The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kaduna

  • Buhari mourns tragic loss of students in Kaduna

    Buhari mourns tragic loss of students in Kaduna

    President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed sadness over the news of the tragic death of some students of Victory College, Ungwan Yelwa, Kaduna, who drowned in River Kaduna while on an excursion.

    According to a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, President Buhari’s thoughts and prayers are with the distraught families of the deceased and the management of the College, and he expresses heartfelt condolences to the Government and people of Kaduna State, during this difficult time.

    Read Also: South East will benefit more from road, rail projects – Buhari

    The President prayed that God will comfort families and friends affected by the profound loss of these young minds, and he wishes speedy recovery to other staff and students, who are in shock over the unfortunate incident.

     

  • Kaduna State to host Verdant Zeal SMEs round-table

    Kaduna State to host Verdant Zeal SMEs round-table

    Verdant Zeal Group says it will  convene the first Innovation Round-table to promote Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and Start-up Entrepreneurs in Kaduna State to create a platform to showcase their innovations.

    Dr Tunji Olugbodi, the Executive Vice Chairman of Verdant Zeal Group, organiser of the round-table made this known at a news conference on Tuesday in Kaduna State.

    He said that the event would create a free platform for employers of labour, e-commerce entrepreneurs and SMEs to appreciate the place of innovation in business growth.

    Olugbodi said that Verdant Zeal Group was hosting the event in collaboration with the Peugeot Automobile Nigeria Ltd.  (PAN) and the Kaduna State Government.

    “The Verdant Zeal Group had been holding the innovation series as a corporate social responsibility initiative since the last six years with participants from different parts of the Africa,’’ he said.

    He said that the initiative was meant to examine the development of Africa, discuss the Nigerian project and expose opportunities for development and growth within the continent.

    “The Innovation Round-table is propelled by the success achieved with the annual innovation series which has held since 2012 but with a renewed vision to impact key economic hubs across Nigeria.

    “The Verdant Zeal annual innovation series has expanded in scope and subject matter to hold at the first Innovation Roundtable for SMEs and Start-up Entrepreneurs.

    “This year’s theme of the round-table is `How Innovation Drives Entrepreneurship; The Case for SMEs and Start-Ups’,“ the convener said.

    He said that guests from both the public and private sectors would engage in stimulating but pragmatic conversations and discourse that would add value to SMEs and entrepreneurs and their actors.

    Olugbodi said that the event, scheduled for Oct. 19, would attract speakers from different fields including Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai of Kaduna State, the Chairman of Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, Hamisu Yusuf Mairago, the Managing Director, PAN Nigeria, Mr Ibrahim Boyi, among others.

    “The round-table has now expanded its offerings for a richer and more diverse audience who want to practically evaluate issues experienced by key economic hub in Nigeria and come up with lasting workable solutions.“

    The panel discussants at the event will be the Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr Laoye Jaiyeola; Founder/CEO, Zamani Foundation, Philomena Zamani-Henry.

    Others are Chairperson of WIMBIZ, Aisha Ahmad and Kabir Farida Mohammed, Chief Executive Officer, Online Training and Awareness Campaign (OTRAC).

    NAN

  • World Bank releases N30m to Kaduna schools

    World Bank releases N30m to Kaduna schools

    The World Bank has ordered the immediate release of N30 million to improve teaching and learning facilities at a UBE Primary School with 22, 2400 pupils in Rigasa, a suburb of Kaduna.

    A representative of the bank, Dr Olatunde Adekola, said that the intervention was for immediate upgrade of facilities at the school.

    He said the high number of pupils had increased pressure on both teaching and learning facilities in the school, which has 70 teachers.

    Adekola had led a task team for midterm review of the N6 billion granted the state under the bank’s Global Partnership for Education ( GPE ).

    The bank is spending N20 billion under GPE to support girl-child education in five states, of the Northwest, where all indexes on education appeared to be very low compared to other regions.

    The target was to increase reading and writing skills for pupils in nursery and those in primary one to three, and strengthen community activism and local governance.

    It also aimed at expanding access to education through community initiatives and to increase the number of qualified female teachers in areas with high gender disparities.

