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Tag: Katsina

  • Customs seizes 3,309 bags of rice from smugglers in Katsina

    Customs seizes 3,309 bags of rice from smugglers in Katsina

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit, Zone B, said it had seized no fewer than 3,309 bags of foreign rice from smugglers in November 2017.

    Its Comptroller, Alhaji Usman Dakingari, disclosed this on Friday in Katsina while briefing newsmen on the activities of the unit.

    He said that the unit also seized 209 cartons of spaghetti, 181 bags of sugar and 461 jerry cans of vegetable oil.

    He said other items seized included 79 cartons of mosquito coil, 157 bales of second-hand clothes and six vehicles pointing out that all the seized items have Duty Paid Value (DPV) of N652.9 million.

    He said that the items were seized from smugglers in Katsina and other states under the jurisdiction of the unit during the period under review.

    ‘’We will continue to ensure that foreign rice and other prohibited commodities are not smuggled into the country,’’ he said.

    Dakingari however expressed concern over the attitude of some people at border communities that engaged in the illegal smuggling activities as means of their livelihood.

    ‘’If you tell them that smuggling is bad they will tell you that what business do you want them to do or this is something they have inherited,’’ he said.

    He, therefore, stressed the need for other stakeholders to intensify efforts toward enlightening the border communities on the dangers associated with smuggling on the nation’s economy and health of the people.

    Read Also: Customs seizes harmful contraband in Ibadan

  • Katsina recycles used polythene bags to produce interlock bricks- Official

    Katsina recycles used polythene bags to produce interlock bricks- Official

    The Katsina State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) has commenced recycling of used polythene bags to produce interlock bricks for house ground decorations.

    Mr Rabiu Garba, the agency’s Officer in-charge of Research and Development, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Katsina.

    He said the initiative would assist to reduce circulation of used polythene bags in the environment which affected soil fertility because of its non-degradability

    Garba said the programme would also assist to prevent children from street begging by engaging them in picking used polythene bags for sell to SEPA.

    He added that the agency buys a kilogrammes of used polythene bag at about N25, depending on quality.

    According to him, the agency buys about 500 kilogrammes daily, even though it has
    machine that can process more than that.

    He noted that “with the commencement of the pilot recycling of polythene bag, littering the environment with used bags in Katsina metropolis has drastically reduced and that is one of the aims of the programme.”

    The officer said SEPA would establish centres in Daura, Malumfashi, Dutsin-ma, Kankia and Funtua, claiming that the interlock produced from polythene bags is of more quality than the one produced from cement.

    Garba noted that the programme would assist the state government to generate more revenue.

  • Katsina Govt. owes N29bn – Official

    Katsina Govt. owes N29bn – Official

    The Katsina State Government says it is indebted to the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) and a commercial bank to the tune of N29 billion.

    Alhaji Farouk Jobe, the Special Adviser to the Governor Masari on Banking and Finance disclosed this during the annual budget break down on Tuesday in Katsina.

    He said the state government collected the loans to develop its infrastructure and settle pensions and gratuities of its retired staff.

    Jobe disclosed that the state government collected a loan of N11.5billion as bailout from the CBN, which was used to settle the pensions and gratuities of over 11,000 retired civil servants.

    “The previous administration in the state refused to settle the pensions and gratuities of retired 11, 000 civil servants in the state.

    “We also collected a loan of N10billion to develop our education, health, water supply, environment and road sectors from the Federal Government.

    “Out of the N10billion loan, we allocated N2billion to health sector; where we spent N1billion to rehabilitate Katsina General Hospital, we allocated N500million to Daura General Hospital and N500million to Funtua General Hospital,” he said.

    Jobe revealed that the renovation and upgrading of the three General Hospitals had reached 80 per cent completion.

    The adviser revealed that the state government also collected N5billion loan from a commercial bank to complete road rehabilitation started by the previous administration and the new ones started by the present administration.

    “We have used the loan to complete over 200 kilometres of road projects in the three senatorial zones in the state.

    “The state governments also collected N2billion loan under the poverty alleviation programme from the Central Bank of Nigeria for the development of Small and Medium Enterprises in the state.

    The loan for the small and medium enterprises had been distributed to over 500,000 youths and women that are engaged in small businesses across the state.

    NAN

  • Katsina inaugurates Local Peace Committees

    Katsina inaugurates Local Peace Committees

    The Katsina State Dialogue and Amnesty Committee has inaugurated Peace Committees across the 34 local government areas of the state.

    The state Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Hamza Borodo, disclosed this when the dialogue committee visited Daura Local Government Area on Monday.

    Borodo said the Dialogue and Amnesty Committee was under the chairmanship of the Secretary to the State Government, Dr Mustapha Inuwa.

