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Tag: tools

  • Work tools for lawmaker’s constituents

    Work tools for lawmaker’s constituents

    Work tools worth millions of naira have been distributed to some members of the Ebonyi Central Senatorial District.

    The items were provided by Senator Obinna Ogba who represents the constituency.

    The items included motorcycles, grinding machines, cassava grinding machines, sewing machines, kernel grinding machines and over 10 cars.

    Speaking during the distribution at his hometown Amanvu Nkalagu in Ishielu Local Government Area of the state, Senator Ogba noted that the distribution is structured in such a way that all the 58 wards in the four local government areas of the zone namely Ikwo, Ezza North, Ezza South and Ishielu benefit from the scheme.

    He said the distribution which will be periodical is in keeping with his campaign promises to the people.

    The Senator said he has started paying stipends to over 232 persons in the constituency.

    The programme he said costs him over N1m monthly, adding that he is determined to sustain it till the end of his tenure.

    On creating jobs, Senator Ogba noted that notwithstanding the embargo placed on employment, he has been able to secure employment for about 14 persons spread across the four local governments.

    “I recommended over 30 persons for employment; about 9 of them will get their appointment letters now that the 2016 budget has been signed,” he said.

    Also 10 persons from my constituency are also in my payroll and I spend well over N400,000 on their salary monthly.

    On education, Senator Ogba noted that he has paid school fees for over 100 students. He said he has concluded arrangement to float a scholarship scheme later in the year.

    Other projects by the Senator include construction of rural bridges and roads in some communities in Ishielu local government area and sponsorship ofsome constituents to overseas tour.

    “On arrival, the contingent receives cash rewards not fewer than 500,000 each. I am making arrangements to secure some slots for two or more persons to travel to Brazil for the 2016 Olympics”.

    Senator Ogba said all those who drove his campaign vehicles have been given those cars.

    He urged the beneficiaries to put the gifts into good use while assuring that the programme will continue throughout his tenure.

     

  • Lawmaker’s jobs tools for constituents

    Lawmaker’s jobs tools for constituents

    Some got sewing machines, some motorcycles or tricycles. But even as Federal House of Representatives member, Alhaji Zakari Angulu-Dobi gave out those items to his Abuja South constituents, he assured them of more to come.

    Angulu-Dobi said the gesture was a way of giving back to his people who voted him in the last election.

    “We were voted into the office and not appointed,” he said. “Politics is all about giving back the dividends of democracy to the people. It is not about beauty; it is not about being proud. It is all about reciprocating the gesture given to you.

    “I am fulfilled that I was able to bring happiness and excitement to people of my constituency by giving them these few items that were shared across my constituency comprising Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali and Abaji. It is a laid foudation. This not a first time I have been voted into power. I have always benefitted from giving out, being honest with the people and carrying them along,” he said.

    Angulu-Dobi also said that his people should expect more of such gestures and promised to pursue with all seriousness whatever is meant for his constituency as it contain in the year’s budget.

    “I want to assure the people of my constituency and FCT in extension because I am the only highest elected person in APC. I know I have a challenge. I have a fight ahead of me. I am ready and capable to face it and it gives me joy.

    “The people of my constituency should expect continuity. We will continue to do what we have done. The good thing is that budget is signed, I will pursue what is meant for my people to ensure that all ministry, agencies and parastatals where projects are domiciled are dully executed to the benefit of my people,” he said.

    Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, APC party chairman in Abaji area council, Alhaji Haruna Yaba, described the gesture as first of its kind in the history of Abuja politics while pledging their support for the honourable member.

    “It is a kind gesture we have never experienced before. It will help to eradicate poverty. It will create a way  to make a living. He has done well and I urge everyone to support him,” he said.

    Apart from tricycles, motorcycles and sewing machines and generators were also presented to women and elders of the constituency at d occasion.

