National
Didi Walson-Jack assures reinvigoration of civil service
The newly inaugurated Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOCSF), Mrs Didi Walson-Jack, has assured that she will reinvigorate the civil service, using innovation to obtain a more efficient, effective bureaucracy.
Walson-Jack gave the assurance when she assumed her duty fully on Wednesday in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that President Bola Tinubu appointed Walson-Jack as the new HOCSF on July 17, to take effect on August 14.
Her appointment followed the exit of Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, who completed her tenure and retired on the same date.
Walson-Jack joined the Federal Civil Service in 2009 and was appointed Permanent Secretary in 2017.
Before her appointment, she served in several Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) including the office of the HOCSF, Ministries of Niger Delta Affairs, Power, Water Resources and Sanitation and lately, Ministry of Education.
On assumption of duty, Walson-Jack pledged continuity on already established reforms in the service by her predecessors as encapsulated in the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan (FCSSIP25).
“My plans for the civil service is to reinvigorate it using innovation and creativity to ensure that we have a more efficient and effective bureaucracy and one that will deliver on the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu.
“For now, we will be working basically on the reforms that were already on grounds, we must sustain them and definitely we will like to increase the tempo.
.”I know that we can sustain them and take them to the next level, “she pledged.
The HOCSF also used the occasion to appreciate Tinubu for the privilege given her to serve in such capacity, saying that she would not disappoint him and the entire nation.
“To Mr President, I say thank you very much your excellency for the privilege given her to serve in such capacity.
.”I will like to reiterate that I will not disappoint Mr President and I will like to say that with God on my side, I will also definitely not disappoint Nigerians, “she said.
She, nevertheless, sought the cooperation of the entire civil servants to work in unity so as to achieve the needed goals of the service as she could not do it alone.
“For the civil servants, I come as a servant of all and definitely I know that I cannot do it alone.
“I am asking for full cooperation, full support and I will like us to work in unity to achieve the goals of this administration,”she pleaded.
Responding on behalf of the staff, Mr Raymond Omachi, Permanent Secretary, Common Services Office, assured her of the maximum cooperation as they worked with the former HOCSF, Dr Yemi-Esan.
“I want to say that as we supported your predecessor to succeed, we will support you and you will succeed, we will be loyal to you and we will do whatever that will make you to succeed in your mandate,” he said
(NAN)
By Abubakar Yunusa
A leading civil society organisation, the Resource Centre for Human Rights & Civic Education (CHRICED), has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida over his role in the annulment of the June 12, 1993, presidential election.
In a statement released on Thursday in Abuja, CHRICED’s Executive Director, Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, described Babangida’s recent self-incriminating remarks as a critical test for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
He asserted that failure to hold the former leader accountable would undermine Tinubu’s moral and political legitimacy.
“We firmly assert that if President Tinubu fails to take decisive action against General Babangida and does not ensure that he faces the consequences of his actions—specifically, imprisonment, which is where he rightfully belongs—he will lack the moral and political legitimacy to govern effectively,” Zikirullahi stated.
The organisation argued that Babangida’s candid admission of his role in annulling the election paints him as a figure who has evaded justice for too long.
It warned that failure to prosecute him would further entrench a culture of impunity in Nigeria.
The statement also highlighted the tragic aftermath of the annulment, including the deaths of protesters and the imprisonment of pro-democracy activists.
Among those mentioned were Chief MKO Abiola, the presumed winner of the election, who was detained and later died under suspicious circumstances, as well as journalist Dele Giwa, whose unresolved murder remains a symbol of repression during Babangida’s regime.
“For decades, successive governments have claimed a lack of evidence to prosecute Babangida.
However, with his recent confessions and public statements, there is now compelling evidence for legal action,” CHRICED said.
The organisation also criticised the financial waste associated with the annulled election, arguing that resources used to conduct the poll could have been better utilised for national development.
The center blamed Babangida’s administration for fostering a political culture where power is acquired through manipulation rather than democratic means.
“The decisions made by Babangida and his associates have led to the infiltration of unqualified individuals into various positions of authority, undermining governance and eroding public trust,” the statement read.
CHRICED urged President Tinubu to take a stand for justice, insisting that addressing Babangida’s role in the June 12 annulment is crucial to restoring faith in Nigeria’s democratic process.
“This is not just about the past; it is about Nigeria’s future. If impunity is allowed to persist, the cycle of injustice and corruption will continue to plague our nation,” Zikirullahi warned.
Gunmen have abducted some female students of Joseph Sarwuan Tarka University in Makurdi, Benue state.
The students, reportedly numbering up to four, were abducted on Tuesday evening at the university’s North Core campus.
The students were said to have been headed for “night class”, a practice of late-night studying in Nigerian campuses.
The gunmen were said to have invaded the hotel area of the campus before abducting the four students.
Some moments after the incident, operatives of the Nigerian army arrived at the school.
Sewuese Anene, Benue police spokesperson, told TheCable on Wednesday that a report received by the police indicated that only two students were kidnapped during the incident.
Anene added that the police have launched an investigation into the matter.
The Markurdi incident is the latest in a series of abductions targeted at Nigeria’s tertiary school students in recent years.
In August 2024, at least 20 medical and dental students were kidnapped in Benue State while travelling to a convention in Enugu.
In September 2023, gunmen abducted approximately 20 students from a university in Zamfara state.
At Greenfield University in Kaduna State, at least 20 students and two staff members were kidnapped in April 2021.
Tragically, five students were killed during captivity before the remaining hostages were released after a month.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Jude Okoye, the elder brother and former manager of Paul and Peter Okoye of the defunct music group, P-Square, on charges of laundering ₦1.38billion, $ 1 million and £34,537.59.
Jude was arraigned alongside his company, Northside Music Ltd, before Justice Alexander Owoeye of the Federal High Court, Lagos, on a seven-count charge
One of the counts read: “That you, Jude Okoye Chigozie and Northside Music Ltd sometime in 2022, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did directly acquire a landed property known as No 5, Tony Eromosele Street Parkview Estate, Ikoyi, Lagos worth ₦850,000,000.00 (Eight hundred and fifty million naira) only, which money you knew or reasonably ought to have known forms part of proceeds of unlawful act and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (2) (d) and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
Another count read: “That you, Jude Okoye Chigozie and Northside Music Ltd sometime in 2022, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did indirectly using bureau de change convert the sum of $1,019,762.87 (One million nineteen thousand, seven hundred and six-two dollars eighty-seven cents), domiciled in Access Bank Plc operated by Northside Music Lid to the naira equivalent and remitted into various bank accounts with the intention of concealing that the said fund form part of the proceeds of an unlawful act and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 18 (2)(a) and punishable under Section 18 (3) of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022.”
He pleaded “not guilty” to the charges.
In view of his plea, the prosecution counsel, Larry Peters Aso, applied for a date for hearing as well as for the remand of the defendant in the correctional facility pending trial.
The defendant’s counsel, Inibehe Effiong, informed the court of a pending bail application. He asked for a short date for the hearing. Effiong also asked that the defendant be remanded in the EFCC’s custody pending the hearing of the application.
Aso objected to the request for the defendant to be remanded in the EFCC custody. He argued that the EFCC custody was already congested with suspects awaiting arraignment. He urged the court to remand the defendant to the correctional facility since he had taken his plea.
Justice Owoeye adjourned the matter till February 28 for bail hearing and April 14 for trial.
He also ordered that the defendant be remanded in the Ikoyi correctional facility.