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Tag: Zamfara

  • Zamfara APC explains Yari’s absence at council elections

    Zamfara APC explains Yari’s absence at council elections

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Zamfara has explained why Gov. Abdulaziz Yari and other key party figures did not participate in Saturday’s local government elections in the state.

    Speaking with reporters in Talata-Mafara yesterday, Alhaji Sani Mono, the party’s scribe in the state, said it was a deliberate move to ascertain the capacity of upcoming party chieftains to handle such critical election matter.

    “They did not participate in the election because they wanted to see if they have successfully nurtured the party’s upcoming leaders in the state.”

    The News agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor and all national assembly members from the state were absent during the polls.

    The election was, however, boycotted by the main opposition party in the state, the Peoples Democratic Party.

    According to the party in a statement by its state chairman, Hassan Nasiha, the PDP would not participate in an election organised by a government it was challenging its credibility at the Supreme Court.

    The APC state secretary, however, chided the PDP, saying that its boycott of the local councils polls was because the PDP was “afraid of defeat.

  • Four dead as gunmen attack Zamfara village

    Four dead as gunmen attack Zamfara village

    The police in Zamfara have confirmed the death of four persons following attack by gunmen on Tangaran village in Anka local government area of the state on Tuesday night.

    The command Public Relations Officer, DSP Sanusi Amiru, confirmed the incident on Thursday in Gusau while briefing newsmen.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the gunmen arrived the village in the night while the residents were getting ready to go to bed.

    They opened fire on those still outside during which the four persons were killed.

    An eye-witness, Kabiru Umar said an 11-year-old girl who was selling bean cake (kosai) was among those killed.

    When her mother came to pick her remains, she was shot on her buttocks.

    Umar said that other residents quickly locked their doors while those outside scampered for safety while the indiscriminate shootings lasted.

    The command spokesman said six other persons sustained various degrees of injuries and were taken to Anka General Hospital with the assistance of the police.

    He said that the police recovered three bullet shells.

    Amiru said that normalcy had returned to the area and the police had commenced tracking of the attackers.

    He expressed confidence that the attackers would be arrested by the police.

     

  • Zamfara inaugurates hajj committee

    Zamfara inaugurates hajj committee

    The Zamfara State Government has inaugurated a 22-member hajj committee to handle the 2015 pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

    Chairman of the committee and Zamfara Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Wakkala, who inaugurated the committee in Gusau, charged members to work toward a successful exercise.

    He said that the committee was expected to assist pilgrims, and cautioned them against seeing the exercise as an avenue to pursue worldly things,

    “The governor was very careful in the selection of members because he expects them to use their knowledge to improve the conduct of the exercise,’’ he said.

     

     

     

     

  • ‘ It’s illegal for states to hold councils’

    ‘ It’s illegal for states to hold councils’

    The Chairman of Nigeria Governor Forum (NGF) and Zamfara State Governor, Abdulaziz Yari on Friday said it was illegal for state governments to withhold Local Government Council funds.
    While stating that no such unconstitutional breach was in practice in his state, he said that local governments could work together with the state and contribute towards a particular project.
    Yari spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
    He said: “This is a constitutional matter, section 7 has given power to the Assembly to manage finances of the state. And if you could remember, so many attempts have been made to the National Assembly to amend the section but it failed.
    “But the essence of joint account to my understanding as governor is not to hold the money. As the money is coming, as the constitution spells out, the House of Assembly has to oversee the administration and finances of the state so therefore, that is the meaning of joint account. If it is done properly, nobody should hold any local government money.
    “I doubt if there is any state that is holding any local government funds. But I think what used to happen in my own case is may be if we are having a development project, we vote together on percentage basis, maybe 60-40.
    “This is the only thing that could make a state touch the monies of local government otherwise all the monies to go the local government. So, no one as a governor has the right to touch local government money.
    “Although there are speculations that some states are holding local government money, maybe because there are no elections in those local governments. It’ is administrators, but constitutionally, it is the right of local government which must be exercised.” He added
    According to him, efforts by state ‎governments in the Northwest, particularly Kaduna and Zamfara to curb criminal activities and communal clashes between cattle herders and farmers were yielding good results.
    He gave as example recent arrest by security agents of cattle rustlers and recovery of stolen cattle in the area as the result of improvement in coordinated response to security threats in the region.
    He said: “We have been making serious intervention through the security agencies. Lastly, five front lines states Niger, kastina, Kaduna, Kebbi and Zamfara met with the GOC and other security agencies under the leadership of Mallam Nasir El-Rufai which we have made serious progress.

  • Zamfara governor loses chief of staff

    Zamfara State government has announced the death of the newly-appointed Chief of Staff to the governor, Alhaji Dahiru Zubairu.

    A statement by Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Abdullahi Shinkafi, and made available to newsmen in Gusau on Thursday said 49-year-old Zubairu died after a brief illness at his Kaduna residence on Wednesday night.

    The statement said that the deceased is survived by a wife and four children.

    It said that the deceased was a member of House of Representatives for eight years, representing Birnin-Magaji/Kaura-Namoda constituency from 2003 to 2011.

    He was also National Vice-Chairman of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) when he was chairman of Birnin-Magaji Local Government Area between 1999 and 2002.

  • APC heading for landslide in Zamfara

    APC heading for landslide in Zamfara

    The presidential election result announced in Zamfara State has shown that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is heading for a landslide.

