Admin

By Bashir Abdu Muzakkari, Ph.D.

Kano State is the most populous state in Nigeria with a projection of over 20 million people. Access to quality and affordable healthcare services in Kano state have been a major challenge for many years which is due to various factors: inadequate healthcare facilities, shortage of healthcare professionals, poverty, and a lack of awareness and enlightenment among the people about the importance of healthcare. The incoming government under His Excellency, Abba K. Yusuf, has made a commitment to revive the healthcare system in the state through a range of initiatives.

One of the major initiatives is the recruitment of human resources for health sector. This is because, Kano has a shortage of healthcare professionals which has led to inadequate access to quality healthcare services. The government aims to attract more healthcare workers to work in the state by providing incentives and partnering with medical schools to train more healthcare experts locally.

The establishment of mobile clinics and ambulance services is also a key initiative of the government. These services will provide basic healthcare services to people living in remote areas who may not have access to healthcare otherwise. Ambulance services ensure that patients can be transported to hospitals quickly in case of an emergency, improving their chances of survival.

The free Maternal and Child Health (MNCH) program is another significant initiative. This program will provide free healthcare services to pregnant women and children under the age of five. This initiative will help in reducing maternal and child mortality rates in the state as more women will have access to free antenatal care and delivery services.

Primary healthcare services are also a priority for the government. The provision of basic healthcare services at the community level helps to reduce the burden on hospitals and clinics. This initiative will help people access healthcare services closer to their homes, especially those in remote areas.

Partnerships and donor coordination in the health sector are also critical. This initiative will lead to increased funding for healthcare services in the state and partnerships with international organizations and donors to improve healthcare infrastructure and services.

The renovation of major hospitals in the state will also be a crucial part of the incoming government’s efforts. This initiative will improve healthcare services and increase patient satisfaction. The government will also encourage private investment in the health sector to improve access to health services.

To make it easier for people, the government will set up a smart contributory health plan. The scheme is aimed at ensuring that people have access to healthcare services regardless of their income level. This initiative has helped poor and marginalized people all over the world to get better access to healthcare services.

Finally, the government will provide support for medical students and doctors in residency training. This ensures that healthcare professionals are adequately trained and prepared to provide high-quality healthcare services.

In conclusion, the incoming government under His Excellency Abba K. Yusuf’s leadership has shown a commitment to improving access to quality and affordable healthcare services in Kano state. If implemented by the government, the initiatives: recruitment of healthcare professionals, establishment of mobile clinics and ambulance services, free maternal and child health program, primary healthcare services, partnership and donor coordination in the health sector, renovation of major hospitals, private investment in the health sector, a contributory health scheme, doctor residency training and support for medical students will contribute to the improvement of healthcare services in Kano state. These initiatives have the potential to transform the healthcare system in the state and improve access to healthcare services for the people of Kano state.

Bashir A. Muzakkari, Ph.D. writes from Kano.

By Dansaleh Aliyu Yahya

After reading Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist, this fictional story of a young boy created a river of tears in my gapes. The main character, Santiago, a young lad, dreams and believes that dreams come true when someone follows the way to see them awaken.

At first, he (the boy) taught us that travels were the greatest sources of knowledge, experience, and wisdom when he told his father that he wanted to become a shepherd because of the love he had for knowing the true nature of his world. Nevertheless, he sold his sheep and searched for his “Personal Legend” because he now realised it was more important than just rearing animals.

Throughout the story, we would learn that if the younger person needs to have a useful life, they must learn and believe the philosophy of their older ones. On his journey, Santiago met many good people.

In addition, each of them told him one or more essential facts about life and everything.  For example, he met a king named Melchizedek, who said, “ When you want something, all universe conspires in helping you to achieve it”. I think this is the most important sentence in the book.

The books also taught us that we shouldn’t bother ourselves with our past but instead focus on our present to build a more fantastic future. He was told that when he concentrated on the present, he would always be happy. 

In his treasure search, the boy met a young woman called Fatima. They started loving each other, and he promised her he’d be back one day to marry her. There I remembered the Hausa Proverb that says, “ Garin masoyi baya nisa”. He was about to lose his treasure because of love, but the alchemist summoned him.

The story has a lot of must-be-learned philosophies that couldn’t be mentioned here due to their meanness, but I’ll try to pen down some of them below to build eagerness to read the book in those that didn’t read it. These ideologies include:

— “If you play cards the first time, you’re almost sure to win. It’s called beginners luck.”

