My Blog

Category: North Central

  • Construction firm’s truck kills 4, injures 16 in Kwara

    Four persons were killed and 16 others injured in a lone accident on Olooru-New Jebba Road in Moro Local Government Area of Kwara at the weekend.

    Sector Commander of the FRSC in Kwara, Mr Frederick Ogidan, stated in Ilorin on Sunday that the vehicle belongs to Chinese construction firm, CGC Construction Company.

    He blamed the accident, which occurred at Olooru on over-speeding.

    Ogidan said relatives of the deceased had claimed the corpses while the injured were taken to a hospital at Kambi Village in the area. 

  • Plastic wastes pose danger to human life – FCT Perm Sec  

    The Permanent Secretary, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mr Adesola Olusade, has described plastic waste as a major threat to human health.

    Speaking during a road show to commemorate this year’s World Environment Day, with the theme: “Beat Plastic Pollution”, Olusade, said that the production, usage and disposal of plastic materials were not only polluting ecosystems, but endangering human and animal health.

    Represented by Mr Osi Braimah, Director of AEPB, the Permanent Secretary added that plastic pollution also destabilize the climate

    World Environment Day is marked on June 5 of every year.

    He further stated that globally, the plastic waste situation had assumed a worrisome dimension.

    “It has also become endemic, with drainage channels, canals and waterways littered with various plastic wastes.

    “This contributes significantly to climate change, which results in short term damage, such as erosion and flooding, due to blockages of streams and waterways.

    “This is why the matter is of utmost priority, as the world marks yet another World Environment Day in 2023,” Olusade said.

    The Permanent Secretary said that it was pertinent to bring to the fore the awareness of plastic management as an adaptation strategy to climate change.

    “Only an integrated systemic shift from a linear to a circular economy can keep plastics out of our ecosystems and bodies.

    “The recent United Nations Environmental Report laid out key elements of the required market transformation, rethinking and redesigning products, reusing, recycling, reorienting and diversifying markets,” he said.

  • Kwara Gov cautions marketers against fuel hoarding

    *Dep Gov to lead task force to filling stations
    •Govt to revoke CoO of erring filling stations

    Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) Chairman and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has cautioned oil marketers to avoid imposing needless hardship on the citizens through creation of artificial fuel scarcity in the state and beyond.


    “The Governor is seriously concerned about reports of sudden fuel scarcity in different parts of the state. This is totally uncalled for. He asks fuel marketers to immediately discharge fuel to the public under the normal pricing system since they had bought what they currently have at subsidised rates,” according to a Government House statement on Tuesday morning.


    “Creating artificial scarcity amounts to intentional misrepresentation of the statement of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, on the question of fuel subsidy. The people should not be made to undergo any hardship.


    “The Governor urges the marketers to desist from anything that qualifies as economic sabotage of the people. Hoarding fuel bought at subsidised price and creating panic in the state is opportunistic and will not be condoned.

    *His Excellency the Deputy Governor Mr. Kayode Alabi will be leading a task force to ensure that no fuel marketer causes undue hardship to the citizens in Kwara State.


    “Fuel stations are to note that the Task Force will dip into their pits. Any filling stations found to be hoarding fuel will have their Certificate of Occupancy (CofO) revoked, among other penalties.”

  • Gov Sule, Deputy inaugurated for 2nd term

    Gov Sule, Deputy inaugurated for 2nd term

    Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa State and his deputy, Dr Emmanuel Akabe were on Monday sworn in for the second term in office by the State Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Aisha Bashir.

    In his inaugural speech at the Lafia Square, the governor expressed gratitude to the people of the state for overwhelmingly voting him in for the second term on March 18.

    He reaffirmed his loyalty to the Nigerian Constitution and promised to continue to do his best to better the welfare of the people and develop the state in the next four years.

    Sule listed his achievements to include the attraction of the organized private sector to invest in various sectors of the economy, the construction of urban and rural roads, construction of schools, and markets in Akwanga, Keffi and Nassarawa-Eggon.

