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Tag: kano state

  • Certificates of Return: Why we boycotted exercise in Kano – PDP

    The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Kano State says its 13 state assembly members-elect boycotted INEC’s issuance of certificate of return due to security reasons.

    A statement by Sanusi Bature Dawakin-Tofa, PDP’s Spokesperson for 2019 Campaign Management Team in Kano State made this known in Kano on Wednesday.

    Dawakin-Tofa said the party asked its members to boycott the exercise because the Sani Abacha Indoor Sports Hall, which was the venue of the ceremony, was not conducive due to serious security reasons.

    Read Also: PDP ‘ll bounce back In Ekiti, says Olujimi

    “We have a serious concern over the selection of venue for issuance of certificate of return to our State Assembly Members elect.

    “There should be a neutral ground for the exercise, PDP members are not safe in the venue selected which is indoor stadium of Kofar Mata Sports Complex,” Dawakin-Tofa said.

    According to him, the party had before now written to the commission requesting for a change of venue to maintain neutrality as it happened in 2011 and 2015.

    He said following the refusal of the commission to change the venue, the party had no option than to ask its members to boycott the exercise.

     

    NAN

     

  • I’m ready to face PDP in court, says Ganduje

    Kano State Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Monday in Kano said he is ever ready to face the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), which vowed to challenge his victory at the just- concluded Kano supplementary poll in court.

    He said: “Before the re-run election, which we emerged victorious, they were deep-neck in ballot stuffing and other electoral offences, a ploy that was later uncovered.”

    The governor spoke in Ganduje town of Dawakin Tofa local government when he was receiving thousands of supporters who trooped to congratulate him over his re-election.

    Ganduje said it was after that ballot stuffing scenario that genuine election was conducted at the supplementary election, which he described as fair and credible.

    “My thinking about these people is they are about to kick-start what would later consume them unawares.

    “What they did in other elections of the state legislators in some places, will be looked at, with the view to ascertaining authenticity of such votes they claimed to have gotten,” Ganduje further stated.

    While assuring his second term in office would build on the good work he has done to the state, he boasted: “Whoever comes to Kano will attest to the fact that Kano is fast growing and developing.

    Read also: No plans to quiz outgoing governors, says EFCC

    “We will improve on this and will, at the same time, consolidate the feats achieved.”

    The governor commended those that trooped to congratulate him and his government over the victory and assured them his administration would continue to make Kano one of the safest states in the country.

    “We are thanking those who voted for us, those who didn’t vote for us and those who didn’t even vote at all,” he stated.

  • Emir Sanusi urges Gov. Ganduje to forgive all

    The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammadu Sanusi II on Saturday organised a special prayer session at the Kano Central Mosque for Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s administration as he is about to enter into his second term in office.

    The session was attended by District Heads, Chief Imam of Kano, scholars, members of the  State Executive Council, Special Advisers among others.

    This was contained in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Malam Abba Anwar and made available to newsmen on Saturday in Kano.

    ‎According to the Emir,  the prayer is to seek for Allah’s protection and guidance for the governor’s second term in office and the country as a whole.

    Sanusi explained that forgiveness was necessary in anything that has to do with governance and social relationship, insisting that “misunderstanding is sometime caused by sycophants.

    “It is not bad for anyone to hold on to his or her opinion about happenings in the society. But what is necessary is the fact that after election, all people should come together and see to the successful tenure of government in power.

    Read also: Kano Emir organises special prayer for Ganduje’s second term

    “Because of that, it is necessary that Ganduje administration deserves all necessary support and cooperation for the development of our dear state.

    “We must all come together and make Kano greater. We must work hard and pray incessantly for the rightful development of our state and the nation in general,” the monarch added.

    Sanusi, who prayed for Allah’s protection from the handiwork of sycophants, also said that political , traditional, religious and leaders of the business community should not allow any misunderstanding come in between them.

    “Whoever wants to create confusion and misunderstanding between these categories of leadership, is somebody who goes astray.

    “Such a person doesn’t want the development of our state at all,” he cautioned.

    While calling on the governor to always investigate any story that goes to him, he explains that, sometime people would just fabricate stories and start spreading rumour, with the intention of causing confusion.

    “Sometimes some people will do something without your consent. But some individuals will just go ahead and start spreading rumor that it was you who planned for that. While that thing happens without even your knowledge.

