Author: Olusegun Oshin

Hardship
By Abdullahi Shugaba

Dutse, May 15, 2018 (NAN) President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday said his administration would not disappoint Nigerians, saying everything possible was being done to ameliorate their hardship.

Buhari stated this during an All Progressives Congress(APC) rally in Dutse as part of activities of his two day working visit to Jigawa.

He said that he was aware of hardship faced by people as a result of the economic crunch and hike in prices of essential commodities.

The President said that the Federal Government has stopped the importation of rice to encourage the local
encourage local production and empower farmers.

He thanked the government and people of Jigawa for their warm reception and support to the administration.

In his remarks, Gov. Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa State reminded the people that President Buhari had been doing his best , adding that the economy of the country was in a mess when he (Buhari) took over.

Badaru said as part of his contribution, the state government would continue to embark on projects that would impact positively on the lives of the people.

“Recently, we introduced social security allowances of between  N50,000 to N100,000 in all political wards
to cater for immediate problems of people before approaching the government for intervention,” he said.

He said these problems included minor repairs of boreholes and medication, among others.

The governor said that the present administration would continue to remain focused in line with the policies and
programmes of the Federal government.(NAN)
AIS/AAB/ASH
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Edited By Adeboye Ajayi

Studies
By Abdullahi Shugaba
Dutse, May 11, 2018 (NAN) Dr Abbas Abbas, the Executive Secretary, Agency for Mass Education, says the Government of Jigawa has approved N7.8 million for the 2018 remedial studies.

Abbas made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Friday.

He said that N6 million would be spent ob the procurement of working and instructional materials while the balance would be for the payment of monthly allowances to the coordinators.

He said that the agency would soon distribute instructional materials for the take-off of the programme.

He lauded the state government for introducing the programme, saying that it had yielded positive results over the years.

According to him, most of the candidates who studied under the programme, had passed their Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination (SSCE) with credit in English and Mathematics.

Abbas added that each of the 27 local government areas would now have two remedial and continuing education centres for the programme.

He commended the quality of teachers handling the programme and urged them to do more this year. (NAN)
AIS/JI/NKO
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Editing by Joseph Idika/Nkechi Okoronkwo

Planting
By Abdullahi Shugaba
Dutse, May 10, 2018 (NAN) Farmers in Jigawa have started preparations for a new farming season after the first major rainfall which occurred in many towns and villages across the state.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state witnessed a downpour around midnight on Wednesday.

A NAN reporter, who monitored the situation in some farming communities on Thursday, reports that farmers responded instantaneously to the midnight rain by preparing their farmlands for cultivation.

While many of them were seen tilling the ground, others were applying dung and other organic manure to the ploughed lands.

A cross-section of farmers in the communities said that the rain was heavy enough to wet the soil for them to start ground tilling and begin cultivation.

Alhaji Musa Babannan, a farmer in Kachi village near Dutse, who thanked God for the rain, said: “We are grateful to God because farmers can now begin the new planting season.”

Also speaking, Malam Abdu Mati of Sintilmawa community, Ringim Local Government Area, also said that farmers in the area could now begin crop planting, following the rainfall.

“People of our community are predominantly dry-season and rainy-season farmers; so with the heavy rainfall, we can now shift from dry season to rainy season farming,” he said.

Another farmer, Alhaji Aminu Muhammad, in Taura, headquarters of Taura Local Government Area, said that the rain not only signalled the onset of rainy-season farming, it would also help in abating the scorching heat in the neighbourhood.

“In view of the intense heat, many people sleep outside their houses but with the rain, we now have some relief,’’ he added. (NAN)
AIS/USO/OOK
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Bribe

Abdullahi Shugaba

Dutse, May 10,2018 (NAN) The Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIG) in charge of Supply and Logistics, Maigari Dikko, has warned candidates in the ongoing recruitment of Police Constables, not to succumb to demand for money from anybody.

Fielding questions from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Dutse during his tour to supervise the exercise, Dikko said the Nigeria Police would ensure fairness to all candidates.

