The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Niger

  • Explosion Kills three in Niger

    Three people have been confirmed dead and four others injured in a bomb explosion in Kontagora, Niger state.

    The explosion occurred in Gari market, a few kilometers from Kontagora town on Saturday when a man in military uniform detonated the bomb and died in the process.

    The Police Public Relations officer, DSP Bala Elkana who confirmed the explosion said it was as a result of wrong handling of explosives device by a newly recruited soldier identified as private Tanko Damina who just came back from Maiduguri.

    According to Elkana, Tanko Damina was in the habit of showing explosives to the villagers to prove that he was involved in the Maiduguri operation against the Boko Haram terrorists.

    “Tanko Damina used to carry the explosives on his body around the village to show off to the villagers. The explosion was as a result of wrong handling of the explosives. We thank God that it was not a market day, the casualty would have been very high”.

    Elkana assured that there is no need for panic because the incident was not caused by a suicide bomber, adding that “it was an accident like I told you”.

    The police spokesman said the force and the army have despatched anti-bomb experts to the home of the deceased to check if there were other IEDs in the residence.

  • Niger: Farmers lose crops worth millions to army worms

    Farmers in four local government areas of Niger State have lost crops worth millions of naira to army worms, the  Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Kabiru Abbas Musa, has said.

    Musa said the state government had taken steps to prevent the spread of the worms to other local government areas.

    The United Nations had alerted countries including Nigeria about the invasion of army worms which were destroying crops worldwide.

    Musa stated this at the commencement of this year’s fertiliser distribution for dry season farming by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at Tungan Kawo in Wushishi Local Government.

    He said the local government areas affected were Wushishi, Masegu, Mariga and Magama, adding that necessary measures, which included distributing insecticides, had been taken to ensure the invasion did not affect wet season farming.

    “The army worm have ravaged farms in four local government areas. We are taking steps towards curtailing it. We have to make sure it does not spread.”

    He warned the farmers not to sell the farm inputs being given to them adding that any farmer caught selling the inputs will never benefit from any programme and intervention promoted by the state government.

    Musa then stated that the state government is working hard towards ensuring that fertiliser and other inputs get to the farmers at the grassroots before the commencement of the rainy season to enable the farmers get bumper harvest.

    The Coordinator of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr. Matthew Ahmed, said 550 farmers from 12 cluster groups have benefitted from the programme, adding that each farmer would be given four bags of NPK, two bags of urea, herbicide and seedlings.

    He said IFAD has succeeded in increasing the yield of rural farmers in the state. “In the past, the average yield of farmers was 1.8 metric tonnes per hectare but now, they have started harvesting about three to six tonnes per hectare due to our intervention.”

    Ahmed lamented that most of the farmers sold the inputs given to them instead of using it on their farms. He said this would affect the expected yield.

  • Farmers trained in Niger

    How do we ensure food security in the country? That has been the question farmers have been grappling with lately. Well, the answer is obvious: produce more food. But in Niger State, growers are more interested in how. That was why they turned up at a workshop organised by the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T) where they were educated on integrated soil fertility management and how to manage and conserve soil to improve crop yield.

    The Head of Land Water Resources Management Programme, Dr. Oluwafumilayo Ande recommended integrated soil fertility management as a panacea towards ensuring food security in the country.

    She said that much is being said about the soil which is one of the main components that ensures sustainable soil production adding that there is the need to classify, characterize and map the Nigerian soils for adequate agricultural production and land use planning.

    “A lot is being said about crops but nothing is being said about the soil. Nigeria soil is degrading and that is the reason why we have not achieved foo security in the nation. For us to be declared food secured, we must manage our soil effectively. Lack of adequate information on land resources has led to land degradation, poor yield and loss of prime land.”

    And he suggested that the combined use of organic and inorganic fertilizer, improved seed varieties, improved fallow and residue management will help farmers get increased yields of farm produce.

    She pointed out that the reason for the training was to build the capacity of the farmers in soil and water management for sustainable crop production.

    Speaking further, he said the Institute has been able to classify the soil in Katcha into seven series of soils and the farmers will be educated on the characteristics of each soil types and how to effectively manage it.

    The state Coordinator of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Dr. Matthew Ahmed said that soil and water management is key to growth in the agricultural sector, adding that most farmers are not educated on this which is the reason why they end up having low yield at the end of the harvest season.

  • Army worms wreck Niger farmers

    Army worms wreck Niger farmers

    Niger State farmers’ worst fears have caught up with them. The dreaded army worms have invaded their farms and chewed up their crops. Now the farmers fear not only for themselves but also for the entire country which is in dire need of food security.

    The United Nations has alerted countries including Nigeria about the invasion of army worms which are destroying crops worldwide.