    “So we will keep on praying for a peaceful Kano and for a successful tenure and you to be a leader with large heart, who embraces all.” (NAN )

  • Silent war in Atiku’s camp

    A QUIET war is going on in the camp of former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the just concluded elections, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    The camp of the former Vice President is said to be very angry with the governor of Sokoto State, Rt. Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, and former Kano State governor, Alhaji Musa Kwankwaso, over the votes he got from Sokoto and Kano states during the presidential election.

    Associates of the former Vice President believe that the two PDP chieftains did not wholeheartedly work for Atiku’s success in the presidential election because they were scheming for their own presidential ambition in 2023. The belief in Atiku’s camp is that Kwankwaso and Tambuwal preferred that President Muhammadu Buhari, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) won the election in the belief that he would quit the political scene after his second term while his domineering influence would vanish.

    Read also: Fintiri’s election signifies new dawn in Adamawa, says Atiku

    Atiku’s presidency, on the other hand, they were believed to have reasoned, would eclipse their influence and their say in the PDP during the eight years he would spend in office, while their popularity would wane considerably.

    Atiku’s camp is said to be particularly peeved by the high number of votes the PDP garnered in the two states during the governorship election as opposed to the party’s poor performance in the two states during the presidential race. It would be recalled that the PDP could only muster 391,593 votes in Kano and 361,604 votes in Sokoto State during the presidential election, while the party polled a whopping 1,024,713 votes in Kano and 512,002 votes in Sokoto during the governorship race.

    From the rumblings in the party, the PDP seems to be hell bent on zoning the presidential ticket to the north again in the 2023 elections.

  • ‘335 TB deaths recorded in Kano last year’

    Kano State Commissioner of Health Dr. Kabiru Ibrahim Getso said yesterday that about 335 persons lost their lives as a result of Tuberculosis- related diseases in Kano State last year.

    Briefing reporters as part of activities to mark the 2019 World TB Day, Getso said the deaths could have been prevented, if TB patients gain access to free medical services provided by the state government.

    Getso noted: “Kano State, being the most populous state in Nigeria, is one of the six states currently having the highest burden of Tuberculosis in Nigeria.”

    Dr. Getso added that “since the inception of the present administration under the leadership of Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, the state government has been doing very well in reducing significantly, the burden, socio-economic impact and the transmission of tuberculosis in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)”.

    He said the state government, in collaboration with development partners, has been able to expand Directly Observed Treatments (DOTS) centres from 381 in 2016 to over 770 in 2019.

    Read also: Ondo records 1,606 tuberculosis cases in 2018

    The government has also increased access of diagnostic equipment and services from 86 laboratories in 2016 to 255 in 2019, adding that the government also installed 10 additional Genexpert machines from 2015 to date, bringing it up to 18 Genexpert sites.

    He added that the government has also expanded TB services to prisons, military barracks, police academy and tertiary institutions.

    “The state government with the support of KNCV/Challenge TB Project, who are one of our strongest partners, have supported the establishment of TB services across prisons and military sites in the state.

    “The Wellness on Wheels (WOW) Truck was one of the innovations by KNCV/Challenge TB, which has yielded positive results.

     

  • UPDATED: INEC declares Ganduje winner of Kano rerun

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has declared Kano State Governor Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje and the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) as winner of the just- concluded supplementary re-run poll.

    Declaring the winner of the election, the Collation Officer for the Governorship election in Kano, Prof. Bello Shehu announced the APC candidate polled 1,033,695 while that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) scored 1,024,713 votes.

    He said that the registered voters stood at 5,426,989,accredited voters ,2,268,305,while the valid votes cast is 2,199,535,with rejected votes of 50,861,adding that,the total vote cast is 2,242,396.

    He added that the APC candidate defeated his immediate opponent of the PDP with 8,982 votes.

    According to Shehu, the winner was declared after the collation of result from all the 28 affected Local Government Areas where the supplementary elections were conducted on Saturday.

    He said: “That Abdullahi Umar Ganduje having satisfied the requirement of the law, has scored the highest votes, is hereby declared winner and returned elected.”

    He said the governorship election was earlier declared inconclusive following the high number of cancellation of votes as a result of violence and over voting.

