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Tag: kogi

  • PDP will kick out governor Bello come 2019 – Ibrahim Idris

    PDP will kick out governor Bello come 2019 – Ibrahim Idris

    A former Kogi state governor Ibrahim Idris has said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would kick out the Governor Yahaya Bello-led administration in the 2019 general election.

    Speaking to newsmen at his residence in Lokoja, Idris said it is sad that PDP lost the 2015 governorship election due to internal crisis as a result of the imposition of candidates.

    The former governor, however, expressed surprise over the level of peoples’ support and acceptability for the PDP in the state.

    The PDP chieftain said the next governorship polls would be a walkover for the party as a landslide victory was assured.

    Idris said: ”In 2019, by the grace of God, PDP will field a governorship candidate that is young, focused, highly educated, intelligent, dynamic who will listen to the pieces of advice from elderly and experienced people and above all who will have the fear of God.

    ”We will not field somebody who will tear the state apart, neither shall we bring somebody that will spread hunger and starvation, but somebody that will wipe away our poverty and make the state great again.

    ”The elders say it is when a man marries the second wife that he knows who is better , we as a party have learnt our lesson and the electorates also have learnt their lesson that Kogi state is safer and secured in the hands of PDP.”

  • Bello visits Buhari, says ‘no pay for striking workers in Kogi’

    Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi says his administration will implement the no-work-no-pay policy following the decision of some workers in the state to sustain the strike they embarked upon on Sept. 22.

    Bello told State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Monday that a majority of the workers had resumed work.

    He, however, described those still on strike as “political civil servants’’, saying that the government would pay only workers that had resumed work.

    “Those workers that are on strike are political civil servants; the real civil servants are coming to work.

    “And we’re trying our best to keep up with the payment of salaries.

    “There is no denying the fact that the economy is biting hard everywhere and you will recall that I met four months’ salary backlog, which I cleared; and today we are up to date with salary payment.

    “We are owing August and September salaries as we speak.

    “We are up to date in terms of salary payment and those that come to work we shall pay.

    “And the no-work-no-pay policy shall surely apply to those that do not come to work.’’

    The governor pledged to maintain the periodic publishing of the state’s accounts.

    He said: “Very soon we are going to publish all the salaries that we have paid to workers since inception in newspapers for people to see.

    “All the noise about Kogi state government not paying salaries will be in the public domain.’’

    The governor advised people of the state to remain patient with his administration, saying: “Things are hard generally and we are trying our best (to make life easier for the people) and that is why we are transparent in everything that we do.’’

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the organised labour in Kogi, had in September, directed workers in ministries, agencies and parastatals to commence an indefinite strike from Sept. 22.

    The Chairman of the state chapter of the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Mr. Ranti Ojo, gave the directive while briefing newsmen in Lokoja.

    The leadership of labour had explained that the strike was embarked upon because the state government had refused to invite workers for negotiation over their demands.

    They maintained that the strike was the only other option left for the workers to explore for negotiation with the government.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the Federal Government had also on Oct. 11, resolved to enforce the “No Work No Pay’’ stance as part of measures to restore harmony in the country’s public service.

  • Two policemen, naval personnel, 15 others arrested for kidnap, robbery in Kogi

    Two serving policemen and a naval personnel were among 18 kidnap and armed robbery suspects paraded before newsmen on Monday by the Kogi State Police Command.

    The state police Commissioner , Ali Janga, while parading the suspects in Lokoja, identified the policemen as Cpl Suleiman Isiaka and Cpl Ibrahim James while the naval personnel was Ordinary Seaman Bature Habila of the Western Naval Command.

    The trio, along with three other suspects, were arrested on Oct. 5 for attempting to kidnap a five-year-old boy at Ayangba, he said.

    He said that the suspects came into Kogi State in a chartered commercial bus driven by one Daniel John who is also in police custody.

    Mr. Janga said that Mr. John was to be paid N100, 000 for his service.

    The Commissioner said that suspects were rounded up in their hotel room at Ayangba before they could carry out the kidnap of the boy.

