Yobe Gov. Mai Mala Buni has mourned the death of Alhaji Ahmed Joda, a former Federal Super Permanent Secretary and Chairman of President Muhammadu Buhari’s 2015 Transition Committee.
Buni expressed his grief on Friday in a statement signed by Malam Mamman Mohammed, Director-General, Press and Media Affairs, to the Governor.
The governor described the late Joda as an elder statesman and a well groomed technocrat who contributed immensely to Nigeria’s development.
“The late Joda dedicated his productive years to the service of his fatherland until his retirement as permanent secretary.
“He will be remembered as a Nigerian who believed in the unity of the country, an uncompromising technocrat and an apostle of due process and good governance.
The governor prayed God to forgive Joda his shortcomings and grant him eternal rest, saying Nigeria would miss his wealth of experience.
He commiserated Joda’s family, the government and people of Adamawa on the demise of the icon and prayed to God to grant them the fortitude to bear the monumental loss.
Joda served as one of the five Super Permanent Secretaries under the regime of former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, between July1966 and July 1975.
IOM strengthens consular support for migrants stranded in Libya.The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that it would inaugurate a project aimed at strengthening consular support for migrants stranded in Libya.
In a statement, the IOM said it was working with consular officials and migrant community leaders from Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, and Somalia, and that the project would “build upon the technical capacity of the four countries to reach and assist vulnerable migrants and provide them with enhanced consular services.”
Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.
Rescued migrants end up inside overcrowded reception centers across Libya.
More than 20,000 illegal migrants have been rescued at sea this year, while hundreds of others have died or gone missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, according to the IOM.