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Tag: Plateau

  • Flood kills 10 , displaces 7, 342 in Plateau

    Ten people lost their lives, while 7, 342 others were displaced by flooding in Plateau between May and July this year, according to a top official of the Plateau Government.

    Executive Secretary of the Plateau State Emergency Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Hassan, Barde, who made the disclosure on Friday in Jos, said that 1,153 houses were destroyed during the period.

    He said that 832 villages were also submerged by flood.

    “Since May, we have recorded 10 deaths caused by flood, with 1,153 houses destroyed and 7, 342 people displaced from their homes.

    “All the 17 Local Governments have been affected by flood with 832 villages totally submerged.”

    He named Jos North, Jos South, Bokkos, Kanke, Wase, Shendam, Mikang, Jos East, Langtang North and Langtang South as the worst hit areas.

    The executive secretary said, however, that the figures were not static because the rains were not yet over.

    He added that the value of the damage was estimated at N5.2 million.

    Barde said that the agency was doing everything necessary to alleviate the suffering of the people affected by the floods.

    “SEMA has already put in place arrangements to carry out what is called Rapid Post Disaster Need Assessment.

    “Very soon we will be going out to the Local Governments affected.

    “We will want to see the people displaced, where they are and what they need, to be able to come back and immediately make appropriation to the State Government for intervention.

    The SEMA chief explained that the agency had been carrying out public awareness on allowing free flow of water and indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

    He said that the agency was also collaborating with other agencies, including Urban Development Board, Jos Metropolitan Development Board, among others to ensure compliance with rules guiding erecting of structures.

    “SEMA is collaborating with relevant agencies to ensure that citizens follow rules of erecting buildings and sanctioning those who deliberately build their homes on waterways.”

    Barde said that his office had already reported the disaster to the National Emergency Management Agency for possible assistance.

  • Plateau: Flood kills 10, displaces 7,342 in three months

    Plateau: Flood kills 10, displaces 7,342 in three months

    Ten people lost their lives, while 7, 342 others were displaced by flooding in Plateau between May and July this year, according to a top official of the Plateau Government.

    Executive Secretary of the Plateau State Emergency Agency (SEMA), Alhaji Hassan, Barde, who made the disclosure on Friday in Jos, said that 1,153 houses were destroyed during the period.

    He said that 832 villages were also submerged by flood.

    “Since May, we have recorded 10 deaths caused by flood, with 1,153 houses destroyed and 7, 342 people displaced from their homes.

    “All the 17 Local Governments have been affected by flood with 832 villages totally submerged.”

    He named Jos North, Jos South, Bokkos, Kanke, Wase, Shendam, Mikang, Jos East, Langtang North and Langtang South as the worst hit areas.

    The executive secretary said, however, that the figures were not static because the rains were not yet over.

    He added that the value of the damage was estimated at N5.2 million.

    Barde said that the agency was doing everything necessary to alleviate the suffering of the people affected by the floods.

    “SEMA has already put in place arrangements to carry out what is called Rapid Post Disaster Need Assessment.

    “Very soon we will be going out to the Local Governments affected.

    “We will want to see the people displaced, where they are and what they need, to be able to come back and immediately make appropriation to the State Government for intervention.

    The SEMA chief explained that the agency had been carrying out public awareness on allowing free flow of water and indiscriminate dumping of refuse.

    He said that the agency was also collaborating with other agencies, including Urban Development Board, Jos Metropolitan Development Board, among others to ensure compliance with rules guiding erecting of structures.

    “SEMA is collaborating with relevant agencies to ensure that citizens follow rules of erecting buildings and sanctioning those who deliberately build their homes on waterways.”

    Barde said that his office had already reported the disaster to the National Emergency Management Agency for possible assistance.

  • 1,104 intending pilgrims will perform 2017 Hajj from Plateau – Amirul Hajj

    1,104 intending pilgrims will perform 2017 Hajj from Plateau – Amirul Hajj

    A total of 1,104 intending pilgrims from Plateau will perform the 2017 pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, Alhaji Dayyabu Garga, the state Amirul Hajj, has disclosed.

    Garga told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Jos that each of the intending pilgrim would pay N1.529 million for their airfare and other logistics.

    The Amirul Hajj is the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

    He told NAN that based on the time table released by the National Hajj Commission, intending pilgrims from the state are expected to be airlifted on Aug. 22.

    “Unlike previous years when intending pilgrims from Plateau were airlifted from Kaduna International Airport, this year, they will be airlifted from Bauchi International Airport,” Garga said.

    He said that the state Muslims Pilgrims Commission had already commenced sensitisation of the intending pilgrims.

    He said the prospective pilgrims were advised to `carry things that are not prohibited in the holy land as the Saudi Authorities don’t bend their laws.

    “We try to educate them on some of the laws to be mindful of and work in the confines of the law.

    “We advised them to secure their Basic Travelling Allowance (BTA) as that is their feeding allowance that will sustain them in the period that they will stay in the holy land,’’ he said.

