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Tag: KOGI

  • Kogi: Brothers, two other graduates die in well

    Tragedy struck on Monday night in Kabba, headquarters of kabba/Bunu Local Government Area of Kogi State, as four Higher National Diploma (HND) graduates drowned in a well they were engaged to evacuate.

    The quartet whose names were given as David, Sunday, Ayo and Ogbekedo with two of them from the same parents, it was gathered specialize in digging wells.

    Unconfirmed source had it that they fell into the well and died, after the finish of work.

    An eyewitness said that the tragedy occurred at Zango quarters in Kabba, where a primary schoolmistress, whose name was given as Mrs Agnes Baiyere, had contracted them to dig the well in the front of her newly constructed four-bedroom apartment.

    The woman, a teacher in St. Mary’s Primary School, Kabba was said to have contracted one of them, David, who invited the others to join him in digging the well.

    Work was said to have been completed, when two of them returned Monday evening, to evacuate some broken blocks that fell into the well.

    However, when one of them entered into the well, he was said to have complained of dizziness, following which another came to his aid.

    The two were said to have been trapped in the well and could not come out.

    As the news filtered round, the two other workers who were said to have made for the site to rescue their colleagues, were also trapped and could not come out.

    Personnel of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC), Kabba, office, who were said to have been contacted, raced to the scene with their ladder, with which the remains of the four were evacuated.

    It was gathered that one of the deceased, David, just got married, after completing his mandatory one-year NYSC national assignment, last year.

    The remains of the deceased whose ages ranged from between 30 and 35 years, have been deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital Kabba, for possible autopsy.

  • FG to set up cashew processing plants in four states — Ogbeh

    The Federal Government says it plans to set up cashew processing plants in four states of the country to add value to the produce and create employment, wealth in the country.

    Chief Audu Ogbeh, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    Ogbeh said the move would also reduce the waste of cashew fruits and delay in the export of raw nuts out of the country.

    According to him, we are currently wasting an estimated 8 million tonnes of cashew fruits annually.
    He said the long term solution to the delay in export and stocking of cashew nuts at the ports is for Nigeria to be exporter of finished products and not raw materials.

    Ogbeh listed the states where the plants would be set up to include Enugu, Benue, Kogi and Oyo.
    “The challenge is usually access to credit because a good processing cashew line will cost you about two million dollars to do something like 10 to 20 tonnes a day. We are targeting that to set up at least one plant each in

    Enugu and Benue, two plants each in Kogi and Oyo state, these are the leading cashew producers now.
    “We want to assure the cashew stakeholders that in our next level activities, we intend to stop the export of raw nuts and to process all our cashews here and we hope by the grace of God, to have one or two plants ready before next year.

    “We are talking with the Brazilians now. We want to bring in machines from Brazil to process the cashew fruits into juice which has a high content of vitamin c.

    “It is very good for the health because we are currently wasting an estimated eight million tonnes of cashew fruits annually, throwing them away,” he said.

    Ogbeh added: “That is what the Cashew Association of West Africa told me, in Nigeria alone, that we waste eight million tonnes.

    Read also: Ogbeh appeals for speedy clearing of agricultural export in ports

    “This is our concern, we are very troubled with this development but later in the year, I will have meeting with the cashew producers and farmers association to sit down with the CBN and get some help.’’

    The minister, who lamented that the country has been major importers of goods and services, said government is determined to changing the trend.

    “The challenge facing Nigeria is that we have been an importer nation which has destroyed our economy.

    “We want to change now and become a nation of exporters.

    “We have to find unorthodox ways of finding capital for those who want to grow these industries because on their own, it is impossible for them to meet the conditions of banks and financial institutions.

    “It is impossible for them to raise the necessary capital which is why the CBN initiatives are very important to us and we have been working with them and we are achieving results.

    “The treasury of Nigeria including the CBN has to find a way to by-pass the obstacles, the mountains, the rivers, blocking our way to industrial growth.

    “If not, we will remain perpetually poor and we will remain permanently incapable of creating wealth and creating jobs for our people,’’ he said. (NAN)

  • Unpaid salaries killed Kogi’s judicial officer, say colleagues

    The death of Mr. Zekery Aguye, a Magistrate and Deputy Chief Registrar (Litigation) with the Kogi State judiciary, has led to unease in the service with colleagues attributing his demise to backlog of unpaid salaries.

