The Nation Newspaper

Tag: KOGI

  • Recall: Melaye denies evading recall petition, timetable service

    Recall: Melaye denies evading recall petition, timetable service

    Senator Dino Melaye on Monday, denied claims that he was evading the service of petition and timetable for his recall from the Senate, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    Melaye made this known while briefing newsmen in Abuja on Monday.

    The senator, who represents Kogi West Senatorial District, is facing a recall by his constituents who in a petition on June 23, 2017, called on INEC to recall him.

    He was accused of poor of representation of the constituency at the Senate.

    But, Melaye told newsmen that accepting any “purported’’ petition from INEC would amount to breaching the 1999 Constitution (Amended).

    According to him, the window provided by the Constitution for the service of recall petition had elapsed and I would not be seen to be breaching the law.

    “It is clear that by the provisions of Section 69(b) of the 1999 Constitution, INEC must act on the petition purportedly presented to it on June 23, 2017 by conducting a referendum within 90 days of receipt of the petition.

    “The 90 days period as provided for in the Constitution for conducting the referendum after our verification, elapsed on Sept. 23, 2017.

    “The time having elapsed, I cannot under the circumstance, aid and abet INEC to further infringe on the provisions of the Constitution, which I have sworn to defend,’’ he said.

    The lawmaker pointed out that his position on the matter had been affirmed by various Supreme Court decisions.

    He cited the case of Nyako v. Adamawa State House of Assembly and others (2016) and All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) v. Alhaji Mohammed Goni and others.

    He said that from the apex court’s decision, the Constitution could not be amended by “mere’’ pronouncement of a court of law.

    Melaye added that it was only right to respect the provision of the Constitution.

    “The trial judge failed to respect that provision of the Constitution when he elongated 90 days provided for, saying the process was paused when the interim order for maintenance of status quo was granted.

    “I am not evading the service of any purported petition on me by INEC.

    “As a matter of fact, my lawyer, Chief Mike Ozekhome, served INEC a notice to produce the said petition in the course of hearing of this matter but INEC failed to produce the petition in court.

    “I have also instructed my lawyer to challenge the jurisdiction of the trial court to entertain an ex parte application for the service on me.

    “In view of the lapse of time, I shall no longer be in a haste to take any further step in this matter so as not to aid any party, especially INEC in breaching the Constitution,’’ he said.

    Melaye said that having asked his lawyer to file appeal against the judgment by the court, he was aware that the matter was sub-judice.

    He added that it was in view of that that he chose to speak only on the “socio-political aspect’’ of the matter. (NAN)

  • Workers cripple Kogi

    The ongoing indefinite strike by workers in Kogi yesterday brought  all activities at government secretariat in the state to a standstill,the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported.

    Some workers of government establishments in Lokoja complied with the shun-work-order issued to them by the leaderships of the Trade Union Congress and the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

    Public offices were under lock and key by workers, frustrating  attempts of some directors and management staff to enter their offices.

    The indefinite strike also paralyzed activities at the state broadcasting corporation, waterworks, while senior secondary schools across the state refused to open.

    Students of public senior secondary schools were seen returning after waiting for teachers and non-teaching staff to no avail.

    Residents were  gripped by  panic as houses started experiencing shortage of water since the early hours of yesterday owning to the strike.

    The organized labour had on Sept. 21 directed workers to stay off their duty posts following the alleged state government’s refusal to honour their demands as contained in a seven-day strike notice served on Sept.14.

    The workers are demanding full payment of their arrears of salary and allowances, leave bonus, yearly incremental and promotion arrears, among others.

    They are also kicking against the introduction of clock in, clock out policy introduced by the state government which they described as punitive and an attempt to witch-hunt workers.

    But Mr Kingsley Fanwo, Director-General, Media and Publicity to the state governor described the strike action as a failure, insisting that most workers reported for duty.

    In his reaction, the state secretary of the NLC, Mr Olaniyi Fakunle said the strike was actually called at the request of the workers.

    He said the strike would be grim later when basic education, health and local government workers would have joined.

  • Alleged Boko Haram member remanded in prison

    Alleged Boko Haram member remanded in prison

    A Lokoja Chief Magistrate Court has ordered the remand of a suspected Boko Haram member, Mustapha Adinoyi over alleged involvement in terrorist activities and illegal possession of firearms.

    Chief Magistrate Levi Animoku, who gave the order after the state Counsel had arraigned the accused in Lokoja, described the alleged offence as “a fearful one”.

