The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • Going digital

    Some Nigerians were irked that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) met last Wednesday for about two hours and only discussed how to transform Nigeria from analogue to digital broadcasting before June next year. Those Nigerians expected that the FEC should have focused on those issues that would immediately ameliorate the economic hardship in the country.

    To them, digital broadcasting should be at the bottom of the  government’s priorities as the battle to stay alive, keep healthy, feed well and meet shelter and clothing needs, among other burning issues.

    But the Council which aimed to beat the International Telecommunications Union (ITU)  June 2017 global deadline for broadcasting changeover to digital, believed that the process will go a long way in putting food on the tables of some Nigerians through employment generation.

    Nigeria, which officially started digitisation of its broadcast industry in December 2007, following the late President Musa Yar’Adua’s approval, directing the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) to set in motion and pilot the programme towards the target date, have many times witnessed shift in the global changeover date.

    Operating under the analogue system over the years, has been claimed not to be too beneficial for the Nigerian economy.

    Many countries which have already recognized the huge benefit of digital broadcasting have been making great efforts to beat the deadline by shifting from analogue broadcasting to digital broadcasting. While digital broadcasting is different in many ways from analog broadcasting, the major difference is said to be in the transmission of the signal.

    The signal for digital television is transmitted in four different ways including cable, satellite, digital terrestrial television and telephone connection (DSL).

    Some of the changes that also go with the transition include changing the transmission signals and making members of the public get rid of standard definition television sets and going for high definition television sets.

    Television sets that receive analog signals via antenna may be out of place in the digital era, while those that receive cable and satellite signals will still receive signals from digital transmission.

    As a way forward, old television antennas, in some cases, will need to be upgraded to meet up with new technology in order to function optimally.

    While there are also fears in some quarters that the transition to digital broadcasting in Nigeria will automatically end free television programmes, this however has not been the case in many countries that have changed over.

    One of the factors that was said to be working against the transition of digital broadcasting in a developing country like Nigeria is poverty as the digital transition is said to be very expensive.

    Poverty among the citizens of developing countries also make them unable to afford television sets that efficiently receive digital broadcast signals.

    Another factor that have prevented a shift to digital broadcasting in Africa is the lack of trained personnel as manpower on ground is already trained to handle analog broadcast equipment.

    Awareness about digital broadcasting is also very low in developing countries like Nigeria. Most public officers in many developing countries also do not think of the pubic good and are rather evolving schemes to divert public funds into private pockets.

    So most governments in a developing economy lack commitment to ensure transition from analogue to digital. Despite these challenges in the developing countries, Nigeria is not only determined to meet the deadline next year but has set aside resources to achieve the aim.

    FEC last Wednesday directed relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to collaborate effectively to ensure that Nigeria does not fail to meet the June 2017 global deadline.

    Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed at the end of the meeting said: “One single council memo was considered and that council memo was a note in respect of an update from my ministry in the process of migrating from analog to digital broadcasting, as you are aware the ITU gave a deadline to migrate from analog to digital broadcasting June 2017.

    “Already the pilot scheme in jos which was successfully deployed at the end of April is working very well and today those who are in possession of our set up boxes can view 15 channels with clarity in Jos.

    “And the highlights of today’s council meeting is that council reaffirmed its support for us to meet the deadline of 2017 June and directed that the relevant ministries work together to achieve these deadline.

    “Yes Nigeria might be going through a very difficult time it doesn’t mean that we are going to be cut off from the rest of the world. 20 years ago Ethiopia had a famine that ravaged the whole country they have risen from the ashes of that famine to become one of the strongest economies of the world.

    “The fact that we are facing temporary problems does not mean that we are not going to be at pace with technology development all over the world. This is a global issue, it simply means that if we do not move from analog to digital broadcasting we may not be able to even receive signals on our televisions.

    “Look at the opportunities it offers our young men who are very talented to provide content to television stations. So it’s going to impact very largely on the broadcast industry, even piracy which has been a menace to us today, with digitalisation it means that musicians and film makers can release their films or records direct on digital broadcast such as video on demand and we are now going to cut off the entire pirate network which has been a bane to our creative industry.

