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Tag: Abdullahi Umar Ganduje

  • No prior knowledge of Speakers’ removal – Ganduje 

    Kano state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje  said on Monday that he had no knowledge of what happened at the state’s assembly not until he was informed via telephone calls by top members of his party that the speaker of the house, Rt Honorable Ata has been removed by members of the house.

    Ganduje who described the episode as an internal democracy said that, such development is good for any progressive democracy.

    Read Also:Kwankwaso has lost political relevance – Ganduje

    The Governor made the assertion at the kano state government House when the new speaker, Honorable Kabiru Alhassan Rurum and his principal officers paid a courtesy visit during which they pledged their loyalty to him.

    They further reaffirmed their unflinching support for his administration and reelection bid.

    According Ganduje, “I was not aware of what was going on at the state assembly; I was informed by top members of our great party that the speaker of the house has been impeached by the members of the house.

    “As you know, there has been, and they would be different interpretations to what has happened, but one thing is certain, that is, we in Kano believe in internal democracy”

    “I urge you to embrace all those whom have lost their seats and ensure that there are no factions within the assembly members.

    “I welcome you to the state government House, your house, and I want to reassure you that there shall be synergy between the state government and the assembly for the greater development of the state”

    “For eight years I was the deputy governor, and we have been together with virtually all of you for the past sixteen years, so am familiar with the antics of the assembly and issues of internal democracy”

    “I’m happy to hear that you are solidly behind the party in the state, National level and the president particularly at this moment of trial”

    In his remarks, the Speaker, Kabiru Alhassan Rurum expressed their loyalty to the Ganduje’s administration and reaffirmed that, the assembly members would continue to work with the Governor for the peace and progress of the state.

    Rurum assures the Governor that, there shall be no defection by members of the house as efforts are been made to win over the six Kwankwansiyya loyalists to their fold.

    He further reiterated their loyalty and support for the Ganduje’s second term ambition as well as that of the president Muhammadu Buhari and also pledge their loyalty to APC and its National Chairman, Adam Oshiomhole.

  • Kwankwaso has lost political relevance in Kano – Ganduje

    Governor Abdullàhi Umar Ganduje has said that the recent defection of a former governor of Kano State, senator Rabi’u musa Kwankwaso, and lawmakers from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) will not any way affect the party’s chances and as such lost relevance politically in the state.,

    Ganduje, revealed this in his office during an interview with reporters on Saturday. He said he was not personally bothered by the exit of his political rival.

    “We are not scared by their exit. Their defection doesn’t constitute any havoc to our great party, the APC, at all levels. People should keep eyes (open) to what will happen during election.

    “Our dear President has been doing the needful in terms of developing the nation, coupled with his efforts in efficient service delivery. Good governance is at its peak. The war against corruption is successfully being waged,” he added.

    Read Also: Kwankwaso’s defection will not affect APC, says Ganduje

    He also said Kwankwaso’s exit will not be felt in the state: “I want you to go and study the situation on ground in Kano, his (Kwankwaso) defection does not change the political mood in the state. Nobody cares to be disturbed by their action,”

    The governor said when his predecessor was in the APC “his intention was to vie for presidency. But when it appeared to him, in black and white, that there is no vacancy in the Villa, he now decided to leave on his own.”

    He said Kwankwaso should be ready to battle it out at the polls next year.

    “When he secures a presidential ticket from the party he cross carpets to, then he should wait and see how we can slug it out with him. He will fully understand how popular and loveable our President Muhammadu Buhari is.

    “Kano will give more votes to our President, than what he got in 2015 election. From the 2015 election to date, those who could not vote because of age limit, are now grown up, meaning they will now be eligible to vote. Hence, Buhari stands the chance to get 5 million votes from Kano,” he said.

  • We have failed Nigerians on healthcare delivery, says NHIS boss

    The Executive Secretary of National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, on Wednesday in Kano admitted that the Scheme has committed a lot of mistakes in its operation to better the health of Nigerians.

    Yusuf who spoke to Reporters during and interactive session, after the launching of seven health sector projects initiated by Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at Muhammadu Specialist Hospital (MDH) Gingiyu, said the Scheme has already taken measures to correct the anomalies.

    According to him, “In fact, our mistakes are many! And I am forced to say it because if you do not admit what your mistakes are, you will continue to make such mistakes. We are the regulators of health insurance in this country, and a lot of what you see have been from our mistakes; and we have owned up to that and said we have done mistakes in the past, and we want to tell people we will correct those mistakes and do the right thing.

