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Tag: Kaduna state

  • El-Rufa’i denies muzzling media, warns against divisive reports

    El-Rufa’i denies muzzling media, warns against divisive reports

    Gov. Nasiru El-Rufa’i of Kaduna State, on Tuesday denies that his government is muzzling the media and impinging on the rights of people to free speech.

    The governor made the denial in Kaduna in a message to the opening of a workshop on conflict prevention and peace building for civil society organisations.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 3-day workshop was organized by the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution and the United Nation Development Programme.

    El-Rufai who was represented by his media aide, Samuel Aruwan, however said the administration would not accept any report that incites violence and ignites crisis in the state.

    “Contrary to the false assertions from some quarters, the government of Kaduna state does not seek to muzzle the free press or journalists in the performance of their duty.

    “As a government, it is our constitutional mandate to protect against actions that disrupt the society such as irresponsible journalism that spread falsehood, publishes inciting stories and turn our people against one another.

    “I am convinced that the active participation of Civil Society Organizations in conflict prevention, resolution and peace building will help the government in fostering harmonious living and peaceful co-existence in our country.

    “We must all rise against voices that promote division and those who promote hate speeches which incites people to violence against those they differ from.

    “People must learn to tolerate one another and respect others even when they differ on political ideology, religion or tribe,’’ he said.

    El-Rufa’i disclosed that the state government would set up a peace commission to manage conflicts in the state.

    He said it was one of the steps taken by government to address the recurring conflicts, adding that the peace commission would also handle prevention and non violent interventions as wells as render support to security agencies.

    The governor said the administration had partnered religious and traditional leaders in ongoing peace building efforts across communities.

    El-Rufa’i stressed that “peace is everybody’s business’’, as such there was need to leverage on the roles of the CSOs to collectively build peace in Nigeria.

    He appealed for reason and moderation from all persons in the country to reinforce peace, tolerance and cooperation for the unity and progress of the country.

    The governor urged the CSOs to cooperate with government to denounce hate speeches, radicalization and violent extremism as well as ensure effective enforcement of laws to punish offenders.

    Earlier, the Director General of the institute, Prof. Oshita Oshita, urged Nigerians to embrace peace and help to build a strong and united country.

    He said that the workshop was to build the capacity of CSOs for continuous dialogue, collaboration and peace building across the country.

    In her goodwill message, Mrs Hannatu Ibrahim, a peace ambassador, said civil societies must compliment government in its peace building efforts.

    According to her, individuals and communities must also learn to dialogue in addressing contentious issues among them.

  • Kajuru council gets 13-man committee to tackle malnutrition

    Kajuru council gets 13-man committee to tackle malnutrition

    The Nutrition Officer of Kajuru Local Government Area, Kaduna State, Mr Adams Ango, said on Monday that the council has inaugurated a 13-man committee to address the issue of malnutrition.

    Ango who made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna, said that the inauguration of the committee was in line with the National Policy on Food and Nutrition.

    He explained that the committee, inaugurated in July, has the local council chairman, as head, while the council’s Directors of Finance, Health and Agriculture will serve as members.

    Other members were drawn from National Orientation Agency, Ministries of Water Resources, Women Affairs, Budget and Planning and Education.

    The rest were drawn from Water, Sanitation and Hygiene agency, Youth Council, Monitoring and Evaluation office and Civil Society Organisations.

    According to him, the committee will undertake advocacy and nutrition interventions in the area.

    “Each sector; water resources, agriculture, health, women affairs, CSOs is expected to implement a nutrition activity in the council,” Ango added.

    NAN recalls that the local council had in 2016 pledged a monthly release of N500, 000 to promote Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) in 203 communities.

    UNICEF, Federal Ministry of Health, Kaduna State Government had in 2016 implemented USAID-Funded SPRING project to promote IYCF practice in the area on pilot basis.

    There are currently 349 functional support groups in Kajuru and Zaria Local Government Areas that counselled over 8642 pregnant and lactating mothers on IYCF after the project was launched.

    The support groups have also reached 14,280 care givers with IYCF messages including exclusive breastfeeding and complementary feeding to ensure uninterrupted development of the child.

  • We have valid warrant to search AFEX warehouse – Police

    We have valid warrant to search AFEX warehouse – Police

    The Nigeria Police Force on Sunday, said it had a valid search warrant to search AFEX Commodities Exchange Limited warehouse in Zaria, Kaduna State.

