By Wole Mosadomi

MINNA — Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State yesterday called for immediate review of the Nigerian Army regulations and the civil service rules dealing  on retirement age.

Aliyu said this became necessary because of increasing retirement of active young men from the civil service and the Nigerian Army.

He spoke in Minna when the new Training and Doctrine Command, TRADOC, Commander, Major General Shehu Usman Abdulkhadir who will be retiring from the Nigerian Army next year despite his young age visited him.

The governor said: “Now that we are producing educated people in all disciplines, there is a need for us to review the conditions of service of people in the military and the civil service.

“We should find a way to retain those who are 60-65 years of age up to 70 years unless they retire voluntarily.”

The governor said there must be synergy between the military and the civil society to guarantee peaceful coexistence and promised to assist the Nigerian Army to renovate some parts of its barracks in the state.

Earlier, Major General Abdulkhadir commended the peaceful atmosphere existing in the state. He said “Government policies and programmes have assisted to achieve the situation.”

He expressed appreciation to the Niger State Government for intervening in the rehabilitation of the barracks and for providing boreholes for soldiers and their families.

… lauds Jonathan on Youth Devt Minister, NPC boss

By Wole Mosadmi

Governor Babangida Aliyu, of Niger State, has commended President Goodluck Jonathan for sacking the Minister of Youth Development, Alhaji Abdulkhadir Turaki.

Aliyu said, yesterday, in Minna that the action of President Jonathan “is what is expected of a national leader that does not want any of his officials to cause disharmony among the people.”

Receiving the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Christian Pilgrims Commission, Mr. Kennedy Opara, Governor Aliyu declared, “I am happy that the President queried the National Chairman of the National Population Commission, NPC. Please thank the President for me for what he did to the Minister of Youth Development.”

Explaining why he supported the President’s stance, he  said the former Minister of Youth Development did not show enough understanding of his job claiming that that the sacked Minister did not present the actual facts to the President after the botched election in Makurdi, Benue State.

According to Governor Aliyu, while Nigerian Youths Council did not hold election in the Makurdi gathering, but set up a transition committee, the former Minister and his aides allegedly presented a list of new executive members of the council to the President.

On Odumegwu, Aliyu said people put in position of authority must be aware of the sensitive nature of their offices and what their utterances could cause to the polity.

Aliyu said: “Census is very critical in Nigeria and people must always watch whatever they say or do about the exercise in order not to cause unnecessary crisis in the country.”

He praised President Jonathan for agreeing to be part of the delegation of Nigerian pilgrims to Israel for this year’s Holy pilgrimage which would include pilgrims from Niger State, saying “Niger State people are very happy with this gesture.”