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Tag: Sen. Shehu Sani

  • Insecurity: North under siege, says Sen. Sani

    Sen. Shehu Sani (PRP-Kaduna Central) on Tuesday urged governments to take more proactive measures to address the overwhelming security challenges facing the Northern part of the country.

    Sani spoke while receiving groups from Birnin Gwari,  Chikun Local Government Areas and representatives of Zamfara indegines resident in Kaduna.

    The groups presented a letter of complaint on the insecurity challenges facing them in their various communities for onward submission to the National Assembly.

    Sani said the entire Northern region was currently under siege and being faced with various security challenges.

    “Today the entire Northern Nigeria is under siege. In the North West it is the armed bandits, the North Central is experiencing Herdsmen attacks and the  North East is ravaged by insurgents.

    “In Kajuru, it is Muslims and Christians against one another, in Birnin Gwari it is banditry and kidnapping and along Kaduna Abuja Highway, it is kidnapping and raping.

    “I have been visiting you regularly and this time you are in my residence. I have listened to your lamentation, tears, cries and appeals.

    Read also: Kaduna: from violence to cow milk revolution

    ” I believe any conscious Nigerian is aware of what you are facing in Birnin Gwari.

    “I must say the issue of Birnin Gwari reflects the fears and dangers we are facing in North West today.

    “Kidnapping is what we used to hear of in  Niger Delta. Today Birnin Gwari, Chikun, Niger and Zamfara States are under siege,” Sani lamented.

    Sani, however,  blamed the challenges of the region on the lukewarm attitude of the Northern political leaders.
     According to the senator, one of the problems of northern leaders is sycophancy which is now making the region bleed with overwhelming killings.
    He urged residents of the affected areas to rise to face the situation by challenging those in the position of authority to do the needful and tackle the situation.
    “The most ideal thing is to face the situation and question those that we have elected into positions of authority,” he said.
     Leader of the Coalition of Birnin Gwari Associations Nasir Khalid, in the protest letter, said several communities had been under attack of bandits since the eve of the general elections to date.
    He said no fewer than  40 drivers had been killed in the last three months, while several communities in Kaduna, Zamfara and Katsina were ransacked.
    Khalid lamented that the various governments had continued to pay lip service towards addressing the situation.
    He appealed to the senator to deliver the letter to the Senate in particular for immediate intervention.(NAN)

  • Ana poetry prize receives endowment of $1,000 from Senator Sani

    The Association of Nigerian Authors(ANA)ANA Poetry Prize already advertised for this year 2019 cycle of ANA literary Prizes has received an endowment of $1,000 from Senator Shehu Sani, an author, playwright, human rights activist and politician who has been a long-standing benefactor of the Association .

    In a message relayed to the Association recently, Senator Sani expressed his desire to jerk up the prize money which was N100,000 to $1,000 for a poetry collection(Published and unpublished) that evokes or denotes peace, tolerance, social justice and egalitarianism.

    By this endowment, the winning work this year 2019 will be rewarded with the sum of $1,000. It should be recalled that the poetry prize has been one of the most rewarded monetarily of ANA prizes over the years when it was endowed by Cadbury for $1,000 and later $2,000 before it was rested in the late 2000s.

    By this endowment, the prize will now be known as ANA/Shehu Sani  Poetry Prize . The deadline for the submission for any of the ANA literary prizes as earlier advertised is 31st May, 2019.

  • 2019: Disengaged teachers declare support for Sen. Sani

    Some disengaged teachers in Kaduna State have declared support for the re-election of Sen. Shehu Sani (PRP-Kaduna) in the 2019 election.

    The teachers, who made this known when a delegation paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja on Wednesday, promised to rally support for the lawmaker in view of his support for their plight.

    Mrs Alice Ayuba, the leaders of the delegation, said they would ensure that Sani was returned as senator in 2019 through their votes.

    “We are here to appreciate our distinguished senator for his support from the beginning of our predicament.

    “He stood by us even when some of our teachers were arrested and imprisoned over the matter. So, we will stand by him. This is the time for payback for his strong support,” she said.

    Read Also: Why I left APC – Shehu Sani

    Responding, Sani appreciated the disengaged teachers for their support.

