The Nation Newspaper

Tag: SOKOTO

  • Hospital conducts vagina reconstruction surgeries in Sokoto

    The Maryam Abacha Children and Women Hospital, Sokoto has successfully conducted advanced vagina reconstruction surgeries on three women with Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF).

    Vaginal reconstruction is the creation of a new or artificial vagina after surgery to remove part or the entire vagina; it is also used as a treatment for vaginal cancer.

    Dr Balarabe Kakale, Sokoto state Commissioner for Health, disclosed this in Gusau at a three-day workshop organized by a USAID-assisted Leadership, Empowerment, Advocacy and Development (LEAD) Project implemented in Sokoto and Bauchi States.

    The workshop with the theme ”2016 Sokoto State Budget Performance Review and Public Hearing on 2017 Budget Workshop” was a platform for the review of the ministry’s nearly N6 billion 2016 budget.

    Represented by Alhaji Mohammed Ladan, a Director in the ministry, Kakale said the hospital also conducted 162 VVF surgeries.

    Kakale added, ‘‘Over two million children were immunized in the state while the process of transforming Primary Health Care under one roof in the state has reached over ninety per cent”.

    He said other achievements recorded in the health sector included the reactivation of quarterly free plastic surgeries at the Noma Hospital, Sokoto by foreign surgeons.

    The commissioner disclosed that the state government provided a N100 million take off grant for the Contributory Health Scheme while more than three million people were provided free malaria drugs.

    “Health staff were recruited and posted across the state to shore up the provision of efficient healthcare services to the people.

    “Several other construction and renovation projects as well as provision of hospital equipment, drugs and medicament were executed in 2016.

    “This was not, however, without challenges like recession, delay in releases of funds, poor internal revenue generation and multiple taxation of private health facilities.”

     

  • Sokoto fire dept. gets new firefighting machines

    Sokoto State Fire Service Department, has taken delivery of ten additional firefighting machines recently ordered by the state government.

    The Director-General of the department, Alhaji Ibrahim Dingyadi, made the disclosure on Wednesday in Sokoto when members of the House of Assembly’s Committee on Emergency Relief visited him on oversight function.

    He said that the machines would bolster the operations of the department in Sokoto meropolis and its environs.

    Dingyadi said: “the government is committed in taking necessary measures to protect lives and properties of its citizens.

    “As such, the government provided these additional ten vehicles for firefighting to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in controlling disaster across the state.

    “Moreover, eight additional new fire stations unit will be established soon to support the existing ones in the state.”

    In his remarks, the chairman of the committee, Alhaji Abdullahi Zakari (APC- Rabah), said the visit was to ascertain the state of firefighting equipment in the state.

    He added that the visit was also aimed at assisting the fire department in ensuring that its operations were effective to protect lives and properties of the people.

    Zakari commended Gov. Aminu Tambuwal for supporting the department by purchasing the modern firefighting machines.

     

  • Dangote to launch 25,000 hectares of rice outgrowers scheme in Sokoto

    Dangote Rice, a subsidiary of Dangote Group, is to launch in Sokoto, Sokoto State, its multi-million naira 25, 000 hectares of rice outgrowers scheme, with a prospect of hundreds of thousands of jobs for rural communities’ residents.

    The group’s President, Aliko Dangote, said at the weekend the company would on Wednesday launch a pilot project of 500 ha by Gonroyo dam, in Goronyo community.

    Gonroyo dam is the second largest in the country, after Kainji.

    The ceremony, to be performed by Governor Aminu Tambuwa, will witness seedlings being distributed to local farmers, who will plant the seed after which Dangote Rice Company will buy from them for milling and final processing.

    Sokoto State is the second after Jigawa of the 14 states spread across the area where Dangote Rice plans to operate outgrower scheme to empower local farmers and create job opportunities for rural dwellers and reduce migration to the cities.

    Dangote Rice projects in the states, when operational, will generate jobs and increase income for smallholder farmers, while diversifying Nigeria’s economy and reducing the nation’s food import bill.

    Statistics fArom the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) estimate rice demand in Nigeria reached 6.3 million MT in 2015, with only 2.3 million MT of that demand satisfied by local production.

    This local production shortfall leaves a gap of 4.0 million MT that is being filled through formal importation of rice or illegal imports over land borders.

    By end of this year, Dangote Rice plans to produce 225,000 MT of parboiled, milled white rice. This will allow us to satisfy four per cent of the total market demand within one year. Our model can then be successfully scaled to produce 1,000,000 MT of milled rice in order to satisfy 16 per cent of the domestic market demand for rice in the next five years.

