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Tag: Ishaku

  • Late Hajia Dada: Former Taraba gov, Ishaku condoles Yar’adua family

    Late Hajia Dada: Former Taraba gov, Ishaku condoles Yar’adua family

    The immediate past governor of Taraba state, Arc. Darius Ishaku, has sympathised with the family of Yar’adua over the demise of their matriarch.

    Recall that Hajia Dada Yar’adua died and has since been buried according to Islamic rites.

    Ishaku joinined well meaning Nigerians who have continued to mourn the late mother of the former president of Nigeria.

    Read Also: Speaker Abbas mourns late ex-president Yar’adua’s mother

    Ishaku, in a condolence message, said his thoughts and prayers are with the family.

    He said: “I was profoundly saddened to learn of the passing of Hajia Dada Yar’adua. Her life was a beacon of strength and unwavering love, reflected in the remarkable legacy she leaves behind. As the mother of late President Umaru Musa Yar’adua, she not only nurtured a leader but also shaped a family with her wisdom and kindness.

    “To the Yar’adua family, in this time of grief, please accept my deepest condolences. Her memory will undoubtedly remain a guiding light and a source of solace. May the love and strength that she imparted to us all bring comfort and peace as we navigate through this loss.”

  • Ishaku: A rescue captain at 65

    In his piece, Bala Dan Abu extols the virtues of Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku, who clocks 65 this week.

    A couple of weeks ago, I sought for and got an audience with my boss, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku. The venue was his main office in Government House, Jalingo and my mission was to first remind him of his 65th birthday anniversary which was fast approaching and then seek his permission to make some elaborate arrangements for a befitting celebration in the media. What I got was an emphatic rejection of the celebration plan.

    But he was quick in providing an explanation, perhaps, to assuage my feeling of disappointment.  “How can I be celebrating my birthday when my people are being killed? That statement was both a question and an answer rolled into one sentence. And so, I needed no further explanation. I just took back my memo file and left.

    That encounter says volumes about Ishaku, a renown architect and town planner who has been in the saddle as Executive Governor of Tararaba State since May 29, 2015. It says a lot about his humanity, the depth of his love, empathy and care for the people of Taraba, particularly, victims of the incessant herdsmen killings and kidnappings in the state and also of the communal clashes involving Tiv and Jukun living along the Taraba/Benue borders. It is also a loud statement of his abhorrence and rejection of violence as a means of dispute resolution.

    These crises and conflicts have not only given Ishaku stressful days and sleepless nights but have created for Taraba State – our beloved “Nature’s Gift to the Nation” – the underserved image of a place that is perpetually in turmoil. That image is hurting social and economic activities and the development agenda of his administration in which foreign investors are expected to participate actively.

    Crisis was strange to the boisterous culture of communal life that Ishaku was born into on July 30, 1954 in Lupwe in present day Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State. Lupwe was then more of a missionary settlement where every person was the other person’s good neighbor. There was no discrimination on the basis of tribe, religion or occupation. The young then Darius imbibed that culture. His grandfather was a pastor and his father, a teacher. Both professions created an ambience of peace and love which brought the children of other parents to live and grow together under the care of the parents of the young Darius and his siblings. It also shaped the future attitude of Darius to people and issues. Even as governor, he has not stopped wondering why anybody would take up a gun or any offensive weapon to kill and maim a fellow human being.

    School environment further widened the scope of the cross-cultural exposure for Ishaku. At St Bartholomew Primary School, Wusasa, Zaria, where his school career started in 1961, he met and studied side by side with children from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. He left there in 1967 with a good School Leaving Certificate for the famous St Paul’s College, Kufena, also in Zaria, where he obtained the West African School Certificate in 1972. In the same year, he was admitted into the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained a B.sc. and a Masters in Architecture aa well as a Masters in Urban Planning. He was a part-time lecturer and a doctoral student in the same institution before politics eventually took over.

    Before he went fully into politics, Ishaku had made his mark as architect and urban planner through his own private company. He is a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Archtitects, FNIA, and also fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, FNITP.

