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Tag: Kaduna

  • Soldiers, truck driver clash in Kaduna

    Motorists on transit from the North to Southern parts of cuntry and Abuja through Kaduna on Sunday experienced  long agonizing traffic gridlock resulting from an incident between a truck driver and Soldiers.

    The Nation gathered that, the open truck loaded with cattle was trailed and apprehended around Dutsinma junction, along Nnamdi Azikwe expressway by the soldiers who shot at two tyres of the truck.

    The development led to a serious traffic gridlock, as the truck driver was said to have deliberately blocked the road with his truck.

    An eyewitness, Musa Alhassan said troop of about 30 Soldiers were at the scene during the incident.

    Meanwhile, former Chairman of the Kaduna Chapter of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers (PTD), Comrade Nuhu Babawo who intervened, told journalists that, normalcy has returned to the area.

    According to him, “The soldiers pursued the open body trailer loaded with cattle from toll gate, heading to the south. They shot at the two tyres of the trailer which resulted to the incident that led to a long traffic grid.

    “We have intervened and the deputy governor too was here and promised to replace the two tyres.I have also asked that two tyres be brought from my garage to move the Trailer. The situation has been brought under control and vehicles are moving freely now,” he added.

    However, Army Public Relations of 1 Mechanized Division, Nigerian Army, Colonel Abdul Usman did not respond to calls and text messages sent to him in the quest for the Army’s side of the story.

  • PDP governors shun pro-Jonathan rally in Kano

    PDP governors shun pro-Jonathan rally in Kano

    The final edition of the zonal rallies held in Kano yesterday by the Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) to drum up support for President Goodluck Jonathan ahead of next year’s election almost ended in a fiasco.

    Only Governor Ibrahim Shema of Katsina State was at the Northwest leg of the rally held at the Kano Polo Ground.

    Apart from Katsina, the president’s party –PDP – controls Kaduna, Kebbi, and Jigawa in the geopolitical zone.

    Governor Muktar Yero of Kaduna was represented by his deputy.

    Speaking at the rally, Governor Shema of Katsina pledged the support of the people of the state for President Goodluck Jonathan in next year’s elections.

    “We, the Katsina people, are here because Katsina State is always in the forefront of Nigeria’s unity,” he said.

    “We believe in Nigeria and I have no doubt in my mind that this nation will stand tall among the comity of nations if equity and justice is upheld.”

    Shema charged Northern politicians to come together and stand as one for the love of Nigeria, pointing out that without peace and unity, nothing meaningful can be achieved in the country.

    Dr. Khaliru Alhassan, Minister of State for Health spoke on behalf of Sokoto people, noting that, “President Jonathan is the latest gift for the North-West and he should be supported due to his tremendous achievements so far in the North-West and in the country in general.”

    Alhasan said President Jonathan’s success at the 2015 polls “will solidify the unity of Nigeria.”

    Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, Minister of State for Finance speaking for  Zamfara State said the Jonathan administration “has created an economy that is all inclusive enough to benefit all Nigerians irrespective of religious and ethnic background.”

    Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Government Affairs said that for Kebbi State, President Jonathan remains the man to beat in the 2015 presidential election.

    According to him, President Jonathan deserves another chance to occupy Aso Rock, adding : “In the North-West zone, particularly, in Kebbi, we are pleading with President Jonathan, we are calling upon President Jonathan to answer this clarion call upon him to continue beyond 2015.”

    Mohammed Garba Danladi Auyo, a PDP governorship aspirant from Jigawa State and a loyalist of Senator Saminu Turaki, said the Jigawa people are solidly behind President Jonathan, pointing out that age and performance have given him an edge over whoever will come out to challenge him in 2015.

    Speaking on behalf of PDP stakeholders from Kano, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali who was flanked by Mohammed Abacha and Alhaji Akilu Sani Ndabawa, both PDP governorship aspirants in Kano, described President Jonathan as a detribalized leader.

    According to him, President Jonathan, though a Christian was the only Nigerian president who has attended the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Cairo, Egypt, pointing out that Jonathan’s relationship with Muslims is a clear indication that he is a pro-Muslim president.

    He said:”Those fanning the embers of religion should also remember that it was as a result of President Jonathan’s intervention that the Saudi-Arabia authorities decided to welcome Nigerian pilgrims despite the Ebola hype.

