Category: Northern Reports

The Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC), in collaboration with other civil society groups, has threatened to picket airports all over the country over the 130% fare hike by airline operators.

The president of the group, Amb. Blessing Akinlosotu, disclosed this in Abuja at a press conference on the arbitrary airfare increase.

His words: “The Nigerian Youth Congress (NYC) in collaboration with civil society groups in Nigeria at her national emergency meeting of nationwide stakeholders and other youth coalition groups held in Abuja rose in unanimous anger to condemn the arbitrary, wicked, insensitive, and unjustifiable hike in airfares across the country to over 130%, by the airline operators.

“The Congress considers this offensive and harsh policy, an affront, mostly targeted at the Nigerian Youths who have been at the receiving end of the present economic situation in the country. We are all aware that the youths of this great nation are about 80% that purchase the cheapest economy class tickets of all flights, therefore, this insensitivity of the flights’ operators to make the cheapest economy tickets at a base Fee of N50,000 is very inconsiderate of the realities of the present economic hardship across the federation, and places additional weight on the already over-burdened youth. The astronomical increase in airfares makes life more unbearable, brutish, and short-lived for the Nigerian youths most of whom are either unemployed or underemployed.

“We, therefore, condemn, in totality, the actions of the airline operators as extreme selfishness, and in pursuit of over-ambitious profit margins.”

The congress, he unequivocally said, “hereby calls on all airline operators in Nigeria to rescind this decision and immediately revert to more humane airfares, or take the responsibility of all the dangers faced by the Nigerian youths on Nigerian roads as a result of their actions.

“We condemned the unilateral decision without due consultation and dialogue with us, as the major customers who have now become victims of their actions.

In the event of failure of the airline operators to heed their demand, Akinlosotu said “the Nigerian youths and the entire civil society groups would be forced to picket all airports in Nigeria to peacefully demonstrate our anger.”

A 42 year-old man, Terhemen Iorbee, has committed suicide by hanging himself on a tree.

Late Terhemen Iorbee is an indigene of Mbakuha Council ward of Ushongo Local Government Area.

He is married with four children.

Iorbee hanged himself on a tree with a rope around his neck, his body dangling.

The Nations investigation revealed that ‘the deceased, who is a native doctor, has been behaving strangely recently.

Though married with three wives, the deceased has been living alone and had gone missing on Friday, only for his body to be found hanging.

Ushongo Divisional Police Officer said they are yet to get the report at their station.

The Rigwe Nation of Irigwe chiefdom in Bassa Local Government Area of Plateau State has raised alarm over constant attacks and destruction on farmlands by crisis merchants.

The ugly incident that claimed and damaged crops worth N4million at various farm locations occurred barely few days after a 36-man peace report implementation committee was inaugurated by the Commander Operation Safe HAVEN (OPSH), Major Gen. Ibrahim Ali.

Recall that the peace report implementation committee is headed by Justice Daniel Longji Rtd.

A press statement by the Secretary-General of Irigwe Development Association (IDA), Danjuma Auta, states that it is with rude shock that we have to sent this Press Release today on the unfortunate incidents that occurred within this few days when we’ve all resolved to embrace the path of peace with the Fulani community.

“This is alarming because it is coming few days after an implementation committee of the 36-man committee for peace was inaugurated to set the ground rolling for peaceful coexistence between the Irigwe and the Fulani community.

“We, the Irigwe, had welcomed this move because of our belief in the sincerity of the commander OPSH, Gen. A.S Ali in ensuring that we all enjoy the most needed peace in our land.

“Our people had consistently witnessed an army of Fulani herders grazing and invading our land by their legions of thousands of cattle that lead to massive destruction of irrigation farms belonging to 90 farmers. This has caused huge damage to the people. This took place, 26th February to 2nd March, 2022.

“The destruction of our crops and the killings of some cows by some individuals, we wish to state here that we received vital information of planned orchestrated and coordinated attacks on our communities by the Fulani armed men and have since surveyed their possible areas of attack through the recent exploration of our communities by way of the grazing they’ve been carrying out relentlessly.

“They have destroyed farm crops worth over 4 million naira, and have further impoverished our people who are mainly farmers.

“This constant and calculated provocative destruction of our farmlands has shown that the Fulani do not want an end to these heinous acts….

