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Senior Civil Servants warn expelled National President to Stay away from Secretariat
Members of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, South East Zone have warned the expelled former National President of the Union, Bola Innocent Audu to desist from invading and vandalizing its property at the national secretariat of the Union located in Yaba, Lagos.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Zonal Secretary of the body Comrade Igbokwe Chukwuma Igbokwe alleged that Audu, accompanied by thugs and other expelled members of the association had on several occasions invaded the facility and vandalized valuables.
“On Friday 21st October, 2022 Innocent Audu led by some expelled members and retired staff of the Union and in company of thugs, cultists and fake security operatives with guns and other dangerous weapons invaded the Association’s National Secretariat.
“They chased away security men on duty at the secretariat, broke the doors to various offices, parked away the Union cheque books, computer Items, sensitive documents and cash while claiming that court gave them order to invade the secretariat.
“The Zone is worried that this is not the first time Bola Audu and his group have invaded the National Secretarial in a commando and gangster style. Why has he abandoned the Law suits he instituted in both the High Court and the National Industrial Court in Abuja on his expulsion and resort to very crude and illegal means in attempt to impose himself as the National President of the Union?
“Bola Audu is currently standing trial in Abuja High Court on a criminal charge of human trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable persons. He was suspended from service and banned from entering his office at the Treasury House (Office of the Accountant General of the Federation).
“Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria is a Union of matured and disciplined members that respect democratic process and rule of law. Hence, attempting to use force and rascality to assume leadership position in the Union shall amount to exercise in futility. Leadership in a union is about adequate representation and protection of members interest and not to squander union resources.
“The Zone reiterates that, the expulsion of Bola Innocent Audu by the relevant organs of the Union still stands. The forceful entrance into the National Secretariat and vandalizing of the Union properties by him and his cohorts is an act of criminality. Their actions portray ignorance to the process of assuming leadership positions in a Trade Union.
“The South East Zone shall liaise with the other Zones and the National Secretariat to put an end to this wanton act of rascality being perpetuated on the Association by interlopers like Bola Audu and his fellow miscreants. Bola Audu and his cohort must be made to face the full weight of the Law. Enough is enough.
“The Zone reaffirms its confidence in the Central Working Committee (CWC) ably led by Comrade Dr Tommy Etim Okon, the National President and Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, the Secretary General and urge them not to relent in the struggle to save the Association from those who are determined to destroy it.
He further revealed that a general meeting of the zone will be convened soon to take further actions on the matter.
This is as the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, appeared at the headquarters of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to testify in the ongoing investigation into the activities of the fictitious agency.
The apex bank’s admission came at the public hearing convened at the National Assembly Complex by the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the existence and operations of the PFIPC, chaired by Yusuf Gagdi and inaugurated by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas.
Monday’s hearing revealed critical gaps in the bureaucratic processes that allowed the fictitious agency to obtain the functional perks accorded to real government agencies.
Represented by the Director of its Banking Services Department, Hamisu Ibrahim, the CBN said the accounts, one in US dollars, the other in British pounds sterling, were opened following a mandate received from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“On July 30, 2025, we received a mandate dated July 29, 2025 from the Office of the Accountant-General. We received the mandate to authorise two accounts, one a US dollar domiciliary account, the other a pound domiciliary account, for the Presidential Economic Advisory Council/Presidential Foreign Investment Promotion Council,” Ibrahim told the committee.
He explained the CBN’s verification process, saying, “The process of opening an account requires a mandate from the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation.
“Once we receive that mandate, we perform all the necessary verifications to confirm that this mandate is actually coming from that office.
“The department that handles the mandate is different from the department that actually does the account opening,” he said.
Nevertheless, he noted that no one came to activate the accounts after they were opened.
“We did not receive any correspondence, mandate, signature or mandate cards. We were not introduced to the authorising or approving officers.
“Based on that, those accounts remain inactive, with zero balance. There have been no foreign exchange allocations.