    In Nigeria, 24 states are battling with the insect, Niger being one of them. Four of its local government areas have been ravaged by the invaders.

    The Niger State Commissioner of Agriculture and Rural Development, Kabiru Abbas Musa disclosed that farmers in four local government areas of Niger state have lost crops worth millions of naira to the invasion of army worms. He said the worms have eaten up large amounts of crops in the four councils.

    The Commissioner said that the state government has taken steps towards preventing the spread of the army worms to other local government areas.

    Musa confirmed the invasion of army worms during the flag-off of fertilizer distribution for 2017 dry season farming by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) at Tungan Kawo in Wushishi local government of Niger state.

    He said that the local government areas affected includes Wushishi, Masegu, Mariga and Magama adding that necessary measures which includes distributing insecticides is being taken to ensure that the invasion do not affect the wet season farming.

    “The army worms have ravaged farms in four local government areas. We are taking steps towards curtailing it. We have to make sure it does not spread,” he said.

  • Niger eyes shea butter production to grow IGR

    Niger eyes shea butter production to grow IGR

    Niger State government is to explore the production of shea butter to shore up its Internally Generated Revenue, (IGR), the Commissioner for Investment, Commerce and Industry, Hajiya Rahmatu Mohammed Yar’Adua, has said.
    She spoke during the shea-butter development training organised by the American Shea-Butter Institute, an internationally recognised group in innovation and dedicated to the advancement of Shea Tree. The group is based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
    She said: “The training has exposed the Niger State delegation and the state at large to global best practices in the development of shea butter industry and ways to penetrate the international market.”
    She said the President of the American Shea Butter Institute, Dr. Samuel Hunter, had confirmed that the state shea butter consultant was collaborating with the group to map out strategies to develop the shea butter industry to increase the value of the product in the state.
    The commissioner said the immediate benefits of the proposed action plan towards exploring the full potential of shea-nut include training and equipping of the participants to show efficiency of the training curriculum and quality control protocols developed in the road map.
    Other benefits, he said, are the evaluation of the regulatory framework for establishing a certification centre in the state for shea products and training on the requirements to build a certification centre.
    The people, she said, would be trained to assist local women in shea fruit harvesting, adding that the government would ensure that the commodity complies with the certification of ISO 17065, European Union (EU) and NOP fair trade, organic farm products and organic cosmetics certification.
    Other factors, she added, is the enumeration of trees in the state, production and verification of other relevant data for shea products, review of existing legal framework for the implementation of environmental protection plan for sheatrees, exploitation control for shea fruits, nuts and derivatives as well as draft necessary amendments and/or new laws for an effective legal framework.
    She also said her visit to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, she told him that the state produces 60 per cent global of shea-nuts, adding that if properly utilised, they would go a long way in boosting the revenue of the state and job creation.

  • 8 year-old maid’s palms burnt over piece of meat

    A 35 year old staff of the National Examination Council, is being quizzed by the Niger state Child Right Protection Agency for burning with hot charcoal the palms of her eight- year old house-maid, accused of stealing meat from the pot.

    The Director-General of the agency, Mrs Mariam Kolo, in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Minna on Saturday, said the accused, identified as Grace Edeh is a staff of NECO). The married woman has three children of her own and is right now, breast-feeding one of them.

    She said that the mother of three was arrested by the staff of the Minna branch of the National Human Rights Commission and later brought to the agency.

    She said that a good samaritan had seen the girl’s burnt hands and scars on her thigh in the market and interrogated her. The maid led the woman to her boss’s house.

    Mariam Kolo said that the matter was reported to the National Human Rights Commission, which transferred the case to Kolo’s agency.

    Kolo said that the offence contravenes Section 26 of the Child’s Right Act and warned parents and guardians against maltreating children.

    For now, the contrite Grace Edeh may get a slap on the wrist for the offence as she has begged Niger state Child Right Protection Agency for leniency. She pleaded she should be saved from being docked in the court as she is a nursing mother.

    The agency has consequently ordered her to give medicare to her eight-year old victim of bestiality.

    The eight year-old housemaid would attend the counselling unit of the agency in the next few weeks and would later be reunited with her biological parents.

    Edeh had told the agency that she ill-treated the girl out of anger as she was fond of stealing meat from the pot of soup.

    She said that the girl was also caught stealing meat from the neighbour’s kitchen. (NAN)

  • 2,500 children affected by Lead poisoning in Niger

    2,500 children affected by Lead poisoning in Niger

    The Federal Ministry of Environment, says it has facilitated the treatment of lead poisoning of more than 2, 500 children affected  in Shikira community of Rafi Local Government Area of Niger.

    Mrs Aanu Basil, the Deputy Director, Marine Pollution, Contamination Clean-Up and Remediation in the ministry, said other residents of the community were safe from lead poisoning with the clean-up.