    Aguye reportedly died last Tuesday at the National Hospital Abuja after a protracted battle with prostate cancer.

    He eventually died at the National Hospital, where he was initially being treated, before discontinuing treatment due to alleged inability to offset his medical bills.

    The Chief Registrar of the State High Court, Mr. Yahaya Adamu, who confirmed the sad development, described Aguye’s death as pathetic.

    He described the deceased as one of the best hands in the state judiciary.

    “I am very sorry to say that even as we subscribe to the will of almighty Allah, who gives and takes life, you and I know certainly that sometimes there are deaths that are evitable.

    “In this particular one, we feel it may have been further delayed if we had continued to manage his ailment as we were doing in the past before the judiciary was financially grounded,” he said.

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    According to him, Aguye’s illness surfaced two years when he was diagnosed of the disease.

    He pointed out with quick response and the concerted attention of the family and judiciary, the deceased received the proper medical treatment.

    He added: “He was taken to the National Hospital where he was treated, to the extent that he even started driving his car by himself, having survived the critical period of the illness also affected his spine.

    “When it all started, we thought it was one of those usual ailments. But when it became obvious that he needed to be handled by specialists, we headed for the National Hospital.

    “You will agree with me that treatment there is highly capital intensive. So, in conjunction with the family and other wells wishers, he was revived.

    “He was subsequently placed on drugs and periodic examinations by the hospital, which we consistently complied with.

    “This processes costs between N400, 000 and N500, 000 monthly, depending on the result of the tests.

    “By the grace of God and with the cooperation of the family and others we were coping with the management of the illness.

    “However, we started having problems with his treatment as from the middle of last year when the Kogi State Judiciary started facing funding crises.

    “At this point, his salary, allowances and even the little assistance the judiciary was giving him ceased to come anymore.

    “His care suddenly became the exclusive responsibility of the wife and the family alone.

    “You’ll surely agree with me that, coupled with the children’s demands, it will be difficult for the wife to bear this enormous burden.

    “As a matter of fact, before he finally gave up the ghost, he was withdrawn from the National Hospital for lack of fund.

    “It is at the critical point of his death that he was rushed back to the hospital by which time it was already too late.”

    He appealed to Governor Yahaya Bello to find solution to the impasse between the judiciary and the state government to avert further loss of lives.

  • Kogi , Isanlu monarch to immortalise Pius Akinsanmi

    The Kogi government says the state will ensure that Prof. Pius Akinsanmi is immortalised by ensuring that all his books are made available in its school libraries.

    Mrs. Rosemary Osikoya, the Kogi Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology disclosed this during a tribute organised in honour of the deceased in Abuja.

    She said his death came at a time when the state ministry was reaching out to Kogi scholars like Akinsanmi, who could help put the educational standard of the state on high pedestal.

    The commissioner said that Akinsanmi represented what Kogi indigenes were known for as very talented people, which an average Kogi stood for, adding that the scholar exemplified all the virtues “you would like to see in Nigeria’’.

    She however said that the idea of naming the state library after him had not been mooted, adding that where such proposition was made, it would be good to encourage and support it.

    Also, His Royal Highness (HRH), Oba Moses Babatunde, the traditional ruler of Isanlu, where Akinsanmi hailed from, promised to immortalise the scholar by organising an annual lecture in his honour.

    “We will bring everybody from all walks of life to the lecture and that will encourage our youths to be able to write about the society and how the country can develop from where it is.”

    According to him, we are going to immortalise Akinsanmi, he will be remembered in the community that generations to come will be asking who is Pius Akinsanmi.

    The monarch said that he would discuss with his traditional council to see if the secondary school he finished from could be named after him.

    He, however, added that if such a proposal was not possible, the community would build an institution to be named after him.

    He lauded the impact made by the deceased in the community, especially the secondary school he attended and by contributing to the development of Isanlu.

    According to him, Akinsanmi touched so many lives and was always consistent with the truth, “sometimes you like him and sometimes you may not like him for the truth, but he will always tell the truth.’’

    Akinsanmi died on March 10 aboard an ill-fated Ethiopian airline, flight 302 which took off from Addis Ababa and was headed to Nairobi, but crashed barely six minutes after take-off.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that journalists, friends and others gathered to eulogise the virtue of the deceased with each paying glowing tribute to the late scholar.

