The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • FCTA tackles Nyanya gridlock

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) is taking steps to bring the notorious gridlock on Nyanya-Karu-Jikwoyi-Karshi Road to an end. The gridlock, known to keep commuters stranded for hours, is the worst in the FCT.

    FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Bello made the revelation when he inaugurated a ministerial task force to decongest traffic along the Abuja-Nyanya- Karu-Jikwoyi-Karshi Road as well as evacuate accumulated refuse from the area.

    Bello said that it is unacceptable that a dual carriageway well-constructed to the highest engineering standards has become a long stretch of refuse dump.

    Chief Press Secretary to the Minister, Cosmas Uzodinma made this known in a press statement in which the minister said, “For the first time in my life, I have seen a place inhabited by very vibrant people, very affluent, yet it is one aspect of Abuja where I see that people will collect their refuse and drop on the road median. I have never seen that anywhere in the world and definitely you all agree with me that this is not acceptable and should not be part of the Abuja of our dream.”

    He also added, “The goal of the initiative is to work out a sustainable action that will improve both the aesthetics and traffic situation along that axis and one that would be owned by the people after the task force might have completed its work.

    Uzodinma added, “The Minister expressed confidence that given the caliber of the Chairman of the task force, and its membership, he was sure that by the time the team was done with its assignment in the next six months, the city would be the better for it.

    “In his acceptance speech, the Chairman of the Ministerial Task Force on Traffic Decongestion on Abuja-Nyanya-Jikwoyi-Karshi Road, Maj. Gen Emmanuel Nienge (rtd), said the task force will complete its assignment within the allotted timeframe as it has already hit the ground running and holding series of preliminary meetings with members and other stakeholders.

    “While soliciting for the cooperation of the stakeholders and the general public, the Chairman said the Task Force will carry out adequate sensitization to inform members of the public on their activities.”

  • Council chief seeks voter registration at wards

    The Chairman of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) Abdullahi Candido has urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take the Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) exercise to the ward level.

    Candido pleaded that a lot of his constituents cannot afford to pay their way to the CVR locations, thereby missing out on the exercise. He made the call during the flag-off of the nationwide exercise by the Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission Professor Mahmud Yakubu.

    He said,” There are many people within AMAC who cannot afford to come to the Local Government office to get registered. Bringing it closer to them will ensure no one is disenfranchised.”

    The INEC chair gave the clearest indication that the commission will eventually take the registration exercise to the wards or polling units to avoid disenfranchising Nigerians who want to be a part of the process.

  • Iyaloja honoured in Kebbi

    The Uhola festival means everything to the Zuru in Kebbi State. In sacrifices and prayers they show their gratitude to the Almighty. In wrestling and dance they proclaim their communal core. In exchanging gifts and pleasantries, to say nothing of the elaborate merriment that follows, the Zuru demonstrate that they are jolly good fellows.

    Little wonder that they choose the Uloha feast to bestow some of their most cherished honours on their illustrious kin and others who have equally made a mark in their professions and the society.

    That was why they honoured Yeye Oba, Mrs Folashade Tinubu-Ojo, daughter of the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola with the Innan Zuru title.

    It was a day the President General of the Market Women/Men Association of Nigeria shared with several other honorees including Imo State Governor Owelle Rochas Okorocha. While the Owelle was turbaned the Madubin Zuru, Mr Benjamin E. Dikki became the Sarkin Yakin Zuru, and Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal the Danmajen Zuru. There were several others. It may well have been the day of the turban in the Zuru emirate.

    Traders across the country, and many others were on the Innan Zuru’s entourage.

    Zuru people believe that every person is a product of their own culture. They easily cope with any situation they find themselves in. They are also very accommodating.

    And what is the response from others? Those who set foot in Zuru land usually find it a place to call home.

    The Emir of Zuru, His Royal Highness Sani Sami Gomo II has assured that the emirate will continue to work towards improving the Uhola festival to make it more competitive and standardized, adding that his target is to make a menu tourists will find hard to resist.

     

  • FCT to maintain horticultural dam

    The Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mallam Muhammed Bello has instructed the FCT Water Board to maintain the horticultural dam on Asokoro, Abuja.

    The Pedan dam located in Asokoro was constructed to ensure that raw water is made available all year round for horticultural activities.

    FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye made the call when he paid an unscheduled visit to the site on behalf of the Minister Mallam Muhammed Bello.

