The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kano

  • Kano okays N4b for flyover, roads

    Kano State Governor Abdullahi Ganduje has approved N4 billion for an underpass and flyover bridge.

    The bridge and underpass are expected to connect Zaria Road/Silver Jubilee and Zoo road in the metropolis.

    Commissioner for Information, Youth, and Culture Muhammad Garba spoke in a statement yesterday in Abuja.

    The statement reads: “Governor Ganduje, after presiding over the 11th State Executive Council meeting, said the projects would reduce carbon emission and minimise accidents.

    “The government had been engaged in the reconstruction, expansion, rehabilitation and upgrading of existing roads, which included the construction of an underpass at Sharada/Panshekara junction (inaugurated by President Muhammadu Buhari), and the construction of multiple underpasses on Katsina road (almost completed).”

    Garba added that the government is also completing inherited projects, including the Murtala Muhammed Way flyover (inherited from the previous administration at 15 per cent completion stage), Gadon Kaya underpass/Yahaya Gusau Road, among others.

    The council also approved $36,000 as payment of project fees to 18 state-sponsored students in El-Razi University, Sudan; procurement of bedsheets for 31 secondary health facilities at N39 million; reconstruction of Dawakin Kudu-Lahadin Makole Road in Dawakin Kudu council at over N748 million.

    Others include expansion/repairs of Giginyu-Kawo-Eastern Bypass Road in Nasarawa council at N588 million and the rehabilitation/upgrade of Fagwalawa Primary Healthcare Centre to Cottage Hospital at N230 million. 

     

  • Three NNPC staff arrested over N16m Robbery incident in kano

    Police in Kano on Tuesday arrested three staff of Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation ( NNPC ) mega station Hotoro in Kano over alleged involvement in robbery incident which led to the snatching of N16 million belonging the NNPC mega station.

    According to the Kano Police Command’s spokesman, SP Magaji Musa Majiya said the three NNPC staff, including a cashier, and two supervisors have since been apprehended in connection with the robbery incident.

    According to him, investigation have since commenced in order to arrest their accomplice.

    “The incident happened around 8 am when the staff were conveying the money to one of the commercial banks in the area when the suspected armed robbers were said to have attacked the vehicle conveying the money and snatched one of the sacks containing about N16 million,” said an eyewitness.

    The eyewitness added that there was N26 million in the two sacks when the incident happened and the robbers took away one of the sacks containing the money.

    The hoodlums were said to have shot sporadically in the air to scare people away before fleeing the area.

  • Restructuring: Ganduje Calls For Devolution Of Power

    Kano state Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje on Monday reiterated the need for devolution of power from the centre to various states and local governments so as to achieve good governance.

    Ganduje stated this in Kano Government House while receiving the Kano 30-member Committee on True Federalism set up by the state government to project the views of Kano in the on-going debate for true federalism and restructuring.

    According to him, there was need to take the issue of true federalism to be debated at the regional and state levels, “so, we found it imperative to bring this issue so that  it can be debated at national level, at regional level; and I am aware that the Northern Governors’ Forum constituted a similar Committee which has been working. We also have a similar Committee at the party level. And now in our own case, we have it at the state level.

    “However, in democracy, it is a very important issue. It should not be an issue that somebody will be annoyed with, it is an issue that we should welcome because democracy is dynamic.

    “Along the way, we will see how we can refine the system. There is no doubt that the Federal Government, being an offshoot of military, because the presidential system was brought by the military even though civilians were there, but it was off course, under the guide of the Federal Government which by then, was a military government.

    “So, you can see that from time to time, we can see how we can make some adjustment in our constitution. There is no doubt that the Federal Government has the element of unitary system, because the military itself was a unitary system so the child that came from the military must also have some features of unitary system.

    “That was why the Federal Government became so bogus, the Federal Government became so strong in terms of responsibilities and in terms of revenue of the country itself–so that one on itself needs to be revisited. There is need to review the constitution for devolution of powers from federal to state government and from state to the local governments.”

    Briefing the governor on the workings of the Committee, its chairman, Dr. Sule Yahaya Hamma said the Committee which has met 24 times since its inauguration in November, 2017, has held meetings with the Emir of Kano, traditional rulers, religious leaders, Islamic scholars, market women, students’ union, civil society organizations and other relevant agencies whose contributions formed part of the recommendations of the Committee.