    “In 2015, PDP will wrest power from APC in Kano. We are confident of this fact because President Jonathan has done a lot not only in Kano but in Nigeria as a country. He has exhibited patriotism and nationalism.”

    The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim who conveyed President Jonathan’s condolence message to victims of the recent Boko Haram attack at Federal College of Education (FCE), Kano, said 2, 393, 331 Nigerians from the  North-West Zone have endorsed Jonathan for a second term in office.

    Anyim, who also handed over TAN’s relief materials for bomb blast victims in the North-West Zone to Governor Shema, said in no distant time, President Jonathan will personally be in Kano to commiserate with victims of the FCE bomb-blast.

  • Schools resume in Abuja, Kano, Kaduna

    Primary and secondary schools in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja; Kano and Kaduna states resume today.

    The governments in the FCT, Kano and Kaduna said they had put measures in schools to prevent the spread of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). Members of the National Union of Teachers (NUT) said they were willing to resume work as long as EVD-detecting equipment and preventive measures were in place.

  • ‘Kaduna is ripe for power shift’

    ‘Kaduna is ripe for power shift’

    Kaduna State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Alhaji Salihu Mohammed Lukman spoke with ABDULGAFAR ALABELEWE on his ambition and the people’s quest for power shift in the Northwest state.

    How prepared is the APC for the challenge of 2015 elections in Kaduna State?

    Let me say that the APC has been a work in progress, unlike any other party. Anybody who understands politics very well should know that politics is an art of negotiation, constant negotiation. The process of aggregating interest is almost a lifelong process. We discover each other. We started with so many people. So, in the process,  people d ons, and along the way, they had to leave the party and move to other parties. I don’t think anybody would hold grudges against them. I think it is the process of discovering ourselves and we discover new people who were not in the party and are playing very active role. I think that is the beauty of it. On the party, I will say, is opening up beyond the imagination of anybody and in the process of opening up in some way, they are making some people uncomfortable who ordinarily would not want an open party because they want the party to be controlled. But, I think that at the end of it all the APC would emerge stronger, would become a party that is controlled and directed by Nigerian citizens and  therefore, the interest of Nigerians who would guide whatever the party is going to do. I think that will be my take on it.

    What is your assessment of the PDP administrations in Kaduna State in the last 15 years?

    I think that is stating the obvious, as you know I always make the point but if you take indices whether we respect human welfare or we respect infrastructural development in the country, certainly, Nigerians have a grace. Let us take indices for instance, when the PDP government took over power in 1999, unemployment was about 17 per cent, poverty level was in the region of 30- 40 per cent. Today, officially from the Federal Office of Statistics, unemployment is almost 23 per cent going to 24 per cent. This is as far back as 2012; I don’t know what the statistics is today.  It largely could have worsened. Poverty level almost 70 or 60 something per  cent. With reference to that, things have gotten worse with reference to infrastructural development; light situation has remained a tale by moonlight. With all the resources being pumped into the sector, you cannot get light. It has gotten worse, even in urban centers if you don’t have a generator, you cannot enjoy light. If you go to other sectors like the transport sector, things have really gotten worse, although they keep citing the rail project, which is not yet off the ground. We have seen quite a lot of work, but, until we see it, we cannot talk about it. Is it air transportation you are going to talk about? Or is it the flooding that happened last year, which we were told it was on account of the fact that the river Niger has not been dredged for decades and the PDP government I am sure did give contract about dredging the River Niger, but yet we are still stalk in that situation. Our urban centers are all congested. There is nothing to show about it. On health, Nigerians now go on health tourism more than ever before, nobody has imagined that. Education is the same situation. Almost everybody is sending his children to private schools either in Nigeria or abroad. So whatever aspect you look at we have regressed and however you want to be diplomatic about it, the people in charge have to take responsibility. I cannot but say that the  PDP government is a failure and that is why we must all wake up and pose a strong alternative to the PDP.

    Can the APC defeat the PDP in Kaduna State?

