[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Grassroots Newspaper Publishers Network(GNPN)has passed the vote of confidence today shortly after its meeting amidst call by a women group for the sack of Dr Cairo Ojougboh’s,Executive Director of Projects, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
According to Grassroots Publishers, Ojougboh remains a qualified Deltan from an oil producing area.This was contained in a statement signed by its National President, Chief Duke Okirika and made available to journalists in Warri, Delta State.
The Grassroots Publishers Group also commended President Muhammadu Buhari for reshuffling the Interim Management Committee of NDDC and leaving very competent hands like Dr. Cairo Ojougboh to hold the position of the Executive Director of Projects in order to achieve the needed goals.
The statement reads in parts; “We are Grassroots Publishers working to strengthening Democratic values, promotion of peaceful coexistence and good governance through performance awareness creation. We therefore after carefully following the performances of the Acting Executive Director Projects, NDDC, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh and other members of the Interim
Board; we hereby pass a vote of confidence on him (Ojougboh) for exposing corrupt practices and correcting the wrongs in the Commission. So many leakages have been exposed in within a short period of the Interim Board”.
We all know that the NDDC was sinking and would have been killed and buried, but for the intervention of President Muhammadu Buhari, who added saved the commission from the burden of over trading, bloated contracts and other sharp practices.
It is on record that in 2017, the NDDC awarded a total of 201 emergency contracts valued at N100,396,879,001.06; in 2018, a total 1,057 emergency contracts valued at N162,688,289,333.05 were awarded; and in just seven months of 2019, it awarded a total 1,921 emergency contracts valued at N1,070,249,631,757.70.
“We are talking about a total of over N1.3 trillion in less than three years. The yearly budget of the NDDC is hardly above 400 billion and a situation where contracts that do not qualify for emergencies were fraudulently awarded to over one trillion naira valued in less than one year amounts to not only stealing from the pulpit but stealing the entire pulpit,” some of the awards were not only spurious but criminal, as available records showed that most of the awards were not backed by budget, bills of engineering measurement and drawings.“They were just open cheques for contractors and their collaborators to fill in at the nearest banks.
Grassroots Publishers while noting that they have evidence that Dr. Cairo Ojougboh has a good background in Engineering and as a former member of House of Representative,GNPN warned detractors to desist from those cheap blackmail on Dr. Cairo Ojougboh with plans to slow down the speedy performances of the Interim Board of NDDC.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he World Health Organization has advised employers of labour on ways to prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) at workplaces.
This was contained in a memo issued today titled, ‘Getting your business ready in case COVID-19 arrives in your community’.i
The United Nations Specialised Agency for health coordination and management advised employers “to make sure workplaces are clean and hygienic, ensure desk surfaces and intercoms wiped with disinfectant regularly.
“Brief employees, contractors, and customers that if COVID-19 starts spreading in your community anyone with even a mild cough or low-grade fever (37.3 C or more) needs to stay at home. They should also stay home (or work from home) if they have had to take simple medications, such as paracetamol/acetaminophen, ibuprofen or aspirin, which may mask symptoms of infection.
“Promote regular and thorough hand-washing by employees, contractors, and customers and put sanitizing hand rub dispensers in prominent places around the workplace.
“Make sure that staff, contractors and customers have access to places where they can wash their hands with soap and water because washing kills the virus on your hands and prevents the spread of COVID19.
“Ensure that face masks and/or paper tissues are available at your workplaces, for those who develop a runny nose or cough at work, along with closed bins for hygienically disposing of them as good respiratory hygiene prevents the spread of COVID-19.
“Advise employees and contractors to consult national travel advice before going on business trips.”
It explained that employers should cultivate good hygiene because when someone who has COVID-19 coughs or exhales, they release droplets of infected fluid.
“Most of these droplets fall on nearby surfaces and objects – such as desks, tables or telephones. People could catch COVID-19 by touching contaminated surfaces or objects – and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth.
“If they are standing within 1 or 2 meters of a person with COVID-19 they can catch it by breathing in droplets coughed out or exhaled by them. In other words, COVID-19 spreads in a similar way to flu.”
As of Thursday, the novel virus, which was first detected in China, has been reported in over 20 countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East and lately Africa.
WHO stated that there was a high risk of the disease spreading to more countries around the world, hence all sections of the society – including businesses and employers – must play a role to stop the spread of the disease.