    “What are the mistakes: we have not been holding ourselves accountable, that is number one. Number two, we have not been holding hospitals we give people’s money to accountable. Number three, we have not been holding HMOs we give people’s money to accountable.

    “We are saying this time around, it is going to be different, we have to hold ourselves accountable, we have to hold the hospitals we give people’s money to accountable and we have to hold HMOs accountable. Now those hospitals and HMOs we give money to, we will go and ask them—what did you do with that money.

    “In Abuja, what we have done in NHIS is that I have deployed Desk Officers to major hospitals in Abuja. They are there to act as advocates for patients. When our patients go to hospitals, and then they said no, your bills are not covered by NHIS, whereas it is, or they don’t get treated well, they go to this Desk Officers and complain to them and the Desk Officers go and advocate for them.

    “We want to replicate that across the six geo-political zones in major hospitals. We are going to be enrollee-centric rather than HMO-centric. Many of hospitals get a lot of money from us and they never held anybody accountable, but this time around, it is going to be different.”

    He added that, “NHIS has been going round the country interacting with states governments, Commissioners of Health and Governors, and encouraging them to create their own health insurance agencies. So far, we have only 19 of such agencies in the country. Our goal is that by the end of this year, we should be where we need to be. “Our call to them is that if you don’t create your own health insurance agency, they will not enjoy these basic healthcare provisions. So, here we are, we are working with them and we will get there.”

    Yusuf also noted that, “people do not know about National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), I agree, but that is the reason that we are here having this interaction.

    “The misconception is always NHIS is only for Federal Government employees. Again, we are guilty as charged, we have not gone to talk to people; that is why we have this engagement. And now, our goal is aggressively advocating and telling people what NHIS is about.

    “Essentially, the largest pool is Federal Government employees, but it doesn’t mean that is we take care of. We have the organized private sector.”

    He stated that HNIS has come up with a programme that can take care of the health needs of the Nigerian masses, pointing out that, “there is this programme called Vital Contributors’ Social Health Insurance Programme (VC-SHIP), for N15, 000 yearly anybody can enjoy healthcare as I would. You pay N15, 000 a year, you can go to a hospital and they will send us a bill up to N300, 000 and NHIS will pay.

    “The whole idea is that we are able to do that because the Federal Government has put this large pool into the formal sector. Our goal is to have a large economy upscale.

    “The more people contribute into this, (and forget about the sentiment of I contribute, but I probably will not use it) but the whole idea is for the healthy to pay for the sick; the strong to pay for the weak; and the young to pay for the aged.

    “This is what we encourage, unless you have a very large number, you are not going to be able to subsidize that. Let us all think about this—I mean, all of us, from the president to the peasant—we all go back to our villages, there are always people coming to us to ask us about going to hospital; and more often than not, you end up spending more than N15, 000. So, you pay N15, 000 and anyone of us can enjoy healthcare delivery as we can pay for every other person.

    “So, VC-SHIP is what we want to aggressively advocate and sale to people as part of our outreach for the informal sector; because in the Federal Government, the formal sector is for sure because the Federal Government is now employing more people; but the informal sector is where the future is and that is where about 99 per cent of our people are. We will see how we will connect with the states and do the right thing for our people.”

  • 2019 election: Ganduje dismisses Kwankwaso’s influence

    Kano state Governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Tuesday dismissed the former governor’s, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso’s, acclaimed influence on the forthcoming general election, in which Ganduje would be contesting for the second term, come 2019.

    Ganduje said, “Power belongs to Allah, Who gives to whoever He Wishes and Takes Away from whomever He so Wishes. As such nobody, whatever positioned he may think he is, can stop us from winning our election. We place everything in Allah’s Hand.”

    He made the disclosure at the residence of party elder Malam Musa Gwadabe, when the governor paid him a visit for the celebration of Sallah festivity, adding that, “Whoever says he is ready to face us, we are also ready for him or for them. We are assuring you that there is no fracas in our party All Progressives Congress (APC), anymore.”

    “Our elder we are assuring you that crisis in not in our dictionary at all. When we had our local government elections there wasn’t a single fight for the purpose of the election,” he said.

    Ganduje who lamented that, “There was a time the state had bad experiences immediately after local government elections. About seven local government secretariats were razed down. But we didn’t experience that during our last local government polls.”

