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  • 25,000 teachers claim: ACN insists govt embarrassing Kwara people

    25,000 teachers claim: ACN insists govt embarrassing Kwara people

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Kwara State chapter, has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led government of “attempting a dubious swap of words” to justify its claims that the state has 25,000 teachers in primary schools.

    ACN said it is also untrue that the state employed additional 1,410 teachers last year.

    The party was reacting to the government’s response to its earlier statement that the claims fall within the PDP government’s “habitual falsehood” in its attempts to attract public attention.

    ACN’s Chairman, Kayode Olawepo, said: “We stand by our statement that the state should stop dragging the image of Kwarans in the mud by dishing out lies.

    “We urge the media and public to read The Herald story referred to in our statement to know who needs education between our party and the PDP chieftains in the Government House. The referenced paragraph in the news, headlined: ‘Kwara employs 1410 teachers’, reads: ‘Governor Ahmed who disclosed that the state already has 25,000 teachers across primary schools in the state said arrangement had been concluded on the approval of 181 projects across primary schools in the state.’

    “Except misquoted by The Herald, its own media outfit, the governor had said Kwara has 25,000 teachers across ‘primary schools.’ Now the government is attempting a dubious swap of words by saying the state has 25,000 teachers across the ‘basic schools’, which it said include primary and junior secondary schools.

    “There was no mention of basic schools in The Herald story. While the use of the words ‘basic school’ could accommodate primary and junior secondary schools, ‘primary school’ cannot be used interchangeably to include junior secondary school. A honourable government should either have apologised for the slip or said it had been misquoted.

    “Besides, we noticed that the government maintained a deafening silence on our challenge of its claim to have employed 1,410 teachers in the last one year. We leave the public to judge.”

     

  • 2015 election race getting tougher, says Aliyu

    2015 election race getting tougher, says Aliyu

    The Chairman of the Northern States Governors Forum (NSGF), Dr. Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, yesterday said the race for elective offices in 2015 is getting tougher, as people are overheating the polity by creating unnecessary problems.

    Apparently referring to the attacks on some public officers by those seeking political offices in the next dispensation, Governor Aliyu said: “The race for 2015 is becoming tougher. People are creating problems where there are none. They are looking for one problem or the other to nail their perceived opponents.”

    He spoke at the inauguration of the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) data capturing project and presentation of new vehicles to the Board of Internal Revenue.

    Aliyu, who did not elaborate on the statement, said: “It is lamentable that people are just looking for unfounded and most times unsubstantiated excuses to nail others because of the 2015 elections.”

    He urged public office holders to be more concerned about the delivery of the dividends of democracy to the people, while the public should reciprocate by paying their taxes and rates promptly.

    Earlier, the Chairman of the board, Alhaji Sulaiman Abdullahi Badeggi, said to improve the performance of the board, a bill has been sent to the House of Assembly for the review of some existing taxes and levies, which he said are no longer in tune with the present reality.

     

  • Ex-aide defeats Pam in PDP primaries

    Ex-aide defeats Pam in PDP primaries

    The former Chief of Staff to Governor Jonah Jang, Gyang Pwajok, has been elected as the standard-bearer of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the by-election to fill the vacant seat in the Plateau North Senatorial District.

    Mrs. Keneng Gyang Fulani won the party’s ticket to be its standard bearer in the House of Assembly by-election to represent Barkin Ladi Constituency.

    In a primary election held at the Treasure Inn Hotel, Jos yesterday, Pwajok polled 302, while the former Deputy Senate President, Senator John Wash Pam, polled two votes.

    With the emergence of the PDP candidate, seven political parties will present candidates for the by-election scheduled for October 6 in Jos.

    The by-election is being organised because of the deaths of the former senator representing Plateau North Senatorial District in the Senate, Senator Gyang Dantong and the former Majority Leader in the House of Assembly, Gyang Fulani.

    Wife of the late Fulani, Mrs. Keneng Gyang Fulani, also won the party’s ticket in the congress held at Gwol Motel, Barkin Ladi on Tuesday.

    Announcing the result at the end of the election, the returning officer, Paul Adebisi, said: “Two aspirants contested the primary election. After voting by the 305 delegates of the party from Plateau North Senatorial District, Pwajok polled 302 votes and Senator Pam polled two votes.

