The Forum of Federal Government appointees from Kano under Senator Bashir Garba Lado, has strongly challenged opposition Leaders to showcase what they have on stock that they will do better than President Tinubu clear Developmental Projects, rather than negative criticism.

Speaking in a released, the Spokesperson of the Forum of the Federal Government appointees, Dr Musa Illiyasu Kwankwaso, said, Wednesday that, overtime the opposition leaders of Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and others have not clearly spelled out their missions to Government but rather everyday they go one criticizing President Tinubu whose Projects across the Country and the North is specific can be clearly seen.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is executing a massive portfolio of infrastructure and developmental projects across Kano and Northern Nigeria, valued at trillions of Naira, spanning highways, railways, power, and agriculture, which an be touched and seen not mare baseless opposition”, Kwankwaso notes.

In trying to highlight some of the projects, Musa Illiyasu Kwankwaso, who is also the Executive Director Finance Hadejia Jammaare River Basin, fall under the “Renewed Hope” agenda, and in Kano alone there are more 30 of such projects.

Musa Illiyasu Kwankwaso believes that the Projects execution and the concern shown by the President on Kano and the entire North are worthy of given him heavy votes across Northern Nigeria that will secure his smooth 2nd Term in office.

He said that with the intervention of the President in Kano and other Northern Nigeria, he will have massive votes that awaits his reelection back to office comes 2027 in Kano and other Northern States.

He listed projects like the Kano–Kongolom Road, a major 132-kilometre, at N334 billion dualization and construction project aimed at connecting Kano with Jigawa and Katsina.

Similarly, Musa Illiyasu Kwankwaso explained that, the Abuja–Kaduna–Kano Expressway, a Massive ongoing reconstruction utilizing durable continuous reinforced concrete pavement technology with added security enhancements like
In the same vein, the Sokoto–Badagry Superhighway, a colossal 1,068-kilometre, six-lane economic corridor that will integrate a rail line in the median, greatly connecting Northern regions, been awarded by the President for his concern to the Northern Region.

Musa Kwankwaso hints that A 37.8-kilometre dual carriageway designed with multiple bridges to divert heavy industrial traffic away from the Kano metropolis that is Kano Eastern Bypass is ongoing and will soon be completed.

Another giant project according Kwankwaso is the Kano–Maradi Rail Line, a flagship 284-kilometre rail project cutting through Kano, Jigawa, and Katsina, designed to ease the transportation of goods and connect Nigeria with the Niger Republic.

While on Economic growth the President is working on AKK Gas Pipeline, the 614-kilometre Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline aimed at boosting domestic gas supply, industrialization, and power generation in Northern states, adding that this projects is near been completed.

On Ecological and Agricultural intervention the President Tinubu ensure the execution of Jakara-Gogau-Zungeru Project, he approved N47 billion for this massive urban sewage and ecological drainage system in Kano metropolis to control flooding and improve sanitation.

He also created Dams & Irrigation: Multi-billion Naira federal interventions have been released for 16 dams in Kano State, including the Challawa Gorge and Tiga Dams, alongside the broader Kano River Project to support agriculture.

On Healthcare Revitalization, The federal government has continuously upgraded Federal Teaching Hospitals across Northern zones and revitalized thousands of Primary Health Centres (PHCs) under the IMPACT program.

Still for the loves of the North, just recently the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu launched the Energize Commercialize Nigeria (ECoN) initiative in Kano, converting research and creative ideas into commercially viable products to create jobs across the Northwest.

“While Northwest Development Commission: The federal government has finalized development and inspection operations for the commission’s projects and its permanent headquarters in Kano.”

Musa Illiyasu Kwankwaso, notes that all these giant projects that are not merely on papers but they are lively going and anybody can touch and see them, shows the concern and love of the President Tinubu for the region.

He said, “President Tinubu should sleep with his two eyes closed because as per as reelection bid is concerned is a done deal and the North and Kano in particular will give him heavy votes that will quickly secure his victory”

Speaking on Peter Obi/Kwankwaso NDC Presidential Tickets, Musa Illiyasu, said that the contest is the most laughable in the recent Nigeria Political trajectory, because neither Obi no Kwankwaso have the regional recognition to win any election.

Further more, the Spokesperson of the Forum of the Federal Appointees, hints that, “Kwankwaso is flying a game with Peter Obi, because he is not sincere with their Projects”.

He added that, ” I can bet you, Kwankwaso is supporting a different Presidential Candidate, but sooner than later Nigerians would clearly see who is Kwankwaso and who did he stand with”.

The Forum Chairman Senator Bashir Garba Lado who is also the Adviser on National Assembly Senate, to the President, Musa Illiyasu Kwankwaso and all other Members, expressed deep determination to ensure that after securing victory for President Tinubu, they also secure Victory for Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of Kano State, three Senators of Barau Jibrin, Abdulrahman Kawu Sumaila, and Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, together with all the 24 House of Representatives seat and 40 Kano Assembly seats.

