The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Almakura

  • Almakura opens road in Karu

    Almakura opens road in Karu

    Nasarawa State Governor Tanko Almakura yesterday inaugurated a four-kilometre road in Uke, Karu Local Government Area.

    He said the project was in furtherance of his administration’s commitment to open up rural communities. The governor promised to link the road from Karshi to Apo in Abuja.

    Almakura said his administration would work with the Federal Government to ensure that the Mararaba Nyanya is decongested, saying as a policy, his government built three kilometre roads in each of the councils.

    The governor added that his administration built over 200 kilometres of asphalt roads.

    Almakura, who presented the first Staff of Office to the Emir of Karshi, Dr. Sani Muhammadu Bako III, urged communities to promote peaceful co-existence, despite ethnic, religious and political diversities.

    According to him, his administration has overhauled the infrastructural landscape of Karu, saying the government committed enormous resources to provide roads, potable water, mass housing, economic and marketing outlets, in the quest to enhance socio-economic activities.

    He said he would open roads to connect Karshi to the FCT.

  • ‘Almakura does not deserve vote of confidence’

    ‘Almakura does not deserve vote of confidence’

    Hon. Omar Nurudeen is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State. In this interview with TONY AKOWE, he speaks on the recent vote of confidence passed on Governor Tanko Almakura by the House of Assembly.

    The Nasarawa State House of Assembly recently passed a vote of confidence on the  governor. How would you react to this development.

    As a politician from Nasarawa State, I believe that what the House of Assembly did is wrong because they are empowered by the constitution to check the excesses of the executive. That is why we have separation of powers. We thank God that the legislature is an arm of government itself and not under the executive. They should borrow a leave from what is happening at the national level and do justice to the people they were elected to represent. They should strive to live up to their responsibility. Unfortunately, they have become puppets in the hand of the governor. They were not elected to pass a vote of confidence on the governor, who has not been paying staff salaries as and when due. For about two years now, the governor has been paying salaries of local government workers on percentage basis. As elected representatives of the people, they should call the governor and ask him, why it should be so even after collecting the bail out funds and even the Paris loan refund? They should ask him what he is doing with the money. As we speak, three of the tertiary institutions in the state are on strike. These are College of Agriculture, Lafia, Nasarawa state Polytechnic, Lagos and College of Education, Akwanga. With these problems on ground in the state, how can they pass a vote of confidence on the governor?

    Do you see this as a distraction so that people won’t know the real problems on ground?

    I think they are afraid of what happened with the PDP-dominated house from 2011 to 2015 who constantly fought the governor in line with the interest of the different parties. Many of those people did not make it back to the house. What they have in mind now is that they are looking for reelection and so, don’t want to rock the boat so that they will get the endorsement of the governor to return to the house. We learnt that the President told the governors to diversify and not depend too much on federal allocation. But despite our proximity to Abuja which should be an advantage to boast internally generated revenue, our governor has never told us how much he generates monthly. Look at Plateau state declaring about N2 billion every month. The same thing applies to several states in the country. But we don’t know what we generate monthly in Nasarawa state. I think it is the duty of the state Assembly to call him to account for what is generated and how it is spent. He collected the Paris loan refund and yet the tertiary institutions are on strike and what that means is that the governor has diverted out money. Other wise, he should tell us what he is doing with that kind of money.

    You think the bridges and culverts he constructed have no bearing on the lives of the people of the state.

    I don’t believe that there are bridges and culvert constructed by the government. Are we living in a river line state? Nasarawa state is a flat land. How many rivers do we have in Nasarawa that somebody is telling you that he constructed bridges. It is surprising to me for the Assembly to say they have pass a vote of confidence on the governor for constructing a bridge which is not contained in the budget. They should know that the governor has no right to spend money that has not been appropriated for. They should check their records to see if the culverts and bridges are contained in the budget. The governor is running the stage like his personal estate and the Assembly is not able to call him to order. They should strive to do what is right so that the people will say we have elected vibrant representatives and not puppets that will dance to the tune of the governor.

    People will be wondering why you are criticising the governor since you are in the same party.

    That is the beauty of democracy. If you look at President Trump, the greatest criticism against him during his campaign was from his party members. I am not bothered about party affiliation. The Nasarawa state House of Assembly is made up of 24 members and 22 of them are APC members. Let us sympathise with the workers and the people of the state as well as what is happening in the state, if we want to see development in the state. We don’t have too many civil servants in the state, but let the governor do what is good and leave a legacy behind. During his campaigns, he promised that money spent in running the government will be made public, but from 2011 till date, he has never told the people how much he receives as federal allocation, how much he received from ecological fund and the internally generated revenue. Most of the projects he claimed to have executed are carried out by a company he has interest in. The contracts has not followed due process or through public procurement.

    Why do you think other party leaders in the state are keeping quite?