    Basil made this known in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday.

    She said that the clean-up programme was an intervention from government aimed at preventing lead poisoning outbreak in the community.

    She observed that lead poisoning was as a result of illegal artisanal gold mining in Angwa Megero, Angwa Kawo and Shikira communities of the state.

    Basil said that the incident occurred few years after a tragedy outbreak of lead poisoning in the community killing about 28 children below the age of five.

    She said that the children who were contaminated from the lead poison had been treated by the government.

    Basil said that three officials of the ministry visited the site on the spot assessment; adding that proposal for the cleaning-up project commenced in 2016.

    She noted that the federal ministry of environment collaborated with the federal ministry of mines and steel and Ministry of Health to ensure effective implementation of the project.

    “The report of the visit indicated increase in the number of death of children as a result of high concentration of lead contaminants ranging from 5000 to 166, 000ppm in the impacted environment.

    “The situation was declared then as an emergency and immediate clean-up exercise of the impacted sites took place to enable tackle the situation,’’ she said.

    Basil said that one of the objectives of the clean-up project was to eradicate the presence of the high concentration of lead and other heavy metals contamination.

    She added that the exercise would curtail the immediate threat to life and health of the impacted communities, eliminate the continue exposure of the communities to lead and other heavy metal contaminants.

    The deputy director said that the project was being implemented in two phases with the collaboration of United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA).

    “The phase one scope of the project is identification of the contaminated sites within the Shikira communities, awareness campaign within the communities, and a Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping.

    “Also, characterisation of the lead impacted sites, excavation of lead contaminated sites from the three impacted communities, bagging and containerisation of excavated contaminated soils in high density polyethylene bags.

    “Identification of new sites for sourcing of clean soils and for construction of landfill, excavation and transportation of clean soils to backfill the excavated contaminated soil areas, among others,’’ she said.

    She said that the project implementation was with the mobilisation of both contractors and some technical advisers in the ministry.

    Basil stressed the need to put in place relevant programmes for mining practices such as strong sensitisation exercise within the communities.

    She said that the essence of the sensitisation was to ensure that the communities complied with safe mining practices as it would prelude re-contamination of the remediated sites.

    She said that the ministry also recommended the establishment of organisation mining cooperative groups to enable effective implementation of the project. (NAN)

  • IBB University rolls out N25bn 5-year strategic plan

    IBB University rolls out N25bn 5-year strategic plan

    The management of Ibrahim Babangida University, Lapai in Niger has unveiled a strategic development plan that would cost the institution N25 billion over the next five years.

    The Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Mohammed Maitura made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lapai on Thursday.

    He said that the plan would focus largely on developing digital and ICT infrastructure for teaching and learning..

    Maitura added that the plan was also geared towards developing municipal facilities such as hostels, auditoriums and lecture theatres.

    He explained that the plan would ensure constant power supply and provision of good drinking water to the campuses of the university.

    The VC said that already a body charged with the responsibility of implementing the development plan had been constituted.

    “We will do everything possible within our reach to achieve the set objectives for the overall growth of our university,” he said.(NAN)

  • Masaba buried in Niger

    First son of the late Mohammed Bello Masaba, Mahamood, has said only God knows who will succeed his father as spiritual leader.

    Mahamood spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Bida shortly after the burial of his father.

    “We are patiently waiting for God to choose our spiritual leader. For now, we are focusing on special prayers for the soul of the deceased before thinking of his successor.

    “I don’t think I will succeed him but if it’s God’s will, I am ready to take over and continue from where he stopped”, Mahamood  said.

    Personal Assistant to the late Masaba, Mohammed Tahir, said: “We are in mourning; we are not concerned about who will succeed baba for now.

    “Our attention is more on offering prayers for our late leader. We thank everyone for coming to sympathise with us and by God’s grace, when the decision is taken, we will keep you informed.”

  • Fire outbreak at NNPC depot

    The Niger State Fire Service has confirmed an early morning fire outbreak at the NNPC depot in Suleja.

    Mr Mohammad Kwale, the officer in charge of the service in Suleja, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that the outbreak affected the loading section in the depot.

    ”The outbreak started around 4:30am when we were called. By 5:00am we have put out the fire.

    ”An articulated vehicle was burnt while the loading canopy and some pipes were damaged. No life was, however, lost in the incidence,” he told NAN.

    A resident of Maje, Malam Garba Magaji, a settlement few metres away from the depot, told NAN that a loud explosion woke up the residents this morning, adding that they later understood it was from the depot.

    ”The explosion was like bomb. But a colleague of mine later informed me that it was the tyre of an articulated vehicle that bust at the loading bay.

    ”The depot has been sealed and fire service officials and the road safety are at the scene,” another eyewitness said. (NAN)