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Civil servants in Niger to begin strike Wednesday
By Francesca Hangeior
Civil servants in Niger State have declared an indefinite strike over the failure of the government to meet their demands.
The civil servants, acting under the umbrella of the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress, had presented some demands to the state government which the NLC said the state reneged upon.
It, however, said its doors were still open for negotiation.
The congress in a letter to Governor Mohammed Bago, dated February 19 and signed by the Chairman, Idrees Lafene, and the chairman of the Trade Union Congress,l, Ibrahim Gana, said the strike would begin 8am on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
The letter was made available to newsmen on Tuesday.
It read in part “We are writing in furtherance to our earlier letter of ultimatum Ref no. OL/NS/040/GEN/Vol 4/29 dated 20/12/23 and the deadlock on settlement of issues as a result of negotiations with Niger State Government Committee.
“We wish to formally inform the Government that effective 8am on Wednesday, February 21, 2024 that Niger State workers shall commence an indefinite strike action until our demands are comprehensively met.
“Meanwhile, we wish to reiterate that our doors are open for negotiation subject to: Conveyance of formal invitation, reversal of all appointments in dispute ie, Executive Directors Finance, Executive Directors Admin and Executive Directors Operations, Chairman, members and permanent commissioners of local Government Service Commission and Civil Service Commission, Directors General DGs of some agencies
“A clear statement by the government on payment of wage award.
“We also wish to stress that the idea of appointing Permanent Secretaries who are not eligible and within the service will no longer be tolerated by the Organised Labour.
“Accordingly we call on the government to withdraw the recent appointment of a Vice Principal on secondment as a Permanent Secretary to allow for career progression from within.
“We also call on the government to desist from victimising teachers and members from the educational sector as a result of the recent debate by some primary school pupils in Agaie LGA.”
The organised labour reiterated its commitment to the governor’s New Niger Agenda, noting that there was no response to previous correspondence.
News
At last, Tinubu sacks five ministers, makes seven fresh nomination
By Francesca Hangeior.
At last, president Bola Tinubu has reshuffle his cabinet appointing seven new ministers.
This development is coming few months after growing calls for the President to rejig his cabinet.
In a statement issued by the presidency after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting on Wednesday, president Tinubu re-assigned 10 ministers to new ministerial portfolios and appointed seven new ministers for Senate confirmation.
The president on Wednesday, during the Federal Executive Council (FEC), announced the sack of Uju-Ken Ohanenye as Minister of Women Affairs; Lola Ade-John as Minister of Tourism; Tahir Mamman as Minister of Education; Abdullahi Gwarzo as Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development; and Jamila Ibrahim as Minister of Youth Development.
Tinubu subsequently nominated Bianca Odumegu-Ojukwu as the Minister of State Foreign Affairs, while Nentawe Yilwatda as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, officially bringing an end to the tenure of suspended Betta Edu.
The President also nominated Maigari Dingyadi as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Jumoke Oduwole as the Minister of Industry, Idi Maiha as Minister for the newly created Livestock Development Ministry, Yusuf Ata as the Minister of State, Housing and Urban Development, with Suwaiba Ahmad as Minister of State Education.
Earlier on Wednesday, the President scrapped the Ministry of Nigeria Delta Development and announced the Ministry of Regional Development as a replacement to oversee the activities of all the regional development commissions.
The regional development commissions to be under the supervision of the new Ministry are the Niger Delta Development Commission, the South East Development Commission, the North East Development and the North West Development Commission.
Tinubu also scrapped the Ministry of Sports Development and transferred its functions to the National Sports Commission to “develop a vibrant sports economy”.
The President further approved the merger of the Federal Ministry of Tourism and the Federal Ministry of Arts and Culture to become the Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism and the Creative Economy.
“The appointment of Shehu Dikko as Chairman of the National Sports
Commission.
“The appointment of Sunday Akin Dare as Special Adviser to the president on Public Communication and Orientation working from the ministry of Information and National Orientation,” the President said.
The President appreciated the outgoing members of the Federal Executive Council for their service to the nation while wishing them the best in their
future endeavours.
He then charged the newly appointed ministers as well as their reassigned colleagues to see their appointment as a call to serve the nation.
He added that all appointees must understand the administration’s eagerness and determination to set Nigeria on the path to irreversible growth and invest the best of their abilities into the actualisation of the government’s priorities.
It could be recalled that Tinubu, the All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, appointed 48 ministers in August 2023, three months after his inauguration.
The Senate immediately screened and confirmed the ministers. One of the ministers, Betta Edu, was suspended in January while another, Simon Lalong, moved to the Senate.
There have been growing calls for the President to reshuffle his cabinet as many Nigerians are not impressed by the performance of some of the ministers, especially in the face of unprecedented inflation, excruciating economic situation and rising insecurity.
In September, presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said the President would reshuffle his cabinet but didn’t give a time to the reorganisation.
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