Two Girls Detained Over Big Shark's Death In Hotel Room

Taraba State Entertainment Industry says it regretted the death of Mr. Samuel Awar, a  comedian.
Awar, popularly known as BIG SHARK, died  in the early hours of Thursday  while lodging in an hotel in Jalingo, the state capital.

Lamenting the death, the state Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr. Atosuma, James Gani, said  it created a big vacuum in the state entertainment industry that would be difficult to fill.

It was gathered that the comedian, on Wednesday, went out with some young men who helped him to place posters around Jalingo preparatory to Taraba Peace Concert billed to hold  on December  17 after which he returned  to his hotel room.

He was not seen the next day until his aides looked for him and found him dead in the hotel room.
Taraba State police public relations officer, Mr. David Misal, confirmed to Sunday Vanguard the death of the comedian.

He revealed that two girls were detained for questioning over the incident and that they were still with the police as of the time of the report.


By John Mkom, Jalingo

Governor Ishaku: A Sun Is Rising In The North-East

The farthest states from Lagos and Abuja are frequently under-reported. Unless a disaster occurs, in Zamfara, Nasarawa, Yobe or Adamawa, they might as well not exist as far as the leading Nigerian media houses are concerned. 

Borno State jumped to the front pages on account of Boko Haram and as the war is winding down, news from the state are now tucked into the middle pages – if at all they get published. Media awards invariably go to the Governors of Lagos, Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Delta states and once in a while to those close to Lagos.

There is a strong correlation between our perception of excellence in governance and the revenue the state generates annually. For some reason hard to understand, there seems to be a collective perception that the Governor of Nassarawa or Ebonyi State cannot possibly be providing excellent leadership to his people simply because the state is poorer by comparison with the big seven – Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa, Kano and Kaduna.

Yet, quietly, some state governors in the states we choose to ignore are running governments that might be more cost-effective than even some of the biggest which are more financially endowed.

Architect Darius Dickson Ishaku, FNIA, of Taraba State is one of them and it was by accident that we met and he bitterly raised the issue of neglect of the smaller and poorer states by the media, especially his own. He was absolutely right. Perhaps the biggest news report to come out of Taraba State in the last ten years was about the former Governor who crashed his self-piloted aircraft. Disaster again. It is quite possible that if one assembled ten thousand Nigerians from all the states, except Taraba and ask who Darius Ishaku is, none might provide the correct answer. Yet, by contrast to those who left the state and themselves in ruins, this is the first Governor to have launched a RESCUE AGENDA for a state that was moribund when he came to the helm of affairs last year.

RESCUE AGENDA

“If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.” Those were the words carved on stone for all leaders of people by Yogi Bera, an American comedian in the 1970s. So, to avoid mindless activities the newly-elected Governor Darius Dixon Ishaku, a Felloe of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, FNIA, in 2015 armed himself with a road map called

THE RESCUE AGENDA.
Only a few aspects of the RESCUE AGENDA can be touched upon here, but, the government of Taraba State had taken this as the guinding principles of the administration. In other words, this is not a government flying blind, it has a compass.

Two components of the agenda are worthy of mention and notice:

The purpose of our Rescue Agenda is to restore Taraba State to a peaceful and secured state; to speedily unite the diverse people of Taraba State; and to urgently transform the state in order to guarantee its sovereignty and sustainability, and ensure the wellbeing of its citizens.

The Goal of our Rescue Agenda is to unearth all economic natural resources and unlock every requisite human potential in Taraba State for an inclusive and accelerated socio-economic growth and development.

To those who might have heard such lofty promises elsewhere before, without fulfillment, these might sound like one of those political promises. But, Taraba had been devoid of promises to which leaders can be held. This is the first time the governor of that state would venture to commit himself so publicly. That is the significant difference.

NEW LEADERS EMERGING IN THE NORTH 

Ishaku represents a new and fresh face of Northern leadership, which includes people like Governor Dankwabo of Gombe State, next door. While Dickson is a professional architect, his neighbour is a professional accountant and together they have brought professionalism to the management of public affairs.

Talking to Ishaku, one could be forgiven for wondering if the man in front of you is not talking as the Managing Director of Shell or First Bank. The sense of purpose is palpable and the thought lurking in one’s mind is: where were people like these since 1999 to actually move Nigeria forward? The reader would forgive me for disclosing that I had spent some part of my life in Taraba when it was part of Gongola State.

Taraba was created when the former Adamawa province was sliced out of Gongola and the state which emerged was left destitute of virtually all amenities which made life worth living. Operating out of Yola, in the 1980, official trips to Zil, Jalingo, Mutum Biu, Zakin Biam, Wukari, Takum and most of all Gembu were absolute tortures. One customer Danjuma Tsokwas, a distributor of Peugeots and beer in Yola and Wukari was the main reason for making those trips. It was hell. The return to civil rule in 1999 and the rising revenue allocation provided an opportunity to rapidly develop Taraba – given its numerous potentials.

But, for the most part it was opportunity lost. Every Governor before Ishaku had been enmeshed in scandal; funds were stolen; over-inflated contracts were awarded to cronies; contracts were awarded, fees paid and not executed; etc. Every device known to Nigerians was employed to rob a state which, in July 2006, collected N3.4 billion, Delta took home N18.2 billion and Rivers walked away with N23.5 billion.

Today, the N3.4 billion allocated to Taraba, ten years ago, appears like a fairy tale since the state Ishaku inherited was already neck deep in debt and the monthly allocations had tumbled to N2.2 billion by January this year and is even less now. It requires a stout-hearted person, sharply focused, and persistent to lead the state at this time and Taraba appears to have the man.

MAJOR ACCOMPLISHMENTS 

The first question posed to him was all-encompassing, on account of time constraint. What are the major achievements of his administration since it started work on May 29, 2016? He pointed to several but, the project which would provide the reader with an idea of how the man’s mind works is the 400 MEGAWATTS KASHIMBILA DAM. Though a Federal project but, it was Ishaku who got Jonathan to approve it when he was Minister of State for Power.

By Dele Sobowale

Birthday: Gen T.Y Danjuma, Abonta Of Jukunland @79, Buhari Celebrates Him

President Muhammadu Buhari celebrates with his longtime associate and senior professional colleague, General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (rtd), on the occasion of his 79th birthday.

In a statement by his senior special assistant media, Garba Shehu, the President describes General Danjuma as “one of that rare breed of Nigerian leaders, who have consistently proven themselves able and trustworthy in the varying positions they had occupied in government over time.”

He says of the retired General that “Each of the many times he has been called upon to serve Nigeria, both in the military and as a civilian, his performance has been remarkable.”

“President Buhari prays that God will grant General Danjuma many more years of good health and active service to Nigeria, particularly as he oversees the incipient effort to develop the North-east of the country, which has been ravaged by Boko Haram terrorists ” Shehu said.

In the same vein the entire people of Taraba also felicitate with this iconic leader who has brought nothing but honour to the state.

Gov Ishiaku Round Off Polio Outbreak Response Campaign

The Taraba government on Friday rounded off the polio outbreak response campaign with five successful rounds of immunisation for under-five children.

Gov. Darius Ishaku, who inaugurated the final round at Lankaviri near Jalingo, expressed satisfaction that the last four rounds of the exercise recorded 100 per cent success in the 168 council wards of the state.

