₦airaland Forum

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has urged the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board to stop giving “preferential scores” to students in Northern Nigeria who sit for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.

He stated this on Monday as a guest on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ breakfast programme monitored by The PUNCH.

According to the governor, students in the North should not be given lower cut-off marks but the same cut-off marks as their counterparts from other parts of the country for them to be competitive nationally and internationally.

Established in 1978, JAMB is the government agency saddled with the responsibility “to conduct matriculation examinations for entry into all universities polytechnics and colleges of education in the country and to place suitably qualified candidates in the available places in these institutions”.

Schools’ closure: Bandits, terrorists won’t win in Kaduna, says gov

El-Rufai also said the current closure of schools in the state was the major goal of bandits and terrorists oppressing the state but he vowed that they won’t win.

He said, “The north has always been behind in education, we’ve continuously been the disadvantaged region right from independence even though we’re given preferences, JAMB scores and all that. That has not helped, in fact, it has made our people lazy.

“Against this differential JAMB and FG (Federal Government) scores, I think people should be encouraged to work hard and compete and we are prepared to make our children in Kaduna State to be competitive, not only in the state but globally.

“The schools are closed now because, on the advice of security agencies, they need a couple of months to undertake massive security operations. They are doing that. We are confident that from the next two weeks, we would start the gradual reopening of schools.

“We have moved many of our students in rural areas that we are not sure we can protect to urban schools, thereby increasing the congestion in urban schools that we can protect.”

“The continuous closure of schools is exactly what bandits and Boko Haram want and we are not going to let them win but we must put the safety of our children and teachers first,” the governor noted, adding that the gradual reopening of schools would commence soon.

‘Kaduna has attracted $3bn investments despite banditry’

Furthermore, the governor said that the state generated over $3bn foreign and local investments in the last two years despite the menace of banditry.

According to him, the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies are overwhelmed, hence, the need to train hundreds of vigilantes who will bear arms and confront the marauders who operate from the forests of Kaduna.

This banditry is essentially a rural phenomenon but it has moved to the urban areas,” the governor lamented.

He said that when the menace of banditry started in the state about three years ago, “it was essentially a rural phenomenon and that has not affected our ability to attract investment in the state”.

“In the last two years, we’ve attracted more than $2bn, close to $3bn of foreign and domestic investments into the state.

“We’ve also engaged in massive infrastructure across the state, everywhere,” el-Rufai explained.

525 killed, 1,723 kidnapped in six months

Kaduna has perhaps been the worst hit by the nefarious activities of bandits and kidnappers in recent times in spite of the heavy presence of military formations and institutions present in the state.

The military has no fewer than six military formations in the city. The military formations include Jaji Military Cantonment; 1 Mech. Division Headquarters, Nigerian Army, Kaduna; New Barracks, otherwise known as ‘Kotoko’ Barracks; Old Site of the Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna; Kalanpazi Barracks (Artillery Regiment) and the Nigerian Air Force Base.

But according to the official statistics by Governor Nasir El-Rufai administration, the vicious marauders killed at least 525 innocent lives, kidnapped 1,723 between January and June 2021.

Serial abductions

On July 24, marauders invaded the country’s foremost military institution, the Nigerian Defence Academy, Afaka, Kaduna, killing two officers and abducting one.

The NDA campus is opposite the Federal College of Forestry Mechanisation, Afaka where bandits abducted 39 students on March 11, 2021. The bandits had demanded N500m to free the captives.

On April 20, 2021, bandits had also kidnapped at least 23 students of Greenfield University and a member of staff.

On July 5, 2021, around 2am, bandits stormed Bethel Baptist School, Damishi, Kaduna, and abducted 121 pupils, according to the Proprietor of the school, Rev. Ishaya Jangado.

In some cases, bandits released some of the students after their parents parted with millions of naira as ransom but a few students haven’t been lucky to make it out alive.

The situation has dealt a terrible blow on education in the state as over 5,000 schools in Kaduna remain shut following the ongoing military operations to flush out bandits from the state.

