Labour ministry, senators clash over bill

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen Chris Ngige

The Ministry of Labour, Employment and Productivity, on Wednesday, clashed with members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and other Financial Institutions, at a public hearing.

The Public hearing is on Banks and other Financial Institutions Act Cap B3  LFN 2004 (Repeal and Reenactment ) Bill 2020( SB.178)  and Electronic Transaction Bill, 2020 (SB.155).

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The ministry’s Director of Productivity and Labour Standards, Eyewumi Neburagho, who represented the Minister, Chris Ngige, had called for the suspension of both the public hearing and the bill when he was invited to make comments during the hearing.

He said as a major stakeholder, the ministry was not availed or presented with a copy of the bill on which this public hearing is called.

He said the ministry must know how the bill would affect workers interest.

He, therefore, said the Senate panel should either step down further actions on the bill or expunge aspects that would affect workers’ interest.

“Nigeria has ratified the International Labour Organisation convention no 144 on tripartite consultation, traditional labour standard.

“We, in the Ministry of Labour and Employment, have not been availed or presented with a copy of the said bill on which this public hearing is called.

“Rather, in view of the interventions of the Nigerian Labour Congress on part of the bill as it affects the issue of labour legislation, we will like to state that this public hearing be stepped down until the bill is circulated to all social partners to ascertain if the bill meets international labour standards and best practices.

“The Ministry of Labour and Employment wish to propose that the proposed bill be stepped down and the public hearing be suspended until the labour issues in the bill are sorted out in the appropriate tripartite consultative forum.

“On the other hand, the sponsors of the bill may wish  to expunge the labour aspect of the bill and go ahead with the areas on digital financial transactions.”

His submission did not go down well with the members of the committee who said the legislative process on the bill would continue.

The committee chairman, Senator Uba Sani, warned the ministry against dictating to the National Assembly on its procedures.

Zulum unveils plan to remodel 76 Primary Schools in Maiduguri

Governor of Borno State, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum on Wednesday unveiled a plan to remodel 76 Primary Schools in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council.

After assessing the rehabilitation of some Primary Schools in the State capital, Governor Babagana Umara Zulum said “The intention of this administration is to rehabilitate all the 76 existing Primary Schools in Maiduguri Metropolitan Council. Additional classrooms will be constructed where there's a need for it.

We will furnish all classrooms, provide water facilities and ensure adequate qualified teachers. This should be our focus for the next one year.”

“In the meantime, we will first rehabilitate all the existing structures, ensure to provide a very good perimeter fence, provide water facilities, and furnish all the classrooms so that our schools will be habitable,” Zulum said.

The Governor noted that while building structures, the Government will look into the manpower deficit in the education sector.

He thereby announced a plan to employ 1000 teachers soon.

Among the thirteen (13) Primary Schools earmarked for rehabilitation in the first phase of Zulum's initiative, the Governor visited three of them which include; Goni Damgari Primary School, Maimalari Barracks Primary School, and Mustapha Umar Elkanemi Integrated Qur'anic Model Primary School.

Meanwhile, Governor Zulum responding to the community request has directed the Commissioner of Housing and Energy to immediately assess power problems in Goni Damgari for immediate response.

Additionally, the Governor has approved the construction of a new Primary Healthcare Center in Goni Damgari.

This according to the Governor, will increase access to healthcare service delivery.

Amotekun: EKSG seeks traditional rulers’ support

Ekiti State Government has solicited the support of the traditional institution in the recruitment of personnel with proven integrity and character into its security network Amotekun, assuring that the recruitment process would be thorough, transparent and non-partisan.

The State Government had last week directed interested applicants between the ages of 18 and 60 years with minimum educational qualification of primary school leaving certificate to download the application form online at www.amotekun.ekitistate.gov.ng and get endorsement letter from their monarchs affirming their indigene-status.

The Chairman of the governing board of the security outfit, Mr Akin Aregbesola, disclosed this on Tuesday, during an advocacy visit to traditional rulers and local government chairmen in Ekiti East, Gboyin and Ekiti South-West local government areas of the state.

Soliciting the support of traditional rulers in the recruitment process, Aregbesola explained that the traditional rulers had critical roles to play in the selection of personnel that would serve in the outfit.

According to the Chairman of the Board, the traditional rulers whom he described as the custodian of native intelligence had adequate knowledge of the people that reside in their respective domain.

Also, the Commander of the Amotekun Corps, Brig-Gen. Joe Komolafe (rtd), who spoke at the meetings, explained that the board decided to go through online application in order to guide against situations where fraudsters would capitalise on the process to swindle unsuspecting applicants, among other factors.

