The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Niger State

  • Niger workers embark on Indefinite Strike

    Workers in Niger State have embarked on an indefinite strike action to protest the salary cut by the state governor despite a court injunction restricting the leadership of the Labor from going on strike.

    All public schools, ministries, departments and agencies were under lock and key as no worker was seen in offices.

    Students who went to school were sent back home while workers who insisted on resuming office met their offices locked.

    A release from the Commissioner of Information, Jonathan Vatsa said that the state government has gotten an interim court injunction restraining the state Chairman, Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC), Comrade Idris Yahaya Ndako, and Chairman of Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Yunusa Tanimu from calling civil and public servants in state on a strike action pending the determination of the motion on notice which is fixed for 15th of July, 2016.

    Vatsa said the Expertise Order was granted by Justice P.O Lifu of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria Holden in Abuja after considering Suit No:NICN/ABJ/259/2016 calling on all civil and public servants to report to work.

    “All civil and public servants in Niger State are strongly advised to report to work and go about their normal businesses in their respective offices without fear of molestation or intimidation by any individual or group of individuals in whatever cover.

    “Any civil and public servants found circumventing this Court Order will have him or herself to blame,” the release read.

    The state Chairman of the Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC), Comrade Idris Yahaya Ndako said that the strike stands adding that they have not been served with any court order.

    He stated that the strike had already commenced before the court granted the government an interim injunction.

    The State House of Assembly have also directed the state government to pay the remaining per cent cut off from the June salary of workers as they stated that there should be no issue of cutting of salary of civil and public servants in the state.

    The Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) in Niger state have called on the state government and Labor Union to sheath their swords by going back to the round table for discussion adding that negotiation will go a long way in drowsing the political tension in the state.

    The Chairman, Isah Ndamaka said that the salary of workers is paramount and the state government should look for ways of paying the workers’ salaries in full.

  • Fulani/Gbagyi clash displaces 250 in Niger

    Fulani/Gbagyi clash displaces 250 in Niger

    No fewer than 250 people have been displaced due to a clash between Fulani herdsmen and Gwagyi farmers in Niger state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), report that the clash led to the death of four persons and destruction of property in Bara-kuta in Bosso Local Government Area on Friday.

    Malam Ahmed Inga, Director General, Niger State Emergency Management Agency (NSEMA), made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Minna on Tuesday.

    He said the displaced people were being resettled in a school in Bosso while reconciliation was ongoing toward returning them to their homes.

    “The State Government has established links with the herdsmen and the farmers toward restoring lasting peace in the area to enable the Gwagyis go back to their homes and attend to their farms.

    “We have to do everything possible to make sure that peace returns to the community to ensure the security of lives and property,’’ he said.

    Inga explained that the peace initiative was being brokered by the state’s Commissioner for Sports Development, Alhaji Mamman Bosso, the Emir of Minna, Alhaji Umaru Bahago as well as security agencies.

    The Director General added that 167 houses were burnt while 17 motorcycles and other property were destroyed during the clash.

    He said the state government had provided food, medicals and security for the IDPs in the camp.

    Inga said relief materials were also being provided to the IDP’s by NGOs, religious bodies and individuals in the state.

    Mrs Salamatu Bala, one of the IDPs and a mother of three, called on government to speed up the process of returning them to their homes.

    “We thank government and others for taking care of us here. But we want to go back home to build back our lives as we have lost a lot from this incident’’, she said.

    Gov. Sani Bello had visited the community on Monday where he sued for peace and pledged to bring perpetrators of the violence to book.

  • Buhari’s wife Donates Food Items to less privileged in Niger state

    Buhari’s wife Donates Food Items to less privileged in Niger state

    In a bid to cushion the effects of the current economic situation in the country, the President’s Wife, Mrs. Aisha Buhari has donated food items to be distributed to the less privileged, people living with disability, widows and the vulnerable in Niger state.

    The items was distributed by the Wife of the Governor of Niger state, Dr. Amina Abubakar Bello.

    She said that the food items were donated by the Wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari to alleviate the suffering and make life easy for the less privileged.

