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Tag: el-rufai

  • Kaduna: We are more concerned with organising credible poll than APC victory – El-Rufai

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state on Saturday said that having a credible electoral process was more important than his party, the All Progressives Congress’ victory in the same poll.

    The governor said this on Saturday after casting his vote in the local government elections going on in the state.

    He noted that credible poll was more important than the victory of the APC, even as he expressed delight over the impressive and peaceful turn-out of residents for the election.

    El-Rufai said that he does not care whether his party wins or loses at the local government election as long as it was credible, free and fair.

    El-Rufai said although there were initial hiccups with the electronic voting machine, the problems have been resolved.

    The governor, accompanied by some state executives, arrived at his polling unit at 12:47 p.m and went straight for accreditation and then patiently join the queue with other voters. He cast his vote at exactly 1:09 p.m.

  • ‘If you need loan, don’t insult a bank manager’ Shehu Sani lambasts El-Rufai

    ‘If you need loan, don’t insult a bank manager’ Shehu Sani lambasts El-Rufai

    Shehu Sani, chairman, senate committee on local and foreign debt, has advised Nasir el-Rufai, governor of Kaduna, to use the “meagre” resources available to run the state.

    In an interview with NAN on Monday, the senator wondered why governors could not use distributions from the excess crude account and Paris Club Refund to execute projects.

    He said the senate rejected the Kaduna government’s request for a $350 million loan due to the state’s high debt profile.

    The senate rejected the request on March 29, following a strong opposition from the three lawmakers representing the state at the upper legislative chamber.

    Last week, el-Rufai described the senators as enemies of the state, saying their action showed that they are “useless”.

    “The senators from the state who worked against the World Bank loan are useless; they came out and said this loan should not be given. What is their reason for rejecting the loan? It is because they are haters of the masses in Kaduna state,” he had said.

    He added that senators from the state were not privy to the loan, and that contributed to its unanimous rejection.

    “How can you be governor of a state and all your three senators, including the one from PDP, are opposed to it?” he asked.

    “I have never heard of it. I have treated cases of loan here as the chairman of committee on local and foreign debt. There were cases where one senator is opposed to it but two are for it or the other way round. As a governor of a state, if you are desirous of a loan, the first people you should consult are the legislators; he did not do that.

    “So, I do not think the attitude of consistent insult on us and the institution of the national assembly will be of value. If you need loan, you do not go insulting a bank manager; you have to convince him that you are worth it.”

    Sani said approving the loan for a state with a high debt profile will put a lot of burden on future generations.

    “We rejected the loan to save the children of Kaduna state from the slavery of debt that will overtake them in the future,” he said.

    “Most political elite leave behind for their children, hotels, houses, mansions and estates, but they leave mountains of debts for the children of the poor. I do not see the reason why state governors cannot use the Paris Refund, the bailout funds and Excess Crude Account distributions to execute their projects and programmes. Why must they go for loans?

    “If Gombe State is where it is today and other states like Sokoto are still working and they have never approached us for loan, why Kaduna state. If the loan is even reasonable, you will look at it from that point of view. The tenure of a government is at most eight years and you leave behind 20, 30, 40 years of loan for people to pay.”

    He said that as chairman of the committee on loans, he owed it a duty to the state and all other states to ensure that states that were in debt did not acquire more debts.

    “It is my duty as the chairman of the committee to do what I need to do to save a state that is already in so much debt,” he said.

    “My state is indebted to the tune of about 225 million dollars, the second most indebted state in the country and you tell me to approve another loan of 350 million dollar.

    “We had to turn down the request. If it is me, people will say I have a running battle with the governor but the other two senators are equally opposed to it.”

  • God will curse Shehu Sani, two other Kaduna senators for rejecting World bank loan – El-Rufai

    God will curse Shehu Sani, two other Kaduna senators for rejecting World bank loan – El-Rufai

    …Says electorates must reject them in 2019

    Governor Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna State on Friday rained curses on the three senators representing the state for working against a World Bank loan request by the state government.

    The governor made the comment on Friday, five weeks after the senators — Shehu Sani (Kaduna Central), Sulieman Hukunyi (Kaduna North), and Danjuma Leah (Kaduna South) — blocked a $350m loan request by the Kaduna government.

