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Tag: Abdulgafar Alabelewe

  • Four feared killed, officers, others injured as Police, Shi’ites clash in Kaduna

    Four feared killed, officers, others injured as Police, Shi’ites clash in Kaduna

    • PDP backs Sani to probe El-Rufai over state debt

    Four people have been reported killed and 20 others injured, as members of the proscribed Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN), otherwise known as Shi’ites clashed in Kaduna.

    The Nation gathered that the Shi’ites trooped out in large numbers, on Friday, for a peaceful procession to mark the International Quds Day in the state capital when the law enforcement operatives, particularly the Nigeria Police, stormed the scene to disperse them.

    The Shiites had assembled near the Katsina roundabout along Ahmadu Bello Way before the arrival of the Police. This caused unease among the citizens, especially those with businesses situated along the Ahmadu Bello Way as the police fired shots to disperse the protesters.

    Eyewitnesses said four members of the IMN were killed, while about 20 others were injured.

    Meanwhile, the Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), ASP Mansir Hasan, confirmed that three Police personnel were injured during the incident and had been taken to the hospital for treatment.

    ASP Hassan also debunked the allegations that the Police operatives killed members of the IMN, noting that no live ammunition was used to dispense the procession.

    Speaking earlier during the procession, one of the leaders of IMN, Professor Dauda Nalado, said the Quds day is celebrated annually during Ramadan.

    According to him, “The great global leader of the Islamic Revolution, Imaam Ruhullah Al-Musawi Al-Khomeini, Invited Muslims and non-Muslims with humanity at heart to show solidarity with the innocent and oppressed people of Palestine and against the brutality of the usurper, apartheid, and the illegal state of Israel. The imam declared the last Friday of each Ramadan as the International Quds Day.

    “Since 1980, the Quds in Britain, France, Sweden, America, Germany, Canada, Australia, and numerous countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, etc. The Islamic movement, under the leadership of His Eminence Sayyid Dr. Ibraheem Ya’qoub El-Zakzaky (H), has been observing this event for decades in Nigeria.

    Read Also: Bandits kill five Kaduna hostages, free 51 after collecting ransom

    “In fact, one of the reasons for the Zaria massacre executed by the Buhari regime in 2015 was to kill Sayyid Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and crush this noble movement for justice, all due to the staunch support for the Palestinian course. Hitherto, the public could recall that on July 25, 2014, Nigerian soldiers attacked the Quds Day procession in support of Palestine in Zaria, resulting in the assassination of 34 people, including three biological children of this great African leader.” He added,

    “For six months now, the Zionist State has killed almost 33,000 Palestinians and wounded almost 80, 000, of whom more than half are women and children. They have destroyed buildings and turned Gaza City into rubble. They have violated all international human rights rules and committed war crimes with impunity.

    “It is pertinent to remind us that since the illegal state was carved out in 1948, the Palestinians have been subjugated and subjected to oppressive rule, controlling and humiliating every aspect of their daily lives. This current brutality by the Zionists was launched after a retaliative “Aqsa storm operation” by the Palestinians on 7th October 2023. These developments signal the final blow to Zionism.”

    He called on all people and nations with humanity to condemn the genocide against the Palestinian population and stop it saying, “Unfortunately, the United States and the United Kingdom are supporters of this genocide.”

    He thanked South Africa and the Axis of Resistance comprising Iran, Lebanon (Hizbullah) Syria, Iraq, and Yemen for their condemnation of the continued brutal genocide of the Palestinian population.

    He then called on the Nigerian state to sever diplomatic ties with the “genocidal Zionist” state of Israel. Also, he called for a permanent ceasefire and a comprehensive package for the freedom of Palestine.

    Meanwhile, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), Kaduna State Chapter, has called on the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Uba Sani, to launch an inquiry probing the immediate past governor of the state, Nasir El-Rufai, following the huge financial debts he incurred for the state.

    The opposition party said it frowns at the revelations of Governor Sani, about the state of finances and “misappropriation” of funds of the State, by the former Governor of the State, Nasir El-Rufai, during a Town Hall meeting held on March 30, 2024.

    In a statement by its State Publicity Secretary, Abraham Alberah Catoh, PDP said, “Though it did not come to us as a surprise, we believed that this revelation is just a scratch on the surface on the real issues, therein; we encourage him to go full-fledged in this show of transparency.

