The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Benue

  • Makurdi flood : 110,000 persons, 24 communities displaced

    Makurdi flood : 110,000 persons, 24 communities displaced

    More than 110,000 persons in 24 communities, including Makurdi, have been displaced by flood in Benue state.

    The Executive Secretary of the the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Mr Boniface Ortese who disclosed the this on Wednesday said  over 2, 769 households were also affected.

    He explained that places affected included Achusa, Idye, Wurukum Market, Genabe, Industrial Layout, Demekpe, Wadata Market, Katungu, behind the Civil Service Commission, Agboughul-Wadata among others in Makurdi.

    “In Achusa, 200 houses were affected with 5,125 persons displaced, in Idye 217 houses while 5,200 persons were displaced.

    “Also, behind the Civil Service Commission, 200 houses were submerged in flood and 5,777 persons were displaced.

    “At Genabe, 200 houses were affected with 5,021 persons displaced, 218 houses around the Wurukum market were affected with 1,000 persons displaced, and at Wadata market150 houses were affected and 4,300 persons were displaced.

    “Similarly at Industrial layout, 69 houses were flooded and 4,310 persons displaced; Demekpe 111 houses were affected while 7,820 persons displaced,’’ the official said..

    Ortese further said that 137 houses were flooded in Katungu, with 6,031 persons displaced while at Agboughul-Wadata 201 houses were affected and 5,728 persons displaced.

    He said government was doing everything within its little resources to assist flood victims in the state.

    The State Government has however announced the official opening of two camps for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the state.

    Gov. Samuel Ortom made the announcement after inspecting flooded areas within Makurdi and its environs.

    Ortom said the empty International Market and the Presidential Building at Agan Toll Gate would become camps for IDPs, pending when water level would subside.

    He explained that his administration would do everything possible to provide minimum comfort to all displaced persons while in camps.

    He added that “as you can see, the level of flood water is increasing, more houses are being submerged and more of our people are displaced.

    “We hope Federal Government will come to our aid as soon as possible; the flood committee headed by my deputy will ensure that victims have minimum comfort while in the camps”.

     

     

  • Benue: Herdsmen, others endorse November deadline for anti-gazing law

    Benue: Herdsmen, others endorse November deadline for anti-gazing law

    Stakeholders in Benue on Monday agreed to begin the implementation of the 2017 Anti-Open Grazing Law in November.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the law, which was signed by Gov. Samuel Ortom in June, gave herdsmen a deadline of October to end open grazing and replace same with ranching from Nov. 1.

    The stakeholders formally endorsed the deadline at the expanded State Security Council meeting held at the Benue People’s House, Makurdi.

    The stakeholders advised government to step up enlightenment ahead of the deadline, in view of the importance of the law.

    They also agreed that the law was not targeted at any tribe or group of persons, and urged all Benue residents to support it.

    NAN quotes Ortom as explaining that the expanded security meeting was to enlighten all stakeholders about the law and how it would be implemented.

    Ortom further said that ranching was the best system of cattle rearing the world over, stressing that his administration was willing to support herdsmen or people willing to stay in Benue and ranch their cows.

    He denied reports that government had given quit notice to herdsmen in Benue, explaining that they were free to remain in Benue “so long as they obey the law”.

    “The law does not provide that herdsmen should leave Benue; it only encourages herdsmen and any other individual, who wishes to rear livestock, to do so within ranches so as to minimise clashes between herdsmen and farmers.”

    Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers, Prof. James Ayatse, the Tor Tiv and Chairman, Benue State Council of Chiefs, commended the government for the steps so far taken toward implementing the law.

    Ayatse, who was represented by Tor Kwande, Chief Ambrose Iortyer, urged herdsmen to embrace change as ranching was the best option worldwide.

    In his remarks, the Benue Coordinator of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN), Alhaji Garus Gololo, said that his members were law-abiding citizens ready to support the anti-open grazing law.

