The National Commission for Almijiri and Out-of-School Children Education has started the registration of all Almijiris and out-of-school children across the nation to support the provision of quality education, encompassing both religious and Western education for the children.

Flagging off the registration and launching the Kano Advocacy campaign held at the School for Arabic Studies (SAS) Kano, the Director-General of the Commission, Muhammad Idris, said children between the ages of 5 and 15 will be registered by the commission to determine the appropriate number of Almijiris and out-of-school children, as well as the Tsangaya schools.

He was represented by the State Coordinator of the Commission and team leader of the Advocacy, Abubakar Yaro Muhammad, who said the registration exercise has already commenced for out-of-school children. He added that the federal government will build modern Tsangaya schools in 44 local government areas of the state.

The State Coordinator further said the commission will introduce a school curriculum in the Tsangaya schools to enable the Almijiris to learn how to read and write in Western education, especially English and mathematics.

He stated that the State office of the Commission has already started data collection of all the Tsangaya schools and their proprietors in 15 local government areas out of the 44 local government areas. He also said the commission will join the Advocacy team to visit all 448 wards of the state to educate and enlighten people, especially Alrammas and parents, on the government’s desired goals.

Yaro Muhammad therefore thanked the Kano State Government for its support and encouragement of the commission’s contribution towards improving the lives of less privileged members of society, especially orphans.

Speaking, the chairman of the Advocacy team, Sulaiman Muhammad Mambo, commended the contributions of Alrammas and scholars to the development of Islamic education in the state, as well as the parents for their efforts towards the moral training of their wards.

He said the theme of the Advocacy is the revitalization of Almijiris and out-of-school children initiatives, stressing the importance of the programme to educate and enlighten people on the deplorable condition of Almijiris and the increase in out-of-school children as a result of economic hardships facing the people.

Mambo therefore called on well-meaning individuals, corporate bodies, and parents to support government efforts towards helping the less privileged in society, stressing that it is the responsibility of every parent or guardian to take charge of their child, while neighbors should help in the moral training of the children.

In his remarks, the Deputy Commander of Kano State Hisbah Command, Malan Mujaheed Aminudeen Abubakar, advised the commission to involve all the proprietors of the Tsangaya schools in the project and also provide basic amenities to the schools. He urged them to support the programme with prayers towards achieving the government’s desired objectives.

He advised the government to provide livelihoods to rural communities, adding that the majority of the Almijiris are children of the poor; therefore, sending the children to urban areas will reduce their burden.

Also speaking at the occasion were representatives of the Ministry of Women, NAPTIPS, SUBEB, the Quranic Recitation Committee, and many other stakeholders.

The Labour Party has announced plans to expel its 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi over alleged “anti-party activities.”

The announcement came during a Channels TV interview on Tuesday with National Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, who confirmed that a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting will be convened to recommend Obi’s expulsion, which would then be ratified at the party’s next convention.

“Secondly, let me make it very clear. We are convening a NEC meeting where he (Peter Obi) will be expelled,” Arabambi said.

“You know he was on suspension before, before he now went ahead to do the anti-party activities. You don’t go and join a political party and at the same time, you put your leg in another political party. He knows it is so constitutional for him to belong to two political parties at a time. They have been able to deceive him to their side and there he shall remain.

“So, NEC meeting is going to be called shortly where Obi will be recommended for expulsion and that will now be confirmed finally at our convention in line with our constitution and in line with most political party constitution because when you want to expel an individual who is a member of your party but you know that is not doing things in tandem with your constitution, you go to NEC and you will recommend to expel him and now recommend the final expulsion to the convention.”

Arabambi further accused Obi of engaging in dual-party allegiances and aligning with what he described as “yahoo yahoo coalition.”

“So, Obi will be expelled from our party. He’s no longer a member of our party. It is not within his right to tell us that I’m still a member of the Labour Party and at the same time he will not be hobnobbing, you know, with what we call the yahoo yahoo coalition. We are not going to accept that.”

Peter Obi, who secured over 6.1 million votes, finishing third in the February 2023 presidential election under the Labour Party, together with Governor Alex Otti, are aligned with a faction of the Labour Party led by Senator Usman Nenadi.

In contrast, the faction to which Arabambi belongs is led by Julius Abure, who controls the official secretariat. This faction had earlier suspended Governor Otti, Senators Kingibe and Nwokocha, and others, citing anti-party conduct.

Former Niger Delta militant and leader of the defunct Niger Delta People’s Volunteer Force, Mujahid Asari-Dokubo, has declared that he will no longer support Yoruba politicians because they have betrayed him and the Ijaw people.

In a video shared on social media platforms on Monday, Dokubo insisted that he is now politically aligned with politicians from Northern Nigeria because they are not traitors like their Yoruba counterparts.

The ex-militant accused Yoruba politicians and elite of turning against their long-standing allies from the Niger Delta after benefiting politically from them.

“The Yorubas have betrayed us. After all we did, they turned their backs on us,” Dokubo said in the video.

Comtuinug, he stated that given recent political realignments and what he perceives as a lack of loyalty from the South-West, he feels more positioned to build strategic alliances with Northern leaders, who he claims have shown more consistency and respect.

“The past sacrifices made by the Ijaw for the southern solidarity were not reciprocated,” he noted.

He referenced political cooperation during previous elections and governance battles as moments where the Ijaw stood firm for the South, only to be left out in the cold.