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NSITF dismisses allegations of job racketeering, others as fake news

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The Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund, NSITF has reacted to an online publication, which among others accused its executive management of job racketeering, dismissing the allegations as falsehood deliberately fabricated by detractors.

In a statement Tuesday, signed by its General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Nwachukwu Godson, the NSITF stated that its letter of 25th January 2024 to the Supervising Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment was, in view of a process whose cycle can take a year or more to consummate.

The statement said- “The NSITF made a request to the supervising Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment for the replacement of vacant positions in the absence of a board of the agency as required by law. This is the first step.

“The rigours of the process which must adhere to the extant civil service guidelines will further stretch through the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation for the approval of our Annual Authorized Establishment; Letter of Clearance from the Budget Office of the Federation, another letter from the Federal Character Commission for a Waver not to advertise, before the candidates are interviewed and finally back to the Federal Character Commission for a Certificate of Compliance. The process will usually take as long as a year or more to turn full circle.”

The NSITF also stated that the allegation that it is “planning to buy a bullet-proof SUV Jeep for the Hon. Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Hon. Nkiruka Onyejocha” is untrue.

“Here, we are dealing with a pernicious rumour, a fabrication whose architects are incapable of details or an iota of evidence, therefore, a birdbrain requiring no further proof.”

Equally on the alleged staff promotion stagnation and other welfare issues, the NSITF stated that it has since 2022 introduced a computer-based promotion examinations that ended the corruption that riddled such exercise in the past.

“Our promotion examination process was further reformed in July 2023 with the results of the APER assessment released before the CBT examination. The CBT scores were also instantly availed to each candidate in all the centres on the touch of the final submission button! Our staff members never had it, so swift, so good!

“Overall, in 2022 promotion examination, a total of 1,032 staff between the ranks of Officer II to Senior Manager were promoted while 129 others were promoted to either Assistant General Manger or Deputy General Manager.

“Equally in 2023 promotion examination, 1671 staff ranging from Officer II to the principal manager were promoted. This is the highest promotion ever in the history of the fund. The management cadre examination could not be held because of the grey areas over which the former Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Simon Lalong set up a special committee to look into.

“Additionally, in line with commitment to decent work, the management reviewed the Staff Conditions of Service emplaced 29 years ago and implemented a new consolidated salary structure as approved by the National Salaries Income and Wages Commission further clearing a backlog of arrears of gratuity of retired staff members, further keeping the schedule of payment as and when due.

“We boldly also removed the disparity in payment between a category of our staff that are based in Abuja Federal Capital and those in other locations in the country.

“ At another level, it is important to add that the NSITF is up to date in remitting the staff housing deductions to the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, hence, preposterous for anyone to accuse the management of sitting on staff welfare and stagnating their promotion.

The NSITF further adjudged the allegation on e-NSITF as bordering on ranking ignorance or deliberate but futile effort to mislead the public. “There is no such thing as an N15B contract payment for the project. It is rather a Private Partnership Project with a concessionary period of 15 years within which the concessionaire company will inject the sum of N15b.

“At this instance therefore, we urge the known but unseen sponsors and propagators of this mischief to come clean on their unstated reasons for the re-occurring, but worn-out blackmail which takes an unchanging pattern, rearing its ugly head, each time a crucial decision towards the repositioning of the fund is to be made.

“The NSITF Executive Management will certainly not yield to this new gale of blackmail and will continue to do what is right including the right deductions of personal income taxes in line with the Finance Act, 2022 towards the re-engineering of the Fund as the apex social security agency.

“Lest we forget- the initial impulse of the NSITF is to ignore this sheer irresponsible journalism of a blog that neither sought concurring collaboration before going to bed with falsehood nor leave a column for comments on its platform. What with a poorly written statement issued by an amorphous self-claiming civil society group, with ghost membership and the story itself written without a byline!

“The NSITF does not respond to faceless groups, but our history has imposed on us enough reason to clear any doubt as to the direction of the current Management of the fund.”

 

 

 

 

 

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NiMet DG Anosike urges service providers to move beyond institutional compliance to measurable impacts on citizens

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The Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), Professor Charles Anosike, has called on public institutions to move beyond regulatory compliance and certifications to delivering measurable results that create lasting value for citizens.

 

The DG/CEO of NiMet, who was represented by the Director, Engineering and Technical Services, Engr. Hamid Olayinka Abdulkareem, made the call during his keynote address at the 3rd National Quality Improvement Summit and Awards, organised by the Quality Improvement Institute of Nigeria (QIIN) in Abuja on Thursday 12 November 2026. Speaking on the theme, “Quality: Powering Performance – Moving Beyond Compliance to Measurable Results,” Professor Anosike emphasised that institutional credibility must be earned through consistent service delivery, accountability, innovation and continuous improvement.

