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Tag: GOMBE

  • Gombe to spend N17b on water

    Gombe State government is to spend N17 billion for the expansion of its water treatment plant from 50,000 cubic metres to 85,000 cubic metres

    The General Manager, Gombe Water Corporation, said the expansion would cater for the population explosion in Gombe.

    “The treatment plant was designed to serve about 50,000 cubic metres per day.

    In 2006, the population of Gombe was estimated at around 261,000, but by projection now we have around 360,000 in Gombe metropolis.

    “Presently, the water demand of Gombe has increased. It is around 57,000 cubic metres per day, which is beyond the capacity of the Dadin-kowa treatment plant.

    “This is why Gombe State government is now trying to see that the treatment plant has to be expanded. The design is almost completed, and the cost of the expansion is about N17b,” he explained.

     

  • No vacancy in Gombe, says PDP

    No vacancy in Gombe, says PDP

    Ahead of the 2015 gubernatorial race in the state, the Gombe state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party has declared that there is no vacancy at the state government house.

    The state’s Secretary General of the party, Alhaji Buba Shanu said this in reaction to the All Progressive Congress declaration to oust the ruling party in the state at the next elections.

    According to him: “PDP both at the national level and Gombe state, will take this as a serious business because we have infrastructure and systems in place to take care of the business

    “At the National level, when the management of PDP sneezes, Nigeria catches cold. This tells you that we are the people to beat. We are the leaders, not the followers and therefore, nothing can stop us”.

    He said the scenario is the same at the state level where the ruling party is going to continue to rule for a long time.

    Asked whether Governor Dankwambo would stay in office beyond 2015, Shanu said: “I don’t only just think he will be in office, I know for certain he will be in office.”

    He said the strength of the incumbent administration among others are its planning, prudent, transparent and participatory nature and the fact that there has been no stealing, killing, maiming or coercion since it came on board.

    He said this is a clear departure from the immediate past where coercion, killings and maiming were rampant, even as the then governor woke up every day without planning and decided how he wanted thing to be.

    He denied rumours in some quarters that three PDP Councillors defected to APC in Kwami local government, home of the state Interim Chairman of APC, saying “I am not aware of anything like that.”

    On attempts to disrupt the state government’s reorientation and rehabilitation exercise, the PDP stalwart said it may not be wholly political, hence the need to look inward with a view to frustrating future attempts.

  • Gombe to establish mobile courts

    Gombe to establish mobile courts

    As part of the measures to maintain security and peace in the state, Gombe state has concluded arrangement for the establishment of mobile courts to try minor and environment related offences.

    Governor Ibrahim Dakwambo dropped this hint yesterday at the passing out ceremony of 1,554 youths under the Phase II of Talba Youths Reorientation and Rehabilitation Programme trained at NYSC orientation camp, Malam-Sidi in Kwami local government.

    The Governor also announced that the operations of the Programme have been signed into law and therefore called on citizens of the state to cooperate with the Agents by adhering to rules in order to avoid being dragged before the mobile courts for adjudication.

    He said it was gratifying to note that the first set of Agents under the Programme was performing creditably, thereby making the state a role model for others.

    He noted with dismay that: “some unscrupulous enemies usually attempt to cause confusion whenever the trainee is on course,” recalling how trainees were attacked on camp during both phases of training exercise.

    “It is pathetic that those selfish individuals prefer to see the lives of these youths destroyed and wasted for their own selfish interest,” he added.

    While declaring that no degree of intimidation would deter the Programme, Dankwambo reassured the citizenry that his administration would continue to conduct programmes that would enable the youths of the state realize their potentials and contribute meaningfully to the development of the state and country.

    Gombe state Commissioner of Youths and Poverty Alleviation, Mijinyawa Sani Labaran said the youths would have themselves to blame if they played with the opportunity, urging them to discharge their responsibilities to the best of their abilities.

    Ado Solomon, The Camp Director and Director, National Orientation Agency, Gombe state said the trainees were taken through a whole lot of life changing lectures, including religious tolerance.

    He acknowledged that human beings may not be completely changed in just three weeks, hence the need public to cooperate and assist the youths.

    1,554 youths reported for camping and they were all trained as Ward, Environment, Traffic and Security

     

  • ‘2015 is terminal year for PDP in Gombe’

    ‘2015 is terminal year for PDP in Gombe’

    Former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives Alhaji Usman Nafada is a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Gombe State. He spoke with reporters on the quest for change in the state, shortly after participating in the membership registration. Correspondent Vincent Ohonbamu was there.