  • NGO makes case for women empowerment

    A non-governmental organization, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), has called on governments at all levels as well as Nigerians to investment more in women empowerment programmes.

    The organization said there is need to continuously support women in order to improve their lives.

    AHF’s Advocacy and Marketing Manager, Steve Aborisade, said this at an exhibition in Abuja.

    The exhibition tagged “Balance for Better” was part of activities by AHF to celebrate the 2019 International Women’s Day.

    He said: “We must see empowering women as a priority agenda that everyone must embrace. This is what we are doing in all the states we work in. We work with women at the rural levels, we empower them, and teach them skills.

    “We are going to continue to advocate for the betterment of our women folks. We have to invest in our women, we have to support them and we have to be there for them.

    “What we are doing is to look at our women and speak to their needs. It is difficult for some of our women financially. We are using this to instigate other women to join what their peers are doing.”

    Also, the State Nursing Coordinator for AHF, Christy Awunor, said 150 women from the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, participated in the exhibition.

    She said the aim of the organisation is to create opportunities for more women to thrive.

    Awunor said: “Our focus on the women is to create entrepreneurship for every woman. We want every woman to be self-reliant – be able to do something for herself and her family.

    Read Also: ‘It‘s time for women to identify their strengths’

    “We have about 25 exhibitors and we intend to support these women in carrying out what they are doing more effectively and efficiently and also to be able to make money from this and take care of their families.

    “Today, we are going to be handing over some amount to these woman to be able to support what they do.

    “We have empowered quite a number of women not only in Abuja but in Benue, Kogi, Cross River, Nasarawa and Akwa-Ibom state during event like this.”

  • PDP decries killings, violence, militarisation of elections

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the heavy militarisation, violence and killing of innocent Nigerians during Saturday’s Governorship and State Assembly elections across many states of the federation.

    A statement on Saturday by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan blamed the development on what the opposition party described as the desperation of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the elections.

    “The world watched with utter horror as soldiers under the command of the Buhari Presidency, hound, arrest, shoot, terrorise opposition figures and provide cover for APC thugs to unleash violence, kill opposition members, cart away electoral materials and disrupt polls in PDP strongholds, all in the bid to forcefully foist the APC on Nigerians,” the statement said.

    The party further bemoaned the resort to bloodletting, violence and alleged official high handedness by the APC in the electoral process, which it said, has further confirmed this administration has no regard for the lives of Nigerians and lawful processes, but only interested in seizing power by all means.

    The PDP noted that never in the history of the nation had a general election recorded such bloodletting, violence and manipulations as triggered in the 2019 elections.

    Lamenting further, the PDP said: “In Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Cross River, Delta, Bayelsa, Kogi, Benue, Imo, Abia, Ebonyi, among others, soldiers brazenly aided APC thugs to unbridle violence, hijack electoral processes and write fictitious results for APC candidates.

    “In Rivers state, soldiers invaded INEC office in Bori, beat up and chased away PDP agents and assisted the APC in ballot stuffing and writing of results.

    “The scenario was the same in Akwa-Ibom where security agents provided cover for APC thugs in their bid to hijack the electoral process.

    “In Imo state, APC thugs, accompanied by security agents disrupted polls in PDP strongholds and reportedly killed a PDP agents in Umudo/Umuwala area of Owerri.

    “In Ebonyi state, APC thugs aided by security agents, burnt down INEC facility in the state, seeing that their party did not have any foothold in the state.

    “In Ajaokuta, Kabba/Bunu, Olamaboro, Ijumu and several other local governments in Kogi state, APC thugs, assisted by soldiers invaded polling units and carted away ballot materials, a development which sparked off restiveness in some areas and resulted in mass destruction of property in the area”.

    The party regretted that in many other states, the APC, in connivance with INEC, orchestrated the deliberate diversion of electoral materials meant for certain areas to unknown destinations, resulting in the frustration of electoral processes in the affected areas.

    “We know that the APC plot to derail our hard- earned democracy and impose a fascist regime on our nation but we are resolute in standing with Nigerians and all lovers of democracy to ensure that nobody, no matter how vicious, is allowed to vanquish our democracy.

    “In all, our party stands with Nigerians in their resilience at this defining moment in our political history.

