News

Staff Audit: Stakeholders Besiege NDDC, Demand Umana’s Sack

Published

3 years ago

August 15, 2022

Stakeholders of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Monday besieged the commission’s premises in protest against what they described as an “unwarranted audit” of staff of the Commission by the newly appointed Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Umana Okon Umana.

The protesters also faulted Umana’s “deep” involvement in the administrative affairs of the Commission which they claimed is contrary to his assigned role as a supervisory minister of the NDDC.

Speaking on behalf of the staff of NDDC, Mr. Victor Idaye Briggs said that it was wrong for the Minister to call for the audit of staff of the Commission, an exercise he claimed was carried out years ago before the commencement of the forensic audit in the commission.

Briggs alleged that the main intent of the Minister was to sack some staff of the Commission and bring in his cronies as a way of compensating them for political reasons.

He said, “We have discovered that his actual intention is to recruit those he will use for the 2023 politics and we will never allow that to happen.

“We are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to as a matter of urgency stop the minister of the Niger Delta Affairs from destroying the Commission with the ulterior motive of sacking genuine staff of the Commission and replacing them with political cronies. They are our breadwinners. They pay our school fees. If they are sacked now, where do we go to?

“We will be here as long as possible until Mr. President responds to our request. This is very unfair and we don’t want a situation where the region is plunged into an avoidable crisis. You can see that we are all young people who are dependent on their parents or relations in this Commission”.

A staff of the Commission, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “undue interference of Umana in the affairs of the NDDC has already gone beyond his supervisory role. He is going too far about the issues affecting the NDDC despite the fact that the office of the director general had since carried out an audit on the staff and contracts in the Commission.

“About two years ago, we did biometrics and all the data for staff audit were submitted to the Head of Service when this Commission was still at Aba road. Umana has no right to order his own staff to carry out a staff audit in NDDC because this is a Commission duly established by law.

“As a supervisory minister then, former Minister Godswill Akpabio never tried that kind of a thing. What is happening in NDDC right now is a clear annexation of the Commission. It is equivalent to what Russia is doing to Ukraine. On that note, we are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently inaugurate a substantive board to run the affairs of the Commission, going forward”.

Others said the protest came at the right time to forestall the possibility of using the Commission as a cash cow to fund the coming elections.

“First of all, it is our constitutional right to protest peacefully against anything that is against the interest of the staff of this Commission and by extension the Niger Delta region. Our collective demand is that the federal government should do the needful by giving the NDDC a board in accordance to the Act that established the NDDC.

“Secondly, we want the staff of the Commission to be protected from undue interference by politicians. We have discovered that what Umana Okon Umana is trying to do is to politicize this place for political reason. We don’t want that and we will never allow that to happen.”

Some of the placards read, “NDDC not a ground to settle political acrimonies”, “Mr President return NDDC to the office of SGF”, “Umana/perm Sec leave NDDC staff alone” and “President Buhari sack Umana now”, among others.

Efforts were made repeatedly to reach the Corporate Affairs Department for reactions but to no avail.

News

Tinubu Approves Portfolios For 5 NCDC Executive Directors

Published

7 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

President Bola Tinubu has approved portfolios for five executive directors on the board of the North Central Development Commission (NCDC).

Mr Segun Imohiosen, Director, Information and Public Relations, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), made the announcement in a statement issued on Monday in Abuja.

The appointees and their portfolios are: Hajiya Biliquis Jumoke- Administration and Human Resources, Mrs Aisha Rufai Ibrahim-Commercial and Industrial Development.

Others are, Mr James Abel Uloko-Corporate Services, Prof. Muhammad Bashar-Finance and Atika Ajanah-Projects.

The president urged the executive directors to work closely with the governing board of the commission to promote and coordinate sustainable development of the North-Central geopolitical zone.”

News

Court Orders Arrest Of 2 Lawyers Over Alleged Forgery, Impersonation

Published

8 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, sitting at Apo, on Monday, issued a bench warrant against two lawyers charged with forgery and impersonation.

