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Tag: Ganduje

  • Buhari thanks Nigerians for prayers during phone call to Ganduje

    Buhari thanks Nigerians for prayers during phone call to Ganduje

    With a clear voice which changed the mood of the congregation, President Muhammadu Buhari again yesterday thanked Nigerians for praying for him to recover quickly and return to work.

    “We are very grateful for all the efforts Nigerians are putting in praying for my quick and successful recovery. May Almighty Allah reward you abundantly; my sincere regards to all,” the President said.

    He spoke at about 6.30pm during a phone call to Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje at the Africa House, Government House, in Kano.

    The telephone conversation, initiated by the president who is ‘resting’ at the Abuja House in London, took place during a prayer session for the president’s quick recovery.

    Apart from the governor, there were many Islamic scholars, prominent politicians and Imams of the Friday Mosques.

    Ganduje said: “Your Excellency, you are calling at the right time, when we have gathered here praying to the Almighty Allah for your quick recovery. All participants said they are extending their heartfelt greetings to Your Excellency. “Many of those at the session expressed surprise to hear President Buhari’s voice. As he spoke, the mood changed in the prayer hall. Many people burst into tears as others expressed relief.”

    The governor told the President that, on Friday, there would be special prayer sessions in over 7,000 Friday Mosques. He said the call from the President was a sign of good things to come.

    Moments after the phone call, Ganduje told the gathering: “This is the end of my speech. We are very happy Allah has showed us that He has answered our prayers.

    “From the way we heard his voice, we are so happy to believe that he is recuperating quickly and with full happiness and good wishes for the country.”

  • Buhari speaks with Ganduje, says ‘I’m feeling better’

    Buhari speaks with Ganduje, says ‘I’m feeling better’

    President Muhammadu Buhari has extended his appreciation to Nigerians for their goodwill and prayer, saying his condition has improved.

    Buhari, who spoke for about three minutes on phone, with Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, while a prayer session was going on at  the state Government House, said he is feeling better.

    “Alhamdulillah (all praise be to Allah),” he said when Ganduje enquired “how are you feeling now Your Excellency?”

    During the prayer session, which was broadcast live by local radio stations in Kano, Ganduje told the President that Islamic scholars and Imams in Kano are praying for his speedy recovery.

    To this, the President remarked “Maa shaa Allah,” meaning, “God willed it,” an Arabic phrase used to show appreciation for a person or happening and is evoked upon hearing of good news.

    President Buhari expressed the hope that Allah will accept the prayers and asked the governor to extend his best wishes to the Islamic scholars.

    Governor Ganduje, who was highly elated, remarked that from the voice of the President, his health has greatly improved and expressed the hope that the Nigerian leader would get well soon.

    The governor told the President that there are over 7, 000 Juma’at mosques in Kano and that he has directed them to pray for him.

    Ganduje enjoined Nigerians to continue to pray for the well-being of the President and the success of his administration.

    “We prayed for Buhari to win and he won. It is now mandatory on us to rally round his government and pray for his well-being,” Ganduje remarked.

    The prayers session, which brought together about 300 Imams and Islamic leaders from all Islamic denominations across the state, was attended by the state deputy governor, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, the Chief Imam of Kano, Prof. M.S. Zahraddeen, the state Commissioner of Police, Rabi’u Yusuf, legislators and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Umar Na’abba.

  • Ganduje seeks communal involvement in education

    Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has urged individuals and private organisations to support government’s effort in the education sector.

    Ganduje stated this in an interview with reporters in his office shortly after inspecting new class rooms and instructional materials donated to primary and secondary schools by corporate organisations. It was part of events marking the Kano Basic Education Week.

    According to him, the large population of pupils in the state has become a major challenge, which needs the support of private organisations and active community involvement in providing basic education.

    “Let me start with one challenge first before we can start saying the legacy which we’ll leave behind. First of all, what I have been saying is if we have a large population, there will be problem, because in education, even the basic aspect of production in infrastructural facilities, education is the first victim when the population is large because we will have to provide for every child and it has to be sustained.

    “So in basic education, what we observe is that government will not be able to do it alone, and therefore, there is one segment that needs to be considered, which is community participation in education.

    “ If you observe, we have the highest number of primary school pupils. Apart from education, it is because not most people are interested in investing in education; that is why we have the volume like that.

    He added: “Education is so voluminous; sometimes you become confused on where to start. I think in anything you want to do, you first of all start with foundation. That is why we are putting emphasis on basic education to ensure that we get it right. To help as many children as possible in the school to reduce the ones outside the school and to also invite private-people and organisations that will undertake corporate social responsibility in education.