    He said that Boko Haram activities had claimed lives of many Nigerians adding, that ”Bail is not granted as a matter of course. The offence is grievous and carries high penalty.

    “The presumptuous of innocence notwithstanding, I refuse the bail of the accused. Consequently, the accused shall be remanded at the Federal Prisons, Koton-Karfe,” he said.

    Animoku, thereafter, adjourned the case until Oct. 17 for mention.

    Earlier, the prosecution led by Mohammed Abaji of the state Ministry of Justice told the court that Adinoyi was arrested following intelligence reports by a joint team of the Nigerian Army and the DSS.

    Abaji said that Adinoyi’s handset and SIM card analysis further revealed that he had several meetings with one Dauda Momoh also known as “ General”, a Boko Haram commander on the wanted list of the DSS.

    He said that the accused also took the commander to the house of another member of the gang, one Abdulfatai where two single barrel guns, one toy gun, six assorted SIM cards and other weapons were recovered.

    The counsel prayed the court to take cognisance of the offences of criminal conspiracy contrary to Section 97(1) of the Penal Code and belonging to terrorist group contrary to Section four of the Terrorism (Prevention) (Amendment) Act 2013.

    The alleged offences also included illegal possession of firearms contrary to Section three of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provision) Act CAP R11 2004.

  • NLC threatens to name, shame governors owing salaries

    NLC threatens to name, shame governors owing salaries

    The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to name and shame state governors, who refused to pay complete salaries to workers in the country, in spite of the bailout funds.

    Mr Ayuba Wabba, NLC President said this at the National Executive Council meeting of the Non Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) on Tuesday in Abuja.

    Wabba said that some state governors have refused to effectively utilise both the bailout funds and the Paris Club refund given to them by the Federal Government.

    According to him, 10 out of the 36 states are particularly guilty of the offence, while six of the ten states were in terrible situation. We have promised to name and shame them.

    “The congress has directed all states chapters whose members are owed more than three months’ salaries arrears to declare an industrial action and we have promised to name and shame them.

    “The states include Imo that has been paying workers’ salaries in percentage and has not declared utilization of the bailout fund and Paris club refund.

    “”They paid 40 per cent pension to their pensioners without their consent and provided a form for them to sign under duress. That is not allowed in law.

    “We have Bayelsa which has between five to 10 months’ arrears, Ondo is owing between four and six, Ekiti, (five to eight), Benue (five to eight) and Kogi which is the worst case scenario.

    “We have three category of workers in Kogi. We have 40 per cent that are being paid up to date, we have 25 per cent that had not been paid between eight and sixteen months.

    “We also have another 25 per cent that have not been paid between eight and twenty-one months.

    “In all the sectors, they have categorised the workers into three categories,” he said.

    The president also listed Osun, Ebonyi, Zamfara and Abia among others still owing salaries and non-implementation of the 2011 National Minimum Wage for workers.

    Wabba while speaking on the issue of increase tariff, warned the government against approving another increase in electricity tariff.

    He said that the congress would mobilise its affiliates, social partners and other Nigerians to resist any further increase.

    He noted that Nigerians were yet to get good services for the previous increment which has been declared illegal by the court.

    “The twin issue of fuel price increase and electricity tariff has made nonsense of the minimum wage. We have not been able to justify that 45 per cent increase.

    “But now, they are coming again with another increase. Let me say emphatically that NLC as an Organisation and all our affiliates will resist any attempt to increase the electricity tariff again,”he warned.

    Earlier, Mr Chris Ani, National President of NASU, said the current agitation for restructuring and fiscal federalism were attempts to divert attention from misgovernance and ineptitude the nation has been going through.

    Ani said that Nigerians should not be distracted by elements that have actively participated in the looting and mismanagement of our economy and can be found in the two major political parties.

    “What Nigeria workers need at this point in time is not whether more power should be given to states, but to know how they have managed the power at their disposal at the moment,”he said.

    He, however, urged the government to ensure improved welfare and benefits, jobs security, prompt payment of salaries, among others for workers in the country.

  • Agency warns of more flooding in Kwara, Kogi, Niger

    THE Niger Basin Authority with headquarters in Niamey, Niger Republic has warned of imminent flooding in Nigeria in its latest alert level.

    It warned people on the river banks in Niger, Kwara and Kogi as well as those people in the flood plains and river banks to prepare for more flooding.

