Category: Northern Reports

• Calls on security agencies to step up actions

President Muhammadu Buhari has described the resurgence of terrorist attacks in communities of Zango Kataf local government area of Kaduna State, ordering swift arrest and punishment for the culprits.

President Buhari was reacting to recent mindless killings of citizens in at least two of the communities: ten persons were reported killed by terrorists in Langson community on Wednesday, while 17 others had been reported killed three days earlier in Ungwan Wakili.

According to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President said: “there is a concerted attack on innocent citizens in the state and the security and law enforcement agencies must take serious action to put an end to this.

“My deepest condolences to the families of those killed in these horrific attacks. May their souls rest in peace,” the President said.

• Calls for Bawa’s sack uncalled for, says CSOs

By Precious Igbonwelundu and AbdulGafar Alabelewe, Kaduna

A COALITION of civil society organisations (CSOs) and concerned lawyers have resumed the calls for the removal of Abdulrasheed Bawa as Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The demand, which was made on Tuesday in Lagos, came weeks after over 100 CSOs staged a week-long protest over alleged politicisation of the commission, disobedience of court orders and infringement on Human Rights of people, among others.

The groups also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to wade into the matter and direct Bawa to step down until he “purges himself of contempt as ruled by the court.”

In a swift reaction, 79 Civil Society and Community-based Organisations under the umbrella of Concerned Northern Forum (CNF), have described the calls for sack of Bawa, as satanic and unpatriotic.

The 79 CSOs and CBOs who addressed a press conference at Arewa House Kaduna yesterday, stated categorically that the call for Bawa’s sack, is a classic example of corruption fighting back and it is totally unacceptable in any civilised society.

Spokesperson for the coalition, Olufemi Lawson, alleged that the EFCC was seemingly fixated on certain individuals, accusing Bawa of desperation to “score cheap political goals through unwarranted media trials of non-convicted individuals in the country”.

According to them, the EFCC had become desperate to launder Bawa’s rapidly diminishing image, alluding to a recent press statement from the commission on the vote of confidence passed on the chairman by a CSO.

Chairman, Centre for Anti-corruption and Open Leadership (CACOL), Debo Adeniran, alleged his organisation had kicked against the appointment of Bawa in a letter to the National Assembly.

Adeniran said: “Up till now, he (Bawa) has not cleared himself of all the allegations against him and he has been made to catch other people who committed offences that are not as grievous as the ones that he has been accused of. On top of all of these, he has been behaving as if he is an authority to himself.

“And we are now saying that, no matter how highly-placed you are, no matter how influential you are, you still are duty-bound to operate within the confines of the laws of our own country. That is the constitution. Nobody is above the law. Everybody should be equal before the law. If we don’t allow the rule of law to govern our society, then we are plunging our society into that kingdom where anarchy rules, where there will be chaos and where there will be no control over who does what, and that would be a disorganised society”

Spokesperson for the Transparency and Accountability Group, Ayodeji Ologun, said: “We are repeating that we are not against the fight against corruption.”

Ologun insisted that institutions, such as the EFCC, must be led with non-controversial personalities.

However, CNF Chairman, Alhaji Aliyu Sani argued that, CSOs have overtime observed that, persons and organizations standing trial for corrupt practices try to play the ostrich, adding that, it is no longer news that most of the acclaimed civil society organizations are paid urchins of indicted persons.

Sani said: “These indicted persons and organizations employ a strategy of smear campaign in an attempt to divert attention from their crimes, distract investigations and delay administration of justice. Several of our members have been approached for this hatched job to make wild allegations against the EFCC boss and other top security operatives but none of them accepted to be dragged into the dirty game of mudslinging.”

“Concerned Northern Forum (CNF), a coalition of 79 civil society and community-based organizations, is alarmed by calls for the sacking of Bawa. While, we champion and support causes aimed at sanitising the Nigeria political and social space especially in the area of fighting corruption, we take exceptions when corrupt individuals and organisations attempting to run from the arms of the law engage commercial activists to make nefarious allegations on those saddled with fighting corruption.

“It’s unfortunate that some unpatriotic groups have jumped on this demonic opportunity with gusto, lashing out on the innocent EFCC boss without conscience. They have come with one allegation after the other in the past few months alone. It is either the EFCC boss is accused of diverting seized items or accused of abuse of office and other sundry allegations.

