Kano spends N278m to marry off 1,111 women

Kano State government has said that it spent a whooping N278. 270 million to facilitate the wedding of 1,111 couples under the fourth phase of its divorcees, widows and spinsters mass marriage programme.
This translates to an average of N250, 468. 046 per couple.

Addressing the couples at a civic reception organized by the state government, Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso stated that the money was used to procure furniture, textile materials, foodstuff as well as provide grants for the brides and other essential items. Kwankwaaso who described the event as unprecedented in the history of the West African sub-region, further stressed that the marriage programme was initiated to help people strengthen the family institution and halt social crimes in the society, most of which were as a result of erosion of family values.

He maintained that his administration also initiated a special family orientation programme aimed at preventing and minimizing the rising cases of divorce in the state in addition to evolving capacity building programmes especially for women to enable them support their families. Also during the occasion, the governor signed into law the Street Begging Bill 2013, which prohibited children and adults from begging on the streets and other public places. The Governor said that violation of the law and other laws against human trafficking would attract stiff penalties. He, however, pointed out that a special empowerment programme for the physically challenged would be introduced, in order to cushion the effect of the law. According to him, 2, 205 people with disabilities in the state had been been selected for training that would suit their individual capacities.

Meanwhile, Governor Kwankwaso has handed over 20 cottage industries refurbished by the government to women cooperative groups as well as distributed empowerment packages to the beneficiaries. In a speech during the hand over ceremony, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs, Dr. Binta Jibril, said the government’s empowerment programmes for women had not only helped to promote stable family units, but also helped to provide multiplier effects on the gross domestic product of the state.

“Indeed, experts have already forecast that if these and similar efforts at capacity building and empowerment are sustained, the disposable income of Kano State will surely catch up with that of Lagos in a short time,” she added. On his part, the Commander–General of Kano Hisbah Board, Sheikh Aminu Daurawa, who spoke extensively on the mass wedding, explained that 60 Christian couples were among those who were wedded.

The occasion was attended by eminent personalities from within and outside the country including the Emir of Ningi, Alhaji Haruna Muhammad Danyaya, who represented the Sultan of Sokoto, the representative of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Abbas Sunusi, Shaikhs Dahiru Bauchi, Yusuf Sambo Rigachikun, Sheikh Abubakar bin Salah Al-Makki of Jam’iyyatul Birr Foundation of Saudi Arabia and Madame Ben Wahab Aichatou from Tattalin Iyali Foundation of Niger republic.

No regrets leaving PDP for APC — Kwankwaso

Governor Kwankwaso

Barely a week after defecting from the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State has said that he has left PDP for good and has no regrets jumping ship.

The governor said if the Presidency invites him for any meeting henceforth, he would be attending such parleys in his capacity as an APC governor and not that of PDP.

The governor explained that he decided to leave PDP because neither the Presidency nor the leadership of the party had ever shown any modicum of respect to him or his office as a governor. Kwankwaso told Vanguard in an interview that despite winning election twice as governor and working hard to promote PDP, the Presidency had never consulted him over any matter of appointing any Kano native into any post in Nigeria.

The governor explained that contrary to the insinuation that he left PDP to actualise his presidential ambition, he joined APC to work for the overall interest and progress of Nigeria. The governor maintained that although all the seven governors are qualified to be president, they were not going there to contest presidential election but to help the new party win election and reposition Nigeria. Kwankwaso said: “In my political history, I have never seen a decision that is so popular with my people. We are here in APC to strengthen democracy and to make sure that it works in this country.  

‘I want respect’

“I want to be respected while I win election or when I am appointed into an office. At the same time, I want to be respected when I am out of office. “They want to win election and they need us to be able to do so. We are respected in APC. Right from the time they started talking with us, they have shown respect. “All of them realised they need us. We realised that these are the people we want. They can form a formidable party to win election and challenge anti-people forces in this country. Reminded that the Federal Government could use its might to frustrate the switch-over to the new party, Kwankwaso said that he did not care about what his opponents were planning, as he had nothing to fear in his political career. He said: “I don’t care what is done.

