from South Africa, Reverend Samson Ajetomobi, and Rev Pade Tokun.
The power-packed spiritual gathering is designed to ignite revival, salvation, deliverance, miracles, and breakthroughs in the lives of attendees.
Every year, the event attracts thousands of worshippers at the venue of the programme and virtually and the church said it would not be different this year.
Attendees will experience an atmosphere of deep worship with renowned gospel ministers such as GUC, Anthony Kani, Sunmisola Agbebi, and David Nkennor and the DC Angels, a statement disclosed.
There will also be specialized training sessions for ministers of the gospel, career professionals, social workers, entrepreneurs, children and teen workers, etc. for exponential growth.
As part of Dominion City’s commitment to ensuring accessibility, free transportation will be provided to and from the venue.
“We believe this Camp Meeting will be a divine appointment where lives are transformed, faith is strengthened, and destinies are realigned.
“We invite everyone seeking spiritual renewal and breakthrough to join us for this life-changing encounter,” the cleric stated.
With sessions at 8 am and 5 pm daily, the event will officially commence with an opening session on Thursday, April 17 at 5 pm.
A key highlight of the program will be the Good Friday Healing and Miracle Night on Friday, April 18, at 5 pm, an extraordinary session dedicated to divine healing and supernatural encounters.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake, has announced the arrest of 327 illegal miners across Nigeria since 2024.
Mr Alake disclosed this at a recent news conference to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the operations of the Mining Marshals (MM).
He stressed that while the MM has “arrested 327 suspects for illegal mining,” the ministry, in partnership with other agencies, has prosecuted 143 individuals across the country since the MM began operations in 2024.
Recall that the Mining Marshals was inaugurated on March 21, 2024, to serve as a security outfit tracking illegal mining in the solid minerals sector.
The security personnel are mainly from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC). The mines marshal devised to be an inter-agency security outfit also incorporates special operatives from other security agencies like the Nigeria Police, the army, amongst others.
Speaking at the event, Mr Alake stated that the Marshals’ key target for 2025 is to secure the conviction of the 327 individuals already arraigned in court.
According to him, this will enhance deterrence in the mining sector and enforce compliance with the law.
He appreciated the contributions of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Army, highlighting that their efforts have helped in the drive to sanitize the solid minerals sector.
“This month, the Federal High Court in Ilorin, Kwara State, sentenced two foreigners, Yang Chao and Wu Shan Chuan, to prison for illegal mining of solid minerals following a case prosecuted by the EFCC.
“We also commend the EFCC for its diligent prosecution of illegal miners.
“In May last year, the EFCC successfully prosecuted and secured the conviction of two other foreigners, Duan Ya Hong and Xiao Yi, to one year of imprisonment for illegal mining at another Federal High Court, also sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State,” he said.
The Minister stressed that in the last year, the MM has tackled the severity of illegal mining, which, according to him, “has been exacerbated by companies collaborating with individual miners to carry out the act.”
“According to our records, the MM recovered over 98 sites last year. This has enabled many license owners to return to sites and resume operations.
“This will ultimately improve royalties and raise the contribution of solid minerals to the country’s revenue.
“So far, the MM has identified 457 suspected illegal mining sites and has improved intelligence gathering on these sites,” he added.
Mr Alake explained that MM’s major areas of operation have been across 10 states: Niger, Kogi, Nasarawa, Akwa Ibom, Ondo, Kaduna, Enugu, Abia, Kwara, and the Federal Capital Territory.
He added that in 2025, the outfit is expected to increase its engagements in other parts of the nation.
He assured that the number of personnel would be expanded, and more logistics, including vehicles and other equipment, would be made available to the Mining Marshals to strengthen their operations.
On his part, the Commandant of the Mining Marshals, Mr John Attah, thanked the minister for his support and urged the public to see their operations as a national project.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Amnesty International has called for a thorough, independent investigation into the allegation made by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against the Senate President, Mr Goodwill Akpabio.
The human rights watchdog made this demand in a statement on X (formerly Twitter) by the Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, Mr Isa Sanusi.
“Amnesty International calls on the Nigerian authorities to immediately institute an independent and impartial investigation into the allegations of sexual harassment by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan against the President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio,” he said.
Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) lawmaker representing Kogi Central, accused Mr Akpabio of depriving her of her right to represent her people after she rejected sexual advances from Akpabio.
She alleged that Mr Akpabio had been denying her the opportunity to contribute to debates and table matters affecting her constituents on the floor of the Senate.
Mr Akpabio since denied the allegations.
“At no time did I ever harass any woman. I was raised very well by my late single mother, and I have always upheld respect for women. I was even awarded the most gender-friendly governor in Nigeria,” he said at the March 5 plenary.
The Senate later went on to suspend the lawmaker over what it described as her “unruly conduct.”
In response, Amnesty International warned that, “The weight and scale of the allegations of the sexual harassment are one more pressing reason for establishing an independent, resourceful and impartial investigation.
“The National Assembly must not continue to look away while the allegations remain and are being trivialized, unaddressed and ignored.
“Blatant failure of the authorities to investigate the allegations raised by Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan will have devastating consequences, that include perpetuating a system that makes it increasingly difficult for survivors of sexual harassment to get justice, while allowing perpetrators to get away with gross human rights violations.
“This is one case that the authorities can use to show that there is zero tolerance for sexual harassment – no matter who is involved.
“The fear of not being believed, or even being blamed, is already creating a dangerous culture of silence that prevents women who faced sexual harassment from seeking justice. The tide of sexual impunity against women and girls must be turned now,” Mr Sanusi stated.
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