    The state had sought to get the facility from the World Bank but the federal lawmakers said the loan would erode the economic viability of the state.

    But el-Rufai, while speaking at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress’ campaign for the local government election in the state at the Kaduna Township Stadium, described the lawmakers as the enemies of democracy.

    The governor, who spoke in Hausa, told the thousands of people at the venue that the senators conspired to stop his government from obtaining the loan to build infrastructure and develop the state.

    He said, “The senators from the state who worked against the World Bank loan are useless; they came out and said this loan should not be given. What is their reason for rejecting the loan? It is because they are haters of the masses in Kaduna State.

    “If a road project is initiated in your town, they don’t want it to be completed. If we start renovating a hospital, they don’t want it to be completed. If five schools are renovated and 10 are remaining, they will not want the remaining 10 to be renovated.

    “Today, there are no haters of the masses of Kaduna State like Shehu Sani, Suleiman Hunkuyi and Danjuma Laah, God will curse them. God will reward their wickedness against the masses, may God never bless them. All members of the House of Representatives from this state, God bless them, may God return them to their seats in 2019.

    “Members of our state (House of) Assembly who gave us their cooperation before the World Bank approved the loan to us, may God bless them and may God return them to their seats in 2019. But those ones that are cursed, if they come to Kaduna, shave their heads and beard. They have shown that they are bastards, they have no origin, therefore, it is important to tell them that they did not originate from this state.

    “If the time for election comes, answer them with votes, show them that you don’t like them… Let them go back to where they come from. Let them go to the people they are working for to vote for them.

    “I want my people to comprehend the simple logic that the three senators representing my state at the Senate are starkly ignorant of the real indices of development and progress in a democratic setting.”

    El-Rufai also said his administration had invested considerably in electronic voting because he believed that votes must count during elections.

  • ASO Savings, set completion date for infrastructure works in Kaduna Model Development

    ASO Savings, set completion date for infrastructure works in Kaduna Model Development

    In line with its vision to be the mortgage bank of choice, ASO Savings & Loans Plc. is partnering with Environmental Engineering and Construction Limited and Realines Global Konsult Ventures Ltd to bring to reality a Kaduna Model Development.

    This Kaduna Model Development is an 11.9 Hectare parcel of land located within the Kaduna Millennium City. It is a green field development mapped into the Kaduna state Millennium City project. The land is strategically located at the center of town and just few minutes’ drive from highbrow neighborhoods such as Isa Kaita and the Government Reserved Area, GRA.

    Spanning across 11.9 hectares of the strategically located development area, the project offers 171 units of a mix of 3 and 4 bedroom bungalows and serviced plots of 450sqm, 600sqm, and 900sqm.

    In its design, conscious attempt was made to leave the ASO mark of quality. The landscape is being adorned with modern signs of comfort and facilities such as Stone pitched drainages, well-paced asphalt laid road networks, connection to the national power grid and treated water supply. The community is also extensively well-lit with street lights. Added for convenience is the development of a shopping mall and a green area/playground for leisure purposes.

    Chairman, Board of Directors; Alhaji Ali Magashi said that ASO’s decision to finance this historic project was in line with his bank’s commitment to provide access to affordable, quality living locations for middle income earners in Kaduna and its environs. Our decision is also in recognition of the forward looking and visionary administration of the Kaduna State Government led by His Excellency, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai.

    He said “This is one more evidence that we are living our vision to be the mortgage bank of choice. With our partners- Environmental Engineering and Construction Limited and Realines Global Konsult Ventures Ltd, we are going to deliver a model development of global standard both in the provision of amenities and quality of work.”

    It will be recalled that only recently ASO Savings concluded works on ASO Garden Estate, Karsana, Abuja.

    ASO Garden Estate, Karsana, was delivered successfully to subscribers. At a total cost of N10 billion, the Residential Estate, conceived by Global High Property Development Company was totally financed by ASO Savings and Loans Plc.

    Also, Sanctuary Court Estate developed in conjunction with Hortigraph Nigeria Limited at a cost of N2.3billion was equally financed by the leading mortgage bank.

