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Oyo govt. to unveil anti- corruption agency next week
The Seyi Makinde led Oyo state government on Friday hinted that it has concluded all arrangements to inaugurate it’s long- awaited Anti-Corruption Agency.
Governor Makinde, who disclosed this while playing host to the 56th President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and other executive members of the body at the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Ibadan, informed that the anti-graft body will be unveiled next week.
He also maintained that probity, accountability and transparency will continue to remain the hallmark of his administration.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the governor as telling the ICAN team, led by its 56th President, Dame Onome Joy Adewuyi, that the state will continue to collaborate with ICAN to ensure accountability and transparency in the state’s financial dealings.
The statement further indicated that Governor Makinde told his visitors that the state would launch the anti-corruption agency to ensure accountability across Ministries, Departments and Agencies of government.
He said: “Of course, accountability is something that is sacrosanct in this present administration. To demonstrate the transparency within this administration, you said I am the first person to get the report. Well, you will also be the first one to learn something about the Oyo Anti-Corruption Agency.
“The name of the agency will be launched openly within the next week. I asked for three people to be nominated but I did not give an inkling why I asked for those nominations. But then, they gave me two names. One of them will be a member of the Oyo State anti-corruption agency.
“One of your members will definitely be serving us within that agency. That is how we believe the government should be run. It should not be a government of cronies. The name of the body is OYACA. We will definitely continue to leverage on the relationship with ICAN at the state level and also nationally.”
The governor maintained that Oyo State has been collaborating with ICAN for years, saying that the government needs to be transparent in order to be able to engender good governance.
He promised that the present administration in the state will continue to leverage the relationship with ICAN towards entrenching fiscal discipline and transparency in the management of public funds.
He said: “We have been collaborating with ICAN and it is a professional body that we are proud of. When the past president was talking about the accountability index, we were not surprised about the position of Oyo State in 2017, 2018, and before we came in, but government is a continuum. And what we have done is to, basically, look at what we met and we have tried to chart a path for the state.”
The governor said that his administration would continue to support the civil servants by affording them regular training both internally and externally.
“Concerning the issues raised regarding employment, cadres and levels, the Head of Service is here and I am sure she has listened to you. We are not quick to shy away from taking on issues head-on. She will look at it, look at the rules of engagement in Oyo State. And where we can amend the laws; we will definitely do it.
“I will also like to let you know that we have always sponsored chartered accountants to external programmes and we will continue to do that,” the governor said.
While speaking earlier, the ICAN President said the visit was to appreciate Governor Makinde for the support that the Ibadan District Society of ICAN has been enjoying since he assumed office as governor.
She commended the governor for recording different feats in infrastructure development and setting a new pace by putting up an Infectious Disease Research and Treatment Centres when other states were erecting temporary isolation centres during the COVID-19 pandemic.
She said: “The state under your able leadership has witnessed visible infrastructural development. ICAN is particularly encouraged with the renewed focus in Oyo State and to provide an enabling environment for learning and capacity building which is one of our core interests as a professional body.
“Your Excellency’s administration has also given the welfare of Oyo State citizens and residents, including civil servants, a top priority. There is no gainsaying the fact that your agenda is people-focused with a robust citizen’s complaints platform and prompt payment of salaries and pensions.
“Your 18 months as the Governor of Oyo State has, no doubt, convinced the citizens and everyone watching social and the economic development of the state that you were fully prepared to face the challenges of leadership.
“Your Excellency, we are greatly delighted with the opportunity of this visit to the Pacesetter State and to pay you this courtesy call as part of my working visit to Ibadan and the District Society of the Institute of Chartered Account of Nigeria.
“I wish to specially express our deep appreciation to Your Excellency for the support that the Ibadan District Society of our institute has enjoyed from your administration and, most recently, the huge donation towards the building of the District Secretariat. We are grateful. We appreciate it. We thank you and that is one of the key reasons why we have come to pay you this courtesy visit.”
She appreciated the governor for employing chartered accountants in the service of the state and also appointing them into political offices, stating that the Commissioner for Finance, Mr Akinola Ojo, FCA and the Accountant-General of the state, Alhaji Garfa Bello, FCA, among others, are respected products of ICAN.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has made headlines by announcing a further reduction in the price of diesel, dropping it from ₦1200 to ₦1000 naira per litre.
The refinery’s decision comes on the heels of its recent supply at a significantly reduced price of ₦1200 per litre, which was introduced three weeks ago, signifying a remarkable 30 per cent decrease from the previous market price of approximately ₦1600 per litre.
This substantial reduction in diesel prices at Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to reiterate positively throughout various sectors of the economy, potentially serving as a catalyst in alleviating the persistently high inflation rate in the country.
In a statement last week, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual and the owner of the refinery, expressed his optimism regarding the potential impact of the price reduction on inflation in Nigeria.
“I believe that we are on the right track. I believe Nigerians have been patient, and I also believe that a lot of goodies will now come through. There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the naira devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about ₦1900,” he remarked.
As anticipation builds around the implications of this move by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stakeholders and consumers alike remain hopeful for the positive effects it could bring to the Nigerian economy in the coming months.
More than 50,000 Russian military personnel have died during the Ukraine conflict, the BBC reported Wednesday, citing its own reporters, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers.
They found that more than 27,300 Russian soldiers died during the second year of the war, a 25-percent increase on the first year.
BBC Russian, Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022, using open-source information from official reports and the media, as well as using satellite images of Russian cemeteries to estimate the number of new graves.
The figure of more than 50,000 is eight times higher than the official toll acknowledged by Moscow in September 2022. It does not include deaths of militia in Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine said in February that it had lost 31,000 soldiers, but that figure is also likely to be significantly lower than the true toll.
Russian losses spiked in January 2023 as it launched a large-scale offensive in Donetsk and again months later last year during the battle for the city of Bakhmut.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” at dawn on February 24, 2022, which has since turned into a bloody and attritional war, isolating Russia from the Western world.
Responding to the report, the Kremlin said it did not disclose any information on military deaths and casualties, which falls under the remit of the defence ministry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added official secrets laws and those covering what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine meant it was “absolutely understandable” that the ministry did not release the figures.
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has disclosed that 95 million Nigerians need to enroll for the National Identification Number (NIN) to meet its target of 200 million enrollments by 2025.
Kayode Adegoke, Head of Corporate Communications at NIMC, emphasised the importance of this enrollment during an interview on X over the weekend.
He stated, “For NIMC to meet the 200 million target by 2025, 95 million Nigerians need to register for the NIN.”
Adegoke revealed that over 105 million NINs have been issued to Nigerians and legal residents so far.
He assured Nigerians of the commission’s commitment, saying, “We want to assure Nigerians that within the next one or two years, we will reach our target of enrolling all Nigerians.”
“The NIN serves as a unique identifier for each citizen and has become increasingly important for various government initiatives aimed at improving security, governance, and service delivery.”
Adegoke highlighted the efforts to streamline the modification and enrollment processes under the leadership of Abisoye Coker, the director-general of NIMC. He announced the development of a self-service platform, allowing Nigerians to make necessary modifications such as changing names, dates of birth, email addresses, and phone numbers from anywhere, using different devices.
Emphasising the convenience of the self-service modification portal, Adegoke encouraged Nigerians to utilize this innovative solution.
He noted the evolution of the process, citing the past requirement for applicants to visit NIMC offices for data corrections.
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