“The accounts have maintained zero balance from inception to date and have never recorded any inflow or outflow,” Ibrahim said, adding that a statement of account had been attached to the committee’s records.
However, the CBN’s account directly contradicted an earlier submission by Accountant-General Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, who had claimed that no accounts were opened in the PFIPC’s name.
Also testifying before the committee, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack, said her office never allocated any space to the PFIPC.
Records available to the Office of the Head of the Civil Service, she said, showed that the office space reportedly occupied by the council at the Federal Secretariat Phase III had been officially allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, not to the fictitious council.
“There is speculation that the council occupied office space in the Federal Secretariat Phase III. We can state categorically that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation did not allocate any office space to the council.
“The office space indicated as the council’s official address forms part of the office accommodation allocated to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation for the use of the OSGF and presidential bodies,” she said.
Walson-Jack, however, told the committee that during the 2025 Annual Manpower Budget Defence Exercise, the council submitted additional documents through one Patricia Akhigbe, including the appointment letter of its Director-General and details of its mandate, after which its request was processed alongside those of 87 other ministries, departments and agencies.
An authorised establishment for 314 positions was subsequently issued to the council, and a recruitment waiver followed days later, she explained.
Walson-Jack said Akhigbe had since been invited for questioning by the police.
She stressed that her office neither deployed staff to the council nor approved any recruitment, and urged the committee to direct further inquiries to the Office of the SGF.
In his ruling after the day’s hearing, committee chairman Gagdi asked the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and other top government functionaries to appear before the panel on Thursday.
He stated, “In continuation of this assignment, the secretariat should invite the SGF to appear and brief this committee on the issues raised.
“Also to appear on Thursday are the Inspector-General of Police, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Finance, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice as well as the Minister of Budget and National Planning.”
“Also invited are the Accountant-General of the Federation, heads of the Budget Office of the Federation, Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.”
The Enugu East Local Government Area has screened 116 prospective candidates seeking admission into the Enugu State College of Nursing Sciences, Parklane, and the Enugu State College of Health Technology as part of efforts to strengthen the state’s future healthcare workforce.
The screening exercise, conducted under the supervision of the Enugu East Human Capital Development Trust Fund, is aimed at identifying qualified candidates for admission into the health institutions while promoting human capital development among youths in the council area.
According to the Executive Chairman of Enugu East LGA, Engr. Pst. Beloved-Dan Obi Anike, the initiative aligns with Governor Peter Mbah’s healthcare transformation agenda, which includes the construction and operationalisation of 260 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres across the state’s 260 political wards, alongside the upgrade of existing health facilities.
Anike said the expansion of healthcare infrastructure would require a steady supply of skilled healthcare professionals, making investment in education and training a priority.
He noted that the programme is designed to prepare young people in Enugu East to take advantage of emerging opportunities in nursing, health technology, and other allied health professions, thereby contributing to improved healthcare delivery across the state.
The council chairman commended members of the Enugu East Human Capital Development Trust Fund for conducting what he described as a transparent and credible screening exercise and encouraged the candidates to remain focused as they prepare for their entrance examinations.
He reaffirmed the council’s commitment to education, youth empowerment, and human capital development, stressing that creating opportunities for young people remains one of the most enduring legacies of government.
Three weeks after President Bola Tinubu appointed Dr. Abdulrazak Namdas as Director-General of the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA), controversy has erupted over the delay in issuing his appointment letter, with allegations that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, is withholding the document.
The Presidency announced Namdas’ appointment on June 26, stating that he would replace Dr. Dakorinama George, who resigned to pursue a governorship ambition in Rivers State. The appointment was declared to have taken immediate effect.
However, Namdas has yet to assume office because the formal appointment letter has not been issued. Meanwhile, George has continued to function as the agency’s chief executive, attending official meetings and representing the BCDA at government engagements.