    “If we look at the advantages of digitalisation in terms of changing the entire economy of providing more jobs for the people, even the 13 manufacturers of set up box who have been licensed, two of them already are producing are also going to employ but I think that the fact that we have a temporary setback does not mean we are going to be cut off from the entire world,” he added.

     

  • ‘Breastfeeding reduces under-five deaths’

    ‘Breastfeeding reduces under-five deaths’

    A consultant for the EU- UNICEF C4D in Kebbi State Mr Idris Nagia has urged the state authorities to create more awareness on the benefits of breastfeeding.

    Speaking to reporters in his office, Nagia said breastfeeding is directly linked to reducing the death toll of children under five.

    “With so much at stake, we need to do more to reach women with a simple, powerful message like: Breastfeeding can save your baby’s life. No other preventive intervention is more cost effective in reducing the number of children who die before reaching their fifth birthdays.”

    He urged more advocates to join the campaign and to use new and creative ways to communicate with mothers and families, saying, “Raising awareness beyond the confines of the maternity ward is critical to reach these broader audiences.”

    Speaking further, Nagia said, “Initiation of breastfeeding within 30 minutes after birth saves mothers from the risk of maternal death and exclusive breastfeeding on demand in the first six months of life without water or any other food will start every baby on a healthy path in life, providing all the nutrients the baby requires for optimum growth and development.”

    He said UNICEF has embraced the idea of using all possible means of communication to drive he breastfeeding campaign, and encourages others to do the same.

  • ‘Buy made-in-Nigeria products’

    Nigerians have been enjoined to patronise made in Nigeria goods and services to foster the country’s economic growth.

    A group under the auspices of Proudly Nigeria also advised the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to close the borders to stop importation of foreign goods.

    The call was made at a meeting on the maiden edition of the Proudly Nigeria Expo scheduled to hold on September 5 to 11, 2016 in Abuja.

    Addressing journalists at the event, the convener of the expo, Mrs. Jumai Ahmadu said the expo is aimed at galvanising the citizens towards patronising goods and services that are wholly Nigerian, adding that it was the best thing to do in the face of dwindling economy.

    Mrs Ahmadu expressed worry that if nothing is been done, the country may be plunged into further economic difficulties as more businesses close down.

    She said, “The Federal Government should close the borders to stop the importation of foreign goods into Nigeria. Our country is facing economic difficulties: plunging unemployment, failing Naira, closure of businesses amongst other frightening development. For us the Proudly Nigeria Expo, we are of the firm conviction that the situation can be remedied if as Nigerians we will take some steps in the right direction of which buying Nigeria is integral.

    “It is in this regard that we feel compelled by the urgency of now to save the Nigerian economy, our economy. Last week the Naira exchanged at N400 to the Dollar! there is no gain saying what that means on the price of imported goods and patronage of foreign services.

    Mrs. Ahmadu argued that there is a need for  conscious and sustained advocacy to tame Nigerians appetite for foreign goods while applauding governments commitment to diversify the economy and generate revenue from sources other than crude. She added that “it is understandable that it takes time but experts have agreed that buying Nigeria stimulates the local economy given that all economic growth starts at the community level.

    She emphasised that patronising local goods helps the farmer, trader, artisan to stay in business. “Why should people buy imported eggs when the nutritional value is not different from eggs produced locally? Why should scarce forex be used for goods that can be produced locally and drive our economy? Being proudly Nigeria guarantees job security. If we do not patronise own goods and services, how do we ensure people stay employed and those looking for jobs are employed She therefore urged the producers and service providers to ensure quality output. Just as she task “government to ensure that the local content quota is adhered to by foreign companies doing business in Nigeria.

    “We are not un mindful of the clamor for quality. People want value fo their money and that was one of the reasons Nigerians resist substandard products produced locally. For instance, that insistence has yielded dividend that our electric cables are patronized more that imported ones. So who says quality is not here and cannot be attained. What we need is consistency and demand for improved goods and services.