— “Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen the third time.”

— “Every day was there to be lived or mark one’s departure on one word ‘maktub’”.

— “If you start by promising what you don’t even have yet, you’ll lose your desire to work toward getting it.”

Let me stop here. However, if you have not read the book, you should look for it. I assure you, you won’t be the same person you were before reading it.

Dansaleh Aliyu Yahya can be contacted via dansalealiyu@gmail.com.

By Aminu Alhassan Kuba

During the 2023 general elections, Eng. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso contested for the office of the President Federal Republic of Nigeria under his newly registered party, the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP). Unfortunately, he came a very distant 4th, winning just one State out of 36 plus the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, with a little over 1 million votes. His party also presented candidates for the governorship in a few other states apart from Kano, and the closest it came to winning apart from Kano was in Taraba.

Before the elections, Senator  Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso had been engaged in a fierce political battle with his erstwhile political friend and deputy and present governor of Kano State, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje.

In 2015, Kwankwaso supported Ganduje to succeed him, but afterwards, trouble started. In a video I watched sometime in 2018, Ganduje accused Kwankwaso of envy. He said he did everything to respect and be loyal to his former boss, but it seemed Kwankwaso wanted everything. He accused Kwankwaso of wanting to be governor by proxy.

The fight between the two finally culminated in the now infamous inconclusive governorship election of 2019, where Kwankwaso tried to unseat Ganduje and replace him with his former PA, former commissioner, son-in-law, now governor-elect Eng. Abba Kabiru Yusuf. In that titanic battle for Kano, Ganduje emerged victorious.

The win led to other unfortunate matters, including the dethronement and banishment of the then Emir of Kano, His Royal Highness Muhammadu Sanusi II, the balkanisation of the Kano Emirate into five (5) smaller entities and the eventual appointment of two of Sanusi’s cousins among others as Emirs of Kano and Bichi, respectively.

In the succeeding four years, the political rivalry and fight between Kwankwaso and his old friend and political ally only intensified, culminating in the defeat of Ganduje’s candidate by same Kwankwaso’s son-in-law Eng. Abba Kabir Yusuf in the just concluded governorship election in the State.

Following NNPP’s victory, Kwankwaso’s supporters mainly and some commentators have sought to present Kwankwaso as some political wizard in Northern Nigeria. While this is true to a certain degree and circumstance, it is more accurate if Kano and not Northern Nigeria was the point of reference.

Kwankwaso has indeed managed to remain politically relevant compared to his Northern governor colleagues, alongside whom he contested and won elections to become governor in 1999. However, since his stated goal is not to become or produce the governor of Kano State but to lead Nigeria as President and Commander in Chief, the fairest comparison should be with those who have demonstrated similar ambition. And in this category, the most worthy comparison should be with the President-elect, His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmad Tinubu, former Senator and Governor of Lagos State.

This comparison is even worthier considering that Lagos and Kano share similarities in population, political history, economy and commercial relevance to South and Northern Nigeria, respectively.

Let’s take a dive

In 1992 when Tinubu won a seat to become Senator of the Federal Republic, Kwankwaso won one in Nigeria’s House of Representatives and became its deputy speaker.

In 1999, both Tinubu and Kwankwaso contested and won to become governors of Lagos and Kano, respectively.

In 2003, while Tinubu was re-elected for a second term in office despite Obasanjo’s backstabbing and cynical takeover of the entire South West (except Lagos, of course), Kwankwaso lost his seat to a former permanent secretary, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, whom he had humiliated and relegated to a classroom teacher. Shekarau went on to serve two full terms as governor of Kano. Kwankwaso was eventually appointed Minister of Defence by Obasanjo.

In 2011 Kwankwaso returned to Kano for a second shot and won. He served the next four years, delivering spectacularly on the massive infrastructural transformation of Kano and investing heavily in education and social services. In addition, he provided scholarships to hundreds of Kano indigenes to undertake postgraduate studies around the world. By the end of his tenure in 2015, he easily transited to the Senate under the newly minted alliance party, the APC, with General Muhammadu Buhari’s CPC, Asiwaju’s AC and Atiku’s rebellious PDP G-5 governors.

 In the same period, Tinubu chose not to run for office but worked to build a formidable political base with the South West as its fulcrum, installing governors in at least four of the region’s six States, many of them his former commissioners and going beyond to support former comrade Adam Oshiomhole to take Edo from the PDP.