    My strong position is that we have no alternative, but to work hard and take over the government of Kaduna State and in doing that we must learn from our past mistakes and build a strategy that would really deliver the state to the APC in qualitative way. I am not one of those who just want the PDP defeated for the sake of defeat. I want to see the real alternative that is why I virtually engage everybody to say well look, we must work hard for the alternative. What is our past mistake? The first issue I would raise is the fact that the opposition parties were never united. We go to primaries and those who contest primaries, when they lose they jump ship and go to another party. Their supporters who might remain in the party would start anti-party activities. That is the first. The second issue is the quality of the candidate opposition party fielded. In most cases, you find out that from 1999 to date, almost all the gubernatorial candidates of the opposition party are people who have crossed from the PDP to the opposition. To that extent, they don’t pose in the eyes of the public any better alternative than what the PDP presented in the elections. Because the candidates did not with very superior commitment to build society, apart from the fact that they don’t connect with the people, they also use the opportunity to contest basically to enrich themselves.

    When they get what they want, they don’t provide leadership to the party to be able to defeat the PDP that is why, if you talk to our members, other members that are not the PDP, the citizens generally, they will tell you that one of the major problems is that the candidates themselves, even when they have lost the election they don’t fight back to reclaim they mandate. Typical example was in 2003, Suleiman Hunkuyi was adjudged to have won the election. He went to tribunal, but before the judgment of the tribunal, there was a contract settlement to the PDP government of Makarfi and withdrew the case from the tribunal. These are typical examples. The other problems are also because we have not built the opposition parties. They don’t do what is needful to even be able to protect the votes that they would have won. A good case is a situation where you take people to polling unit that are illiterate. They cannot read and write. They don’t know the electoral laws. They are not trained. They don’t even know what to do in the polling units. I think these are the major problems, so we must learn from those mistakes and seek to depart from them and start doing things right in such a way that we can truly defeat PDP. When I say defeat PDP I don’t mean we just start talking of constructing roads, giving contracts, big time contracts without giving priorities to the people in terms of human welfare, in terms of basic facilities of life. We were at that primary stage unfortunately, not just in the state in Nigeria generally.  We are talking of basics of livelihood which would include the issues of health, education, water.

    We are at that real primary stage. Today, almost all the foods we consume are imported, although we are supposed to be an agrarian nation. This is quite unfortunate and we have to really work hard if we are going to pose an alternative to PDP to come up with programs and campaign promises that clearly seek to depart from the old ways. I always say that, for once in Kaduna State, in particular, whatever good your program is, if you are not able to address the question of unity of the people, and you will not be able to mobilize citizens to work in a harmonious way to be able to deliver the kind of result that should move our society forward, and place it on that competitive level with others with further reference to other countries of the world. These are my honest views and that is what drives my engagement with politics. I believe if we work hard we will mobilise our people and get things done in a very proper way.

    What are the challenges confronting the APC in your state?

    Basically, it has to do with the old ways I am talking about. We have some of us who see the APC as an opportunity to simply just win election and on the basis of that they came into the party and all they are doing is to do things exactly the way the PDP is doing it. They want to take over the structures of the party, refuse to allow members of the party to determine their own leaders where members are given opportunity to determine their own leaders when they see that those leaders are not going to do their bidding and to that extent therefore ensure that they emerge victorious in primaries and become candidates. They start working against the leaders the people want. For us  in Kaduna up till today we are still grappling with all manner of crisis, simply because congresses have taken place and those ‘big shots’ who think they must dictate who become leaders don’t want those that are elected and are working assiduously to get those leaders removed.

  • Gunmen kill 50 in Kaduna village attack

    About 50 persons including a pastor, four pregnant women, children and a soldier were reportedly killed in gunmen attack on Fadan-Karshi villages of Sanga Local Government of Kaduna State.

    The Nation also gathered that, two other soldiers were seriously injured in the attack and presently receiving treatment at the Gwantu General Hospital among hundreds of other residents, it was gathered.

    The Wednesday’s attack on Sanga villages is in the series of attacks that had rocked the area since April this year, which according to sources had led to the killing of over 300 people, mostly women and children.

    A resident, Mike Sanga told newsmen in Kaduna that, the attackers invaded Fadan Karshi Daji and nearby communities burning houses including a church where several cars were parked.

    According to him, “in our counting, 12 people were killed in Fadan Karshi, 30 in Fada Karshi Daji seven others in another community. A pastor and another person were also killed at Ungwar Ganye.”

    Similarly, Vice Chairman of the Council, Pastor Bulus Mandey Anzah said, pregnant women, elderly and children were killed while hundreds of resident have flee their homes to unknown destinations.

    Anzah, who is standing in for the council chairman, Hon Emmanuel Danzaria, said there were temporary camps set-up for some of the displace and called on the emergency agencies to support them.