    “By the power conferred on me as the returning officer, I hereby declare Pwajok who polled the highest votes the winner of the PDP primaries. He will be the party’s candidate in the by-election into the Plateau North Senatorial Zone.”

    The election was witnessed by officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Pwajok said: “I dedicate this victory to the party delegates. I urge them to work hard and ensure victory in the by-election on October 6.”

    The PDP candidate said he would create a fund to rehabilitate victims of the crises in the zone if elected.

     

  • Kano signs pact with bank

    Kano signs pact with bank

    •N500m vote for facilities

    Kano State Government has signed a N500 million Public Private Partnership (PPP) deal with Jaiz Bank Plc and Agama Consortium for the establishment, implementation and operation of the Kano Geographic Information System (KANGIS), under the state land act.

    Signing the agreement at the Government House yesterday, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso said the provision of affordable accommodation for the indigenes is part of the policy of his administration.

    He said government has concluded arrangements to sell houses to the residents, adding that those who cannot afford to buy the houses would be given loans.

    The Managing Director of Jaiz Bank, Mustapha Bintube, said the agreement is based on a three-year PPP arrangement, comprising three indigenous companies. He added that Jaiz Bank would serve as the funding and lead collection bank.

    Bintube said the KANGIS PPP contract, would among other benefits, modernise and computerise land administration in Kano, as well as boost government’s internally-generated revenue (IGR).

    He said it would also facilitate the creation of ‘bankable’ land title documents or Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for urban and rural land, including agricultural plots.

     

     

     

     

  • How Nigeria lost $2b to gas flaring last year – Gowon

    How Nigeria lost $2b to gas flaring last year – Gowon

    Nigeria flayed over $2 billion worth of gas last year, former head of state, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, has said.
    Gen. Gowon spoke on Wednesday in Finima, Bonny Island, Rivers State.
    The former Head of State, who was on a visit to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Plant on the Island, said the country would have more money for development projects by ending gas flaring.
    He said the country has to ensure that steps were fast-tracked to complete the NLNG Train Seven and other LNG projects to end gas flaring.
    He said countries such as Qatar have taken over the leadership of the LNG market from NLNG, which used to be the fastest growing in the world.
    He said: “Think of how much cash, sorry gas, we burnt between when we found oil in 1957 and when Nigeria LNG was able to start monetising our gas resources in 1999. Last year, this country flared over 460 billion standard cubic feet of gas that, if processed and exported, would have fetched the country over $2 billion and minimised the health and environmental impact of gas flares.
    “Think of how oil palm industry left Nigeria for Malaysia. Think of how athletics – we won Gold at the Sydney Olympics 12 years ago – left Nigeria to Jamaica. And the worst of all, countries we started out with in the LNG business have all left us behind.”
    Gen. Gowon lamented the country’s loss of the leadership of the LNG market.
    “Nigeria LNG Limited used to be the fastest growing LNG plant in the world. But for the past five years, a country like Qatar has moved from 20 to 80 million tonnes range, whilst a country like Australia has made final investment decision to build LNG projects up to 80 million tonnes. I now understand that Mozambique and Tanzania will soon be joining the gas producers with the export of LNG,” he stated.
    He urged the Federal Government to ensure all the LNG projects were completed.
    The former Head of State said: “All the LNG projects on the drawing board in Nigeria (NLNG Train Seven, Brass LNG, OKLNG) will add about 30million tonnes of LNG to our national output, which is not that much when we compare with Australia, which has only 60 per cent of our reserves but effectively generates much higher domestic electricity and will soon be exporting much more LNG than all the LNG companies in Nigeria combined.”
    He warned of the consequence of not acting on time.
    “So, I am still not completely fulfilled that we haven’t reached our destination in that journey we started so long ago. I am worried that history is about to repeat itself as other players (including the United States, a previous importer now a net exporter) will get to the global market ahead of us and it may be another 30-50 years lost. I will not like to see another great opportunity lost due to our lethargy.
    We can’t afford to sit on the fence any longer,” Gen. Gowon noted.

