The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Report

  • AMAC chair-elect inaugurates transition committee

    The chairman-elect of the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), Hon. Abdullahi Candido has set up a 25-member  transition committee that would ensure a smooth transition programme in May.

    Candido said the aim of the committee, which is chaired by Alhaji Yakubu Adamu, is not to witch-hunt anybody, but to gather information that would guide him in office.

    He explained that the committee is not made up politicians, but professionals that are well acquainted with the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) area council administrations.

    “Since 1999 the transition in AMAC has been a transition from one sister to a brother and one brother to another brother, without proper need to get important information to kick start governance.

    “Ours has to be different, we cannot do it the same way they have been doing, this formed the basis for this transition committee. So, the committee should seek to know the contractual agreements between the council and it’s contractors, stage of work executed and mobilisation received by the contractors, if any.

    “The committee should seek to know the contractual agreement between the council and its internally generated revenue or consultants. Also, should seek to know the overall debt profile of the council as at April 30, 2016.

    “Beam your searchlight on the AMAC Local Education Authority, total staff strength and last date of staff recruitment and the overall overhead cost as at 30th April,” he said.

    Candido also said the committee should seek to know the area council staff strength, last date of employment and the overhead cost of the staff.

  • FCTA’s N76.5m for Japanese partnership

    The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has released  N76.5 million as part its counterpart fund for various projects in the Territory by the Japanese government.

    The partnership is coordinated by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

    FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello said this while receiving a delegation of JICA led by its Country Senior Representative, Mr. Hiroshi Kodama in his office.

    The minister said that N46.5 million out of the N76.5 million is the counterpart funding for integrated solid waste management system in the FCT under the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB).

    Bello revealed that the balance of N30 million is to serve as its share for the water sub-sector projects including metering of water consumers in the FCT, adding that the project would greatly reduce water leakages on the main trunk line.

    According to the statement issued by the Deputy Director/ Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the Minister said it was very important for the city to have a comprehensive waste management system that would be in place for the benefits of all residents.

    He stated that the FCTA is working to expand access to the dumpsites and also create more access roads into the sites so that the refuse disposal trucks can go in simultaneously from three different entry points.

    According to him, this will ensure that waste is properly disposed at the dumpsites.

    He lamented that the absence of enough entering points to site has made some trucks to dispose wastes on the site indiscriminately.

    The Minister also harped on the need for waste to be properly sorted in the Federal Capital Territory for recycling and other purposes, thereby improving their economic values; adding that waste is wealth.

    His words: “It is very clear that for us to achieve proper waste management in the city, we have to have a system of sorting that will clearly differentiate between the plastics, glasses, metals, the soft waste that you can make into biomass as well as the other solid wastes. This as you know, we don’t have in the system.”

    Bello expressed the desire of the FCT Administration to also partner with JICA on waste management in the FCT Area Councils and satellite towns; saying it would serve as blueprint for practical waste management system in the entire Territory.

    “In the satellite towns, the waste is just being dumped on the streets in the water drainage systems. I have tried for the last eight weeks to move round the satellite towns to work on public awareness, to explain that you don’t just pick your waste and put it in the drainages. The municipal agents are not collecting it and the waste is just solidifying and piling up on the drainage system. Then the rains come, the drains are over flooded,” he added.

    The minister thanked JICA for the solar powered project it is carrying out at the Lower Usuma Dam water treatment plants; stressing that it is a big relief to the Administration.

    “We spend a lot of money to buy diesel for the generators there, since they have to work for 24 hours. If we can get some relief by using the solar system, that is a welcome development,” he said.

    Speaking earlier, the JICA Country Senior Representative, Mr. Hiroshi Kodama noted that JICA has several knowledge and skills particularly in the area of agriculture that it is willing to share with the people of the FCT.

    Kodama recalled that last year; JICA organized a workshop in Gwagwalada on rice cultivation technology especially on improved parboiling technology aimed at improving the quality of rice production in the Territory.