    What motivated you to join the APC?

    The PDP has failed to bring progress. When I was in the PDP, we had some programmes, which I think are good for this country. So, I insisted that people should come and join us to vote the PDP into power. But, from the way things are moving, I understand that all those good programmes will not be achieved. That’s why I decided to join the new party, the APC where I think there is hope to move this nation forward.

    What value would the defectors from the PDP add to the APC?

    I don’t want to believe that the majority of the people that are now in the APC are coming from the PDP. Yes, there are many members of the PDP that are joining the APC, but before we joined, there were members of the ANPP, the ACN and the CPC in the party. About six states in the South were controlled by the APC, three or thereabout in the North and six other states joined them. The reason why PDP members are joining is that we have seen a lot of hope. That is why everyday, people are joining the new party.

    Now that you are a member of the APC, what is your ambition?

    Like our leader, Goje, said, I will first of all like this party to be accepted by the people of Gombe State and Nigeria in general. After that, we will try and see how we can do our congresses and, after the congresses, we will come back to the issue of who will be this, who will be that.

    Do you think the APC can dislodge the PDP from power in Gombe State?

    If you were with me at Nafada, you would observe that maybe, the least time you have seen that kind of gathering was when the governor of Gombe State was inaugurated. What it means is that people have now joined the APC and Gombe people are ready to bury the PDP. After the registration, we will organise a rally that will bury the PDP in Gombe State. Even though it is dead already, but it is still in the mortuary, until that time when we will bury it.

    In Gombe State, members of the defunct ACN, ANPP and CPC are accusing the defectors from the PDP of hijacking the party. What is your reaction?

    There is connivance among some of them and the ruling party in the state. But, that is not to say that this is the only problem we have with them. There are a lot of problems we have with them; they want to be everything and we know our number is about hundred times their number in Gombe State. But,despite that, we have tried to carry everybody along. In Nafada, for example, the chairman was the CPC candidate for the House of Assembly. In Funakaye, the chairman was an ANPP member. In Kwami local government, it is the same thing. In about six out of the 11 local governments, the chairmen are from these legacy parties. In the state executive, about 70 percent of them are from the legacy parties. So, what do they want? What it shows is that these people are agents of the the PDP government in Gombe State. Our intention is just to leave them; their number is very insignificant and they are not going to do anything. Even, those who are saying they are members of the CPC, they won under the CPC; we know the way they won. Some of them, we know how we suffered before they won; not only those in the National Assembly, those in the House of Assembly also. We know our efforts in making them members of the National Assembly and the House of Assembly.

    What do you think the governor of Gombe State has not done right in the last three years?

    In Gombe State, there is what we call capital flight. All the monies that are supposed to be circulating in Gombe State are not in Gombe State. They are not circulating in Gombe State because major contractors working in Gombe State are not from Gombe State. Therefore, after collecting their money, they will go out with the money and leave Gombe without money. That is a great failure.

    One of the most important features of democracy is to respect the people who suffered for you; to give them the dividends of democracy. There are so many ways of giving them dividends of democracy – respect the elders, respect everybody and let them participate in the running of the government. It is not just for one man to say I am the most highly educated, I know everything, other people are just nonentities and we don’t have to work with them. But, you have to work with everybody because, when you were looking for the position, you did work with them. So, after emerging, you have to work with everybody.

    Our problem in Gombe now is poverty. If money is not circulating within the state, what do you expect? Nothing but poverty.

    It is only in Gombe and Nasarawa states that commissioners were sworn in after a year. The House of Asembly has given approval for the appointment of advisers, but how many do we have today? It is only after the emergence of the APC in Gombe that we now have about 2,000 or 3,000 PAs and SAs, which have not even started getting their salaries. In number, we have, maybe, about 3,000 or 2,000 PAs and SAs, but we know some of them are just on paper. And I understand it will be the burden of the local governments. And the local government system again in Gombe State is no longer there. We don’t have local government system again in Gombe State. For example, in my local government (Nafada), and two neighbouring local governments that I know very well, people don’t even go to work because you don’t need to go; you don’t have anything to do at the secretariat.

    Are you contesting for the governorship of Gombe State in 2015?

