TheNewsGuru

Tag: Benue

  • Benue flood: PDP leaders visit victims, donate food, other items

    The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic party, PDP, has paid a sympathy visit to flood victims in Makurdi, Benue State.

    The party’s official twitter handle gave out this information on Friday.

    The delegation, which was led by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Dayo Adeyeye, the National Legal Adviser of the party, Dave Iorhemba, and other members also paid a courtesy call on the governor of the state, Samuel Ortom.

    A Board of Trustees member, Margaret Icheen, the state exco of the party led by the state chairman John Ngbede and other members the party were on ground to receive the team later at the party headquarters.

    The party also donated food and other materials to the flood victims.

    Thousands of people were displaced by the flood that ravaged several communities in Benue. About 5,000 of those displaced are currently in a displaced persons camp in Makurdi, the state capital.

  • Flood: FG to dredge River Benue, construct drainages in Makurdi

    The Federal Government has promised to dredge river Benue and construct additional drainage systems to put a lasting end to the destructive flood being experienced in the state.

    President Muhammadu Buhari made the promise on Wednesday while addressing the Internally Displaced persons (IDPs) at the International Market camp in Makurdi.

    Represented by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, the President expressed optimism that the dredging of the river would provide a permanent solution to the problem.

    Apart from tackling the flood, Buhari also hopes the dredging would create job opportunities for the youth.

    “We need to look at a realistic solution to this problem, the dredging of River Benue is very important in addressing this flood issue and we will do something about it,’’ the President said.

    Buhari said the government was not only concerned about this year’s flood disaster but the 2012 disaster too and would find a permanent solution to Benue incessant flooding.

    “The intention of the Federal Government is not just to assist flood victims but also to find ways of providing real opportunities to help Nigerians improve their standard of living.”

    Earlier, Gov. Samuel Ortom, while welcoming the President, appealed to the Federal Government to assist the state in dredging the river and complete ongoing drainage system in the state.

    Ortom also commended the President for his prompt response and provision of relief materials to the flood victims.

    He said that the state had received an eight-track load of relief materials from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), adding that five were on the way.

    He said Nasarawa State Government also donated four trucks of relief materials.

    The governor commended the Nigerian Air force for the provision of a healthcare system to the IDPs and other civil society groups for their various contributions as well.

  • BREAKING: Osinbajo arrives Benue to inspect damages caused by flood

    The Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has arrived Benue State with other Federal Government delegation to conduct an on the spot assessment of the havoc caused by the flood which ravaged the state some few days ago.

    This was revealed by the Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande via his twitter handle @ akandeoj on Wednesday.

    TheNewsGuru reports that the Benue State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) confirmed that over 110,000 people in 24 communities including Makurdi, the state capital, were displaced by flood in recent months.

    TheNewsGuru reports that the flood follows heavy rains which began on Sunday, August 27.

    TheNewsGuru reports that President Muhammadu Buhari had seen commiserated with Governor Samuel Ortom and the people of Benue State with a promise that the Federal Government will offer the needed assistance to the affected victims.

    Details later…

     

     

  • Benue flood: There might be food drought later this year – Gov Ortom

    The governor of Benue, Samuel Ortom has expressed concern over the flood that has led to the displacement of over 110,000 people, destroying a countless number of houses – also led to the destruction of a large portion of farmlands and food storage facilities washed away.

    He said the people the state and Nigerians, in general, may experience food scarcity later this year as a result of the flood.

    Ortom stated this yesterday when he embarked on an on-the-spot assessment of some villages and farm lands washed away by flood.

    According to the state governor, “we are having a serious issue on our hand. Benue is agrarian state and we have decided to go into an area where we have a comparative advantage by initiating series of incentives to make Benue feed the country, but we can see the level of destruction the flood has caused; I’m afraid this will not lead to a shortage of food scarcity this year.

    “Two camps have already been opened in Makurdi to ensure that the displaced persons have shelter and receive assistance; chairmen of the 23 LGAs have been directed to use some primary schools as designated camps for affected victims in their areas.

    “Let me use this opportunity to express the deepest appreciation to President Muhammadu Buhari for immediately coming to the aid of the victims and directing the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief materials to support persons affected by the flood in Benue state.”

  • Ortom distance self from quit notice to herders

    The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom yesterday distanced himself from the quit notice reportedly issued to herders by a group known as Middle Belt Renaissance Forum.

    The group was said to have met in Abuja few days ago where they issued the quit notice to herders in the region.

    Ortom, reacting to the development through his Chief Press Secretary, Terver Akase in Makurdi, stated categorically that the Benue State government, himself and the people of the state were not part of the quit notice.

    “The said notice will not have any impact or effect in Benue State and it should be disregarded by all Benue people, including Fulani herdsmen living in the state. Security agencies should investigate the matter and apprehend those behind the quit notice,” he said.

    According to him, Benue State enacted a law prohibiting open grazing to pave way for the establishment of ranches and the implementation of the law scheduled to commence in November this year but does not provide that herders should leave the state.

  • JUST IN: Benue shuts 2,424 unapproved schools

    The Governor Samuel Ortom led Benue State Government on Tuesday announced the closure of 2,424 schools in the state.

    The state commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Professor Dennis Ityavyar, who stated this at a meeting with stakeholders said that the schools closed down failed to meet the necessary requirement; good environment, play ground and good classrooms.

    Ityavyar gave the breakdown of schools to include; 1,977 primary, 433 secondary schools and 14 tertiary institutions cut across the three senatorial districts of the state.

    The commissioner said that the proliferation schools in the state is responsible for poor performances of students in both external and internal examinations.

    Production of half baked graduates leading to the establishment of so many miracle centres.

    Benue state ranked 14 out of 36 states in the 2017 West African Examination Council.