    According to Mr. Janga, 11 rifles , including four AK-47, three pump action, four pistols, hundreds of magazines and a bus are among the items recovered from the suspects.

    Speaking with newsmen, one of the policemen, Mr. Isiaka said that he, Messrs James and Habila had on Oct. 4 left Bauchi State where they were serving in “Operation Safe Haven” in Tafawa Balewa local government to come for the operation in Ayangba.

    Mr. Suleiman said that he recruited Messrs. James and Habila for the business, adding that it was another suspect, Sheu Agba , that contacted him.

    Also speaking Sheu Agba , 36, said that he was forced to adopt the kidnap option because he needed N10,000 urgently to treat his stomach ulcer.

    Mr. Agba said that he approached his cousin, Ukubile Akowe, repeatedly for the money but he declined.

    He said that he later approached Cpl Isiaka for the money who in the process introduced the idea of kidnapping to him.

    Also paraded foralleged kidnapping by the police were duo of Isah Suleiman , a student of College of Education, Ankpa and Musa Mohammed , a businessman.

    They were alleged to have kidnapped the Chief Imam of Enabo quarters in Ankpa and collected a ransom of N1 million from his relations.

    Messrs Suleiman and Mohammed were said to have committed the offence in February this year along with two other who are now at large.

    Mr. Suleiman admitted committing the offence while Mohammed said he decided to participate in the crime to recoup the N320,000 collected from him by armed robbers on Adogo -Okene Road in December last year.

    Mr. Mohammed, who claimed to be a dealer in electronics in Ankpa, said that he was travelling to buy electronics when he was robbed.

    Also paraded was one Omeke Amaechi, who was arrested on Ogugu – Ette Road on Sept. 30 while escaping with a snatched motorcycle.

    Mr. Amaechi, who hails from Nssuka, Enugu State, was said to have, along with his senior brother Chijioke Omeke, on the fateful day snatched the motorcycle from one Yahaya Mohammed who they later killed.

     

  • ‘IDPs better than us, we can’t afford one meal a day,’ say Kogi workers

    The organised labour in Kogi state continued on Wednesday, the workers said the agony they were facing then was more than that faced internally displaced persons (IDP).

    The organised labour said the workers in the state needed the services of the humanitarian agencies to provide relief materials for them.

    The workers in a statement signed by Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), Olakunle Faniyi and Kolawole James and Joint Public Services negotiating council counterpart, Comrade Isah Abubakar, said the dying workers of the state needed intervention.

    They noted that a “situation where workers could not afford even one meal a day and pay the school fees of their children is already a humanitarian issue.

    ” As it stands today in Kogi state, over 30 percent of the workforce are being owed 21 months salaries, 21 percent have unpaid salaries between 11 and 18 months, while about 45 percent took their salaries up till June this year.

    “These are categories of workers that the Kogi state government is forcing to embrace the clock in, clock out policy of the government”.

    The workers said instead of apologising to the workers and their families over the untold hardship they had been subjected to, the state government was rolling “out falsehood on how workers have been paid their salaries up until July “.

    The organised labour however charged the government to treat the workers with dignity, saying “not even in the era of slavery that slaves are forced to work on empty stomachs “.

  • Why we pay workers half salaries in Kogi State – Gov Bello’s aide

    Why we pay workers half salaries in Kogi State – Gov Bello’s aide

    Kogi State Government has cleared the air why some workers in the state receive half salaries while others were fully paid.

    The Director General, Media and publicity to the State Governor Kingsley Fanwo on his official twitter handle explained that the Governor Yahaya Bello government over the months have been able to pay full salaries through heavy borrowing and funds from the internally generated revenue (IGR).

    He noted that when the government saw the situation on ground, labour was invited for dialogue as continued borrowing to pay salaries will not only be unsustainable but also a let down to the other sectors of the economy begging for attention.

    While emphasizing that it was the responsibility of the government to pay workers their full salaries, Fanwo said their was need for labour to have a blue line of industrial understanding.

