Governor Mohammed Umaru Bago of Niger State; his deputy, Yakubu Garba; and the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Barrister Abdulmalik Sarkin-Daji, have all travelled to Saudi Arabia for hajj, according to reports.

Also, many commissioners and some lawmakers in the state have also travelled for hajj, a development condemned by some residents and pundits, who said they felt abandoned, considering the recent happenings in the state that left many people dead.

It is not clear if the governor officially transmitted power to someone else before embarking on the trip.

The journey by the governor and other key leaders in the state happened in the wake of an accident at a mining pit that buried many people, even as rescue operation moves in a snail speed, over a week after the incident.

Sources in Minna said the Secretary to State Government (SSG), Alhaji Abubakar Usman, has been performing official government functions since Monday.

But the media has not been availed with official communication to this effect.

Section 190 (1) of the 1999 Constitution states that: “Whenever the governor transmits to the speaker of the house of assembly, a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to the speaker of the house of assembly a written declaration to the contrary, such functions shall be discharged by the deputy governor as acting governor.”

It was gathered from multiple sources that the governor left the state on Monday with more than half of cabinet members as well as the speaker, among others, in a chartered plane.

On the other hand, the deputy governor travelled from Abuja with his team after attending a function.

The trip came at a time when the fate of over 50 labourers trapped after the collapse of a mining pit at a mining site in Galkogo Community in Shiroro Local Government of the state, is still unknown.

Labourers working at the mining pit, owned by African Minerals and Logistics Limited, were on June 3, trapped inside the 400-metre-deep pit as it caved in while they were underground following a heavy rain the previous day.

Our correspondent reported that initial efforts to rescue the trapped victims, who included the site manager, Alhaji Ishaku Ibrahim, stalled due to lack of appropriate equipment.

While the authorities have kept sealed lips after failed efforts to rescue the victims, relations of affected persons have continued to grieve, appealing to authorities to at least recover the bodies of their brothers for proper burial.

Similarly, while government agencies, including the police, had put the number of trapped victims at 20 and said that six were rescued, families and residents held a contrary position, insisting that the number of people still trapped in the pit was more than 50, adding that the six people were not rescued from the pit but were lucky to have escaped when it was caving in.

Some staff of the Niger State Emergency Management Agency, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed that aside the six survivors, no one had been rescued since then.

Meanwhile, condemnations have trailed the absence of the governor, his deputy governor and the speaker.

A stalwart and former senatorial candidate for Niger East on the platform of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Alhaji Umar Danladi Abdulhamid, described the governor’s trip as “political disaster, abuse of tenets of democracy and lack of empathy”, adding that: “It is wrong for key state officers to abandon the state without transmitting power in line with the Constitution.”

According to him, “It portends danger for democracy.”

Abdulhamid said the governor and his deputy ought not to have travelled the same time when some parts of the state were battling with incessant attacks and kidnappings on a daily basis.

Also speaking, the Niger North Zonal Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Yahaya Ability, said the governor’s action was “a betrayal of the trust the citizens bestowed on him”.

He lamented that the governor travelled out of the state on the day terrorists launched a daring attack in Tegina in Rafi Local Government Area, adding that Rafi, Shiroro, Munya and Mariga, were under attacks on daily basis.

The Chairman, Campaign for Democracy, Human Right Advocacy Civil Society of Nigeria, North Central Zone, Dr Mohammed Abdullahi Jabi, said it was unfortunate for the key elected officials to leave the state at the same time.

Speaking on the issue, a former Head of Political Science Department, University of Ilorin, Dr Mohammed Alada, faulted the action of the officials, saying that it represented a slap on the Constitution and the people.

According to him, “With such development, governance will be at a standstill because the Constitution envisages where any of the three of them will take charge if such a situation comes up.

“The essence of that is to ensure continuity of governance and avoid a vacuum. There is a limit to the extent the deputy speaker can go. In fact, the Constitution did not make any provision for that office; they cannot be ruling from wherever they are, someone must be fully in charge,” he said.

Alada said: “When former President Yar’Adua died, Jonathan, who was formally acting, was sworn in as the substantive president. That is the kind of situation envisaged by the Constitution.

“God forbid, in a situation where the three of them did not return to the state, what will happen? It means it will be drifting without any definite direction”,

Yusuf Tuggar, minister of foreign affairs, has notified Folasade Yemi-Esan, head of service of the federation, about persisting allegations of sexual harassment against Ibrahim Lamuwa, permanent secretary of the ministry.

