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Post by Honorebu on Mar 9, 2016 23:39:24 GMT
Kwara Government Ties Salary Payment To BVN
The Kwara State Government has directed state and local government workers and pensioners that are yet to provide their Bank Verification Number (BVN) for the ongoing staff verification exercise to do so within seven days or risk non-payment of salary. Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed gave the directive during a meeting of the committee on Personnel Database Development. He said the government had no intention of withholding any worker’s salary without justification. A statement by the Senior Special Assistant on Media to the Governor, Dr Muideen Akorede, said the affected workers and pensioners would still be credited with their salaries and pensions but would not be able to access the money until they obtained their BVN. Governor Ahmed, who is also the chairman of the committee, explained that the unique bank numbers were necessary for preliminary verification of workers and pensioners on the state and local government councils’ payroll. He pointed out that at this stage of the verification, those without valid BVN could not yet be designated as ghost workers. Governor Ahmed said the intention behind the personnel database system was to give the government an accurate picture of the state and local government councils’ payroll and ensure that only those properly employed received salaries and pensions. Fake BVN In his remarks, the alternate Chairman of the Committee, Isiaka Gold, stated that of the 82,642 workers so far verified by the committee, only 49,579 had valid BVN while 124 were discovered to have fake BVN. He said that the first level verification also revealed 324 individuals who were linked to 659 multiple accounts. Mr Gold, who is also the Secretary to the State Government, therefore, urged workers and pensioners that were yet to submit their BVN to do so within seven days or risk having their payments withheld. He called on workers who were properly recruited by the state and local governments to remain calm, while assuring them that the ongoing verification exercise would not affect their salaries and jobs. Channels
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Post by dansoye1 on Mar 11, 2016 19:32:08 GMT
KWHA Passes Abubakar ‘Sola Saraki University Amendment Bill
THE Kwara State House of Assembly yesterday passed Abubakar Sola Saraki University Amendment Bill, 2016 into law.
The bill seeks to include the representative of Ministry of Justice in the Governing Council of Abubakar Sola Saraki University.
The bill was passed into law following a thorough deliberation on its principles.
The Speaker, Dr Ali Ahmad later directed the Clerk, Mr Simon Okedare to read the bill for the third time and it was eventually passed into law.
The Leader of the House, Hon Hassan Oyeleke while speaking on principles of the bill before it scaled through second reading, said the bill was very straight forward because it was meant to address an omission in the earlier passed law.
He said the inclusion of legal practitioner in the Governing Council of the university would go a long way in solving any legal issue that may arise.
The Chief Whip of the House, Hon Umar Muhammed Gunu, Hon Mathew Olaitan Babaoye of Irepodun Constituency and Hon Ahmed Ibn Mohammed of Kaiama/Kemanji/Wajibe Constituency said inclusion of a legal practitioner in the governing council of the university which the bill seeks to provide was very necessary.
The House later dissolved itself into the committee of the whole to consider the bill following a motion moved by Oyeleke for the suspension of Order 31 of the House.
The Speaker said a special procedure in line with the rules of the House was adopted in the passage of the bill because it was not a controversial bill.
He said time and cost of conducting public hearing on the bill would also be saved through the adoption of special procedure.
Dr Ahmad directed the Clerk to prepare the neat copy of the bill for the governor’s assent.