     

  • INEC probes under age voting in Kano

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has set up an investigative committee to probe the allegations of under age voting in Kano State during the recent local government elections.

    The panel has received submissions and testimonies from 28 political parties, including the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

    INEC Public Relations Officer in Kano State Muhmmad Garba Lawan said the committee will get to the root of the matter and make appropriate recommendations.

    Also, PDP Vice Chairman Alhaji Shehu Na-Allah Kura was under age voting was worrisome to the party.

    The INEC official said stakeholders have been cooperating with the committee, adding its assignment will be fruitful.

    Members of the committee headed by Abubakar Nahuce, an engineer,  include MrsMay Agbamuche Mbu, Mike Igini,  Kassim Geidam, Yakubu M. Duku,  Rukayata Bummi,  Bello,  Paul Omokore,  and Jude Chikezie Okwuonu.

    The Committee has already met with officials of Kano State Independent Electoral Commission (KANSIEC), civil society organisations, journalists and other stakeholders.

    The committee is expected to unravel the extent of participation of non-eligible voters in the exercise, the voters  register used during  the polls and activities of electoral officers.

    According to Nahuce, the aim of the commission is not to pass judgment on the conduct of the polls, but to ascertain, if the voters register was obtained from INEC.

    The setting up of the panel may provoke a debate on the relationship between the national and state electoral ommissions.

     

  • Kano Fire Service saved 126 lives

    Kano Fire Service saved 126 lives

    The Kano State Fire Service said on Thursday that it saved 126 lives and goods worth N142 million from 116 fire outbreaks in the state in February.

    The Public Relations Officer ( PRO ) of the service, Alhaji Saidu Mohammed, however, told our reporter,  in Kano that 13 lives were lost in the incidents.

    Mohammed said about 18 houses were affected in the fire outbreaks while properties valued at N57 million were destroyed during the period.

    Read Also: Unity Bank takes ‘Agency Banking’ to Kano, Jigawa

    He said that the service received 84 rescue calls and 23 false alarms from the residents during the month.

    Mohammed said that the major causes of the fire outbreaks were the use of inferior electrical materials, poor handling of electrical appliances, cooking gas and boiling ring as well as accidents.

    He advised the general public to be careful in this dry season to stop storing petroleum products in their shops and houses so as to forestall unforeseen dangers.

    NAN

  • SDGs to promote human survival, prosperity – SSA

    SDGs to promote human survival, prosperity – SSA

    A presidential aide, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, said on Thursday that the  Sustainable Development Goals ( SDGs ) was initiated to address poverty, ensure human survival and prosperity.

    Orelope-Adefulire, who is the Senior Special Assistant to the President on SDGs, made the remarks in Kano at the opening of a meeting organised for Conditional Grant Scheme Focal Persons.

    She said, “It envisages a world free from poverty, and deprivation where the fundamental conditions for human survival and prosperity are safeguarded.”

    Our reporter,  reports that the SSA was represented by the Head, Conditional Grant Scheme ( CGS ), Mrs O. M. Olaopo.

    According to her, the 17 Goals and 169 targets of the SDGs are in response to numerous challenges confronting the world.

    She noted that the conditional grants scheme had availed the office the opportunity to leverage available resources from all tiers of government to achieve national policy objectives of delivering change for sustainable socio-economic development in the country.

    Read Also: K1 De Ultimate bags Champion of UN-SDGs Award

    “The CGS provides the framework for solutions to the challenges of gender, maternal and child health, quality education, poverty issues, HIV/AIDS, malaria and environmental issues, among others.”

    She said the meeting provided the participants with the opportunity to brainstorm on ways to manage the CGS better.

    The presidential aide urged the participants to come up with new strategies that would ensure effective implementation of the CGS projects to give the country best value for its money.

    Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje on SDGs, Alhaji Zulyadaini Sid-Mustapha commended the SSA for holding the meeting in Kano.

    NAN

  • Unity Bank takes ‘Agency Banking’ to Kano, Jigawa

    Unity Bank takes ‘Agency Banking’ to Kano, Jigawa

    Unity Bank has commenced its agency banking services in Kano and Jigawa states. Theexcercise is expected to bring manyof the unbanked into the financial services net.

