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Kwara Governor bags UN’s He-for-She’ Award 

Mercy Chukwudiebere
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The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Monday received the United Nations-backed ‘HeforShe’ Award for his efforts and cabinet picks which have mainstreamed gender inclusion in the state’s political structure.

The award was conferred on the Governor in Ilorin, the state capital, when the Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen paid an advocacy visit to rally the people of the state behind the national campaign against gender-based violence.

Governor AbdulRazaq made history last year when he appointed the most women-friendly cabinet on the African continent, a feat he recently cemented with the appointment of at least 50 percent female permanent secretaries in the state.

Both feats are a first in the state and the country.

Pauline said the Governor has earned himself a golden place in the world’s hall of fame for gender inclusion, and called on him to do more to fight maternal death and other issues affecting women.

“The award is in recognition of your outstanding contributions to promotion of women’s rights, visibility and empowerment,” Pauline said, commending the Governor for his exemplary style of governance and his pursuit of gender inclusion which has attracted both local and international recognition.

She said the ‘HeforShe’ campaign was a brainchild of the United Nations to recognise any public office holder with exceptional passions to drive gender equality.

”We want to put it on record that our dear Governor of Kwara State deserves to be recognised not just in Nigeria but by the United Nations.

“We are here today to celebrate a champion who has proven his words. We are here to launch the HeforShe Gender Equality campaign, which he (AbdulRazaq) deserves more than any other Governor. We wanted this visit long ago to encourage and strengthen him and to tell the World that we have the champion who has set the pace and who needs to be encouraged and acknowledged,” the Minister explained.

She urged the Governor to use his office to get more women in leadership positions at the grassroots, including elective positions.

Governor AbdulRazaq, said the choice to work with women was borne out of his belief in women’s ability to multitask, their reliability, and their commitment to excellence.

“We have noticed in many things that women are very talented. They are good managers. They often think out of the box. They keep the home and working executive jobs, combining everything together. We thank our mothers, wives and daughters for their contributions to humanity,” he said.

He said; “We truly appreciate your visits and your recognition of what we are doing. And for the honour you bestowed on us, it will be an encouragement to my peers.” 

AbdulRazaq commended the Minister for the honour and how she kept making Kwara a reference point for gender inclusion, hoping to consolidate on such record in other key sectors of the economy.

He, alongside the visitors, also used the event to pray for safe return of children and other people being held by Boko Haram and other armed groups.

 

Mercy Chukwudiebere

Progressive Governors Forum seeks arrest of security personnel in Kankara

Dominica Ijeoma Nwabufo
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The Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari has been called on to order the arrest of security personnel, traditional and Community leaders within the Kankara area and routes of which the Government Science Secondary School children were kidnapped.

The Director General of the Progressives Governors Forum, PGF, Mr. Salihu Lukman made the call in a press statement released in Abuja.

It would be recalled that on Friday, December 11, over 500 school children were kidnapped from Government Science Secondary School (GSSS), Kankara, Katsina State, North West Nigeria.

The PGF DG said it was impossible for that large number of people to be abducted and moved without security personnel and community leaders being aware of it.

He called for corporal punishment of the security staff and leaders.

“Certainly, without the collaboration of security personnel, traditional rulers, community leaders and citizens, how can over 500 school children be taken without clear information of their whereabouts for more than 72 hours.

“Elementary knowledge of the area in question will convince any discerning mind that it is either the kidnap of GSSS Kankara students was done by combined operations of security personnel, traditional rulers and community leaders in the area or the security personnel, traditional rulers or community leaders are collaborators in the exercise.

“We need to challenge our security agencies to be accountable.
Every police, security personnel, traditional and community leader, located within Kankara or in routes where the GSSS Kankara school children would have passed should be arrested and tried. Similarly, everywhere such incidences take place, police, security, traditional and community leaders should be the first line suspect. They should be made to prove their innocence by producing the culprits, failing which, they should be convicted. Depending on the extent of the problem, there is no reason why corporal punishment covering life and death sentences should not be given,” he said.

He called on law makers to expedite the passing of laws that would help in battling the recurring crime of kidnap and murder around Nigeria.

“We are dealing with a problem that is worse than armed robbery. Our Governors and our legislators in state assemblies should really act expeditiously on this matter. But to be able to succeed, the capacity of states to enforce laws must be strengthened. Without any hesitation, anybody debating whether or not to have state police is simply part of the problem.

