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Tag: Governor Aminu Bello Masari

  • ‘Nigeria has 15 million drug addicts’

    The Chairman Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse, Brigadier Gen. Mohammed Buba Marwa on Thursday in Katsina declared Nigeria has about 15 million drug addicts.

    Marwa, who described the development as alarming, further put the global average rating of drug use and abuse at five per cent.

    He however stated the rating for Nigeria was 15 percent.

    The former Lagos State Military Administrator spoke after leading members of his committee to the Katsina Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

     He said: “We have an emergency situation before us regarding the issue of drugs abuse in Nigeria.

    “The federal government decided to raise the committee to proffer recommendations and steps to be taken to resolve the issue of drug abuse in the country.’’

    While on a courtesy call on Governor Aminu Bello Masari, the chairman told the Governor that the committee commenced its work last December.

     According to him: “We started our work since December and finished the plenary and now we are visiting states across the country.

    “On the whole, we are facing the supply side of the drugs, in terms of cutting the supply because you must have drugs first before the abuse.

    READ ALSO: Our success stories with ex-drug addicts, by CADAM

    “The government agencies involved need to be strengthened to be able to carry out their functions effectively and the demand side appears to be more difficult to handle.

     “We also need to take preventive measures to ensure that those who do not take the drugs remain so. We have to interface with esteemed leaders across the country.

    “We feel that there ought to be committees on drugs abuse right from the federal to the local governments and across the communities.”

    He added:  “We do know that the causes of drug abuse include but not limited to poverty, joblessness and idleness which translate to looking for jobs.

    “Rehabilitation and counseling centres are few. We will interface with religious organisations and traditional leaders and also examine the Almajirai situation and embellish it with Western education. The Almajirai in the course of their training do other things that are not good for them.”

    Masari described the state’s borders with the neighbouring Niger Republic as porous, adding that unscrupulous elements exploit the situation to smuggle illicit drugs and other substances into Nigeria.

    He said: “The fundamental issue which we have to address is education. The most effective way is massive investment in public education because that is where you have over 90 per cent of the population.

    “In a situation where over 70 per cent of the population is excluded from access to education, chances of poverty are high and the lack of jobs for the youth creates an opportunity for them to take to anything that will make them feel happy.’’

  • Masari tasks Judiciary on quick dispensation of Justice

    Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina state has charged the judiciary to ensure quick dispensation of justice through timely delivery of judgments and avoidance of prolonged adjournments

    Masari who gave the admonition while swearing in the newly appointed state chief judge, Justice Musa Danladi Abubakar, further urged members of the bench particularly, to maintain their enviable reputation as men of conscience that are fair, just and firm in the discharge of their responsibilities.

    Recall that the swearing of Justice Abubakar followed his confirmation by the National Judicial Council (NJC) as the Chief Judge of Katsina State. His swearing in, followed the retirement of former chief Judge, Justice Abdullahi Yusuf, as Chief Judge of the state. Abubakar was until his appointment, the Judge of the Katsina state High Court.

    Read Also:Alleged non-declaration of assets: CCT frees Justice Ngwuta

    The chief judge, who was sworn in alongside Al-hafiz Mika’il Abubakar as the state Grand Khadi, was called to bar in 1982 and began his legal career with Kaduna state Ministry of Justice as pupil state counsel.

    At the swearing in ceremony at Government House, Governor Masari said the state would continue to pray for the chief judge and the grand khadi to enable them to discharge their responsibilities in accordance with the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    He said, “Your job is the most difficult one, difficult in the sense that you are the last hope for the people of Katsina state. People who know will come before you soliciting for assistance, so in that circumstances one should pray to Allah to guide you in dealing with such cases”.

    The Governor described Justice Abubakar as an erudite jurist, whose experience and practice of the legal profession has been a reproach, stressing that he has over the years established an enviable reputation as a man of conscience who is fair, just and firm in the discharge of his responsibilities.

     

  • Photos: Masari, Tambuwal, others condole Tinubu over son’s death

    Photos: Masari, Tambuwal, others condole Tinubu over son’s death

    From left, APC National Leader; Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State and Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State when the Governors paid a condolence visit to the former Lagos State Governor at his Abuja residence on Tuesday, 1st November, 2017, over the death of his son Jide.
    From left, APC National Leader; Chief Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State and Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal of Sokoto State when the Governors paid a condolence visit to the former Lagos State Governor at his Abuja residence on Tuesday, 1st November 2017, over the death of his son Jide.
  • Photo News: Shettima, Tambuwal, others visit S/East over IPOB

    Photo News: Shettima, Tambuwal, others visit S/East over IPOB

    Kashim Shettima
    L-R: Governor of Kebbi State, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State, Governor Aminu Bello Masari of Katsina State and their Sokoto State counterpart, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja yesterday shortly before their flight to meet their South East counterparts for a fence-mending interface.

