Headlines
Northern Groups condemn monetisation of party delegates
Nasiru Yusuf
The Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG) condemned in strong terms the monetisation of politics and compromise of the party delegates and called for a thorough investigation into how money was used in recent primary elections by aspirants.
KANO FOCUS reports that the spokesperson for the group, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, made the call while addressing a news conference in Kano on Monday.
He said the investigation was necessary so as to find out whether the prescribed protocols as indicated in the Electoral Act was violated or not.
“To categorically state that the operational system by which a negligible few enjoys the sole prerogative for imposing candidates on the larger majority shall never endure and must be utterly rejected,” he said.
He added that the CNG fully supported and welcomed the adoption of the popular demand for the open democratic practice of allowing all eligible candidates from every section of the country, regardless of ethnicity, religion or class, the opportunity to aspire for offices in the various political parties.
“We note, in particular, that the dubiously acquired and arrogantly expended billions of naira by aspirants in, especially, the ruling APC and its main challenger, the PDP, in bankrolling individual aspirations at all the levels, have totally monetised the primary candidates’ selection processes, automatically disqualifying men of honour, character, integrity and merit from the race for 2023 and potentially placed the hopes of this and future generations of Nigerians in the line.
Abdul-Azeez Suleiman flanked by CNG members
“The CNG notes also, in the manner of the primaries conducted by the PDP and the APC, the foundation for a final entrenchment of a culture of making money the deciding factor in Nigerian politics that would serve the purposes of consolidating elite monopoly as well as the political exclusion of the non-elite.
“We are also worried that the glaring impunity with which aspirants to the presidential tickets of, especially, the two major parties, induced their respective party delegates has ultimately left the millions of Nigerian voters with the hard and only choice between two traditional old war horses for the presidency,” the group said.
The Coalition asked northerners to obtain permanent voter cards to enable them vote credible leaders that would address the multifarious challenges bedeviling the region.
This, according to group was necessary because getting Permanent Voter Cards is the surest way to ensuring good governance and leadership that could check the current security and other challenges pervading the region.
“We want to caution the North against voter apathy in the coming elections and to strongly call on northerners to register massively for Permanent Voter Cards as the only sure way of ensuring leadership that will address our limitations.
“We also note, uncomfortably, the likelihood of voter apathy in the North with the current lower participation in the ongoing update of voter registration compared to other parts of the country, hence our decision to call on eligible voters to obtain the card.
“We want to remind the northern voter to be vigilant with the direction of his voting by refusing to be pinned to political party specifics and going for candidates with pronounced credibility, competence, capacity and with the antecedent of impliedly lyrics and expressly identifying with their problems around security, the economy and education.
“We wish to also remind Nigerians of the danger of risking their collective future by not critically assessing and evaluating the credentials of the candidates presented by the parties in terms of capacity, competence, integrity, and merit before making a choice,” Suleiman said.
Also speaking, the leader of the group Nastura Ashir charged Nigerians to vote competent people with track of good record irrespective of party affiliation.
He challenged the notion being expressed on social media that voting a candidate from smaller parties is a waste of vote.
Headlines
Kano insist on holding Tijjjaniyyya Maulid on Saturday, accuses police of disrupting annual event
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Government has alleged that the police attempted to obstruct an annual religious event.
KANO FOCUS reports that the state Commissioner for Information and Internal Affairs, Ibrahim Waiya, refuted earlier claims made by the police that suspected terrorists were planning to target public gatherings in major locations across the state.
Speaking to journalists at the Emir’s Palace on Friday evening, Waiya criticised the police for what he described as an unjustified blockade of the venue for the National Tijjaniyya Maulud, a religious event that has been held annually for 39 years.
He stated, “Kano State, as a historical centre of Islamic scholarship and religious harmony, remains committed to upholding and supporting activities that promote peace, unity, and spiritual growth.”
“This action is not only unnecessary but also unjustified, as there has been no report of any security threat in Kano State that would warrant such an extreme measure. The presence of security operatives at the venue of this significant religious activity is unwarranted and unacceptable.”
He affirmed that, despite the police’s actions, the Maulud would go ahead as planned at Kofar Mata Stadium. He assured attendees that the state government was committed to ensuring the event proceeded without any disruptions.
He stated, “The National Tijjaniyya Maulud will be held as planned from 8:00 AM at Kofar Mata Stadium. This religious gathering is organized by a legitimately registered and recognized body, and any attempt to obstruct it would be a violation of the citizens’ right to lawful assembly and religious practice in Nigeria.”