  • Lawmaker provides work tools for constituents

    Lawmaker provides work tools for constituents

    A member representing Irepo/ Olorunsogo/Oorelope Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Mr. Bosun Oladele has endowed an empowerment scheme for members of his constituency. Empowerment items worth N35 million were distributed to them.

    According to the lawmaker, the empowerment scheme was the first phase of the Oladele Youth Alliance for Progressive Agenda in which about 400 people benefited.

    Some of the items distributed included 100 motorcycles, sewing machines, chest freezers, power generating sets, hair dryers, sprayers and chemicals for farmers and books for over 3,500 students.

    Speaking during the event held at Tafo Event Centre Igbeti, Mr. Oladele, who is a former Commissioner for Information in Oyo State, said the empowerment scheme is part of the dividends of democracy which he made available for his constituents who voted for him during the 2015 general elections.

    “This is going to be a continuous programme. I must report back to you from time to time; I will also ensure that the town hall meeting we started continues so that we can discuss issues relating to the development of our communities,” he said.

    Mr. Oladele further revealed that he has started lobbying the appropriate authority on the need to develop the region’s tourism potential in mineral resources and agriculture.

    “We have what it takes to be rich in Oke-ogun, but the neglect by past administrations is responsible for our situation now. But we are gradually getting out of it as efforts are ongoing to develop the potential of Oke-ogun for economic advantage and development.

    “I am also working hard to ensure that the abandoned Badagry–Sokoto and some other road and infrastructural projects are completed for the benefit of our people,” he said.

    On what informed the distribution of the empowerment materials, the former youth leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State said: “We consider the needs of our people before making provision for the materials. We do not give to only APC members. Members of other political parties and security agencies are also benefiting.”

    Some of the beneficiaries commended Mr Oladele for his support, promising to make use of the items judiciously to enhance their economic well-being.

    Some party and community leaders who spoke during the event said the outstanding performances of the lawmaker since he began representing his people at the National Assembly, has rekindle their hope of enjoying  quality representation at the federal level.

    Present at the event were members of the state executive of the APC, traditional rulers, council chairmen, party stalwarts in Oke-ogun, youths, students, traders and artisan groups, among others.

  • Lawmaker’s jobs tools for constituents

    Lawmaker’s jobs tools for constituents

    A member of the House of Representatives Hon Lazarus Ogbe has distributed sewing machines, motorcycles and other tools to some members of the Ikwo/Ezza South constituency in Ebonyi State whom he represents.

    He also promised to provide more after the passage of the 2016 budget by the National Assembly.

    Ogbe gave the assurance while distributing the items at the Onueke Township stadium in Ezza South Local Government Area of the state.

    He said his efforts were to complement those of Governor David Umahi in uplifting the people.

    Ogbe said, “All these things I was able to do without the passage of the budget and now that the budget has been passed and our dear President has promised to implement it to the letter, I think it is going to be El Dorado for my constituents.

    “Believe you me, I sleep, wake up, thinking how to better the lot of my people.”

    He lauded the courage of the people of Ikwo council for voting for him despite pressures from their kinsman and immediate past governor of the state, Chief Martin Elechi whose son, Nnanna Elechi who contested for the senate in the same constituency under the Labour Party platform.

    He promised to deliver on the mandate through federal jobs and the training of the youths and women on various skill acquisitions to help them escape from the hydra of poverty.

    He urged the people to support him if convinced he was doing well but should also be free to withdraw their support if they found the opposite.

    He said the unity existing among the Reps members from the zone was an evidence of good things to come.

    He said, “When you are given a mandate, you do not have every opportunity on earth to gallivant, most especially the one propelled by votes of your people, utilise it and when you are doing that, God that sent you there will be glorified and the blessings will be yours.”

     

  • Buhari’s tools for the needed change

    The aura of electoral victory that heralded the emergence of President Muhamadu Buhari cannot be waved away with a stroke of the hand. It was a victory birthed by the groaning of a people desirous of a change. The change movement meant different things to different people. Yet in all the differences, they agreed on one thing – that Buhari was the man for the job.

