APC Journal

Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education proceed Principals' Post Competency Test Interview Exercise in Daura Centre.

The Katsina State Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education has proceeded with the Principals' Post Competency Test Interview Exercise today in Daura Centre, covering Daura and Baure Local Government Areas, held at Model Smart School in Daura metropolis. Honourable Commissioner Hajiya Zainab Musa Musawa oversaw the exercise, emphasizing its significance in ensuring quality education delivery across the state.

Hon Commissioner said that, the exercise, mandated by the Katsina State Executive Council led by Governor Malam Dikko Umaru Radda, aims to identify and appoint competent individuals to manage schools effectively. Commissioner Musawa highlighted that the goal is not to remove existing staff but to enhance education quality by ensuring that only qualified principals and teachers are appointed.

The Commissioner assured that the process would be transparent, and the committee, comprising various stakeholders, would strive to accomplish the task without compromise.
The interview committee is chaired by Hajiya Ummulkhairi Ahmed Bawa, Permanent Secretary, MBASE, and members includes:
Salisu Yakubu, Director administration and Supply, Usman Umar Mai'adua Permanent Member l, representative from Katsina State Teachers Service Board, Dr. Bashir Usman Ruwan Godiya representative from Civil Society Organisation, Umar Bishir Director of inspection, representative from Katsina State Science and Technical Education Board, Tanimu Ibrahim Darma Acting Director Senior School, Kabir Dodo, Director Junior Secondary Schools, Lukman Umar Kankia Technical Assistant to the Commissioner, Secretary and the Sani Danjuma Sulaiman PRO MBASE.

conducting this exercise, the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education demonstrates its dedication to enhancing education standards in Katsina State, ultimately benefiting students and the community at large.

Bashir Ya'u
Media

OLUBUNMI TUNJI OJO’S SHINING EXAMPLE AND THE DELIVERY OF THE RENEWED HOPE AGENDA

By Vitalis Obidiaghaa

Yesterday evening, I went to the barber’s shop to have my hair-cut. There, I met two elderly gentlemen who also came for the same purpose. As we sat down at the lounge, waiting for our turns to be attended to by the barbers, there was a programme on Channels Television, focusing on the Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who was live on Channel’s Politics Today, setting the records straight on the consultancy contract between New Planet Project Limited and the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
According to the report, New Planet Project Limited was one of the consultants awarded contracts from the N3billion given out by Dr Betta Edu for the National Social Register contract before her suspension by Mr President. After the suspension of Dr Edu for breaching public trust, attention shifted to the Interior Minister for allegedly being a director in New Planet Project Limited.

But enlightening the public while appearing on that programme, Tunji-Ojo revealed that he founded the company 10 years ago, but resigned from directorship of the company in 2019 when he contested for House of Representatives. The Minister of Interior, who described the report as shocking, said he is just a shareholder in the company and not involved in the day-to-day running of New Planet Project Limited.

Giving further details, he said, “I have to say this, I saw it and I was shocked because the company in question was a company where I was a director. About five years ago, I had resigned my directorship. Yes, I founded the company 10 years ago, but in 2019, when I got to the House of Representatives, when I won the election precisely and I resigned. I resigned on the 4th of February 2019, with a Certified True Copy of Corporate Affairs Commission as far back as 2019 to prove this. I do not run the company. I don’t have any knowledge of the contract. I am not a signatory to any account. I am not a director of the company.”

“The company is a limited liability company which is a private entity. So, if the company is a private entity, of course, I am still a shareholder, and to the best of my knowledge, public service rule does not prohibit public officers from being shareholders. What public service rule says is that you cannot be a director, of which I had resigned about five years ago. I have no business with it, absolutely no business. Because I am not involved in the day-to-day running of the company. I do not pursue jobs for the company. I do not bid for the company. I am not a signatory to the company’s account. I am not involved.”

“So, the company is an entity on its own. If that is the case, then, the question should be; was the job given to the company? If the answer is yes. Then the question should be; did they follow due process? If it is a yes. Did the company deliver on the job? If it’s a yes. Then the next question is; did they deliver in line with the agreement of the contract? If it is a no, then they should be sanctioned by the book,” said the honourable minister, restating that he came into public office knowing fully well that Nigerians would ask questions and charging relevant agencies to probe the contract processes to ensure transparency and probity.

As we were watching and musing over the programme, one of the two elderly gentlemen who later introduced himself as Mr Ahmed, made a statement that opened the floor for discussions amongst us. The following was his opinion: “I have lived all my life in this country and I had come to a point where I was almost tempted to give up hope on our nationhood. But the bold steps taken by this young minister since he assumed office as the interior minister have given me a reason to believe again.”