    He said, “For the farmers, we at JICA have a new marketing technology that we call SHEP, (Small Holder Horticulture Empowerment Project).”

  • A little to the East

    For one long week, President Muhammadu Buhari was in China on a working visit along with some top government officials and businessmen and women.

    Buhari, who left Nigeria on Sunday April 10 for the Asian country and returned on Saturday April 16, visited the country for the first time under the current dispensation.

    His main target was to get greater support from China towards turning around the fortunes of Nigeria and placing the most populous African nation on the path of growth.

    For several years, Nigeria relied mainly for support on its infrastructural development on the West.

    Under the current dispensation alone, President Buhari had led Nigeria delegations to the United States thrice and also been to many European countries seeking support and cooperation for the well-being of Nigeria.

    Despite the support from the West and the high level mismanagement of the Nigerian economy by past leaders, Nigeria has remained a poor nation in the face of its huge natural resources.

    Among other challenges, the current exchange rate of $1 to about N319 in the parallel market has been pushing up inflation in almost every sector of the economy.

    Costs of imported goods into Nigeria have been rising and indirectly pressuring the prices of locally produced goods and services upward.

    While most infrastructures in the country are nothing to write home about, revenue from its mono economy mainly dependent on oil has reduced from over $100 per barrel to around $40 per barrel for almost a year now.

    The falling oil prices in the international market have also continued to eat deeply into the Nigeria’s foreign reserves while the naira has continued to be very weak against the dollar.

    Dollarization of the Nigerian economy over the years is now gradually becoming a curse for the country.

    To find solutions, Buhari, sought the support of China for infrastructural development, in power, roads, railways, aviation, water supply and housing sectors, among other sectors.

    After the trip, the government has started counting the gains of the one week working visit to China.

    Apart from the belief that the several agreements concluded with China during the visit will have huge and positive impact on key sectors of the Nigerian economy, the visit was said to have yielded investments for Nigeria in excess of $6 billion.

    Highlights of the agreements in the power sector included North South Power Company Limited and Sinohydro Corporation Limited signing an agreement valued at $478,657,941.28 for the construction of 300 Mega Watts solar power in Shiriro, Niger State.

    For the solid minerals sector, Granite and Marble Nigeria Limited and Shanghai Shibang signed an agreement valued at $55 million for the construction and equipping of granite mining plant in Nigeria.

    A total of $1 billion USD is to be invested in the development of a greenfield expressway for Abuja-Ibadan-Lagos under an agreement reached by the Infrastructure Bank and Sinohydro Corporation Limited.

    For the housing sector, both companies also sealed a $250 million deal to develop an ultra modern 27-storey high rise complex and a $2.5 billion agreement for the development of the Lagos Metro Rail Transit Red Line project.

    Other agreements announced and signed during the visit included a $1 billion for the establishment of a Hi-tech industrial park in Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone in Igbesa, Ogun State.

    The Ogun-Guangdong Free Trade Zone and CNG (Nigeria) Investment Limited also signed an agreement valued at $200 million for the construction of two 500MT/day float gas facilities.

    An agreement valued at $363 million for the establishment of a comprehensive farm and downstream industrial park in Kogi state was also announced at the Nigeria-China business forum.

    Other agreements undergoing negotiations included a $500 million project for the provision of television broadcast equipment and a $25 million facility for production of pre-paid smart meters between Mojec International Limited and Microstar Company Limited.

    There were however fears in some quarters that Nigeria’s new romance with China will ruffle some feathers in the West.

    But the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, has assured that the new found love with China will not soil Nigeria’s relation with the US.

    He said: “In relationship with the west, don’t forget that what has helped China so fast in 30 years is because of the investments of the west in China.

