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Rep Member empowers 4,200 IDPs, Supports 900 students with scholarship in Borno

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Rep Member empowers 4,200 IDPs, Supports 900 students with scholarship in Borno

Rep Member empowers 4,200 IDPs, Supports 900 students with scholarship in Borno

By: Our Reporter

At least 4,200 people mostly Internally displaced persons (IDPs) from Dikwa, Mafa and Konduga local government areas of Borno state have recently been empowered with water pumps, sewing and milling machines as well as cash grants by a member of the Federal House Of Representatives, Hon Ibrahim Mohammed. 

This is even as the Lawmaker had earned the accolades of Governor Babagana Zulum, for spending about N200 million to empower the neediest members of his constituency.

Flagging off the distribution ceremony in Konduga town, governor Zulum commended the lawmaker for giving out such an “unprecedented” quantity of livelihood to a people that are in dire need of support.

In an interview with journalists, the Lawmaker said that the gesture to his people was fuelled by the need to help them regain their balance after many years of displacement and destruction of their means of livelihood by the Boko Haram insurgency.

“Before the insurgency erupted many years ago, our people were known for their high sense of industry especially in all-season farming, animal husbandry and commerce. But they lost all that to the years of insurgency,” he said.

“As a lawmaker who represents them, I usually found it heartbreaking each time I woke up to a day that I cannot freely go to my constituents who have been displaced or held up somewhere due to insecurity. But with the improving security especially in the three local government areas that formed my federal constituency, I feel it is time we gave support to our people as they finally get resettled in their homes.

Rep Member empowers 4,200 IDPs, Supports 900 students with scholarship in Borno

“Aside from the routine palliatives and support that we have given to our constituents in the past years, I decided to provide holistic support that will not only alleviate their sufferings but give them a sustainable means of livelihood so that they would not continue to depend on government or NGOs to take care of basic needs.  

Also Read: 79 PHCs get N418m as Zulum launches Borno’s Basic…

“It is on that note that I decided to provide 300 units of pumping machines for irrigation farming to a selected 100 persons from each of the three local government areas. We gave out 300 sewing machines to another set of 300 beneficiaries selected in the three local government areas; as well as 300 millings (grinding) machines to another set of 300 persons across the three local government areas under my constituency. 

“Apart from direct distribution of economic empowerment kits, we have also identified others who have expressed willingness to go into other forms of petty businesses and we have selected 300 of them (a hundred from each local government) that were given N50, 000 each as startup grants.

“In the area of educational support for children and young persons in my constituency, we have been able to identify another 600 students who are currently in tertiary institutions and awarded them small scholarship support of N20, 000 each which amounted to N12 million in scholarship to our young ones in school. We have earlier enrolled 300 students in my constituency for a diploma in Computer Studies, of which they are about to graduate this December.”

The lawmaker further said that children in primary school too were not left out in the package as a total of 10,000 exercise books; ten thousand pens and pencils which were shared among the schools in the three local government areas of Dikwa/Mafa/Konduga federal constituency.

“Each local government got 3,333 units of exercise books, pen and pencils for onward free distribution to pupils in primary school,”

“During the disbursement exercise, we have also distributed food items like rice and maize to over 3000 IDPs who also went home with a token of N5, 000 each,” he said.

He commended the state governor for all the efforts he is putting in place in ensuring peace and harmony returns to Borno state.

“We have to do everything within our means to support our governor, Professor Babagana Zulum, because the state government alone cannot do everything. It is my utmost wish and hope that in the next few years our people are not only settled in their local government but fully resettled in their original localities.

“My dream every day for Borno is to see that we have sustainable security, that our people are fully returned home, and peacefully enthroned in all parts of the state.” Mohammed stated.

Rep Member empowers 4,200 IDPs, Supports 900 students with scholarship in Borno

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

By: Michael Mike

Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed deep grief over the passing of prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, saying the nation has lost an irreplaceable institution.

The late Dantata, an uncle of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, passed away at the age of 94 in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Mustapha Abdullahi Junaid, his Personal Private Secretary (PPS), who confirmed the death.

In a condolence message, Vice President Shettima praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, describing him as “a living bridge that connected us to our past.