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Post by Honorebu on Mar 14, 2016 17:48:20 GMT
Nigeria: Kwara Govt Warns Against Dumping Refuse in Drains, Water Ways The Kwara State Commissioner of Environment and Forestry, Otunba Taiwo Joseph, has warned the people of the state against indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drains and waterways. The commissioner gave the warning while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ilorin on Monday. He said that officials of the ministry would carry out regular checks and monitor the drainage, adding that anybody caught would be penalised. Joseph stressed that indiscriminate dumping of refuse in drains and waterways was one of the major causes of flooding in Ilorin. He expressed the resolve of the state government to embark on enlightenment campaign on the inherent dangers of blocking the natural flow waterways and drains. "As the raining season is gradually creeping in, we must all brace up and guide against flooding, which often times leads to loss of lives and property. "I am using this opportunity to advise Kwarans to desist from dumping refuse in drains and waterways, the danger of doing so is numerous. "We have lost lives and property worth millions of Naira to flooding in the past," he said. He, however, called on the public to keep Kwara clean and dump their refuse inside refuse bins and trucks in designated places in Ilorin. The commissioner promised to use his office to construct and control damage drains by building culverts to ensure free flow of water in the state. AllAfica
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Post by Honorebu on Mar 14, 2016 17:48:59 GMT
Instead of telling people not to dump refuse, why not cover the drains
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Post by dansoye1 on Mar 16, 2016 18:11:00 GMT
Honorebu,omohayek,Belmot,AgbongboAkala,Omoluabi
Gov Ahmed Seeks Increased State Involvement in Solid Mineral SectorTHE Kwara governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed while declaring open an International conference of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society said it has become imperative for all states of the federation to participate in the solid mineral sector in order to stimulate more growth, increase Internally Generated Revenue, and create critical jobs for youths. Governor Ahmed in the same vein made a call on the Federal Government to allow increased participation of State Governments in the sector, especially in exploration, the collection of royalties, fees, fines and taxes accruable from solid minerals for more growth. According to the governor,”While we have a fairly accurate estimate of the mineral resources our country is endowed with, it is believed these barely scratch the surface of the vast mineral deposits in Nigeria. We must however acknowledge that mineral exploitation is expensive and time consuming. “Certainly, the resources required are beyond the capacity of most states in the country. I therefore call for partnership between the Federal Government, and States for a survey of the quality and quantity of solid minerals in the country in order to build a geosciences database. “In Kwara state, we are blessed with Gold, Kaolin, Marble, Dolomite, Tourmalines, Limestone and several other solid minerals which we are focused on exploiting to form the base for industrial development in the State. “Likewise, in order to diversify our economic base through solid minerals, this administration has put in place strategies to formalize and grow the industry. “These strategies include: enumerating and regulating operators and growing micro-and small-scale operators in the sector amongst others”. Governor Ahmed also disclosed that plans were on top gear to organize informal mining sector into cooperative societies in order to give them access to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) loans. This, according to the governor is to encourage small business owners in solid mineral and mining sector. “We have also set up the Midway Minerals Development Company Limited as a special purpose vehicle to acquire mining licenses and promote investment in the sector. “Currently, we have five mining permits covering Four Hundred and Forty-Five cadastral units for mining Tourmaline, Tantalum, Dolomite and Marble. “Additionally, we are ready to acquire additional licenses to further exploit opportunities in the sector and by forging partnerships with private sector investors”. The governor therefore, urged the society to utilize the opportunity of the conference to come up with recommendations on how the Federal and State Government could reposition the Solid Mineral Sector towards profitability and suitability. The President, Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society, Prof Gbenga Okunola had earlier in his remarks said the theme of this year’s conference was “Economic Diversification through Minerals Development. Prof Okunola who stated that opportunities for investments in the solid minerals were enormous, appealed to the Federal Government to have clear strategy and appropriate strategy for each of the minerals type. www.kwaranews.com/gov-ahmed-seeks-increased-state-involvement-in-solid-mineral-sector/
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Post by dansoye1 on Mar 16, 2016 18:15:05 GMT
Honorebu,omohayek,Belmot
Kwara Renews Strategy to Combat Unemployment…Earmarks N695m For Farmers, Traders, OthersA major breakthrough is in sight to eliminate the menace of unemployment prevalent among the youths in Kwara State, as the state government disclosed that a total of N695million has been set aside to boost businesses and small and medium entrepreneurship. Those eligible to assess the fund include artisans, transporters, traders and farmers. The Technical Adviser to the state governor on Small and Medium Enterprises, Mr Segun Soewu, who stated this at the youth stakeholders’ meeting organised by the state Ministry of Sports and Youth Development in Ilorin on Monday, said the government was ready to lend financial help to youths with vision. He, however noted that only people with sincerity of purpose would benefit from the financial assistance. For the youths with interest in farming, the Governor’s aide informed that government would provide seedlings, fertilizer and other incentives that would enable them breakthrough in farming business. He stated that a lot of investment was on-going in farming particularly for those who could cultivate soya beans, adding that the business was profitable and lucrative. Contrary to insinuation in some quarters, Soewu said a lot of public office holders are semi-farmers, who could also use the opportunity to augment their earnings. He disclosed that recent finding confirmed that cashew product from Kwara had proven to be one of the best in the world. The Technical Adviser said the government would continue to encourage people with genuine mind for business with financial assistance and boost their capacity in business with an enabling environment. He urged the youths to form clusters and work collectively to source the fund with ease. www.kwaranews.com/kwara-renews-strategy-to-combat-unemploymentearmarks-n695m-for-farmers-traders-others/
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Post by dansoye1 on Mar 17, 2016 19:20:20 GMT
