The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kogi State

  • Buhari to commission Baro River Port

    President Mohammadu Buhari GCFR will on Saturday, inaugurate the just completed Baro River Port in Niger State.

    The river port project which was undertaken by the Chinese firm, CGCC Global Project Nigeria Limited, at the cost of N6 billion, is equipped with a mobile harbour crane, a transit shed, an administrative block, fire hydrant system, water treatment plant, reach stacker, 100KVA power generating set and three forklifts of various tonnages, among others.

    The General Manager, Corporate Affairs, National Inland Waterways (NIWA), Tayo Fadile, in a statement issued in Lokoja, Kogi State, said that the Baro River Port is among those built to support the dredging of the Lower River Niger project.

    “The Onitsha River Port has already been rehabilitated, while Oguta and Lokoja River Ports are nearing completion,” he added.

    Read Also: It won’t be first time, if I lose February Polls – Buhari

    According to him, the Baro River Port, will aside helping to keep off the road several heavy duty trailers and trucks, thereby extending the life span of our roads, is expected to create at least two thousand direct jobs and hundreds of thousands indirect jobs.

    “During the colonial era, Baro used to have a thriving river port and a railway line which were used for evacuation of farm produce and mineral resources. It was a trading point between Nigeria and neighbouring countries through the inland waterways transportation mode. Here is hope that the old rail lines used in the colonial days will be revived and the road network linking the port is already being upgraded,” he said.

  • Health Minister launches Buhari’s re-election initiative

    As part of effort to ensure the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has launched ‘Buhari Leekan Si’ (Buhari for another term) project.

    This was contained in a statement by the project’s Director of Media and Publicity, Mr Samson Owoyokun in Ibadan on Saturday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that ‘Buhari Leekan Si’ initiative, a self-funded project of the minister was to complement the party`s campaign structure.

    NAN reports that the initiative is aimed at canvassing professionals and artisans to support Buhari’s reelection bid in the six south west states with extension to some parts of Kwara and Kogi states.

    Owoyokun said the initiative is an operational political structure committed to the propagation of Buhari’s achievements in the last 44 months as a leverage for his reelection.

    It said that part of the statutory obligation of the initiative was also to encourage participation in the electoral system across all wards of the south west states.

    He said that the minister would meet professionals in all the major sectors, registered associations of artisans as well as religious and traditional leaders.

    Read Also: Health minister urges governors to emulate Ganduje

    “The aim of the meeting is to motivate and persuade them on the need to reelect the president and all other APC candidates in the listed states.

    “This will enable the president complete the restoration agenda which he kick started in 2015 across all sectors of the country including the health sector,” he said.

    He said that what the minister met in the health ministry on assumption of office in November 2015 was appalling and embarrassing, saying almost all the health indices were in the negative.

    Owoyokun said that health statistics and data generated from both non- governmental and international organizations were scary.

    According to him, “we met collapsed medical facilities. What we have as at the last quarter of 2018 is a new beginning, having revitalized all the federal teaching hospitals.

    “We ensured personnel were efficient and equipment more effective to provide functional as well as qualitative healthcare services.”

    He said that on assumption of office no single linear radiotherapy machine for cancer patients was working, adding the two machines in the National hospital and LUTH were today up and running.

    “Today, UCH and ABUTH are in the process of installing theirs. Our bid to ensure Universal Health Coverage (UHC) is gaining momentum as we have revived over 1,000 primary healthcare centres across the country.

    “This is a pointer to why our vaccination for children has improved, child and maternal mortality dropped, malaria incidences crashed and rate of communicable and non-communicable diseases have reduced drastically,” he said.

    NAN

  • Why we took Melaye to DSS, by Police

    Senator Dino Melaye’ temporary relocation to the Department of State Security (DSS) on Friday was part of preliminary arrangements for his coming trial in Lokoja, Kogi state, the Nigeria Police Force has explained.

    Speaking exclusively with The Nation, police spokesman, Moshood Jimoh, an acting Deputy Commissioner of Police, stated that Melaye was taken by policemen to the medical facilities of the DSS and not their cell or detention facilities.

    He said despite claims by the embattled Senator, the police medical team has been unable to find anything to confirm he has any infirmity that could delay his trial in Lokoja.

    “On the 9th of January, 2019 we got a High Court Remand Warrant to keep him in police custody for fourteen days.

    “The police medical team at our facility examined him and concluded that he was okay to stand trial but he is insisting that he is not okay; that is why we are taking him to another government hospital.

    “He has been taken to the DSS hospital and he will be returned to us after their medical examination because he does not have any case with SSS.

    Read Also: Masked policemen whisk away Senator Dino Melaye

    “He only a case with the police and we are going to take him to court within the period covered by the Remand Warrant.

    “He will be taken to court within the period because the Remand Warrant is from an FCT High court, which gives us the permission to keep him in police custody for 14 days.