    Like I said before, our focus now is not who is going to contest, but to see how the people of Gombe State can accept our party. Our party is new and we want the people of the state to understand that this is the only party to belong to in Nigeria and Gombe State.

    How can the APC expand its base at the grassroots?

    I am going toTangale/Waja (Gombe South Senatorial District) for mobilisation. You know the APC is just like a bushfire and bushfire is hard to control. It is coming from the northern part of Gombe State and it is moving to other parts. It will cover the entire Gombe State. And the fire will continue to rage from there to Adamawa State.

    What is your advice to the people of Gombe State?

    I said we have seen failure in this state. We have seen failure generally. So, it is very easy for Gombe people to understand that there is no party to join than the APC. It will not be busioness as usual.

    As a former principal officer of the National Assembly, what does the law says about the defection from one party to another?

    Constitutionally, there is the right of association. That is, you can associate with anybody. What it means, even though I am not a lawyer, is that, whoever you want to associate with, you can do that; the constitution has guaranteed that. When members were moving from other parties to the PDP between 1999 and 2011, there was no problem. Now, people are leaving the PDP to other parties, or specifically to the APC, it has become a topic of discussion. They have forgotten that they enjoyed this type of movement between 1999 and 2011. I know as a former presiding officer, I have read a lot of papers, a lot of defections from the ANPP, the ACN and other parties to the PDP during our tenure and nobody raised an eyebrow. But, because members are now moving from thePDP en masse, they are saying no, constitutionally, you cannot move; if you move your seat will be declared vacant. No seat can be declared vacant because members have that right guaranteed by the constitution. That is why members are moving. So, as far as I am concerned, you can move from one party to the other.

    What is your reaction to the election timetable released by the INEC?

    Even, if you look at the Electoral Act, the National Assembly has made it a law in the Electoral Act that the timetable should be drawn by the National Assembly. But, the INEC went to court to protest that and the court said no, the constitution has given you power as the INEC to draw the timetable and that is why they went ahead now and draw the timetable. So, whatever is in the Electoral Act, if it conflicts with the constitution, the constitution prevails.

  • Tackling youth restiveness in Gombe

    Tackling youth restiveness in Gombe

    For close to eight years, youth restiveness was a common phenomenon in Gombe State. Peace was elusive as a particular class of people, popularly known as yan kalare, raided, intimidated and maimed other citizens with impunity.

    But the inception of the administration of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo brought relief as he immediately proscribed the group and its activities. The pronouncement was made at his inaugural speech when he made it clear that his administration would neither tolerate them nor their activities.

    As if it was still business as usual, three youths flouted the declaration. They were immediately jailed. Their arrests and eventual prosecution became a message to the kalare boys.

    Soon after that episode, government slackened the noose a little by offering an olive branch to the political thug group. The youth were encouraged to submit their weapons as prerequisite for enlistment into government’s re-orientation and rehabilitation programme. Thereafter, it became a criminal offence to wield weapons around in the state.

    Details of the programme may not be pointless at the moment, but suffice it to state that many well-behaved unemployed youths also saw a window of opportunity in the novel initiative and enlisted for the programme under which they were trained as Ward, Environmental and Traffic Marshals.

    This, however, was after the recommendations of the Committee on Youth Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation, one of the 12 sector-based committees constituted by Governor Dankwambo to look into all sectors of the state and proffer suggestions on how to improve or better the system.

    Recently too, the governor launched yet another groundbreaking youth empowerment package tagged Talba Empowerment Scheme (TES).

    This package “is capable of giving direct employment to 3,500 youths. The aim of the governor is to teach the people how to fish rather than to give them fish,” said the Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Hassan Muhammad.

    Components of the package include the supply and distribution of 100 Suzuki Alto cars (taxi), 50 18-seater buses, 1,050 eight-seater tricycles for commercial purposes and 220 tractors with four sets of implements at subsidised rates. By extension, it equally includes the establishment of tricycle assembling and servicing plant in the state.

    Thousands of youths have benefitted from various training schemes and skill acquisition programmes put together by the administration with the aim of curtailing the hitherto prevailing idleness and attendant restiveness among youths in Gombe State.

    Apart from these, all the programmes and policies being generated by the Governor Dankwambo’s administration are inclined towards empowerment of youths with a view to making them better citizens capable of contributing positively to the growth and development of the state.