    “That is really what has transformed the Chinese economy, the Japanese, Germans and Americans. So we will not have any problem with the west. China is part of the World Trade Organization and part of the international trading system.” He added

    Barely five days Buhari returned from China, the US President, Barack Obama, sent a 42-member high-power delegation led by the US Ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Ms Samantha Power, to Nigeria.

    Their mission was to support the three priority areas of President Buhari’s administration including security, economy and governance.

    It is hoped that all these moves will really turn around Nigeria and propel it to its rightful place in the committee of nations, both economically and politically.

     

    Wike and the Villa

     

    The Presidential Villa last Wednesday and Thursday received irregular visitor to the seat of power.

    That is in the person of the Executive Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.

    Unlike other state governors, it became almost impossible to sight Wike among his colleagues at any official function in the State House, Abuja especially after he got his electoral victory at the Supreme Court.

    But Wike stunned journalists and his colleagues as he attended the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) meeting at the old Banquet Hall of the State House, Abuja on Wednesday night.

    He also came to the Council Chamber the following day along with his colleagues for the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting.

     

  • Niger youths get N3.5m NDE grant

    The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Niger State has given N3.75 million to 25 youths trained in gardening and animal husbandry.

    The state NDE Coordinator, Mr Abdullahi Babamini Mohammed, an engineer, who released the information, said that each of the 25 youths was given N150,000 each to enable them start up their own farms.

    According to him, the Directorate last year trained 1000 youths in its four core programmes in 2015 adding that more will be trained this year to reduce the high rate of unemployed youths in the state.

    Mohammed who lamented on the unavailability of soft loans for trainees called on the federal government and philanthropists to provide soft loans to enable these trainees start up their own businesses.

    “There are a lot of youths who do not maximize the knowledge they get. This is one of our challenges. We need to equip them to work. NDE can only resettle 10 per cent of the population we train. We want the state government and other philanthropists to come to our aid in resettling the trainees by providing them with soft loans and connect them to SMEs and cooperatives.”

    He then stated that the Directorate is currently giving coaching lessons to 48 secondary school graduates who failed their WAEC and NECO last year giving them a second chance to make their papers.

    He said that this will give them an opportunity to pass the examination with flying colors this year adding that the Directorate was encouraged to conduct the coaching classes due to the 80 per cent success it recorded in the pilot scheme last year.

    “The training which is very intensive is free of charge and has skilled hands to ensure that these youths do not fail these examinations again.”

  • Lalong revives moribund firms

    Lalong revives moribund firms

    Some dilapidated firms in Plateau State are coming to life again, thanks to the determination of the Simon Lalong administration. A number of those comatose corporations were left for dead for as long as 10 years and more.

    The government said when those firms start functioning they will generate revenue for the state now that federal cash has dropped due to falling oil prices.

    The famous Jos Main Market destroyed in a 2002 fire is top of the government’s agenda. The market, the largest of its kind in West Africa, will earn huge dividends for the state. Another firm is the Highland Bottling Company.

    Both projects are expected to be revived on Public Private Partnership (PPP) agreement the revival of moribund companies is being handled by the Plateau Investment and Property Company Limited (PIPC).

    Chairman on the project implementation unit of PIPC, Mr. Ezekiel Gomos has handed over the Highland Bottling Company to Hummer Company Nigeria Limited.

    He said, “The Plateau State government has signed an agreement with Hummer Company Limited for the resuscitation of the moribund Highland Bottling Company located in Barkin Ladi Local Government of Plateau State.”

    The agreement was signed on behalf of the state government by Chairman Technical, Board of Plateau Investment and Property Development Company Limited (PIPC) Mr. Ezekiel Gomos and the Founder/Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Hummer Company Limited Mr. Joseph Umoru.

    Mr. Gomos said, “This agreement with this private company, Hummer Company Limited is a move to affect the key policy trust of Governor Simon Lalong administration in the area of industrialising the state. Governor Lalong did promise to revitalise all the ailing industries of the state for the purpose of creating jobs and boosting the revenue profile of the state, this makes this achievement a very historic one in Plateau state.

