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Tag: el-Rufai

  • El-Rufai, friends feed 120,000 Muslims in 10 days

    El-Rufai, friends feed 120,000 Muslims in 10 days

    Kaduna State Governor Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai and his friends have since the beginning of Ramadan fed 120,000 less privileged Muslims during their ‘Iftar’ feeding programme.

    It would be recalled that El-Rufai had on assumption of office last year abolished the practice of distributing rice and other food stuffs to privileged individuals and organisations in the name of Ramadan and festivities gifts. It described the practice as waste of public fund.

    The current programme, according to the Project Coordinator, Hajia Maryam Sani, is solely sponsored by El-Rufai and his friends, as part of their personal assistance to the needy Muslims during the month of Ramadan.

    The food programme, Hajia Sani said, is coordinated on behalf of Governor El-Rufai and friends by Ummul Khair Foundation across the state.

    Speaking while distributing packaged cooked rice and soft drinks to beneficiaries at Kano Road, in the heart of Kaduna metropolis, she said the programme was targeted at reaching 360,000 needy Muslim by the end of Ramadan.

    She said: “We have started the programme since the first day of Ramadan. Governor El-Rufai and friends contracted our foundation to handle the project for them, because they were keen at ensuring that the food gets to the real less privileged people. And as you can see the people we just distrusted the food to now are people who really need this help.

    “The distribution is going on simultaneously in 15 local government areas and everyday, we prepare food for 12,000 people in all these local government areas.

    “With this number, not less than 120,000 people have so far been fed. And by the end of the Ramadan, 360,000 less privileged Muslims would have been fed.”

    One of the beneficiaries, Amina Musa, a beggar prayed for Governor El-Rufai and all those involved in sponsoring the Ramadan feeding programme.

     

  • Kano killing: Oyegun, El-Rufai urges open trial

    Kano killing: Oyegun, El-Rufai urges open trial

    National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and the Governors of Kaduna and Buachi States, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai and Mohammed Abdullahi, have sought the open trial of culprits in the murder of Mrs. Bridget Agbaheme.

    At a meeting with the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, led by the President-General, Gary Igariwey, in Owerri, the governors insisted that those behind the crime must be brought to book.

    El-Rufai said the Northern state governors condemn the murder, adding that “we will not accept a situation where people, Christians or Muslims, hide under religion to commit crime. If someone insults God, he/she should be left for God to judge. I have advised the Kano State Governor to publicly deal with those involved to deter others”.

    Abubakar said: “The killing of Mrs. Agbaheme was an evil act. I have liaised with the Kano State Governor and he assured that arrests have been made and culprits will face the full weight of the law.”

    Chief Oyegun noted that the country has to face its challenges squarely, just as he lauded the leadership of Ohanaeze for their maturity in handling sensitive issues.

    Igariwey said he was satisfied with Kano state’s handling of the matter, even as he cautioned against inciting statements from leaders.

    He also praised the goodwill demonstrated by governors El-Rufai and Abdullahi.

    Governor Rochas Okorocha said the murder had nothing to do with tribe or religion, stressing that “what is criminal is criminal, and must be treated as specified by law.

    “With what the governors said, it could now be understood that the Kano incident was not an attack against Ndigbo, but a case of crime. Seventy per cent of Nigeria’s problems could be adjudged to have arisen from lack of communication. It is also pertinent for us to know that the wonderful bridge that connects the Igbo to the North is not faulty. The bridge is as strong as it has ever been. The Igbos must fortify this bridge for both economic and political reasons.”

  • I’m Buhari’s fan, not a sycophant- Shehu Sanni

    The Senator representing Kaduna Central, Sahehu Sanni, on Friday rubbished as sycophancy, threat by the Kaduna State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to expel him from the party for criticizing the new price of fuel introduced by the Federal Government.

    He accused Governor Nasir El-Rufai of engineering the sack threat, and declared that he was in no way intimidated by the threat.

    Sani, who has been having a running battle with the governor over what he termed anti people policies, said he remained “a 100 percent supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari, but he is neither a sycophant nor a hypocrite who will not speak his mind when there is the need to do so.”

    Reacting to the threat through his Special Adviser on Politics and Ideology, Suleiman Ahmed, the senator described the threat as mere hallucination, dismissing the state APC as a tool in hand of the governor.

