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Tag: Taraba state governor

  • Governor’s press secretary, others abducted

    The Chief Press Secretary (CPS) of Taraba State Governor, Alhaji Hassan Mijinyawa, was yesterday abducted by gunmen in Gashaka Local Government.

    It was gathered that Mijinyawa’s driver and a Nigerian based in overseas were also kidnapped. Police spokesman David Misal said the incident occurred around 9am on Nyibango, Bali-Gashaka Highway.

    The area, thickly forested, has become a den for criminals.

    The deputy press secretary, Iliya Bekyu Akweh, who spoke on the phone from Sardauna, told The Nation that Mijinyawa was travelling to Mambilla Plateau to join his principal, Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, when he was kidnapped.

    The government has not issued any statement on the incident.

    Governor Ishaku and other officials left Jalingo for Sardauna for campaigns since Tuesday.

    The media chief was kidnapped with his driver, Hussein, who was driving their bus with the inscription: Taraba State Government House Press Crew, registered as TRGH 03.

    According to police intelligence report, Ogundele Olutosi of Broadhurst Avenue, Ilford IG39, DL London, who was coming from Sardauna, was also kidnapped.

    The police said Olutosi was one of the passengers in a grey vehicle marked JAL 631 XA Picnic, coming from Sardauna, driven by Saidu Adamu.

    Some passengers, who were lucky to escape, sustained injuries and their valuables were carted away.

    The wife of the press secretary, Hajiya Sekina Mijinyawa, was in tears while speaking to reporters.

    She said: “My husband left home for Gembu in Sardauna Local Government about 7am today. Later I received the sad news of his abduction.

    “The kidnappers should please temper justice with mercy and release my husband unhurt.”

    Hajiya Mijinyawa appealed to the government and security operatives to rescue her husband and other victims.

    One of the victims, who narrowly escaped from the scene, Yusuf Garba, said: “Besides the governor’s CPS, an overseas-based Nigerian heading for one of the Internally Displaced Persons’ camps was also kidnapped.”

    Garba, who disclosed that the gunmen took over the Bali-Gashaka Highway for hours, said the CPS and other victims were dispossessed of their belongings before they were kidnapped.

  • 2019 polls: I’m waiting to see my challenger –  Ishaku

    Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, has picked his nomination form in the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), saying he is waiting to see the candidate other political parties  will throw up to challenge him in next year’s guber poll.

    Special Adviser on Political Matters, Abubakar Bawa, the San Turaki Gashaka, who spoke in a press conference in Jalingo for the governor, after picking the nomination form on his behalf, said “there is nothing to worry about.”

    Read Also:2019 elections: PDP already conceding defeat, says APC

    He said: “The governor is ready for whoever the oppositions will nominate to challenge him at the election. In 2015, the election was a two-horse race between the PDP and the APC. In the end, PDP won with a landslide.

    “PDP won because it presented the right candidate (Darius Ishaku). The same scenario seems to be playing out. We are only waiting to see who that candidate would be this time around.”

    Bawa said, although, PDP is very democratic enough to welcome governorship aspirants who may want to contest on the PDP platform, members however, have unanimously agreed that Ishaku should fly the party’s banner.

    Taraba and Gombe states are the only PDP states in the north. Sources said, the APC is strategising to capture the two “stubborn states” in next year’s election.

    But the governor’s political adviser said: “I can advance many reasons why I am optimistic Ishaku will be reelected. None of the opposition parties, including APC which is the main opposition party in Taraba State, has a candidate that is better than Ishaku.

    “Who are they nominating in APC, Sen. Aisha Alhassan whom we defeated in 2015, or David Sabo Kente, Garba Umar, Kaigama Bobboi, or that professor?

    “These people cannot stand DDI. He will beat them flat. There is no party that can withstand the PDP in Taraba State. The PDP is an opposition in the country, but in Taraba it is the ruling party. And it has been the ruling party since 1999. So, we believe there is no other political party here apart from the PDP. Even if there are other parties, we don’t take them serious.

    “Besides political parties, Taraba people want someone who naturally cares for them. And Darius Ishaku is the answer; he is one leader who has deep love and rare passion for Taraba people; how they eat, dwell and make progress bother him. For now, he is just the right person.

    “Therefore, in sha Allah (with God on our side), I think we will triumph at the poll, because of the governor’s performance and goodwill. I have been in politics in Taraba State for long so I know what I am talking about.

