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Tag: SOKOTO

  • Tambuwal approves appointment of Waziri of Sokoto

    Tambuwal approves appointment of Waziri of Sokoto

    Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto state has approved the recommendation of the Sultanate council for the appointment of Prof Sambo Junaidu, as the new Waziri of Sokoto.

    A statement issued by the Secretary to the Sultanate Council, of the state, Alhaji Umar Ladan, in Sokoto on Wednesday announced the governor’s approval for the appointment.

    Ladan sid the governor had also approved the appointment of the new District Heads.

    According to him, the new district heads including: Alhaji Kabiru Alhassan, District Head of Wurno and Alhaji Bello Usman, District Head of Dange.

    Others appointees are; Alhaji Nasiru Umar, District Head of Dogondaji and Alhaji Sada Dikko, District Head of Gande.

    Ladan also said the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, had approved Dec. 9 as the date for the turning of the new Waziri of Sokoto and the four new District Heads.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports the new Wazirin Sokoto succeeds his brother, late Dr Usman Junaidu, (85) who died on Oct.10.

    Read Also: Maulud: Imbibe tenets of peace, Tambuwal urges Nigerians

  • Fuel queues resurface in Sokoto metropolis

    Fuel queues resurface in Sokoto metropolis

    Fuel queues have resurfaced in Sokoto metropolis and its environs, creating hardship for motorists and commuters.

    The queues, which started two days ago, became worse on Monday morning as motorists resorted to panic buying.

    Some of the filling stations belonging to Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria ( IPMAN ) have increased the price of a litre of petrol from N145 to N150 per litre.

    At NNPC mega stations and other filling stations run by major marketers, the queues were longer, as they maintained the official price of N145 per litre but were reluctant to sell to motorists.

    Some motorists on queue expressed displeasure about the situation and urged the government to act fast before it degenerated into a major problem.

    “We were happy that fuel scarcity during the yuletide had become history, only for the problem to resurface now.

    “Efforts must be made to curb the problem; especially with the current socio-economic realities in the country,’’ a Motorist, Mr Sifawa Ahmad said.

    Another motorist, Mary Onya said the situation was a cause for concern and government must take immediate action.

    Mr Mohammed Makera, Sokoto Operations Controller of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), said  that the problem would soon ease off.

    “Expectedly, the problem will soon ease off as we will find out what the problem is and everything will be under control soon.

    “Officials of the DPR have embarked on sustained monitoring and surveillance and any marketer found wanting will face necessary sanctions, ’’ Makera said.

    He appealed for more patience and implored people to avoid panic buying in view of its associated dangers.

    NAN

  • Maulud: Imbibe tenets of peace, Tambuwal urges Nigerians

    Maulud: Imbibe tenets of peace, Tambuwal urges Nigerians

    Gov. Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, has urged all Nigerians to uphold the tenets of peaceful coexistence and respect for all faith so as to build a united and peaceful nation.

    Tambuwal made the call in a message to commemorate this year’s Maulud celebration issued in Sokoto on Friday by his spokesman, Malam Imam Imam.

    He said the celebration of the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) should renew “our faith and bond of unity as one people, one nation, our diversities notwithstanding.”

    The governor said same way that the birth of the Prophet in Mecca ushered in a new dawn for humanity, Nigerians should view the occasion of this year’s Maulud Nabiyyi as an opportunity for a new beginning for the country.

    “I believe that we will make progress towards the realisation of our shared vision of a strong, united and prosperous nation if our people imbibe the Prophet’s lessons of peace, tolerance, honesty, selflessness, sincerity, justice, equity and peaceful co-existence with others, including fairness to all,” the governor said.

    He equally urged Muslims across the country to imbibe the virtues of forgiveness, love, piety, humility, transparency, tolerance and perseverance.

    While reiterating the determination of his administration to create an enabling environment for peace to reign, Tambuwal specifically congratulated Sokoto citizens for witnessing this day.

    Tambuwal appealed to them not to relent in their prayers for the nation and its leaders.

  • Sultanate council, CISSC plan quiz contest

    THE Sultanate Council, Sokoto in collaboration with the Centre for Intellectual Services on the Sokoto  Caliphate (CISSC) has commenced arrangements for a quiz competition among secondary and Islamiyya schools in the state.

    The upcoming event will be preceded by public lecture to be delivered by scholars.

    Speaking in Sokoto, Chairman /Board of Trustees of the centre, Prof Sambo Wali Junaidu said the quiz would focus on questions covering famous institutions and contributions of jihadists in the caliphate under the leadership of Late Usmanu Bn Fodiyo.

    He said the aim was to encourage and inculcate in young students  the knowledge of history about the Sokoto Caliphate and other historical places.