    “We believe if this concept is embraced by members of the public that would be a huge achievement. I think we are succeeding. We have Education Trust Fund, which we are about to launch so that we can get the right people to legally operate on this concept and system, and that is why we are designating the whole week in the activities on the Basic Education week. We are going to start with the stakeholders to know their problems, even though the problems are many.

    “As I told you, we even picked the teachers because they are the nucleus of progress as far as educational system is concerned. If their minds are not at rest, they will teach absent minded.

    “Time is gone where everybody will want to be a teacher. You see, the tradition is that anybody that is looking for job, the first thing that comes to his mind is for them to be teachers, but the state government is mindful of that because we are not looking for everybody to teach, but qualified teachers.”

  • Ganduje, Sanusi perform groundbreaking ceremony of N5bn ultramodern market

    Ganduje, Sanusi perform groundbreaking ceremony of N5bn ultramodern market

    KANO State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, yesterday performed the ground-breaking of 4,182 lock-up shops for medium-scale traders at the popular Kantin Kwari textile market at the cost of N5 billion. Governor Ganduje who was accompanied to the event alongside the Emir of Kano, Malam Muhammad Sanusi 11, with their entourage, said the multi-billion naira ultra-modern market project was anchored on a Public Private Partnership agreement with two indigenous companies.

    According to him, the contractors handling the project would build the shops, while the state government will provide infrastructures such nine access road network with street light, a modern police station, Hisbah Board office, vigilante group office and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) office, including other basic infrastructure.

    Ganduje said that the ultramodern market will be shaped into large, medium and small scale sections, adding that, “most African countries come to this Kantin Kwari to transact business and that is one of the major reasons we are making it an ultramodern market.

    “We are also determined to improve our major markets so that the incessant fire incidents would be prevented; again, we are rebuilding these markets in order to improve commercial activities.Today, we have started with Kantin Kwari, we are also working on Sabon Gari market, Kofar Wambai market and Dawanau market.” Also speaking to his subjects, the outspoken Emir hailed Governor Ganduje for engaging in people- oriented project, just as he urged the traders to pay their taxes promptly and ensure fairness in their various business transactions according to the teachings of Islam.

  • Ganduje: Kwankwaso’s foreign scholarship scheme fraudulent

    Ganduje: Kwankwaso’s foreign scholarship scheme fraudulent

    Kano State Governor Umar Ganduje has alleged that the foreign scholarship scheme of former Governor Musa Kwankwaso is a scam.

    According to Ganduje, instead of following due process to secure admissions for the students, the government engaged the services of “a contractor who collects money improperly from both the government and the institutions, turning the admission exercise into a racket”.

    “When they want to pay bursaries and school fees, they give the contractor, who in turn takes his share before remitting the money to the students and institutions.”

    The governor spoke when he received executives of the National Association of Kano state Students (NAKSS) in his office.

    He reiterated that such arrangement was fraudulent and unacceptable to his administration, adding that he would regularise the scholarship process so the students could continue with their studies conveniently.

    “While some states are withdrawing their students because of recession, we are sustaining the foreign scholarship until our children complete their studies and return home,” Ganduje said.

    He said his government inherited a huge liability of unpaid scholarships for students in foreign universities, noting that though efforts were made to settle some, about N3 billion was outstanding.

    He berated his predecessor for not paying for the local scholarship, running into four years, lamenting that outstanding claim by students in private universities was over N2 billion, besides the amount due to students in public universities.

    Ganduje urged the students to shun machinations of those he said “obstructed education instead of promoting it”.

    NAKSS President Aliyu Muhammad Rano said his members from the association’s 57 chapters support the government’s cancellation of free education because it was unrealistic.

  • Kano’s rice production up by 95 per cent, says Ganduje

    Rice produced by farmers in Kano State rose from 692, 481 tonnes to 1, 551, 720 tonnes last year, representing an increase of about 95.2 percent, Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has said.

    The governor dropped the hint  during an interactive session on loan recovery, with farmers on the Central Bank of Nigeria/Bank of Agriculture/Kano State Rice Anchor – Borrowers Programme, at Kano Seed Processing Centre, Kadawa, Garun Malam Local Government area, last Saturday.

    He said: “Wheat production in the state increased from 9, 495, 024 tonnes in 2015 to 17, 717, 000 tonnes in 2016, showing a swell of 84 percent.”