    Speaking on the coming event next month, Mrs. Ahmadu said, “It will be a seven-day event to showcase the potential and opportunities that exist in Nigeria, trainings on start-ups and small businesses generally is our hope that our little beginning will lead to a more robust patronage of Nigerian goods and services.”

     

  • NDE trains 120 in Taraba

    NDE trains 120 in Taraba

    The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Taraba State is training 120 youths in skill acquisition. The participants are being trained in such vocational skills as computer/ICT, barbing, cloth making, hair weaving cum dressing, tailoring and GSM repairs, among others.

    The trainees would be paid N10,000 allowance each at the end of the five-month course called Basic National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (B-NOAS). It began at the weekend.

    Senior Special Adviser on Youth and Sport Development Solomon Elisha declared the training opened at New System Cuisine. He said the state government will build skill acquisition centres for NDE programmes.

    “One of the rescue missions of the Darius Ishaku administration is youth development. But while we do our best to develop you (unemployed youths), you on the other hand must do your best to develop yourself. To be self-reliant, you must be an entrepreneur, and the NDE has given you the opportunity to be trained, empowered and be self-reliant,” he said.

    In attendance at the opening ceremony were two supervisors from the headquarters Abuja: Christopher Bamsida of the Vocational Skill Development (VSD) department and Aminu Mohammed of the Small Scale Enterprise (SSE).

    In the state, the VSD Head of Department (HOD) was represented by Mrs Helen Ngozi Eze, a Job Centre Officer who cautioned the participants against drug abuse.

    Taraba State Coordinator Adirimi Adibisi said the participants would be monitored as the training goes on.

    “Millions of youths are roaming the streets but these ones are here to be trained to be self-reliant with their families. I congratulate them.

    “The federal government agenda is to create jobs for unskilled and unemployed youths through the NDE. We want to train you to do whatever you can do with your hands, for you to become meaningful Nigerians.”

    Mr. Christopher Bamsida of VSE Abuja said the NDE is training only 120 youths in Taraba because the state has no skills acquisition centre.

    He added that the NDE will train 9,360 youths nationwide this year because of budgetary constraint.

    “We are training 360 youths each in Gombe and Adamawa states because these states have three skill centres each. In Taraba, we can’t take more than 120, because there is no skills acquisition centre,” he said.

    There are 74 skills acquisition centres in the country, out of which only 64 are functional.

  • Kogi battles ghost workers

    Kogi battles ghost workers

    Kogi State has uncovered over 25,000 ghost workers, and vows to fish out more, reports JOSEPH JIBUEZE

    Over 25,000 ghost workers in Kogi State have met their tether’s end. Some of these dubious elements were said to have been defrauding the state for as long as 10 years. Now the state, in an ambitious move, has ensured that they no longer drain the resources of the state.

    The ghost-worker menace is a nationwide malaise, which President Muhammadu Buhari wants the Continuous Audit Team to tackle, alongside overpayment of allowances and outright embezzlement.

    In June, the team found discrepancies in the payroll of ministries, departments and agencies, which cost the Federal Government about N5.7billion monthly.

    Its head, Mohammed Dikwa, said the team has helped save about N50billion, adding that over 43,000 ghost workers have been struck off the payroll.

    Most states are also affected. For instance, Plateau uncovered 5,000 ghost workers recently, while Sokoto uncovered 12,915 two weeks ago. With resources getting leaner and federal allocations dwindling, resulting in inability to pay salaries, more states are embarking on staff audit to eliminate fraudulent salary earners.

    On assumption of office, Governor Yahaya Bello, in line with his civil service reform policy, set up the Staff Verification and Screening Committee on February 22.

    Its mandate was to ascertain the true position of the state and local government workforce with a view to optimising Kogi’s human and financial resources for development.

    The committee’s leadership was later reshuffled following reports that it was sabotaging the exercise. A backup committee was further set up on May 24 and tasked with supporting the main committee to restore discipline, integrity and transparency to the screening exercise. On June 22, the committee submitted its report to the governor.

