Nation
Blasphemy: Police Initiate Peace Talks With Religious Leaders In Borno
Fearing the rising tension occasioned by the murder of a Christian student, Deborah Samuel, in Sokoto State at the weekend, the Borno State Police Command, has initiated a peace talk with some religious leaders and critical stakeholders in the state.
The Tide reliably learnt that the peace-building meeting which took place at the command’s headquarters in Maiduguri late Saturday night through the early hours of yesterday was to forestall any unrest that might disrupt the peace of the already ravaged state of the North-East sub-region.
The Commissioner of Police, Abdu Umar, who convened the meeting at the instance of the state government told newsmen shortly after the meeting, that an intelligence report indicated that certain elements were already gearing up for a shutdown in the city in reaction to the Sokoto State incident but that his personnel, along with other security agencies like the Civil Defence, the DSS, and the military, have been deployed across the state capital to maintain law and order.
“We convened the stakeholders meeting with all religious leaders in the state after meeting with the Deputy Governor, Umar Kadafur, at the government house. The Deputy Governor charged me to call on leaders of the two major religions in the state to speak with their followers on the need to maintain peace and safety in the midst of security challenges confronting Sokoto and threats of retaliation in some states like Kaduna.
“We, in Borno, have suffered our share of security challenges in the past 12 years, as such, we don’t want to go through that experience again, hence, the need to proactively engage the stakeholders to beckon on their followers to sustain the peace being enjoyed at the moment,” Abdu Umar remarked.
“We have not only engaged the religious leaders, the police and other security agencies have, since the unrest started in Sokoto, deployed personnel across the state capital and also stepped up our surveillance. In case of any eventuality or surprise, we are also going to embark on a show of force from Sunday (yesterday) to alert residents that we are active, on alert, and battle-ready to pounce on anybody that will want to attempt to disturb public peace,” the CP said.
On his part, the CAN Chairman Borno State chapter, Bishop Mohammed Naga, during the meeting assured that Christian leaders in the state have been instructed to inform their members to exercise restraint and not take any laws into their hands as God is capable of fighting their battles.
“We, the Christian community in Borno State, have agreed to maintain peace. I have written letters to all the pastors in Borno telling them to inform their members that we don’t want any reaction from them and that they should go about their normal routine activities without any fear of attack.
“We are law-abiding and we have a total submission to the teaching of God as enshrined in the Holy Bible”, Naga stated.
The Muslim leaders in the state led by the Chief Imam pleaded with Borno residents to desist from the temptation of commenting on religious posts on social media, saying those comments are the root causes of the crisis.
According to him, those comments could be inciting and injurious to others which could lead to violent reactions among the populace.
Present at the meeting were the representatives of the Nigerian army, the DSS, NSCDC, State government, Christian and Muslim religious leaders.
Nation
Gombe Opens Bid For Construction Of Three-Arm Zone Project
Gombe State Ministry of Works, Housing and Transportation has opened bids for the construction of three arms zone complexes within the Gombe Capital Special Development Zone which held at the Ministry’s conference hall.
Speaking while presiding over the bid opening proceedings, the Commissioner, Engr. . Usman Maijama’a Kallamu assured the bidders that the bid opening would be carried out using procurement process which is based on specific regulations that are credible, fair, and transparent.
The Commissioner, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alh. Idris Yambiu Buba said that the Ministry will continue to align itself for optimal results in the implementation of government policies and projects in line with Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya’s commitment to bringing development to the State.
While assuring the bidders of a transparent process, the SSA to the Governor on Special Project, Arch. Yakubu Mamman thanked Governor Muhammadu Inuwa Yahaya for his foresight in infrastructural development of the State, adding that government is committed to ensuring that all bidders had an equal chance to participate and compete based on merit to maintain standards and specifications.
Nation
Gov Mbah Signs Bill To Establish Teaching Hospital In Enugu
Governor of Enugu State, Dr Peter Mbah, yesterday, signed the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences (SUMAS) Teaching Hospital Bill 2024 into Law, promising to expedite action to actualise the teaching hospital immediately to provide quality training and healthcare services in the Enugu North part of the State and the State in general.
Mbah, while commending the Enugu State House of Assembly for accelerating action on the processing and passage of the Executive Bill, said that establishing SUMAS Teaching Hospital was in line with his manifesto.
He said, “What we have done by signing into law the Enugu State University of Medical and Applied Sciences Teaching Hospital Bill is that we now have in place a legal framework to immediately begin to put in place all that is required to upgrade SUMAS to a teaching hospital. This is part of our campaign promises and we are committed to delivering on that expeditiously.
“We believe that the importance and significance of siting a teaching hospital in our Enugu North zone can never be lost on us. So, we are not going to spend any time in making sure that everything that is necessary and required to upgrade and get the teaching hospital operational is put in place. With this Law, we are going to redouble our commitment and our efforts to achieve that.”
He assured the Governing Council and the Management of SUMAS of his continued support, adding that his administration would equally be counting on their pedigree and contacts to bring the teaching hospital to fruition in record time.
“We are going to continue to support you and we are also going to continue to count on your experience, network, and profile in raising resources to actualize the project.
“This year alone, we are going to spend 33 per cent of our budget on education. This underscores the importance of education to this administration. So, be sure to come to us whenever there is a need. We are going to support you because we are interested in education and we are investing heavily in it,” he said.
On his part, the Speaker, Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uchenna Ugwu, who also spoke at the Bill signing witnessed by the Chairman of SUMAS Governing Council, Msgr. Obiora Ike, and the Vice Chancellor, Prof. James Ogbonna, and top hierarchies of the institution, commended Governor Mbah’s speed and faithfulness in delivering on his campaign promises. He assured that the House of Assembly was ever ready to fast-track every executive bill that would impact positively on the state and its people.
“We promised we are going to support this administration by doing our job expeditiously to ensure that there is no delay in your delivery of democracy dividends to our people. Therefore, the SUMAS Teaching Hospital Bill received expedited hearing and today you have the signing of the bill into law,” he stated.
Nation
Ododo Applauds Security Agencies Over Rescue Of 43 Bus Passengers
Kogi State Governor, Ahmed Usman Ododo has applauded security agencies in the State for their efforts in the rescue of 43 bus passengers.
The Special Adviser on Media to the Governor, Ismaila Isah disclosed this in a statement yesterday.
The statement noted that the governor welcomed the news of the release of the abducted bus passengers in Okehi Local Government Area of the State and called for sustained collaboration between security agencies and local communities to improve intelligence gathering and prevent crime and criminality in all parts of the state.
Ododo commended the caretaker chairman of Okehi LGA, Mr Amoka Eneji, the Nigeria Police, Nigeria Professional Hunters, Ebira Local Hunters Group and other security agencies for their intervention, which led to the rescue of the passengers who were abducted outside the state.
“Governor Ododo also commends the response of security agencies to the robbery incidence in Felele area of Lokoja and called for more urgency in addressing cases of insecurity in any part of the state.
“The Governor reassured the people of the state that his administration will not relent in its efforts in deploying maximum resources to ensure that all communities in the state remain unsafe for criminal elements.”
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