He said the Force was against any form of corruption and would not take kindly to such act.
Dikko explained that President Muhammadu Buhari had approved the recruitment of 6000 able-bodied men into the Nigeria Police.

He said 133,000 candidates across the country had applied, out of which 4,735 were from Jigawa.
“We are going to subject all those that are shortlisted to rigorous screening to get the best out of the best.
“The screening will include general medical and psychological tests, as well as written examination to be conducted by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
“All successful candidates who pass the examination, which is going to be computer-based, will know their results instantly,” he assured. (NAN)

AIS/ASH/ASH

NYSC
By Abdullahi Shugaba
Dutse, May 9, 2018 (NAN) Jigawa Government on Wednesday said it has earmarked N270 million for the construction of NYSC lodges across the 27 local government areas of the state.

The state Governor, Alhaji Muhammad Badaru, disclosed this at the passing out parade of the Batch A 2018 youth corps members in Dutse.

Represented by the state’s Head of Service (HOS) Alhaji Muhammad Tahir, Badaru explained that it would cost the government N10 million to build a lodge for NYSC members in each of the 27 local government areas.

He said the state government noted with appreciation the contributions of youth corps members in the state and that was why it set aside the fund to build lodges for them in local government areas.

The governor urged corps members to participate actively in the development of agriculture, healthcare and education to move the state forward.

While congratulating the state’s NYSC Coordinator, Alhaji Ibrahim Muhammad, staff and stakeholders for handling the corps members professionally in the past three weeks for the orientation, he warned employers both in public and private sector to desist from rejecting corps members posted to them.

Alhaji Bala Ibrahim, the Chairman, NYSC Governing Council in Jigawa, said corps members posted to the state exhibited high spirit, discipline and patriotism during the three weeks orientation in camp.

Ibrahim said the council would do everything possible to improve wellbeing of corps members in the state.

The state’s NYSC coordinator earlier said that majority of corps members were posted to rural areas
to bring the required development to the grassroots.

He thanked stakeholders for supporting the scheme during the three weeks orientation and the passing out parade. (NAN)
AIS/HA
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Edited by Hadiza Mohammed-Aliyu

Abdullahi Shugaba

Community begs Jigawa governor for road

Appeal

Dutse, May 8, 2018 (NAN) The Sambalisa community in Birninkudu Local Government Area of Jigawa has appealed to Gov. Muhammad Badaru to build the community road to ease transportation in the area.

Mr Abdu Sabo, the Chairman of the Sambalisa Community Development Association made the appeal in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Tuesday.

Sabo said that the people of the area were predominantly farmers but had difficulty transporting their produce from the community to the cities.

“Our main concern is road. Every year, after harvesting our farm produce, we usually have difficulty moving our harvest to markets in the cities,” he said.

He regretted that the community lacked basic infrastructure and social amenities, adding that the people had yet to enjoy the dividends of democracy.

Sabo said, “We are therefore appealing to the state government to construct our roads for us.”

“We made a lot of entreaties to previous administrations in the state but all failed on deaf ears.”  We are also indigenes of Jigawa but we are being neglected by successive administrations in the state.

“If our road is constructed, we shall remain very grateful because we want to enjoy the dividend of democracy like other communities around us,” he said.

He further said that beyond the ease of transportation, they needed good roads to link up the community with its neighbours. (NAN)

AIS/USO/YAZ

Edited by Sam Oditah

By Abdullahi Shugaba

Visit
Dutse, May 1, 2018 (NAN) President Muhammadu Buhari is to pay a two-day official visit to Jigawa on May 7, Gov. Muhammad Badaru, has said.

Badaru, who made the disclosure while interacting with journalists in Dutse on Tuesday, said during the visit, the President was expected to commission some projects.

He said the state government had made arrangements to give President Buhari a rousing welcome to the state.

The governor explained that the `August visitor’ will inaugurate some roads and water projects within and outside the state capital during the visit.

According to him, the President will also flag-off the operations of the state social security committee which was recently established by law.

Badaru stated that under the law, each of the 287 polling units across the state will receive a token of between N50, 000, and N100, 000, monthly as stipends to rehabilitate critical infrastructure including health care, education and other facilities in the area.