    “We, as opposition party, are in full support of any plan by the government that would bring development to our dear State, bearing in mind that we shall always kick against anything short of that.

    “It will be recalled that in 2018 and 2022, the PDP in Kaduna State drew the attention of the Nasir El-Rufai-led government and the citizens of Kaduna State about the improper use of public funds, the criminal sale of landed properties belonging to the people of State and the unconstitutional mass sacked of qualified teachers and replacement of same with unqualified ones that have even deserted most of their duty posts; the PDP has been vindicated.

    “The PDP urges the governor to set up and mandate a Judicial Commission of Inquiry for a full investigation into all the allegations to unravel the state of affairs of the $587 million foreign loans, #85 billion local loans and N115 billion contractual liabilities of unpaid abandoned contracts inherited from the Nasir El-Rufai government.

    “The judicial Commission of inquiry should also look into the sale of the state’s landed properties in the last eight years of the failed administration of Nasir El-Rufai in Kaduna State and those found guilty should be made to refund their stolen monies to the State coffers and also face the wrath of the law.

    “And to also set up another high-powered Civil Service Reforms Commission of Inquiry, to review and ascertain the modalities used in sacking the over 27,000 workers from the State Civil Service without payment of their entitlements and the bastardization of the civil service, during the dark days of the administration of Nasir El-Rufai, with the view to doing justice to all and sundry.”

  • Optimism as INEC gives out certificates of return

    Senate leadership, individual senator-elect’s plans and others dominated discourse yesterday as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) issued lawmakers-elect certificates of return, report Onyedi Ojiabor and Abdulgafar Alabelewe.

    I’ll perform far better than

    araki, says Oloriegbe

     

    Senator-elect for Kwara Central Dr Ibrahim Yahaya Oloriegbe yesterday declared that he would perform better than Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    Saraki, the Senator representing Kwara Central, has represented the Senatorial District since 2011.

    He spoke in Abuja alongside two other Senators-elect from Kwara State after collecting his certificate of return from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    He said Saraki did not set any standard of performance for any successor to study.

    Oloriegbe said: “It is God that gives and takes power from whosoever He wishes. I thank the Almighty Allah for granting me the grace of being overwhelmingly elected as Senator for Kwara Central in the coming 9th Senate.

    “I have the pedigree of service to people and humanity as a trained medical doctor who has spent decades working with World Health Organization (WHO) and years on the political field also in rendering selfless service to people and humanity.

    “I was the majority leader of Kwara State House of Assembly from 1999 to 2003 under the late Governor Muhammed Alabi Lawal.

    “My focus in the Senate will squarely be on how to through legislative engineering, quality and responsive representation,  improve the lots of my people in Kwara Central and  collaborate very effectively along with other federal lawmakers from the state with the State Governor-elect, Abdulrahaman Abdulrazaq in giving the state a new direction with regards to wealth creation and genuine development.

    “The responsive representation I will put up for Kwara Central people within the next four years coupled with the required legislative engagements to be made on both the floor and at committee level for good governance in the country , will surpass whatever performance Saraki had rendered in the past.”

    The Kwara South Senator-elect, Lola Ashiru, assured that the new set of elected political office holders in Kwara State would collaborate to give the greatest good to the greatest number of Kwarans.

    Ashiru said: “We are aware of the expectations on the ground and enormous challenges at hand but as people who are out to serve and not lord it over the electorate, Kwara will surely be better off with the change that had taken place in the state.”

    The Senator-elect for Kwara North, Umar Sadiq, said he had the strong conviction that marginalisation that had been the lot of his area in the past would be a thing of the past.

     

    Gaya eyes Ekweremadu’s seat

     

    The Senator representing Kano South, Kabiru Gaye, is interested in becoming Deputy Senate President.

    Gaya, a sitting Senator and Chairman Senate Committee on Works, told reporters about his intention to go for the Senate top job yesterday after collecting his certificate of return as Senator-elect for Kano South.

    The post is occupied by Senator Ike Ekweremadu (Enugu, PDP).

    He told reporters at the International Conference Center, Abuja venue of the issuance of the certificate of return to Senators-elect that his aspiration was driven by mass appeal for him to go for the job by his colleagues.

    He has been returned to the upper chamber for the fourth time unbroken.