    The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) recalls that the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh and his predecessor,  Mr Akinwumi Adesina, now AFdB president, accused the Police of raiding the company’s warehouse, carting away N85 million worth of grains.

    The Head of Public Complaints Rapid Response Unit ( PCRRU), ACP Abayomi Shogunle, told NAN in Abuja that , immediately the PCRRU got wind of the allegations from the two ministers, it registered the case on July 15 and began investigation.

    According to Ogbeh on his Twitter page obtained from the PCRRU,  ” The raid on AFEX warehouse by alleged policemen is an attack on our efforts at driving agriculture to attain food security.

    Similarly, Adesina on his Twitter page said, “Sad AFEX Nigeria ransacked by police for no reason. AFEX is a first exchange doing so well to support farmers.

    “The Police in Katsina acted according to the laws of the land in protecting framers who complained that their products worth N66 million was collected from them since January and could not get their balance,he said.

    He said that following the allegation, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, directed the Commissioner of Police (CP) in Katsina, Mr Usman Abdullahi to investigate the allegation.

    Shogunle explained that Abdullahi sent his response and the officials of the company, led by the Managing Director, Mr Ayodeji Balogun were invited by the PCRRU to Abuja.

    He said that after the meeting with the unit, the CP also had a meeting with them where the reason for police action was further explained.

    Shogunle explained that on May 17, a group of traders and farmers petitioned the CP of Katsina, alleging that Diversified Consulting Ltd. represented by Sani Usman and Haruna Abubakar, bought grains worth N 66 million and promised to pay in two to four days in January.

    “From this time up till May, they were unable to get their money after being  paid N10 million by the company leaving a balance of N56 million.

    “Under the Penal Code in operation in Northern Nigeria, such conduct constitutes a criminal Offence as stipulated by the Penal Code.

    “There was a criminal complaint to the police in Katsina, and the police arrested the people involved and charged them to court,”he said.

    He said that one of the suspects was convicted and he confessed to the police and the court accepting that they collected the grains.

    Shogunle said the convict further said that they were unable to pay because the Managing Director of the company was serving a jail term in Kirikiri prison in Lagos.

    He said that upon the confession of the convict that the goods were taken to Kano, Jos and Zaria, the court issued a search warrant for the police to recover the items.

    “The police went to the warehouse based on the confession of the suspect in the court and the complainants identified their produce.

    “Upon reporting to the court, it gave an order to release the produce on bond to the rightful owners who happened to be the complainants in the case.

    “One good thing about produce is that group of cooperative societies have markings on their produce for easy identification,” he said.

    He said that the cases of other set of suspects were still pending in another court in Katsina where they also confessed to the police that they collected some produce from the complainants.

    “Throughout our interaction with AFEX, it has not produced any document to show that the produce belonged to them.

    “AFEX is yet to produce any document to show the source of those products whether they bought them from somebody or group of persons or evidence of transfer of money to show they bought it from somebody,” he said.

    He said that the police would not fold their hands and watch innocent citizens, farmers being cheated or being chased out of business by a big corporation that has refused to pay them their money.

    “The Nigeria Police Force will continue to support the efforts of the Federal Government in ensuring food security and that we have just demonstrated by helping the poor in Katsina recover their produce.

    “We cannot say that people should not express their opinion but they should always find out from the police before making comments like this,”he said.

    The PCRRU was established by the Nigeria Police Force in November 2015, with a mandate to receiving and resolving cases of professional misconduct brought against its officers.

  • Girls must be given equal opportunities as boys, says El-Rufa’i  

    Girls must be given equal opportunities as boys, says El-Rufa’i  

    Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State, on Thursday said girls must be given equal opportunities as boys to go to school and contribute more meaningfully to societal growth.

    The governor told newsmen in Kaduna after receiving 18-year-old Nkechinyero Chidi-Ogbolu, author of the book ‘Tales of an Uber Minor in College,’ that education was key to success.

    He described the author as a great source of inspiration, and urged young people not to waste their time on the street but aspire for greatness at all times.

    “I want every girl in Kaduna state to see and emulate or even exceed her; that is why for me her visit is very important.