    Others are the construction of bus terminals in Lafia and Karu, employment of over 3,000 teachers, confirmation of appointment of over 2, 000 teachers, and regularisation of the appointment of casual staff in all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs).

    “We also implemented outstanding promotions of over 10 years, trained and retrained civil servants within and outside the state,” he added.

    Sule governor also said his administration had commenced the construction of a state secretariat to address the challenges of office accommodation and would finish the project before the end of his second tenure.

    He added that the state government had also invested heavily in security and supported security agencies with needed logistics to function properly and would sustain it.

    The governor promised to dedicate the next four years to the development of the state.

    Sule also lauded former President, Muhammadu Buhari for a successful tenure of eight years and his development strides especially in Nasarawa state.

    He said that Buhari gave appointments to sons and daughters of the state into federal positions and executed numerous transformative projects in the state.

    The governor also congratulated the newly inaugurated President, Sen.  Bola Tinubu and his vice, Kashim Shettima, and wished them well as they began their tenure of four years.

    “We have no doubt that his antecedents and past achievements in the development of Nigeria will be brought to bear in his present leadership for the benefit of all Nigerians,” he said.

    He expressed optimism that very soon Nigeria and Nigerians would begin to witness prosperity and development in all sectors under the new administration.

    Earlier, John Mamman, Nasarawa State Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), said the party was aware that the governor would win the March 18 election because of his achievements.

  • ‘Shine Your Eye’, NCC sensitises traders on fraudsters’ tactics

    The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has sensitised traders on how to avoid falling prey to fraudsters in the country.

    The commission did the sensitisation at the Market Square, Kasuwar Rusau, Keffi, on Wednesday in Nasarawa State.

    The programme was tagged: “Shine Your Eye, No Fall Mugu”.

    The Executive Vice-chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, was represented by Mr Clement Omife, Head, Consumer Protection Advocacy Unit of the NCC.

    Danbatta said that the awareness was to promote initiatives such as to empower telecom consumers with knowledge and advocate for their protection within the telecom industry.

    He said that the menace, which follows wide acceptance of new methods of mobile money, electronic banking and payment systems has been discovered to cost the country whopping sums of money.

    Danbatta said that a lot of people were highly ignorant of how losing their phones to fraudsters can lead to a complete clean-up of their bank accounts. 

    He said|: “These fraudsters do this by stealing victims’ identities; names, addresses, bank information, which they use in gaining access to their bank accounts.

    “They also use the stolen identity to defraud other people and even apply for loans, leaving the victim with debts.”

    According to him, as the telecom industry evolves, there is a growing concern over the rising trend of fraud on telecom (electronic fraud) across sectors of the Nigerian economy.

    Danbatta added: “CBN rates electronic fraud as the biggest risk in the sector which has widely incorporated electronic payment solutions such as ATMs, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBBS) Instant Payment and mobile banking.

    “The telecommunications sector is not also spared in the raging storm stoked by cyber fraudsters across the country.

    “Attackers are now targeting telecom networks with the intent to disrupt service delivery and infiltrate their data bank SIM swaps and Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD).

    “USSD e-payment frauds are currently some of the sensuous cyber threats in the telecom industry. Fraudsters conduct SIM swaps of individuals and then conduct USSD-based transactions which cost victims huge losses.”

    He said that the commission also collaborated with critical stakeholders such as the CBN, the Nigerian Police Force (NPF), EFCC, ICPC and others relevant in the fight against e-banking fraudsters.

    Danbatta said that effective collaboration between government agencies, private organisations and individuals was pivotal in tackling this scourge of electronic fraud.

    He assured consumers that the commission would intensify its regulatory efforts in protecting the interest of telecom consumers.

    Danbatta said that the development and deployment of robust infrastructure to support innovative technologies and services had no doubt positively transformed the socio-economic space.

    “One of the critical mandates of the NCC is the protection and promotion of the interests of consumers, which is majorly domiciled with the Consumer Affairs Bureau of the commission.

    “As part of the strategy to actualise this mandate, the department collaborates with Consumer Advocacy Groups and relevant stakeholders in creating consumer awareness.