  • Ekiti residents savour health scheme

    Ekiti residents savour health scheme

    Rural communities access quality care

    A massive revolution is afoot in Ekiti State health sector. And the people are soaking it all up.
    It started as Dr. Kayode Fayemi was inaugurated as governor on October 16, 2010.
    The revolution is positively touching the lives of those living in urban areas and rural communities in the state.
    The state government is making good health accessible to the people through its policies which have received accolades from far and near.
    The policies are Free Health Mission, Free Health Programme and Medical Assistance Fund.
    Under the Free Health Mission carried out quarterly by the state government in conjunction with the Development Support Initiative (DSI), a non-governmental organisation, health personnel, equipment and drugs are deployed to towns and villages in the state to attend to people suffering from various ailments.
    The Free Health Mission incorporates all segments of the population and is aimed at bringing healthcare delivery to the doorsteps of local communities, local government areas and senatorial districts.
    The Free Health Programme which runs in all government hospitals is meant for selected segments of the population which include children aged five and below, expectant mothers, aged people who are 65 years and above and the physically-challenged.
    The beneficiaries of this Free Health Programme on arrival in any government hospital in the state receive free consultancy, free treatment, and free drugs.
    The programmes are being pursued in all the 293 state-owned primary healthcare facilities, 20 secondary and one tertiary health facility to fast-track the administration’s health agenda and keep morbidity at bay.
    The Medical Assistance Fund initiative of the administration provides financial succour to Ekiti citizens in need of money, to save them from critical health challenges.
    Funds held in trust for beneficiaries are disbursed to needy patients to assist them in carrying out surgeries, procurement of artificial limbs, among other critical needs.
    Under this scheme, people with critical medical problems apply for government’s assistance after scaling the verification tests to scrutinise the genuineness of their applications.
    The most popular of the three health initiatives of the Fayemi-led administration is the Free Health Mission.
    The Free Health Mission is all-inclusive and has a wide grassroots appeal as patients in far-flung communities in the state are reached by qualified medical personnel mobilised on the bill of the government.
    The scheme is meant for all Ekiti people who are in need of medical intervention irrespective of which party they belong to or which party they voted for in the past elections in the state.
    Governor Fayemi had promised in his inaugural address shortly after taking oath of office before a mammoth crowd in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital in 2010, that “the health of Ekiti people will be his wealth.”
    Quality healthcare delivery is the fifth pillar on the eight-point agenda of the administration otherwise known as the Roadmap to Ekiti Recovery and one of the important indices of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
    The governor recognises the importance of a healthy population which he believes has a positive effect on the economy of the state, as only healthy individuals can contribute meaningfully to the local per capita income.
    His party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), has free health services on its manifesto and this formed a major campaign issue when the governor was campaigning for votes.
    Not a few people sneered at the possibility of free health in the state given the low revenue base of the state and meagre monthly allocation from the Federation Account.
    It is on record that the state government has expended about N270 million on the Free Health Mission through a population based outreach model from which about 300,000 people benefited.
    Patients treated under the scheme are categorised into general outpatient, ophthalmology (eye care) unit, dental unit, reproductive health unit, health education unit and HIV counselling and testing unit.
    A report by the medical team revealed that about 90 per cent of the eye patients have never had an eye check-up while about 80 per cent of the patients require eyeglasses.
    The report also revealed that the incidence of hypertension and diabetes is very high in all the local government areas visited with the majority of the patients unaware of their conditions before being tested.
    While malaria and skin infections are very common in the children treated under the scheme, the report further disclosed that almost all patients treated for dental problems had never visited a dentist.
    To Pa Dayo Oregbemi, an 80-year-old man from Irele who was treated when the scheme was taken to nearby Ipao in Ikole Local Government Area, the gesture has brought relief to many indigent locals.
    He explained: “This is my first time of seeing something like this; the people are happy and are waiting to be treated. The drugs given to me are free of charge.
    “Governor Fayemi is doing a great job especially in the health sector, we have seen this great thing happening during his time and we believe it will enhance the standard of living of our people”.
    The traditional ruler of the community, the Obanla of Ipao, Oba Joseph Bolaji Aina who is also a beneficiary described the Free Health Mission as “unprecedented”.
    The monarch said: “This programme is very good and unprecedented. In fact, we are enjoying it because taking healthcare delivery to the people in their natural habitat has never happened in this state before.
    “The government that is doing this good thing is a good government and we should continue to pray for its success to continue to do more for the people of the state”.
    Mrs. Alice Omojola, 79, urged the Fayemi-led administration to do everything possible to sustain the scheme.
    She said: “As you are looking at me, I am a widow and I don’t have any money. In fact, I borrowed money to take a bike to come and benefit from this free treatment.
    “We don’t want our government to stop this type of programme because of people like us who can’t afford money being charged by private clinics and chemists.”
    Pa Tunde Ayeni, 76, said: “It is one of the best policies of this government under the leadership of our able governor, Dr. Fayemi.
    “When you have good health, there is nothing you cannot do. You can see people here being treated and given drugs free of charge.
    “The same treatment I have been given here was what a doctor in a private hospital charged me N30,000 for. This is just for the treatment of my eyes.
    “We want our people to support this government, you don’t need to see the bad side of government and I want to say that this is the best this government has done so far.
    “This is a government that gives N5,000 to each of the aged people in the state and no government has done it in Nigeria and we want the government to continue the gesture.
    “We are solidly behind this government because it is a government of the masses.”
    Mrs. Abigail Ojo, 65, who benefited from the scheme at Efon Alaaye, said the scheme has been helping the indigent people to have access to quality treatment describing the scheme as a “great thing in our lives”.
    To further prove that the Free Health Mission is open to all Ekiti citizens irrespective of their political leanings, the Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Efon Alaaye, Mr. J.O. Adelowo commended the ACN-led government for not discriminating against the faithful of other parties.
    The PDP chief who is popularly known in the community as “Father Jay-Jay” said apart from the Free Health Mission, the ACN-led government has also touched the lives of the aged people with the N5,000 monthly stipends from which his mother benefits.
    Adelowo said: It is really commendable and we are in full support of it. The man (Dr. Fayemi) does not discriminate against us and he has treated everybody equally