[dropcap]S[/dropcap]hock and criticism greeted the dethronement of the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II on Monday. The announcement of his removal swept through the entire nation like wild fire. He was clearly a victim of politics, who got hooked in a running battle with the Governor of Kano, Abdullahi Ganduje.
The removal of Sanusi was announced by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, after the State Executive Council meeting on Monday. Usman Alhaji said Emir Sunusi’s dethronement was as a result of unanimous decision taken by Kano State Executive Council.
“The Kano state Executive Council under the Chairmanship of His Excellency, the Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (OFR) has unanimously approved the immediate removal/dethronement of the Emir of Kano Emirate, Muhammad Sunusi II. The Emir of Kano is in total disrespect to lawful instructions from the office of the state Governor and other lawful authorities, including his persistent refusal to attend official meetings and programmes organized by the Government without any lawful justification which amount to total insubordination.
“It is on record and in so many instances, Malam Muhammad Sanusi II has been found breaching part 3 Section 13 (a–e) of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019 and which if left unchecked will destroy the good and established image of the Kano Emirate. This removal is made after due consultations with the relevant stakeholders and in compliance with part 3 Section 13 of the Kano State Emirate Law 2019 and other reasons stated above.
“The removal was reached in order to safeguard the sanctity, culture, tradition, religion and prestige of the Kano Emirate built over a thousand years.”
Ganduje removes Sanusi at last
With those words, Sanusi’s reign in Kano became history. He was humiliated further with his banishment to Nasarawa State. He was forced out of the palace by armed security operatives and made to leave Kano the same day. Sanusi’s case was a tale of falling from grace to grass. He never learnt a lesson from what happened to his grandfather, Muhammadu Sanusi I in 1963. He fell into the same trap that entrapped his grandfather.
The fall Muhammadu Sanusi I
Muhammadu Sanusi I, was the Emir of Kano from 1954-1963. He was the eldest son of Emir Abdullahi Bayero. He was a powerful Emir that had substantial influence in the colonial Northern Nigeria. He hosted Queen Elizabeth II when she visited Kano in 1956.
According to Wikipedia, The power tussle between him and his distant cousin, Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Sardauna of Sokoto was believed to have resulted in his dethronement and confinement in Azare 1963.
Muhammadu Sanusi I was asked to chose where to go on exile and he chose Azare, a city in Bauchi State. Like King Jaja of Opobo, Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi of Benin or Olowo of Owo, Oba Olateru Olagbegi who were banished outside their domains by the powers that be (the first two by the British colonialists and the last, by Governor Adeyinka Adebayo of Western Region), that was the beginning of Patriarch Sanusi’s journey into exile in Azare where he spent 20 years and died, according to TheNEWS.
Just as Sanusi II was probed politically, Muhammed Sanusi 1, was dethroned as a result of power struggle (hidden under the cloak of a probe) between him and Ahmadu Bello. The old man also had problem with conservative northern Muslims. Muhammadu Sanusi 1 and Ahmadu Bello were great friends ab initio but their relationship became Topsy turvy later. In an article by Ajiroba Yemi Kotun, entitled “Road to Azare: How Emir Sanusi’s Grandfather Was Removed Due To ‘Jealousy,” published in The Nigerian Voice, originally on 23 May, 2013, many factors were responsible.
Late Sir Ahmadu Bello removed Muhammadu Sanusi I
First is the radical modern Islam, represented by the old Emir and the conservative, represented by the old guard. Despite the unserious religious differences between the two tariqa, and because the Sardauna considered himself the champion of Islam in the North, the leadership of a much more popular Islamic tariqa by the Emir of Kano was construed by him as a challenge.
Another factor was political ego between Sanusi and Sardauna. As Kotun pointed out, Sanusi was one of those responsible for the success of the Northern People’s Congress (NPC) in the election of 1951, and was virtually a founding member of the party. Problem started when Sardauna felt humbled when, after he and other dignitaries were seated at a public function at Race Course in Kaduna, Emir Sanusi, as Kotun narrated, stole the spotlight “by arriving in full splendour… and the whole assemblage had to stand up for the Emir in traditional homage and honour. It was just too much for the Sardauna to bear.”
The above scenario and many others led to the dethronement of the old Sanusi by Ahmadu Bello. He was a victim of political intrigues, tussles, and power play. He paid the price for challenging the Sardauna.
