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Odeyemi Score Card: Decay in NIPOST, an eye soars—President Nigerian Auctioneers
Odeyemi Score Card: Decay in NIPOST, an eye soars—President Nigerian Auctioneers
By: Our Reporter
The President of the National Association of Auctioneers, Mr. Musa Kurra, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to save the Nigerian Postal Service, NIPOST, for lack of competence, self-absentism in the office, and staff intimidation, among others.
Mr. Musa Kurra, who calls for the sacking of Tola Odeyemi, said the state of abandonment of NIPOST services should not be condoned or entertained again, seeing that the Chief Executive of NIPOST has no credentials to run the organization properly.
He said her attitude towards managing the organization did not reflect the renewed hope initiative of Mr. President, stating that the earlier the President acted, the better for his government, as numerous pieces of evidence have pointed out that Tola Odeyemi is not ready for the job and has misplaced the reason Mr. President appointed her in the first place.
NIPOST hub video
Recall that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on October 11, 2023, sacked former NIPOST CEO Adeyemi Adepoju and appointed Tola Odeyemi as the new postmaster general. However, things got worse when the new CEO abandoned the NIPOST mandate of mail conveyance and delivery of local and international items at different agencies’s posts, which he described as unacceptable.
*Calls on President Tinubu to remove PMG
“We also have evidence that the new CEO only comes to the office when she wants, despite the fact that she is in-country. This shows that she is not ready for the job. Her attitude is making Nigerians, who are losing millions of naira, see the Tinubu administration as a government that is not living up to its mandate of renewed hope.
“We also have evidence that the current PMG hired six personal assistants privately to help her barricade individuals coming for official engagement, including the agency staff and directors in the agency, which is contrary to the civil service rule.
“As if that is not enough, staff have complaints that she always brings with her personnel of the Department of State Security who are with her to official meetings with management, which they view as a clear threat to participants in the meeting as these DSS personnel intimidate and harass staff who want to express their displeasure with her excesses.”
According to him, the PMGs abandonment of customer valuables is more visible at the NIPOST international hub at the Ikeja airports, their office at Shamolu, Wise, and major offices at the state capitals. “There is also an upsurge in court and claims cases against NIPOST by customers whose postal items were left to decay. Just recently, we sited a NIPOST truck on the premises of a court in Niger State. Upon inquiry, we got to know that the truck was impounded as a result of a court case against NIPOST in a suit by a customer whose items of value were not delivered on time and left to rot.”
- Renewed hope agenda clocks one year: for NIPOST, it has been eight months of reversed under Ms. Odeyemi.
A staff member of the agency, who prefers not to be mentioned, confirmed claims by Alhaji Musa Kurra regarding the decay in the Nigerian postal service since the new PMG took over in October last year.
According to him, as things stand, it is obvious that the core mandate of NIPOST, which centers on the conveyance and delivery of local and international postal items, is being neglected or abandoned, and this is manifesting in widespread complaints from customers whose items have been abandoned to decay in the agency’s offices across the country, especially at the international office within NAHCO in Lagos.
“The NIPOST’s dwindling fortunes seem to have been compounded by the unconcerned leadership style of the current Postmaster General, who hardly stays in the office to work and runs exclusive administration.
“Mrs. Odeyemi runs NIPOST with her retinue of non-service personal assistants and security personnel, numbering about eight, to the exclusion of all segments of the agency’s staff, junior and senior, including directors and even staff union leadership. These staff hardly have access to the Postmaster General, even on the few days and hours she comes to the office.
“This display of arrogance and unwillingness to work results in the current predicament, which may lead to NIPOST losing nearly 12,000 staff. The agency is one that supports the growth of the Nigerian economy; however, the agency has been turned into a conduit pipe where billions of naira are being swindled, severely damaging the economy.” He said
Speaking further, he said that as the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu clocks one year with notable achievements in some sectors of the economy, it has been a tale of woes and reversed hope for NIPOST, its customers, and even staff members under the clueless leadership of the current PMG.
- Further Concern from a Longtime Customer of NiPOST
While lamenting the decay in NIPOST, Mr. Musa Kurra said the last eight years of NIPOST represent a period of unparalleled stagnation or even retrogression in the history of NIPOST.
He posited that between October 2023, when this PMG assumed office, and now, the hitherto rising profile and quality of services of the organization have witnessed a steady and dangerous decline. He decries the PMGs abandonment of the core mandate of NIPOST, which is the collection, distribution, and delivery of postal items, both locally and internationally.
Our findings revealed an upsurge in complaints from NIPOST customers whose postal items have been abandoned for months and left to rot or decay in many of the NIPOST offices across the country. It was gathered that customers had stormed the offices of the PCC, including the headquarters in Abuja, to complain about the manner in which NIPOST failed to deliver important documents or valuables, a situation that also informed many court cases across the states.
Mr. Musa Kurra, who is concerned about the deteriorating situation at NIPOST, said, “We recalled that NIPOST quality of services and revenue had started to witness improvement prior to the change that brought Ms. Odeyemi on board.” For the past eight months, NIPOST has been on auto-drive while the quality of services and revenue have taken a nose dive.