    “The treatment is non-political because I am the Secretary of the PDP here and I am here to treat myself, I have collected my drugs.

    “My mother collects N5,000 the other time, this is an ACN government that is treating the PDP well”.
    Mr. Owonifaari Abeleyeke advised the people of the state to use their votes in the 2014 governorship election to keep Dr. Fayemi in power for the good work to continue.
    “This government is helping us in road construction and it also helping us in bettering our health.
    “This government has performed well and we will vote for it in the next election. We are all impressed by this gesture and help us tell the governor that we are happy with him.
    “Elders, men, women and children are all happy with him and his government. Lease help us convey our message to him”, Abeleyeke said.
    Mrs Bunmi Adeyemi (51) who was treated at Ikogosi described the Free Health Mission as a “poverty alleviation gesture”, by the Fayemi-led administration.
    “Those of us who received free eyeglasses, free drugs and free treatment will never forget his government because they have helped in alleviating our poverty”.
    The traditional ruler of the community, the Onikogosi, Oba Elijah Olorunnisola noted that the scheme will go a long way in boosting life expectancy of Ekiti people.
    The royal father expressed joy that Ikogosi happened to be one of the communities privileged to benefit from the Free Health Mission which has warmed the government into the hearts of his subjects.
    Indeed, the Free Health Mission of the Fayemi-led administration has become a huge success within the first two years of its implementation with many poor families spending less on drugs and paying fewer visits to hospitals.
    The Free Health Mission in Ekiti has shown incontestably that the government in power has a human face and has become a reference point to other states in the Nigerian federation.

  • Kebbi trains workers

    Kebbi trains workers

    Kebbi State government is enhancing the capacity of its workers to help them perform better and meet the needs of the people.
    Its latest effort is in information communication technology (ICT) and computer operation in which the its Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) has trained no fewer than 225 teachers in junior secondary schools and 160 education managers.
    Disclosing this at the opening ceremony of a two-week teachers’ workshop held at the multi-purpose Hall of Waziri Umar Federal Polytechnic, Birinin-Kebbi, the chairman of the Board, Alhaji Haruna Dankatsina said the relevance of computer literacy and ICT capacity training for teachers is necessary.
    ICT and computer knowledge have become indispensable in today’s knowledge-driven world.
    He also pointed out that since 2009 to date, the Board has trained 3,546 primary school teachers, 767 junior secondary teachers, 403 management and supervisory staff as well as 274 care-givers on ICT across the state.
    The chairman said the Board is working closely with over 70 per cent of those trained in computer literacy and ICT, adding that it has established computer centres in some primary and junior secondary schools across the state.
    Dankatsina also commended the Saidu Dakingari administration for his contribution toward improving the education in the state.

