The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Jigawa

  • Katsina, Kaduna, Jigawa defend loan application

    The Katsina State government has given reasons for it seeking a $110 million facility from the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

    Commissioner for Health Mariatu Bala Usman, who addressed the House of Representatives Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management in Abuja, said the state hopes to build and renovate 136 primary health centres; each local government will get four centres.

    Her words: “The projects would incorporate the establishment of a public health laboratory, given the incidence of Ebola and Lassa Fever in the country. There is need for Katsina State to be prepared for future emergencies”.

    On repayment plans, the commissioner said the state will pay 40 per cent counterpart funding.

    According to her, should the state utilise the loan with sincerity of purpose, accompanied by verifiable evidence of performance, the IDB is ready to convert the facility into a grant.

    The Kaduna State government, which is seeking a $350 million loan from the World Bank, to facilitate its economic transformation programme, also defended its proposal before the committee.

    Commissioner for Financeý Suleiman Abdul Kwari said if approved, the facility would be used to create jobs and strengthen the state’s economy.

    His words: “It cuts across other forms of governance in the system, including the Treasury Single Account (TSA), and we have adopted a zero-based budgeting system. Public finance control and assessment law was also domesticated against the archaic way of doing things.

    “That’s why the state is viewed as the most business-friendly by Thisday Newspaper. We have reduced tax procedures and dealt with multiple taxation.

    “The public procurement law, which is brand new in the state, has reduced the process of awarding contract, as the new law now enables people to undertake procurement online”.

    Jigawa State said it is seeking legislative approval to obtain a $32.4 million loan from the IDB to finance its agricultural value chain projects.

    Finance Commissioner Umar Namadi said agriculture has become the mainstay of the state’s economy and can create jobs.

    Committee chairman Adeyinka Ajayi (APC, Osun), who addressed reporters after the event, said the committee will undertake an oversight visit to assemblies of the seven states seeking the loan, to ascertain the involvement of their legislatures.

     

  • Auto accident claims 18 in Jigawa

    Auto accident claims 18 in Jigawa

    No fewer than 18 persons died in an accident involving a tipper and a J5 bus on Gumel-Gugunju road in Gumel Local Government Area of Jigawa.

    The Sector Commander of the Federal Roads Safety Corps in the state, Angus Ibezim, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse yesterday.

    Ibezim said the driver of the tipper with Reg. No. XY 744 GRK abandoned the vehicle on the road after it had broken down.

    He explained that the driver of the bus hit the truck from behind, which resulted in the mishap.

    He said 15 of the occupants of the vehicle, including the driver, died on the spot while three others sustained injuries.

    According to the sector commander, the other three passengers in the bus later died in hospital.

    He said the command had begun investigation to ascertain the main cause of the accident.

    “We are now trying to find out the main cause of the accident.

    “The first thing we suspect is that the driver of the tipper did not place any caution sign to indicate that the vehicle was faulty.

    “Secondly, we also suspect that the driver of the J5 bus was speeding or has bad or no headlights at all,” Ibezim said.

    He said the corps had already removed the broken down vehicle from the road to avoid a recurrence of the ugly incident.

    The sector commander added that the command had launched a man-hunt to apprehend the driver of the tipper now at large, saying that “the driver will surely be prosecuted”.

    Ibezim advised motorists to desist from speeding under whatever circumstances.

     

  • Police nab four over motorcycle, car theft in Jigawa

    Police nab four over motorcycle, car theft in Jigawa

    The Police Command in Jigawa said it had arrested two suspected motorcycle thieves, Sadiq Sani, 27 and Idris Hassan, 27, all of Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State.

    The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Rasheed Akintunji, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Wednesday.

    Akintunji said the two suspects confessed to have been stealing motorcycles at bank premises in Dutse.

    “The thieves were arrested on July 3, 2017 when the policemen on patrol in Dutse metropolis sighted and suspected the two young men trying to zoom off on a Lifan motorcycle, Bullet model, at the promises of Guarantee Trust Bank, Dutse.

    He said when the police interrogated them, the suspects said they stole the motorcycle.

    Akintunji said investigation revealed that the motorcycle belonged to one Surajo Muhammad of Madobi village in Dutse Local Government Area of Jigawa.

