The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • Abaji counil boss preaches peace

    The chairman of Abaji Area Council in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Hon. Yahaya Garba has called on Christian faithful in the council and across the country to pray for continued peaceful co-existence of Nigerians and use the festive season for sober reflection.

    Garba stated this in his congratulatory message to Christians as they joined the rest of the world to celebrate Christmas which commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ. He also urged that the period should be used for prayers for a united Nigeria.

    He added that as elected representatives; governments at all levels should continue to provide basic necessities of life to better the lots of citizens.

    He also said citizens should reciprocate government’s gesture by living in peace with one another, saying no meaningful development will take place in an atmosphere of rancour.

  • Group donates to orphanage home

    As part of its corporate social responsibility, the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) has donated some gift items to the inmates of Abuja Orphanage Home.

    The items, which were handed over to the management of the home by the Chairman, Board of Directors of NAHCO, Alhaji Suleiman Yahyah, were 20 bags of rice, 10 bags of sugar, five cartons of milk and several infants’ formula.

    Others were packs of diapers, rolls of children’s lotion, one live cow and N250, 000 cash.

    Presenting the items, Alhaji Yahyah, who said the company would find a way of going into a strategic partnership with the orphanage home with a view to ensuring continued support, revealed that the company decided to reach out to the inmates directly as against using intervention agencies as was the norm in the past.

    He praised the management and staff of the home for the good work they have been doing to make sure that the children are healthy.

    He said: “We are a socially responsible organisation. We have been making donations to this home and others in the past eight years. We have been donating indirectly, now we felt it is imperative to change our strategy by empowering those who are impacting directly on the welfare of the less-privileged in Nigeria.

    “That’s why we chose this occasion; the festive season, the Christmas season, season of merry-making, season of wishing everybody good tiding to share the joy of the season with the less-privileged.

    “We will work towards a strategic partnership with the management of the home. This indicates that we will be seen as their strategic supporter. We will look at their programmes for the year and see which of the programmes we can finance or support. We will also mobilise our people to spend with the home a day that is important to it.

    “We will look at their infrastructural requirements; some repainting needs to be done. We will look at all those things and prioritise them based on our budget and their expectations.”

    The items were received by Dr. Joe Jerry Umole, a member of the Board of Trustees of the home. On behalf of the home, he expressed his appreciation to the management of NAHCO.

    Dr. Umole, who disclosed that the home has 62 orphans who were abandoned by their parents, said it survives primarily on charity.

    He added that the 25-year-old orphanage has nurtured two of the babies to secondary school level, noting that they are already awaiting university admission.

  • Yuletide joy for widows

    Yuletide joy for widows

    The Elizabeth Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, has donated gift items to widows in the Federal Capital Territory, bringing profound joy to the souls of the needy women during the Yuletide.

    Over 1,000 widows went home with bags of rice, semovita, garri, cartons of maggi, detergents, soap, clothing materials and bags of salt.

    While presenting the items, the coordinator of the organisation, Olabanjo Michael explained that the plight of widows in the society informed the setting up of the foundation.

    He said: “What we do is to organise workshops where they receive training. We also empower them. We try to let them know that they have a role to play in the society irrespective of what they are passing through.

    “We set up the foundation as a family to help empower the widows. Since 2004, we have been assisting widows to reduce poverty in the society. We currently have over 1,000 widows that we take care of.

    “We also take care of their children. We have 700 children that we send to various schools where they receive modern education. We take care of their education from primary to the tertiary levels. One of the children of the widows recently graduated from the University of Abuja.”

    According to the Vice-Chairman of the foundation Mrs. Abose Otuba, the foundation will continue to assist widows in the society through training and empowerment so that they can be relevant to the society.

    One of the widow’s Mrs. Helen Tony stated that with the help of the foundation, she has been able to send her children to school.

    “I have benefited so many things from this foundation. My children’s school fees have been taken care of by the foundation. I am not the only one benefiting from this foundation. The foundation has also been taking care of other widows,” she said.

     

  • Sokoto to sponsor 200 students to study in Cyprus, Pakistan

    The Sokoto Government on Sunday announced plans to sponsor 200 students to pursue various degree programmes in Cyprus and Pakistan.

    Gov. Aliyu Wamakko disclosed this at the Yabo Local Government Area of the State when he inaugurated some projects executed by the Old Boys’ Association of the Sarkin Kabi Shehu Model Primary School, Yabo.

    Wamakko said that the students were expected to depart Sokoto for Cyprus and Pakistan in January 2014.

    According to him, “the gesture is in addition to the over 1,000 students currently being sponsored by the state government in some universities within and outside the country.

    “The gesture is part of our modest efforts to boost the human resources of the state. This is also in the bid to further enhance the development of the state and that of Nigeria, by extension.