  • Jigawa awards N66m contract to check flooding

    Jigawa awards N66m contract to check flooding

    The Jigawa State government has awarded contract for the construction of 475 metres drain in the Ringim Local Government Council to check flooding in the area.

    The state Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Babandi Ibrahim, told reporters in Dutse that the project which is in continuation of efforts to check flooding in the area would cost N66 million.

    Ibrahim said that the contract was awarded to Triacta Nigeria Limited, adding that the scope of the contract included, the construction of embankment, culverts and drain.

    “The state government has constructed various drains, under the first phase of the project as part of measures to control flooding,’’ Ibrahim said.

    He said the state government had also constructed drains and culverts in other flood prone communities across the state to stem environmental degradation.

    It would be recalled that four persons died while more than 1,000 houses, farmlands and roads were destroyed across 13 local government areas in the last four weeks.

    The government had also set up a committee to relocate displaced communities in the flood prone areas.

    It also embarked on drainage clearing across the 27 councils as well as sensitising the communities on dangers of dumping waste in drains.

  • NGO rehabilitates 470 women

    NGO rehabilitates 470 women

    Non- governmental organisation, Society Against Prostitution and Child Labour in Nigeria (SAP-CLN), has rehabilitated 470 women, including commercial sex workers, in FCT, Mrs Grace Adogo, Coordinator of the organisation has said.

    Adogo made the disclosure in an interview with reporters in Abuja during a sensitisation programme for FCT residents.

    She said the sensitisation became imperative considering that the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) administration had zero tolerance for street hawking, begging and commercial sex work in the city.

    She said that among the rehabilitated women, 137 were repentant commercial sex workers, while the remaining were vulnerable women, single mothers, widows and mothers of child hawkers.

    “We are also rehabilitating mothers of child hawkers in order for them to take their children out of the street and give them meaning future.

    “With the support of the FCT administration, we have been able to train these groups on different acquisition programmes and we gave them starter packs and grants to run their businesses,’’ Adogo said.

    However, she said that 153 children were currently undergoing acquisition programme with the NGO on carpentry, computer literacy, metal works, fashion designing, among others.

    “After their programme, we will give them starter packs and grants and also encourage them to go back to their villages and start what they learned and teach others too,’’ Adogo said.

    According to her, the NGO is partnering with the FCT on the rehabilitation programme to sensitise, improve the livelihood of FCT residents and also compete with other countries in the world on sanitation.

    She said that SAP-CLN had created real and lasting changes in Nigeria by launching and supporting anti-prostitution projects in areas that few programes existed.

    She urged the Federal Government to take advantage of the programmme in every state to reduce commercial sex work, child street hawking, beggars, child trafficking among others.

  • Oyo to partner private sector on tourism

    Oyo to partner private sector on tourism

    The Oyo State government is planning to partner with private sector within and outside the state for the development of its culture and tourism sector

    .Governor Abiola Ajimobi said this in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr Festus Adedayo in Ibadan.

    Ajimobi said that the public-private partnership would promote, sustain and enhance the rich cultural heritage of the state as well as boost the revenue generation of the state government.

    The governor said that as part of the efforts to promote cultural heritage, the state Ministry of Culture and Tourism had been mandated to start preparing for the hosting of a carnival tagged “OYO FEST ’’.

    According to him, arrangements had been concluded with stakeholders for the packaging and hosting of the carnival which is expected to bring together people, irrespective of political or religious inclinations to boost the economic activities of the state.

    “It is a period in which all businesses such as hotel, food and drink vendors, artisans are expected to experience massive turnaround, and a consequential increase in sales of products to generate more income to the state’s internally generated revenue,’’ he said.

    Ajimobi said that the society had today been overwhelmed by foreign arts and cultures, most of which were inferior to the people’s values and heritage.

    “The over-cultivation of these foreign cultures had over time led to the erosion or debasement of our cultural values and ideals.

    “The way things stand, indigenous languages, etiquette, modes of worship, festivals, traditional modes of recreation, storytelling and all aspects of traditional living are in danger of extinction.

    “It is, therefore, high time we repositioned what we have and use it to get what we want. The future of the past must be guaranteed.

    “To do this, it is incumbent on us to hold on to and lift proudly that which is glorious about our past. We should return to the cultural values that have served us well for centuries,’’ he said.