The development has sparked concerns over a leadership vacuum and raised questions about compliance with presidential directives.
APC chieftain Hamman Yero criticised the delay, questioning why the SGF had allegedly failed to implement the President’s decision.
“If the President directed Namdas’ appointment and the appointment letter is being withheld, then serious constitutional and administrative questions arise,” Yero said, stressing that presidential approvals should be implemented without unnecessary delays.
Despite the controversy, Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga insisted that President Tinubu has not reversed the appointment.
“As far as I know, the President has not changed his mind. Namdas remains the head of the agency,” Onanuga said, adding that the issuance of the appointment letter is the responsibility of the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
Multiple sources within the BCDA alleged that George resumed control of the agency after failing to secure the APC governorship ticket in Rivers State and has continued to oversee its affairs. Claims that his continued stay is backed by political interests remain unverified.
The situation has drawn comparisons to the 2023 leadership crisis at the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST), where confusion over the appointment of the Postmaster-General was eventually resolved after the Presidency reaffirmed its decision.
As of the time of filing this report, the SGF’s office had not explained the delay in issuing Namdas’ appointment letter, while the Presidency maintained that the President’s directive remains in force.
The father of the late Mary Habila, Mr. Tanko Habila Wisdom, has appealed to the authorities to release his daughter’s body for burial, insisting that the family is not interested in an autopsy.
Speaking in an emotional video, Tanko said his only desire was to give his daughter a proper burial, lamenting that her body had been kept for too long.
“I am Tanko Habila Wisdom, the father of the late Mary Habila. I don’t have much to say in this case. All that I want is the corpse of my daughter,” he said.
“You don’t keep the corpse of a little child for so long like this. That is why I am here to say once and for all that I need the corpse of my daughter so that I can take her for burial. That is what I am standing on.”
He maintained that the family does not want an autopsy to be conducted, reiterating his demand for the immediate release of the body.
“I don’t want the autopsy, and that is why I am demanding the corpse of my daughter so we can bury her now,” he added.
Tanko also disclosed that the family had enjoyed a cordial relationship with the Minister of Works, David Umahi, where his daughter worked, and stressed that they were not accusing anyone over her death.
“We have been having a very cordial relationship with the Minister of Works, her workplace, and we don’t want that autopsy they are talking about,” he said.
“I am not suspecting anybody because death can occur at any time. Even as we are standing here now, one can fall down and die.”
The family’s appeal comes amid ongoing public interest in the circumstances surrounding Mary Habila’s death, with calls from different quarters for clarity over the incident.
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Residents and businesses in several parts of Enugu State were plunged into darkness on Friday evening following an explosion at the Gariki Injection Substation.
MainPower Electricity Distribution Limited (MEDL) confirmed the incident in a statement issued by its Head of Communications, Mr. Emeka Ezeh.
According to the company, the explosion occurred at about 7:30 p.m. on Friday, July 17, 2026, and damaged the indoor 11kV breaker at the Gariki Injection Substation, resulting in a power outage across multiple communities served by the Army and Gariki 11kV feeders.
The affected areas under the Army 11kV feeder include Army Barracks, One Day Road, Meniru, Upper Meniru and Joe Continental.
Communities affected under the Gariki 11kV feeder include Gariki Market, Mayor Market, Roban Stores along Agbani Road, Crunchies on Agbani Road, Mobile Police Barracks, Amechi Road, Upper Mount, Ikiriki, Emeka Ebila, Ozalla Street, Egbonnaji, Nnaji Ogbodo, Idaw River, Igbariam Street, Liberation, Mount, Umuchu, Achina, Vance, Unubi, Enugu Agidi, Amawbia, Amokwe, Kenneth, Amah and Hill Crest.
MEDL said its technical team has commenced a comprehensive assessment of the damage and is working to restore electricity supply to the affected areas as quickly as possible.
The company apologised for the disruption and appealed to customers for patience and understanding while repair work continues.
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