Infrastructure

By Rabiu Sani-Ali

Kano, Jan. 7, 2021 (NAN) Kano State Government says it has adopted Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in its quest to revitalise the economy and address infrastructure deficit.

Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, in a statement on Thursday in Kano said that it was a deliberate attempt to diversify the economy.

According to Garba, the PPP model will also boost revenue base and develop infrastructure for sustainable, social and economic development of the state.

He said that the state Government had encouraged private sector investment through PPP arrangements to revitalise moribund industries and convert abandoned structures for more efficient public use.

He said the measure would fast track re-appraising of the Kano Master Plan which has not been done for a long time, to give impetus for proper planning and implementation of infrastructure development.

“The PPP concept which is grossly misunderstood, the state government is revitalising under-performing assets in partnership with willing investors as part of move to make the ancient city catch up with modernity.

“PPP arrangement, one of the best global practice is long-term contract between a private party and a government agency for providing public asset or service in which the private party bears significant risk and management responsibility,” he explained

Garba noted that most of the properties earmarked for the projects under the PPP are either abandoned or under-performing.

He listed the affected structures to include; Daula Hotel, to be used for residential quarters; Triumph Publishing Company, earmarked for construction of a modern Bureau de Change centre and the Shahuci Parking Area.

“Triumph was revived by the present administration and relocated to a more convenient place befitting a newspaper house.

“The Shahuchi parking area was originally earmarked for the project by the previous administration but the structure was faulty, which informed the decision by the Ganduje administration to fine tune it to standard level,’’ he said.

The commissioner added that construction of corner shops in public spaces was aimed at curving criminal activities by miscreants who hide under the cover of darkness to perpetrate crimes. (NAN)

RSA/CHIN/EAL

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Edited by Chinyere Bassey/Ekemini Ladejobi

By Harrison Arubu
U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday morning committed to an “orderly transition” of power on Jan. 20.

Trump made the promise in a statement after Congress certified Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as the country’s next president and vice-president.

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on Jan. 20.

“I have always said we would continue our fight to ensure that only legal votes were counted.

“While this represents the end of the greatest first term in presidential history, it’s only the beginning of our fight to Make America Great Again!” he said.

The statement was released through his spokesperson’s Twitter account after the company blocked the president from using his own account.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Facebook also suspended Trump’s account after using it to rally his supporters who invaded the Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Congress approved the electoral votes after both chambers rejected objections by some Republican lawmakers to the votes in Pennsylvania and Arizona.

Debates of the objections to Arizona had barely started on Wednesday when Trump supporters stormed the building and disrupted the proceedings.

The session resumed and continued through the night after normalcy returned.

By Afusat Agunbiade-Oladipo

A 24 year-old woman, Medinat Ibrahim on Wednesday, was paraded by Police Command in Kwara for allegedly conspiring with two others to arrange her kidnap to collect ransom from her family.

Briefing journalists at police Command Headquarters, Ilorin, CP Mohammed Bagega, said that on Jan. 2 information was received from one Nurudeen Solagberu that one Medinat Ibrahim of Olude Oke-Fomo area of Ilorin was kidnapped by unknown persons.

Bagega said that the command received the information at some minutes past 5pm via its emergency telephone lines.

According to him, on the strength of the information, the complainant was directed to make a formal report at Oloje Police Division that has jurisdiction over the area.

“Preliminary investigation revealed a conspiracy, so I directed the newly constituted state anti-kidnapping to take over the investigation.

“It was however revealed in the course of investigation that the said Medinat Ibrahim conspired with one Amudalat Wahab, her sister to arrange for her kidnap.

“And a GTB bank account No. 0116404467 belonging to one Hammed Lekan was used to cash the ransom of N250, 000 paid by the father of the suspect.

“The suspect later confessed that she needed money for something, hence she devised the fake kidnap.

“All the suspects have been arrested, exhibit recovered and case under investigation,” said the CP.

He advised criminals to relocate from Kwara as the command would stop at nothing to deal with any criminal arrested no matter how highly or lowly placed. (NAN)

By Hamza Suleiman

A 33-year-old suspect, Hassan Ebere, has  revealed how he sold 6,000 dead poultry to residents of Maiduguri for five years so as to raise money for his livelihood since he lost his father.

Ebere made the revelation while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), after being paraded by the Borno Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, (NSCDC), on Wednesday.

“I usually go to the Ngadabul river, behind Borno Radio Television (BRTV) complex, to pick the carcasses of poultry that are thrown away from poultry farms.

“So every week, I pick at least ten or even more than that, then process it and take it to sell to unsuspecting customers.

“My market base are usually Baga fish market, where I sell some of them as bush meat, Monday market, suya joints and some selected restaurants within the metropolis.

