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Tag: Ahmed Marafa

  • Democracy Day: Please Have Faith in Us – Niger Speaker to Nigerians

    The Speaker of the Niger state House of Assembly, Honorable Ahmed Marafa has appealed to Nigerians to retain their faith in the APC led administration adding that given time, the administration would surpass their expectations.

    He stated that the government of APC came in with an unprecedented expectations from Nigerians but Nigerians are yet to be convinced based on what they expected from the administration.

    “The government of APC came in with an unprecedented expectation from Nigerians and to be sincere, a lot of Nigerians are yet to be convinced based on what they expected of this government at the federal level and even at the state level.

    “Nigerians should be patient,  they should please have faith in this government. I believe that with little time, we will be able to accomplish 70 per cent of their expectations. ”

    Read Also: ‘Nigerians yet to fully embrace trusteeship’

    Speaking to newsmen in Minna on Tuesday, the Speaker said that democracy day is not a period of celebration rather it should be used to take stock, analyse and reevaluate the government.

    He also called on Nigerians to intensify its prayers stressing that the nation is in a critical situation that only prayers can lead the people to the promise land.

    “Democracy day is a day of sober reflection, it is a period that we need to intensify our prayers and our patience because nothing comes easy. Right now, Nigeria is in a critical situation that only prayers can lead us to the promise land.

    “Right now, we do not need to start celebrating because we have not really achieved our major objective of providingvsime basic amenities to  Nigerians and Nigerlites. We should use it as a period of stocktaking, sit down and analyze our government, see areas we are performing and where we are not and see what we can do to improve it. ”

    Margaret who said that three years is not enough period for one to assess a government considering that a particular government have been in in power for 16 years stated that objectively the APC administration had done relatively well.

  • Niger Assembly passes N134.28 bn 2018 budget

    The Niger  House of Assembly on Thursday passed the 2018 appropriation bill of N134.286 billion.

    The figure showed an increase of  N6billion  from the N128.10billion presented by the  governor on Dec. 14, 2017.

    The passage followed the presentation of the report of the Committee on Appropriation and Planning.

    Tagged “The Peoples Budget,” it  set aside N53.244billion for recurrent expenditure as against N52.15billion and N81.42billion for capital expenditure as against N75.858billion budgeted by the executive.

    Presenting the report on the budget, Mr Muhammad Lokogoma, Chairman of  the Planning and Appropriation Committee, said that the House interfaced with various Ministries, Departments and Agencies in the course of scrutinising the budget.

    Lokogoma said the adjustments were made in areas critical to the policy direction of the present administration in the state  with the aim  of sourcing for more revenue to finance them.

    “In as much as it was the desire of the committee to accommodate increases recommended by various committees, we were constrained by inadequate resources,’’ he said.

    He said the  committee observed lack of synergy between the Ministry of Finance and the Planning Commission in the area of information sharing, adding that it was seriously affecting the budgetary  process in the state.

    “The lack of synergy between the planning commission and Ministry of Finance is seriously hampering the budgetary  process in the state.

    “The committee is particularly concerned with the barrier created between the two organisations in the area of information sharing.

    “There is therefore need for the two to work together to ensure effective budgetary  process and financial management,” he added

    The committee also decried the late submission of the budget which resulted in hasty scrutiny, urging the executive to always submit the budget in the first week of October for thorough scrutiny and timely passage.

    In his remarks, the Speaker of the House, Alhaji Ahmed Marafa, thanked the committee members for working tirelessly to  ensure  the passage of the law.

    Marafa said  that the budget when fully implemented would  accelerate speedy urban and rural development.

    He directed the clerk to forward clean copies of the budget to the governor for his assent.

    NAN

  • APC is the best thing to happen to Niger – Speaker

    APC is the best thing to happen to Niger – Speaker

    The Speaker of Niger State House of Assembly, Alhaji Ahmed Marafa, said the All Progressive Congress (APC)-led government in the state was the best thing to happen to the state.

    Marafa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Minna that the achievements of the government in two years was unequalled by any past administration in the state.

    “I want to say that the past two years have been a worthwhile journey filled with lot of success stories.