 

Highlighting NiMet’s commitment to international quality standards, the DG/CEO disclosed that the Agency secured ISO 9001:2015 certification for aeronautical meteorological services at Yola, Osubi and Owerri airports in July 2026, alongside the successful recertification of five other airports, bringing its total number of QMS-certified airport stations to eight. He stressed that quality assurance in meteorological services is critical to aviation safety, agricultural productivity, disaster preparedness and national economic development.

 

Professor Anosike further highlighted the integration of the Balanced Scorecard Performance Management System into NiMet’s 2026–2030 Strategic Plan as a significant step towards strengthening institutional accountability. He explained that the framework connects strategic objectives with measurable performance indicators, ensuring that organisational success is assessed not merely by activities undertaken but by results achieved and value delivered.

 

He urged institutions to invest in people, technology and stakeholder partnerships while embedding quality management into their organisational culture. According to him, sustainable institutional excellence requires leadership commitment, continuous evaluation and a deliberate shift from procedural compliance to measurable public impact.

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Joint Aviation Unions Appoint Keyamo Grand Patron of Renewed Hope Support Group, Present ITF Position Paper Ahead of ICAO Conference 

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The Honourable Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, SAN, today received a high-powered delegation of aviation labour unions under the Joint Aviation Trade Union Forum (JATUF), led by its Chairman, Comrade Ben Nnabue, in Abuja.

 

The delegation comprised top executives of the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) and other aviation unions, including the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), and Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP). The unions are affiliates of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

 

Other members of the delegation included Comrade John Ogbe, Vice Chairman; Comrade Alale Adedayo, Vice Chairman; Group Captain Bunmi Gandeh, Vice Chairman; and Comrade Hector Nnadi, Secretary of the Forum.

 

The visit was primarily to formally present the position paper of the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) to the Minister, seeking Nigeria’s support for a motion advocating the integration of social sustainability, decent work and meaningful workers’ engagement into the global civil aviation framework at the forthcoming Seventh Worldwide Air Transport Conference (ATConf7) of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), scheduled to hold in Montreal, Canada, from November 16 to 20, 2026.

According to Tunde Moshood, Special Adviser to the Hon. Minister on Media and Communications, the proposed motion, which has received Nigeria’s nod, underscores the need for the international aviation community to recognise that the sustainability and long-term success of civil aviation go beyond infrastructure development, technological advancement and economic growth to include the welfare, rights and professional development of the workforce that sustains the industry.

 

The unions stressed that the future of international civil aviation must be built on a framework that balances economic competitiveness with social responsibility, recognising aviation workers as indispensable stakeholders in the growth, safety and efficiency of the industry.

 

The Minister’s reception of the position paper further demonstrates Nigeria’s commitment to constructive engagement with organised labour and the promotion of policies that strengthen the aviation sector while protecting the interests of its workforce.

 

In a related development, the delegation also formally presented the Minister with an invitation to serve as Grand Patron of the Renewed Hope Aviation Support Group (RHASG), under the umbrella of the Strategic Collaboration for the Re-Election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.

 

The nomination, made on behalf of the Board of Trustees, National Executive Council and entire membership of the organisation, recognises the Minister’s leadership, professional competence and capacity for strategic coordination.

 

The group congratulated Keyamo on his recent appointment as Director of the Directorate of Air Transport Mobilisation for the All Progressives Congress (APC) re-election campaign, describing the appointment as a testament to the confidence reposed in his leadership abilities, organisational experience and commitment to effective mobilisation.

 

According to the group, the Minister’s wealth of experience in managing complex responsibilities, coupled with his strategic understanding of the aviation industry, makes him well-positioned to provide political leadership, guidance and direction to the organisation.

 

The appointment as Grand Patron is intended to strengthen the group’s strategic direction and consolidate support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and his anticipated re-election bid.

 

The development marks another demonstration of the growing intersection between organised aviation labour, industry stakeholders and broader national development objectives, with the Minister continuing to engage stakeholders on issues that affect the growth, sustainability and future of Nigeria’s aviation industry.

 

 

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Gwarzo appoints Shehu Wada Sagagi as campaign DG

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The Kano State governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Comrade Aminu Abdussalam Gwarzo, has appointed a former Kano State Chief of Staff, Gwani Alhaji Shehu Wada Sagagi, as Director-General of his 2027 governorship campaign.

The appointment was announced in a statement issued on Wednesday by Ibrahim Garba Shuaibu, spokesperson to the NDC governorship candidate.

According to the statement, Gwarzo also named Alhaji Adamu Ali Ibrahim Kibiya as Secretary of the Campaign Directorate and Engr. Sunusi Usman Dambatta as Deputy Director-General.

Sagagi, a former Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry and ex-chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Kano State, is expected to lead the campaign’s activities ahead of the 2027 election.

The appointments take immediate effect, while the full membership of the campaign council will be announced later.

 

 

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