    Prioritising the revitalisation of the educational system, building structures for the acquisition of tertiary education, massive infrastructural development; unprecedented attention to agricultural development, rural electrification and direct assistance to enhance commerce and commercial activities and other endeavours underscores the administration’s determination to better the lots of youths and the entire state.

    No wonder the governor said at the launch of the scheme that the concept of empowerment has remained in the forefront of his administration because it represents one of the most practical and realisable means of fulfilling the mandate given to him by the people of Gombe State through their overwhelming votes in the 2011 general elections.

    With all these measures, the state has witnessed tremendous growth and development. People go about their activities without fear of molestation or intimidation because the usual disturbances attributable to the kalare thugs are no longer there. There is peace as well as unity. Those who have expressed their fears about the state and vowed not to have anything to do with it due to activities of the dreaded group now visit the state at will.

    However, recent events unfolding in the state have shown tendencies of the re-emergence of the kalare boys. Most of them feared that the dare-devil boys may re-appear as 2015 general elections are around the corner.

    True to their fears, police started the random arrest of some hooligans during the ‘ember’ months of last year. But activities of the kalare boys indicating their re-emergence manifested at a wedding ceremony that took place at the palace of the Emir of Gombe in December last year.

    While the ceremony was going on, some youths clad in blue T-shirt with the inscriptions of an opposition member currently representing a portion of the northern part of Gombe State at the House of Representatives came brandishing cutlasses, sticks and daggers. One person was injured in the incident.

    Penultimate week, a representative of one of the political parties at a political party stakeholders’ meeting with the police boasted that if their political party’s symbols were removed over the night, they would retaliate in broad daylight.

    On January 21, some youths created a scene around the usually busy Bauchi Motor Park. They brandished dangerous weapons like cutlasses, cudgels, daggers and others over what eyewitnesses said was not unconnected with symbols of political parties.

    Commenting on the development, the spokesman for Gombe State Police Command, Fwaje Atajiri a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) who was contacted on the phone, said no arrest had been made as far as that incident was concerned, even as he assured that they were still investigating the matter with a view to getting to the root of the development.

    He added that some arrests were nevertheless made within the same week over another incident at Jekadefari where some youths, with dangerous weapons, attacked people and destroyed property. Jekadefari is on the same axis with Bauchi Motor Park.

    He said one other youth was arrested with one double barrel gun, a locally made pistol, 174 live ammunition and four cutlasses, adding that the two young men who were arrested in connection with killing have been prosecuted.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) expressed his disappointment over the developments, saying the police have been warning parents and political parties to ensure their wards do not get entangled in criminality.

    He, therefore, warned the restive youths and their sponsors that “the police will deal ruthlessly with anyone caught causing problems in the state. The Commissioner of Police is determined to see that Gombe State is safe for development and growth. The police are determined and nobody can spoil our efforts.”

    Governor Dankwambo has done so well to restore and sustain the peace in Gombe State.

    Government should not rest on its oars and watch its efforts go down the drain. The forces that made kalare thrive and thick in the past may be at it again to probably rattle, unsettle and eventually scuttle government’s good intentions for the people.

     

  • In Gombe, a way to end youth restiveness

    In Gombe, a way to end youth restiveness

    A band of youths called Yan Kalare once tormented Gombe residents. They beat up and maimed people when they pleased. Residents had a healthy fear of them. One day, Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo cut them to size, bringing relief to the entire state.

    How did Dankwambo do it? He banned them but when some of the boys dared him, the governor threw three of them into jail. But that was not all. He also provided jobs to idle youths in addition to offering thugs the olive branch. Lay down your arms and we will train you in skills, he told them It also became a crime to carry weapons illegally in Gombe. That was the magic.

    Well-behaved, unemployed youths saw a window of opportunity in the novel initiative and enlisted in the programme under which they were trained as ward, environmental or traffic marshals.

    This was after the recommendations of the Committee on Youth Empowerment and Poverty Alleviation, one of the 12 sector-based committees constituted by Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo to look into all sectors of the state and proffer suggestions on how to improve them.

    Recently, the governor also launched another groundbreaking youth empowerment package tagged Talba Empowerment Scheme (TES). This package “is capable of giving direct employment to 3,500 youths. The aim of the governor is to teach the people to fish rather than to give them fish,” said the Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Hassan Muhammad.

