₦airaland Forum

Salako also dismissed claims of inaction on certification issues, explaining that the National Postgraduate Medical College does not issue certificates after passing Part I examinations, a policy the Ministry cannot override.

The federal government said yesterday that the ongoing standoff with the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) was due to structural and policy issues rather than neglect.

A statement signed by the Director, Information and Public Relations, Alaba Balogun, quoted the Minister of State for Health and Social Welfare, Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako, to have said this during a programme on AIT yesterday.

In reaction, NARD dismissed any insinuation that its strike threat was politically motivated and that it was being tele-guided by opposition elements.

Salako said some of the outstanding demands of doctors were constrained by existing civil service rules and approved schemes of service.

He also revealed that, as a mark of its concern for the plight of the workers, the federal government had approved a N90 billion annual increase in health workers’ allowances.

Resident doctors recently threatened to withdraw their services at hospitals nationwide by midnight, January 12, 2026, if their outstanding demands are not met

In a statement released last weekend by the President of NARD, Dr. Mohammed Suleiman, the association had stated: “Following the E-NEC meeting, the NEC resolved to resume total indefinite, comprehensive strike–tagged, ‘No Implementation, No Going Back,’ with effect from 12th January 2026 by 12:00 am.”

However, in response, Salako said the federal government has addressed a substantial number of the doctors’ demands and was on the verge of resolving all outstanding issues.

The Minister outlined the federal government’s actions aimed at addressing resident doctors’ demands and preventing recurring strikes in the health sector.

According to the statement, Salako had affirmed the commitment of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to maintaining industrial peace and ensuring uninterrupted healthcare delivery.

Salako noted that while the government would be pleased to significantly raise health workers’ pay, it must balance such demands with obligations to other sectors, including education, security, and national infrastructure, within the limits of available revenue.

The minister said Tinubu’s administration demonstrated its commitment in November 2025 by approving an upward review of professional allowances for health workers by adding nearly N90 billion to government expenditure annually.

According to Salako, the increment covers call duty, shift duty, non-clinical duty, and rural posting allowances and was reached through joint negotiations involving all health worker groups.

He explained that past negotiations were often fragmented, with different health professional groups engaging the government separately, leading to conflicting agreements on pay parity and relativity and triggering repeated industrial actions.

To address this, Salako said the Ministry initiated and adopted a collective bargaining approach, ensuring that doctors, nurses, laboratory scientists, and other health workers negotiated together.

On NARD’s demands, the Minister said the association’s requests have reduced from 19 to 9, indicating progress in talks.

On the demand for specialist allowance for resident doctors, Salako said resident doctors are specialists-in-training and that current regulations reserve specialist allowances for consultants.

The Minister added that the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission had advised against extending the allowance to residents, warning it could create similar claims from other health workers undergoing specialist training.

Salako also dismissed claims of inaction on certification issues, explaining that the National Postgraduate Medical College does not issue certificates after passing Part I examinations, a policy the Ministry cannot override.

Speaking on the controversy surrounding five resident doctors disengaged in Lokoja, the Minister said their cases arose from civil service disciplinary procedures.

He disclosed that a Ministerial review committee has recommended reinstatement for two doctors, reprimand for two others, and a fresh disciplinary hearing for one, in line with extant due process.
While acknowledging public concern over frequent industrial actions by doctors, Salako noted that such are a global phenomenon, citing similar disputes in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe.

He assured Nigerians that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Labour and other stakeholders, remain committed to dialogue that would stabilise the health sector, ensure industrial harmony and prevent future disruptions to healthcare services.

givedemwotowoto:
I thought Agbadorians said no terr***sts in Sokoto, that Trump destroyed an empty land in a peaceful city

mkpologwu:
I'm beginning to believe the US strike in Sokoto and wish more strikes to reign in there and in other terrorists dens. No point wasting time in catching them since they will be reintegrated back into the society.

CyynthiaKiss:
https://thesun.ng/us-strikes-in-nigeria-killed-155-lakurawa-terrorists-report/

Kano State Governor Abba Yusuf will dump the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) today, a member of the state executive council confirmed to The Nation on Sunday.