The governor said the campaign was imperative given the nearness of Borno which recorded new cases of wild polio virus recently.

He called on all to encourage women and children to take advantage of the services offered during the immunisation as well as the maternal and child health week to achieve the intended purpose of the programmes.

In his address, the Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr Innocent Vakkai, thanked Ishaku for his continuous support which had been the bedrock of the success the ministry recorded so far.
Vakkai said the ministry had immunised 953,564 children in the fourth round with the support of World Health Organisation, UNICEF and other partners.

He said that the fifth round would involve deworming of children under five, provision of Vitamin A, anti-malaria drugs, iron tablets for pregnant women and free HIV counselling and testing, among others.

Vakkai called on the people to take advantage of the opportunity and come out en-masse to participate in the week-long programme.

He appealed to stakeholders to continue to create awareness about immunisation services and other maternal and child health programmes to reduce the risks facing children in the state.

Taraba State Government And 21 Months Unpaid Salaries Of Taraba Footballers

Taraba United and Taraba Queens players last week Friday locked up the gate of Taraba State government house in Jalingo as they demand for their unpaid salaries.

The Taraba Queens players claimed that the state government owed them 21 months salaries while Taraba United Football Club players claimed the state government owed them salaries for eleven months.

Now, according to Grace Michael, Taraba Queen captain, she said they were at the Government House to hear explanations from the State Governor, Darius Ishaku on why they were neglected for two years.

Grace stated that the players could not feed nor attend to medications due to lack of salaries for twenty one months.

"We are here because we need explanations from the Governor on why we are being treated this way, we are not going anywhere till he comes out to address us, we are not going to listen to any other person because others have been deceiving us for too long."

Also the captain of Taraba United Stephen disclosed that the players of the team have been feeding from road side food vendors for so many months on borrowed money.

Stephen said one of the players was almost arrested yesterday in one of the local restaurants over a debt of N8000, which he incurred at the sestaurant.

The Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Sylvanus Giwa, representing the governor only confirmed it but failed to address the issue. The case of these patriotic Tarabans were not properly handled, otherwise why would the governor not address their concerns.

Football in Taraba is unifying and governor Darius whose primary interest is to build on the peace he has restored in the state, should endeavour that these players are taken care of and are paid their entitlement.

How Lasting Peace Returned To Taraba – Gov Ishaku

Darius Ishaku, an architect is the governor of Taraba State. He has not allowed the tortuous journey to the Government House to weigh him down. Having inherited a thoroughly balkanised state, Ishaku said his preoccupation is to unite every section of the state through the ‘Rescue Taraba Project’.

In this interview, he speaks on peace initiative in the state, plans to privatise government investments, the ambitious Mambilla hydropower project and opposition politics in Nigeria among other issues. Excerpts:

How far have you gone in implementing your rescue agenda?

The rescue agenda is on course and we thank God for the opportunity to serve our people. We came up with what I called the Green Book which stipulates the rescue agenda we have. The agenda is to attack all areas of the state. However, because of the lack of resources, we had to prioritise so that we can concentrate on certain areas of health, agriculture and education. We hope to work on these areas for two years before shifting to other areas depending on the resources available. However, that does not mean that we cannot intercede in other areas needing quick attention such as infrastructure, roads, water. We will attack these areas depending on the seriousness of the need. But we have started in the area of health because our health system has seriously decayed. I did not meet any functional hospital except the Specialist Hospital in Jalingo. That specialist hospital didn’t even have equipment to diagnose and treat people. Fortunately, we made it functional. But in other parts of the state, there is no functional hospital.

So, once somebody is sick even for a simple ailment, they have to rush him to Jalingo and I think that is a very bad situation. I decided to take one hospital per zone; one in Wukari, one in Gembu and the Bambu hospital; which is one of the oldest hospitals in the state. They are all located in the three senatorial districts and we are hoping that by December, work will start on them. By the grace of God, we got two containers of medical supply given to us free from abroad which we had to clear and pay the customs duties. In agriculture, we have not made much impact, but we are winning in some areas. One of the areas where we have made some level of impact is revitalization of the tea and the tea factory is running 24 hours right now because we had a small mini dam which was constructed with the help of the United Nations in collaboration with the state government. That dam is working providing 24 hours services.

We refurbished the old tea factory, removed the obsolete machines and replaced them with brand new ones and right now, it is working very well. That has made the people in Kakara village and the surrounding villages busy, providing the tea which hitherto was not in use before now, sell it to the factory and go there every week to collect their payment. That tea is said to be the second best in the world.

Areas of comparative advantage in Taraba

Taraba is blessed. In agriculture, I can boast of feeding the whole country with rice. We have a very huge rice project in Gashok. As I am talking to you right now, we would have been eating that rice, but for the problem we had with the investor and his American partner. The foreign partner moved out and has refused to come back despite my intervention and the Nigerian investor is looking for another partner to join hands and continue the project. That is a very huge rice farm lying in the Benue valley. We are working very hard and I am sure that before the end of this year, we should be able to resolve all the obstacles in that area. Taraba can also comfortably supply the whole country with sugar. We are working assiduously on that and have given a company about 10,000 hectare of land, but we are yet to agree on the modalities because the perception of the company is different from our thinking. They want 100 per cent mechanized farming with no benefit for our people, but I disagree completely with that.

That has stalled the whole project for about nine months now. But we are getting to the end of the disagreement and they have calmed down and we think that should take off before the end of December. But the problem with sugar is that it takes three years to plant and get matured before you have enough to feed the plant. But we are going on with that. Corn is another area where we have an advantage; if you go to areas like Baisa, you will plant corn for about four times a year and they don’t even need fertilizers there. That is the one we are exploiting now to bring in investors. All these are giant farms with multinationals that are coming. I am hoping that by next year, we should be able to produce things like corn and rice and selling them. Sugar may be a little bit delayed. The other front which we will aggressively pursue by next year is coffee. In Taraba State, we have the monopoly of tea and coffee because they are some of the plants that can only be grown on the highland. I want to pursue coffee aggressively and I hope to be in Kenya by the end of November because I understand that they have a very good model. I want to go and copy their model. In October, I was in India and went to virtually all the tea farms in India to see what they are doing correctly that we are not doing. Right now, four of our boys are in India, being trained. We want to pursue aggressive nursery for the tea. For coffee, we want to learn the model and from what I have read and heard, the Kenyan and Ethiopian model seems to be best suitable for our climate.

The other huge potential we have now is that we can easily boast that over 70 per cent of the beef you eat in this country comes from Taraba State and we want to better it. We have gotten a German firm that is interested in processing the beef. We want them to come and set up the farm where they will grow the cattle from where they will get milk and beef and turn the waste to electricity. Without electricity, everything I am saying will not be possible. The tea factory is successful because they have electricity.

The money they were using for fuel is exactly the profit they were making. That model seems to catch my fancy because the waste is used to produce electricity which in turn is used to milk the cow and bag the milk and put the beef in freezers. So, it will be like a circle of production. Three months ago, they came around to see the place; they have gone back and we hope they will soon return. We also grow cocoa in my state. I have also set up a kind of marketing board that will buy up all the excess, store it and sell at reduced price and if possible, sell them outside and get more money to help our farmers.

