A fresh wave of mass resignations has hit the Rivers State Government headed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara after five more commissioners, who are loyal to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, have resigned from the governor’s cabinet.

Those who resigned are Chinedu Mmom (from the Ministry of Education), Gift Worlu (from the Ministry of Housing) and Jacobson Nbina (from the Ministry of Transport).

Inime Aguma resigned as the Commissioner for Social Welfare and Rehabilitation saying “there is no room for progressional development in the work place”.

Austin Ben-Chioma also resigned as the Commissioner for Environment “due to the political crisis befalling our dear Rivers State and other personal reasons”.

Mmom and Worlu cited a toxic working environment as the main reason for their exit while Nbina cited “unresolved political crisis” in the state as his reason for exit.

The five persons were among the commissioners who first resigned from the governor’s cabinet last December in the wake of the political crisis in the state but were readmitted into Fubara’s cabinet following President Bola Tinubu’s intervention.

Earlier, three commissioners, Zacchaeus Adangor, Emeka Woke and Alabo George-Kelly also resigned from the Ministries of Justice, Special Projects and Works respectively.

Governor Fubara recently announced a plan by his administration to set up a panel of inquiry to probe the governance of the state under the Wike administration.

The governor accused his opponents of deliberately sabotaging his administration while he was hoping that the issue in the state would be resolved amicably.

The move was the latest twist in the political crisis rocking the oil-rich state. The development has seen a deepening of the feud between Fubara and the state House of Assembly.

Last week, lawmakers loyal to the governor elected a new speaker. Fubara had also issued an executive order relocating the sitting venue of the Rivers State House of Assembly to the Government House, citing safety concerns.

The feud is due to the fallout between Fubara and his predecessor and current Minister of the FCT Nyesom Wike. President Tinubu had waded into the crisis last year but the imbroglio appears to be far from over.

Atiku Abubakar, former vice-president, has condemned the Federal Government’s plan to use Nigeria’s pension fund to finance infrastructure projects.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Abubakar said it is a misguided initiative that must be stopped immediately.

On May 14, Wale Edun, the finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, said the government has unveiled a strategic plan to harness the N20 trillion pension fund and other locally available resources for infrastructure development in Nigeria.

Edun said it was a significant step towards driving economic progress and addressing critical infrastructure needs.

However, Abubakar warned the decision could have devastating effects on the lives of Nigerians who have worked hard, saved money, and now rely on their pensions after retiring from service.

“My attention is drawn to a disturbing disclosure by the finance minister and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun, as he addressed state house correspondents after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting at the presidential villa on Tuesday, 14 May,” Abubakar said.

“There is, according to the minister, a move by the federal government to rev up economic growth by unlocking N20 trillion from the nation’s pension funds and other funds to finance critical infrastructure projects across the country.

“The minister has indicated that although “the initiative is expected to attract foreign investment interest over time”, domestic savings are his ‘immediate focus’ for now.

“He provided no useful details, such as the percentage of the funds to be mopped up from the pension funds, for example.

“Even at that, this move must be halted immediately!  It is a misguided initiative that could lead to disastrous consequences on the lives of Nigeria’s hardworking men and women who toiled and saved and who now survive on their pensions having retired from service.

“It is another attempt to perpetrate illegality by the federal government.”

FG MUST ABIDE BY PROVISIONS OF PENSION REFORM ACT 2014

Abubakar said the government must be cautioned to act strictly within the provisions of the Pension Reform Act of 2014 (PRA 2014), along with the revised Regulation on Investment of Pension Funds Assets issued by the National Pension Commission (PenCom).

“In particular, the federal government must not act contrary to the provisions of the extant Regulation on investment limits to which Pension Funds can invest no more than 5% of total pension funds’ assets in infrastructure investments,” Abubakar said.

“I note that as of December 2023, total pension funds assets were approximately N18 trillion, of which 75% of these are investments in FGN Securities.

“There is NO free Pension Funds that is more than 5% of the total value of the nation’s pension fund for Mr. Edun to fiddle with.”

He said there are no easy ways to address the challenges of funding infrastructure development in Nigeria.

Abubakar added that the minister needs to implement the necessary reforms to regain investor confidence in the Nigerian economy and to leverage private resources, skills, and technology.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) says Nigeria’s inflation rate rose to 33.69 percent in April, as prices of food and non-alcoholic beverages soared.

The NBS shared the inflation data in its consumer price index (CPI) report on Wednesday.

“Looking at the movement, the April 2024 headline inflation rate showed an increase of 0.49% points when compared to the March 2024 headline inflation rate,” the NBS said.

“On a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 11.47% points higher compared to the rate recorded in April 2023, which was 22.22%.”

Details later…