    The commissioner said, “the decision to embark on the closure of illegal schools across the 23 local governments of the state is a deliberate step towards improving the standards of quality education in the state.”

    He warned the authority of the closed schools to adhere to the closure order until all the criteria are met adding that whoever who float the order will face prosecution.

    To ensure adequate compliance, the commissioner said that powerful team has been set up in all the local governments, members, according to him are traditional rulers, opinion leaders, representatives of the state commissioner of police and Director State Security Services as well as area education officers.

     

     

  • With just N40bn, I’ll clear salary arrears, turn Benue to London – Ortom

    …accuses past administrations of stealing N109bn

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State said he would be needing about N40bn to clear civil servants salary arrears and also turn Benue into London.

    Ortom made this statement on Wednesday during a phone-in programme monitored on Harvest FM, Makuurdi.

    According to the governor, the past administration led by Gabriel Suswam looted over N109bn from the state and he had been working round the clock to recover it.

    He said, “The past administration stole over 109 billion, if I recover just 40 billion (which is the difference of all salaries and arrears of salaries in Benue state,) I’ll finish the issue of salaries and develop Benue into London.

    “I wanted to be paying half salary every month but Labour leaders said, instead, I should pay full salary in every 2 months. And that is what I have been doing.”

    Recently a former Minister of Interior, Abba Moro had lashed out at Ortom, saying he does not deserve a second term.

    The PDP stalwart described Ortom’s utterance about second term as an affront to the sensibilities of the citizenry in Benue State as he was yet to do anything meaningful to justify the current mandate given to him by the people.

  • CSOs want compliance with court order in Benue

    The Coalition of Civil Society Organizations for Transparency in Governance (CCSOTG), has called for deepening democratic norms and the rule of law in Nigeria with regards to the freedom granted BIRS -Consultants by a Makurdi High Court in a dispute with the Police and the need for Immediate compliance.

    Convener of the Group, Comrade Sabo Ode, who addressed a press conference in Abuja on Monday, said BIRS got a judgment last week in its favour, as the Court declared the Police as incompetent in issuing such directive and restrained its agents from harassment, intimidation and disruption of lawful tax collection in any part of the state.

    It will be recalled that the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Kpotum Idris, in May 2017 inaugurated a Police Special X-squad teams specifically charged with the responsibility of arresting all tax revenue officials operating on federal roads across the nation.

    “We, therefore, side with the clear verdict of the Presiding judge, Justice Adam Onum that the police have no authority to issue such executive directives, which contravenes the validly passed laws of the Benue State House of Assembly or any other State Assembly in Nigeria.

    The group said BIRS is obliged to support this tending for the truth by CCSOTG to enable the widespread and deep dissemination of this cheerful news to re-establish the confidence of taxpayers to BIRS which could be done through pamphlets, billboards adverts, community theatre strategy and open-door advertisements on taxis and buses or any other means possible to ginger payment of more taxes to liberate Benue state.

    “On this score, the coalition wishes to salute the courage and wisdom of the Benue State Board of Internal Revenue Service’s (BIRS) executive chairman, Chief Mrs. Mimi Adzakpe- Orubibi, by challenging the controversial directive of the Police in court,” the group said.

  • Benue lost 1,800 lives to herdsmen, farmers clashes in 3 years — Ortom

    Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue said on Wednesday that 1,878 lives were lost to the lingering clashes between farmers and herdsmen in the state, between 2013 and 2016.

    Ortom, while receiving Edward Kallon, UN Resident Coordinator, who led a UN delegation on a courtesy visit to his office, said the killings cut across 12 local governments.

    Quoting a report from a research conducted by the State Emergency Management Agency and Benue Planning Commission, in collaboration with NGOs, he said that 750 persons were seriously wounded while 200 others were still missing.

    He said that 99,427 households were affected, while property worth billions of naira were destroyed.

    “A 2014 survey, conducted by the Benue Bureau for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, found out that the destruction by herdsmen exceeded N95 billion in 10 local governments in that year alone,” he said.

    The governor urged the UN to support the state’s efforts to tackle the challenge “in view of its destructive effects”.

    Earlier, Kallon had assured the governor that the UN would provide assistance to the state to enable it tackle its security challenges.

    The UN official promised to provide institutional architecture targeted at preventing conflict in Benue, and sympathised with Ortom and the Benue people over the perennial crises.

     

     

     

    NAN

  • Dead workers are still collecting salaries in Benue – Gov Ortom

    Dead workers are still collecting salaries in Benue – Gov Ortom

    The Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom, has lamented that dead workers and some others who are supposed to have retired are still collecting salaries in his state.

    He said the sharp practices had increased the state’s wage bill to N7.9bn monthly, which he said was too much for his government to handle.

    Ortom said this in an interview with journalists shortly after attending a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.

    The governor said although he was committed to timely payment of workers’ salary, this could not be achieved with the unsustainable wage bill.

    He said his administration had therefore commenced a staff audit that will weed out “ghost workers” from the state’s payroll.

    He expressed the hope that the exercise, which will last three months, would bring sanity to the system.

    Ortom said, “You will recall that I declared a state of emergency on ‎payment of salaries, and I want to have the capacity to pay salaries as and when due because a worker deserves his wages.

    “We discovered that there were so many leakages on our payroll and ghost workers and other infiltration here and there.

    “I think that a wage bill of over N3.2bn is too much at the state level. And when you add pensions and gratuity, you are talking of about N4.2bn. It is too much for Benue State.

    “At the local government, you have a wage bill of N3.7bn. So, if you are talking about N7.9bn for a state, it is not decent enough.

    “Ghost workers, those who were due for retirement are still in the service, those who are dead are still collecting salaries and all that.

    “So, we believe that at the end of the day, we will be able to scale down to a level that we will be able to pay salaries as and when due.”