    Despite his outstanding success in his profession, politics remained for him an irresistible attraction. In 2003, he took the plunge. He ran for a senate seat in his Southern Taraba constituency. He lost the seat but gained useful experience that was to help his political career years later. In 2011, he was appointed Minister of State for power under the Goodluck Jonathan presidency. Later he was deployed to the Ministry of Niger Delta Development in the same capacity. He also had the privilege of supervising the Ministry of Environment at the same time. The experience he gained from these three key ministries and his professional calling as an architect prepared him adequately for exemplary leadership of honesty and service delivery which have been the hallmark of his administration as governor of Taraba State.

    In 2014, Ishaku decided to try his luck at the polls once more but this time round, for the position of Governor of Taraba State. He voluntarily resigned from his job as minister. The contest was fierce but against all odds, he won at the polls. He also triumphed over his opponent in the litigations that came on the heels of that victory. His re-election in March this year for a second term was with a greater margin of victory. Support for him was massive. All the gubernatorial candidates of all the political parties in the election, with the exception of two, withdrew from the race and endorsed him for re-election. It was their own way of acknowledging the good job Ishaku  is doing in the state. He was sworn in for a second term on May 29, 2019.

    Ishaku’s background of a gentle and peace-loving person has immensely helped in his handling of the affairs of the state. At the time he took over as governor in 2015, Taraba state was in crises. Communal and religious conflicts were rife. Basic infrastructure in the state were also in dilapidation and crying for urgent attention. His campaign trips round the state were an eye-opener on the level of decay of basic infrastructure and social services. Taraba was a state in dire need of rescue.

    Ishaku put together a rescue team and assumed the position of the rescue captain. But peace must first be achieved before any meaningful development can be achieved. He coined his now very famous peace mantra – “Give me peace and I will give you development.” It was meant to appeal to the conscience of the people to stop fighting and embrace peace so that development which had eluded the state for many years could be pursued and achieved.

    Four years down the line, the Ishaku administration has successfully given the state a new positive name. The people may not have fulfilled their own part of the bargain of giving him peace but he has succeeded tremendously in his rescue mission. Today more than 300 communities which previously had no good drinking water now do so, courtesy of the administration’s rural water development scheme. Most homes in Jalingo now enjoy water provided by the repositioned state water agency. Jalingo is looking up to the completion of the biggest water project in this part of the country for a lasting solution to water scarcity in the city. The Ishaku administration is currently working very hard at it.

    Education, health, power and transportation and many other sectors have all profited from the rescue agenda of the Ishaku administration. The WAEC scores by students from the state rose from less than 20 percent in 2015 to 75.3 percent in 2018 making the state the best in the entire northern states and number eight in the country. The state also now has three functional hospitals, renovated and equipped with state of the art facilities by the rescue administration. Governor Ishaku is also acknowledged as the governor in the North East zone who purchased and installed the highest number of transformers and thereby contributing the most in improving power supply in Taraba State. For this achievement, the Yola Electricity Distribution Company rewarded him with an award.

    In four years, Governor Ishaku was honoured with not less than 20 awards by various local and international organisations for his achievements. His achievements in the health sector earned him an award of recognition by the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA. The Water Man of the Year award came from the Water Suppliers Association of Nigeria for his radical approach in the provision of water.

  • Ishaku: A rescue captain at 65

    In his piece,Bala Dan Abu extols the virtues of Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku, who clocks 65 this week.

    A couple of weeks ago, I sought for and got an audience with my boss, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku. The venue was his main office in Government House, Jalingo and my mission was to first remind him of his 65th birthday anniversary which was fast approaching and then seek his permission to make some elaborate arrangements for a befitting celebration in the media. What I got was an emphatic rejection of the celebration plan.

    But he was quick in providing an explanation, perhaps, to assuage my feeling of disappointment.  “How can I be celebrating my birthday when my people are being killed? That statement was both a question and an answer rolled into one sentence. And so, I needed no further explanation. I just took back my memo file and left.

