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Women in Politics (WIP) on Wednesday expressed worry over the low representation of women in the ministerial list released by President Muhammadu Buhari for his second tenure.

Mrs Ebere Ifendu, the President, Women in Politics in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja said that the number “is low and very poor’’.

Ifendu said women were not happy with the nomination list  though the few women listed were women of character and integrity who had done well for the society.

“We are saying we have many more women that should also be part of this list considering the promise the president made to women.

“He said he will work with the Nigerian gender policy which is about affirmative action, so what happened to the promises he made to women?’’

Ifendu said there was need for the president to fulfil that promise due to the already low number of women in elected offices after the 2019 elections.

She said that 2,970 women contested elections into different positions in the 2019 general elections but only 67 got elected across the nation.

Ifendu said a breakdown of the elected members showed that no woman was elected as president, vice president or governor while only seven were elected to the Senate.

She said that 12 were elected to the House of Representatives and 44 to the State Assemblies with about 11 states without a female member.

Ifedu said that the Nigerian women went to the elections with high expectations but the overall level of representation of women in politics remained a cause for concern as their number continued to dwindle. (NAN)

The Nasarawa State Government has donated 5.6 hectares of land to the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria (FRIN) for the establishment of the institute’s outstation in the state.

Alhaji Usman Abu, the Permanent Secretary of the state Ministry of Environment, made the presentation of the land on Monday in Nasarawa.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that during the donation, Abu was accompanied by his counterpart from the state Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Mr Naphtali Dachor.

Abu said that the handing over of the land to the Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria followed an application by the Federal Ministry of Environment, which was approved by the state government.

According to him, the land will assist FRIN in meeting its mandates to conduct research into all aspects of forestry, forest products utilisation, wildlife, watershed management and agro-forestry.

“The importance of Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria to the socio-economic development of the society cannot be overemphasised, hence the resolve by the state government to provide land for the institute in the state,’’ Abu said.

Abu commended critical stakeholders, particularly the Emir of Nasarawa, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman, for their support and cooperation in securing the land.

He said that the host communities and the state would benefit a lot when the research institute’s outstation begins full operation.

In his remarks, the Emir of Nasarawa, Alhaji Ibrahim Usman, said the partnership between the state and the Federal Government toward establishing the research institute’s outstation was a welcome development.

The Emir noted that the partnership would go a long way in checkmating environmental degradation and effects of climate change in the state and the country at large.

He gave an assurance of continuous support and cooperation to ensure a smooth take-off of the research institute in the area.

Responding, Prof. Adeshola Adepoju, the Director-General, FRIN, thanked the state government for donating the land.

Adepoju, who was represented by the Head of Station – Montane Forest Research Station Jos, Dr Kingsley Okeke-Agulu, assured the state government of the judicious use of the land. (NAN)

 The Presidency has appealed to El-Zakzaky-led Shiite members to desist from needless violent, street protests and await the decision of the court in Kaduna where their leader is currently being tried.

According to a statement by presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Friday, the issue of El-ZakZaky is before the court in Kaduna and his supporters should focus on his ongoing trial instead of causing daily damages, disruptions and public nuisance in Abuja.

“It is wrong to be in court and resort to violence at the same time in order to get justice for anybody accused.

“The destruction of public property in the name of protest is not within the right of this group of Shiite members.

“And no government anywhere would have tolerated a situation where any group would take over public roads in cities as they have done in Abuja and interfere with the rights of other citizens who are prevented from reaching their destinations.

“We imagine a situation where families are taking their loved ones to hospital for emergency treatment and they are held up needlessly by the protesters. No government anywhere in the world would turn a blind eye to this unlawful behavior,’’ he added.

Shehu maintained that the case involving El-zakzaky was no longer in government domain, stressing that the federal government no more has hands in the matter.

“As far as this country’s Ministry of Justice is concerned, the case involving El-Zakzaky is no longer in its domain.

“The Federal Government no more has hands in the matter and to that extent, the government at the centre can be said to be clear of any alleged violations of court orders as being trumpeted everyday.

“These rallies and street dances ostensibly to openly insult the President and other leaders, threatening bloodshed will lead nowhere because President Buhari will not ask the country’s judiciary to abandon due process and set a suspect free,’’ he said.

Shehu stated that the Buhari administration was determined to enforce the decision of the court clearly issued.

According to the presidential aide, the administration has absolutely no hand in the ongoing court case and the courts are free to determine the bail request and the final outcome.

“The mentality that you are above the law and that your own rights are superior to other people’s rights is unacceptable.

“You can’t be provoking other citizens by interfering with their own rights on public roads and disrupting their businesses and call it democratic freedom. In democratic traditions, their rights end where the rights of others begin.

“Law abiding citizens must avoid deliberate lawlessness. It is not within the rights of any group to enter protected public institutions such as the National Assembly by force to attack police and destroy public and private property,’’ he said.