    Deputy Director / Chief Press Secretary to the minister, Muhammad Sule who made it known in a press statememt added.

    “The Pendan Dam has been constructed by the FCT Administration for flood and erosion control while the raw water in the Dam is used all year round for horticultural activities.

    “The Dam usually supplies raw water for the watering of plants at the IBB Golf Course, Presidential Villa and the Abuja Plant Nursery as well as other horticultural activities in and around the Federal Capital City.

    “Malam Bello emphasised that the continuous maintenance would improve the services the Dam is rendering and elongates its lifespan.

    “He reiterated that the Pedan Dam is a very important asset of Abuja that must be protected as aquatic activities can also be improved around the city via that facility.

    “Taking the Minister and his entourage round the Dam, the FCT Director of Water Board, Mr. Hudu Bello, said the facility was constructed in line with the Abuja Master Plan to arrest water flood and channel same for horticultural activities in the City, thereby preserving the treated water from the Lower Usuma Dam meant for human consumption.

     

  • Kano KEDCO rewards staff

    Kano KEDCO rewards staff

    Hard work has paid off for staff members of Kano Electricity Distribution Company (KEDCO). The management team of the power distribution firm led by its Regional Manager, Mr. Abubakar Jimeta gave out plaques and cash to over 15 staff.

    It all happened at the Royal Tropicana Hotel where guests were treated to food, wine, and some music to go with it.

    Speaking during the event, the elated Jimeta expressed happiness that his staff, saying they have continued to make him proud as they made it possible for Kano Central region to stand tall among other regions in KEDCO in terms of service delivery and revenue collection. Jimeta further hailed the award recipients for putting in their best and making the company more efficient in service delivery.

    He said the event was organised to reward the recipients for the excellent performance and also motivate them to put in their best at their various departments and units.

    Jimeta said: “We are doing this today in recognition of your hard work, excellent performance and loyalty to the goals and objectives of KEDCO. You have done a lot for this company, and so, there is the need to reward your excellence and ginger you to do even more for the development of KEDCO. We are the engine room of KEDCO. There is something special about Kano Central and Kano Central alone can change the fortune of KEDCO. Since September last year, we have worked hard. So, I will want every single award that is given out today to be a step forward. Let us keep on doing the good work, let us keep on encouraging ourselves and we will grow and grow and continue to grow. When you work hard, the result will come, the reward will come. We know everyone here and we know how hard all of us are working to keep KEDCO moving. We shall continue to push, until we get there,” he stated.

    Also speaking during the event, KEDCO’s Chief Operation Officer, Mr. Rahul Sighn commended the management team for coming up with the idea of rewarding hard work and unique achievements. He congratulated the entire staff of Kano Central Region for their success in terms of productivity and commended the initiative drive of management of the region in terms of excellent service delivery.

  • Niger woos Chinese investors

    In a bid to rejuvenate the state economy, Niger State Governor Abubakar Sani Bello has said his administration will partner with Chinese investors in the most critical areas of the state.

    The governor was speaking at the just concluded Nigeria-China Governors’ Investment Forum in Guangzhou, China, assuring investors of adequate security, friendly tax regime and protective legislation in his state.

    In a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the governor, Mr. Jide Orintunsin, Governor Bello also said he would like the Chinese to re-energise the small and medium enterprise and reposition agriculture in the state.

    The governor held meetings with a vast spectrum of Chinese investors, seeking their cooperation and investment in infrastructure projects such as energy, highways, railways, airport, agriculture, tourism, youth and women empowerment.

    The governor noted that having the largest arable land mass in the country and with the highest collection of water bodies, Niger State is open to investors, even those in agriculture.

    “Ours is an agrarian state. Our land is fertile for virtually all farm produce, the large collection of water bodies make investment in the agricultural sector of the state a viable and profitable one.

  • A new way to fight malaria

    A new way to fight malaria

    A social behaviour change organisation, Centre for Communications Programmes Nigeria (CCNP), is tackling malaria by using movies to educate schoolchildren, reports SEUN AKIOYE

    Junior Secondary School 1 pupils of Government Junior Secondary School Jabi, Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, claimed to know a lot about malaria and the mosquitoes that transmit it until a simple question threw everyone, including the teachers, off balance.