Immigration Rescues 20 Minor Boys Allegedly Used as Labourers in KwaraTHE Kwara State Command of the Nigerian Immigration has rescued 20 minor boys, who were used as labourers in farms at Kaiama Local Government of the state. Parading the boys and the accused farmer who hired them on Wednesday, the State Controller, Mrs Abimbola Abiodun-Ojo, said that the Command had been having running battles with the Yoruba farmers in the area, as one of the officers was recently beaten to a pulp for daring to challenge them on the illegal hiring of the minors. Briefing reporters, Mrs Abiodun-Ojo noted that her officers went for routine mop exercise when they met the boys on the farm working. She said that the boys had been conditioned to believe that they would be given a motorcycle each in exchange for the hard labour. While 15 of them are from Benin Republic, three are from Togo and remaining two from Burkina Faso. The Immigration boss said the boys would be handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for proper prosecution. Mrs Abiodun-Ojo urged parents to be vigilant and know what they are doing, adding that the children could learn trade instead of being idle. The alleged farmer, Muraina Salihu, admitted that he only engaged three of the boys and claimed ignorance of the others. Speaking in Yoruba, Salihu said he had been in the business of hiring the boys for long, adding that he hailed from Ilorin and had been farming in Kaiama for years. www.kwaranews.com/immigration-rescues-20-minor-boys-allegedly-used-as-labourers-in-kwara/
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Post by Honorebu on Mar 20, 2016 13:23:57 GMT
Kwara Roundtable: Solid Minerals As Alternative To Oil Stakeholders in Nigeria’s mineral resources sector under the auspices of the Nigerian Mining and Geosciences Society(NMGS) converged in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital last week to brainstorm on how to diversify the nation’s troubled economy. The event was NMGS’ 52nd International Conference with the theme “Economic diversification through mineral resources development.” All the speakers at the well attended event which included the chief host, Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi and NMGS’ president, Prof Gbenga Okunlola, agreed that the economic recession the nation is currently experiencing emanated from its over dependence on the oil sector. The speakers unanimously agreed that the nation must as a matter of urgency and through a deliberate policy diversify her economy using the solid mineral sector to achieve this purpose. The president of NMGS, Prof Gbenga Okunlola, said “as a society, we can as well say to the nation: did we not tell you? Over the many decades, the NMGS has been advocating diversification, through many of our communiques, at our conferences, lectures, programmes, and many contributions at various levels.” He, however, said “it is gladdening to note that this present government has thought it fit and proper to make the diversification of the nation’s economy a major fulcrum of the policy thrust of the administration and we are grateful to President Muhammadu Buhari for emphasising this severally, especially for the solid minerals sector.” Okunlola expressed the hope that this effort would be a sustained policy that would not be jettisoned as soon as the oil price outlook becomes brighter and shoots up again. “It will be perilous for the nation if this path of diversification is ignored or mismanaged,” he said. He assured the government of the preparedness of NMGS to provide the required technical and professional support in that regard. Specifically, the NMGS president who lauded Dr Fayemi’s strategic engagement and partnership with the society in moving the sector forward , said the NMGS would provide all the needed technical support to the ministry’s effort to make the Ajaokuta Steel Company work. The Kwara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed in his speech said the mining sector can serve as a key driver in the quest for sustained economic growth and the development of the country. Ahmed noted that it was unfortunate that with more than 40 different solid minerals spread across the country, that sector contributes only 0.34 per cent to the country’s GDP. According to the governor, with about five mining licenses in the state, his administration has established a special purpose vehicle to drive the exploitation and exploration of mineral resources for more earnings from the non-oil sector. The governor identified mineral resources abundant in the state to include gold, kaolin, marble, dolomite, tourmalines and limestone that could be exploited for the industrial development of the state. Ahmed said the state government has set up the Midway Minerals Development Company Limited as a special purpose vehicle for acquiring mining licenses and promote investment in the sector. In a keynote address, the minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Kayode Fayemi said that the country’s solid minerals sector is currently being repositioned to meet the federal government’s plan to diversify the economy and create jobs through the sector. Fayemi said the major focus of the ministry was to ensure that the solid mineral sector improve its contribution to the gross domestic product (GDP) from 0.3 per cent to at least 10 per cent in the near future. He said a lot of innovations are being put in place to overcome all the encumbrances that could hinder the attainment of the goal. Fayemi said the target growth was achievable, adding that the minerals industry has great opportunities for diversification and linkages to the development of other sectors of the Nigerian economy. “We strongly believe that the only way minerals development can be sustainable is through economic linkages. We shall promote the development of industrial minerals and encourage down stream linkages leading to the processing of these minerals for our local industries. “It is expected that huge foreign exchange will be conserved through import substitution; jobs will be created, technological capacity will improve and there shall be increase in resource rents. We shall concentrate on developing minerals that are critical feed stock in oil and gas, agriculture, manufacturing and infrastructure.”, the minister said. Fayemi noting that the mining sector has witnessed extensive reforms since 1999, which essentially crystallized around the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Act of 2007. He said the country was again on the path to providing a transparent and workable regulatory and policy environment for a private sector- led mining. He noted the generation of geosciences data to unlock the potential of the sector has been a major challenge. He observed that the present government has found it essential to improve generation of baseline data such as geophysical, geochemical and geological datasets necessary to unveil the tremendous geological potential of the nation. Leadership
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Post by Honorebu on Mar 20, 2016 13:28:10 GMT
dansoye1 , look at how much effort this Kwara state governor is putting to make sure things work well in Kwara. I remember someone here saying Saraki was the one who installed him. Hmnnn I guess that's the new style. A corrupt person hands over to a competent puppet
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Post by omohayek on Mar 20, 2016 13:40:26 GMT
dansoye1 , look at how much effort this Kwara state governor is putting to make sure things work well in Kwara. I remember someone here saying Saraki was the one who installed him. Hmnnn I guess that's the new style. A corrupt person hands over to a competent puppet He's probably only being allowed to do his job properly because Saraki is on trial. Otherwise, it would have been business as usual, with Kwara being run as the Saraki family's private property.
