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Tag: Adamawa State

  • Adamawa journalists observe peace walk for violence-free elections

    Some journalists in Adamawa State on Thursday observed “Media Peace Day Declaration” by staging a peace walk and rally for violence-free governorship and house of assembly elections on Saturday.

    Speaking after the walk that took the journalists round some major streets in Yola, Alhaji Umar Dankano, the Acting Chairman of NUJ in Adamawa, said the peace work was organised in collaboration with “Search For Common Ground (SFCG)”, a U.S. based international NGO,

    Dankano urged all stakeholders to work toward hitch-free elections.

    “We declare that we stand for peace and will work to ensure that there is no bloodletting before, during and after the exercise.

    Read Also: Buhari wins Atiku in Adamawa’s Shelleng LGA

    “From every part of Adamawa, all stakeholders – political parties, politicians, the electorate, security operatives and the INEC – are hereby enjoined to allow peace be their watchword during the exercise and beyond.

    “We must put Adamawa and Nigeria first in all that we do so that we can entrench sustainable peace in our state.”

    Also speaking, the Adamawa Coordinator of SFCG, Mr Abubakar Mustafa, said the organisation was committed to peace promotion and would continue to partner like-minds as NUJ in that direction.

    Mustafa lauded the people of Adamawa for the peaceful Presidential and National Assembly elections.

    He, however, said that there were skirmishes during celebrations after the winners were declared for the presidential election in Adamawa, a development, which he said, was unfortunate and should be avoided during the oncoming polls on Saturday.

    Mustafa called for peace during and after the elections.

    NAN

  • Adamawa: 10 guber candidates declare support for PDP

    Governorship candidates of 10 political parties in Adamawa state have resolved to work for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ensure victory for the party in next Saturday’s election.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the candidates announced the decision after a meeting with the Adamawa PDP candidate, Alhaji Umaru Fintiri, on Monday in Yola.

    The candidates are; Sadiq Khaliel of MRDD, Danjuma Musa of FJP, Naziru Sa’ad of ZLP, Ahmed Hassan of DA and Salihu Danjuma of APM.

    Others are Abdullahi Usman of NCP, Bappari Umar of KOWA, Lami Musa of PPN, Elizabeth Isa of CAP and Frank Simon of MEGA party.

    The candidates, who took turns to speak at the meeting, said they had decided to partner with the PDP and work for the success of the party and its candidate in the Saturday election.

    Isa, the CAP candidate said she decided to shelve her ambition to work with Fintiri because she believed in his vision and that of the PDP.

    She described the PDP candidate as a man who matched words with action, as evident in his stewardship when he served as Speaker of Adamawa State House of Assembly and acting governor.

    Read Also: Sanwo-Olu, Agbaje and Lagos poll

    “I go for personality, and Fintiri is a man of vision and integrity,” Isa said.

    On his part, KOWA party candidate, Umar, said his party only endorsed Fintiri for the governorship election, but its candidates for the house were still in the race.

    “Unlike other parties, our party will mobilise for PDP for governorship only, while our house of assembly candidates are still in the race,” he said.

    Speaking on the development, Fintiri lauded the parties for the confidence in him and assured that he would form an all-inclusive government if elected.

     

     

  • ‘Bindow reduced Atiku’s margin in Adamawa’

    Adamawa State Governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow deliberately reduced the victory margin of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar on Saturday, his campaign council caucus has stated.

    The caucus said Atiku would have won Adamawa, his home state, with wider margin but for efforts of Bindow to facilitate the success of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress(APC).

    It said this is a fact that contradicts a falsehood being peddled by an individual to the effect that Bindow sold Buhari’s victory to Atiku.

    A statement in Yola Tuesday by the Secretary of the Caucus, Dr Umar Duhu, said: “Our attention has been drawn to the attack on the person of the Adamawa State Governor … by one Ambassador Aminu Iyawa on the just concluded Presidential election in the state.