    The elections and the inauguration of the new government were only the first steps in the quest for a changed nation. The president, having received the mandate and trust of Nigerians, must therefore display  and act with the acumen and wisdom needed to lift the country out of its current and existing doldrums and guide it towards a promising and rewarding future. This is a task that requires prioritisation and effective delivery.

    Consequently, President Buhari needs to be tactical in his approach, prioritise his tasks and focus his strengths on sectors capable of creating domino effects on the other sectors with minimum inputs. There are three major sectors capable creating the needed effects in the national life: Education, Agriculture and Power.

    A country’s educational sector is the bedrock of its national life. It is the essential foundation on which every other sector can be built and established. Like a strong defensive midfielder is a key factor for the success of any football team, a strong educational sector is the only factor for a change in our national life. Education drives invention, patriotism, loyalty, competence and excellence.

    Most people rush to associate Nigeria’s problems with corruption, yet incompetence plays a greater role in the nation’s woes. Most graduates are semi illiterate and the country has the highest rate of out of school children in the world. Other populous countries around the world, such as China, India, Pakistan and even the US, focus on technical and vocational education. Yet, technical and vocational education is dead in Nigeria.

    Agriculture and power go hand-in-hand because they are the root of the collapse of the country’s economy. Nigeria’s discovery of petroleum led to a reckless neglect of the agricultural sector. Before drilling and exploration, we had planting and harvesting. The nation was driven on the inflows from the sale of agricultural produce. Nigeria currently produces the top ten most sought-after crops in the world on a subsistence level. We have failed to harness our agricultural prowess and sacrificed its abundance on the altar of sweet crude. We have replaced the pyramids of groundnuts with tank farms, silos and barns with petrol stations and tanker garages. Now, the country is on a food importation binge because our production is low and it is still crude and undeveloped.

    And Power! Electricity is a key driver for any economy. After the deregulation of the power sector and the billions of petro-dollars sank into it, there appears to be no end in sight for the country. Even though the generating companies seem to have been working to capacity, the discos seem not to have been ensuring that all the watts of power generated are distributed for use due to their own economic advantage.

    Good education, agriculture and power sectors will fix this country, they will combat terrorism, corruption, incompetence, greed, lawlessness, lack of patriotism and other social vices. Revamping these sectors will ensure an equal distribution of development across every regions.

    If PMB is going to succeed, his administration must focus on these sectors and make them his priorities. He will need to select the right persons to head these sectors and support them with the political will to drive the change.

    Based on the resume, precedence and performance at the ministerial screening, it would not be wrong to conclude that the president’s only requirement is to ensure that these sectors are assigned to nominees with deep experience and rich technicality and not as political compensations. Only a thoroughbred academic and administrator should be appointed minister for education, successful farmers and policy makers appointed as minister for agriculture and transparent and technical individuals as minister for power and steel.

    Per analysis of the resume and precedence of the ministerial nominees, Professor Isaac Adewole seems to be the most qualified for the job of revamping the education sector. His performance at the Senate screening was a glimpse into his cerebral power. In the same vein, Malam Audu Ogbeh is the perfect fit for the agriculture sector. He is a successful farmer with a deep understanding of the challenges faced by everyday farmers. Finally, Zainab Ahmed’s precedence with NEITI qualifies her for the power sector. A brief look into her activities in NEITI revealed that she is a respected name in the global EITI for her transparency, zero tolerance for corruption and technical capacity.

    President Buhari has the brightest chance to set Nigeria on the path to greatness once and for all. One can only pray that he gets his priorities right and appoint the right hands for the required job.

    • Dr Adedayo. A .Yusuff,

    Lecturer, Tshwane University of Technology,

    Pretoria, South Africa.

  • School children, not tools of political war

    As a Nigerian who has experienced Turks and their culture both at home and in Turkey for over a decade, I have come to see and feel Turkey as my second country. My first interaction with the Turkish society was through education in Abuja at one of their many schools nationwide before I went on to spend five years in Istanbul.

