Kwara State Government has received N7,151,142,190 grants from the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), the first time since 2013 when the state was blacklisted from the national scheme.

The UBEC grants are meant for rehabilitation of dilapidated basic schools, construction of new ones, equipment of the schools with ICT tools, training of teachers, and project evaluation, among other purposes contained in the UBEC work plan.

In a statement on Thursday, the state’s Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Fatimah Bisola Ahmed, said the development represents “a historic feat” for Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq “who has spent the last one year working to reposition basic education in the state, beginning with the payment of N450m diverted funds which had brought Kwara State under the hammer of the UBEC”.

“The N7.1bn is a cumulation of UBEC grants that were not accessed between 2014 and 2019. The money was not accessed because the former administration failed to pay its own counterpart funds,” the commissioner said.

“This money would be spent in phases over the next two years to fix up to 600 elementary schools out of the over 1400 decrepit basic education facilities across the state. The projects would be monitored by UBEC to ensure compliance with the work plan submitted by the government.

“This development has taken Kwara State out of the bottom position in the ranking of states with highest figures of outstanding UBEC grants. The pitiful state of basic education infrastructure in the state is a reflection of the failure to access UBEC funds and the near-zero investments in the sector over the past few years.”

The government, meanwhile, is organising a three-day workshop for local contractors and anyone who is interested in working with the Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KW-SUBEB).

The workshop begins on Tuesday November 9, 2020. Further details will be released, Ahmed said.

“In compliance with the Public Procurement Act 2007, the KWSUBEB will be inviting interested registered, competent, capable and reputable contractors to submit their pre-qualification document to tender,” the statement added.

The House of Representatives, on Thursday, refused to consider the 2021 budget proposed by the Ministry of Aviation as relevant documents were submitted to the Committee on Aviation barely an hour to the defence session.

The committee had earlier on Monday asked the Federal Government to suspend the plan to concession airports until all issues raised in the various petitions against the move had been addressed.

The lawmakers had also condemned Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, for failing to appear before it earlier on Monday.

Though Sirika appeared before the committee on Thursday, the lawmakers still dismissed him for failing to submit budget details on time.

Chairman of the committee, Nnolim Nnaji, in his opening remarks, decried that the documents were made available to lawmakers less than two hours to the meeting.

Nnaji said, “Honourable Minister, l don’t know how you expect us to continue this meeting since we just got your 2021 budget proposal this morning despite giving you over a week notice, so that we can read through and digest it before today. I am not blaming you for this but l must say that I am disappointed in those who ought to have handled this but failed to do their jobs. For us to do a proper job, we need time to read through.”

Members of the committee also criticised the ministry for the lateness.

A member, Aminu Suleiman, stated that engagements on a budget go beyond instant presentation and comprehension as the lawmakers need to study the content to make useful inputs.

Suleiman said, “If we proceed to take this, it presupposes that we know very little about our work. How can an exercise of this nature be conducted with an on-the-spot presentation of reports? We have to tell ourselves the truth.

“We ask the minister and the agencies to come back; it is not intended to denigrate their persons, it is intended to equip us to do this job so that Nigerians will begin to take us seriously. We should have the opportunity to digest the report, make contributions, and assist the ministry even beyond what is presented in the envelope. If we don’t have that, truly speaking, we are not even helping the Ministry at all.”

Another member, Ndukwe Nkole, consequently moved a motion that “the minister go back with the documents, do the necessary tidying up and come back to us for appropriate legislative engagement.”

The motion was unanimously adopted by the committee.

The committee, therefore, adjourned the session till Thursday next week, after Sirika appealed for a change of the Wednesday date earlier proposed by the lawmakers.

The minister said, “(My) first apology, Mr Chairman, is that I and the committee, as represented by you, fixed a date for concession hearing and that date coincided with the date that Mr President said we should all go back home for the #EndSARS protest. A new date was agreed between you and me and that date, unfortunately, fell on Eid-Maulud on Thursday. And then, yet, again, another date was set and that date was the date that the Senate had put for (public hearing on) the aviation bills that have been on for about five years. I like to tender (my) apology to this committee which I served between 2003 and 2007.