    It uncovered 25,103 ghost workers, as well as cases of impersonation of dead workers by staff who earned the deceased’s salaries.

    The report, presented to Governor Bello by the Auditor-General, Alhaji Usman Yusuf Okala, says those on the state’s payroll have been reduced following the exercise.

     

    The findings

    According to the report, as at February 22, the state had 88, 973 staff on its nominal payroll, with a monthly wage bill of N5,809,578,703. At the conclusion of the exercise on July 24, the cleared and validated workforce was 63,870.

    The 25,103 staff included unintended beneficiaries who had been drawing salaries fraudulently from the state and Local Government finances. “The estimated current monthly wage bills of cleared and validated workforce after the conclusion of our report was N4,443,070,644,” Okala said.

    According to him, the state lost over N213billion in the last 13 years to ghost workers but would save over N1.4billion on a monthly basis, which would have gone to ghost workers, thanks to the verification.  “These savings will amount to N16,387,296,713.88 per annum,” he added.

    On cases of impersonation, the report says: “These are set of dubious and notorious people who are claiming the employment benefits (salary & allowances) of some deceased civil servants of the state and Local Governments for as far back as 10 years.

    “Unfortunately, no single civil servant has raised alarm to put a stop to this practice, hence aiding and abetting the financial crime. A case in point is that of Joseph Inikpi, an employee of Dekina Local Government who we confirmed to be dead. Our findings further revealed that upon the death of Joseph Inikpi, a woman inherited her identity and began to enjoy her entitlements.

    “This first woman subsequently transferred the benefit of late Inikpi to another woman who is currently again enjoying the benefits of late Inikpi. The first woman (now in Abuja) who inherited late Inikpi identity is the one with her passport photograph on the Employee Biodata Form whereas the second woman (now in Dekina) currently enjoying the benefits of late Inikpi is the one whose phone number is on the Employee Biodata Form.”

    The screening committee also discovered double and multiple employments. The report says: “These are wicked people and officers within the state who draw salaries in multiple from either both state, local and Federal Government as well as private companies.

    “The numbers of employees in the employment of State & Local Governments in this category are 114. This discovery was revealed through interfacing with NIBSS where the BVN of the individuals concerns revealed they were earning salaries from more than one source.”

    It was also observed that the Local Government Education Authority (LGEA) had an over-bloated workforce, with several redundant senior officers ranging from GL12 to GL 17 who had left classroom for offices, thereby leaving the school without experienced teachers.

    The officers, the report says, were employed as professional class teachers but decided to abandon their teaching profession to LGEA offices where there was no work to do.

    The committee found a case where some were employment before the Kogi was created, contrary to what is contained in their employment letters.

    The reports says: “This people were employed by State Universal Basic Education Board SUBEB in 1986 as teachers in Ofu LGA. Please note that Kogi State was created in August 27, 1991. The letterhead paper used for their employment between 1983 to 1991 was that of Kogi State Government, Lokoja. How this was possible is still a mystery.”

    There were also age discrepancies. A worker was said to have been employed on July 9, 2008 by Ankpa LGEA whereas she was born on May 7, 1996. By implication, she was employed at the age of 12.

    “She has no primary school certificate, finished SSCE in June 2014 by her records available with us,” the report found.

    Also discovered were diaspora workers. The report says: “These are set of people who claimed to be in the employment of Kogi State Government, being paid salaries but are residing outside Kogi and even outside the country.

    “We described these categories of people as diaspora workers because almost all withdrawals of the proceeds of their illegal salaries are made in locations outside Kogi State for several years.”

     

    Verification challenges

    According to Okala, the field work was extensive and thorough; the integrity of data tested very high, but not without challenges.

    “The second aspect of the Committee’s work, which is desk review, was marred with substantial fraud and high level of irregularities. It appears that these irregularities were deliberate effort by some enemies of the state who may have infiltrated the screening committee to manipulate and embarrass the state government and, by extension, the state governor for their selfish interest,” he said.