    One of the first things I discovered about Turkey is the booming economy. I witnessed development beautifully driven by individuals in the industrial sector, pushing relentlessly for the best output on global criteria. I felt so blessed to be part of this growth and experience and Turkish work ethics first hand. Turks love to produce useful things of high quality; they love to boast of how much better their product or service is than China or how many big multinational brands outsource production to them.

    Since I returned to Nigeria I have watched my second country from afar, experiencing joy when I see them make moves to reach out to other parts of the world and imprint their mark of excellence. As of recent, my feelings have turned sour from the negative and unpatriotic happenings in Turkey.

    In order to grasp the scope of the bitterness I experience, one must know and understand the purpose of the Hizmet movement founded by Turkish intellectual scholar Fetullah Gulen. I define the hizmet movement as a self-sufficient, non-profit oriented selfless ecosystem held together by an idea fostered by volunteers to touch lives on a global scale through education, charitable projects, dialogue, healthcare and general economic development.

    Fetullah Gulen’s ideals are derived from Islamic teachings that promote education, enriching humanity’s welfare, dialogue and peaceful coexistence. It is through a widespread decision by many inspired Turks and Non-Turks to ‘serve’ this same idea that holds the hizmet movement together. The word Hizmet in Turkish directly translates to service. In this case, service is rendered to and for humanity with no strings attached. The only one string I have experienced in the hizmet movement is the unspoken request that as you have been served, make sure you serve too, so that the chain of goodness never ends; for those who have served you will come to pass. One must also take note that from the successful schools, hospitals, businesses and media outlets built in over 160 countries through donations from business-people and donors inspired by the hizmet movement; Mr Gulen doesn’t get a coin of profit.

    Although Gulen started to promote his ideas in 1966, it wasn’t until 1980’s that they experienced substantial tangible growth as business owners he inspired responded to the educational crisis in Turkey at the time by building and sustaining student dormitories, organizing university entrance exam courses, teacher associations, publishing houses and starting up a journal. Schools that won medals in nationwide competitions also sprung, catching everyone’s attention and increasing the movement’s follower-ship and trust. This later evolved to the building of more schools and hospitals in Turkey and overseas with the simple goal to serve humanity.

    Without this movement, there wouldn’t have been a Turkish International College for me to attend, or a Turkish Nizamiye hospital for me to visit for world class health care. Nigerian Turkish Nile University in Abuja would also be a myth that my younger sister would only imagine enrolling in and never actualise or conceptualise the dream of attending such an institution. There certainly wouldn’t be an Association of Business people and investors of Nigeria and Turkey to turn to for easy trade bridges.

    Tayyip Erdogan, the current president of Turkey was in good relations with the hizmet movement until recent times when they chose the path of revealing truths of his suspicious dealings rather than being silent accomplices. Ever since, the relationship between Erdogan and the hizmet movement has gone south. It especially took a turn for the worse when the 2014 money laundering scandal on shady real estate deals surfaced. He accused hizmet movement of influencing investigations by the police that led to the discovery of millions of euros hidden in a bank chairman’s home among others. Telephone recordings of him directing his son to hide millions of dollars also surfaced to further smear his image. These occurrences which he blames on his new enemy, hizmet, convinced him to retaliate aggressively. His most recent move is the most unreasonable and disadvantageous yet.

    President Erdogan is campaigning in Africa for the abolishment of all schools built by the hizmet movement by accusing them of promoting terrorist activities. The Nigerian Turkish colleges which I personally benefited from, falls under this category. On his recent trip to Ethiopia, he encouraged authorities to close down these schools and made beautiful promises of opening new ones. There is a Gulen inspired school in every major country in Africa. Using Nigeria as a sample for my case, there are 16 schools in Nigeria alone. If we put aside the effect such an act would have on the children who would lose an opportunity to get quality education, how about the hundreds or thousands of staff that will lose their jobs? How about the local business people who would lose their very good customers?. The people who sell meat to the schools, the electricity and diesel they use daily, the spending by the Turkish staff on local products and even further investments by the schools would be lost. Such an option would not just be a nationwide educational setback but also an economic disaster on a large scale. I avoid political affairs that do not affect me directly, but this matter is one I had to speak out about. The children in Africa who are in dire need of sound education should not be collateral damage in Erdogan’s political war with the hizmet movement.