    Gaya said: “I thank the Almighty Allah who granted me the grace of being elected into the Senate for the fourth time.

    “As regards the leadership composition of the 9th Senate, majority of my colleagues are mounting pressure on me to run for the position of Deputy Senate President. I want to use this opportunity to announce that I’m running for the position being one of the most ranking Senators in the 9th Senate.”

    He however gave a caveat that his ambition for the exalted position will be subject to the determination and approval of the All Progressives Congress and the presidency.

    The aspiration of Gaya, who hails from the North West geo-political zone, may alter the permutations being made for the Senate leadership positions.

    If Gaya emerges Deputy Senate President, it may be difficult to also retain the Senate Presidency in the North.

    Front runners for the position of Senate Presidency of the ninth Senate include Senators Ahmed Lawan (APC Yobe North), Mohammed Ali Ndume (APC Borno South) and Mohammed Danjuma Goje (APC Gombe Central) and Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West).

    Of the four front liners, Lawan looks good to get the Senate top most position going by his track records and standing in the APC.

    The Senate leadership race is, however, very much open as other Senators are said to be warming up to take a shot at the position.

    Senator-elect Adedayo Adeyeye (APC Ekiti South) noted that to avoid the leadership crisis that overwhelmed the 8th Senate, the APC national leadership should provide the required direction for the majority party in the Senate to follow.

    Another Senator-elect Bamidele Opeyemi (APC Ekiti Central) was sure that the APC leadership would effectively manage the process for effective leadership of the ninth Senate.

    He said: “The calibre and character of personalities elected for the 9th Senate are very solid and promising for the country but leadership is key. This very reason why the leadership of the ruling party must manage well, whatever process, it is going to use for the emergence of leadership at both chambers this time around.

    “Once this is done, the party and in particular, the National Assembly and the presidency will be on the same page on development-driven bills sponsorship, policy formulations and approvals.”

    Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC Niger North) said the necessary lessons had been learnt from the leadership tussle in the 8th Senate.

    Abdullahi was optimistic that the loose ends in the leadership selection process of the ninth Senate would be tightened by the APC leadership.

    He said: “I was a key player in the leadership configuration of the 8th Senate and the attendant crises that followed. As one of the 43 returnees, the lessons learnt will be used to prevent the mistakes of the past from happening.”

     

    We will not fail Kaduna people,

    says senator-elect

     

    The Senator-elect for Kaduna Central senatorial District, Uba Sani, has said the elected representatives of Kaduna State are “bound by their love for the people of the state” to succeed in their responsibilities.

    He assured that the lawmakers will not fail the people of Kaduna in their legislative assignment.

    In a statement after he was issued with certificate of returns by the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja, Uba said with the crop of representatives the state has produced, the people of the state are poised to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

    He said: “Today, the great quest to place the good people of Kaduna Central Senatorial zone in pole position to reap bountifully from the next level of massive infrastructural, economic, social and agricultural development of the re-elected and re-energized APC government at the federal level and in Kaduna State, commenced effectively with my issuance of certificate of return by INEC.

    “I truly appreciate the youths, women, elders and other residents of Kaduna Central Senatorial zone who believe so much in me and showed it most audaciously with their huge votes at the polls. I shall remain eternally grateful. Like I have said repeatedly, I shall not fail you.

    “My biggest thanks however goes to my boss, close confidante and governor of our  State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.  We are bound by our common love for Kaduna State and our love for our long suffering people.

    “As a Senator in the 9th Senate of our great nation, I shall do all that is within my competences and powers to ensure that our collective dream and aspiration of a peaceful, investment friendly and economically buoyant Kaduna State is speedily achieved.

    “My loyalty to our party and our great leader, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, shall be unalloyed and unflinching. With like-minds and fellow party men, we shall build a bulwark of support for the President and his administration in the Senate,  Insha Allah.

    “I am truly honoured and I shall not take the huge responsibilities reposed in me by the people for granted. I am very conscious of the fact that I cannot afford to fail. God helping me, I will not fail.”

  • Ignore NUT strike, send pupils to school – El-Rufai to parents

    Ignore NUT strike, send pupils to school – El-Rufai to parents

    Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has urged parents and guardians to send their children to school irrespective of the NUT strike action, noting that the second term has resumed and teachers are ready to teach.

