By Abbas Yushau Yusuf

The proposed League of Veteran Journalists of Kano State has held a validation meeting of a draft charter of the league.

Dr. Saminu Rijiyar Zaki, while presenting a paper at the League of Veterans held in Kano, said one of the requirements was that the members should be of the highest standard of integrity and should not affect the independence of the league.

Dr. Saminu, who is of the Department of Information and Media Studies, Faculty of Communication, Bayero University Kano, said there should be grounds for discipline for gross violation of the code of ethics.

He said for misuse of the league’s resources, complaints against any member should be written in person to the secretariat.

Executive Committee Adjudication
Should make a recommendation.

A veteran journalist, Malam Nasiru Gwadabe, made observations and said the league should be addressed as the Forum of Media Stakeholders, not the League of Veterans, because it involves all sections of journalists.

On her part, a retired staff of the State Ministry of Information and a veteran journalist, Maryam Yerima Muhammad, said the proposed funding of the association as provided in the draft charter is very serious.

She said most of the veterans are retired. How can a veteran contribute with the little pension he acquires monthly from retirement?

She called for subvention to be given to the league to operate.

A media scholar, Dr. Hassan Alhaji Yau, also proposed the establishment of an interim management committee of the league, in which a veteran with over fifty years’ experience, Malam Ahmad Aminu, was appointed as the chairman.

Closing the gathering, the State Commissioner for Information, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullahi Waiya, while addressing the press, said the League of Veteran Journalists in Kano will chart a new course for journalism in the state and Nigeria.

Media scholars from Bayero University who graced the occasion are Professor Hajara Umar Sanda, Professor Nura Ibrahim, Professor Hadiza Ibrahim, Malam Mukhtar Magaji, Associate Professor Gwani Ibrahim Siraj Adhama and Professor Hassan Yau.

Some of the veterans that graced the occasion are former President of the NUJ, Comrade Sani Zoro; former Chairman of NUJ Kano Council, Abbas Ibrahim; former Permanent Secretary Abubakar Rimi Television, Faruk Umar Usman; Alhaji Ahmad Aminu; Malam Bala Muhammad; Muhammad Sunusi Jibrin; Abdullahi Malam; Abba Murtala Yankaba; Muhammad Dahiru Sheka; Abdulkadir Kwakwatawa; Ibrahim Ahmad Karaye; Hajiya Aishatu Sule; Prince Ajayi Maimayatan; Ado Saidu Warawa; Bala Nasiru, among others.

Some of the journalists called for a comprehensive media policy in Kano that will guide the revival of the state’s comatose industries, religion, and culture.

The draft charter was adopted as proposed by Malam Bala Muhammad of the Department of Mass Communication, Bayero University Kano, and was seconded by Malam Abdullahi Malam, a former bureau chief of the News Agency of Nigeria in Kano.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, has said that Dangote Cement Plc is making measurable impacts in its Gboko Host Communities of Benue State.

At the commissioning of Dangote Cement’s multi-million-naira water projects, scholarship awards and youth skill acquisition programme, the minister commended the company for its impactful contributions to host communities.

He also commended the Industrial Training Fund (ITF) for partnering and supervising the training of youth during the skill acquisition programme.

Represented by an Assistant Director of Mines and Environmental Compliance, Benue State, Mrs. Adijatu Usman, the minister said Dangote Cement is meeting its obligations under the Community Development Agreement (CDA).

He said the CDA ensures that mining companies plough back part of their profits into their host communities.

He said: “I can tell you that the Dangote Cement has delivered several projects for its host communities.

“The project was a fall out of a Federal Government policy, for companies such as Dangote to give back to its host communities.

“It is a Federal Government policy for mining companies to reinvest part of their profits into host mining communities so as to impact the communities, and as a result of that policy we have had series of engagements with them.

“There are six of these communities here. We sat with them several times and these projects are certified community-based projects because the community agreed that they needed these projects. And we are here today because the projects have been completed.

“What we expect is for the communities to see these projects as their personal projects; own them, and protect them, so that they will be sustainable. That way there will be economic development within the communities.

“We share in their joy as we present these projects to them, and we think that mining will be sustainable.”

