Author: Khadija Abubakar

THE Rumfa College Old Boys Association (RUMFOBA) Class ’94 marked its 30th anniversary in Kano on Thursday, with a call to the Kano state government to establish database centres in each community. These centres, to be led by village heads, would provide vital data on households across the state, enabling informed decision-making, planning, and project implementation.¹ Chairman of RUMFOBA Class ’94, Engineer Professor Ibrahim Sani Madugu, emphasized the importance of these database centres in ensuring security, supporting community development, and promoting small-scale industries and trades. The class chapter has undertaken two major projects to support their alma mater: ensuring water…

THE Local Government Area Council of Garun Malam Local Government Area of Kano State has indefinitely closed the Kwanar Gafan Tomato Market over alleged illicit activities ranging from prostitution, adultery, homosexuality, and other immoral activities reportedly taking place within its premises and around the market. The local government chairman, Hon. Barr. Aminu Salisu Kadawa, confirmed the development to this newspaper citing the need to restore order to the area. He said all market occupants must vacate the premises before January 1, 2025, warning of strict consequences for those who defy the directive. He said, “Looking at how the market has…

GOVERNOR Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State has pledged ₦670 million to combat malnutrition and enhance maternal and child health services across the state. This was announced during the official flag-off of the second Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) Week in Kumbotso Local Government Area. Governor Yusuf disclosed that ₦500 million of the funds will serve as counterpart funding to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for various nutrition initiatives aimed at addressing malnutrition among children and pregnant women. Additionally, ₦170 million has been earmarked for the renovation and upgrading of malnutrition treatment and referral centres. Speaking at the event,…

IN a bold step to combat sickle cell anaemia, Kano State Governor Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf is set to commission a state-of-the-art clinic dedicated to providing free, comprehensive care for patients living with the disease. The announcement was made by the Commissioner of Health, Dr. Abubakar Labaran Yusuf, during the flag-off of the 2nd Maternal and Neonatal Week 2024 at Kumbotso Local Government Area. A statement issued by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, revealed that the specialized care center is located at the Murtala Muhammad Specialist Hospital. The facility will offer a wide range of free services, including…

THE economy grew by 3.46 per cent in Q32024, with output reaching ₦20.115 trillion, up from 3.19 per cent (₦18.285 trillion) in Q2 2024, driven mainly by the non-oil sector. This was revealed in the Central Bank of Nigeria’s newly released Economic Report for the third quarter of 2024. The report said inflation moderated during the quarter, reflecting the fall in the food component of the Consumer Price Index basket, and driven by the restrictive monetary policy stance. Domestic crude oil production increased, following enhanced security measures around oil pipeline infrastructure in the Niger Delta region. Despite persisting headwinds, CBN…

OPERATIVES of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a businessman, Olisaka Chibuzo Calistus, at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano State. The suspect, an importer and exporter, was nabbed on Sunday, December 15 with 256 wraps of cocaine weighing 6 kilograms. NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday. “The seizure, which is the single largest interception of cocaine at the Kano airport since the creation of MAKIA Command of NDLEA in 2006 was made on Sunday 15th December 2024 during the inward clearance of passengers on Ethiopian Airlines flight ET 941…

THE House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Compliance has given a seven-day ultimatum to 19 Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of the federal government to honour invitations to appear before various relevant committees of the House or face sanctions. Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Yusuf Ahmed Badau, stated this while speaking to journalists over the weekend on the refusal of MDAs to honour the invitations of various committees of the 10th House on a wide range of issues based on the House resolutions. He said, “Its resolutions are key instruments through which it exercises its oversight functions as enshrined in…

IN a sign of stability in the downstream sector, the Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria, MEMAN, has said that the landing cost of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, also known as petrol declined marginally to N970 in December 2024, from N971 per litre in November 2024. This comes against the backdrop of a similar drop in the crude oil price to $73.77 per barrel, yesterday, from $74 per barrel last week. However, in its daily energy bulletin, obtained by Vanguard, MEMAN, said that the latest landing cost was based on N1,533.57/$ and $73.91 per barrel of crude oil (Brent). However,…

KANO State has been named the overall best state at the 2024 National Agricultural Show held in Nasarawa State. The state also secured second place in the fisheries value chain category at the just concluded national agric show. A statement issued by the Governor’s spokesperson, Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, on Wednesday, revealed that the trophy was presented to Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr. Danjuma Mahmud, during the 22nd State Executive Council Meeting in Kano. Governor Yusuf commended the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources for its outstanding performance under Dr. Mahmud’s leadership.…

THE Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, has predicted dust haze from Wednesday to Friday across the country. NiMet’s weather outlook released on Tuesday in Abuja envisaged moderate dust haze on Wednesday with visibility range from 2Km to 5km in the northern region. According to the agency, localised visibility of less than or equal to 1km is expected throughout the forecast period. ”The North central and the inland areas of the South is expected to be in moderate dust haze with visibility range from 2km to 5km and localised visibility of less than or equal to 1km throughout the forecast period. “Early…