    The infrastructure works at the Kaduna model development housing project is expected to be completed by May 2018.

  • El-Rufai clears air on attacking Bill Gates over Nigeria’s economy comment

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai of The Kaduna State, on Thursday cleared the air on attacking American billionaire founder of Microsoft, Bill Gates, over his comment on Nigeria’s economic plan and public spending especially on education.

    El-Rufai insisted that while there was nothing wrong in attacking Gates, he never did but only put things in proper context.

    The governor stated this at the closing session of the Kaduna Investment Summit (KADINVEST 3.0) .

    “A few weeks ago, when Microsoft founder Bill Gates came to Nigeria and appealed to Nigerian government to invest more in education, I made a comment that was reported widely as attacking Bill Gates. It was not an attack on Bill Gates, it merely putting things in context.

    “What I told Mr. Gate is that, you have identified the problem correctly, but you are looking at the wrong tier of government to handle it.

    “The state and local governments have the responsibilities to invest in education and healthcare. So, it is up to state governments to invest more in education and healthcare and I gave example of what we are doing in Kaduna .

    “I also urged my colleagues, the governors to do same. Because, unless the state governments do so, the country will be clapping with one hand.

    “That is what I said, but it was misrepresented to mean that I was attacking Bill Gates. There is nothing wrong with attacking Bill Gates, we can differ, but that is not what happened, I merely explained the context, where the investment should be,” the governor said.

    El-Rufai further added that Mr. Gates is a big partner as he has invested $1.6billion in Nigeria, pointing out that a large percentage of the money he invested was invested in Kaduna State.

    He said Kaduna has it own development plan which aligns with the federal government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    In his remarks at the event, Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, praised the Kaduna people for their activism on social ‎media, saying it indicates how educated they are.

    “In the past, none of you can send a video to a minister, now you don’t only send, you direct me on what to do.

    “Last week, I got a video though I didn’t know the locomotive that brought people to Kaduna ‎had lost power. Somebody sent me the video to show how much they were sweating.

    “I responded immediately by forwarding that same video to the Managing Director of‎ Nigerian Railway Corporation asking him to confirm. He got back to me to say one of our locomotives was bad and that it would be fixed immediately.

    “So, I urged you to continue on that line of being active by making us accountable to you, because without you there is no government. Without the Kaduna people there is no Mallam el-Rufai and without the Kaduna people there is no Buhari,” he said.

     

  • DPP lauds Senate for rejecting El-Rufai’s $350m World Bank loan

    The Democratic People’s Party (DPP) on Wednesday praised the Senate for rejecting the 350 million dollars loan application by the Kaduna State Government.

    The National Chairman of the party, Mr Garshon Benson newsmen in Abuja that the rejection of the loan application was in the interest of people and future of the state.

    “My party’s view is that the National Assembly acted very well by rejecting that loan application from Kaduna State, under the leadership of Gov. El Rrufai.

    “From the information available to all of us, the National Assembly made us to know that Kaduna state is the second worse debtor states in the federation indebted to the tune of over 200 million dollars

    “So adding more debt is not the best for the people of Kaduna state.

    “We had expected Gov. El Rufai, given his wealth of experience in public life, to have tried to open up alternative sources of revenue for his state and increasing the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).

    “That will have reduced the pressure of lack of funds on the state and make more funds available for development.

    “So, I praise the courage of the Senate Committee that did the job and the position of the entire Senate.’’

    The Senate recently rejected the request by the Kaduna State Government to obtain a $350 million loan from the World Bank.

    The three Senators from the state, Shehu Sani, APC, Kaduna Central; Suleiman Hunkuyi, APC, Kaduna north and La’ah Danjuma, PDP, Kaduna South said that it became imperative for the credit facility to be rejected because critical stakeholders from the state were never consulted and for the fact that the fact that the state was already heavily indebted.

    Benson said that the action of the Senate had saved Kaduna state and its economy from increased indebtedness.

    He, therefore, advised Nigerians not to see the rejection of the loan application as political vendetta.

    He said if the loan was approved, those that would suffer the consequences would be the unborn children of the state.