He called on the federal government to withdraw its security agencies from the venue immediately, stressing that Kofar Mata Stadium belonged to the state.
“There is no justification for any external force to obstruct a legitimate religious gathering. “Kano State has always been a beacon of peace and religious tolerance, and we will not accept any form of intimidation or undue interference in our internal affairs,” he said.
Earlier on Friday, the police warn Kano residents of possible terrorist attacks in public gatherings in strategic locations within the state.
United Nations Children Education Find (UNICEF) has urged the Kano state government to increase appropriation release on education, adding that this would help in reducing out-of-school children bedeviling the state.
KANO FOCUS reports that Rahama Rihood Mohammed Farah, Chief of UNICEF Field Office Kano, made the appeal at a press conference marking this year’s International Day of Education in Kano on Friday.
UNICEF pointed out that the northwest region has the second-highest rates of children out of school, and the situation is worsened in Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina states, where even children who are enrolled in school are facing poor learning outcomes.
“There are currently about 10.2 million children at the primary level are out of school in Nigeria, 16 per cent of them are from Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states, according to MICS 2021.
“Close to one million children are out of school in Kano state( 989,234); a total of 337,861 out of school children are in Jigawa, while Katsina state has 536,112 out of school children,” Farah said, adding that 32% of primary school going age children were out of school in Kano state.
He said: “While the spectre of Out of School Children (OOSC) is a major concern, the challenge is that even those children who have the opportunity to be enrolled in school are not having quality education.
“Only 1 out of 4 children in Nigeria, aged 7-14 years can read and understand a simple sentence or solve basic arithmetic, according to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS 2021) report.
“Across Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states, this challenge is staggering: Tests conducted by the Federal Ministry of Education in 2022 found that Foundational Learning rates stand at 11 per cent or lower in the three states of Kano, Jigawa and Katsina.
“Although Kano figures appear better at 9.6% for reading proficiency, and 11.2% for numeracy, these figures are way lower than the national averages of 26% per cent for Reading proficiency and 25% for Numeracy respectively.”
The theme for the 2025 International Day of Education was given as: “AI and Education: Preserving Human Agency in a World of Automation.”
UNICEF said the 2025 IDE conference was organised to leverage the advocacy moment of the IDE to highlight the significance of education and its role in fostering a well-informed, inclusive, and peaceful society.
Farah mentioned inadequate funding of the education sector, dissruptive impact of climate change on learning as other challenges confronting education in the country, particularly in the north.
He said UNICEF was supporting basic education in Kano, Jigawa and Katsina states through cash transfers, tree planting campaigns, enrollment drives, supply of learning materials, building of schools and improvement of teachers’ capacities among other interventions.
The Kano state Government under the able leadership of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf has announced it decision to revisit the abandoned trailer park projects in Kano south zonal.
The decision was announced by Gov. Abba Kabir Yusuf through his spokesperson Sanusi Bature after an unscheduled to the Dakatsalle site of one of the abandoned projects.
According to the statement, these trailer park projects were initiated by the Rabiu Kwankwaso administration in 2014 at Dakatsalle, Gundutse and Dawanau but they were abandoned the immediate past administration of Ganduje.
The Governor who lamented the rampant blockage of road by heavy duty vehicles creation unneccesary hardship to road users within the metropolis, said the decision to revive the projects particularly at Gundutse and Dakatsalle in Kano South.
“It was unpatrotic for the immediate past administration to have vandalised the third location of these projects in Dawanau, which was expected to serve Kano north but the project site has allocated plots to members of thier families and cronies.” Gov. Yusuf lamented
The Governor further stated that the reasons for resustsiting were for maintaining of safety, ease vehicular movement and economic development.
Sanusi Bature Dawakin Tofa added that the Governor has directed all relevant agencies to ensure strict compliance of road traffic and ensure that no major road is blocked by any gathering including Friday mosques within and outside the Kano city.
Similarly, the Governor has revocked all lands allocated within the two trailer parks in Kano south (Gundutse and Dakatsalle) as part of the plan to revisit the projects.
It could be recalled that the projects were handed over to National Association of Road Transport Owners (NATO) to operate after completions
Sanusi Bature DawakinTofa
Director General, Media and Publicity, Government House, Kano.
Kano insist on holding Tijjjaniyyya Maulid on Saturday, accuses police of disrupting annual event
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Kano Govt. Set to Resit Trailer Park Projects at Dakatsalle, Gundutse
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