    “The State owned Highland Bottling Company is one of the state ailing companies that we are handing over to a private investor today, the company was shot down since 1995 and it has been difficult to bring them back to life. But this government has made history by coming to this agreement with Hummer Drinks Limited to take over the company and turn it around for the benefit of the state.

    “By this agreement, this private company will hold 67% share of the company and government will hold 33% shares. This to us in PIPC, is a major achievement because government has been holding 100% of the abandoned company and doing nothing with them” said Gomos.

    Managing Director of Hummer Drinks Limited, Mr. Joseph Umoru, in his remarks said, “The company appreciate the state government for giving the opportunity to indigenous companies to partner with government. And I want to assure the government and people of the state that Hummer Drinks Limited has the technical capacity to run this Highland Bottling company successfully.

    He said, “We have the relevant experience to produce bottled water, beverage drinks, carbonated drinks, etc, from the company and we have resolved to inject at least N100 million to commence the first phase of turnaround of the ailing company.

    Secretary to Barkin Ladi Local Government council, Mr. Joshua Dakop, where the company is located expressed gratitude with Plateau state government for reviving the moribund company, saying youths of the locality stand to gain more from the project, he also promised the local government will ensure adequate security of staff and facilities of the company.

    Before the handover of Highland Bottling Company to the private investor, the state government has commenced the process of partnering with relevant private companies to rebuild the burnt down Jos Ultra-Modern Market located at Teminus Jos.

    Though PIPC, the state government began by looking for business advisors for the project, when the bid was declared open, twelve private investors bided, four of them were picked and out of the four, one of them was expected be the project advisor that will guide government on the reconstruction of the market.

    Already, youths of the state who have been seeking for employment have dusted their certificates to apply for jobs in the companies lined up for revival.

  • Hope for water in communities

    Hope for water in communities

    The Netherlands has a unique plan of providing water for Abuja rural communities: selling pictures of the deprived settlements and sinking boreholes with the proceeds. GRACE OBIKE reports

    The challenges of communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are well documented. Their roads are nearly impassable. Electricity supply is unreliable. Schools are poorly equipped where they exist. Water supply is woeful.

    What is less reported is what is being done to solve the problems.

    That is where the Netherlands comes in. The country wants to help by providing safe drinking water for the communities, but it aims to achieve the plan in quite a style.

    Its media partner, Media Information Narrative Development (MIND),  went to several such villages, took so many pictures and plans to sell them to people who sympathise with the deprived communities and want to help.

    Residents of such villages as  Kubwa, Karu, Nyanya, Karamajiji, Kuchigoro and a lot of other places buy water from vendors at a huge cost.

    In some communities, residents trek for miles in search of water everyday, something the ambassador of Netherlands John Groffen believes affects their productivity, prevents them from working and being productive enough to make money.

    He explained that unlike most countries, the Netherlands understand the merits and demerits of water since theirs is a country that has experienced several floods of which they have been forced to understand how to manage the excess water to their advantage.

    “It is about raising awareness about the position of poor women living in Nigeria, so we thought of combining the International Women’s Day and Waters Day and come up with a common team and so we came up with water, women and works. So what we try to do with this event which is part of a series of events is to show how fetching water on a daily basis, affects the productivity of women, prevents them from working, from being productive and making money, this exhibition is second in the part of the series of events where we try to raise awareness about the issue.

    “We choose the combination of work, water and women because the Netherlands is a country that is known for water management, we have learnt since centuries to fight against water, we know the importance of water, our country has been flooded many times and we have found ways of protecting our country from flood, we know the danger of water but we also know that water can bring a lot of good.

    “We looked at the similarities, the importance of water in the Netherlands and the importance of water in Nigeria. We decided on the FCT because we have the idea that there are areas in Nigeria that are affected more by the lack of water and if you just travel five minutes, ten minutes out of Abuja, you will be confronted with the reality. So the more people that buy the pictures, the more money we raise, the more that can be done for the specific purpose.