    Another reason the government aide raised for the non-payment of salaries by the present administration was the dwindling revenue from the FAC.

    “Kogi State Govt wishes to set the record straight on the disagreement with Labour over payment of salaries before Sallah. We owe members of the public explanations as a responsible government. The State Government was able to pay 100% to all pensioners with arrears because of their social situation. We have also paid 100% to Judiciary workers & all workers in our tertiary institutions. Clearing all subventions too.

    “All other categories, starting from political office holders were paid 50% of their salaries due to the shortfall in allocation and non-payment of the Budget Support Fund from the Federation Account. The non-payment was occasioned by dwindling revenue to the FAC.

    “It would have been insensitive on our part to default paying our highly respected and understanding civil servants on the excuse of having enough funds.

    “We thank them for their understanding and pledge to clear the arrears as soon as funds are available. We need the cooperation of all to achieve economic prosperity for our state and our people. Things would have been worse if we did not act with patriotic firmness to remove unintended beneficiaries from our payrolls as well as ghost names,” Fanwo stated.

  • [Video] Pubic holiday saga: Those criticising me don’t want Buhari back alive – Gov Bello

    Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has reacted to criticisms leveled on him after he declared a public holiday in commemoration of President Muhammadu Buhari’s return from a 103-day medical trip to London.

    Bello, who insisted the ‘Public holiday’ given to civil servants in Kogi state is justified, said only those who are not willing Buhari should return to Nigeria alive are the ones bitter over the President’s arrival.

    Watch him speak…

    Recall TheNewsGuru.com reported at the weekend that Governor Bello declared Monday, August 21 as public holiday and thanksgiving day to commemorate the safe return of President Muhammadu Buhari from his medical vacation in London.

    A statement issued on Sunday in Lokoja by his Director General on Media and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo, said the gesture was in line with the support of the Kogi people for “the renaissance of our nation by Mr. President”.

    “We urge Kogites to also use the occasion of the Public Holiday to pray for Mr. President as he resumes his responsibilities of repositioning Nigeria,” the statement said.

    The Governor thanked people of the state for standing by the President and for trooping to Abuja in thousands to welcome the ‘Lion of Africa’.

     

     

  • Oyegun sets up committee to resolve Kogi APC crisis

    The National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), John Odigie-Oyegun, has inaugurated a reconciliation committee for the Kogi State chapter of the party.

    The seven-man committee is chaired by retired General Idris Garba while the party’s Deputy National Secretary, Honourable Victor Giadom, is the secretary.

    Its members are Mr Don Etiebet, Honourable Patricia Etteh, retired Group Captain Rufai Garba, Mr Umar Lawan Kareto, and retired Group Captain Joe Orji.

    Speaking on Monday during the inauguration ceremony at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja, Oyegun thanked members of the committee for agreeing to serve the party.

    He said the party’s leadership wanted peace and settlement in its Kogi State chapter, noting that they were ready to give every possible opportunity for a settlement.

    We Want Peace In Kogi State

    In a statement issued by the party, Oyegun explained, “What triggered the events in Kogi was very tragic in their nature. So for us as a party, we are bending over backwards to say, ‘yes we understand your feelings’.

    “We understand what you have been through, we understand the work that you have put in to get the APC elected; we understand also that God who disposes of power, brought somebody at the last minute to be the beneficiary of all the work and labour that everybody obviously has put in.

    “So we are bending over backwards and we have assembled this very top-level team so that those on the ground there will see that we mean everything we say when we say ‘we want peace in Kogi state’. So your responsibility is a very great one.

    “Fortunately, we had a fact-finding committee that has done a lot of the basic work and submitted a report which will be made available to the reconciliation committee. We know the principal parties in the various groups in Kogi; we know what their grievances are.

    “So the issue now is really to call just the principal groups and say look, this has to stop, how do we go about it? The governor of course will be there to say his piece and give you all the assistance necessary to make your task successful.

    “We want peace in Kogi state; events there have been very unusual but like I said, given the emotive nature of the event that led to it, we have decided to stretch the opportunities for reaching peace.”