     

  • Masari laments state of education in Katsina

    Masari laments state of education in Katsina

    ….says, 58,000 out of 250,000 passed WAEC, NECO in 3 years

    Governor Aminu Bello Masari has lamented the state of education in Katsina state Monday, warning that a lot needed to be done in order to salvage the situation.

    The Governor decried that, out of 250,000 students presented for WAEC and NECO exams between 2011 and 2013, only 58,000 made five credits, including English and Mathematics.

    Speaking during a Town Hall meeting with Katsina state indigenes resident in Kaduna, the governor lamented that education used to occupy a pride of place amongst Katsina people but the situation has now changed for the worse.

    ‘’There is no position in Nigeria that a Katsina indigene has not occupied. We are the only state that has produced the presidency of Nigeria three times. This is a foundation that was built by our parents but before our own eyes, we have left it to deteriorate,’’ Masari said.

    According to the governor, the situation is not peculiar to Katsina state alone but the whole of Northwest.

    ‘’Every survey or study that has been carried out by development partners or federal ministry of education show that the North West is the most backward in education and that is where poverty is the most severe,’’ he said, adding that ‘’the situation didn’t start now, it is as a result of past neglect.’’

    Governor Masari said that the highest that Katsina state has recorded in WAEC or NECO exams is 11%, that means those that have five credits, including English and Mathematics.

    Masari clarified that the 11% score is not limited to residents of Katsina state alone but all Katsina indigenes throughout the country. ‘’From 2011 to 2013, we have presented 250,000 candidates for WAEC and NECO out of which only 58,000 got five credits that comprise English and Mathematics,’’ he added.

    ‘’When we removed students in private schools in Katsina state and our indigenes that sat for the external exams in other states, the number of students who got five credits, including English and Mathematics in public schools which government is running  is about 340 to 500 students,’’ he added.

    The governor reiterated that 95% of Katsina indigenes live in the state, adding that if that  percentage can only produce less than 5000 students who are eligible go to tertiary institutions, then there is a big problem.

    Governor Masari said that, his administration has set up a committee that visited all the primary and secondary schools in Katsina State and the committee did a head count. He said that, there was a great disparity between what was on ground and the figures in the register.

    ‘’What the committee found in the register is that there are 1.2 million pupils in primary schools but when it conducted a head count, the committee counted only 728,000. In secondary schools, it saw that  378, 000 students were on the register but only 328, 000 were actually on ground,’’ he added.

    Masari recalled that UNICEF and federal ministry of education finished a survey in 2013. ‘’They found out that there are 80% of out of school children in all the states in the North West. Only 20% are attending primary schools. In contrast, southern states up to Kogi state have enrolment rate of 80%, ‘’ he said.

    According to him, the same UNICEF and DFID conducted another survey in the North West where they interviewed and assessed  primary school teachers. ‘’Most of them couldn’t  pass the exams of the primary four pupils that they were teaching,‘’ Masari said.

  • Top govt functionaries rally support for Katsina development

    Top govt functionaries rally support for Katsina development

    Top government functionaries and civil servants of Katsina State have gathered in Kaduna to develop a comprehensive roadmap for the development of the state.

    Governor Aminu Bello Masari who declared the meeting tagged, ‘Strategic Retreat for top Government Functionaries’ open tasked the participants to critically assess his government’s performance in the key priority sectors.

    According to the Governor, the retreat must review the journey so far and look into the next two years of the administration.

    “The retreat is expected to present to the government a comprehensive roadmap for the implementation of the various aspects of the Restoration Agenda, taking into cognizance the short, medium and long-term development plan for Katsina State to consolidate on the achievements so far recorded and tackle the challenges encountered in the formulation and implementation stages.

    “Therefore, this mid-term pause is expected to assess critically our performance in the key priority sectors of the Restoration Agenda and also discuss developing areas, such as Resource Development and others”, he said.

    The Governor noted that his administration projected receivable revenue of N80.2bn from Federal Allocation and Internally Generated Revenue for 2016, but only N50.5bn was received.

    He, however, stressed the need for the government to improve the poor performance in the area of revenue generation ahead of the 2017 fiscal year through training of accounting officers to be prepared to accept changes in dealing with public finance and accounting.