    The NBA is a regional body of nine-member countries in the West and Central Africa, namely: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Chad.

    The regional body said it noticed progressive increase in water level of the River Niger at 580 cm, which culminated in its Yellow alert. It was issued on September 7.

    In a statement in Abuja yesterday, the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) urged Federal and state governments to prepare sites for a possible flood situation in a situation of orange alert.

    The statement reads: “Since September 1, 2017, a yellow alert on water level was reached at the hydrometric station of Niamey. This yellow alert lasted seven days until September 7, with a progressive increase of water level until reaching the yellow level limit of 580 cm.

    “The Orange alert level is reached on September 7, 2017. Forecasts and gages reading from upstream Niamey show that this orange alert situation will last the next three days.

    “It should be noted that at this orange alert level, any progressive increase of water levels could have significant impacts on people and property in areas of flood risk.

    “In this situation of orange alert, it is more suggested to prepare sites for a possible flood situation.”

    It added: “The rise of water level at Niamey will propagate downstream toward Malanville station in Republic of Benin and the station of Jidere Bode upstream Kainji Dam in Federal Republic of Nigeria. Riparian people should be particularly vigilant, especially those living in areas at flood risk.”

    The statement said the agency would continue to monitor the situation and provide information as it develops.

    NBA Director-General Moses Beckley said Nigeria should expect more floods of the magnitude comparable to that of 2012 flood.

    He said the flood alert level issued by the NBA was above normal, which Nigeria should be wary of.

    Beckley said the agency expects the water to have entered Nigeria through River Niger three days after the alert was issued.

    “It is above normal (yellow alert). The consequence of that is that there will be more flow into the Nigeria area through the River Niger. Since Nigeria is low land, the effect is that as that water comes expect the water to have arrived Nigeria from three days after the alert.

    “The Jebba and Kainji dams, which were constructed for this same purpose to control the flow of water from upstream, especially water coming from outside, have been so properly manage. I want to believe have been so, that they will be able to contain that water, they will be able to release this water that it will not cause devastation downstream.”

    But Kebbi State Governor Atiku Bagudu has directed the state Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to relocate 100 households affected by flooding in Dole-Kaina Area of Dandi Local Government to a safer place.

    Bagudu gave this directive in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary Alhaji Abubakar Dakingari, in Birnin Kebbi yesterday.

    He directed the agency to provide the victims with food items, potable water, drugs and mattresses as well as to resettle them in a virgin land.

  • Flood displaces 10,000 families in Kogi

    Flood displaces 10,000 families in Kogi

    Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State on Tuesday said that no fewer than 10,000 families had been displaced by flooding in seven local government areas of the state.

    Bello, who spoke during a tour of flood ravaged areas of Lokoja, listed the affected local governments to include Lokoja, Ibaji, Igalamela -Odolu, Ajaokuta, Kogi and Bassa.

    He said that farmers were particularly hard hit as they lost their houses, farmlands and livestock to the floods.

    The governor said that many communities in the state were always at the receiving end anytime there was heavy downpour.

    According to him, this happens once the Rivers Niger and Benue overflow their banks, saying that many of the affected houses were located on river banks and flood plains.

    He said that the victims of the disaster had been moved to the IDPs in Lokoja and other parts of the state.

    The governor appealed to the Federal Government and corporate organisations to come quickly to the aid of the state.

    “The state is in dire need of humanitarian interventions,” he said.

    Mrs Rosemary Osikoya, the state Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, said that the ministry had been stretched to the limit by the development.

    “The state government is providing immediate interventions within its financial capacity, but what government has been able to do is grossly inadequate.
    “Apart from Nataco, Sarkin Numa, Ganaja and other areas in Lokoja where floods have taken over communities, Ibaji communities are completely passing through the fury floods that have sacked people from their homes and farmlands.

    “Some people are climbing trees to survive.

    “There is an urgent need to relocate the affected people and settle them in camps. We call on the National Emergency Management Agency to quickly come to our aid,” she said.

    According to her, a situation room has been established to collate the realities on ground.

    “The situation is getting worse by the day. As the centre of the nation, a locked-in Kogi will affect the entire nation.

    “Roads have been taken over, people now sleep on the streets and nursing mothers are gory sights to behold. We call on federal agencies and the international community to quickly come to our aid,” the commissioner pleaded.

