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Tag: Mohammed abubakar

  • Bauchi: Gov Abubakar signs 2018 budget into law

    Gov. Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State on Wednesday signed into law, the 2018 appropriation bill of N167.89 billion.

    Abubakar said that 60 per cent of the budget was allocated to capital expenditure while 40 per cent was for recurrent expenditure.

    He said that the education sector was given the lion share of 19.22 per cent while 15.23 per cent was allocated to the health sector.

    The governor said that so far, he was not impressed with the performance of the health sector and promised to monitor activities of the sector to enable the government make a difference in the implementation of the 2018 budget.

    According to him, the completion of  ongoing projects and diversification of sources of Internally Generated Revenue ( IGR ) of the state will be given attention.

    He said that geologists from Czeck Republic would soon be in the state to commence mining and other activities in area of solid minerals.

    He said the state government would encourage mechanized farming as part of efforts to discourage subsistence farming

    “We want to turn agriculture into a venture to ensure food security for the state, as against the subsistence agriculture we are practicing,” the governor said.

    He said that the state government would also embark on construction of 1,000 kilometers of rural roads through the support of the World Bank, saying that the state had commenced the payment of its counterpart fund.”

    NAN

  • Bauchi to replace mahogany trees with umbrella specie – Official

    Bauchi State Government on Tuesday said it would replace the mahogany trees providing shade along major streets in the state capital with umbrella species.

    Mr James Dallah-Sam, Director, Forestry and Wildlife, state Ministry of Environment, said this in Bauchi in an interview with our reporter.

    Dallah-Sam said the plan to replace the mahogany specie followed reported cases of threat being posed by the trees to residents of the state capital.

    He said this was more common during rainy season where motorists and pedestrians sustained injuries in recent times.

    “Even on Monday, one of the trees fell and injured two motorcycle operators along Ahmadu Bello Way.

    “We also recorded a similar incident in Sept. 2017 along Bauchi-Zaranda Hotel road, where seven similar trees collapsed during a windstorm.

    “Most of the mahogany trees were planted by the then government over 30 years ago and had outlived their lifespan.

    “They could cause more havoc if allowed to remain because mahogany is a big and heavy tree; the ageing roots can no longer withstand the weight of the branches.

    “We are going to plant an umbrella tree beside each mahogany tree that poses threat.

    “We will nurture the umbrella specie to certain stage, then uproot the mahogany tree as replacement, while others that are not of serious threat will be trimmed,” he said.

    The director said fears had gripped residents and officials of the ministry following current heavy winds blowing across the state.

    He said officials of the ministry had discovered that something urgent must be done to avert similar occurrences.

    He said the ministry would write a reminder to Gov. Mohammed Abubakar of the state for release of fund to enable the ministry commence work on replacement and trimming of the trees.

    NAN

  • Abubakar signs four health bills into law

    Abubakar signs four health bills into law

    Gov. Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State has signed four health bills into laws for the revitalisation and sustainable development of the health sector in the state.

    The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Zuwaira Hassan, said this on Thursday at the public presentation of the laws in Bauchi.
    “Gov. Abubakar for the first time signed four bills passed in to law by the Bauchi State House of Assembly,’’ she said.
    According to her, the laws are critical to the health sector revitalisation and sustainable development.
    Hassan listed the laws as establishing of the Directorate of Medical Laboratory Services in the state Ministry of Health, and Hospitals Management Board Bauchi.
    Other bills signed into laws are Traditional Medicine Board to regulate the practice of traditional medicine, and register practitioners and licence practitioners.
    According to her, the governor also signed into law the establishment of the Bauchi State Health Contributory Management Agency and the law for the establishment of Bauchi State Health Trust Fund (BHETFUND).