    He  said the local government peace committees were expected to maintain peace and cordial relationship between herdsmen and farmers.

    “The the local committees are also expected to mediate and conciliate  on minor disagreements between farmers and herdsmen as well as offer useful advice on sustainable peace,” the commissioner said.

    The acting Chairman of Daura Local Government, Alhaji Lawal Kado,  commended the state government for setting up the Amnesty and Dialogue Committee.

    Kado also lauded the government for setting up the local peace committees, saying the initiative would help in promoting peace and stability especially between farmers and herdsmen.

    He further commended the state government for “drastically minimising” cattle rustling, armed robbery and clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state.

    Read Also:  Katsina is safe for all Nigerians – Masari

  • Rice farmers want FG to review conditions for ABP loans

    Rice farmers want FG to review conditions for ABP loans

    Alhaji Muatari Sani, Chairman, Rice Farmers Association in Katsina Senatorial Zone, has urged the Federal Government to review the conditions for granting loans to rice farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme ( ABP ).

    He made the call in an interview on Wednesday in Katsina.

    Sani said: “The system of granting loans to rice farmers under the Anchor Borrowers Programme ( ABP ) is flawed, as the farmers are often short-changed by off-takers who supply farm inputs and equipment.

    “The companies which supply water pumping machines, rice seedlings and other inputs usually provide the wrong materials to the farmers.

    “This year, for instance, rice farmers were provided with sub-standard rice seedlings that grow very tall and produce less rice.”

    Sani said that the panacea to the problem was for the Federal Government to deal directly with rice farmers, rather than through third parties.

    “In Katsina State, there are different varieties of rice that grow well in different zones. The rice seedling in the Funtua Zone would not thrive well in the Katsina Zone,” he said.

    Sani, however, urged the Federal Government to sustain the ABP in order to cater to the needs of rice farmers across the country.

    He said that in spite of the challenges facing rice farmers, they were able to produce large quantities of rice this year.

    It can be recalled that Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) granted N2 billion ABP loans to rice farmers in the 34 local government areas of Katsina State in 2017 to boost rice production.

    NAN

  • Forum declares support for President Buhari

    Forum declares support for President Buhari

    The national Forum for the Patriotic Members of APC (FOPMAPC) has declared its unconditional support and commitment to the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    Alhaji Lawal Garba, the National Chairman of the forum, made the declaration in Daura on Tuesday when he received Jigawa members of the forum.

    He called on members of the forum to redoubled their commitment and determination to change Nigeria, stressing we expect our members to continue to educate Nigerians on good policies and programmes of the Buhari administration.

    Lawal also urged the members to shun expectation for immediate benefits and place national interest at heart, adding “we will support every positive move aimed at reforming this country’’.

    He said the two years of Buhari administration has brought significant changes in key areas including agriculture, security, corruption and the development of infrastructure.

    The chairman admonished members of the forum not to relent on their efforts at projecting and promoting the policies and programmes of the present administration.

    He described the relationship between Katsina and Jigawa states as exceptionally cordial, adding “we are very lucky that both governors are very busy replicating what the president is doing in their respective states’’.

    Earlier, Alhaji Sale Bayi, the Jigawa Chairman of the forum, described the visit as home coming.

    He said the forum was dutifully working in collaboration with the Jigawa government towards the success of the APC in future elections.

    He commended the Buhari administration for its resilience, commitment and determination towards transforming the nation in spite of the inherent challenges on ground.

    The national chairman of the forum, Alhaji Lawal Garba, is the current chairman of Katsina State Transport Authority and a former member of the House of Representatives.

    NAN

  • SMEDAN to select 108 schools for entrepreneurship programme – D-G

    SMEDAN to select 108 schools for entrepreneurship programme – D-G

    The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency ( SMEDAN ) on Monday said 50 students from 108 schools across Nigeria would be selected for the National School Entrepreneurship Programme ( N-SEP ).

    The SMEDAN Director-General, Alhaji Dikko Radda, disclosed this in Katsina at the opening ceremony of the training of both primary and secondary school teachers on the programme.

    Radda, represented by Mr Suleiman Tanimu, a SMEDAN Deputy Director, said the programme was being organised by the agency in collaboration with Students for Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship ( SAGE ), U.S.

    He said that the schools targeted for the pilot phase of the programme with the theme: “Mind Shift Entrepreneurship’’ are from Katsina, Bauchi, Kwara, Ondo, Ebonyi and Cross Rivers States.

    “Eighteen schools will be selected from each state, nine primary and nine secondary schools.

    “Among these nine schools, seven will be public schools, while the remaining two will be private.