    Due to the economic crisis, domestic prices for agro-commodities have risen in the last 12 months, making local agriculture an attractive investment.

    Dangote Rice Ltd seeks to take advantage of this economic trend and the favourable policies laid out in the FMARD’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda.

    Dangote Rice has a mandate to local, high-quality milled, parboiled rice for the Nigerian market. This goal will be achieved by sourcing the raw material (paddy) required from the Dangote Rice Outgrower Scheme.

    Through the Dangote Rice Outgrowers Scheme, DRL will partner outgrowers (smallholder and contract rice farmers) to cultivate and grow rice paddy. DRL will provide input, technical assistance, extension services and land preparation services and equipment to farmers. At harvest, DRL will recoup the costs of input and services and will act as a guaranteed offtaker for paddy that meets certain pre-agreed quality standards. Smallholder farmers will provide land and labour.

     

  • Sokoto begins sale of PMS to citizens

    In its efforts to bridge the challenge of fuel scarcity and further discourage hike in petroleum price by marketers in the state, the government of Sokoto State at the weekend announced plans to commence the sale of one million litres of petrol to motorists per week.

    This was made known to reporters in Sokoto by the Chairman of the state’s taskforce on the Supply of Petroleum Products, Alhaji Ibrahim Magaji.

    Although the fuel supply situation in the state was easing as some independent marketers were still selling the commodity at between N160 and N175 per litre.

    However, a cross section of the motorists commended the state government for establishing the taskforce, even as they called for sterner measures to ensure the sustainable availability of petroleum products.

    Magaji said: “The state government plans to renew its bulk purchase agreement license with the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in this direction.

    ‘’Consequently, the state government would start the bulk purchase of petrol and be selling same to the motorists.

    ‘’ Anytime the state government buys one million litres, it would get nothing less than thirty trucks of petrol.

    ‘’The state government has fuel dumps across city and its environs to be selling the commodity to the motorists.’’

    He explained that the action was part of emergency measures being deployed by the state government to fully stabilize the fuel supply situation in the state.

    Magaji directed the petroleum marketers to open their filling stations and revert to the official pump price.

  • Gunmen kidnap ex-union official in Sokoto

    Gunmen kidnap ex-union official in Sokoto

    A former official of the Sokoto State branch of the Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria (MHUN), Bello Arzika, has been kidnapped by gunmen in Sokoto, it was learnt yesterady.
    Chairman Abdullahi Aliyu, who spoke to News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said: “Arzika was travelling to Isa when the suspected kidnappers struck.
    “They were reportedly attacked by a group of armed men at Gidan Sala village and they took only Arzika into the Gundumi Forest.
    “They were going to Isa town, headquarters of Isa Local Government Area, to conduct the verification of local government workers which began yesterday.
    “The details are scanty as at now, but you will hear the details later.”
    But police spokesman Elmustapha Sani said the command had not been formally notified.
    “We only heard about the incident unofficially. We have not received any report from either the Isa Police Division or Goronyo Division where the forest is located.
    “We will provide you with details as we get them,” Sani said.

  • Sokoto teachers to take proficiency test

    SOKOTO State schools’ teachers  will be subjected to proficiency test, Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal has said.

    The performance in  the test would be used to measure their professional competence to deliver quality service and promote standard to education in the state.

    Tambuwal made this known at a meeting with the Chairman of the state Committee on Emergency in Education, Prof Risqua Shehu.

    The committee is expected to present a report to the government on the needs assessment of schools whicch was conducted last November.

    In a statement, the governor’s spokesman, Malam Imam Imam, said the tests were aimed at ensuring that the teachers meet the required standards, while their postings match their qualifications.

    “The tests will also improve our data base on the number of teachers in public service which will in turn be used to harmonise records available with different agencies and departments of government,” the statement reads in part.

    For those that fail, the statement said they would be redeployed.

    “However, this does not mean that those who may fall below the required standard after the tests will be sacked. Alternatively, we will redeploy them to other sectors befitting of their qualifications and expertise. The government will continue to benefit from their services as to the terms of their employments,” the statement quoted the governor as saying.

    Tambuwal vowed that his administration would leave do everything to uplift the standard of the education sector in the state.

    He also said his administration was fully committed to funding the sector adequate at all levels.

    “That is why even in 2017, education retained the highest allocation in our budget. Our thinking is that no amount of money allocated to the education sector is too much and we will not waver in this direction,” he added.

     

  • Sokoto to establish 488 schools

    Plans are underway by the Sokoto State government to establish 488 integrated Islamiya/nursery schools across the state.