Brig-Gen Komolafe affirmed that the board has assented to the demand of the traditional rulers for 65 per cent local content in the recruitment of personnel into the security outfit.

He noted that the traditional rulers are the ones that would recommend applicants that will serve in the organisation. He stressed that the online application is free, adding that over two hundred applications were received within the first 24 hours.

He said: “We decided to make the recruitment online because we got information that some people were already luring people into paying a certain amount of money for them to be recruited into the security outfit.

“The online process is designed in a way that it would prevent fraudsters from compromising it. It would also guarantee that we can do a background check on all applicants.

“The Governor told me that the security outfit is not established for a political reason but to secure the lives and properties of the people by warding off all forms of criminality from the state.”

The Corps Commandant further revealed that successful applicants would be deployed to serve in their local government of origin where they had adequate knowledge of topography.

He used the opportunity to charge traditional leaders to be apolitical in endorsing applicants for the job but to attest to applicants who were of good reputation and vast in the traditional technology.

Responding, the Chairman Traditional Council and Alawe of Ilawe Ekiti, Oba Adebanji Alabi, charged local government chairmen to live up to expectations by supporting local intelligence that would help in combating insecurity in the state.

The Chairman of the traditional council noted that Amotekun was mainly about intelligence gathering which he described as the bedrock for fighting crime.

Also, the Elekota of Ikota in Ekiti East local government, Oba Ajayi Fagbemi, charged the management of the outfit to guide against sabotage and ensure that they are discrete on strategies to be adopted on the mode of operation. The monarch urged them to prioritize remuneration, discipline and supervision in its operations.

In Gboyin local government, the chairman, traditional council of the local government and Olode of Ode Ekiti, Oba Samuel Aderiye, assured the board members that the traditional rulers would only recommend people of reputable characters that had been proven in the art of native technology for the job.

Also, the Chairman of the Ekiti State Chapter of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in the State and Chairman Ekiti South West Local Government, Mr Amire Kolade, said local government chairmen were set to support the corps in achieving the essence of its establishment.

Ebonyi to reopen schools in August

Ebonyi state government says schools will reopen in the state between August and September.

The State Governor, David Umahi, stated this during the virtual Executive Council Meeting in Abakaliki, the state capital.

He said the reopening of schools will be done in phases.

He said: “The public should note that Ebonyi State will reopen her schools immediately, not in the month of July, we have to start the process that will lead us probably to reopen our schools between August and September.”

“And the process will be, the king David academy will be starting first, I am directing that all the coordinators, the chairmen of all the 13 LGAs, traditional rulers, town union presidents, should use local people to clear all the secondary schools, primarily schools. They should clear that, it has been happening before, everything is not government.”

“So let us get them cleared when we do that I want Commissioner for Education, SSA Higher education, to note very specially that this is the time to develop e-syllables, starting with the teachers, this is the opportunity to develop e- learning that we have been talking about,” he added.

The Governor said the government will train the teachers and students on COVID-19 protocols before the schools resume adding that the teachers will also undergo COVID-19 tests.

“Reopening of schools will start with cleaning of the schools, and every school we clean, we will fumigate it, and then do random test on the teachers. We will also deploy health workers to mount awareness within the communities where the school is situated.”

“When school start we will have trained personnel to teach the children on Covid-19 protocols at least for the first one week.

“This covid is real and we need to be very careful. It is not just to start school and all that, even if Nigerians should miss one academic year and stay alive, it is worth it. The essence of everything we are doing is life, and we wouldn’t want our children to start school without proper awareness.”

Lagos opens recruitment portal for doctors, health workers

The Lagos State Government on Wednesday opened its portal for the recruitments of over 700 doctors and other health workers.

It said that the exercise is in a bid to ensure adequate manpower in all its health facilities and the need to fill the vacant positions in the 27 General Hospitals across state necessitated the recruitment exercise for efficient and top-class healthcare delivery in all government health facilities.

The State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said that approval was given for the Health Service Commission to employ over 760 health workers of which 400 would be doctors in line with the government’s commitment towards addressing the shortage of health workers across the state.

He, however, disclosed that the exercise has been phased in batches to ensure compliance with coronavirus (COVID-19) safety measures and that the first batch of recruitment will be concluded soon after which the second batch will take off.

Confirming the approval, the State Health Service Commission said it announced the commencement of recruitment exercise for medical professionals into General Hospitals across the state.

The Commission, through a statement released to newsmen, said that interested applicants could proceed to its recruitment portal, and apply for vacant positions as listed on the portal.

“The decision to fill the vacant positions in the 27 General Hospitals across the state followed the approval granted by the State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to increase the staff strength of medical personnel in the hospitals.