    “The PDP commends the courage of Nigerians in standing firm in defence of democracy, despite the machinations of the APC,” the party added.

  • Election: We’ve made tighter security arrangements – Bello

    Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, has assured residents of the state of tighter measures put in place for their security during and after Saturday’s state assembly elections.

    Kogi is among the states where governorship election will not hold.

    Bello in a statewide broadcast said that security operatives have been given the powers to do all that is possible to prevent any form of violence during the conduct of the election.

    He expressed satisfaction with measures put in place by the security services to forestall a repeat of pockets of violence witnessed in some parts of the state, during the presidential and National Assembly elections, a fortnight ago.

    He expressed sadness over the recurring “bloodletting” arising from communal clashes, particularly in Sheria and Bassa areas in the Kogi East Senatorial district, where twenty people were reportedly killed on Thursday, and fifty houses razed.

    He directed security operatives to “haunt” down those responsible for the carnage in the affected areas.

    Governor Bello expressed regret over events in the judicial sector of the state, noting that the suit filed against the administration by the state chapter of the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), over alleged non payment of six months salary, was not unrelated to the refusal of members of the union to forward their payroll to the authorities, during the pay parade exercise conducted by the government.

    The Chief Judge (CJ) of the state was joined in the suit filed by JUSUN against the governor.

    He said that money meant for the salary payment of the “innocent” state judicial workers, were however ‘sitting in the banks.”

    Full text of broadcast:

    My fellow Kogites,

    We remain grateful to God for the overall peace and security which we have enjoyed in Kogi State, both before and after the Presidential and National Assembly Elections on the 23rd of February, 2019.

    I am impressed that our security services have quickly plugged identified loopholes through which isolated instances of violence marred the last round of elections, especially during the campaigns.

    Through the efforts of vigilant operatives, and the cooperation of the various parties and their candidates, the last two weeks of campaigning for the next Elections have been generally peaceful across Kogi. Once more, I thank the men and women in uniform who protect and serve us in Kogi State for their vigilance. We look forward to their usual gallantry tomorrow.

    In other words, even though we have more candidates contesting for election into the Kogi State House of Assembly tomorrow than we had for the Presidential and National Assembly Elections a fortnight ago, we have had peace despite the higher stakes for us as a State.

    It is therefore clear to everybody now that electoral violence is a choice which individuals make out of their own desperation, and not because of any set of circumstances. Irrespective of appearances, people who provoke or perpetrate electoral violence do so because they lack inherent nobility of character and have an unwillingness to let the electorate decide.

    I wish to assure all Kogites that we have made tighter security arrangements against the elections tomorrow. The Police and other law enforcement agencies have been fully mobilised and are on red alert. They have our mandate to do anything and everything necessary within the law to keep our people safe and ensure peaceful polls.

    Accordingly, I urge parties, politicians and their supporters to continue maintaining the peace as any attempt to endanger the populace before, during and after the Elections will be met with stiff resistance.

    Staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and all categories of Electoral Officers and ad hoc staff who are sent to Kogi State can expect full security coverage wherever they are stationed.

    As long as they play by the rules and perform their duties with conscience they have nothing to fear. We will however hold anyone who facilitates electoral offences responsible and pursue their prosecution to the full extent of the law.

    I must now address the senseless and perrenial conflicts with which some communities in Bassa Local Government Area have continued to trouble the peace and tranquility of Kogi State.

    The people of Sheria and Oguma communities in particular must understand that we are now living in the 21st Century and there are legal ways of settling ethnic disputes over anything, including farmlands and fishing grounds.

    Government has mediated and done everything to resolve these conflicts in the past. However, the senseless bloodletting which happened overnight yesterday simply tells us that the attackers are not ready to listen to reason.

    Let it be known as of today therefore that our patience with these killings and burning of settlements is over. Enough is enough. We shall deal decisively with this matter henceforth. If people will not live together in peace, we have a duty as Government to enforce the peace and stop them from disturbing those who want to.

    I hereby direct our security agencies to spare no resources in hunting down and arresting the culprits in these recent attacks. We are going to try them for murder and request for the maximum penalty since they have no qualms taking human lives.

    In pursuit of long-term solutions, we are also considering the imposition of certain executive orders in the overriding public interest which are designed to finally abate this intolerable nuisance.

