The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Adamawa

  • NYSC honours corps members for exemplary conduct in Adamawa

    The State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ) in Adamawa, Malam Abubakar Mohammed, said on Monday that no fewer than eight 2018 Batch “B” corps members posted to the state had been honoured in camp during their orientation.

    Mohammed said at the closing ceremony of the Batch B orientation course in Damare Camp, near Yola, that the corps members were honoured for for exemplary conduct during the exercise.

    He said that the honoured corps members displayed high sense of patriotism, honesty and integrity.

    The coordinator commended corps members who found and returned to the owners items such as cash, handset, kits and other valuables.

    “To this end, we issued them with letters of commendation for exemplary conduct of patriotism, honesty and integrity,” Mohammed said.

    He said that the NYSC programme had moulded the corps members to be good Nigerians who are optimistic about the future of the country.

    “I am pleased to, on behalf of the Director General NYSC, Brig.-Gen. S. Z. Kazaure, boldly present to the government and people of Adamawa state a new breed of change agents, who are ready to partner with the government in making life better for our people in all nooks and crannies of the state,” Mohammed said.

    The coordinator thanked the Adamawa Government for its support to the scheme, and appealed for the state for the construction of a perimeter fence around the camp for security reasons.

    He also called for assistance in the provision of additional fans in hostels to make them more comfortable for corps members and officials.

    Read Also: NYSC to prioritise corps members’ welfare – DG

    In his remarks, Gov. Muhammadu Bindow, represented by the Deputy Governor, Mr Martins Babale, lauded the corps members for their good conduct and commitment to participate in achieving the purpose of the scheme.

    He assured them of government commitment to ensure their safety and security in the state.

    “We have put in place adequate measures to ensure your security and safety anywhere you may find yourselves in all nooks and crannies of this state.

    “Similarly, I want to assure you of the warm reception and acceptance in all communities. You will also be accorded maximum cooperation, which will assure you of a hitch-free and memorable service year,” Bindow said.

  • Bindow replaces two former APC commissioners in Adamawa

    Governor Mohammed Bindow of Adamawa has sworn-in two new commissioners to replace the two that left his cabinet of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to join the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    In the ceremony on Monday, Bindow said that the two new commissioners were to replace Alhaji Yayaji Mijinyawa of Ministry of Lands and Survey and Alhaji Umar Daware of Ministry of Commerce and Industry who resigned.

    He said that their resignation was not connected to any form of political rancour or misunderstanding with his administration, but their intention to pursue their political career.

    Read Also: Bindow:  I’ve nothing to do with Atiku’s rally

    While extolling their loyalty and support to his government, the governor wished them well in their future endeavuors.

    The newly sworn-in commissioners are Alhaji Usman Tukur from Fufore Local Government and Iliyasu Bello from Yola North Local Government.

    Tukur, who spoke on behalf of his colleague, promised their loyalty and support to the political dream of the governor.
    Tukur assured the governor of their commitment to work tirelessly to make Adamawa a progressive state in all spheres.

     

    NAN

  • Bindow condemns report linking him with Atiku’s rally

    Gov. Muhammadu Bindow of Adamawa has described as “malicious and false” an online report alleging that he gave N70 million to organisers of Saturday’s rally in Yola by former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, a presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party.

    Bindow in a statement Sunday by his Special Adviser Press and Media Affairs, Mr Martins Dickson, said the report trying to portray him as engaging in anti party activities was cheap blackmail by those worried over his rising profile and that of APC in the state.

    “The publication is false, malicious, misleading and an attempt to mask the rising profile, good virtues and sacrifice of Sen. Bindow in upholding and promoting APC as the most popular party in Adamawa.

    “The authors of the fabricated lies have run out of substance with which to discredit him and have resorted to cheap blackmail and childish stories.”

    Read also: Gunmen kill 18 in Adamawa village raid

    The statement urged journalists and the media to always strive to verify their facts and be professional in their operation.

    “The good work of APC under Bindow is spread glaringly across the 21 local government areas of the state for all to see and there’s no amount of falsehood that will make anyone believe that a governor and party that have done so well in the state will be involved in any form of clandestine anti-party activity”.

    The statement reiterated the governor’s commitment to remain focused on fulfilling his campaign promises in line with his party’s manifesto.

  • Killings: Adamawa assures of more security to troubled areas

    Adamawa Government on Thursday said more security personnel would be deployed to areas of conflicts in the state, to safeguard lives and properties.

    The state Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Mr Ahmad Sajoh, told the our reporter in Yola that the decision was arrived at after an emergency security council meeting on Wednesday.

    NAN reports that the state is witnessing clashes between farmers and herdsmen, particularly in Guyuk, Demsa and Numan local government areas.

    Sajoh said the meeting chaired by the Deputy Governor, Mr Martins Babale agreed that urgent action be taken to contain the ugly development.

    “The governor has seriously frowned at the spate and frequency of the attacks and vowed to mobilise all resources to ensure that the situation is brought to a halt as soon as possible.

    “Consequently, the governor directed the Deputy Governor to convene the urgent security council meeting to ensure swift and prompt deployment of all security forces to the affected areas.