Source of funding  for the projects

In fact, people have asked me this same question over and over again; where do you get the resources to do even what you have done in one year? I do very simple planning and allotment of resources. We have very lean resources and what that means is that we must manage it well. When I became governor, I discovered that we had a lot of leakages, particularly in salaries. One person could be collecting about 40 people’s salaries. We have been able to reduce these leakages substantially.

I wish I could eliminate it completely. That has helped me with free money that I am now investing in infrastructure and other areas. The other thing is I do not believe that government has any business in business because all the companies set up by the state government in the past have all gone under; including the tea factory that I talked about. It is my intention to privatize most of it since it is working well now so that the private sector can take over the place while we use the funds we have for other things. What we are doing right now is attracting investors from the private sector as many as possible. Maybe the state government will hold about 20 per cent shares.

My major concern is that I do not want 100 per cent mechanized farming or 100 per cent mechanized industrial set up, but a set up that has a trickle-down effect that the people living around the area can have input and benefit from whatever establishment that is located there. I feel that if the ordinary man is benefiting, the purpose would have been achieved. Every week, the people living there go to the company to collect their money for the tea leaves they have supplied. They pluck these leaves every day and take it to the factory. With the light there, they are able to rear chicken which is an added source of income for them. This is the kind of effect I want for my people and that is why I want to attract private investors because I believe they are the key people to turn this country and Taraba State around for good, for the benefit of all of us.

On peace initiative 

I inherited a state with crisis in different facets. There was war virtually everywhere. There was inter-tribal war, religious war, those based on sentiments and political crisis. I had to initiate policies that will bring about peace. What I did was to reach out to all the different people. I reached out to the traditional leaders, visited stakeholders, community leaders, talked to political leaders and became aggressive in the preaching of peace. I even gave some examples of what peace will bring for us and what lack of it has denied us. I reached out to the religious leaders and thank God that they all keyed in and reached out aggressively and helped me greatly in preaching the message of peace to the people.

Aside that, I did not sit down but try to make sure that the law enforcement agencies are up to the task; we made sure that anywhere we found breakdown of law and order, we take a decisive action against those involved. By the grace of God, we started eliminating them gradually and today, I can tell you that we have relative calm in the state and peace has returned to the state and development is beginning to spring up. What I told them earlier when I came on board which was ‘give me peace and I will give you development’, is beginning to manifest. Somebody who has no light in his home before, now has 24 hours light, somebody who has no means of livelihood could go to a factory and be depositing his tea leaves and at the end, get some money; somebody who has no road before to his village now has one.

The road that used to take about 45 minutes or more now takes you about five minutes. So people are becoming excited and know that peace is indeed golden and lack of it is evil. This has worked and I thank God for this; we are still working hard because we have not reached the apex yet. We are also trying to aggressively pursue enhancement. We have gone to the wards; picked some people that we are training on simple things which people neglected in the past. For example, there is a kind of cloth that our people used to weave with pure cotton. It was a tradition that was passed down from generations, but virtually forgotten. We are gradually reviving it and people are becoming excited because they were buying the fake ones before. The women and children are now engaged in it. We are also training tailors, soldiers and also manufacturing simple machines that are already available and are being distributed for drying fish and you can see the happiness in people. I can tell you that a lot of things are helping us in that regard. I must tell you that I inherited a very poor civil service in the state. We are completely reorganizing it and retraining them because they are the engine room of governance.

But what I inherited was terribly poor. One thing I discovered is that a lot of people believe that they are engaged in government to collect salaries and not to work. So, if you ask me of percentage, I will tell you that less than 10 per cent of people in my civil service believe that they are there to be productive while the rest believe that there are there to earn the bonus that the government will give. I am trying to retrain and refocus their mind-set that they are here not only to collect free bonus, but to work and produce for government. We are achieving some results. Those who are dead woods, we have to do away with them because we don’t need dead woods if you are trying to achieve results.

Mambilla hydropower project and expectations

Mambilla hydropower project is going to be the biggest power project in Africa and not just in Nigeria because it is going to have 3050 megawatts which is more than the power we are generating now. So, we are going to almost double the power that Nigeria is producing now. It is going to take between five to seven years to complete. I am happy that Mr. President has taken the bold step of awarding this contract and I am working assiduously to clear the encumbrances; which is the act of getting to the site. As I speak to you now, the Federal Government has done nothing in terms of remuneration and compensation for the people and getting the site cleared of encumbrances. Right now, I can’t take you to the site of the project because the access is not there.

There is no road to where the dam will be built. People are still living in the valley of the dam as we speak. There is a Bible College right where the dam is going to be built. Will you just come and start the dam and clear the people? The people must be sensitized and made aware of what is coming. I am going to resettle 150,000 people in five different local government areas. The area of this dam is bigger than the area of Lagos State. When people talk about the dam, they talk as if you will just drive there and start work. It is not done like that. Processes of compensation take a long time, the same thing with sensitization.

As at the moment, the Federal Government has not done anything. We have held meetings with the Minister and up till now, I have not seen any result and this will take us about one year. So, if you say the project will take seven years of construction and for one year nothing has been done especially in trying to get to the site, it means a lot still needs to be done. I am happy with the project and we will do everything possible to make sure the project is realized to the benefit of the country in general and Taraba State in particular. But a lot needs to be done in terms of moving to site because there is no accessibility to that site. So many things that need to be in place before the contractor can move to site have not been done. As I speak with you now, the road to Gembu is virtually cut off at Likitaba and it is a federal road. The Federal Government is telling us not to intervene in their road. So, the people who want to build dam can’t even go on the existing road. I am going to see one of the contractors to go and rescue that road because if I don’t rescue that road, our people will be completely cut off. We have reported this to them, but they have not come.

Due to this talk about the Mambilla project and opening up Taraba State, the first thing I did when I came on board was to open the Taraba airport. Before, you cannot access Jalingo by air, but right now, you have Overland on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and we are hoping that by December, it will be a daily flight. All the engineers and contractors that will come to the state should have easy access. It is one hour flight from Abuja to Jalingo and it takes you six hours from Jalingo to go up the mountain. The airport is supposed to be a cargo airport and so, we are looking at expanding it so that from there, we can export agricultural produce. If I package beef, it needs to be in the market immediately; the same applies to fruits and other agricultural produce. So, the first step to opening up the state was to reopen the airport which is working now. These are the things I did to unlock the state, otherwise, we are stuck in a corner of the country. In terms of travelling by road, it takes you between nine to 10 hours from Abuja to Jalingo depending on how many road blocks you have on the way.

Opposition in Taraba

We have opposition in the state; but if you ask me I will say they are bad opposition. They are not opposition that criticise based on facts or based on showing government better ways of doing things. They are opposition for the mere fact that they want to smear the names of people and insult people for the sake of it. Most of the time, I don’t bother to listen to them. For example, the APC chairman once came out criticising government because of somebody who was removed from office, saying the man was removed for voting APC. How would the Head of Service know who voted for which party? This was a corrupt school principal, who was found guilty by a panel that recommended his dismissal, but the Head of Service pleaded that he be demoted instead and he was demoted and sent to a smaller school.