In a letter dated May 27 to Yemi-Esan, Tuggar said he felt it necessary to write her following the “gravity of the matter”.

Simisola Fajemirokun Ajayi, a married female employee of the ministry, through Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN) and her lawyer, had informed Tuggar of Lamuwa’s alleged sexual advances.

The document was signed by Adebayo Oniyelu, on behalf of Falana.

According to the petition, Lamuwa approached Ajayi on October 7, 2023, during the first policy retreat to review President Bola Tinubu’s 4D policy, to ask why she did not sleep at the hotel after the event.

The petition added that the permanent secretary informed Ajayi that he would want her to come to his room after the event but she declined, saying she was a nursing mother and needed to go home to care for her baby.

“Is it a big baby or small baby?” the petition quoted Lamuwa as inquiring, adding that he would like to find out so he can join.

“He, however, continued this line of inappropriate anecdotes throughout the retreat.

“On November 10, 2023: our client went to Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa’s conference room where he was working out to discuss the plans to digitize the Ministry.

“Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa invited her for a meeting later that afternoon with a team from Galaxy Backbone. During the conversation, Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa requested our client take a voyage with him to Hong Kong. He further assured our client that our client’s life would never remain the same after the trip.

“Our client left the scene in utter shock and disappointment because of the awkwardness of the Permanent Secretary, Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa’s discussion.

“While our client was about to excuse herself, Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa thoughtlessly put his arms around our client’s arms and demanded a full frontal hug which she rejected.”

Citing another instance, Oniyelu said Lamuwa summoned Ajayi and challenged her that she had not been to his office since February because she had grudges against him.

“He then offered our client to drink tea from his cup whilst forcefully putting his arms around our client and referring to her as a ‘stubborn woman’,” Oniyelu said.

The petition added that a discreet investigation conducted by Ajayi revealed that other women, particularly female directors, were almost raped in their hotel rooms, adding that female foreign service officers have been harassed, threatened and removed from trips, postings and other privileges because they declined to comply with Lamuwa’s sexual urges.

Tuggar asked Yemi-Esan to handle the matter accordingly.

The minister also said he would provide any assistance required for the head of service to discharge her duties.

Pastor Charles Kpandei, who replaced a former Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s City of David parish in Lagos State, Idowu Iluyomade, resumed at the parish on Sunday.

According to Church Times, on resumption, Kpandei first introduced himself to the church and then preached on the subject of heaven.

Kpandei urged members to welcome one another to church during the second service of the City of David.

He said, “Are you really happy to be in church today? For those of you who are just coming for the second service, it is important to tell you that I am called Pastor Charles Kpandei.

“You need that name because you are going to tell somebody that on behalf of Pastor Charles Kpandei, you are welcome to church today.”

Before going to the main message, he prayed that God would remember the City of David for good, quoting Nehemiah 13v14.

According to the report, the parish is being audited by a notable audit firm amid an alleged N320 million debt, following the suspension of Iluyomade on June 1, 2024.

Iluyomade was suspended for three months by the church’s Governing Council after a panel was constituted to investigate the allegations against him and the parish.

He was asked to resume at the church’s headquarters after the suspension.

The embattled pastor, fondly called PID, received a letter of his suspension two weeks ago and was immediately replaced by Kpandei of the church’s Resurrection Parish Region 11.

Iluyomade, who is the Special Assistant to the RCCG General Overseer on Christian Social Responsibility, has been in the eyes of the storm following the elaborate 60th birthday of his wife, Siju, shortly after the death of the then Chief Executive Officer of Access Bank, Herbert Wigwe, who was a prominent member of his church.

It was gathered that the pastor was suspended on two issues bordering on the audit of the church and the alleged resistance by the pastor to be transferred from the parish.

However, a source in the church who prefers to be anonymous told Church Times that the parish is currently being audited by an audit firm which is not an RCCG financial and audit practice.

The source added that the audit was necessary because RCCG auditors did not audit most of the provinces under the Apapa family.

“Iluyomade, the erstwhile pastor of the church, was suspended on June 1 following complaints and allegations against him. He was asked to resume at the church’s headquarters.

“The parish is currently being audited by KPMG, which is not an RCCG financial and audit practice. It was necessary to get an external auditor because before now, most of the provinces under the Apapa Family were not audited by RCCG auditors, ” the source noted.

During Sunday’s church service on June 9, one of the pastors made the announcement, stating that the church paid about N15 million for the construction of the Trinity Tower between June 1 and 8.

The pastor, however, told the congregation that the parish had an outstanding N320 million debt, which was indicated in the financial sheet displayed on the screen.