    He added that the party had recently conducted congresses from ward to local governments up to state level, “…and there was no crisis. Not a single person was injured. Everything was successful and peaceful. This shows how our party is strong and peaceful”.

    Governor Ganduje says “We have 444 delegates from Kano going to national convention coming up in the next few days. This shows how strong and powerful the party is.”

    To further encourage party members governor said “All parties that merged to become APC are solidly with us. As such we are not waiting for anybody any longer. If you are ready to follow suit is up to you. It is Allah Who will give us and see us through.”

    In his remarks elder Gwadabe assured that, all parties that merged to become APC prior to the 2015 general election are solidly behind the governor in all his political activities.

    He said “Since from the beginning we told Governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje that he should always be patient with what will come his way as a governor. We thank Almighty Allah that our dear governor is still on it.

    At the residence of the Chairman Elders of APC in Kano, Salisu Buhari, governor Ganduje reveals that, “Many at times some people tried their best to reconcile between myself and the former governor Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, but he always rejects such good move.”

    “There was a time when we were assembled in a room with some elders all in an effort to reconcile us. But he threw away the good move, to the dismay of all of us gathered there, he bang the door on us,” Ganduje lamented.

    The governor said he still urged those people to continue pursuing the former governor for the continuation of the reconciliation process, emphasising that, “He did not allow them to see him. When he was going out he said to us he was not a kid. But he should know that I am not also a kid.”

    Ganduje appreciated those followers of the former governor, Kwankwaso, otherwise called Kwankwasiyya followers, who cross carpeted and accepted the newly inaugurated party leadership in the state.

    Calling those that are still on the fence to understand reality, disclosing that, “…we are extending our hands of friendship to them.”

    On his part the chairman of the party elders said “All party elders are with the governor, there is no doubt about this. We are proud of you Your Excellency Sir. You have a proven track record, you are accountable and transparent.”

  • My resolve to contest for second term lies with Kano People – Ganduje

    Kano State Governor Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said that his resolve to contest for second term as governor  lies with the interest of the people of the State in order to give him the opportunity to consolidate the gains of democracy.

    Ganduje said he is being pressurized by the people to come out and re- contest as they have set aside a whooping sum of N5 million for him to purchased the  form for his  second term bid. .

    He noted that his second coming to government once it comes into practical reality would see the final transformation of Kano to a Mega City through the provision of  laudable infrastructures

    Ganduje who spoke to reporters,said over N1bn contract had been awarded for the construction of a transmission plant for onward distribution of the energy expected from the Kano IPP.

    Ganduje explained that the state was blessed to fund its capital projects with Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), noting that the state is generating up to N3bn IGR monthly.

    He regretted that only less than 10 per cent of people that are due pay tax as and when due in the state, assuring that government would continue to hammer on the rich in order to provide social amenities to the people.

    On the light rail project, Ganduje said the project was still on, saying the project was broke into phases and that a contractor had been selected.

    He said, “Federal government is currently negotiating with Chinese government on the issue of interest, “even last week, officials from Chinese had discussion with the  Federal ministry of finance on the project”, he added.

    Read Also: Ganduje okays N345m for Ramadan feeding

    Speaking on the abundant 5km roads projects spanned across the 44 local government areas of the state, Ganduje noted in dismay that the project gulped the state over N100 Billion but today it has being neglected.

    He said when they came on board they realized that the whole idea was conceived out of ignorance because there was no way one could build a 5km roads across each local government.

    The Governor worried that some of the roads are of N2 Billion worthwhile in that particular local government they need a simple agricultural projects of less than one Billion Naira to make a difference.

    ” You will agree with me that it is not all local government that needs a dualized roads for example Warawa local government how can you build a dualized road there while in real sense what they need is a single agricultural produced conveyor road”.

    “So one can see that even compensation of billions of Naira had to be paid to demolished people’s homes and 90 percent of the money for that Contract it was Local governments money one could ask where would they get that money to finance the project”.

    The Governor revealed that most of the Contractors had their certificates hanging with no money to pay them so when this government came in she  had to order for the redesigning of the projects to tally with the reality on ground.

  • Ganduje Earmarks N89million For Dredging Drainages to Combat Flood.

    The  Kano state Commissioner, of Environment Haruna Ali Makoda on Saturday revealed that the state government has earmarked the sum of N89 million  for the dredging of the popular Jakara and other major and minor drainages in the state.

