Reps summon Akpabio over N10bn NDDC contract – TheNigerialawyer

The house of representatives has summoned Godswill Akpabio,
minister of Niger Delta affairs, and the Niger Delta Development
Commission (NDDC) management over a N10 billion contract.

The lawmakers alleged that the contract was not approved by the
national assembly.

They also accused the NDDC management of operating its 2018
account – which they described as an unconstitutional action/

The 2018 budget NDDC was passed by the house on May 16.

The resolution of the house followed a motion sponsored Benjamin
Kalu, an All Progressives Congress (APC) from Abia state.

While moving the motion on Tuesday, Kalu said the commission
according to section 80(3) and (4) of the constitution broke the
law.

“As at today, more than 13 months after the time required by
law, the commission is yet to submit an estimate of its expenditure
and income for the year 2019, thereby grossly failing to comply
with the aforementioned statutory provision, by which the budget
estimates should have been presented to the house before September
30, 2018,” he said.

“Despite their failure to submit the 2019 budget estimates to
the house, the commission has for a whole year, been operating,
making expenses and awarding contracts further to its master plan,
with certain awarded contracts worth up to N10 billion without an
approved budget as required by the constitution and the enabling
act.

“The NDDC has further violated the provisions of section 82 of
the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As
Altered) by incurring expenditure far beyond six months as required
thereunder and had spent monies in excess of half the amount
approved by the national assembly in its 2018 budget.”

The lawmaker alleged that the commission awarded 250 contracts
to phony companies without due process.

Femi Gbajabiamila, the speaker, said the allegation is an
indictment on the house.

“I don’t want to believe that has been happening,” he said.

The motion was adopted by the house after it was put to a voice
vote by Gbajabiamila.

NAF Trains PR Personnel on Strategic Information
Management

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) today, 19 November 2019, commenced
a 2-day Capacity Building Workshop on “New Techniques in
Participatory and Collaborative Strategic Information Management”.
The Workshop is designed as a platform for NAF Public Relations and
Information (PR/Info) personnel to share ideas and suggest ways the
Directorate of PR/Info could better meet the aspirations of the
Service, particularly in the context of current security challenges
facing the Nation. Additionally, given the rapidly changing
Strategic Communications environment occasioned by advancements in
technology, the Workshop is also aimed at leveraging the wealth of
knowledge of information experts to chart a path for the further
development of the NAF Directorate of PR/Info.

Speaking during the opening ceremony of the Workshop, the Chief
of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, who was
represented by the Chief of Administration (COA), Air Vice Marshal
(AVM) Kingsley Lar, noted that PR undoubtedly plays an invaluable
role in management functions as well as the overall effectiveness
of any organization, especially in these modern times. According to
him, “This is more so as contemporary PR practice has evolved from
merely informing the public to engaging them with a view to
positively shaping perception of the organisation. Indeed PR is now
more about creating value to generate awareness than creating
awareness to generate value”, he said. He added that the NAF, being
quite mindful of this new paradigm, has continued to leverage the
strategic value of good PR through effective information
management. This, he said, was particularly critical in
sub-conventional warfare, especially counter-terrorism and
counter-insurgency, where the support of the local populace is
vital to successful operations. In such situations, he emphasized,
the cardinal objective of strategic communications must be to
continually assure the people that military operations are designed
to ensure their safety, security and well-being. “In this light”,
he said, “our approach has been to apply a well balanced mix of
Strategic Communication, Information Management and Community
Relations initiatives that are well coordinated for maximum
effect”.

While highlighting some of the NAF’s achievements over the last
4 years, he noted that more than 900 infrastructure projects
including office and residential accommodations, messes and
recreational facilities as well as schools and hospitals, amongst
others, had been executed. Additionally, he said the Service,
through the unflinching support of the Federal Government, had been
able to acquire 19 brand new platforms and reactivated 20 erstwhile
unserviceable aircraft, with another 18 aircraft expected to be
delivered soon. He noted that the newly acquired and reactivated
platforms have added significant impetus to the fight against
insurgency and other forms of criminality in the country.