    Addressing a world press conference in Kaduna on Tuesday, El-Rufai said that the strike was aimed at scuttling the ongoing education reforms, adding that the scripts of the 43,000 applicants who applied for teaching job has been marked and the result of the 25,000 teachers to be recruited would soon be released.

    The Governor, who spoke through the Permanent Member in the state’s Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Alhaji Shehu Sani Othman, said that the state government has opened attendance registers for teachers across the state to check those who are absent from their duty post in accordance with civil service rule.

    El-Rufai reiterated that the strike action embarked upon by NUT is illegal, adding that he has directed education secretaries and school administrators to take count of teachers who resumed and those who did not for necessary actions. He, however, warned against politicising the educational reforms embarked upon by his government to protect the future of over 2 million pupils in the state.

    According to him, “Parents and guardians should send their children to school, the second term has begun already. The list of successful candidates who sat for the aptitude test for the recruitment of 25,000 primary school teachers would soon be released. The scripts of the over 40,000 applicants who sat for the examination has been marked and data entry is ongoing.The date for the oral interview will be announced as soon as the result is ready.”

    El-Rufai further stated that teachers who complied with government directive in some schools across the state were being chased out by NUT officials and sending pupils home, thereby, disrupting teaching and learning. He called on teachers in the state for their own interest, disregard NUT strike action and return to work.

    On National Industrial Court order, obtained by the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) restraining the government from disengaging any teacher until the determination of the substantive suit before the court, Othman said that the unqualified teachers were sacked before the ruling.

    “Schools are supposed to resume academic activities on Monday, January 8, but the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has directed its members to embark on indefinite strike same day over ongoing reform in the education sector. Among steps taken to reposition the sector was the competency test organised by the state government to determined the effectiveness of teachers in which 21,780 failed and were disengaged.

    “NUT’s main agitation was to allow the affected teachers, who have no business in our schools having failed the competency test to continue to teach. But the Nasir el-Rufai government insisted that teachers that cannot pass primary four examinations must not be allowed near its schools if the future of over 2 million pupils in the state must be protected.

    “In fact, the NUT officials have gone as far as closing down Local Government Education Authority offices in some local government areas. The state government will not accept NUT’s use of force to drive away teachers in their lawful duty post. This is very disturbing because it is against Civil Service Rule to stop government official from discharging his/her official duty.

    “We are, therefore, informing union leaders and erring teachers that government will take appropriate action in accordance with the provision of the Civil Service Rule.”

    Reacting, Kaduna state Chairman of NUT, Mr Audu Amba, said he was not aware of any harassment of teachers by NUT officials.

  • NASS budget lacks transparency – El-Rufai

    NASS budget lacks transparency – El-Rufai

    …Govs should publish salary, security votes, LG funds too – Dogara‎

    Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai on Friday hit hard on the National Assembly (NASS) members, saying their budget lacks transparency.

    This was just as he said the NASS, particularly the Senate, is seen as an opposition to the fight against corruption being championed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    El-Rufai stated categorically that the NASS is seen as one of the fighters of the war against corruption, stressing that though, he does not believe it is entirely true, neither does he believe that it is entirely false.

    The governor stated this in his goodwill message at the closing ceremony of the  5-day retreat ‎of the National Assembly management personnel held in Kaduna. 

    Dogara
    Dogara

    Meanwhile, Speaker of the House of Representatives Hon. Yakubu Dogara in a swift reaction told the Governor to champion the campaign for transparency in the budget, saying that, he would like to see Governors publish their monthly salaries, allowances, security votes and local government funds.

    Governor El-Rufai who reacted to the paper presented by the Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Dr Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, said he won’t be diplomatic like Baba-Ahmed, but blunt, because he doesn’t work for the National Assembly.

    According to him, “the National Assembly is seen as an opposition to the fight against corruption, the National Assembly particularly the Senate is seen as one of the fighters of the war against corruption and that image has to be worked on, now that we are going towards election year, the leadership and members of the National Assembly has to do something about the narratives.

    “I don’t believe that it is entirely true‎, I also don’t believe it is entirely false but it is important that the National Assembly do something about its image.”

    On the budget of the NASS, the governor noted that “no transparency in your (NASS) budget, nobody knows your budget, how much you get paid. Publications are made about your salaries and allowances that I don’t believe are true but cannot be defended because there is no transparency about your budget,  personal cost‎ and so on and so forth. I think you can do something about that to clear all the rumours and remove all the evil stories that are largely untrue,” he stressed.