  • Air Force tests its new tools in Lagos

    Air Force tests its new tools in Lagos

    New equipment have arrived for the Air Force to fight Boko Haram, it was learnt yesterday.

    Its personnel are to be trained in Lagos before being sent to the troubled Northeast which the military says it will make safe in six weeks.

    Chief of Air Staff (CAS) Air Marshal Olusola Amosu broke the news at the National Air Defence Corps (NADC), Lagos.

    Air Marshal Amosu, who kicked off the operation, said there would be gun fires and movement of military equipment day and night, urging Lagosians not to panic.

    He noted that Lagos is an ideal environment for the military to conduct the exercise, adding that other exercises have been carried out in Yola.

    He said:”As part of ongoing operations in the northeast, we needed to show up in Lagos to bring additional capabilities in the fight against insurgency. We are incorporating some new systems. Some new ammunition have shown up and we need to incorporate this into our existing platforms and intensify day and night operations.

    “We need to let the citizens know that, occasionally, they will hear gun fires and we will have ammunition being delivered; they should not panic. We have been in the air for the past few days and we are notifying the citizens accordingly, that the ongoing operations are to recalibrate our weapons system and fine tune our tactics.

    “It is going to be a combination of day and night operations. It is also another opportunity for us to look at the maritime environment and the challenges around that area.

    “We captured all these because it is not only in the northeast that we have challenges. We equally have in the maritime sector and we are contributing to the Operation PoloShield in the Niger Delta and in some of these platforms here today, we have new ammunition that we need to test.

    “The Owode Range here in Lagos is the most ideal for these operations and so we have to make use of the facility. Everything is being harnessed in terms of the land space, capability and manpower are brought to bear towards fighting insurgency and to take care of emerging threats across the country.

    “We need the citizens to be aware so that they won’t panic and start believing any false information. We are here with the ground forces (Army and Navy) to ensure this operation is carried out successfully.

    “We have carried out exercises in Yola and have tested weapons that ought to be tested around that area. But here is the ideal range for us. You will see arrays of platforms setup and we expect that within five days we will be done.  But some of the platforms maybe ready between Sunday and Monday and as soon as they are ready, we move them straight to the northeast.”

    Air Marshall Amosu expressed optimism that the six weeks granted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) was adequate to enable the security agencies conclude their war against the terrorists just as he maintained that the nation was winning the war.

    Although he admitted that fighting terrorism was a complex war, the Chief of Air Staff Amosu maintained that the terrorists have been destabilised and their communication disrupted.

    “Fighting insurgency and terrorism is not an easy task. Based on the outline, particularly with the Air Force, we set out first to decimate the terrorists by gaining air and ground intelligence so as to deny the enemy freedom of action and movement, disrupt their communication and supply lines and deny them the possibility of regeneration.

    “We have done this sufficiently. Their supply lines are heavily depleted; command and control already disrupted and so what we need now is an exercise to complete the project.

    “It is so easy for people to say we couldn’t do it in many years and how do we claim we can in six weeks. Well naturally, most operations will come to an end. It will get to a point where you can categorically say that within a time frame you can do this. And that is where we are now.

    “Do not forget that your military is a well trained military and we are aware of variables which are already there but we may not be able to disclose these variables we know that could prevent an operation from being completed within a given time.

    The Airforce Chief said the postponement of the general elections was in order to maintain peace, noting that the military only advised INEC that took the final decision.