    She also reiterated the appeal that people still living in flooded homes should vacate them immediately, saying that it was unsafe to continue to sleep in flooded houses.

  • Kogi Flood: NYCN mobilises youth volunteers to riverine areas

    Kogi Flood: NYCN mobilises youth volunteers to riverine areas

    The National Youth Council of Nigeria ( NYCN ), Kogi chapter, says it has concluded plan to mobilise 1,000 youth volunteers in the state to complement government’s efforts in tackling flooding in riverine areas.

    A statement by NYCN Chairman in Lokoja, Mr Oladele Nihi, on Monday said the idea was also to raise volunteers through the local government chapters of the council.

    According to him, the volunteers are expected to work with National Emergency Management Agency ( NEMA ) and Kogi Ministry of Environment.

    Nihi also said that the volunteers would assist in carrying out grassroots sensitisation and environmental sanitation and clear blocked drainage systems.

    He said the volunteers would also create alternative routes for water to flow and do other tasks that might be deemed fit by the ministry.

    “The National Youth Council of Nigeria ( NYCN ), Kogi chapter wish to use this avenue to sympathise with the people of the state, most especially those affected by the recent flash flooding.

    “We also wish to commend NEMA, SEMA and the state Ministry of Environment for their tireless efforts in contending with this giant monster that we face at this time.

    “It is our belief that volunteers will complement the effort of NEMA and Ministry of Environment by taking the advocacy to the grassroots and help the communities to do the needful.

    “We hope that the ministry will provide them with the necessary tools to carry out this job.

    “We are enthusiastic that this little effort of the Youth Council will help to avert the imminent flooding or worst still, mitigate the suffering of our people, as we endure this trying time,” Nihi said.

    He called on youths in the state, irrespective of their locations, to join the advocacy and render assistance wherever they could.

    “Kogi is our state; collectively we will work to make it greater.’’

    “As a council, we believe in the saying that ‘Health is Wealth’, and a healthy life can only be guaranteed through a clean and safe environment”.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Lokoja witnessed flash flooding on Thursday in Lokoja and some other parts of the state such as, Ajaokuta, Koto Karfe and Omala Local Government Areas.

    Others are, Igalamela-Odolu, Kabba/Bunu, Ajaokuta, Ibaji, Bassa and Isanlu Local Government Areas.

  • Gov. Bello urges parents to bring up children to abhor crime

    Gov. Bello urges parents to bring up children to abhor crime

    Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has tasked parents and guardians to bring up their children and wards in a manner that they would abhor crime.

    Bello gave the charge on Thursday in Lokoja, when members of Ozi-Ogu clan from the Central Senatorial District paid him a visit.

    He said that government would not spare anyone involved in crime, vowing that efforts to rid Kogi of criminals would know no sacred cows.

    The governor said that government was committed to absolute peace and total freedom of movement, especially on the highways, and warned against armed robbery, kidnapping and other crimes.

    “Before we came on board, cases of armed robbery, kidnapping, cultism and other social vices were very high, with youths at the centre of all.

    “I want parents to always advise their wards on the implication of involving in any criminal act. Parents should also endeavour to take the education of their children very serious,” he said.

    Leader of the group, Dr. Yahaya Ogirima, had earlier commended the governor for tackling security issues, noting that the era when people suffered in the hands kidnappers, who demanded high ransom, had gone for good.

    He promised that the Ozi-Ogu clan would continue to support the governor to achieve his policies and programmes toward a better Kogi.

  • Kogi Lassa fever patient dies

    Kogi Lassa fever patient dies

    he sick woman in Kogi, Miss Aisha Jimoh, who was confirmed to have contracted the dreaded Lassa fever is dead.

    A brother to the deceased, Mr Asipita Jimoh, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lokoja that Aisha, 18, died in the early hours of Monday at the Irua General Hospital in Edo, where she was rushed to.

    Asipita said that his family was contacted on the development, shortly after Aisha, a student of the Muslim Community Secondary School, Lokoja, gave up the ghost.

    Asipita, who spoke to NAN at his family house at Gadumo Layout in Lokoja, said that Aisha’s sickness started about five days ago.

    He said that the lady was taken to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Lokoja from where she was transferred to the General Hospital in Edo.

    “We lost our parents about two years ago and we have lost our sister again,” Asipita cried.

    He said that other members of the Jimoh family would need medical assistance to stop the spread of the disease.