    “It is an example of what we can achieve if we give our girls the same opportunity that we give our boys  in Africa, particularly in the Northern part of Nigeria, where girls do not get same opportunity to get educated as boys,’’ he said.

    El-Rufai noted that some of the kids have been left to hawk on the street instead of going to school, adding, “that is what we are trying to work on now in Kaduna and Northern Nigeria in general.’’

    He said that as part of the effort, his administration had invested heavily in reviving the education sector for better performance.

    The governor disclosed that a total of 78,000 units of classroom furniture had been distributed to public schools in the state since his assumption of office.

    “We find out that more than half of our children seat on the floor, and we have to accelerate the process of providing furniture in our primary and secondary schools.’’

    He stressed that the government still needed to do more to fully equip the schools.

    “We still have long way to go and we will continue within the limited resource we have, until we make public schools as good as private schools.

    “We are trying to get all our primary schools to have library, so that we put books in those primary schools and also encourage the formation of writing and literary clubs in our primary and secondary schools,’’ El-Rufai added.

    The governor urged Non Governmental Organisations to go into public schools and encourage creative writing, so as to expose the talents that abound locally.

  • Kaduna to provide 256,182 chairs to public schools

    Kaduna to provide 256,182 chairs to public schools

    In a bid to enhance teaching and learning in public schools, the Kaduna State Government has awarded contracts to provide adequate chairs, the state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Andrew Nok, has confirmed.

    A document obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) from the state Ministry of Education, Science and Technology on Tuesday, revealed that the state government had awarded contracts for the supply of 186,182 under the education emergency intervention programme.

    According to the document, 167,982 chairs are meant for primary schools and 18,200 for secondary schools.

    It added that another contract had been awarded for the supply of additional 70,000 units of chairs, bringing the total number of chairs expected to 256,182 units.

    Nok, while taking delivery of 700 chairs at Government Day Secondary School, Sabon Tasha, Kaduna, said that 90,000 chairs had so far been supplied.

    He reiterated the state government’s commitment toward providing the needed infrastructure in all public schools in the state.

    He said that a reasonable number of schools had been supplied with chairs, adding that distribution was ongoing until all public schools were covered.

    “When the current administration took over the governance of the state, our schools were dilapidated; students were sitting on bare floors and windows while laboratories were without equipment.

    “To address the problem, the government embarked on total renovation, reconstruction and equipping of our public schools with the needed facilities.

    “Seventy per cent of students of Government Day, Sabon Tasha, for example, sit on bare floor. We carried out an assessment and concluded that the school needed 700 chairs and today, we have provided the chairs as promised.

    “What we don’t want to see is our children sitting on bare floor and windows to receive lessons.

    “Our desire is to provide quality education delivery system in our public schools,” Nok said.

  • FRSC records 37.7% drop in road accidents in Kaduna in first half of 2017

    FRSC records 37.7% drop in road accidents in Kaduna in first half of 2017

    The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) on Monday said the number of road accidents recorded in Kaduna State dropped to 392 in the first half of this year.

    The figure was against the 620 accidents recorded in the corresponding period in 2016, a drop by 37.7 per cent.

    The Sector Commander, Malam Umar Ibrahim, gave the statistics in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna.

    Ibrahim said that the 620 accidents recorded in the first half of 2016 involved 856 vehicles, but the figures dropped to 392 accidents involving 555 vehicles in the same period in 2017.

    “The number of people involved in the accidents equally reduced from 4,767 to 2,699 with corresponding  decrease in the number of injured from 2,546 to 1,700,” he said.

    The sector commander did not give the number of deaths recorded in the accidents, but attributed the successes to improved attitude of motorists towards their safety.

    He said that compliance by commercial vehicle owners to the directive to install speed limit device had greatly improved in recent times.

    Ibrahim commended motorists and urged them to continue to cooperate with security agencies on the highways to ensure accident free roads.

    “I am equally calling on private vehicle owners to install the device of self regulation to control speed and save lives.

    “Political office holders can help in that regard, this is because if members of the national and state house of assemblies installed the device, others will follow.

    “I want to also say that not all accidents are the will of God as many people erroneously believed.

    “If you guard yourself against accident, God will help you, but you cannot be careless on the road and expect to be invincible.

    “Let us all join hands to keep our roads safe for all road users at all times,’’ he said.