    While expressing concern over the disengagement, the lawmaker promised to continue to support them where necessary, to ensure that they were reinstated.

    He said: “It is unbelievable that many of you have spent decades teaching our young ones that have performed credibly well in the state and nationally and today you are adjudged incompetent.

    “The process used to remove you was illegal. Consultants were asked to organise an exam and within 24 hours, thousands of teachers were disengaged for not passing exam. It is a condemnable act.

    “I solidly stand by you and your struggle. Continue in your struggle. If you are not returned now, a time will come that you will be returned,” he said.

    Sani, who is the Chairman Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debts, lamented that some of the disengaged teachers were degree holders.

    “Serious damage has been done to education in the state and it is worrisome.

    “It is unimaginable that teachers with first degree, master’s degree and even doctorate degree will be said not to be qualified to serve.

    “How can bad teachers give birth to good students,” he said.

  • Sen. Shehu Sani dumps APC, joins PRP

    Sen. Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central) on Tuesday joined People’s Redemption Party (PRP), three days after he left the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Sani made this known in a statement by his Special Adviser, Political and Ideology, Mr Suleiman Ahmed, in Abuja.

    He said that “It has become impossible for the senator to continue to co-habit with reactionaries and their perfidious and inimical style of politics.

    “Sen. Sani maintains the highest respect and honour for President Muhammadu Buhari. However, we prefer to live in a Cottage of Honour than a mansion of shame.

    “Sen. Shehu Sani has returned to the PRP. PRP represents our socialist revolutionary ideology.

    “Sen. Sani is now free from the toxicity and infamy APC existentially represents. We left the APC for the emperors and their lackeys.”

    Confirming the development to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview, the Kaduna State Chairman of the party, Dr Tom Maiyashi, said the lawmaker is now a member of the party.

    Maiyashi said the lawmaker had been duly registered and offered membership card of the party.

    He stressed that “Sen. Shehu Sani has registered with the party and his ward is Kaduna South.’’

    Sani on Sunday resigned from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The lawmaker announced this in a letter addressed to the APC Chairman, Ward 6, Tudun Wada North, Kaduna State and obtained by NAN.

    The letter, dated Oct. 19, signed by the lawmaker and copied to the national chairman of the party, Mr Adams Oshiomhole, however, did not state which party he would defect to.

    The party’s appeal committee had affirmed Sen. Shehu Sani as candidate representing Kaduna Central after he was issued automatic ticket by the National Working Committee (NWC).

    However, his name was substituted with Mr Uba Sani, an aide to the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-rufai.

    Uba Sani, Special Adviser to Elrufai on Political Matters, was declared winner of the primary election conducted in Kaduna on Oct. 6 for the Kaduna Central Senatorial ticket, by Chairman Primary Election Committee, Matthew Iduoriyekemwen.

    Sen. Shehu Sani, however, did not participate in the election because he had been offered automatic ticket by the national body of the party.

    Following the election, Sen. Sani, in a statement by his Special Assistant Media, Abdulsamad Amadi, said the process was ‘illegal’.

    The lawmaker had also been having running battle with Gov. El-rufai, on the latest development and his defection may not be unconnected to it.

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had given political parties Oct. 18 as deadline for submission of candidates’ lists for the National Assembly and state houses of assembly elections.

  • Sani backs APC reconciliation, says I remain APC Member

    Senator representing Kaduna Central in the National Assembly, Sen. Shehu Sani on Thursday said he was confident in the ability of the party leadership to resolve all the issues pervading the party.

    The Senator who is one of those widely reported to be planning to dump the party however said he remains a member of the party.

    Read Also:APC will remain focused – Oshiomhole

    Speaking after a meeting with the party national chairman as part of reconciliation efforts, Sani threw his weight behind the ongoing reconciliation efforts undertaken by the Party’s National Executive led by the National Chairman, Adams Oshiomhole.

    “We are confident that the new leadership of the Party has the capacity the ability to address these injustices. In the words of Frantz Fanon, ‘We revolt because we cannot breathe’. So we revolted against the Party was run because it is suffocating us. Now we have a new surgeon who is doing everything possible to put it back on track. That is why we give him the benefit of doubt that the problem can be solved.” Sani said.