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The Federal Government has recommenced the disbursement of the sum of N20,000 to vulnerable households in nine targeted local government areas in Akwa Ibom state, under its Household Uplifting Programme-Conditional Cash Transfer, HUP-CCT.

The Focal Person for Social Investment Programme in the state, Dr Godwin Akpan, listed the targeted local government areas to include Ukanafun, Oruk Anam, Eastern Obolo, Ikono, Mkpat Enin, Nsit Ubium, Nsit Atai, Onna and Uruan

Akpan who spoke weekend disclosed that the seed fund would be disbursed to over 24, 000 Akwa Ibom less privileged households in the state in line with the Federal Government’s mandate of lifting millions of households from poverty by 2030.

He commended the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for being sensitive to the plight of the less-privileged in the society, stressing that the effort of reaching the vulnerable poor has proven successful.

He said, “This programme by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is highly sensitive to the plight of the people and it’s commendable. Many lives are being touched.

“Indeed, by 2030 millions will be lifted from poverty and the poverty rating of the country will be reversed”

In her remarks, Akwa Ibom State Cash Transfer Head Unit, Mrs Christiana Akpan, advised the beneficiaries to make good use of the seed funds saying, “Indeed, if you put the little money collected today into judicious ventures, God Almighty will prosper your ways,”

Mrs Akpan commended the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, for her motherly disposition and for ensuring the successful implementation of the programme.

The beneficiaries assured that they would invest the seed fund into useful business ventures and thanked President Buhari for the kind gesture.

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The Federal Government will recover millions of naira wrongly paid to 588 medical doctors across the country.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, stated this when he fielded questions from State House correspondents in Abuja.

He explained that affected doctors wrongly benefitted from Medical Residency Training Fund meant for a particular category of doctors.

He said the names of the doctors were uncovered after a thorough scrutinisation of the 8000 names submitted by Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government health institutions for the training programme.

The minister, however, revealed that a substantial amount of the money had been refunded by some of the affected doctors while efforts had been intensified to recover the remaining balance.

He maintained that the delay in making the refund by the affected doctors was holding back the Residency Fund payment by the government.

”Ministry of Health has gotten the list of doctors who supposedly aThe Federal Government will recover millions of naira wrongly paid to 588 medical doctors across the country.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, stated this when he fielded questions from State House correspondents in Abuja.

He explained that affected doctors wrongly benefitted from Medical Residency Training Fund meant for a particular category of doctors.

He said the names of the doctors were uncovered after a thorough scrutinisation of the 8000 names submitted by Chief Medical Directors of Federal Government health institutions for the training programme.

The minister, however, revealed that a substantial amount of the money had been refunded by some of the affected doctors while efforts had been intensified to recover the remaining balance.

He maintained that the delay in making the refund by the affected doctors was holding back the Residency Fund payment by the government.

”Ministry of Health has gotten the list of doctors who supposedly are to benefit from the Medical Residency Training Fund.

”Total submission of about 8000 names were gotten and the Ministry of Health is scrutinising them.

”We have done the first round of scrutinization and they will now compare what they have with the Post-Graduate Medical College and the Chief Medical Directors who submitted the names.

“The Association of Resident Doctors, in each of the tertiary centres, worked with the CMDs to produce those names, but now that the names are being verified.

”We discovered that about 2000 names shouldn’t be there because they don’t have what is called Postgraduate Reference Numbers of National Postgraduate Medical College and (or) that of the West African Postgraduate Medical College.

“So, this is it and that is the only thing holding back the Residency Fund payment because it is there already for… incurred expenditure has been done by the Finance Minister and it’s in the Accountant-General’s office.,” he said.

”So, once they verify the authenticity of those they are submitting, the Accountant-General will pay.

“We are doing that verification because we do not want what happened last time in 2020 to reoccur.

In 2020, the submitted names didn’t come through the appropriate source, which is the Postgraduate Medical College and payment was affected and it was discovered that about 588 persons, who were not resident doctors benefited from such money.

”They are now finding it difficult to make the full refund. But they have to refund that money. Some are refunding, but there is no full consideration of the account.

