News

Sanwo-Olu charges cabinet members on strict enforcement of laws

Published

8 months ago

September 17, 2023

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has charged the newly inaugurated cabinet members to ensure strict implementation and enforcement of all state laws.

Sanwo-Olu gave the charge on Saturday, during the ongoing four-day 2023 Onboarding Retreat Programme for Members of the State Executive Council, the Body of Permanent Secretaries and Heads of some Agencies and Parastatals, held in Epe.

The theme of the retreat which started on Thursday and will end on Sunday, is ”Navigating Government Excellence: Role of Leadership in Ensuring A Greater Lagos Rises”.

He tasked the new cabinet members to hit the ground running in delivering the campaign promises and dividends of democracy to Lagos residents, in line with the administration’s THEMES+ Agenda for Greater Lagos.

The governor said that part of the takeaway from the retreat was zero tolerance against violation of laws.

According to him, all cabinet members and Permanent Secretaries have been empowered to do the right things.

”There is going to be zero tolerance. People cannot just assume that all our laws will not be obeyed. That is the charge we are giving ourselves here.

”That is the charge we are taking away from this retreat, to further energise our people, to further ensure that we do things we are going to do without fear,” he said.

The governor said that the retreat had exposed the cabinet members to how governance was being run, urging them to cooperate and work in harmony with civil servants in their different ministries, to get the desired results.

”We have had conversations that bordered around everybody’s role, appreciating each other’s responsibility and fashioning a vision that all of us would be signing on to; a vision that would reflect what would be our mode of engagement and rules of engagement for the next three and half years.

”We had sessions with two former governors – Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) and Mr Akinwunmi Ambode. They gave us their experiences and talked about things that we should be doing differently and we thanked them so very much for the time out here.

”We believe that at the end of the exercise on Sunday, all of us will not only be better equipped, energised, and be on the same page, but we will be giving ourselves a sense of commitment that we will take back to our respective posts from Monday, where we will carry our staff along.

”Cabinet members and Permanent Secretaries will also share the visions and some of the things with the staff, so that everybody in the civil service is further energised for quality service delivery to Lagosians and bring about all of the promises that we politicians have given to ensure a Greater Lagos Rising,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu said that the new cabinet members needed to hit the ground running, understand and appreciate the enormous responsibility that the job brought to the table.

According to him, the cabinet members should know that to whom much is given, much is expected and that residents will be watching all of them, hence, they cannot fail.

”We have done four years and we want to do the next four years. We want to do it quicker, faster and bolder, and that is the space that all of us have committed to.

”We believe that we are going to leave here better people, better managers, better leaders, better politicians and at the end, our citizens would feel the benefits of our four days exercise,” the governor said.

Also speaking, the Head of Service, Mr Hakeem Muri-Okunola, said that the theme of the retreat was in line with Gov. Sanwo-Olu administration’s THEMES+ agenda.

Muri-Okunola said that the retreat would help them to get into the workplace on Monday and hit the ground running seamlessly without any bottlenecks and ego, as they were partners on the same journey.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso, said that the cabinet members and the permanent secretaries would work as a stronger team and act proactively to address issues.

Omotoso said that they would take charge and render quality service to residents, as the government enforced the law, in order not to lose the environment to flooding.

The Commissioner for Tourism, Mrs Adetoke Benson-Awoyinka, also said the State Government through her ministry would work together to promote Afrobeat Music.

Benson-Awoyinka said that this would make Lagos a tourism destination in Africa and the world where hospitality remained top-notch.

News

Nigeria’s money supply dropped to N92.3trn in March – CBN

Published

11 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

Nigeria’s money supply dropped marginally to N92.3 trillion in March 2024 from N93.9 trillion in February.

This is according to recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Experts have linked the development to CBN’s hike in interest rates.

Demand deposits increased from N26.8 trillion to N28.8 trillion, suggesting a preference among depositors for more liquid forms of money.

