Hon. Minister of Information, Alh. Muhammad Idris Malagi, has described the Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, as one of the best public servants in the country. The minister, who commended Prof. Oloyede for his uncommon transformations in JAMB noted that his type is what the nation requires for accelerated development. The minister made this assertion at the 7th Annual Conference of the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP) held at the Abuja Continental Hotel, Abuja, on Thursday, 5th October, 2023. He commended GOCOP for its steadfastness in combating the menace of fake news. He also disclosed that GOCOP was the first body that visited him after his nomination even when he had not been assigned a portfolio.He called on GOCOP to ensure that credibility is restored to the business of government communication. He stated that it is the responsibility of all including those who are reporting on government officials to ensure that only the truth is reported to enhance the credibility of our great nation.Prof. Is-haq Oloyede, who was the Chairman of the occasion, in his opening remarks said that the country is at an historic moment, having just witnessed a change of government at the federal level and in most states of the federation. He, therefore, noted that it is the right time to set the agenda for the new government at the national and sub-national levels and commended the theme of the conference ”Nigeria: Roadmap for Socio-economic Recovery and Sustainability” as apt and relevant.Further in his address, he recognised the various indices putting pressure on the Nigerian economy but commended the efforts of President Bola Tinubu for starting with some bold actions and decisions, aimed at addressing the unfortunate circumstances the nation had found itself.”There must, therefore, be a frontal attack on the enablers of poverty. Insecurity, kidnapping and a host of other vices and crises have conspired to rob the country of realising its potential in productivity and economic growth and development and have contributed significantly to the rising level of poverty. The issues confronting us as a nation have resulted in loss of earning assets, decline in the capacity to earn and curtail of purchasing power. It is, therefore, clear that the new administration and newly-elected and appointed persons at various levels have their jobs cut out for them. There must be a new direction towards our nation’s economic recovery to launch us on a path of sustainable growth and development,” he said. In proffering solutions to these challenges, he said, “Wages and the compensation structure in the public service deserve a total review and overhaul. Unless we are pretenders, we all know that some things do not just add up in the compensation of public servants and most of the public office holders. For example, the minimum wage, as a take-home pay, cannot take most people home at this time in our economic history. Considering the ever-increasing price level and the national currency devaluation, both of which have led to a spiralling inflationary level, wages at all levels have become inadequate to meet the provision of basic needs of life for many”.”Even at the highest level occupied by top public servants and political office holders, the compensation structure is such that we all know that it is difficult for these officials to rely on their pay to sustain their living conditions and the requirements or dictates of their offices”.While identifying some causes of corruption, Prof. Oloyede said, “Due to low salaries and emoluments, some misguided public servants at all levels are encouraged to look for other sources to meet the elevated financial demands expected of their offices and status. The effect of this is the sacrifice of transparency and accountability in the administration of most government offices and agencies. In fact, the situation is so bad that salaries and allowances of ministers and heads of some agencies are lower than the salaries of middle-level officers in a typical private enterprise. Curiously, there is also a wide gap in the compensation and salaries of some government departments and agencies compared with some others. Hence, juicy agencies and government departments have become a hub and attraction for appointments of connected individuals and their families.” ” In another dimension, there is a wide gap in the compensation structure between the public and private sectors in Nigeria. While private sector executives are well-remunerated in line with their output and dictates of their offices, the same thing cannot be said of public officers. In fact, salaries of most chief executives of many publicly-quoted companies and some government agencies in Nigeria are higher than the emolument of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Similarly, salaries of some ministers are lower than those of the chief executives of some agencies and institutions under their supervision.” These phenomena continue to encourage corruption and lack of accountability. It gives room for malpractices, financial impropriety, and malfeasance. When officers and executives are not well paid and they are entrusted with huge resources of the state, some may resort to helping themselves to the public till. By way of recommendations, Prof. Oloyede gave far-reaching recommendations, which if adopted could provide a leeway. ”I propose the strengthening of governance in public corporations, publicly-listed companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). I believe that the leadership of these entities require greater scrutiny that would ensure that the interests of their stakeholders are served. I am aware that there is a strong code of corporate governance for licensed financial institutions, publicly-listed enterprises and entities of public interest. The code of corporate governance, released into circulation by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) in 2018 together with the adoption of the International