The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Abdullahi Ganduje

  • Kano pledges to upgrade NYSC orientation camp in Karaye

    Kano pledges to upgrade NYSC orientation camp in Karaye

    The Kano State Government  has pledged to upgrade the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) orientation camp located in Karaye Local Government Area of the state.

    Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje made the pledge during the closing ceremony of a three-week orientation for the Batch ‘A’ stream II at Kusalla town on Monday.

    Ganduje, who was represented by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Youths, Sports and Culture, Comrade Mohammed Garba, particularly said the government would increase the accommodation capacity of the camp from 2,500 to 5,000.

    “The state government has awarded contracts for upgrade of all the facilities in the camp and the renovation of both the male and the female hostels,’’ he said.

    He assured all the corps members of their security and appealed to them to cooperate with their host communities.

    “Government has resuscitated and increased the State-Allowances to N5,000 monthly in government agencies, parastatals, and in the 44 Local Government Areas,’’ he added.

    The governor enjoined the corps members to be patriotic and to render selfless service to the communities where they would be posted to on primary assignment.

    He said the government placed high premium on them as change agents and as drivers of the state’s development policies.

    Earlier, the NYSC Coordinator in Kano, Alhaji Ladan Baba, had applauded the state government for agreeing to upgrade the camp.

    According to him, the camp, the camp has facilities and land vast enough to accommodate more than 5, 000 persons.

    He advised the corps members to contribute their quota towards the development of the state by initiating projects that could impact positively on the lives of people in their host communities.

    Baba further urged them to shun all forms of acts capable of jeopardising the harmonious relationship between them and their host communities.

  • Kano Assembly passes 15 bills in two years, says Speaker

    Kano Assembly passes 15 bills in two years, says Speaker

    The Speaker, Kano State House of Assembly, Kabiru Rurum said on Thursday that the legislature  has passed 15 bills  since its inauguration on June 8, 2015.

    The speaker said at a news briefing in Kano to mark two years of the 8th Assembly, that five of the bills were sponsored by private individuals.

    According to him, all the bills were focused on making impact on the lives of the citizens.

    The speaker said some of the bills had since become law after they were assented to by Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje.

    Rurum said among the bills passed were the Kano State Contributory Health Care Scheme, Kidnapping, Abduction and Forced Labour Amendment Bill, Metropolitan Transport Authority Bill.

    “Other bills we passed  include Land Use Charge Bill; Tax and Levy Bill; Universal Basic Education Bill;  Local Government Amendment Bill and Pension and Gratuity Amendment Bill,  among others.”

    He said that other bills sponsored by individuals, and motions presented by the legislators, were at various stages of committees’ scrutiny.

    The speaker, who represents Rano Constituency, added that the scrutiny was to ensure that whatever law was enacted benefits the people.

    According to him, some of the bills before the House include Local Products Patronage Bill;  Persons with Disabilities Bill, Private Health Institutions Management Board bill among others.

    “Our role as legislators is to enact laws that will improve the living standard of the populace; we will always be guided by the possible effect of each law on the lives of the common man,” Rurum said.

    Rurum  also said that the legislature and the executive had maintained cordial working relationship, and commended the governor for executing projects that had enhanced the living standard of rural dwellers.

  • Kano earmarks N300m for Ramadan feeding programme

    Kano earmarks N300m for Ramadan feeding programme

    The Kano State Government has earmarked N300 million for the annual Ramadan free feeding programme scheduled to begin on Saturday, May 27.

    Malam Ibrahim Kankarofi, Chairman of the programme made the disclosure at a meeting with coordinators of the feeding centres at Government House, Kano on Friday.

    He said the state government had made adequate preparations to ensure the success of the programme across the 44 local government areas of the state.

    Kankarofi warned that anyone found diverting the food items would be appropriately punished.

    According to him, the state government has approved additional menu including Spaghetti and Macaroni as well as other items.

    He urged well-to-do Muslims in the state to complement government effort as the programme was aimed at assisting the poor in the society.

    The chairman, who is also the Principal Private Secretary to Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, directed the coordinators to ensure prompt distribution of the meals to the right people.

    Malam Abba Shehu, who responded on behalf of the coordinators, promised to discharge their duties as expected and with utmost fear of God.

    NAN reports that the Ramadan free feeding programme was introduced by the government to assist the poor break their fast during the Holy month.

  • N-Power money is for work done, Buhari tells volunteers

    N-Power money is for work done, Buhari tells volunteers

    President Muhammadu Buhari has reminded volunteers in the N-power scheme that the financial benefits they receive from the programme “is money paid for work done”.

    Mr. Afolabi Imoukhuede, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Job Creation said this when the scheme’s assessment and evaluation team paid a courtesy visit to the Kano State governor Abdullahi Ganduje on Wednesday night.