In the same period, Tinubu not only built the Lagos-Ogun axis as Nigeria’s financial and economic powerhouse, but his former appointees also became a Vice-President, ministers, governors, chief executives of agencies and parastatals of the Federal Government.

Kwankwaso and his Kwankwasiyya movement have failed to go beyond the borders of Kano into neighbouring states like Jigawa, Katsina, Kaduna, Bauchi, etc.

Notably, they have ruled Kano with his former deputy turned adversary for 16 years. Despite its industrial and commercial potential, Kano has failed to significantly grow its internal revenue base to compete favourably with its peers in the country. In a shocking manifestation of its leadership crisis, a civil service state like Kaduna now generates more internal revenue than Kano.

Again, in education, Kano tops the list of states with the most out-of-school children. This is where I find difficulty in understanding Kwankwaso’s education investment model of sending vast numbers of Doctors, Pharmacists, Nurses, Engineers and other university graduates outside Nigeria to undertake postgraduate studies while millions of children are roaming the streets wretched, hungry and illiterate.

While I do not begrudge the beneficiaries of his scholarship largesse, many of whom I know personally, I think the billions of naira public funds he spent in that endeavour would have been best spent in strengthening Kano’s capacity to educate its underprivileged poor urban and rural population.

Therefore, it’s now twenty-four years after Kwankwaso and Tinubu first became governors; Tinubu could comfortably lose Lagos but still win in the rest of Nigeria and become President; Kwankwaso could only win his Kano and ended up a distant 4th in the same presidential race. This is a testament to how far both have come.

To bolster the point further, while Kwankwaso has managed to build a competent and diverse political team across Nigeria, on the one hand, even in his beloved Kano and over 24 years, he could only find his son-in-law and former PA worthy of his trust to become governor.

Beyond Kano in the wider Arewa, he has failed to create a political support base. Instead, he is mainly seen as the head of a violence-prone, uncouth, fanatic and cult-like group willing to insult and denigrate anyone who dares to disagree with its methods. This is not without justification either. Evidence in utterances, actions and inactions from him, his closest lieutenants and supporters that they are willing to use violence to achieve political ends when push comes to shove.

The behaviour of his supporters after the governorship election in Kano in which his candidate was declared the winner and his silence speak volumes. After attacking and burning down Rarara’s property within the Kano metropolis, no word of condemnation or reproach came from the Madugu [leader] or this party.

Despite Kwankwaso’s failings, however, at this moment of Nigeria’s political journey, Arewa needs a viable opposition to put the APC-led government on its feet from May 29th this year. And Kwankwaso’s NNPP, with a base in Kano, could position itself as a viable platform for the role. From the results of both Presidential and Governorship elections so far declared and its history in this part of Nigeria, PDP can no longer pose a serious challenge to the ruling APC.

Now practically wiped out of the North East, North West and North Central except in some minority enclaves like Taraba and Plateau and unfortunate governance failure examples like Zamfara and possibly Adamawa, PDP is practically dead. In Bauchi and Adamawa (maybe), I don’t see PDP surviving beyond 2027. All these added that Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, its leading financier, is now both old and tired. A Kwankwaso-led NNPP could therefore become a viable alternative for the greater North.

But for NNPP and Kwankwaso to take up this role, I suggest they need to rebrand; Kwankwaso needs to convince the rest of Arewa and Nigeria that his movement can grow beyond the personality cult Kwankwasiyya is now.

He must also convince the rest of Arewa and Nigeria that Kwankwasiyya is not a violence-prone provincial cult that quickly resorts to arson and looting at the slightest opportunity. Finally, he must convince the rest of Nigeria that when his interests clash with that of the State, that of the State will take precedence and that he is willing and able to reign in his supporters.

Aminu writes from Kaduna and can be reached via aminukuba@yahoo.com.

By Bilyamin Abdulmumin

Nigerians yearning to return to the path of democracy saw the light of day in 1999 when the military head of state, the late Sani Abacha, succumbed to the pressure to plan the Democratic transition. The Independent National Electoral Commission was therefore (established in 1998) and tasked to oversee the election process of the young democracy.

In its maiden election, INEC adopted a secret ballot system. This was a departure from the 1993 election: an open ballot system where voters lined up behind the poster of their candidate of choice. Although this system of voting was seen as the fairest, safest, and cheapest but on other hand, it was dubbed as a violation of voter’s choice privacy.