    “He was only taken to their (SSS) hospital; he is not in their custody.

    “Our people have examined him and we want another government hospital to also examine him and give a medical opinion.”

    While promising to issue an official statement later on Friday night, the police spokesman also dismissed claims Melaye was taken away from police medical facilities by masked men.

  • Bribe seeking cop shoots two drivers in Kogi

    A police inspector identified as Mohammed Usman on Tuesday allegedly shot and wounded two drivers in Lokoja, Kogi State over alleged refusal to give bribe.
    The incident was said to have occurred at the Ibro Motor Park, opposite the Lokoja International Market.
    Ibrahim Yakubu, the branch chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), said that trouble started when one of their drivers was stopped by a police team at a checkpoint in Zango area on the Lokoja-Okene highway and ordered to offer them a bribe.
    According to him, the driver refused and continued on his journey towards Lokoja.
    He, however, added that the policemen chased after the driver to the Ibro Motor Park.
    According to him: “We were just sitting at the park at about 11am, when we started hearing sporadic gunshots. The next thing, we saw one of our fellow drivers run to the union office.
    “The next thing, we saw two policemen follow him. Our union officials addressed them and they left.
    “The driver said he left his vehicle by the roadside and when we went there, we met a police inspector inside the vehicle.
    “We told him that we are taking the vehicle to the park and he followed us inside. On getting to the union office at the motor park, we told him that we had already settled the matter with the other two policemen.
    “Upon hearing that, he (Inspector Mohammed Usman) became furious and brought out his gun and first shot on the ground. As he continued his sporadic shooting, a bullet hit one of our drivers, Mohammed Attah, on the leg, while another driver, Emmanuel, was hit in the stomach.
    “Following the incident, the other policemen stationed outside drove into the park with their hilux bus, and quickly rescued the inspector and drove out.
    “We then went to B Division Police Station to report the matter and the DPO followed us with the victims to Federal Medical Centre and from there we went to the state police command, to report the matter.
    “The CP has ordered that the policemen involved should be detained until the outcome of victims in the hospital.”
    The spokesman of the Kogi State Police Command, William Aya, who confirmed the incident, explained that the policemen who were on stop-and-search operation stopped the driver, but that he refused, and as a result, they pursued him, on the suspicion that he might be carrying incriminating items.
    He added that the driver got to a town near a motor park and abandoned his vehicle by the roadside and ran into the park.
    He said one of the policemen went after him, and that in the process, there was a misunderstanding which led to accidental discharge.
    Aya said that the policemen involved have been detained, while the matter is being investigated by the State CID.
    He added that appropriate sanctions would be taken against those found wanting, at the close of investigation.

  • Bribe- seeking cop shoots two drivers in Kogi

    A police inspector identified as Mohammed Usman on Tuesday allegedly shot and wounded two drivers in Lokoja, Kogi State over alleged refusal to give bribe.

    The incident was said to have occurred at the Ibro Motor Park, opposite the Lokoja International Market.

    Ibrahim Yakubu, the branch chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), said that trouble started when one of their drivers was stopped by a police team at a check point in Zango area on the Lokoja-Okene highway and ordered to offer them bribe.

    According to him, the driver refused and continued on his journey towards Lokoja.

    He however added that the policemen chased after the driver to the Ibro Motor Park.

    According to him: “We were just sitting at the park at about 11am, when we started hearing sporadic gunshots. The next thing, we saw one of our fellow drivers run to the union office.

    “The next thing, we saw two policemen follow him. Our union officials addressed them and they left.

    “The driver said he left his vehicle by the roadside and when we went there, we met a police inspector inside the vehicle.

    “We told him that we are taking the vehicle to the park and he followed us inside. On getting to the union office at the motor park, we told him that we had already settled the matter with the other two policemen.

    “Upon hearing that, he (Inspector Mohammed Usman) became furious and brought out his gun and first shot on the ground. As he continued his sporadic shooting, a bullet hit one of our drivers, Mohammed Attah, on the leg, while another driver, Emmanuel, was hit in the stomach.

    “Following the incident, the other policemen stationed outside drove into the park with their hilux bus, and quickly rescued the inspector and drove out.

    “We then went to B Division Police Station to report the matter and the DPO followed us with the victims to Federal Medical Centre and from there we went to the state police command, to report the matter.

    “The CP has ordered that the policemen involved should be detained until the outcome of victims in the hospital.”

    The spokesman of the Kogi State Police Command, William Aya, who confirmed the incident, explained that the policemen who were on stop-and-search operation stopped the driver, but that he refused, and as a result, they pursued him, on the suspicion that he might be carrying incriminating items.

    He added that the driver got to town near a motor park and abandoned his vehicle by the roadside and ran into the park.