    “MIND is our media partner, we do a lot of programmes with them, the position of women and children, vulnerable elements in the society is something that we focus on and we have been working with them on a couple of projects, also daughters of the Niger delta which is a movie about the situation of women in the area, we do a lot of these projects and this is one of them,” Groffen said.

    The kingdom of Netherlands recently collaborated with MIND to provide potable water to as many communities in the FCT as possible. They visited several of such communities and chronicled their everyday struggle to fetch water, sometimes miles away from their homes. They took pictures of such everyday struggles, enlarged the pictures which where framed and displayed in a gallery, the proceeds from the sale of the pictures will be used to sink boreholes in communities like Kuchigoro, Karamajiji and a lot more.

    Programme Director, MINDS, Ilse Lamoen-Isoun explained that the advantage of these women carrying gallons of water everyday does not only affect their productivity but health because it can lead to severe body aches.

    She said, “The exhibition portrays the water problems that many women here in the FCT face, by water problem we mean inadequate access to clean water, we are trying to show how that impacts women, it’s no news that there is access to water, I think most people already know it but somehow not much is done about it so, we say maybe if we bring out some of the human stories and we really make people feel what it’s like to have to carry all that water for hours through communities or to pay for water with your hard earned money which some of this people don’t have much of anyway but now they have to pay for each and every drop of clean water they want to use, we want to make people feel what it means.”

     

  • Minister: no going back on FCT’s growth

    The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Administration will strive to achieve all its  development goals.

    FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Bello gave the assurance while receiving the participants of Course 38 of the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, Kuru-Jos, who were in Abuja for a study tour.

    The minister reiterated that a lot has been achieved, adding that a lot more needs to be done to fast-track the development of the entire Federal Capital Territory as envisaged by its founding fathers.

    Bello noted that his administration would do everything possible to scale up the infrastructural development of the city and its environs including the provision of services in the Territory.

    His words: “I assure you that this Administration will continue to strive very hard to achieve all the goals set for us in all aspects so that we will continue to advance the society”.

    The Minister remarked that the Administration is quite aware that there is still a lot to be done in respect of poverty alleviation as well as development of our rural communities; adding that the present government will not rest on its oars until it improves the living standard of the residents.

    According to him, “When you talk about Abuja, the initial impression is that the city is beautiful with roads, streetlights and beautiful buildings but the reality of Abuja is much more than the beautiful things you have seen”.

    The Minister urged the participants to feel free to come out with a realistic assessment of the city so as to help government in taking critical decisions.

    During the interactive session, the FCT Permanent Secretary, Dr.  Babatope Ajakaiye stated that the FCT Administration’s policy on poverty reduction and inclusive development is targeted at people in the rural communities.

    Ajakaiye  explained that the FCT Administration operates with what we call Secretariats, Departments and Agencies (SDAs) just like the MDAs in the Federal Government.

    He further explained that the Secretariats and departments operate more as policy-making organs, while the agencies implement these policies as formulated.

    Ajakaiye enumerated that the FCT Administration has seven Mandate Secretariats and they include Education, Transportation, Health & Human Services, Social Development, Agriculture & Rural Development, Area Council Services and Legal Services Secretariats as well as the

    Abuja Metropolitan Management Council that takes care of the municipal services.

    Earlier, leader of the NIPSS delegation, Professor Abu Galadima advised the FCT Administration to send officials to the Institute during the participants’ presentation of its study report.

     

  • Kidnapping worsens Kaduna violence

    Kidnapping worsens Kaduna violence

    Abduction for rituals has crept into Kaduna State, which was hitherto ravaged only by cattle rustlers, robbers, sectarian strife and Boko Haram insurgency. ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE writes

    Once upon a time, Kaduna State made the wrong headlines but only for robbery attacks, cow theft, ethno-religious violence and lately Boko Haram attacks. Now, add kidnapping to the list. The toll on the capital of Northern Nigeria is heavy.

