₦airaland Forum

Residents of at least 23 Local Government Areas in Sokoto, Zamfara and Kebbi States are battling to survive as kidnappers, cattle rustlers and bandits make life difficult for them.

A check by the News Agency of Nigeria indicates that residents of the affected areas have either been forced to migrate, enter into an agreement with the criminals or live a life of uncertainty.

In Sokoto State, residents said local government areas worst affected are Isa, Sabon Birni, Gwadabawa, Illela, Tangaza, and Goronyo.

NAN gathered that residents had been forced to abandon their farms, while some villages had been deserted across the affected LGAs.

Malam Abubakar Bawa, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ahmed Aliyu, said that the state government was aware of the enormity of the situation.

“We are giving priority to ensuring a safe environment. Addressing security challenges has remained top on our administration’s nine-point agenda.

“Our target as a government is to ensure that citizens sleep with their two eyes close and continue to live and relate peacefully with one another,’’ he said.

He assured that the Nigerian Army, Police and other security agencies have been sustaining efforts to secure the areas.

The governor’s spokesman said the government would continue to provide all necessary support for the security agencies to address the challenges.

Also, the Spokesman of the Police Command in Sokoto State, ASP Ahmad Rufai, said the Commissioner of Police, Mr Ali Kaigama, has been engaging residents to facilitate the flow of actionable information to address banditry and other criminalities.

He said the command had adopted measures deployed personnel and materials, and have been collaborating with other security agencies to end banditry and other criminalities in the state.

The police spokesman said local governments in eastern parts of Sokoto state were mostly affected by the security challenges.

In Zamfara, a civil society activist, Mr Faruk Shehu, said many communities in the 14 LGAs of the state have been displaced, with residents of Maru, Anka, Shinkafi, Maradun, Zurmi, Gusau and Bungudu LGAs, worst affected.

He said that previous attempts at dialogue with the bandits had failed, resulting in the escalation of the security challenges in the state.

“The security challenges in the state started as cattle rustling and later transformed into banditry and kidnapping,” Shehu said.

He expressed the hope that the ongoing engagement started by Governor Dauda Lawal with the military and other security agencies would lead to an escalation of attacks on the bandits to secure the areas they have dominated.

Already, the state government has been emphatic that there will be no peace deal with the bandits.

This was emphasised by the Secretary to the State Government, Malam Abubakar Nakwada, who said the government will never dialogue with the bandits as done by previous administrations.

Nakwada added that the state governor would support security agencies and community groups to bring the criminals to their knees.

The situation in Kebbi has already claimed the lives of at least 2,500 people between 2019 and 2023, according to Mr Bamaiyi An’iko, the Secretary of the Zuru Development Foundation.

An’iko said that 2,500 people were killed in Danko, Wasagu, Fakai, Sakaba, and Zuru LGAs, all under Zuru Emirate.

He said bandits have been attacking and displacing rural communities in the emirate, adding that some communities around Bena, Danko, and Wasagu had come under siege or total control of the bandits.

“Some communities had to sign an agreement with the bandits,” the foundation secretary said.

”There are a lot of Internally Displaced Persons requiring urgent provision of relief materials, including food and toiletries, clothes and mats.”

He urged the state government and other agencies not to relent in providing relief assistance to the IDPs.

An’iko commended the efforts of the military, police and other security agencies working to restore peace in Kebbi.

The state Deputy Gov. Sen. Umar Tafida assured that the government was determined to end the security challenges.

Tafida also said the government would continue to provide support for victims of bandits’ attacks who have been forced to leave their homes.

According to him, the government is worried over the recurring banditry attacks which have led to loss of lives, destruction of properties, and hurting farming activities.

“The state government under the leadership of Dr Nasir Idris, will leave no stone unturned in making sure that banditry comes to an end in the state.

”Communities should assist security agencies with credible intelligence information to fish out the bandits in order to bring them to justice,” the deputy governor added.