 “This recent allegation of disrespect to the rule of law by the acclaimed 130 civil society organisations is not different as it is also aimed at diverting the attention of the anti-graft agency and its leadership from bringing corrupt individuals and organisations to justice. As patriots, it behoves on us to rise in defence of the anti-graft agency and all other security agencies in carrying out their constitutional responsibilities. We must not allow corruption to wrack the soul of this nation for the benefit of corrupt few. Mr Bawa has so far proven to be fearless and passionate in fighting corruption since his appointment.”

The Governing Council of the Kaduna State University (KASU) has appointed Hajiya Samira Balarabe and Hajiya Hauwau Dalhat as first female Registrar and Bursar of the university respectively.

The university’s Public Relations Officer, Mr Adamu Bargo, said in a statement in Kaduna yesterday that Balarabe took over on March 15 from Mr Samuel Manshop, whose tenure has ended.

Balarabe holds a Bachelor of Laws and a Master of Laws degrees from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, between 2002 and 2022, with specialisation in property law.

She also holds a Barrister at Law from Nigerian Law School, Bwari, Abuja and a Masters in Conflict Peace and Strategic Studies with specialization in Conflict Resolution from KASU.

“Until her appointment, Balarabe was a Deputy Registrar and the immediate past Academic Secretary of KASU.

“She joined the service of KASU in 2006 as an Administrative Officer I in the Registry Department (Legal Unit) and rose through the ranks to the position of Deputy Registrar on Oct. 1, 2018.

“In the course of her career, Balarabe served in different capacities: Vice-Chancellor’s Office as an Administrative Officer I (Legal); Faculty Officer in the Faculties of Arts and Medicine respectively.

“She also served in the Establishment Unit in charge of Council Affairs; Postgraduate School as Secretary; Academic Secretary in the Academic Affairs Unit as well as member and secretary to various committees in the university,” he said.

As a seasoned administrator and dispute resolution practitioner, Balarabe is a member of the Nigerian Bar Association; Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities: Association of Nigerian University Professional Administrators and Chartered Institute of Arbitrators in Nigeria.

Other memberships are Chartered Institute of Professional Managers and Administrators; Chartered Institute of Human Resources Managers; and Institute of Industrialists and Corporate Administrators (IICA), among others.

Similarly, Dalhat took over from Dr Ahmed Ibrahim whose tenure as Bursar has ended.

Until her appointment, Dalhat was the immediate Deputy Bursar and headed the department as acting Bursar.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and a Master of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from ABU Zaria.

She joined the service of the university in 2006 as an Accountant II in the Bursary Department and rose through the ranks to the position of Deputy Bursar.

Dalhat also served as a member of various committees in the university and equally served as a part-time lecturer with publications and supervised Postgraduate Diplomas.

With over 16 years of practical experience in accounting and finance, Dalhat is a member of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Information and Strategy Management.

She is also a member of the Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, among others.

Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong has signed the Plateau Traditional Rulers Renumeration bill 2020, into law.

Speaking during the signing at Government House, Jos, the governor, said the law would encourage traditional leaders in the discharge of their duties.

He described the leaders as the custodians of culture, who are critical in maintaining peace and security in their various domains, crucial in shoring up development.

He assured them of prompt implementation of the law before he leaves office, saying that Plateau has set an example by the action for other states to emulate.

Lalong said that as the chairman of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF), he would encourage his members on the formulation of such law in their various states.

“I am going to circulate this bill to all the northern governors,” he said.

He thanked the state assembly for their cooperation and contributions in making the law a reality, saying that its interpretation into indigenous languages was necessary to ensure understanding its content.

Commissioner for Justice, Mr Chrysanthus Ahmadu gave the synopsis of the law, saying it has 17 clauses and two schedules bothering on appointments of traditional leaders, their salaries and other administrative matters.

He said the law provides for the appointment of traditional rulers to be in accordance with their various native laws and customs.

He explained that the sources of their salaries shall be from the consolidated revenue fund of the state.

He said that the law provides that death benefits of traditional rulers, which is to be 50 per cent of their annual basic salary, should be given to their families in such circumstances.

The commissioner explained that law stipulates that the use of sirens and flags should be only for first class traditional rulers, while the second and third would use only flags.

Adamawa State Governor Ahmadu Fintiri has launched a micro-business development programme targeted at 50,000 women and youths annually.

At the launch of the programmed termed Fintiri Business Wallet yesterday in the state capital, Yola, 10,000 women were handed N50,000 each as business grant in the first payout.

The Fintiri Business Wallet is expected to empower at least 20,000 women petty traders and another 30,000 youths annually with the cash to either support or start a trade.