Other developments brought by INEC in the 1999 election were improved voter cards, transparent ballot boxes, and invitations from foreign observers. Despite irregularities in some areas, the reports said the 1999 election was free and fair. This is evidenced by the relative spread of victory across political parties in the election.

But, things began to go wild in the next election. Again, the incumbents would hold tight. They would fight tooth and nail to ensure their re-election. To make matters worse, the 2003 election (like 1999) was fragile and vulnerable, courtesy of the manual process, from voter registration to accreditation and collation.

The quality of the election process went further down the hill in 2007. When this time around, the incumbent swore to anoint their successors. And transparency and information were not in the public domain compared to the current election process.

But the election process improvements began to take off after 2007. When the winning presidential candidate Umar Musa Yar’adua not only conceded the irregularities in the election that brought him but pledged to improve the election process. He would be committed to his promise and set up a Justice Muhammad Uwais committee.

Although Umar Yar’adua’s determination threatened to hit a glass ceiling with his untimely death but his successor, Good Luck Ebele Jonathan, continued with the electoral reform. As a result, Prof. Attahiru Jega, a widely respected technocrat with an unassailable good track record, took charge of the umpire. From 2010 to 2015, when he led the commission, he brought game-changing policies such as electronic accreditation, the academics for results collation, security features on form EC 8A series as well as ballot papers, provision of clusters (for timely movement of polling team to polling units), and creating voting points to decongest Polling Units.

Like the 1999 election, national and international observers praised the outcome of the results. The 2015 General Election brought back hope to many Nigerian electorates. For the first time in the history of the Nigerian election, the incumbent President would be removed from office by the opposition. The then president Jonathan conceding to the defeat was equally remarkable and unprecedented.

The 2019 and 2023 General elections saw the electoral process in Nigeria blossom. However, professor Mahmoud Yakub will raise the bar even higher. Thanks to the electoral act 2022, Yakub would not consolidate Prof. Jega’s gains only but add other innovative developments: online voter registration, BVAS, IREV, e-school, and chatbot (for public education and effective training on the election process), provision of PVC collected in the margin of lead principle (to reduce the prevalence of “rerun”), finance tracking (to checkmate politicians excessive spending). And that is not all. He converted voting points to polling units, widening the ad-hoc number (collation officers and SPOs). In short, the election process went digital, from registration and accreditation to collation.

The progressive timeline success of INEC was made possible due to the continuity of development from one chairman to another, the dedication and perseverance of the entire INEC staff (both ad hoc and permanent), and the public unreserved scrutiny. With this steady improvement in the election process, the most touted electronic and even voting ahead of election time are not far-fetched.

Bilyamin Abdulmumin can be contacted via bilal4riid13@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Türkish public broadcaster, TRT, has launched a new digital platform, TRT Afrika, to counter Western media narratives about Africa.

Mehmet Zahid Sobaci, leading the launching on Friday, decried the way Africa is underreported by the Western media today.

However, with the emergence of TRT Afrika, many interesting stories that have been silenced would be relayed to the global audience.

Sobaci added that the medium intends to showcase stories from Africa and put its unique values at the heart of the world’s events.

He added that Africans would have a voice to communicate their ideas, values and cultures to the world without any alteration and in their languages, such as Hausa and Swahili.

He further stated that the medium would also pay attention to the good stories of Africa that have been silenced or underreported by the Western Media.

TRT Afrika, which employed staff from fifteen different African countries, would, according to Sobaci, “be like a mirror to Turkey’s policy and its relationship with Africa.”

He further stated that this would enable TRT to find out about different stores from the continent.

By Muhammadu Sabiu  

The 65-person 2023 Transition Committee has been unveiled by Kano State Governor-elect Engr. Abba Kabir Yusuf (Abba Gida Gida) ahead of his inauguration. 

Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the press secretary to the governor-elect said this in a statement on Friday. According to the statement, Dr. Abdullahi Baffa Bichi, a former executive secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) and senatorial candidate for Kano North on the platform of NNPP in 2023, has been named chairman of the committee, with Abdullahi Musa, a retired permanent secretary, to serve as secretary. 

The statement says, ‘’His Excellency, the Kano State Governor-elect will inaugurate the Committee on Saturday 1st April, 2023 by 2:00 PM. Below is the full list of the Main Committee membership, while sub-committees on various sectors and sub-sectors would be announced in due course.” 