    According to the collation officer, the total number of votes cancelled during the earlier election, which led to the declaration of the poll as inconclusive, was beyond the margin between the PDP candidate which was leading with 26,000 votes and that of the APC candidate.

    The PDP candidate, Abba Kabir Yusuf, was declared to have 1,014,474, against the APC candidate Gov Ganduje who garned 987,819 votes before the supplementary poll.

    Votes cancelled during the governorship election stood at 128,572 which the collation officer said the electoral act has it that such election must be declared inconclusive.

    The PDP agent, who is also the party chairman, Suleiman Rabiu Bichi frowned at the exercise.

    He rejected the entire re-run election process, especially that of Gama in Nassarawa Local Government Area.

    The APC Chairman, Abdullahi Abbas, described the election as another land mark victory for the party.

  • Kano election: Police dispel rumour on curfew

    The Police Command in Kano State has dismissed the rumour being peddled that curfew had been imposed on Kano metropolis, as residents await the final results of the governorship election.

    The command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Abdullahi Haruna debunked the rumour in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Kano on Sunday.

    According to him, the rumour which is being spread through the social media was not only untrue and unfounded but, was aimed at misinforming the public and create fear and apprehension among the residents.

    Read also: PDP’s Bala Mohammed increases lead over APC

    “If curfew is imposed on Kano, people will be informed through the proper channels not through the social media, “he said.

    He, therefore, advised members of the public to ignore the rumour as it was meant to create confusion in the state and beyond.

    A NAN Correspondent who went round the city reports that most of the residents went about with their lawful businesses.

    Even though some business places had opened for business but Sabon Gari and the popular Singer and Kantin Kwari markets have remained closed.

    Private vehicle owners and commercial buses as well as commercial tricycle operators were also operating in the city. (NAN)

  • Kano re-run: Police restrict human, vehicular movement

    The Police Command in Kano State has restricted movement of motor vehicles, tricycles and all other means of transportation across the 44 local government areas of the state.

    According to the police, the measure is to ensure free and fair gubernatorial supplementary election scheduled for March 23 in the state.

    This was contained in press statement by the Command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Abdullahi Haruna in Kano on Thursday.

    Read also: APC, PDP disagree on INEC’s new timelines for Rivers

    Haruna said that no vehicle, motorcycle or tricycle would be allowed to move between 06:00hrs and 18:00hrs during the election period.

    He advised all eligible voters to trek to their respective polling units in order to exercise their civic responsibility. (NAN)

  • We will not tolerate any breach of peace in Kano – Ganduje‎

    Ahead of the supplementary elections in Kano on Saturday, Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state says that his government will not tolerate any breach of peace by any group or person in the state.‎

    ‎Ganduje gave the warning on Tuesday in Kano when an amalgam of 320 associations, called Kano Peace Ambassadors, paid him a solidarity visit.‎
    ‎
    “We will not tolerate breach of peace under whatever guise, and the government will not fold its arms and watch people instigating instability in the state.‎

    “As a governor of Kano state and the Chief Security Officer of the state, I cannot sleep if any drop of blood is wasted.

    Read also: Bauchi: INEC challenges court order stopping collation of results

    ‎”I am not speaking as a gubernatorial candidate, but as the executive governor of Kano state and the chief security officer of the state. Anybody wishing to disrupt the peace of the state will not go scot-free,” he said.‎
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    The Kano Peace Ambassadors assured Ganduje of their resolve to promote peaceful co-existence before, during and after the re-run election.

    Abubakar Muhammad who led the groups commended Ganduje for making statements that were peaceful in all intent and purposes.

    “We are monitoring speeches that are being made by political leaders in the state. We find out that, many out there are only triggering instability.

    “We are indeed commending your political statements, that prove to be in line with peaceful engagements,” he said.(NAN)

  • Kidnapped expatriate Engineer found dead in Kano

    The corpse of the abducted expatriate Engineer on Tuesday in Kano have been found.

    The expatriate, an employee of Triacta Construction Company was working on the underpass bridge at Dangi roundabout by Zoo road before he was kidnapped on Tuesday morning around 7.00am.

    Kano Police Command Spokesman DSP Abdullahi Haruna Confirmed that the corpse of the Lebanese was found on Maiduguri road on Thursday evening.