    He added:“It will be interesting for the general public to know that even the so-called state headquarters of the APC is a building owned by a top PDP chieftain in the state.

    “The press conference and threat of expulsion made by one Tanko Wusono of Kaduna APC against comrade Senator Shehu Sani for objecting to the increase in pump price of petroleum products stands unambiguously condemned. Kaduna APC as it exists today is simply an extension of El-Rufai’s government.”

     

  • Beggars protest against El-Rufai’s anti-begging, hawking law

    Beggars protest against El-Rufai’s anti-begging, hawking law

    As Kaduna State Assembly passed the law on banning street begging in the state, beggars Wednesday protested against the law as they give the government seven days ultimatum to withdraw the law or they will occupy the government house.

    The beggars who stormed the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Kaduna State Secretarial said they are ready to sacrifice their lives against the law.

    The beggars who comprised of blind, deaf, crippled, both elderly, young and women with their babies said nobody can stop them from begging without providing them with alternatives.

    The protesters raised placards with inscription such as “El-Rufai before stopping street begging, pass state disability bill.

    “Begging can never be stopped by persons with disability in Kaduna. “El-Rufai, fulfil your campaign promises before stopping begging in Kaduna”. “Give us 10 percent job opportunity as you promised before stopping street begging,” among others.

    The State Governor Malam Nasir El-Rufai had last week assented to the bill banning street begging and hawking in the state. The governor’s decision didn’t go down well with the disables in the state which forced them to protest his decision.

    Commenting on the protests Chairman Concerned Citizens with Disabilities, Julius Shemang said the passage of the street begging and hawking bill in the absent of adequate provisions made for the street beggars first contradict the agreed process reached between them and the government  that solutions will be proffered before the law come into effect.

    “We are therefore writing to register our concern before you and the State assembly categorically that the signing and passage of the street begging and hawking Bill without our Bill signed with a commission in line with Article 4 of the United Nations convention on the rights of persons with Disabilities ( UNCRPD) will spell more hardship for our members.

    “Before the 2015 general elections you mentioned during your campaign that if elected as governor of the state you will make life comfortable for our members by signing our bill with a commission.

    “Again at a town hall meeting with stakeholders and representatives of different organizations and community leaders last year in which Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD)  and JNI the bill issue and street begging and hawking was tabled.

    “The assurance you gave us again was that street begging and hawking won’t be banned until solutions are preferred or put in place to improve the living conditions of our members,” he said.

    Earlier, Former National Vice Chairman, of JONAPWD, Comrade Rilwanu Mohammed Abdullahi said they will soon occupy the state government house if after seven days they state governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai refused to pass the bill to set up a disability commission in the state.

    “We don’t like street begging but we have no choice than to beg for arms to take care of our family members.  Let the governor pass the bill to set of disability commission in the state.

    “If the government failed to do that within seven days from today we will continue with the protest and take over the government house until our demands are met,” he said.

  • El-Rufai should not forget his promise

    SIR: The Zaria crisis of December 12, 2015 between the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (shiites) and the Nigerian Army has come and gone but the scars left behind has refused to vanish. I was a victim of that crisis and I lost valuable properties and belongings.  days after the incident, the Kaduna State governor, Nasir Al-Rufai  came to Gyallesu and promised to compensate residents who lost properties during the crisis. Government set up a committee to look into the extent of damage to residents and verify claims by residents in order to compensate them. I have gone through the necessary documentation for compensation and up till now nothing has been heard about it. I believe this is a government that cares about his citizens. I lost everything I had in the crisis and the last hope of relief – government seems to offer is an endless wait. I hope the governor will read this and take urgent action.

     

    • Kafila Bala Asala,

    Zaria, Kaduna State.

  • El-Rufai, Sani: The parting of ways?

    El-Rufai, Sani: The parting of ways?

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Senator Shehu Sani, who are chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC), are always at loggerheads. Attempts by stakeholders to reconcile them have proved abortive. Correspondent ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE, who has been following the riff, explains the genesis of the disagreement and what it may portend for the party.

    The popular adage that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers, may not apply to the feud between Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State and the senator representing Kaduna Central in the Senate, Alhaji Shehu Sani. This is the view of many observers, who have been monitoring the disagreement between the two heavyweights of the Kaduna State All Progressives Congress (APC). Rather, according to the observers, it may end up undermining the harmony and cohesion within the ruling party.

