Darius Revives Moribund Industries In Taraba: Viva Feeds Mills, Mambilla Beverages Company, Other

True to his word to rescue every aspect of Taraba State and making it the darling of North East Nigeria, governor Ishaku has commenced a radical restoration of moribund industries in the state.

The Governor has improved the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of the state by curbing illegal logging and boosting the economic activities on the Mambilla Plateau with the rejuvenation of Mambilla Beverages Production Company.

His Excellency revived the Taraba Highland Tea Commission by removing all the obsolete machines and replacing them with brand new machines which are operating optimally.

With this, people living in Kakara tea village now have automatic employment in various capacities.

Also, Viva feeds Mills in Zing local government area, which started 27 years ago and abandoned was completed and commissioned by Gov. Ishaku, to create jobs for youth and help people who wish to go into poultry farming become self-employed.

The Company at present is capable of producing 240 bags per hour and about 1800 bags in ten hours, with about five different brands of feeds all the products have been certified safe by NAFDAC.

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Viva Feed Mills

Digitalization Of Taraba TV: Breathtaking Achievement Of Gov Darius (SEE PHOTOS)

From the Facebook of Taraba TV, the management team took an assessment of the station, showcasing the turn around witnessed so far under the administration of Governor Darius Ishaku.

It was tagged; '30 Days of Showcasing the Achievements of Taraba News Man of the Year 2016 Arc. Darius Dickson Ishaku, the Executive Governor of Taraba State'.


According to the statement from the page; "TTV has been digitized, through the efforts of the state Governor, Darius Dickson Ishaku. This is even coming ahead of the digitization dateline.

"Before now, most of the equipment of the Corporation were outdated and obsolete, and at the brink of being discarded but for the timely intervention of the rescue mission of the Governor, which was extended to the Corporation"

"Successive governments in the past have made efforts to uplift the standard of the station but normally ends up in futility. Kudos must therefore be given to the present state leadership under Governor Darius Dickson Ishaku".

"The digitization of Taraba Television Corporation, Jalingo has placed it in the map of digital broadcast industry, which would help to project Government’s laudable programmes and policies to the outside word. Other projects executed at TTV are . Construction of New Studios at TTV permanent site."

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12 Stolen Children From IDPs Camps Reunite With Parents

The tears that had dotted the faces of parents whose children were recently stolen from the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camps in Taraba State yesterday gave way to jubilation, as the children, who were rescued by the Nasarawa State Police Command were reunited with their families.

The 12 children, whose ages range between four and 14, were last November forcefully taken from one of the IDPs camps in Gassol Local Council by a suspect who specialises in child theft.

The suspect, who was later arrested and is being detained, was said to have on several occasions disappeared with children in IDPs across the country without the knowledge of their parents and the management of the camps.

Receiving the children in Jalingo, Commissioner of Women and Child Development, Lois Emmanuel, charged parents at the IDPs to be vigilant and desist from entrusting their children’s and wards to unknown persons.

Emmanuel stressed that no parent in the camps has the rights to give out his/her child/children without the knowledge of the state government, which would not take it lightly with any parents found trading their children for money or material items.

She assured that the state government would continue to work tirelessly to improve the condition of living for the entire IDPs.Also speaking, Director of Child in the ministry, Elizabeth Kwanchi, pleaded with the state government to set up teams that would be mandated to sensitise the IDPs against child theft.

Visibly overwhelmed by the rescued, Chairman of the IDPs, Bitrus Kaji, said his leadership would scrutinise its persons coming in and out of the camps to prevent future occurrence.

He urged the state government to intensify security at the IDPs camps to discourage persons with ill intentions from accessing the camps.Some parents of the rescued children, who spoke to The Guardian wondered what would have become of them had the state government and Nasarawa Police command not acted quickly.

Nasarawa Police Command spokesman, Idrisu Kennedy, said was able to intercept the culprit and rescue the children following a tip off from some good Samaritans.