    That encounter says volumes about Ishaku, a renown architect and town planner who has been in the saddle as Executive Governor of Tararaba State since May 29, 2015. It says a lot about his humanity, the depth of his love, empathy and care for the people of Taraba, particularly, victims of the incessant herdsmen killings and kidnappings in the state and also of the communal clashes involving Tiv and Jukun living along the Taraba/Benue borders. It is also a loud statement of his abhorrence and rejection of violence as a means of dispute resolution.

    These crises and conflicts have not only given Ishaku stressful days and sleepless nights but have created for Taraba State – our beloved “Nature’s Gift to the Nation” – the underserved image of a place that is perpetually in turmoil. That image is hurting social and economic activities and the development agenda of his administration in which foreign investors are expected to participate actively.

    Crisis was strange to the boisterous culture of communal life that Ishaku was born into on July 30, 1954 in Lupwe in present day Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State. Lupwe was then more of a missionary settlement where every person was the other person’s good neighbor. There was no discrimination on the basis of tribe, religion or occupation. The young then Darius imbibed that culture. His grandfather was a pastor and his father, a teacher. Both professions created an ambience of peace and love which brought the children of other parents to live and grow together under the care of the parents of the young Darius and his siblings. It also shaped the future attitude of Darius to people and issues. Even as governor, he has not stopped wondering why anybody would take up a gun or any offensive weapon to kill and maim a fellow human being.

    School environment further widened the scope of the cross-cultural exposure for Ishaku. At St Bartholomew Primary School, Wusasa, Zaria, where his school career started in 1961, he met and studied side by side with children from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. He left there in 1967 with a good School Leaving Certificate for the famous St Paul’s College, Kufena, also in Zaria, where he obtained the West African School Certificate in 1972. In the same year, he was admitted into the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained a B.sc. and a Masters in Architecture aa well as a Masters in Urban Planning. He was a part-time lecturer and a doctoral student in the same institution before politics eventually took over.

    Before he went fully into politics, Ishaku had made his mark as architect and urban planner through his own private company. He is a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Archtitects, FNIA, and also fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, FNITP.

    Despite his outstanding success in his profession, politics remained for him an irresistible attraction. In 2003, he took the plunge. He ran for a senate seat in his Southern Taraba constituency. He lost the seat but gained useful experience that was to help his political career years later. In 2011, he was appointed Minister of State for power under the Goodluck Jonathan presidency. Later he was deployed to the Ministry of Niger Delta Development in the same capacity. He also had the privilege of supervising the Ministry of Environment at the same time. The experience he gained from these three key ministries and his professional calling as an architect prepared him adequately for exemplary leadership of honesty and service delivery which have been the hallmark of his administration as governor of Taraba State.

    In 2014, Ishaku decided to try his luck at the polls once more but this time round, for the position of Governor of Taraba State. He voluntarily resigned from his job as minister. The contest was fierce but against all odds, he won at the polls. He also triumphed over his opponent in the litigations that came on the heels of that victory. His re-election in March this year for a second term was with a greater margin of victory. Support for him was massive. All the gubernatorial candidates of all the political parties in the election, with the exception of two, withdrew from the race and endorsed him for re-election. It was their own way of acknowledging the good job Ishaku  is doing in the state. He was sworn in for a second term on May 29, 2019.

    Ishaku’s background of a gentle and peace-loving person has immensely helped in his handling of the affairs of the state. At the time he took over as governor in 2015, Taraba state was in crises. Communal and religious conflicts were rife. Basic infrastructure in the state were also in dilapidation and crying for urgent attention. His campaign trips round the state were an eye-opener on the level of decay of basic infrastructure and social services. Taraba was a state in dire need of rescue.

    Ishaku put together a rescue team and assumed the position of the rescue captain. But peace must first be achieved before any meaningful development can be achieved. He coined his now very famous peace mantra – “Give me peace and I will give you development.” It was meant to appeal to the conscience of the people to stop fighting and embrace peace so that development which had eluded the state for many years could be pursued and achieved.