    Components of the package include the supply and distribution of 100 Suzuki Alto cars (taxi), 50 18-seater buses, 1,050 eight-seater tricycles for commercial purposes and 220 tractors with four sets of implements at subsidised rates. By extension, it equally includes the establishment of tricycle assembly and servicing plant in the state.

    Also, thousands of youths have benefitted from various training schemes and skill acquisition programmes by the administration with the sole aim of curtailing the hitherto prevailing idleness and attendant restiveness among youths in Gombe.

    Apart these, all the programmes and policies being generated by the Governor Dankwambo administration are inclined towards the empowerment of youths in the state with a view to making them better citizens capable of contributing positively to the growth and development of the state.

    Prioritising focus on the revitalisation of the educational system, building structures for the acquisition of tertiary education, massive infrastructural development, unprecedented attention to agricultural development, rural electrification and direct assistance to enhanced commerce and commercial activities and other endeavours too numerous to mention underscore the administration’s determination to better the lot of youths and the entire state.

    With all these measures, all has been well in the state. People go about their business without fear of molestation or intimidation because the usual disturbances attributable to the kalare thugs are no longer there. Those who feared to visit the state for so many years due to fear of the dreaded group now come and go at will.

    However, recent events have shown tendencies of the re-emergence of Kalare boys. Police started arresting some hooligans during the ‘ember months. Hooligans also struck at a wedding at the palace of the Emir of Gombe in December.

    On January 21, some youths created a scene around the usually busy Bauchi Motor Park, brandishing cutlasses, cudgels, daggers and other dangerous weapons.

    Commenting on the development, the spokesman for Gombe State Police Command, Fwaje Atajiri, DSP who was contacted on the phone, said no arrest had been made but assured that they were still investigating with a view to getting to the root of the development.

    The PPRO sounded disappointment over the developments because the police according to him have been warning parents and political parties to ensure their Wards do not get entangled in criminality.

    He therefore warned the restive youths and their sponsors, saying, “the police will deal ruthlessly with anyone caught causing problems in the state. The Police Commissioner is determined to see that Gombe is safe and secure. The police are determined and nobody can spoil our efforts.”

    From all indications, the situation at hand is dicey and should be handled with the urgency it demands because if care is not taken, it could be hotter than what obtained in the eight that preceded the incumbent administration.

    Governor Dankwambo has done so well to restore and sustain the peace in Gombe state thus far. Residents have become relived and relaxed in the convivial atmosphere; he also has found the situation a healthy atmosphere to deliver democratic dividends at an unparalleled pace over a short period of time.

    So, should government now rest on its oars and watch its efforts go down the drain? The forces that made kalare thrive and thick in the past may be at it again to probably rattle, unsettle and eventually scuttle the government of the day.

    Besides and more importantly, the security of lives and property is at stake. Government should not allow a few selfish individuals to continue to massage their egos at the expense of the vast majority through the shedding of blood.

    Government should dig deep and fathom ways of dealing with the situation with the same intensity it is developing. It did before and can do it again.

     

  • Gombe records over 50% drop in leprosy cases

    THE Gombe State Leprosy and Tuberculosis Control agency has confirmed a more than 50% drop in the prevalence rate of the disease in the state, with statistics reading 100 cases in 2012 and 47 in 20 13. The Project Manager, Dr Mustapha Musa, stated this at Kwadon village in Yamaltu/ Deba Local Government Area of Gombe State, yesterday during the state’s commemoration of World Leprosy day, with the theme ‘Joining Forces Accelerating Progress.’ He ascribed the success to the level of awareness among the general public, as people with symptoms of the disease now report to hospitals on good time to access the treatment. He said the disease is curable if the treatment starts early, adding that people may not even notice any trace on the patient that access treatment early. Dr. Musa further said the commemoration of Leprosy day was aimed at making government more politically committed to its eradication. “We want to eradicate the disease totally in the state and the entire country,” he said.

  • ‘PDP can’t retain power in 2015’

    ‘PDP can’t retain power in 2015’

    Alhaji Umar Duhu is the All Progressives Congress (APC) Interim National Vice Chairman (Northeast). He spoke with Correspondent Vincent Ohonbamu in Gombe, the capital of Gombe State, on the Jonathan administration, the 2015 polls and other partian issues, shortly after inaugurating the state’s Interim Working Committee.

