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THE MANY ROTS MATAWALLE MET IN ZAMFARA

Published

4 years ago

August 18, 2020

Sahara Weekly

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By Abdulkadir Sulaiman

After failing to win in its dirty machinations to create scandal using the former IGP M. D. Abubakar Committee on finding lasting peace to the lingering security crises which they mismanaged for nearly a decade, the dirty side of the opposition in Zamfara state have now jumped to the Education sector.

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From yesterday, a certain video was recorded, allegedly of the Government Science Secondary school Shinkafi where a dilapidated hostel occupied by students was recoded by a certain academic who might have done it in his own way of being a patriot. This is in spite of the fact that no channel of communication was established between the said academic and the state Ministry of education as to what is being done to address the rots in education inherited by Governor Bello Mohammed Administration from the previous administration. However, the way it went viral pointed to the fact that mischief was the backbone behind the said video circulating in the Social media.

When Governor Bello Mohammed took over the administration of Zamfara state last year, he met a multiple of crises especially in the area of security, education and health. The immediate concern was to address the security issues which was at a point of societal breakdown. The first few months of his administration was occupied with addressing this security issue which brought peace to Zamfara State after eight years of escalating banditry which gulped more than 6,000 innocent lives, widowed more than 5,000 women and orphaned more than 25,000 children.

The rot in health and education sector was equally monumental. The hospitals in the state were in a very sorry state. This is in spite of the fact that rural areas do not even have dispensaries to address their primary health demands. Governor Matawalle, in only one year, built and equipped the Kagara hospital and also improved the existing hospitals in the state by providing them with many of their requirements which included drugs and brand new ambulances.

The rural areas were not left behind as Governor Matawalle administration embarked on building a 50-bed primary health hospital for each of the 147 wards in the state which are now in various stages of completion. Similarly, 147 tricycle ambulance are acquired for each of these hospitals to be distributed when these centers are completed. An orthopaedic hospital is also being built at Shinkafi at the cost of over N2 billion.

In the area of education, Governor Bello Mohammed began by addressing the rot in our primary schools. He built and renovated over 1000 classroom blocks in our primary schools across the state along with the provision of their furniture. He employed nearly 600 primary school teachers who were meant to boost the teaching staff of the sector. This is born out of the fact that primary school education is the backbone of the educational system anywhere. He has also built a model primary school at Maradun.

As for secondary school sector, Matawalle administration has started addressing its multiple rot in terms of infrastructure, teaching staff and feeding system. It, however, cannot possibly addressed in only one year? Yes, the renovation of Government Girls Secondary school Kwatarkwashi has been effected while the crooked feeding system of all the secondary schools in the state has been addressed. With the tens of secondary schools and thousands of students in those schools, and each with multiple of decay, in one year, no state Government has the magic to address all the gargantuan rot inherited from many years of maladministration such as the type inherited by Matawalle administration. .

It is in line with his avowed commitment to address the education sector that in the current fiscal provision in the state, education was allocated the highest share of the budget with 19%. It is instructive to note that at the time the Matawalle administration assumed office, graduating secondary school students could not write their SSCE examinations while previous ones were withheld as the state Government owed WAEC and NECO stupendous amount of unpaid fees from previous students examinations. Matawalle administration has taken care of that and the students have collected their withheld results and it is now back to normal with the present set of students.

Indeed, everywhere in Nigeria today, one is bound to find one or two of similar condition as portrayed in that video. But the intent behind this video going round the social media is dead on arrival because it is an unwitting indictment of the previous administration that allowed it to reach this stage and equally failed to address it. There is no magic wand Matawalle can use to address all these multiple rots in only one year he has spent in office. But then, it is clear all Zamfarans that his administration is committed enough to ensure that by the end of its tenure, it has left Zamfara state better than it met it.

Sulaiman writes from Gusau.

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Business

Nigeria Launches New Fiscal Incentives to Revitalise Oil & Gas Sector, Aiming to Attract $10 Billion Investment

Published

8 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Sahara Weekly

Nigeria Launches New Fiscal Incentives to Revitalise Oil & Gas Sector, Aiming to Attract $10 Billion Investment

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… as FG endorses consolidated guidelines

Sahara Weekly Reports That Today, in a move to further revitalise the oil and gas industry’s contribution to the Nigerian Economy, Wale Edun, OFR, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, presided over a signing ceremony at the Federal Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abuja endorsing the Consolidated Guidelines for the implementation of Fiscal Incentives for the Oil & Gas Sector – a cornerstone of the Presidential Directive aimed at enhancing the Nigerian oil & gas sector’s global competitiveness whilst stimulating economic growth.