    “The attacks are getting worse everyday. Some of the soldiers who attempted to repeal the attack were also injured. Another soldier was killed, ” he said.

    “Many of the injured are now receiving treatment at the Gwantu General hospital,” Anzah added.

    An official of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirmed that over fifty people were killed in the attack.

    The official who didn’t want his name mentioned because he was not authorised to speak with press, said several houses including a church were burnt to ashes. He put the Internally Displaced Persons figure at over 10,000.

    Meanwhile, Centre Initiative for Development and Fundamental Rights Advocacy (CEDRA) described the attack as barbaric.

    The group in a statement issued by Dr. John Danfulani said the assailants annihilated many people, wounded over 40, burned down homes,  and destroyed farmlands.

    .

  • Ebola: Kaduna to spend N116m on thermometers, training

    Kaduna State has said it has set aside the sum of N116 million to purchase 10,000 clinical thermometers and hold sensitisation workshops for 13,000 school teachers on the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) across 23 local government areas of the state.

    State Commissioner of Education, Mohammed Ali, disclosed this while declaring the workshop and the subsequent distribution of the clinical thermometers for the Kaduna Central Senatorial Zone opened in Kaduna on Tuesday.

    Ali said the state would not to leave any stone unturned in ensuring all that is required to prevent EVD in the state and particularly in schools.

    “This is a workshop where 13,000 teachers will be trained on ways of preventing the EVD and it will take place in the three senatorial zones between now and the September 16 this year, and certainly before the schools resume on the 22nd September resumption date.

    “The state government is spending 116 million naira to purchase 10, 000 clinical thermometers and hold the various workshops for both private and public schools. Each school will be given two thermometers each.

    “Seventy-five million naira will be used to purchase the thermometers at the cost of 7500 each, while the balance of 41 million naira will be used for the workshops, refreshments and workshop papers.”

    He gave government’s assurance towards the welfare of pupils and students including the teachers in the state. Nonetheless, Ali appealed to school representatives to ensure that at their return both teaching and non teaching are also trained, while the thermometers are strictly and judiciously utilised.

    Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman State Universal Basic Education Board, Mr. Ishaya Dare Akawu urged teachers to take the fighting of EVD seriously, emphasising the need for a healthy learning environment. He called on teachers to inculcate a culture of hygiene in their schools and among their pupils/students.

    He said schools would be monitored, assessed and graded, adding that the yardstick for the assessment would be how neat their environment is.

    Responding, the Kaduna State President National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Dr. Vincent Ogini, commended the government for coming up with the initiative. He pledged on behalf of the private schools to ensure compliance and also engage in robust sanitations and hygiene practices in their schools.

    The National President Parents Teachers Association (PTA) Comrade Danjuma Shehu reiterated that it is their task to protect children and since parents had entrusted the lives of their children to teachers, the importance of the workshop would not be over emphasised.

    The Consultant, Dr. Salma Abbasi of the World Wide Group said the workshop was the beginning of how they would strive to change teachers behavior on their approach to hygiene and sanitation, and sensitise them on EVD, taking them through necessary measures of the virus to prevent its spread.

  • 337 killed on Kaduna road

    337 killed on Kaduna road

    Three hundred and thirty seven people have died in road crashes in Kaduna State this year. About 1,528 were injured.

    The Kaduna Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Olu Mike Olagunju, spoke at the weekend at the launch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers’ (NURTW’s) membership identity in Kaduna.

    Olagunju said although the figure reduced compared to that of last year within the same period, it was still unacceptable.

  • ABU student suffers from Dangue fever, not Ebola -Dep Gov

    The 19 year old undergraduate student of Law in Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), who has been under quarantine at the teaching hospital of the University in Shika, Zaria for a strange ailment that was earlier suspected to Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) has been tested Ebola negative.

    Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Ambassador Nuhu Audu Bajoga, told newsmen in Kaduna Wednesday that the student was suffering from ‘Dangue Fever’, not Ebola Virus Disease.

    Bajoga, who is the Chairman, Kaduna State Ebola Prevention and Control Committee said, “just as I told you about my doubt on the Ebola issue, I am happy to inform you that the result of the sample of the patient’s blood taken to a Lagos laboratory, came back this morning. The young man was negative of the Ebola virus.

    “However, the patient was tested positive for Dangue fever. I am told it is a very bad type of fever, but it is no where close to the Ebola virus. May I reassure our people that we ever ready to contain any outbreak of Ebola.
    And for now, and I pray forever, There is no single case of Ebola in Kaduna state.

