The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kwande

  • Kwande people commends Tinubu, SGF

    Kwande people commends Tinubu, SGF

    The Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Kwande Chapter, Terdoo Kenti, has commended President Bola Tinubu and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Senator George Akume, for allocating trucks load of fertilizer to Kwande farmers for this year’s farming season.

    Addressing newsmen after distributing the fertilizer to farmers in Adikpo, headquarters of Kwande Local Government Area, the chairman of APC, Tersoo Kenti, said the fertilizer was equitably distributed among the fifteen (15) Council Wards in the local government.

    He said the fertilizer was not only given to APC party loyalists, eminent traditional leaders, and esteemed stakeholders, but to every Kwande son and daughter who is into farming.

    Read Also: Tinubu launches agric empowerment programme in Yobe

    Kenti stated that such intervention is aimed at alleviating the hardships faced by farmers, enhancing agricultural output, and cushioning hunger.

    They also commended APC stakeholders from Kwande Local Government Area like  Terseer Ugbor, Member, House of Representatives for Kwande/Ushongo Federal Constituency; Engr. Nick Wendeh, North Central Representative at the NDDC; Chief Mike Msuaan, Board Chairman of the Federal Polytechnic Wanunne; Chief Terlumun Akputu, Executive Director of the FHA Mortgage Bank; and Special Assistant on Youth to the Speaker, Mark Hanmation, for making it possible for them to enjoy the dividends of democracy from  the federal government.

  • UNHCR urges Cameroonian to respect human rights

    The United Nations High Commission for Refugees ( UNHCR ) has appealed to the Government of Cameroon to respect human rights of all citizens for the sake of peace.

    The commission’s representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Mr Antonio Canhandula, made the appeal while speaking with newsmen on Monday in Makurdi.

    Canhandula said the instability in Anglophone Cameroon had forced thousands of citizens to seek asylum in Nigeria.

    He said Cameroonian Government should explore alternative ways of engaging with those who feel aggrieved for the sake of peace and that both parties should respect human rights.

    “UNHCR urges the Government of Cameroon to explore ways of engaging with those who feel aggrieved, for the sake of peace.

    “We also reiterate the need for respect of human rights by all parties involved,’’ Canhandula said.

    He said the refugees complained of exclusion from the national life by the Cameroonian Government, political processes and important positions in the government.

    “Longstanding grievances against the central government in Cameroon took a new turn in 2016 when a group of Anglophone Cameroonians triggered civil society-led demonstrations.

    “This was based on allegations of marginalisation by the authorities, particularly in the education and justice system.

    “Initially, the protesters called for the return to a federal system of government and greater autonomy.

    “However, on Oct. 1, 2017, the separatist movement, Ambazonia Governing Council, declared unilaterally the independence of Cameroon’s Northwest and Southwest Regions.

    “Tensions ensued with government security forces clashing with movement, resulting in injuries and deaths and leading to an influx of English-speaking Cameroonians into Nigeria.

    “Critics accused government forces of killing dozens of civilians while the administration is also alleging that suspected separatists have killed more than 10 security personnel since the crisis intensified in October.’’

    Canhandula further said that the UNHCR had registered 20,485 Cameroonian refugees seeking asylum in Benue, Cross River and Akwa Ibom states.

    He explained that the commission also opened a permanent office for the coordination of their activities in Calabar, Cross River, field offices in Adikpo, Benue and Ikom in Cross River.

    Read Also: UNHCR launches $157m appeal fund for Boko Haram victims

    The UNHCR representative said that the Benue Government had allocated 191 hectares of land for the settlement of refugees in Kwande Local Government Area.

    He added that the site was being developed.

    According to him, each site has the capacity to host 4,000 persons.

    He, however, said that the influx is expected to continue and there is the need for more land in Benue.

    “We are still working with the state authorities in Cross River to identify a suitable location to move the refugees away from the border in line with international standards.

    “Issues of accessibility, security, topography, water resources, absorption capacity and good terrain for sanitation facilities are taken into consideration while selecting potential refugee sites.’’