He warned that the government would deal decisively with informants or anyone caught conniving with bandits.

Also, Ahmad Idris, Chief Press Secretary to the governor, said apart from Zuru Emirate, the government had deployed troops to three local government areas under Yauri Emirate also facing challenges from bandits.

“The government is doing its best to ensure that the situation is fully tackled,” he added.

A community leader, Alhaji Sani Umar-Jabbi, said there was a need to prioritise community engagement in tackling security challenges in the country.

He said that apart from an attitudinal change among Nigerians, the country should come up with a policy to stem population growth.

Umar-Jabbi, who is the District Head of Gagi in Sokoto State, said that overpopulation has contributed to the escalation of the crisis due to shrinking farmlands, grazing areas, and other natural resources.

Antoeni:
https://www.channelstv.com/2023/08/14/nigerian-brothers-extradited-to-us-for-alleged-child-exploitation-sextortion/

A former Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System desk officer at the Federal Character Commission, Haruna Kolo, on Monday, owned up to the allegations of collecting money from job seekers in exchange for employment.

This is just as he admitted to having received over N75m from desperate job seekers on the instructions of the Chairman of the FCC

Additionally, Kolo claimed that the FCC boss instructed him to transfer all the money to his (Kolo) personal Ecobank account and pay her in cash which he did a couple of times in her house.

Kolo made the revelation at the ongoing investigative hearing by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies, parastatals, and tertiary institutions on mismanagement of the IPPIS.


The ex-IPPIS desk officer told the lawmakers that he resigned from the FCC on November 2, 2022 to join the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria but ended up getting salaries twice from the FCC. He added that the anomaly was reported to the Human Resources Officer who told him that the issue would be addressed.

He said, “When she came to the FCC as the Executive Chairman, she appointed me as a protocol officer and I carried out my duties diligently.

“On the allegations of job racketeering, the FCC Chairman instructed me to liaise with one Mr Shehu who is a personal driver and Personal Assistant to the Taraba State Commissioner. As a desk officer, I am responsible to take whoever is employed to IPPIS for capturing. No one can go there without a letter from the Chairman or Human Resources officer of the FCC.

“When she came, she wrote a letter to the Accountant General of the Federation instructing that no letter from the FCC should be honored except she signs the letter. So, whenever there was a new employment, she would sign, give to me and I take it to the Accountant General’s office for capturing.

“Shehu is the one that brought those who paid money to my account for job, some paid N1m, others N1.5 m, all to my personal account, my Ecobank account. She asked me to give cash to her which I did through POS so there is no evidence of transfer or anything.

“On the allegation of working at seven places, I was never at any time involved in seven jobs. They are making the allegation based on assumption.”

He continued, “The second allegation on my subsequent employment at AMCOM was a result of her personal favour to me. We were four in number, and she gave the appointment letter to me, Kadijah, and Olushola. We all proceeded for an interview at AMCON headquarters in Abuja after which we were called upon for training on January 16, 2023.


After the training, I and Olushola were called to Lagos. Unfortunately, Kadijah who is the Chairman’s biological sister was rejected. The Chairman accused me of being responsible for her rejection.

“I see no reason why (sic) the chairperson would make allegations of such magnitude against me. I have been threatened even at gunpoint and had to leave Abuja.

“Sir, I want this committee to know that after this sitting, if anything happens to me, the FCC chairperson should be held responsible, ” Kolo added.


Responding, Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, promised to do every possible to unravel the truth and make the same available to Nigerians.

“This committee will not sit down and watch taxpayers’ money being embezzled but this committee too will be very careful in indicting the future of people.

“I know why we were asking Kolo to give us evidence and we know why we were deferring this sitting for other witnesses alleged to have had financial dealings with the FCC.

“Kolo will appear here tomorrow (Tuesday). We are calling the other witnesses. We will allow you to do your work. Whoever that is found wanting will answer his father’s name, including Kolo Haruna.