    “For those that know Niger state and will be very sincere in their assessment, they will admit that the level of development achieved by this government in two years is unequalled by any past administration.

    “The best thing that has happened to Niger state and Nigeria is the government of APC because of what we’ve been able to do.

    “Today, there is no ward you will go to in the state and not find one landmark project or the other and I stand to be challenged on this,’’ he said.

    He said that the state government had made giant strides in water supply, road construction, education, health among others.

    According to Marafa, the waterworks in the state have been totally overhauled and today, people who had given up on water running in their taps have a reason to smile.

    “We have also embarked on roads construction which have opened up the state and greatly improved economic activities.

    “Education is not left out as schools are being repositioned and rehabilitated under the whole school approach and before 2019 we should have at least 30 standard secondary schools,” he added.

    He commended the governor’s prudence in the management of limited resources available to the state.

    “We have never had a governor so prudent financially like Gov. Abubakar Bello.

    “He sleeps and wakes up thinking about what next to do for Niger and not what he can gain from the state. It is rare to have such a governor” the speaker said.

    On his social services in his constituency, he said that he had offered educational support to 300 students in tertiary institutions.

    According to Marafa, who represents Chanchaga in the assembly, the gesture was part of my efforts to support the educational pursuit of youths in his constituency.

    “When I came on board, I decided to make education a priority because of its importance in our lives.’’

    He also disclosed that he had taken up the responsibility of kitting pupils in three primary schools with uniforms.

    On health, the lawmaker revealed that he was working on a proposal for a health insurance scheme for people in the informal sector.

    “Most insurance policies only cover the formal sector, so I decided to do the unthinkable by setting up a health insurance capturing only the informal sector.

    “The project will cost me about N70 million and I have been saving towards that and hopefully, very soon it will be launched.’’

    He said that the scheme would commence with 10,000 people, adding that treatment and drugs will be free for pregnant women, children of 0 to five years while others would pay only 10 per cent of the cost of drugs.

  • Niger Assembly passes 13 bills in two years

    Niger Assembly passes 13 bills in two years

    The Niger State House of Assembly has passed 13 bills since it came on board in June 2015, its Speaker, Alhaji Ahmed Marafa, said on Saturday in Minna.

    Marafa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that 10 of the bills had been signed into law by Governor Abubakar Bello.

    He said that nine other bills were at various stages of committee scrutiny, adding that such scrutiny usually focus on their possible impact on the lives of the citizens.

    “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,” he said.

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

    He also commended the governor’s prudence in the management of limited resources, and promised that the House of Assembly would offer every support necessary to make Niger better.

    Marafa also reacted to suggestions that the legislature was a “mere rubber stamp to the executive”.

    “The two arms of government don’t always have to be at loggerheads; we believe that Niger will gain more if we work together toward a common goal.

    “If people feel we are rubber stamps because we are giving the executive the support it needs to move the state forward, then so be it.

    “When you hear of legislature-executive friction, often times it has to do with personal interest. In Niger, we do not allow such private interest to becloud our judgement and focus,” he added.

  • Niger to recruit 267 health personnel in 2017

    The Niger Government on Wednesday said it had concluded arrangements to employ 267 healthcare workers as part of efforts to boost the health sector in the state.

    The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr Makun Sidi, disclosed this when he led the state’s Health Care Financing Technical Working Committee on an advocacy visit to the state’s House of Assembly.

    He said “last year, we had approval to engage 110 health workers, out of which, 30 were doctors.

    “This year, we would recruit 267, out of which, five would be consultants.

    “Suffice to say that today, Niger has 18 consultants in different areas of specialisation as against few years ago when we had four or five.”

    The permanent secretary, who noted that the remuneration of health workers in the state was poor, appealed for improvement in that regard.

    According to him, the General Hospital, Minna, records 600 child deliveries
    monthly.

    Sidi said the executive would send a bill seeking to domesticate the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in the state.

    The Health Care Financing Technical Working Committee then appointed the Speaker of the House, Alhaji Ahmed Marafa, as champion of the State Health Insurance Scheme.

    In his remarks, the Speaker assured that the bill would be passed into law in record time when it was presented to the House.

    Marafa maintained that the domestication of the NHIS had become necessary, as health issues were capital intensive.