    “We will continue to accord priority to the education sector and provide equal opportunities for all indigenes to acquire quality education, within and outside the country,’’ the governor said.

    He commended the members of the association for executing the projects and appealed to others to emulate them.

    Wamakko stressed the need for all and sundry to complement the government’s efforts in providing a conducive atmosphere for effective teaching and learning.

    Alhaji Shehu Shagari, a former President, challenged wealthy individuals to complement government efforts by providing infrastructure in their former schools.

    “The responsibility of developing education is not that of the government alone. Hence, the need for people to contribute their quota to the development of the society,” he added.

    Shagari, who is also a member of the association, commended his colleagues for providing infrastructure for the school.

    The elder statesman also urged other well-to-do individuals in the state to emulate the gesture by the association.

    NAN reports that the projects inaugurated by Wamakko included a block of two classrooms, as well as the provision of teaching and learning materials.

  • Feast of hope for Benue women

    Feast of hope for Benue women

    There is food. There is contest. And there is reward. But there is a whole lot more, still, to the “Celebrate Benue Woman”, a pet project of the wife of Benue State governor, Dooshima Suswam.

    Mrs Suswam conceived the project to lift the profile of the state women by rewarding their industry and impact in their chosen fields. But that’s not all. There is also a good dose of care for the less privileged as well as other categories of the needy. Still, there is more. For the project is not complete without mentioning its health campaign segment.

    The event has become  an annual ritual.

    This year’s edition began with a cancer awareness health  walk from Mr. Biggs Roundabout and terminated at IBB Square in Makurdi, after another  health excerise.

    The wife of the governor led other prominent sons and daughters of the state, security agencies, civil society organsisations (CSOs) and many others to walk from 6am to 7 30 am.

    The health walk was to create awareness on the dangers of breast cancer and the need for test and, if possible, early treatment. Cancer  testing kit were distributed free to all participants.

    The second day of Celebrate Benue Woman, which was the grand finale, started as early as 8am with participants from the 23 local government area of the state gathering at  the gigantic IBB Square in Makurdi for series of activities.

    First was a food fair competion where participants from the 23 local government areas displayed diferrent kinds of farm produce from their localities, tubers of yam, oranges, palm wine, palm oil, different kinds of local food and economic trees, among others.

    The aim of the food fair, according to the governor’s wife to encourage  traditional meals which has health value in the body system and farming among women.

    Next was Benue cooking competition, which was the climax of the “Celebrate Benue Woman”.

    The aim of the cooking compeitition, according to Dooshima Suswam, was to encourage cooking among women, where the woman who cooks the best local soup is adjudged the best.

    While the cooking compition was going  on, Mrs Suswam, assisted by her husband Gabriel Suswam, presented 100 wheelchairs to the physically challenged men and women. This was followed by an award of excellence to the first female taxi driver in Benue, who later became the chairman of Gboko Local Government Area, Hon. Mrs Lydia Nyoir.

    The cooking competition took place within one hour and after a vigorous sampling of 23 soups by a team of judges led by the Chief Judge of Benue State, Justice Iorhemen Hwande, a housewife from Gwer West Local Government, Mrs. Mwuese Tyoakaa was announced the winner.

    Mrs Tyoakaa went home with the star prize of a new Hyundai saloon car while the sencond and third prize winners carted away a new motorcycle and deep freezer, in that order.

    The winner of the star prize, Mrs Mwuese burst into tears as Governor Suswam handed her the key to her new vehicle.

    Mrs Suswam, in her brief speech, said there is need for women of Benue to be celebrated becuase they have contributed to the growth of the economy of the state and the nation in general.

    Governor Suswam, on his part, stressed the need for women to be celebrated because they are the pillars of the society.

    He commended his wife for the initiative.

    Governor Suswam urged men to always celebrate womem becuase they are products of women. He also promised to celebrate men in the next year edition.

    Long after the end of the 7th edition of the Celebrate Benue Woman, Mwuese who carted away the star prize of new  Hyundai car is unlikely to forget the event.

    She told The Nation that there couldn’t have been a more befitting Christmas gift.

  • Kuje council chief urged to rebuild market

    Senior Special Assistant to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Political Matters and National Assembly, Senator Jibril Wowo has called on the chairman of Kuje Area Council, Shaban Tete to rebuild the Kuje main market and bring it up to contemporary standards.

    Wowo who sympathised with the council and all the businesses affected by the recent unfortunate fire incident that destroyed properties worth over N50 million said while the incident was destructive, it has created an opportunity for the Council to provide a better market structure for the people of the area.

    He disclosed this to reporters who accosted him at Gwagwalada, a community in Kuje Area Council.

