News
Delta State Government Orders Absentee Health Workers to Refund Salaries
The Delta State Government has mandated over 200 absentee doctors and nurses to refund their salaries following an extensive audit of the state’s health institutions. This move, announced by the State Health Commissioner, Dr. Joseph Onojame, aims to address and rectify inefficiencies within the health sector.
Speaking to reporters in Asaba, Dr. Onojame disclosed that the audit uncovered a significant number of ghost workers, particularly at the Delta State University Teaching Hospital in Oghara. He emphasized that the administration, under Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, is committed to sanitizing the health sector.
“In our thorough investigation, we discovered that many health professionals had left their positions, often moving abroad, yet they remained on the payroll,” Dr. Onojame explained. “As a result, we have taken steps to remove them from the payroll to stop this financial drain.”
The audit revealed that the state had lost about fifty percent of its doctors and nurses due to emigration over the past few years. The removal of these ghost workers is seen as a critical measure to curb unnecessary expenditures and improve the allocation of resources.
In addition to addressing absenteeism, the Delta State Government is also tackling corruption within the Department of Nursing. Allegations of examination malpractice, admission racketeering, and corrupt practices have plagued the department. Dr. Onojame noted that steps have been taken to refund illegally collected building levies from students and to discipline staff involved in unethical practices.
“There was a lecturer who collected money in exchange for grades; such individuals will face severe consequences,” Dr. Onojame stated. “We are eliminating practices like ‘pay for score,’ ensuring that all nursing students must study to pass their exams.”
The State Chairman of the National Association of Nurses and Midwives, Comrade Philomena Onokpuvie, has expressed support for these reforms. She commended the government’s efforts to address the challenges in the health sector and emphasized the need for collaboration between the government, health professionals, and administrators to achieve sustainable improvements.
As Delta State moves forward with these reforms, the focus remains on creating a transparent, efficient, and accountable health sector that can better serve its residents.
News
I regret obtaining NDA form for Lagbaja, says family head
The head of the late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja’s family, Pa Tajudeen Lagbaja, has expressed regret obtaining Nigerian Defence Academic (NDA) form for the deceased.
Pa Tajudeen, the younger brother of the late COAS’s father, stated that he would not have bought the form had he known it would lead to his death.
Some family members also alleged that Lt. General Lagbaja may have been killed through diabolical means due to a land dispute in his hometown.
According to TheNation, In 2023 a dispute arose in Ilobu, the headquarters of Irepodun Local Government Area in Osun State, when representatives of the Nigerian Army planned to establish a hospital in the community.
Pa Tajudeen told TheNation that he initially obtained the NDA form for the late Lieutenant General.
“Everyone who is born must die. We give glory to God. The year that I obtained NDA form for him, if I had known that he would die before me, I would not have done so. I regret obtaining the form for him. But it is destiny.
“The death that killed Taoreed Lagbaja ought to take me. I took him as one of my children. We are greatly bereaved, we are sad. He constructed a borehole in his father’s compound and other places in the community.
“We can never forget him, his death is so shocking to us. I have accepted the fate, all the promises he made to me have hit a brick wall. He always gave us hope in the family, despite the sorrow, I give thanks to God,” the family head said.
News
Tinubu Reappoints Prof Abdullahi Mustapha As DG Of Biotechnology Agency NBRDA
President Bola Tinubu has reappointed Prof. Abdullahi Mustapha as the Director-General of the National Biotechnology Research and Development Agency (NBRDA).
Prof. Abdullahi is expected to serve another second term of five years as the head of the research agency.
His appointment was announced in a press statement issued by the Press Secretary to the NBRDA Director-General, Toyin Omozuwa, in Abuja on Saturday.
According to the statement, Mustapha’s reappointment was conveyed in a letter signed by the Secretary to the
Government, George Akume.
“Mustapha’s second term is effective from 31st October 2024 and is in line with the provisions of Sections 10 (1) and (3) of the National Biotechnology Development Agency (Establishment) Act, 2022,” the statement said.
Omozuwa stated that industry experts regard the reappointment as an expression of Tinubu’s confidence in Mustapha’s capability to drive innovation towards achieving food security.
He added that the reappointment would allow the Director-General to complete his work in enhancing pharmaceutical production, as well as positioning Nigeria at the forefront of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Mustapha is a Professor of Bioinorganic Chemistry and hails from Dambatta Local Government Area of Kano State.
The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) is an agency established in 2001 under the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, that implements policies, explores resources, conducts research, promotes, coordinates and develops biotechnology in Nigeria.
The NABDA also controls and supervises the introduction of genetically modified organisms into Nigeria.
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