Category: Northern Reports

The Jigawa State police command has confirmed the killing of one person during a clash between the members of ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) and People Democratic Party (PDP) in Maigatari town, Maigatari local government areas in the state.
This was contained in a press statement issued, signed and made available to newsmen in Dutse, the state capital by the Jigawa Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO) DSP Lawal Shi’isu Adam.
According to the statement, “On Friday 10th February, 2023 at about 18:20 hours while the PDP gubernatorial candidate was at Maigatari for a political campaign rally”.
“As they arrived APC secretariat clashes erupted between the supporters of the two political parties, and the Santuraki Vanguard attacked one Abdullahi Isyaku age 35 of Gangare quarters in Maigatari town”.
The police command spokesperson maintained that “the victim was rushed to Gumel General Hospital and later died while receiving treatment”.
DSP Lawal Shi’isu Adam said “Five suspects were arrested and investigation is ongoing at the state criminals investigation department in the command headquarter”.

In order to improve its efficiency of operations and reduce carbon footprint, the United Nations’ agency, International Organisation for Migration (IOM), has installed a solar energy system in the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp in Borno State.

Speaking in Maiduguri, the IOM Information Communication Technology Assistant, Timothy Anko, said after a competitive selection process, a leading renewable energy company GreenPower Overseas Limited was chosen to complete the project.

He said the installation of solar energy system has significantly reduced IOM’s reliance on fossil fuels and lowered its carbon footprint, adding that the system has also helped the agency improve the overall efficiency of its operations.

Anko lauded the success of the solar system installation as a testament to the expertise and efficiency of GreenPower, adding that it serves as an example of the positive impact that renewable energy can have on communities in need.

Giving the overview of the project, General Manager of GreenPower Overseas Limited, Johnson Orimisin revealed that solar energy system installed by his company has a capacity of 15kVA and includes a Victron Energy Inverter, a 26.2kW Canadian Solar array, a 50kWhr Lithion Ion Energy Storage, a 400A Victron Energy Smart MPPT Charge controller and remote monitoring.

Orimisin emphasised the importance of the project to his company, saying being a humanitarian project supporting the efficiency of great works IOM is doing in the northeast to help the vulnerable and IDPs, GreenPower Overseas Ltd delivered the project in 26 days as against 30 days given by the agency.

A communal organisation under the auspices of Okam Forum said it would be empowering 50 widows with small and medium-scale enterprises or cottage industries grants of N250, 000, and 200 indigent with scholarships in Secondary Schools and tertiary institutions at N100,000 each.

The Chairman of the forum, Chief Emmanuel Ameh while briefing reporters said they decided to render this support because the Orokam community has a high school drop-out percentage due to the inability of many poor distressed families to finance the education of their wards with many identified brilliant students affected.

According to the chairman, the organisation which is aimed at promoting the socio-economic development of Orokam in the Ogbadibo local government area of Benue State will focus on brilliant students identified either as orphans or from very poor families who need support to progress in school.

He further said that the forum would be honoring many national icons and members of the association for distinguished national service and commitment to community development within the Idoma Nation, and Nigeria at large on February 7, where the scholarship and grants would be given to beneficiaries.

He said that they will also focus on other issues like the health support programme for Community Health Insurance with N5 million revolving drug fund and medicare to reduce infant and maternal mortality, and disease prevalence in Orokam.

“Youth self-employment scheme to reduce the prevalence of illicit drug addiction, acts of criminality and delinquency among youths in Orokam who have been out of school and unemployed by re-directing their energy to trades, ICT, Shoe-making, phone repairs and other technical hands-on training to be supported with minimal funding and kits to enable them to be self-employed.

“It is projected that training, kits, and take-off seed for each beneficiary will be N150,000 for each of the 200 youth in the pilot phase. This is estimated at N30,000,000.

“As a prominent community association, we are motivated to begin these programmes because we believe that philanthropy and acts of kindness are values shared in a common humanity.

“Over 40 Nigerian icons mostly of Idoma extraction will be honoured in three different categories: community service, meritorious retirement from service, and promotion and strategic appointments,” he said.

The Governor of Niger State, Abubakar Sani Bello, has said the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mohammed Umar Bago, is the choice of the people to succeed him.

Bello said this during a dinner and book presentation to gather support for Bago in Abuja.

Bago is currently the member representing Chanchaga Federal Constituency of Niger State in the House of Representatives.

Governor Bello said he declined to get involved in the primary election that produced Bago to ensure it was the choice of the people that prevailed.

He said it was much easier to win the general election if the candidate is popular among the people.