Shehu advised all citizens to embrace dialogue and eschew violence in all their actions to promote peacefully coexistence among the diverse ethno-religious groups in the country.

“We therefore appeal to the Shiite group to stop deliberate provocations that result in violence and fatalities and allow the trial of El-ZakZaky to take its course,’’ he maintained.(NAN)

Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje  has set up a Technical Committee to review the Almajiri system of education in the state.

The governor announced this in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Abba Anwar and made available to newsmen on Monday in Kano.

The statement said the committee was expected to fine tune the system and recommend ways to stop students from roaming and begging on the streets under the guise of attending Qur’anic schools as Almajiris.

According to the statement, measures to be taken should focus on promoting the dignity and resourcefulness of pupils for the overall development of the state.

It added that the recent government’s pronouncement of free and compulsory primary and secondary schools education, would among other things, integrate Qur’anic schools with mainstream government-controlled schools.

“Where English, Mathematics, Hygiene education, among others would form part of the curiculum for the identified Almajiri schools.”

According to the statement, members of the committee constituted on Sunday, included notable Islamic scholars such as Gwani Yahuza Dan Zarga, immediate past Executive Chairman of Kano State Qur’anic and Islamiyyah Schools Management Board.

Others include representatives of the State Universal Basic Education Board, Ministry of Education, traditional institutions, Qur’anic teachers of great repute both nationally and internationally, and other critical stakeholders.

The committee’s Chairman, Dr Muhammad Tahar-Adam assured the governor of their readiness and dedication to deliver on the mandate.

“We will do our best to deliver in accordance with Islam both in practice and application.”(NAN)

Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi State has commenced the construction of four township roads in Bauchi metropolis worth N4.6 billion.
Mohammed disclosed this at the flag-off of the project on Monday in Bauchi, with a promised to execute more roads in different parts of the state before the expiration of his tenure.
He said that the road projects were to further assure the people of the state that his administration would provide more people-oriented projects in the state.
Mohammed listed the road projects as Gombe-Ibrahim Bako-Maiduguri 4.4km road bypass; Sabon Kaura-Jos road bypass; rehabilitation of Sultan Abubakar-Muda Lawal road and Yakubun Bauchi road.
According to him, the contracts are awarded to most genuine and reliable construction companies; Messrs Triacta and Habib Construction Nigeria Ltd.
He noted that the road projects would go a long way in decongesting traffic along the major roads linking Gombe and Maiduguri-Jos roads and boost the socio-economic activities in the state capital.
Besides, the governor said that the roads would enhance the transportation of agricultural products and general goods across the state.
Mohammed assured that the state government would fully compensate owners of the land and economic trees affected by the road projects.
“That is why we set up a committee under leadership of the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Sulaiman, and some district heads, to look into the formalities of the compensation in earnest,’’ he said.
Earlier, Mr Stephen Abubakar, the Permanent Secretary, state Ministry of Works and Transport, said the project would reduce traffic in the state capital.
He said Bauchi as a gateway of the North-East, the trucks plying the major roads would have free flow of traffic congestion as soon as the roads were completed.
He emphasised that the roads would be safer as well provide easy business transaction across the state. (NAN)
MAK/GOM/MST
Edited by Gregg Mmaduakolam/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi has come to the rescue of Mrs Omolara Oluyole, a civil servant in the state who needs to undergo kidney transplant to survive, by offsetting her medical bill of N10 million.

Oluyole is a deputy director at Comprehensive Health Centre, Nagazi, in Adavi Local Government Area of the State.

Oluyole was diagnosed of a chronic kidney disease at Zenith Medical and Kidney Center, Abuja, on January 18, and is in dire need of kidney transplant to survive.

A statement issued in Lokoja on Monday by Mr Abdulkareem Suleiman, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Multilateral, Donor Agencies and Special Projects, in Lokoja on Monday, indicated that the governor’s attention was drawn to the life-threatening situation of Oluyole.

Suleiman, who doubles as the Focal Person for Kogi Social Investment Programme (SIP), said the governor paid the N10 million medical bill on Friday to the Zenith Medical and Kidney Center, in Abuja, where the operation would take place.

“The governor, who is a passionate leader with original humanist principles, donated the sum of N10m for her kidney transplant, in spite of the paucity of funds and the economic situation of the state.

“Mrs Stella Omolara Oluyole is one out of many Kogi citizens that have similar critical health problems that our amiable governor has sponsored,” he said.

NAN

Some members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, IMN, popularly known as Shi’ites, have again clashed with operatives of the Nigeria Police Force in a protest, leading to the death of one suspected Shiite protester in Abuja.

Our correspondent reports that the protest turned violent when suspect ted members of the Shiites set ablaze the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA’s emergency substation, situated around Federal Secretariat, Abuja.