“The products usually go for N700, N800. But if it had spent some days, I take them to local beer parlours at the back of Ngomari ward and sell them for N250,”he said.

Ebere said he was pushed by the devil to engage in such nefarious activities, and begged for forgiveness.

Speaking, the Borno Commandant of the NSCDC, Mr Abdullahi Ibrahim, said that the suspect was arrested, while processing the meat behind BRTV complex on Jan. 2, 2021.

Ibrahim said that the command got intelligence reports about the nefarious acts before swinging into action to apprehend him, adding that the arrest of the suspect had stopped what had been a serious health hazard to the people.

He called on the Ministry of Environment and the the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), to fight the circulation of such unwholesome products, in order to ensure the safety and health of the people.

On his part, State Coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr Nasiru Mato, said the implication of such an act was in the threat it posed to public safety.

“The carcass of the poultry from the farm must have died from one or two infectious diseases which could easily be transmitted to humans.

“So it can be very disastrous and dangerous to consumers. There are severe penalties on any one found engaging in this type of unwholesome activity.

“We, therefore, urge the general public to make sure, when buying live chicken, they should either slaughter them by themselves or are slaughtered in their presence. They must also make sure that the chicken are certified by a registered vet to ensure public safety”, he said.

U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar said she was “drawing up” articles of impeachment against U.S. President Donald Trump after masses of angry pro-Trump protesters stormed the Capitol building in Washington DC on Wednesday.

“I am drawing up Articles of Impeachment,” the Democratic congresswoman wrote on Twitter.

“Donald J. Trump should be impeached by the House of Representatives & removed from office by the United States Senate,” she added.

Hundreds of demonstrators breached security and scaled the steps of the building where lawmakers were due to certify president-elect Joe Biden’s win in the November election.

Hours earlier, Trump riled up his supporters repeating baseless allegations of election fraud and encouraged them to march to the Capitol.

The Senate and House of Representatives abruptly called off their sessions, where they had been debating Republican challenges to results in U.S. states that Biden won, as the building went into lockdown.

Congress reconvened in the evening, with senators from both sides of the aisle condemning the violence and vowing to complete the certification process.

Omar was among the four non-white Democrat congresswomen (known as “The Squad”), who Trump disparaged during a campaign rally in September and falsely implied that she’s not American.

The other three women are Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Presley of Massachusetts, and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.

“The President clearly loves to prey on people’s fears. He spreads the disease of hate everywhere he goes, and these cult rallies that he’s holding across the country are now being fueled by fear, and it is no surprise that he is so fearful of winning Minnesota that he has to resort to this hate,” Omar told CNN’s Brianna Keilar on “Right Now”.

“Not only is he a racist, but he’s a racist xenophobic. Because he’s not against immigration, he’s just against immigrants who look like me,” the Somali-American Congresswoman had said at the time.

By Toba Ajayi

The Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Buki Ponle, has called on journalists to write more on developmental issues affecting Africa.

He gave the advice during his familiarisation visit to NAN office in Ilorin on Wednesday.

Ponle who was appointed NAN managing director by President Muhammadu Buhari on Aug. 26, 2020,  assumed office on Sept. 1 same year.

He urged media practitioners to report positive news stories about Africa and desist from focusing on negative angles.

“We focus mainly on terrorism, hunger, bad economy and forget to report on the creativity in Africa, the attractive culture on the continent.

“A journalist should not just focus on the bad angle of a story. There is also news in the positive happenings on the continent.

“Even the Boko Haram insurgency, there can be positive side to the story, human angle stories like the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) where people in the camp produce enough food to feed the camp.

“As journalists, we must learn to be disciplined and do balanced report.

“Africa should not only be known for bad stories or occurrences, it has many positive angles. Let us report the positive angles about our continent,” he advised.

The managing director also advised NAN members of staff to be on top of their beats and be good ambassadors of the agency.

He enjoined the workers not to be distracted by challenges, but rather look into the future with optimism, adding that the future of the agency is very bright.

Ponle also assured the members of staff that the agency had not closed its eyes on training, disclosing that as a starter, editorial conference would hold this year.

He stressed the commitment of the management to welfare of staff.

“Staff welfare is our priority. We assure you of a better and improved welfare. We are addressing your transport allowance and very soon, you will start receiving alert.

“Even your work equipment like furniture and other tools will be made available,” he said.

NAN reports that the managing director was accompanied by the former Zonal Manager, Southwest Zone, Mr Mufutau Ojo, who is now his Special Assistant (SA).

The NAN State Correspondent, Mr Biodun Esan, congratulated the managing director on his appointment, assuring him of maximum cooperation of members of staff in the state for improved output.

Esan intimated the managing director on the challenges Kwara office was facing to include erosion and problem of water.

He appealed to the managing director to look into the erosion problem and provide borehole for the office.

