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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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Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

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Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

By: Michael Mike

Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called on Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress.

The advice was given by the Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, in his message on Eid-el-Kabir.

The Institute, while extending warm greetings to Nigerians, wished them a joyous and peaceful celebration, marked by love, compassion, and unity.

The Institute while noting that Sallah is a significant occasion in the Islamic calendar, symbolizing the values of sacrifice, gratitude, and community, emphasized that the spirit of Sallah should guide Nigerians in their interactions with one another, fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding.

The IPCR urged Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress, while
encouraging individuals to embrace the values of Sallah, including forgiveness, empathy, and kindness, in their daily lives.

According to IPCR, peace is critical to promoting national stability and cohesion.

The Institute also urged Nigerians to use this period of Sallah celebration to address conflicts and promote dialogue, which could help to build trust and understanding among Nigerians and also contribute to a more peaceful society.

It recognized that the country’s many ethnic and religious groups can work together to build a more harmonious society, celebrating their differences and promoting a culture of tolerance.
End

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Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

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Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

By: Michael Mike

A community leader and the Waziri Mushere of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Chief Yohana Margif has expressed dismay over the incessant killing of innocent citizens of the community.

Margif made this known in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.

He called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene to halt what he described as genocide against the people, which he said was being perpetrated by suspected herdsmen.

Margif also called on Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and other security chiefs in the country, to rein in the alleged culprits.

He said: “I would like to draw the attention of the topmost leadership in Nigeria to the deteriorating dire security situation in Plateau, particularly in Mushere Chiefdom of Bokkos LGA.

“I urge President Tinubu to take immediate decisive action to halt these endless and senseless killings, protect lives and properties, and secure the future of the Mushere people, and other victims of obvious genocide against the people.

“Herdsmen are killing our innocent people, burning their homes, looting their foodstuff, property, livestock, and taking over their ancestral lands,” he said.

According to the Abuja-based real estate mogul, the attacks and attendant killings have intensified recently since the onset of this year’s farming season.

Margif further said that the people had been displaced from their villages and ancestral homes and were forced to become internally displaced persons in the country.

He emphasised that the situation required immediate intervention by all stakeholders in order to prevent further escalation and inflict an irredeemable harm by wiping out the entire community from the surface of the earth.

He lamented that: “Since President Tinubu’s administration began, Plateau State has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of violence and loss of lives.

“This is the current sad reality. Our people are constantly under the threat of the enemy’s bullets and can’t sleep with two eyes closed due to the perpetual unleashing of violence against them by external forces.

“Something urgent must be done to stem the tide of violence and end this war against the people in order not to
harm this administration’s reputation,” Margif said.

In the past couple of days, suspected herdsmen militia killed no fewer than 35 people in the localities of Hokk, Pangkap, Fokoldep, Kopmur, Margif, Horop, Mbor, Mushere and Kwahas localities in Mushere Chiefdom.

Chairman, Bokkos Community Peace Observers, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the killings to newsmen, said the victims included a 70-year-old Pastor of COCIN LCC Kwakas-Mushere, Mimang Lekyil, who was attacked and killed in the church.

He said that the pastor’s wife was also shot in the leg and was admitted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital for treatment, he said.

“Bokkos has never been this insecure, with the people being butchered as we are currently witnessing,” Lilian Madaki, from the Mushere community told journalists.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Adesina, also confirmed the incident in a statement saying security forces including police and military personnel, had been deployed in the affected communities.

Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

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VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

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VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

** Says Nigeria has lost an intellectual giant

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima today led other Muslim faithful for the Jana’iza (funeral prayers) of the late elder statesman, renowned medical scholar and former Minister of Education and Petroleum, Prof. Jibril Aminu, at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Prof. Aminu, a one-time President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (OPEC), passed on in Abuja on Thursday after a prolonged illness.

The Vice President, who arrived at the National Mosque at 1:52 pm, commiserated with the family of the deceased and prayed Allah to comfort them and make Aljanna Firdaus the final abode of the late elder statesman.

Noting that the late Prof Aminu’s demise is a great loss to the nation, VP Shettima described the late surgeon, educationist and administrator as a man who saw it all, just as he said the deceased was an intellectual giant who can hardly be replaced.

“It is a very sad loss. Prof Jubril Aminu was the last of the great titans, an iconic figure who enormously contributed to the development of the nation.

“He was variously the Executive Secretary of NUC, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Honourable Minister of various ministries across the country and left his landmarks on the sands of time.

“He is irreplaceable. May Allah grant him Aljanatul Firdaus and give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. His loss is not just to the good people of Adamawa State but to the nation and Africa at large,” the Vice President prayed.

Born in Song, Adamawa in 1939, Prof. Aminu was a towering figure in Nigerian public life.

The late Consultant Cardiologist served the nation in different capacities, including as Federal Minister of Education and later Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1989–1992), Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States (1999–2003), and Senator representing Adamawa Central (2003–2011).

He was also President of OPEC in 1991 and President of the OPEC Conference between 1991 and 1992 while he was Petroleum Minister.

Other mourners who joined the Vice President at the National Mosque in Abuja for the Jana’iza included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo; former Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed; former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako; former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai (rtd); former Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman; former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, among many others.

VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

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