As disclosed during the signing, the Presidential Directives were developed and coordinated by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen to ensure a competitive framework for the Nigerian oil & gas industry. These Consolidated guidelines for the fiscal incentives are based on extensive collaboration across Finance and Petroleum Ministries and involved several key regulatory bodies including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

According to Mrs. Verheijen, these new measures have been designed to deliver a competitive Internal Rate of Return (IRR) for Oil & Gas Projects and attract over $10 billion in new investments within the next 12-18 months. They also underscore Nigeria’s commitment to reaching its long term oil production target of 4 million barrels per day whilst enhancing the reliability of gas supply for to boost export earnings and fuel Nigeria’s industrialization.

Mrs. Verheijen disclosed that among the guidelines signed were the NUPRC Guideline on Hydrocarbon Liquids Content in a Non-Associated Gas (NAG) Field, essential for accurately categorising and quantifying the hydrocarbon liquid content in these fields. Additional guidelines focused on the applicability of tax credits and allowances for Non-Associated Gas Greenfield Development and the Midstream Capital and Gas Utilization Allowance, providing taxpayers with clarity on the computation of these benefits.

HM Edun, in his remarks, thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for signing the directive in February 2024 to engender growth in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, which had stagnated for over the last decade. He also emphasised the potential of the guidelines, saying, “The idea is to create an atmosphere conducive to international competitiveness such that investment comes in. And in this case, we know it’s foreign direct investment”.

The signing ceremony was attended by various stakeholders, including NNPC Limited, Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and the Independent Petroleum Producers Group (IPPG), further highlighting Nigeria’s unified approach toward reinvigorating its oil and gas sector.

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Education

JUST IN: Government Shuts Down Lead British School Over Student’s Bully (VIDEO)

Published

15 hours ago

April 23, 2024

Sahara Weekly

JUST IN: Government Shuts Down Lead British School Over Student’s Bully (VIDEO)

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Sahara Weekly Reports That The Federal Government has reportedly shut down Lead British School following the bully of a student named Namitira in the Abuja-based institution.

Two videos showing the student reportedly named Namtira being manhandled went viral on social media on Tuesday.

In one of the videos, the victim was seen being slapped repeatedly by another female student while asking “Who broke my heart?”

In another video, the victim was seen sitting next to a male classmate who was heard saying “I spoilt her relationship”.

Furthermore, the minister of women affairs has visited the school to address the situation. In a follow up video recorded this morning, the culprit was seen being slapped by a woman who is said to be the victim’s aunty.

This is the face of the bully, she was brought to the school just now by her parent, the lady who slapped her is the Aunt to the bullied girl, the school has also been shut down for three days and minister of women affairs is there to address the issue,

🎥: Gistlover pic.twitter.com/5M7ocJIlZf

— Pamilerin Adegoke (@UnclePamilerin) April 23, 2024

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news

Meet the Nigerian prophet that prophesied the climatic disaster in Dubai and Oman

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Sahara Weekly

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By Collins Nkwocha

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The prophetic Hall of Fame, prophet Godwin Ikuru of Jehovah Eye Salvation Ministry, Lagos has established himself as a global prophet, giving accurate and precise prophecies to nations, individuals,continents and organisations.

Nigerians will never forget how he enunciated that Tinubu was going to rule Nigeria,a lot of people and prophets made him their enemies and even threatened to him because of that,but God will always fulfil the words of his prophets as Tinubu finally emerged the president despite all the antagonism.

On the 31st of December when this great prophet was dishing out his prophecies for the year 2024,he said categorically and emphatically that the Asian countries will experience a lot of climatic disasters this year.Oman had a very heavy rain that killed 18 people,it included at least nine schoolchildren and their drivers whose vehicle was washed away by the floodwaters.

UAE witnessed the heaviest recorded rainfall in history,this is really alarming as the rainfall caused a lot of havoc.Only the prophetic Hall of fame, prophet Godwin Ikuru saw all these coming.

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