    “By promoting initiatives such as this to empower telecom consumers with knowledge and advocate for their protection within the telecom industry.

    “Today, telecom consumers are enjoying broadband and other services driven by the quest to establish a digital economy,” he said.

    He urged traders to avail themselves of the necessary information required to avoid falling prey to cybercriminals.

    Danbatta also urged consumers to be careful not to open unfamiliar emails or respond to unfamiliar inquiries and report suspicious E-fraud to their bank and telecom service providers.

    The Chairman, Keffi Traders Association, Alhaji Musa Yakubu, called on traders to learn about financial frauds and the strategies to tackle them.

    “We appreciate NCC for coming to enlighten our people on how to manage our money.

    “I have mandated my members to be here to be able to learn how not to fall victim to financial frauds,” he said. 

  • FMC Keffi conducts open heart surgeries on 14 indigent patients

    Governor Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa has described as a rare feat the open heart surgeries which the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Keffi, Nasarawa had on 14 indigent pediatric patients suffering from different heart ailments.

    Sule, in his remarks on Monday after a tour of the operation theatre and the intensive care unit, lauded the management of hospital.

    Represented by his deputy, Dr Emmanuel Akabe,  the governor called for the feat to be sustained.

    “I am quite impressed with what I heard and what I have seen. I have thanked the team handling this project for what they are doing in Nasarawa State.

    The governor, who called for more collaboration with other organisations to complement government’s effort in healthcare delivery, said that his administration would support the health facility to enable it to succeed.

    Similarly, Dr Yahaya Adamu,  the Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the medical centre, said the project, which started on April 28, 2023, would be concluded on May 26 with more surgeries to be carried out.

    He, however, said that so far 14 surgeries had been successfully done on 14 indigent paediatric patients suffering from varying heart diseases.

    The CMD appreciated “Hospitals For Humanity“, an international non-governmental organisation, for collaborating with the hospital in carrying out the surgeries.

    He also praised the combined efforts of paediatric surgeons, nurses and other health specialists in the health centre for the success achieved so far.

    “This is the second phase of the project. We started the first phase on April 28. The team that did the first set of surgeries came from Saudi Arabia. They were volunteers, they did theirs and left.

    “Now we have a second set of team from the US and India. So far, in this second phase we have done five surgeries. In the first phase we did nine surgeries. We hope to do more before the project is concluded on May 26,” he said.

    Adamu explained that the ailments suffered by the patients included various anomalies within the heart, as well as both simple and complex cases.

    He listed the diseases to include ventricular septal defect, double chamber right ventricle and a patient who had a device placed somewhere in his body but moved to his heart.

    Adamu said that the medical centre planned to collaborate with the state government and well-meaning Nigerians to fund the project.

    He also said that there were plans by the health centre to develop capacity through periodical heart surgeries thereby affording the surgeons the opportunity to perfect the skills learnt from foreign partners for the benefit of Nigerians.

    Meanwhile, Dr Myna Shegos, Executive Director, Hospitals for Humanity, Geogia, US disclosed that the organisation had been in Nigeria since 2021.

    Shegos explained that the organisation  had been operating in the Garki General Hospital, Abuja; Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH), Plateau;  Ibom Specialist Hospital and University of Uyo Teaching Hospital; Akwa Ibom State.

    She said that the organisation was focused on providing free pediatric open heart surgeries and cardiac catheterisation for children.

  • Fight for the unity, security of Idoma- AVM Toni Adokwu

    Fulani herders have lefts trails of tears and blood in Benue State

    Bothered by the rising spate of killings orchestrated by suspected herders, Air Vice Marshall Toni Adokwu (rtd) has charged the Idoma, at whatever position of significance, to fight for the unity and security of the Idoma nation. 

    Stressing that no one deserves to be killed extra-judicially, AVM Adokwu, who spoke in Otukpo at the weekend, after being inaugurated for another term of two years as the President of Ochetoha K’Idomo, called on Idoma from all walks of life to close ranks and fight to keep their enemies at bay. 