    Sokoto State Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal announced this at the closing of the 2016/2017 edition of the State Quranic Recitation Competition in Tambuwal town, headquarters of Tambuwal Local Government.

    The contest was organised at select representatives of the state for the forthcoming national and international editions of the competition.

    Tambuwal explained that the gesture was aimed at integrating Western and Quranic schools’ systems.

    The former Speaker of the House of Representatives said government had recently upgraded 15 community female Islamiya schools with a view to enhancing their performance.

    He also promised to ensure the growth of Islamic education, as well as facilitate the proper recitation and memorisation of the Holy Quran.

    His words: “We will also continue to construct, rehabilitate and expand mosques and Islamiyya schools across the state.

    “I am hereby directing the chairmen of the 23 local governments to do same.”

    Similarly, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, represented by the District Head of Binji, Alhaji Kabiru Usman, pledged the Sultanate Council’s commitment to enhance Quranic recitation and memorisation.

    In his remarks, the state Commissioner for  Basic and Secondary Education, Dr Jabbi Kilgori, praised Tambuwal for his sustained support to the annual competition.

  • Sokoto’s E-governance example

    Sokoto’s E-governance example

    Until now, not much was known about Sokoto’s huge investment in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector. But that situation changed when it defeated 35 other states in the country to win the prestigious award of Best State in e-Governance at the 2016 E-Nigeria Expo and Conference. The award, instituted by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), recognises and promotes excellence in governance through ICT.
    The assessment criteria for the highly competitive award include capacity building in the sector, generation of employment opportunities, improved education and healthcare services using ICT, operational efficiency of ICT tools, self-help services among others.
    E-governance is regarded as the ICT-enabled route to achieving good governance. It integrates people, processes, information, and technology in the service of governance initiatives. The expected benefits have led to increase in the efficiency of government operations, strengthening democracy, enhancing transparency, and providing better services to citizens and businesses.
    The vision of e-government is the optimization of services so that government can achieve its goals. When Governor Aminu Waziri Tambuwal took over the mantle of leadership in Sokoto State in May 2015, he outlined the ‘Government ICT Strategy’ which aimed to ensure that, in a dynamic technology environment, it can achieve the government’s plan of an ICT-enabled transformation of public services of the state.
    The ICT Strategy provided an opportunity of benefitting from several emerging game-changing trends that support better public service by putting citizens and public institutions at the centre of design and delivery of digital services.
    The Government ICT Strategy 2015 has three focus areas: Enhancing citizen awareness about ICT; Applying ICT in public sector transformation; and partnerships with the private sector and other stakeholders to deepen application of ICT in the state. The success of the strategy has so far led agencies to collaborate with one another and with vendors to deliver better public services to the people of Sokoto.
    In practical terms, to achieve the aims and objectives of the government’s e-strategy, Tambuwal revived the State ICT Directorate and made it a parastatal under the Ministry of Science and Technology. The directorate has helped to coordinate and spearhead transformation of the state’s ICT landscape. To demonstrate government’s commitment to the sector, the ICT Directorate was allocated the sum of N1.1 billion for its operations in the 2016 budget. This amount is staggering considering the fact that only N80m was allocated to the directorate in the preceding year.
    Realising the importance of social media to today’s governance strategy, Tambuwal, upon assumption of office, created a Social Media Unit domiciled in his office. The new unit, which operates closely with the office of the Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, is enjoying the same privileges as the (traditional) media crew attached to the Government House. The unit coordinates activities of all government-assisted online groups, and interacts, on behalf of the government, with interested persons and groups seeking information about government’s policies and programmes.
    Tambuwal had made it clear that he would continue to explore different avenues to widen interaction with special groups, especially the youths. “Adequate training will be organised for the youths to equip them with the latest knowledge in online information management. By the creation of this unit, we hope to engage our youths and also get their inputs in the running of the government. Our youths played critical roles during the campaigns to mobilise our people for the task ahead. We want them to do more by offering quality suggestions on their vision for Sokoto State,” the governor had said while announcing the creation of the new unit. Buoyed by the success of the unit, the government later gave approval for the integration of social media units into all MDAs to effectively publicise government activities.
    In March 2016, Sokoto became one of two states to represent Nigeria at the Smart Cities Program in Washington DC, USA, which was organized jointly by the United States Government and Government of Nigeria through NIST and NITDA respectively.
    Widening the scope of the application of information technology in governance saw the state deploy ICT in the accreditation of all its students schooling abroad, thereby modernising record keeping at the State Scholarship Board. This ensured massive savings of public funds. The focus of e-governance also led to the provision of computer facilities in all tertiary institutions, and select primary and secondary schools to serve as pilot centres for ICT education. This is not forgetting the building of Computer Based Test Centres (CBT) in the three senatorial zones for students writing JAMB and other public officials writing promotion examinations.
    Government has made public commitment to support entrepreneurs in the ICT sector. Once the policy is implemented, knowledge will be enhanced, while start-ups will benefit from new investment to develop their expertise.
    Another important project that will come on stream in 2017 is the world class Data Analysis Centre for the state Ministry of Health. The Centre will be used in tracking and analysis of health-related data in Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi states.
    The government is not relenting in efforts to deepen application of ICT in all public endeavours. Recently, it announced that it is working with the Federal Government to develop the sector. Briefing reporters after a meeting with the Minister of Communication, Adebayo Shittu, Tambuwal said the state government will leverage on the modest achievements recorded in the ICT sector in the last one year, and welcomed the opportunity to partner the Federal Government for the benefit of the state. He said his administration has “extensively applied ICT in various spheres of governance,” and will continue to do so because the new method enhances good governance and helps in tackling corruption at all levels.
    No doubt, use of modern day technologies such as medical treatment databases, cell phones to improve livelihoods, and computers to enable citizens to compete for online jobs in the global market, will continue to enrich the lives of the people in many ways. The example set by Sokoto is that governments can become closer to its people through the use of information technology and communications, thereby increasing efficiency and helping to make their lives better.

