The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nasarawa State

  • Peace Corps embarks on community services

    Peace Corps embarks on community services

    The Nigerian Peace Corps (NPC) has embarked on community services by digging water channels along Akwanga/Keffi federal highway in Nasarawa State to make the road more convenient for motorists.

    Mr Bala Joshua, the state Commandant of the corps, made this known on Monday in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) shortly after the exercise.

    Joshua said officers and men of the command cleared the water channel at Sabon Gida in Kokona Local Government Area of the state.

    He explained that the community service was meant to prevent accidents due to the bad portion of the road and for easy flow of water.

    “The community services are part of our commitment of giving the society our support which is also incorporated in our bill that has just been passed by the National Assembly so as to make the environment clean and also to save lives.

    “Looking at the rate of accidents that the pot holes are causing, we felt that there is the need to clear accumulated sand as well as to dig water channel in this area for easy access by motorists,” he said.

    Joshua also disclosed that he deployed his men and officers to assist in maintaining law and order during the Sept. 30 sanitation in Akwanga Local Government Area of the state.

    According to him, the measure is to complement the efforts of other security agencies in maintaining peace, law and order during the sanitation.

    He appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to assent to the bill seeking to establish the organisation in order to promote peaceful co-existence and reduce unemployment in the country.

    He said that the bill would also help the corps to collaborate with other security agencies across the country in the area of conflict resolution strategy.

    “We believe, hope and have faith so much in President Buhari as a father that understands the plight of Nigerian youths. He is a man that listen to cry of Nigeria youths, we appeal to him to assent to the Nigerian Peace Corps Bill considering its enormous benefits to the country,” he said.

    He charged personnel of the command to maintain high standard of discipline and adhere strictly to their professional ethics in the interest of peace and national development.

    The commandant also called on Nigerians to be law abiding, respect constituted authorities and to live in peace irrespective of their affiliation, adding that no meaningful development can be achieved in any society without peace.

    He joined other Nigerians in celebrating the country’s 57th anniversary and Nasarawa State 21 years of its creation, expressing optimism in the future of the nation.

  • JOHESU strike paralises FMC Keffi

    JOHESU strike paralises FMC Keffi

    Normal healthcare services have been paralised at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Keffi in Nasarawa State, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
    This followed the indefinite strike embarked on by the Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU).

    A NAN correspondent monitoring the situation reports that officials of the union were seen directing members who resumed work to go back home in their interest. Mr Achimugu Isaiah, the JOHESU Chairman, confirmed this to on Thursday while briefing newsmen in Keffi.

    NAN also observed that all other health workers complied with the strike order except medical doctors who are not members of JOHESU.
    Isaiah said that they decided to join their colleagues on the nationwide industrial action following a directive from the national body of the union in the interest of the health sector.

    According to him, the primary aim of every health worker is to see that the welfare of patients is improved, saying that they have no option than to embark on the strike to press home their demands for improved facilities and condition of service.

    “This briefing was necessitated in order to sensitise the patients and the public to know the reasons why we have joined the nationwide JOHESU indefinite strike declared by our national body.

    “The 7-day ultimatum given to the Federal Government by our national body has elapsed yesterday, hence the need for the indefinite strike, so we are telling the public to bear with us because they might not know the reasons why the strike was declared.

    “The reasons why we have embarked on the strike is nothing but because the government has failed to address our demands which included review of retirement age from 60 years to 65 years, demand for autonomy of the teaching and specialist hospitals.

    “Inadequate funding is also a reason why we embarked on the strike, we want the Federal Government to abolish the scale to scale promotion, and salary review, among other demands,’’ he said.

    Isaiah said that adequate funding of public health facilities would go along in improving on the standing of living and health status of Nigerians as well as discouraging medical tourism.

    “If our hospitals are adequately funded, if our hospitals are well equipped, it will discourage medical tourism and serve the generality of the people,” he added.
    The JOHESU also chairman called on the government to meet up with the demands of the health workers in order to resolve the dispute.
    Reacting, Dr Joshua Giyan, the Medical Director of the centre, appealed to the aggrieved workers to return to work to prevent loss of lives.

  • Nasarawa: Police arrest nine for buying stolen property

    Nasarawa: Police arrest nine for buying stolen property

    The Police in  Nasarawa State have  arrested nine persons for allegedly buying stolen property from suspected vandals.

    The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Kennedy Idirisu, told newsmen on Wednesday in Lafia that the arrest followed complaint from the State Government on the increasing rate of vandalism on  public installations.

    Idirisu said that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Abubakar Sadiq-Bello,  had given a marching order due to the incessant cases of street light vandalism in the state capital, which led to the arrest of the suspects.

    He said some of the suspects were apprehended with the stolen components of the streetlights and were already giving useful information to the police.

    The PPRO said investigation was ongoing  to ascertain the level of involvement of each of the  suspects, adding that those found culpable would be prosecuted accordingly.

    He said items recovered from the suspects include: Nine solar powered batteries, a solar power panel and cable.