    Nasarawa is a place where people don’t want to come out and speak against the governor. I don’t know their reason. But, I cannot shy away from my responsibility because I have never worked with him. I have never received any contract from the state and I am not looking for one. So, I can express myself. I am using this opportunity to challenge the governor to fulfill his promise to the people. He should tell us what he has collected as allocation since 2011 and also take the challenge posed by el-Rufai and make public his security vote so that we will know that what he collects is actually not enough to pay salaries.

  • Almakura appoints press secretary

    Almakura appoints press secretary

    Nasarawa State Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura yesterday appointed a press secretary.

    He is Ahmed Tukur, who has been practising journalism for about 15 years.

    The announcement brought to an end, the tenure of Yakubu Lamai, who took over from Iliyasu Yakubu.

    Lamai, according to the announcement, has been moved to serve as the governor’s senior special adviser.

    Tukur was the bureau chief of the Blue Print and served as the secretary of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Nasarawa State council.

  • Indicted persons in Nasarawa killings won’t go unpunished, says Almakura

    Indicted persons in Nasarawa killings won’t go unpunished, says Almakura

    Governor  Tanko Al-Makura  of Nasarawa State yesterday vowed to bring to justice all persons indicted by the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the ethnic clashes that claimed the lives of scores of  security personnel last year.

    Emerging from a meeting  with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa Abuja, the governor told reporters that  government was doing everything possible to ensure lasting peace in the state.

    The Police are already investigating the criminal aspect of the report, he said.

    This is  with a view to prosecuting all those  indicted.

    He described the resurgence of  crisis in the state as unfortunate, but declined to speak on the alleged fresh attempt by the members of the State House of Assembly to impeach him.

    He merely dismissed it as  speculative.

    He said that he would not speak on what was not real and that he would  cross the bridge whenever he gets there.

    The governor said that his visit to the President was to update him on the  security situation in the state.

    On  steps  being taken to end ethnic crisis in the state, he said, “We found it very necessary to invite all stakeholders for what we called peace summit because we have come to realize that the issue of security should not be left on the hands of government security operatives alone.”

    “Already the government of Nasarawa State has an initiative of community based resolution mechanism which will bring all stakeholders together to discuss mutual interest especially as it affects security. We believe that where you have the participation of all, you find it easy to solve the problem and we will have lessen the burden and responsibility of when to take care of the situation.”

  • Almakura worried about communal crises

    Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State has said he is worried about the incessant communal crises that have affected development in the state.

    The governor, who spoke yesterday when he swore in the new Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mrs. Zainab Abdulmunin, at the Government House in Lafia, said: “The scarce resources that ought to be channelled towards the well-being of the people are being used to maintain peace and provide security.”

    He went on: “This is unacceptable. It is for this reason that I urge everybody to embrace peace. A harmonious co-existence is essential for the realisation of our developmental aspirations.”

    He said no government could afford to toy with the security of life and property of its citizens.

    Almakura told the new SSG to eschew primordial sentiments and corrupt tendencies.

    He said: “You must see the entire state as your constituency by treating all and sundry fairly, equally, objectively and above all with the fear of God.”

    The governor described Mrs. Abdulmunin as a time-tested academic and resourceful bureaucrat, whose track record has qualified her for the new assignment.

    He added: “I trust that she will live up to the expectations of the government and people of Nasarawa State.”

    Governor Almakura said the dissolution of the previous executive council was part of the process of reinvigorating the public service for enhanced performance and productivity.

     

  • Almakura appoints SSG

    Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State has appointed Hajiya Zainab Abdulmumini as the Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    She is the first woman SSG since the state was created in 1996.

    A statement by the permanent secretary in the state’s general administration reads:

    “Umaru Tanko Almakura, the Governor of Nasarawa State, has approved the appointment of Hajiya Zainab Abdulmumini as the Secretary to the Nasarawa State Government (SSG).

    “The new appointee will be sworn in by the governor at a later date.”

    The appointment of Hajiya Abdulmumini followed Governor Almakura’s dissolution of his executive council.

    As at yesterday, it was not known when new commissioners would be appointed.

     

  • Almakura to implement report on clash

    Governor Umaru Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State has promised to implement the recommendations of a commission of enquiry that investigated the November 2012 Agyaragu mayhem in Jenkwe Local Development Area of the state.

    He swore in the new chief judge, Justice Suleiman Umarru Dikko, yesterday.

    The governor, who spoke at the Government House, said on November 21, last year, residents of Agyaragu town in Jenkwe Local Development Area were jolted by a communal violence, which resulted in loss of life and property.

    He thanked the commission for a good job, saying he would adhere to the recommendations contained in the document.

    “While I thank members of the commission for their selfless service search for abducted foreigners, he assured them that government would study the report with a view to implementing the recommendations.

    Swearing in the new chief judge, Justice Umarru Dikko yesterday, Governor Almakura said his wealth of experience would help him in the task, adding: “As the head of the judicial arm of government, you are the symbol of fairness, equity, justice and objectivity, which are the qualities a civilised society yearns for.”

    Justice Umaru Dikko was first sworn in as the Acting Chief Judge of the state following the retirement of the occupant of the office at the end of last year.