“As part of the strategy of strengthening law enforcement, questions of responding to challenges of criminal justice system in our states must be treated with the urgency required. As our states are taking all of these urgent steps, we must as a party, APC, take the recommendations contained in the Mallam Nasir El-Rufai Committee on True Federalism very seriously.

“More than any moment in the life of our APC administration at federal level, this is the time when President Muhammadu Buhari is dearly required to demonstrate his no nonsense toga, which is what earned him the love of ordinary Nigerians,” he said.

Mr. Lukman pointed out the need for the strengthening of capacity of police and other law enforcement agencies to battle crimes.

Oyo Governor seeks tenure elongation for caretaker council bosses

Emmanuel Ukoh
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Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has requested a tenure elongation for caretaker chairmen and members of the 33 Local Government and 35 Local Council Development areas of the State.
The request was contained in a letter forwarded to the Oyo State House of Assembly by the Governor.
The tenure of the caretaker chairmen, whose appointments was approved on the 19th of June, 2020 will expire on the 19th of December, 2020.
The Governor, in the letter, wants the House of Assembly to approve the extension of tenure of the caretaker chairmen for another three months.
The letter reads in part, “It is my wish that the House of Assembly gives this request accelerated hearing to avoid creating a vacuum in the governance of the Local Government councils.”
The Speaker, Mr Adebo Ogundoyin, who read the letter during Monday plenary said the House would work in line with the report generated by its Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, assuring that the request would be attended to by the House on Friday during its plenary.
Approval of nominees
In a related development, the Governor is also seeking the approval of the lawmakers for nominees of the Board of the Oyo State Anti-corruption Agency.
The nominees are, a retired President of the Oyo State Customary Court, Hon. Justice Eni Esan, as Chairman, while Prince Oyebade Oyedepo (ICAN representative), Mr Temitope Ayorinde and Mrs Esther Olapade as members.
Other members are Mr A.S. Ashaolu (representative of DSS), CSP Erindero Lawrence (representative of the Nigeria Police Force) and Mr Ibrahim Tijani (Director, Ministry of Justice), as Secretary.
The Governor noted that the nominees were selected based on their track records and urged the House to screen and confirm their appointment.
The Speaker, after reading the letter directed the nominees to appear before the House on Friday 18th December, 2020 for screening.
Emmanuel Ukoh

SA tightens virus restrictions to curb second wave

Emmanuel Ukoh
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South Africa has announced new restrictions to restrain a second wave of Covid-19.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said a sharp rise in new infections was a cause for great concern as he announced plans to close some beaches and limit mass gatherings over the holiday period.

The nation’s teenagers are being blamed for fuelling a second wave of infections with crowded, drunken parties.

President Ramaphosa said nearly 1,000 young people had tested positive for the coronavirus after just one day-long beach party.

In response, he said, beaches in several provinces – but not those around Cape Town – would be shut during the holidays.

A longer curfew from from 23:00 to 04:00 local time would also come into force.

Numbers at social gatherings will be capped at 100 people per indoor event, and 250 people at an outdoor event. All post-funeral gatherings will be prohibited.

Alcohol sales will now only be allowed between 10:00 and 18:00 local time from Monday to Thursday.

Mr Ramaphosa warned that the second wave could prove deadlier than the first, if people failed to behave responsibly.

However, the government is reluctant to take tougher steps that could further threaten the country’s precarious economy.

 

 

 

BBC/Olawunmi Sadiq

Bomb blast kills deputy governor of Afghanistan’s capital

Oluwasola Akintonde
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Mahboobullah Mohebi, the deputy governor of the Afghan capital of Kabul was killed on Tuesday in a bomb attack on his car as he went to work, security officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast that killed Mahboobullah Mohebi as he was travelling with security guards. Two guards were wounded.

Security officials said a magnetic bomb, known as a “sticky bomb”, had been placed on his car.

A deputy provincial council member was killed in a similar attack in the western province of Ghor earlier on Tuesday. One council member and a driver were wounded, said Arif Aber, a spokesman for the provincial governor’s office.

Violence in Afghanistan has not abated despite peace talks between the government and Taliban insurgents.

Last week, a government prosecutor was shot dead in Kabul while he was on his way to work.

Olajumoke Adeleke/Reuters

Retirement home fire kills 11 in Russia

Oluwasola Akintonde
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Eleven elderly people with mobility issues died after being trapped in a burning retirement home in the early hours of Tuesday in the Russian region of Bashkortostan in the Urals mountains, authorities said.