“No doubt, our determination to ensure the victory of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf, Senator Barau Jibrin, Kawu Sumaila, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau and all the Reps Seats and House of Assembly is clear and by the will of God our mission will be actualize”, Kwankwaso said.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of 26 persons into the boards and management of 10 federal government agencies and commissions, with former Governor of Ekiti State, Ayo Fayose, named Chairman of the Rural Electrification Agency, REA.

The appointments, announced on Monday in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, take immediate effect.

According to the statement, Fayose will chair the board of the REA, while Ahmadu Abubakar and Engineer Ilyasu Ibrahim Makinta were appointed as members and non-executive directors.

The board also includes the agency’s incumbent Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Abba Abubakar Aliyu, alongside the three executive directors previously appointed.

President Tinubu also appointed Major General Junaid Bindawa as Chairman of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and approved the appointment of eight other officials into the commission.

Former member of the House of Representatives from Lagos State, Olajumoke Okoya-Thomas, was named Secretary of the commission, while Dr Ogbole Ene Lilian, Oladele Olatubosun and Yakubu Umar Barde were appointed as commissioners representing Benue, Oyo and Kaduna states, respectively.

Other members of the commission are Dr Mai Adamu Yau (Borno), Ginika Florence Tor (Enugu), Engineer Lawrence Okoh (Edo) and Bello Morenike Iyabode (Kogi).

In another appointment, Tosin Johnson Adeyanju, who previously served as Executive Secretary of the National Lottery Trust Fund, NLTF, was redeployed as Secretary of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission.

The President also appointed Dr Abuh Mohammed as Director-General of the National Population Commission, NPC, Dr Akinola Odeyemi as Managing Director of the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading, NBET, and Dr Anthony Inalegwu Godwin as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission.

Engineer Julius Oloro was named Chief Executive Officer of the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation, NCAM, based in Ilorin, Kwara State. He succeeds Dr A.R. Kamal, who died in January.

Tinubu further approved the constitution of the board of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, with Dr Abdullahi Maikano Saidu appointed as Chairman.

Other members of the board are Mohammed Asmau, Mohammed Aliyu Makama, Dr Suleiman Gidado, Louis O. Ndukwe, Amaechi Ugwele and Olaniyi Idowu Onikola.

The President also appointed Shuni Muhammad Dahiru as Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Mass Literacy, Adult and Non-Formal Education. Dahiru replaces Professor Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, who was reassigned to the Petroleum Trust Development Fund, PTDF, in April.

In the Federal Housing Authority, FHA, Tinubu appointed Gisaor Vincent Iorja as Executive Director, Finance, to replace Mathias Byuan, who resigned from the position to contest the Benue State governorship election.

Iorja, an economist, legal scholar and academic, is currently the Secretary of the Benue State Independent Electoral Commission, BSIEC.

The Presidency said all the appointments take immediate effect.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command has detained four police officers for allegedly extorting N53,000 from the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, during an illegal stop-and-search operation in Abuja.

The FCT Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Sanusi, disclosed this on Monday while briefing journalists in Abuja, describing the officers as “thieves” who had no business wearing the police uniform.

According to Sanusi, the officers abandoned their designated duty posts, converged around the Banex area of Wuse, where they mounted an unauthorised checkpoint, and extorted the ICPC chairman without knowing his identity.

He said the officers compelled the ICPC chairman to withdraw N53,000 through a Point of Sale, POS, operator, made him pay the transaction charges, and later shared the money among themselves.

“I must say here too that we have about four policemen in custody as we speak who successfully extorted somebody of high importance, unknown to them that this person is a highly placed person in society. In clear terms, they extorted the Chairman of the ICPC.

“They extorted him of N53,000. They took him to a POS, he withdrew the money, paid the charges and they shared the money among themselves,” he said.

The police commissioner said investigations revealed that the officers had formed a criminal gang after leaving their various divisions to carry out the illegal operation.

“They are a gang of criminals who left various divisions, clustered together, moved to Wuse Banex and created a checkpoint where they perpetrated this act before fleeing,” he said.

Sanusi said the command subsequently declared the officers wanted and arrested their gang leader, whose confession led to the arrest of the remaining members of the syndicate.

“We got all of them. We are going to make sure they are severely punished. Those that are going to be dismissed will definitely be dismissed,” he added.

The commissioner also reiterated that the Inspector-General of Police had prohibited the indiscriminate search of citizens’ mobile phones by officers on patrol.

He advised residents not to comply with unlawful demands by police officers to search their phones on the roadside and urged them to report such incidents immediately through the police emergency lines.

“You cannot stop anybody on the road and ask the person to bring out his phone for search. If any policeman stops you and asks to search your phone, don’t agree. Call the police emergency lines and we will ask them why,” Sanusi said.

He further urged members of the public to promptly report cases of extortion and other forms of police misconduct, assuring them that officers found culpable would be tracked down and sanctioned.