    “We are waiting for more brief on the Dangue fever and we shall act in the best interest of the public”, he said.

  • 129 Kaduna medical students for studies abroad

    129 Kaduna medical students for studies abroad

    No fewer than 29 indigent medical students from the Kaduna State University (KASU) have been awarded scholarships worth N150 million to further their studies abroad.

    The beneficiaries were selected on merit across the 23 local government areas of the state.

    The Governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, who kicked off the scholarship awards, said the initiative was targeted at re-building the damaged sector and to re-engineering a new transformation through human-oriented programmes.

    Presenting the award to beneficiaries at the main campus of KASU in Kaduna, Yero said the first set of medical students of the university were selected since medical science is one of the key courses under consideration by the government, adding that the expediency of getting them to complete their clinical training has become paramount.

    “It is on record that the last time the Kaduna State government awarded any overseas scholarship was in the 80s when Alhaji Abdulkadir Balarabe Musa was Governor. At that time, students were mainly sent to Central Europe to study specific courses such as Engineering and Agriculture. With the stoppage of the overseas scholarship awards and the corresponding instability in our university, the system had lost manpower and capacity in several areas.

    “To reverse this situation, the government has identified specific areas of manpower shortages which include medical sciences, engineering, agriculture, and urban design, among others and is working with the committee to address the trend.

    Yero said his government expected the beneficiaries to champion the development of mining sector, and ranch management to reduce conflicts between farmers and herdsman and to attend to their family health.

    “We should raise specific expertise in Highway Engineering and Urban Planning and Design to cater for the development of our cities and rural areas.

    “When this university established the Faculty of Medicine in 2008, the objective was to raise a crop of medical doctors to provide the needed manpower for our hospitals and provide the needed health care. The policy of the university has been to restrict admission into the Faculty of Medicine to Kaduna State indigenes.

    “As required, a university teaching hospital is necessary for the purpose of clinical training of medical students; hence the Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital has since been designated for that purpose. In light of the foregoing, government awarded various contracts for its rehabilitation and upgrading in 2012 and was hoping that by 2013 all the projects would have been completed.

    “Unfortunately, many contractors are still in deficit of their works hence we have not been able to open the hospital for clinical trainings. We have, however, set up an Implementation Committee with members from the Ministry of Health and the Kaduna State University to resolve outstanding issues and ensure that the hospital is opened for clinical training as well as to offer tertiary health care services in the state soon.

    “While this is being done, I am delighted to say that the government has decided to sponsor the first set of medical students to complete their medical training at the Kampala International University Uganda for a period of three and a half years. Accordingly, all arrangements have been completed for the students to travel out immediately to enable them commence lectures on this month.

    “The state government has paid all expenses connected to this, that is, tuition fees, accommodation fees, travelling expenses, personal upkeep and book allowance. Therefore, N150 million has been paid to the university for this purpose.’’

    KASU Vice-Chancellor, Prof Barnabas Quirix, advised the beneficiaries to reciprocate the gesture by being committed to their studies.

    He said the beneficiaries were of good conduct while in KASU, assuring that they would be good ambassadors of the state during their studies.

  • Kaduna’s dumped projects

    Kaduna’s dumped projects

    Before his death, the former Governor of Kaduna State, Sir Patrick Yakowa, was determined to improve the living standard of the people. To ensure this, he awarded contracts for the construction of roads and other amenities that would enhance their well-being.

    He awarded contracts for 33 roads in the local government areas in November, 2012. The people of the benefiting communities sang and danced as Yakowa flaggesd off the construction of the roads after he had paid 25 per cent of the contract sum to all the contractors .

    Before they were paid, each of the contractors provided a bank guarantee. A couple of days after he concluded the exercise, Yakowa died in a helicopter crash.

    His Deputy, Mukthar Ramalan Yero took over as governor.  He promised that he would continue with all the projects whose contracts had been awarded by the Yakowa administration. Apart from the 33 roads, there are other ongoing road projects due for completion. One of them is the Narayi/Ungwan Maigero Road which connects Narayi Village with the new road that has been named after the late governmor.

    However, the10-kilometre Yakowa Way was completed before his death, but the link road which is less than three kilometres is far from being completed.

    Investigation revealed that any time Yero tours ongoing road projects, work will resume on the roads, but stops immediately he concludes his tour.