    Speaker while delivering his address, however, told the Governor ‎that instructions have already been given to the appropriate quarters to publish the National Assembly budget.

    The Speaker who expressed reservation about joining issues with the Governor said, “you will have some kind of misfortune if you attempt to join issues with intellectuals like my Elder, Governor Nasir El-Rufai, but as intellectuals we expand issues and add to discussion, so I will like to challenge you to champion the call for transparency in budgeting and budgetary process of NASS to other arms of government.

    Most repeated words in the report include National Assembly, Budget, Corruption, Senate, NASS, etc.

    “We want to see Chief Executives of states published how they are paid, what they spend monthly as security votes, and also publish what happens to local government funds,” he challenged the governor.

     

    Similarly, the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan who represented the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki at the occasion said, the National Assembly fights corruption and support the fight against it at all levels of governance contrary to whatever belief of many. 

    He said: “In the National Assembly, we fight corruption through our support and as a matter of facts, the anti-corruption agencies are our creation and for our budget, it is always in the public domain.”

    He said, the legislature and Executive must work together to deliver on promises to Nigerians, adding that, Nigerians expect higher and better performances in terms of service, as legislators we are prepared to continue to support the administration of President Buhari either through the fight against corruption or in the confirmation of political appointees.

  • Three million Almajiris roam Kano streets – Ganduje

    Three million Almajiris roam Kano streets – Ganduje

    The Governor of Kano State, Abdullahi Ganduje, on Thursday observed that there are about three million Almajiri children roaming the streets in the state.

    The Governor stressed the need for the seven states of the North West to identify the economic advantages they can use to move the region forward and tackle their common social problems.

    He said: “These seven states, should try, identify the economic advantages that we can lay our hands on as to move this region forward. And what are the social problems that we are having? In Kano, we undertook a survey and we found out that we have more than three million Almajiris and Almajiri syndrome is one of the serious problems that we have in the north-west geopolitical zone.

    “What we discovered from our survey is that many of these Almajiris come from the Niger Republic, some from Chad, Northern Cameroon and some from other states of the north-west.

    “So, if we can come together and have a common synergy to introduce a common legislation, preventing the movement of school age children from one place to another, I think the states will find it very easy to address the problem of Almajiri syndrome.

    “I thank the governor of Kaduna state for creating this kind of environment for us to come together, as especially for us to discuss the economic integration of the north-west zone.

    “This is the first time, since the inception of this democracy in 1999, where the seven governors (of the north-west zone) decided to come together to form a forum. We even went to the extent of employing a consultant who is giving us the green light on various issues on economic development.

    “First of all, let me start with the position of the North-west in Nigeria. We are the most populous geopolitical zone, constituting 25 percent of the population of Nigeria. With regards to land mass, we have 23 percent of the land mass in Nigeria. What we require now is the political will to come together and be fully integrated – socio-economic integration beyond paper integration, an integration that will bring development in terms of institutions and in terms of programmes that will improve the quality of lives of our people.

    “It will be very important to have an integration commission which looks into the development capacity of our institutions, because whatever we want to do, if our institutions are not developed, then whatever we do may not be actualised. Also, it is very important to have data so that we know our point of strength so that we know the comparative advantages we have. So if we can get a data bank, it will assist us to quicken the process of the integration.

    “Another issue is that we are individually conducting our educational programmes, if we come together to see how we can have different programmes in our university curriculum, it will help us specialised and we can even build universities that will specialise in the various programmes, thereby saving energy and resources for the development of our region.

    “The potentials of the north-west are very obvious. The north-west has the highest water density in the whole of west Africa. The amount of water is such that they can feed the whole of West Africa and this is something that needs to be tapped”, Governor Ganduje said.

  • Some Northern states backward like Afghanistan – El-Rufai

    Some Northern states backward like Afghanistan – El-Rufai

    As the Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADInvest 2.0) came to a close in Kaduna on Thursday, Governor Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai toed the same line with Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, as he said some Northern Nigerian states are as backward as Afghanistan.

    This was as Kano State Governor, Alhaji Abdullahi Umar Ganduje said, a survey has revealed that, there are more than three million Almajiris in Kano State, majority of whom he said are foreigners from Niger Republic, Chad and other neighbouring African countries.

