President Tinubu withdraws appointment of fresh graduate as FERMA boss

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has directed the immediate withdrawal of Mr Imam Kashim as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency.

This comes barely a week after President Tinubu announced his nomination of the 24-year-old first-class graduate of Mechanical Engineering from Brighton University in the UK for the leadership position.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, and released on Thursday, President Tinubu directed the withdrawal of the nomination of the 24-year-old Imam Kashim Imam, with immediate effect.

Recall that the President had on Friday last week, reconstituted the Governing Board and Management team of FERMA for a renewable term of four years and appointed as Board Chairman Imam, son of Borno-born politician Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, who ran for the Office of Governor of his State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party in 2003 and 2007 but lost both bids to the All Nigeria Peoples Party’s Ali Modu Sheriff.

According to reports, Thursday’s withdrawal of Imam Kashim followed harsh criticism from some Nigerians who argued that sacked Ferma chairman, though a first-class graduate in his field, does not yield any prior work experience and thus was not qualified for the job.

President Tinubu however, has not announced any replacement for the position.

The statement read in part, “withdrawal of the above-mentioned nomination is directed with immediate effect.”

“All other appointments to the Board and Executive Management team of FERMA are not affected by this directive.”

Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Police Command has confirmed the brutal murder of a member of the National Youth Service Corps member, Grace Chalya Silas, by yet-to-be-identified assailants in the state.

In a statement Thursday, the Command’s spokesman, ASP Mansir Hassan, stated that the state Police Commissioner, CP Musa Yusuf Garba, has directed a manhunt for the killers of the Corps member who was on her one-year mandatory national service in the state when the incident occured.

Chalya Silas was reportedly stabbed to death during her morning jogging at Barnawa, in Kaduna South Local Government Area of the state on Wednesday.

Following the incident, the deceased’s friends and coursemates at the University of Jos took to Facebook to mourn her.

One of them, Comfort Elisha, wrote on her Facebook handle, “No na. What is really happening to Jossite and the Special Education department? We haven’t finished mourning Kekefas Emmanuel, and now it’s Chalya, brutally killed in Kaduna during her morning jogging while serving her fatherland. May your killers know no peace Chalya. This is too much to bear.”

However, the Kaduna Command’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, while confirming the incident to newsmen,described the death of the Corps member as “tragic”.

Hassan said the Commissioner of Police, CP Musa Yusuf Garba, after an emergency meeting of the top hierarchy of the command, had ordered the Barnawa Divisional Police Officer and operatives to hunt for the killers of the Corps member.

The police spokesman said, “It’s a very tragic incident. She was performing her early morning jogging(exercise) when some miscreants(phone snatchers) on motorcycles pounced on her.

“The victim’s name is Grace Chalya Silas. She was a Corps member serving in Kaduna South.

“When the case was reported to the police, operatives responded swiftly and moved to the scene of the crime where they saw the victim in the pool of her own blood. She was rushed to the clinic, where she was later confirmed dead.

“Since the incident was reported to the police, the Kaduna State Commissioner of Police, CP Musa Yusuf Garba, held an emergency meeting with the top hierarchy of command over the matter. We are already in touch with NYSC in the state.

“The CP has directed the Barnawa DPO and Area Commander, to immediately hunt for killers of the Corps member and fish out the perpetrators of the dastardly act.”

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