Singapore News Channel, Singapore News Network

It stated that the appointee succeeds Alhaji Nasiru Kira, who retired a month ago after attaining the mandatory 60 years of age.

The statement further said that Kabomo was born in 1964, in Bakori local government area of the state.

It explained that the new General Manager is a graduate of the Bayero University Kano, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Hausa in 1990.

He also holds a Post-Graduate Diploma in Mass Communication, which he obtained from the International Institute of Journalism, Abuja.

According to the statement, the appointment is with immediate effect

Katsina State Government says all the moribund government owned industries in the state will soon be revived in collaboration with foreign investors.

Alhaji Abubakar Yusuf, the state Commissioner for Commerce and Tourism, disclosed this while speaking with newsmen in Katsina on Monday.

He identified that some of the industries to be revived as Danja Sugar Factory, Kankara Kaolin Factory and Daura
Tannery, among others.

Yusuf said that most of these industries would commence operation soon after they had been revived given the level of collaboration with the foreign investors.

The commissioner said that these companies had been dormant for many years in spite of their importance to economic development, especially employment generation.

Yusuf said that the state government had signed Memorandum of Understanding with the foreign
investors and that they would soon start working.

He said government had leased the Kankia Metal Works to an Indian investor, while the state-owned motel in the
metropolis would also be leased to a local company.

He also said state owned hotels in Daura and Malumfashi would soon undergo rehabilitation to bring about maximum returns to government.

The commissioner said that the state government was ready to introduce additional sources of revenue generation to fulfill its promises to the electorate.

Yusuf called on the citizens to give the state government the necessary support to provide the dividends of democracy to them. (NAN)

The Chairman of the newly promoted Nigeria Nationwide Division One side, Malumfashi FC, Surajo Baba has urged the Katsina State Government to rehabilitate the Malumfashi Township Stadium to enable the club play its home matches there.

Baba told newsmen that the poor standard of the stadium had affected the team’s performance saying that sometimes it leads to postponement or relocation of its home matches to other venues.

Baba, who feared that the stadium would be approved to host NNL matches, called for “urgent attention from government and well-wishers to enable us enjoy home games in our community.”

He noted that part of the stadium’s fence had collapsed and was prone to soccer fans encroaching onto the pitch during matches.

“The pitch had demarcation and external walls are broken, which most at times lead to encroachment by supporters,” he said

He said, the recent promotion of the team to the National Division One is the beginning of a new challenge for the club, adding that “as a team we are determined to overcome them to enable us perform better in the new season”.

“Our team is a community team with virtually all the club’s players drawn from the eleven local governments.

It could be recalled that Malumfashi Football Club in Katsina State, had won 2016 Nigeria Nationwide Division II League and secured a ticket to Division 1 in the next season.

Source:Daily Trust

The National Lottery Commission in conjunction with National Lottery Trust Fund on Tuesday donated sports equipment worth N35 million 60 primary schools in Katsina State.

 The sporting facilities purchased by the government are football, volleyball, lawn tennis, basketball, athletics, badminton, hockey and table tennis materials.

 Engr. Habu Gumel, the Executive Secretary of the National Lottery Trust Fund said at a ceremony in Katsina where some of the equipment were distributed to benefiting schools that the gesture was promote sports at grassroots.

“The sporting equipment are donated to the 60 selected primary schools in the 34 Local Government Areas of Katsina State. “The equipment are donated for the upliftment and promotion of grassroots sports development in Katsina State. “This exercise of equipping our public primary schools with quality sports equipment through funding from the National Lottery is a clear sign of government”s desire to assist the vulnerable children in the society.

Earlier, speaking, the Director General of National Lottery Commission, Mr. Adolphus Ekpe, called on the Headmasters of benefiting schools to make judicious use of the sporting equipment.

“The proper usage of the sporting equipment will lead to the discovery of new talents in sports that abound in our communities and rural areas.” he said In his remarks, the Chairman of Katsina State Basic Education Board, Alhaji Lawal Buhari, pledged that the Board would assist the primary schools to make judicious use of the equipment.