    “It is our view that Kaduna can raise its Internally Generated Revenue in such a way that they can take care of salary payment without touching their federal allocation.

    “If the state can generate IGR to pay salary, it will have a lot of money left over to meet other developmental needs.’’

    Benson also advised other state governors to take proactive measures to increase their revenue base rather that increasing their debt profile.

    He said that one of the reasons most states’ debt profiles were increasing was that political office holders failed to adequately prepare for the positions they were occupying.

    “Before you want to be a governor, president or Local Government chairman, you should be able to conduct research to know how healthy is the state you want to run in terms of economic viability.

    “How much is the salary wage bill per month? How much is the state of liquidation? What per month is income that comes to the state, both from federal and IGR.’’

    “Most of them are not prepared. That is why some of them would want to add to the existing debt, rather than thinking of how to reduce or add value to the income of the state.’’

  • ‎Senate rejects El-Rufai’s $350m World Bank loan request

    The Senate on Thursday rejected a request for a $350 million loan from the World Bank by the Kaduna State Government.

    The rejection followed a presentation of the committee’s report by the Chairman, Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central).

    Last year, the Kaduna State Government requested the loan for ‘Development Policy Operation’ from the World Bank.

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai said the state needed a $350 million loan from the World Bank to achieve its governance objectives in the “short to medium term”.

    He also said the Bank agreed to provide the facility after “checking the laws, accounts and performance of the state”.

    The Sani-led committee, however, suspended the state’s request for foreign loans, adding that no loan request will get approval until the lawmakers were convinced about it.

    Sani, who has been having a running political battle with Governor El-Rufai, however, explained that due process must be followed before any loan is approved, and that he has the duty to ensure the state does not inherit a debt it could not repay.

    Reading out the findings, observations as well as recommendations of the committee, Mr. Sani explained that one of the reasons for the rejection is because “Kaduna State is the second most indebted state in Nigeria”.

    Sani also said the panel met with relevant officials before arriving at the decision.

    “Based on the submissions and interactions with the invited Government officials, the Committee observed as follows:

    “1. That the Development Policy Operation, DPO (Budget Support) of USD 350 million for Kaduna State was approved by World Bank in 2016 and captured in 2016 – 2018 borrowing plan as approved by the National Assembly.

    “2. That the credit facility has an attractive low financing data of 1.25% interest; moratorium of 5 years and a 25 year maturity tenor.

    “3. That the facility is already captured in the 2016-2018 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF).

    1. That according to the latest Debt Management Office figures, Kaduna State has a total debt stock of USD232.1 million.

    “5. That approving the current loan request of USD350 million for Kaduna State will bring its total debt stock to USD582.1 million.

    “6. That if this loan request is approved, the new total debt stock of USD582.1 million for Kaduna State will be unsustainable and necessarily attract huge financial burden on the meagre federal allocation to the State.

    “7. With the new borrowing, the Debt Service to Revenue Ratio of Kaduna State will further be increased and thus impact negatively on the ability of the State to meet other basic needs of its people.”

    He further explained that the new debt stock will likely, further erode the economic viability of the State and recommended “that the Senate do reject the request of USD350 million for Kaduna State as contained in the 2015 2018 External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan of Mr President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.”

    “With the high total debt stock of Kaduna State at the moment, the new borrowing sought, will make the debt service to revenue ratio high, thereby worsening the State Government’s ability to meet its other basic obligations to the people and further erode the economic viability of the State,” he added.

    Suleiman Hunkuyi (APC, Kaduna North), while supporting the recommendation, said he is “amazed, perplexed and in shock” to find that what the governor has gone ahead to indicate to the general public “is completely different from what was found on the application of the facilities as indicated in the detailed drawdown table”.

    “As a representative of my people, I’ll like to say that the application of that loan is a misplaced priority. I strongly stand behind the prayers of the chairman of the committee that this very important chamber do reject that request for the loan,” he said.

    Also supporting the recommendation, Danjuma La’ar (PDP, Kaduna South), explained that the loan is “not important” and as a messenger of the people, he was not given the authority for a loan to be approved.

    “I met with the representatives of Kaduna state and asked what the loan was all about? What projects is this loan meant for? I should know from zone one, two and three who are the contractors responsible for the project? Where will the projects be sited? But these questions were not answered.