    Also,Ganduje said the bumper harvest recorded last year in Kano showed a significant increase in the production of other commodities, such as maize, millet, groundnut and cow peas, adding that with the government’s commitment, barring unanticipated developments, the output would be multiplied this year.

    On impediments to the farmers’ productivity, the governor said: “I have noticed that there are two major issues in Anchor-Borrower Programme.’’

    According to him, farmers were complaining that they are not getting the assistance when they needed it,  and that this was constituting a major problem and secondly, ‘’those who are involved in the scheme (CBN and BOA) are complaining that farmers are not paying back what has been given to them”.

    He promised that these issues, as well as that of availability of input would be addressed, between the government and the banks involved, so as to ensure that farmers get appropriate assistance and other required intervention duly.

    The governor directed the supplier providing the government with fertiliser to provide the commodity to the farmers from yesterday  (Sunday), assuring that anything the farmers need would be provided to them to ensure a hitch-free productivity.

    However, Ganduje urged beneficiaries of the CBN/BOA/Kano state Rice Anchor-Borrowers Programme to ensure that they repay the loan given them accordingly, since it is a revolving facility that will pave way for other farmers to benefit, pointing out  that the state is poised to increase its rice production to about half of the country’s rice requirement this year.

    He maintained that his administration would concentrate more on agriculture this year to ensure multiplication of farmers output, pointing out that the administration recognises the fact that it must work hard to improve capacity of farmers and address the many factors that contribute to their minimal productivity.

    “Economic realities have shown that Nigeria’s future prosperity depends on investment in our farmers, to enable them become well prepared to revamp food productivity, as oil money is no longer coming in as usual”, the governor added.

  • Ganduje blasts Kwankwaso on Kano light rail project

    Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has slamemd those condemning his administration’s proposed light-rail project, describing them as enemies of the state bent on pulling down his government.

    Ganduje’s reaction followed reported criticism by the Kwankwassiyya Movement loyal to former Governor Musa Kwankwaso, calling the project a “misplaced priority that will not benefit the state”.

    Ganduje, who just returned from China where he struck a deal with the Chinese government on the project, constituted a 13-man implementation committee on the project, headed by the District Head of Tofa local government, Alhaji Isyaku Umar Tofa.

    The governor said: “So, for those doubting Thomases, day-dreamers, distracters, liars, ignorant people and political vandals who are anti-development of Kano State, we will like to inform them that this project is a project that will make Kano a mega-city.”

    Ganduje said his government would not succumb to any intimidation meant to circumvent his good policies to better the life of the people.

    He added: “We visited the headquarters; we inspected some of their projects in China and saw they are also handling the light-rail project in Saudi Arabia. We even entered the train from Tianjin to China and it was very fast. But the one in Kano city will not be very fast because we can only do high speed inter-city, like from Lagos to Kano.

    “We met with three banks—the Bank of China, China Development Bank and China Import and Export Bank and right now, the banks are competing to give us proposals.

    “We also met with the China Sure, an Ensuring outfit of the Chinese government which will coordinate the loan, and of course, the bank is expected to give 85 per cent of the total cost which is $1.8 billion while Kano State will give 15 per cent.

    “We are negotiating on the interest, but from the look of things, the interest will not be more than three per cent, unlike in Nigeria where the interest is not below 15 per cent.

    “Also, the repayment period is up to 15 years; and when we calculated, we concluded that from our increase in the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), we will be able to pay the 15 per cent. The repayment period will also start after the project is completed.

    “Anybody who thinks light rail can be developed within a metropolitan city without bank loan is ignorant of modern day development. So, I assure the people that we are bent in making Kano a mega-city because a mega-city is not only based on population.

    “A mega-city is based on the services that are provided within the city and light rail is one of them. We pray we succeed. What is left now is the final articulation and agreement between China and Kano state, as well as the Federal Government’s approval, which is also the guarantor of the loan. Once these issues are settled, the project will start.”

  • Ganduje: Buhari will conquer economic challenges

    Ganduje: Buhari will conquer economic challenges

    Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje is hopeful President Muhammadu Buhari will turn around the country’s economic misfortune.

    According to a statement by the Commissioner for Information, Youth and Culture, Muhammad Garba, Ganduje stated this yesterday while delivering his New Year message to the people.

    The statement noted that Ganduje welcomed the people to 2017 and prayed that the year will be full of opportunities, blessings and happiness for everyone.