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday said his Chief of Staff, Prof Ibrahim Gambari, would be leading senior government officials to various parts of the country for engagements as parts of the efforts to address the concerns raised by #EndSARS protesters.

He also urged traditional rulers across the country to assist his regime in pacifying the protesting youths, saying he had heard their cries and was attending to their concerns.

According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the President spoke while receiving a delegation of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji  Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The statement was titled, “President Buhari calls for support of traditional rulers in addressing demands of Nigerian youths.”

Adesina quoted the President as emphasising the imperative of support of traditional rulers in his regime’s determination to address the demands of the youth.

“We have heard the loud cries of our youths and children, and we are attending to their concerns.

“To succeed in all of this, we would require your support and voice to help amplify the message. Your proximity to the people places you in a unique position to communicate and ensure that our response is targeted and impactful,” the presidential spokesman quoted Buhari as telling the monarchs.

Describing their “role as guardians of our traditional values and culture” as most critical, the President urged them not to compromise their neutrality “because this is what significantly confers on you, your moral authority and legitimacy.”

He said Gambari would lead senior government officials to various parts of the country “and directly engage with you as part of this process. He will be reporting back to me on your various perspectives.

“I want to once again thank you for the role you all have played to calm down our youth with wisdom and authority. By instilling hope and keeping the peace, you have rendered the country great service.”

While receiving the recommendations of the traditional rulers, he promised to study them and take appropriate action.

Adesina said Buhari had earlier drawn the attention of the monarchs to the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic on the world.

Depot And Petroleum Products Marketers Association Of Nigeria (Dappman) Has Urged The Federal Government Of Nigeria To Take A Further Step Towards Full Deregulation Of The Downstream Sector, Saying It Will Enhance National Economic Growth.

Dappman Chairman, Winifred Akpani, Said The Association Remained In Full Support Of The Implementation Of A Fully Deregulated Regime Which Would Make The Downstream Sector’s Operations More Seamless, Enhance Transparency, Competitiveness In The Sector.

Petroleum Products’ Pricing And Regulatory Agency (Pppra) Had Last Week Introduced A New Price Regime, Hiking The Depot’s Pump Price Of Petrol To N151.

Consequently, Independent Marketers Hiked The Pump Price Of Petrol In Downstream Sector From N148 To N162. And Consumers Who Are Nigerians Have Continued To React To This New Development.

Troops of Operation Sahel Sanity have eliminated five bandits who attacked Diskuru village in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State.

During the operation, the operatives rescued three women and their infants abducted by the criminals.

Disclosing this during a briefing in Abuja on Thursday on the military operations across the country, the Coordinator, Defence Media Operations, Maj. Gen. John Enenche, noted that a soldier lost his life while rescuing a nursing mother.

He stated, “The period in focus witnessed a decline in criminal activities in the zone. However, within the period under review, troops of Operation Sahel Sanity reacted swiftly to a distress call about bandits who attacked Diskuru village in Faskari Local Government Area of Katsina State.

“The gallant troops engaged the criminals in a fierce firefight forcing them to withdraw in disarray while three bandits were neutralized by the troops as several others escaped with various degrees of gunshot wounds.

“During the exploitation phase, two additional bandits’ bodies were discovered along their withdrawal route. Equally, three women and their infants earlier kidnapped by the bandits were rescued. Regrettably, one brave soldier paid the supreme price in an attempt to save one of the rescued nursing mothers in the heat of the encounter.”

In the same vein, Enenche said the troops deployed at Dan Ali village arrested two suspected bandits’ collaborators, Samaila Usman and Idi Bello.

Similarly, troops of Operation Hadarin Daji equally arrested two suspected bandit collaborators at Yarkirya village and Kankara Market in Kankara LGA.

Enenche also said the Forward Operating Base Kango patrol team on October 31 arrested two suspected bandits at Kango village in Maru LGA of Zamfara State.

The troops of Whirl Punch were also said to have repelled bandits at Bassa village in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State during which several criminals were killed.