The fire was reported at about 3 a.m. (2200 GMT Monday) in the village of Ishbuldino, the emergencies ministry said in a statement, and was put out three hours later.

“Four people evacuated (the site) on their own before the arrival of firefighters,” reports said.

Reports said that one of the survivors was a staff member, while three others were residents whom she managed to lead out of the one-storey wooden building.

The 11 victims were also elderly residents who had mobility issues and could not be quickly evacuated, reports said.

Russia’s investigative committee said it has launched a probe into the incident.

 

Olusola Akintonde/Reuters

Ivory Coast’s Alassane Ouattara sworn in for disputed third term

Emmanuel Ukoh
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Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara has taken the oath of office for a controversial third term, urging his political opponents to help “defuse tensions” following the deaths of dozens of people in election-related violence and the arrest of opposition figures.

Final results last month showed the 78-year-old winning re-election with more than 94 percent of the October 31 vote, which opposition parties largely boycotted and dismissed as illegal.

Monday’s solemn swearing-in ceremony in the commercial capital, Abidjan, was attended by 13 African counterparts but was snubbed by the opposition. Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was also among those present.

“I ask all political parties to seize this new opportunity … to defuse tensions through dialogue.”  Ouattara said.

Furthermore,  Ouattara says, he has asked Prime Minister Hamed Bakayoko to “resume discussions” with the opposition, which continues to contest the legitimacy of the polls.

Opposition groups said Ouattara violated the constitution, which limits presidents to two terms.

Ouattara had maintained that the approval of a new constitution in 2016 allowed him to restart his mandate.

When Ouattara was declared the winner, the opposition cried foul and announced a rival, “transitional government” in protest.

Several opposition leaders were arrested, with legal proceedings over “sedition” launched against them.

Pre- and post-election violence has killed at least 85 since August, according to an official toll.

For many Ivorians, painful memories were stirred of the aftermath of disputed elections in 2010.

A political standoff was followed by a brief civil war in which approximately 3,000 people died and an estimated 1.3 million people fled their homes in the country, the world’s top cocoa producer.

 

 

Aljazeera/Olawunmi Sadiq

Putin congratulates Joe Biden on US election victory

Oluwasola Akintonde
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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the U.S. presidential election, after Biden won the state-by-state Electoral College vote that officially determines the U.S. presidency, the Kremlin said.

The Kremlin had said it would wait for the official results of the election before commenting on its outcome, even as other nations congratulated Biden on the win in the days after the Nov. 3 vote.

“For my part, I am ready for interaction and contact with you,” the Kremlin said, citing Putin.

“Putin wished the president-elect every success and expressed confidence that Russia and the United States, which have a special responsibility for global security and stability, could, despite their differences, really help to solve the many problems and challenges facing the world,” the Kremlin said.

 

Olusola Akintonde/Reuters

New PDP executives in Kano to reconcile aggrieved members

Dominica Ijeoma Nwabufo
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The newly inaugurated executive members of the Kano State Chapter of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, have vowed to embark on mass membership drive and reconciliation of all its aggrieved members as part of its agenda to contest and win elective posts in the 2023 general elections in the state and beyond.

The Chairman of the new committee Shehu Wada Sagagi made the statement shortly after their Inauguration at the PDP office on Lugard Road, Kano.

He said that there are strong members of the party that are aggrieved and have become inactive because of one issue of the other, stressing that the new executives will deploy all available mechanisms to  bring them back to the party.

“Our responsibility is to deploy all mechanism that we can use to reconcile them, so that the party can become one and stronger , so that we can re-strategize to take over government from the incumbent APC government by 2023,” he said.

He, however warned that the party will not reconcile with saboteurs, who are physically PDP members but in their hearts, are members of the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.

“We will not reconcile with those saboteurs,” he declared.

Sagagi said as an opposition, the party will not stop constructive criticism of the government of the day, once it is beneficial to the people.

“We are in the opposition, going forward is for us to continue to engage in constructive criticism. We are not going to be criticizing government for the sake of criticism but when it is not doing the right thing, we have to talk on behalf of the people of the state,” he said.

On preparations to take over power by 2023, he said the party will start at the right time by following all constitutional programmes leading to the election.

“We do not want to be quicker than the constitution, we are a law abiding party, that is why for the seven times we were taken to courts in the state, we won all the cases,” he explained.