“The little revenue of the organization is being spent on maintaining the flamboyant lifestyle of Ms. Odeyemi along with her convoy of cars. About five special assistants recruited from outside, about four DSS operatives, etc. We also learned that she has been using the name of the Honourable Minister of Communication to illegally siphon money from NIPOST.
“We have on good authority that late last year a gathering was organized at the Shehu Musa Yar’adua Center, where her selected friends and cronies from the private sector were invited, but many key staff and directors of NIPOST, including the unions, were left out. Her explanation was that the event was organized by the Minister; however, she turned around to pressure some staff of NIPOST to inappropriately pull out millions of naira from NIPOST to cover the cost of the event.
“We gathered from some of the unions that currently, instead of coming up with ideas and programs that will uplift NIPOST, Ms. Odeyemi is busy chasing her contacts in the Villa and National Assembly to secure a change in the NIPOST Act amendment that has been in the National Assembly for about three years, in such a manner as to empower her to alter NIPOST structure, retrenched NIPOST staff, and bring in her cronies from outside as executive directors and principal officers.
“It is a known fact that structure is not and has never been the real problem of NIPOST. The problem is purposeful leadership, as was provided by the late Alhaji Argungu of blessed memory and lately by Hon. Adepoju. The last eight months have been a wasteful period in the life of NIPOST. Ms. Odeyemi has displayed a lack of capacity and a deficiency in knowledge, experience, and character to lead an organization of NIPOST size and complexity. She is a square peg in a round hole.
“To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and her contacts in the Villa and National Assembly, we urged you to request that Ms. Odeyemi submit her score card for the past eight months. If she does, it would be noticed that all the ideas, programs, and activities NIPOST has been running are those developed by successful predecessors relying on the same system and structure she is seeking to recreate at greater cost and with less prospect of benefit to the nation.” Mr. Musa Kurra said as he appealed to Mr. President to see Ms. Odeyemi as a mistake that needed to be corrected without further delay.
Odeyemi Score Card: Decay in NIPOST, an eye soars—President Nigerian Auctioneers
Period poverty: NEEM Foundation distributes sanitary pads to over 300 student in Abuja
By: Michael Mike
NEEM Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) has distributed sanitary towels to over 300 students in Abuja as part of its commitment to end period poverty among young school girls,
The foundation carried out the empowerment scheme in collaboration with the Regent Schools Abuja, at the Junior Secondary School, JSS, Jabi 1, Abuja.
Head legal, Neem Foundation, Nancy Oyibo
said conversations around menstrual health and hygiene should be normalised, noting that access to menstrual hygiene products is crucial to healthy living, well being and dignity of all women and girls in the society.
She said empowering women to take charge of their menstrual health is not just essential but transformative.
Oyibo said: “We discovered some issues of health as some young girls cannot afford sanitary towels during their period. We thought it was imperative, following the rate of inflation to help the young ladies, the future of our country.”
She disclosed that “this is our second distribution in Abuja, we have also done few distributions in Maiduguri.”
She noted that the target goal is to create a pad bank in schools, as according to research carried out by the organisation revealed that female students sometimes miss school during the period of their menstrual flow.
She said: “This is just a step to many activities to be carried out in this light. We are going to take this all the way to where it needs to get to and to pass on this message so people can understand the effect this has on the education system for young girls.
“We do not want to have girls in situations where they are vulnerable and not proud of something that comes naturally. We want them to come confidently knowing they have nothing to worry about as they can compete with their male counterpart in school and ensure that they get the best out of it.
“For now, we are engaging mostly the girls as we realized that, most of them are shy to discuss topics related to menstrual hygiene, so this stage is to have an interaction with them, to make them comfortable. This factor made us ensure we have male personnel among us to talk about these issues as a gradual process, then subsequently, we include the boys in the discuss.
“This whole situations stems from the home as some homes do not seem it right to discuss issues of menstrual hygiene publicly. This is how some people grew up and we are trying to change that narrative with a focus on spreading the word to everyone.
During an interactive section with the student, Legal Assistant Neem, Aliyyah Abdulkadir disclosed that the organisation saw it necessary to provide sanitary towels from the opinion that, you girls should not stay out of school, or have to choose between school and menstrual care.
She charged the students to be agent of change, in making concerted efforts to educate others in a bid to break the culture of silence.
For her part, the Executive Assistant to the Executive Director, Aisha Muniru Mai, speaking on the up coming 16 days activism on Violence Against Women, said: “We are keying into the issues with specific interest to access to education.
“One of the things we overlook is the period poverty. As if you do not have access to menstrual hygiene products, it will be difficult to go to school and learn. As such we are highlighting period poverty, teaching the children the signs and things they need to be aware of to identify violence and report to appropriate quarters.
The Director/Principal, JSS, Jabi 1, Dr. Grace Ifeyinwa Onyeanusi expressed profound gratitude to NEEM Foundation for the kind gesture as it will go a long way in helping the students maintain hygiene during menstruation.
One of the beneficiaries, A JSS 3 student Tega Praise Ogaga, expressed her appreciation to NEEM Foundation, disclosing how sometimes she is scared to approach her parents to purchase sanitary towels during menstruation and will have to use a single pad for a long period.