    This is because the major issues that separate the duo border on how best the party can deliver democracy dividends to the people. The personality clash between the governor and the human rights activist-turned politician, according to sources close to them, has been in existence before the coming of the APC government. It reared its head shortly after the inauguration of the government when El-Rufai started rolling out his policies. Sani wasted no time in voicing his opposition to the governor’s policies; he took to the media to criticise the policies.

    One of such policies is the abolition of Ramadan, Sallah and Christmas largesse usually distributed to prominent persons and organisations. In El-Rufai’s view, the practice is detrimental to the progress of the state, because it entails wasting the resources meant for the development of the state on gifts to majority of people who could afford them.

    Sani believes that it was insensitive on the part of the governor to cancel such gifts and he went further to revive it within his constituency. In fact, the senator got a new nickname, Mai Rakumi at the event where he distributed rams, cows and camels to his constituents.

    Reacting to the development, a member of APC state executive, who doesn’t want to be named, the clash is a blessing in disguise. He said: “At least one good thing about the disagreement is that it is a win-win situation for the people. El-Rufai carried on in his resource saving move, yet the masses, particularly in Shehu Sani’s constituency, still benefited from Sallah largesse. The interesting thing is that majority of the beneficiaries of Sani’s gesture were not in the first place beneficiaries of the largesse that El-Rufai stopped.

    “So, to people who got Sallah gift for the first time, courtesy of Senator Sani, will pray that the feud never ends; at least to compel their Senator who will always want to prove that El-Rufai is insensitive to their plight, to come home and dole out his Abuja largesse to them.”

    Many observers are puzzle as to why a senator elected from the same platform with the governor should be at loggerheads. Some insist that it may have to do with the senator’s ambition to succeed El-Rufai by 2019. The situation became so bad that for every action taken by the El-Rufai’s administration, the senator representing Kaduna Central has a second opinion. For instance, at the outset, during the land recovery exercise, Sani, granted series of press interviews, condemning government’s action. Reports attributed to Sani said have accused El-Rufai of running the state “in such a way that he will end up ruining all of us, which I will not be part of. He has taken some steps which have only attracted anger from the general public against him”.

    Sani added: “He is a governor, I’m also a senator. He is not bigger than me, neither am I bigger than him. So, as far as I’m concerned, whether El-Rufai is a governor or whatever, anything which he does that does not tally with what is supposed to be done, I will certainly tell him.”

    Explaining the basis for his anger further, Sani said: “He (El-Rufai) is a technocrat, while I’m an activist and a revolutionary. So, my power base is the common people, the masses who constitute my strength. They are the people I have lived with and fought for over the years. The way the governor is running the affairs of government in Kaduna State is such, if care is not taken, we will all sink.

    “He has to take into consideration the fact that he met people that were impoverished; that were muscled, harassed and demoralised by the former administration of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). So, first of all, they don’t need harsh policies that will further impoverish and alienate them. We need to carry them along, taking cognisance their peculiar situation. I fundamentally differ with him on that issue. For that reason, he has decided on his own not to even appoint people who identify with me in anyway and who are also seen to be from my camp.

    “Kaduna is a place I have I lived all my life and since I came out of prison in 1998, I have never been out of Kaduna for more than two weeks and I’ve never been appointed to any public office which I will live in Abuja and not know what is happening in Kaduna. So, I can tell you that within Kaduna North, Kaduna South and metropolis of Kaduna, there is hardly any street that I don’t know anybody.”

    However, contrary to the senator’ claim, a source close to the Kaduna State Government House said Sani is simply angry with El-Rufai because he was not consulted, and asked to make an input, before the list of nominees for appointment into positions as caretaker committee chairmen of the councils within his senatorial district, was drawn up.

    Meanwhile, Sani was quoted as saying in an interview: “I want El-Rufai to succeed as a governor and give credit to our party, but we differ in two ways. The first is what he did to me personally and that was after the elections. He gave every elected stakeholder in Kaduna a slot in the positions, but when it came to my turn, he gave the slot to the person I defeated in the primaries. Will El- Rufai keep quiet if Buhari asks his opponent, Isah Ashiru, to present candidates for ministerial nominee and all the positions in the federal parastatals? Will he be happy? He will never be happy. He has amassed an army close to my territory and next thing is for me to fold my arms and see a missile landing in my house which I am not going to accept. What he cannot tolerate, he should try to shove down my throat. It is not possible.