    In line with Central Bank of Nigeria’s financial inclusion mandate, Unity Bank targeted its Agent Banking services at Gumel in Jigawa state and Rijiya-Lemu in Fagge Local Government area of Kano state.

    According to the General Manager Products & Channels Directorate of Unity Bank, Bonaventure Okhaimo, prioritizing the North West was borne out of the need to tap into the huge unbanked population in the region.

    Agent Banking model is conceptualised to evolve as a model of community and rural banking where basic banking services are brought to the level of rural financial activities, said Bonaventure.

    The roll-out, which witnessed the opening of many Agency outlets in the areas, was attended by numerous locals, customers and prospects, who were all excited to be able to avail themselves of financial services without travelling long distances to a bank branch.

    The customers were able to open accounts with Unity Bank, perform cash-in (deposit), cash-out (withdrawal) as well as bills payment transactions at the new Agent Banking outlets. With the bank’s digital account opening portal – Unity1 Online – new tier-1 accounts can be opened for customers without any need for identification. The whole process takes less than 4 minutes. Customers are advised of their NUBAN account numbers immediately, and are able to start transacting straightaway; in fact, once they provide their Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), they have full access to their accounts.

    The bank’s Group Head, Retail & SME Banking, Olufunwa Akinmade, explained that an important part of the roll-out in any location, is a two-day customer education session organized to bring customers up to speed with the basic tenets of the scheme.

    On the security of the customers’ funds, Mr. Akinmade said that the mitigant on the withdrawal side is that  the service is running on MCash-a secure phone-based withdrawal system backed by the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement Systems (NIBSS) while at the deposit end, the customer must receive an alert to be sure that the transaction has been consummated.

     

     

  • I’ll turn Kano to China of Nigeria – Ganduje

    I’ll turn Kano to China of Nigeria – Ganduje

    Kano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said his administration is determined to turn Kano into China of Nigeria through its policy of training youths in specialised skills.

    This was as he said that, his government was reviewing the current Nigerian education curriculum with a view to adjusting it to cater for specific areas of manpower needs in the country.

    Ganduje who stated these on Tuesday at the graduation of 150 trainees from Kano State at the Peugeot Automobile Nigeria (PAN) Learning Center in Kaduna, said the high unemployment rate in the country was because youths were not made to acquire the required skills needed.

    Speaking to the trainees who acquired special training in different aspects of Automotive Engineering, the Governor told them that, the aim of their training was not only to get them employed but, turn Kano to China of Nigeria through their productivity.

    According to him, “we are training you, not only for you to become self-employed and employers of labour. We are training you not to remain in Kano alone. We want to be like China is to the world that is what we want Kano to be to Nigeria. Chinese are all over the world, we want Kano to be all over Nigeria.

    “This is can only be possible if you have some vital skills, skills that are not common, unless you have something to sell, something to offer, irrespective of your location. Wherever you go, your skill is something you can offer to the people.

    “We want to remove ourselves from tribalism and useless sentiment. We want to build our economy, we want to build manpower. Because there are countries that don’t have a single drop of oil and yet they are one of the biggest economies in the world. How did they achieve that? It is their brain and skills.” He said.

    Ganduje said his administration is identifying the needed skills so that youths can be trained for sustainable employment and it is building a N5 billion skills acquisition center in Kano to train the youths.

    He said Kano as the most populous state in Nigeria must tap its vast human potential otherwise the human asset would become a liability. He said the current training in various forms of automobile engineering the youths from Kano are undergoing is one the ways the government is tackling the issue of unemployment in the state.

    Earlier, the Managing Director of PAN, Alhaji Ibrahim Boyi said the youth empowerment initiative of the company is an extension of what the Kano state government is doing for youths as it is providing a platform for them to be productive.

    He said it is the hope of the center that in five years from now, it would be offering degree program in auto engineering.

    President of the trainees, Mohammed Saleh, who spoke at the occasion, thanked the governor for the opportunity given him and his mates to acquire skills saying they would put them to good use to develop the state and help their people.

    He called on the governor to build a similar facility in Kano for the training of the youths so that the teeming number of youths in the state can equally benefit.

    Read Also: Ganduje Appoints Kano Emir Chair Investment Advisory Committee

  • ‘Flights into Kano will deepen intra-country connectivity’

    Air Peace flights on the Lagos-Kano-Abuja-Kano route will boost intra-country connectivity, its Chairman, Allen Onyema, has said.