    Four years down the line, the Ishaku administration has successfully given the state a new positive name. The people may not have fulfilled their own part of the bargain of giving him peace but he has succeeded tremendously in his rescue mission. Today more than 300 communities which previously had no good drinking water now do so, courtesy of the administration’s rural water development scheme. Most homes in Jalingo now enjoy water provided by the repositioned state water agency. Jalingo is looking up to the completion of the biggest water project in this part of the country for a lasting solution to water scarcity in the city. The Ishaku administration is currently working very hard at it.

    Education, health, power and transportation and many other sectors have all profited from the rescue agenda of the Ishaku administration. The WAEC scores by students from the state rose from less than 20 percent in 2015 to 75.3 percent in 2018 making the state the best in the entire northern states and number eight in the country. The state also now has three functional hospitals, renovated and equipped with state of the art facilities by the rescue administration. Governor Ishaku is also acknowledged as the governor in the North East zone who purchased and installed the highest number of transformers and thereby contributing the most in improving power supply in Taraba State. For this achievement, the Yola Electricity Distribution Company rewarded him with an award.

    In four years, Governor Ishaku was honoured with not less than 20 awards by various local and international organisations for his achievements. His achievements in the health sector earned him an award of recognition by the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA. The Water Man of the Year award came from the Water Suppliers Association of Nigeria for his radical approach in the provision of water.

     

  • Ishaku: A rescue captain at 65

    In his piece, Bala Dan Abu extols the virtues of Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku, who clocks 65 this week.

    A couple of weeks ago, I sought for and got an audience with my boss, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku. The venue was his main office in Government House, Jalingo and my mission was to first remind him of his 65th birthday anniversary which was fast approaching and then seek his permission to make some elaborate arrangements for a befitting celebration in the media. What I got was an emphatic rejection of the celebration plan.

    But he was quick in providing an explanation, perhaps, to assuage my feeling of disappointment.  “How can I be celebrating my birthday when my people are being killed? That statement was both a question and an answer rolled into one sentence. And so, I needed no further explanation. I just took back my memo file and left.

    That encounter says volumes about Ishaku, a renown architect and town planner who has been in the saddle as Executive Governor of Tararaba State since May 29, 2015. It says a lot about his humanity, the depth of his love, empathy and care for the people of Taraba, particularly, victims of the incessant herdsmen killings and kidnappings in the state and also of the communal clashes involving Tiv and Jukun living along the Taraba/Benue borders. It is also a loud statement of his abhorrence and rejection of violence as a means of dispute resolution.

    These crises and conflicts have not only given Ishaku stressful days and sleepless nights but have created for Taraba State – our beloved “Nature’s Gift to the Nation” – the underserved image of a place that is perpetually in turmoil. That image is hurting social and economic activities and the development agenda of his administration in which foreign investors are expected to participate actively.

    Crisis was strange to the boisterous culture of communal life that Ishaku was born into on July 30, 1954 in Lupwe in present day Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State. Lupwe was then more of a missionary settlement where every person was the other person’s good neighbor. There was no discrimination on the basis of tribe, religion or occupation. The young then Darius imbibed that culture. His grandfather was a pastor and his father, a teacher. Both professions created an ambience of peace and love which brought the children of other parents to live and grow together under the care of the parents of the young Darius and his siblings. It also shaped the future attitude of Darius to people and issues. Even as governor, he has not stopped wondering why anybody would take up a gun or any offensive weapon to kill and maim a fellow human being.

    School environment further widened the scope of the cross-cultural exposure for Ishaku. At St Bartholomew Primary School, Wusasa, Zaria, where his school career started in 1961, he met and studied side by side with children from different ethnic, cultural and religious backgrounds. He left there in 1967 with a good School Leaving Certificate for the famous St Paul’s College, Kufena, also in Zaria, where he obtained the West African School Certificate in 1972. In the same year, he was admitted into the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he obtained a B.sc. and a Masters in Architecture aa well as a Masters in Urban Planning. He was a part-time lecturer and a doctoral student in the same institution before politics eventually took over.