They just went on air without verifying anything. These are the kind of opposition we have in the state. Somebody will just wake up, go to the press and start insulting the governor without having basis for that. I wish the opposition will come and ask, why are you constructing road from A to B and what purpose will it serve? When I came in, there was no water and people were going from one place to the other with buckets on their head looking for water. If you go to Jalingo now, we have more than seven tanks and we are doing one of the biggest water projects and even the blind man can see that tanks are being built. If you want to criticise, do that based on facts. Constructive criticism means that you have a better solution to what is being done. But I do not have constructive criticism from the opposition.

I will say that we have a lot to learn about politics in this country. Imagine, when they declared Donald Trump as winner of the US elections, Hilary Clinton who we all thought was on the popularity list congratulated the winner and said she was ready to work with the winner. What happened in my case in Taraba? I was taken to all the courts in the land and given the most ridiculous judgement you can think of until we got to the Supreme Court. Thank God there are still people that fear God; otherwise, the state would have lost hundreds of lives. That is to tell you the kind of politics we play in this country. I won a clear election in the first instance and they said no, there should be a rerun, cancelling all the polling units where I won. Despite that, I won more votes in the rerun than in the first election because my people were very angry.

Crisis in the PDP

The crisis in PDP is sponsored from outside; but we are working hard to make sure we end the crisis. Prominent Nigerians have approached us that we have to solve this problem in the PDP because you need a vibrant opposition in any democracy; a democracy that does not have a strong opposition is running for tyranny and dictatorship. Whether you believe it or not, we have Presidents in Africa that stayed in office for 40-50 years because of no vibrant opposition. You must, as a necessity have a vibrant opposition. We copied the American constitution, but left out the vital parts. As a governor, the police are not under me. That doesn’t make sense. In the US, they have the federal, state and local police. If we want to copy, we should have copied everything. If I had my own police, I would have gotten that peace in the state far earlier than now.

On restructuring

A lot of people are talking about restructuring; we will get there, but first, you have to have vibrant parties; the restructuring should start from the political parties. By the time you have a governorship candidate, you should ensure that he is the best candidate so that the people going for the final selection process should be the best to rule that state and the country and any of them should be the best to rule. So, it is not only the country that should be restructured. The parties also should be restructured because if they have the system already in place, it will help the country to come out with better people. Nigeria is blessed with intelligent people, but getting there is like passing through the eye of the needle.

So, the good people don’t want to bother themselves because they know they won’t get there. We need to change the system and put in place a system that will better serve us. But unfortunately, we are not doing that. I want to assure you that the problem in the PDP will soon be a thing of the past. I also assure you that the PDP as it is now will not be the PDP that it used to be because the PDP has learnt its lesson of putting round pegs in square holes and putting square pegs in round holes. The PDP has suffered and the PDP that will evolve will be a better PDP and a party prone to serve the country.

Taraba State University Inaugurates Center For Peace Studies

The Center for Peace Studies and Conflict Management of the Taraba State University has been today commissioned by the wife of the Taraba State Governor, Barr. Anna Darius Ishaku.

In her address at the inaugural conference which took place at the new Twin Theater of the institution, the Governor’s wife stressed the need for self respect, respect for one another, for culture and religion adding that one must always treat others as they wish to be treated.

She was optimistic that the center would live up to expectations to ensure peace in Taraba State, Nigeria and the entire World.

The Acting Vice Chancellor of the institution, Associate Professor Catherine Musa in her opening speech stated that the focus of the center is to train people that will be willing and ready to promote peace at any point.

According to her, the institution will also be training conflict managers giving people the right tools to use when faced with conflict situations.

She called on leaders, wives of legislators and Local Government Chairmen to partner with the institution to train students who will be stakeholders fully equipped to manage conflict situations.

In the same vein, the Acting Director of the center, Dr. Delphine David disclosed that “the center is to provide training, leading to the development of competent and skilled human resources that will contribute to the professional analysis and transformation of conflict situations in Taraba State and the rest of the world”.

Taraba Farmers Abandon Homes, Relocate To Farms Over Crop Theft

Increasing cases of theft of farm produce has forced many farmers in Taraba State to relocate to their farms to safeguard their crops.

Investigations by the News Agency of Nigeria  in Jalingo, Gassol, Lau, Ardo-Kola, Gashaka, Karim-Lamido and Bali Local Government Areas revealed that farmers now keep 24-hour watch over both harvested crops and those yet to be harvested.

The Chairman of Taraba Rice Farmers’ Association, Alhaji Hassan Abubakar, told NAN on Saturday in Jalingo that some farmers had lost tonnes of grains – mainly rice, cowpea and maize – to thieves who normally invaded the fields at night.

He said rising demand for farm produce and attendant attractive prices in markets could be responsible for the rampant cases of crop theft.

Alhaji Muntari Ajuji, a large scale farmer in Sabon-Gida, Gassol Local Government Area, said he had to hire five security guards to watch over each of his three farms.

Similarly, Alhaji Ali Maihula, a farmer from Bali Local Government Area, told NAN that he had been practically living in one of his farms, while his children and other family members took care of his other farms during the day, and hired guards at night.

The farmer added that he had adopted early evacuation of crops from fields to his home to ensure their safety.

A farmer at Bembal Village in Gassol Local Government Area, Malam Buba Musa, told NAN that his family had been keeping vigil in his farms after some thieves harvested his maize at night.

He said the maize was mature and about to be harvested but was stolen few days to the planned harvest day.

“Thieves sneaked in overnight and made away with more than half of crops from the three-hectre farm,’’ he said.

Mr Dauda Wada, a leader of a local community security group, popularly referred to as ‘Yan banga’ in Northern Nigeria, told NAN in Mutum-Biyu that cases of theft of farm produce had become rampant.

He said many of such theft had been reported to the group but only few arrests had been made because the thieves operated mostly at midnight.

The Police Public Relations Officer in Taraba, ASP David Misal, said although no produce theft had been reported to the command, he could not rule out the possibility.
NAN

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National Association Of Jukun Students Pledges Support To Prof. Kundiri, FUWukari New VC

The Jukun Students Community under the unbrella of National Association of Jukun Students, (NAJUS), has declared total support for the newly appointed Vice Chancellor of the Federal University of Wukari, Taraba State, Prof. Abubakar Musa Kundiri.

Speaking earlier today, Comrade Hope Daniel Vyonku, National President of NAJUS, expresses optimism over the appointment of the new VC whom he noted as God-sent. He said, "we are confident in his administration because his past records and achievements speaks volume". The entire Jukun students under my leadership will give him all the neccessary support to turn the institution around into a first class citadel of learning".

Comrade Hope also told TarabaSquare that the new VC has hit the ground running, getting to work immediately in other to bring about more developmental projects.

The Vice-Chancellor during one of his speech has disclosed that he is the “Vice-Chancellor of Students.”  “I will initiate the process of forming Student Union in the University as soon as I settle down for business because I know the importance of that union to students in the University world over,” he declared.

Comrade Vyonku while assuring Prof Kundiri, that the prayers of all the Jukun people are with him to succeed, called on all stakeholders in Taraba to support government at the federal level so that Taraba State will get more federal attention.

Prof. Kundiri is a professor of Agriculture, who was one time a Dean, Student Affairs, University of Maiduguri and former Deputy Vice-Chancellor Administration of Federal University Dutse.