“We have not just lost a leader; we have lost an irreplaceable institution,” Senator Shettima said, describing Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history” whose departure marks the end of a vital chapter in the country’s economic and democratic evolution.

“In African tradition, when such an elderly person transitions, a vital chapter of our history departs with them. He was indeed among the great titans, a living bridge that connected us to our past,” VP Shettima added.

The Vice President extended heartfelt condolences to the Dantata family, expressing hopes that they would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” even as he prayed that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.

Born into the legendary Dantata family of Kano, Alhaji Aminu built on his father’s commercial legacy to become one of Nigeria’s most influential business figures. His empire spans construction, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors.

Beyond business, Dantata was renowned for his extensive philanthropic work, funding schools, mosques, health centres, and supporting widows and the underprivileged across Nigeria.

VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

By: Michael Mike

The Senior Officials Meeting between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.

A statement on Saturday by the Press Officer, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Modestus Chukwulaka, read: “The Delegation of European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS wishes to inform that the Senior Officials Meeting between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja.

“The agenda of the very important meeting is to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.”

According to the statement, the Senior Officials Meeting will be co-chaired by the Regions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria, Ambassador Janet Olisa, Director, and the Deputy Managing Director for Africa Department, European External Action Service, European Union, Mr Mathieu Briens.

The statement revealed that the agenda of the meeting is expected to entail wide-ranging discussions that would focus on various aspects of the Nigeria – EU partnership, such as: Cooperation on multilateral and regional issues; Peace, Security and Governance; Humanitarian situation; Trade and Investment; Human Development: Health, Education, Social Protection; Science, technology, innovation and digital transition; Migration; Energy, climate change and green economy transition among others.

Nigeria and the European Union share a deep, long-standing partnership inspired by mutual values and interests as well as support for multilateralism and rule-based international order, the statement said.

Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People


…. Donates relief materials to displaced persons in Yelwata, IDP camp

By: Michael Mike

Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri has charged former governors, legislators, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Benue state to set aside rivalry, unite and act with urgency to save their people from incessant attacks and killings.

Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Principal Partner, Brookfield Chambers Abuja stated this on Saturday 28th June 2025 while donating relief materials to victims of the recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.

Some of the items donated under the banner of Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organisation (WYCCO), a non-governmental organization founded by her, include: bags of rice, sugar, tubers of yam and other household items.

She said: “This is no time for division. It is no time for political squabbling or ego-driven manoeuvring. Among us are men and women who have led this state — former governors, legislators, traditional rulers — individuals with influence and authority. The time has come to set aside our differences and stand united, for the sake of the ordinary Benue man, woman, and child.

“That is why I stand here today to make this urgent and heartfelt appeal to our leaders: cast aside rivalry, unite, and act. Act with urgency. Act with purpose. Because what we face now increasingly resembles a deliberate, coordinated effort to erase our people and our heritage.

“We must take heed of the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who once said:
‘Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them.’
Another of Churchill’s warnings is just as relevant to our present predicament:
‘If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed… you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”

Waziri, while stating that her call was a build up to the earlier proposal by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit Beforehand Benue, noted that meetings alone would not solve the problem, urging that: “But let us be sincere: peace will not come from meetings alone. To end the cycle of violence, we must confront its roots. Before the Yelwata massacre, communities in Gwer West, Apa, and Guma had already endured weeks of killings, kidnappings, and raids. These horrors did not emerge in a vacuum; they are symptoms of deeper issues.

“We must therefore confront the real causes — ethnic and religious tensions, unchecked banditry, and the rise of cultism as well as the abuse of illicit drugs. These forces must be tackled, along with the herder-farmer conflict, with honesty and courage. We cannot afford to keep going in circles. And there is no room for blame games. Our leaders — and indeed, all of us — must be pragmatic. So today, let us commit, as one people, to healing our wounds, reclaiming our land, and ensuring that never again will a child in Benue grow up in a camp instead of a home”

She said the development in Benue must be of “concern to all sons and daughters of Benue regardless of whether we live within its borders or far away in the diaspora to find out the root cause of these attacks with a view to proferring solutions that will bring an end to these barbaric acts”

Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People

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