    Of the 14 local governments, the results of six have been released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    In Bakura Local Government, APC polled 37,926 votes and PDP got 12, 761 votes.

    In Bungudu Local Government, APC had 57,485 votes and PDP, 7,825 votes.

    In Maru Local Government, APC polled 37, 745 votes and PDP, 7,288, votes.

    In Shinkafi Local Government, APC polled 21, 962 votes and PDP, 11, 798 votes.

    In Chafe Local Government, APC was leading with 61, 306 votes against PDP’s 8,779 votes.

    In Zurmi Local Government, APC led with 41, 088 votes and PDP got 11,972 votes.

    The results of the remaining eight local governments: Anka, Birnin Magaji/Kiyaw, Bukkuyum, Gummi, Gusau, Kaura Namoda, Maradun and Talata Mafara were being awaited at press time.

     

     

  • Abducted emir: Council of chiefs call for prayers

    The Zamfara Council of Chiefs has called on all Nigerians to pray for the safe return of the abducted Emir of Bukkuyum Emirate Council, Alhaji Muhammad Usman.

    The News Agency of   Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the emir was abducted by unknown gunmen at his palace in Bukkuyum on Friday at about 8.55 pm.

    The Chairman of the council and Emir of Anka, Alhaji Attahiru Ahmad, made the call on Tuesday in Anka in an interview with journalists.

    He said there was need for the general public to continue to seek Allah’s intervention for the emir’s safe return.

    The emir described the incident as “unfortunate,’’ saying, “ we never experienced things like this, especially here in northern Nigeria.’’

    He, however, called on family members of the emir, people of the emirate and the general public to remain calm as the state government was working with security agencies to ensure the safe return of the emir.

    NAN reports that the people of Bukkuyum emirate had embarked on special prayers in mosques and Islamic schools over the incident.

  • Police in Zamfara begin search for abducted monarch

    Police in Zamfara begin search for abducted monarch

    The police in Zamfara have commenced the search for the Emir of Bukkuyum, Alhaji Muhammadu Usman, who was abducted from his palace on Friday night by some gunmen.

    The Police Public Relations Officer in Zamfara, DSP Sanusi Aminu, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gusau on Saturday.

    He said the police in collaboration with other security agencies in the state had blocked all possible outlets from the state in order to arrest the abductors.

    “ Although we do not know their motive, the action is criminal and we shall arrest them and they will face the full wrath of the law,’’ he said.

    Also speaking, Alhaji Aliyu Muhammad, the Secretary to the Bukkuyum Emirate Council and younger brother of the abducted emir, said he spoke on phone with the emir.

    He said the emir was in good health and had not been hurt by his abductors.

    Muhammad, however, urged the people of the community to pray for the safe return of the emir.

    He said the abductors arrived in an ash-coloured Honda Civic car and asked to speak privately with the emir.

    Muhammad further said that when the palace guards resisted the request, the abductors fired gunshots into the air and ordered all those present to hand over their cell phones which they took along with the monarch

    The 60-year-old traditional ruler, who had served on the throne for 14 years, was abducted by the gunmen while he was preparing for his Isha’i prayer.

    The state Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Ibrahim Birnin-Magaji, told NAN that government would give all required assistance to the police in order to rescue the emir.

  • Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara PDM adopt Buhari, guber candidates

    The Peoples Democratic Movement (PDM) in the three states of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara states on Thursday unanimously adopted the candidacy of All Progressives Congress(APC) Presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari.

    Similarly, the party has thrown it support behind respective governorship candidates of APC in the states.

    In a joint statement by the party’s states chairmen of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara, Abubakar Ainu, Ibrahim Master and Umar Gummi, respectively and issued to newsmen, the party alleged that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) under the leadership of president Jonathan had failed Nigerians.

    “It is clear that the PDP government has totally failed in the areas of security, corruption, youth empowerment and job creation, equitable distribution of oil proceeds as well as the Naira value,” the statement read in parts.

    According to the party, it was necessary for Nigerians to join hands together “to ensure that our hard-earned democracy is not totally destroyed.”

    While urging it members and the generality of Nigerians to support the APC, the statement declared that the entire structure of the PDM at all levels would work for the success of the party.

    “We the entire members of the PDM from the wards, local governments and states levels in Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara state have unanimously accepted to adopt the candidacy of General Muhammadu Buhari as the presidential candidate and APC gubernatorial candidates in our respective states,” the statement further confirmed.

  • Zamfara gets N144m equipment hiring centres

    Zamfara gets N144m equipment hiring centres

    The Federal Government has inaugurated four agricultural equipment hiring centres worth N144 million in Zamfara State.

    Three of the centres are situated in each of the three senatorial zones, while the fourth is in Gusau, the state capital.

    Each centre has 20 tractors, power tillers, harvesters and planters, among other modern farm machines.

    Speaking at the centre in Gusau, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said 1,200 agricultural equipment hiring centres would be established across the country before the year ends to boost mechanised farming.

    He said the Federal Government and states would pay 50 per cent of the cost of hiring the equipment, adding that farmers would access the equipment under the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme.

    Adesina said: “The total cost for agricultural hiring equipment for Zamfara state is N144 million. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will support farmers in Zamfara to access grants for the equipment.