Comrade Hope Daniel Vyonku: A Quiet Youth Crusader For Restoration Of Lost Values In Taraba State

Youth Advocacy in Taraba State is a timely vision born out of necessity, the need for a peaceful productive and coordinated youth participation was seen my Comrade Hope Daniel Vyonku.  

It is important to note that where illiteracy and insensitivity mastered as king, wastage and underdevelopment becomes a priority amidst lack, want and needs.

As a youth, Comrade Daniel had grown seeing Taraba and its teeming youths with immense potentials and a great future. A one time former SUG Vice President of Adamawa State Polytechnic, he has used this God given position to ensure that students of Taraba origin seeking admission into the Polytechnic were assisted in the admission process. And it is on record that more indigenes from Taraba State were admitted during his time as President. A selfless youth, who carried his people along.

In Taraba today, people younger than 30 are a majority of the population. Engaging young people to peacefully participate in the state political process and giving them a stake in the state future is a critical factor in changing the fortune of this state.

Comrade Hope Daniel Vyonke is becoming actively involve in youth matters and his leadership experience could prove beneficial to whatever policy the Darius led administration might be having.

Comrade Daniel had also once served as the a Diploma President in FUT Yola and was again in the past, the Welfare Director, National Association of Taraba State Students. When a young man has given is all to making sure that youths across the state are lifted up, polished and have same opportunity like their mates in other states, i suggest they be given the chance to get involve and give them meaningful roles to play because there is no doubt, youth participation in policy making is fast becoming a norm.

As the current National President of National Association of Jukun Students (NAJUS), Comrade that has brought a lasting unity that has long eluded the youth. Building bridges and just recently acquired a bus for the association and also putting in to place the achitectural plan of errecting an office building. This positive unionism and a yard stick for all self acclaimed youths leaders in Taraba State to look up to.

Comrade Vyonke, who has plenty of leadership positions under is belt, is also the President of North East Youths Initiative Forum (NEYIF) and the Secretary of Joint Campus Committee of National Association of Nigerian Students ( JCC - NANS).  With these and many more impressive resume, Comrade Daniel is all out to ensure the inclusive and peaceful participation of youth in the political process and help develop the next generation of political, government and civil society youth leaders.

 As the National President of Jukun Youths, Comrade Vyonke understands the cultural diversity of the communities that made up the state. He creates this awareness of cultural context to assist youth in better understanding the impact of their cultures on their own values and plans.

In 2015, Comrade Hope, took is unionism and love for Taraba State to another level, when he became the first student to persuade and led a delegation of University Senators, numbering about 40 from across the nation for Governor Ishaku's election campaign. And it may interest you to know that he put together a summit canvasing for him.

In some states that understand youth dynamism, such human talent and brain would be utilized and well engaged. There is no doubt, Taraba has energetic and vibrant youths with genuine ideas of how to move the state forward. And so i think the government of the day should start engaging these youths, ensuring that their creativities are properly harnessed.

In my opinion, i believe Taraba State will have a good in leader in Comrade Hope Daniel Vyonke in what ever leadership position he finds himself. A visionary young man who has proven himself worthy and who doesn't settle for less.

Taraba State University Investigates Robbery In Girls’ Hostel

The Acting Vice Chancellor of Taraba State University, Jalingo, Dr Catherine Musa, said on Tuesday that investigation has commenced into report of a robbery incident in the girls’ hostel of the institution. 

Musa disclosed that a committee had been set up to find out how the girls were robbed of their valuables in the middle of the night and the response of the university’s security personnel.

The vice chancellor told newsmen in Jalingo that reports indicated that the girls were robbed of 18 handsets, two laptop, a tablet computer, some amount of money and other valuables.

“I was told that at about 3a.m, someone went into the hostel and robbed the girls of their valuables, including phones and computers. “The girls themselves believe they were charmed because all of them were deep asleep and only woke up to discover that their phones and other valuables were stolen. 

“We have already set up a committee to investigate the matter and I don’t want to pre-empt the outcome of their investigation, but I know we are going to do something to prevent a reoccurrence of such,” she said.

Musa urged the state government to fence the university, to enhance security. She recalled that due to the porous nature of the university, the house of a lecturer, Dr. Hassan Garba, was recently burgled.

APC Tackles PDP in Taraba Over Ambassadorial Nominee

While the Taraba PDP celebrated and hailed the President for nominating the former executive secretary of TETFUND, the APC condemned the nomination. 

It said that Jeji does not deserve the appointment and called on the president to reverse his nomination. Taraba State PDP Chairman, Mr. Victor Bala Kona, told reporters on Tuesday that the party is happy with  Jaji’s nomination.

In an interview with journalist at his residence in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital, Kona said the PDP was very happy and commended President Buhari for considering a worthy son of Taraba State to be on the ambassadorial list, which shows that Taraba state was also considered in the scheme of things in Nigeria.

High  profile 

Kona said anyone opposed to the decision of President in nominating Jaji is against the interest of Taraba State. “Mustafa that I know is well educated, he is a Nigerian, he is experienced. He has a high profile that qualifies him to represent Nigeria in any part of the world. Therefore, I don’t know why some quarters would like to associate his nomination with political insinuations. “President Buhari has made a brilliant choice from Taraba State, we the PDP here are very happy with his choice and we celebrate with the nominee as we look forward to support him to succeed when he is finally appointed and posted to any part of the world for his assignment.” 

Buhari short-changed APC members in Taraba – Jika

Countering,  the Chairman of APC in Taraba State, Mallam Ardo Jika, in a telephon chat with Vanguard, said the nomination of Mustafa Jeji was against the promise of President Buhari to APC members not only in Taraba state but also across the country. He said the president did not consulted the state executive or representatives of the APC in Taraba state at the national level before the nomination. Recalling that the President had promised to reward party loyalists for their hard labour before the election, he wondered why the president would dump those who worked for him and the party to reward those who worked against the party in the last general elections.

His words: “As far as APC is concerned in Taraba State, nobody contacted us or informed us. Again, Mustafa Jeji has never, by error of commission or omission,  been a member of APC in Taraba State. From his ward, everybody knows that Mustafa Jeji is a registered member of PDP” “We are repeating president Buhari’s statement, which he made to us that there will never be a situation where someone will be taking drugs on behalf of a sick person. So I believe this nomination did not come from Buhari, somebody might have suggested the name to him wrongly” 

“I believe Mr. President will reverse the name because we know him as a man of his words because he said whoever suffered for APC and voted for APC would be rewarded. That was what we heard him saying at our last NEC meeting. All our party executives, members of our state assembly and National Assembly are not in support of the nomination because the nomination will dampen the moral of  APC supporters.’’

3 Persons Killed In Taraba By Suspected Ritualists

There was pandemonium yesterday in Dobeli village in Gossal local government area of Taraba State when suspected ritualists killed three children between the age of 10, 7 and 6 and removed their heads.

Confirming the incident, the Taraba State Police Public Relations Officer, (Asp) David Misal said their lifeless bodies were found by the bank of a river in Dobeli Village when the children want to take their bath.

“It was those who went to fetch water from the river that saw their dead bodies and raised alarm” he said.
He explained that the three children belong to the same parents, adding that they went to take their bath in a river but never returned.

He informed that the command was ready to harness all available resources to have robust intelligence- driven policing to fetch out criminals in the state.
He assured the general public that the police would not condone any act capable of denting the image of the state.

