The Katsina State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, has taken steps to provide social amenities including roads, schools and clinics at the notorious Rugu Forest.
The forest which may be described as an equivalent of the Sambisa forest in Borno State stretches across six local government areas of Katsina State and parts of Kaduna and Zamfara states.
The area is an accomplished centre for cattle rustling, kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminal activities.
Reviewing activities of government in the out-going year at a post-budget presentation press briefing, Governor Aminu Bello Masari’s Special Adviser on Budget and Planning, Abdullahi Imam, said that the decision to work on the Rugu forest was part of the post-amnesty strategies designed to rehabilitate identified cattle rustlers who have since surrendered their weapons to government.
He said that the provision of earth dams and demarcation of cattle routes were also part of the projects being designed at the forest.
According to Imam, the state government has, since established forest patrol groups comprising representatives of herdsmen to assist security agencies in intelligence gathering in the area.
He said, “The Presidential Committee on Light Weapons and Ammunitions (PRESCOM) has visited the state and assessed the weapons surrendered by the repentant cattle rustlers with the aim of tracing the countries where the weapons were manufactured and demanding compensation from them for the provision of resettlement packages for victims and repentant rustlers.
“The PRESCOM, through the short support of ECOWAS and the European Union had commended the process of implementation of the small arms initiative aimed at establishing a micro-finance project for the benefit of repentant cattle rustlers and communities that suffered the menace of cattle rustling in the state.”
Imam said that education, health, water resources, agriculture, roads, housing, environment and solid minerals development would continue to receive more of government’s attention, in line with its Restoration Agenda, explaining the allocation of 20 per cent of the total 2018 budget sum of N211.4 billion to education.
“The state government is in negotiation with the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia for a soft loan to finance the health sector of the health sector.
“While we await the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Finance, to finalise the loan agreement, a provision of N9.2 billion has been made for it in the 2018 budget,” imam said.
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FG, Katsina to transform Rugu Forest
The Sun News / Segun Adio / 11 minutes ago
From: Agaju Madugba, Katsina
The Katsina State Government, in collaboration with the Federal Government, has taken steps to provide social amenities including roads, schools and clinics at the notorious Rugu Forest.
The forest which may be described as an equivalent of the Sambisa forest in Borno State stretches across six local government areas of Katsina State and parts of Kaduna and Zamfara states.
The area is an accomplished centre for cattle rustling, kidnapping, armed robbery and other criminal activities.
Reviewing activities of government in the out-going year at a post-budget presentation press briefing, Governor Aminu Bello Masari’s Special Adviser on Budget and Planning, Abdullahi Imam, said that the decision to work on the Rugu forest was part of the post-amnesty strategies designed to rehabilitate identified cattle rustlers who have since surrendered their weapons to government.
He said that the provision of earth dams and demarcation of cattle routes were also part of the projects being designed at the forest.
According to Imam, the state government has, since established forest patrol groups comprising representatives of herdsmen to assist security agencies in intelligence gathering in the area.
He said, “The Presidential Committee on Light Weapons and Ammunitions (PRESCOM) has visited the state and assessed the weapons surrendered by the repentant cattle rustlers with the aim of tracing the countries where the weapons were manufactured and demanding compensation from them for the provision of resettlement packages for victims and repentant rustlers.
“The PRESCOM, through the short support of ECOWAS and the European Union had commended the process of implementation of the small arms initiative aimed at establishing a micro-finance project for the benefit of repentant cattle rustlers and communities that suffered the menace of cattle rustling in the state.”
Imam said that education, health, water resources, agriculture, roads, housing, environment and solid minerals development would continue to receive more of government’s attention, in line with its Restoration Agenda, explaining the allocation of 20 per cent of the total 2018 budget sum of N211.4 billion to education.
“The state government is in negotiation with the Islamic Development Bank in Saudi Arabia for a soft loan to finance the health sector of the health sector.
“While we await the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Finance, to finalise the loan agreement, a provision of N9.2 billion has been made for it in the 2018 budget,” imam said.
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