    Adenike Ayodeke, a programme officer with the Centre for Communications Programmes Nigeria (CCPN)-an organisation trying to change social behaviour through effective communication-had asked if the students knew anything about malaria and over 300 voices replied in the affirmative.

    Then she asked the tricky question: “Do mosquitoes breed in dirty water?”

    Many of the students quickly answered in the affirmative; to many, it made perfect sense that mosquitoes should breed in the dirty stinking water. However, the Executive Director, CCPN, Mrs Babafunke Fagbemi, disagreed.

    “The female anopheles mosquitoes which carry the malaria virus do not like dirty water, they breed in clean water, that is why it is important not to leave any water uncovered or if there are disused tires with water inside around your house, or rain water you have collected must all be covered because that is where the mosquitoes are breeding,” she explained.

    The global body, World Health Organisation (WHO) says its theme for this year’s World Malaria Day, “End Malaria for Good,” reflects the vision of a malaria-free world set out in the “Global technical strategy for malaria 2016-2030.”  The strategy which was adopted by the World Health Assembly in May 2015 aims to “dramatically” lower the global malaria burden in ambitious but attainable goals over the next 15 years.

    The WHO says there has been a major decline in the global malaria death rate since the 2000 but there are still significant challenges with about 3.2billion people still at risk of malaria. In 2015 alone, there was an estimated 214 million new cases of malaria and 438,000 deaths mainly in the sub-Saharan Africa with millions of people not able to access the services they need for preventing malaria.

    The World Malaria Day which was set aside by the WHO is a veritable tool to continue to raise awareness on the dangers of malaria and its killing potentials especially in Africa and new investments for malaria control will have to triple from current levels to about $8.7billion annually according to the WHO.

    This year’s celebration was marked in Nigeria with speeches and awareness campaign by both government agencies and not for profit organisations.  But according to Fagbemi, the CCPN has keyed into the vision for Nigeria which is “ For malaria free Nigeria, play your part.”

    “We want to let everyone know they can play a part and that resonates with us in Nigeria because our national brand for the malaria world day is “for a malaria free Nigeria, play your parts.” Everyone including school children can play a part. Eradicating malaria is not a medical or technical issue, it is a social issue and changing behaviour is a complex thing and once people are used to a particular behaviour it is hard to change.

    “It is not easy to tell a family that you have to buy a net and start sleeping under a mosquito net, it takes time for people to change their mind-set and that is why we are here, but a lot of companies and organisations have been doing a lot like ours are embarking on social behaviour change campaign and getting people to address the roots of this social myth.

    “We come to schools because children are change agents, they are the leaders of tomorrow and once you catch them young you can make a lot of things happen,” Fagbemi said.

    It was a very emotional time for the students as they watched Newman Street, a television season programme produced by CCPN. It was a story of baby Tsav who had malaria but died due to the ignorance of Chongo and his wife Kirot. Chongo blamed his wife initially, and then blamed the hospital for killing his son.

    It was a simple message told in agonising pictures, but the core message which was to seek prompt hospital treatment as soon as one had malaria was one that sat well with the students. It was to influence Christopher Henry’s definition of malaria as the “disease that kills plenty people in the world.”

    It was time for questions and answers and over 10 students performed well in various questions fielded including that fact that mosquitoes do not transmit the Human Immuno Deficiency Syndrome (HIV).

    Some of the students also won insecticide treated nets which they promised to put to good use henceforth. “I used to be sick of malaria, but from today, I am going to be using this mosquito net, the one in the house was for my daddy and mummy,” Emmanuel Isaac said.

     

  • Lessons from Taraba Council polls

    Lessons from Taraba Council polls

    ‘It was the people’s way of saying thank you for the marvelous job he has done on the roads, at the Jalingo Airport, in the provision of water to the state capital and other towns and communities, in repositioning educational institutions and in
    renovating hospitals and equipping them with drugs to improve the quality of healthcare delivery’

    Those who say that Nigerian politicians are poor students of history cannot be faulted. They are perfectly right. Nigerian politicians are, indeed, an excellent example of this brand. They forget the past very easily and often recourse to those things that they had condemned and consigned to the dustbins of history as inimical to the survival, growth and maturity of democracy in our country. They insist, when it is convenient for them to do so, that elections must be free and fair and that nothing should be done to impede that expressway that leads to the dreamland of electoral freeness and fairness. But when the tide of the political cyclone turns against them, the drumming will change and so will the dance steps too. The rest of their actions, thereafter, can only be better left to the imagination. They will turn hitherto cherished principles of electoral perfection on their heads and unashamedly insist that it is the right way to go.