    He said: “There is a message that Mr. President has asked us to pass in every state we visit.

    “It is that please this is money paid for work done; this is an investment in their lives.

    “And this is an investment that, for the first time in many years, is going directly to the beneficiaries and not through any third party, not through any gateway.’’

    According to the presidential aide in Kano no fewer than 1,200 volunteers are being paid stipends earlier in the year.

    Imokhuede said that as at April about N0.58 billion had entered into the state’s economy through the beneficiaries that were getting paid regularly.

    He said that at inception 25,600 applications were received from Kano State out of which about 11,000 were for graduate recruitment and about 13,000 applicants were non-graduates.

    He said Kano State was offered 4,900 placements in the first phase but noted that 3,868 of them were verified for payment by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBS).

    He said that the 13,000 non-graduate applicants in the state would be mobilized in batches as from May.

    Imokhuede noted that those graduates who scaled the verification besides getting their regular N30,000 monthly stipends would also receive the credit device facility under the scheme from June.

    “From June we will take delivery of the devices and shall tell them where to pick them up,’’ he said.

    He said that underscored the President’s message and urged the volunteers to work hard and take the programme seriously as the funds got to them directly.

    He said the scheme’s monitoring framework was in place and that defaulters would not only be delisted but also penalized.

    Imoukhuede said the scheme would soon resolve all payment challenges of Kano volunteers adding that once resolved all their stipend backlog would be settled.

    He said that the growth of the economy led to the job creation scheme adding that what the president had done with the N-power was a lifeline to unemployed youths and not an end in itself.

    “It is a lifeline because it is a paid volunteer programme for 24 months to enhance their employability through being deployed to community schools, farms and health programmes,’’ he said.

    The presidential aide said the appeal that Kano be given special consideration due to its population was noted by the presidency and gave the assurance that it would be considered when the portal reopens in June.

    Responding, Ganduje said the scheme was the best thing that had happened to the economy of the country in recent times.

    The governor said that N-Power was capable of reviving the economy but advised that a template for its sustenance be created for it not to fail.

    He urged the youths to recognize that the benefits they derived came from President Buhari and that they imbibed the discipline of the president in order to move the country forward.

    The Senior Special Assistant on Special Intervention Programmes in Kano, Hajiya Aisha Jafaru, noted that the success of the N-Power scheme in the state was heartwarming.

    She, however, urged the Presidency to increase the number of volunteer recruits in the state and also resolve the issue of unpaid stipends to about 632 volunteers.

     

  • FG wants industrial status of Kano back

    Sen. Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Budget and National Planning, has advised the Kano State Government to restore the industrial status of the state as major commercial hub.

    Udoma gave the advice in a statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Akpandem James, in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Udoma said this at the Second Kano Economic and Investment Summit in Kano City.

    He said that Nigerians would like to see the state returned to its former status as a major industrial and commercial hub in the country.

    The minister noted that under Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje, the State has continued to pursue economic policies and programmes aimed at improving the lives of the people, with particular emphasis on education and infrastructure development.

    “The Federal Government desires to see a quick restoration of the boom days that characterised Sharada, Bompai and other industrial estates in Kano.

    “There is no doubt that Kano’s leather craftsmen are some of the best in the world.

    “We must provide the enabling environment for the leather industry to grow and become a mark of quality recognised worldwide”, he said.

    The minister said that funds had been provided in the 2017 Federal Budget to provide infrastructure for the revival of the Free Trade Zone in Kano to stimulate industrial activity.

    He said that fund had equally been provided for the revival of the Export Expansion Grant by way of tax relief, as a further incentive to exporters.

    On the theme of the Summit, “Transforming the Economy of Kano: Turning Challenges into Opportunities”, he said it aligned with Federal Government’s effort in addressing difficulties and challenges of economy.

    “On our part, as the Federal Government, we have been working very closely with the state governments, particularly through the monthly meetings of the National Economic Council (NEC).

    “We have been working with NEC to ensure complete alignment in our economic programmes.

    “And of course, as you all know the ERGP was developed with the extensive consultations of the States.

    “This is one Federal Government that believes that we must work very closely with the states”, he said.

    Meanwhile, Former Minister of National Planning and Chairman of the Summit Planning Committee, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, decried the reluctance of Northern governors to constitute the region into a viable economic zone in spite of available resources.

    He said it was not too late to do so as other regions of the country were consolidating on the efforts they started some years ago.

    Usman was, however, optimistic that the Kano summit would ginger up activities in the state and region with the right political will.

  • ICT can reposition Nigeria’s economy – Ganduje

    ICT can reposition Nigeria’s economy – Ganduje

    Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State on Sunday said the nation’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) sector could revive the country’s economy with the needed infrastructure in place.