    Makoda,who disclosed this,during the flag off of the exercise and end of the month sanitation exercise, said that the state government is committed to combating flood and other related issues in the state by providing more funds for the exercise.

    “Unlike the previous years, the ministry has mapped out plans to clear more major and minor drainages in the state. And we are hoping to cover over 67 kilometers for this exercise”

    “The Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has approved the sum of 89 million Naira for this very exercise considering it’s importance to the safety of the state.

    “You can see that the Jakara drainage is filled up with refuse and this is a major drainage that connects with other major and minor drainages in the state if we don’t take care of this problem, it could lead to flooding in the state”

    Makoda however, called on the people of the state to desist from the habit of dumping refuse in the state major and minor drainages so as to avoid the blockage of water particularly in this rainy season in order to avoid flooding.

    Read Also: Osibanjo hails Ganduje on training youths in modern technology

    He urged residents to always comply with the last Saturday of the Month sanitation exercise to keep their environment clean and that the police should always ensure that motorists obey the 7-10am non movement order.

    To this end,the leaders of the state’s popular ‘yan Lemo fruits market and Tarauni markets have been invited for further discussion over poor sanitation within their markets.

    Haruna who expressed dismay at the poor state of the markets, described it as an eyesore as the marketers refused to adhere to the directives by the ministry to keep their business environment clean.

    The mobile court judges attached to the inspection team collected the sum of N140,465 as fine from 142 defaulters at the end of may sanitation exercise.

  • lmpeachment Saga: Kano Assembly gets new Principal Officers

    The kano state House of Assembly has appointed new principal officers, following moves by 24 aggrieved members to impeach the incumbent speaker Yusuf Abdullahi Ata.

    Speaking to reporters on Wednesday at his personal residence, he said, ” following the intervention. of the state Governor Abdullahi umar Ganduje over the saga,certain changes have occurred with regards to the leadership of house.”

    Ata said the six positions of the principal officers of the House has been distributed among the two factional parties.

    He said,”Ata remains as the speaker, the deputy Speaker Hamisu Ibrahim chiidari has been replaced by the former speaker Kabiru Alhassan Rurum, the majority leader Abdulaziz Garba gafasa has been replaced by Mohammad bello butu butu.

    Others affected were the chief whip labaran Abdul madari, was replaced by BAFFA BABBA Danagundi, the majority whip Kabiru Hassan Dashi was also replaced by Ayuba Labaran Kabo, while Sunusi bataiya emerges as the new deputy majority leader.

    Speaker Ata said the decision was taken to allow peace to reign in the Assembly.

    He added that the house would conduct a special session on Thursday to formalise the agreed decision.

  • Ganduje spends N400 million to construct Police Divisions

    The Kano State Government is constructing new Police divisions across the state at the N400 million,Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has disclosed.

    ln a statement signed by the Director – General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Kano, Ameen K. Yassar, and made available to newsmen yesterday, stated that the rationale behind the projects was curb crime and encourage community Policing.

    The projects include two Area Commands at Court Road, Tarauni local government and Tudun Wada, Tudun Wada local government area at the cost of N123, 364, 230, a Police station at Panshekara in Kumbotso local government at N59, 589, 240 and two Police stations at Rijiyar Zaki and Zango respectively, in Ungoggo local government at the sum of N 101,841, 438. 50.

    The rest are construction of a Police station at Court road, Tarauni local government area and a Fire Brigade outpost at Dakata, Ungoggo local government area at the total cost of N71, 626, 643. 58.

    Also awarded by the government is the construction of a Police station at Ganduje town in Dawakin Tofa local government area as well as the construction of twelve Police residential quarters in Kano metropolis.

    Ganduje announced this, at the foundation laying ceremony of the Area Command and an adjacent Police station at Court Road, Tarauni local government in the state.

    At the occasion, which was attended by the Inspector – General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim K. Idris, the governor explained the “the move is an attempt to step up investment in security so as to protect lives and property”.

    “A few months back, we also provided the Nigeria Police, Kano state Command with vehicles and gadgets to enable them cope with the challenge of tackling criminal activities in the state”, he added.

    The governor, who hailed the state Police Command for being up and doing in the discharge of its responsibilities, promised to assist it whenever the need arose, in view of the strategic nature of its job.

