Comments have continued to trail trending photos which captured the Hon. Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, walking with the aid of crutches during the commissioning of an orphanage home and Arabic School in Kaita Local Government Area of Katsina State on Friday.

While details of the circumstances surrounding the Ministers sudden reliance on a walking aid seem sketchy, some Nigerians who gloated over the photos said the Minister may be suffering from an ankle sprain while others concluded that he may be having either plantar fascitis, hemiplegia scissors gait or motor neuron lesion and prayed for his speedy recuperation.

Reacting to the development, chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, erstwhile National Publicity Secretary of the defunct New Peoples Democratic Party (nPDP) and a close associate of Amaechi, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze commended Nigerians for their deep concern but however dismissed comments linking the Minister’s use of crutches to either hemiplegia scissors gait or planter fascitis adding that Amaechi is neither suffering from knee arthritis, nor lower motor neuron lesion, describing such assertions as unfathomable.

In a statement made available to media houses, Chief Eze said many Nigerians and people of goodwill have expressed very dreadful concerns seeing Minister Amaechi walk with crutches while on official duties and as a result, have flooded his cell phone lines trying to enquire the state of health of Nigeria’s decade best Minister and why he is relying on a walking aid.

The party chief said he was however prompted by public concern to engage the Minister, who confirmed the verisimilitude of the trending photos, Sunday morning and said he had a hairline fracture but assured he is getting pretty better.

In a conversation with Eze, Amaechi was quoted as saying thus: “…I had a hairline fracture on 31st December, 2020 but I have been working with it all these weeks before the public pictures showing me with crutches. Nobody should express any fear as my Doctors are on top of it”.

Eze noted that walking and working in pains and crutches simply demonstrates the patriotic zeal and commitment of the Minister in contributing towards rebuilding Nigeria to suit the fancy of the founding fathers of our nation.

Notwithstanding, the party Chief appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to direct Amaechi to rest a little while and allow for a quick recovery from the painful fracture because according to him, Amaechi with his level of patriotism, is ready to risk his life in the service of the Nigerian nation.

While calling on Nigerians to continue to remember the Minister in their prayers especially, for his total recovery, Eze condemned those celebrating the temporary inconvenience involving the Minister describing them as satanic.

The attention of the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio has been drawn to a piece of fake news which claimed that Senator Akpabio paid $5 million bribe to the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and others to secure the appointment of a Sole Administrator for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

We wish to state categorically that this is a piece of malicious concoction manufactured from the pit of hell by mischief -makers. It is a figment of the imagination of the author of the fake news. Senator Akpabio denies the story in its entirety. The authors of the fake news should be ready to back up their claim or face the full wrath of the law.

The story is a desperate attempt by some unscrupulous bloggers to impugn the integrity of the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs and the Honourable Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami as the claim is not only spurious but utterly ridiculous.

The fact is that in a suit number ABJ/CS/617/2020 filed by a Civil Society Organization, Forum for Accountability and Good Governance, at a Federal High Court in Abuja, Justice Ahmed Mohammed had granted an order restraining the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC from performing the functions of the board and accessing the Commission’s offices and files.

The Order clearly listed the Managing Director Professor Kemebradikumo Pondei, Acting Executive Director of Projects Dr Cairo Ojougboh, Mrs Caroline Nagboh and Cecilia Akintomide as those restrained. The Order also asked that “the most senior civil servant or administrator in the Commission be appointed” to take charge of the Commission.

It was based on this order that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the elevation of the Acting Executive Director of Finance and Administration, Mr Effiong Akwa, being the most Senior Administrator to take over the headship of the NDDC as an Interim Administrator pending the completion of the Forensic Audit Exercise.

It is therefore absurd for anyone to even imagine that the Honourable Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio would bribe the Attorney General before an Order of the Court is complied with as the purveyors of the fake news have stated. The general public should discountenance this piece of trash.

It is obvious that some persons who are scared of the ongoing forensic audit of the NDDC as ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari are working tirelessly to scuttle the exercise by blackmailing the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio. Their modus operandi is to churn out fake news in a bid to stop Senator Akpabio from sanitizing the NDDC. Otherwise, how can a responsible news website make such a grievous allegation without any shred of evidence to back up its claim.

However, we wish to state that no amount of sponsored fake news and blackmail would deter Senator Akpabio from doing the right thing as directed by Mr. President. The Minister has the overwhelming support of the impoverished masses of the Niger Delta who have borne the brunt of underdevelopment of the region over the years.

Following the increase in number of recorded cases of coronavirus in Lagos State, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has extended the work from home directive to all State public servants on Grade Levels 14 and below to Monday, February 1, 2021.

Governor Sanwo-Olu’s directive was contained in a circular to members of the State Executive Council and all heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies issued and signed by the Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, on Saturday.

The directive on the extention of the resumption date for Grade Level 14 and below from January 18 to February 1 was taken by the Governor to successfully curtail the spread of the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic in the State.

Governor Sanwo-Olu who said the directive excludes essential duty staff, as well as first responders, enjoined all public servants to stay safe and keep adhering to all COVID-19 protocols in order to rid the State of the pandemic in the shortest possible time.

The circular entitled “Re: Stemming the tide of the second wave of COVID-19 - Extension of the Work from home directive” also directed all Accounting Officers to ensure strict compliance with all extant directives aimed to guarantee physical and social distancing in the work place.

“Sequel to Head of Service Circulars Nos.: CIR/HOS/’20/Vol.1/139 of 18th December,

2020 and CIR/HOS/’21/Vol.1/001 of 3rd January, 2021 and in furtherance of the State

Government’s effort to successfully curtail the spread of the second wave of COVID-19 Pandemic in the State, it is hereby notified for general information that Mr. Governor, Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has extended the work from home directive to all State Public Servants on Grade Levels 14 and below with effect from Monday, 18th January till Monday, 1st February 2021. Expectedly, the directive excludes Essential Duty Staff, as well as First Responders.

“Public Servants are therefore, enjoined to stay safe by adherence to all COVID-19 Protocols.

Additionally, Accounting Officers are to ensure strict compliance with all extant directives aimed to guarantee Physical/Social Distancing in the work place; through weekly preparation of Duty Rosters as considered germane to the effective service delivery of respective Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

“All Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies are urged to observe the contents of

this Circular for acquiescence and give it the deserved Service-wide publicity,” the circular stated.