    He said one of the policemen went after him, and that in the process, there was a misunderstanding which led to accidental discharge.

    Aya said that the policemen involved have been detained, while the matter is being investigated by the State CID.

    He added that appropriate sanctions would be taken against those found wanting, at the close of investigation.

  • Kogi, labour disagree over unpaid salary

    The Kogi State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), has alleged that workers in the state were still owed variants of five months, 10 months, 15-24 months by the state government.

    The state chairman of NLC, Comrade Enuh Edoka, said this on Tuesday in the Government House Lokoja, while presenting the workers’ demands during a protest for the actualization of N30,000 minimum wage.

    He said the workers passed through dire situations owing to irregular payment of salaries.

    According to him: “As we are protesting now, workers are being owed five months, 10 months while some suffered 15-24 months without receiving salaries.”

    He called on President Muhammadu Buhari to implement the N30,000 new minimum wage without delay.

    He appealed to the president not to be distracted by some hiding under the guise of “Nigeria Governors Forum” to thwart the effort of the Federal Government.

    “We hereby reiterate our directive to Nigerian workers to vote out any politician or political party that refuse to pay the new national minimum wage of N30,000.

    “We shall continue to consolidate our efforts to strengthen already existing platforms and structures to give teeth to our firm resolve to remove from power anti-labour governors and political leaders in the forthcoming 2019 general election.

    “We urge government to desist from using the threat of mass sack or the barbaric policy of “no work… no pay” to break our resolve, as this would only calcify our position,” he added.

    Read Also: FG, Labour reach truce on minimum wage

    The Chief of Staff to the Kogi State Governor, Chief Edward Onoja, asserted that with workers at the local government level, salary payment has not gone below 50 percent.

    He said that the state government will collaborate with organised labour, to ensure that the minimum wage demand is given the maximum attention it deserves.

    The President, National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Kogi chapter, Comrade Tade Adeyemi, disagreed with some of the claims by government, saying workers have been receiving 25- 30 percent salaries in the last six months.

    “I want to on behalf of the entire local government workers, register our displeasure that despite our agreement, that no LGA should receive less than 54 percent, I want to point it to you that, majority of LGA workers are receiving 25-30 perceived salaries”, he said.

  • Photos: ‘Sick’ Dino unwilling to leave for court

    Senator Dino Melaye(Kogi West), who surrendered to the Police authorities after a seven-day standoff, on Monday refused to leave his hospital bed for appearance in a Lokoja court over charges of criminal conspiracy and attempted culpable homicide.

    The Police alleged the controversial Melaye committed the offences on 19th July 2018 with his armed thugs who attacked Police personnel, shot and wounded SGT Danjuma Saliu on stop and search duty along Aiyetoro Gbede, Mopa Road in Kogi State.

    Melaye fainted on Friday in front of the waiting police team.

    He was revived of a suspected asthma attack before being taken to a Police hospital.

    When Police operatives arrived to pick Melaye, who has been in custody at a Police hospital, he claimed he was sick and unable to stand up.

    Details later

     

    Read Also: Drama as Melaye surrenders to Police

  • NGO provides welfare package to 100 women in Lokoja

    Health, Education, Advocacy and Livelihood (HEAL) for Africa Initiative, an NGO, said on Saturday that it distributed foodstuffs to 100 women and fed more than 300 children  in Lokoja.

    Dr Kelechi Okoro, founder of  the NGO, who disclosed this at the distribution centre at Lokongoma market, added that the organisation also cleaned a street in the state capital.

    Okoro said that the gesture was to mark this year’s Christmas with the less privileged.

    The programme, tagged: `Heal the Slum’, was aimed at extending hands of love to slum dwellers.

    According to Okoro, the NGO is focusing on empowering people living in slums, sensitising girls and women in Africa to health, education, advocacy and livelihood issues, among other things.

    “We are committed to giving better livelihood to African communities by alleviating the suffering of the people living in the slums and this is the fourth of such outreaches in Kogi state.

    “The first outreach was at Paparanda Square, during 2017 Christmas, 2nd and 3rd editions at Adankolo and Madabo communities on Valentine and Sallah Day respectively, and the 4th one, today at Lokongoma community.

    “Today, we have cleaned a street, fed over 300 children, donated foodstuffs such as rice, noodles, tomatoes, salt and other ingredients to 100 women.

    “The ‘Heal the Slums project’, is also an avenue to interact with community leaders to know their needs, in terms of basic amenities so we could find ways of meeting those needs.” Okoro said.

    “We thank the Kogi government for being very supportive,and commended volunteers and donors including the social media partners, for contributing immensely to support the outreach.

    “In 2019, we hope to have more funding, sponsors, partners, and volunteers across Nigeria, that would take up this initiative and implement them in their various communities,” she said.