    Asked about his Party membership status, Sen. Shehu Sani retorted: “If I am here, I am an APC member. If I am not an APC member, you will not see me at the Party’s National Secretariat”

  • APC must put its house in order before 2019 — Sen. Sani

    Sen. Shehu Sani (APC-Kaduna) says the All Progressives Congress(APC) must put its house in order to emerge victorious in the 2019 elections.

    He disclosed this while speaking on Saturday at the 5th Olalekan Olomide Platform for Development held at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, Iyanganku in Ibadan.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Sani is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts.

    He said the ruling party had been enmeshed in various crises at different levels since 2015, and such cracks need to be addressed for the party to emerge victorious in the 2019 election.

    “I believe that the reconciliatory committee led by the APC National Leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has started a good job and I believe it can achieve a lot.

    “Some of the critical areas that need to be seriously addressed are the crises between senators and governors and the gap between the party and National Assembly (NASS).

    “There is also the seeming cold war between NASS and the executive,” Sani said.

    He said the APC must get its house in order for it to confront various challenges bedevilling the nation.

    Sani said the APC-led administration in the country had achieved some successes, particularly in the area of insurgency and the image of the country which is presently on the positive side.

    “On the economy, there is drastic reduction in corruption, but the mindless killing in some parts of the country is mind-boggling; this is a serious threat to the peace of our nation,” he said.

    According to him, the killing is unacceptable and the president must stand up firmly against it.

    The lawmaker described the South West region as the heartbeat of the APC, saying when the party suffers a stroke in the region it would lead to devastation.

    Sani categorically opposed the call for creation of state police.

    “Our crisis in Kaduna is an APC affair; the crisis got to this stage because our party failed to resolve it till it got to the stage of demolishing party’s secretariat.

    “Imagine, if such a governor is now given the right to create state police, what will be the fate of those who disagree with him?”

    The lawmaker said his recent revelation on the salaries of lawmakers was to save the dignity and integrity of the National Assembly that had been stained.

    He urged Nigerians to brace up and demand to know the running cost of the presidency and the judiciary for accountability.(NAN)

  • Missing N36m: Sen. Sani storms JAMB Hdqtrs with snake charmers

    Missing N36m: Sen. Sani storms JAMB Hdqtrs with snake charmers

    The Senator representing Kaduna Central Senatorial District, Sen. Shehu Sani has today stormed the headquarters of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board in Bwari, FCT with snake charmers.

    Sani said, the visit, was with a view to getting to the bottom of the issue surrounding the reported case of missing N36 million from the JAMB office in Makurdi, Benue.

    Philomena Chieshe, a sales clerk in the JAMB office, Makurdi, told the JAMB registrar and his team that “she could not account for the N36 million she made in previous years before the abolition of scratch cards.

    “In the course of interrogation, Philomena denied the allegations that she stole the money but confessed that her housemaid connived with another JAMB staff to spiritually (through a snake) steal the money from the vault in the account office”, the report said.

    According to Sani, his visit to JAMB is in response to the story that a snake swallowed N36 million.

    He lamented that it was of concern that such a huge sum of money was reported to have been swallowed by a snake.

    “I believe that the contribution I can make is to bring snake charmers from my constituency to the JAMB office and to help them fish out the snake and weed out snakes from their premises.”

    Sani further said that if a snake could actually swallow N36 million, one day Nigerians may wake up to say that a snake had swallowed the country’s foreign reserve.

    “I believe that my contribution to JAMB will help them fish out snakes within the office.

    “Even if it is a spiritual matter, we believe that these people I brought, they are some of the best snake charmers in the country and they will help in arresting both physical and spiritual snakes if there has been any in the JAMB office.”

    He explained that it was very clear the incident did not happen doing the tenure of the JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede.

    “We are very proud of him. We believe he is someone who should continue to man this agency and he is acting in the right direction.

    “It is good for Nigerians to know this is what has been happening before he came into office. I believe the best thing we can do is to continue to support him.