The governor said the President will also inaugurate the revived dairy products processing company in Birnin Kudu as well as commission one of the 80 newly constructed health care facilities in the state.

He said facilities were put in place by the state government in line with the Federal Government’s policy of providing at least one health care facility in each political ward of the country.

Badaru, therefore, urged residents of the state to come out enmasse to give Buhari a rousing welcome.(NAN)

AIS/ABI/MTM

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Edited by Ali Inuwa/Tukur Muntari.

Outdoor

By Abdullahi Shugaba

Dutse, April 26, 2018 (NAN) Residents of Dutse metropolis of Jigawa are currently sleeping outside their homes due to excessive heat, investigations by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) have revealed.

NAN Correspondent in Dutse observed that since the beginning of hot season in March, residents have abandoned their rooms to sleep outside their premises.

Further investigations by NAN revealed that people not only sleep in open spaces, but under trees in front their houses till early hours of the morning.

Malam Kabiru Musa, who spoke to NAN said that he had abandoned his room for almost three months now, since the beginning of the prevailing heat.

A house wife, Hajiya Hadiza Abubakar, said that she had been sleeping outside with her husband and children in the last three weeks.

“In fact we sleep outdoor in view of too much heat, doctors said that too much heat and sleeping in a room without good ventilation can cause meningitis’’ Hadiza said.

Isyaka Gomna, a resident of Danmasara village, near Dutse also said that he couldn’t remember when last he slept in his room, due to excessive heat being experienced across the state.

A medical Practitioner in Dutse, Dr. Bashir Ahmed, said that was a wise decision that people are now sleeping outdoors.

Ahmed stated that the body could be affected by too much heat like weakness of the body, headache and high body temperature.

He explained that sleeping in a room without good ventilation could cause meningitis adding that the weather was prone to increase in mosquito bites.

“Mosquitoes like hot environment, mosquito bites also cause malaria,’’ Ahmed added. (NAN)

AIS/JTJ/MTM

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Edited by Julius Toba Jegede/Tukur Muntari.

Corps members with genuine case can be relocated – NYSC DG

By Abdullahi Shugaba
Relocation
Dutse, April 24, 2018 (NAN)The Director-General of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig,-Gen. Zakari Kazaure has said that corps members with genuine case could be relocated to their home states.

Kazaure stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Dutse on Tuesday.

He said that there were criteria and due process to follow for redeployment of corps members.

The coordinator said nursing mothers, pregnant women and people with serious ailment among others were among these categories.

The director-general said that it would be inhuman not to consider a person with genuine problem, especially ailment for relocation.

Kazaure said following complaints by civil servants for upward review of salary, the NYSC was also looking at the possibilities of doing same for corps members in view of the high cost of living.

The coordinator pledged that the NYSC would do its best to make life comfortable for all corps members posted to anywhere in the country. (NAN)
AIS/GOM/AFA
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Edited by Gregory Mmaduakolam/Felix Ajide

Court
By Abdullahi Shugaba
Dutse,  March 15, 2018 (NAN) Justice Ubale Taura of the Jigawa High Court in Dutse  on Thursday struck out a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) challenging the postponement of council election  in the state.

The Jigawa State Independent Electoral Commission (JSIEC), the governor, Attorney General of the state and the 27 elected APC chairmen in the local government councils were defendants in the suit.

PDP filed the suit in January 2017 challenging the postponement of the election, the appointment of Caretaker Committee chairmen by the governor as well as subsequent election of  27 council  chairmen and  councillors.

The PDP had argued that  constitutional provisions were not followed in the election of the chairmen.

But  delivering judgment  on the preliminary objection filed by the counsel to JSIEC, Mr Baffa Alasan, the judge ruled that the case was over taken by events since the election into the local government councils was conducted on Oct. 1, 2017.

Taura said that those  elected had been sworn in as chairmen and councillors  in the 27 local government councils of the state.

He therefore struck out the suit pointing out that the case lacked merit. (NAN)
AIS/AOS/OJO
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(Edited by Bayo Sekoni/Mufutau Ojo)