THE Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Dr. Hamid Bobboyi, has implored school leaders to apply the highest levels of emotional intelligence in discharging their leadership responsibilities. Dr Bobboyi made the challenge while declaring open a three-day leadership training workshop for Vice Princplas of UBE Model Smart Schools organised by the UBEC Digital Resource Center atKado-Kuchi, Abuja. The Executive Secretary who spoke through the National Coordinator of the UBEC Digital Resource Center (DRC), Prof. Bashir Galadanci, also used the platform and charged the school managers to mentor and coach young school leaders in the manner that would…

WEST African leaders from the regional group ECOWAS are meeting on Sunday for a summit with security and the departure from the bloc of three military-led governments high on the agenda. Before the Economic Community of West Africa States meeting, Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger reaffirmed as “irreversible” their decision to quit the bloc, which they condemned as subservient to ex-colonial ruler France. The departure of the three could have a major impact on free trade and movement as well as on security cooperation in a region where jihadist groups are gaining ground across the Sahel. Among those attending the…

NIGERIA continues to face cash scarcity despite a significant year-on-year increase of N1.59 trillion in the amount of currency held outside banks. Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s money and credit statistics shows that a substantial proportion of currency in circulation remains outside the banking system, with more than 90 per cent consistently held outside formal financial institutions in 2024. The data revealed that currency outside banks surged to N4.29tn in October 2024, accounting for 94.3 per cent of the total currency in circulation of N4.55tn. This represents a significant year-on-year growth of 59 per cent or N1.59tn from…

POLYTECHNIC lecturers under the aegis of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) have suspended their two-week strike after reaching a new agreement with the Federal Government. The union directed its members to resume work across the country on Monday. In a statement signed by ASUP President, Shammah Kpanja yesterday in Abuja, ASUP explained that the decision to suspend the strike followed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) reached at a conciliation meeting with the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment on December 9. The statement said: “Members of the Union and indeed the general public may recall that our Union…

THE Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Thursday proposed a review of the Permanent Voters Cards (PVCs) as the sole means of accreditation of eligible voters ahead of the 2027 general elections. INEC also seeks reforms to improve the country’s electoral system, following lessons learnt from the 2023 general election and subsequent off-cycle polls. Speaking during a meeting with Resident Electoral Commissioners in Abuja, INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, computer-generated slips issued to the voter or even downloaded from the Commission’s website as sufficient means of accreditation. “The Commission also believes that with the introduction of the Bimodal Voter Accreditation…

A CIVIL servant employed by the Kano State government, Malam Aminu Umar Kofar Mazugal from Dala Local Government Area, returned bundles of U.S. dollars’ worth over N40 million that had been mistakenly left behind by a visitor at the Abubakar Imam Urology Centre in Kano. The money belonged to Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, who accidentally left it in a bag at the hospital’s parking lot near a mosque. He had briefly sat there before rushing off to catch a flight. Minutes after the owner departed, a hospital staff member, Aminu Umar, who was working with colleagues to clear the pavements, discovered…

MOBILE money operators have become a familiar sight across Nigeria, using handy point-of-sale machines to provide essential services to millions of people without access to banking, particularly in hard-to-reach rural areas. Even on the streets of major cities, they have become a go-to, due to an ongoing shortage of cash at ATMs since a much-vilified redesign of the national currency, the naira, last year. “There are three of them (agents) on my street alone,” Chi Etche, a 29-year-old media executive, told this newspaper. “This means I don’t need to take a bike or cab to reach the nearest bank ATM.”…

GOOGLE, Meta, X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Microsoft and social media platforms operating in Nigeria have paid N2.55trn ($1.5billion) in taxes to FG in the first six month of 2024, the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said. NITDA in a statement on Wednesday said data from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that foreign digital companies, including interactive computer service platforms and internet intermediaries operating in Nigeria were now paying their taxes and this had led to significant increase in revenue for the government. “Furthermore, data from the Federal Inland Revenue…

KANO State Governor, Alhaji Abba Kabir Yusuf, has applauded the exceptional academic performance of students sponsored by his administration to pursue higher education in India. During a visit to the students at Sharjah University in India, Governor Yusuf expressed pride in their dedication and accomplishments, describing their success as clear proof of the benefits of investing in education. In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Sunusi Bature Dawakin Tofa, the governor affirmed that the resources allocated to the scholarship program were wisely spent, as the students had surpassed expectations with their remarkable academic results. Governor Yusuf emphasized his administration’s unwavering…

THE Federal Government has said the malaria vaccine will now be part of the national routine immunisation schedule. The development was after it vowed to eliminate Malaria following a loss of $1.1bn annually to the health crisis. Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, the Coordinating Minister for Health & Social Welfare at the inaugural meeting of the Advisory on Malaria Elimination in Nigeria (AMEN) held in Abuja last week, described malaria as not just a health crisis, but also an economic and developmental emergency that must be eliminated. In his remarks, the Coordinating Minister stated that the federal government is resolute in…