    “People should understand the story which is very clear and if that is the case, if people, civil servants could have used the opportunity to have been in office to enrich themselves using snake stories.

    “It is high time for all Nigerians to know that there may be even dirty things happening in other places but this place has exposed it for us to see the truth and I’m very much happy about that.

    “We will continue to support him. And as far as we are concerned the story that public funds could be taken away by some people in the name of snake, it is virtually unacceptable.

    Sani thereafter presented cartons of snake repellent and chemicals to the agency.

    In his response, the Spokesperson for JAMB, Mr Fabian Benjamin explained that on assumption of duty, the present registrar discovered that there were a lot of loopholes in the sale of scratch cards.

    “Before the registrar resumed duty, what we were using to register candidates and all other services was scratch cards.

    “We discovered a lot of loopholes, we discovered that staff were exposed to cash and then he stopped the use of scratch cards.

    “The registrar thereafter introduced pin vending. After introducing pin vending, it was natural for him to call for audit or stock taking.

    “After taking stock it was discovered that in some offices they could not account for what they sold, or the card that was left.

    Read More: Snakes, charmers and witch-doctors

    “Ms Philomena Chieshe was entrusted with a number of scratch cards which she sold and N36 million could not be accounted for, when asked she actually said she sold them at the said amount, kept the money in the public vault.

    “According to her, a snake swallowed the money.”

    Benjamin further explained in the spirit of transparency, inclusiveness and openness the agency felt that Nigerians should know what was happening.

    He said Chieshe had been queried and has appeared before a disciplinary committee.

    “A report has been written and sent to the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu and as soon as that report is approved, she will either be dismissed or handed over to the security agency for proper profiling.

    “At the moment she has been interjected,” Benjamin said.

    He also noted that there was a case in Nasarawa State where the staff claimed on his way to submit the cards, he had an accident and the cards got burnt.

  • Senate approves $350m World Bank loan for Ogun

    Senate approves $350m World Bank loan for Ogun

    The Senate at plenary on Thursday approved 350 million dollars World Bank loan for Ogun State Development Policy Operation (DPO) as contained in the 2016-2018 Rolling Plan.

    The approval followed the presentation of a report on the loan by Chairman, Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Sen. Shehu Sani.

    Presenting the report, Sani said that the committee observed that the Ogun State DPO budget for the loan had been approved by World Bank in 2016.

    He added that the loan was further captured in the 2016-2018 borrowing plan as approved by the National Assembly.

    Sani noted that the committee also observed that the credit facility had an attractive low financing interest rate below five (5) percent, a moratorium of five (5) years and a twenty-five-year (25) maturity term.

    He said “the facility has already been captured in the 2016-2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework.

    “It also has low and acceptable loan sustainability level, therefore it is eligible to borrow.

    “The DPO loan will further help to enhance the capacity of the state government.

    “The state has met the various conditions laid by World Bank and as such qualified for the loan.

    “It has also put in place institutional framework for transparent and accountable budgetary and financial purpose.”

    He explained that the projects to be funded by the facility would engender economic growth, increase revenue generation and create employment opportunities.

    “The committee recommends that the Senate should go ahead and approve the loan as contained in the 2016-2018 external borrowing rolling plan of President Muhammadu Buhari,’’ Sani added.

    The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over plenary, put the report to voice vote and was adopted by the lawmakers.

  • Osinbajo’s committee demands Senate’s interim report on SGF

    Osinbajo’s committee demands Senate’s interim report on SGF

    The Vice President Yemi Osinbajo-led committee investigating allegations of due process violation in award of contracts under Presidential Initiatives on North East (PINE) has requested the Senate to furnish it with relevant documents on the matter.

    Chairman, Ad Hoc Committee on Mounting Humanitarian Crisis in the North-East, Sen. Shehu Sani, confirmed receipt of a letter on the issue in an interview with newsmen on Wednesday.

    He said Osinbajo, Chairman of the Committee of Inquiry, in a letter dated April 21, requested for the Senate ad hoc committee’s report on the suspended Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Babachir Lawal.

    According to him, the vice president stated in the letter that the committee required documents from the senate for appropriate consideration.