    With the slow pace of work on the roads and many of the contractors abandoning sites for a long time, there are speculations across the state that Yero has abandoned the roads, despite his promise to omplete all projects awarded by Yakowa.

    Apart from taking a tour of the roads in the Northern Senatorial District, Yero made little effort to tell the people why work on the roads has been slow.  Non-performing contractors have neither been sanctioned nor the contracts re-awarded.

    However, Mordecai Sunday Ibrahim, publisher of the Kaduna-based New Impression Magazine, has alleged that Yakowa’s kinsmen had abandoned the road projects after collecting mobilisation fees.

    In a recent interview, Ibrahim was quoted as saying that Yero was not the one that abandoned the road projects, especially those in Southern Kaduna, but Yakowa’s kinsmen.

    Ibrahim said: “From my investigations and observations, some of the roads were abandoned because some of the contractors do not have the wherewithal to execute the contracts. Some of them do not even have a wheelbarrow to pack sands, yet they got the contracts.

    “Some of them collected 25 per cent mobilisation fee and took off. The Commissioner for Works and Transport told me that he had meetings with one of the contractors thrice times, yet the man has not gone back to site. You collected public money, taxpayers’ money and went away with it. If the man who gave you the contract had been alive, I am sure he will not be happy with you.

    “The intention of the late Sir Patrick Yakowa is that both the contractor and community should benefit from the contract, but as it is today, like the Hausa saying goes, no bird no trap.”

    He argued that it was wrong to accuse governor of abandoning the road projects which he believes are of immense benefit to the people.

    He said: “Anybody who is accusing Governor Muhktar Ramalan Yero of abandoning road projects is not fair to him. This is because he has not abandoned any project. He has even awarded contracts for additional six roads which are also ongoing. Some are even completed, both at the Northern and Southern Senatorial zones.

    “For example, the Saye Bridge, Kofan Gayan in Zaria has been completed. People are enjoying the use of the road now. If you go to the 6.5km Asphalt road at Kagarko Local Government Area in the Southern Senatorial zone, the Marraban Iddah–Iddah–Bwari Junction that leads to Abuja, has been completed.

    “The irony is that the contractor completed the job within the required period with only 25 per cent mobilisation he received. The road was awarded at the cost of N584, 864,894.25. The contract was awarded on December 27, 2013 and the contractor moved to site in February 2014. The contractor confirmed to us that he was paid only N146, 216,223.57 which represents 25 per cent of the total sum.”

    He further alleged that Yakowa’s relatives were among those who collected mobilisation fees and abandoned the road projects.

    He said: “The contractor handling one of the abandoned road projects I mentioned is closely related to the late Yakowa. That was why I said if Yakowa were alive to see this, he would not be happy. Yakowa would not have tolerated abandonment of any project by anybody.

    “If he were alive to see that the road he awarded contracts for construction and his kinsmen are not doing them, he would be sad and even angry with them. It is no secret that some of the road construction works were awarded to Yakowa’s kinsmen. There is nothing wrong with Yakowa’s kinsmen getting the contract. But there is everything wrong when they get the contracts and they abandon project sites after collecting mobilisation fees.”

    Buttressing Ibrahim’s point, Kaduna State Accountant-General, Ishaku Shekari who pays contractors for works done and who is from Southern Kaduna, also dismissed the claim that the road projects awarded by the late Yakowa were abandoned.

    He said: “No road project has been abandoned. The late Governor Yakowa was magnanimous and wanted to empower a lot of people as possible and therefore awarded contracts to people who are somehow new and not known in road construction. A good number of them did not have the capacity to execute the jobs.

    “Those who have the capacity have since completed the jobs and are awaiting their payments. Those who lacked the experience are waiting for government to completely finance the jobs. All of them that were awarded these contracts were given 25 per cent of the contract sum as mobilisation fee.

    “If a contract is given to you and you are paid 25 per cent of the sum, I expect that before you come for anything, the job would have been at least 40 or 50 per cent completed. One of the jobs that have been revoked is that of Gonin Gora because the contractor has not done up to 10 per cent of the job.

    “So, what happened to the 25 per cent money given to him? That is why some of the projects are still at the stage they are today. The contractors do not have the capacity and so did not mobilise to sites. Some were waiting to borrow equipment from those who have as a result of which the jobs suffered. In fact, some of them sold the contracts out.”