He reiterated on the earlier stand point of the party; that PDP was not going to partake in the Local government election scheduled for 16th Januray, 2021 in the state.

He said the newly inaugurated committee, whose absence has caused damages to the party, will work with party faithful in the state and across the federation for the victory of Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as President of Nigeria, Abba Yusuf as governor of Kano state and others come 2023.

“We will ensure further activation of all our wards and local government structures for effective participation,” emphasized Sagagi.

The interim committee Chairman, Aminu Abdulahi Dala, who conducted the election and the inauguration ceremony, commended the National Chairman of PDP, Uche Secondus  and PDP members in Kano state for the support giving to him during his tenure.

The election of the inaugurated committee was conducted via voice voting. It has among others, Shehu Wada Sagagi as new state chairman, Dankaka Hussaini Bebeji (Deputy Chairman), Jamilu Abubakar Dambatta (Secretary), Idris Zarewa (Treasurer), Halima Uba Jalli (Women Leader), Hafizu Sharif Gambo (Youth Leader), Sunusi Sirajo Kwankwaso (Organising Secretary), Bashir Aminu Sanata (PRO) Dahiru Maitama Abdullahi (Financial Secretary) and Auwalu Nagero (Auditor).

 

Gombe to construct and upgrade 27 markets

Confidence Okwuchi
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By Rebecca Mu’azu, Gombe

The Gombe State Executive Council has approved the sum of N370,316,614,87 as consultancy services for the construction and upgrade of 27 markets.

Addressing journalists after the ninth State Executive Council Meeting in Gombe, which was presided over by Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya, the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr. Julius Ishaya, said the approved funds were for the engagement of consultants to enable them assess the markets, design and produce Bill of Quantities and the Engineering Best Estimates.

Bringing dividends of democracy to the people
Ishaya said the decision was taken as part of Governor Yahaya’s campaign promises to the people to bring dividends of democracy down to the grassroots and improve the revenue generating capacity of the markets.

Explaining further on the issue, the Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Alhaji Muhammad Nasiru Aliyu, said 10 out of the markets would be new Model Markets, while the remaining 17 would be upgraded at the cost of eight billion naira.

Alhaji Aliyu said after due assessment of the markets in all 11 local government areas,  the consultant would be saddled with the responsibility of designs, Bill of Quantities, supervision and monitoring of the project to conclusion.

He said the contract sum for the construction and upgrade of the 27 markets was N8,499,398,393,69, out of which N370m had now been approved as consultancy fee to enable the contractors go round the market, designe and produce Bill of Quantities and the Engineering Best Estimates.

Reason for the construction and upgrade
The Gombe State Commissioner of Commerce, Industry and Tourism said the decision to build new markets in some places and upgrade others was borne out of the peculiarities of each environment, because some communities would prefer leaving their markets in their original location.

“When you go to some places, they will not like their markets to be shifted. They have their cultural beliefs. So, what we did was to involve all the stakeholders, get their opinions and seek for their advice on how best to build in the locations they prefer”, Alhaji Aliyu said.

He said the government considered the cost of either construction or upgrade and where it felt upgrading would attract compensation and cost the government more, it moved to new grounds to build new ones.

Alhaji Aliyu said all 27 markets had been designed to include all the infrastructure that were required in standard markets, with warehouses constructed in the Grains Markets to store farm produce and Loading Bases for the cattle Markets.

Aliyu said the rationale behind constructing and upgrading of the markets was to ensure that farmers get value for their money, by getting their produce to the market in very good conditions.

“It was observed that for a very long time, no effort was made to improve on their situation and the living condition of these people. Majority of our people go to the markets. Most of them are farmers.

You will find that the farmer will take his grains to the market and when there is rain, he will have nowhere to hide. Then the rain will just spoil his farm produce”, he said.

State of emergency in water and sanitation

Similarly, the Gombe State Executive Council approved the declaration of

state of emergency on Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene, a national project, where states were urged to key into.

The Gombe State Commissioner of Youths and Sports, Mr. Julius Ishaya, said the decision became necessary because available national statistics showed that only 36 local government areas in Nigeria had successfully dealt with the issue of open defecation.

He said based on that, the issue had become an emergency requiring urgent attention, hence the approval by the state government to join other states to declare a state of emergency.

According to Mr. Ishaya, a date will be fixed for the official declaration.

 

Nneka Ukachukwu

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