    Gololo said that his association was not behind the suit against the Benue Government over the law, explaining that Miyetti Allah Kautal Kohe leadership were behind the court action.

  • Flood: Benue Radio, market, seven communities submerged in Makurdi

    Flood: Benue Radio, market, seven communities submerged in Makurdi

    Benue Radio Station, Wurukum Market and seven other communities have being submerged following Saturday night heavy downpour in Makurdi.

    The State Commissioners for Land, Survey and Solid Minerals, Mr Bernard Unenge, and Water Resources and Environment, Mr Joseph Utsev went round the town for situation report on Sunday.

    Ustev explained that the ministry needed adequate funds to mitigate the situation, adding that the disaster was caused by blocked drainages in some areas.

    He said that the Transmission House of Radio Benue, Wurukum Market, and Low Level were submerged as a result of the downpour.

    Other communities affected were Welfare Quarters, Benue State University community, New Kanshio village, Rice Mill Wadata as well as Idye and Achusa villages.

    He urged the Federal Government to include Benue among the states to benefit from the N1.6 billion ecological intervention funds for states affected by flood disasters.

    The commissioner said that the state has not received any ecological assistance from the Federal Government since 2013.

    “Benue Government is looking for ways in which River Benue can be dredged. This is because by dredging the river, majority of the water can be accommodated to prevent future overflow.

    “The ongoing research so far, showed that the preliminary study will cost about N8 billion while the main project will gulp about N300 billion.

    “This is where we need Federal Government financial intervention to execute the project, since the funds are much.”

    He said that the dredging would also encourage economic activities to be serviced by the state’s Cargo Airport.

    Also speaking to NAN, Unenge said that the government would immediately relocate the traders at the Wurukum Market to the International Market.

    He said that government was ready to provide additional land for the traders in case the International Market was not sufficient.

    The Executive Secretary Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), Dr Boniface Ortese told NAN during the inspection of the affected areas that proactive measures have been put in place to address the situation.

    He said that all relevant authorities in the country were communicated, adding that the agency would soon open the IDPs camp at North Bank.

    NAN reports that several households, property and electrical polls were destroyed in the state capital.

    NAN recalls that no fewer than 4,000 houses were submerged in the 2012 flooding which also destroyed property worth millions of naira.

  • Police confirm assassination of Benue governor’s aide

    Police confirm assassination of Benue governor’s aide

    The Benue Police Command has confirmed the assassination of Mr Tavershima Adyorough, Principal Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Samuel Ortom on Knowledge Economy and Investment.

    Adyorough was also a member of the Benue Economic Team.

    Mr Bashir Makama, Police Commissioner in Benue, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Makurdi, that Adyorough was assassinated in the early hours of Sunday.

    “He was killed in his house by bandits, who also shot his wife. The woman is currently responding to treatment at a government hospital in Makurdi,” he said.

    The commissioner said that the motive of the killing was yet to be established, but expressed optimism that the culprits would be apprehended and brought to book.

    “We shall fish out the perpetrators of this heinous crime and bring them to justice,” he vowed.

    He appealed to members of the public with any clue to volunteer same to the police to assist the search for the murderers.

    NAN reports that Adyorough’s is the fourth assassination case involving one elder statesman and top government officials in Benue, since Ortom became governor in 2015.

    Among those murdered are Mr Denen Igbanan, Ortom’s Special Assistant on Special Security, Mr Joseph Tondo, Buruku Local Government Chairmanship aspirant, and Chief Atoza Hindan, an elder statesman.

    Meanwhile, Ortom has challenged the police to immediately arrest and prosecute the killers of his aide.

    The governor, who spoke though his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Terver Akase, said that the killing was “unacceptable” and ordered security agencies to swing into action so as to arrest those responsible.

    He described Adyorough as a “competent and dependable aide, who delivered on assignments with dedication and honesty”.

    Ortom sympathised with the immediate family of the deceased, the government and people of Benue on the loss, and pledged to support security agencies in apprehending the culprits. (NAN)

  • ‘Benue needs N40b to clear salary arrears’

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom has said his administration needs N40 billion to clear backlog of salary.