    Food items for distribution include 1000 bags of rice, 1000 gallons of vegetable oil, 1000 cartons of tomato paste, 1000 cartons of specially packaged garri and 1000 cartons of custard and will be distributed among the 25 local government areas in the state.

    The Governor’s Wife appreciated the Wife of the President for picking interest in the condition of the less privileged, widows and the physically challenged individuals in the state adding that this gesture will go a long way in helping the beneficiaries.

    “This donation is made in the spirit of the Ramadan Fast as the President’s Wife contributes her quota towards alleviating the suffering of the less privileged. This particular gesture is a display of the special affection of Mrs. Buhari for the ordinary Nigerlites and we are grateful”, Bello stated.

    She then appealed to the people to support the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration especially in his fight against corruption, job creation and youth empowerment.

    “It is true that although you might be going through some form of hardship right now, we need to preserve a little more because if we exercise patience with the government, very soon, we will all see the dividends of the change that we have been anticipating because sustainable change is truly a gradual process.”

  • Niger NLC set for show down over proposed salary reduction

    Niger NLC set for show down over proposed salary reduction

    The Niger state chapter of the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC) have given the state government a two week ultimatum to reverse its 70 per cent salary proposal stating that only the payment of full salary can stop workers in the state from going on strike.

    The Congress stated that there will be no shifting ground or going back until government pays the full salary of the workers.

    This is coming after the state governor; Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello had proposed a reduction in the worker’s salary in a bid to meet up with infrastructural development in the state.

    At a stakeholders meeting in Minna, the Governor proposed that 70 percent of the state earnings from federation allocation will be used to service workers salaries while the remaining 30 percent will be for capital projects.

    The Niger state NLC Chairman, Comrade Idris Yahaya Ndako while addressing the congress of workers in Niger State Wednesday said that the proposal is unacceptable to Labor and Labor is not going to take it.

    He added that it was unfortunate that those who contributed to defrauding Niger State in the past administration had the right to call for the payment of workers’ salaries by percentage.

    “It is unfortunate the comment of the former Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly who was in PDP and part of the people who caused the problem to come out and say that workers should be paid on percentage.

    “The proposal is unacceptable and Labor is not going to take it. There is no going back, no shifting ground until government pays full salary to the workers.”

    During a stakeholders meeting held in Minna, the state Governor disclosed that the state has incurred over N3 billion loan to meet up with the payment of workers’ salaries due to the drop in the federal allocation received by the state.

    The Governor then proposed that 70 percent of the state earnings from federation allocation should  be used to service workers’ salaries while the remaining 30 percent will be for capital projects  arguing that government cannot afford to use the entire resources of the state in paying salary of the civil service at the expense of infrastructural development.

  • Mob kill notorious armed robber in Minna

    Mob kill notorious armed robber in Minna

    A notorious armed robber skilled in terrorising Shango, a suburb of Minna, the Niger State Capital was on Thursday night beaten to death by angry mob.

    The 30 years old armed robber who was identified as Ali was said to have been caught during one of his operations.

    Residents of Shango disclosed that Ali and his gang have been terrorizing the area and giving residents sleepless nights for a long time.

    Luck however ran out of Ali when some residents out of anger decided to take the law into their hands, caught and beat him to death when he came to steal alongside a member of his gang who escaped.

    The corpse of the deceased was discovered by the residents of the area early in the morning close to the Shango primary school tied to an electric pole and alerted the police, who arrived the scene and carried the body away.

    Gambo Musa, a resident of the area said, “We saw his body tied to the pole early in the morning, when we came to pray at 5:30am. We can now sleep peacefully with our eyes at least closed. This Ali has been a problem to us for some time now, now we can rest from his activities with his gang.”

    When contacted, the police public Relation Officer, Bala Elkana confirmed the incident saying Ali who was a hardened armed robber was killed by some residents of the area, who took the law into their hands and are currently at large.

    “The Police discovered those that master minded the killing of the notorious armed robber during a house to house investigation. As I am talking to you, we have been able to ascertain who the ring leader is. It is a case of Homicide and the Police is presently after them. Even though, it is a case of armed robbery, nobody is allowed to take laws into his or her hand, it should be left for the law enforcement agency.”