I am not afraid to speak the truth. Politicians must be on their toes and nobody should sit down and claim that all is well.  

‘Nigerians will soon flock to APC’

“The issue we are in now is that of those going to APC and those not going. But let me tell you that in a short while you will see a mass movement of Nigerians flocking into APC. “I am not afraid. I don’t see any decision I have taken in recent years that I so strongly believe in like this APC. I believe that it is a step in the right direction that will help this country.” On the suspicion that he was going over to APC to actualise his presidential bid, the governor said there was no truth in it.

Kwankwaso said: “Let me say that they are saying the same thing about all the seven governors. People are saying the same thing about the other governors. Let it be put on record that all the governors have the capacity and cognate experience to rule this country. “I have never gone into any party with any mindset on any particular position.

So I am not going to APC to be president or anything, but to build the party and to ensure that it wins election in Kano and Nigeria. “We are connected to many other states and we want to win elections in Nigeria. “I am connected to every local government in this country. My impact will be felt anywhere we are because many of the people have worked closely with me in different capacities.”

PDP plots impeachment of G-7 Governors

Ex-PDP Governors

The Peoples Democratic Party is plotting to influence state lawmakers to impeach five governors who defected to the opposition All Progressives Congress last week.

SUNDAY PUNCH’s investigations in Abuja on Friday showed that the ruling party would soon set up committees to lobby members of the houses of assembly to impeach the governors.

The governors who defected are Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State. Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano; AbdulFatah Ahmed of Kwara; Murtala Nyako of Adamawa and Aliyu Wamako of Sokoto State.

However, Niger State Governor, Babangida Aliyu, and his Jigawa State counterpart, Sule Lamido, who are also among the PDP rebel governors, said that they had not left the ruling party. Nevertheless, the two governors have remained vocal about their displeasure with the state of the PDP.

It was learnt that the committee in each of the states would work out modalities to get members of the houses of  assembly loyal to the PDP to move against the five governors. It was also gathered that the impeachment plot, which members of the National Working Committee, had been considering since the governors joined the APC on Tuesday, would be formally adopted at the committee’s emergency meeting on Monday.

In addition to lobbying for the removal of the governors, the committees are also to be tasked with the responsibilities of ensuring that the PDP members in the state houses of assembly remain in the party.

Then again, a senior party official who spoke on the condition of anonymity told our correspondent that the party had not completely shut its door against the governors who defected. It was learnt that President Goodluck Jonathan, at today’s (Sunday) meeting with the rebel governors’, would appeal to those who had defected to the APC to change their minds. But the source added that the impeachment plan would be set in motion if the President’s appeal was not heeded.

The source said, “This plan is going to form part of the deliberations during the emergency meeting of the party’s National Working Committee on Monday.

“The plan is to set up a committee made up of trusted members of the party in the affected states to identify loyal party members in the houses of assembly to maintain the party’s hold. These governors cannot have their cake and eat it.

“If we are able to get the majority of the lawmakers in any of the states to support us, the house of assembly in such a state will commence impeachment proceedings against the state governor.” The party confirmed to one of our reporters that it was considering how to deal with those who used its platform to get to office and later ditched it.

The National Legal Adviser of the party, Mr. Victor Kwom, who disclosed this via the telephone, on Thursday, said the party had not foreclosed any of the options available to it. While responding to inquiries on whether the party would seek the removal of the affected governors from office, Kwom said “We have not foreclosed any angle on this matter. We are considering all options.”

When contacted, spokesman for the Sokoto State governor, Mr. Sani Umar, said his principal was out of the country, adding that he was not in a position to respond to any inquiry on the issue. His counterpart in Adamawa State, Ahmad Sajoh, on behalf of Governor Murtala Nyako said, “Everyone has a destiny and it walks towards you. You cannot change it. Let them do their worst and God will choose the best for the faithful.”

The spokesman for the Kano State governor, Baba Dantiye said, “Let’s wait and see what happens on Sunday.”