    •Imam writes from Sokoto and is on Twitter @imamdimam

  • Sokoto surveys school facilities

    Sokoto State has carried out a survey of resources in its secondary schools to assess their needs.

    It was carried out in 40 schools by the Technical Committee on the Implementation of State of Emergency in education in the state.

    Its Chairman, Prof Riskuwa Arabu Shehu, said the survey used globally-accepted indices, including the availability of classrooms, teachers and their qualifications, teaching aids, Information Communications and Technology, clinics, teacher-to- pupil ratio, as well as the level of dilapidation of structures, among others.

    He said findings of the survey would be compiled in a report to be submitted to Governor Aminu Tambuwal soon.

    Shehu, a former Vice-Chancellor of the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, said the exercise yielded useful data that would help the state in planning to revive its education sector.

    “We have to get our priorities right and channel resources to the prioritised areas, to avoid mistakes.   The survey was a Needs Assessment conducted to have a comprehensive knowledge of all the critical indices needed to provide quality education.

    “If you don’t plan well, you will not have value for your money, especially with the current recession,” he added.

  • $300m Sokoto Cement plant for completion in 2017

    $300m Sokoto Cement plant for completion in 2017

    Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc (CCNN), also known as Sokoto Cement, a subsidiary of BUA Group, earlier in the week  announced that its new 1.5million Metric Tonnes Per Annum (MTPA) cement plant will be completed before the third quarter of 2017.

    Founder/Executive Chairman of BUA Group and CCNN Chairman, Abdulsamad Rabiu, disclosed this during a working tour of the plant by the Minister for Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Kayode Fayemi.

    The $300 million project, which began a few years ago, according to Rabiu, was the first expansion of the plant since 1986. BUA group took over the majority shareholding of the company in 2010.

    He also informed the minister that the Group has discovered coal in commercial quantities, which it intends to use as fuel for a 40MW power plant being constructed as part of the project.

    The new cement factory will use both coal and Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) and source its power needs from the plant with the excess power generated to feed the national grid.

    According to Rabiu, the $300m investment in the new plant is the single largest private sector led investment in the Northwest of the country.

    He also highlighted the plant’s export potential, which include its 100 kilometres closeness to the  Niger Republic border and 200 kilometre-distance to Benin Republic border. Rabiu said the plant will help Nigeria earn much needed foreign exchange and diversify the economy.

    Responding, Dr. Fayemi commended BUA Group and Sokoto Cement for their contributions to various areas of national development. He said CCNN was the second-largest employer of labour in Sokoto State, second to the state government.

    He  commended the company for successfully exploring coal in the state and reiterated the Federal Government’s resolve to support sustainable investments in the solid minerals sector, which will in turn have immense positive impact on Nigerians.

    The CCNN was incorporated in 1962 and began production in 1967, with a capacity of 100,000 tons per annum. In 1985, a new production line of 500, 000 tons was added and inuagurated. Thereafter, in 1986, the first line was shut down due to its uneconomic mode of operation, thus leaving the plant with a rated output of 500,000 tons per annum.

    The company, however, underwent various stages of privatisation and changes of ownership until BUA Group took over majority shareholding in 2010, thus bringing it under the larger BUA umbrella.