    But some people from Southern Kaduna believe that the claim that Yakowa awarded some of the contracts to people who do not have the capacity to execute the project is part of ploys to exonerate Governor Yero and give Yakowa a bad name.

    Rev. Yunana Oganto told our correspondent that the denials were attempts to underplay the ineptitude and incompetence of the Kaduna State Government in handling developmental issues.

    Oganto, who is the National Chairman of Rich Forth Nigeria, a Jos-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) said: “The Kaduna State Government and its collaborators attempt to underplay their ineptitude and incompetence by adopting Machiavellian antics in exonerating themselves from glaring failure.

    Continuing, Oganto said: “Those who conducted the so-called projects investigation should be able to provide the names of the local governments visited and the lists of abandoned projects therein. They should also oblige us with a comprehensive list of the companies owned by the illusive Yakowa kinsmen whom they claim abandoned the contracts after collecting the mobilisation fees.

    “Unless the facts are made available, the purported fact finding is a mere calculated attempt to score cheap credit for doing nothing. Those who sponsored the facetious assignment have failed in their effort to launder their tainted image, as long as these abandoned projects remained uncompleted and deteriorating.”

    Similarly, Convener of the Concerned Southern Kaduna Professionals, Dr. John Danfulani challenged Ibrahim to mention the names of those who collected mobilisation fees and later abandoned the road projects.

    He said: “I read the claim by one Modecai Sunday Ibrahim who is not a government official. Modecai threatened to mention names of Southern Kaduna people that collected money and abandoned the road projects sited in Southern Kaduna during Yakowa’s era.

    “The statement is nonsense and detached from commonsense and logic. If truly his mission was to exonerate Governor Yero from the whole mess, he should have been bold enough to mention names and state the take-off grant given to them.

    “So long as he was courageous enough to pillar his empty talk with facts, he merely danced naked in a public square. As we approach 2015 general elections, there is nothing Sir Kashim Ibrahim foot soldiers in Southern Kaduna and party urchin will not say and do to cleanse their inept government by shifting the blame to Yakowa and Southern Kaduna people.

    While on tour of the roads across the state, Governor Yero threatened to revoke all non-performing contracts awarded by the state government just as he urged contractors handling government projects to ensure that they are completed on schedule.

    He said the government will carry out a comprehensive review of all ongoing projects across, adding that government will take concrete action against contractors who have abandoned their project sites.

    While commending contractors who have either completed their jobs or are in the process of doing so, the governor said the review is to ensure the completion of projects earmarked in the 2014 budget before the end of the year. He advised contractors to begin the second phase of the project which is asphalt-laying and completion of drainage.

    He denied allegations that he had abandoned road projects initiated by the late Yakowa.

    While speaking at a public function in Kafanchan, the governor said: “Our administration has not and will not dump any projects initiated by regimes before us. While we continue to allocate scarce resources to tackle numerous demands, it is imperative to ensure completion of ongoing projects in order to ensure prudent spending of public funds.

    “It will amount to wastage and retrogression if every administration dumps projects initiated by its predecessors and we shall not fall into such trap. In zone three alone, there are 15 ongoing road projects that have been earmarked for funding in the 2014 budget.

    “While most are at various stages of completion; our administration has successfully completed the Zonkwa-Yarbam Road, Tum-Madakiya Road and the College of Education Gidan Waya Road. Several other road projects have reached advanced stages of completion and these include Jere-Kurmin Jibrin and Kwoi-Kafanchan Road which has reached 74 per cent completion stage, Wazo-Asso-Tanda-Gegira Washout has reached 92 per cent completion stage and the Zonal Police Headquarter-Kaduna State University Campus Access Road has reached 96 per cent completion stage.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    “We have made a total allocation of N8.251 billion in the budget as funding for ongoing road projects in zone three this year. There are also projects in other sectors including education, health, rural development and water supply that are ongoing in all parts of the state.

    “I re-assure the entire people of Kaduna State that our administration is for all people, irrespective of tribe, religion or section. I am Governor for all the people of Kaduna State and for us; no citizen of Kaduna State is superior or inferior to others.

    “We are all equal partners in this project. As government, we shall continue to work hard in ensuring that every citizen of Kaduna State enjoys the right and opportunity to attain their full potential. I re-affirm that under my watch, no section of the state shall receive more or less than its fair share of all opportunities and projects that government has to offer.”