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie made the arrest order following repeated failure of the defendants- Victor Giwa, and Ibitade Bukola- to appear before the court to enter their plea to the charge that was preferred against them by the Inspector General of Police.

In the charge marked: CR/150/25, the duo were accused of conspiring to forge a legal document purportedly issued by the chambers of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Prof. Awa U. Kalu, with the intent to mislead the Attorney General of the Federation, AGF.

According to the three-count charge, the alleged offence occurred on June 28, 2024.

The prosecution alleged that the defendants forged and signed a letter on the official letterhead of the SAN, requesting the AGF to suspend a scheduled arraignment.

The contentious letter, titled “Urgent and Solemn Appeal to Suspend the Arraignment of Our Colleague Victor Giwa on Charge Number: CR/222/2023”, was allegedly addressed to the AGF.

It allegedly sought intervention of the AGF to halt an arraignment that was scheduled before trial Justice Samira Bature of the high court.

The IGP, in the charge, maintained that the two lawyers committed offences punishable under Section 97, 179 and 364 of the Penal Code Act, 2004.

At the resumed proceeding of the court on Monday, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Eristo Asaph, noted that the defence lawyer told the court that the 1st defendant was bereaved, hence his absence for the scheduled arraignment.

The prosecution counsel further noted that it was on the strength of an application by the defendant that the case was adjourned.

He, therefore, wondered why the duo were also absent in court for the case to proceed.

Responding, the defence counsel, Mr. Ogbu Aboje, told the court that the 1st defendant, Giwa, wrote a letter that was accompanied with a medical report dated September 3, indicating that he had a health challenge he described as “Degenerative disorder of the lumber vertebrae,” in addition to his hypertensive condition.

He added that the 2nd defendant equally went to the hospital on Monday morning to keep to a routine appointment for the immunisation of her daughter.

More so, he drew attention of the court to an application the defendants earlier filed to challenge its jurisdiction to entertain the case.

Dissatisfied with the developments, the prosecution counsel urged the court to issue a warrant for the defendants to be arrested y security agencies and produced for their trial.

In his ruling, Justice Onwuegbuzie held that having listened to both parties, he was minded to accede to the prosecution’s request.

He court stressed that the medical report did indicate that the 1st defendant would not be able to attend court, adding that the 2nd defendant did not adduce any material to justify her absence.

Consequently, relying on the provision of section 266 (2) and 352 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), Justice Onwuegbuzie issued a bench warrant for the defendants to be arrested and produced before the court on October 8.
(VANGUARD)

News

Community Attributes Access Road To Reduction In Maternal Mortality In Bauchi

Published

11 hours ago

September 15, 2025

Editor

A cross-section of residents in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State has attributed the reduction in maternal mortality to the ongoing construction and rehabilitation of the Kirjaule–Lame roads.

Mr. Samila Jauro, who spoke on behalf of the community, made the disclosure during a media tour of ongoing Bauchi State projects in the area.

He explained that in the past, no fewer than 50 pregnant women and their babies had lost their lives due to delays in accessing healthcare caused by the poor condition of roads.

“We have lost many of our pregnant women and their unborn babies in the past because of bad roads.

“But the present administration has changed our lives through its infrastructural development,” Jauro said.

While commending the state government, he appealed for the electrification of Kirjauke community.

“We are grateful for the road project, but we still call on the governor to provide us with electricity.

For the past 18 years, we have had no source of power,” he added.

The Bauchi State Government, through the Ministry of Works, in 2023 awarded a 40.5-kilometer road construction and rehabilitation projects in the aforementioned sites.

Speaking on the progress of the projects, the Site Engineer, Mr. Ado Shehu, said the project had reached 75 percent completion.

“The Kirjaule–Lame and Magama–Gumau roads were awarded at the end of November 2023.

“Some portions are already completed, while others are at the second layer and shoulder stage to ensure a successful outcome.

“The duration of the project according to the contract is 36 months.

” But with 75 percent already completed, the project will be finished ahead of schedule,” he said.