It was learnt last night that the Kano chapter of the APC was agog to welcome the governor, who has concluded all forms of consultations with the electorate and stakeholders.

The defection date was initially fixed for January 5 but was shifted to give room for further consultation, to get the buy-in of more stakeholders, particularly the Kano National Assembly lawmakers, to the move.
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“Yes, of course, the governor is joining APC tomorrow (Monday) with all his NNPP supporters,” our source, a commissioner said.

The defection date was initially fixed for January 5 but was shifted to allow room for further consultation, to commit more stakeholders, particularly the Kano National Assembly lawmakers, to the move.

Immediate past governor of Kano State and former National Chairman of the APC, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, on Sunday returned to Nigeria from Dubai to be part of the ceremony.

Ganduje’s Chief of Staff, Malam Muhammad Garba, said yesterday that his boss would commence a “series of consultations and stakeholders’ meetings focusing on recent political developments in Kano State.”

Ganduje and the State Chairman of APC, Abdullahi Abbas, had on behalf of other members of the power bloc of the Kano chapter of the party sent an official invite to Yusuf, assuring him of maximum cooperation.

According to the schedule of activities, the governor will proceed to obtain his APC membership card from his ward after the official defection.

Governor Yusuf resurfaced on Sunday at the graduation ceremony and distribution of empowerment packages to 2,260 beneficiaries drawn from various state-run institutes at the Open Space Theatre, Government House, Kano.

At the event, the embattled NNPP state chairman and an ally of Kwankwaso, Hashim Sulaiman Dungurawa, was noticeably absent, while Zubairu Abiya, who emerged as a loyalist of the governor, was in attendance and officially acknowledged as the new chairman of the party.

Key loyalists of Kwankwaso who are reportedly opposed to the reported defection were also absent. They include the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Rabiu Kwankwaso; the Commissioner for Science, Technology and Innovation, Yusuf Kofar Mata; the Commissioner for Internal Security, AVM Ibrahim Umar (rtd); and the Head of Service, Abdullahi Musa.

In contrast, several commissioners, local government chairmen, members of the Kano State House of Assembly and other political appointees attended the event.

Also present were the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly, Ismail Jibril Falgore, and the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Farouk Ibrahim.

It was gathered that once the governor officially defects to the APC, some commissioners and other appointees loyal to Kwankwaso will be shown the exit door.

Among those to be affected are the Commissioners for Science and Technology, Yusuf Kofarmata; Internal Security and Special Services, Air Vice Marshal Ibrahim Umaru (retd.); and Youth and Sport, Mustapha Kwankwaso, son of the NNPP leader.

Sources said some commissioners are already clearing their desks in anticipation of the cabinet reshuffle.

Governor Yusuf has the backing of the majority of the NNPP members of the state House of Assembly on his imminent switching of camps, citing unresolved leadership crises and ongoing court cases that could jeopardise the governor’s re-election.

Justifying the defection moves, House Majority Leader Lawan Hussaini stated that remaining in the NNPP poses significant risks for the governor and other elected officials due to “factional disputes and multiple litigations.”

Hussaini said the party’s internal conflicts could lead to a repeat of the Zamfara State scenario, where the Supreme Court ruled that the APC had no valid candidates, resulting in the party losing the governorship and legislative seats.

“The NNPP is currently plagued by factional leadership disputes and multiple litigations, creating uncertainty over the validity of its structure and nominations ahead of future elections.

“There is an existing court judgment that recognises a particular faction of the NNPP. Therefore, we cannot continue to remain in the party and risk a repeat of the legal disaster that happened in Zamfara State,” Hussaini said.

Meanwhile, amid speculation over an imminent political realignment in the state, Kwankwaso, the leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement, has intensified efforts to consolidate his grassroots base following the reported fallout with his long-time protégé.

For over a week, Kwankwaso has been receiving delegations of grassroots political groups, ward-level structures and youth organisations at his residences in Kano and Abuja, with the groups publicly reaffirming their loyalty to the Kwankwasiyya ideology and leadership.

Most of the delegations comprise small but symbolic grassroots groups, former campaign foot soldiers and local mobilisers who played key roles in the NNPP’s 2023 electoral victory in Kano.