    The report says the cleared list is not 100 percent clean as “it might still harbour some potential illegal and fraudulent salary earners.”

    Okala said some state and Local Government staff verification forms were deliberately muddled up.

    “The only plausible explanation for this action could have been to cause apprehension among the civil servants across the state. In this category, a total of 1,016 Employee Biodata forms were found to be mixed-up and muddled up in MDAs different from where the civil servant is currently working.

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Cattle take over major roads

    Residents bemoan cattle grazing menace, reports GBENGA OMOKHUNU

    Mr. John Ayooba who lives in Kuje, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), told Abuja Review that the city’s challenges brought on by its population growth have been worsened by grazing activities, with cattle obstructing vehicular and pedestrian movement.

    He said: “It is becoming terrible, almost every day when I pass from Kuje to town, I come across cows obstructing the major highway and when you call the attention of the owners to control them to avoid accident or damage to property, they don’t listen. Abuja is becoming something else and government should do something urgently before the situation gets out of hand.”

    A government source said that the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) took measures in the past to curb cattle grazing, but its efforts amounted to little more than verbal warnings to herdsmen to refrain from improper grazing activities along major highways.

    Another resident Tolu Abinbola said that the illegal grazing of cattle by herdsmen is just one of several problems facing Abuja, including the prevalence of street hawkers, unemployed youths, and “street urchins” which have “taken over every nook and cranny of the city.

    “I have observed how cattle and other livestock have now taken over the city centre of Abuja and I have really fallen short of words. It is not only degrading, but the distortion of the Abuja master plan also gives me a cause for concern.

    “I am neither a soothsayer nor a doomsday prophet, but public reaction to this unfortunate prowling of animals may not be good for the image of the FCT Minister, Alhaji Mohammad Bello, who appears to be doing nothing about this apparent contravention of the Abuja environmental laws.

    “The activities of Fulani herdsmen within Abuja city centre are just inappropriate. For cows to be allowed to roam the city and compete for space with human beings is retrogressive and causes serious health and social crises in the hinterland where they eat up crops, pollute streams, rivers and other sources of water supply in the satellite towns and villages and cause deaths on the highways.”

    Ibrahim, a civil servant who lives in Kubwa, said, “From Kuje to Abaji and from Maitama to the presidential villa and highbrow Asokoro, Fulani herdsmen and their cattle are constantly fighting for space with motorists and pedestrians. The National Assembly, right to the office of the National Security Adviser are not spared by the herdsmen and their cattle. The herdsmen graze their cattle at the traffic junctions where police halt vehicles for upwards of 30 miniutes or completely block the road for cattle to cross to the other side of the road.

    “While we cannot run away from these cows that are a veritable source of protein that nurtures our health and bodies, they should be raised in a civilised manner. Distraught residents are sick and tired of the unprecedented ubiquity of herdsmen walking their cattle on the roads. The man-hour lost in hold-ups cannot be economically verified, but the psycho-social trauma of accidents, caused like the one on the Abuja-Lokoja expressway should move any government to action.

    “I suggest as a matter of urgent national importance that the FCT minister should quickly do something before things get worse. He must hasten to create and demarcate grazing reserves and cattle ranches to control the movement of the herdsmen seeking pasture for their livestock in the FCT and not necessarily in the city centre. We also advise that it has become expedient to constitute a committee consisting of all tribes that would campaign on the importance of unity and peaceful coexistence, because the silence of the people is like that of peace that exists in the graveyard. We are sitting on a keg of gunpowder if we allow cattle to disturb traffic, deface the streets and enter people’s premises. The time to act is now.”

    It would be recalled that few weeks ago the Federal Government on its part said it has concluded plans to build ranches for herdsmen as part of measures to address the perennial herdsmen/farmers clashes which had claimed hundreds of lives in the country.

    The government also said it would train park rangers, men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and other security agencies to protect farms and other agro-business from looting by hoodlums.