    “In his spiteful misleading and mischievous postilation, Iyawa claimed Governor Bindow sold out the state for the PDP Presidential Candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar to garner considerable votes at the polls and he further malignly pointed that Governor Bindow designed a plan to give Atiku an edge in the polls.

    “How can Iyawa even claim Governor Bindow has failed when he adequately cut down Atiku’s lead votes to 30, 000 in the state, Atiku’s own state.

    Read Also: I’ve no rift with my deputy, says Bindow

    “Does Iyawa not see what happened in Katsina? The big margin between President Buhari and Atiku? Why is Iyawa blaming a man who singularly ensured massive vote touch for President Buhari?

    “Therefore, we wish to categorically state that the analysis by Iyawa is only aimed at tarnishing the exalted image of His Excellency Governor Muhammad Umaru Jibrilla and this falsehood is mischievously orchestrated and fictitious.

    “It is a big surprise that such concocted story was circulated by someone who claims to love Adamawa State and the APC.

    “We therefore wish to stress that Governor Bindow is a core APC member, loyalist and an absolute believer in President Buhari and his ideals.

    “He is a political guide for all good citizens of Adamawa State and he is a gentleman politician per Excellency who will never indulge in any act of anti-party to the APC.

    “Governor Bindow has tremendous respect and regard for the President and the National Leadership of the APC and consequently, any plan or attempt to disrupt the resounding relationship existing between Mr. President, the Party Leadership and Governor Bindow will not only fail but, will definitely not see the light of  the day.”

  • Marwa alleges plan to manipulate election results in Southeast, south south

    A former governorship candidate in Adamawa State and chieftain of ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Gen Buba Marwa (rtd),  has alleged plans by the leading opposition party to manipulate the final result of the presidential election in the South-East and South-South regions of the country.

    Marwa who spoke to newsmen in his Yola home on Thursday afternoon, said the plan was expected to be carried out in the night by unleashing violence with a view to  tempering with election results.

    Marwa, a leading supporter of President Muhammdu Buhari, urged security agencies to act swiftly, to forestall the intention as the electorate await the final outcome expected to confirm Buhari as the winner.

    Read Also: Runsewe hails Marwa committee on drugs

    Marwa said, “There are  plans of massive manipulation of results by the opposition in South-East and South-South through unleashing of violence tonight onward. The violence is with a view to tempering election results by using total registered voters instead of accredited voters to change final results.”

    “We therefore urge security council and INEC to monitor this information very closely as we await the final outcome that would surely confirm President Buhari the winner.”

    Marwa who is the chairman of Central Working Committee of the Women and Youth Campaign team of the APC, thanked the electorate for coming out en mass to vote the party in the presidential and National Assembly elections.

     

  • We are not under anyone’s influence – Adamawa REC

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Adamawa State, Barrister Kassim Gaidam, has refuted a news report that he rejected offer of bribe to the tune of $1m and a house in Dubai from the presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    “We wish to refute this story as not emanating from the Hon. REC. The REC is presently focused on efforts to deliver free, fair and credible elections and has no time for indulgence in distractions intended by the peddlers of the falsehood,” said a statement signed and issued on Tuesday by the Head of Voter Education department of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Adamawa State, Rifkatu Duku.

    The statement called on all Nigerians to disregard “this fake story as the figment of the infantile imagination of its authors which has no basis on facts!”

    Read Also: Troops foil insurgents attack in Adamawa

    A news report had alleged that Atiku had given each REC around the country $1m to compromise the card readers to favour him against incumbent president and candidate of the All Progressives Congress APC), Muhammadu Buhari.

    The Adamawa INEC resident commissioner who spoke further on the allegation while administering oath of neutrality on INEC staff at the INEC state office in Yola, said neither Atiku nor any other politician or group of politicians had given him or any INEC staff any form of bribe.

    “Nobody has offered us inducement and we are under nobody’s influence,” he asserted.

    Performing the oath of neutrality on INEC staff in the state, the resident electoral commissioner said the staff is committed to free and fair elections without preference for any candidate.