”That account has to be reconciled to enable the accountants to pay the next round of funding for 2021,” he said.

On the ongoing strike by Resident Doctors, Ngige expressed the readiness of the Federal Government to withdraw the case it instituted against them if they would go back to their duty post.

He, however, insisted that the ‘no work, no pay’ policy of the government would be observed because ”it is a global practice which is also captured in Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act under the International Labour Organisation, ILO.” (NAN)

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A former Governor of Jigawa State, Sule Lamido says the masses in Nigeria will lose nothing if the nation disintegrates as they are “already in hell”.

Lamido, 73, stated this when youths in their hundreds converged on his residence to urge him to vie for the presidency in 2023.

Comrade Umar Danjani, the leader of the youths, said that they were convinced about Lamido’s leadership qualities, hence their insistence on him gunning for the nation’s top seat.

He said that the nation was edging towards disintegration and only a political leader of Lamido’s standing could remedy the situation due to his wealth of experience in the art of governance.

Responding, the ex-governor said that the elite stood to lose everything if Nigeria disintegrated and would therefore do everything possible to preserve the nation’s unity.

Speaking on possible break-up of Nigeria, the septuagenarian said, “Who will break it? The ordinary person in Jigawa or the ordinary person in Sokoto or the ordinary person in Bayelsa? Is it the Igbo vulcanizer or the Yoruba woman selling kerosene by the roadside or the Okada man in Delta?


“They don’t have the capacity to unite because they are burdened by poverty. We have taken away from them their dignity, their self-esteem, their pride and self-worth so that they cannot even organize for the break-up of the country.

“Up there, we (elites) unite. We will never allow Nigeria to break because once it breaks, we will lose. But the common man loses nothing. What is he losing? He is already in hell; he cannot lose anything more than this hell.”

He accused the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC government of adding to the suffering of hapless Nigerians.

“Our country is bleeding because there is no purposeful leadership, no justice, no peace, no security all over, only injustice, denial of people’s rights and privileges and above all, the collapse of government institutions,” Lamido said.

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Government Day Secondary School Kaya, Maradun LGA, Zamfara state, where 73 students were abducted is dilapidated and bereft of perimeter fencing.

Some of the buildings in the school premises are without windows and doors while the ceilings are starting to cave in.

When TheCable visited on Saturday, the school was deserted as expected following the abduction on Wednesday.

Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning, had in April said about 62,000 schools in the country were porous and could be easily accessed by external forces.

Security experts have also said the absence of perimeter fencing in most of the schools in the north makes students more prone to abductions.

“A good perimeter fence with well-trained security personnel mounted gates is the first line of defense for schools in this era of student kidnapping. So while having a good perimeter fence is needed and could help control entry and exit, on itself, it is not enough to thwart determined heavily armed terrorists or bandits,” Timothy Avele, a security expert, told TheCable.

Below are pictures of the Government Day Secondary School in Kaya.

Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC has reacted to the killing of Felix Olajide Sowore, brother to activist and Sahara Reporters publisher, Omoyele Sowore.

DAILY POST reported earlier that the Edo Police Command confirmed that suspected kidnappers killed Sowore.

Police also confirmed that five other persons were kidnapped during the attack. The victim, Felix, was a pharmacy student at Igbinedion University.

MURIC, in a statement signed by its director, Professor Ishaq Akintola, said it strongly condemned the killing.

The group said it has told the Edo Police Command to find the killers of Sowore’s brother and make them face the law.

“We … strongly condemn the killing of Felix Olajide Sowore. What is the crime of this student?

“Why must our young brains be wasted in this manner? This is one killing too many. We call on the Edo Police Command to find his killers without delay, ” the statement added.

“This kind of tragedy should not be happening around this time. We are not unaware of the travails of the victim’s senior brother in the hands of security agencies.

“It saddens our hearts to learn of this heart-breaking calamity around this time. The police must therefore go all out for Felix’s assailants.

“This killing must be condemned by all right-thinking Nigerians. It is a heinous crime. It is wicked, heartless and inexplicable. The killers can run but they cannot hide. The long arms of the law must catch them.”