    The two Governors and their Zamfara colleague, Alhaji Abdulaziz Yari spoke during the grand finale of the Kaduna Economic and Investment Summit (KADInvest 2.0) in Kaduna on Thursday.

    According to Governor El-Rufai, “Yesterday, the Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness, Muhammadu Sanusi II, made certain observations about the state of northern Nigeria within the larger Nigeria context. Because the truth of the matter is when you look at human development in the indices of Nigeria, they hide a lot of information, they saw us as middle-income country, they saw that we are making progress in terms of education and health care.

    “But when you disaggregate this number and look at them from zone to zone, from State to State, it is very revealing, it shows for, instance, that some States in Nigeria are as backward as Afghanistan in terms of education, health care and opportunities. And many of the States in the North-west are afflicted with these challenges.

    “So, unless we recognise that within the larger Nigerian context, we have some common problems in this region. We have the largest number of out-of-school children, we have the largest number of girls not completing basic education, we have the lowest levels of women giving birth in hospitals and health clinics, we have the highest infant mortality rate, we have the highest maternity mortality and morbidity rate.

    “Unless we recognise that and come together, and address our common challenges, we will continue to pull Nigeria backward, in my opinion, and that is the last thing we want. And this is why, very early in the administration, we approached ARDP to help us put together a group of thinkers, experienced technocrats to think through these problems and help us map out an agenda because as Dr Bugaje pointed out the North-west has the largest density of water resources in Nigeria, in fact, in the west Africa sub-region.

    “So, by constructing small dams and focusing on agriculture, we will be able to feed, not only Nigeria, but most of the sub-regions. Every day, between 12 and 20 trucks come from the Niger Republic to buy maize and soya beans in Kaduna State, for instance. Dauna market in Kano is the largest grains market in the West Africa sub-region, attracting traders from 4-5 countries. So we have an opportunity to build on the long gesture of history of Kano as a commercial centre, Sokoto Caliphate as the centre of learning, and many other natural and artificial endowments to create a viable and sustainable economic area in the North-west. And this is what we have been working.

    “For us in Kaduna State, regional integration is inevitable. The first challenge we faced that brought this topic to the table was the security challenge of cattle rustling, kidnapping and rural banditry that afflicted many States in the North-West, and we realised very early along with my colleagues that unless we came together, all seven States of the North-West, and we even brought in Niger State, which is not in the North-West, unless we collaborated together, we will not be able to address these issues holistically because if we attack the bandit in one State, they will just cross over to another State.

    “So, I think that was what planted the seed for many of us; the inevitability of regional integration, and we met, and working together with all the other States, we deployed resources to degrade the capability of cattle rustlers which has been successful so far. Cattle rustling are not over, but it has been largely degraded, and that, in my view convinced us in the Kaduna State government that the way to go is to cooperate on every platform along these lines.

  • Southern Kaduna: Indigenous security agents aiding crises – El-Rufai

    Southern Kaduna: Indigenous security agents aiding crises – El-Rufai

    The Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai has said that, his government is planning to have all security agents indigenous to the troubled southern part of the state, posted out of the zone.

    The Governor said, rather than help, as expected of them to resolve the crises, the security agents who are indigenously from the zone had added to the problem.‎

    He said the state government is working on ensuring that all security agents in the zone‎ who are indigenous are posted out while those from other states are brought to serve in the area.

    El-Rufai while speaking at a peace meeting with religious leaders in the state house, Kaduna on Thursday said, Southern Kaduna zone has been in crisis for over three decades, but unfortunately without anyone being prosecuted for involvement in the crises.

    El-Rufa’i, however, said that, his government has hired 50 lawyers to build the capacity of the state’s ministry of justice and to enable it prosecute those suspected to be behind the crises both now and in the past.

    The Governor reminded the clerics that the state has been experiencing crises in the past 38 years saying, even during Makarfi which people said was peaceful, the state went through not less than eight crises and that, during Yakowa, there were 16 different skirmishes.

    He said, this indicates that the crises have nothing to do with the faith or the ethnic group of the political leader in the state, but that his government has been able to identify impunity as one of the factors fuelling the crisis in the state.