 “The sporting equipment will surely assist our pupils to boost their sporting talents. “The Lottery Commission and Trust Fund donation of the sporting equipment has come at the right time when our schools are in dire need of the sporting equipment. “The Board will set-up a committee that will be going round to inspect the donated equipment” he said”

In our Journey to national betterment, plans and policies will be made, then amended. Mistakes will occur and then corrected, Achievements will be had and replicated.

Through it all, I, Asiwaju will remain true to the progressive ideals that fueled the creation of APC.

I have devoted my political life to achieve what has been achieved. My heart is too much of the people and my mind too fixed on establishing a positive historic legacy rather than
engage in destructive pettiness.

This government, APC, is for the betterment of the people & the national purpose is bigger and more important than any individual’s desires.

This is a party I labored with others to build. We would not abandon it for another. Millions of Nigerians who voted are
watching and praying.

The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), has taken a step towards ensuring the success of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises MSMEs in the country.

The agency has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with NICON Insurance Limited to reinforce the agenda of diversification of the economy through the empowerment of the informal sector.
SMEDAN’s latest move is to provide insurance services for its more than 37 million members across Nigeria  from the vagaries of the economic environment.

The agency, which was established by the Federal government to promote the development of the MSME sector of the nation’s economy, signed the epochal document with NICON insurance Ltd in Abuja yesterday.
At the ceremony, the Director-General of SMEDAN, Dr. Dikko Umaru Radda, commended the initiative as a sure means of ensuring the sustainability of MSMEs in Nigeria by providing adequate insurance cover for them from various types of risks.

Radda, called on both organisations to ensure they implement the MoU to the letter, adding that it will be reviewed periodically in order for it to remain on track.
Managing Director NICON Insurance Limited, Bayode Samuel, acknowledged SMEDAN’s capacity to manage the huge pool of members who make up a significant p proportion of Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product. According to him, this makes NICON Insurance the ideal partner to provide insurance services for this important segment of the economy.
He pledged that NICON Insurance would provide generic insurance cover as well as tailor made products to meet the peculiar needs of MSMEs.Samuel, noted that NICON Insurance, with its network of 40 branches nationwide and experience as sole underwriter for all government assets for 35 years will ensure that MSMEs receive cutting edge insurance services to enhance their growth and sustenance

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country is set to receive a boost as the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Footprint to Africa, a foremost business and financial news resource and investment bridge company has forged a synergy of cooperation which will lead to creation of at least 10, 000 jobs next year.

The partnership, which is in consonance with Footprint to Africa’s mission of promoting the growth of SMEs, is coming through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between SMEDAN and Footprint to Africa recently.

At the MoU signing ceremony which held at the SMEDAN office in Abuja, Dr. Dikko Umaru-Radda, Director-General, SMEDAN, reiterated the role of MSMEs as the engine of economic growth, saying the partnership with Footprint to Africa was apt as it was in line with the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s desire to diversify the economy away from oil.

“The MSMEs hold the key to the future of our economy and I truly believe that our partnership with Footprint to Africa will give global entrepreneurs the right opportunity to meet and partner with SME business owners in Nigeria to foster strong business relationships,” he said.

Speaking during the signing of the MoU, Barr. Osita Oparaugo, Managing Director, Footprint to Africa, expressed confidence that the partnership would signal the beginning of a new Nigeria where SMEs would truly drive economic growth.
He explained that Nigeria offers a large and vibrant market, an abundance of natural resources, a cheap, dynamic and well-educated workforce, investor-friendly government policies and a strategic location with access to serve the African market, urging both local and foreign SMEs to tap into these rare opportunities to grow their businesses.

“Nigeria is currently on track to become one of the 20 largest economies in the world by 2020. With a robust private sector, the country boasts of a large market with an unrestricted movement of investment capital. There is no better place to be today than Nigeria. If you are not in Nigeria, you are not in Africa yet,” Oparaugo said.

Oparaugo further explained that under the terms of the agreement, SMEDAN would provide the institutional support in promoting the activities of the Nigeria SME Connect, which, he said, was capable of creating 10,000 jobs by the end of 2017 as partnerships between local and foreign SMEs lead to increased economic activities.

Part of this, he informed, was that SMEDAN would screen and register at least 20 SMEs in each of the 36 states of the federation and Abuja, who would attend the SME Connect forums, saying the essence was to holistically develop SMEs across the country and not just in a few states.