TSU RAG DAY: Woow, Amazing Hannah Stunned Many With Her 'Rag' Outfit (Photos)

Taraba State University students week which kicked off on wednesday 2nd, November, 2016, was welcomed by the whole student community of the University.

It is a week where class activities are put on hold as the students engage themselves in one activities or the other.

The 2015/2016 Students week came with lots of activities lined up for the students. One of such activities was the 'rag day'.

TarabaSquare stumbled on a facebook user, Mamman Wanasarah Hannah, a political science education student of the University, whose rag outfit got the whole university community talking.

You May Also Like: Taraba State University 2015/2016 Students Festival Week Announced

She posted some pictures captured during the rag activity, and from numerous comments, she actually wore the best rag costume. Hannah, practically dressed in such a manner that, on a first look, one might pass her as a mentally deranged person.

But Mamman really killed it, she was cool and no wonder she was adjudged as 'Miss Rag day'.

Congrat Dear, you rock the best rag outfit.

See more pics below...

ARE YOU READY? Taraba State University 2015/2016 Students Festival Week Announced

The students of Taraba State University are hereby notify that the Acting Vice Chancellor Associate Professor Catherine Musa has approved the Students’ Week for 2015/2016 academic session. 

The week activities will commence from 2nd to 5th November, 2016.

The programme of events for the week are as follows:

DAY ONE: WEDNESDAY 2ND NOVEMBER, 2016

PROGRAMME
VENUE
TIME

Opening ceremony/Rally
University Main gate
8:00am

Inter-Faculty Football Competition (FAS VS FAG)
TSU football field
3:00pm

Groove Night
TSU Basketball court
7:00pm

DAY TWO: THURSDAY 3RD NOVEMBER, 2016

Health Awareness/Jeans & Jersey Day
Lecture Theatre behind Central Library
9:00am.

Inter-Faculty Football Competition (Science VS Education)
TSU Football field
3:00pm.

Talent show
TSU Basketball court
7:00pm.

DAY THREE: FRIDAY 4TH NOVEMBER, 2016.

Inter-Faculty Debate Competition (Science VS Agric, FAS VS Education)
Lecture Theatre behind Central Library
9:00am

Interfaculty Football final (Winners of the opening matches)
TSU Football field
3:00pm.

Old School Night
Lecture Theatre A.
7:00pm

DAY FOUR: SATURDAY 5TH NOVEMBER, 2016

Inter-Faculty Debate Final (winners of First Debate)
Lecture Theatre behind Central Library
9:00am

Talk show Tag “Nigeria and the way forward”
Lecture Theatre behind Central Library.
11:00am

Award of Dignitaries within and outside the University
Lecture Theatre behind Central Library.
12:pm

Football friendly match (TSU Vs Kwararafa University).
TSU Football Field
3:00pm.

NB: All students are to remain peaceful and discipline in their behaviours throughout the festive week. The Student Union Government (SUG) of the University use this medium to wish all their students happy celebration

Signed:

Pius Nyatirimoh Ezekiel
Committee Chairman

Kashimbila Dam: Mr. Fashola, Minister Of Power,Works, and Housing Inspects Project

Minister of Power, Works, and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola SAN, Thursday visited the Kashimbila Multipurpose Dam Project in Taraba State assuring that when completed, the Dam would serve the multiple purpose of protecting parts of the country from a predicted ecological disaster, provide electricity and support agricultural ventures in surrounding States of the Northeast.

Fielding questions from NTA newsmen after the inspection, Fashola, who said the project was conceived about 2007, pointed out that the purpose was a proactive step by Nigeria to prevent an ecological disaster that Science predicted would happen in future when the structurally weak volcanic Lake Nyos inevitably collapses, which would likely affect six states in the country.

The Minister, who named the states to include Taraba, Benue, Cross River, Delta and Kogi on the route of the tributaries of the Katsina-Ala River, added that the project was also conceived to provide electricity and support agricultural ventures in the surrounding communities.

He told the newsmen, “Nigeria has decided since 2007 or thereabouts to intervene and prevent the disaster by building a dam and from the dam you have water which is a force of energy, we decided to build a 40 MW plant to generate electricity to feed communities like Doga, Wukari, Takum, Kashimbila and many other communities in the Northeast and Yandev in Benue State who are not yet connected to the Grid”.

According to him, what the communities have presently is a 33KV line that transmits energy across 80, 90 to 100 and above kilometers adding that by the time the energy ultimately gets to the communities, it is not effective resulting in what is often referred to as “low current.”

Assuring that the project would solve all of the problems, Fashola, however, regretted that the contracting firm has not been paid for about two or three years adding that the project had just been put into the budget. He added, “We have approved payment for the contractor and I have now come to see what we are paying for to ensure that the project is delivered”.

“This project has three phases and three objectives to accomplish. First to prevent an ecological disaster that science predicts will happen and secondly from there provide electricity and support agriculture. This is the Kashimbila 40MW Multipurpose Dam for electricity and irrigation. But as I’ve said it was an ecological necessity”, the Minister said.

Emphasizing the benefits of the project to agricultural ventures in the host state and beyond, Fashola, who described Kashimbila  as one of the most beautiful parts of  Nigeria, added, “I have just come from Ecuador which is about 2,800 meters above sea level. I think this is about 500 to 800 meters in altitude. What you have here are mountains, rivers, and a very rich resource agro-base”.

The Minister, particularly, noted that the water supply embedded in the Dam could also be distributed far beyond the host community, Tagun, adding that government had opened discussions with the contractors on how the water catchment could be expanded beyond Tagun to serve most of Taraba and parts of the Northeast.

Top Taraba Monarch Dies At 80, After 50 years On Throne,

The traditional ruler of Gashaka Chiefdom in Taraba State, HammanGabdo Sambo, has died at the age of 80.

A source confirmed the death to premium times on Sunday morning.

The source disclosed that Mr. Sambo, the Lamdo Gashaka, died in an Abuja hospital late on Saturday after battling an undisclosed illness.

“The remains of his royal highness would be brought from Abuja to Taraba later in the day for burial rites.” the source said.

Mr. Sambo had on December 19, 2015 celebrated his 50th anniversary on the throne as the Lamdo Gashaka.

He was born in 1936 and was crowned the Gashaka ruler in 1965.

APC Taraba: No ill Feelings Towards PDP

The Taraba State chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Alhaji Hassan Jika Ardo has said the APC in the state has no personal grudges against the People’s Democratic Party in the state.


Ardo, who stated this yesterday in Jalingo while briefing journalists in his office said the recent call by state chapter of the All Progressive congress demanding for governor Ishaku’s resignation was made to make certain records straight.

He noted that Ishaku during his electioneering campaign made numerous promises and was yet to fulfil one.

“Imagine, the governor told Tarabans during his campaign that he was the one who drew the Mambilla hydro power project. The project started in the 1960 when Ishaku was still in primary school at Wusasa in Zaria” he said.

He explained that the money for the completion of the Mambilla Hydro power project was paid to the governor during president Goodluck Jonathan’s era when he was the minister of state for power, adding that Tarabans and indeed Nigerians are eager to know of how the fund was

“It doesn’t end at that,Ishaku when he assumed office wrote President Buhari requesting for a bailout of 30 billion to pay outstanding salaries of workers in Taraba State, out of which the federal government released 9.4b, within the same period, allocation of 3.5 billion was released and a loan of 10 billion was collected by the governor to be paid in twenty years of which the whole total sum is 22.9 billion he collected within one month without accounting for” he stressed.