    “Recently, I went round the State to do a silent opinion poll, and the goodwill has been overwhelming for the governor. Nevertheless, the PDP is working hard. The party chairman, Victor Bala, and all his party executives, are leaving no stone unturned; the governor is doing his part –by providing developments; and we are working very hard and still soliciting support from the electorate to make sure we return the governor for a second term.

    “The general consensus is that Ishaku should do a second term. Rev. Jolly Nyame did 10 years from northern zone, from 1992-1993 and 1999-2007. Late Pharm. Danbaba Suntai, from central zone, did eight years (2007-2015). So the fairest thing to do, as it has become our zoning formula, is to allow Ishaku, who is from the southern zone, to also do eight years, to complete the rotation.

    “And to the best of my knowledge, the PDP stakeholders from his area (southern Taraba) have no other candidate. They have all agreed that Ishaku has done well.  Bringing another person, even from the same southern zone, will affect our political arrangement.

    “The northern and central zones are also in full support of the arrangement to give Ishaku the party’s ticket and subsequently re-elect him for a second term.

    “In terms of performance, he has scored a distinction everyone can attest to. Ishaku has done well in education, agriculture, health, infrastructure and so many other areas. So, we are yet to see his challenger.”

  • Ishaku proposes N96.6 billion for 2018 budget

    Ishaku proposes N96.6 billion for 2018 budget

    Taraba State Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku, Thursday presented to the State House of Assembly an appropriation bill of approximately ninety six billion and six hundred million naira (N96.6bn) for the fiscal year 2018.

    The governor also proposed the creation of two ministries -Mining and Power, which he said, will take off in January next year.

    The budget, which he referred to as “The Budget of Sustainable Growth,” represents a decrease of 12.32 percent when compared with last year’s budget of N110.2 billion.

    Ishaku explained that the decrease is because of “lower expected receipts from statutory allocation, value added tax, internally generated revenues (IGR) and revenues.”

    Of the total budget, recurrent expenditure is estimated at N51.2 billion, representing 53.03 percent of the budget, while capital expenditure has N45.4 billion, representing 46.97 percent.

    A further breakdown of the budget shows that works, housing and transport has the lion share of N9.2 billion, about 9.55 percent of the budget.

    Agriculture and natural resources has N5.1 billion; commerce, industry and tourism N490.4 million; rural and community development N2.5 billion; finance and poverty alleviation N4.2 billion; information N1.2 billion and education N5.6 billion.

    Another N5.6 billion is proposed for health; social development N1.1 billion; environment N659.7 million; water resources N2.3 billion and lands and urban development N1.6 billion.

    N3.8 billion is to be expended on the executive arm; N342.9 million on the legislature; law and justice N702.3 million, while general governance has N935.6 million.

    Governor Ishaku said he intends to source the budget funds from IGR estimate of N5.3 billion; federal statutory revenue of N31.5 billion; State share of value added tax (VAT) of N9.2 billion; aids and grants N4.8 billion; refund from the federal government of N30 billion, domestic loan of N11.4 billion and external loan draw-down of N4.2 billion.

    The governor stated that with more resources his administration can perform more, adding that the cardinal objective of the 2018 budget was to set expenditure at a sustainable level as to have the optimum for the majority of the people, thereby channeling 40 percent of the budget to capital development.

    He commended the “robust understanding and cooperation” between the Taraba executive and the legislature, which he said, “has given impetus to carry out the business of governance without any hitch.”

    Taraba State House of Assembly Speaker, Peter Abel Diah, said the governor did a good job this year as “the spending in 2017 budget paid attention to critical infrastructure and specific areas of challenges in the State in line with the budget.”

    The Speaker promised that the Assembly will give the appropriation bill the required attention and speedy passage.

  • Taraba Gov briefs Buhari on security, agriculture, others

    Taraba Gov briefs Buhari on security, agriculture, others

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met with Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    Issues discussed at the closed door meeting included security and agricultural development in the state.

    Speaking with State House journalists at the end of the meeting  Ishaku said “I’m here in the villa to brief Mr. President on situation of things in Taraba State. I also reported to him security wise we have recorded few successes, peace in the state and we need to enhance it. Therefore, we will need his presidential support in that manner.

    “And to generally brief him on the success we are having on agriculture and to also appreciate him very much indeed about the award of Mambilla hydro-power project which is one of the biggest hydro-project in Nigeria.