“Some of the vacant positions for employment opportunities include that of Medical Consultants, Medical and Dental Officers, Pharmacists, Nursing Officers, Pharmacy Technicians, Dental Therapists, and Dental Technicians

“The recruitment portal will only be accessible for three weeks from 12 noon on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, to 12 noon on Wednesday, August 5, 2020.

“Submission of forms in its office by applicants would not be entertained as part of measures to mitigate the spread of the deadly respiratory disease currently ravaging the world,” the statement read.

Noting that complication of the disease can be very difficult to manage, Sanwo-Olu said, doing the basics such as; early detection of the patient whether moderate or developing complications, early application of intervention to reduce mortality, coping with the interventions and other forms of care interventions in the ICU to reduce second re-complication in terms of care was very essential.

He stressed the need for international collaboration between medical associations during the pandemic.

“To show solidarity in the face of a common threat is something that we all strive for, we, unfortunately, exist in the world today with those values threatened and the values of solidarity, empathy are under threat and pressure,” he stated.

12 EFCC Directors Suspended

About 12 directors and top staff of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have been suspended with immediate effect.

The notice of suspension was communicated to the Acting Chairman of the Commission, Mr. Mohammed Umar, on Tuesday night by the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation.

The action was said to be in connection with the ongoing investigation of the suspended Acting Chairman of the agency, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.

But there is anxiety in the commission on the suspension with some of those affected claiming that they were not directly involved in Magu’s administration.

Edo governorship election: Wike, Fintiri, others strategise to defeat APC

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Campaign Council for Edo Governorship Election, yesterday, met in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, on how to defeat the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming election.

The Chairman of the council and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, said the party was confident of victory for Gov. Godwin Obaseki.

Gov. Wike who presided over the meeting, said Edo electorate was desirous to consolidate the democratic gains the various elective representatives of the party had provided for it.

Those who attended the meeting were Governors Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri (Adamawa) and Seyi Makinde (Oyo), members of the campaign council, chairmen and secretaries of all sub-committees of Edo 2020.

Briefing newsmen after the meeting, Gov. Fintiri said the meeting adopted the best strategies to retain “what rightly belongs to PDP”.

Fintiri who is the deputy chairman of the campaign council said they would leave no stone unturned in working with Edo people to deepen democracy.

He said, “The election is already on the table for PDP. We have a sellable candidate, who is Gov. Godwin Obaseki. Nigerians are moving forward with democracy and we have to deepen it together.

“Technically, Edo is a PDP state, because in the last election of 2019, we actually won all the elections. So, it is not coming as a surprise that Gov. Obaseki has to shift ground from APC to join us.

“Now, we are putting all the forces together, and there is nothing that’s left behind. So Edo is completely a PDP state and we are going in there to win the election.”

The Chairman of the Publicity Committee for Edo 2020, High Chief Raymond Dokpesi, said Edo people were convinced that Gov. Obaseki was the best candidate in the race.

Our correspondent reports that since the inauguration of the 77-member campaign council by PDP NWC on July 7, 2020, in Abuja, yesterday’s meeting was the first.

We are ready to reopen schools – South-West Governors

The six South-West states have signified readiness to reopen schools for pupils to sit for the 2020 West African Senior School Certificate Examination amid the coronavirus pandemic.

This was part of the resolutions reached by the state governments at the end of a virtual meeting initiated on Tuesday by the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria otherwise called DAWN Commission in collaboration with the forum of South-West education commissioners, special advisers on education and the State Universal Basic Education Board chairmen.

The Federal Government had on July 8 reversed its earlier decision authorising schools’ reopening for Junior Secondary School 3 and Senior Secondary School 3 students, who are expected to participate in the Junior Secondary School Certificate and the Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations respectively.

According to the statement made available to journalists, on Wednesday, by the Director-General of the Commission, Seye Oyeleye, the statement read in parts, “The Forum, after careful deliberations, considering peculiarities of each state and options available reached a consensus on the subject matters and are expresses thus: On WAEC examinations; State Commissioners for Education have signified readiness to sit students for the 2019/2020 WAEC examinations.

“At the least, August 3rd, resumption for final year SSS3 students, states should approach the Federal Government at the first instance seeking the postponement of the WAEC exam by at least three weeks from proposed resumption. At the second instance states should directly approach WAEC to seek for an extension of the WAEC Examinations to week commencing August 24.

“All schools, when reopening should have in place incident managers and classroom wardens for every school and every classroom. The designation of the Quality Assurance Department for each state to issue a Safety Compliance Certificate to each school before reopening.”

The state governments also urged WAEC to encourage the administering the use of Computer-Based Tests while each state should deliberately intensify efforts and invest more in education technology.