    Before mid 2015, the state was always in the news for several attacks on villages, leading to death of many, especially in the southern parts. In the central areas, armed robbery and cattle rustling, particularly in Birnin Gwari axis, were the order of the day.

    The Nasir el-Rufai administration swung into action. It halted organised crime in the south, kept cow rustlers quiet in the central areas, and celebrated its achievement. But just then, kidnappers sprang up, as if to get their share of crime proceeds before it was gone. And it seems they are hitting it big.

    Security experts have attributed the rising cases of kidnapping to the crackdown on killings, robbery and cattle rustling. Governor el-Rufai also said recently that criminals were resorting to kidnapping after insurgency, armed robbery and cattle rustling have been defeated.

    But unlike other parts of the country where kidnapping began, the crime has turned bloody in Kaduna, sending a chill in the spines of Kaduna residents, especially the rich.

    Although, a few kidnap cases were earlier reported, it climaxed with the abduction of three Kaduna pastors in early March, one of whom died in the kidnappers’ den, and the subsequent abduction and killing of an army colonel.

    However, unlike the Niger Delta experience, some of the Kaduna kidnap cases were not targeted at getting ransom, but done for ritual purposes. The case of four-year-old Sadiq Usman is an example.

    The little Usman’s eyes were plucked out by his abductors for suspected rituals in Zaria. The Nation gathered that the boy was wandering in the neighbourhood of Ban Zazzau when the ritualists abducted him.

    According to reports, the suspected ritual murderers soon after kidnapping the boy on his way to the evening Islamic school, took him to an uncompleted building and forcefully removed his eyes.

    It was gathered that some residents of the area heard the commotion, but before coming to the boy’s rescue, the hoodlums had fled. He was subsequently treated at Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital in Zaria, but the fact remains that his abductors have left the poor boy blind for the rest of his life.

    Unlike the little Usman’s ordeal, three grown-up HEKAN pastors were kidnapped in commando-style by masked gunmen along Kaduna-Abuja Expressway.

    The pastors were the President of the United Church of Christ in Nigeria, the Reverends Emmanuel Dziggau, Vice President, Iliya Anto and Yakubu Zarma, who were on the church permanent site about 17km away from Kaduna when they were whisked away.

    Another pastor, Jubrailu Ibrahim Wobiat, who  escaped the attack by the whiskers recounted the ordeal.

    He said, “We went to clear the land to start building our seminary school. We finished work of the day and were about leaving. The Vice President was to take off to Abuja, suddenly we saw men wearing masks armed with AK-47 rifles. They were about six. They blocked the small access road leading to the main road as our President, his Vice and the other clergyman were driving out of the place.

    “They ordered them out of their cars, but one of the drivers who was driving  the Vice President escaped and ran back to those of us who were still behind at the site to tell us about what had happened.

    “We quickly abandoned our cars and ran into the bush for our dear lives and got to the Express Way to the town. The police later escorted us to pick our cars.

    Their abductors later demanded for N100 million ransom. But unfortunately enough, the Vice President, Reverend Iliya Anto, who was just recuperating from a surgery died in the kidnappers’ custody.

    Pastor Wobiat told newsmen: “They demanded for N100 million, they also told us that the Vice President is sick and they described a location where we could pick him. But when we went there with the police, we couldn’t see him. Somehow, they were monitoring us.

    He said the HEKAN President Reverend Emmanuel Dziggau and Retired Reverend Yakubu Dzarma were freed by their abductors. Reverend Anto was later found dead.

    However, it was not clear as to whether a ransom was paid to secure the release of the reverend fathers or not.