    “It has stayed over 30 years on the drawing board until his administration. So that is a very big feat and I thought I should come and thank him and seek his audience when next I will come with Taraba people to thank him.

    “It’s a very good project for the country as a whole, 3.050 megawatts, for those of us who know what a megawatt is, it can do a lot in developing Nigeria.

    “I’m sure you are aware of our popular green house, last year we had 16,000 in the rice farm we want to quadruple that by this year and therefore we need assistance particularly to build channels where we can distribute water. Because the dry season farming is more popular than the rainy season, they harvested rice four times more and we want to enhance that.”

    He disclosed that the state has also gone into other crops cultivation including cocoa, beniseed and soya beans.

    “All these we are recording huge successes in the state.” he said

    According to him, the state has also recorded huge success in education and for the first time move from less than 28 percent on WAEC table to 67.3 percent last month.

    “When they graded the whole country, we were number 8th in the whole country and number one in the northern states. We have really pushed education very high and we intend to push it to an enviable height,” he said.

    On farmers/herdsmen clash, he said that his state is quite calm even as there is plan to introduce the anti-grazing law in the state next year January.

    He said that two panels were set up to sensitize the farmers and the herdsmen so that they both understand the benefits of the anti-grazing bill.

    “Because I still believe for the herdsmen socially and economically, that is the best thing that will ever happen to them if we can consolidate on that. The awareness is improving each day and people are beginning to know that these laws are done in good faith and are done to secure lives and properties of the people. We are sure that there will be not much hindrance to its implementation.

    On the kind of security assistance required from the Federal Government, he said “You know security is sole prerogative of Mr. President, it is his assignment. We state governments rely on the federal government for the soldiers, the police and all the security agencies and therefore you need the presidential directives to be able to enhance the security in the states, particularly my state where some of the soldiers have been withdrawn to other areas in the country which we will need them if possible to come back so that we will feel more secure and continue to live in peace.

    On what the President’s response was, he said “Positive.”

    Read Also: Buhari’s economic decisions long-lasting, says Fed Govt

  • Boko Haram infiltrating my state, Gov. Ishaku cries out

    Boko Haram infiltrating my state, Gov. Ishaku cries out

    Taraba state governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku has said that fleeing members of the Boko Haram insurgents were taking refuse in the Bali forest area of the state, posing potential security threat to residents of the state.

    Speaking when he received the Brigade Commander of the 23 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Yolanda, General Bello Abdullahi Mohammed, Governor Ishaku said the presence of the fleeing insurgents who were displaced from the Sambisa forest has led to increase in crime rate in the state.

    He said that as a result of the heat on them by military, the insurgents have fled the Sambisa forest and are now occupying the Bali forest which is equally a vast forest, adding that as a result of that, robbery, kidnapping, rape and other forms of crimes have now become a daily occurrence in all the local governments close to the forest.

    Governor Ishaku also drew the attention of the military to the increasing state of insecurity at the Gashaka Gumpti National Park which is threatening tourism in the state.

    He said criminals have infiltrated the Park, thereby making it unsafe for tourists and called for intervention by the security forces to flush out the criminals to make the Park which has been attracting a lot of local and foreign tourist safe again.

    He commended the military for its role in helping to restore peace to communities affected by communal crises in the state in the past, saying that they were always there any time they were called, even in the wee hours of the night and under  poor weather conditions.

    “This has to be so, because the scope of the crises, sometimes is beyond the police to tackle. The situation now is such that herdsmen carry sophisticated weapons instead of sticks which they were known to carry and they now often overwhelm security agencies sent to confront them”, he said.

    While lamenting the incessant crisis between farmers and herdsmen, Governor Ishaku said in the past, “herdsmen and farmers enjoyed a cordial and symbiotic relationship.

    “Farmers wanted herdsmen to leave their cattle on their farms long enough to eat up grass and remnants of harvested crops and in the process fertilize the farms by excreting their wastes there.

    “Even when the cattle ate the farmers’ crops, the matter was always amicably resolved with the herdsman paying a token compensation. These never resulted in any fight or crisis”, he said

    Speaking earlier, the Brigade Commander, General Mohammed assured the Governor of the preparedness of the army to assist the state in the pursuit of its agenda for peace in the state.

    “Our men are always ready and willing respond any time they are called to help restore peace. He said he will consult with the Governor for advice and guidance in handling security matters always”, he said.