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Tag: Kebbi

  • SON impounds 560bags of sugar in Kebbi

    SON impounds 560bags of sugar in Kebbi

    The Standard Organisation of Nigeria ( SON ) has impounded a truck loaded with 560 bags of contraband sugar in Kebbi.

    The SON Coordinator in Kebbi, Alhaji Jibril Muhammad disclosed this in an interview in Birinin Kebbi on Monday.

    “We impounded a truck loaded with 560 bags of contraband sugar smuggled from Brazil through Kebbi State borders with Benin and Niger Republic”.

    “The seized products, 50kg each, had branded names of White Crystal Sugar Nardini Agro industrial and LTDA Industrial Brazillaira, with N15,000 Birnin-Kebbi market price each per bag, all worth N9.15 million,” he said.

    Muhammed said  half bag of the products were also seized by the SON during shops to shops searching at the Birnin-Kebbi central market, making total 610 and half bags of smuggled sugar seized within three days of its operations in the state.

    It was learnt that the illegal importation of the products violated SON Act 2015, Part VII, number 26(1-2), which recommended not less than three years imprisonment and fine of N2 million or both.

    He said that the products lack vitamin A, which flouted the prescription of the Federal Government that all food items must contain.

    “We have been directed by the Director-General of SON to impound any products imported to the country without permission of the agency,” he said.

    These items were smuggled into the country. We mounted our intelligence, markets surveillance among other techniques to track down the truck.

    “So far, the owner of the truck has been arrested; he is already with the police. Investigation is still ongoing,” he said.

    Muhammed explained that owners of shops where bags of imported sugar were found have signed documents with the agency, saying “whenever we need them, they would make themselves available.”

    He added that the mechanism would enable consumers to easily identify standard products in the market through the SON labels, saying that people should be conscious of commodities without SON approval, expire date And labels.

    “If you want to import, please come to SON for guideline and procedure”, he said.

    NAN

  • Kebbi to spend N1.1bn on road construction

    Kebbi to spend N1.1bn on road construction

    The Kebbi Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji Atiku Bunu, has said that the State Government has earmarked N1.1billion for township road construction in Kalgo Local Government Area of the state.

    Bunu said this while inspecting the ongoing road project in Kalgo on Friday.

    The commissioner said the provision of township roads would be accorded priority, considering their relevance to the social and economic activities in state.

    He told journalist that the 13 kilometre road in the area was expected to be completed in 24 months time.

    Bunu tasked ZBCC, the firm constructing the roads, to ensure the timely completion of the project in line with specifications.

    He gave the assurance that funds would be released as the projects progresses and urged the supervising state engineers to monitor the project and ensure compliance with the laid down rules.

    A resident of the area, Musa Amadu, said the project would reduce the hardship faced by people and boost social and economic activities.

    NAN

  • Kebbi steps up surveillance over Monkey pox

    Kebbi steps up surveillance over Monkey pox

    Kebbi Government has directed medical and health workers in the  21 local government councils  of the state and relevant agencies to step up surveillance over Monkey pox.

    The Permanent Sectary in the state Ministry of Heath, Hajiya Halima Dikko made this known in an interview in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday.

    “We have informed all the local governments to designate an area within their facilities to isolate suspected cases to halt any outbreak of Monkey pox and any other epidemic in the state,” she said.

    Dikko said that the government had embarked on public enlightenment at community level and through the mass media to sensitise residents on causes and symptoms of Monkey pox.

    She added that the government had also placed emergency medical teams on high alert to tackle any outbreak.

    “We have ongoing projects of isolated centre for any outbreak of epidemic diseases in the state,” the official said.

    The permanent secretary advised residents to keep away from eating bush meat and promptly report suspected outbreak and symptoms of the disease such as  high fever and rashes to health workers.

    She urged the people to maintain good hygienic practices including regular hand washing to avoid contracting diseases.

    “We urge the good people of the state not to panic about Monkey pox and be assured of the readiness of the state government to safeguard their health,” Dikko added.

    NAN

  • Kebbi to retrain unqualified teachers

    Kebbi to retrain unqualified teachers

    The Kebbi government has decided to re-train unqualified teachers in the state, rather than sacking them.

    The state’s Commissioner for education, Alhaji Muhamaadu Aliero, made the announcement on Wednesday in Birnin Kebbi.