    Read Also: State, community police is beginning of true federalism- Gov. Abubakar

    The commissioner explained that BHETFUND would be responsible for the collection, management and disbursement of funds to public health institutions.
    She said the fund would be generated from sources but not limited to five per cent of the monthly internally generated revenue of the state.
    ‎“One per cent from the statutory allocation of each of the local government councils and another one per cent from the amount of all contracts awarded by state and local government councils in the state,’’ Hassan said.
    She stressed that the law would ensure sustainable financing of the health sector in the state.
    ‎Earlier, Dr Aminu Magashi, the Chairman, Board of Trustees of Community Health and Research Initiative (CHR), commended the Bauchi state government for providing laws that would strengthen the healthcare sector.

    NAN

     

  • Bauchi approves purchase of 60 buses at N1.38bn

    Bauchi approves purchase of 60 buses at N1.38bn

    Bauchi State Executive Council on Wednesday approved the purchase of 60 buses at N1.38 billion to boost its Mass Transit Company, operators of “Yankari Express” and other agencies.

    Alhaji Ali Ali, the Special Adviser on Media and Strategy to Gov. Mohammed Abubakar, said this in Bauchi while addressing newsmen on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting, presided over by the governor.

    Ali explained that the 18-seater, 2015 model buses would be supplied by Transfiguration Integrated Resource Ltd on loan.

    He further explained that 30 buses out of the figure would be allocated to the state-owned Mass Transist Company, operators of Yankari Express, to enable the company to boost its fleet.

    Ali said that 20 buses would be allocated to the 20 Local Governments in the state while the remaining 10 buses would be retained by the government.

    Read Also:  Bauchi gets 19 commissioners

    He said that the loan would be repaid in three years through an “irrevocable standing order of N190 million monthly and would be deducted at source.

    Ali said that the exco also approved for the state government to access credit facilities of N8 billion from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the bank’s Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme.

    He said that the state House of Assembly had earlier approved the loan while the EXCO, during its Wednesday’s meeting, approved the loan to improve agricultural activities in the state.

    The special adviser said that the state government would access the loan through United Bank for Africa (UBA) and would be used to encourage rice, fish and agro-allied production in the state.

    He said that government had started accessing the credit facilities since 2016 when it introduced its ANCHOR Farmers Borrowers’ Programme.

    NAN

     

  • ‘Nizamiye hospital can compete anywhere in Europe, America’

    ‘Nizamiye hospital can compete anywhere in Europe, America’

    The Public Relations Officer of the Turkish Nizamiye Hospital Mr. Mohammed Abubakar has said that the hospital which was commissioned by former President Goodluck Jonathan can compete with any hospital in Europe and America.

    The Image maker of the hospital made the statement during an interview exclusively with select editors on Friday.

    According to him, the hospital qualities have given Nigerians reasons not to travel abroad for medical treatments because all they needed can be done in the hospital here in Nigeria.

    Excerpts below:

    The Turkish Nizamiye Hospital was established in 2014. Please, can you share your experience?

    Thank you. Yes, you are indeed correct. The hospital was commissioned on 20th February 2014 by his Excellency, former president Goodluck Jonathan. Since then, we have strived not just to be in operation, but also to ensure that our services compare to what is obtainable in Europe and America. The journey has been incredible as well challenging.

    As you may be aware, the Nizamiye hospital is not a magnificent building; we have very experienced doctors and nurses that have continued to give in their best in the discharge of their duties. So, in a nutshell, I would say that Nizamiye hospital has not only distinguished itself as a reliable medical facility in Nigeria, it has also given Nigerians a reason not to travel abroad for medical treatment.

    Talking about your services, don’t you think it might be out of reach for most Nigerians?

    The hospital renders specialized services like Open Heart Surgery, Angiography, CT Scan, MRI, Neurosurgery, Orthopaedics, Algology, to mention but a few. These are highly skilled services that are on their own quite expensive even in western countries.

    That does not mean that we are ignorant of the implication of getting care for such services, but you can be assured that our prices are less than what you get when you travel to Europe and America. Again, we are all aware that it is estimated that Nigeria spends about $1 billion on medical tourism annually. The question thus is what the illnesses that take Nigerians abroad?