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Post by Honorebu on Mar 20, 2016 14:17:21 GMT
dansoye1 , look at how much effort this Kwara state governor is putting to make sure things work well in Kwara. I remember someone here saying Saraki was the one who installed him. Hmnnn I guess that's the new style. A corrupt person hands over to a competent puppet He's probably only being allowed to do his job properly because Saraki is on trial. Otherwise, it would have been business as usual, with Kwara being run as the Saraki family's private property. Smh
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Post by Belmot on Mar 20, 2016 17:42:41 GMT
dansoye1 , look at how much effort this Kwara state governor is putting to make sure things work well in Kwara. I remember someone here saying Saraki was the one who installed him. Hmnnn I guess that's the new style. A corrupt person hands over to a competent puppet He's probably only being allowed to do his job properly because Saraki is on trial. Otherwise, it would have been business as usual, with Kwara being run as the Saraki family's private property. Saraki is still in charge of kwara... Nothing goes behind him.
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Post by omohayek on Mar 20, 2016 21:39:34 GMT
Saraki is still in charge of kwara... Nothing goes behind him. Yes, but the point is that he can't simply carry out business as usual while under trial. Saraki won't be stupid enough to give his many enemies even more ammunition against him - hence why the governor is getting away with governing for the people for a change, rather than just helping to enrich the Saraki family (for now, anyway). If Saraki magically escapes conviction (and knowing Nigeria, that is a possibility), and Ahmed tries to keep governing as he's currently doing, it's very likely there'll be a blow-up between him and Saraki that will make the Adedibu-Ladoja feud look like small play. There's an All-Africa article indicating that Saraki is already grumbling about how Ahmed isn't using his position to sufficiently enrich Saraki and his boys, even with all the attention he's currently under because of his court case.
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Post by Honorebu on Mar 20, 2016 22:26:25 GMT
China to partner Kwara on industrial park The Chinese Government has expressed readiness to partner with the Kwara State Government to develop a textile industrial park in the state. This was made known at the weekend by the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Gu XiaoJie, when the Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, led a state delegation and a Chinese Company, Ming Bo Jin Sheng Star Company Limited, to the Ambassador in Abuja. Ahmed had earlier told the Ambassador that the current economic climate in the country has made it imperative for states to think outside the box if they must deliver on their electoral promises. The governor argued that apart from the fact that “Kwara State is a gateway to the North and the South, the state is not new in midwifing realistic Public Private Partnership as exemplified by the Shonga farms initiative, a new hotbed of Commercial Agriculture in Nigeria”. The governor, who had led a similar delegation to the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enyinna Enelamah, said: “When established, the park is expected to accommodate more than 40 textile industries with the state providing necessary enabling environment to jump start the park”. Responding, the Ambassador said China will treat the springing relationship in the textile industry with Kwara State as a priority. According to him: “Textile is a traditional industry to China. “It is a common knowledge that Chinese textile products compete favourably with those of Germany and Italy. “Our companies are also conscious of cooperate social responsibility in African countries.” The Ambassador noted that China and Nigeria share similarities in huge human and material resources, hence the reason for his country’s interest in partnering with Nigeria. The Eagle
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Post by dansoye1 on Mar 21, 2016 19:22:55 GMT
dansoye1 , look at how much effort this Kwara state governor is putting to make sure things work well in Kwara. I remember someone here saying Saraki was the one who installed him. Hmnnn I guess that's the new style. A corrupt person hands over to a competent puppet Efforts as in plans on paper or what he has done so far? Well,you can't fault him on having a good policy but execution is another thing not when his godfather has him to his apron. Seems the prosecution of his master his actually bringing out the best in him though.
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