    The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said this at the inauguration of an Inter-ministerial Committee on Security in Ministries of Agric and Interior.

    The minister explained that the nation is facing challenging times, noting that the government was concerned about protection for investments.

    He stated that the government was looking at ways to curb herdsmen and crop farmers clashes across the country by evolving solutions that would assure indigenous and foreign investors of the security of their investments.

    Ogbeh noted that President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to developing and expanding the economy, and the protection of investment.

    He said, “The current problem we are facing is the security of investment. We are inviting people, Nigerians and foreigners alike to invest in this country, especially in the agriculture industry. The crime rate is soaring and sometimes, criminality is carried out because there is no credible intelligence.

    “We are planning now to build ranches and bring our cattle rearers in manageable conditions where herdsmen and farmers would no longer have clashes. We are going to encourage agro investment. We assure indigenous investors, foreign investors that Nigeria is serious about investment and about protecting investors.

    “Nigeria can’t afford the looting of private investment by hoodlums who think that is their share of the national treasury.”

    The minister stated that the committee was expected to work out the modalities for the training and deployment of the security personnel that would be involved in investment and infrastructure protection across the country.

    He however cautioned that when deployed, the security operatives should not be converted to duties other than what they were trained for.

    “The security officers are not to be converted to private body guards or errand boys to be sent to the market or shopping malls,” Ogbeh warned.

     

     

     

     

  • Suspected beggar-syndicate members arrested

    In its efforts to stamp out street begging in the Federal Capital Territory, the Special Task Team on Abuja Environmental Protection has broken up a syndicate of suspected suppliers of beggars to strategic locations in Abuja.

    The chairman of the FCT Special Task Team Squadron Leader Abdullahi Adamu Monjel (retd) disclosed this while parading the suspects at the FCDA Police Station at Area 11, Garki I District, Abuja.

    The chairman revealed that the feat was achieved with the close collaboration of security agencies in the Task Team.

    The leader of the suspected syndicate, Baba Gwarma from Kaduna State, said that he is based in Karma-Jiji, a suburb of Abuja with their leader (Sarki) in the same vicinity.

    According to a statement issued by the Deputy Director an Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, Squadron leader Monjel further disclosed that he has three personal vehicles for movement of beggars in and around Abuja as well as neigbouring states of Nasarawa, Niger and Kaduna states.

    He said that Baba Gwarma has houses that he has rented out and also provide shelter for the beggars in the syndicate in Karma-Jiji.

    The Chairman stated that the suspect has been arrested more than 50 times in the past, but this time he would be charged to court for subsequent prosecution.

    Squadron Leader Monjel further revealed that the suspect uses dangerous weapons to attack enforcement team.

  • Corps member gives free eye surgery to 30 people

    Succour came the way of 30 indigent people suffering various eye ailments in Minna, the Niger State capital, when a National Youth Service Corps member Dr. Uwaeze Oke Ikesinachi sponsored a free eye surgical intervention for the patients.

    The free eye surgery tagged “You can see again” was flagged off at the General Hospital, Minna, as a personal community development service by the corps member who is an optometrist.

    Ikesinachi noted that the free eye surgery was borne out of his desire to use his professional skill to come to the aid the downtrodden.

    “I am an eye specialist and in that regard I know the basic need of my patients. I know what it means for a patient to be blind and I feel their pains and that is the basic motivation behind everything I do.

    “If you take a look at the patients here, you would see that some of the blindness can be treated but most of them are penniless and helpless. Some others are languishing in ignorance as they don’t even know they can get remedy for their ailments and that is why I have decided to use my skill to be of help to them,” he addedý

    The doctor who maintained that the exercise cost him a fortune, added that he was collaborating with eye surgeons and consultants to execute the project.

    He said the beneficiaries, who were drawn from across the state, ýwill be treated for eye infections ranging from cataract and pterygium among others.

    He added that a blind 10 year-old who had been suffering fromý congenital cataract could now see after he was operated on earlier.