  • PZ donates Shea-butter processing facility to Niger State

    PZ donates Shea-butter processing facility to Niger State

    PZ Cussons Foundation on Tuesday formally handed over the PZ NasaraShea-Butter processing facility to a women co-operative group in Tungan Wawa in Kontagora Local Government Area of Niger State.

    The Foundation’s Trustee and former First Lady of Nigeria, Justice FatiLami Abubakar, said the project executed by the Foundation was an intervention to empower women economically through encouragement of rural enterprise.

    She said the new facility is to upgrade their traditional method of production and make them internationally competitive. According to her, it will bring together local processors under one umbrella and organise them into a more formal structure as enterprise.

    The facility consists of raw material store, structures for drying, roasting, blending, finished goods store, borehole and other equipment and machineries.

    Justice Abubakar informed the gathering that PZ Cussons Foundation has executed over 52 projects spread in the six geo-political zones of the country since its establishment in 2007. The focal area of its mandate, she said, is in education, health care, potable water supply and road rehabilitation.

    The PZ NasaraShea-Butter Processing Centre is the first outside the Foundation’s focal area of social services and infrastructure. It is also the third project to be executed by the Foundation in Niger State.

    It would be re-called that PZ Cussons Foundation, as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, constructed 500 metre Market Road in Minna and donated a Health Care Centre in Gbaiko, Bosso Local Government Area.

    In his speech at the occasion, Niger State Governor Alhaji (Dr) Abubakar Sani Bello commended the Board of Trustee of the Foundation for sitting the project in the State. He said it will support government’s effort in diversifying the economy of the State by enhancing productivity in agro allied endeavours at rural levels, help in poverty eradication and employment.

    He promised to encourage other corporate bodies to do the same. Niger State has a large land mass suitable for agriculture. The Governor has unfolded plans to distribute new improved shea seedlings to encourage more cultivation.

  • Niger Assembly passes 2016 Appropriation Bill

    Niger Assembly passes 2016 Appropriation Bill

    The Niger State House of Assembly Friday passed the 2016 appropriation bill with an increment of N10.3 billion to the total expenditure provision of the budget.

    The budget presented to the House of Assembly by the state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello was N74.7 billion while the budget appropriated by the House is N85 billion.

    An estimated expenditure of N74,744,151,131 made up of  N39,501,796,081 as the recurrent expenditure and N35,242,355,032  as the capital expenditure was proposed for consideration and approval while the House recommended an expenditure of N85,092,122,133 made up of recurrent expenditure of N41, 433,666,593 and capital expenditure of N43,658,455,540.

    Giving reasons for the increment, the Chairman of the Committee on Planning and Appropriation, Honorable Muhammad Lokogoma said that the committee critically looked into various sources of revenue and discovered that there are areas of improvement in the Internally Generated Revenue.

    He said that additional N10 million can be generated from NSTA, N3 million can be generated from city metro bus service, N6 million can be generated from Mining activities in the state, N5 million can be generated from the water board and N35 million from Telecom Mast and New mast clearance form.

    Lokogoma also said that out of N100 billion withdrwan from the consolidated revenue account, N50 billion has been verified to be unaccounted for stating that the sum of N15.7 billion is recommended for IGR as against the N9.3 billion projected.

    The Committee then observed with dismay the over expenditure and extra-budgetary expenditure in the 2015 budget without recourse to the legislature adding that that will not be tolerated in the 2016 budget as all MDAs are to make quarterly presentations to the House.

    The House then called on the executive to ensure that budgets are presented to the legislature early to ensure proper scrutiny and timely passage adding that the submission resulted in hasty scrutiny to ensure speedy passage.

    The Speaker of the Niger state House of Assembly, Rt. Honorable Ahmed Marafa after the passage of the bill said that the budget was seriously scrutinized page by page and sector by sector to give Nigerlites a budget that they can be proud of.

    He then directed the clerk to prepare copies and passed to the governor for his assent.

  • NAFDAC seals four sachet water companies in Niger

    NAFDAC seals four sachet water companies in Niger

    The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) in Niger said that it had sealed four sachet water producing companies in Minna for operating with expired licenses.