    Other states benefiting from the partnership, supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development ( USAID ) and UK Department for International Development (DFID), include Jigawa, Kano, Katsina and Sokoto.

    Meanwhile, the project Coordinator for Kaduna State, Aburu Musa said over 3,400 primary schools have benefited from the programme.

    According to him, a total of 8,050 primary school girls from poor homes had received N45, 000 scholarship grants to continue with their education, with 1, 170 female teachers also getting similar amount to further their studies.

    Meanwhile, the state government said its school feeding program and the GPE scholarship had resulted to the soaring of school enrolment from 1.1 million to 2.1 million pupils in the state.

    According to Gov. Nasiru El-Rufai, current enrolment ratio stands at 51 boys and 49 girls in schools in the state.

    The State Government had recently signed into law the Bill on School Based Management Committee, to allow community participation in the running of schools.

    NAN

  • Kaduna to employ 25,000 teachers

    Kaduna to employ 25,000 teachers

    Gov. Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State  says the state will employ 25,000 primary school teachers as parts of efforts to restore dignity and quality to its education sector.

    The governor, who stated this when he received a World Bank delegation in his office in Kaduna on Monday said this would also entrench equity in the distribution of teachers across the state.

    He explained that recruiting teachers had became necessary due to the acute shortage of qualified primary school teachers in the state.

    The governor stated that his administration would disengage about 20,000 unqualified primary school teachers to restore confidence in public schools.

    According to him: “we tested our 33,000 primary school teachers, we gave them primary four exams and required they must get at least 75 per cent but am sad to announce that 66 per cent of them failed to get the requirements.

    “The hiring of teachers in the past was politicized and we intend to change that by bringing in young and qualified primary school teachers to restore the dignity of education in the state,” the governor said.

    He stressed that teachers would be redeployed across the state to balance the issue of teacher-pupil ratio.

    “We have a challenge with the teacher-pupil ratio in the urban schools; there is concentration of teachers that are not needed.

    ‘’In some LGAs, it’s a teacher pupil ratio of 1-9 while in some places it’s 1-100,” he said.

    El-Rufai said that in a bid to improve the education sector, the school Directors decided to enrol their children in public schools starting from this academic session.

    Speaking earlier, the World Bank representative, Dr Kunle Adekola, expressed appreciation to the state for investing in education and for the  priority given to the girl child.

    “This state has demonstrated and supported us to achieve our goals,” he said.

    Adekola said the Bank would invest N30 million in Rigasa Primary School, which has a population of about 22,000 pupils, as part of its support for the state.

    The Education Intervention Fund by the World Bank and other collaborative development partners, is rendering support to about 13 Northern states and a state from each of the other four geopolitical zones of the country.

    NAN

  • Mrs Buhari condoles with family of late Mukhtar

    Mrs Buhari condoles with family of late Mukhtar

    The Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has on Sunday condoled with the family of the late retired Air Vice Marshal Mukhtar Mohammed, who died in London at the age of 73 after a protracted illness.

    Mrs Buhari described the late former Military Governor of the old Kaduna State and Wazirin Dutse as a detribalised Nigerian.

    She that said his demise was a great loss to the Buhari family and the nation.

    She prayed Almighty God to grant him paradise and the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

    The wife of the president recalled that in 2003 when President Muhammadu Buhari joined party politics, he toured the country alongside the late Mukhtar.

    Mrs Buhari, who landed at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport at the 3:20 p.m., was received by Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje alongside his Wife, Dr Hafsat Ganduje.

    She was also received at the late AVM Mukhtar’s residence by the Wife of former Head of State, Mrs Ajoke Murtala Muhammad and the Wife of the deceased, Mrs Rabi Mukhtar.

    Mrs Buhari was accompanied by the Wife of Borno Governor, Mrs Nana Shettima; Wife of Nasarawa State Governor, Dr Mairo Al-Makura; Wife of Benue Governor, Mrs Eunice Ortom; Wife of Kogi Governor, Mrs Rashidat Bello; Wife of Zamfara Governor, Mrs Asma’u Yari, among others.

    The Coordinator of the Buhari Women Organisation, Marry Ita, described the deceased as a loyal and committed Patriot who contributed immensely to the Buhari organisation.