The governor described the lawmaker as a steadfast person.

He called for support to ensure Bago emerges as governor on March 11.

He urged Bago to work closely with his running mate and be prayerful.

He also urged them to be patient and tolerate each other.

He said: “The people of Niger have spoken and I deliberately refused to get involved in the primaries. Even with all the pressure to get involved, I said let the people speak. When you allow the will of the people to speak, you would not have problems in the general elections.

“You are going to emerge winner after the general elections in sha Allah. You allow people to decide what you want. They people have chosen you. As we are now, as far as this project, I won’t be wrong if I say we are just waiting for time.

The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the nomination of David Jimkuta as the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Taraba South Senatorial District in the forthcoming election.

In a judgment yesterday, a three-member panel of the appellate court set aside an earlier judgment of the Federal High Court in Jalingo, which dismissed Jimkuta’s suit against his substitution with the name of Danjuma Shiddi.

Justice Hamman Barka, who read the Court of Appeal judgment on Wednesday, held that the primary election won by Jimkuta was conducted by the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC and was validly held in accordance with relevant laws.

Justice Barka held that it is only the NWC of a political party that has the powers, the rights, and vires to conduct a valid primary election for the party.

Jimkuta had won the APC primary election for Taraba South with 170 votes, but was wrongfully substituted by his party with Shiddi, who scored 70 votes.

Dissatisfied by the party’s decision, Jimkuta sued at the Federal High Court in Jalingo to seek redress, having won the party’s primary election.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT)  has lamented the rising cases of kidnapping, especially of pupils and teachers in the country.

According to the union, the number of students, teachers still being  held captive by enemies of Nigeria are growing by the day.

National President of the NUT, Titus Amba said this during the  solemn assembly organised by the union in Abuja.

“We therefore call on the federal, state, local government and all stakeholders in the education sector to join hands to protect our schools and the education workers in Nigeria,” said.

The NUT president said the N30,000 national minimum wage paid to Nigerian workers was no longer sustainable in line with rising inflation.

Amba lamented that despite signing the National Minimum Wage Bill into law in 2019, some states have refused to pay their teachers.

He noted that teachers at local government levels were still receiving the N18, 000 Minimum wage approved by former President Goodluck Jonathan.

On the  minimum wage, Amba said: “It is in the public domain that a loaf of bread in Nigeria today cost about N1,000 and a tin of peak milk is sold at about N500. How then can a worker on the N30,000 national minimum wage feed himself and his family through the month?”.

The NUT president also kicked against the planned removal of petroleum subsidy.

He said: “The NUT is strongly opposed to the removal of petroleum subsidy and calls for scrutiny of the implementation of the subsidy regime with the aim of ridding the system of corruption.

“This has become imminent as the consequences of high price of petroleum products have triggered inflation to the disadvantage of all wage earners in the country.”

President Buhari on April 18, 2019 signed the new minimum wage of N30,000 into law, and states and federal governments were expected to comply with the new constitutional provision.

The minimum wage was N18,000 before the new law.

According to Amba, while some states complied, some others have yet to implement it, subjecting their workers to hardship.

Amba noted that the union has filed a trade dispute with the registrar of trade unions against some non-cooperative states.

He urged members of the union not to vote for any candidate that is not worker friendly in this year’s general election.

Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong and Director General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council is optimistic of a big win for the party in the forthcoming elections from the state to the federal level.

Governor Lalong while speaking at the flag-off of the APC Gubernatorial campaign in Wase, said APC has performed excellently in Plateau State and Nigeria which has made it formidable and a party to beat.

Lalong said with few weeks to the elections, the APC with its candidates and teeming supporters has been working hard to ensure that it wins the elections with a wide margin.

He expressed happiness that while he has been busy criss-crossing the country with the Presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC gubernatorial candidate Dr. Nentawe Yilwatda and his team have also been traversing the nooks and crannies of the state to canvass votes.

Lalong said from the response so far, the people of Nigeria and Plateau State have decided to go with Tinubu as President and Kashim Shettima as his Vice, as well as Yilwatda as the next Governor of Plateau State with Pam Bot-Mang as his Deputy.

The governor said despite inheriting a state riddled with crises and violence, he is going to hand over a state that is peaceful and bubbling with life and economic activities.

He said his administration has completed most of the abandoned projects inherited and also executed many new ones.

Deputy Speaker House of Representatives Idris Wase said the achievements of the APC under Governor Lalong are unprecedented.

He affirmed that Lalong has united the state and connected very well with the Federal Government thereby attracting projects and appointments that have never been brought to the state.