She said, “Sometimes I resolve to using rags or more than one pant, which is very discomforting, but with the sanitary towels from NEEM Foundation, I will not have to make any demands from my parents in a while.
Neem Foundation is a leading crisis response organisation committed to promoting the protection and wellbeing of populations and communities living in contexts affected by conflict, violence, and fragility.
Period poverty: NEEM Foundation distributes sanitary pads to over 300 student in Abuja
Flame Initiatives, RCCG empowers widows in FCT
By: Michael Mike
As part of its commitment to foster empowerment in marginalised communities, Flame Initiatives, a Non-Governmental Organisation under the CINTA Widows Empowerment Programme, has donated food items, funds, and other materials to widows in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The outreach carried out in Abuja, was in collaboration with the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), The Lord’s Place.
Speaking, the Lead Pastor of the RCCG, the Lord’s Place, Pastor Ola Omosebi, charged the Federal government to make concerted efforts to enhance the current economic situation facing the country, deploying urgent solutions without altering long-term policies.
Pastor Omosebi said the church is emulating how Christ fed 5,000 persons during famine while asking the government to act fast to ameliorate the suffering of the people.
“The major direction of this event is to have at least one day a year where widows are brought together and empowered with soft skills, business skills, enterprise skills and encouragement. One of the things this program offers is hope. “
He urged the government to support widows through sustainable initiatives. Providing a dedicated secretariat advocating for women, particularly widows, with government representatives.
“People are struggling to make ends meet, and the prolonged hardship is leading to depression, despair, and even death. The government must prioritize quick-fix solutions alongside long-term plans to restore hope and confidence in the economy.”
Also speaking, the Mandate Secretary, Women Affairs Secretariat of the FCT Administration (FCTA), Dr Adedayo Benjamin-Laniyi, expressed empathy for the resilient widows, noting that one cannot understand what it means to be in their shoes.
Laniyi, represented by her Personal Assistant, Mrs. Kemi Samuel, noted the fundamental role a husband/father plays, stating that loss can change lives and test the core of beings.
She celebrated the widows for their resilience and strength while acknowledging the challenges amidst the hardship and grief come the capacity to adapt.
She said, “We are here to support one another. Let today be a reminder to encourage and uplift one another.
“It’s an honour to celebrate strength, resilience, and community.
She noted that the event is a testament to the extraordinary courage and unwavering determination of everyone who has navigated the challenges of widows.
Also, the President of Widows Organisation International FCT Chapter, Aisha Baba Ringo, advised widows to persevere and be hardworking.
According to her, “Being a widow doesn’t mean all hope is lost, it’s also not a stigma”.
A beneficiary of the programme, Ms Oyeyemi Obende, said the programme has been educative, innovative and supportive. She advised widows not to give up even if the world looked down on them.
Flame Initiatives was established to provide the disadvantaged and mainly rural population with relief materials, motivation, and empowerment to improve their physical and social well-being. Their main objective is to drive social change in communities by facilitating development in the public and private sectors.
Flame Initiatives, RCCG empowers widows in FCT
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COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION RECEIVES MD NELFUND IN MAIDUGURI; INTERFACES WITH STUDENTS AND ERADICATORS
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION RECEIVES MD NELFUND IN MAIDUGURI; INTERFACES WITH STUDENTS AND ERADICATORS
By: Our Reporter
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Education Loan Fund NELFUND, Akintunde Sawyerr, has visited Borno State to engage with students, educators, and government officials, highlighting the benefits of the NELFUND initiative.
NELFUND, an initiative of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, aims to provide all higher institution students with access to financial resources, enabling them to pursue their educational goals and aspirations at ease.
The Managing Director NELFUND Akintunde Sawyerr emphasized his commitment to revitalizing education in the country, stating that the loan programme is designed to also reduce unproductivity and unhappiness amongst Nigerians students, which often lead to broader societal issues.
Sawyerr explained The loan’s modalities, which include creating an online profile as a prerequisite for application, clarifying that the loan is interest-free and does not require a fixed repayment period, making it accessible and flexible for students.
Borno State Commissioner for Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Lawan Abba Wakilbe, reiterated the state government’s commitment to facilitating student access to the loan, hence announced the establishment of a dedicated desk officer for NELFUND in the state Ali Sherriff to work in collaboration with the Special Adviser to governor Zulum on Higher Education and other educators.
This initiative, Wakilbe added will guide students throughout the application process and ensure they fully understand THE benefits of the loan, which he described as a low-risk grant and encouraged all eligible students to take advantage of the programme.
During the session, questions were raised seeking further clarification, where the Managing Director provided detailed responses, shedding more light on the programme and its benefits.
COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION RECEIVES MD NELFUND IN MAIDUGURI; INTERFACES WITH STUDENTS AND ERADICATORS
Governor Buni Approves N70, 000 Minimum Wage
Period poverty: NEEM Foundation distributes sanitary pads to over 300 student in Abuja
Flame Initiatives, RCCG empowers widows in FCT
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