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Information minister promises rubost publicity for humanitarian affairs ministry
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Malam Mohammed Idris, has promised to ensure adequate publicity to the activities of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The minister made the promise in Abuja when his humanitarian affairs and poverty alleviation counterpart, Betta Edu, paid him a visit.
Idris said the ministry would provide effective coverage for the ministry’s activities which he noted were targeted at addressing humanitarian crises and poverty reduction.
“The Social Register has been disputed in the past by state governors and many stakeholders. So, the first assignment of the humanitarian minister is to strengthen that document.
“The Social Register needs to be clean so that everyone will have faith in the document. The Register is very important because without data, planning becomes very difficult.
“Our job here is to ensure that every policy and programme of the government is publicised to ensure better understanding. Such good understanding will generate goodwill from the public.
“So, you have come to the right place. We have Federal Information Centres across the country and representation in the 774 local government areas through National Orientation Agency.
“The ministry also has the News Agency of Nigeria, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, Nigerian Television Authority and Voice of Nigeria.
“As a public institution, we have the responsibility to report government activities in the best, most honest, positive and transparent manner,” Idris pointed out.
The information minister said that President Bola Tinubu’s eight-point Renewed Hope agenda is rooted in the need to be truthful, honest, transparent and accountable.
“This commitment to the truth is what this ministry upholds.
“We are so happy with the way you quickly identified the need for this partnership. It is very important.
“I assure you that we will work with you to ensure that all your programmes are propagated to Nigerians.
“All hands will be on deck. We will continue to collaborate and engage with you all the way,” Idris said.
Speaking earlier, Edu said the reason for the visit was to build a partnership that would help propagate the programmes of her ministry.
She explained that Tinubu had made certain commitments through the eight-point agenda with food security and poverty eradication as top priorities.
“We need publicity; we need to win the confidence of the populace. We need to seal the communication gap between the government and the people it governs.
“We have about 16 million people that are affected by humanitarian crises. We have programmes to help alleviate poverty and build shelter for people affected by humanitarian crises.
“The programmes include Renewed Hope Shelter, Home Grown School Feeding Programme, Conditional Cash Transfer, Traders Moni, Farmers Moni, Market Women Moni, N-Power, and many others.
“As we go out for the implementation of these programmes, we want to work together with the agencies under your ministry, especially the National Orientation Agency, which has representations across the country.
“We want to run a transparent system that will tell Nigerians what we are doing. We need you on this,” Edu said.
The Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, SAN has warned against obstructing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from carrying out its lawful duty .
Fagbemi’s warning is contained in a statement in Abuja.
“This is a matter of very grave concern, it is now beyond doubt that the EFCC is given power by the law to invite any person of interest to interact with them in the course of their investigations into any matter, regardless of status.
“Therefore, the least that we can all do when invited, is not to put any obstruction in the way of EFCC, but to honourably answer their invitation.
“A situation where public officials who are themselves subject of protection by law enforcement agents will set up a stratagem of obstruction to the civil and commendable efforts of the EFCC to perform its duty is to say the least, insufferably disquieting’’.
He added that running away from the law will not resolve issues at stake but only exacerbate them.
“Nigeria has a vibrant judicial system that is capable of protecting everyone who follows the rule of law in seeking protection.
“I therefore encourage anyone who has been invited by the EFCC or any other agency to immediately toe the path of decency and civility by honouring such invitation instead of embarking on a temporising self-help and escapism.
“This can only put our country in bad light before the rest of the world’’.
He said institutions of state should be allowed to function effectively and efficiently.
“I stand for the rule of law and will promptly call EFCC, and indeed any other agency to order when there is an indication of any transgressions of the fundamental rights of any Nigerian by any of the agencies’’.
NAN reports that the EFCC had on Wednesday warned members of the public that it was a criminal offence to obstruct officers of the Commission from carrying out their lawful duties.
Section 38(2)(a(b) of the EFCC Establishment Act makes it an offence to prevent officers of the Commission from carrying out their lawful duties. Culprits risk a jail term of not less than five years.
The warning , the EFCC said, became necessary against the background of the increasing tendency by persons and groups under investigation by the Commission to take the laws into their hands by recruiting thugs to obstruct lawful operations of the EFCC.
On several occasions, the anti graft agency said, operatives of the Commission have had to exercise utmost restraint in the face of such provocation to avoid a breakdown of law and order.
Some unknown gunmen have kidnapped Joshua Rogers, the ChannelsTV reporter in Port-Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
Politics Nigeria learnt that Rogers was picked up close to his residence at Rumuosi in Port Harcourt and to an unknown destination by the gunmen around 9pm on Thursday, April 11.
The reporter was driving his official ChannelsTV branded car when the hoodlums accosted, pointed a gun at him and took him away in the same vehicle.
Rogers was said to be returning from his official assignment in Government House after a trip to Andoni for a government event when the incident happened.
Already, the gunmen were said to have contacted his wife and demanded a N30million ransom for bis release.
His cameraman confirmed the incident and appealed to his abductors to set him free unconditionally.
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