    El-Rufa’i, however, said his government has taken note of the major causes of the crises and has started implementing ways of dealing with them by ensuring the prosecution of culprits, the presence of security agencies and the re-orientation of the citizenry.

    He said suspects have been arrested and that it is only when people see that those behind the crises are being punished that they will desist from further participation in acts that will lead to conflict.

    The governor explained the reason for the suspension of work on drainages in the state capital as well as major towns in the state, saying some contractors were using the project to commit the government into extra expenditure.

    ‎He said the contractors through these acts, had got the state indebted to the tune of N1 billion as against the N450 million it initially voted for the project. 
    The governor said the drainages were being constructed to maintain roads and while the project lasted, many youths were able to secure employment and many businesses were boosted through the patronage of workers at the sites.

    He said some of the contractors given the jobs, however, went berserk and started building drainages where they were not assigned and  even where there are no roads.

    The governor said some of the contractors even went beyond their agreement and started doing drainages even on roads that belong to the federal government thereby  incurring further costs to the state government. “We have made some mistakes, but we will correct them,” he stated.

    He, however, expressed happiness with how the religious leaders in the state have spoken about peace ‎and urged them to put into action the suggestions they have made at the forum and harped on the need for them to remain sincere while dealing with the members as he reminded them that, they will stand before God one day.

    “If you deceive the government or the governor, you cannot deceive God,” he said.

    El-Rufai said his government is trying to repair within four years what has been wasted in the last 16 years and that the task has not been easy.

    “What would take 20 years is what we are trying to do in 4 years. Most of us don’t sleep as we are working round the clock”, he stated.

    He described the religious leaders as shock absorbers saying they cannot afford to fail the nation due to the sensitive roles they are playing to ensure the unity and progress of the country.

  • Sultan to lead Islamic scholars in prayer for Buhari, Southern Kaduna

    The Sultan of Sokoto and the President-General of the Jama’atu Nasirl Islam (JNI), Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III has ordered the National Headquarters of the JNI and the Council of Imam’s and Ulama, Kaduna state Branch to lead a prayer session for the crises in southern Kaduna and the quick recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari.
    Addressing a joint press conference yesterday at the JNI headquarters, the Secretary-General, JNI and the state chairman of the Council of Imam’s and Ulama, Dr, Khalid Aliyu Abubakar and Sheikh Baban Tune respectively said the Vice President-General, JNI and Emir of Zazzau, Dr Shehu Idris, the governor of Kaduna state, Malam Nasiru El-Rufai, speaker of the Kaduna state House of Assembly, security agencies and distinguished Islamic Scholars too numerous to mention will be in attendance at the event slated for Sunday, March 5th, 2017.
    They said, The event will deliberate on the southern Kaduna issue and the ill health of president Muhammadu Buhari which has now become an issue of discussion in all nooks and crannies of the country right from the upper and lower chambers of the legislative leaders of the country, that is why the Sultan of Sokoto, ordered that JNI comes together with the Council of Imama’s and Ulama who is a formidable council of those who steer the affairs of our mosques by leading prayers and giving sermons on Friday and lead the prayer.
    “It is a religious duty for us to work together in order to seek Allah’s intervention to relive us of these trialling moments is very important. Preparation is in top gear, come Sunday, March 5th, 2017 the prayer session will hold in Kaduna and we pray that it brings the state out of this quagmire bedevilling the country and may He grant our president good health to come back and continue steering the leadership of the country.”
    They prayed to Allah to relive the country of the ‘pang’ of poverty in the country adding, “May Allah relieve the state of this cancer of violent conflicts in southern Kaduna and bring relive in the North East and other parts of the country where we have such skirmishes.”
    They assured that they will not do anything that will go against the laws of the land but seek to find solutions to the ‘cancer; of insecurity bedevilling the state.

  • Kaduna: Gunmen kill two, kidnap German professor, others

    Unknown gunmen suspected to be kidnappers on Wednesday killed two persons, including a local hunter, as they abducted a German archaeologist, Prof. Peter Breunig and his associate, Johannes Buringer at Jenjela village, in Kagarko local government of Kaduna State.

    The professor is the leader of a four-man team from the University of Frankfurt, Germany working in Nigeria in collaboration ‎with the National Commission for Museum and Monuments and other institutions on the relics of Nok culture in Nigeria.