    “In addition also, the operators must undergo training through workshops, on the job training and so on to improve on their performances. Critical to this is a clear understanding of the 5-year Development Plan which is the torch lamp meant to show the road in our march to restoration.

  • Alleged N74.6b fraud: I’m a victim of political persecution – Shema insists

    Alleged N74.6b fraud: I’m a victim of political persecution – Shema insists

    The detained former Governor of Katsina State, Alh. Ibrahim Shema on Wednesday insisted that he is a victim of political persecution.

    Shema is currently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in connection with the ongoing probe of the alleged N74.6billion fraud.

    The former Governor maintained that he is also ready to defend himself based on the fairness, justice and the rule of law.

    However, Shema faulted Governor Aminu Bello Masari for advising him to go and defend his reputation.

    Shema, who made his views known in a statement through the Head of his Media Team, Oluwabusola Olawale, said that he should be charged according to the rule of law not according to political and media trial which is presently the trend.

    The statement said: “Our attention has been drawn to the statement credited to Governor Aminu Bello Masari in the media offering unsolicited advice to former Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema on the need to defend his reputation.

    “ That has been our position since Governor Masari embarked on character assassination and witch hunting of Ibrahim Shema,  we have said it several times that Shema should be charged according to the rule of law not political and media trial which is presently the trend.

    “It is curious and surprising that more than a year that Governor Masari has been telling the whole world through over 100 radio, television and newspapers interviews that he has evidence to prosecute Ibrahim Shehu Shema of PDP, he has failed to prosecute and charge Shema to the court of competent jurisdiction with his evidence yet he has pronounced Shema guilty of the offences through the media without trial.

    “Governor Aminu Bello Masari further exposed himself and his hatred for Shema in his statement published on Wednesday, September 21, 2016 in some selected newspapers when he stated that ” our advice to the former Katsina state Governor is that he should be manly enough to bear his cross without casting himself as an injured party innocent of the offences he willfully committed.”

    “With this statement, Governor Masari of APC has pronounced Shema guilty of offences without trial and we are leaving the rest to the public to judge.”

    Shema insisted that his travails were nothing but political persecution.

    The statement added: “So far we have been vindicated that Shema is facing nothing but political persecution. This is further confirmed by the fact that the government is yet to charge Ibrahim Shehu Shema to court for any of the offences he was said to have committed despite more than a year of investigation by Governor Masari of APC by setting up over 13 different committees populated by APC card carrying members/ even members of his cabinet,  a judicial commission of inquiry which is currently sitting in Katsina,  ICPC  and EFCC, etc, all these for just one man who served Katsina state as a Governor for 8 years without obtaining any loan both local and foreign; not owing workers any salary arrears as at May 29,2015; executed numerous laudable projects that have become a nightmare to his predecessor, and left a debt free state.

    “We are not surprised that Governor Masari is now denying the fact that he is the sole architect of Ibrahim Shehu Shema witch hunting using the institutions of government through his wicked allegations and frivolous petitions.

    “We are not surprised that Governor Masari of APC  in his publication changed the EFCC figure of N68 billion to N106 billion as the amount of which EFCC is investigating Shema activities as a governor; we are not surprised  about the denials and daily changing the figure of allegations because that is his traits.

    “It is a public knowledge the claims  of  Governor Masari that he inherited empty treasury from his predecessor only for his Special Adviser on Budget, Abdullahi Imam to disclose on August 24, 2016, during the sitting of the Commission of Inquiry set up by Governor Masari that about N 4 billion was left in the Sure P account by Shema administration.

    “Therefore,  Governor Masari should not run away from being responsible for witch hunting Ibrahim Shehu Shema and whatever happens to the former Governor through this political persecution, he will be held responsible.

    “On the issue of declaration of Shema wanted by the EFCC, we have stated the facts and truths in our open letter to the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and if Governor Masari has now become the spokesman for EFCC we are not going to join issues with him.

    “Our appeal to the institution of government like EFCC and its respected leadership  who has reputation to protect, is not to allow its image to be tarnished through the desperation of Governor Masari of APC to destroy Ibrahim Shehu Shema, the Commission should allow fairness, justice and rule of law to prevail against Governor Masari wicked, malicious and spurious allegations.

    “Our position still remains the same, that former Governor Ibrahim Shehu Shema of PDP is ready to defend himself based on the fairness,  justice and rule of law against the malicious and frivolous petitions of Governor Masari of APC, but not political and media trial.

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