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Tag: Abubakar Bello

  • Niger to enact law regulating weight of trucks

    Niger to enact law regulating weight of trucks

    The Niger Government, has concluded plan to enact a law that would regulate the weight of trucks, plying the state roads, Gov. Abubakar Bello said on Tuesday in Minna.

    The disclosure was contained in a press statement signed by Idris Ndache, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor and made this available.

    Bello expressed displeasure on the damage being done to major roads in the state by heavy duty and articulated vehicles.

    Aside from the proposed legislation, the governor of Niger state, said government would reintroduce weighbridge in order to ensure that operators of the affected trucks comply with the carrying capacity of our roads.

    The governor particularly expressed dismay on the deplorable state of Minna/Suleja federal highway.

    He said that the frequency at which repaired roads were damaged was due to the activities of overloaded vehicles plying the roads.

    Bello noted that despite the economic downturn in the country, the state had committed huge resources in rehabilitating major roads in the state.

    He expressed dissatisfaction that all efforts had failed to deliver the desired result, as the roads were damaged by overloaded heavy duty trucks as soon as they were fixed.

    “We cannot continue to use public funds to repair roads while heavy duty trucks destroy our efforts.

    “We have tried our best to see to it that our roads are in good condition for the benefit of our people.

    “But the more we repair the roads, the more overloaded heavy duty and articulated vehicles damage the roads.

    “We are coming up with strong laws that will prohibit trucks carrying overloads on our highways”.

    Gov. Bello tasked the law enforcement agencies to enforce various highway codes and laws, by ensuring that overloaded vehicles are not permitted to ply the roads.

    NAN

  • Niger creates Department of Oil and Gas

    Niger creates Department of Oil and Gas

    The Niger Government has approved the creation of a Department of Oil and Gas under the state Ministry of Mineral Resources.

    Alhaji Mudi Mohammed, the state Commissioner for Mineral Resources, told newsmen  in Minna on Thursday that the approval was given by Gov. Abubakar Bello at  the weekly State Executive Council meeting.

    He said since the state was  prospecting for  oil and gas  in Bida and Zungeru Basin, there was need for the creation of a department that would oversees the production process in line with the Federal Government’s  mandate.

    Mohammed also said  the department would be responsible for coordinating the exploration, development and deployment process to attract  investors.

    He further  said that the department would liaise with the Federal Government on the exploration and development of  the oil and gas sector in the state.

    According to him, the Bida Basin had been blocked into 17 oil blocks, with Main Land Oil and Gas Company already applying  for two blocks–Oil Prospecting License 501 (OPL) and OPL 517.

    The commissioner added that a Chinese Company had visited the sites and taken  samples to China  for assessment.

    He also said the  state government in collaboration with Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation would soon visit the Kutigi and Gulu exploration sites.

  • IG urges new recruits to eschew corruption

    IG urges new recruits to eschew corruption

    The Inspector-General ( IG ) of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, on Friday, urged the 465 new police recruits to eschew any act of corruption and be dedicated to their duties.

    The police boss made the call at the Passing Out Parade of the police constables at the Police Training School, Minna.

    Represented by Deputy Inspector-General ( IG ) of Police, Finance and Administration, Shauibu Gamb.
    He said “I will not hesitate to deal decisively with any police officer found in acts which violate the law of the land, including the prosecution of such persons to act as deterrent to others.”

    Idris added that the 465 constables would be posted to their states of origin to ensure effective
    community policing.

    He stressed that “you are, therefore, advised not to engage in any corrupt practices and any other nefarious activities.

    “Nigeria is in a democratic system of government where the rights of citizens must be respected.”

    The police chief assured the public that the Nigeria Police would continue to operate within its constitutional mandate.

    He explained that “this made the police high command to launch `Our Creed,’ aimed at guiding officers’ actions while on their professional duties in line with international best practices.

    “We shall ensure the rule of law prevails in our action and activities and operate within the principles of democratic governance.”

    He lauded the efforts of President Muhammadu Buhari for approving the recruitment of 31,000 police officers yearly.

    Earlier, Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger, who was represented by his Deputy, Alhaji Ibrahim Ketsu, lauded police efforts in the state.

    Bello expressed the state government’s determination to continue to support the police for effective policing.

  • Niger to spend N1.2bn in 20 days on school feeding

    Niger to spend N1.2bn in 20 days on school feeding

    The Niger government says it will spend N1.2 billion in every 20 days of the  primary school feeding programme expected to kick off Sept. 25.

    Mrs. Afiniki Dauda, Special Adviser to Gov. Abubakar Bello on Empowerment and Social Protection, disclosed this on Tuesday in Minna, during the training of 150 food vendors and desk officers on food safety and hygiene.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training, tagged: “train the trainees”, was organised for selected vendors across the 25 local government areas, to prepare them for the feeding programme.

    Dauda said that the Federal Government would spend N70 per day, for every child involved in the feeding programme.