    Ita, therefore, prayed to God to grant the late military officer Paradise.

    The late AVM Mukhtar was born on Nov.11, 1944, in Dutse, the present capital of Jigawa.

    The late Wazirin Dutse was a one-time Minister of Housing and Urban Development and was a member of the defunct Supreme Military Council.

    The deceased was untill his death, the Chairman, Board of Directors of Freedom Radio, a private Radio station in Kano, Kaduna and Jigawa states.

    The wife of the President also commiserated with the family of late Alhaji Ali Dan-Maraya who died recently in Kano.

    Dan-Maraya was, until his death, the Vice Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kano State.

    Mrs Buhari prayed Almighty God to grant him Paradise

    NAN

  • Thousands stranded, as fuel tanker explodes in Kaduna

    Thousands of passengers either coming from or going to Abuja are stranded as a result of an explosion and fire at Tafa along the Kaduna-Abuja highway.

    It was gathered that the explosion occurred after a tanker loaded with petroleum products avoided collision on the highway with a commercial Golf car, skidded off the highway and exploded.

    The number of casualties from the accident is not yet certain, but many are feared dead from inhaling the smoke, burnt by the fire, or as a result of the explosion.

    The spokesperson of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Yushau Shuaib, said a place of worship was burnt, but insisted that no life was lost.

    It was gathered that several houses were burnt in the area, but NEMA explained that quick intervention that saw to evacuation of the residents ensured many lives were saved.

    The ever busy Kaduna-Abuja highway links the Federal Capital Territory with the North West and  North East, with thousands of vehicles plying it everyday.

    It also links the  North with the South through Lokoja, the Kogi State capital.

    Bad portions of the road cannot be ruled out as a cause of the accident on this very important Federal Road, as the road which was rehabilitated earlier this year has gone bad few months after

  • Kaduna SIECOM postpones LG elections indefinitely

    Kaduna SIECOM postpones LG elections indefinitely

    The Kaduna State Independent Electoral Commission ( Kad -SIECON ) on Friday announced the indefinite suspension of local government elections earlier slated to hold on December 30.

    The Chairperson of the commission, Saratu Dikko made the announcement after an emergency meeting with the state House of Assembly Committee on Judiciary in Kaduna.

    “The elections have been postponed,’’ she told newsmen after the meeting.

    According to her, the postponement was necessary as the assembly has not passed the new law to guide the election.

    “So when the law is passed and signed into law by the governor we will make a new announcement on the election,’’ she said.

    Also, Chairman of the committee, Mr Kantiok Ishaku, said it was erroneous for the commission to announce a date for local council elections when the assembly had not concluded work on the law for the election.

    “We have told them to tarry a while until the necessary amendment to the Independent Electoral Commission Law of 2012 is concluded,’’ the chairman said.

    NAN

  • Kaduna, PAN, Verdant Zeal to host Innovention Roundtable

    The Verdant Zeal company will hold the first Innovention Round Table for SMEs and start-up entrepreneurs with the theme: “How Innovation Drives Entrepreneurship: the Case for SMEs and Start-Ups.

    Organised by Verdant Zeal, in partnership with the Kaduna State government and PAN Nigeria, the Innovention Round Table is propelled by the success achieved with the annual Innovention Series which has held since 2012, but with a renewed vision to impact key economic hubs across Nigeria.

    It will hold in Kaduna, on October 19, at the Umar Musa Yar’Adua Hall.

    Executive Vice Chairman of Verdant Zeal and event convener Dr. Tunji Olugbodi, noted that in the last six years, Verdant Zeal has convened the Innovention Series, a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative instituted in 2012 to examine the development of Africa, discuss the Nigerian project and pinpoint opportunities for development and growth within the continent.

    The round table will be chaired by Chairman of the Kaduna Electricity Distribution Company, Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar; Governor Nasir El-Rufai is Special Guest and the keynote address will be delivered by the Managing Director, PAN Nigeria, Mr. Ibrahim Boyi.

  • Sen. Sodangi backs Nasarawa on sale of assets

    Sen. Sodangi backs Nasarawa on sale of assets

    A three- term senator, Abubakar Sodangi, on Wednesday backed the decision of the Nasarawa State Government to sale some of its assets.