Similarly, currency outside banks surged from N3.4 trillion to N3.6 trillion as more Nigerians moved towards cash following the end of the apex bank’s controversial new naira note policy.

The naira has continued to depreciate against the dollar despite the CBN’s policy intervention. On Thursday, it further dipped to N1533.99 per dollar.

News

Naira appreciates against dollar, ends week on good note

Published

12 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

The Naira appreciated against the dollar at the foreign exchange market barely 24 hours after depreciation.

FMDQ data showed that the N1497.33 appreciated against the dollar on Friday

This represents an N33.66 gain against the dollar compared to N1497.33 traded on Thursday.

Similarly, at the parallel market, the Naira appreciated to N1475 per dollar on Friday from N1555 on Thursday.

This showed that the Naira ended the week well after days of depreciation.

The country’s currency continued to experience instability since mid-April when it recorded months of appreciation.

Meanwhile, the Bureau De Change Operators had blamed forex scarcity for the continued depreciation of Naira.

News

Police dismiss inspector for N29.8m theft, kidnapping

Published

12 hours ago

May 17, 2024

NewsDirect

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed one of its officers identified as Adabo Mohammed for criminal conspiracy and armed robbery, among others.

Mohammed, who was an Inspector, alongside five others was said to be a member of an armed robbery gang allegedly responsible for the stealing of N29.8 million from a victim in Gwagwalada, Federal Capital Territory.

This was disclosed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in a statement issued at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Friday.

The statement, titled, ‘Police speak tough on indiscipline, misconduct,’ noted that in a move to uphold professional standards within the Force, the Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, stressed the Force’s intolerance to any form of indiscipline.

The statement read partly, “In a decisive move to uphold the highest standards of professionalism and integrity within the Nigeria Police Force, the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has emphasised his administration’s zero-tolerance policy towards any form of indiscipline. He stressed that the mandate of the police is to serve and protect with honour and integrity, and as such all breaches of the core values of the NPF will be met with decisive action to maintain public trust and ensure justice.

“In line with this policy, all cases reported against personnel have been creditably attended to, and justice has been done appropriately. Many of the erring officers have been sanctioned, while some cases are still at the orderly room trial level, and will soon be concluded.

“For instance, a police inspector has been dismissed from service while three others were demoted to their previous ranks following thorough investigations which confirmed their involvement in various acts of indiscipline/crime.”

Adejobi added, “One Inspector Adabo Mohammed was dismissed for the offences of criminal conspiracy, armed robbery/kidnapping, and corrupt practice. The dismissed officer, along with five others were members of an armed robbery gang responsible for the robbery of the sum of N29.8 million from a victim in Gwagwalada, FCT as well as the kidnap of one Ikechukwu Emmanuel Okafor in Tunga Manje, and the collection of ransom sum of N4.4m. The ex-officer has been charged to court accordingly.

“Similarly, the trio of Inspectors Osagie Efford, Semiu Agbekin, and Francis Ahuen, attached to the Special Tactical Squad (STS), have been demoted to their previous rank of Sergeant for the extortion of some motorists in Abuja. The trio intercepted an unregistered Mercedes Benz at Gwarinpa, Abuja, and forced the occupants to part with the total sum of N29.4m.

“The matter when reported by one Harrison Gwamnishu (#HarrisonBBi18) via the social media platform ‘X’, was taken up and properly investigated. While the monies have been returned to the complainants, the officers were subjected to orderly room trial in line with extant laws, and have been demoted.”

The FPRO noted that some senior officers have “been subjected to the Force Disciplinary Committee hearings” to “scrutinise and address allegations of misconduct against higher-ranking officers of the Force.”

He assured the public that “these measures are taken with the utmost seriousness and are integral to restoring and maintaining their trust. He re-emphasised that the NPF is dedicated to fostering a culture of accountability and respect within all ranks to ensure that police officers serve with integrity.”