    “ The Presidential Committee set up to look into allegations of due process violation in award of contracts under Presidential Initiatives on North-East (PINE) has written to us to make available report our findings.

    “I confirm that we got the letter and we will provide the documents to the committee,’’ he said.

    Meanwhile, the Senate ad hoc committee has asked Lawal to appear before it on April 27 by 10:00 a.m.

    Sani, who also confirmed this, said a letter had been written to Lawal requesting him to attend a rescheduled public hearing on the allegations.

    The committee had invited Lawal to appear before it for a second time on March 15.

    However, Lawal in a letter dated March 22, requested for a rescheduling of the meeting to a more appropriate time.

    The Senate ad hoc committee, in an interim report, indicted Lawal in the award of contracts under the PINE.

    The call for Lawal’s resignation followed alleged contravention of the provisions of Public Procurement Act and the Federal Government Financial Rules and Regulations pertaining to award of contracts by him.

    While presenting the report to the Senate, Sani said that the committee discovered that some of the contracts were awarded to companies belonging to top government officials’ cronies and family members.

    He explained that the committee found out that Rholavision Engineering Limited, a company in which Lawal was allegedly a director, was awarded consultancy contract.

    The company’s major role, according to him, is the removal of invasive plant species in Yobe on March 8.

  • Governors lack moral right to accuse Buhari of non-performance, says Sen. Sani

    Sen. Shehu Sani (APC-Kaduna Central), on Tuesday said state governors lacked the moral right to criticise President Muhammadu Buhari for non-perfomance.

    Sani, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Debts, made the remark in a chat with newsmen after a meeting with community leaders in Chikun Local Government Area of the state.

    “I will say it well; no governor in Nigeria has any moral right to call President Muhammadu Buhari a failure.

    “You collect Federal allocation and local government allocation every month, so you cannot call President Buhari a failure.

    “ You collect Ecology fund, Paris Club fund and Bail-Out fund so you cannot call Mr President a failure,“ Sani said.

    According to him, Buhari has achieved a lot in government better than most state governors.

    “If you don’t want Buhari to have a cabal, you should dissolve the cabal in your own houses; and if you want Buhari to have listening ears of Nigerians, you must perform.

    “I want to call on the President, as we gear up towards 2019, he should never recommend anybody for election again to the public; he should allow people to decide who they want to vote-in and who they want to vote-out.

    “President Buhari should forget the culture of raising the hands of people; we are supporting him to contest 2019, but he should stop the culture of raising Mr A or Mr B’s hand; most of the time he is raising the hands of people who betrayed him and Nigeria.’’

    Earlier during the meeting, the Senator said he was in the area to aggregate the opinion of the statekeholders on the Kaduna Eastern by-pass proad project.

    He criticised recent hike in the cost of the contract to N42 billion without consulting the stakeholders.

    “I am here to listen to your request over the Eastern by-pass contract, which the Federal Government has now jacked up to over N40 billion.

    “I must be very clear to you that none of the federal legislators, especially those from Kaduna Central, was consulted when the issue was to be discussed.

    “I knew very well that in 2016-2017 budget, I insisted that Kaduna Eastern by-pass must be included in the budget, but I read in the pages of newspapers like any one of you that the contract was jacked up to N42 billion.

    “I don’t know how the Federal Ministry of Works arrived at such amount of money, but I believe for a project like this, there could have been the need to consult the communities where this road passed through and also the elected representatives of the people,’’ he said.

    NAN recalls that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) recently approved the resuscitation and completion of the 50 kilometre dual carriage highway.

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, had said that the road has nine bridges over rivers and rail crossings.

    It was first awarded in 2002 at the cost of N12 billion, to be completed within three years.

    The minister explained that already the government had paid N11 billion to the contractor since the project was initiated, adding that N32 billion was approved to complete the road.

    However, Sani said he would present a request on behalf of the community and the people of his senatorial zone to the Senate Committee Chairman on Works, Sen. Kabiru Gaya, for details of the contract review.

    “I am going to demand from the minister of works to brief the senate on how such a project arrived at over N40 billion, in this era of anti corruption and transparency, since it is the tax payers money that is involved.”

    The senator, however, commended the government for the efforts to complete the road.