    Ibrahim said that the command has concluded the “audit” of the entire township roads in the state to know roads that require roads signs and those that are bad and need repairs.

    He said that recommendation would soon be submitted to the appropriate authorities for immediate action.

    “Plans have also been concluded to comb the highway to take care of road side grasses obstructing drivers’ view and replace broken signs where necessary,’’ Ibrahim said.

  • Why insecurity is escalating – Buratai

    Why insecurity is escalating – Buratai

    The Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai on Saturday blamed the security challenges confronting Nigeria on poor upbringing of the children.

    General Buratai stated this at the Passing Out Parade (POP) of the Nigerian Military School (NMS) boys, in Zaria, Kaduna State on Saturday.

    They Chief of Army Staff who was represented by the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Mechanised Division of the Nigerian Army, Kaduna, Maj-Gen. Adeniyi Oyebade however said that, all hands must be on deck to ensure proper training and upbringing of Nigerian children, believing that such will reduce to the barest minimal, security threats against the country.

    According to him, “The escalating level of insecurity in the country has much to do with the level of training our children are exposed to from the beginning.

    “Having an institution that will ensure that children are inculcated with a high level of discipline, knowledge and patriotism is what all stakeholders in the Nigerian project should encourage,” he pleaded.

    Buratai assured that the Army on its part would continue to ensure that all training schools in the Nigerian Army were provided with the basic facilities towards excellence and proficiency.

    The Army Boss said he had given directive that deliberate efforts be taken for the purpose of repositioning all Command Schools in line with standards established by NMS.

    He recalled that the NMS was established 63 years ago to provide middle level manpower that would take over for the departing British non-commission officers at independence.

    “The school had undoubtedly produced seasoned military officers of repute and highly experienced technocrats that are contributing positively to the development of Nigeria.

    “It was in recognition of the contribution of the ex-boys to national development and upholding the dream and vision of the founding fathers of the school that I directed the resumption of military training suspended in the school in 2011.

    “I am delighted that the Commandant and his team had worked assiduously to ensure that the passing out boys were given the requisite training to serve their fatherland,” he noted.

    While urging the graduating boys to be good ambassadors of the school and the Nigerian Army, Buratai charged them to always exhibit high sense of discipline, commitment and patriotism wherever they go.

    Highlight of the occasion was the awards and cash gift of N250, 000 to each of the four award-winners who distinguished themselves during 2016/2017 academic session.

  • FG offers free food to 800,000 pupils in Kaduna

    FG offers free food to 800,000 pupils in Kaduna

    The Federal Government’ s Home Grown School Feeding Programme has commenced in Kaduna State on July 25, a director in the State Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mr John Gora, says.

    Gora who oversees the programme told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Kaduna that about 800,000 pupils would be fed at N70 per meal.

    According to him, the government will spend about N56 million daily, N280 million a week and N1.1 billion every month in feeding pupils.

    The director said that out of the 20,146 vendor shortlisted for the programme, only 9,000 would participate.

    “Based on the arrangement, the federal government will feed primary one to three pupils, while the state government will feed primary four to six pupils.

    “However if you remember, in 2016, when the programme was implemented in the state, the state government fed all the pupils from primary one to primary six at the cost of over N10 billion.

    “It shouldered the responsibility of the federal government on the agreement that the federal government would refund to the state the amount it spent on feeding primary one to three pupils.

    “The amount was about seven billion and so far, the federal government has refunded N3.5 billion to the state.’’

    Gora said that as soon as the federal government refund the remaining balance, the state would commence the feeding of primary 4-6 pupils.

    He said that the 20, 146 vendors were supposed to provide services to both the state and the federal government components.

    “So far, only 9000 vendor accounts have been verified, while the remaining vendors are being processed.

    “I am sure we will complete the verification process before the state government’s component comes on stream,’’ the director said.

    He acknowledge that the programme was however experiencing some challenges.

    “From the report on my table, some vendors were posted to different communities, far away from home and this is a problem for us.

    “For example, some vendors were posted to a primary school in Maraban Jos instead of schools in their community as planned.

    “Out of suspicion, the parents of the pupils stopped their children from eating the food on the grounds that the vendors were not from that community and so should not be trusted.

    “We are however doing all we can to address this and other challenges,’’ Gora added.