     Take the example of Open Heart Surgery. You will agree with me that open heart surgery entails more than just the procedure itself. There is also the periodic check. Now, say individual travels all the way to India for Open heart surgery; the risk is much higher because such an individual would be dealing with a long flight and the cabin pressure which might not be suitable for his condition.

    Okay, say the operation was successful, such individual would also need to travel back to India for a follow-up check with the doctors, and that would even cost money. So which is the best option? So I still maintain my position that our services might not be out of the reach of Nigerians because of the added benefits.

    But here at Nizamiye hospital, we have our doctors’ resident within the hospital premises, and we operate on 24 hours and seven days a week basis for all cases including open heart surgery. So tell me which is cost effective?

    You mentioned that the hospital has an open heart surgery clinic; can you shed more light on it?

    Yes. We have an open heart surgery clinic headed by a renowned cardiovascular surgeon with over 30 years experience and with over 15,000 open heart surgeries in Turkey. And since we opened the clinic in 2016; we have performed 18 successful open heart surgeries, two valve replacements, and 16 coronary bypasses.

     Our open heart surgery team is also resident in the hospital premises, and what this means is that they operate on 24 hours and 7 seven days a week.  I dare say we are about the only hospital in Abuja that has this kind of setting.

    Given the fact that the hospital is well equipped, there have been some issues with the high number of deaths in the hospital. What do you have to say?

    Thank you for this question. There is an expectation that regardless of the medical condition of any patient, doctors at the Nizamiye hospital should be able to perform some miracle of some sort. While this is understandable given our level of expertise, however, in medical science, when a case is severe, it is terrible and there is little or nothing some doctors can do.

    As regards your question, the Nizamiye hospital as a policy does not turn down patients. We accept and give an objective assessment to relatives and give them all the options. In terrible cases that such patients have a couple of days to live we advise and in most instances the relatives insist that we take in the patient so he or she can die in peace.

    What am I saying in essence? Nizamiye hospital seems to be the last resort. And that is a massive challenge for us because we see cases which we would have handled comfortably if the patient had turned in early. So this saddens us and a burden we have to carry.

    Please tell us about the quality of staff at the hospital as well as the employment criterion?

    The Nizamiye hospital boasts of a remarkably brilliant workforce. From our consultants to doctors, nurses, laboratory attendants, everyone one has distinguished him or herself. We took time to source for the best hands from Turkey and Nigeria because we pride ourselves as a world-class medical facility.  

     It was stated in some quarters that the hospital was built at the cost of $20 million. If true, why such investment in Nigeria?

    You are correct. But as we speak, expansion works are ongoing at the hospital. So in a way, the $20 million mark has been extended to something around $30 million. Let me also inform you that the Nile University, which is a sister organization intends to use the hospital as its teaching hospital because it now has a fully accredited medical school.

    So why the massive investment? Nigeria is worth the investment. Let me start by giving a background on the promoters of the Nizamiye hospital. The hospital is promoted by First Surat Group of Companies with interest in the educational and health sectors.

    I am sure you are aware of the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges ( NTIC ) and the Nile University. These are organizations under the First Surat Group of Companies umbrella. The organization is owned by a group of Turkish and Nigerian investors, and they have been in operation since 1998. As regards the hospital, the massive amount of monies spent on medical tourism was a factor.

    We as an organization sat and said cant we bring what is obtainable in Europe and America to Nigeria? And the answer we got was yes. And we set out to work; we travelled to most world-class hospitals in Europe and America and understudied them. This was what gave birth to the Nizamiye hospital essentially.

    You recently celebrated 18 successful open heart surgeries. It appears that is one area the hospital has capacity?

    Like I mentioned earlier, the hospital has various clinics that operate on 24 hours and seven days a week basis. That is not all; our doctors are resident in Nigeria and the hospital premises. So in a couple of minutes, you have a doctor with you regardless of the medical care. Secondly, Open heart surgery is not the only area we have the capacity.