    “Having won the primaries and general elections, we had decided to work together for the success of the party. I won my senate elections before Nasir won his governorship elections. After the victory, Nasir set up a transition committee and put all the other senators, and even the senatorial candidate who lost the elections, without my name there. I had to draw his attention to that omission. As a sitting senator, there is no way a transition committee would be set up without my name there.

    “He said it was an oversight and assured me that my name would be included. During his inauguration and swearing in, I was there. We went round during the campaigns. After he won, it came to the point of sharing positions, he asked me to send the list of my people for appointment, which I did. But he threw the list away and decided to allocate some commissioners to the other senator representing zone 1, and from my zone, he gave it to the person I defeated in the primaries. Even my local government, no appointment, not even a councillor was considered.

    “So, what he was doing was simply gathering opposition and empowering people who are determined to fight me.  He never knew that I am an old fighter. He said he is stubborn, but he cannot be more stubborn than a person who spent so many years in jail. I believe Nasir’s men came to the political scene in 1999, whereas I have been in the trenches even before anybody heard of Nasir’s name. You go back to Abacha and Babangida eras and see how we stood up against military dictatorship and tyranny.”

    On the issue of demolitions, Sani said: “I could not have said anything if Nasir said he was recovering lands from hospitals, schools, and the affected persons have been given alternative lands or where to go. When you see a house, one is talking about the entire family, consisting husband, wife, children, grandchildren and livelihood tied to the family.

    “Nasir simply gave them two weeks to vacate before sending bulldozers to pull down everything. Abuja of 2007 is definitely not the same thing as Kaduna 2015. In a democracy, whatever you want to do people must be carried along.”

    Even though, El-Rufai and his team avoided comments on the crisis, the rift took a new dimension when the party handed the serving senator an eleven months suspension from the party. The letter, signed by Ahmed Abdulhamid, Auwal Mai Anguwa and Aminu Alilan, Secretary, Public Relations Officer and Ex-officio respectively, stated that the decision was arrived at after a meeting held on December 27, 2015, which reviewed a subcommittee report on allegations made against the senator.

    The letter, which stated that Sani’s criticism of El-Rufai and President Muhammadu Buhari violates the rules of engagement of the party, has only succeeded in fractionalising the party in the state. The letter added that the anti-party activities were so pronounced that hardly a week passes that his group will not be on air, criticising and challenging what it described as the enduring legacies of Mallam El-Rufai.

    It added: “That his statement on national issues is not inconformity with that of the governor and the Government of Kaduna State. That he has remained consistently in confrontation with the good policies of the Government of Kaduna State and considering it anti-people’s policy.

    “In view of the foregoing, we have unanimously agreed that Senator Shehu Sani, representing ward six, should be suspended for the period of eleven months and that henceforth he is disengaged in partaking or attending party activities in Kaduna State subject to other punitive measures respectively.”

    The party at the state level did not waste time in confirming the suspension. But, in a swift reaction, the Special Adviser to Senator Shehu Sani on Political Matters, Suleiman Ahmed, said the suspension was issued by persons ignorant of the party construction.

    He however said the suspension will not stop the senator from criticising or challenging El-Rufai’s “anti-masses policies”.

    According to him, the persons were acting the scripts of Governor El-Rufai. In another reaction, the Senior Legislative Aide to Shehu Sani said the senator was never invited to any meetings and was never given any opportunity to defend himself and so the suspension is invalid.

    Later, the National Vice Chairman and Zonal Chairman, North West, Alhaji Inuwa Abdulkadir, stormed Kaduna to convene what he called a reconciliatory meeting between the national body and some party stakeholders in Kaduna State. He used the occasion to declare Sani’s suspension invalid.

    According to him, the right procedure was not followed in the suspension of the senator. He said: “We wish to state here that the purported suspension is invalid and not binding and is of no effect, the right procedure was not followed, and the national body is in receipt of a letter from the ward chairman, dissociating himself from the suspension and giving an insight into the matter.”