A report seen by The Daily Reality has given the list of committee members as follows: 

Sen. AB Baffa Bichi, PhD Chairman 

Prof. Hafiz Abubakar Member

Hon. Shehu Wada Sagagi Member

Hon. Umar Haruna Doguwa Member

Hon. Ahmad Garba Bichi Member

Dr Ali Haruna Makoda Member

Barr Maliki Kuliya Member

Barr. Haruna Isa Dederi Member

Dr. Danyaro Ali Yakasai Member

Engr. Muhammad Diggol Member

Dr Ibrahim Jibrin Provost Member

Sheikh Aminu Daurawa Member

Dr. Labaran Abubakar Yusuf Member

Prof Sani Lawan MFashi Member

Alh. Umar S. Minjibir Member

Dr. Danjuma Mahmud Member

Engr. Kabir Jibrin Member

Dr. Farouk Kurawa Member

Engr. Dr. Marwan Ahmad Member

Dr. Aminu Garba Magashi Member

Alh. Aminu Ibrahim Abba Member

Alh. Laminu Rabiu Member

Engr. Bello Muhd Kiru Member

Engr. Garba Ahmed Bichi Member

Hon. Tajudeen Othman Member

Hajiya Sadiya Abdu Bichi Member

Hon. Yusuf Jamo Member

Hon. Nura Dankadai Member

Alh Yusuf Lawan Member

Hon. Umar Maggi Gama Member

Hajiya Azumi Namadi Bebeji Member

Prof. Auwalu Arzai Member

Rt. Hon. Gambo Sallau Member

Bar. Muhuyi Rimingado Member

State Chairman, NLC Member

State Chairman, KACCIMA Member

Alh. Audu Kirare Member

PS Adda’u Kutama Member

PS Aminu Rabo Member

Alh. Sule Chamba Fagge Member

Alh. Usman Adamu Gaya Member

Engr. Tijjani Yunkus Member

Engr. Abubakar Argungu Member

Alh. Yahaya Musa Member

Rt. Hon. Alasan Kibiya Member

Prof. Dahiru Sani Shuaibu Member

Arc. Ibrahim Yakubu Member

Dr. Kabiru Muhd Kofa Member

Dr. Mustapha Sani Member

Sheikh Malam Abbas Abubakar Daneji Member

Bar. Bashir Yusuf Mohd Member

Bar. Ibrahim Wangida Member

Umaru Idi MemberDr. Sulaiman Wali Member

Hon. Rabiu Liliko Gwarzo Member

Alh. Kabiru Gwarzo Member

Hajiya Aisha Kaita Member

Hajiya Aisha Lawan Saji Member

Ali Yahuza Gano Member

Hon. Auwal Mukhtar Bichi Member

Alh. Musa Fagge Member

Hon Wakili Aliyu Garko Member

Tukur Bala Sagagi Member

Dr Nura Yaro D/Tofa Member

PS Abdullahi Musa Member/Secretary 

Kabiru Haruna Isa

I have been a loyal customer of Diamond/Access Bank Plc., and I can say without any fear of contradiction that I opened my first bank account with them. I have been banking with them for almost one and a half decades. In fact, I have been serving as a volunteer marketer to the Bank as I convinced many people, including colleagues, friends and family members, to open accounts with it ostensibly because of the hitherto quality services it delivered.

With the implementation of the cashless policy, millions of Nigerians, including myself, are forced to rely on and use alternative payment platforms such as MoniePoint, Opay, Squad and Momo Agent, to mention just a few. The services of these payment platforms are a double-edged sword which eases transactions and creates ceaseless suffering simultaneously for the poor and downtrodden Nigerians. They are also used, in some instances, especially by the agents who render services at the Point of Sale (POS), to extort powerless, hapless and helpless customers. From the time this cashless policy was introduced, millions of Nigerians were robbed of their hard-earned money by some financial service providers, and unfortunately, nobody seems to care to fight for the financial rights of these innocent victims.

And so it happened to me on the 10th day of March 2023. I stopped over at Gidan Maza Quarters, Kumbotso LGA, Kano, to make a transfer at one of the POS kiosks around. The POS agent used the MoMo Agent terminal to transfer some amount to my Access Bank account. And based on the receipt given to me, the transaction went successfully. I waited for the whole day, but my account was not credited. To cut a long story short, today 31st day of March, is exactly three weeks, but my money is still hanging at only God knows where.

