Category: Northern Reports

A group under the umbrella, the Scripture Union of West Africa (SUWA) has trained over 250 youths on vocational skills, as it canvasses against violence and youth restiveness.

SUWA expressed worry over the rising spate of youth restiveness across the country, while blaming politicians for encouraging the ugly bane.

They insisted that one of the panaceas to curbing the menace is effective vocational skills for the unemployed youths who are now willing tools in the hands of nefarious politicians.

The Programme Manager of SUWA, Mr Amos Fakunle, stated this at the Vocational Skills Acquisition Graduation: Funded by Tearfund implemented by Scripture Union West Africa in Jos, Plateau State. He said the youths could be a positive force for development when provided with vocational skills and other opportunities they need to thrive.

Fakunle, who said many youths are vulnerable as a result of high unemployment, added that there is the need to scale up youth development through technical, vocational and entrepreneurship.

“For us in SUWA, we have continued to empower the young ones to be role models in their chosen profession. We discover that so many youths are idle without anything to do and therefore more vulnerable and some of them, because of their idleness, get into drug and substances abuse.

He pointed out that SUWA has so far trained over 250 young people in various vocational skills, mostly tailoring, solar, leather works, shoemaking, handbags, and carpentry among others across the 17 local government areas of Plateau State.

The Programme Manager further disclosed that SUWA recently trained another 100 youths in sustainable agriculture through a partnership with the Leventis Foundation in Abuja, adding that many of the youths are from the Barkin-Ladi local government area of Plateau State.

In his keynote address, Professor Kent Hodge said violence in any society can be curbed by addressing drug related issues and charged the youths to abstain from drug and the use of any dangerous substance that can destroy their future.

The Federal Government has concluded the training of 130 female artisans from the 36 states of the federation on electrical works and generator repairs.

The artisans were also trained on tiling and masonry, air-condition and refrigeration repairs, plumbing and piping, long regarded as preserves of the male gender.

The training, which was undertaken by the National Center for Women Development (NCWD) is in fulfillment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

Director General (DG), NCWD Hon. Asebe Bashir said the activity is hinged on the training of small scale non-traditional household economic activities, which recognises the changing needs of women and young girls from traditional vocational skills to the male dominated sphere to make them more self-reliant.

Bashir said this in Abuja at the graduation ceremony of the 2021 NCWD artisanship programme, under its Female Economic Empowerment Training (FEET).

She said, “The National Centre for Women Development in 2016 designed a robust capacity building and empowerment training programme under its Female Economic Empowerment Training (FEET), which is hinged on the training of small scale non-traditional household economic activities which recognise the changing needs of women and young girls from traditional vocational skills to the male-dominated sphere, to make them more self-reliant.

“This is in line with the president’s promise of lifting 100 million Nigerians from poverty.

She said “the National Centre for Women Development as an agency which represents a rich endowment by Nigerian women for the practical manifestation for women and young girls’ emancipation through education, self-achievement and mobilization, noted paucity of skilled artisans in the construction industry and also noted that the performance in the sector has nothing to do with the sex of individuals, and in response designed the project, “Residential Capacity Building for Female Artisans”.

Bashir noted that the programme has to date trained over 300 young females, adding that this is part of the NCWD’s drive to achieve the goal of job creation and wealth generation of the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CCSO), FCT Chapter, has called for the appointment of a substantive Director of Treasury in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

The coalition, in a letter to the FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello, lamented the maladministration in the running of the FCTA.

It therefore gave the minister 14-day ultimatum to appoint a director for the treasury or face a mass protest.

The letter, signed by Comrade Galadima Nagwamatse, FCT coalition co-ordinator, partly reads: “With regards to the lingering issue of maladministration and subversion of rules and due process in your office due to your deliberate inability to appoint substantive Director of Treasury in FCTA, we hereby wish to notify you of our resolution after a meeting of the above named organisation and with the approval and support of the national body, that;

“After fourteen (14) days of receipt of this letter, if a substantive Director of Treasury is not appointed or a process leading to the appointment is not put in place, we will be left with no other option than to mobilise our members and other civil society organisations to picket your office on a peaceful protest to press home our demand.

“That for avoidance of doubt, we have also notified all relevant security agencies of the planned protest, as we will be all out for this exercise without fear of intimidation and threat as we believe that is the only way to save the federal capital territory administration from shackles of lack of transparency and accountability.”

The coalition also disclosed that it plans to dig deep into the finances of the FCTA during the period it has no substantive director of treasury.

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday urged road users to adhere to traffic laws guiding the highways, as he commissioned the 296-kilometer Sokoto-Jega-Koko-Yauri-Kontagora roads.

The president stated this at Koko town, Kebbi State while officially commissioning the road which started by previous administration in 2012 and completed by his administration.

Buhari, represented by Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, noted that the road would not only ease the economic activities of the people, but also restrict criminals who may have motive of inflicting pains on travellers due to bad roads.

According to him, “Many of the initiated or inherited projects by the Buhari-led Federal Government would be completed and handed over for the benefit of Nigerians before the end of the administration.

“It is a manifestation of our resolve to provide more vista of job opportunities, thereby enhancing productive engagement of our teaming population and economic value addition in line with the Federal Government policy to lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty. It is a promise of change made and next level delivery established,” he said.

Buhari, who noted that the road project was commenced by the previous administration on 13th December, 2012, said his administration would complete all ongoing projects across the country.