    The open heart surgery clinic is just one. We are also specialized in Algology, which is the treatment of extreme pains. This is also not common in Nigeria. But we have a specialist with over 20 year’s experience. I think we are among the few hospitals with neonates ICU with ventilators in Abuja. And we have about 6 of such.

    There is also neurosurgery, orthopaedics, general surgery, ENT, Head and Neck Surgery, Anaesthesiology & Reanimation, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Dermatology and many more. I think the Nizamiye hospital can compete with any hospital in Europe and America.

  • Bauchi governor lauds Wildlife Conservation Society for camera trap installations

    Bauchi governor lauds Wildlife Conservation Society for camera trap installations

    Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi  State last weekend  in Bauchi has expressed his gratitude to the Wildlife Conservation Society for all the camera trap installations at the Yankari Games Reserve and restated his resolve to make  the game reserve a world-class destination before the end of his tenure as the governor.

    He said: “We shall continue to document and promote the biodiversity of our state and preserve it for the future”.

    In a chat with The Nation, Governor Abubakar said that the state was looking  at its culture and tourism laws with a view to getting the state assembly to do the needful by amending the vital aspects of the law to make the games reserve a place to be.

    He said: “I am the number one marketer of Yankari. If you follow twitter, you will see that I have been trying my best to sell the Yankari Games Reserve. I follow all the current events in Nigeria, even the winner of the last Big Brother. Immediately he won, I sent him an invitation to come to the reserve free of charge. This is all part of the bid to advertise Yankari.

    “But the Yankari Games Reserve is not the only tourist attraction that we have. We have a games park called the Sumu Games Park. Sumu is a novelty in the sense that the animals found there are not found anywhere else in the West African sub-region.

    “The reason is that we started Sumu in 2006 with the assistance of Namibia and Kenya. They donated species of animals that are not common to West Africa. Bauchi State went there. We went to the bush, caught the animals and brought them back to Nigeria. The moment they landed in Nigeria, they started breeding. Now if you go to the park which is about 48 kilometres from Bauchi to Kano, you will now see animals like giraffe, zebra, eland and others that are not common to West Africa.

    “In addition to all these, we have the tomb of the first and only Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it is a must for any visitor who comes into Bauchi to go there.

    “We have various pre-historic rock paintings at Gaji, a small village on the way to Jos from Bauchi, but off the main road and then at Shera, northern part of Bauchi State. That and a series of annual festivals that will be attractive to visitors, especially foreign visitors. So, we are doing our best to improve tourism in the state.”

  • Bauchi to distribute kits worth N1.5bn to women

    Bauchi to distribute kits worth N1.5bn to women

    The Bauchi State Commission for Youths and Women Rehabilitation ( BACYWARD ) says it will distribute empowerment kits worth N1.5 billion to women in Small and Medium Scale businesses across the state.

    The commission Chairman, Mr Ahmed Faruq, made this known on Thursday during the graduation ceremony of 800 women and youths in skill acquisition programme in Bauchi.

    The programme was organised by the Future Assured Initiative for Youths and Women.

    Future Assured is the humanitarian pet project of Mrs Aisha Buhari, wife of President Muhammadu Buhari.

    The initiative has trained women and youths in various trades including Tie and Dye, Pastry making, Spaghetti and Couscous making among others for a duration of one week.

    Faruq said that the initiate was aimed at boosting the economic activities of women in such businesses.

    “The commission has received approval of the governor for partnership with Jaiz Bank under which more than N1.5 billion worth of empowerment kits will be distributed to women across 20 local government areas.

    “This is in realisation that 80 per cent of small businesses are carried out by women, and no economy will wax stronger without the active participation of small businesses,’’ he said.

    Faruq said that the commission has also registered 2,000 youths and women for the O/level examinations, while another 2,000 were sponsored into various diploma and computer programmes.

    In his remarks, Gov. Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi, lauded the efforts of wife of the President on empowerment of women.

    Abubakar said that the state government has designed numerous programmes for women and youths to be self-reliance.

    NAN

  • Buhari hints on contesting future elections 

    Buhari hints on contesting future elections 

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday night hinted that he might contest future elections.

