The committee, which is made up of 13 members, was set up by the Kaduna Assembly in April.

The panel is tasked with looking at loans, grants, and project implementation from 2015 to 2023—the period in which El-Rufai was governor of the state.

Suraj Bamalli, the media aide to Yusuf Liman, speaker of the Kaduna Assembly, announced the development in a statement on Tuesday.

“The ad hoc committee set up to conduct a comprehensive fact-finding into financial dealings, the status of executed contracts, loans, grants, and project implementation from 2015–2023 has commenced its clarification session,” the statement reads.

“The committee has engaged in detailed discussions with several key present and past government officials, including former Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Honorable Manzo Maigari; former KADPPA Boss and Commissioner of Budget and Planning, Honorable Thomas Gyang, Commissioner and Administrator of Zaria Metropolitan Authority, Hajia Balaraba Aliyu, amongst others.

“The Kaduna State House of Assembly appreciates the cooperation and contributions of all individuals involved in this process and assures the public of their dedication to upholding the highest standards of governance during this process.”

The Kaduna governor said the huge debt burden is eating deep into the state’s share of the monthly federation allocation.

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Alhaji Ahmed Alaramma, the National Chairman, Tomato Crates Dealers Association, made the threat at a press briefing in Zaria, Kaduna State, on Sunday.

He said the incident that occurred at Oke-Odo market in Lagos, led to the destruction of over 60,000 empty tomato crates.

Alaramma, who is also the National Secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Food Stuff and Cattle Dealers of Nigeria, explained that the raffia basket was initially used for conveying tomatoes to the south, the raffia basket caused more damage.

He added that the plastic crates were introduced to mitigate the damage and waste while conveying fresh tomatoes from the north to the south of Nigeria.

“Over 70 members of the association rent out the crates to tomato dealers across the country; we have over 60,000 crates that were about to be returned to the market during the turmoil.

“These crates were burnt by the area boys during the clash and the area boys prevented our people from quenching the fire. We have video evidence and other proof supporting our claims,” the Chairman said.

According to him, each empty crate cost N6,000; therefore, members lost over N360 million in investment.

He appealed to the federal government, Lagos state government and other relevant stakeholders to look into this and compensate the association to cushion the effect of the damage.

He said the association was already in touch with its legal team over available legal remedies in the event of unfavorable response from the government.

“If nothing is done, we will have no option than to cut supply of tomatoes to Lagos over this incident,” Alaramma said.

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The telecommunication masts include MTN servers at Tafawa Balewa road, Surami road, Etsu road, Globacom server at Shehu Laminu road, and a general mast (ATC) at Unguwan Rimi, Nagwamatse road, which serve various communication services.

KADIRS also sealed the Mudassir and Brothers (Mudatex) textile materials outlet at Ahmadu Bello Way due to an outstanding amount of N5.2 million for signpost advertisements.

The agency also sealed Al-Babello Trading Company Ltd., known for selling roofing sheets, iron rods, and other building materials at Panteka Market, due to unpaid dues for signpost advertisements.

Speaking to journalists on Thursday, Aysha Ahmad, board secretary and legal adviser of KADIRS, said the exercise aimed to ensure compliance among companies that fail to discharge their civic duty of tax payment.

“As usual, we are left with no option but the powers vested in us by the law to enforce compliance. This is why we are restraining on the premises,” Ahmad said.

She said that KADIRS takes no pleasure in sealing properties or business premises of tax defaulters, adding that tax payment is a civic duty of every citizen.

She urged residents of the state to prioritise voluntary tax compliance, describing it as a fundamental civic duty.

Also speaking, Shamsuddeen Lere, the legal adviser of the Kaduna State Urban Planning Development Authority (KASUPDA), said both agencies had issued notices to the defaulters which they refused to comply with.

Lere said the funds rightfully belong to the state government and pledged to go after all tax defaulters.

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Speaking at Murtala Square, Kaduna, on Wednesday, Suleiman said the last time a governor personally attended the rally was nine years ago.

“Your Excellency, we want to thank you for personally attending the May Day Celebration. Labour has not witnessed the presence of a governor at such an occasion in the last nine years,” he said.

Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Sani’s predecessor, spent two terms of eight years as governor.

While commending the governor for prioritizing workers’ welfare through prompt payment of salaries and allowances, as well as involvement of the labour unions in decision making in the state, the NLC Chairman expressed hope that workers would enjoy favorable working conditions.

In his speech, the governor assured the workers of his support, saying development is about the people, just as governance is also about the people.

He said governors were working with the NLC to come up with decent and acceptable pay for workers.

The government under my leadership will continue to prioritize workers’ welfare and equip them appropriately within available resources, conscious of the fact that a committed and motivated workforce is critical to the achievement of our Rural Transformation Agenda. Human capital development and poverty reduction will continue to receive robust government attention through investment in education, health, agriculture, housing, micro, small, and medium enterprises, as well as support for security agencies as they tackle terrorism, banditry, kidnapping, and other violent crimes.

“Nigerian governors, under the platform of the Nigeria Governors Forum, are in consultation with Labour unions at the federal and state levels in order to come up with a decent and acceptable salary increase for state and local government workers. As a comrade and veteran of the struggle for better working conditions for Nigerian workers, I will not rest on my oars until we agree on a wage package that will put smiles on the faces of our workers.

“As we ramp up our Rural Transformation Drive and implement innovative programmes to reinvent our economy, we seek the cooperation and total commitment of Kaduna State workers. Increased productivity and sustained industrial harmony will help reposition our economy and put our government in good stead to frontally tackle our myriad security and developmental challenges.”