    WhAT is your mission in Gombe? My purpose of coming to Gombe this afternoon is to formally inaugurate the Interim State Working Committee, which will run the affairs of our party between now and the time we will conduct our congresses. The members of the committee are to oversee the affairs of the party and liaise with the registration committees from the national headquarters. They will work hand in hand to ensure that all eligible, enthusiastic and prospective members of the APC are registered so that they can participate in our congresses, which will commence with the national convention of the party.

    Gombe is a PDP state. What is the chance of the APC here?

    Our chances are 75/25 because we believe the entire Northeast region is solidly behind the APC and, from the foregoing, you can see that we have three governments controlled by the APC. And the former governor of the state, who handed over to Dankwambo, has formerly declared for the APC. So, we are so confident that, with the structure he has on ground, vis-a-vis the legacy party structures that were on ground before, we have the highest chance of winning election in Gombe State. By and large, we will also deliver Gombe State to the presidential candidate of the APC, come rain, come shine.

    When precisely is the membership registration taking place?

    Our registration will start by February and, if it finishes within that month, we will immediately after the registration start the ward congresses. I mean we will start from the units, the wards, local governments, state congress and then, the national convention. So, we intend to finish everything by the end of March.

    Do you have any message for the admirers of the APC?

    Well,s my advice to them is to be law abiding and to continue to play it according to the rules so that we don’t castigate people because we are in different political parties. They should also criticise based on ideas, based on suggestions, so that the sitting governor can sit up and deliver the dividends of democracy to the citizenry. We are not out to insult His Excellency; he is man of repute, he is a governor in his own right and a leader by statute. So, we’ll continue to respect him, until such a time we’ll defeat him politically at the polls. That is our mission and we intend to do that. We will not insult him; he is the governor. But the APC will definitely give him a fight for his money come rain, come shine and we will defeat him insha Allah

    What is the grouse of the APC against the Presidency?

    The man, as our leader rightly said, is still a kindergarten President. He is still learning, he has not taken Nigeria as a constituent. He has become more of a sectional leader. That is why people look at him and point fingers in his eyes and say look, Mr. President, you are not doing the right thing. So, I can allude to the fact that the man is not a leader that Nigerians will appreciate because the sufferings being inflicted on the majority of the citizenry have made Nigerians to begin to doubt the sincerity of the President. He is not perceived as the President of Nigeria. Rather, he is perceived as a sectional leader; he is sentimental in his judgement. He has forgotten that he was made the President by the common man. And at the same time, I will tell you that President Jonathan, if I am to score him, I will score him 15 percent because he has done nothing significant to suggest that he is the President of Nigeria, considering the colossal sums of money that Nigeria has made over the years. The regime has continued to condone impunity and it has been able to shield fraudulent public officers. I don’t know by whatever means, but he is the President that has given them the protection. So, they continue to steal our money with impunity.

    So, what advice do you have for him?

    I think, if he doesn’t sit up, he should resign or we will force the National Assembly to impeach him.

    Information reaching us tends to suggest that the the APC is factionalised in Gombe. What is the true position?

    All the members of the legacy parties are here with me at this inauguration. Behind me is my national officer from the party representing Gombe State in the interim national executive of the party. All the chairmen of the legacy parties are outside there. It’s just that some of our national leaders were coming from Abuja and you know what politics is all about. They blocked the runway. So, their aircraft could not land. But, we are not deterred, despite all odds, despite all the threats. I’ve been sent so many threats that if I come, they will kill me. But, I said, let me come and I will face them fire for fire. I am here, I have inaugurated successfully this committee. I am taking my leave and by God’s grace, nothing will happen to me and nothing will happen to any citizen of Gombe State because we are law abiding and we believe in God. It is God that gives and takes away power from whom He so desires at the time He wants

    A faction of the party led by Abubakar Aliyu is accusing Sen. Danjuma Goje of hijacking the party hierarchy. What do you have to say?

    I can assure you that there is no faction in thec Gombe APC. Apart from Abubakar Aliyu, who made that statement, other members of the party are here. The state party leaders are here. The members of the PDP that merged with the APC are here. So, who is the other person that you are talking about? If Abubakar Aliyu is working for the incumbent government, he should go and work for the incumbent government or resign from the APC and go and work for the government. He cannot be in government and also feel that he is in the APC. We will not tolerate that. The party is going to be very decisive; we’ll take decisive action against party members that are standing on the fence, that cannot decide whether they should be in the APC or the PDP. You cannot be in two political parties at the same time. It is either you are here or you are there.