    Buhari gave the hint jokingly while interacting with the Nigerian community in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, even though he did not say if he was going to recontest the 2019 Presidential elections.

    The President is in Abidjan, for the 5th European Union-African Union (EU-AU) Summit.

    The President while apologizing for keeping those that came for the interactive session waiting, explained that he insisted on having governors Emmanuel Udom of Akwa Ibom State and Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State present, so that Nigerians in Côte d’Ivoire from the two states will be happy that he was accompanied by their governors and that might earn him votes in future.

    He said “First I want to apologize for keeping you for too long seating; this is because I insisted on the governors attending this meeting. This is why I came along with them so that when we are going to meet you, when you are going to meet the rest of Nigerians if you tell them that their governors were in the accompany of the president, I think that will be another vote for me in the future. I’m very pleased that they were able to turn up,” he said

    The hall immediately erupted in laughter and clapping.

    The President also said that his support for President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, despite serving as minister in a PDP-led government was to further confirm his remarks at his inauguration on May 29th, 2015, that he belongs to everybody and nobody in particular.

    The President who was reacting to Adesina’s gratitude to his administration for supporting him to get the job, leading to becoming the first Nigerian to head the continental bank since it was set up in 1964.

    He said, “the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), who forgot to mention that he was serving in the PDP government as minister but all the same I picked him and recommended him for AfDB. I think it emphasized what I said during my swearing in that I’m for everybody, I’m for nobody. As long as you are a Nigerian be prepared to be on the receiving end from me.”

    President Buhari also thanks the national leader, of the All Progressive Congress Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for bringing him a beautiful piece of information which he was not aware of until now.

    Buhari however did not disclose what piece of information it was but promised to discuss it in detail with Tinubu.

    He said “I also thank our leader, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He has brought me a very beautiful piece of information which I was not aware of it until I sat down and read it this evening (Tuesday night). Thank you very much for your hardwork and I will discuss that paper with you.”

    Adesina in his remarks noted that the economy picked up soon after the President’s health, adding that “so it seems there is a correlation between the President’s health and the improved economy.”

    On security, Adesina said the bank has released $250 million for the construction and rehabilitation of the Northeast, destroyed by the Boko Haram insurgents.

    He also told the President that the AfDB has constructed a big building behind the Yar’Adua centre started in 2016 and completed.

    He said it is the first of such building by AfDB outside its Abidjan headquarters which he will want President Buhari to commission.

    Adesina said, “I want to thank you immensely. I want to thank God for your health because I must say that for all of us that has been a big concern. But seeing you fit as a fiddle and seeing you back in action, we thank God for that and may God continue to give you great strength.

    “Mr. President as you must have noticed, there is a very strong correlation between your health and the economy and when you came back the economy picked up after that. So we wish you great health so that the economy can continue to pick.

    “I also want to congratulate you for the economic growth and recovery plan that you have put in place and the incredible plan that you have put in place to bring the economy out of recession and also in terms of the fact that Nigeria has moved up in the World Bank ease of doing business index. Is to your leadership, vision and commitment that we want to from the African Development Bank commend you Mr. President and to assure you of our strong support behind you and your government for the efforts to try and move Nigeria forward. We are solidly behind you, you can count on that.

    “I also want to thank you for your leadership on the Boko Haram issue because to draw investments into Nigeria, you absolutely have to have security. I think that securing our borders is very important thanks to your leadership for that. I also thank you for all the efforts you have made in the Lake Chad Basin Area.

    “I was with you in Paris where you led the efforts in reviving the Lake Chad Basin. As you know Mr. President, the bank is very strongly behind that. We put in $250 million to support the northeast of Nigeria rebuilding. I know you were criticize for rebuilding but I don’t see anything wrong, if things get destroyed they have to be rebuilt and the African Development Bank has contributed $250 million towards that,” he said.