    He also spoke on the multi-national joint operations in the northeast, just as he allayed fears of neighbouring countries encroaching on the nation’s territories.

    Air Marshall Amosu said the military was concerned about the country’s porous borders but noted that steps were being taken by the authorised security agencies to improve the situation.

    “If you noticed last week, some aircraft came down here for surveillance. We have captured and are still capturing whatever is happening in the maritime environment alongside activities in the northeast.”

     

  • Labour may down tools over welfare

    Labour may down tools over welfare

    •Civil servants condemn Assembly fracas

    The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria (ASCSN) has threatened to call its members in the federal public service out on strike if the Federal Government continues to dilly dally over the union’s demands for government to address the avalanche of welfare issues affecting its teeming members.

    This fresh strike is coming barely one month after the union paralysed activities at the headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Education, the Inspectorate Offices, and the 104 Federal Unity Colleges (FUCs) for four weeks over non-payment of promotion arrears and other allowances.

    In a press statement issued in Lagos and signed by its Secretary-General, Comrade Alade Bashir Lawal, the union drew the attention of the general public to the fact that the Federal Government had refused to enter into meaningful dialogue with the association to address lingering labour issues captured in 12 memoranda and placed before the  Government since March this year.

    ‘‘Since March, 2014, all efforts by the union to bring the Federal Government to the negotiating table to discuss the labour issues contained in the 12  memoranda have been frustrated by strategic government agencies including the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) saddled with the responsibility of handling welfare issues of workers,’’ the union said.

    According to Lawal, the issues in dispute include the non-payment of promotion arrears and other entitled allowances of workers, demand for the upward wage review in the civil service, payment of civil servants rent allowance en-bloc, payment of end-of-year incentives to all public servants, upward review of retirement age in the civil service, payment of special allowance to civil servants engaged in teaching including those teaching in the Federal Unity Colleges.

    Other grievances are non-payment of first 28 days allowance in lieu of hotel accommodation, the vexed issue of conducting promotion examinations in the public service at mid night, non-payment of allowances in respect of 2010 mandatory training programme organised by the OHCSF, payment of responsibility allowance to officers in the Directorate cadre in the Civil Service, among others.

    Lawal regretted that several meetings called since March, 2014 by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity to resolve these volatile labour issues had been aborted by deliberate absence at the parleys of the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF).

    ‘‘It is not quite clear why these government agencies are frustrating the negotiation process. Could it be that they subtly want to push thousands of workers in the public service into the streets to complicate the security challenges posed by the insurgents?’’ he asked.

    The ASCSN urged President Goodluck Jonathan to direct relevant government agencies to enter into serious dialogue with the union on the labour issues listed above which had been outstanding for several years.

    ‘‘It must be emphasised that the patience of thousands of employees in the public service has been exhausted on these issues and they may resort to self-help without further notice. This is the more reason why the Federal Government should come to the negotiation table with the union immediately before the entire public service is engulfed in industrial crisis the country can least afford now,’’ he said.

    The union also condemned in very strong terms the invasion of the National Assembly (NASS) by men of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agents to prevent lawmakers from having access to their chambers.

    In a statement issued in Lagos and signed by its National President, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama, the union stated that the action of the security agents negated democratic ideals. ‘‘No matter the disagreement between the executive arm of government and some members of the House of Representatives, there is no need to use force to prevent the lawmakers from entering the premises of the National Assembly,’’ Kaigama said.

    He said the show of shame by the Nigeria Police Force and other security agents in preventing the number four citizen of this country along with other federal lawmakers from entering the assembly complex by firing canisters of tear gas at them all in a bid to prevent the House from re-convening to deliberate  on the request of Mr. President for an extension of the state of emergency rule in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states was highly condemnable and  makes a mockery of the nation’s democracy.

    It argued that the defection of the Speaker of the House of Representatives to the All Progressives Congress (APC) was not enough for the fundamental human rights of the legislators to be trampled upon by the executive arm of government.