“We therefore wish to call on government and the security operatives to double efforts in apprehending those behind all these evil acts and bring them to book”, Auta stated.

Governor Simon Bako Lalong has felicitated with  the immediate past Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Architect Sunny Echono on his appointment as the Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Governor Lalong, in his felicitation message, described the appointment of Architect Echono as well deserved, considering his performance as Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education, where he provided the administrative expertise to actualise the mandate of President Muhammadu Buhari in reviving education in the country.

The Governor’s felicitation message was signed by the Director of Press Public Affair  to the Governor, Makut Macham in Jos .

Lalong said during his tenure as Permanent Secretary, a lot was achieved by the Ministry under the leadership of the Hon. Minister Mallam Adamu Adamu because of his ability to mobilise, motivate and give the right direction to the agencies and staff on implementing policies and programmes of the administration in education.

He said Plateau State was a beneficiary of the progress in the education sector, with the approval of Federal Polytechnic Ny’ak, Shendam; Karl Kumm University Vom; ANAN University Kwall; Nigerian Law School Jos Campus; and Federal University of Education whose Bill was recently signed by the President.

Governor Lalong expressed optimism that Architect Sunny Echono will build upon the achievements of the outgoing Executive Secretary Prof. Bogoro to take TETfund to higher levels.

Meanwhile, Governor Lalong has expressed deep appreciation to the outgoing TETfund Executive Secretary, Prof. Elias Bogoro, describing him as an achiever who was honest, fair, and committed to developing higher education in Nigeria.

A retired United States Army Colonel, Wisdom Osemwende, has stated that Nigeria can quickly end Boko Haram insurgency and terrorism, using warhead drones.

Osemwende, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in his late 50s, with dual citizenship of Nigeria and US, who retired after 30 years in US Army, and hails from Oredo Local Government Area of Edo State, insisted that Nigeria has a bright future.

The retired colonel, who is a Doctoral degree holder, stated these at the Press Centre of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Government Reservation Area (GRA), Benin, while declaring his presidential ambition, ahead of 2023 general elections.

He said: “For some years now, Nigeria has been suffocating on the unbearable weight of insecurity and terror, perpetrated by the dreaded Boko Haram. This crisis has caused a lot of pain and suffering to the victimised communities and has been one of the country’s biggest challenges.

“This should never have been happening to Africa’s giant. We can redress these security challenges. For 30 years, I amassed a wealth of experience in administration and leadership within the US military, the world’s most enviable and strongest military.

“If I say today that I have a solution to Boko Haram, many will think it is just one of those election campaign promises, but others who understand the might of the US military would give me the credence.

“With my experience, I know what a military should look like. The Nigerian army and other security agencies are getting set for a modern era, and I have the password to this.”

The presidential aspirant, who also stated that his dual citizenship would be an added advantage to Nigeria, noted that the American government would always come to his aid, if he ever needed their assistance.

He said: “Having served the United States all these years and being greatly honoured to that effect, it is time my country, Nigeria, should benefit from my relationship with the world’s biggest economy.

“America will gladly contribute economically, socially and otherwise to this new phase of Nigerian development that we are about to engage.

“My thirty years plus years of staying abroad, and especially in the US, gave me an understanding of the health insurance system that can sustain the health of a nation. There is nothing as important as a healthy nation. With my experience, I am ready to introduce Nigeria into a new public health dimension that is sustainable.”

Osemwende also stated that his administration would revamp the agricultural sector of the country for job creation and promote foreign exchange.

“My decision to run is strictly coined in my love for Nigeria and utmost wish to see this country transform into one of the strongest economies in the world, and a place everyone would desire as a destination. Nigeria, as a nation, has come of age. We have covered a great distance politically, economically and in diplomacy, among others.

“If Nigeria is called the giant of Africa, it is not a mistake. We are a great nation, and we are certainly proud of that. However, Nigeria would have travelled a longer distance than we have today. It is time to unify Nigeria and Nigerians. My administration will not tolerate nepotism and favouritism. Every appointment in my administration will be based on merit.

“My administration will encourage patriotism, which will be taught from elementary school to the university level. So that Nigerians can have Nigeria at heart. The Nigerian working class is alive, but not very healthy. Scores of graduates from tertiary institutions each year roam the streets with no job. My administration will revamp the economy. Poverty has been a prolonged social vice in Nigeria.”