“With this development, I can confidently say that as we enter the final lap of the tenure of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, we are entering a season of completion and delivery of projects, including those inherited from the past administration before we came on board.”

He added, “Now that we have this new and well built road, we have duties to ourselves and to other road users. One of those duties is to ensure that we drive in accordance with the law as stipulated in the highway.”

In his remarks, Kebbi State Governor, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, recalled that the road was originally constructed in 1973 and for many years, it was not rehabilitated or reconstructed until President Buhari’s administration.

He said his administration, since coming to power in 2015, has not restricted itself to rehabilitation of state roads, but extended its efforts to many federal roads within the state.

He said those who are criticising the government for over-borrowing could now see the end results in the projects being executed.

Earlier, the Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN) disclosed that the commissioning of the 296kilometer road would be the beginning of series of road projects commissioning by the Buhari administration.

He said, “This is the evidence of where the borrow money are being spent”.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Works, Senator Muhammadu Adamu Aliero, noted that the country used to lose about 40 lives to accidents on the road daily before its reconstruction.

He said the completed road projects across the country would boost economic activities and checkmate crime.

The Emir of Katsina State, Abdulmumin Usman has called on Nigerians to help the police in battling banditry and other forms of crimes in the country and ensure the restoration of peace and prosperity in the country.

The monarch, who made the call in Katsina when President of Police Officers’ Wives’ Association (POWA) and visiting wife of the Inspector-General of Police, Hajiya Hajara Ahmed Alkali visited him, also called on the federal government to further look into the welfare of the Nigerian police by providing modern equipment to help in tackling the security challenges in the country.

He said: “Police officers face dangerous situations daily. As such, there is the need for police officers’ wives to always remember their husbands in prayers and provide them with good advice and guidance concerning the risk involved in their daily operations.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has already started the process by providing uniforms and other essentials. discharge their duties effectively.

“Apart from equipping the police, the Katsina Emir also urged the government to take seriously the issue of citizens abiding by law and order in the country.” the Emir said.

On the purpose of her visit to the state, the President of POWA said she is in the state primarily on three missions, including to enhance and give police children quality education, the establishment of a standard police hospital, and to bring succour to families of police officers killed in the line of duty.

Mrs Alkali also disclosed that they were at the Emir’s palace to seek the royal father’s blessings.

The Northeast Development Commission (NEDC) has held a consultative meeting with the Northeast Caucus of the National Assembly. The meeting was aimed at getting their input into the Northeast Stabilisation and Development Master Plan (NESDMP) Project.

The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the NEDC, Mohammed Alkali, described the caucus as true representatives of the Northeast that the NEDC was established to serve.

According to him, a major component of the plan is the proposed building of 18 mega educational institutions spread across the six states in the Northeast geopolitical zone.

On challenges confronting the intervention agency, Alkali identified inadequate funding as a major challenge bedevilling the commission.

He advocated an increase in the statutory allocation of three per  cent Value Added Tax (VAT) and Ecological Fund to five per cent to enable the agency to meet its objectives.

“If anything adverse happens to the status quo now, the Commission will be affected because the Value Added Tax is one of the major sources of revenue that can sustain the implementation of the master plan when it is ready.

“Our other cry is that we want the ratio to be increased from three per cent to five per cent because the quantum of the amount we are going to look for is far in excess of what the VAT will provide.”

The NEDC received a total budgetary allocation of N46, 171, 690,315 in the 2021 budget. The commission was established in October 2017.

The Lead Consultant to NEDC on the NESDMP, Dr Mohammed Ahmad, said the Commission would require over $9.6 billion for the development of the Northeast based on the assessment of the World Bank, European Union and the United Nations on the amount required to fix infrastructural needs of the geopolitical zone as of 2016.

Ahmad said: “The budgetary provision will not be sufficient to address the challenges.

The Chairman of the Northeast Caucus of the National Assembly, Senator Danjuma Goje, said the interaction was to enable the caucus to receive a briefing from the commission on its activities and also allow members of the caucus to make required input.

Goje said: “We welcome the Commission and our guests to this first interactive meeting among the Commission and members of the National Assembly from the Northeast zone.”

On how the Northeast will be developed within a period of 10 years, another NEDC’s consultant,  Dr Kasim Gidado, said 18 parties were involved in developing the master plan that is ready.

He said the plan is for the development of the six states covering 112 local governments in the Northeast Stabilisation and Development Master Plan.

Thirty-five youths drawn from various tertiary institutions in Kaduna State have been empowered with digital skills to pursue legitimate earnings on the internet and win their heart against internet fraud.

The Just Foundation, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) under Al-Habibiyyah Islamic Society said the programme was designed to equip the youth across eight Nigerian states with digital marketing and design skills using their mobile phones to earn an honest living.

Chairman of the occasion and the Director-General of the Sir Ahmadu Bello Memorial Foundation, Abubakar Gambo an Engineer, said Nigerian youth require help.

He said entrepreneurship and skills acquisition training is a secure way for youths to be self-sustaining.

According to him, there are a lot more opportunities in getting legal means of livelihood than illegal ones. The illegal ones come like a flash, like bubbles on top of the water that soon dissipates. But, if you build your wealth, concrete wealth on legal means, surely it will last.

The activities of the so-called Yahoo Boys, kidnapping and robbery are all geared towards making fast money, which lands them in trouble.”

National Chief Imam of the society, Fuad Adeyemi noted that in some of the two states the society has worked; the beneficiaries have started making money; which means the initiative is succeeding.