    The statement reads: “The past year has indeed not been very smooth in view of the challenging realities we found ourselves in, as a result of the recession. I am, however, optimistic that with the dogged commitment of our President, Muhammadu Buhari, to turn around the economy after many years of mismanagement, good days are very close by.

    “Our administration, like all other states in the country, is feeling the crunch, as a result of the dwindling revenue from the federation account. But notwithstanding the hard times, we have been able to judiciously utilise the little resources we are receiving along with our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to initiate and finance laudable and beneficial projects and programmes.

    “Our commitment in this direction is very clear, particularly in terms of completion of inherited projects, initiation of new roads and bridges, underpass and flyover, water supply, health, agriculture youth and women development, education, rural development, sanitation and environmental protection.”

    The governor thanked the people for their understanding and support for the government’s policies, even as he urged them to continue to pay their taxes to enable the government execute more human-oriented projects for an improved welfare.

  • PDP faults Ganduje on polls

    The Caretaker Committee of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje’s comments on the December 10 National and State Assembly rerun in Rivers State.

    Ganduje was quoted as saying that having free and fair elections in Rivers State and other parts of Southsouth “is abnormal”.

    The statement said: “You know in that part of the country, having free and fair elections is not normal and we have to make it normal this time.”

    It added that the Federal Government will deploy massive security for the polls.

    But in a statement yesterday by the spokesperson of PDP Caretaker Committee, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, the party described the governor’s statement as unfortunate and ridiculous.

    PDP said: “This statement from the governor is not only unfortunate, it is ridiculous and absurd, to say the least. It is highly unbecoming of a governor to make such an unguarded statement that denigrates the people of the state and Southsouth.

    “The (governor’s) statement is also a veiled threat that the coming election in Rivers State will be manipulated as usual by the APC, using Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the security apparatus of state.

    “If free and fair elections have been “abnormal” in the region, according to the governor, it is due to the manipulation and the win-at-all-cost attitude of the APC.

    “This desperation of APC to win at all cost was exposed by the recent decision of the Court of Appeal, which upturned the rerun in Opobo/Nkoro State Constituency of Rivers State in favour of our candidate, Mr. Diri Adonye, wherein the Appeal Court emphatically stated that the election was massively rigged. Nigerians can now see who has been manipulating elections and causing the state of abnormality in the region.”

  • Ganduje’s death warrants

    Ganduje’s death warrants

    APPALLED by the refusal of governors to sign death warrants to facilitate the execution of condemned criminals, Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has called for the amendment of the law to strip governors of that responsibility and to vest it in the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). The governor is right to observe that his colleagues were no longer eager to sign death warrants. The governors have not indicated why, but many analysts hazard a guess. According to Gov Ganduje himself, he seems to think that the value African cultures place on life makes it difficult for any political leader to sign execution documents. He says nothing of the other factors that have made the death penalty incongruous in many democracies.

    The Kano governor’s suggestion is, however, anomalous. If governors lack the courage to sign death warrants, why does he think judges, especially of the apex court, will find it easy to do so? Are they less human or from a different culture? Perhaps, the governor assumes that sentencing an accused to death is an easy, detached task. What Gov Ganduje does not realise is that while the law makes it obligatory for judges to dispense justice in strict accordance with extant provisions, and seldom permits discretion in the case of capital offences, signing a death warrant is entirely left to the discretion of the governors. There is nothing obligatory on governors to sign death warrants, not even if prisons and death rows were filled to the brim with condemned men.

    Furthermore, an accused, especially one facing the death penalty, often fights his case to the apex court, hoping that its impartiality and independence could avail him relief. It would be incongruous to expect that the CJN, who heads that apex court, should also sign the death warrant after sentencing. It is morally indefensible to combine the two responsibilities. But should that law be enacted, the apex court could also find excuses to delay their signatures or even refuse to impose the death penalty under some legal constructs and corollaries.

    The reason death warrants are not being signed, it seems, is that the death penalty is being phased out in many democracies. There is enough scientific proof to show that it does not deter crime any more than life sentence does. For the many decades Nigeria implemented the death penalty for armed robbery, there was no statistical proof that it lowered the crime. None whatsoever. Contrary to Gov Ganduje’s suggestion, it is actually time to abrogate the death penalty, not transfer the responsibility. Capital punishment, despite the anger of victims and their families and their craving for catharsis, serves no purpose. More, abrogating it helps to assuage a conscience that would have been troubled in cases where justice was eventually shown to have been miscarried, as indeed has happened not only here but in many parts of the world.