    One of the beneficiaries, Malam Mohammed Malik, who can only see with one eye, says he has been battling with the problem since 2004 and hopes to make use of both eyes again after surgery.

  • Amnesty: Benue cracks down on reneging beneficiaries

    Amnesty: Benue cracks down on reneging beneficiaries

    Right from the beginning, Governor Samuel Ortom made it clear that his amnesty programme which was a response to the dire insecurity situation which he met on ground on assumption of office comprised two aspects: the carrot and the stick. He pleaded with those in possession of arms illegally to turn them in and even paid stipends to those who did so.

    The carrot approach which was to last initially for three months was extended for another month following the plea by Mr. Terwase Akwaza, alias Ghana when he turned himself in on the last day of the third month.

    On that day he surrendered 84 assorted weapons and pledged to convince more gangsters to embrace the programme. Subsequently several others also followed suit. At the end of the day over 600 assorted weapons and thousands of ammunition were received even as 900 youths embraced the amnesty programme.

    A retreat was organised for the beneficiaries who were placed on a stipend for three months and their chosen vocations identified. The process of placement also commenced with several beneficiaries who were recruited into the army already passing out from the Nigerian Military Depot, Zaria.

    The prime beneficiary, Mr. Terwase Akwaza, who emerged as leader of the beneficiaries on account of his previous role in the underworld, applied as agent of the Benue State Internal Revenue Service on produce and he was engaged on the understanding that he would provide a canopy for the others.

    The state government also engaged with national and international organisations to fashion out a more comprehensive programme for those involved. The beneficiaries came mostly from the Benue North East senatorial district that had witnessed a lot of criminal activities with attendant loss of lives.

    However, at every point Governor Ortom made it clear to beneficiaries that if they went back to their old ways the second aspect, the stick approach, would be applied on them as well as those who had not embraced the programme.

    Mr. Akwaza, alias Ghana, assured that he would never return to crime as he cherished the freedom offered to him. While Governor Ortom was campaigning Ghana sent messages soliciting freedom if he was elected. After the amnesty programme he organised a thanksgiving service in Gbishe during which he knelt down publicly and begged for forgiveness from all those he offended and pledged never to return to his vomit.

    Bishop of Katsina-Ala Diocese, Bishop Peter Adoboh, officiated at the mass which was attended by dignitaries across the state including Governor Ortom. The state also experienced relative peace as a result of the amnesty programme. After a while however, the crime wave started to surge especially kidnappings and armed robbery.

    The late Denen Igbana the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Special Security led operations to stem the tide with the assistance of the late Pastor, one of the leaders of the beneficiaries of the amnesty programme. The network of the duo successfully unraveled 13 kidnap cases and rescued the victims without payment of ransom. Suddenly Pastor was shot and killed in broad daylight. Security reports indicated that he was assassinated for his role in exposing the kidnap syndicate traced to be loyal to Ghana who had reportedly vowed that he would eliminate both he and the late Igbana.

    The reports were vindicated when the security aide was gunned down in his house in the night. The deceased made a dying declaration that Ghana was one of his killers. The police arrested several suspects including the Special Adviser to the Governor on Special Duties and also invited Mr. Akwaza for questioning. When he disclosed that he had been invited Governor Ortom advised him to report to the police and subject himself to investigation adding that if he did not commit the crime he would be exonerated. Mr. Akwaza declined the police invitation.

    Meanwhile, kidnappings, armed robbery, cattle rustling, and assassinations were on the rise. Many traced some of these crimes to him as he retired to his hideout and stronghold in Gbishe but continued to spread his tentacles of crime and recruitment across the state.

    The kidnappers caught and burnt in Gboko as well as the suspected robber gunned down in Ikpayongo were reported to be members of his gang who were on assignment for him. In both cases several automatic weapons as well as hundreds of ammunition were recovered. It was in these circumstances that the State Security Council decided that Ghana be tracked and arrested.

    Before this happened Governor Ortom had called leaders of the Gbishe community and informed them that if their son failed to report to the police the security agencies would go after him. He declared war on the state and was running a parallel underground government.

