Tag: Civil

Gov. Matawalle warns absentee civil servants, risk losing pay
- Civil servants and political appointees who are absent at work in Zamfara state risk losing their pay, Gov. Bello Matawalle has warned.
The governor already directed the Ministry of Finance to withhold salaries of staff until respective Commissioners and Permanent Secretaries in each ministry endorsed the exact number of staff who report to work regularly.

He observed that the state’s civil service was full of anomalies that had rendered it a resource guzzler without commensurate returns.

He added that the civil service was bloated with absentee staff that had become a burden on government resources.

The governor admonished civil servants to adhere to their work ethics or have their salaries stopped.

Matawalle also noted that political appointees were not contributing to efforts at addressing security challenges in the state.

“I wonder how a political appointee will shun his people at the grassroots by being incommunicado while bandits have informants all around and are having the upper hand against us.

“I employed you to have your telephones accessible to all your people so that we can effectively monitor what is happening at the grassroots as it happens or even before it happens.

“We must listen to the people at the grassroots at all times, especially on issues that border on security,’’ Matawalle stressed.

The governor’s charges were contained in a statement issued by Zailani Bappa, his Special Adviser on Public Enlightenment, Media and Communications in Gusau on Tuesday.

Matawalle spoke when he hosted members of the state’s Executive Council, Special Advisers, Chairmen of Boards and Parastatals to break the Ramadan fast.
April 6, 2022
Civil society organisations call on President Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill

A civic-tech organisation known as PROMAD Foundation, on Tuesday, joined other civil society organisations, in Abuja, to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill.

PROMAD, an organization
that works to empower citizens and communities, enabling accountability and participation for good governance and development, noted that the call was the collective voices of Nigerians.

In the words of PROMAD: “Earlier today at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, we joined other civil society organisations to call on President Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill transmitted to him by the National Assembly. This call is the collective voices of Nigerians.”

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, during an interview on Tuesday, said President Buhari could sign the bill today.

“He (Buhari) will sign it (the bill) any moment from now,” he said while appearing as a guest on the Channels Television breakfast programme. “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days.

“It could be signed today; it could be signed tomorrow. In a matter of hours, not days. Hours could be 24 hours, it could be 48 hours; not days, not weeks.”

This comes nearly a month after lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers of the National Assembly passed the harmonised version of the bill.

Passed on January 25, the bill was transmitted to President Buhari a week after, as confirmed by his Senior Special Assistant on NASS Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare.

Weeks after receiving the bill, the President has yet to give his assent – an action that has sparked an outcry from critics who fear he might reject it again.

Defending his principal, Adesina slammed those accusing the President of delaying the signing of the bill, stressing that the Nigerian leader’s action was still within the requirements of the Constitution.

He stated that it would only be appropriate to say President Buhari has acted against the law if exceeds the 30-day window provided by the law.

“You know before the President will put pen to paper on any legislation, particularly this one that has to do with our electoral fortunes, it has to be looked at and looked at.

“He has to buy opinions from different stakeholders and having been satisfied that the necessary due diligence had been done and he will not be making any error, then he will sign it, and I tell you that Nigerians will get to hear about this bill in hours,” Adesina said.

President Buhari had withheld his assent to the bill in November 2021, citing the cost of conducting direct primary elections, security challenges, and possible manipulation of electoral processes by political players as part of the reasons for his decision.

He, however, gave some conditions to give his assent, prompting the lawmakers to re-work the bill which initially led to the emergence of two versions from the green and red chambers of the assembly.

While the House re-amended the bill to include the direct and indirect primary options, the Senate re-adjusted to include the direct, indirect, and consensus modes of selecting political parties’ candidates.

Both chambers, thereafter, passed the harmonised version- the final agreed version of the amendment to Clause 84 of the bill.

This included the direct, indirect, and consensus primary modes of nominating candidates by political parties for elections.

February 22, 2022

Tag: Civil

Gov. Matawalle warns absentee civil servants, risk losing pay

Civil society organisations call on President Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill

A civic-tech organisation known as PROMAD Foundation, on Tuesday, joined other civil society organisations, in Abuja, to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill.

PROMAD, an organization that works to empower citizens and communities, enabling accountability and participation for good governance and development, noted that the call was the collective voices of Nigerians.

In the words of PROMAD: “Earlier today at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, we joined other civil society organisations to call on President Buhari to speedily sign the amended Electoral Bill transmitted to him by the National Assembly. This call is the collective voices of Nigerians.”

Meanwhile, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, during an interview on Tuesday, said President Buhari could sign the bill today.

“He (Buhari) will sign it (the bill) any moment from now,” he said while appearing as a guest on the Channels Television breakfast programme. “It could be today, it could be tomorrow, it could be anytime, but within the 30 days.

“It could be signed today; it could be signed tomorrow. In a matter of hours, not days. Hours could be 24 hours, it could be 48 hours; not days, not weeks.”

This comes nearly a month after lawmakers in the Senate and House of Representatives chambers of the National Assembly passed the harmonised version of the bill.

Passed on January 25, the bill was transmitted to President Buhari a week after, as confirmed by his Senior Special Assistant on NASS Matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare.

Weeks after receiving the bill, the President has yet to give his assent – an action that has sparked an outcry from critics who fear he might reject it again.

Defending his principal, Adesina slammed those accusing the President of delaying the signing of the bill, stressing that the Nigerian leader’s action was still within the requirements of the Constitution.

He stated that it would only be appropriate to say President Buhari has acted against the law if exceeds the 30-day window provided by the law.

“You know before the President will put pen to paper on any legislation, particularly this one that has to do with our electoral fortunes, it has to be looked at and looked at.

“He has to buy opinions from different stakeholders and having been satisfied that the necessary due diligence had been done and he will not be making any error, then he will sign it, and I tell you that Nigerians will get to hear about this bill in hours,” Adesina said.

President Buhari had withheld his assent to the bill in November 2021, citing the cost of conducting direct primary elections, security challenges, and possible manipulation of electoral processes by political players as part of the reasons for his decision.

He, however, gave some conditions to give his assent, prompting the lawmakers to re-work the bill which initially led to the emergence of two versions from the green and red chambers of the assembly.

While the House re-amended the bill to include the direct and indirect primary options, the Senate re-adjusted to include the direct, indirect, and consensus modes of selecting political parties’ candidates.

Both chambers, thereafter, passed the harmonised version- the final agreed version of the amendment to Clause 84 of the bill.

This included the direct, indirect, and consensus primary modes of nominating candidates by political parties for elections.

PROMAD, an organization
that works to empower citizens and communities, enabling accountability and participation for good governance and development, noted that the call was the collective voices of Nigerians.