The governor said the programme was a reinforcement of the ingenious belief that the instrument for poverty alleviation must be institutional.

“Youths and Women development and poverty alleviation is a point where our women are empowered to conquer their fears, float a trade and cater for their households,” he said.

He added that his government does not subscribe to stomach infrastructure in the narrow sense of it, explaining that he created a Ministry of Entrepreneurship and followed it up with a Poverty Alleviation and Wealth Creation Agency (PAWECA) because he believes in enabling people to empower themselves instead of cash gifts.

The Head of PAWECA, Hajiya Aisha Bawa Bello said tens of thousands of people had been trained in about 10 different trades, and that most of such trainees were strengthened with starter packs to set up their businesses.

The Nigerian Union of Pensioners (NUP), Nasarawa State chapter, has commended Governor Abdullahi Sule for reviewing pensions and clearing arrears of gratuity and pension.

The NUP Chairman, Mr Hudu Baba-Abdullahi, said that senior citizens in the state have never had it so good in the history of pension payment like now.

He said the governor had kept his promise of reviewing the payment for pensioners and clearing the arrears of both gratuity and pension, during his inauguration in 2019.

Baba-Abdullahi said: “Sule met a mess which included payment of pensions in percentages and non-payment of gratuity as and when due. Today, the payment of pension in percentages had stopped and all the arrears had been paid.

“The gratuity that was paid in piece meal of N20 million and usually accompanied with names by previous administrations was increased to N340 million on quarterly basis.”

He appealed to pensioners to set aside sectional, religious and tribal sentiments and support the re-election of Sule for continuity.

Alhaji Danjuma Ayitogo, a retired permanent secretary and Chairman, NUP, Keana Local Government, said the pensioners in the local government received their pensions before the civil servants could receive their salaries.

“We are giving him the assurance that all pensioners in Keana Local government are solidly behind him; we will demonstrate it in this election,” he said.

Ayitogo appealed for more funds from the government for the payment of gratuity to enable retirees get enough money to build their own houses.

“The least paid pensioner receives N5, 000, we want the governor to increase it to N30,000, because as at today N5,000 does not have purchasing power,” he said.

Mrs Lydia Irekpita, Leader of NUP, Women Desk, Nasarawa state, thanked the governor for changing the narrative of pension payment.

She said he had also rescued pensioners from percentage payment as practiced by past administrations.

“Since the beginning of the Sule-led administration till date, pensioners have been receiving their pension in full and on time. All we need to do to pay him for all he has done is to support him in his re-election bid,” she said.

The Federal Government is to relocate 10,000 persons in Mosun Community in Bassa Local Government Area of Kogi following the rampaging activities of the River Benue during the rainy season.

Managing Director (MD) of the Hydro-Electricity Power Producing Areas Development Commission (HYPPADEC), Alhaji Abubakar Yelwa, made this known yesterday during a tour of the affected communities in Mosun Community.

Yelwa said the relocation of the affected communities became an imperative sequel to the negative impact of the 2022 flood in the affected communities as villagers had to desert their homes for safety.

He said: “We will begin construction of buildings that would accommodate the affected villagers in two weeks if we are shown the piece of land by the traditional ruler and the Bassa Local Government authorities.

“What we are afraid of is the flood for 2023, going by the prediction of NiMet, which says this year’s rain would be heavier than that of 2022, which may mean more flood than what we experienced.

“Here we are at the site, and you can see for yourselves the levels of damaging activities of the River Benue in these communities within the Mosun kingdom. We have to do something to save their lives and make their lives worthwhile.

“As soon as the authorities show us the piece of land to relocate them, we shall begin construction work immediately. We are ready to move our equipment to the river banks to start work on controlling the ravaging erosive activities, ” the MD said.

Earlier, the traditional ruler of the Mosun Kingdom, Alhaji Burka Ali, told the HYPPADEC boss and his entourage that the 2022 flood was very devastating.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said that it will not spare violators of the electoral act.

The commission vowed that anyone including its staff found wanting would be decisively dealt with.

We will ensure prompt prosecution of violators.

The National Commissioner and overseer, Major General Modibbo Alkali (rtd) said the mission of the commission was to ensure Nigeria and Nigerians peacefully meet their democratic yearnings and expectations.

Alkali hitherto, said, the commission was fully set to electronically transmit Sokoto state results.

He assured of the effectiveness of the configured BVAS which he explained, would work simultaneously and concurrently in a transparent and decisive manner adding that “there won’t be further suspension of elections in the state.