Road to Sanusi II’s fall
Certainly, Sanusi, a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, is well grounded economically. He could not keep talking in criticising the economic policies of the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration. With inept economic policy of Buhari’s government, Sanusi always run his mouth from the throne; thus, his actions may have offended the powers that be at the Federal level. He criticised the Buhari’s government’s foreign exchange climate in 2016 as unrealistic and came back again to bash the government for seeking $30 billion loan, among several others. So, at the centre, he was regarded as a fiend, which was why Buhari refused to get involve in the crisis between him and Ganduje.
Buhari had said when a delegation from Kano visited him in Abuja recently that, “I know my role as the President of Nigeria. By the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Governor of Kano State has his own roles. Once a matter is in the hands of the House of Assembly (like in Kano), the President has no constitutional right to interfere. I am here by the Constitution, I swore by it and I am going to stand by it.”
The straw that broke the camel’s back was in the build up to the 2019 governorship election. Sanusi ostensibly pitched tent with the opposing People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in a bid to wrest power out of Ganduje’s hand. Ganduje, the All Progressives Congress,’ APC, candidate, seeking a second term nearly lost the election. In fact, many political analysts believed that he lost the election. The PDP’s governorship candidate, Abba Yusuf was leading Ganduje with over 26,000 votes when it was declared inconclusive. The re-run election was controversially won by Ganduje. Sanusi was fingered in the near debacle of the governor.
With the election over, Ganduje decided to whittle the power of the emir by creating additional five emirates in Kano, With the House of Assembly behind him, a legislation was hurriedly passed splitting the emirates into five.
The next move by the governor was to institute a probe on Sanusi through the Kano State Public Complaint and Anti-Corruption Commission, who ordered him to appear to defend himself. According to the Chairman of the Commission, Barr. Muhuyi Rimingado, the investigations are not related to any other probe of the Emir.
He said: “Preliminary findings suggest that a company, Country Wide House Ltd. served as a corporate vehicle to allegedly launder the sum of over N2bn being proceeds of several hectares of land in Darmanawa phase I and II and Bubbugaji, under the former right of occupancy CON-RESS 2016-503 illegally sold to Messer family home fund limited at the alleged instance of His Highness the Emir of Kano.”
Rimingado also claimed that “Investigation further revealed that some of the proceeds of the sales remitted to the Emirate Council’s bank account can be traced to the companies of interest to His Highness.” It was this probe that finally consumed Sanusi.
Chief(Dr)Daniel N.Chukwudozie, Chairman,Dozzy Group of Companies
Chief Daniel Chukwudozie of Dozzy Group, deposed Emir of Kano, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi; Chairman of Innoson Motor Manufacturing, Chief Innocent Chukwuma and industrialist will be conferred with the prestigious honourary doctorate degrees of Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka during its 14th convocation ceremony this week.
Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof Charles Esimone who disclosed this during a press conference to kick start the convocation activities in Awka said the honourary awardees were chosen because of their outstanding positive contributions to Nigerian society at large and the university education in particular.
Esimone also disclosed that over 2,821 will be awarded a post graduate degree and over 6,750 first degree awardees, while 329 will receive a doctorate degree, 49 bagging first-class honours in the 2018/2019 academic session.
He said the convocation activities will feature a research fair to be chaired by the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Fund, TETFUND, Prof Suleiman Bogoro while the convocation lecture will be delivered by the Chairman, Afrexim Bank, Prof Benedict Okey Orama, chaired by the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, NUC, Prof Abubakar Rasheed.
The vice-chancellor appreciated the visitor of the university, President Muhammadu Buhari and TETFUND for the support to the university and noted that UNIZIK under his administration is poised to make an impact to improve on the overall ranking and rating of the university.
He said convocation ceremony will continue to be an annual event in the university while there will be no backlog or delayed results for graduating students even as he assured that first class graduates and best graduating students will be retained by the university after their national youth service.
He dispelled the rumour of increment in school fees in the university and said the administration will maintain zero tolerance for indiscipline but disciplinary action will follow due process in implementation.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he crises raging between the Kano state Emirate and the state government has snowballed into the dethronment of the Emir.
The Kano State Government today shocked the entire traditional institution of the state when it announced the removal of Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sunusi II.
Secretary to the state Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, made the announcement during the state executive council meeting.
Usman Alhaji said new emir will soon be appointed.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Police in Lagos have arrested three suspects alleged to have been responsible for the removal of a human skull from a cemetery for ritual purposes.