Reacting, the chief press secretary to the governor, Alhaji Hassan Miginyawa said it is a fact the governor Ishaku played tremendous role in bringing the Mambilla Project this far, adding that history has acknowledged that so it is, an exercise in futility for someone to seek to distract the government that is rightly performing credibly well.

Igbo Group Offers Scholarships To 100 Orphans In Taraba

The Taraba State branch of the Igbo Welfare Association has awarded scholarships to 100 orphans studying in various secondary schools in the state.

The President-General of the association, Mazi Nwokeocha, made the announcement in Jalingo on Tuesday while disbursing money to beneficiaries.

Nwokeocha said the 100 beneficiaries were children of the association’s dead members.
The president-general said that each beneficiary received N15,000 as assistance to continue his/her education.

Nwokeocha said the gesture was initiated by the association in 2007 to give families of dead members a sense of belonging.

He advised Igbos residing in the state to live in peace with their host communities and to continue to be good ambassadors of the Igbo race.

One of the beneficiaries, Johnson Emeka, who spoke on behalf of the beneficiaries, commended the association for the gesture.

Emeka promised that the beneficiaries would justify the gesture by being hard working.

CALAMITY: Flood Destroys 60 Houses, Farmlands In Taraba

No fewer than sixty houses and several farm lands were destroyed by flood  in seven villages of Lau LGAs of Taraba State on Saturday  following a  heavy downpour that lasted for several hours.

The communities destroyed by the flood incident includes: Yusa, Yusa Fulani, Yusa Yandang,  Garin Magaji, Jambutu , Jongore and Yusa (A).

The also flood destroyed several farm lands and produce which includes: Maize, Rice, Groundnut, Cassava, Guinea Corn, Banana Suga Caine Mango trees, beans among other crops.

Some of the victims who spoke to our correspondent explained that everything they have were destroyed by the flood disaster.

They called on the local government, the state government and the federal government to come to their rescue.

LEADERSHIP,  reports that those affected by the flood disaster were currently taking refuge in neighboring villages close to their  respective communities.

Gov Ishiaku Partners UNICEF To Re-position Primary Health Care In Taraba State

To overcome the various health challenges presently confronting Taraba state, the state government under the leadership of governor Darius Dickson Ishaku, has agreed to collaborate with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to reposition the Primary Health Care Under One Roof.

In doing this, the state government has been urged to make available to all the 171 wards situated in the entire local government councils of the state a twenty-four hours functional Primary Health Care services so as to halt people especially women from dying while giving birth.

Speaking yesterday at a stakeholders engagement meeting on the reposition of Primary Health Care Under One Roof (PHCUOR) and Adoption of Minimum Service Package (MSP), which took place in Mambilla Plateau of Sardauna council, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Nigeria, Bauchi Field Office, Dr. Abdullahi Kaikai, reiterated the readiness of the organization to continue to give the much needed support to the state government.

Overwhelmed by the establishment of a functional governing board for the Primary Heath Care Development Agency, by the state government, the government as suggested by him should endeavor to go extra legitimate miles in reducing deaths among pregnant women and the newborns.

Aligning his wight to that of the UNICEF, the Executive Secretary of the Agency, Aminu Jauro Hassan, who took time to enumerated the massive achievements of the Agency, wants the government to as a matter of urgency fashion out mechanisms ” that ensure accountability.”

Also drumming that the release of the Agency’s take off grant be “expedited”

the need to as well bridge the wide gap confronting the Hard-To-Reach (HRH), he said must as well be addressed, stating that “HRH gaps must be filled especially at the managerial and decision making level.

Earlier, the Governing Board chairman of the Agency, Victor Balance Kona, who expressed dismay at the state of the health facilities, said the board has resolved to turn around the ill stories of the health sector to positive ones.

According to him ” many health facilities suffer from inadequate/lack of supply of water and electricity, obsolete equipment in health facilities, inadequate drug supply, irregular and inadequate staff remuneration”

Other major barriers identified by him as major hindrances, which according to him have began to receive the attention of the state governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku, are ” low staff morale and attitude, administrative bottlenecks, poor access roads” to mention just a few.

The state, as opined by him ” cannot continue like this, else our children and those children unborn will have no future” adding that ” we will be a waste land of disabilities and liabilities.”

Lauding the efforts of the UNICEF which he said has ” given breathe and blood to the health system in Taraba state” the board members as well as the directors of PHC at the council levels including the leadership of the state, as made known by him, will reciprocate by carving out “an accountability framework that will make us more responsible, to give breathe to our health system and hope to our land.”

The three day workshop which was organized by the Agency for stakeholders in the entire sixteen local government councils of the state and funded by the UNICEF, as observed by Tarabasquare, heralded the presence of the who is who in the health sector to the Mambilla Plateau.

Taraba APC Ask Governor Ishaku To Resign

The All Progressives Congress (APC), Taraba state chapter, has advised Governor Darius Ishaku to resign if he can’t handle the problems in his state. 

Speaking with newsmen in Jalingo on Monday, September 26, Alhaji Hassan Ardo, the Taraba state chairman of the APC said the government of Governor Ishaku lacks focus, Leadership reports.

According to Ardo, over 12, 000 Taraba workers have been languishing in abject poverty since Ishaku assumed office. He said that all the policies and programme of the present administration has no direct bearing to the people of the state, adding that the decision of the state House of assembly to reduce the tenureship of local government chairmen from three years to two years was not what would solve the problems of the state rather would add to more problems.

Ardo said: “If want to solve the problem of the state, let him pay teachers, local government workers and as well address the problems of pensions.” 

The APC state chairman, who condemned the action of the lawmakers as counterproductive, said that two years was not sufficient for any elected local government to chairman to record any appreciable achievements.

Ardo noted that the decision of governor Ishaku to influence Taraba lawmakers to reduce the three years tenure of LGAs chairman was not only selfish, but against the tenant of genuine democracy in the state. The call for Governor Ishaku’s resignation comes barely two weeks after he said that his state has diversified into tomatoes, rice and tea production.

The governor speaking to State House correspondents at the Presidential Villa noted that Taraba state is known for agriculture, mining and tourism. According to him, President Muhammadu Buhari  has set the course by diversification and Taraba is working on diversification.

Source: naij.com

Taraba, Ebonyi Win Gold In Taekwondo

Chidinma Nwankwo of Ebonyi has won gold in the 49kg female category in Taekwondo event at the ongoing National Youth Games (NYG) in Ilorin.

Umar Abubakar of Taraba State also clinched the gold medal in the 48kg male category of the event.

Nwankwo’s last kick against favorite, Success Ugwu of Delta that gave her the coveted gold medal.

In the same manner, Abubakar of Team Taraba saw off newcomer Salihu Mohammed of Kano in a keenly fight.

Rebecca Audu of Yobe and Miracle Obinna of Anambra settled for the bronze medals in the 49kg female category.

Mohammed Musa of Niger and Ishmael Ahmed of Plateau both won bronze medals in the male category also.

In Taekwondo, Team Kano has won one gold and one silver, Ebonyi claimed a gold and a bronze, while Akwa Ibom and Taraba states have a gold each.