    The governor made the call while declaring open a two-day conference in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the creation of Kano state.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the conference is part of the week long activities organised to celebrate the anniversary.‎
    Ganduje said that ICT would ‎enable the state to key into the present global trend for its economy ‎to thrive. ‎
    He expressed the hope that the presentations at the ‎conference should serve as a yardstick for weighing the future ‎prospects of the state.
    ‎The governor said that his administration was determined to change the economic landscape of Kano. ‎
    The Emir of Kano, Malam Mohammad Sanusi II called on the State Government to continue to give priority attention to education with particular emphasis on girl-child education.‎
    He also called on the federal and state governments to encourage private entrepreneurs to invest in the power sector.‎

    The governor also visited Kano central prison as part of activities to mark the anniversary.

     

  •  Kano to enroll 100 children orphaned by insurgency from Borno

    The Kano State Government has requested 100 children orphaned by the Boko Haram insurgency from Borno State Government for enrollment into the special boarding primary school established for them in the state.

    Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje disclosed this when he received the Federal Commissioner, National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Kano on Monday.
    NAN reports that the special boarding primary school was established by the immediate past governor of the state , Mr Rabi’u Kwankwaso, to cater for the children orphaned by insurgency, especially, from the North-Eastern part of the country.
    NAN also reports that most of the children currently in the school are from Borno.
    Ganduje said the state government had requested Borno State Government to bring another set of 100 children who would be enrolled in the school this academic session.
    According to him, the state government will take care of the children up to the university level.
    “The school is a full-fledged boarding primary school established by the state government for children orphaned by the insurgency, “he said.
    He said the school, which is fully equipped, would continue to provide quality education to the affected children as most of them had lost their parents and relations and had nowhere to go to as their home.
    He said the state government had received no less than 1, 000 refugees from the Central African Republic (CAR) at the initial stage of the crisis in the country.
    He said the state government had to set up a team that screened them and later returned them to their respective areas.
    He commended the commission for the bold steps it had taken to alleviate the hardships of the IDPs by providing them with some relief materials.
    In her remarks, the NCFRMI Federal Commissioner, Hajiya Sadiya Umar-Farouq, said the commission would partner the state government to rehabilitate and integrate the returnees and IDPs.
    “We want to strengthen our relationship with the Kano State Government through partnership to enable us achieve our mandate.”
    She called on the state government to assist the returnees and IDPs by providing them with farmlands to enable them engage in farming activities for self-sustenance

     

  • Ganduje replies critics, I am not sleeping but pretending‎

    Ganduje replies critics, I am not sleeping but pretending‎

    Kano State Governor says he is not bowing to blackmailers who said he was not working but sleeping.

    ‎Governor Abdullahi Ganduje stated this during an interactive session with labour unions as part of May Day celebration at the Government House, Kano.‎

    He said that his political opponents could not differentiate between sleeping and pretending.‎

    “My opponents always complain that I sleep at public functions but I want them to try and differentiate between the two.

    ‎”Political blackmail is not an issue to me because I am used to it and will continue to work for the good people of the state,” he said.‎

    The governor’s critics had been accusing him of sleeping in most public functions.

    ‎Ganduje said the ultra modern skill acquisition centre being constructed by his administration would provide employment opportunities to teeming youths of Kano.‎

    The governor said that the state government would continue the development of infrastructure across the state as part of effort to improve the welfare of the people.

     

  • FG inaugurates passport‎ office in Kano ‎ ‎

    The Federal Government has inaugurated a new ultra-modern Passport Processing Office in Kano State as part of plans to bring immigration services closer to Nigerians.

     

    The Minister of Interior, retired Lt.-Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazau said the measure was part of plans to decentralise the operations of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) and ensure better service delivery. ‎

    He said that the new edifice would also compliment operations of the old passport office which had been overstretched.

     

    Dambazau assured of ongoing plans to inaugurate more NIS passport offices across the country in order to ensure efficient service delivery.

     

    Earlier, the Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje said that the new passport office located within Kombotso area along Zaria Road would greatly enhance the operations of NIS.

     

    According to him, the desire of his government to ensure that Passport applicants in the state do not over stretch themselves and the facilities at the only Passport Office on Farm Settlement Road necessitated the collaboration with NIS.

    ‎ Ganduje said that his government had donated the‎ office complex to the NIS as a demonstration of efforts at deepening the existing cordial relationship between his government and NIS.

     

    He pledged continued cooperation with NIS in order to improve its operations in line with international best practices.

     

    The Comptroller-General of NIS, Mr Muhammad Babandede in his remarks assured of efficient service delivery to Nigerians and foreigners.

    He said the NIS would continue to work with state governments and relevant stakeholders to improve its operations.

     

    The event was graced by officials from the Ministry of Interior, NIS, Diplomats, representatives of Kano Emirate Council and other Immigration stakeholders.

     

  • 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.