    The two ladies who are members of the team were however not taken by the abductors. 

    An eye witness who was part of the team working in collaboration with Germans said the incident happened when they had resumed for work at a site at Jenjela village and had started working when five gunmen appeared from the bush and ordered them to lie down.

    Bloody Christmas: 10 killed in fresh attack in Kaduna

    “They started coming one after the other, the first two with machetes then the others with heavy guns. There were many people at the site who were working so they ordered us to lie facing down and shot into the air in order to scare people‎.”

    “It was at that point that they asked the professor and his associate to follow them and they led them to the other side of the road, made them cross the road to the other side from where we were and began to lead them further into the bush.”

    The eyewitness said at that point they were able to do get up and to witness what was going on.

    808 killed in Southern Kaduna, Catholic Church alleges

    He said: “One of us who is a hunter who they snatched a phone from asked us to go after the men but only one of us followed him and the two men crossed the road chasing after the gunmen.

    “When they realised that the two men were following them, they turned and opened fire killing the hunter and the other man.”

    ‎The eyewitness said the matter has been reported to the police at Kagarko.

    Gunmen kill 2 policemen in Kaduna

    Meanwhile, Kaduna State Police Command Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Usman Aliyu when contacted, said he would get in touch with Kagarko to confirm.

    He could not confirm the incident as at press time.

  • Police disperse Shi’ites protesters in Kaduna

    Police disperse Shi’ites protesters in Kaduna

    As followers want Ag. President to release Zakzaky

    Members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria on Thursday staged another protest in Kaduna, calling on the Acting President Prof Yemi Osinbajo to obey a court order and release their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

    Meanwhile, men of the Nigeria Police who were obviously on alert quickly moved to the scene and dispersed the protesters.

    Kaduna State Government had banned protest in the state considering the security challenges in the state.

    The protesters carrying posters of Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky with inscriptions freeZakzaky on them called on the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo to set a good precedence by obeying the court order in his position as a professor and a SAN by releasing Zakzaky. 

    The leader of the protesters, Sheikh Qasim Umar in his speech quickly delivered before the arrival of the police said, the Islamic Movement in Nigeria is the most oppressed community in recent Nigerian history.

    According to him, “Within 48 hours the Nigerian army massacred over 1000 unarmed civilians in Zaria in December 2015. Where in the annals of Nigerian history has such a tragedy taken place, without the leadership of the country battling an eyelid of concern?

    “The atrocities committed by the Army are the first of its kind by any national and supposedly well-trained army. Where in the world are soldiers seen burning people alive? But they burnt the senior Sister to Sheikh Zakzaky and several others alive. Where in the world are soldiers videotaped pouring petrol on corpses and burning them? They burnt hundreds in Zaria, which is why probably the Kaduna state government was only able to document the death of 347 people at the hands of the Nigerian Army. Where in the world are soldiers involved in burying hundreds of people in a mass grave in the middle of the night, if not in Mando, Kaduna under the full consent of the state Governor?

    “To date, over 200 members of the Islamic Movement are known to be languishing in jail, some with various degrees of gunshots, yet the perpetrators of the violence against them are moving about freely as if nothing untoward has happened. And there are some hundreds still believed to be in secret detention centres of the security services since they have gone missing after the Zaria massacre. 

    “Not only that, he Kaduna Sate Governor has the temerity to even declare that the Islamic Movement in Nigeria as an unlawful society, after all the constitutional rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of religion and association. Now under such an obnoxious state dozens of others are in jail simply because they were arrested in a black attire, allegedly worn only by the Shias.

    “The most intriguing aspect of the oppression visited upon us is the continued detention of our leader, Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife, even after a Federal High Court order to release them. Where in the world is a democratic government contemptuous of its courts if not the present administration in Nigeria?

    “The above reasons and many more that space will not allow us to mention will definitely make us pour on to the streets peacefully to demand justice. This is our right, and nobody will deny us this right. We call on the general public and the international community to bear witness to this calamitous oppression against us as a community. Zaria massacre and its after effects in other states can’t be pushed under the carpet because there are many thousands living witnesses to it.

    “We, therefore, will like to draw the attention of the present Acting President to the court order on the release of Sheikh Zakzaky and his wife. As a Professor of law, we hope he will use his good office to terminate the flagrant disregard to the court order displayed by the ailing President,” he said.