    However, as Abdulkadir was departing Kaduna, the state APC said the National Vice Chairman was on his own, because he lacked power to lift the suspension slammed on Shehu Sani. The State Publicity Secretary, Salisu Tanko Wusono, said: “In lifting the suspension, Abdulkadir acted without the consent of the national leadership, contrary to Section 21 of the APC constitution.” He added that Abdulkadir’s action was a deliberate attempt to ridicule the party for his personal interest.

  • El-Rufai and the burden of religion

    El-Rufai and the burden of religion

    In October last year, the controversial Malam Nasir Ahmed El-rufai, as the country’s most syndicated columnist Malam Mohammed Haruna called him, sent a bill to the State House of Assembly seeking the amendment of a somewhat sleeping 1984 law which, under the then military governor of the State Air-Commodore Usman Mu’azu, and in view of violent religious clashes in the state, sought to regulate preaching

    The law which banned the playing of religious cassettes in public places, preaching without license, use of loudspeakers outside mosques or churches and their surrounding areas, abuses of religious books, carrying of weapons in places of worship or preaching, and use of the terms “infidel.” “non-Islamic” or “Pagans,” authorized the Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) as the only bodies to approve preachers in the state.

    Now that opposition of the bill seems to have reduced and all parties seem to be listening, as a student of religion, one can now go on to express his views on the discourse if only to make the point that the bill is only a symptom; hence the need to look beyond to see that the attempt in recent time to legislate religious practices, nay the El-rufai’s case, is only emblematic of the frustration of society over the  bastardization, monetization and magification of religion by charlatans. We must accept that there are a lot of anomalies in religious practices that are inimical to peace and development today. I am ashamed each time I tune to the television by the number of babalawos, magicians and business tycoons who carry out their magic and trade in the name of Christ and Christianity. I am sure if Christ should come back, he might deny founding the brand of Christianity in vogue today. And this is part of the frustrations of some academics including highly placed members of the theocratic class to whom religion is a primary constituency.

    In a not-so-recent piece, the brilliant and equally controversial Bishop Matthew Kukah, the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, said: “… in these trying times, the name of God and religion have been dragged by fly-by- night pastors who have equally spawned an industry of prayer warriors who are daily stalking the corridors of power. Men with equally suspicious intentions, with stolen mandates of legitimacy, seeking escape from justice daily employ these charlatans.” Hence, the need “to liberate theology rather than talk about liberation theology from the hands of these charlatans who practice criminality masquerading as religion”.

    Damola Awoyokun, a former managing editor of Farafina Online could not hide his frustration on the role of religion in contemporary time. For him. “There is no instrument more cogent, more effective in enslaving Nigerians than religion and God-talk”. While arguing that it is the arena of victims, he concluded that “the more we are entangled in God-talk, the more we proscribe real thought and intelligent action; the more we strengthen the religious industry and their naira-based theology.”

    Professor Wole Soyinka in a lecture titled “Nationspace and Nationhood” to mark the 100 birthday anniversary of the late sage Chief Obafemi Awolowo, argued that religion is an enemy of nationhood and for Nigeria to forge ahead, it must be able to place it on suspension.

    Of course, this has been the frustration of the first generation of African writers culminating in the writing of “Things Fall Apart” by Chinua Achebe showcasing the fears of the master story-teller with not religion per say, but its interpretation, practice, and potentiality to erode societal values.

    My position on this matter is that we need to thank the governor for raising an issue that has been a thorn in our flesh, namely, the role of religion in Northern Nigerian, which also refreshes our minds on other issues such as the secularity or otherwise of the state, the manipulation of religion or its use as a basis for power in the region, the Almajiri palaver, the place of minorities and whether religion is a private business.

    Historically, in the North, while there is a fine lining distinction between Caesar and God, nay, politics and religion in Christianity, the Muslims over these years see it as an obligation to practice their religion politically and politics, religiously. In a region where “different ethnic groups happen to belong to different faiths like the dominant Muslim Hausa-Fulani and the Christian ethnic minorities, the struggles for domination among these groups as well as perceived liberation have dramatically assumed religious expression.” This probably accounts for the membership of some Christian clerics in the Middle Zone League Assembly and the emergence of what is today called the Christian Associations of Nigeria which first begun as an association of Northern Christians aimed at checking the excesses of Muslim domination in the region.