I complained continuously to the MoMo agent who operates the POS kiosk, but he informed me that there was virtually nothing he could do to facilitate the unconditional release of my money. As a last option, he took me to the Office of MoMo Agent to lodge my complaint directly to the service providers. What I found shocking and troubling during my interaction with the officials was that MoMo Agent used to partner with Access Bank to provide financial services to their customers, but the relations of the duo got strained due to allegedly petty jealousy, business rivalry and unhealthy competition.

The pertinent question here is why should the business tussle between MoMo Agent and Access Bank rob Nigerians of their hard-earned money. Why these financial service providers should be allowed to inflict systematic and psychological torture on their innocent customers? What are the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the NDIC and other Financial Regulators doing? The Government should know that many Nigerians are going to bed with empty stomachs because of the rivalry and skirmishes between these financial service providers. The worst part of it is that when customers go to the branches of the bank to complain, they are subjected to long and interminable waits, after which the customer care unit will only succeed in rubbing salt into the wounds. They treat customers with disdain and make sure that they maximally frustrate and confound their misery.

I finally call upon the CBN to inquire, investigate and take necessary action(s) on the ongoing tussle between MoMo Agent and Access Bank so as to end the suffering of Nigerians. The apex bank should equally penalize any of these financial service providers that are guilty of illegally withholding customers’ money.

A lesson is enough for the wise. With the kind of trouble, trauma and travail I underwent following up on this issue throughout these past three weeks, I will flee from any POS kiosk that I see using the MoMo Agent terminal, more so when it is from my Diamond/Access Bank account that I want to transact from. As a matter of fact, I am contemplating closing my Diamond/Access Bank account unless everything is rectified. This is due to the genuine fear I have that whatever happens once can and will indeed happen again.

Dr Kabiru writes from the Department of History, Bayero University, Kano. He can be reached via khisa.his@buk.edu.ng.

By Aisha Mahmud Yusuf

A few days ago, Dr Muhsin Ibrahim shared a story about a divorcee whose ex-husband refused to pay her medical bills. This is a familiar story as it happens to many people in our society.

I know of a divorced woman with three kids who has nowhere to go. Another woman was in an abusive marriage. When asked why she wouldn’t leave her husband, she said that he took care of her financial needs.

There’s also this woman whose husband was a serial womaniser and a drunkard, yet she couldn’t leave him because she has no means to sustain herself as her parents are dead.

In this society, a woman will be married off with no skill or education. Then get divorced and be left to start from scratch, thanks to the stigma attached to divorcees. No woman should be in an abusive marriage or miserable because she lacks financial independence.

Parents should let their girls finish at least secondary school and ensure they learn a skill. Those who finished higher institutions should be allowed to work or engage in business. The time to stay idle for women has passed. We should not let this poverty and misery cycle continue.

A woman should be financially independent regardless of her marital status. In case of divorce or the husband’s death, she should be able to care for herself and her children at least.

There’s no denying that our marriage institution needs reform, and the time to do so is now. Alhamdulillah, our scholars are now discussing it, but we need action. There is a need for sensitisation across rural as well as urban communities.

Girl-child education should be supported. There are many opportunities for learning that women can learn in the comfort of their homes, and they should be encouraged to do so.

 Aisha Mahmud Yusuf wrote via aishatyusuf63@gmail.com.

By Muhammadu Sabiu 

The Kano State Police Command reported that its agents had detained 14 suspected criminals as part of their attempts to purge the state of any criminal activity.

This was stated in a statement released on Thursday via SP Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa’s Facebook page, the command’s public relations officer.

The arrests, according to the statement, took place during clearance operations carried out by a team of Operation Restore Peace under the direction of CSP Bashir Musa Gwadabe. 

The accused were found to be in possession of lethal weapons, illegal substances, stolen, and looted valuables.

The police spokesman added, “Rigorous patrol and raids of criminals’ hideouts and black spots will continue throughout the state, as the Command will sustain the tempo in ensuring the safety of lives and properties.”

By Sumayyah Auwal Ishaq

The Governor-elect, Kaduna State, Distinguished Senator Uba Sani, and his deputy, Dr Hadiza Sabuwa Balarabe, were issued Certificates of Return by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Friday.

This came after their victory at the March 18 governorship election in the state. Accordingly, the issuance of the certificate of return included lawmakers-elect to the Kaduna State House of Assembly.

Senator Sani, who won the election on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform, garnered 730,000 votes to defeat his closest rival, Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP), Isah Ashiru, who polled 719,196 votes.