    The Acting Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Bem Melladu explained the operation in Gbishe, saying, “It has become necessary to inform the general public that a joint security agencies operations commenced around Gbishe and its environs today as they search for Mr Terwase Akwaza, alias Ghana in connection with various criminal activities.

    The action followed the refusal of Mr Akwaza to report to the police to answer charges of murder, kidnappings, and armed robbery. The operation was approved by the State Security Council. Security reports have linked Mr. Akwaza with the assassination of Mr Denen Igbana, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Security, five Civilian Joint Task Force members in Ukum local government area and several killings as well as the kidnap of the Dangote Cement Company Indian workers.

    Governor Ortom had also informed leaders of the Gbishe community that if Mr Akwaza failed to report to the police he would be fished out. The operation is part of the second phase of the Amnesty programme which is the stick approach after the carrot strategy had expired.

    People are advised not to give cover to Mr Akwaza and his gang members but to rather give information about his whereabouts by text or calls to the security agencies through these numbers 08066006475, 07067374913, and 08036363531.”

    The Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Burutai defended the military action in Gbishe.

    General Burutai, who was represented by the Army Chief of Policy and Planning, Lincoln Ogunewe, stated that the operation was aimed at fishing out a beneficiary of the Benue State Amnesty Programme, Akwaza, and to ensure internal security in the country.

    It is to be noted that the security agencies acted strictly according to instructions as they avoided loss and live and focused on their major target whose property was affected.

    People have asked why a similar operation had not been organized against the Fulani invaders.

    Close watchers of security operations in the state may recall that similar operations were used to chase away Fulani militia in Agatu, Tarka, Buruku, Logo, and Ukum local government areas.

    With the development those who used to look at Governor Ortom as a toothless bulldog who barked without biting will have to think twice.

     

  • Minister rallies APC members

    Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Malam Muhammad Bello has called on leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the North Central zone to remain united and provide good governance to the populace.

    Bello who made this call when the Deputy National Chairman, North Central zone of the Party, Zakari Idde, led the state chairmen of the zone to pay him a courtesy visit in Abuja, said this was necessary if the Party were to prolong its electoral fortunes in the region.

    He noted that Nigerians were  yearning for change in the manner their affairs were being managed and that the Party should remain the arrowhead and the platform for people to realise that.

    “The Party is in control of all the states in the North Central and the only way it could go back to solicit their support during elections is by providing quality leadership at levels of government,” the Minister emphasised.

    He said, “This is an opportunity for us to show good governance because it is something that our members have been yearning for a long time.  We have to really govern properly to enable the people spot the difference so that next time, when we go back to them, they will receive us with open arms.”

    The minister while recalling that the APC in the FCT was polarised along diverging interests when he assumed office as Minister last year, noted that the Party leaders in the zone played very crucial roles in reconciling and uniting the aggrieved members under one front, which he said helped a great deal in achieving the landslide victory that the Party recorded during the last FCT Area Councils’ elections.

    His words: “You played a reconciliatory and fatherly role. You were able to talk to the aggrieved parties to bring people together. I think that gave us the necessary unity that made it possible for us to get the successes that we got during the last Area Councils’ election”.

    According to a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the minister further stressed the need for the Party to build upon this unity; adding that its electoral successes would always depend on it.

    “At the end of the day, no matter our differences, I think our objective is to win elections and to provide good governance. For that to happen, we have to be united, extremely patient and know that under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari, we will continue to show what good governance is,” he stated.

    The minister assured that the FCT Administration would continue to provide the moral and logistics support to the Party in order to strengthen its structure in the region as well as cushion some of the challenges being faced by the Party’s leaders across board.

    Speaking earlier, the National Deputy Chairman of the APC North Central zone, Zakari Idde, thanked the Minister for his efforts to win five out of the six Area Councils during the last Councils’ election.

    The Deputy National Chairman while commending President Muhammadu Buhari for his anti-corruption crusade noted that the zonal leadership condemns in strong terms the impeachment threat on him.