    The leader of all Socio-Cultural Unions of Idoma nationwide observed that without unity and focus on the common purpose, all efforts to secure the land and attain progress and general well-being of the people may never materialize.

    There have been several reports of incidences of mass killings in several parts of Benue state, mid into the current Fourth Republic. The epicenter of the gory incidents had been Agatu and Apa Local Government Areas in the South of Benue State.

    After a brief lull, the ugly episodes resumed last April, just immediately after the General elections, when about 51 indigenes were murdered at Umogidi Entekpa, a village in Otukpo Local Government by daredevil terrorists suspected to be Fulani militia.

    The killings are however not limited to the Idoma-speaking part of Benue state but spread right across the state.

    Unfortunately, the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari is accused of not doing enough to curtail the orgy of herders/farmers’ clashes that have persisted in the lush green grassland of the Middle Belt of Nigeria.

    Ochetoha K’Idoma, and other ethnically based Non-Governmental Organisations like Afenifere, for the Yoruba or Ohaneze Nd’Igbo have gained prominence in the past eight years of the Buhari Presidency, following a sudden rise in herders’ violent attacks on indigenous rural, farming communities, nationwide.

  • 2023 Hajj: Kwara to airlift 1st batch of pilgrims May 26

    The Kwara Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has said the first batch of intending pilgrims from the state will be airlifted to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on May 26.

    The Executive Secretary of the board, Alhaji Abdulsalam Abdukadri, announced this while speaking during the enlightenment programme for intending pilgrims held at Gerewu in Adewole Area, Ilorin.

    He said that the distribution of bags and uniforms would begin on May 24.

    The executive scribe added that the pilgrims would be vaccinated on May 23.

    Abdulkadri advised the intending pilgrims to be law-abiding and have good intentions of going there to serve God.

    He however warned them against engaging in acts capable of tarnishing Nigeria’s image.

    “We enjoin you to avoid fighting with anybody, avoid indecent dressing and avoid the use of abusive words in the holy land,” he said.

    Dr Abdulkadir Sambaki also advised intending pilgrims to be law-abiding and conscious of Allah in all their undertakings while in Nigeria and the holy land.

    “They should abide by the law of Nigeria and Saudi Arabia authorities because there is no room for disobedience for all intending pilgrims,” he said.

    He said that 3,740 pilgrims would perform this year’s Hajj from the state.

    The Officer in-charge of the state National Drug Law Enforcement Agency at the Ilorin airport, Hajia Abibat Babaita, also cautioned them not to go to Saudi Arabia with illicit drugs.

    She urged them not to go to Saudi Arabia with contraband drugs like cocaine, lexotan and tramadol, among others.

    Babaita said that any intending pilgrim on recommended drugs should come with a doctor’s prescription and not go with a commercial quantity.

    In his lecture, the Grand Khadi of Kwara, Justice Abdullateef Kamaldeen, advised all intending pilgrims to return any property kept in their care before going to Saudi Arabia, saying that returning from the journey is in the hands of God.

    Kamaldeen also urged them to pay off their debts or put them on record for their families to see before leaving for the holy land in case of any incident so that the family will repay the debt.

    The Grand Khadi also enjoined them to settle any misunderstanding they have with anybody before going to perform the Hajj.

  • Fire guts FCTA ICT Unit

    A minor fire incident has occurred at the server room of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Unit of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).

    The Director, Information and Communication, FCT, Malam Muhammad Sule, made this known in a statement on Friday in Abuja.

    Sule explained that the fire incident was as a result of electric power surge at about 8pm, Thursday May 18th.

    He said the incident, which partially affected the server room, was contained in less than 15 minutes by the combined efforts of Federal and FCT fire services, and security men on duty.

    “The Administration wishes to assure its clientele that the incident will not in any way interfere with its daily operations as there exists adequate redundancy.

    “To this end, there is no cause for alarm as the incident will not in any way hinder the smooth operations of the ICT Unit nor any function of the Administration.

    “The Administration wishes to use this medium to commend the prompt intervention of the gallant officers of the FCT and Federal Fire Service officials for their prompt response and action.”