  • Plateau PDP appeals to former members to return to the party

    Plateau PDP appeals to former members to return to the party

    The Plateau State People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has  appealed to its members who defected during its protracted crisis to return in the interest of the party.

    Its chairman and former Minister of Sports, Hon Damishi Sango, made the appeal in his office Jos.

    The party, which ruled Plateau for 16 years before losing to the APC in 2015, has lost some of its key members to the APC during the prolonged litigations between Senator Ali Modu Sheriff and Senator Ahmed Makarfi. Prominent among them are former Governor  Joshua Dariye, a member of the House of Representative from Jos East/Jos South Constituency Hon. Edward Pwajok, and former Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Hon. Yusufu Gagdi.

    Sango said: “First of all, we are not blaming some of our members who defected in the course of our conflict. But now that the conflict that propelled their action has been resolved at the level of Supreme Court, such members should endeavor to come back to the party.

    “Just as ôur National Caretaker Committee Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said after the court verdict, no victor, no vanquish, it is only a victory to democracy. We are therefore appealing to some of our members who left the party during the internal conflict to come back because PDP is our party, it is not my party or for any individual, we still consider them as our members and we are looking forward to them coming back soon.

    “Nigerians need PDP now because the party that offered itself as alternative party to PDP has failed Nigerians, so Nigerians now understand the difference, what APC has failed to achieve in two years, I wonder if they can make it up in the next one year of their tenure. So PDP remains the only hope for our nascent democracy.

    Sango said the PDP has realised its mistakes of 2015 and learnt from them, adding that PDP remained the only dependable party in 2019.

    He added: “We have assured all members who defected to another party in the course of our conflict that they should have the confident to return to their original party because we are not going to victimize anyone as a result of that.

    “The party will allow a level playing ground for all members, we have vowed that there will be no imposition of candidate in any election, every member, no mater your status, will be allowed to exercise his or her democratic rights, all we are after is to come out with the best candidates that will fly the flag of the party in subsequent elections in the state.

    “We are reaching out to the former members that left during the conflict, there is going to be a reconciliation committee at the state level, the committee shall reach out to such members, everyone is important to the party, PDP remains the people’s party.”

  • INEC seeks media support toward free, fair elections

    INEC seeks media support toward free, fair elections

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) said on Wednesday in Jos that media support was “very crucial” to its quest for free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria.

    Mallam Husaini Pai, its Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Plateau, while on a courtesy visit to the Jos Zonal office of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), solicited closer ties with newsmen because media reports determine how elections were viewed.

    “What the media say is what determines the success and acceptance of elections; ultimately, that also determines whether the polls will be peaceful or not,” he said.

    Pai said that the visit was to seek areas of collaboration and support from NAN in view of its wide reach and “fanatical commitment to fair journalism”.

    He said that the media was a critical stakeholder that no one could afford to ignore, and expressed INEC’s readiness to support newsmen to effectively participate in election matters.

    “Clearly, we cannot achieve results without the media. The media may not need INEC, but INEC needs the media so as to enable her conduct a free, fair, credible and peaceful elections,” he said.

    Pai, however, urged journalists to be professional, accurate and observe the ethics of the profession at all times.

    “When you report accurately, you are also exercising your civic responsibility towards nation building,” he said.

    Responding, the Zonal Manager, Mr Ephraim Sheyin, described the visit as “surprising, but very useful”.

    Sheyin assured the INEC commissioner that the agency would be consistent in the coverage of its activities in Plateau.

    “Our doors are always open to you; we want yours to remain equally open to minimise mutual distrust,” he said.

  • ‘Plateau women farmers can’t access agric fund’

    ‘Plateau women farmers can’t access agric fund’

    Some women farmers in Jos, the Plateau State capital, have said it has been impossible for them to access the federal government’s agriculture fund. The women said they have been marginalised by government agencies.

    Operating under an organisation known as Small-Scale Women Farmers of Nigeria (SWOFON), Plateau State chapter, the women growers said they were aware government launched a dedicated fund reserved for agricultural activities to be accessed through loans, grants or aids to farmers.

    The state president of SWOFON, Mrs. Mary Afan said, “As women farmers, it has been impossible to access the federal government agric fund; there is hardly adequate information to women on how to access the fund and other advantages provided by both state and federal government.”

    At a seminar, the group said, “SWOFON is a coalition of smallholder women farmers who formed themselves into cooperatives groups across the country, who are engaged in agricultural activities especially farming. Women farmers are not often involved in decision making and policy formulation at federal, state and local government levels, which is why women are not carried along in agric programmes in the country.

    “Agriculture, apart from the fact that it contributes 23% to Nigerian GDP, and also provides 88% of non-oil earnings, it remains the largest employer of labour with 2/3 of the country’s population. Women constitute 60-80% of the agro labour force in the country, yet women farmers have no access services of credit facilities, inputs, training, advise, technology, crop insurance, etc.

    “Women farmers are hardly considered to be given allocation of fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, feeds, seeds and seedlings. No capital, poor awareness, poor skills and technical support, poor excess to marker due to bad roads, and several other challenges.