The Presidency however, said President Goodluck Jonathan was not interested in removing any governor. The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters, Mr. Ahmed Gulak, said this in an interview with one of our correspondents, on Friday.

The presidential aide said, “Mr. President is not interested in removing any governor from office. He is a democrat who believes strongly in the liberty of individuals to join any political party of their choice.

“The President has said many times that he is open to peace talks but he will not force anybody to remain in the party.

“If you no longer like the party, you can leave but what we are telling them is that there is nothing outside the party. They can ask those who left before them and had to return. “If they leave the PDP, there are people who are willing to take over the party structures in their states and build them to formidable levels.

Reacting to the impeachment moves, the Interim National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Lai Mohammed, said: “Of course we are not in doubt that the PDP/Presidency will now unleash all its formidable persecuting agencies such as the police, EFCC, ICPC, FCT planning authorities etc, to destabilise these governors.

“The governors of these five states enjoy the confidences of their various legislative houses and as such there is absolutely no fear of impeachment. However, we are convinced that the PDP/Presidency will foment trouble in those states to create chaos and declare state of emergency but I can assure you they won’t succeed.

“Rest assured that any attempt by the PDP/Presidency to thwart or frustrate the fusion will be gallantly resisted by us.”

In the same vein, the spokesperson of the New PDP, Mr. Chukwuemeka Eze, said there was no way the 

governors could be removed.

Eze said though he heard about the moves by the Tukur-led PDP, to consider the legal option, he expressed optimism that such an attempt would fail. Eze said, “We have heard that. It won’t work at all, and that is the truth. Don’t forget that the PDP itself had benefitted from other political parties when it threw its doors open to other governors from both the All Nigeria Peoples Party and the Progressive People’s Alliance. So, it is payback time.

“The PDP is now reaping from the fruit it planted. We are now serving them from the food they cooked, and in bigger measure.”

Besides, Eze said that the Supreme Court had settled the issue in the case of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and the Federal Government when the former VP left the ruling party to contest the presidential election on the platform of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria in 2007.

“So any case the PDP files against these distinguished Nigerians would end up as an academic exercise,” Eze added.

Sharia police smash 240,000 bottles of beer in Kano

Police enforcing Islamic law in Nigeria's city of Kano publicly destroyed some 240,000 bottles of beer on Wednesday, the latest move in a wider crackdown on behaviour deemed "immoral" in the area.

The banned booze had been confiscated from trucks coming into the city in recent weeks, said officials from the Hisbah, the patrol tasked with enforcing the strict Islamic law, known as sharia.

Kano's Hisbah chief Aminu Daurawa said at the bottle-breaking ceremony he had "the ardent hope this will bring an end to the consumption of such prohibited substances". A large bulldozer smashed the bottles to shouts of "Allahu Ahkbar" (God is Great) from supporters outside the Hisbah headquarters in Kano, the largest city in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north. Kegs containing more than 8,000 litres of a local alcoholic brew called "burukutu" and 320,000 cigarettes were also destroyed. "We hope this measure will help restore the tarnished image of Kano," said Daurawa.

Since September, the Hisbah have launched sweeping crackdowns and made hundreds of arrests in Kano following a state-government directive to cleanse the commercial hub of so-called "immoral" practices.
The 9,000-strong moral police force works alongside the civilian police but also has other duties, including community development work and dispute resolution.

Sharia was reintroduced across northern Nigeria in 2001, but the code has been unevenly applied.
Alcohol is typically easy to find in Kano, including at hotels and bars in neighbourhoods like Sabon Gari, inhabited by the city's sizeable Christian minority. But the Hisbah boss vowed that this was set to change.

"We hereby send warning to unrepentant offenders that Hisbah personnel will soon embark on an operation into every nook and corner of (Kano) state to put an end to the sale and consumption of alcohol and all other intoxicants," Daurawa said.
 
People accused of engaging in prostitution and homosexual sex have been among those arrested in the latest crackdown, along with alleged drunks and drug addicts. Nigeria is divided between a mostly Christian south and a predominately Muslim north.