    The union  urged politicians to respect the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria which they swore to uphold. “This is a nation that is governed by laws and aside from that, we have our values which should normally dictate and govern our operations. Our respective actions must therefore, be driven by the provisions of the constitution and they must always be in agreement with the rule of law”.

  • FIRS introduces new audit tools to boost revenue

    FIRS introduces new audit tools to boost revenue

    The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) said it has introduced new techniques and audit tools as part of efforts to increase tax revenue collection across its field offices.

    Its Acting Executive Chairman, Alhaji Kabir Mashi, who spoke yesterday at an interactive session with Heads of Audit and their supervisors across the country in Abuja, said framework and template have been designed to monitor audit activities.

    A statement by its Head, Communications and Liaison Department, Wahab Gbadamosi, said Mashi told the auditors that a framework and template is already in place to help monitor audit activities the  drive to increase tax revenue collection.

    “The intention is to extend the new audit techniques currently being deployed through the Capacity Enhancement Programme (CEP) at the Large Tax Offices to all other offices across the country and I hope this will complement the audit model contained in our Integrated Tax Administration System (ITAS).

    “Our plan also includes intensifying our monitoring of audit activities and to this end, we have developed a monitoring framework and template for your tax audit assignments. This would easily check and determine compliance level, check your risk profiling systems, your audit time reporting system and the targets against actual collections at the various levels.”

  • Foundation’s tools for the needy

    Foundation’s tools for the needy

    The Abia State Commissioner of Police, Usman Tilli Abubakar has urged Muslims in the state to always live in peace with their neighbours and also form the habit of giving arms to the less privileged in the society as part of the Islamic injunction of Zakat.

    Abubakar said that Zakat is one of the five pillars of Islam which is not compulsory except for the rich, adding that the well-to-do have a moral obligation to give out from the abundance of their blessings from Allah.

    Speaking in Umuahia during the first Zakat distribution ceremony by Zakat and Sadaqat foundation (ZSF), Abubakar who was the special guest of honour said that Zakat which means giving out is one of the foundations of Islam which must be practiced.

    Abubakar said that there is need for all Muslims to live in peace with their neighbours irrespective of wherever they found themselves, adding that the religion of Islam is founded on the basis of people helping each other and sharing the little they have among themselves and the needy in the society.

    The executive director of ZSF Imam Abdullahi Shuaib in his speech said that there are 42 beneficiaries of the foundations who will be given cash and four others who were given motor cycles and four women who were given sewing machines to help up lift their standard of living.

    Imam Shuaib said that they are in the state to identify with the less privileged in the society, “Who have suffered a lot despite the intervention of the state government, as government alone cannot handle the issue of helping or empowering such people on their own”.

    He said that giving out to the less privileged is part of the promise he made to them last year, adding that he believes that the gift they are going to get from his foundation will help them to live a dignified life and also to help them contribute to the economic development of their areas.

    The executive director of ZSF regretted that there are over 60% of people living below one dollar per day and that such people have been neglected by the people in authority, “So we have come to compliment where such people in authority have stopped”.

    Imam Shuaib said, “Our job is to compliment the efforts of the various governments, and we are urging all well to do people in the society to help by giving out from their abundance. This is because when the youths are empowered the country will be a better place and the destination point for investors”.

    He therefore advised the beneficiaries to make good use of the materials such as cash, motor cycles and sewing machines for their benefit and also to help themselves to make a better living for their family members and make themselves self reliant in the society.

    Earlier the chairman of the occasion Alhaji Suleiman Ukandu said that Zakat is part of Islam which signifies alms giving, stressing that it will also help to bring an unquantifiable blessings to the giver, as Allah always rewards givers and helpers of the less privileged.

    Ukandu used to opportunity to express his thanks to the government of Abia state for introducing the youth empowerment scheme through which many youths in the state have been given a new lease of life, adding that he hope that more Muslims in the state will also benefit.