    Idirisu urged the public to  report suspicious movement of persons in their neighbourhood to the security agencies for prompt action.

    He assured members of the public that the Police Command in the state would not relent in its  fight against criminal elements.

  • Nasarawa: 60% of LG workers get paid for nothing

    Nasarawa: 60% of LG workers get paid for nothing

    Nasarawa State Commissioner of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs,  Mr Haruna Osegba, says more than 60 per cent of local government workers in the state  are receiving salaries for doing nothing.

    “We have discovered that over 60 percent of staff at the local government levels are not going to work, but only come to receive salary at the end of the month,’’ he told newsmen on Tuesday in Lafia.

    Osegbe who met with members of the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the state, said the government had established a machinery to check the situation.

    The commissioner said the government was worried that the salaries of local government workers were being paid in piecemeal in the last one year even though most of the workers do not even go to work.

    “We have put machinery in motion to check this trend and anyone found culpable would face serious disciplinary action,” he added.

    Osegba assured that the ministry would promote “all dedicated local government workers to boost their morale.’’

    He said that the state Local Government Service Commission had conducted a screening of genuine local council workers and would release the list of those cleared soon.

    The commissioner further assured that the government was doing its best to restore full salary payment to all local government workers as at when due.

    Earlier, Chairman of the chapel, Suleiman Abubakar, urged the commissioner to ensure that local government workers receive their full salaries, to enable them meet their daily obligations.

  • Nasarawa youths engaged to check deforestation

    Nasarawa youths engaged to check deforestation

    Nasarawa State Government has engaged more than 1,500 youths to guard against illegal felling of trees and other activities that can deplete the state’s forest resources, Mr Gabriel Aka’aka, the Commissioner for Environment and Natural Resources, announced.

    The commissioner made the announcement at a news conference in Lafia on Wednesday.

    Aka’aka said the move was part of the state government’s effort toward implementing World Bank-assisted programme on Reducing Emission Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) in the state.

    He explained that REDD+ programme was aimed at reducing greenhouse emission and mitigating the effects of climate change.

    According to him, the project will check depletion of forest resources through afforestation and sustain
    existing forest reserves.

    He said it would go a long way to prevent flooding and control soil erosion.

    The commissioner noted that the state government had paid its counterpart fund for the programme, designed to run for eight years.

    He added that government had also provided a befitting office complex, as well as inaugurated a steering committee to facilitate smooth take-off of the programme.

    According to him, a technical committee and state project management unit for the programme will soon be inaugurated for successful implementation of the project.

    “We have commenced stakeholders engagement and community sensitisation around forest reserves designated for the programme in the state,’’ Aka’ka said.

    He said three forests have been designated for the pilot scheme of the programme in Wamba, Nasarawa-Toto and Obi Local Government Area of the state.

    “We have been educating community stakeholders about the importance of the programme and the need for them to support efforts at revamping the forest by not farming and grazing in designated locations.

    “These community engagements have so far yielded positive results.”

  • Maku, others say peace, tolerance are panacea to Nigeria’s development

    Maku, others say peace, tolerance are panacea to Nigeria’s development

    Former Minister of Information Labaran Maku and other stakeholders in Nasarawa State, have called on Nigerians to leave in peace and tolerate one another to ensure unity peace and development of the country.
    They made the call their separate Sallah messages in Lafia on Saturday.
    They said that peace was the only ingredient that would bring about unity and development in any society.
    Maku, who is now the National Secretary of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), said the diversity among Nigerians should be a source of unity and not disunity.
    He said that the almighty God knows the reason why He created human beings with differences of tribe, religion and race.
    “God also knows why He chose to make all Nigerians despite our diversity to be citizens of the same country.
    “If God wanted all Nigerians to be the same tribe and religion, He could have created us as such.
    “So why will anyone hate the other person simply because he is of a different tribe or religion,” he asked.
    Maku, therefore, urged all Nigerians to continue to live in peace with one another and work hard toward ensuring one indivisible country.
    Similarly, Yusuf Agabi, gubernatorial candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015 in Nasarawa State, called on all Muslim Ummah and indeed all Nigerians to love one another.
    He said that the Nigerians should always manifest the lesson of Eid-el-Kabir, which implied sacrifice and love for others at all times, and not just during the period.
    He also called on Nigerians to continue to pray to God to grant President Muhammadu Buhari good health to enable him bring the country out of the current security and economic challenges.
    On his parts, Mohammed Okpede, Member representing Doma North at the Nasarawa State House of Assembly, urged herdsmen and farmers to imbibe the spirit of the season and embrace peace.
    He said that both farmers and herdsmen needed each other for life to thrive smoothly hence the need for farmers to ensure that cattle routes were not blocked and herdsmen not to deliberately destroy farm produce.
    He, therefore, urged Fulani and other community leaders to preach peace among their subjects in order to give peace a chance the way it was in the past.

  • Nasarawa cuts council workers’ August salaries by 40%

    Nasarawa cuts council workers’ August salaries by 40%

    The Nasarawa State Government on Thursday said that local government workers in the state would receive between 60 and 80 per cent of their August salaries.