Osemwende declared that not only should the cost of treatment be brought down, but Nigeria, from 2023, needed to turn a new page, where health insurance for all would be the order of the day.

President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Sonny Echono as Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund.

He takes over from Prof Suleiman Bogoro, whose five years tenure will end March 18, 2022.

Director, Press and Public Relations of the Federal Ministry of Education (FMoE), Ben Goong, broke the news in a terse statement on Friday morning.

Echono retired as Permanent Secretary, FMoE in January this year after spending 35 years in service.

The statement reads: “President Muhamadu Buhari has approved the appointment of Arc Sunday S.T. Echono as the new Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND).

“He takes over from Prof. Sulaiman Elias Bogoro whose five year tenure will end on 18th March 2022.

“Described as an accomplished technocrat, Arc Echono brings to the job, diverse wealth of experience spanning Infrastructure, business administration, procurement management, ICT and the education sectors.

“Prior to his appointment he had served as Permanent Secretary Federal Ministry of Education and Member, Board of Trustees of TETfund among other important national assignments.”

The Federal Government has replaced the use of seals by professionals and contractors in the mining and geo-science sector with digital stamps.

The stamps, which bear the name of the professional or company name and number, the FG says, will help check quackery in the profession.

Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite, who made the disclosure, said henceforth, anything that does not have the stamp in the ministry and agencies will no longer be recognised.

He said the decision will equally be taken to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) to approve its usage in all Ministries, Agencies and Departments (MDA’s) of government for mining engineers and geoscientists.

The Minister said this in Abuja at the official launch of the digital stamp by the Council of Nigerian Mining Engineers and Geoscientists (COMEG).

Adegbite revealed that the digital stamps will be provided solely by COMEG to its members and anyone that seeks to acquire the stamp will have to join the membership of the professional body.

He said the use of digital stamps by professional bodies is not new in the country, since lawyers, architects and engineers already use it.

His words, “And I think that every profession in the country will come to the realisation at one point or the other that to check quackery, you must have this digital stamps. Even our seals, I am an architect; seals can even be faked because it’s an artisan that makes the seals for you; so it can always be duplicated.”

Registrar/Chief Executive COMEG, Prof. Zacheus Opafunso, said the permission to go digital was approved with the intention of stamping out quackery and identifying every professional in the industry.

The Chairman of the Niger State Board of Internal Revenue, Muhammed Madami Etsu, has disclosed that he stopped over 50 consultants who were engaged by various Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the state from collecting revenue.

The chairman stated that the consultants who were engaged by the MDAs were doing more harm than good in the collection of revenue in the state.

Etsu revealed this when he appeared before the Niger State House of Assembly to explain the modalities and strategies he intends to adopt towards improving the state’s IGR.

“When I came in last year, there were over 50 consultants engaged from different MDAs who were collecting revenue for the MDAs. We had to terminate the MOUs and agreements signed and this has led to court cases.”

The Niger Revenue chairman said that he refused to pay the commission of the consultants because the amount being collected by these consultants were ridiculous.

“In some cases, it is the case of the consultant collecting 70 per cent of what should go to the revenue purse and their charges come as first line charge. And if these charges are paid to them, none will come to us”, he explained to the Legislators.

Etsu further disclosed that he also discovered so many accounts which were collecting revenue in the state, adding that these accounts which do not reflect on the official account of the revenue board have been blocked.

He states that the Agency had increased the state’s Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) from N500 million to N1 billion monthly since his assumption of office, disclosing that the Board also had to adopt an Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS) through technology deployment in tax collection.

The Revenue Board Chairman lamented the skills gap in the board, as over 70 per cent of the staff are of levels 13 and above, adding that they cannot drive any meaningful reforms agenda.

The Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Honorable Abdullahi Bawa Wuse, who spoke on behalf of other legislators, stressed the need for the board chairman to look inward and improve the state internally generated revenue to N2 billion monthly for the development of the state.

Five persons have been killed by terrorists at Manini village, near Kuriga, along Brinin-Gwari- Kaduna highway.

The chairman, Brinin-Gwari Vanguards for Security and Good Governance, Alhaji Ibrahim Abubakar Nagwari, in a statement explained that among the deaths are Saifudeen Lawal Isa and other male from Brinin-Gwari; one person from Kuriga and two others from Udawa.