    “All INEC staff, permanent or adhoc engaged for the elections, shall carry out their functions in line with global best practices. We are only interested in delivering credible elections and not who wins or loses,” he said.

    He apologized to Adamawa people over the postponement of the presidential and National Assembly elections and appealed to them not to be discouraged but to come out in large numbers to vote during the rescheduled election on Saturday.

  • Buhari, govs, service chiefs meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with service chiefs, Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu and some governors from the northern part of the country.

    The meeting started around 11am at the President’s office.

    Governors at the meeting included Adamawa State, Jibrilla Bindow, Borno State, Kashim Shettima, Kaduna State, Nasir el-Rufai.

    Also at the meeting were Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali, Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Danbazzau.

    Read Also: Buhari didn’t order Nigerians to be shot summarily, says Tinubu

    The meeting was not unconnected with the security situations in the country.

    The recent killings before the postponed presidential election at the weekend resulted in the death of some Nigerians in Kajuru, Kaduna State.

    The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

  • Bindow frees workers to travel for polls, preaches peace

    Governor Mohammed Jibrilla Bindow of Adamawa State has told civil servants to feel free to travel from their places of work to where they are registered for voting, but to do their voting in a most peaceful manner.

    The governor, in a statement signed and made available to the press on Thursday by the state Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Ahmad Sajor, emphasized a need for the electorate to place peaceful conduct above all other things.

    The statement reads, “The governor is particular about peaceful conduct during and after the elections. Citizens are enjoined to make sure that they obey all lawful instructions issued by both INEC and security agencies during and after the elections.

    Read Also: Bindow, deputy deny rift

    “His Excellency reminds Adamawa citizens to always bear in mind that elections are a means to an end and not ends in themselves, and that the most important consideration is the peace, progress and prosperity of Adamawa State.”

    The statement added that in view of restrictions on movement on election day, “civil servants who may have registered in locations other than their stations or places of abode have been permitted to make their travel arrangements… Consequently, His Excellency has directed that no civil servant shall be penalised for being absent from duty on account of having to travel to the place of their registration for the purpose of ensuring they cast their votes.”

     

  • Scores killed as Boko Haram attacks Madagali again

    Many people are feared dead after Boko Haram insurgents attacked four communities in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State.

    The insurgents invaded Madagali town, Gulak, Magar and Shuwa on Tuesday evening, killing and destroying properties before they were overpowered by soldiers who forced them to retreat.

    The Tuesday attack on Madagali was the third in nine days, after an attack on February 4 when three residents lost their lives and another on February 11 when a village head and a soldier were killed.

    The current attack forced many residents out of Madagali, including one Ruth Gauje, who fled to the state capital, Yola.

    She told our correspondent on Wednesday evening that at least one person died in Shuwa where she came from.

    “They killed Friday, a popular young man in our place,” she said.

    She also said a community leader in Madagali identified as Bulama and several other people died in the town.

    Some other sources, however, said most of the invading insurgents were killed unlike when they first launched attack on the Madagali LGA on February 4 and 11.

    Civilian and military sources in Madagali insisted the soldiers overpowered the insurgents after some exchanges of gunfire.

    Read Also; One soldier, two others killed as Boko Haram ambushes Shettima’s convoy

    The soldiers were said to have killed an unspecified number and seized weapons and vehicles of the terrorists.

    “Sounds of gunshots and heavy blasts rented the air as the battle between the soldiers and Boko Haram insurgents reigned, forcing the insurgents out into surrounding mountains and bushes,” a source said.

    The Adamawa State Police Public Relations Officer, Othman Abubakar, confirmed the killing and repelling of the Boko Haram insurgents but couldn’t confirm casualties.

    He told our correspondent a combined team of security personnel succeeded in decimating the Boko Haram insurgents.

    He, however, stated he had no information on the fatality among residents.