    Aliero was addressing newly-elected officers of the state’s chapter of the Nigerian Union of Teachers ( NUT ).

    He said that unqualified primary and junior secondary school teachers would be encouraged to acquire the required qualification to be retained as teachers.

    The commissioner advised teachers to ensure that pupils in primary schools were capable of reading and writing as requirements for admission into junior secondary schools.

    Aliero said that principals would henceforth, be graded based on the success recorded by their pupils.

    According to him, a policy will be introduced to limit the number of students in a class room to 40 while, streams will be limited to A, B and C.

    He assured that infrastructure would be provided to accommodate the growing number of students, urging teachers to support the efforts made by government to raise the standard of education in the state.

    Read Also: Kebbi sponsors free eye surgery

  • Kebbi to construct four stadia

    Kebbi to construct four stadia

    Gov. Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi has promised to construct four modern stadia in the four emirate councils of the state to boost sports development and unity among youths.

    The four stadia will be constructed in the Gwandu, Argungu, Zuru and Yauri emirate councils.

    The Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Abubakar Muazu, said on Monday in Birnin Kebbi that the promise was made at the Argungu emirate ward football competition.

    “The provision of the stadia is part of efforts to improve on the state’s participation in zonal, national and international competitions as well as enhance peaceful coexistence,’’ Muazu said in a statement.

    It added that the governor urged groups and organisations to sponsor competitions to encourage the government to implement policies that would improve sports development.

    NAN

     

  • Kebbi sets new safety measures after 33 deaths

    Kebbi sets new safety measures after 33 deaths

    Kebbi Government has set new safety measures for boat operators to address the recurring boat mishaps which has claimed 33 lives since April in the state.

    Alhaji Sani Dododo, Chairman of the State Emergency Management Agency ( SEMA ) said in an interview on monday in Birnin Kebbi that all boat operators must comply with the new measures.

    “As part of our efforts to curb recurring boat mishaps, we held a meeting with traditional rulers and boat operators and we came up with solutions to the incessant problem in the state.

    “We resolved that henceforth, there will be no transportation on rivers after six in the evening and passengers and loads must be transported separately.

    “The number of passengers to be taken in any boat must be specified and written on the boat to avoid overloading, and  life jackets must be worn by all the passengers in addition to three extra jackets for emergency to be placed on each boat,”  he said.

    Dododo said the measures were precautionary to stop the current practice which endangers lives of passengers.

    “We discovered that a boat that carries 40 passengers is usually loaded with over 100 passengers at a time together with their loads including goats, sheep, cows and camel, all jam-packed in one boat on a river voyage,” he said.

    He added that some boat operators held the superstitious belief that they would never die in river because they inherited the business from their ancestors.

    “They think the river would not kill them since the business was passed unto them from generation to generation.

    “We will not fold our arms and rely on superstitions while people are dying,” he said.

    According to him, the agency will collaborate with the local government councils and Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority to enforce compliance to the new measures.

    The SEMA chairman said the agency would embark on sensitisation campaigns targeting boat operators and local divers on safety and emergency response in case of any mishap.

    Dododo revealed that the agency had adequate staff and was well-funded to carry its mandate, adding that it would set up emergency response offices in the Riverine areas of the state.

    NAN

  • Kebbi governor’s wife praises firm

    The wife of Kebbi State Governor, Dr. Zainab Bagudu, has lauded WACOT Limited, an agro  production  company, for its contributions to the development of the state.

    She gave the commendation when she visited the company’s rice factory in Argungu, Kebbi State.

    The rice mill was inaugurated by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, in company of Governor Atiku Bagudu and other top government functionaries on August 1, this year.

    Commending the company for the development the factory has brought to Argungu community and Kebbi State,  Dr. Bagudu, whose delegation included the wives of the governors of Ondo and Zamfara states: Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu and HajiaAsma’uAbdulAziz Yari among others, said: “I thank the management of WACOT for their support for the Kebbi State government and the impact and development they have brought to the state. I urge you to continue to operate in the cordial and peaceful manner with which you relate with the people, to create more job opportunities for our youths”

    Dr. Bagudu also flagged off a new corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of WACOT Limited tagged “Pick a Bag”, which was instituted with the aim of providing clothing for the underprivileged in their communities of operation.

    For this, she presented bags of clothes donated by members of staff of WACOT to the under-privileged in Argungu Local Government.