    The most recent example of this contradiction was experienced in Taraba State where local council elections were held Saturday February 25, Ibi Council Area in particular. Chairmen and councillors were being elected into the 16 local government councils to succeed caretaker committees that have been running their affairs for some time now. The elections were meant to enrich the nation’s new culture of representative governance whereby only those that the people have freely chosen through the instrumentality of the ballot box will occupy elective positions. And the Government of Governor Darius Ishaku, determined to make the elections a positive contribution towards strengthening the country’s incipient culture of democracy, took all steps necessary for this goal to be achieved.

    But there were those who did not want this to happen. They were the All Progressives Congress, APC, leaders in Ibi, one of the 16 local government council areas in Taraba State, and the only council area where the recent council elections did not hold on the scheduled date. They came out on their evil mission to stop the elections in the local government and they succeeded but only because Governor Ishaku declined the option of using the machinery of law and order to disperse them from where they had laid ambush for electoral materials meant for that day’s election.

    Before the day of the elections, electoral materials were moved by the State Independent Electoral Commission, SIEC, to police stations in all council headquarters for safe keeping, Ibi inclusive. That had been the practice, even in the case of national elections. It always worked out well. Even in this case, everything looked perfectly right until what became a contest between the good and the bad took the centre state in Ibi in the early hours of the polling day. A group of politicians and their supporters belonging to the All Progressives Congress, APC, thought the best thing to do was to prevent the elections from taking place since they were sure that their candidate was unpopular and would ultimately lose if the election were allowed to hold. They devised a trick to achieve that. They arrived early at the gates leading into the police station in Ibi where electoral materials were being kept and blocked it, insisting that the materials wouldnot be moved out to polling venues. And so, the elections did not take place there.

    When they were certain that it had become too late in the day to hold the elections, they vacated the entrance to the police station. At that point, the only option feasible was the postponement of the elections and the return of the materials to Jalingo. And that was what SIEC did. The incident which was condemned by many well-meaning Nigerians in and outside Taraba State, is a sad reminder of the stiff and unaccommodating attitude of our politicians to elections. That attitude is that all elections must end in their favour, otherwise, the process is demonised and truncated. That was what played out in Ibi on February 25. In case those who were behind those unfortunate events in Ibi haven’t realised yet, they need be told that they only succeeded in drawing back the hand of the clock and this will affect their council area in a negative way for a long time to come. Today, Ibi is the only council area still being administered by a care-taker committee.

    But besides that incident, the council elections were peaceful, adjudged as very free and fair by electoral observers and other independent groups that witnessed it. Governor Ishaku was commended by the monitoring teams(and there were many of them on duty that period) for creating the atmosphere that enabled the success of polling. The National Orientation Agency, NOA, in Taraba State even wrote a commendation letter which was addressed to Governor Ishaku. In the letter, the Agency’s Taraba State director, Dr. Robert Gulkawi, said the governor demonstrated through the elections a rare “spirit of sportsmanship.” Dr Dulkawi said NOA officers who covered the elections submitted reports to the effect that the process was “incontestably transparent.” This, Gulkawi said stood out the elections as hugely credible, unstoppably convincing and widely acceptable.”

    The contest was, no doubt, fierce with about ten registered political parties in the race. At the end of it all the ruling People’s Democratic Party, PDP, won in all the 15 local government council areas where the elections were held. It was a well-deserved victory for the party. The victories were seen in many quarters as evidence of Ishaku’s ever rising popularity rating in the political firmament of the state. It was the people’s way of saying “Thank You” for the marvelous job he has done on the roads, at the Jalingo Airport, in the provision of water to the state capital and other towns and communities, in repositioning educational institutions and in renovating hospitals and equipping them with drugs to improve the quality of healthcare delivery and in stabilising electricity power supply in some areas of the state. The party’s victory was also a way of acknowledging the regular payment of workers’ salaries by the Ishaku administration and many other things that the government has achieved in less than two years in office.