    Onyema spoke during Air Peace’s inaugural flight on the Lagos-Kano-Abuja-Kano route.

    He said the carrier had fulfilled its promise to link all parts of the country to boost economic activities.

    Onyema said the nightmares caused by delays and flight cancellation on the route would be over, as Air Peace would up the ante with the new service.

    He said the flight was an achievement in the airline’s vision to unite Nigeria through air travel and lift the economy through trade facilitation and job creation.

    “This historic event accords with our strategy to expand our operation in the North and connect other unserved or underserved cities of the nation. Kano has long been recognised as the economic capital of the Northern Nigeria. We are, therefore, hopeful that the extension of our flight services to the state will greatly and positively impact on the economy of the region,” Onyema said.

    Besides the launch of the Kano route, the airline has also added Yola and flights on the West African Coast in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Banjul, Gambia and Dakar in Senegal.

    He said last year, the airline expanded its fleet to 24 airplanes.

    The airline, he said, is positioned to transform air travel experience in Nigeria,West Africa sub-region and beyond.

    He said: “We are reputed for our time performance and uncompromising stand on matters of safety. We promise to leverage the experience of our skilled staff and excellent business model to end the era of delays on the Lagos–Kano-Lagos and Kano-Abuja-Kano routes.”

    He appealed for patronage and support as the airline operate twice daily from Lagos into Kano and back, once from Kano into Abuja and back and try to deliver new experience for travellers on the Kano route.

    “We are determined to forge a mutually beneficial relationship with the good people and residents of Kano and its neighbouring states,” Onyema assured.

    Emir of Kano Alhaji Lamido Sanusi Lamido, represented by Jakadan Hausa Alhaji Ibrahim Sambo assured the airline of the the Kano Emirate’s continued support for it to succeed on the Lagos–Kano route.

    He advised the airline not to delay its passengers and ensure it sustains the operation with good service.

    He said Kano people were happy that Air Peace has found the city worthy to fly into.

     

  • NERC Establishes 25 Offices Across the Country

    NERC Establishes 25 Offices Across the Country

     

    The National Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC) has established 25 forum offices across the country designed to address consumers’ complaints so as to ensure their satisfaction.

    Speaking during an Electricity consumers town hall meeting held in Kano yesterday. The vice chairman of the commission Sanusi Garba said that the EPSR  ACT of 2005 empowers NERC, as a regulatory agent in the electricity sector to protect consumer’s interest, deal with consumers complaints, educate consumers on their right as well as involve consumers in the regulatory process for efficiency.

    Garba who was represented by the commissioner, consumer affairs Dr. Moses Arigu said, “for nearly 11 years of existence as a commission, we have set abou these objectives with vigour and today’s event is part of the fruitful outcome of our unrelenting efforts”

    The town hall meeting theme: promoting electricity consumers awareness in the power sector is a platform designed to educate electricity consumers on their right and obligations, health and safety consumers’ complaints, redress mechanism, energy conservation and other lingering issues that consumers might be facing.

    Read Also: Govt urges enumeration of electricity consumers

    The Chairman noted that the basic satisfaction for electricity consumers in the country, is quality and reliability of services, prompt complaint handling, accuracy of bills, and easy lament mechanism, adding that if these are perceived by the customers to be unsatisfactory, customers needs a clear and affective path to seek and find redress.

    “An important pillar of this mechanism is the forum office whose primary responsibility is to hear appeals of cases not resolved by the Disco’s CCU or Customer not happy with the resolution of the Disco’s CCU. So far, the commission has established 25 forum offices across the country”

    The commission also seeks to build and maintain cordial relationships with other agencies in an effort to enlighten consumers. Through collaboration with some agencies such as National Orientation Agency (NOA) and Consumer Protection Council (CPC) the commission hopes to continue to reach out to sensitize customers and the general public on electricity regulatory issues that concerns them.

    In his remarks, the Chairman on house committee on power represented by Honorable Iboro Ekanem decried the high rate of vandalization of electricity equipments in the country which has posed great danger in regular electricity supply in the country.

    Ekanem advised electricity consumers to use the forum officees established to lay their complaints in order to address such issues rather than engaging in sharp practices.

    He called on the Discos to ensure stable Power supply with affordable and clear bills for a better understanding for the development of the sector.