The children, who were later handed over to their biological parents, said the suspect who came in the guise of a religious preacher lured them from their various places of domicile in the camp.Vices, such as child abduction and rape have been reported in IDPs camps across the country.


By Insode Arew

NAFDAC Impounds Illicit Drugs In Jalingo

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has raided some shops in Jalingo, the Taraba State capital and impounded illicit drugs and other unwholesome products in the state.

The Taraba State coordinator of NAFDAC, Mr Suleiman Muyideen who disclosed this while briefing newsmen yesterday in Jalingo said the prevalence of fake drugs and other food and cosmetic products in the state was totally unacceptable.

“The alarming rate of substance abuse and general non compliance with the agency’s enabling laws in the state were  the major reasons for this exercise” he said.

He informed that the agency took four days to hold series of meetings with all the stakeholders where NAFDAC solicited their support at ensuring that only genuine, effective and safe regulated products are manufactured in the state.

We discussed intensively on numerous issues especially the rate of substance abuse as relates to cough syrup with codein, tramadol as well as mobile authentication of anti malaria drugs and antibiotics.

“We also discussed on banned drugs such as nimesulide, analgin (Dipyron), gentamycin 280mg, phenylpopanolamine among others at the meetings with a view to getting the stakeholders assist the agency in tackling the abuse in the state,” he said.

He explained that the agency which was saddled with responsibility of safeguarding public health would no longer tolerate any act of non compliance with its enabling laws.

He called on the media and other stakeholders in the state to assist in tackling the rate of substance abuse in Taraba and it’s environ.

We Are Owed N14.9bn In Gratuities By Taraba Government - Pensioners Cried Out

Alhaji Hassan Abubakar, Chairman, Taraba Union of Pensioners, says the state government is owing members of the union gratuities amounting to N14.9 billion.

Abubakar told newsmen in Jalingo on Monday that the government owed its pensioners over N9 billion while it owed local governments’ pensioners N5.9 billion.

He said, though the payment of pension to the state pensioners was up to date, the government owed local government pensioners between two to six months due to several cases of omission.

The chairman said out of the total 7,163 pensioners in the state, 575 recently captured as local governments’ pensioners had not been paid pensions for over five years.
Abubakar said the total pension
liabilities for the affected persons stood at the sum of N28 million as at October 2016.

He identified non-review of statutory pensions after five years or during salary review, the lack of harmonisation of pensions after salary review as some of the challenges facing the pensioners.
Abubakar said that other challenges included the non-implementation of the 33 percent increment in pensions as required by Salaries and Wages Commission and the failure of the state to key into the Pension Trust Fund.

The chairman suggested that the National Assembly should approve N25, 000 as pension for all retirees, saying that the measure would address the challenges occasioned by pension reviews.

Emmanuel Bello to FG: ‘Stop Neglecting Gashaka-Gumti Games Reserve’

The federal government has been admonished to stop neglecting the Gashaka – Gumpti games reserve located in Taraba state.

Making the call, Taraba state former commissioner of information, culture and tourism, Emmanuel Bello, said the games reserve remains the largest in West Africa. Bello also described it as a lost treasure.

He said, “after the capture of sambisa forest, one of the things the federal government must ask itself is how that forest became a breeding ground for the type of atrocity that reportedly went on there. Ordinarily, sambisa should have been a paradise on earth with its potential for tourism and scientific researches.

“Today, the name, sambisa, may forever be associated with negativity. I call on the federal government to be proactive about tourism. We may never know, but if that sambisa forest was put to good use, who knows may be we would have been spared all the horrors. Please, let this not become the fate of another potential paradise called Gashaka-Gumpti.”

Bello, who is currently the senior special assistant to governor Darius Ishaku on Public Affairs, said Gashaka Gumpti must not be allowed to waste. Noting that the Taraba state government has done its part, Bello enjoined the federal government to shift its focus to the tourism industry in the state.

He said, “the governor is working hard to ensure there is peace in Taraba. Peace is very strategic for tourism. Governor Ishaku has also opened up the air space so that people can easily enter the state.

By Tunde Oguntola