The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Kwara State

  • Customs, Police, Army parade 24 suspected rice smugglers

    A combined team of men of the Navy, Police and Customs at the weekend in Ilorin, Kwara State, paraded 24 persons in connection with alleged smuggling of bags of rice from Benin Republic to Nigeria.

    The security agents also displayed 850 bags of 50 kilograms of rice allegedly smuggled into the country by the suspects.

    Parading the suspects, Police Commissioner Kayode Egbetokun said 15 of the suspects were arrested in Offa by the officers of the Navy School of Health Sciences, who he said impounded the rice.

    He said the 15 suspects were the drivers transporting the rice in vehicles to destinations where they were asked to keep the items.

    Egbetokun, who said the Navy handed over the suspects and the impounded goods to the Police for investigations, added that investigations conducted by the police led to the arrest of the remaining nine suspects.

    He said the suspects, whom he described as the owners of the smuggled goods, were arrested at locations within and outside the state.

    Read Also: Navy nabs 12 suspected rice smugglers in A’Ibom

    Egbetokun said the suspects confessed that they bought the rice in Cotonou, Benin Republic, to sell in Nigeria.

    The commissioner, who addressed reporters at the command headquarters in Ilorin in company of other officers, said the police had concluded investigation and would hand over the suspects and the goods to the Customs for further investigations.

    Head of the delegation of the Customs at the briefing, Adamu Yahaya, a Chief Superintendent of Customs, thanked the Police and the Navy for doing a good job.

    He said the Customs would judiciously carry out its assignment on the matter.

  • Abdulrazaq releases N350m for completion of state secretariat

    Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has approved the release of N350 million for the completion of the new state secretariat complex in Ilorin.

    AbdulRazaq approved the fund after securing a discount of N50 million from the contractors who were being owed N515 million out of the N1.38 billion total contract sums.

    The contract was awarded by the administration of former Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed.

    Chief Press Secretary to Abdulrazaq Rafiu Ajakaye said: “Governor AbdulRazaq felt a need to urgently complete the project for the use of civil servants, even as he pushed for a heavy discount from the contractors.

    Read Also: Everything is messed up in Kwara – Gov AbdulRazaq

    “As a result, the governor has approved the release of N350 million with which the contractors will finish the work. They will receive N81 million after the work is satisfactorily done. That would leave them with the (third payment) retention fee of N34 million after six months.”

    The statement said the governor is alarmed that some of the state’s civil servants are still in rented accommodation, 52 years after Kwara was created.

    Project’s lead consultant Makanjuola Kayode said the four-block secretariat complex will be ready by August 30.

    Each of the blocks has 76 office spaces.

    Makanjuola hailed the governor for approving prompt completion of the project.

  • AbdulRazaq okays N200m counterpart fund for rural roads

    KWARA State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has approved the immediate release of the first tranche of N200 million as counterpart funds for the takeoff of Rural Access and Agricultural Market Project (RAAMP III).

    Funded by the World Bank, French Development Agency and other donor agencies, RAAMP is a $60m programme involving at least 13 Nigerian states, according to a statement yesterday by AbdulRazaq’s chief press secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye.

    The statement said each participating state is to pay eight per cent of the $60m to fund preliminary activities of the project such as consultancy fee, environmental and social management framework (ESMF) and resettlement policy framework (RPF), among other things, as preconditions for accessing the funds.

    Read Also: How AbdulRasaq can succeed, by don

    “The approval of the first tranche of N200m fulfils the first condition for Kwara State to access this fund. Once approved in September, this will lead to rehabilitation of rural roads totalling 600 kilometres across the 16 local government areas of Kwara State.

    “This action again proved the governor’s oft-stated commitment to open up Kwara for industrialisation, especially in the area of agricultural value chain. Such roads are meant to facilitate access to market by farmers and traders alike,” the statement added.

    The statement said RAAMP was meant to have kicked off in Kwara in 2017, but the state did not pay the counterpart funds.

    “From paying the debt owed to the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), counterpart funds for nutrition and good health care for women and children and now RAAMP, the governor is simply telling the world that Kwara is ready for investments and all-round development,” it added.

  • Governor hails Kwara’s 34-year-old SAN

    KWARA State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Sunday held a telephone conversation with the 34-year-old Muyiwa Tola Atoyebi, who was recently conferred with the title of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

    Atoyebi, who hails from Igosun community of Kwara State, was among the lawyers recently inducted into the exclusive club of eminent legal practitioners.

    Read Also: An appeal to the president and governors

    The 34-year-old is the youngest Nigerian to be admitted into the inner bar established in 1975.

    “The governor congratulated the learned silk for making Kwara proud. He prayed that God will continue to guide him,” according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary Rafiu Ajakaye.

    “The governor believes Atoyebi is a good example of what young people should aspire to. He urges the youth to emulate him and be the best at whatever they do,” the statement said.

  • Kwara to spend N11.2b on revamping schools

    Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Saturday said that his administration will expend a sum of N11.2 billion in revamping the infrastructure in the state’s schools.

