News

Bandits Outnumber Security Personnel – Masari

Published

3 years ago

September 22, 2021

Katsina State Governor Aminu Masari says bandits in the North West outnumber the security personnel in the zone.

He also accused the military and the police of not giving the vigilantes the necessary support.

Masari spoke in Katsina Tuesday when he received the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, who visited the state to get firsthand information on the successes recorded in the ongoing operations against banditry.

He said all the northern state governors intended to employ 3,000 trained vigilantes, “with the help of police, to arm them, but from the report I’m receiving from the current operations in Katsina State, the needed support is not given to the vigilantes.”

He said: “Let me digress a bit to address the military and the police. We’re trying to bring in vigilantes, trained by them, but they’re not giving them the necessary support.

“We have a situation in which these bandits are out numbering the security forces, when you have volunteer forces that you’ve trained, that are willing to assist you, but the support and response by the military and the police are not encouraging.

“Now, we’re recruiting additional 500 and the emirate council is recruiting 250, if they don’t have the conducive atmosphere to operate side by side with the military and the police, how can we succeed?”

Masari said the security measures taken against banditry by northwest governors and their counterparts from Nasarawa and Niger States had started yielding positive results, “especially the suspension of GSM services, because the informants that invite bandits for kidnap or inform bandits to ambush military or police officers have been cut off.

“And also the demand for ransom normally through the GSM has drastically reduced. The banning of sales of petroleum products, along the border local governments in particular, except to designated filling stations which are allowed to sell a maximum of N5,000 to vehicles and to only operate in the day time.

“So, Honourable Minister, yes, we’ve closed markets, especially the selling of animals, banning of sales of second hand motorcycles in particular to some markets, and I think we’ll move further to all the markets in the state because we understand that it’s one source they use to buy motorcycles for their banditry and other insurgency activities,” he said.

On the ongoing military operations, Masari said the bandits had become under immense pressure and were trying to infiltrate into the communities.

He urged the federal government to take the fight to the bandits without any fear of collateral damages.

The governor, however, said there was the need to make the right calculation to minimise the damage.

On his part, the minister said banditry was not created by the present administration, hence negotiating with “people who do not share in positive values would not be tolerated.”

The Emir of Katsina, Alhaji Abdulmumuni Kabir Usman, said it was not in order to dialogue with bandits.

“Bandits don’t have religion. All hands must be on deck to fight this menace of banditry to the end no matter the cost,” he said.

News

Canadian mayor praises Lagos under Tinubu at event honouring Peter Obi

Published

29 mins ago

May 6, 2024

Trends Admin

Canadian mayor praises Lagos under Tinubu at event honouring Peter Obi

The Mayor of Brampton, Patrick Brown, has expressed his admiration for Lagos State during an event organised to honour Peter Obi, the Labour Party flag-bearer in the 2023 presidential election.

Brampton is a city in the Canadian province of Ontario, with a high population of Nigerian immigrants.

While speaking at a recent town hall meeting hosted by the Coalition of Nigerian Canadian Interest Groups based in Canada to honour Obi, Brown recounted how he fell in love with Lagos when he visited in 2007.

The period of his visit coincided with the time President Bola Tinubu was in office as the governor of the South-West State.

Brown was seen in a video shared on Saturday, May 4, 2024, by Wale Adedayo, a user tweeting as @Mario9jaa, addressed the cheering audience.

Brown was blown away during his visit to Lagos

“I went to Nigeria in 2007. I went to Lagos and I fell in love with the country. Two years ago, I went back and once again, I toured the country. Anytime you visit Nigeria, you’re saying to yourself, ‘When can I go back?” the impressed mayor said.

He also mentioned that he was “blown away” by the strides of the nation’s movie industry, popularly referred to as Nollywood.

“There’s a lot of love for Nigeria in my city,” he added.

Similarly, a member of the Provincial Parliament in Brampton North, Graham McGregor, also disclosed in a tweet on Sunday that “In Brampton, we’ve got one of the fastest growing Nigerian-Canadian communities. I’ve spoken with a few people here that are from Brampton and we’ve got a lot of exciting things going on.”

McGregor stressed the importance of creating an “open, inclusive, welcoming economy for everybody. And to the connections we’re building here with the Nigerian-Canadian community, we want to make sure Nigerians are part of it.”

Canadian mayor praises Lagos under Tinubu at event honouring Peter Obi

News

Fubara: I have moved on with governance despite political pressure

Published

2 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Trends Admin

Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara

Fubara: I have moved on with governance despite political pressure

Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State has asserted that despite the political turmoil in the state, his administration remains steadfast in providing focused leadership and governance.

During a recent meeting with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, led by Chairman Hon. Mike Etaba, at the government house in Port Harcourt, Fubara emphasized that, as far as his administration and the people of Rivers State are concerned, there are no significant political issues to address.

Reflecting on the challenges posed by the political crisis, Fubara drew inspiration from a movie he watched, “Devil’s Advocate,” where he cited a quote by Al Pacino.

He said, “As far as we are concerned, there are no political issues. I saw a movie many years ago, entitled, ‘Devil’s Advocate.’ I believe some of you must have seen that movie too.

Fubara: I have moved on with governance despite political pressure

News

FG begins disbursement of N50bn grant to small business owners

Published

2 hours ago

May 6, 2024

Trends Admin

Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Doris Uzoka-Anite

FG begins disbursement of N50bn grant to small business owners

The Federal Government, FG, says it has started disbursement of N50,000 grants to nano business entrepreneurs.

Dr Doris Uzoka-Anite, Minister for Industry, Trade, and Investment, verified this over the weekend, stating that no fewer than 200,000 small business owners have received the payment.

According to her, 800,000 others will receive their incentives before the program ends on May 31.

This will raise the total number of beneficiaries to 1,000,000 Nigerians, split across 774 local government areas.

She explained that about 3.6 million applications were received out of which the beneficiaries were selected randomly from among those who met the conditions.

The minister said N50 billion is available in the 2024 budget for disbursement.

The programme is one of the palliative measures announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in a broadcast on July 31, last year to cushion the pains of petrol subsidy removal.

The President, in the broadcast, said: “Our administration recognises the importance of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the informal sector as drivers of growth. We are going to energise this very important sector.”