    Could you shed light on the APC reconciliation in Gombe?

    I will tell you that, if our members are fighting, they will not be pressent at this inauguration. So, I don’t know where the problem is coming from. You are trying to create problem out of noting. I can assure you that, in Gombe APC, there is no faction. I am confident about that. There is no faction in Gombe APC ,as far as I am concerned. And anybody that has anything to say, we now have the leadership. Let him complain to the leadership. They should channel it to the leadership and the leadership will address it. Where it fails, then, we will step in as national officers of the party.

    Can the APC dislodge the PDP in 2015?

    I am highly confident that come rain, come shine, the APC will seize power from the incumbent. And, like I told you, we have respect for leaders. He (Dankwambo) is a governor in his own right. We will not castigate him. What we will do is to criticise him constructively and make sure that people understand where he is lacking and what we intend to do to capitalise on his lapses. The APC will spread the dividends of democracy. We was the local people at the grassroots to have a sense of belonging. We wants them to participate in the leadership of his country. We wants to give them voice in the state. We want them to drive development at the local level. The APC wants to make them proud as Nigerians.

     

  • Gombe to spend N107b

    Gombe to spend N107b

    Gombe State is to spend N107 billion in the fiscal year.

    An analysis of the “budget of restoration” shows that Capital Expenditure received a larger share with N63 billion, representing 59.45 per cent.

    Commissioner for Finance Hassan Muhammadu said N43 billion, representing 50.55 per cent, was earmarked for Recurrent Expenditure.

    A breakdown shows that the economy got the lion share with N43 billion.

    This was followed by the social sector, which got N16 billion.

    Muhammadu said the marginal increase as against last year’s revised budget was due to the desire to impact positively on the lives of the people.

    He said the priority areas were education, youth empowerment and poverty alleviation, agriculture, health, environment and potable water supply, works and infrastructure as well as creating the enabling environment for foreign and domestic investors.

    The commissioner said government would track all incomes and expenditures in compliance with the relevant budgetary provisions.

    The government was to spend N108billion last year but later revised it to N99 billion to optimise resources utilisation.

  • Gombe proposes N107.4bn budget for 2014

    Gombe proposes N107.4bn budget for 2014

    GOMBE State governor, Dr. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, yesterday presented a budget proposal of N107, 453,594,650.00 billion to the state House of Assembly for consideration as the fiscal plan for the 2014 financial year. The budget is made up of a recurrent expenditure of N43, 587,156,150.00 billion and a capital expenditure of N63, 866,438,500.00 billion. The governor said the financial document, tagged, “budget of restoration” is predicated on an estimated recurrent revenue and capital receipts of N50, 820,800,000.00 billion and N55, 833,643,750.00 billion respectively, with an anticipated budget deficit of N678, 044,750.00 million. He said the policy thrust of the budget is to guide the progress towards the implementation of the administration’s projects/ programmes, which include its 2011 – 2015 action plan, the vision 20-20-20 and the sectoral plans. The budget proposal, according to Governor Dankwambo, “include the continued implementation of all on-going projects and programmes, as well as the initiation of new ones. “Strengthening the reduction of poverty, employment generation, and wealth creation policies and programmes; enhanced access to quality healthcare services, housing, and microcredit. “Continued attention to education; harnessing the huge agricultural potentials of the state for food security and employment generation; continued infrastructure development; and maintenance of peace and security among others.” Under the sectoral focus, works and infrastructure subsector got N15, 590,000,000.00 billion to top the allocation chart. This is followed by education, with 9,218,244,000.00 billion, while general administration came third with N3,587,900,000.00 billion share of the budget. Housing and Transport, Health and education followed in the order of N2.937 billion, N2.645 billion and N2.548 billion respectively, with the least budget of N43million allocated to local government and community development. Presenting the budget, Dankwambo said this year’s financial plan is unique because it was prepared in line with the International Public Sector Accounting Standards IPSAS, hence a deviation from the traditional system of incremental budgeting. He explained that the fiscal arrangement is tagged budget of restoration because it spelt “the determination to further restore the confidence of the people of the state in good governance, and also restore the lost glory of the state in the national and sub-national development arena.” The governor solicited the full cooperation and support of the citizenry, as he assured of the administration’s continued focus towards achieving its mission and vision of galvanising the economy of the state.