    It is this alleged injustice and domination of the Christian minority by the Muslim Hausa-Fulani that led to the emergence of religious figures like Bishop Matthew Kukah who inspite of the provisions of Catholic Church’s Code of Canon Law that its clergy should steer clear of politics, the cleric, in the words of Ahmed Yahaya Joe, “does not find any contradiction in converting his pulpit into a political soap box.”

    On December 20, His Lorship delivered a sermon at the funeral of the late Kaduna State governor, Sir Patrick Yakowa on which he poked the hornets in their nest when he struck the whip at those who love to manipulate religion to the detriment of the Christian minority. He said “… the Northern ruling class, by policy, seemed to have an invisible sign that read ‘No Christians Need Apply’ to enter what would later be called Kashim Ibrahim House or represent the State at the highest levels.”

    Talking down to the new governor Yero on the occasion the Bishop said. “The World looks up to you never to be seduced by the whispers of the wicked whose devilish hold on power has held out society down… Do not be tempted to think that the Muslims have taken over what the wicked have presented as a prize for only Muslims”. This of course, caused a stage whisper that was to an extend, off the top of those who were making it.

    In a commentary on the homily, Emmanuel Lar a respected writer from the Middle Belt said: “The homily by the Bishop… has generated a plethora of reactions as is expected, not so much because it is a controversial sermon, but firstly because  it brings to the fore an injustice and discrimination that has for so long been levied on a section of the North-an issue that we have always been afraid to discuss inspite of the very glaring need to do so.”

    Also in their reactions, while Mohammed Haruna said the Bishop’s homily, for most of his Muslim friends, came as a shocking revelation that his instinctive, but understandable antipathy towards Muslims and Islam as a Christian and a clergy, has not abated inspite of his inter-ethnic understanding, Adamu Adamu is of the opinion that both are to blame: “Muslims for insensitivity and a wanton disregard for what their history has done and meant to their non-Muslim neighbours, and Christians for posturing and for thinking that they ought to get, and some how even feel justified in getting, even with the present generation, by taking their revenge for past misdeeds on it.”

    To my mind, the problem is that this feudalism and pesky mode of religious practices has made its way into contemporary time. Otherwise why do some people believe that it is the responsibility of government to pay their preachers salaries, build places of worship, sponsor pilgrimages, donate food at fasting times in a plural and multi-religious society like ours?

    Sadly, Nigeria is not a debating society otherwise the controversial governor has done us good by throwing up an issue that should have created the opportunity for us to begin to talk on the role of religion. Unfortunately, we missed that great opportunity!

    At the end, I think, members of the theocratic class will need to look inward on how to free religion from charlatans who have magified, monetized, bastardized and made it look like the Nigerian Stock Exchange Commission.

    Finally, though El-rufai has good intentions for bringing up this bill especially in the specific case of Kaduna State, the biggest problem is in its content and procedure especially having in mind that it was enacted under military dictatorship which the government ought to have known, more so that in a democracy, power lies with the people- implying that the bill ought to have come from the people and not the government itself, thereby making it a perfunctory one and a pie in the sky.

    • Damina, a student of Religion and Society, is from Holy Family Catholic Church Gidan Bako-Kaduna State
  • El-Rufa’i reshuffles cabinet

    El-Rufa’i reshuffles cabinet

    Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufa’i, on Tuesday announced a minor cabinet reshuffle affecting four commissioners in the state.

    A statement issued in Kaduna by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, listed those affected in the exercise.

    “Prof. Jonathan Nok has moved to Ministry of Education, Science and Technology from the Ministry of Health and Human Service.

    “Malam Shehu Balarabe is moving from the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism, to take charge of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.

    “Dr. Shehu Adamu, former Commissioner of Education, has been reassigned to the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism.

    “Under his watch, the government started the rehabilitation of schools, the provision of furniture and the school feeding programme for primary school pupils.

    “To fill the vacancy in the Ministry of Health and Human Services, the Governor has nominated Dr. Paul Manya-Dogo as the new Commissioner.

    “His name will be forwarded to the Kaduna State House of Assembly for confirmation,” the News Agency of Nigeria quoted the governor’s aide as saying in the statement.

     

  • El-Rufa’i promises to end kidnapping in Kaduna

    El-Rufa’i promises to end kidnapping in Kaduna

    Governor Nasir El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State has promised to end incessant cases of kidnapping to guarantee the safety of lives and property of the citizens in the state.