“Kolo, I am not saying anything will happen to you but by law, you are not supposed to leave here without being arrested. For a civil servant that has thirty-something million in his account and admitted publicly of serving as a front to aid corruption is unacceptable.

“I don’t want to take you up on that because we don’t want to be seen to be sentimental. We want to as much as possible, get evidence against you and against others.

“God will save you and God will save us all. Nothing will happen to you because anybody that wants to harm you knows that if they harm you, we have to suspect them.”


The committee adjourned sitting to Tuesday, August 8, in continuation of the hearing,

Intrepid01:
Lol, you’re very funny, you think running a country is the same as running a company right? So you think one person even if he is the President can be the one to start and end the nomination process abi? Then why does the constitution allow him to have SGF and all the people working with him if he can do all? The office of the President is huge, anybody can be manipulated. Yaradua was manipulated, Jonathan was manipulated, Buhari was over manipulated so Tinubu can’t be different. The fair way to manage it is to put people with some integrity around you but for naija who you fit trust?

I’m not saying this to defend Tinubu oh, I’m not a supporter of any naija politician cos they are all thieves. But we must speak the truth when the need arises.

Abdullahi Barau Jibrin, son of the Deputy Senate President, Senator Barau Jibrin, is reportedly set to get married to the daughter of the House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader, Aliyu Sani Madaki.

According to the wedding invitation signed by the House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader himself and posted on Twitter by the former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, the wedding will take place on August 18, 2023, at Isyaka Rabiu Jumaat Mosque, Goron Dutse, Kano, Kano State.

The Deputy Senate President is a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) while the House of Representatives Deputy Minority Leader, Madaki is a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

ivandragon:
Hmm...

BAT, Buhari & in fact the APC were never prepared for positive transformative governance in Nigeria.

They just wanted power at all costs & now, they have no idea what to do with it.

Ofunaofu:
These are Tinubu's "Best Brains" according to Agbadorians

Tinubu And I Had No Idea How Maryam Shetty's Name Made Ministerial List —Ganduje, APC Chairman

The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, has disclosed that the social media outrage against Maryam Shetty’s appointment led to her removal.

President Bola Tinubu had removed Shetty from Kano State as a ministerial nominee that was billed for screening.

In a letter to the Senate which was read by the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio on Friday, the President replaced her with Mariya Mahmoud Mairiga Bunkure, a former Commissioner for Higher Education during the governorship tenure of Ganduje in Kano.

However, the former governor in an interview with select radio stations in Kano on Saturday, and as reported by Daily Trust, said Shetty was dropped because people questioned her suitability.

He added that social media is very powerful.

Ganduje explained that ministerial appointments should go to someone with integrity, knowledge, experience and commitment to the party and what the candidate contributed to the making of Tinubu's administration.

He said, “The president has advisors on selection of ministerial nominees at the national and state levels. The president has the prerogative to nominate whomever he wishes and he has the right to consult people in states because they know those capable of discharging the duties.

“Maryam Shetty’s name emerged from the top, and since Mr President has the right to do as he wishes and we are his followers, one has to be patient; we did not object to it. As well, she was not well-known to us. We could not appraise her.

“But suddenly, she (Maryam Shetty) came under attack on social media. People questioned her integrity and experience, with many of them doubting her credentials to represent Kano at the national level. There were growing disaffections. The dissatisfaction is not from Ganduje, but the people of Kano.

“President Bola Tinubu’s attention was drawn to the torrent of criticisms greeting Shetty’s nomination. The president asked whether I had nominated Maryam Shetty. I said no. He asked how then her name appeared on the list. I told him I had no idea whatsoever.

“When he asked whether there was a need to replace her, I answered in affirmative, because the ministerial slot requires someone with integrity, knowledge, experience and commitment to the party – what one contributed to the making of the Tinubu administration. To satisfy these requirements, we are in the best position to nominate somebody from Kano. Even if someone recommended somebody, we should have been consulted on the matter.