    Before he went fully into politics, Ishaku had made his mark as architect and urban planner through his own private company. He is a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Archtitects, FNIA, and also fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, FNITP.

    Despite his outstanding success in his profession, politics remained for him an irresistible attraction. In 2003, he took the plunge. He ran for a senate seat in his Southern Taraba constituency. He lost the seat but gained useful experience that was to help his political career years later. In 2011, he was appointed Minister of State for power under the Goodluck Jonathan presidency. Later he was deployed to the Ministry of Niger Delta Development in the same capacity. He also had the privilege of supervising the Ministry of Environment at the same time. The experience he gained from these three key ministries and his professional calling as an architect prepared him adequately for exemplary leadership of honesty and service delivery which have been the hallmark of his administration as governor of Taraba State.

    In 2014, Ishaku decided to try his luck at the polls once more but this time round, for the position of Governor of Taraba State. He voluntarily resigned from his job as minister. The contest was fierce but against all odds, he won at the polls. He also triumphed over his opponent in the litigations that came on the heels of that victory. His re-election in March this year for a second term was with a greater margin of victory. Support for him was massive. All the gubernatorial candidates of all the political parties in the election, with the exception of two, withdrew from the race and endorsed him for re-election. It was their own way of acknowledging the good job Ishaku  is doing in the state. He was sworn in for a second term on May 29, 2019.

    Ishaku’s background of a gentle and peace-loving person has immensely helped in his handling of the affairs of the state. At the time he took over as governor in 2015, Taraba state was in crises. Communal and religious conflicts were rife. Basic infrastructure in the state were also in dilapidation and crying for urgent attention. His campaign trips round the state were an eye-opener on the level of decay of basic infrastructure and social services. Taraba was a state in dire need of rescue.

    Ishaku put together a rescue team and assumed the position of the rescue captain. But peace must first be achieved before any meaningful development can be achieved. He coined his now very famous peace mantra – “Give me peace and I will give you development.” It was meant to appeal to the conscience of the people to stop fighting and embrace peace so that development which had eluded the state for many years could be pursued and achieved.

    Four years down the line, the Ishaku administration has successfully given the state a new positive name. The people may not have fulfilled their own part of the bargain of giving him peace but he has succeeded tremendously in his rescue mission. Today more than 300 communities which previously had no good drinking water now do so, courtesy of the administration’s rural water development scheme. Most homes in Jalingo now enjoy water provided by the repositioned state water agency. Jalingo is looking up to the completion of the biggest water project in this part of the country for a lasting solution to water scarcity in the city. The Ishaku administration is currently working very hard at it.

    Education, health, power and transportation and many other sectors have all profited from the rescue agenda of the Ishaku administration. The WAEC scores by students from the state rose from less than 20 percent in 2015 to 75.3 percent in 2018 making the state the best in the entire northern states and number eight in the country. The state also now has three functional hospitals, renovated and equipped with state of the art facilities by the rescue administration. Governor Ishaku is also acknowledged as the governor in the North East zone who purchased and installed the highest number of transformers and thereby contributing the most in improving power supply in Taraba State. For this achievement, the Yola Electricity Distribution Company rewarded him with an award.

    In four years, Governor Ishaku was honoured with not less than 20 awards by various local and international organisations for his achievements. His achievements in the health sector earned him an award of recognition by the Nigeria Medical Association, NMA. The Water Man of the Year award came from the Water Suppliers Association of Nigeria for his radical approach in the provision of water.