    Mr Haruna Osegba, the state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, disclose this after the state’s Joint Account Committee (JAC) meeting in Lafia.

    Osegba attributed the salary cut to the shortfall in the amount that accrued to the local government councils from the Federation Account.

    According to him, the 13 local government councils in the state shared only N1.5 billion from the federation account for the month of April with a shortfall of 700 million.

    The commissioner said that the wage bill of all local government staff in the state was N2.2 billion.

    “Based on this, the least any worker will receive as Aug. salary is 60 per cent of his/her normal pay while the maximum is 80 per cent,” he said.

    He, however, appealed to the workers to “maintain calmness,” saying that the state government was making efforts to ensure they received their full salaries in subsequent months.

    According to him, the state government was determined to better the working condition of its workers.

    Osegba said that the Directors of Personnel Management (DPMs) in the 13 councils and 18 Development Areas in the state attended the meeting.

  • Welder bags 18 months imprisonment for stealing bag of garri

    Welder bags 18 months imprisonment for stealing bag of garri

    A Mararaba Grade 1 Area Court at Aso Pada, Nasarawa State, on Monday sentenced a 23-year-old welder, Usman Abubakar, to 18 months imprisonment for stealing a bag of garri.

    Abubakar, who resides at Shopping Centre Mararaba, was sentenced on a count charge of theft.

    The judge, Mr Albert Maga, sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty to the crime and begged for leniency.

    The convict said that hunger led him to crime.

    “It was hunger that led me to do it, I have stayed without food for days and I needed money to buy food.

    “Have mercy on me and I promise never to do it again,’’ he pleaded.

    The judge, however, gave the convict N5,000 option of fine.

    Earlier, the prosecutor, Agabi Auta, told the court that one Anjenu John of Aku village, Mararaba, reported the matter at the ‘A’ Divisional Police Headquarters Mararaba on Aug. 25.

    Auta said: “The defendant went into the complainant’s shop located along Darika Jummat Mosque, Mararaba and stole a bag of garri valued at N15, 000.

    The prosecutor added that the defendant was in the process of taking away the bag of garri when he was apprehended by the complainant and handed over to the police.

    He said that during investigation, the defendant confessed to stealing the item with a view to selling it and get money to buy other food items.

    Auta said that the offence contravened the provisions of Section 287 of the Penal Code.

  • Zoning of political offices undemocratic, says Wadada

    Zoning of political offices undemocratic, says Wadada

    A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in Nasarawa State, Aliyu Wadada, on Monday said zoning of offices by political parties is undemocratic and should be jettisoned.

    Wadada, a former House of Representatives member who is aspiring to contents for governor in 2019 under APC, told newsmen in Lafia, that zoning negates all tenets of democracy and encourages mediocrity.

    According to him, qualified aspirants are denied the opportunity to contest and serve the people.

    He dispelled insinuations that he was planning to defect to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in order to achieve his governorship ambition.

    “These mischief makers have even gone ahead to say that I had written a letter to the PDP chairman in my ward intimating him of my intention to join the party.

    “It is laughable and a blatant lie being peddled by those threatened by my pedigree and support base in the state,” Wadada added.

    He said there was no problem in the APC to warrant contemplation of defection to any party.

    “I was instrumental to the emergence of APC as a national official of the faction of PDP prior to the 2015 general elections, why should I leave a home I contributed to build, for who to occupy?, Wadada said.

    The governorship aspirant called on his supporters to disregard the rumour, stressing that he remain loyal to the APC and would vie for the governorship ticket under the party.

    Meanwhile, the PDP in the state has zoned the ticket for the governorship seat to Nasarawa North Senatorial District, comprising Akwanga, Nassarawa-Eggon and Wamba.

    The zone has not produced a governor since the creation of the state in 1996.

  • Nasarawa to employ 2,600 teachers – Commissioner

    Nasarawa to employ 2,600 teachers – Commissioner

    The Nasarawa State Government on Friday said it had concluded plans to employ 2, 600 degree and National Certificate in Education (NCE) holders to teach in its public schools.

    Mr Tijjani Ahmed, the Commissioner for Education, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lafia that the recruitment was aimed at injecting new hands to further re-position the education sector.

    According to the commissioner, the degree holders in education are to teach in the secondary schools, while those with NCE will teach in the primary schools.

    “Arrangement has already reached an advanced stage to employ 2,600 teachers in both primary and secondary schools.

    “In the next few weeks, before the beginning of next academic session, the teachers will be engaged and posted to various schools,” he said.

    Ahmed said that the government recently promoted over 6,000 teachers in a bid to ensure career progression; with some of them getting double promotion.

    He said that the ministry had set the machinery in motion to sanitise the education sector in the state for better service delivery.

    The commissioner said that the ministry would soon go out to supervise the activities of private schools in the state.

    He advised private school owners operating in the state to either renew their licence or register and get approval from the ministry, in order to avoid sanction.