  • ‘I lured her with N10 sweet’ – Rape suspect says

    ‘I lured her with N10 sweet’ – Rape suspect says

    A 30-year-old rape suspect, Mohammed Abubakar on Tuesday admitted to luring a nine-year-old primary four pupil with a N10 lollipop sweet.

    Abubakar, a commercial motorcyclist and resident of Tudun Fulani in Bosso Local Government Area of Niger, disclosed this while being interrogated by the Niger State Child Right Protection Agency.

    Abubakar said: “I saw her outside her school where I had parked my motorcycle to buy sweet and she told me to give her sweet.

    “I gave her a sweet and then lured her to an uncompleted building and had sex with her.

    “I am a married man and we have a 3-month-old baby; I have not been sleeping with my wife because she just gave birth recently and that tempted me into doing the act with the girl.

    “I only had sex with the girl once; I am sorry,” he said.

    Narrating her ordeal, the victim said: “He usually lures me to an uncompleted building close to the school during break time.

    “He will touch my buttocks and put his finger into my private part.

    “He also gives me sweet and promised to give me N6,000 if I did not tell anyone about the act,” the victim said.

    Also, the victim’s teacher, Hajiya Saratu Salihu, who reported the matter to the agency, explained that she started suspecting the victim following her frequent absence from class.

    According to her, the victim always disappears from the school during the break periods and will not return to school.

    “When I started suspecting that the girl was up to something, I kept monitoring her movement until I caught her outside the school premises with the suspect on Nov. 20.

    “When she entered the school, I and another teacher took her to the bathroom and checked her private part; we realised the girl had been deflowered.

    “We questioned her and even had to beat her before she told us that an “okada’’ rider had been molesting her secretly.

    “We then started monitoring the suspect until he was caught in the act while trying to lure the victim,” the teacher narrated.

    Reacting to the incident, Mrs Mairam Kolo, the Director General of the agency, said that most of the abuses meted out to children were committed during schools’ break times.

    According to her, the agency will meet with the state’s Ministry of Education to emphases the need for students not to leave schools’ premises alone during the break and closing periods.

    “We have already embarked on sensitisation campaign to let parents know the dangers involved in allowing children go out alone without monitoring,” she said.

    Kolo said that the suspect would be transferred to the State Criminal Department for further investigations while the victim receives medical treatments.

  • Customs impound 500 bags of rice, 48 cartons of Tramadol in Jigawa, Kano

    Customs impound 500 bags of rice, 48 cartons of Tramadol in Jigawa, Kano

    The Kano/Jigawa Customs Command Tuesday impounded over 500 bags of foreign rice and 48 cartons of controlled drugs known Tramadol hydrochloride tablets valued at over N30 million.

    Speaking to Reporters at the Command’s headquarters, the Comptroller, Mr. Yusuf Abba-Kassim Kassim who was flanked by Deputy Comptroller coordinating Jigawa axis, Mohammed Abubakar, said the drugs were impounded at an abandoned area and covered with millet tucks.

    According to him, the seizure followed a tip-off by good members the community that there was a suspicious items abandoned along Galadi/Burnawa route of Jigawa state.

    He added that, “acting on the information, our men were immediately drafted to the area where over 48 cartons of controlled drugs identified as tramadol were abandoned and covered with millet tucks.”

    The Comptroller further urged Nigerians to always provide useful information on the illegal activities of smugglers and criminals who are hell-bent in ruining the economy and the heath of Nigerians.

    “However, no arrest was made as the drugs were recovered in secluded place where the owners abandoned them apparently avoiding arrest. We shall soon hand it over to the appropriate authorities,” he added.

    Speaking on the intercepted bags of rice, the Comptroller said his men also acted on a tip off when two trucks loaded the contraband goods and concealed them with sacks of beans.

    “The two trucks carrying foreign rice that were concealed in sacks of beans were intercepted along Kano/Zaria road based on tip off.

    “The foreign rice might have found its way into the country through illegal routes with a plan to go further into the southern part of the country.

    “Based on information, our trailed the trucks and impounded the vehicles fully loaded with the banned commodity,” he stated.