Speaking at the commissioning and handover ceremony of the projects to the communities, Head of Social Performance at Dangote Cement Plant in Gboko, Dr. Johnson Kor, stated that the projects were delivered to communities that have challenge in access to good water supply.

Dr. Kor said: “We are here today to commission CDA projects that were earmarked for these host communities since last year December 2024. We have done many of them and these are the ones that have been completed, and they are water projects among them motorized and solar powered boreholes.

“Community Development Agreement was entered in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and the host communities, the stakeholders and the Plant.

“It is a five-year agreement, and this is the first year and by next year we will be going into the second round and as you can see, we are also working on some electricity projects which are yet to be completed.

“These are areas where they hardly get water, despite having hand dug wells, they are perennially in need of water and some of them are using water from the streams or river because of their proximity to River Benue.

“Therefore, we felt there was need to provide water for them, and they are happy with this kind of gesture exhibited by the Dangote Cement Plc.

“The boreholes are located in Pass Brother, Mbaakpoghol-Mbatyu; Mbaswa-Mbatser and Agboghol-Amua communities.”

District Head of Mbaakpoghol-Mbatyu, Chief Kunav Anum, observed that as a community, his people were very happy to have one of the boreholes located in the community.

He said: “We are very excited. We didn’t know that this would happen so soon in this community. It came as a surprise, so we are grateful to Dangote Cement Plc for the gesture.”

The monarch said the community had accessed electricity earlier through Dangote Cement, even as he pledged that the community would continue to support the company.

A statement from the company had said: “In further demonstration of this commitment, the scholarship fund has this year been reviewed upward to ₦28,800,000.00, and its scope expanded to cover all six host communities, strictly in line with the provisions of the Community Development Agreement (CDA). This deliberate expansion reflects our desire to ensure equity, inclusiveness, and shared benefits across all our immediate communities.

“The company has executed several projects, with others still ongoing, including the Women Empowerment Programme, the Farmers Empowerment Programme and the Youth Empowerment Programme, all aimed at improving livelihoods in the host communities.”

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Labour Party’s 2023 vice-presidential candidate, formally declared his intention on Wednesday to run for president in the 2027 elections. The announcement was made during a gathering at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja and comes amid ongoing realignments within Nigeria’s opposition.

Baba-Ahmed’s declaration follows closely on last week’s departure of former presidential candidate Peter Obi from the Labour Party to the African Democratic Congress–a move that has sparked debate over the future of the party and opposition dynamics ahead of the next general election.

Addressing supporters, Baba-Ahmed stressed that his presidential ambition predates the 2023 polls and is not a reaction to Obi’s exit.

“I have decided to contest for the presidency in 2027. I am not following anyone’s trajectory or stepping into anyone’s shoes,” he stated.

“Before His Excellency Peter Obi filed for the presidency, I had already aspired to the office. The records are there.”

He recalled contesting the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential primary in October 2018 before later joining forces with Obi under the Labour Party in 2023.

“I saw a rare opportunity for national unity in Peter Obi’s candidacy, and that is why I decided to flow with it,” Baba-Ahmed explained.

Responding to questions about identity and eligibility, he affirmed: “I am a practising Muslim and a Hausa man, but first I am a Nigerian. The constitution grants me the right to contest. I am doing this because Nigeria needs help.”

However, he noted that he would await official party and electoral guidelines before further campaign steps: “As a law-abiding citizen and loyal party member, I will wait for INEC’s timetable and the Labour Party’s call for aspirants.”

In his response, Labour Party National Chairman Julius Abure commended Baba-Ahmed for his loyalty amid speculation of defection. He highlighted that key figures, including Abia State Governor Alex Otti, also remain with the party.

“On the night Peter Obi defected, Dr. Baba-Ahmed called to confirm he was not leaving the party–the platform through which we secured millions of votes in 2023,” Abure said.

He added that Baba-Ahmed had proposed and helped organize the unity meeting held at the party secretariat.

“The Labour Party is intact,” Abure asserted. “We will not let Nigerians down. We remain united and committed to offering a genuine alternative.”

Baba-Ahmed’s entry adds a new layer to the emerging 2027 presidential contest, signaling early positioning and potential reshaping of opposition alliances.