    Another bloody abduction was that of Colonel Samaila Inusa of the Nigerian Army. The gunmen suspected to be kidnappers whisked away Colonel Inusa in his Mercedes-Benz car around Kamazo, along Kaduna Refinery Road, in Chikun local government area of Kaduna State.

     

     

     

     

  • Gaidam relisGaidam relishes DfID partnership

    Gaidam relisGaidam relishes DfID partnership

    Yobe State Governor Ibrahim Gaidam has spoken glowingly of the state’s partnership with the Department for International Development (DfID), an overseas aid arm of the United Kingdom.

    The organisation has been helping the state in reconstructing the state which has been badly damaged by Boko Haram insurgents.

    With support from the DfID-sponsored State Partnership for Accountability, Responsiveness and Capability (SPARC), the Gaidam administration instituted reform programmes tagged Yobe Socio-Economic Reform Agenda or YOSERA.

    The state also brought together members of its executive council, heads of government agencies and members of the House of Assembly for the same of speeding up the reform process.

    At the inauguration of the team in Abuja, Governor Gaidam said the state has been collaborating with SPARC for the past five years in carrying out various reforms in the state. This partnership, he said, has impacted positively on our governance system in the state leading to the adoption of Result Based Management (RBM) system to guide YOSERA, the state’s development plan.

    He said further that the collaboration has given birth to a better Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system for tracking budget performance by establishing institutional structures, drafting policy framework and building human resource capacity. The creation of the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) in the State Ministry of Budget and Planning is one of the outcomes of that process.

    He said: “As part of efforts to internalise the lessons learnt through our collaboration with SPARC, our administration has made it mandatory for MDAs to conduct their activities in a transparent manner and this has checked diversion of funds, misappropriations, revenue leakages and misuse of public funds.  In addition, we have formed Committees to verify execution of contracts, payment of outstanding pensions and gratuity and conduct of Bio-metric enrollment for verification of staff and salaries with the aim of eliminating ghost workers.

    Furthermore, we have set machinery for the establishment of Integrated Personnel Management Information System among others. To cap all our efforts of embracing reforms, we have formed a Governance Policy Advisory Committee under the Chairmanship of the Secretary to the State Government for the purpose of advising on and coordinating reform programmes.  The cumulative effect of these reforms in Public Finance Management is the high standards of accountability and prudence manifested in the ability of the State Government to remain above board and keep paying salaries, overhead costs and even service some capital projects at a time when many States cannot pay staff salaries. From the foregoing I can say that the easy part of the job has been done to our satisfaction. What is left are tough bones that are hard to chew. This requires us to act boldly to advance the reform efforts despite the difficulties and be eager to take on challenges and progress steadily, while at the same time, staying on course.  If we stay on our own path, we will overcome all difficulties and obstacles, make new achievements and finally reach our goals as enunciated in my May 29, 2015 inaugural address.”

     

  • Poll orderliness excites minister

    The Federal Capital Territory, (FCT) Minister, Malam Muahammad Bello has praised residents of the FCT for the peaceful manner they conducted themselves during the FCT Area Councils’ election.

    It was just as well that such warm words were coming from  the authorities, for observers believe they will go a long way in encouraging civility and good conduct in a country which often has violent polls.

    Casting ballots in the country has been anything but peaceful in several elections. Guns and other weapons have been deployed by people believed to be hired by desperate politicians.

    The minister monitored the election at the Gwarinpa I District (Life-Camp), Kubwa satellite town and Jiwa Polling Stations.

    He lauded the residents for the mature way they queued up to observe their civic responsibility.

    According to a statement issued by Deputy Director/Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Sule, the minister urged them to keep the peace as they await the outcome of the exercise.

    The minister said that FCT residents have shown that they are responsible torch-bearers.

    The minister was not happy with the residents; he was excited by the way the security agents ensure peace during the exercise.

    Bello described their action as proactive and professional.

    It was noted that the security agents did not get in the way of the voters nor obstruct the candidates, neither were there any reports of their interference with INEC staff.