    He said Sultan Sa’ad Abubakar III had already donated the prizes to be won by the students.

  • Union leaders visit National Assembly

    Members of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS) have visited the National Assembly in Abuja for excursion. The students, who are members of the union’s legislative arm, were hosted by the Senate and House of Representatives.

    The visit was aimed at exposing members of the union’s Students’ Representative Assembly (SRA) to legislative procedure in the National Assembly, in order to help acquire skills in running the union effectively. The 18 participants in the excursion were selected from all faculties of the school.

    Receiving the students of behalf of the Senate President, the Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, described the visit as worthy, saying the National Assembly’s leadership usually welcomed youths to learn about legislative procedures.

    At the House of Representatives, Speaker Yakubu Dogara, recognised the presence of the students during a regular sitting of members. He urged them to be observant while the legislative proceedings went on.

    After observing proceedingsthe in the Green Chamber, the students paid a courtesy visit to three senators from Sokoto, Aminu Sheu Shagari, Aliyu Wammakko and Abdullahi Ibrahim Gobir.

    Wammakko informed the students of the need for the Federal Government to establish a polytechnic in Sokoto State. The lawmaker said he wanted the proposed polytechnic to be sited in Silame, a remote community outside the state capital. Having a school in the area, Wammakko said, would boost development.

    Senator Shagari urged the students to take their academic pursuit seriously, while also advising them to use their involvement in unionism to boost their political participation. He noted that he was not in politics because of the influence his father, Alhaji Sheu Shagari, a former president. He said political participation was informed by the need to serve humanity.

    In an interactive session with Senator Gobir, the lawmaker told the students that hard work and determination remained the key to unlock success either in academic or politics. He said the essence of politics was to render selfless service to humanity. He urged the students to be patriotic and use their experience to improve the rating of the school.

    The SRA Speaker, Aminu Hashidu Danjuma, who led the students, said the excursion was educative and an eye-opener for the participants, saying: “We are now acquainted with the day-to-day legislative activities of the National Assembly.”

    Hashidu urged lawmakers from Sokoto to use their influence in initiating projects that would improve the welfare of the students of the school.

    Dean of Students’ Affairs, Prof Adamu Aliero, hailed the students for the excursion, saying: “I believe the visit would improve their knowledge about legislature.”

  • Smuggling: NCS intercepts 506 bags of foreign rice

    Smuggling: NCS intercepts 506 bags of foreign rice

    Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS ) said its command in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara zone had intercepted 506 bags of foreign rice concealed in bags of beans smuggled into the country.

    The command’s Controller, Mr Nasir Ahmad, made this known to newsmen on Wednesday in Sokoto, and said that the seized consignment had payable duty value of N12.5 million.

    Ahmad said that the items were intercepted on Friday by officers of the command on patrol along Sokoto-Illela road.

    He said that the command had competent intelligent officers, investigating specialised activities.

    The controller explained that smugglers deployed different tactics in perpetrating their illegal businesses and reassured the public of the command’s readiness to confront smuggling and enforce government regulations.

    He called on people residing in border communities to assist Customs authorities with useful information to combat smuggling of goods into the country.

    “The present case is different as smugglers packaged two bags of rice in bigger beans bag disguising that they were conveying beans in the truck,” Ahmad said.

    According to him, smugglers are using various structures, including residential buildings, to store smuggled items in peace-meal before uploading to a truck.

    Ahmad said smuggling was crippling the nation’s economy as it deprived it of revenue, crippled industrial growth, endangered population and employment.

    He commended Comptroller-General and officers of the Service for supporting anti-smuggling and revenue generation drive of the present administration.

  • Smuggling: NCS intercepts 506 bags of foreign rice

    Smuggling: NCS intercepts 506 bags of foreign rice

    Nigeria Customs Service ( NCS ) said its command in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara zone had intercepted 506 bags of foreign rice concealed in bags of beans smuggled into the country.

    The command’s Controller, Mr Nasir Ahmad, made this known to newsmen on Wednesday in Sokoto, and said that the seized consignment had payable duty value of N12.5 million.

    Ahmad said that the items were intercepted on Friday officers of the command on patrol along Sokoto-Illela road.

    He said that the command had competent intelligent officers, investigating specialised activities.

    The controller explained that smugglers deployed different tactics in perpetrating their illegal businesses and reassured the public of the command’s readiness to confront smuggling and enforce government regulations.

    He called on people residing in border communities to assist Customs authorities with useful information to combat smuggling of goods into the country.

    “The present case is different as smugglers packaged two bags of rice in bigger beans bag disguising that they were conveying beans in the truck,” Ahmad said.