    He said the market inferno which has no doubt affected the economic life of the owners and businesses destroyed also noted that the Almighty Allah showed mercies and prevented loss of life in the incident calling on the market union to remember to thank God for that.

    Wowo said the unfortunate incidence offers the council opportunity for improved development in reconstruction of the council main market.

    He tasked the council’s administration to maximize it and rebuild the market to meet contemporary business environment status for ease of access encompassing other safety measures.

    He noted that Kuje Area Council is one of the first choices for residence by most visitors to the Abuja after the city centre and this calls for responsive strategic thinking by the council to face the challenge and meet up with this strategic position and responsibility.

    Wowo commended the Council, Federal Fire service and the residents who stepped out to put out the fire before it totally got out of hand, thereby preventing  a major disaster.

     

  • Council boss wins best chair award

    The Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Abuja chapter, has chosen the chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Hon. Micah Jiba as the best council boss in the FCT for 2013. Jiba won the award, beating five others in the Territory.

    Comrade Chuks Ehirim, Chairman of NUJ, in his speech explained how the six area council bosses affected the lives of people at the grassroots, stating Jiba was chosen as the best council boss because it was discovered that his administration made it possible to take infrastructural development to every ward and community in the council.

    Ehirim who made this known during the award ceremony organised by FCT NUJ in Abuja, said that worried by the myriad of complaints of the FCT and aware of journalists constitutional responsibility as contained in Section II of the 1999 Constitution, the FCT council of NUJ decided to set its hands upon the plough of the task and see how governance has impacted on the people in the FCT.

    “For us, it was not just an opportunity to once again be critical, but to determine what other factors might be responsible for the seeming non-performance of the various facets of government agencies in the territory. Today, I can say we are pleased with what we saw and why on site inspection, it is important in giving accurate report of events in government.

    “As to our findings of how governance has fared, we wish to say that a lot is being done by the area councils, the agency and secretariat. However, there is room for significant improvements . We are pleased that in the FCT, the issue of arbitrary slashing of councils’ funds is an anathema unlike what is obtained in most states of the federation.

    “But, the demands on the area councils far outweigh the allocation they get each month. It is in this respect that we make a passionate appeal to the National Assembly to restore the one per cent statutory allocation for the development of the capital city. Doing so will free up more funds for area councils for development given that the FCT has become the Melting Pot for all Nigerians,” he said.

    Ehirim also frowned at the fact that the members of National Assembly stayed away from showing what they have brought as the dividends of democracy to their constituencies in the FCT, saying that it might be because they have done so little for those who trusted them with the mandate they hold or they have done nothing to justice the constituency allowance that they receive.

    AMAC boss, Hon. Micah Jiba, recipient of the Gold Award, commended the NUJ FCT for the projects inspection and presentation of award to performing council chairman, saying that the gesture will spur them up and put the leaders on their feet to do more for their council.

    Hon. Ibrahim Daniel, the chairman of Kwali area council was given the Award for the Best Initiative for Rural Development, Prince Aruna Momoh was given Award of Excellence in Public Accountability, Mrs Blessing Onuh, was awarded FCT Secretariat of the Year, Hon. Yahaya Garba, Chairman of Abaji area council was given Silver Award and Hon. Peter Yohanna, Bwari area council was given a Silver Award.

     

  • ‘Katsina council polls for early 2014’

    ‘Katsina council polls for early 2014’

    Katsina State Governor. Ibrahim Shema on Sunday said the state’s Local Government elections would be conducted in the first quarter of 2014.

    Shema who disclosed this in Katsina at a state PDP zonal meeting said the elections date would be announced in January for the political parties to begin preparations

    The governor, who was represented by Sen. Umar Tsauri, said all the materials needed for the exercise were on ground.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 34 local governments in the state were being managed by caretaker committees.

    This was as a result of the expiration of the tenure of elected council officials early in 2011.

    “The elections will take place next year, God willing, because everything has been put in place,’’ Shema said.

    The governor called on PDP supporters to come out en mass during the elections to vote for the party’s candidates.

    On the defection from the party to APC by some members, Shema said “most of such people are not original PDP members. Now, they have joined the group they belong to’’.

    He, however, admitted that the party was facing challenges.

    “We all know that PDP is facing some challenges and anyone trying to say otherwise is deceiving himself.

    “But we have been able to identify those challenges. By identifying the problem itself, it means half of the challenges facing us as a party have been solved,’’ the governor said.

    Shema however said PDP in the state would continue with the zoning and consensus principle.

    He also called on party members to woo to the party’s fold other people that would help PDP in achieving its political objectives.

  • ‘We should learn to give more’

    ‘We should learn to give more’

    The Chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Hon. Micah Jiba has called on Christians and non- Christians to exhibit the spirit of giving during the Christmas and New Year celebrations, so that Nigeria would be a better place for everyone.