A statement issued by DSP Bala Elkana, the Police Public Relations Officer in Lagos State, on Sunday said policemen from Area ‘E’ Command, Festac arrested the suspects.
Elkana named the suspects as: Dauda Tijani, 42, of 23, Omomwunmi Street, Orege, Ajegunle; Olawale Shodolamu, 70, a herbalist; and Seun Falana, 37, a staff member of Trinity Cemetery in Ajegunle.
He said Tijani was intercepted at Alakija Bus Stop along the Lagos-Badagry Expressway by the police, who found on him a black polythene bag containing a human skull.
He said: “The suspect confessed that he was sent by the herbalist, Shodolamu, to collect the skull from a cemetery’s attendant.
“The herbalist claimed that he bought the human skull from Falana at the sum of N10,000 only.
“The suspected herbalist usually grinds the human skull together with other substances to prepare herbs and charms for his customers.”
Elkana said the third suspect confessed that he had been digging graves in the past to remove human skulls and sell to herbalists.
“Investigation is ongoing. The suspects will soon be charged to court,” the police spokesman said.
[dropcap]F[/dropcap]ollowing a statement published in some national and online newspapers, by one Mrs. Grace Nene Iworiso led Niger-Delta Women Integrity Vanguard, calling for the sack of the Executive Director of Projects, NDDC, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, alleging that he is not qualified to be a member of the management of the commission, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh has refuted the said publication, saying that he is fit to hold the position of Executive Director of Projects as a qualified Medical Doctor and someone with vast experience in technology.
In a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Communication, Gabriel Choba, Dr. Ojougboh alleged that these faceless groups were been sponsored by a Deltan with ambition of becoming a Governor or Vice President of the Country.
The statement reads in parts; “First, it will interest the general public to know that Dr. Cairo Ojougboh hails from Ika South and Ika North East local government areas of Delta State which are oil producing areas; and the Delta State Oil Producing Areas’ Development Commission (DESOPADEC) recognizes it.
“It should be noted further, that the Legendary Akporoho Ojougboh family is from Ekuku Agbor and the Ohiembor family is from Agbor and Owa Alidinma. Today, the worst gas flare is happening in Ojougboh’s back yard and enemies of progress claim he is not from oil producing area when the Mother of Dr Cairo Ojougboh is from Ika North East.”
“Further more, 60% of the Budget of NDDC are for Medical and Social Services; so for a person to be a director of projects, it means that he should be a Medical doctor, and this process of amendment is already in the national assembly, therefore nobody should ever talk about this again.” The statement added.
The statement while revealing that, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh has a good background in Engineering having attended Auchi Polytechnic from 1977 to 1979 also noted that the Acting EDP is a petroleum expert having under gone Petroleum Resources and management courses in the last ten years as Chairman house Committee on Petroleum Resources.
[dropcap]A[/dropcap] hotel used for medical observation of people who had contact with coronavirus patients collapsed in southeastern China on Saturday, trapping some 70 people, state media reported. There were no immediate reports of deaths.
At least 23 people were rescued from the wreckage of the Xinjia Express Hotel in Quanzhou, a city in Fujian province, the Communist Party newspaper People’s Daily and other outlets reported.
The 80-room hotel had been converted by the city government for observation of people who had contact with virus patients, according to People’s Daily.
The hotel collapsed at about 7:30 p.m., news reports said, citing the city government.
Photos on news websites showed rescue workers with flashlights climbing over the debris. Rubble was piled on cars in front of the building.
The hotel opened in June 2018, with rooms on the fourth to seventh floors of the building, the newspaper Beijing Youth Daily said.
An unidentified hotel employee cited by the Beijing Youth Daily said the owner carried out ”foundation-related construction” before the disaster. It gave no details.
China, where the virus first emerged in December, has confirmed more than 80,000 cases, by far the most in the world. The country reported 99 new cases on Saturday, its first daily increase of less than 100 since Jan. 20. The government reported 28 new fatalities, raising the mainland’s death toll to 3,070.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr Dakuku Peterside has been removed by President Muhammadu Buhari and replaced with his Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Dr. Bashir Jamoh.
Ministerial sources confirmed to Grassroots Publishers online that the embattled NIMASA DG is already packing his bags.
Though Peterside himself was a member of the House of Representatives between 2011 and 2015, an experience which ordinarily should have paved way for a good relationship between NIMASA and the lawmakers, rather, the DG has been on warparth with the House of Representatives.