    In his response, General Garba thanked the party for selecting the committee members for the assignment.

    He also assured the APC National Chairman that the committee would bring peace and settlement to the party in Kogi State.

    “There is no doubt that it is an onerous task but we are committed people and I believe bringing our experiences to bear on the issue, we will be able to resolve the issue as directed by our great party.

    “I want to assure the National Chairman that we will put in everything possible to succeed in the task given to us,” he said.

  • Kogi govt declares public holiday over Buhari’s return

    Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has declared Monday, August 21 as public holiday and Thanksgiving day to commemorate the safe return of President Muhammadu Buhari from his medical vacation in London.

    A statement issued on Sunday in Lokoja by his Director General on Media and Publicity, Kingsley Fanwo, said the gesture was in line with the support of the Kogi people for “the renaissance of our nation by Mr. President”.

    “We urge Kogites to also use the occasion of the Public Holiday to pray for Mr. President as he resumes his responsibilities of repositioning Nigeria,” the statement said.

    The Governor thanked people of the state for standing by the President and for trooping to Abuja in thousands to welcome the ‘Lion of Africa’.

  • Strange disease: Kogi govt denies death of 62 people

    Strange disease: Kogi govt denies death of 62 people

    Kogi State Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Audu has denied that 62 persons died from an unknown disease.

    While speaking with newsmen in Lokoja, Audu said those diagnosed were suffering from gastroenteritis and Malaria.

    “The current information available to us is that the strange disease actually started six weeks ago in Okoloke village in Yagba West, which is a settlement that is predominantly inhabited by Fulani herdsmen.

    “There have been cases of reported deaths following abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, but the patients who showed signs of illness had since been evacuated and transported to Kogi State Specialist Hospital, Lokoja for better treatment.

    “So far, we have evacuated 39 patients from Okoloke area and only six of them were admitted and have shown significant sign of improvement while others have since been discharged.

    “Out of the six that were admitted, three of them were diagnosed of gastroenteritis and the remaining three were just cases of malaria, and they have shown remarkable signs of improvement,” Audu said.

    He also stressed that the disease was not Lassa fever, saying the result of samples taken from the patients to Irua General Hospital for investigation proved negative.

    “We will investigate and trace the dead people to the grave yard and come up with the correct figure.

    “We want to assure the general public that government is doing all that is humanly possible to stay on top of the situation and forestall further loss of lives.

    “We will continue to inform the public as the investigation progresses,’’ Audu said.

  • Mysterious disease kills 62 in Kogi

    Mysterious disease kills 62 in Kogi

    The Kogi State Government has confirmed that about 62 people have been killed by a strange disease in the Western part of the State.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that as at Thursday, 17th August 2017, the death toll was at 50.

    Speaking with newsmen on the mysterious disease on Friday, the state Commissioner for Health Dr Saka Haruna said information reaching the ministry shows that unknown disease has continued to claim the lives of some children and adults for the past few weeks in Koloke, Okuna, Isanlu-Isa and adjourning Hausa-Fulani communities, all in Yaba-West Local Government Area of Kogi State.

    “So far, about 62 people have been killed by this mysterious disease. When I visited the affected communities with my team, samples taken from some of the victims were sent to Federal Teaching Hospital Irua, Edo State, for definitive investigation, which turned out to be negative for Lassa Fever.

    “On arrival at the community, we interacted with the locals and samples were taken from their water sources and food supply. It was discovered that the people affected showed common symptoms including abdominal pain, vomiting and stooling. Few of the patients, however, had Hematemesis and Hematochezia.

    “Those found still manifesting the disease were transferred to Kogi State Specialist Hospital for proper management where an empirical diagnosis of Food Poisoning to rule out Gastroenteritis was made.They are, however responding well to the instituted line of treatment. ”

    Dr Haruna, however, said Governor Yahaya Bello, has expressed deep concern over the incident and has directed that all the patients be treated at no cost and also charged the State Ministry of Health to conclude investigation within the shortest possible time and prevent further spread of the disease.