FG sacks striking doctors

The Minister of Health, Isaac Adewole has ordered the sacking and replacement of resident doctors who have been on strike.

The doctors who were attached to government hospitals had embarked on industrial action on Monday, an act which the minister described as abandoning their duty posts.

This directive was contained in a circular signed by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Mrs Amina Shamaki.

“It has come to the notice of the Management of the Ministry that some Resident Doctors in your establishment have voluntarily withdrawn from the Residency Training Program by refusing to report for training without authorization. Public Service Rule, PSR 030402 (e) is relevant.

“This is in spite of the ongoing negotiations on their demands put forward by the representatives of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) under the auspices of the Nigerian Medical Association.

“In view of this development, you are hereby directed to replace all the Doctors that have withdrawn their services, with others from the pool of applicants for the training programs in the various disciplines in order not to create ominous gap in training with attendant disruption of health care delivery in your facility.

“Meanwhile, the ministry is working with the panel on the review of the Residency Training Program in Nigeria, led by Professor Wole Atoyebi, the Registrar of the National Postgraduate Medical College, to fast-track the development of a comprehensive blueprint for postgraduate training of doctors in the country.

“Please, ensure immediate compliance.”

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Idris takes over as IGP Arase retires

President Mohammadu Buhari has appointed Assistant Inspector General, AIG Ibrahim Idris as the new Inspector General of Police to replace Solomon Arase who retired on Tuesday.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina said in a statement on Tuesday that the new IGP would remain in acting capacity until confirmed by the Police Service Commission, PSC.

Giving a brief profile of the new Police chief, the statement said:

"The Acting Inspector-General, who hails from Kutigi, Lavun in Niger State, was born on 15th of January 1959.

"Idris enlisted into the Nigerian Police Force in 1984, after graduating from the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria with a Bachelors degree in Agriculture. He also holds a degree in Law from the University of Maiduguri."

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IGP Arase marks 60th birthday

The Inspector General of Police, Dr Solomon Arase turned 60 on Tuesday.

To mark the occasion, the management team, senior police officers and the rank and file of the Nigeria Police Force delightfully felicitated with  Arase and wished him success, happiness, joy and prosperity.

Arase may have retired from the Police Force today having attained the mandatory age of 60, as earlier in the day, he had handed over to Ibrahim Idris who has become the Acting Inspector General of Police.

Both men had held a brief meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Tuesday.

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Army explains cut off of fertilizer supply to Borno, Adamawa, Yobe

The Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Tukur Buratai has disclosed that the Army shut off the supply of fertilizers to the Northeast states of Borno, Adamawa and Yobe in order to checkmate the production of Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs by terrorist group, Boko Haram.

Buratai made the disclosure in Abuja on Monday while addressing the House Committee on Army during an investigative hearing on the prohibition of use of jerry cans for the purchase of petrol in Yobe and motorcycles in Adamawa state.

He however, urged the House to formally write for a reconsideration of the ban on petrol and fertilizers.

"Since they have been degraded, we won't allow our economic lives to be affected. We will look into the issue of allowing farmers to buy petroleum for their use. Even the issue of fertilizer, we control its supply. The issue can be handled," he said.

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7 health officials in EFCC net for stealing HIV fund

Seven officials of the Federal Ministry of Health are now in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC over their alleged role in the stealing of $4m intended for fighting HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.

The money was said to have been given to Nigeria by the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Global Fund is an international financing organisation that raises and disburses resources to prevent and treat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

An EFCC source said that the suspects who are from the Department of Health Planning, Research and Statistics, which was in charge of managing the funds were arrested on the orders of the presidency.

“The Presidency directed the Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, to investigate the matter. We have made arrests and we are currently compiling our report. We will send it to the Presidency and then charge the suspects to court.

“President Muhammadu Buhari was not happy that the money that was meant to be used in saving lives was stolen. We take this seriously just like the arms scam.”

Global Funds has discontinued further donations to Nigeria since it discovered irregularities in the disbursement of funds earlier given to the country.

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Hawkers, beggars to be jailed in Abuja

The Chairman of the Federal Capital Territory Special Task Team on Abuja Environmental Protection, retired Sqn. Ldr. Abdullahi Monje, has warned that street hawkers and beggars would be prosecuted and jailed.

Monje gave the warning on Monday during a “show of force” by the task force at Jabi and Wuse Districts of Abuja.

He said that the period of grace given to street beggars and hawkers had elapsed, hence the need to enforce the relevant laws.

“We have already given them the benefit of the doubt and now the time has elapsed. What is left now is to enforce the relevant municipal laws.

“Anybody we arrest will be taken to court and prosecuted accordingly.

“If somebody refuses to comply with the rules and regulations based on what we have said, then we will arrest the person accordingly.

“As a matter of fact, we don’t want hawkers and beggars within the city centre of Abuja. They should keep away from the streets of Abuja,’’ he said.

Monje also said that the task force would focus on Keke Napep and unpainted taxi operators in the second phase of their cleanup campaign.

“The phase two is Keke Napep; then unpainted taxis. However, we don’t want to start with unpainted taxis, Keke Napep riders now.

“We want to give adequate time for sensitisation, so that by the time we start impounding, nobody will say ‘I didn’t know," he warned.

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Legislators using constituency projects to divert public funds - FG

The Federal Government on Tuesday said that constituency projects have over the years been used by legislators at the federal and state levels to embezzle and divert public funds.

The Federal Government expressed this position at the the one-day summit organised by the House of Representatives and Conference of Speakers in collaboration with the National Institute for Legislative Studies, NILS in Abuja.

Speaking at the summit, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr David Babachir Lawal said that in the past, lawmakers had used constituency projects as a conduit pipe to embezzle money, but that the  Muhammadu Buhari administration had come to put a stop to the practice.

Also speaking at the summit, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babandede Fashola advised legislators to carefully look at their constitutionally enshrined functions to duplication of roles meant for the local governments.

“I say this because we must avoid the risk of crowded projects where legislators at the national level are made strictly to implement constituency projects that involve primary healthcare centres, which are for the local governments," he said.

He added that although the provision of grassroots projects was part of the change mantra of the present administration, government would not be complacent to see monies voted for public projects go into private pockets.

“In line with the change mantra of the government, which is determined to execute projects that will impact positively on the lives of people of every federal constituency and senatorial district in executable and evenly distributed manner, I charge all the stakeholders and participants at this summit to extensively brainstorm on how best to fully deliver, utilize and extend constituency projects in the best interest of the people and come up with appropriate recommendations to government on how best to proceed.”

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