Though this is not the first time he was failing to appear before the lawmakers whenever he was summoned, but the last straw that broke the camels back happened in February 2020 when the agency faced probe by the House of Representatives for allegedly failing to audit its account for six years.
The NIMASA DG failed to appear before the committee twice.
On the second invite, it was the Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Gbemi Saraki that had to lead the NIMASA team to the panel hearing while the NIMASA DG was missing in action.
Our correspondent gathered that this arrogance and flagrant disregard did not go down well with Saraki, herself being a former Senator, haven served as senate and House of Representatives member before becoming a Minister.
Earlier in December 2019, the Senate reportedly threatened to issue an arrest warrant against Peterside over his refusal to honour an invitation of the Joint Committee on Navy, Maritime and Finance, to answer questions about the activities of a private security company and some government security agencies accused of collecting illegal fees for securing vessels at the Safe Anchorage Area.
On Tuesday, Peterside again incurred the wrath of the National Assembly by failing to appear personally in response to summons by the joint committee investigating activities of foreign vessel owners in Nigeria.
Those who went to represent NIMASA were sent out of the chamber.
NIMASA explained later in a terse statement signed by its Head, Corporate Communications, Isichei Osamgbi, that Peterside had been unable to honour the summons because he was hosting members of the House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, who came on an oversight visit to the agency which could at best be described as a ‘social visit’ compared to the one at Abuja.
It was gathered that Peterside, probably already aware of his impending removal from office, even failed to show up or even honor the visiting lawmakers who took a tour of the newly acquired special mission boats by NIMASA.
The lawmakers led by Hon Linda Ikpeazu were furious, so much so that they refused to disembark from their bus on arriving at NIMASA headquarters. Again Peterside failed to come down to receive them. It was Dr. Bashir Jamoh that was said to have come down to receive the lawmakers.
Dakuku’s first term tenure as NIMASA DG ends on 10th of March, 2020.
Though President Buhari is yet to make a formal announcement on appointment of a new DG, the president is expected to also name a new management team for NIMASA within the week.
Some industry stakeholders who spoke with Grassroots Publishers online have however commended President Buhari’s decision to remove Dakuku Peterside. The stakeholders argued that the NIMASA DG have not been able to achieve success in implementation of the Cabotage law or creation of jobs for Nigerian seafarers.
Meanwhile, Bashir Jamoh, the new NIMASA DG hails from Kaduna, is also the current president of the Chartered Institute of Transport Administration of Nigeria.
The 56-year-old holds a PhD from the University of Port Harcourt, specialising in logistics and transport management.
Jamoh joined NIMASA in 2003 as an assistant chief commercial officer, eastern and central zones.
He served with the Kaduna state government before transferring his services to the then National Maritime Authority in 1994.
He also holds a master’s degree in management from Korea Maritime and Ocean University, a post-graduate diploma in management sciences from Bayero University, Kano and a diploma in accounting from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Jamoh is also said to have 32 years of professional experience in the transportation and maritime sector.
He is the author of the book, Harnessing Nigeria’s Maritime Assets: Past, Present and Future.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Katsina State Nutrition Officer, Abdulhadi Abdulkadir, has said about 200,000 children are currently suffering from acute malnutrition in the state. Abdulkadir, who spoke during a stakeholders meeting on nutrition, organised by the Aisha Buhari Foundation, Future Assured, in Katsina, said over one million children under the age of five years were also experiencing stunted growth.
He said: “Over one million children under 5 in Katsina State are not growing well that is why they are stunted. Stunting is one of the chronic forms of malnutrition that cannot be corrected. “Over 200,000 children are suffering from acute malnutrition.
High maternal mortality rate as a result of iron deficiency anemia are contributing to 20 per cent maternal mortality.”
He reiterated that acute malnutrition was also bedeviling over 12 per cent of women across the state, saying “our mothers and children are suffering from malnutrition”.
He, however, said the state government had established Community-based Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM) centres in 14 local government areas of the state. He said the CMAM programme, which started in October 2010 with few local governments was now covering 70 of Out Patient Therapeutic Programme (OPTP) in 14 LGAs of the state.
He explained that a total of 33,769 children suffering from Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) were enrolled in the CMAN programme between January to October 2019.
He said: “The programme only cover 14 local governments out of the 34 LGAs and 361 wards that we have in Katsina State, which is not enough considering the number of children that are having malnutrition and the number of children dying as a result of malnutrition.”
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