    NAN recalls that authorities at FMC Lokoja, had on Sept. 3, suspected that Aisha might have been suffering from Lassa fever and had, consequently, referred her to the General Hospital, Irua for confirmatory test and treatment.

    The Kogi Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Audu, later told NAN that Aisha had tested positive to Lassa fever.

    Audu said that the State Government was working on tracking people, who might have had contact with Aisha.

    On Aug. 17, the Kogi Government debunked reports of an outbreak of Lassa fever in the state.

    There were reports previously of an outbreak of a strange disease in Okuran, Okoloke and Isanlu in the Yagba West Local Government Area of the state.  (NAN)

  • Who will stop the rot in Kogi?

    SIR: Kogi State is in a state of coma and economic doldrums that require an urgent attention. On all fronts, Kogi State spells failure. The indices for any vestige of development remain abysmal. Poverty rages, unemployment increases in astronomical dimension, infrastructural facilities are in decay, education sector is struggling to survive, salaries are unpaid, hunger, despair and destruction now haunt the state.

    The people are indeed living in very trying times: dissatisfied with the present and face the future with much trepidation. If Kogi State today were a living entity, it would be perceived as a blind entity groping aimlessly without direction while pretending to be on a purposeful mission of institutionalizing the change agenda.

    It is obvious that there is a vacuum of leadership in the state. What the Kogites bargained for is not exactly what they got. In the place of giant of yester years, Kogites tolerated and accepted poor substitute foisted on them either by the power that be: courtesy of some agents in APC or by providence to pontificate in crude manner over the affairs of the state.

    The domain of governance is suffused by those who engage in vulgar despoliation of social political and economic heritage of the people in the confluence state. Governor Yaya Bello has betrayed the confidence reposed in him particularly by the Nigerian youths and Kogites at large through his crude bastardization of commonwealth of the people, debasement of principal elements of public trust and good governance.

    Governance is not an abstract concept. Governance all over the world is about people therefore it must be germane to people’s lives by promoting their standards of living. If governance is not capable of improving people’s well -being and quality of life, it is at best an empty concept at worst a hoax.

    According to Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) the principal elements of good governance include accountability, transparency, inclusiveness, responsiveness, efficiency, effectiveness, participatory and leadership rooted in integrity. And public trust would be gauged and evaluated on the basis of these elements because they constitute veritable means through which better policies and programmes that will enhance better life can be actualized, maintained and sustained.

    The style of governance adopted by Yaya Bello negates all of these principal elements. Why on earth would a governor remain insensitive and unresponsive to the plight of workers of the state who are being owed several months of salaries and arrears?

    In Kogi State today, budgeting processing is now carried out in opaque and corruptive manner. Contracts are awarded to political cronies without tender and publication for public bidding. These have bred despondency, cynicism and loss of hope among the citizens.

    The education sector that supposed to be the bedrock of development is in disarray. Incessant strike actions and closure of tertiary institutions because of non- payment of subvention by the government have all combined to make nonsense of education in the state. Most of the tertiary institutions in Kogi State today cannot boost of potable water; even some areas in Lokoja the capital city are facing the same problem despite the waters surrounding the state. Roads are abandoned, health care services remain the shadow of its former self, the state’s chapter of Nigeria Labour Congress is demobilized and demotivated from pursuing the yearnings and aspirations of workers and endless screening of civil servants now characterize the civil service. What a government!

    The people of Kogi have come to critical point in their political lives where decisions they make will either make or mar their political destinies. In doing this, they should use their voice as an instrument to suppress the high-handedness of the mighty, activate their socio- political conscience, come out of docility and utter passiveness and demand accountability from the government. They should ask what the government does with the resources they have been empowered with, how well these resources have been utilized, through what process and more importantly, whether there was sufficient value-for resources obtained. Kogi State government should explain how it expended first tranche of N20bn and second tranche of N11.5bn bailout funds, the internally generated revenue and several months of federal allocations to the state’s treasury and other account of activities through relevant and constitutionally approved channels.

    Bello and his political acolytes should stop engaging in brickbats, mudslinging and creating an enemy where there is none. He should call expanded stakeholders’ meeting of Kogites both at home and in the diaspora to re- draw the map through which the government can travel on its journey of putting Kogi State on pedestal of excellence.

    The clock is ticking and posterity will soon judge and put Yaya Bello on either right or wrong side of history.

     

    • Usman Okai Austin,

    Biraidu Abocho,

    Dekina LGA, Kogi State.