    Dr. Afolashade Ayoade, Secretary to Kogi State Government (SSG), who flagged off the distribution of items, commended the NGO for reaching out to the less privileged at the grassroots.

    Ayoade urged groups, individuals and organisations to emulate such kindness by caring for the poor, saying, “God blesses us to bless others, and not for our families and friends alone”.

    One of the beneficiaries, Mrs Abibat Yinusa, expressed appreciation to the NGO for the gesture and for having the slum dwellers at heart.

    Joy Ogbonna, one of the children, who were fed, thanked the NGO for giving them free food and for playing music for them to dance and be happy.

    NAN

  • Police arrest 13 suspects, recover N2.18m in Kogi

    The police in Kogi State on Thursday said it had arrested 13 suspects for various offences ranging from kidnapping, armed robbery and culpable homicide perpetrated in some parts of the state.

    The out-going Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Ali Janga, who made the disclosure while parading the suspects at the command headquarters in Lokoja, added that N2.18 million was recovered from the suspects.

    Janga said the arrests were in compliance with the directive of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, to reinvigorate crime prevention and detection strategies to ensure adequate security throughout the yuletide.

    Janga who used the occasion to announce his redeployment to Bauchi State Command, said the adopted the strategies and other operational measures to apprehend the suspected criminals.

    The strategies, according to him, include intensive patrol, raid of identified criminal hideouts, black spots and flash points as well as conduct of “stop and search operations” across the state.

    Read Also: Four policemen arrested for ‘robbery’

    He said three of the suspects were arrested on Dec. 9, by the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) with N2.18 million ransom and two handsets which they had earlier taken from their victims.

    “Their arrest, during a stop and search on Okene-Lagos road was sequel to intelligence report that Obajana, Ogori and Okene-Lagos roads were no longer safe for motorists due to criminal activities,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the police boss also paraded another gang arrested on Dec. 23, over alleged kidnap of a pastor’s son and another in Inike area of Okene.

    Items recovered from them included one pump action rifle, one single barrel gun, a locally made pistol and four live cartridges.

    Others were two masks, a set of three-star Army General uniform and N75,000 out of N100,000 stolen from a victim.

    Also, another gang of four was paraded for allegedly dispossessing a victim of his motorcycle at gun-point in Akpagidigbo community, Ofu Local Government.

    The police boss said the leader of the gang conspired with others, now at large and allegedly killed one Tahiru of Odun Opake in Ofu Local Government and made away with his motorcycle.

    He said the suspects, along with one Paul Simon,  were arrested on Dec. 22, with weeds suspected to be Indian hemp, concealed in 17 bags of Gari, would be prosecuted on completion of investigation.

    NAN

  • Yuletide: NSCDC deploys 1,400 personnel to Kogi

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has deployed 1,400 personnel to major highways in Kogi to complement regular officers to provide security and ease vehicular traffic during the yuletide.

    Mr Philip Ayodele, Commandant of the Kogi Command of the NSCDC, made this known to newsmen in Lokoja on Saturday.

    He mentioned the strategic plans and activities of the command for the yuletide in state.

    Ayodele said that the deployed and regular officers of the corps had been placed on red alert to provide adequate security for the citizens and motorists from Kogi and other states.

    He said that the command had extended its operations to major highways, through its collaborative effort with the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) to reduce road accidents due to the busy traffic flow during the period.

    Ayodele noted that Kogi State was bordered by 10 states and the FCT and, therefore, required proactive strategy to nip inter-state criminal activities in the bud.

    He said that the corps’ “Unorthodox operational methods’’ had always caught criminals off guard, saying that the command had mapped out strategies and also submitted its operational drive to the entire sister agencies.

    Ayodele said: “Apart from the regular personnel, over 1,400 have been mobilised to the state to provide security and smooth flow of traffic to motorists and to ensure a crime free celebration.

    Read Also: NSCDC beefs up security in Ondo

    “The location of Kogi state has made it a hotspot in this period of Christmas and New Year celebrations.’’

    On the resurgence of kidnapping and armed robbery on Obajana-Oshokoshoko-Kabba road in Western axis of the state, the commandant said a joint operation of all the security agencies had been planned to secure the route.

    “We are not limiting it to an agency alone. We have resolved that the menace of kidnapping and armed robbery will be jointly tackled by all security agencies in the state.

    “We are on top of the situation,’’ Ayodele said.

    On the forthcoming general elections, the commandant said that the NSCDC and other security agencies were ready to provide security and ensure safety of lives and property before, during and after the elections.

    He, however, decried the destruction of opponents’ billboards and posters by hoodlums, saying that the NSCDC was training a special team that would handle that particular type of crime.

    Ayodele noted that ensuring free, fair and credible elections was the collective responsibility of the entire citizenry.

    He urged parents not to allow their children and wards to be used as political thugs by desperate politicians.

    NAN