    Ortom, in a statement yesterday by his media aide, Tahav Agerzuz, denied owing workers up to 10 months at a stretch, saying he had not breached his agreement with labour leaders concerning the mode of salary payment.

    According to him, it is the accumulation of the unpaid months that gave the impression of 10 months at a stretch.

    The governor regretted that the N8.2 billion inherited wage bill compounded the financial situation, saying his administration had, however, reduced the wage bill to N7.8 billion.

    He added that the recovery of looted funds will address challenges of unpaid salaries.

    According to him, N107 billion was looted from the government’s coffers and one of the persons indicted refunded N370 million.

    He added that the diverted N4.5 billion bond was recovered and channelled to its original purpose.

    “I have kept my agreement with labour leaders, that as a result of insufficient funds, the federal allocation of two months would be combined to pay one-month complete salary for workers,” Ortom said.

  • Floods hit Benue, Kastina

    Floods have destroyed many property and rendered thousands homeless in Benue and Katsina States, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

    In Benue, the Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment, Mr Joseph Ustev, told NAN yesterday in Makurdi that five local governments had been affected by flooding in the state.

    Ustev said that all the local governments were among the six predicted by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) that would be affected by the 2017 flooding.

    The six local government areas are Makurdi, Buruku, Guma, Tarka, Logo and Agatu.

    “So far the flood committee has discovered that flood has actually set in, we went to places like Adeke along Welfare Quarters and discovered that flood has taken over some houses.

    “As we speak, they are homeless, like one of the places we visited, they were yet to eat because water has taken over their houses and there is no place to cook.”

    Ustev urged the Federal Government to include Benue among the states to benefit from the N1.6 billion ecological intervention funds for states affected by flood disaster.

    He said that since 2013, the state had not received any ecological assistance from the Federal Government.

    In Katsina State, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) yesterday said over 1000 houses were destroyed and thousands of people displaced during flood disaster in five communities in the state.

    “The flood disasters have displaced several families from their homes and are currently squatting with friends and relatives.

    Executive Director of the agency, Dr Aminu Garba, said this during the distribution of building materials to the flood victims of Inwala Jangebe village of Batagarawa LGA in Katsina State.

    Garba said that the flood disaster happened three weeks ago at Inwala Jangebe village of Batagarawa Local Government Area where 300 houses were destroyed.

    According to him, at Jangebe village a boy lost his life and 10 people sustained injuries.

    “Flood has destroyed 150 houses and displaced over 2000 people in Kaita LGA; while a 10 year old boy lost his life during the disaster.”

  • Women’s group protest rape, children defilement in Benue

    Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, on Friday disclosed that the state government in collaboration with the Nigeria Police Force, Thursday night raided five rest spots (brothels) within Makurdi, the state capital and arrested 72 commercial sex workers.

    The governor, spoke through his Adviser on Security, Col. Edwin Jando, when the Women Situation Room Nigeria, a civil society group, staged a sit-out peaceful protest to the government house Makurdi, against what it called rising incidences of rape and defilement of babies and children in Nigeria.

    The group grumbled that the situation had become worrisome and needed urgent attention, saying it is unfortunate that rapists and defilers of women and children are not properly persecuted.

    The women in company of some young men carried placards and marched through the state police headquarters, DSS office, Central Bank of Nigeria Road to the state government house, where they were addressed.

    Some of their placards read: ‘Say No to Rape, Stop rape and Child Abuse;  Pass VAPP Law in Benue State, Stop girl defilement, CPN opposes rape against women, Implement laws against rape and other related crimes now in Benue….’

    The group said rape and defilement have far reaching effect on the survivors and victims’ families and urged the state government to domesticate law against rape which was passed by the federal government in 2015

    Leader of the group, Magdalene Gbazua, said the Women Situation Room Nigeria in partnership with Alliance Against Domestic Violence and Abuse, AADVA, facilitated the sit-out protest, adding that the black on black attires worn symbolised pain, hurt and grief of the violation of babies, children and women.

