The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Umaru Al-Makura

  • Al-Makura inaugurates power station to boost electricity supply

    Al-Makura inaugurates power station to boost electricity supply

    Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State on Monday in Lafia inaugurated two 7.5 MVA power injection substation to boost electricity supply to the state capital and environs.

    Al-Makura, while inaugurating the project in company of the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said it was a dream come true for the people of Lafia and  environs.

    He said the project was constructed by the Niger Delta Power Holding Company ( NDPHC ) under the National Integrated Power Project ( NIPP ) of the Federal Government.

    The governor said the project would go a long way in boosting the economy of the state through the expansion and sustainability of small scale businesses.

    Read also: Lawmaker seeks more support for Buhari, Al-Makura

    “As from today, the people within the state capital and environs would start benefiting from effective and efficient power supply because the burden of power on the Lafia substation would be reduced,’’ Al-Makura added.

    Al-Makura also commended the Federal Government for various power expansion projects as well as the ongoing construction of a sub-station at Akurba in Lafia with a view to stepping down the 330kva power line running through the state.

    Earlier, Mr Chiedu Ugbo,the  Managing Director of NDPHC, said the project, which commenced in 2007, was completed about three years ago.

    He said the project was, however, vandalised before it could be handed over and had to be rehabilitated by the company.

    Ugbo said the two 7.5 MVA power transformers at the station would inject 13 megawatts of electricity to the existing supply to Lafia and environs.

    According to him, each of the 7.5 MVA power transformers will feed 15 units of 500kv distribution transformers, adding that a 500kv transformer have the capacity of supplying power to about 1,000 households.

    NAN

  • I have not been endorsed by Al Makura for 2019 – Silas Agara

    I have not been endorsed by Al Makura for 2019 – Silas Agara

    Mr Silas Agara, the Deputy Governor of Nasarawa State, says he has not been endorsed by Gov. Umaru Al Makura as his successor in 2019.

    Agara, in a statement issued in Lafia on Monday by his media aide, Mr Godspower Ede, dismissed the reported endorsement as “speculative journalism.’’

    “The attention of the deputy governor has been drawn to a publication in a newspaper captioned:  “2019: Al Makura gives nod to deputy.

    “He would have ignored the publication for what it is – speculative journalism– but for the damage the story is capable of doing to the excellent relationship existing between him and his hardworking principal.

    Read also:  Gov. Al-makura to renovate more schools in 2017

    “For the avoidance of doubt,  Al Makura has never given such nod or endorsement to his deputy to succeed him and any such insinuation should be dismissed as a figment of the writer’s imagination,” he said.

    “The governor as the father of the entire All Progressives  Congress ( APC ) members in the state  appreciates the aspirations of some members to succeed him and treats them equally without giving any slightest hint of having a favourite.

    “Knowing the antecedents of Al Makura as a champion of the promotion of rule of law and due process, the deputy governor is at a loss  over the intentions of the writer,’’ he added.

    NAN

  • Al-Makura appoints new Press Secretary

    Al-Makura appoints new Press Secretary

    Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has appointed Musa Elayo as his new Press Secretary, according to a statement by Mohammed Abdullahi, Secretary to the State Government (SSG).

    The statement issued on Thursday in Lafia said that Elayo replaced Ahmed Tukur who is to now serve as Personal Assistant to the governor.

    Elayo until his appointment was the Head of Media to Nasarawa United Football Club.

    According to the statement, others appointed as Personal Assistants to the governor include Mohammed Mainoma, Idris Ojoko, Bamayi Abimiku and Ebu Cecilia.

    The appointments take immediate effect.

    NAN

  • APC is making good what PDP made bad – Sen. Adamu

    APC is making good what PDP made bad – Sen. Adamu

    A National Assembly member, Sen. Abdullahi Adamu (APC-Nasarawa), says the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) is making good what the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) made bad during its 16-year rule.

    Adamu, who made this known in an interview in Abuja on Tuesday, said that the rot accumulated between 1999 and 2015 that PDP held sway in governance was much.