Speaking further —trying to explain his position — he went philosophical by saying that “…the major limitation to social progress in any society is for the few good men and women who have the courage to make a difference to be bullied into silence by those who do not want things to change for the better.” His words were too powerful to ignore! Responding in the same vein, the other gentleman noted that “Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo is one of the shining lights in Mr President’s cabinet. Just imagine what he has accomplished since he came in as the minister of Interior. Infact, he is one of the frontline ministers who is giving meaning to Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.” I was speechless!

As I left the barbers shop, I couldn’t stop thinking about the words of these elderly gentlemen and some of the minister’s notable achievements. Coincidentally, it was that same Monday, January 8th, 2024, that the Minister launched an automated passport application process for our citizens, —a fulfilment to the promise he made to all Nigerians when he assumed duty as the minister of Interior. With this launch, Nigerians at home and abroad can now go online to apply for passports without interface with personnel of the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS.

While speaking on the successful launching of the online passport’s portal, Tunji-Ojo ascribed credit for the project to the visionary leadership and support given to him by President Bola Tinubu. The minister was upbeat that the online passports portal would drastically reduce contacts between applicants and immigration officers, adding that it would revolutionise the process of obtaining passports. He also added that it would speed up the entire process of obtaining a new passport by Nigerians in any part of the world. “This initiative is sure to bring relief to all Nigerians who desire to obtain the nation’s passport. The portal has undoubtedly ended the long waiting period for passport issuance. It has also ended the cycle of daily wastage of man-hours by passport applicants” He said.

To better appreciate the strategic import of digitalizing our passport processes, one has to understand the central role the Nigerian passport plays, especially as it serves as passport to the world for many of our citizens. For millions of our citizens who had almost lost hope in our nationhood because of the untold difficulties they had gone through in their quest to obtain their international passports in the past, Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo has given them a reason to believe in Nigeria again, deepening Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

With his performance so far, he has distinguished himself as a shining example, not only to his fellow ministers, but to millions of young Nigerians whom he also represents in Mr President’s cabinet. He should therefore be commended, not only for setting the records straight, but also for the courage to make a difference.

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The Honourable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation Dr Betta Edu week-in-review.

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PRESS STATEMENT ON THE ONGOING AUDIT AND TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF N-POWER PROGRAM

It is imperative to inform Nigerians, particularly beneficiaries of the N-Power program across the country, of the temporary suspension of the program.

This action has become necessary to give room for a detailed investigation into the operations of the N-Power in the last twelve months. The total number of persons enrolled in NPOWER since its inception to date is 960,000 people. Most of them have exited from NPower 1.0 and NPower 2.0 batch A and B

There is a need to audit the number of people in the program, those who have exited the program, those who are being owed, whether they reported to work or not, and how funds have been utilized over this period.

Recently, we discovered instances of program beneficiaries whose participation has lapsed since 2022 but have remained on and continue to expect payments from the government. In addition, some beneficiaries must honor their obligation to the program: They do not report to their places of primary assignments as required but still receive monthly payments. Some have other jobs and have left this bracket but are still benefiting from the payments, while those who truly worked are not paid.

These instances have made the need for a thorough audit imperative, as we also look into claims of those being owed for up to eight to nine months' stipends to ascertain the veracity of their claims. The graduates & non-graduate volunteers Batch C1 & C2 are in this category. We want to establish the exact number of people owed and the total amounts, thereby eliminating ghost beneficiaries.

Preliminary findings of our audit have shown that some consultants are holding on to beneficiaries' funds disbursed to them long ago even when their contract ended in March 2023 without any renewal. We condemn this practice and will not tolerate it going forward. Work is ongoing to identify those involved, understand why the payments didn't get to the final beneficiaries, and recall the funds to pay those owed.

We appeal to Nigerians to understand the rationale behind the temporary suspension and investigation of the program as we work to restore the nation's confidence in the program and for the new N-Power to serve Nigerians better. Things have to be properly done for us to move forward.

This restructuring and transformation will also birth an expanded program to reach beneficiaries aged 18-40 (the previous age limit was 35). We are targeting 5 million beneficiaries in 5 years at a pace of 1 million per year under the graduate and non-graduate stream.

In addition, the restructuring will accommodate some new programs, in Education, Health, Works, Agriculture, Technology, fashion, entertainment, and other relevant areas of skill acquisition and employability.

To earn the confidence of Nigerians in the expanded program, transparency and accountability will be the benchmark. It shall no longer be business as usual as we make concerted efforts to put the nation on the right footing, ensuring that no one directly or indirectly unleashes suffering on Nigerians.

We assure all beneficiaries with genuine claims that we will resolve their cases once we complete the verification exercise and honor all valid outstanding obligations. Nobody will be owed.

Dr. Akindele Egbuwalo
National Programme Manager
N-Power for
Honorable Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation