The Nation Newspaper

Author: The Nation

  • Banditry: Varsity dismisses report of attack on female hostel

    The authorities of Federal University, Dutsinma, FUDMA, in Katsina State, on Saturday dismissed social media and news reports of banditry attacks on its female hostel, describing it as not only fake but mischievous and unfounded.

    The varsity’s Acting Director Public Relations, Habib Garba Matazu, told newsmen yesterday in Katsina that it is unfortunate that some people hide under unpopular platforms to spread rumours and discordant lies for their selfish motives.

    He further stated that the university is currently enjoying a safe and secured academic environment and that activities are going on uninterrupted in the institution.

    Read Also: JUST IN: Robbers attack UI New Hall hostel

    He said, “This is to clearly inform well-meaning Nigerians, especially parents and guardians that one Isah Musa is spreading rumours and lies on social media that bandits have attacked the female hostel of Federal University Dutsin-ma.

    ”This is very unfortunate that some people enjoy spreading rumours and blatant lies for their selfish end.

    “I want to confirm to the general public that it is not true that our female hostel was attacked by bandits. There is nothing to hide. If there is anything like this, we would have issued a statement to the general public.

    “All our two female hotels at Isah Kaita College and Take-off Campus are safe and fully protected.”

    Recall that several social media outfits in Katsina had in the past few hours been awash with reported bandit attacks in FUDMA.

  • Niger community begs presidency to wade into boundary crisis

    The people of Kpata-katcha Community in Mokwa Local Government Area of Niger State have called on President Muhammadu Buhari to wade into the boundary dispute between Katcha and Kpata-katcha community of Katcha and Mokwa local government areas and bring lasting solution to the crisis.

    The community lamented the lukewarm attitude of Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, towards resolving the boundary dispute between the communities.

    According to spokesman for the Kpata-katcha community, Dr. Saganuwan, who spoke to newsmen in Minna, if no immediate measure is taken regarding the crisis, it may soon erupt into a serious security threat in the state.

    “At the moment, the nation is faced with threats of insecurity and if my people are not returned to their homes, there is a big threat of insecurity in the state, especially in the local government and the riverine areas.”

    Read Also: LG Election: One dies as rival APC supporters clash in Niger

    Saganuwan, who lauded the effort of the state governor in trying to resolve the crisis, stated that the governor’s lukewarm attitude has, however, not made his efforts to yield any fruit.

    “Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has spent millions of naira towards resolving this crisis but his biggest problem is that he has not been focusing attention on what project he has assigned his people to do.

    “I want to tell the governor that his people have sabotaged his efforts in bringing peace to the community. He is the number one citizen of the state, he should be sincere in all his doings and that the security of the state should be his topmost priority.

    “I also want to warn the state governor that if he does not take measures, he is inviting crisis. Let him know that after his tenure, Niger State will still exist and whatever he has done, he will be remembered for. A stitch in time saves nine.”

    The community further faulted the recommendation of the Commission of Inquiry set up by the state governor to look into the issue, saying it was skewed and did not reflect the submissions of the Kpata-katcha community.

    The spokesman said the people want to return home and return back to their business and called on the president to work towards ensuring that they return to their homes without any problem.

  • Buhari approves release of N800m for flood control in Bauchi

    President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the immediate release of the sum of N800 million for flood control in Jama’are Local Government Area of Bauchi State.

    The state governor, Sen. Bala Mohammed, who made the disclosure while inspecting the extent of damages caused by over-flooding in the area, said the fund was released under the Ecological Project of the federal government.

    Read Also: Flood kills one, wipes out over 100 houses in Bauchi

    Mohammed had requested that the federal government look into the possibility of providing a dam in Jama’are under its water resources strategy to avert recurrences of over-flooding in the area.

    The Nation had earlier reported that over 100 farmlands worth N100 million have been affected as a result of over flooding in the area.

  • Katsina NYSC tasks corps members on skills acquisition

    The Katsina State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Scheme, NYSC, Alhaji Ahidjo Yahaya on Saturday in Katsina tasked corps members of the 2019 Batch B Stream2, currently in the orientation camp, to key into the various aspects of the Nigerian economy by participating fully in the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development Programme, SAED, introduced by the scheme.

    Read Also: NYSC DG encourages corps members to inter-marry

    Alhaji Ahidjo Yahaya, who made the call while sensitising the corps members  on the programme at the orientation camp in Mani Road, further urged them to  make use of the opportunity of the State Craft Village’ inside the NYSC Orientation camp.

    He also counselled them to disabuse their minds of white collar jobs and rather believe in using their hands and creative ideas to better their future.

  • 7 bodies abandoned in ATBUTH

    The Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital in Bauchi (ATBUTH), Dr. Saidu Abubakar Kadas, has disclosed that seven bodies have been left unclaimed at the hospital’s mortuary.

    The Nation’s findings revealed that one of the corpses is a female while the remaining 6 are male.

    Kadas, who made the disclosure in an interview with The Nation on Saturday, said the bodies, which were deposited by the police between February and August 2019, were yet to be identified.

    He said further that the victims were casualties of road accidents within the state, who were brought by the police and road safety personnel.

    Read Also: ‘Commercial sex worker’ found dead in hotel

    ”Within this year (2019), we have had 7 bodies deposited at the mortuary between February and August.

    Apparently, none of their relations have come to claim the bodies.”

    Kadas, who alerted members of the public over the unclaimed bodies, advised that there should be regular visits to the mortuary, especially in cases of missing persons.

    He said the teaching hospital may proceed on medical evacuation once the corpses start to decompose at the morgue, adding that the hospital was yet to decide on the deadline for the relatives of the victims  to come identify them.

  • Probe loss of Sumaila/Takai, Kawu tells presidency/APC

    A former Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Reps), Hon. Suleiman Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, has called on the Presidency and the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to urgently probe the circumstances that led to the party’s loss of Sumaila/Takai Federal Constituency at the elections tribunal on Friday.

    The elections tribunal sitting in Kano ruled that the APC did not have a candidate for Sumaila/Takai Constituency during the National Assembly elections held in February.

    The tribunal, which based its ruling on the Supreme Court judgment that affirmed Shamsuddeen Dambazau as the APC candidate for the seat against Kawu, ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately issue a certificate of return to the candidate of the political party with the next highest votes.

    Kawu, who was the original candidate for the seat until Dambazau’s suit challenging his candidature, said in a statement on Friday that the APC national leadership should constitute a special panel to probe all those involved in the underhand dealings that led to the loss.

    Read Also: Kano Tribunal sacks Dambazau’s Son

    It would be recalled that Kawu was picked as the consensus candidate for Sumaila/Takai Federal Constituency, where he went into the elections and won with wide margin.

    Kawu Sumaila’s choice was as a result of the decision of Muhammad Baffa Takai, who had picked the APC ticket, to drop his ambition following series of persuasions on him so that Kawu would be compensated for being unfairly treated during the APC primaries for Kano South Senatorial Zone.

    The former Senior Special Assistant to the President was compensated with the Sumaila/Takai Reps ticket so that he would not take the issue of APC primaries for Kano South Senatorial Zone, which he clearly won, to court.

    In turn, Baffa Takai was made the Special Adviser to the State governor on community development.

    However, Shamsuddeen Dambazau approached the high court and challenged Kawu’s nomination by the party and the court ruled in his favour.

    Stressing that the tribunal has finally vindicated him, Kawu, a former two-term deputy minority leader of the house, said “I therefore call on the presidency and the national leadership of our party to take decisive action on this matter by probing it to ensure that all those that contributed to this are adequately sanctioned.”

  • LG Election: One dies as rival APC supporters clash in Niger

    One person has been announced dead in Katcha Local Government Area of Niger State and several others injured, as supporters of two rival chairmanship aspirants of the All Progressives Congress (APC) clashed.

    The clash involved supporters of Alhaji Musa Ishyaku and Alhaji Danjuma Emindachi.

    The deceased has been identified as Nda-Bida and was said to be a supporter of Alhaji Danjuma Emindachi, one of the aspirants from Katcha LGA.

    The incident occurred along the Minna- Bida road after the aspirants had collected their nomination forms to contest the chairmanship election for Katcha LGA, which is to hold in November, 2019.

    The reason for the clash remains unknown, although it was revealed that the parties had continuously provoked each other before the crescendo along the Minna-Bida road.

    Read Also: BREAKING: One feared dead as traders clash with Ebonyi ‘Revenue Officials’

    Eyewitnesses said the supporters ran into each other at the River Gbako Bridge on the Minna-Bida Road, where they attacked each other with cutlasses, daggers, machetes and other dangerous weapons.

    The Niger State APC chairman, Jibrin Imam, confirmed the incident but said the party was not involved in the clash.

    He said the party has always preached peace, which he expected the aspirants to instil in their supporters, expressing disappointment over how they allowed their supporters to go haywire.

    “It is a criminal issue; our party is not involved; the police are handling the matter.”

    The Police Public Relations Officer, Muhammad Abubakar, confirmed the incident, saying one person has been arrested and investigations are ongoing.

  • PIND foundation trains 200 Edo youths on renewable energy

    The Partnership Initiative in the Niger Delta (PIND) foundation has trained 200 youths in Edo State on renewable energy.

    Manager, Appropriate Technology Enabled Development of PIND Foundation, Dr. Teslin Giwa said the youths were trained on how to operate, install and maintain small to medium solar PV technology solutions and project management.

    He spoke at the weekend in Benin City during the graduation ceremony of the beneficiaries held at the Edo Production Centre.

    Read Also: Obaseki assures Edo youths of opportunities in creative industry

    The training which lasted for one month was done in collaboration with the Edo State government and the Skills Development for Youth Empowerment (SKYE).

    Dr. Giwa said the training was to make the youths entrepreneurs and solve the problem of electricity in the country due to incessant failure of electricity providers.

    He said the youths would be given a starter pack to go into the business and in turn, become employers of labour in the various skills acquired.

    In his words, ‘light is very important to human existence and these youths have been trained to be industrious and establish their own businesses to provide solar energy for Nigerians especially this era of powers failure.”

    Edo State Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Empowerment, Mr. Felix Akhabue, said the state government supported the initiative because of its resolve to empower Edo youths.

  • Women, youth groups back NDDC appointees in C/River

    Women and youth groups in Cross River State have given their support to the appointments into the new board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), made by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The groups include Youth Alliance in Cross River led by Comrade Ekpenyong Akiba, Buhari Youth Organisation led by Prince Clement Etim Asanya, Women in Focus led by Hon Vivian Umo Edem, Southern Cross River Youth Liberation led by Elder Abednego Okon, G7 led by Edem Bassey, and National youth Council of Nigeria Bakassi Local Government led by Asuquo Nyong Etim.

    Read Also: Buhari okays NDDC Board appointments

    In a resolution from an emergency meeting in Calabar on Saturday, they said, “We wish to very strongly state in clear terms without any equivocation our total support to our newly appointed Commissioner representing Cross River state in the person of the indefatigable Sir Maurice Effiwatt and by extension also specially congratulate others who have been nominated by our dear President His Excellency Muhamadu Buhari.”

  • Stakeholders urge Buhari to review new board of NDDC

    Niger Delta stakeholders at the weekend urged President Muhammadu Buhari to review the composition of the new board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    The stakeholders under the auspices of the Niger Delta Entrepreneurs Forum (NDEF) faulted the way and manner the Presidency replaced the Prof. Nelson Brambaifa-led board.

    NDEF in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Kester Okele and Secretary, Ebipade Timi, said the development was not in tandem with the style of Muhammadu Buhari-led Presidency and the Act establishing the commission.

    Timi explained that Section 4 of the Act establishing the NDDC was clear on the rotation of the chairmanship position of the commission in alphabetical order.

    “How come Edo is being gifted the chairmanship of the Board after Cross River State took the last shot?” He queried and questioned why part IV of the Act was not respected in the entire process.

    Read Also: NDDC gets acting MD, calls on Niger Deltans to work together

    He said the part of the Act provides for a Managing Director and two Executive Directors, who must be indigenes of oil-producing areas beginning from states with the highest production quantum of oil.

    Timi wondered why a state like Rivers, classified among the first three highest producers of oil, playing host to two refineries and refining the highest amount of crude oil, was left out in the appointment of the management committee of the NDDC.

    He pointed out loopholes in the procedure of the new appointments and the announcement by the Permanent Secretary, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) asking appointees to come with their updated documents.

    He noted that the previous set of appointments by the President in January was duly signed by the President’s Spokesman with a directive that the NDDC should come under the supervision of the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs rather than the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.