According to him, the sad events occurred around 4:30pm when the terrorists opened fire on motorists along the highway on three occasions, saying that two women and five others were injured with bullet wounds.

He added, “The terrorists burnt to ashes a tanker conveying 33,000 litres of fuel to Brinin-Gwari at the same Manini killing field.”

According to him, the attackers and killings in the area is on a daily basis, stressing that it has further deteriorated the already traumatised vehicular movement along the Brinin-Gwari-Kaduna highway.

He noted that the precarious security situation along Birnin-Gwari-Kaduna road and the displacement of communities by the terrorists in the entire Emirate has escalated to the highest level in which movement of goods and persons are at the lowest ebbs.

He urged President Muhammadu Buhari to, as a matter of urgency; declare total military operations without delay for a full scale bombardment of all terrorists’ enclaves in Brinin-Gwari forests and adjoining forests of Niger, Katsina and Zamfara states.

He also pleaded for speedy establishment of a special JAMB/CBT centre in Brinin-Gwari to allow their students their rights to quality education, saying that since movement to Kaduna is now a mirage due to deteriorating security situation in the area.

Gombe governor, Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, yesterday approved the payment of external examination fees for twenty three thousand, six hundred and eighty final year students of secondary schools across the state.

The Commissioner of Education, Dauda Batari Zambuk, disclosed this to journalists at the close of the 23rd session of the State Executive Council Meeting held at the EXCO Chamber.

He said the State Executive Council expeditiously granted approval of over four hundred and thirty five million, two hundred and Seventy two thousand, nine hundred naira (N435,272,900) for the payment of WAEC, NABTEB and NBAIS examination charges.

In the same vein, the Commissioner of Works, Engr. Abubakar Bappah, also told journalists that the council approved the construction of six roads across the state.

The road projects, which are part of the network 11-100 initiative, included the 17 KM Tashan magarya- Lamba – Zange-Bappah Ibrahima- Luggerewo- Jauro Bello- Papa to link with Pindiga Road in Akko Local Government Area, awarded at the cost of four billion, two hundred and thirty six million, seven hundred and eighty five thousand, five hundred and thirteen naira, fourteen kobo (N4, 236,785,513:14) with a completion period of twenty four months.

The 40 KM Tappi-Kalajanga-Bomala-Alagarno-Dinawa-Dundehe-Damba Barde-Abuja/bula-Girgam-Shongo Sarkin Yaki through the Gombe western bypass was equally awarded at the cost of eight billion, five hundred and twenty five million, eighteen thousand, seven hundred and seven naira, eighty one kobo (N8,525,018,707:80) with a completion period of twenty four months.

The Filiya-Gwandum-Keffi-Yaburo-Gurwa-Shakram-Daja to Gundale road was also awarded at the contract sum of five billion, three hundred and ten million, one hundred and seventeen thousand, two hundred and fourteen naira (N5,310,117,214) with a completion period of twelve months.

Other roads approved for construction by the State Executive Council include the 10 kilometres Bojude to Dirri, awarded at the cost of two billion, one hundred and ninety six million, four hundred and ninety two thousand, eight hundred and thirty naira eighty eight kobo (N2,196,492,838:80), the 10 kilometres Nafada link road at the cost of N2.55 billion naira and the 27 kilometres Kuri-Nasarawa lambam-Gelambam-Dasa  junction to Tallasse awarded at the cost of eight billion, three hundred and eighty eight million, eight hundred and fifty four thousand, one hundred and forty one naira, six kobo (N8,388,854,141:06) with a completion period of twenty two months.

The Gombe State Commissioner of works added that the State Executive Council has approved 20 percent mobilisation fees for all contractors to mobilise to site.

Equally at the briefing, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Ibrahim Dasuki Jalo said the State Executive Council approved the procurement of 13 hilux vehicles valued at a contract sum of four hundred and thirty four million, three hundred and forty three thousand naira (N434,343,000).

According to the Commissioner, the vehicles will be distributed to all the 11 Local Government Areas of the State to further boost the security of lives and property in the State.

The Commissioner of Information and Culture, Julius Ishaya Lapes who coordinated the press briefing, reaffirmed the commitment and determination of the Inuwa Yahaya- led administration to bequeath a legacy that will bear all the hallmarks of economic viability and social stability.