Esan also appealed to the managing director to look into paying reporters allowance for data used to send stories.

Mr Mohammed Tola, a Deputy Editor-in-Chief (DEIC) encouraged colleagues to remain focus on their jobs and be more productive.

He added that their output would always be appreciated and rewarded eventually.

Ponle, accompanied by Ojo, Tola, Esan and others, paid an unscheduled visit to a pioneer staff of the agency, Alhaji Abdulkareem Adisa. (NAN)

By Salisu Sani-Idris
The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has arrested over 50 dispatch riders for various traffic offences within the city centre.

Alhaji Wadata Bodinga, Director, FCTA Directorate of Road Traffic Services (DRTS) made the disclosure while briefing newsmen shortly after conducting them round the seized motorcycles on Wednesday in Abuja.

Bodinga warned that the conduct and activities of dispatch riders in the city would no longer be tolerated by the FCTA and the motoring public.

He disclosed that the directorate had received a lot of complaints about the conduct of some of the dispatch motorcyclists within the city and “we have seen it too.

“We are here to parade the dispatch riders that we arrested for either riding against traffic in the city or beating the traffic lights.

“As you may observe, the number of dispatch riders has increased within the city, probably because of the COVID-19 pandemic, ravaging not only Abuja or Nigeria but the whole world.

“Because of their door-to-door services, dispatch riders can actually help with errands of people that are staying at home to deliver some of their needs.

“Just between Tuesday and today Wednesday, over 50 motorcycles and dispatch riders have been arrested for various offences.

“They are the major culprit of this beating of traffic and riding against traffic in the city which is not acceptable,” Bodinga said.

He said that the FCTA had directed all the people arrested to go for emotional evaluation at a recognised hospital in the FCT.

The director said that the enforcement was a continuous one, adding that all the Area Commands were detailed to ensure that traffic rules and regulations is respected in the city.

“This is Abuja and even where the traffic lights are not working, our men and officers of the Nigeria Police Force are there to ensure sanity.

“People should be seen to, at least, obey the traffic lights in the territory and sadly, that is not the case when it comes to this dispatch riders as you can see the results of the operation,” he said.

Bodinga disclosed that majority of them were not registered with the authority as dispatch riders.

“Because they are dispatch riders, we expect that these motorcycles should be owned by cooperate organisations but from the records, we have realised that most of them are just owned by individuals who just decided to put the box and start operation.

” And they will bring results first. After they have done that, then we are going to take them to the Mobile Magistrate Court which has already started sitting.

”After the magistrate session is over, then they will equally come for two weeks compulsory training with a formal letter from their various companies and organisations.

“For all the ones that have organisations, we have drafted a formal letter that we are going to send to their various companies and organisations, informing them of the conduct of their drivers.

”And also, the need for them to bring even their other drivers for mandatory training to update them on traffic rules and regulations,” he said.

He, however, said that the training was free but they would pay for their various penalties.

Bodinga said that after the training, the Transportation Secretariat would issue them Abuja Riders Permit that would limit them to only the areas that motorcycles were allowed to operate.

On his part, Mr Ihkaro Attah, the Chairman, FCTA Ministerial Taskforce on Traffic Management, said dispatch riders who were allowed to operate in the city were already abusing the privilege.

” They break traffic laws very regularly and it has become a source of worry to the FCT Minister. Mr Bodinga and his men swung into action and clamped down on them.

”We give the directorate pass mark for clamping down on these violators and some vehicles here are also involved.

”They will be going through psychiatric tests to ascertain if they are normal because if something is not wrong with them they must be wrong with something,” he added.

Fenerbahce will sign German midfielder, Mesut Ozil from Arsenal for three and a half years for an undisclosed fee, according to media report in Turkey on Wednesday.

The report says Ozil and the club have agreed on the transfer in principle and the 32-year-old would join the former Turkish champions later in January.

Fenerbahce Chairman, Ali Koc, said previously that signing Ozil, who has Turkish ancestry, was a “nice dream” for the club, who have suffered from financial woes in recent years.

Koc had said Fenerbahce would need to offload players to make any transfers in January.

Ozil fuelled rumours about a move to Fenerbahce with an Instagram post about Istanbul on Tuesday.

The German has not played for Arsenal since March 2020 and was not named in the squad list for the first half of the current Premier League season.

He has long been linked with a move to Fenerbahce, Turkey’s second most decorated club.

Ozil, who is one of the highest-paid players at Arsenal, is out of contract at the end of the season.

Arsenal FC is looking to offload players in January to trim the squad.

Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, had said last week the club would wait for the January transfer window to make a final call about Ozil.

Arsenal are currently 11th in the standings on 23 points, while Fenerbahce are fifth in Turkey’s top tier Super Lig on 29 points, two behind league leaders Gaziantep. (Reuters/NAN)