  • 17 years after disengagement, verification of 1,731 Savanah Sugar Company ex-workers begins

    The Pension Transition Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) of the Federal Government has commenced verification exercise for former workers of the Savannah Sugar Company, Numan, Adamawa State.

    The 1,571 affected workers were disengaged in 2002 when the company was privatised, following which they have failed to get their due disengagement benefits from successive governments till now.

    The Executive Secretary of PTAD, Sharon Ikeazor, in a statement in Yola Wednesday, said the verification exercise was in furtherance of President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to improve the welfare of Nigerian pensioners, “especially those neglected by previous administrations.”

    The verification of the ex-workers of the Savannah Sugar Company, which began on Monday at the Lelewal Hotel in Jimeta, Yola, will continue till Wednesday, February 13 when all the 1571 former workers are expected to have been verified through their letters of appointment, last promotion and disengagement from the company, among other requirements.

    The Savannah Sugar Company Ltd, a cane sugar manufacturing complex occupying a vast farmland in Numan, became a private venture upon its privatisation by the Federal Government.

    It is currently a subsidiary of the Dangote Group of companies.

    Read Also: Local sugar production begins in 2016, says Council

    Some of the ex-workers, who turned up for the verification exercise on Wednesday, expressed optimism they would, at last, be certified for their benefits after so many years of waiting.

    Mrs. Ronica Dickson, who said she served the company for 16 years before being laid off 17 years ago, said it had been terrible while she waited for her benefits.

    “This government has tried by this intervention. We believe we will at last get what is due to us.

    “It will be a huge relief because there have been so many things waiting to be done in our individual private lives,” she said.

    Chairman of the Retrenched Workers Association of the company, Mr. Polycap Mbande, also told newsmen at the venue of the verification exercise that the past 17 years had been tough for the ex-workers.

    “Hundreds have died and many are down with stroke, diabetes and other diseases because they can’t afford healthy food and they can’t meet their numerous needs,” he said.

  • Boko Haram: Elections’ll be restricted to 3 centres in Madagali

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is to restrict voting to only three centres in Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa State in the coming general elections.

    The state INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Kassim Gaidam, who disclosed this, said the decision was informed by security advice, but that election will hold at all polling centres in neighbouring Michika LGA and the rest of the state.

    Election did not hold in both Madagali and Michika LGAs in 2015 due to the violent activities of Boko Haram which had seized both LGAs earlier in 2014, and even after the LGAs were liberated in January 2015, the effects and fear of Boko Haram remained dominant up to the period of the 2015 elections and fleeing residents were availed opportunity to vote at special centres in the state capital, Yola.

    Gaidam spoke at a ‘Prevention of Election Violence and Education for Inclusion in Nigeria (PEV-EDI) programme, a programme of the European Union Centre for Electoral Support (ECES) at internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps in Malkohi and Fufore, through the state INEC Head of Public Affairs, Mrs Rifkatu Dukku who later specified, in a telephone interview Thursday, that voting in Madagali LGA would be restricted to Gulak Central Primary School, GSS Madagali and GSS Shuwa.

    Read Also: Air Force strikes Boko Haram in Borno

    “Right now what we have for IDP voting in Adamawa State is only in the Madagali LGA. Voting in the whole of Madagali is going to take place in Gulak Central Primary School; GSS Madagali and Shuwa. These are the only approved centres for the council,” she said.

    At the IDPs camp in Malkohi, in Yola South LGA, and in Fufore, headquarters of the Fufore LGA, the European Centre for Electoral Support had taken to the IDPs the campaign for electoral participation, in line with the goal of PEVI-EDI, which is to “increase marginalised groups’ participation in, and contribution to, electoral process through violence prevention and mitigation, voter education and inclusion, thereby supporting the successful conduct of the electoral process.”

    The ECES Senior Electoral Advisor, Dominique Werts and Inclusivity Advisor/ECES PEV-EDI Representative in Nigeria, Cathy Latiwa, both enjoined the IDPs to use their voting power in the scheduled general elections to elect the people who would give them the benefits they desire.