    He said a master key was recovered from the suspects which they said belonged to their gang leader, one Saddam, also a resident of Gwale Local Government Area of Kano State.

    The commissioner said the suspects would be charged to Court as soon as investigation was concluded.

    He said the command  had also arrested another two suspects, Mohammed Sa’idu, 27, of Yakasai Quarters, Kano city, Kano State and Usman Ahmed, 27, of Gumel town of Jigawa, for allegedly stealing three cars.

    He said one of the cars with registration number: GML 155J A belonged to Muhammad Baru of Gumel town, Jigawa, and the second one with registration number: AZ 369 NSR belonged to Isa Jejeri of the same address.

    Akintunji said the owner of the third vehicle had yet to be known.

    He said luck ran out of the thieves when the police on patrol around Garki highway of Jigawa arrested them.

  • Court remands ex-Jigawa gov Turaki in Kuje prison

    Court remands ex-Jigawa gov Turaki in Kuje prison

    A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered that former Governor of Jigawa State, Ibrahim Saminu Turaki be remanded in Kuje prison in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.
    By the order given by Justice Nnamdi Dimba, Turaki is to remain in prison pending when he is able to meet the conditions attached to the bail granted him follwoing his arraignment on a 32-count charge.
    Turaki, who was earlier granted bail on liberal terms on July 14 by the vacation judge of the High Court of the FCT, Justice Yusuf Halilu, was arraigned before the Federal High Court on Tuesday on a the charge filed in 2007 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
    The ex-Governor, who was rearrested by the EFCC on July 4 at a social function in Abuja, after jumping bail and allegedly evading arrest for about six years, was arraigned on Tuesday with three companies INC Natural Resources Ltd, Arkel Construction Nigeria Ltd and Wildcat Construction Ltd.
    Turaki was granted bail at N500million, with two sureties at N250,000 each.
    He is to submit his travel documents to the court, and is to seek the court’s permission before travelling abroad. He is to report to the EFCC one in a month.
    Details later
  • Jigawa APC denies bribery allegation

    Jigawa APC denies bribery allegation

    The Jigawa State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ado Sani Kiri, has dismissed allegations that the state government, through the APC, bribed the opposition with N40 million to enable it participate in the local government election.

    Kiri, who addressed reporters at the weekend, said the allegation was nothing but lies and mischief due to the party’s victory in the council election.

    He said: “Any registered political party has a constitutional right to participate in any election at any level. How can a political party finance the opposition while fighting each other to win in such election?

    “I don’t know anything, it never happened. Even if somebody tells you that the government has given any kobo to any opposition party to participate in the election, he is lying.

    “I am not aware of this allegation; I am hearing it from you for the first time.”

  • NSCDC arrest six for sale of unregistered SIM cards in Jigawa

    NSCDC arrest six for sale of unregistered SIM cards in Jigawa

    The Nigeria Security  and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), Jigawa Command says it has arrested six persons for allegedly selling unregistered SIM cards in the state.

    Mr Adamu Abdullahi, the command’s spokesman made this known to journalists in Dutse on Wednesday.

    Abdullahi said five out of the suspects were arrested on Hakimi Street and at New Market, Dutse, while other was held at Hadejia Town.

    He said the corps confiscated over 5,000 assorted SIM cards during the raid.

    The NSCDC spokesman assured the public that the corps would continue to stop the illegal sale and use of such SIM cards, stressing that illegal sale of SIM cards posed serious threat to national security.

    “These are the types of SIM cards used by insurgents, armed robbers, kidnappers and other criminals.

    “It is the mandate of the NSCDC to protect critical national assets and infrastructure, including the safeguard of all telecommunication facilities in the state,” he said.

    He appealed to Nigerians to stop using unregistered SIM cards.

    Contributing, Mr Salisu Abdu, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) Head of Enforcement Unit, reminded the residents that all new SIM cards must be registered before

    NCC in collaboration with NSCDC, had on July 6, apprehended four other suspects over the same offence and were found in possession of 70 unregistered SIM cards.

  • Man nabbed with N.5m cannabis in Jigawa

    Man nabbed with N.5m cannabis in Jigawa

    The Jigawa Command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) on Wednesday said it had arrested a 46-year-old man (name withheld) and seized from him 64.75kg of cannabis worth N500,000.