The first two forums scheduled for February 2017, Oparaugo said, would focus on agriculture and real estate sectors, with a special focus on manufacturers and dealers in building materials, adding that the choice of these sectors was informed by the huge opportunities they hold.

“The agricultural sector presents a $1.2 billion opportunity and given Nigeria’s 17million housing unit deficit, the building sector presents an annual revenue-generating opportunity valued at over $10billion,” he said.

On what participating SMEs stand to gain, Oparaugo said the Nigeria SME Connect forum would offer every participant an unparalleled access to the teeming Nigerian market as well as the West African market’s large consumer base currently valued at over 340 million consumers.

The Katsina state government has reviewed downwards the costs of obtaining Certificate of Occupancy ( C of O) on landed properties across the state.

The state Commissioner of Lands and Survey, Abubakar Sada Ilu, who disclosed this when he led a team of the ministry to the palace of the Emir of Katsina, said this was among the new land reforms by the administration.

He said the people paid about N200,000 in the past to apply for the C of O and it took years to obtain it. “We have sat and reviewed it. People within the old Katsina city can obtain a valid C of O with just N5000,” he said, adding that those in private layouts were expected to pay N25,000.

Source:Daily Trust

Katsina State Government is spending over 20 per cent of its Capital allocation for 2016 to overhaul the education sector to
ensure improved performance and school completion for youths and adolescents in the state.

Governor Aminu Bello Masari made this known during the Inauguration of third Katsina State Children Parliament held at the banquet hall, old Government House, Katsina recently.

According to him,the present
administration had embarked on
massive renovation, upgrading and construction of new primary
and secondary schools across the state in order to decongest classrooms and provide conducive learning environment to
children.

Masari, who promised not to leave any stone unturned in the development of education sector, said he had given approval for the recruitment of 1,900 teachers this year.

He charged parents guardians to rise to the challenge of taking care of their children not only in schools, but every other area where they need to be molded to be good citizens of the nation.

In her remarks, the special adviser on girl child education and child development in the state, Hon. Binta Abba Umar, disclosed
that 68 children between the ages of 11 to 17 years drawn from the 34 local government areas of the state were identified and chosen in conjunction with the state ministry of education for the
parliament.

She noted that the inauguration of the parliament would give Katsina children the opportunity to join their counterparts in other states and nations to interact, exchange, share and express
themselves with a view to appreciating issues relating to their welfare and capacity for leadership positions.

Katsina State Governor, Rt. Hon. Aminu Bello Masari has approved the payment of bursary and Foreign scholarship to katsina State indigenes in tertiary institutions across the world.

Special Adviser to the Governor on on Higher Education, Dr. Badamsi Lawal Charanchi, who made the announcement in Katsina , said Katsina State Government has released over N500 million as part payment of fees for its students abroad

Dr Badamasi Speaking at the start of a four day 9th jointcolleges’ conference of Hassan UsmanKatsina Polytechnic, Katsina, Charanchi said the government is working towards meeting all its obligations to the 140 indigenes of the state studying in various tertiary institutions in Jordan, Sudan and Maradi in neighbouring Niger Republic.

Quoting the statistics to buttress the fact
that the top priority of Governor Aminu Bello Masari administration is education,
Charanchi stressed that the government is
laying a solid foundation for the overall
development of education and other sectors in the state.

The governor’s aide, who urged the staff of
polytechnic and other tertiary institutions
owned by the state to join hands with the
government to reposition the education
sector, noted that almost all allowances of
the teaching and non-teaching staff of the
institutions had been settled by the
government.

He assured that in spite of the economic
recession confronting the country, Governor Masari had been working relentlessly to move the state forward.

In her speech, the Katsina State
Commissioner for Education, Prof. Halimatu Sa’adiyya Idris, expressed confidence that the conference would contribute its quota to efforts designed to address the myriads of socio-economic problems facing the state and nation.

Dr. Martins Iyoboyi, Department of
Economics, Federal University Dutsinama,
called on both the state and federal
government to spare no effort in tackling
insecurity and all issues critical in the drive
to move Nigeria forward.