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Mustafa Sugungun, managing director of KRPC, spoke on Monday when members of the senate ad hoc committee on petroleum downstream, led by Ifeanyi Ubah, paid an oversight visit to the refinery.

He said the 110,000-barrel-per-day refinery would begin operating at 60 percent capacity by the end of the year, adding that full production would follow subsequently.

Sugungun added that the rehabilitation work, which is currently at 40 percent, is expected to be completed within the allotted period.

“Our rehabilitation is going on well and steadily according to the plan we have. We are planning to bring this plant to 60 percent nominal capacity by December 31st, 2024,” he said.

“Currently, we are heading towards 40 percent of rehabilitation. We remain committed to bringing back the plant to at least 60 percent of its nominal capacity.

“The overall capacity of Kaduna Refinery is 110, 000 barrels per day, but we are starting with only 60 percent of that. And in less than one year, we will attain the 110,000 capacity.

“So this initial plant operation is for 60 percent Nigerian crude and 50,000 barrels of imported crude. Imported crude is mainly for lubricants and other petrochemical aspects of it.”

In his remarks, Ubah said the oversight visit was part of President Bola Tinubu and the national assembly’s joint effort to guarantee that all of the country’s refineries are restarted to end imported petroleum products.

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Speaking to newsmen on the high cost of foodstuff in the country, he said the people of Bafarawa usually seek permission from bandits before going to farm.

The politician told journalists that bandits were the ones who decided which farm to cultivate or not in his community.

“I used to have farmland that was over 10,000 hectares in Birni Gwari, Kaduna State. I have been cultivating that land since 1979, but I cannot reach it now because of the bandits.”

“The maize I produced at that time was in such commercial quantity that I used part of it for my flour mill, which is also out of production. The issue of insecurity is behind the high cost of food items because many farmers have been displaced.

“There was a time I warned the federal government about the impending food insecurity in the country but my advice was ignored,” he said

He called for genuine collaborative efforts between the federal government, state and the local government to tackle insecurity, particularly in the north. “The state governments cannot do it alone without the support of the federal government,” he said

On the general situation in the country, Bafarawa cautioned leaders on the need to wake up before it is too late to save the situation.

On whether he has quit active politics, he said he would remain in politics but would not hold any political appointments.

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Announcing the election results, Saidu Shehu, GOSIEC chairman, said out of 19 registered political parties, only five participated in the election.

”The parties that participated are APC, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Accord, Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) and Young Progressives Party (YPP),” he said.

“APC cleared the 11 local government areas, including Kaltungo and Shongom where the party won unopposed.

“Other parties didn’t have candidates for the councillorship seats; candidates of the APC were returned elected.”

The newly elected and returned local government council officials are to be sworn in by Inuwa Yahaya, governor of the state, on Monday.

Meanwhile, the Gombe state chapter of the PDP was said to have rejected the outcome of the exercise, alleging that it was a “distortion of democracy and mere drama.”

The party added that it is planning on what appropriate redress mechanisms to use.

PDP WINS ALL SEATS IN OYO

In the same vein, the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) has announced that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) won all chairmanship seats in the 33 LGAs in the council polls held on Saturday.

The results were announced at the conference hall of the commission in Agodi, Ibadan, the state capital.

However, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state described the council election as a sham capable of causing the state untold disrepute.

There are allegations that election did not take place in some wards in Ibadan north, Ibadan south-west, and some parts of Saki in the Oke Ogun axis of the state.

Additional reports by Akinade Feyisayo

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Three other victims reportedly sustained various degrees of injuries from the incident.

Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency publication focused on the Lake Chad region, reports that eight of the victims died instantly after they stepped on a landmine suspected to have been planted by ISWAP on Saturday.

The victims were reportedly on their way to Maiduguri from Gamborun Ngala.

The publication said the wounded victims were evacuated to the hospital, while the CJTF members who died were taken to their families for burial arrangements.

On April 21, troops of the Nigerian Army (NA) destroyed a bread factory at an ISWAP hideout in Borno.

In January, three ISWAP commanders and 22 other members of the terrorist group were reportedly killed in military air strikes in the state.

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The non-stop Intensified clashes of supremacy, which raged between April 24 and 25, 2024, has led to the dislodgment of the Boko Haram rival faction from several Islands previously seized from the ISWAP groups.

According to Zagazola Makama, a counter-insurgency Insurgency Expert and Security Analyst in the Lake Chad region, shortly after the terrorist encounter in Kukawa axis, on April 24, 2024, ISWAP mobilized to reinforce its fighters stationed at Tumbum Allura, recaptured recently from JAS elements who desired to carry out reprisals to recover the island.

The sources said ISWAP fighters were also moved from Sabon Tumbu and Kirta Wulgo towards Tumbum Allura, Daban Wanzam, Abuja Ruwa with over 30 boxes of suspected ammunition and weapons.

The intense clashes resumed as ISWAP launched another attack on Boko Haram at Tudun ShawakkiI, Tumbum Bakwarram, Mallam Basiru and Kwaleram killing several Boko Haram fighters.

On April 25, ISWAP launched another attack on the positions of Boko Haram at Kandahar and Tumbum Ali Island in Marte LGA. The gunfight ensued from 1am to 5 a.m. on Friday, April 26, 2024.

The ISWAP eventually gained the upper hand against the Boko Haram, killing over 70 of them and capturing several others alive with their weapons.

The incessant, and ever worsening, clashes between ISWAP and Boko Haram have continued to provide ample opportunities for government security forces to seize, and craft strategies to exterminate the two rival groups and stamp out the terror scorching the Lake Chad Basin.

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