    Conducting the visitors round the rice processing mill, the General Manager, Corporate Affairs, TGI Group, the parent company of WACOT Limited, Mr. Sadiq Kassim, said the factory was the first phase of WACOT’s rice milling plan, which targets an increased capacity of 500,000 metric tonnes in the next few years.

    He said N10 billion has been invested in the mill with the capacity to process over 120,000 metric tonnes of paddy per annum and create over 3,500 jobs.

    He further disclosed that the mill has empowered a lot of local farmers, saying “we do not farm rice, but we work with the farmers from seed to harvest to ensure high quality paddy, which we then buy off them. We purchase paddy from up to 50,000 farmers here in Kebbi State”.

    As part of the company’s social responsibility efforts, Sadiq said WACOT has focused on women, children, healthcare and nutrition – core pillars of the reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, adolescent, health and nutrition (RMNCAH+N) campaign championed by the  wife of the President Mrs. Aisha Buhari.

  • Customs seize N30m contraband in Sokoto, Kebbi

    Customs seize N30m contraband in Sokoto, Kebbi

    The Federal Operation Unit ( FOU ) Zone `B’ of Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) has seized second hand clothes, rice, cooking oil and vehicles worth N30 million in the last six months at borders across Sokoto and Kebbi states.

    The Federal Controller, Mr Usman Dakingari, told newsmen in Sokoto on Wednesday that the items were seized from April and the unit had strategies to address smuggling in all axis, including porous borders.

    Dakingari said smuggling of banned items remained customs challenge in the 11 states under the zone and urged border communities to assist customs with useful information as smuggling deprived Nigeria of economic progress.

    “The Federal Government intensifies efforts on reviving cotton, rice and soya beans cultivation to enhance indigenous textiles, rice and cooking oil processing factories.

    “The efforts will provide employment and general income to government to execute needed projects, but smuggling activities cripple the system’’ Dakingari said.

    He said that such smuggled products constituted health hazard, stressing that customs officers and men were being motivated to ensure that they lived up to expectation.

    The controller expressed the unit’s commitment to its primary duty of anti-smuggling in all forms.

    NAN

  • Buhari, state governors meet in Aso Rock

    Buhari, state governors meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari is meeting with some state governors inside the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The governors who are attending the meeting includes; Zamfara, Ebonyi, Bauchi, Jigawa, Kebbi, Ondo and Kwara States.

    Details later…

  • Kebbi suspends immunisation exercise due to lack of pens

    Kebbi suspends immunisation exercise due to lack of pens

    The Kebbi State Government on Monday suspended the polio immunisation exercise meant to commence across the 225 wards of its 21 local government areas due to lack of marker pens.

    The National Polio Immunisation ( NPI ) Manager for Birnin-Kebbi Local Government, Alhaji Bello Umar, confirmed the suspension in an interview with newsmen after the flag-off of the exercise at the Deputy Governor’s residence in Kebbi.

    Umar said that the commencement of the exercise had been shifted to Thursday, Oct. 19.

    “We are likely to receive the marker pens probably by Tuesday.

    “If it comes, we will commence the distribution of the vaccines on Wednesday while immunization proper will kick-off on Thursday this week.

    “However, all necessary materials to embark on the polio immunisation exercise are on ground, it is only the maker pens that are not available.”

    The Commissioner of Health, Alhaji Umar Kambaza, who also confirmed the suspension of the exercise, said that the markers would be available soon.

    He said that the exercise targeted one million children across the 225 wards in the state and would last for four days.

    Kambaza said: “after the flag-off, I conducted inquiries in some of the local governments in the state such as Aliero, Jega, Yauri, Birnin-Kebbi and Shanga.

    “They all confirmed that the polio immunisation exercise had been postponed to Thursday for the simple reason of lack of marker pens to identify any child who has been immunised’’.

    Earlier, the Deputy Governor, Col. Samaila Dabai (rtd), who flagged-off the exercise with his children, said the campaign was very important to the state government.

    According to him, this was to ensure that newborns to five years old children are immunised against polio.

    Dabai said the reason for the flagged-off at his residence was to enable him start the exercise with his children.

    The deputy governor said: “if polio immunisation is harmful I will not administer it on my blood children. So all the rumours about polio vaccine is not true’’.

    NAN