By Hamza Suleiman
Sen. Ali Ndume (APC-Borno) says the strangulating insecurity in North-East hampers the successful execution of Federal Government’s road projects in the region.

Ndume, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, made this known in Maiduguri on Monday while speaking with newsmen.

He said that the construction and rehabilitation of some major roads had been approved by the Federal Government but the roads were abandoned due to the activities of Boko Haram insurgents.

He explained that Borno, Yobe and Adamawa were some of the states terrorised by the insurgents, making it difficult to rehabilitate and construct road networks approved by the Federal Government.

He said: “The first is Dikwa-Marte-Monguno road which was approved for N60.273 billion and the Numan road linking Borno and Adamawa approved for N15.527 billion.

“The third is the road from Gombi-Biu linking Adamawa and Borno also approved for N7.643 billion. The State government has also taken over the construction of 34km Damboa- Chibok- Mbalala federal road which had for long been neglected.

“It has also embarked on reconstruction and rehabilitation of the dilapidated Biu- Azare – Shaffa- Garkida federal highway linking Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa, but the workers were forced to vacate the site due to activities of the insurgents.

“Damaturu-Maiduguri has been allocated but as you can see the work has stopped. Also, the road from Buni Yadi- Biu was also abandoned. Even passengers don’t pass through the road regularly due to the threat pose by the terrorist,’’ he said.

Ndume lamented that no single Federal Government project was taking place in the Northern part of Borno due to the fear that contractors might come under attack by the insurgents.

He said that the insurgents had also taken advantage of the deplorable conditions of the roads to abduct commuters and to even stage ambush attacks against troops.

“There cannot be any meaningful development without peace. It will be therefore difficult to see meaningful development especially on road construction by the Federal Government.

By Rotimi Ijikanmi

The Federal Government has given an assurance that the country will witness improved security this year.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, gave the assurance at a new year media briefing on Monday in Lagos.

The minister disclosed that a number of the platforms the country had been expecting to pep up the battle against terrorists and bandits would arrive in the new year.

He said President Muhammadu Buhari had continued to provide the armed forces and other security agencies with whatever was required to function better in terms of platforms, logistics and capacity development.

“As the president said in his new year broadcast, the security apparatus and personnel of the armed forces and the police are to be re-energised and re-organised.

“This is with a view to enhancing their capacity to engage, push back and dismantle the operations of both internal and external extremist and criminal groups waging war against our communities in some parts of the country,” he said.

Mohammed paid tributes to all security personnel for their sacrifice, dedication to duty and patriotism, noting that the nation remained in their debt for their service.

The minister said that 2020 was one of the most challenging years for the country with COVID-19 and EndSARS protest impacting on the economy in addition to security challenges.

He said the government, however, rose with courage and determination to tackle the challenges and had continued to do so.

“The year 2020 has been a challenging year, undoubtedly one of the most challenging years for the country.

“A global pandemic that triggered an economic recession, security challenge and an unnecessary violence that stemmed from what started as a peaceful protest are just some of the challenges.

“It is to the credit of the President Mohammadu Buhari Administration that it tackled these challenges headlong.

“Thanks to the several complementary fiscal, real sector and monetary interventions proactively introduced by the
government to forestall a far worse decline of the economy and alleviate the negative consequences of the pandemic,” he said.

The minister said the government equally introduced the Economic Sustainability Plan and took significant steps to reach out to the vulnerable.

Specifically, he said the National Social Register was expanded to 3.6 million beneficiaries across the 36 states while support was provided to 8.8 million households through the 70,000 metric tons food grains released from the Strategic Reserve.

Mohammed also said no fewer than 1.3 million vulnerable households benefited from the Conditional Cash Transfers across 34 states.

He said various other interventions were made through the Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme as well as the Trader and Market Moni loans.

The minister berated opposition figures for their constant criticism of the programmes and activities of government as well as whatever the president said or did without justifiable reasons. (NAN)

By Abiodun Esan

Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara has dissolved the state executive council with effect from Dec. 31, 2020.

The dissolution of the cabinet is contained in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor on Monday in Ilorin.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 16-member cabinet was inaugurated by Gov. AbdulRazaq on Dec. 14, 2019.

The cabinet is made up of nine women and six males.

“His Excellency especially commends the Honourable cabinet members for their contributions to the development of the state while also wishing them the best in their future endeavours,” Ajakaye said.

The governor added that the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof. Mamman Sabah Jubril, was retained.

The governor directed the former cabinet members to hand over to the most senior officers in their respective ministries.

The out gone cabinet also had the youngest commissioner, Ms Joana Kolo. (NAN)