    “Fifty students are expected to benefit from the programme from each school,’’ the SMEDAN director-general said.

    He said that the programme was aimed at providing access to functional entrepreneurship among students to eliminate unemployment among youths in the country.

    “We want to involve students at lower levels so that after graduation, they will not only become self-reliant but employers of labour.

    “Primary school pupils and secondary schools students are our targets, we want to catch them young,’’ Radda said.

    The director-general disclosed that the students would be taught how to set up businesses of their own after which they would come up with an idea to develop a business of their choice.

    He said that there would be a national competition, where the best students would be selected to represent the country at an international competition.

    The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Halimatu Idris said that the state government had spent a lot of money on skills acquisition programmes to make youths self-reliant.

    The commissioner, who was represented by Alhaji Tanimu Zubairu, urged participants to pay attention on the programmme and prepare to teach others what they learned.

    NAN

  • Katsina police arrest kidnap gang leader

    Katsina police arrest kidnap gang leader

    Katsina State Police Command says it has arrested a 30-year-old man who specialized in kidnapping rich people for ransom.

    Mr Beson Gwama, the new Commissioner of Police in the state, told newsmen on Monday in Katsina that the suspect was a leader of a kidnap syndicate whose operations had created fears among the people in the area.

    “We arrested the suspect while attempting to kidnap the manager of a filling station who is the son of a business mogul in the state.

    “The ring leader came to the filling station with a fake policeman who abducted the son of the businessman to an unknown destination and later demanded for ransom.

    “Luck, however, ran against them when the kidnapped victim escaped from his captors and returned home.

    “The kidnapping expert was arrested while attempting to escape with the ransom that the victim’s parents paid at a scene outside Malumfashi town but his two accomplices managed to escape,” he said.

    Gwana appealed to members of the public to always assist the police with useful information about the activities of criminals in the state.

    NAN

  • Former Katsina speaker happy over Gov. Masari’s development

    Former Katsina speaker happy over Gov. Masari’s development

    Alhaji Aliyu Muduru, the immediate past Speaker of Katsina State House of Assembly, has commended Gov. Aminu Masari on his developmental projects in the state.

    Muduru, who spoke with newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja, said he was particularly excited over projects sited in his constituency of Mani Local Government Area ( LGA ).

    According to Muduru, who is presently representing Mani LGA in the Katsina House of Assembly on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC) said that Masari was measuring up to the expectations of Katsina people.

    “I invite the people of Mani living outside the state to visit home so that they too can appreciate and applaud the projects executed by Masari.

    “I salute the governor for siting the oil refinery in Mani; the approval has been granted and hectares of land were already made available for the project.

    “All stakeholders are working round the clock towards the successful execution of the project.

    “Masari deserves commendation for earmarking hundreds of millions of Naira for the execution of projects that have direct bearing on the life of the common man in Mani constituency,’’ he said.

    Muduru listed some of the projects as electrification and installation of transformers in 10 rural communities of Mani LGA; installation of about 1,000 water hand pumps and construction and renovation of 22 primary schools.

    Others are the construction of drainage and feeder roads in several communities of Mani local government.

    The former speaker said that the projects would address youth unemployment and restiveness as well as improve the revenue base of the state.

    NAN

  • Katsina releases N350m for treatment of malnourished children

    Katsina releases N350m for treatment of malnourished children

    The Katsina State Government has released N350 million as its contribution to UNICEF for the purchase of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Food ( RUTF ) for treatment of malnourished children in the state.

    The Special Adviser to the governor on Budget and Planning, Alhaji Abdullahi Imam, disclosed on Tuesday in Katsina, while signing the agreement on behalf of the State Government.

    Imam said that was part of the state government commitment toward improving the living condition of the malnourished children.

    “The government is committed to the plight of malnourished children, it will continue to provide its support towards addressing malnutrition in the state,’’ he said.

    Imam assured that the government would double its contribution to the programme in 2018 budget.
    He stressed the need for the state House of Assembly to ensure speedy passage of 2018 budget whenever it was presented before it to enable the government save lives of malnourished children.

    In her remarks, the UNICEF Field Officer in charge of Katsina and Kano States, Padmavathi Yedla, announced that Children Investment Fund Foundation ( CIFF ) has pledged to support the programme with equal grant of N350 million, thereby raising the total amount of RUTF to be purchased in the state to N700m.

    She said that malnutrition needs collective collaboration from all sectors like Education, Agriculture, Water Resources and Health, adding that attitudinal changes are vital in dealing with malnutrition.

    Following the signing of the agreement, about 30,000 cartoons of RUTF are expected to be delivered to the state for treatment of malnourished children in 15 local government areas of the state.

    NAN