    Those elected have already taken their seats in the various council areas. At their inauguration on Monday February 27, 2017, in Jalingo, Governor Ishaku urged the new council helmsmen to discharge their duties with humility and to ensure prudent application of resources. The event was witnessed by a cross section of PDP chieftains from all the council areas in the state. It was a happy ending to an exercise that people had feared would lead to unending crisis. Those fears failed to manifest. Rather, it further united the people behind the resolve to maintain peace. Some people, particularly, youths came out in their thousands in a solidarity rally with the Governor and the efforts he is making to put the state on the path of development.

  • Carnival on the plateau

    Carnival on the plateau

    In carnival gear Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong leads 52 tribes of the state in a street celebration of peace.

    Governor Simon Lalong led the way. His wife Regina followed, as did members of the state legislative assembly, commissioners and over 52 tribes of the state. Plateau State was in a jolly mood. After crisis, peace has returned, and it was worth celebrating, the people said.

    For a few years, the state, known for its clement weather, hospitality and tourist sites, lost its peace. Sectarian crises, thought to have been orchestrated by unscrupulous politicians, threatened to tear the state apart. As if that was not enough, cattle breeders and local crop farmers clashed persistently resulting in wanton waste of life and property.

    That unsettling atmosphere has since given way, and the people trooped out to reaffirm the peaceful coexistence for which they were known. The carnival brought out all the cultural organisations of the state as well as professionals in the entertainment industry in a very long train of street display.

    Governor Lalong also had the company of the Minister of Youth and Sport Solomon Dalung, the state Deputy Governor Sonny Tyoden and the entire cabinet. Local government chiefs and the party leaders were not left either.

    It was on Easter Monday, a public holiday, which provided the opportunity for residents to savour the carnival atmosphere in Jos, the state capital.

    The over 52 native tribes of Plateau State and other ethnic groups came out to showcase their rich cultures. It was a day residents celebrated the return of peace to the state.

    “We are celebrating our peace through this carnival, there is nothing like peace, and we are living in “Home of peace tourism”, Plateau is back again”, some of them said. “We are demonstrating our joy, our peace, our unity, our everything.”

    Addressing the jubilant crowd at the Jos Polo Field where the carnival procession terminated, Governor Lalong said, “The days of mourning and burial as a result of crisis or attacks are over. We have to celebrate this hard-earned peace, we shall do this every year because it brings together our people to celebrate and forget our sorrowful past”

    The governor also used to opportunity to call on youths to desist from any form of crime and criminality and develop their talents for the betterment of Plateau State and Nigeria.

    Lalong said, “I am the happiest governor in the 36 states of the federation today, the days of mourning and burial are over. Plateau State in the history of Nigeria has produced great talented minds, musicians, sport men and women in Nigeria, the likes of 2face, P Square, Ice Prince, MI, Kelvin Pam, sport legends and will continue to do that. Plateau has produced some the great and famous politicians, administrators, the state has produced two winners of Big Brother Africa in the person of Kelvin Pam and Efe. We are celebrating our culture, our human resources, our potentials; indeed, the state has impacted positively on the growth and development of the entire country, we have reason to celebrate,” he said.

  • Minister directs regular dam maintenance

    The FCT Minister Malam Muhammad Musa Bello has directed the FCT Water Board to regularly maintain the Pedan Dam in the highbrow area of Asokoro District, Abuja to ensure that raw water is made available all year round.

    The Minister gave this directive when he and the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr. Babatope Ajakaiye paid an unscheduled visit to the site.

    The Pendan Dam has been constructed by the FCT Administration for flood and erosion control while the raw water in the Dam is used all year round for horticultural activities.

    The Dam usually supplies raw water for the watering of plants at the IBB Golf Course, Presidential Villa and the Abuja Plant Nursery as well as other horticultural activities in and around the Federal Capital City.

    Malam Bello emphasized that the continuous maintenance would improve the services the Dam is rendering and elongates its lifespan.

    He reiterated that the Pedan Dam is a very important asset of Abuja that must be protected as aquatic activities can also be improved around the city via that facility.

    Taking the Minister and his entourage round the Dam, the FCT Director of Water Board, Mr. Hudu Bello, said the facility was constructed in line with the Abuja Master Plan to arrest water flood and channel same for horticultural activities in the City, thereby preserving the treated water from the Lower Usuma Dam meant for human consumption.

    The Director revealed that the Pedan Dam has a total volume of 5.8million cubic meter of water at peak period of raining season, which is transferred periodically to the Plant Nursery, IBB Golf Course as well as the Presidential Villa.