  • Ishaku declares self only PDP governorship aspirant in Taraba

    Gov. Darius Ishaku of Taraba has declared himself as the only governorship aspirant under the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
    ‎
    Gov. Ishaku disclosed this to newsmen shortly after  he was screened as the governorship aspirant of the PDP by the Screening Committee of the party  in Bauchi on Saturday.
    ‎
    “My administration have achieved much in terms of infrastructures,  human and capital development in Taraba State.
    ‎
    “That is why my people and our party called on me to seek re-election, come 2019,” he said.
    ‎
    The governor said his administration has excelled in the areas of education, agriculture and prompt payment of workers salaries.
    He assured that his administration has plans to do more for the people of the state, if returned by 2019.
    ‎
    Ishaku also expressed optimism that the PDP will spring electoral surprises in the North-East geopolitical region in the 2019 general elections.
    ‎
    He commended the Committee for doing a good and thorough job, saying that it was a transparent exercise in line with the guidelines of the PDP. (NAN)

  • 2019 polls: I’m waiting to see my challenger, says Ishaku

    Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, has picked his nomination form in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), saying he is waiting to see the candidate other political parties will throw up to challenge him in next year’s guber poll.

    Special Adviser on Political Matters, Abubakar Bawa, the San Turaki Gashaka, who spoke at a press conference in Jalingo for the governor, after picking the nomination form on his behalf, said “there is nothing to worry about.”

    He said: “The governor is ready for whoever the oppositions will nominate to challenge him at the election. In 2015, the election was a two-horse race between the PDP and the APC. In the end, PDP won with a landslide.

    “PDP won because it presented the right candidate (Darius Ishaku). The same scenario seems to be playing out. We are only waiting to see the candidate APC will field this time around.”

    Bawa said, although, PDP is very democratic enough to welcome any governorship aspirant who may want to contest on the PDP platform, members however, have unanimously agreed that Ishaku should fly the party’s banner.

    The governor’s political adviser said: “I can advance many reasons why I am optimistic Ishaku will be reelected. None of the opposition parties, including APC which is the main opposition party in Taraba State, has a candidate that is better than Ishaku.”

    “There is no party that can withstand the PDP in Taraba State. The PDP is an opposition in the country, but in Taraba it is the ruling party. And it has been the ruling party since 1999. So, we believe there is no other political party here apart from the PDP. Even if there are other parties, we don’t take them serious.

    “Besides political parties, Taraba people want someone who naturally cares for them. And Darius Ishaku is the answer; he is one leader who has deep love and rare passion for Taraba people; how they eat, dwell and make progress bother him. For now, he is just the right person.

    “Therefore, in sha Allah (with God on our side), I think we will triumph at the poll, because of the governor’s performance and goodwill. I have been in politics in Taraba State for long so I know what I am talking about.

    “Recently, I went round the State to do a silent opinion poll, and the goodwill has been overwhelming for the governor. Nevertheless, the PDP is working hard. The party chairman, Victor Bala, and all his party executives, are leaving no stone unturned; the governor is doing his part –by providing developments; and we are working very hard and still soliciting support from the electorate to make sure we return the governor for a second term.

    Read Also: 2019: Imo APC adopts indirect Primaries

    “The general consensus is that Ishaku should do a second term. Rev. Jolly Nyame did 10 years from northern zone, from 1992-1993 and 1999-2007. Late Pharm. Danbaba Suntai, from central zone, did eight years (2007-2015). So the fairest thing to do, as it has become our zoning formula, is to allow Ishaku, who is from the southern zone, to also do eight years, to complete the rotation.

    “And to the best of my knowledge, the PDP stakeholders from his area (southern Taraba) have no other candidate. They have all agreed that Ishaku has done well. Bringing another person, even from the same southern zone, will affect our political arrangement.

    “The northern and central zones are also in full support of the arrangement to give Ishaku the party’s ticket and subsequently re-elect him for a second term.

    “In terms of performance, he has scored a distinction everyone can attest to. Ishaku has done well in education, agriculture, health, infrastructure and so many other areas. So, we are yet to see his challenger.”

  • Cow theft not enough reason to kill anybody – Ishaku

    Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, on Tuesday condemned the killing of traders by Fulani herdsmen in the state.

    He said the allegation that the victims had stolen cows was not enough reason to kill them.

    The governor visited the scene of incident while returning from Makurdi, Benue State, where he attended a function with the state Governor, Samuel Ortom and Middle belt leaders calling for restructuring of Nigeria, particularly the security architecture.