    Criticisms had trailed the approval by the state Assembly, on Sept.25, allowing Gov.Tanko Almakura to dispose some of the government assets in Lagos, Jos and Kaduna.

    Sodangi, who represented Nasarawa West in the Senate from 1999 to 2011, said that the decision to sell off the properties was in the best interest of the state.

    He however said that the proceeds should be invested in areas that would have positive impact on the lives of the people.

    “I want to start by saying that whatever you see a governor or government of a state is planning on doing, they must have reasons for them.

    “From what I heard, the reason for the sale of these assets was due to total wastage, dilapidation and deteriorating condition of these properties.

    “If keeping and maintaining these properties is waste and the best thing a government think is to sell the properties and reinvest the money in prosperous and viable venture to better the lives of the people of the state, so it be.

    “Some other people may have their own different views. If you are running any business at a loss, I believe that the best thing is to do away with it; that is my own personal thinking,” he said.

    Sodangi urged people of the state to support the government, so as to succeed.

    He urged Nigerians especially the youths to be law abiding, respect constituted authorities and engage in meaningful ventures that would make them self reliant.

    NAN

  • UN launches $9 million food security project

    UN launches $9 million food security project

    The United Nations ( UN ) on Tuesday launched a nine million-dollar food security project in Kaduna State to improve the livelihood of farmers in the state.

    Briefing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, Mr Edward Kallon, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, said that the project known as “Food Africa’’ was to ensure improved nutrition and food sufficiency in the country.

    Kallon said the project was an innovative approach aimed at revamping the food sector to create new jobs for young people, increase farmers’ revenue, improve productivity, enhance nutrition and reduce food loss through the adoption of more sustainable production practices.

    He said that the project would be implemented in partnership with various UN agencies, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals Fund ( UN SDG-F ) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation ( FAO ).

    He said that the other facilitators of the project included the Sahara Group, the International Labour Organisation ( ILO ), the Roca Brothers and the Kaduna State government, among others.

    According to him, Nigeria is currently facing food insufficiency due to factors such as reliance on rain-fed agriculture, increase in food prices and climate change.

    Kallon said that the private sector was the engine room for actualising the SDGs, adding that collaborations between the government, private sector and UN agencies would facilitate efforts to achieve the targets of the project.

    “A growing population comes with a growing demand for food. To feed this expanded population nutritiously and sustainably, much more efforts and innovation are needed to make substantial improvements to the food system,’’ he said.

    Also speaking, Ms Paloma Duran, the Director of UN-SDGF, said that the project would target, train and involve no fewer than 4,000 farmers in Kaduna State.

    Duran noted that the project commenced with the training of 50 farmers, including young women and men in agriculture, using a train-the-trainer approach.

    “Some of the priorities of this project are food security and nutrition as well as inclusive economic growth; and it will last for three years,’’ she said.

    Mr Suffyan Koroma, the FAO Country Representative, said that the project would target food preservation techniques, especially in the tomato value chain.

    He said that the project would help to promote sustainability and replicable integrated solutions to agro-food value chain development, youth employment and poverty alleviation issues.

    Dr Abdukadir Kassim, the Permanent Secretary, Kaduna State Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, commended the UN agencies for choosing the Kaduna as the pilot state for the project.

    He said that the training of the 50 farmers was apt, adding that the state government was interested in improving the livelihood of its citizens to ensure increased food production.

    He said that the state government’s agricultural schemes had impacted significantly on about 70 per cent of its farming population because of the fact that there was no better security than food security.

    Kassim said that the state government would support agencies and partners whose target was to promote the agricultural potential of the state.

    “The training of the farmers in Kaduna has confirmed the fact that the UN is supporting agricultural programmes in the country.

    “Any programme aimed at improving the livelihood of the people will be welcomed by the government,’’ he added.

    Mr Tonye Cole, the Executive Director of the Sahara Group, said that the project would be replicated in other states of the country and across Africa to achieve food security.

    Food Africa project focuses on identifying and testing a replicable model in Kaduna State, with a view to scaling up the programme in other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.

    NAN