    Jiba who made this call in his message, said that when Nigerians learn to give to the less privileged in the society, it would encourage love to grow in Nigeria and reduce the insecurity challenges.

    According to Jiba, Christmas is a period which should be used to demonstrate love amongst every Nigerian, irrespective of their religious differences, saying that the only way Christians can demonstrate the spirit of Christmas is to give to their neighbours even if they are not Christians.

    “Christmas signifies the birth of Jesus Christ who died for our sins, which is a good example of giving, because if God did not give us Jesus Christ, sin would still be having control over the world. So, we all should learn to have the spirit of giving and showing love during this period.

    “I want to also urge everybody to live in peace and eschew things that would cause violence during this period; we should see the period as a time of felicitating with one another, so that we will make Nigeria a better and peaceful place.

    “As we are entering 2014, I also pray that those things that we did not achieve this year, we be ours next year. I urge all Nigerians to support and pray for the government under President Goodluck Jonathan and the nation, so that 2014 will be a better year for all Nigerians,” he said.

     

  • Minister seeks peaceful coexistence

    Minister seeks peaceful coexistence

    The Federal Capital Territory FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed has urged residents of the Federal Capital Territory to eschew violence and live as one family.

    The Minister made the exhortation while receiving the officials of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), FCT Chapter led by Rev. Israel Akanji that paid him Christmas Homage in his official Residence, Gwarinpa I District, Abuja.

    Senator Mohammed emphasized that violence cannot take anybody anywhere, adding peace opens doors to growth, development and prosperity.

    The Minister called for continued peaceful co-existence amongst all the residents of the Federal Capital Territory irrespective of political or religious inclinations.

    He appreciated the visit on this auspicious day  of Christmas and thanked the leadership of both Christian and Muslim religions in the Federal Capital Territory for the responsible role they have always been playing in the day to day live of the Territory.

    According to him, the leadership of these two religions have shown wisdom and responsibility in conduct as well as relationship with their followers, resident in the Federal Capital Territory.

    Senator Mohammed challenged religious leaders in the 36 states of the federation to emulate the exemplary posture of the FCT religious leaders by replicating what they are doing in the FCT to ensure that the whole nation is at peace at all the times.

    While assuring them that his Administration will continue to support them in achieving their target goals, he also urged them to remain supportive to the government of President Goodluck Jonathan.

    His words: “I urge you to continue to support the government of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan to continue in its Transformation Agenda”.

    Speaking earlier, the FCT CAN Chairman, Rev. Israel Akanji prayed that Nigeria and its leadership would continue to be in peace and grow from strength to strength.

    Rev. Akanji revealed that FCT CAN recently held an election and that seven of the members of the Executive were re-elected which he attributed to the wonderful cooperation they have been receiving from the FCT Minister.

    He reiterated that they were very happy to have served their people ie. Christian Community living in FCT, during the tenure of Senator Bala Mohammed as Minister.

    Rev. Akanji said that Senator Mohammed has always been promoting religious harmony, which has made their jobs as religious leaders very easy.

    In a statement to mark the 2013 Christmas celebrations, the minister spoke further on love and peace. In the document released by his Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the Minister “congratulated the residents, particularly the Christians on this occasion and remarked that the celebration calls for sober reflection as well as emulating the good works of Jesus Christ.

    “He further charged residents of the Federal Capital Territory to rededicate themselves to the service of God and humanity to make the World a better place.

    The Minister expressed gratitude to God for the privilege and mercy He has granted, as Nigerians join Christians in other parts of the World to commemorate this day in an atmosphere of peace and tranquillity.

    “He appealed to all residents of the Federal Capital Territory to continue to be good neighbours to their fellow residents, irrespective of religious belief because the best in the sight of God is the most pious.

    “Senator Mohammed enjoined residents to resolve in our commitment to make selfless service to growth and development of the nation.

    “The Minister also appealed to them to continue to supplicate to God for the well-being, peace and prosperity of our nation as well as its leadership.

    The Minister urged Christians to use the occasion to reflect on the life of Jesus Christ and to continue to imbibe his teachings, which are primarily premised on selflessness, sacrifice, patience, modesty and spirituality.

    “Senator Mohammed remarked that the celebration also calls for sober reflection and spiritual rejuvenation as Jesus Christ lived his life for the entire mankind.

    On security, the Minister assured that all security outfits in the Federal Capital Territory are adequately prepared to be on top of any unexpected security breach during and after the festivity period.

    “He further assured that the FCT Administration will continue to guarantee the security of the lives and property of all residents of the Federal Capital Territory , irrespective of political or religious affiliations and therefore called on residents to always report any suspicious movement to the law enforcement agents.”