    “During the meeting at Government House, the heads of security agencies in the state assured that all necessary steps will be taken to contain the situation.

    “The heads of security agencies also assured that additional combined team of the army, police and civil defence will move to affected areas immediately,” the commissioner said.

    Read Also: Find lasting solution to farmers, herders crisis – NANS tells FG

    According to him, the State Emergency Management Agency and Ministry of Health have been directed by the governor to immediate supply food, non food items and medication to affected communities.

    “As I speak to you, the supply for affected communities in Guyuk local government had been effected, while a high powered government delegation is on its way to commiserate with the people and assess the situation.”

    Sajoh urged the people of Adamawa to embrace peace and dialogue in resolving conflicts, warning that the government would no longer condone any violent act capable of undermining peace and development in the state.

  • Adamawa records 1,564 cases of cholera

    Adamawa State has recorded 1,564 cases of cholera this year, Director of Disease Control Department (DCD), Adamawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency (ASPHCDA), Dr Amos Ujulu, has said.

    Ujulu addressed the State Executive Council meeting in Yola yesterday on the outbreak of cholera.

    According to him, over 100 communities were affected by the outbreak in the north.

    Ujulu listed Maiha, Mubi North and Mubi South as councils affected, adding that the disease further spread to some parts of Cameroon.

  • Plateau killings: PDP knocks Presidency for kicking against call for mourning

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has expressed shock at a statement credited to the Presidency justifying its failure to stem the tide of killings and bloodletting in the country, particularly in the Plateau, Zamfara,  Benue, Yobe, Adamawa, Borno, Kogi, Taraba and other troubled states.

    In a statement on Thursday by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, the Presidency had condemned PDP’s call for seven days mourning in honour of the over 200 villagers killed in Plateau State on Sunday.

    In a statement on Thursday by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, the opposition party said it’s reprehensible that the Presidency had displayed its usual arrogance and insensitivity too the mood of the nation.

    The statement said, “It is disturbing that even in death, the Buhari Presidency still wants to deny these victims of callous murder the honour of being mourned.

    Read Also: Oshiomhole to Presidency, National Assembly: I’ll uphold party supremacy

    “We are particularly appalled that instead of joining Nigerians in mourning the dead and seeking ways to stem the escalation of the bloodletting under its watch, the Buhari Presidency is engaged in morbid reference to past killings as if the lives of Nigerians have no value under President Buhari’s watch.

    “The PDP, as a party, will continue to identify with Nigerians at this troubled time irrespective of ethnic, religious and political affiliations and will therefore not allow itself to be dragged into a needless mire with the Buhari Presidency, which has shown by its statement, that it has no iota of regard for the lives of Nigerians.

    “PDP urges the Buhari Presidency to confront the challenge of fulfilling the basic responsibility of governance by providing security to the lives and property of all Nigerians, irrespective of their creed, tribe and political affiliations.

    “Finally, the PDP assures Nigerians that we will not be deterred in speaking out against the killings and the failure of the Buhari administration to take concrete steps to stem this ugly tide”.

  • $322m Abacha loot: Cash transfers to poor homes begin in July

    The Federal Government says it will commence disbursement of the recovered 322 million dollars Abacha loot through Conditional Cash Transfers (CCT) to 302,000 poor households in 19 states in July.

    Mr Tukur Rumar, of the National Cash Transfer Office (NTCO), said this at a roundtable on assets recovery organised by the Swiss Embassy on Thursday, in Abuja.

    The event was organised to intimate citizens and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on the efforts both nations were making on asset recovery after the Post-Global Forum on Assets Recovery (GFAR) held in Washington D.C. in Dec. 2017.

    At the forum, Nigeria made commendable commitments on beneficial ownership, tax transparency, asset recovery, transparency management of recovered funds and payments to victims of corruption.

    The states are: Niger, Kogi, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Kwara, Cross River, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarrawa, Anambra and Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) in Borno.

    According to Rumar, the benefiting households will receive N5,000 monthly and are derived from the National Social Register (NSR) that the 19 states are already on.

    He said the programme was designed to also train beneficiaries on livelihood skills, social skills and other programmes that would change their lives completely.

    Rumar, however, said that NCTO had been making payments to the 46,000 poor and vulnerable households across the 19 states since Dec. 2016, adding that the number had increased to 290,000.

    Mr Iorwa Apera, the National Coordinator, National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO), said 503,055 households were already on the NSR register from the 19 states, adding that by July, there would be a social register for all the states of the federation.

    He said that of the Abacha loot, about 302,000 poor homes across the 19 states would be mined by the NCTO to begin to receive the Abacha loot.

    Apera told the participants that the Federal Government would begin with those states, because they had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NASSCO to put in place certain infrastructure to empower the national register.

    “Some of the states delayed, but the other ones were quick enough to set up infrastructure that allowed us to start work there, but all the states are now on board as they have set up their state operating offices and donated office equipment to us.

    “As states come on board, we enroll and so they extend to the beneficiary register, and presently we are generating data in all the states now,’’ he said.