    The Commandant, Josephine Obi, who disclosed this to newsmen in Dutse said the suspect was arrested on Sunday at about 10 a.m., along Chaichai road in Dutse.

    Obi said that the suspect had confessed to be piloting another vehicle conveying 250kg of the illicit drug.

    “The suspect was arrested by men of the command while on routine patrol along Chaichai road in Dutse.

    “The suspect was nabbed in an 8-seater Toyota bus with Reg: BV 305 LND, and we were amazed about the way he smartly concealed such amount of cannabis in the vehicle.

    “Every least expected space in the vehicle was filled with 69 parcel of compressed hemp.

    “He confessed being in this business for about two years and also confessed to be piloting another vehicle conveying similar drug.

    “Unfortunately, the other managed to escaped by noticing what was happening from far away,’’ the commander said.

    Obi alleged further that the suspect soaked the items in detergent solution to distort the odour of the substance in order to avoid detection.

    She urged members of the public to support the agency with credible information that would assist in tackling rampant abuse of illicit drugs in the state.

    Obi said that the suspect would be charged to court as soon as investigation is completed.

  • Jigawa charges newly-recruited 450 health workers on ethical conducts

    The Jigawa State government has charged the 450 recently recruited health workers in the state to abide by the ethical conducts of the profession and civil service rules or face sack.

    The Executive Secretary, State Primary Health Care Board, Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim, gave the warning while speaking at a one-week induction training organised for the newly recruited health workers.

    He said, the state government recruited the staff as part of its strategic move to address the huge gap of personnel that existed in its health sector and also provide accessible and qualitative basic health- care service to all people of the state.

    Dr. Ibrahim revealed that the induction training was aimed at informing the new staff? of what is required of them as quality health workers.

    “The government is directing you to dress well, behave well, treat and relate with our poor and rural patients with mercy and humanity, don’t harass or extort them.”

    He told them to fear God in discharging their responsibilities and warned that the government will not be hesitant in punishing or disengaging any staff found wanting in these regards.

    Ibrahim further revealed that recruitment of additional 90 junior health workers and senior cadre is under ?way. He reassured the people of the government’s determination to achieve universal basic health care.

    The State Director, Primary Health Care, Dr. Sambo, also revealed that the government will establish whistle-blowers desk, in addition to other mechanism for close and constant monitoring of the health workers conducts, to ensure best service delivery, rewards and punishment.

  • Buhari’s health: Jigawa declares Friday as public holiday to offer prayers

    Buhari’s health: Jigawa declares Friday as public holiday to offer prayers

    The Jigawa Government has declared Friday, July 7, as a public holiday to enable public servants offer special prayer for President Muhammadu Buhari’s quick recovery.

    Alhaji Isma’il Ibrahim, the Public Relations Officer, Office of the state’s Head of Civil Service (HoS), announced this in a statement in Dutse on Thursday.

    Ibrahim said that the State Executive Council took the decision at its sitting on July 5.

    He explained that the government declared Friday as a work-free day in order to enable public servants to join other citizens to offer special prayers for President Muhammadu Buhari’s wellbeing.

    “During this day, it is expected that all public servants and the entire people of the state will pray to Almighty Allah to grant our president quick recovery.

    “It is also expected that they will also pray to Almighty Allah to grant Jannatul Firdausi to late Danmasanin Kano, Alhaji Yusuf Maitama Sule,” he added.

  • Jigawa: Board refunds N13.36m to 2,374 Muslim pilgrims

    Jigawa: Board refunds N13.36m to 2,374 Muslim pilgrims

    The Jigawa State Pilgrims’ Welfare Board (JPWB) on Wednesday said it had refunded N13.36 million to Muslim pilgrims who performed the 2016 Hajj.

    The spokes man of the board, Alhaji Ibrahim Hashim, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse.

    Hashim said that the money was refunded to 2,374 pilgrims who performed last year’s Hajj.

    He said that the refund was for services not rendered to the pilgrims while in the Holy Land.

    He listed them as: tent security and Saudi Ministry of Hajj’s deposits.

    He noted that two of the pilgrims who were unable to make it to the Holy Land were refunded their deposits from it.

    Hashim said each of the pilgrims was refunded N2, 900 at 13 designated centres across the state.