    Speaking on the attack, the governor said he would meet with the state commissioner of police and the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of the area on Wednesday “to look into the details of the killing.”

    He said: “I have called the police commissioner and the DPO for more briefs tomorrow (Wednesday) for proper handling of the matter.

    “The victims have been accused of stealing cows. But that is not enough reason to kill them and waste their lives.

    “It is unfortunate that today, everyone has the audacity to kill at will.

    “The security architecture of this country must be restructured.”

     

  • Ortom, Ishaku call for restructuring

    Benue State Governor Samuel Ortom, his Taraba State counterpart Dairus Ishaku, and leaders of the Middle Belt have called for the immediate restructuring of Nigeria.

    They spoke at a rally in Makurdi, Benue State capital, organised by the Middle Belt Forum (MBF), in conjunction with J.S. Tarkaa Foundation. The theme was “Restructuring Nigeria and Re-awakening, the position of Middle Belt”.

    It was attended by Ohanaeze Ndigbo and Afenifere, which also supported restructuring, saying the present structure could not be sustained.

    Among Middle Belt leaders present were Dr. Bitrus Pago; Air Commodore Dan Suleiman; Prof. Jerry Gana and Dr. Obadia Mailafia, who decried the killings  and called for an end.

    MBF’s legal adviser Mike Zeko called for restructuring and the creation of two more regions from the present region.

    Zeko called for three vice presidents, saying the 2014 National Conference should be adopted as it addressed national issues.

  • Ishaku promises to make youths millionaires

    Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku has promised to make youths millionaires if they elect him for a second term in 2019.

    Ishaku spoke during his third anniversary and Democracy Day celebration at the Jolly Nyame stadium in Jalingo.

    He said: “I want you to re-elect us. I will empower you to be millionaires; you will be exporting milk and meat; you will be driving Mercedes Benz, instead of Keke NAPEP.

    “Today, over 3,000 youths have been employed and thousands empowered through the Rescue Mission’s skills acquisition programme.

    “Those empowered are now self-reliant and have become employers of labour. The story of Aisha is a good example. Aisha was empowered and she later employed a widow and five others. Today, her business is still running.

    “When you elected me in 2015, you did not know me well. Now, you know who Ishaku is; now, you know who DDI is, who Daram Dam Dam is, because of what I have done for you.”

    Ishaku, who said his administration has done well in the last three years, assured the people that he will fulfil his campaign promises in the remaining year.

  • Ishaku backs Danjuma on military collusion allegation

    Taraba State Governor Darius Ishaku yesterday backed Gen. Theophilus Danjuma (retd) on the latter’s allegation that the armed forces “are not neutral” in the attacks on innocent Nigerians by “armed bandits”.

    Speaking before the military panel investigating the allegation yesterday, the governor said the people of Taraba State were in support of the statement by the former defence minister calling on Nigerians to defend themselves.

    The probe panel met with the governor at Government House, Jalingo.

    Ishaku said the allegation by Danjuma, who once headed the Army, should be carefully looked into than criticised.

    “I didn’t sleep last night.  At 1a.m., I was woken up by a distress call on another herdsmen militia attack.

    “Yesterday, fortunately, the military from Takum came in to help. They battled till this morning.

    “In the morning, they counted 15 dead bodies; some are in the hospital in Sondi.

    “But as you are aware, now you can go to Sondi. This is not fake news. I spoke with the commanding officer of the army there this morning.

    “And the same this morning at 3a.m., the military in Takum went about beating up youths, arresting them from their homes and taking them to the military barracks.

    “The people are being killed and yet you are arresting them. Where is the fairness in this matter?” he asked the military panel.

    The governor urged the military to be fair in the discharge of their responsibilities, stating that in their recent operations, they succeeded in collecting knives and cutlasses of the people and no single arrest was made on those carrying AK-47 rifles.

    Maj.-Gen. John Nimyel (retd), who heads the investigative panel, said they were in Taraba to investigate the allegation made against the Army in their various operations by Danjuma.