    In the days ahead, I assure Kogites that we will so trouble those who trouble our peace in this atrocious manner that they will find themselves so occupied with too much troubles of their own to plot or execute further mischief.

    I shall digress briefly at this point to address the lawsuit filed against the Administration yesterday by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) over alleged non-payment of their salaries. I am not surprised by the timing of the case considering the season were in, and the politicisation of institutions all over the place.

    The refusal of the leadership of the Kogi State Judiciary to forward their staff payroll for the Pay Parade with the collusion of JUSUN leaders is well documented. I have pleaded unsuccessfully with them for months now to do the needful and spare their innocent members this trauma. The Kogi State House of Assembly has also tried to intervene only to be stopped by injunction from the Judiciary curiously obtained while courts claimed to be on strike. I have petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria to intervene since November last year, but we are yet to receive any feedback.

    We are therefore happy that the Chief Judge of the Kogi State was also joined to the suit by JUSUN. We look forward to being educated on how a pay parade across all branches and cadres of our Civil Service is prejudicial to the independence of the Judicial Arm, but not the Legislative.

    In any case, monies amounting to several months salaries due to Kogi State Civil Servants working in the Judiciary are sitting in the banks. My preoccupation is how to get that money to innocent staffers without breaching applicable service rules or our Collective Agreement with Labour. I trust the Almighty God that reason will prevail sooner than later.

    On the elections tomorrow, I encourage our people to come out en masse and vote for their representatives without fear of duress, or of threat to their lives and properties.

    God bless Kogi State.
    God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

    Thank you.

  • INEC declares Kogi East Senate poll inconclusive

    Kogi East Senate poll inconclusive, as APC wins Central

     

    Kogi East result

    APC – 113,772

    PDP – 69,131

    ADC – 30,696

    Election declared inconclusive. Voting didn’t hold in 129 polling units.

    Kogi Central

    APC – 76,183
    PDP – 18_349
    SDP – 48,326

    Yakubu Oseni (APC) declared winner

  • PDP insists on results from polling units

    …alleges plots to alter election results

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has insisted on the official release of results already delivered at the various polling units for its presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

    A statement last night by the spokesman for the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, cautioned that Nigerians will not accept any figures except what was declared and collated from the polling units.

    The PDP further alleged that the Buhari Presidency has been mounting pressure on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and dispatching officials to change results in Rivers, Kaduna, Nasarawa, Kogi, Bauchi, Cross River, Borno, Yobe and Edo states among others, in a frenzy to allocate fictitious figures for President Buhari.

    “Pathetically, the Buhari Presidency is also threatening the South-East state governors to change results and carve a 25% for Mr. President, a scheme that has already failed.

    “In Bauchi state, we are aware of the plots to move thump-printed ballot papers and fabricated results from Bauchi to Dass Local Government Area to upturn PDP’s victory in the results already delivered and announced at the polling units in the area.

    “This is why the electoral officials have been delaying moving the results for final collation and announcement. If this plot fails, the APC plans to void the results for Dass.

    “In spite of all these, our party assures Nigerians that the hope for a new government led by Atiku Abubakar, is already manifest.

    “Our agents and indeed, Nigerians, already have the results as delivered at the polling units and are not ready to accept anything to the contrary. President Buhari and the APC should therefore quietly come to terms with the fact that they have been defeated.

    “The PDP therefore cautions INEC to respect the laws and electoral guidelines by upholding and declaring results from the polling units as expressed by Nigerians on Saturday”.

  • Kogi Senator survives auto crash

    Mr Ahmed Ogembe, the Senator representing Kogi Central on Friday survived an auto crash along the Abuja-Lokoja road on his way to Okene for elections.

    Mr Duke Opeyemi, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the Senator, disclosed this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lokoja.

    He said that the accident occurred at about 9 a.m on Friday, at Gegu community in Kotonkarfe LGA of Kogi state.

    NAN reports that Ogembe is seeking re-election under the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 National Assembly election in Kogi central.

    Read Also: Kogi gov’s wife, three aides survive auto crash

    According to Opeyemi, his bulletproof car somersaulted several times, but the senator and other occupants of the vehicle came out alive and un-hurt.

    The senator expressed gratitude to God for saving his life and that of the people with him.

    He prayed for more of God’s protection over his life, his family and the entire people of his constituents and Kogi state at large.