    Mr Anikoh Ibrahim, the State Coordinator of NAFDAC, made this known on Thursday in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna.

    “During our routine inspection yesterday (Wednesday) we sealed four sachet water producing companies for operating with expired licenses.

    “They will now pay some charges for late renewal before they start operations again,’’ he said.

    Ibrahim said that sachet water producers were licensed to operate for a two-year term, while bottled water producers would operate for six-year period before renewal of license.

    The state coordinator said that NAFDAC would not relent in its efforts to sanitise the operation of sachet water producers in the state for the good health of residents.

    ‘’We are aware of some unscrupulous persons that are not licensed by NAFDAC who exploit this hot weather season to produce in commercial quantities for consumption by unsuspecting consumers.

    ‘’Some of them operate with fake NAFDAC registration numbers or by using sachet or bottles of registered producers.

    “We have been going round on our usual surveillance to detect such people,’’ he told NAN.

    Ibrahim said that the agency would meet with licensed table water producers in the state to ensure that unlicensed producers did not infiltrate their business.

    The state coordinator enjoined table water consumers in the state to always check for NAFDAC numbers before consumption.

     

  • Victims of Minna fire outbreak demands compensation

    The victims of the fire outbreak caused by a power surge from the Abuja Electricity  Distribution Company (AEDC) last February in Maitumbi, a suburb of Minna are demanding payment of damages caused by the power surge.

    The victims have petitioned the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in order to facilitate speedy payment of the compensation.

    The petition which was written on behalf of the victims by Cosmic Chamber in Minna and endorsed by a Principal partner in the Chamber, Mohammed El-Surur Abubakar recalled the incident that led to the fire outbreak.

    According to the petition, the power surge and fluctuations that occurred on the 20th February 2016, led to the death of four persons, razed many houses and destroyed properties worth several millions of Naira.

    The petition further stated that the incident occurred as a direct negligence from the electricity company which is the reason why they are demanding for payment of damages.

    The victims claimed to have written to AEDC demanding for payment of damages on the 24 February 2016 through the Minna Area Manager but they received no reply which directed them to write to NERC.

    The petition requested the intervention of NERC to investigate the matter properly for the compensation of the victims as they lost lives and property due to alleged negligence.

  • Niger Govt to re-organize agricultural informal sector

    Niger Govt to re-organize agricultural informal sector

    In a bid to boost economic activities in Niger state, the State Government has expressed determination to re-organize the informal sector of  agricultural value-chain.

    According to the state governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, government will  develop products like mango fruit and other perishable farm produces.

    The Governor stated this when he paid an unscheduled visit to Kwakuti and Paiko Mango fruits markets along  Minna-Abuja road of Niger state.

    He said, “It is important to organize informal sector of agricultural value-chain. This will boost economic activities in the state. It will also create employment opportunities and increase  Internally Generated Revenue(IGR).”

    Bello assured farmers, various stakeholders and investors in agriculture of his determination to develop the value-chain in the sector.

    Expressing delight with the activities at mango fruit markets in Kwakuti and Paiko, he noted that for the state government to have full benefit of the cluster, there has to be some investments in infrastructure which the government will provide.

    “I am very pleased with what I have seen in Kwakuti and Paiko Mango markets. A large number of people benefit from business transaction that go on between mango owners and buyers who come from far and near to buy mangoes in Niger state.

    “It is important that we intervene in providing infrastructure such as accommodation, mosque, fence, water and where necessary storage facilities.

    Bello then emphasized that development of small and medium enterprises would boost agricultural sector of  the state with the provision of  storage facilities to assist entreprenuers engaged in seasonal fruit trading.

    While briefing the Governor on their activities, some of the traders revealed that some of the packaged mangoes are taken to far places like Mali and other neighboring countries.

    “We are very happy with Governor Abubakar Sani Bello visit. We have been doing this business and transporting  mango fruit to Mali and other neighboring countries for the past 35 years from Niger state. No Governor has ever visited us. We commend him for the interest shown in our business. And his willingness to support us. We will cooperate with him.”