    In July alone, Gbazue said Benue State recorded 15 cases of rape where children and girls between the ages of 2-7 were raped, defiled and nothing happened to the rapists.

    The governor, in his response, said rape is a capital offence and promised to press it on the state assembly to make sure the bill is passed and assented to.

  • Honour for 12-year-old pupil

    Honour for 12-year-old pupil

    Miss Wandoo Uja, a 12-year old pupil of Kingdom Heritage School (KHS), Makurdi,Benue State, was celebrated during the school’s graduation for emerging the overall best pupil.

    Wandoo, the daughter of The Nation reporter in Benue State, won many prizes for leading the class of 29 pupils. She also won second best in Mathematics prize and the prize for best behavior.

    Wandoo’s class teacher, Mrs Esther James, and Mr Wada Daniel, the Head of Mathematics, described her exploits as unprecedented in the history of the school being a female.

    Wandoo’s parents, Mrs Zugwem Agatha and Uja Emmanuel, expressed their joy and gratitude to God. They said she showed promise from a tender age.

    Kingdom Heritage School is owned by Living Faith Church founded by Dr  David Oyedepo.

  • CSOs want compliance with court order in Benue

    The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Transparency in Governance (CCSOTG), has called for deepening democratic norms and the rule of law in Nigeria with regards to the freedom granted BIRS -Consultants by a Makurdi High Court in a dispute with the Police and the need for Immediate compliance.

    Convener of the Group, Comrade Sabo Ode, who addressed a press conference in Abuja on Monday, said BIRS got a judgment last week in its favour, as the Court declared the Police as incompetent in issuing such directive and restrained its agents from harassment, intimidation and disruption of lawful tax collection in any part of the state.
    It will be recalled that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotum Idris, in May 2017 inaugurated a Police Special X-squad teams specifically charged with the responsibility of arresting all tax revenue officials operating on federal roads across the nation.
    “We therefore side with the clear verdict of the Presiding judge, Justice Adam Onum that the police have no authority to issue such executive directives, which contravenes the validly passed laws of the Benue State House of Assembly or any other State Assembly in Nigeria.
    The group said BIRS is obliged to support this tending for the truth by CCSOTG to enable the widespread and deep dissemination of this cheerful news to re-establish the confidence of taxpayers to BIRS which could be done through pamphlets, billboards adverts, community theatre strategy and open-door advertisements on taxis and buses or any other means possible to ginger payment of more taxes to liberate Benue state.
    “On this score, the coalition wishes to salute the courage and wisdom of the Benue State Board of Internal Revenue Service’s (BIRS) executive chairman, Chief Mrs. Mimi Adzakpe- Orubibi, by challenging the controversial directive of the Police in court,” the group said.

  • Benue Water board executes 638 projects in two years

    The Benue State Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (BERWASA) has executed 638 water projects in two years.

    General Manager Ejembi Ella, who spoke after inspecting some of the projects in Tarka and Buruku Local Government Areas, said they were executed in partnership between the government, the Department for International Development (DFID) and the United Nations Children’s Fund, (UNICEF), under the Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN) project, in eight councils – Ogbadigbo, Obi, Oju, Tarka, Buruku, Guma, Konshisha and Katsina-Ala.

    Ella, who said of the figure, 594 were hand pumps while 44 were motorised boreholes, added that the agency also rehabilitated over 344 others across the state.

    According to him, the feat was achieved with Governor Samuel Ortom’s payment of over N600 million counterpart funding. He noted that with the availability of funds, more councils would be covered in the SHAWN program.

    Ella added that 197 VIP latrines were built across the state during the period under review, saying 2,000 communities have been declared open-defecation free.

    He urged the councils, who have been slated for the scale up programs but were not benefiting, to pay required funds to the agency to enable them benefit from the projects.