    On his part, the Inspector – General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris, said he was happy that Kano was doing very well in terms of encouraging the Police to deliver, pointing out that he had visited the state recently to commission projects executed for them by the Ganduje administration.

    “Kano is now a model for other states to emulate in terms of support to the Police”, the IGP added, promising that his officers and men would remain resilient in tackling criminality across the country.

  • We will continue to wage war against Corruption – Ganduje

    Kano state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has declared that his government will continue to wage war against corruption and graft in the state.

    Ganduje who spoke through the state’s Head of Service, Muhammad Awwal Na’iya during the graduation of Course One Trainees at the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, Keffi, Nassarawa state, said his government will remain committed to the Open Government Partnership (OGP) transparency in governance.

    According to him, “to further consolidate our commitments to transparency and accountability in government business, the Kano State government has signed the Open Government Partnership (OGP) principles with the State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission serving as the implementing agency, in collaboration with the Office of the State Head of Service.”

    Read Also: Ganduje reaffirms commitment to anti-graft fight in Kano

    He added that, part of the main objectives of the OGP Partnership is to strengthen the crusade against corruption, to make it people-oriented, which further entails working with citizens, civil society organizations, development partners and non-governmental organizations with the intention of entrenching the noble objective.

    Governor Ganduje advised the trainees to remain committed in the fight against corruption, noting that, “it is therefore incumbent on the graduating students to take up the challenge and reciprocate the confidence repose in you by the government, as well as strive to sustain the effort of this crusade.

    “You must justify the investment made to put you through the rigours of this course by ensuring government and its citizens get value for money through efficiency, hard work and dedication to duty; while being mindful of the task at hand is for the overall good of our country.”

    On his part, the Acting Chairman of ICPC, Dr. Musa Usman Abubakar, after thanking all the participating agencies and the Nassarawa state government, he specifically commended Ganduje, that, stating that, “I wish  to  thank  the  Executive  Governor  of  Kano  State,  His Excellency,  Dr.  Abdullahi  Umar  Ganduje  for  his  relentless  effort at  entrenching  ethical  values  of  accountability  and  transparency by  sponsoring  officers  of  Kano  State  Public  Complaints  and  Anti-Corruption  Commission.  It  is  our  hope  that  more  participants will  be  sponsored  for  the  next  programme programme.”

  • Kano civil servants endorse Ganduje for second term

    Kano State Civil Servants yesterday endorsed the second coming of Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, saying that he has performed creditably well in transforming the State into a mega city, within three years of his administration.

    In a press statement, issued by the Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar, said the State Head of Service, Muhammad Auwal Na’Iya, in company of all the Permanent Secretaries in the state, including all Heads of government departments and agencies, were at the Government House to deliver their message on behalf of the rank and file that they have endorsed Ganduje for second term.

    At the solidarity meeting, held at Africa House, Government House, Kano, Na’Iya, enumerated most of his achievements, to include promotion of workers, prompt payment of salaries, as well as training and re-training programmes, among others.

    within the state civil service that were possible with the coming of Ganduje into the corridors of power.

    “We are appreciative of your effort in abolishing the dichotomy between Degree and HND holders in the state civil service and at the same time, we are grateful for improving healthcare delivery system for the workers in the state,”.

    Also, the workers hailed Ganduje for the promotion, backlog from 2013-2018, adding that :”We are paid our salary promptly and have no cause to complain because he took care of our welfare.

    According to the Head of Service, over 5,000 workers have so far benefited from training and retraining programmes, in the area of acquiring ICT skills.

    “Over N500 Million free-interest loan was disbursed by this administration to civil servants, so as to boost their our morale in curtailing some major problems. We really don’t have much to say but to support your Your Excellency,”.

    After enumerating his achievements, Na’Iya disclosed that: “I am saying this on behalf of all the civil servants in the state, that, we are in total support of your ambition, come 2019 election. We are supporting you and we shall continue to support you Sir. You did so many things to us, which warrant for our total support and appreciation.”

    Responding, Governor Ganduje assured workers that he would continue to ensure the progress and development of the state civil service.

    “I want to assure you that, you are partners in progress. Hence, we must continue to do things that would boost your morale to work harder and strengthen your capacity through training and retraining,” Ganduje assured.

    He acknowledged that civil service was the backbone of any government, adding that there is the need to render the necessary support that would assist you in putting in your best towards the development of the state.