FinancialReporting Standard (IFRS) have assisted in curbing the incidence of corruption in the affected entities, and it is helping to create value and wealth for their stakeholders especially innocent members of the public, who subscribe to the shares of these entities. ”I recommend that the code of corporate governance be extended to all major actors in the Nigerian economy. In specific, government should come out, without further delay, with a code of corporate governance and make it’s adoption mandatory for public sector institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and small and medium enterprises that represent over 97% of businesses operating in Nigeria. When this is done, I believe there would be improvement in governance of government, non-governmental and private entities in Nigeria which would help to unlock their values for prosperity of Nigerians and sustainable development of the country”.Other discussants at the event also took turns to urge GOCOP to sustain the tempo of their advocacy for national rebirth using the instrumentality of online publications, among others. Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary-General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) revealed that national development would be difficult to achieve without an elite consensus for such. He said the consensus of the ruling class determines the nature and scope of development desired for the nation and such is also needed to pursue these vigorously. He explained that as long as there is no such consensus the desired development could not be achieved.In attendance were Prof. Uche Uwaleke, from Nasarawa State University; Hajia Hadiza Bala-Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination; Air Comdr Mohamed Idris, who represented the Chief of Air Staff; Mr Johnson Chukwu, Group Managing Director/CEO, Cowry Assets Management Limited; Publishers of online newspapers led by their President, Ms Maureen Chigbo and other distinguished Nigerians.
middle-level officers in a typical private enterprise. Curiously, there is also a wide gap in the compensation and salaries of some government departments and agencies compared with some others. Hence, juicy agencies and government departments have become a hub and attraction for appointments of connected individuals and their families.” ” In another dimension, there is a wide gap in the compensation structure between the public and private sectors in Nigeria. While private sector executives are well-remunerated in line with their output and dictates of their offices, the same thing cannot be said of public officers. In fact, salaries of most chief executives of many publicly-quoted companies and some government agencies in Nigeria are higher than the emolument of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Similarly, salaries of some ministers are lower than those of the chief executives of some agencies and institutions under their supervision.” These phenomena continue to encourage corruption and lack of accountability. It gives room for malpractices, financial impropriety, and malfeasance. When officers and executives are not well paid and they are entrusted with huge resources of the state, some may resort to helping themselves to the public till. By way of recommendations, Prof. Oloyede gave far-reaching recommendations, which if adopted could provide a leeway. ”I propose the strengthening of governance in public corporations, publicly-listed companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs). I believe that the leadership of these entities require greater scrutiny that would ensure that the interests of their stakeholders are served. I am aware that there is a strong code of corporate governance for licensed financial institutions, publicly-listed enterprises and entities of public interest. The code of corporate governance, released into circulation by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) in 2018 together with the adoption of the International FinancialReporting Standard (IFRS) have assisted in curbing the incidence of corruption in the affected entities, and it is helping to create value and wealth for their stakeholders especially innocent members of the public, who subscribe to the shares of these entities. ”I recommend that the code of corporate governance be extended to all major actors in the Nigerian economy. In specific, government should come out, without further delay, with a code of corporate governance and make it’s adoption mandatory for public sector institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and small and medium enterprises that represent over 97% of businesses operating in Nigeria. When this is done, I believe there would be improvement in governance of government, non-governmental and private entities in Nigeria which would help to unlock their values for prosperity of Nigerians and sustainable development of the country”.Other discussants at the event also took turns to urge GOCOP to sustain the tempo of their advocacy for national rebirth using the instrumentality of online publications, among others. Prof. Yakubu Ochefu, Secretary-General, Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) revealed that national development would be difficult to achieve without an elite consensus for such. He said the consensus of the ruling class determines the nature and scope of development desired for the nation and such is also needed to pursue these vigorously. He explained that as long as there is no such consensus the desired development could not be achieved.In attendance were Prof. Uche Uwaleke, from Nasarawa State University; Hajia Hadiza Bala-Usman, Special Adviser to the President on Policy Coordination; Air Comdr Mohamed Idris, who represented the Chief of Air Staff; Mr Johnson Chukwu, Group Managing Director/CEO, Cowry Assets Management Limited; Publishers of online newspapers led by their President, Ms Maureen Chigbo and other distinguished Nigerians.
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