    “What it took them 16 years to damage, we cannot take just one year of some magical works to get everything corrected,” he said.

    According to him, the PDP fails to realise deliberately that the APC cannot just perform magic within this short period, because they have nothing on their agenda but mere propaganda.

    “They have not been doing enough work and spending enough time to plan what is called opposition in the real sense of democracy. They feel calling people names, abusing people and propaganda is opposition, this is wrong.

    “They will not get the desired result out of that.

    “For instance, the propaganda that Monkey Pox was induced by vaccines from the military, what can be more absurd than that and they have kept quiet because it is an agenda.

    “This negativity is from the PDP stable; this is a smear campaign, I pity their strategy,” Adamu said.

    On the recent comment by the PDP Senate Caucus that it would dislodge the ruling party, the lawmaker said that they were only giving the impression that they were still relevant in the political arena.

    He, however, said that the political space was big enough for associations wanting to be recognised like the PDP, to impact on the Nigerian polity.

    “PDP is no longer what it used to be. PDP is a party that had 16 years and then toward the end, they got so strong and got a bit power drunk.

    “Unfortunately, through intoxication they lost everything that there was in political fortunes, they had to go back to the table to start all over,” he said.

    Adamu, who is a former governor of Nasarawa, lauded Gov. Umaru Al-Makura, for his efforts at developing the state, saying “given the circumstances, he has given the best he can’’.

    “I support the government of Nasarawa. I believe no administration is perfect; no administration provides everything that the populace requires; I believe that he is doing well enough,” he said.

    NAN

  • Nasarawa scraps customary court of appeal

    Nasarawa scraps customary court of appeal

    The Nasarawa State Government on Monday announced the merging of the state’s Customary of Appeal with the High Court.

    Gov. Umaru Al-Makura announced the merger during the retirement and valedictory court session in honour of Justice Jibril Idrisu, the President of the state Customary Court of Appeal.

    Al-Makura, who was represented by his Deputy, Silas Agara, said the decision was based on the advice of the National Judicial Council ( NJC ).

    “Government has observed that over the years, the Customary Court of Appeal has continued to record less number of cases.

    “And this recurrent experience at the court is below the average numbers of cases to be disposed in any judicial year and is equally below the national standard,” he added.

    Al-Makura said that “in view of this ugly experience,’’ NJC had written to the state government in 2016 on the need to merge the court with the state high court.

    He added that based on the advice by NJC, “the government had to take this painful decision of merging Customary Court of Appeal with the state’s High Court.’’

    He said the government has set up a committee chaired by the Commissioner of Justice and Attorney-General, Yusuf Shehu, to work out the modalities for the merger and summit its report in two weeks.

    “The committee would work out plans to transfer the remaining Judge of the Customary Court and other staff of the court to High Court and place them in the appropriate positions,” he added.

    He said that the government would initiate a process of repealing the law establishing the court and amend the High Court law to accommodate the development.

    Earlier, the retired judge appealed to the state government to allow the court to continue to operate due to customary issues in the state.

    Idrisu, who noted that each state had its challenges, said that other states still have their customary court operating.

    NAN

  • Al-Makura appoints new HoS

    Al-Makura appoints new HoS

    Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has appointed Mr Abari Aboki as the new Head of Service (HoS) of the state, replacing Mr Thomas Ogiri who retired recently.

    The Secretary to the State Government ( SSG ), Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi, announced this in statement made available to newsmen in Lafia on Friday.

    Before his appointment Abari served as the Permanent Secretary (PS) in various ministries, including the Ministry of Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

    Abdullahi stated that the new head of service would also double as the Special Adviser to the Governor on Establishment and Industrial Matters.

    “The new Head of Service and the Special Adviser would be sworn in by His Excellency, the Governor, on Tuesday 17th October, 2017 at 11am at the Government House, Lafia,” he said.

    The SSG said also that Mr Musa Aloko had been appointed as the Executive Secretary of the Nasarawa State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board to take over from Mr Clement Odeh.

