News

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Kwara State Government has reduced workdays to three days for the state public servants. 

The Chief Press Security, Office of the Head of Service, Murtala Atoyebi, revealed the development in a press statement on Monday. 

According to Mr Atoyebi, the action became necessary owing to the need to put measures in place to cushion the effect of the removal of fuel subsidy on workers in the state.

Part of the statement reads:

“The State Head of Service, Mrs Susan Modupe Oluwole announced today that the State Governor, Mallam Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, has directed that the workdays be reduced from five days to three days per week for every worker.

“Mrs Oluwole directed all Heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the State to immediately work out a format indicating the alternating work days for each worker under them.

The Head of Service however, warned the workers not to abuse the magnanimity of the Governor, stressing that the regular monitoring of MDAs by her office would be intensified to ensure strict compliance.”

By Muhammad Abdurrahman

Lamash Properties Limited demands N10 billion in compensation from the Kano state government for demolishing its property.

The firm said it entered into a public-private partnership (PPP) with the government of Kano to redevelop the Daula Hotel.

On assuming office, Abba Yusuf, governor of Kano, ordered the demolition of “illegal property” built by the former administration of Abdullahi Ganduje.

In a statement on Sunday, Hassan Yusuf Baba, the firm’s executive director, said it was a “gross injustice” because they were not notified of the demolition exercise.

“Our bid, like every other bid submitted, went through all the processes including going before the state executive council after which we won the bid,” Baba said.

“We were issued the letter of award and we signed a PPP contract agreement with the Kano state government after which we began work on the project.

“The value of the land being the equity contribution of the Kano state government into the project plus the agreed profit share of the state government all in the sum N2,297,016,622.89 only was converted into the hotel and its ownership was given to the Kano state government as its share into the project under the PPP arrangement.

“On May 27, 2023, the immediate past governor of the state, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, performed the commissioning ceremony of the hotel and it was handed over to the state government as its share in the project.

“To our utmost surprise, we received a call around 2am on Sunday June 4, 2023, that officials of the state government led by the new governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, have mobilized to the site of the project with bulldozers and were tearing down all the buildings on the land including the already completed 90-room 5-star Daula Boutique Hotel, the 90 percent completed commercial area (malls) as well as the ongoing residential apartments.

“We have instructed our legal team to institute legal actions against the state government to claim compensation to the tune of N10 billion already invested in the project and to stop the state government from further taking actions that will negatively affect us based on the PPP contract agreement we signed with it.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu
 
Iconic Swedish international Zlatan Ibrahimovic announced his retirement from football after a very long career.
 
He started his senior career at Malmo FF in 1999 after subsequently going to Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, PSG, and others.
 
Fabrizio Romano, via his social media handle, said, “Zlatan Ibrahimović has now decided to retire from professional football with immediate effect”.
 
Zlatan finally retired at AC Milan in the midst of the club’s fans waving good-bye at him.

By Uzair Adam Imam

Engineer Kailani Muhammad, an All Progressive Congress (APC) chieftain, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to discard former governors roving around his administration.

He stated that the president should not appoint any of the former governors as they are bad people that his administration should not engage.

He also urged the president to discard ex-senators and ministers that did not perform well in previous administration.

He stated that “Those lobbyists are not good people and we don’t want them on the stage again. We have been circulating this crop of people every time.

“Let the President bring new people who have not stolen”, he advised.

Kailani is the National Chairman of Tinubu Support Network and Director-General of Amalgamated of APC group.

On the fuel subsidy issue, Engineer Kailani said, “This is the right decision because the immediate past administration shifted it. We have been postponing the evil day. A time has come for this country to measure up with the comity of nations.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

An auto crash in Kano has led to the death of at least 18 persons, a development that brought tears to the eyes of their loved ones and relatives.

The traumatic incident reportedly occurred along Kano-Ringim Road in the Gabasawa local government area of the state.

The sector Commandant of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ibrahim Abdullahi, had confirmed the journalists about the accident.