    “We have submitted a list of well over 800,000 pupils from 3,000 schools for the programme; its principal aim is to
    raise nutritional value among pupils and increase school enrollment,” she said.

    She said that 70,170 vendors had been captured for the programme, adding that their data had been submitted to the National Identity Management office for verification.

    The official said that government had set up a special monitoring and evaluation team consisting of desk officers, counselors, parents and teachers association to ensure its success.

    Dauda warned vendors and other officials against diverting food items meant for the pupils, saying that anyone caught would be prosecuted.

  • Niger to spend N1.2bn on school feeding

    Niger to spend N1.2bn on school feeding

    The Niger government says it will spend N1.2 billion in every 20 days of the  primary school feeding programme expected to kick off Sept. 25,

    Mrs. Afiniki Dauda, Special Adviser to Gov. Abubakar Bello on Empowerment and Social Protection, disclosed this on Tuesday in Minna, during the training of 150 food vendors and desk officers on food safety and hygiene.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the training, tagged: “train the trainees”, was organised for selected vendors across the 25 local government areas, to prepare them for the feeding programme.

    Dauda said that the Federal Government would spend N70 per day, for every child involved in the feeding programme.

    “We have submitted a list of well over 800,000 pupils from 3,000 schools for the programme; its principal aim is to
    raise nutritional value among pupils and increase school enrollment,” she said.

    She said that 70,170 vendors had been captured for the programme, adding that their data had been submitted to the National Identity Management office for verification.

    The official said that government had set up a special monitoring and evaluation team consisting of desk officers, counselors, parents and teachers association to ensure its success.

    Dauda warned vendors and other officials against diverting food items meant for the pupils, saying that anyone caught would be prosecuted.

  • Abdusalami urges Nigerians to pray for Buhari’s full recovery

    Abdusalami urges Nigerians to pray for Buhari’s full recovery

    A former Head of State, retired Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, has urged Nigerians, especially Muslims, to pray for full recovery of President Muhammadu Buhari to enable him pilot the affairs of the country.

    Abdulsalami made the call after the Eid prayer in Minna on Friday.

    He enjoined Nigerians, especially Muslims, to take advantage of Eid-el-Kabir to pray for Buhari’s quick and full recovery.

    “I call on Nigerians, especially the Muslim faithful to use the opportunity of the Sallah to pray for the quick and full recovery of our president,’’ he said.

    He advised Nigerians to continue to live in peace with one another irrespective of tribe and religion as no meaningful development would be achieved in a society without peace.

    The former head of state also prayed for all “our leaders to lead us a right”.

    Also, Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger appealed to the people of the state to be patient with his administration as the government was doing everything possible to fulfil its campaign promises.

    Bello, represented by Alhaji Ahmed Guni, Speaker of the House of Assembly, urged the people to be law abiding toward the development of the state.

    Abdulsalami was Nigeria’s Head of State from June 8, 1998 to May 29, 1999.

  • Buhari lands in Abuja

    Buhari lands in Abuja

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Saturday afternoon arrived the Presidential wing of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja.

    Buhari, who has been in the United Kingdom since May 7th on medical ground, landed at the airport around 4:35 p.m in Nigeria Air Force Plane 001

    He wore a  black coloured caftan and trousers with multicolored cap to match.

    Buhari arrived Abuja with his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Lawal Abubakar, Chief Security Officer (CSO), Bashir Bindawa, Chief Police Security Officer (CPSO), Abdulkareem Dauda, and Personal Assistant one, Mohammed Sabihu (Tunde) among others.

    He alighted from the plane and shook hands with the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo before rendition of the National anthem.

    Buhari, after rendition of the National anthem, went round to shake hands with governors and top government officials who had formed a single file.

    He then departed for Presidential Villa by road.

    The governors at the airport to welcome him  included governors of Kano state, Abdullahi Ganduje, Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara, Muhammed Abubakar of Bauchi, Abubakar Bello of Niger,  Nesom Wike of Rivers,  Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi and Deputy governor of Kaduna state, Mr Barnabas Bala.

    Among those at the airport to welcome the president included members of the National Assembly, service chiefs, Inspector-General of Police Ibrahim Idris, Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari as well as other presidential aides.

    Others at the airports are the National Security Adviser to the President (NSA) retired Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno; the Director-General, Department of State Security (DSS), Alhaji Lawal Daura and other dignitaries from and within Abuja.

    The President took a national salute from the Presidential Guards Brigade while cultural groups were also singing and dancing to welcome him back home.

  • What we’ve done in Niger in two years – Bello

    What we’ve done in Niger in two years – Bello

    The governor of Niger, Alhaji Abubakar Bello says his administration has done a lot in the last two years to provide the dividends of democracy to the people.

    Bello told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in New York on Tuesday that his administration inherited huge developmental challenges on assumption of office.

    He said that they inherited so many uncompleted projects from previous administrations over the last 16 years but had spent the last two years completing.

    “In the education sector, we met a completely dysfunctional system, bad infrastructure and what we are doing is to fix all our secondary schools back to the way we used to know them.