Speaking further, the CAS disclosed that the NAF, in recognition
of the fact that the human element is the most important success
factor, has, during the current dispensation, invested enormously
in human capacity development. As a result, an unprecedented number
of officers and airmen/airwomen have been trained in different
categories of air and ground operations, both locally and abroad.
“This is predicated on the firm belief in the importance of
purposeful training to develop competencies and skills of personnel
to ensure combat readiness for the effective and efficient
execution of our constitutional roles,” he stated. Air Marshal
Abubakar further revealed that the Service has also customized
training arrangements with reputable foreign and local training
institutions and organizations, noting that the Strategic
Communications Capacity Building Worksop was one of such
initiatives by the Service aimed at sharpening the skills of the
NAF PR workforce. He therefore commended the efforts of the
organizers of the Workshop, led by the Chief Executive Officer of
Capital Forum Limited, Mr Issa Ibrahim Moddibo, for partnering with
the NAF to actualize the Workshop and charged participants to make
the most of the opportunity afforded them to acquire new skills and
update their knowledge on emerging trends in PR practice.

In his remarks, Mr Issa Modibbo stated that the Workshop was
deliberately structured to be participatory and collaborative in
nature and concept in order to broaden the minds of participants
and enable them assimilate new techniques in strategic information
management. He said the NAF and sister Services must continue to
learn from history while also looking to the future to develop news
ideas and plans for their PR/Info Directorates. According to Mr
Modibbo the anticipated end-state of the Workshop is to further
improve the professional performance of the participants as they
return to their various Units and Formations.

Earlier in his welcome address, the Director of Public Relations
and Information (DOPRI), Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, disclosed
that the Workshop was being conducted pursuant to one of the Key
Drivers of the CAS’ Vision, namely; “Human Capacity Development
through Robust and Result-Oriented Training for Enhanced
Professional Performance”. He observed that it was indeed further
testament to the value the CAS places on PR and Info Management,
and yet another in a series of training programmes that had been
conducted for NAF PR/Info personnel over the past 4 years to ensure
more effective and efficient service delivery. “Some of the
Directorate’s personnel have been trained abroad in reputable
institutes in New York, Paris, Dubai, Istanbul, Johannesburg and
London, among others. The Service is also in training collaboration
with the African Public Relations Association, Nigerian Institute
of Public Relations, Nigerian Institute of Journalism,
International Institute of Journalism, Nigerian Television
Authority Television College Jos, Nigerian Film Corporation and a
host of other local and foreign organizations”, he said.

The DOPRI emphasized that information management has advanced
beyond merely churning out press releases and news stories, but now
involves monitoring, engaging and effectively countering/correcting
misinformation, while enlightening, educating and changing negative
narratives with a view to fostering trust and confidence in the
operations of the Service through humane and empathetic
communication. He noted that the training would therefore further
enable PR/Info personnel to creatively tell the NAF story in an
effective manner that would resonate with the public. He thanked
the CAS for his foresight in authorizing the various capacity
building initiatives as well as for the strategic guidance that had
enabled the Directorate to continue to fulfill its mandate.

On Day-One of the Workshop, participants were ‘Introduced to
Strategic Communication & Disciplinary Components of Strategic
Communication’ by Professor Yima Sen. They also discussed a paper
on the topic “Trends and Options in Information Management”
delivered by Professor Ladi Adamu. Other papers discussed include
“Narrative and Conversation as Information Tools for Public
Relations”, “Techniques of Information Management”, and “Setting
Clear Information Management Objectives and Developing Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) to Track Implementation Progress”,
which were delivered by Professor Nora Daduut, Dr Sale Mari Maina
and Dr Mallam Aminu Ibrahim, respectively. Resource persons slated
for Day-Two of the Workshop include Commodore Nabaida (rtd), Dr
Gusau Ahmed and Mr Abdullahi Salihu, among others.

IBIKUNLE DARAMOLA
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Nigerian Air Force