He stated that the accident involved a total of 35 passengers in two buses, out of which 18 were burnt beyond recognition while 12 others sustained serious injuries.

“We received a call about the accident at about 8:35 p.m. on Friday and dispatched our personnel to the scene to rescue the victims,’’ Abdullahi said.

He further stated that some of the deceased were given mass burial at the accident scene, and others were handed over to their relatives.

Ibrahim said the injured victims were taken to Murtala Muhammad General Hospital, Kano.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A young electrician identified as Alhaji died while repairing faulty cables on electric poles in Niger.

The incident happened on Thursday in Soje B. Area of Minna, Niger State, at around 3pm.

The man was said to have been specialised in preparing home electrical appliances and had died on the spot after being electrocuted.

The residents who spoke to the journalists in the state said that the efforts to save his life were not successful.

However, one of the witnesses, Aliyu Jibrin, stated that “No one knew he was electrocuted on the pole until his lifeless body fell from the top of the pole.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

Yusuf Magaji, a 13-year-old Almajiri boy in Kano, breathed his last on Friday when he slipped into a pond and drowned to death.

The boy and his fellow students were said to have been washing around the pond when he slipped and fell inside.

According to the Kano State Fire Service Spokesperson, Saminu Yusuf Abdullahi, the incident occurred in Makugara Village of Karaye Local Government Area of Kano State.

Abdullahi said their office at Karaye received an emergency call from Malam Nafi’u Na Adama, who reported the incident.

According to him, the students were said to be on their way to one village when they stopped beside open water to take their bath, “but very unfortunately, he slid into the river.”

He further stated that the victim was retrieved unconsciously and conveyed to the Karaye Specialist Hospital, where he was later confirmed dead by the doctor.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

President Bola Ahmad Tinubu, on Friday, had a meeting behind closed doors with governors of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

President Tinubu, in a Facebook post, posted about the meeting with the governors at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

“Today, I had the delight of welcoming distinguished Governors from our great party, the APC, to the State House.

“Together, we reaffirmed our commitment and united efforts in realizing our cherished vision for Nigeria. With every hand on deck, We are resolute in our pursuit of a prosperous nation.” the post says.

The governors were led to the State House by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, who recently assumed the role of Chairman of the Progressives Governors Forum, PGF.

Seventeen of the twenty APC governors were in attendance. However, conspicuously absent from the meeting were Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Abiodun Abayomi Oyebanji of Ekiti State and Dr Nasir Idris of Kebbi State.

By Muhammadu Sabiu

Kano Central Senator Ibrahim Shekarau has advised President Bola Tinubu on measures to cut the government’s expenses.

According to Shekarau, Tinubu should reduce the number of members in the Senate and House of Representatives in order to minimise the expense of government.

Appearing on Channels TV Wednesday night, Shekarau said that Nigeria does not require both chambers.

He was quoted as saying, “Left to me, we don’t need to have the two chambers, the two houses.

“It’s costing the country. I agree, a democracy means getting as many involved as possible, but the way it is going on now, it’s almost 500 legislators nationwide; I don’t think we really need this much at the moment.”

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Economic Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has cried out over a siege on their office by the Department of State Services, DSS

In a press statement released by the Commission on Monday, they alleged that the DSS denied their operatives and members of staff access to their office at No.15 Awolowo Road, Ikoyi.

They said the DSS barricaded the entrance of their facility with armoured personnel carriers.

The Commission described the development as strange, stating that the Commission and DSS had cohabited in that facility for 20 years without issues.

The EFCC also made it known that the development has disrupted their activities and has wider implications on the fight against corruption.

“By denying operatives access to their offices, the Commission’s operations at its largest hub with over 500 personnel, hundreds of exhibits, and many suspects in detention have been disrupted.
Cases scheduled for court hearing today have been aborted, while many suspects who had been invited for questioning are left unattended.
Even more alarming is that suspects in detention are left without care with grave implications for their rights as inmates.
All of these have wilder implications for the nation’s fight against economic and financial crimes,” part of the statement reads

As at the time of writing this report, the DSS is yet to give reasons for the siege.