    “So we are fixing the whole school system to ensure that we have proper infrastructure in our schools. Having done that, we also appreciate that we needed teachers.

    “We have scarcity of teachers both in primary and secondary schools. So, we’re currently establishing three Teachers Training Centres – one in each zone – and a Teachers Training Institute at the Headquarters (Minna).

    “This is to get the qualified teachers and to regulate on the teaching practice and to ensure training and retraining of teachers over time.

    “We need to, from time to time, upgrade their (teachers) skills when it comes to their profession,” the governor said.

    According to him, the state was also carrying out a total overhaul of the state’s health facilities.

    “While we renovate the secondary facilities, we are emphasizing more on the primary healthcare because once you have a very functional primary healthcare, then you reduce pressure on the secondary healthcare.

    “We have 274 wards so we set up an agency at the headquarters that will regulate the activities of all the primary healthcare agencies.

    “We hope at the end of the day to have one functional primary healthcare centre in each ward; it has been a very slow process because of the amount of investment required

    “But I have no doubt that is the right position and once that is done, definitely we would see some reduction in terms of pressure on the secondary healthcare facility.”

    Bello also regretted that water had been a major challenge in Minna, the state capital but that his administration was presently carrying out a complete renovation of the water works.

    “We’ve replaced a few pumps and we’ve ordered some other pumps. By the end of the day, we hope to do complete turnaround maintenance of the water system in Minna.

    He said: “there have been improvements in terms of water supply in Minna; we have started seeing water in some areas but unfortunately, most of the pipes have been blocked.

    “Some of the pumps have been built on and in some cases, because there hasn’t been water in 10 to 15 years, the moment we release water, most of the pipes burst”.

    The governor, however, said the state government had embarked on complete replacement and reticulation of some part of Minna.

    “I hope by this time next year, we should be able to address the water situation in Minna, Kontagora, Bida and Suleja towns.

    “These are the major urban areas that have been massively affected by lack of adequate clean water. The process has started and hopefully, by next year, we should see some positive results”.

    According to him, works are ongoing on existing and new roads across the state to boost economic activities.

    “We have tried to repair and maintain existing roads and at the same time, we have tried to intervene towards constructing new ones, especially in the rural areas.

    “In the cities, especially Minna, we are trying to ‘resurface’ most of the roads that have been abandoned for many years and that has made movement easy in some areas,” Bello said.

  • Bello appeals to lecturers to resume work, promises to address all issues

    Bello appeals to lecturers to resume work, promises to address all issues

    Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger has appealed to lecturers in state-owned tertiary institutions to call off their ongoing industrial action.

    Bello made the appeal in Minna during a meeting with the state Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Fatima Madugu, and Prof. Muhammad Maiturare, Chairman, Governing Board, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University.

    The governor gave an assurance that pending issues concerning the demands of the lecturers would be addressed immediately.

    He said that the Head of Service and the affected ministries would meet with the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress to address pending issues.

    He noted that the industrial action by the academic staff of state-owned institutions was not healthy for the state and future generation.

    Similarly, Madugu also appealed to the affected workers to return to work because the state government was committed to meeting their demands.

    “The governor is very passionate about education and committed to meeting the demands of the striking workers.

    “We have a responsible and a responsive governor; I am appealing to our striking workers to call off their action and return to work.”

    Maiturare also urged the state government to resolve all pending issues for immediate resumption of academic activities in the state.

  • Niger donates N30m to victims of Suleja flood

    Niger donates N30m to victims of Suleja flood

    Niger Gov. Abubakar Bello has approved N30 million to the state Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA) to provide relief materials to victims of Suleja flood.

    A statement by the governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Malam Jibrin Ndace, in Minna on Sunday said that the governor gave the approval when he visited some flooded areas in Suleja and Lapai Local Government Areas of the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that 11 persons lost their lives and several houses destroyed during a heavy rainfall on July 8 in Suleja.
    The chief press secretary quoted the governor as calling on the residents of the state to compliance strictly to the urban development regulations to ensure safety of lives and property.

    Bello, who attributed losses in human and property to the floods mostly to non adherence to such regulations, warned against indiscriminate building of structures, especially on waterways.

    “It is glaring that most of the affected structures were on the natural flood path. We have to desist from these unwholesome practices and obey simple laws meant for our good,” the governor said.
    Ndace said the governor also paid a condolence visit to Malam Saad Abdullahi, a resident of Checheniya area who lost two wives and six children to the flood.

    Bello, he further said also visited Gawuraka in Tafa Local Government Area of the state where a dead body was recovered meters away from the deceased’s home.

    He said that Bello also visited Sabo Orehi village in Lapai Local Government Area, where a bridge linking the state to Kogi collapsed due to the flood.

    Bello assured that a new bridge would be constructed within forty days by the state Road Maintenance Agency (NIGROMA).
    The governor, however, directed the agency to create alternative route to enable movement of vehicles take place pending when the new bridge would be constructed.