    “I realised that the money received in Kaduna state is much and there is nothing happening in Kaduna state lately. They are busy retiring and sacking people and you are asking for a loan. To do what with the loan? I don’t understand. If you are collecting a loan without giving a reason, I am not in support of such loan, my people are also not in support of it. Please, this loan should not be granted,” he said.

    The Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, while stating that loan application is an acceptable means of infrastructure financing in governance, however said “the law in its wisdom has made provision for the parliament to interrogate such requests to be sure that there is no need for that loan and ensure that due process is followed.”

    “Also, to ensure that existing loan portfolio for the state or federal government would be able to accommodate such further request so as not to put so much pressure on that state or the federal government.”

    Ekweremadu, thereafter, put the question and the senators unanimously rejected the loan request.

  • Fact Check: “United States of America has no Private Primary School” – El-Rufai

    By Samuel Okike

    Claim:

    Unlike in Nigeria, there are no private primary schools in the United States of America – El-Rufai

    Rating: FALSE

    Origin:

    On 17 March 2018, the governor of Kaduna state Nasir El Rufai made a bogus claim that the are no privately owned primary schools in the United States of America while posting a series of tweet about his plans for education in the state.

    “It’s striking to me that, United States of America, one of the most capitalist countries in the world, has no private primary schools. This makes us more determined to restore the quality of primary education in Kaduna.” ~ Gov Nasir @elrufai https://t.co/Y5qiiBriDG

    A simple internet search proves this claim wrong. According to 2001 data by the National Center for Education Statistics, there were 92,858 elementary schools in the United State, out of which 68,173 were public and 24,685 were private.

    More information on Wikipedia also explains that “majority of private schools in the United States are operated by religious institutions and organizations,” and that “private schools are generally exempt from most educational regulations at the Federal level but are highly regulated at the state level.”

    Governor El Rufai was clearly trying to juxtapose the state of education in the United States with that in Nigeria in order to buttress his point, but in the process tweeted amiss.

    He was quickly called out by his followers who also provided facts to debunk his claim.

    https://twitter.com/ije12002/status/975046252407808000

    Sources:

     

     

  • Panic in Kaduna as El-Rufai announces plans to conduct test for secondary school teachers

    Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state has announced plans to conduct competency test for secondary school teachers across the state.

    El-Rufai, in a post on his Twitter page on Sunday, revealed that the test is meant to separate the incompetent ones from those that are competent.

    He also revealed that the state government has decided to pay urban teachers in the state 27.5% higher than average civil servants, while rural teachers will earn 32.5% higher than their other civil service colleagues to attract the best to the teaching profession.

    The governor said: “We are doing our best to restore the integrity of the teaching profession. We have finished tests for primary school teachers and we are going to administer competency tests for secondary school teachers.”

    Recall there was unrest in the state when the state government conducted similar test for the over 30,000 primary school teachers in the state in 2017, following which 21,780 that failed to obtain 70% pass mark were sacked and replaced with newly recruited 25,000 teachers.

  • Kaduna on fire: El-Rufai orders arrest of culprits in Kasuwan Magani mayhem

    The Kaduna State Governor, Malam Nasir El-Rufai has directed the prosecution of persons responsible for the Monday mayhem that occurred at Kasuwan Magani in Kajuru local government area of the state.

    The government said the security agencies must investigate “this unfortunate incident, arrest and make available for prosecution the perpetrators.”

    Also Read: BREAKING: Pandemonium in Kaduna, houses set ablaze, several injured

    Samuel Aruwan, Gov. El-Rufai’s spokesman, disclosed this in a statement issued in Kaduna, shortly after receiving preliminary report of the mayhem.

    Aruwan said government condemned the violence and regretted the wanton killing of people.

    He said the government expressed sympathy to the victims and their families.

    He said government has directed the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) to take inventory of damages and provide relief materials with immediate effect.

    Aruwan said that security personnel had also been deployed to contain the situation, protect lives and properties as well as prevent any further breakdown of law and order.

    He said that government urged all citizens and communities to reject violence and division and uphold their neighbours in peace and harmony.