    Read Also: EFCC launches probe as $500m Abacha loot goes missing

    Mrs Linda Ekeator of the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment said the Abacha loot was invested in the social investment programme, because it was a programme that was already supported by the World Bank.

    She said that before the money was returned to Nigeria, there was an agreement with the Swiss government that it should be used for alleviating poverty and this was to be done with the supervision of the World Bank.

    The Swiss Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Eric Mayoraz said the 722 million dollars of the Abacha family money that was hidden in Switzerland was fully repatriated in 2005.

    He also said that the 322 million dollars that was repatriated in Dec. 2017, was money that was frozen by the Swiss Attorney-General, but was not domiciled in Switzerland, but in other countries, mainly Luxembourg.

    He, however, said measures had been put in place to ensure that Swiss banks were not used to hide stolen funds from other countries.

    “For possible new cases, the Swiss legislation has fundamentally changed.

    “The law in Switzerland does not allow bank secrecy anymore, and all banks and financial institutions have a due diligence duty to ask everyone coming with money where it is coming from.

    “That does not mean that there are no illegal or stolen assets now in Switzerland, but then there is another instrument I signed myself with the Nigerian Ministry of Justice and Switzerland two years ago on mutual legal assistance and this is for new cases.

    “Now, this agreement with our own Ministry of Justice and Nigeria is that there will be direct communication and exchange on mutual legal request and we are really collaborating with EFCC and other agencies in Nigeria,’’ Mayoraz.

    The Executive Director, ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor, said for Nigerian citizens to not keep spreading rumours about the whereabouts of recovered loots, the government must be transparent in all the processes.

    He also said that CSOs should be given access to the social register to enable it monitor properly whether or not the beneficiaries received what was due to them.

  • Cholera: 24 new cases recorded in Adamawa – official

    Adamawa Ministry of Health yesterday confirmed 24 new cases of cholera in the state.

    A statement on cholera update issued by the Information Officer of the ministry, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar, said the new cases, which have no death, were recorded in Maiha, Mubi North and Mubi South local government areas.

    It said 10 cases were recorded in Mubi South, eight in Maiha and six in Mubi North.

    It said that epidemiological summary of the cases so far as from May 1 to June 22 showed that 1,388 cases with 25 deaths were recorded in the four affected local government areas of Hong, Maiha, Mubi North and Mubi South.

    Hong with fatality rate of 0 percent recorded seven cases with no death, Maiha also has fatality rate of 0 percent with 16 cases recorded with no death.

    Mubi North has 557 cases with 13 deaths or fatality rate of 2.1 percent while Mubi South with fatality rate of 1.5 per cent recorded 808 cases with 12 deaths.

     

     

  • NiMet predicts thunderstorms, rains on Thursday

    The Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) has predicted prospects of thunderstorms with rains over the central states such as Makurdi, Jos, Taraba, Kaduna, Adamawa, Nasarawa, Abuja, Bauchi and Gombe on Thursday morning.

    NiMet’s Weather Outlook by its Central Forecast Office in Abuja on Wednesday also predicted day and night temperatures in the range of 26 to 30 and 18 to 24 degrees Celsius respectively.

    It added that Bida, Minna, Abuja, Lafia, Lokoja, Jos and Ilorin axis were envisaged to experience thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening hours.

    The agency predicted that the southern states would experience moderate rains over the entire coastal cities and southeast inland such as Enugu, Owerri, Awka and Abakaliki axis in the morning hours.

    It also predicted localised rain/showers over the coastal and inland states later in the day with day and night temperatures in the range of 28 to 30 and 21 to 24 degrees Celsius respectively.

    According to NiMet, northern states will experience thunderstorms with rains over Maiduguri, Nguru, Katsina, Kano and Dutse axis in the morning hours.

    “Sokoto, Gusau, Yelwa and Kebbi will have prospects of thunderstorm with rains in the afternoon and evening hours with day and night temperatures of 33 to 37 and 21 to 27 degrees Celsius respectively.

    “There are prospects of thunderstorms and rains over several parts of the country with varying intensities in the next 24 hours,” NiMet predicts.

  • Adamawa Cholera Outbreak: WHO deploys 39 staff to Mubi

    The World Health Organization (WHO) has deployed 39 staff to contain the outbreak of cholera in Mubi North and Mubi South South Local Government Areas of Adamawa.

    A statement from Chima Onuekwe, the Health Emergencies Communication Officer of WHO, made available to Our Reporter in Yola on Tuesday, said there were plans to engage additional 15 ad-hoc personnel to boost the medical efforts.

    The statement which noted that 434 suspected cases had been recorded with 13 deaths as at May 26, described the development as worrisome.

    It said that WHO was coordinating the response activities, including active surveillance within communities and health facilities, management of reported cases as well as daily review meeting at the Emergency Operations Centre, to ensure timely control of the outbreak.

    Meanwhile, the Adamawa Commissioner for Health, Dr Fatima Atiku, said that the state was collaborating with WHO and other partners to ensure that the outbreak was contained.

    Atiku said that the efforts were yielding results as indicated in the decline in the trend of case fatality ratio, which was 17 per cent as at May 12, but reduced to 3 per cent.