    Canhandula said the commission was yet to gain access to Akwaya, where some Nigerian refugees in Cameroon were located.

    “The Akwaya sub-division, in particular, hosts small refugee population of around 1,800 Nigerians and around 600 Cameroonian returnees, who had been refugees in Nigeria before being repatriated in 2015 and 2016.

    “This area is very difficult to access, particularly during the rainy season.

    “Nevertheless, our office in Cameroon is working to organise an assessment mission there.

    “But we cannot provide first-hand information at this moment,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Late arrival of materials mar LG elections in Benue

    Late arrival of materials mar LG elections in Benue

    The late arrival of electoral materials is frustrating many prospective voters eager to vote in the ongoing Benue local government elections, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports.

    Our correspondents, who went round some polling units in Adikpo, Kwande and other local governments, found voters loitering around the polling units while waiting for electoral officers and materials, as at 1.50pm.

    At some units, NAN found that the electoral officers were already seated but had not commenced accreditation as the materials were still being awaited from the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission (BSIEC).

    At the Adikpo market square, Ityo Atoakaa, ACC, Hausa Quarters, St Andrew and Mbaamander polling units in Adikpo, some voters, who said that they arrived the polling point at 7am, told NAN that they were frustrated and had given up.

    “There appears to be no sign that anyone would come to conduct any election here. I will just go back home,” a young voter, Ben Iorshaher, told NAN.

    At Adanyi and Bur polling units, there was neither a voter not an electoral officer, as at 1.40pm when NAN visited.

    NAN also observed that only members of the Benue vigilante group were seen around the polling units, a sharp departure from previous election exercises when the police and other security outfits were in charge.

    Efforts by NAN to confirm the reason for the absence of the police did not yield much fruits, with the Benue Police Commissioner, Bashir Makama, merely declaring that adequate security arrangements had been put in place for the exercise.

    Some people, who spoke on the apathy that greeted the local government polls, claimed that many stayed away because  they suspected that government would announce names of their candidates as winners.

    Mr Terzungwe Awua, a resident of  Usar , and Timothy Iorwuese, a student and resident of Adikpo, told NAN that they were not interested in the polls because the exercise would not be fair.

    “We have participated in local government elections many times. Those declared winners are usually different from those voted,” they said.

    Mr Wilfred Jinge, a teacher, said that he was not keen on voting because he was afraid that his vote would not count.

    Some voters, however, expressed optimism that the electoral body would be fair to everyone, and cautioned voters against throwing away their rights to decide who governed them.

  • 2015 COPA Lagos tournament: Super Sand Eagles to reclaim trophy, says Kwande

    2015 COPA Lagos tournament: Super Sand Eagles to reclaim trophy, says Kwande

    As different teams converge in camp for the 2015 Copa Lagos Beach Soccer Tournament, starting on December 18 , Hon. Suleiman Yahaya-Kwande, the chairman of the Beach Soccer of the Nigerian Football Federation has said that the Super Sand Eagles is poised to win the tournament this year.

    In the same vein, Isiaka Olawale, captain of the Super Sand Eagles, believes that the five-year experience of the team would set them aside this year.

    Based on the antecedent of the team in previous Copa Lagos competitions,  Olawale said the Super Sand Eagles won the Copa Lagos beach soccer tournament for three consecutive years from 2011 -2013 but lost it to Cote D’Ivoire at the Fourth edition last year with a slim goal margin of 5 – 4.

    Earlier in the year, the Super Sand Eagles defeated the Ivorian Beach Soccer Team twice at the World Cup African qualifiers that took place in Seychelles earlier in the year. Although, the team was defeated by the Senegalese Beach Soccer Team at the semi-finals thus ending their quest for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup that took place in Portugal.

    This year’s edition of Copa Lagos will feature FC Barcelona Club, Cote D’Ivoire, Lebanon Beach Soccer national team, Kano Pillars & Shooting Stars Football Club of Ibadan. There is also a lineup of other national teams expected to partake in the tournament to be announced later.