“For this, we were given a chance to nominate someone from Kano and since the slot was meant for a female, we consulted widely. Females had contributed to our development agenda in Kano State. Dr Mariya Bunkure, my commissioner for higher education, is a certified medical doctor. Kano South had been complaining about marginalization, even though I gave them SSG and other important political offices. These are some of the reasons we gave her name.

“But at least we are happy because the people of Kano are happy with the current development. The clarification is not to insult anybody but to tell the truth of what exactly happened. People questioned her suitability that was why he was dropped, but that does not mean she will not get another appointment.”

Farmers under the aegis of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN) have said that the palliative rolled out by President Bola Tinubu was not the solution to hunger in the country.

This was contained in a statement signed by the National President of AFAN, Arc Kabir Ibrahim, calling on the president to establish sustainable food banks that would address current food production challenges in the country.


The statement listed some of the challenges to include high cost of farm inputs, fuel, invasion of farms by terrorist, killing of famers and others.

Architect Ibrahim said the country can achieve food self-sufficiency if competent hands were brought to utilize the nation’s agricultural resources.

He said the quest for sustainable food security in a nation of over 200 million people transcends the distribution of palliatives but essentially calls for the scaling up of productivity and reinvigorating the entire food system by taking decisive actions.

“A temporary relief may assuage a hungry person for a few days or months depending on the magnitude of the relief package but a more sustainable solution to the ailing food system is the most desirable proposition in the face of the almost existential challenges we are facing.


“Nigeria is subdivided into six geopolitical zones comprising of North Central with six states; North East with six states plus FCT, North West with six states; South East with five states; South-South with six states and South West with six states, with each of these zones having its food or preferred meal,” the statement read in part.

He advised that for the country to be self-sufficient, “We must do the following without any delay: Expand our cultivable and irrigable land; commit to educating our farmers to embrace Good Agricultural Practices (GAP); climate smart agricultural production leading to all year round cultivation; invest in sustainable mechanization, Science Technology and Innovation (STI); and biotechnology leading to genetic engineering as well as genome editing and others.”


The farmers’ president advised government to appoint very competent, hardworking and honest hands in the agricultural space.

BreconHills:
NLC leadership couldnt give a brass farthing for the economy.

Is it not their employees diverting fuel to neighbouring countries and sabotaging the refineries in exchange for turn around maintenance commissions? Is this not the same NLC that was conspicuously silent during the pre election fuel scarcity and currency confiscation and in spite of the sufferings of the ordinary Nigerian?

All political? student and employee representation organisations in this country have gone to the dogs.

Racoon:
https://www.thecable.ng/el-rufai-tinubus-vision-is-uninterrupted-electricity-for-seven-years/amp

The Organised Private Sector of Nigeria (OPSN) has called on President Bola Tinubu’s regime, the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress to work assiduously to avert disruption of socio-economic activities.

Segun Ajayi-Kadir, the head of the OPSN secretariat, made the call in a statement on Tuesday.

The OPSN comprises five business membership organisations (Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, Nigeria Employers Consultative Association, Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises and Nigerian Association of Small Scale Industrialists).

Mr Ajayi-Kadir noted that the OPSN had keenly followed the developments after the recent call by the NLC and TUC for a nationwide peaceful protest.

The protest is scheduled for August 2 as consultations between Mr Tinubu’s regime and the unions have not yielded positive results.

He urged the regime to use its best endeavours to re-engage the unions’ leadership and find an amicable ground to avert the disruption of economic activities.

“We opine that adequate consideration should be given to the dire state of the economy and the possible unintended social unrest that may result from the protests,” stated the OPSN leader.

Mr Ajayi-Kadir added, “We call on our members to be circumspect in their business operations as we await the outcome of ongoing consultations between government and unions.”

(NAN)

VIDEO: Atiku at Tribunal for his final written address pic.twitter.com/UEXvg4mf9F

— Daily Trust (@daily_trust) August 1, 2023