    According to him, smugglers are using various structures, including residential buildings, to store smuggled items in peace-meal before uploading to a truck.

    Ahmad said smuggling was crippling the nation’s economy as it deprived it of revenue, crippled industrial growth, endangered population and employment.

    He commended Comptroller-General and officers of the Service for supporting anti-smuggling and revenue generation drive of the present administration.

    NAN

  • World Bank, Sokoto Govt to expand areas of partnership

    World Bank, Sokoto Govt to expand areas of partnership

    The World Bank office in Nigeria and Sokoto state government have agreed to expand their areas of mutual cooperation so as to engender development, inclusiveness and tackle poverty among the populace.

    This development followed a meeting between Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal and World Bank’s Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Rachid Ben Messaoud, at the Bank’s office in Abuja.

    Already, ‎the World Bank and Sokoto government are partnering in critical sectors like irrigation and drainage, education, rural and inter-urban roads, water supply, sanitation, waste management and health.

    A statement issued Tuesday in Sokoto by the Governor’s spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, quoted Tambuwal as saying that his administration has paid all its counterpart funding for various projects to be executed jointly by the bank and the state government, and is awaiting further action to ensure rapid implementation.

    “We have a number of projects we are implementing jointly in critical sectors like irrigation, water management, repairs of dam, health, education and others.

    “We have discussed on ways we can hasten up implementation and I am happy with the response we got from the World Bank team.
    “Importantly, we have agreed to expand the areas of our cooperation into sectors like livestock development, administration and fiscal reform among others,” he added.

    The statement further revealed that the global bank’s officials have commended Sokoto government for its commitment to full implementation of the various agreements entered into by the two entities.

    “The commitment shown by Sokoto government is commendable and reassuring. We are delighted by what has been achieved so far and we hope to create a better future together for the people of Sokoto and Nigeria,” the Country Director stated.

     

  • NYSC partners financial institutions to secure soft loans for members

    NYSC partners financial institutions to secure soft loans for members

    The National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ) on Monday said it partnered some financial institutions in the country to provide soft loans for corps members to start business.

    The Director-General of the corps, Brig. Gen. Suleiman Kazaure, told newsmen on the sideline of his visit to the 2017 NYSC Batch B Stream I Corps members at Wamakko Orientation Camp in Sokoto that the loan would help the young corps members.

    Kazaure said “we introduced skills acquisition programmes to improve the capacity
    of corps members and to key into Federal Government’s programmes of diversifying the country’s economy.

    “We thought that our corps members need soft loans to enable them to start a business and earn a living during and after their service year.

    “NYSC, therefore, entered into partnership with some financial institutions like Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ), Heritage Bank and Bank of Industry to secure loans for corps members at single digit interest rate.”

    The NYSC boss said the loans were for corps members to start small scale enterprises from the grassroots and practically expand the knowledge gained during their skills acquisition programme in the service year.

    Kazaure added that NYSC would establish a skills acquisition centre in each of the six geopolitical zones in the country, with the aim of ensuring that corps members got the skills they required.

    He commended the Sokoto State Government for providing peaceful atmosphere for members serving in the state and urged them to reciprocate the gesture.

    The NYSC Coordinator in Sokoto State, Alhaji Musa Abubakar, thanked Kazaure for the visit to the camp and commended the corps members for maintaining discipline.

    NAN

  • Sokoto to host 4th traditional boxing tourney

    Sokoto to host 4th traditional boxing tourney

    The Secretary of the Nigeria Traditional Boxing Premier League, Ahmed Jada, said on Monday that Sokoto State would host the fourth edition of the traditional boxing tournament next month.

    Jada made this known in Abuja that the tournament would hold at the Trade Fair Complex on Old Airport Road in Sokoto.

    He said the event was earlier scheduled to hold from Dec. 7 to Dec. 10 but was shifted to Dec. 14 to Dec. 17, due to some circumstances.

    He said that the tournament was previously billed to hold in Kebbi but was moved to Sokoto, due to unavailability of venue in Kebbi.

    “Everything has been put in place to start the fourth event of the year; the competition will go round the eight participating states.

    “The first phase was held in Kastina State in August, Ogun State hosted the second phase in September; Kaduna State hosted the third phase in November and now Sokoto State is hosting the fourth phase.

    “Kano State won the trophy in Katsina and Kaduna, the battle is open for other participating states to win the trophy.

    “This is the best way to propagate the game in the country, we are working hard to meet the international standards of the game in Nigeria.’’

    He said that the league started with eight states – Katsina, Niger, Kano, Kebbi, Nasarawa, Kaduna, Ogun and the FCT.

    He said that funding had been the major challenge of the league, pleading that the federation needed support from government and private companies.

    NAN