    El-Rufa’i made the promise on Saturday during a town hall meeting in Kachia, Kachia Local Government Area of the state.

    He said the state government had noted with concern the spate of kidnapping, especially in Kaduna metropolis, adding that “the ugly scenario would soon be a thing of the past’’.

    He said the state had recorded significant stride in addressing indices of insecurity, including killings of innocent persons and cattle rustling.

    The governor expressed regrets that perpetrators of such acts had resorted to kidnapping of persons.

    He said that the police recently arrested a kingpin of kidnappers in the state and arms were recovered from the suspects.

    “We have put in place as part of our statutory function, security measure to put an end to the menace once and for all,’’ he said.

    In another development, El-Rufa’i has said the state government will launch a tree planting campaign as a measure to secure the environment.

    El-Rufa’i said the state government had concluded plans through the Ministry of Environment to engage women throughout the Local Government Areas in the state.

    “The aim of this initiative is to safeguard our environment for the generation yet unborn,’’ he said.

    He assured the people that plans have been concluded to construct 255 new health facilities throughout the state to guarantee the health of the people.

    “We are concerned about reducing maternal mortality rate, especially among pregnant women,’’ he said.

    On agriculture, the governor assured that fertilisers would be made available to farmers to boost farm produce.

    “We want to ensure that our farmers compete favourably with modern agricultural practices.

    He said the Kachia Ginger Company would be opened for bidding for interested investors to revive its production.

    El-Rufa’i urged the people to be patient, and assured that electricity, provision of drinking water, accessible roads and payment of salaries and wages among others would be addressed.

    NAN reports that the meeting had in attendance, government officials, including, commissioners, permanent secretaries, local council chairmen, traditional rulers, youths and women groups, among others.

  • Security: El-Rufai donates 51 patrol motorcycles to Police, Army

    Security: El-Rufai donates 51 patrol motorcycles to Police, Army

    As part of his efforts to rid the State of crimes and criminalities, Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai on Tuesday commissioned and released 51 patrol motorcycles to the Police Force, the Army and other security agencies in the State.

    El-Rufai, while presenting the motorcycles, said 35 of the motorcycles go to the Nigerian police, 2 to the Nigerian Army, 2 to the Airforce, 5 to Nigerian security and civil defence corps, 2 to Federal Road Safety, and 5 to operation Yaki headquarters.

    He expressed gratitude to all the security agencies in the State for keeping the State safe from criminals, and urged them to do more in order to completely rid the State of crimes.

    He said, “We are here to handover the patrol motorcycles that we promised Operation Yaki and other security agencies like year that will deliver. We have taken time to procure the motorcycles because of our financial constraints, but I am happy that we are here to handover them, it is a promised obeyed.

    “On this note, it is my honour and privileges as the governor of the State, on behalf of the State executive council and the State security council to handover these 51 motor cycles to the security agencies.

    “The motorcycles will be distributed as follows; 35 to the Nigerian police, 2 to the Nigerian Army, 2 to the Airforce, 5 to Nigerian security and civil defence corps, 2 to Federal Road Safety, and 5 to operation Yaki headquarters.

    “I hope and pray that these motorcycles will help the security agencies in carrying out their duties.

    “We will continue as the State government despite of our financial constraints to support our security agencies to restore law and order in Kaduna State.

    “I want to commend them for all the works that they have been doing, I want to thank the former Commissioner of police who had worked very hard to keep Kaduna State safer.

    “And I welcome the new Commissioner of police who has been working round the clock since he came, he made many arrests, and contributed to bringing down the rate of crime in the State. We will continue to support all of you.

    “To the glory of God and to the safety and security of the people of Kaduna State and for the use of our very hard working security agencies we handover these patrol motorcycles to various security agencies in the State”.

    Responding on behalf of other security agencies, the State commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Audu, thanked the State governor for the donation, promising to use the motorcycles for the purposes which they are meant for.

    CP Audu said, “We wish to thank the state government and the executive governor of the State, Malam Nasir El-Rufai for the generous donation made to various security agencies in the State.

    “I also want to pledge that we will judiciously use and ensure the motorcycles are used for the security and safety of the State, I assure you that they will be used for the purposes for which they are provided.”