Delta won two silver and Ogun state secured one silver, while Imo won two bronze medals.

Plateau, Anambra, Yobe, Rivers and Niger states have all won a bronze medal each.


Source: vanguardngr

BREAKING: Minister Of Women Affairs Collapses At IDP Camp, See Why

– Hajiya Aisha Alhassan reportedly collapsed at an IDP camp in Adamawa state 
– The minister of women affairs is said to have been diagnosed of low sugar 

Emerging reports suggest that the minister of women Affairs, Hajiya Aisha Alhassan, collapsed at an Internally Displaced Persons’ (IDPs) camp on Monday, September 19.

According to This Day, the minister collapsed at a camp situated in Fufore Local Government Area of Adamawa state while addressing vulnerable IDP women inside a store in the camp.

Alhassan, who was in crutches when she arrived the camp, and after addressing the IDPs, entered the store to discuss with some of the said vulnerable women sequel to an allegation by some foreign non-governmental organisations (NGOs) on violation of some girls and women at the IDPs’ camps in the Northeast.

While discussing with the women, she collapsed, but was quickly assisted to a chair and given a bottle of Coke to drink, which revived her. According to some of her aides, she had been diagnosed with low sugar, a problem that creates serious weakness of the body. But despite her state of health, she managed to explain to journalists at the camp that her fact-finding mission to Yobe, Borno and Adamawa states tend to confirm the foreign NGOs’ allegation.

The minister had earlier said that she was at the camp to give a message from President Muhammadu Buhari to the displaced persons, who wanted them to cheer up despite the hardship because everything was being done to ensure that they go back to their homes. She told the IDPs that the president was touched by their suffering and that was why he sent her to come and donate relief materials and felicitate with them.

Alhassan also paid a courtesy visit to the Governor of Adamawa State, Alhaji Muhammadu Bindow, and told him that her visit to the IDPs was to investigate allegations of violation of girls and women and the compound issues of orphans and the vulnerable.

According to Sajoh, the governor and his cabinet, including some All Progressives Congress (APC) stalwarts ate and danced with the displaced persons. In his brief remarks, Bindow stressed the need for peaceful co-existence, adding: “Without peace, no one would readily do anything.” The Deputy Governor, Mr. Martins Babale, in a vote of thanks, observed that keeping the IDPs was still a problem because of the state of the economy.

According to him, the state was still expecting about 56,000 displaced persons from Cameroun. It would bee recalled that there have been similar reports regarding the poor state of health of some ministers of the present dispensation. 

Taraba Celebrates Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan (Maman Taraba) @ 57

The Minster of Women Afair and Social Development, Aisha Jummai Al-Hassan is a year older today. 

The enigmatic Minister, who is a lawyer by training became the first female to be appointed Taraba State Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice.

She was also the first woman to be appointed as Secretary FCT, judicial council and later appointed the Chief Registrar of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on 17 December 2003.

Her foray into politics started  around 2011 and ever since then she has not looked back. She is loved as this can be attested by those who close to her.

We wish her excellency, Hajia Aisha, a happy birthday and she continue to bring about continued development within Taraba State in her own capacity.

Hon. Abel, Taraba Speaker Felicitates With Muslim, Seeks More Supports for Gov. Ishaku.

The speaker of the Taraba state House of Assembly, Rt.Hon. Peter Abel Diah,has beckoned at the people of the state to continue to extend the much needed helping hands to the state governor, Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku, to carry out his dream of making the state a better place.

In carrying out this demand, the much needed growth and dividends of democracy, he believed would be extended to the nooks and crannies of the state as the much desired peace, according to him would no doubt prevail.

The speaker who spoke through his Special Adviser on Media Matters, Baba Jen, also congratulate Moslem faithful in the state and the country at large on the occasion of Eid-El-Kabir,

Certain that Taraba and Nigeria, would no doubt be great, he admonished all a sundries irrespective of religion and political party affiliations to hold tenaciously to peace by eschewing vices that are inimical to the development of the state and the country.

On the ongoing insurgency in the north-eastern parts of the country and the continuous bombing of oil installations in the Niger Delter by the Avengers, he called on the militants and the Boko Haram members to lay down their arms and accept the hands of friendship presently being extend to them by the federal government.

According to him ” Taraba and Nigeria as a whole will be great if peace and s given a chance. So I am using this medium to plead with the militants in the Niger Delta and the Boko Haram members in this part of our country to drop their weapons mad embrace the opportunity presently being offered them by the central government.”

The speaker who said he has seeng a ” greater Taraba” believed if all hands are on deck by giving the governor the maximum supports he need to herald the much needed growth to the state, Taraba, according to him ” would soon be competing with states like Lagos, Port-Harcourt etc.”

Citing Taraba as one of the leading states that offset civil servants month remuneration as at when due, the state under the leadership of the incumbent governor, is at the verge of becoming one the leading tea producing state in the world.

Taking steps further to enumerate the abundant human and natural potentials scattered in the entire axis of the state, should the people of the state continue to give the governor the much needed peace ” to work” such resources, he said would be tap into by the governor.

Using the opportunity to applaud the governor for lifting the ban on employment, the problem of unemployment which was necessitated by the by ban placed on employment by the past governors of the state, he said is ” almost coming to an end because our governor has lift the ban.”

He enjoined qualified youths who have being perambulating the streets seeking for employment to take advantage of the opportunity by applying for the positions of their choice.

Contrary to the ongoing rumour that said employment opportunities have been cornered by politicians, the speaker said the employment would be done on merits. He enjoyed the people of the state to have fate on the governor whom he said will continue to work tirelessly round the clock to dread smiles on the faces of the people.

The House of Assembly which he is presiding upon, he said would continue to work ” as one family” to catapult the state to the greatest height, adding that ” we will continue to avoid any act that will bring disaffection between the Executive and the Legislative arms of the government.”

Unlike other states legislators, who derives pleasure in dragging the number one citizens of their states into the mud, Taraba assembly, according to him, would continue to toy the paths of dialogue stressing that ” crisis will only bring down the state and make the masses to suffer.”

Jonathan, The Cause Of Suffering In Nigeria – Mama Taraba

The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Aisha Alhassan, otherwise known as Mama Taraba has declared that no one should blame the current government as being responsible for the nation’s economic woes.

The minister, while speaking with newsmen in Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State where she met with the APC women drawn from the 25 local government areas of the state, said the immediate past government of Goodluck Jonathan brought Nigeria into economic mess.

Alhassan, who was represented on the occasion by the Coordinator for Women Empowerment, Chief Akukalia Angela, assured the people that the present administration was passionate about developing women and reducing hunger in the country.

“The present process of economic recession is not caused by the APC-led government; rather, it was caused by the immediate past government, who looted the nation’s treasury and threw the people into hardship.

“The APC will do everything humanly possible to put Nigeria back on the right positive track,” she said.

The APC Woman Leader in the state, Dr. Janeth Oyubu, while pledging the support of the APC women in the state for the government, alleged that the PDP government had hijacked all the palliatives initiated by the Buhari government.

Oyubu added, “Don’t be carried away with peanuts from the ailing PDP. I can assure you that APC has all it takes to transform your well-being by empowering you so that you can be helpful to your family and the society.”