    “Our predicament as women farmers originally began with access to land for farming, traditional, women in Nigeria have no right to land, land belongs to the men and women remain tenants in our own country. Even when we rent land to farm, women are so unsecured on the farm. We are being raped on our farms by men, we are being killed on the farm, this is more peculiar to states like Plateau where cattle grazers and farmers are at loggerheads,” she said.

     

  • Lassa fever case confirmed in Plateau

    Lassa fever case confirmed in Plateau

    The Plateau State Commissioner ?for Health, Dr Kuden Deyin, yesterday confirmed another case of Lassa fever.

    Deyin, who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos, said the patient was brought in from Garkawa, Mikang Local Government Area. “The result came out positive and the patient is receiving treatment at the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH).

    “The state has recorded four cases so far, and three of the four patients are responding to treatment. The last died,” Deyin said.

    The commissioner advised the public to maintain good personal hygiene and keep their environments clean.

    “Food stuffs should be kept in rodent-proof containers and people should desist from drying food stuffs on the highway. Health workers should be on the alert while private medical practitioners are advised not to keep patients who manifest symptoms of Lassa fever for long.

    “Rather, such patients should be referred to tertiary health institutions for prompt medical attention,” he added.

  • 248 condemned prisoners in Plateau prisons – Controller

    248 condemned prisoners in Plateau prisons – Controller

    Mr Neol Ailewon, Controller of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) Plateau Command, says 248 prisoners are on death row in prisons across the state.

    Ailewon who made the disclosure in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos on Monday, said that condemned convicts, of which only three were female, hail from different parts of the country.

    “We have 248 condemned convicts in custody in the various prisons within this command, of which three of them are female.

    “For someone to be condemned, it means he has committed a serious offence against the state.

    “Managing this set of inmates is indeed a difficult task, considering the fact that they know they have been condemned by law.

    “But as correction officers, we are trained to handle the good, the bad and the ugly, and we try to cater for them while in custody,” he said.

    The controller also disclosed that 1,120 convicts were serving various jail terms while 516 inmates are awaiting trial in the seven formations under the command.

    “We don’t have issues handling the convicted inmates, because they are serving their terms in jail and certain of leaving someday.

    “So they relatively behave well, and in most cases, we use them to ensure peaceful atmosphere in the prisons, and they are the sole beneficiaries of the training on skills that we give our prisoners,” he said.

    Ailewon appealed to the government, wealthy individuals and groups to support the service in ensuring that the inmates return to the society as reformed persons.

  • Prisons boss denies alleged diversion of inmates’ food

    Prisons boss denies alleged diversion of inmates’ food

    Mr Noel Ailewon, Controller, Plateau Command of the Nigerian Prisons Service, has dismissed allegations that food meant for prison inmates was being diverted by officers and men of the command.

    “The allegations are malicious; they are an attempt to drag the good name of the command to the mud,” Ailewon told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Jos.

    Some groups recently alleged that food meant for inmates was being diverted to personal use by prison workers, claiming that such diversion was affecting the quality and quantity of food shared to the prisoners.

    But Ailewon, who described the allegations as “very strange”, said that they were not only untrue, but “impossible”’.

    “I do not know whether it used to happen before, but certainly not now, because we have put measures in place to ensure that nothing like that happens.

    “We have involved inmates’ representatives in the assessing, weighing and sharing of food.

    “The inmates’ representatives are deeply involved in the whole feeding processes; they check quantity and quality and reports their observations on daily business,” Ailewon said.

    He said that the prison service was a corrective agency, adding that its officers were corrective officers trained to ensure that the welfare of prisoners was never compromised.

    The Controller cautioned members of the public against destructive rumours that could paint prison workers in bad light in the eyes of prisoners and members of the public.

    The prison officer called for public support toward the success of efforts to make the prisoners corrective homes, and warned officers and men of the command against criminal tendencies that were inimical to the service’s mandate.

  • Ishaku extends time frame for inquiry into Mambilla Plateau crisis

    Ishaku extends time frame for inquiry into Mambilla Plateau crisis

    The Justice Nuhu Adi Commission investigating the violent crisis that recently engulfed Mambilla Plateau in Taraba now has two months to complete its assignment, instead of the three weeks initial frame.

    Gov Darius Ishaku, who announced the extension on Sunday in Jalingo, urged members of the general public, especially interested parties, to submit their written memorandum on or before July 24.

    “15 copies of every memorandum should be submitted to the Secretary of the Commission,” he said, adding that hearing would commence on Aug. 3, at Gembu, headquarters of Sardauna Local Government.

    Ishaku thanked the warring parties for heeding the call to embrace dialogue toward solving disagreements, and expressed happiness that peace had been restored.

    He advised the people to eschew violence and promote peace which he described as the fundamental ingredient for sustainable development.

    The governor said that the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) had since distributed relief materials to the affected communities, adding that more relief materials were being taken to the affected areas.

    NAN reports that scores were killed in the violence that pitted farmers against herdsmen in the area.