NEWS
Gov. Mohammed of Bauchi Appoints New SSG
Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has appointed Mr Ibrahim Kashim as the new Secretary to the State Government (SSG) with immediate effect.
The appointment was announced via a statement by Mr Mukhtar Gidado, the Special Adviser (SA) on Media and Publicity to the state governor, in Bauchi on Tuesday.
According to the statement, Kashim, who hails from Bauchi Local Government Area of the state, is a lawyer and former lecturer at Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto.
“He holds LL. B, BL, LLM and Masters in Business Administration and various Post Graduate Certificates in Management, Administration and Economic Reform and Divestiture from many institutions in the United Kingdom and the United States.
“He is also a public servant and a policy expert. He retired in 2015 as a Director in the Presidency (Bureau for Public Enterprises) where he headed various departments and acted as the Director General,” said the statement.
The SA to the governor explained that the newly appointed SSG was appointed as the Pioneer Director General, Bauchi State Bureau for Privatisation and Economic Reforms in 2020.
He said this was an agency set up in pursuant of the current government’s resolve to reform, restructure and grow the economy of the state, where he served in various committees and initiated many reforms programmes.
“Until his appointment, Kashim was the immediate past Director General, Bureau for Privatisation and Economic Reforms,” said Gidado.
Gov. Mohammed also approved the appointment of Mr Aminu Gamawa as the new Chief of Staff, Government House with immediate effect.
NAN also reports that this was sequel to the dissolution of the governor’s cabinet including the offices of Secretary to the State Government, Chief of Staff, Government House and Commissioners among others on June 9, 2021. (NAN)
NEWS
Abia Assembly Didn’t Mandate Deputy Gov. to Apologise – Deputy Speaker
Abia House of Assembly has denied social media report that it mandated the Deputy Governor, Ikechukwu Emetu, to issue a public apology over a misunderstanding between him and its member.The Deputy Speaker and Spokesperson, Austin Meregini, who debunked such report while addressing newsmen in Umuahia on Thursday, said the House did not reach any resolution to that effect.
He admitted that there was a misunderstanding between the deputy governor and Mr Mba Nwoko, member representing Ohafia South State Constituency, but said the matter had been taken care of Report says that there have been publications by social media of the House mandating the deputy governor to apologise to Nwoko for disrespecting the lawmaker during the recent state-wide local government elections. It was alleged that Emetu, who is from the same constituency with Nwoko, had instructed the security operatives to arrest the lawmaker for asking about the election result sheet.Condemning the report, Meregini, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Media, said that it was the imagination and figment of the mischief makers.He said that the deputy governor and the lawmaker are brothers, hence there was no need for the Assembly to pass a resolution mandating such an apology.Meregini said: “I was present at the Tuesday sitting, both at the plenary and executive session; there was no time we reached such resolution.“We do not condone any kind of misunderstanding, but as long as we co-exist, there’s bound to be misunderstanding every now and then.“When there is need, we do offer constructive criticism and constructive oversight on the activities of the government and the Executive and we expect that it will continue.”He reaffirmed the robust relationship between the Legislature and the Executive, saying that it would continue to exist for the benefit of Abia people.The deputy speaker commended the Executive on the level of implementation, while expressing satisfaction with the quality of bills passed by the Assembly.(NAN)NEWS
FEC Proposes N47.9trn 2025 Budget
The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has proposed the sum of N47.9 trillion for the 2025 fiscal year for submission to the National Assembly on Monday.The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu disclosed this after the Council meeting chaired by President Bola Tinubu on Thursday at the Presidential Villa.
According to him, the Council pegged the price of crude oil at 75 dollar per barrel and proposed N1400 as exchange rate to a dollar with oil production put at 2. 06million barrels per day.Bagudu said that the budget proposal included new borrowings of N9.2 trillion to finance the budget deficit in 2025.The minister added that with the growth rate of 3.19 per cent as at the second quarter of 2024, the Federal Government would continue to tackle Inflation, strengthen economic resilience and provide more support for the economy.He also said that government would continue to support high employment generation sectors, improve business environment and effective implementation of youths development and social investment programmes.Bagudu also disclosed that FEC reviewed the 2024 Budget implementation and acknowledged that the review revealed promising in revenue collection and expenditure management.” Despite lacks in prorated target, the overall trajectory shows that fiscal effort are on track with key non-oil streams performing better than anticipated.Similarly, the minister said FEC approved the medium term expenditure framework and the fiscal strategy paper to be submitted to the NASS.” This is in addition to the bills that are already at the National Assembly, the Economic Stabilisation Bill and Tax Reforms Bill , which we believe we will have a very strong growth in 2025,” he said. (NAN)NEWS
Okpebholo Freezes Edo Accounts, Orders Reversal of Ministry’s Name
Gov. Monday Okpebholo of Edo has ordered immediate freezing of all the state bank accounts until further notice.Okpebholo gave the directive in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Fred Itua, on Thursday in Benin.He warned that non-compliance by commercial banks as well as heads of ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) would result in severe penalties.
“All bank accounts in all commercial banks are now frozen. Commercial banks must ensure strict adherence and prevent any withdrawal from government accounts until further notice,” the statement said. Okpebholo stated that necessary investigations and financial reconciliations would determine subsequent actions.He also ordered the reversal of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to the old Ministry of Works with immediate effect.The governor cited what he called lack of completed bridges or significant road projects as a justification for changing the ministry of roads and bridges back to ministry of works.“It is ironic that despite its name, the ministry did not construct a single bridge, not even a pedestrian one,” he said.The governor directed immediate implementation and reflection of the new name across official documents and platforms. (NAN)