    Meanwhile, Dr Adebayo Dotun, the programme’s Operation Manager, told NAN that more than 200 people were being trained to monitor and ensure the success of the programme.

    “After the one-day training, these trainees would go out to the field to ensure that the women are cooking, the quality of the food is adequate, the quantity and hygiene is maintained,’’ Dotun said.

  • Kaduna achieves 63% success in implementing national nutrition plan

    Kaduna achieves 63% success in implementing national nutrition plan

    The Civil Society Scaling-Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), says Kaduna State has achieved 63 per cent success in the implementation of the National Strategic Plan of Action for Nutrition (NSPAN) in 2016.

    According to the CS-SUNN Score Card obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kaduna on Thursday, the result is an improvement from the 37.5 per cent implementation recorded by the state in 2015.

    The document described Nigeria as a country with the highest rate of stunted under-five children in sub-Sub-Saharan Africa and the second in the world, with the northern part of the country having the highest burden.

    According to the report, the introduction of the national nutrition plan by the Federal Government in 2014 was to address the problem.

    The target of the plan was to reduce stunting by 20 per cent and low birth weight by 15 per cent by 2019 nationwide.

    The plan also hoped to double the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months by 50 per cent.

    “The question to which this policy is being implemented created the need to review the implementation of the NSPAN in the three Partnership for Advocacy in Child and Family Health (PACFaH) focal states,” the report noted.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the focal states are Kaduna, Niger and Nasarawa where CS-SUNN is leading the process.

    It explained that the states were scored in seven key areas, namely bahaviour change communication, service delivery, capacity building, advocacy and resource mobilization, research monitoring and evaluation.

    Other areas include, coordination and multi-sectoral partnership, and provision of commodities and equipment.

    Under behavior change communication meant to provide appropriate information about food and feeding practice, Kaduna state was scored 17.7 per cent in 2015 and 88.8 per cent in 2016.

    On high impact nutrition interventions, the state scored 50 per cent in 2015 and 66 per cent in 2016, and 12. 5 per cent and 50 per cent respectively in improving capacity of service providers at all levels to provide core nutrition services and counseling.

    The report added that Kaduna state rose in its rating from 37.5 per cent in 2015 to 62.5 per cent in 2016 in advocacy and resource mobilization aimed at increasing commitment and resources for nutrition programme.

    Also, the state jumped from 16.6 per cent in 2015 to 50 per cent in 2016 in the key area of research, monitoring and evaluation meant to provide evidence based decision making and in enhancing public accountability.

    The report indicated further that the state had 80 per cent success in improving coordinated action and relationship among ministries, department and agencies, as well as private sector and non-governmental organizations.

    Another area rated by the CS-SUNN report was in the provision of commodities and equipment, effective distribution and maintenance of proper inventory and procurement system which was at zero level in 2015 but went up to 50 per cent in 2016.

    The CS-SUNN Coordinator in the state, Mr Silas Ideva, commended the state government for the feat, saying it was on the right track in the effort to tackle malnutrition in the state.

    He explained that the score card was developed by CS-SUNN with support from PACFaH and state and non-state nutrition actors.

    “It was designed to measure the level of progress made by the state in implementing the NSPAN, to identify areas that require strengthening for improving nutrition and reducing malnutrition.

    “We were able to look at how the state has responded to the issues of malnutrition based on the provision of the NSPAN from 2015 to 2016.”

    NAN reports that the group is currently tracking nutrition budget in all MDAs in the state to ensure adequate and timely release of funds for nutrition sensitive and specific interventions.

  • Hajj: Airlift of Kaduna pilgrims to commence Aug. 1 – Official

    Hajj: Airlift of Kaduna pilgrims to commence Aug. 1 – Official

    The Kaduna State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board on Monday said it would commence airlift of pilgrims from the state to Saudi Arabia on Aug. 1.

    Malam Yunusa Abdullahi, Public Relations Officer of the board, said in Kaduna that travel visa for over 5,000 pilgrims had been processed and the balance would be ready within the week.

    Abdullahi disclosed that 6,247 pilgrims had so far paid their hajj fare of over N1.53 million each.

    He disclosed that the remaining intending pilgrims that had not completed the payment have up to Friday, July 28, to do so.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that three airlines, Max Air, Azman and Med View airlines, would transport pilgrims from the state to Saudi Arabia.