Kwankwaso has boasted that he will have the last laugh in the face-off between him and Yusuf.
He rejected suggestions in some political circles that he is a fading politician.

“I have heard some people mocking me, calling me a child in politics. I want to assure them that they will see the work of the child soon when the time comes,” he told his supporters.

“We have so far received about 21 organisations from across the state, and there are others that are going to join us soon. Therefore, you go back home and receive them.”

Kwankwaso has threatened Yusuf that no one betrays the Kwankwasiyya Movement and goes free. He also warned other members who have defected or are planning to defect to compensate the Movement for the support and labour invested in them.

“For someone to abandon his house and go elsewhere, it does not just happen without reason. These people, no doubt, have collected ‘goods,'” he said, cautioning members against being swayed by what he referred to as “short-term gains.”

Kwankwaso is believed to be on his way to joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC).
Reacting to Kwankwaso’s warnings and threats, the governor said:

“What started small has been magnified as said by a Hausa Singer, Karamar Magana Tazama Babba. As everyone knows, I don’t believe in talking too much.

“I’m always an action man; the actions that will help my people, as seen by everyone, that is what I believe in, not too much talk,” the governor said in a video recording while addressing a camp loyal to him.

A former governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, sees nothing wrong in the governor’s dumping of the NNPP.

He said the move cannot be termed betrayal but a legitimate exercise of his political rights.

“Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf should not be accused of betrayal over his decisions, because political realignments are personal decisions guided by circumstances and consultations,” Shekarau said.

“I have listened to some of my brother Kwankwaso’s remarks. To me, Kwankwaso has either forgotten what happened in the past, or he thinks people have forgotten.

“When he was in PDP, he also left with the governorship seat to APC. Why didn’t he drop it for PDP? The way he took PDP’s seat to APC is likely the same way Abba will take the NNPP seat to APC.

“Governor Abba Yusuf is only following your footsteps,” Shekarau said, questioning why Kwankwaso would accuse Yusuf of betrayal when he had set a similar precedent.

The National Working Committee (NWC) of NNPP had dissolved the entire Kano party executives at the ward, local government and state levels indefinitely, saying the action was in line with the NNPP constitution.

The Yusuf camp approached the Kano High Court, where Justice Nasiru Saminu granted an order restoring the party’s executives at the state, local government and ward levels.

But the party’s NWC is insisting that even if such an order exists, it would be legally defective.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Ladipo Johnson, said:

“The court lacks jurisdiction to reverse an internal decision of the party. The Supreme Court has consistently held that the internal affairs of political parties are non-justiciable. The dissolution of Kano State executives at all levels therefore stands.”

Governor Yusuf is now becoming assertive and independent in decision-making with this crisis.

And if he joins the APC without Kwankwaso, the latter would no longer pull strings in appointments and decision-making like before.

A Kano Government House source said the governor had tolerated so much from Kwankwaso because he did not want to be seen as an ingrate.
At the moment, all the local government chairmen and House of Assembly members have endorsed the governor’s defection plan.

Political observers say while Kwankwaso still commands emotional loyalty at the grassroots, the governor controls the machinery of government.

“The reality is that those holding offices tend to follow where power is. Kwankwaso still commands emotional loyalty at the grassroots, but the governor controls the machinery of government,” a senior NNPP source said.

Richtaiwo:
They aren’t really searching for him out of any concern for the presidency. Their scavenger hunt is powered mainly by whispered prayers that something unfortunate, preferably dramatic, has happened to him.

jmoore:
Ohanku road built by Orji Uzor Kalu

VS

Ohanku road painted by Alex Otti.

We love the paintings.

sirchim:
Just as another president is doing the job of your MUMU President, that asked GEJ to resign because of insecurity. E reach him turn, druglord confuse kpatakpata. Una go cry tire, until another thing replace cry for una. Una never see chum thing 😀

jmoore:
Iberibe na enye onye ara morale. That woman must be OUk's mistress.

This is Umuode road that leads to Ariaria market.
Before Otti became governor and After Otti was elected picture.

Flangelo12:
What is Obi doing in this photo?

yarimo:
When will peter OBI state governor decamp to ADC na? 😆😆