    The governor added that the aim is to save the deteriorating conditions of schools in the state.

    AbdulRazaq said this during the launch of a new ultra modern library complex in Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Moro local government area of the state.

    The library complex was funded by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TEDFUND).

    He added that “apart from that, this would lead to facelift of those schools and create a conducive environment for learning, contracts to be awarded will also inject some money into the local economy with multiple effects on the public.”

    Represented by his deputy, Kayode Alabi, the governor decried the decay in the infrastructural facilities in the state before his assumption of office.

    Said he: “Everything is messed up in Kwara State, the decay will take years to fix but we are convinced that we will succeed if everybody supports us. We are starting on ground zero. We are faced with criminal breakdown of basic infrastructure across every sector in the state, especially in the education and health sectors.

    “Just last week, we had to pay N250 million to offset two months’ salaries the state government owed workers across the state colleges of education. We also paid an additional N50 million to secure re-accreditation for two of the colleges.

    Read Also: Kwara Govt reinstates salary of ‘sunset workers’

    “We still have a backlog of arrears to pay these teachers. We have promised to steadily offset these backlogs with an appeal to the workers to return to work after many months of industrial action to protest the neglect of the schools by people elected to serve the public. The decay in the infrastructure across our primary and secondary schools is better imagined. The more any patriot sees such a thing the sadder he becomes because it points at a bleak future unless something urgent is done.

    “It was so bad that funds meant for upgrades of facilities at the primary schools were diverted with serious consequences for the state.

    “Our government is determined to raise a generation of children who are able to cope with the education needs of the 21st century.”

    Also speaking, the Executive Secretary Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Professor Suleiman Bogoro, described the library as the best in the country, pledging that the fund would always support laudable projects.

    In his message, the project consultant, Architect Mahamud Faworaja, said the library is a complete research centre and runs twenty-four hour service.

    Earlier, the vice chancellor of KWASU, Professor AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, who reeled out his achievements, commended TETFUND for its support which he explained would boost learning and research work.

  • AbdulRazaq okays N350m for colleges, FADAMA

    THE ongoing industrial action across Kwara State Colleges of Education may end in the coming days, with Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq approving the immediate payment of N250m to pay at least two months of their outstanding salary.

    AbdulRazaq also assured the schools of subsequent prompt payment of their salary along with gradual offset of the arrears inherited from the previous administration under which the schools embarked on the strike.

    The affected colleges are Kwara State College of Education, Oro; Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin; Kwara State College of Education (Technical), Lafiagi; Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS), Ilorin; Kwara State College of Nursing and Midwifery, Ilorin and Kwara State College of Nursing, Oke Ode.

    Read Also: AbdulRazaq reinstates salary of Kwara ‘sunset workers’

    ”The total amount the governor released for salary payment is 250,774, 328.34. This covers salary for the months of May and June,” Rafiu Ajakaye, spokesman for the governor, said in a statement yesterday.

    ”Concerned about the status of the schools, the governor also approved additional N25m for the College of Education (Technical), Lafiagi, for immediate re-accreditation and N24.8m for CAILS for re-accreditation.”

     

  • Kwara assets managed in shady circumstances, panel tells AbdulRazaq

    The management of Kwara State’s assets is shrouded in controversy and needs to be reviewed for posterity, a 21-man committee Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq set up to probe the state of public assets said on Tuesday evening.

    Chairman of the committee Senator Suleiman Ajadi said at the presentation of its interim report on Tuesday evening that the panel made far-reaching recommendations upon which the governor would need to take urgent decisions.

    The presentation was attended by AbdulRazaq, House of Assembly Speaker Yakubu Danladi and the 20 other members of the Assets Recovery Committee.

    Ajadi said: “There are so many thorny issues surrounding the control and management of some assets like the Kwara Hotel, the International Aviation College, the amorphous case of the Shonga Farms and the entire Harmony Holdings structure.

    Read Also: We saved N10b from being misappropriated by past Kwara govt, says EFCC

    “We are also looking into the issue of the amusement park, which was sold in very unclear circumstances for a princely sum of N100 million in 2010, but which, perhaps fortuitously, has been bogged down since because of litigation.”

    The committee chairman urged the governor to look critically at the issues and make pronouncements in the immediate future even before the panel makes available its final report.

    “This is because quite a few of the issues highlighted are going concerns, which will require prompt government attention and action,” Ajadi said.

    AbdulRazaq thanked the committee for the good job, adding: “You can count on us to face up to the challenges and make sure that justice is done to the issues raised.”

    The committee, however, has said government has not authorized the sale of any of its properties within or outside of the state.

    In a statement on Tuesday, the committee cautioned “the public against buying or sale of government properties in which government has interest now/before ranging from government quarters, chalets, farmlands, vehicles and equipment etc.”

    The committee said anyone, who buys such properties does so at their own risk.

  • Kwara Govt reinstates salary of ‘sunset workers’

    Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has reinstated the payment of salary to workers employed in the twilight of the last administration.

    Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Rafiu Ajakaye, in a statement on wednesday, said: “The governor has directed that the workers be paid their May and June salary. As a statesman and father to all, His Excellency believes the government should not punish these workers for decisions they didn’t take.”

    The workers are popularly known as ‘sunset workers’, with most governors often disengaging them for fear that they had been engaged to wrong foot the new administration.

    Former Governor Bukola Saraki sacked the workers his predecessors had engaged in 2003.

    “This governor dares to be different. He has shown goodwill and magnanimity to all. It is expected that the affected workers will do their part by serving the state diligently,” according to the statement.

    Read Also: Kwara College’s workers lament over non-payment of six months salaries

    AbdulRazaq has also approved N100 million gratuity to demonstrate his commitment to the welfare of retirees, the statement added.

    The last administration had in the twilight of its reign recruited hundreds of workers into the civil service, including teachers and ministry workers.

    The recruitment triggered allegations that the beneficiaries were mainly members of the People’s Democratic Party and that the due process was not followed in engaging them.

    AbdulRazaq, meanwhile, continued his tour of government facilities in the state yesterday, with visits to some markets in the Ilorin metropolis, where he pledged to give them basic amenities like water, access roads and solar-powered electricity.

  • RTEAN to partner with EFCC in fight against corruption

    Members of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in Kwara state have expressed their readiness to partner with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in its anti-graft war in the country, just as the EFCC said preventive measure is the best way to succeed in its ongoing fight against corruption.

    RETAN chair in the state, Alhaji Abdulrahman Onikijipa revealed the association’s resolve when he led his executive to the Ilorin zonal office of the anti-graft agency at the weekend.

    Onikijipa hailed EFCC in its fight against corruption.

    Onikijipa said: “The union commends the acting chairman of the commission, Mr Ibrahim Magu for his leadership style since his assumption as the head of the leading anti-graft agency in Nigeria and pray God to guide and protect you.”

    He said that “you will agree with me that corruption is not a one man’s business because all hands need to be on deck in the fight against the menace and we urge Nigerians to be vigilant and report all cases of economic and financial crimes to the commission”

    He assured that RTEAN would do everything within its reach to support the commission in the fight against financial crimes in the country.

    In a remark, Ilorin zonal head of the commission, Isyaku Sharu said “our duty does not end in arresting and prosecuting people, we are changing lives for good, and we must look at preventive mechanism.

    Read Also: EFCC re-arraigns ex-FCT minister Akinjide over ‘Diezani cash’

    According to Mr. Sharu “Fighting corruption is not a one man’s business, it is a collective responsibility, we collect information from members of the public. Information is key, intelligence is key, you relate with the lowest, middle and highest, so you get information, I appeal to you to partner with the EFCC in the ongoing fight against corruption.”

     

  • Again, PDP fails to open case against Kwara governor

    Kwara State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Friday adjourned till July 9 and 10 for further hearings in the People’s Democratic Party’s  (PDP) petition challenging the declaration of Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq as winner  of the last Kwara State governorship election, on the allegation that the governor had presented a forged certificate.

    The petition had been filed by the candidate of the PDP in the March governorship election, Razaq Atunwa.

    The adjournment followed the failure of the petitioner to present a witness from the West African Examination Council (WAEC) with the sub poena and other supporting documents.

    The tribunal had on Thursday adjourned to yesterday for the examination body to present the subpoena, following the commencement of full hearings in the petition of the PDP.

    Counsel to the petitioner, Abdulwahab Bamidele, told the court that he was reliably informed that the officials of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) in Lagos which the tribunal mandated to produce the subpoena missed their flight to Ilorin Friday morning.

    Read Also: AbdulRazaq releases N20m to fix Kwara township roads

    Bamidele prayed the tribunal to stand down the case till three o’clock in the afternoon for WAEC officials to present evidence of the subpoena when they must have arrived Ilorin by road.

    Counsel to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Rowland Otaru objected to the application, saying that there is no iota of sincerity in the application.

    Otaru said the petitioners had on Thursday told the court that the subpoena would be brought to Ilorin through courier service and wondered why the petitioner claimed that officials of WAEC missed their flight in Lagos on Friday.

    Otaru suggested that the petitioner ought to call another witness if it has a case to prove rather than seeking for the stand down till three o’clock in the afternoon.

    He alleged that the petitioner lacked the tools to prosecute the case and that tribunal should compel the petitioners to call other witnesses in the case.

    Counsel to AbdulRazaq, Kunle Kalejaiye (SAN), asked the tribunal to treat the application as frivolous.

    He said the request of the counsel to the petitioner was a manifestation of lack of seriousness and the court should not wait for the witnesses or counsel.

    Counsel to the All Progressives Congress (APC) Akin Olujimi (SAN) prayed the court to dismiss the petition, pointing out that there is procedural heresy in the application.

    He aligned himself with the first respondent that there is no sincerity in the application.