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Jonathan Commissions Edo Civil Service Secretariat Complex, Says Nigeria Needs Politicians Like Obaseki

Published

1 year ago

June 12, 2024

Former Nigerian president, Goodluck Jonathan, has said Nigeria needs politicians like Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, who has the vision to groom intellectuals, bring about development to the people in his effort to enthrone good governance.

Jonathan spoke on Wednesday in Benin at the commissioning of the Edo State Civil Service Secretariat Complex in Benin City, which was renovated and completed by the Obaseki-led administration.

He said that while other state governments were finding it difficult to pay minimum wage, Obaseki had gone ahead to pay N70,000 minimum wage , which distinguished him from his colleagues as a performing governor.

Jonathan, who expressed satisfaction with the developmental projects embarked upon by the governor, said Obaseki is doing well in the state as his government has positively improved the welfare of the people, particularly the state workforce.

He also expressed dismay at manners some governors in the country were busy encouraging youths into criminal activities with a view to using them to win elections.

Jonathan, while encouraging them to become brains that would be an asset to the country, urged politicians and governors to emulate Obaseki, saying he has redefined the political system in the state by engaging brains to drive the process.

The former president said
before this time, civil servants were taking what could not take them home, but Obaseki has changed that in Edo by paying what is reasonable and that can take them home.

“In fact, if you go to some states, governors are busy encouraging criminals because of politics. The people who will rig elections for them, snatch boxes , carry knives and cutlass to pursue people. But Governor Obaseki is encouraging the Brains of Edo State.

“The brains don’t come from one political party. The brains come from all political parties. Obaseki is not supporting these brains because he wants to win an election, but because he wants to build a state.

“For you to build a state, you have to build the people. I have to sincerely appreciate that vision. Let me join the civil servants in Edo State to thank you for improving their welfare. Of course, before this time, civil servants have been going home with salaries that can not take them home. Now, you are paying them salaries that take them home,” Jonathan said.

On his part, Obaseki said the Civil Service Secretariat Complex was the first place he visited when he assumed office as the governor of the state.

He said that the complex was in a very sorry state, he promised to revamp it and make it conducive for workers to carry out their jobs in the belief that a conducive working environment would always lead to a workforce that can boost productivity.

Also speaking, the state Head of Service, Anthony Okungbowa, thanked the state governor for revolutionizing and digitalizing the state civil service.

He stated that the governor has provided a conducive environment for the state workers to be effective in their day-to-day assignments.

Okungbowa said that the state is the only one paying its workers the highest minimum wage when other states are making excuses and can’t raise their own to that amount of money.

He added that the state is the only one that offers automatic employment to first-class graduates of Edo origin from any of the universities in the country.

Headline

Morocco Jails Student One Year Over Gen Z Protest

Published

4 hours ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

A student arrested during Morocco’s youth-led protests has been sentenced to one year in prison, his lawyer told AFP on Friday.

The case marks the first publicly known prison sentence linked to the kingdom’s Gen Z demonstrations, which have been held near-daily between late September and last week to demand social and political reforms.

The student was charged with “participating in an unauthorised and unarmed gathering” and “insulting the judicial police by providing false information”, lawyer Mohamed Nouini said.

“The ruling is unfair, and we will appeal,” he added, arguing that sit-ins did not require authorisation as per a Supreme Court precedent.

The lawyer said his client was arrested on September 30, three days after the protests erupted in the North African country.

According to a report by news website Hespress, citing another lawyer, the student’s arrest was “an unfortunate coincidence” as he was in Casablanca for a family visit.

The other lawyer, Mohamed Lakhdar, told the judge the student had “not insulted” police nor provided false information, telling them he “was just a student”, according to the report.

Hundreds were arrested during the early days of the largely peaceful demonstrations.

Some cities had seen spates of violence and acts of vandalism, while authorities have said three people were killed by police acting in “self-defence” during clashes in a village near Agadir.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) has said roughly 550 people are facing prosecution on suspicion of joining the protests, with some still in detention.

The organisers of the online-based movement behind the nationwide protests, the GenZ 212 youth collective, remain unknown.

The collective has called for “peaceful sit-ins” on Saturday and demanded the release of those arrested during the demonstrations.

The protest came after the deaths of eight pregnant women during Caesarean sections at a hospital in Agadir.

But protesters have also demanded reforms to the education system and a change of government.
AFP

Headline

Trump Refiles $15bn Defamation Lawsuit Against New York Times

Published

5 hours ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump has refiled a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against The New York Times, court documents show, weeks after it was thrown out by a federal judge.

Trump has intensified his long-established hostility toward the media since his return to the White House, and the suit is one of numerous attacks against news organizations he accuses of bias against him.

The Times’ complaint was thrown out in September because District Judge Steven Merryday took exception to its florid writing, repetitive and laudatory praise of Trump, and its excessive 85-page length.

The suit filed Thursday in Florida and seen by AFP runs to less than half the length, at 40 pages.

It takes aim at “false, defamatory, and malicious publications”, highlighting a book and two Times articles.

The lawsuit named the newspaper, three Times reporters and the publisher Penguin Random House as defendants.

It accuses them of making defamatory statements against Trump “with actual malice.”

“The statements in question wrongly defame and disparage President Trump’s hard-earned professional reputation, which he painstakingly built for decades” before entering the White House, the lawsuit says.

The court was asked to grant compensatory damages of not less than $15 billion and additional punitive damages “in an amount to be determined upon trial.”

Trump’s attacks on media outlets have seen him restrict access, badmouth journalists critical of his administration, and bring lawsuits demanding huge amounts of compensation.

In July, Trump sued media magnate Rupert Murdoch and The Wall Street Journal for at least $10 billion after it reported on the existence of a book and a letter he allegedly sent to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Paramount settled Trump’s lawsuit over election coverage on CBS News’ flagship show “60 Minutes” for $16 million the same month. He had alleged that the program deceptively edited an interview with his 2024 election rival, Kamala Harris, in her favor.

AFP

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Italian Journalist’s Car Bombed, No Casualties

Published

5 hours ago

October 17, 2025

Editor

A bomb destroyed the vehicle of a prominent Italian journalist overnight, without causing casualties, his investigative television news show announced Friday.

Sigfrido Ranucci’s car blew up in an explosion in Pomezia, near Rome, that also damaged the family’s other car and the house next door, according to Report, which broadcasts on RAI public television.

“The force of the explosion was so strong that it could have killed anyone passing by at the moment,” it said in a statement on X.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni strongly condemned what she called a “serious act of intimidation”.

Inside Kwara Community, Ijara-Isin, Where Residents Have Own ‘Currency’

“The freedom and independence of information are non-negotiable values of our democracies, which we will continue to defend,” she wrote on X.

Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said he had ordered an increase in the journalist’s security “to the maximum”.

He called the attack a “cowardly and extremely serious act that represents an attack not only on the person but on the freedom of the press and the fundamental values of our democracy”.

The Report show is known for its in-depth investigative reports.

According to the campaign group Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Italy ranks 49th in the world in terms of press freedom.

“Journalists who investigate organised crime and corruption are systematically threatened and sometimes subjected to physical violence for their investigative work,” it said in its latest update.

About 20 journalists currently live under permanent police protection after being the targets of intimidation and attacks, it added.

AFP