    He said: “the governor wishes to express his appreciation to the outgoing Executive Secretary of the Nasarawa State Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board for his services and wishes him well in his future endeavours.

    NAN

  • Nasarawa dredges amba river to boost water supply

    Nasarawa dredges amba river to boost water supply

    Nasarawa State Government says it has commenced the dredging of Amba River tributaries along Doma Road in Lafia to boost water supply to the metropolis and its environs.

    Dr Abdulkarim Kana, the State Commissioner for Water Resources and Rural Development, told newsmen on Wednesday at the dredging site in Lafia that the project spanning three kilometres would cost about N35 million.

    According to Kana, the project when completed, will provide over 10 million gallons of water for residents of Lafia and its environs, thereby solving the problem of water shortage.

    “Gov. Umaru Al-Makura has also awarded contract for the rehabilitation of all facilities at the Lafia Waterworks and the construction of additional reservoir to accommodate the volume of water to be harnessed from Amba River,” he said.

    Kana said that dredging of the river would also enhance the aesthetics of the area.

    Also, Mr Abdullahi Agbo, the General Manager of the state water board, commended the state government for giving attention to the project, 34 years after the dam was constructed.

    Agbo explained that dredging of the river and the rehabilitation of the waterworks would impact greatly on water supply to the growing population of Lafia and its environs.

  • Fire disaster: Al-Makura commiserates with Masaka market traders

    Fire disaster: Al-Makura commiserates with Masaka market traders

    Gov. Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has commiserated with traders at the Masaka market in Karu Local Government Area over a fire outbreak which destroyed over 2,000 shops on Sunday morning.

    A statement issued by the Special Assistant Media and Publicity to the Governor, Ahmed Tukur, on Sunday, regretted the devastation caused by the inferno and its effects on the victims.

    He said the monumental loss of property to the disaster was a huge setback to the traders, the state and the country in view of the current economic recession.

    Al-Makura urged the management of the market as well as the traders to always adhere to safety measures and avoid acts that could lead to fire outbreak.

    NAN reports that the market caught fire at about 1:30 a.m. during which property worth millions of Naira were destroyed.

    Mr Sunday Bala, Chairman of the Traders’ Association, told newsmen that the cause of the fire could not be immediately ascertained, saying that investigation would unravel its source.

    He said that areas mostly affected by the inferno were the cosmetics and foodstuff sections of the market.

    He appealed to the state government to establish a Fire Station at the market to avert future occurrence of the disaster.

  • Demolition: Breeze FM sues NASG, demands N1.5 billion

    Demolition: Breeze FM sues NASG, demands N1.5 billion

    The Management of Breeze 99.9 FM, Lafia has dragged the Nasarawa State Government to court over the demolition of the private radio station.

    In the suit filed at High Court 4, Lafia, the station is demanding N1.5 billion as compensation for damages it suffered following the demolition of the structures housing the outfit, and the communication equipment inside them.

    According to Mr Ocha Ulegede, Counsel to Breeze FM, the station is also praying the court to declare the action of the state government “illegal, unconstitutional, high-handed and vindictive”.

    “We are asking for public apology and monetary damages totaling  more than of N1.5 billion.

    “We also want the court to restrain the state government from carrying out further demolition of the property because we have it on good authority that they are planning to demolish other structures housing other facilities,” he said.

    The counsel said that the monetary demand of N1.5 billion was for general damages, while N17.8 million was in compensation for special damage for the unlawful act.

    “From the documents available to us, the government did not serve any notice to the management of the station as required by the law.

    “The radio station followed due process and met all requirements before it was given the licence to operate by the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC).

    “There is no law in Nasarawa State that specifically designated places for residential and commercials purposes; so, no law was breached,” he said.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state government demolished the radio station on May 20, 2017, citing violation of land approval laws.

    Governor Umaru Al-Makura has said that the radio station would be made to pay a fine for violating the approved land laws.

    No date has been fixed for the hearing of the case.