Director of Administration of the council, Arc. Zubairu Haruna Usman-Ugwu, said if the crescent is sighted by Muslims on the said evening, then the Sultan shall declare Thursday, 23rd March, 2023 as the first day of Ramadan 1444 A.H.

The statement read; Consequent upon the advice of the National Moon-Sighting Committee (NMSC), the President-General enjoins the Nigerian Muslim Ummah to search for the crescent of Ramadan 1444 A.H. immediately after sunset on Wednesday, 29th Sha’aban, 1444 A.H. which is equivalent to 22nd March, 2022. If the crescent is sighted by Muslims of impeccable character on the said evening, then His Eminence shall declare Thursday, 23rd March, 2023 as the first day of Ramadan 1444 A.H.  If, however, the crescent is not sighted that day, then, Friday, 24th March, 2023 shall automatically become the first day of Ramadan.

Furthermore, council urges Muslim politicians to display the spirit of brotherhood and solidarity both of which represent some of the core lessons of Ramadan.

“Let those who emerged victorious in the just concluded elections remember that it is the Almighty Allah Who grants power to whom He wishes.

“Also, those who lost should accept same with faith and resist any act that may cause disaffection and disunity within the Ummah.

“Council also appeals to endowed Muslims in the country to extend their acts of charity to the less privileged within their neighbourhoods before, during and after the month of Ramadan. We also admonish traders not to hoard food products or unduly hike the prices of consumer goods during the period of fasting.”

The District Head of Binji, Alhaji Kabiru Usman Binji, made the revelation during the four-day training on ethical, media advocacy and solution journalism for media practitioners in Sokoto organized by the Ministry of Women and Children Affairs with the support of the Spotlight Initiative.

Alhaji Binji said the cases of violence were high in his domain because of poverty, illiteracy and seasonal migration by husbands.

The district head also recalled how a 75-year-old man assaulted a nine-year-old girl and another 25-year-old man who sodomized a 10-year-old boy in the area.

The Ministry said no fewer than 500 cases of Gender-Based Violence GBV have been recorded across the 23 local government area of the state.

Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Kulu Nuhu, who stated this at the opening ceremony of the four-day media dialogue, said Technical Working Groups were inaugurated to assist in reporting cases of different abuses in the state. She explained that the state government had also trained relevant stakeholders on how to take the campaign against the menace to the grassroots communities.

According to Nuhu, over 160 survivors are currently undergoing economic empowerment training in the State and in the end government will assist them with starter packs to enable them to become self-reliant.

Meanwhile, 80 women and adolescent girls from Binji and Tangaza LGAs, Sokoto state, have been trained for 3 days on livelihood skills.

The training organized by the Ministry was in a bid to end Violence against Women and Girls/Sexual and Gender-based Violence/Harmful Practices/Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.

The Monarch made the claim while hosting some selected members of NYSC Batch A stream 2 Corps members posted to Sokoto state in his palace on Monday, May 31.

Abubakar who disclosed that the NYSC scheme was established to foster the nation’s unity and strengthen ties among Nigerians, added that the scheme is the most needed programme in view of the present situation when Nigeria is almost divided along ethnic and religious lines.

He said “I heard there are efforts for the scrapping of the NYSC scheme, I assure you that those behind that struggle do not mean well for this country. I urge you to be security conscious while staying in Sokoto, you know there are security challenges now all over the world, we have our own share also. You should not keep late nights and if you have any challenges contact your district head because they are like your father and guardian”

The Sultan of Sokoto and President General of the Council, His Eminence Sa’ad Abubakar, stated this at a meeting with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; the Minister of Health, Dr Osagie Ehanire; and the Executive Director of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Faisal Shuaib on Friday in Abuja.

As controversies over the effectiveness of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines continue, the Federal Government decided to meet with Muslim scholars and imams led by the Sultan to seek their support.

The vaccine has been endorsed by NSCIA but the Sultan said the organization will not decide for anyone whether or not to take the jab.

The Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19, Boss Mustapha while speaking at the meeting announced that the task force was working to begin vaccination of religious and traditional leaders in other to boost the confidence of the public.

Mustapha, however, commended the Muslim scholars and imams for their support to the government in the management of the virus.

In his remarks, Ehanire reiterated that the AstraZeneca vaccine was safe and those who have already been vaccinated, including himself, have yet to report any side effects.

He explained that the government decided to involve the religious leaders so as to speed up the administration of the vaccines, considering the impact of the disease on the Nigerian population.

For the NPHCDA chief, the government decided to convene the meeting in order to clear the air on the lingering controversy and commence mass vaccination.

He noted that the European Union Medicines Council had also reversed its initial decision to stop the use of the vaccine and said that it was safe for use.

The monarch who spoke at a meeting with the Steering Committee of the Senate Constitution Review Committee on Thursday, March 11, said Ironsi’s 1966 Unitary Government Decree, Gowon’s 1967 and Obasanjo’s 1976 Local Government Reforms Decrees stripped traditional rulers of their powers and gave the same to the local government councils.

He said “All the respective levels of governments needed them to maintain peace and security as traditional rulers were always at hand to douse conflict that the police, the military and the government officials could not contain. Currently, traditional rulers do not have the constitutional or other legal backings to perform effectively as they’re not even mentioned in the 1999 constitution. This is a great departure from all earlier constitutions that recognized them, and even gave them some functions to perform. Indeed, all the Nigerian earlier constitutions gave the chairmen of the State Councils of Chiefs seats in the National Council of State alongside former Presidents and Chief Justices. The constitutional provision should provide for states to enact state laws that cater to specific peculiar matters relating to traditional rulers in the respective states. In addition, the chairmen of the State Councils of Chiefs should be recognised by the constitution as members of the Council of State as it has been in all the Nigerian constitutions, except the 1999 one.”

The monarch said this when he led other top monarchs to Maiduguri to condole with the government and people of Borno State on the recent killing of farmers by Boko Haram at a rice field in Zabarmari.

He said “It is not just a condolence visit, it is a statement that all of us are fed up with the shedding of innocent blood under whatever guise across this country. So many lives have been lost in the past, we can’t even compute how many lives we have lost. It becomes like a daily occurrence, a daily event. A new normal, it becomes a story when in a day, nobody was killed in a particular place of this country. We had various fora with our political leaders, mentioned these things out, how to take care of our security in various communities. We have written papers, sent our governors, we have discussed with all our leaders, all the way forward. But we see things getting worse and worse. It used to be Boko Haram alone in Borno and Yobe, now, in all over the north in particular and generally all over the country. You have bandits and terrorists all over the north, you can’t even move freely. In the south, it is the same thing. The killings have taken new dimensions and we really don’t know what are the causes of these mass killings of innocent people. We decided to come together as the council of traditional rulers to make this statement to all and sundry, not only to the governor of Borno State but to all our governors. Let’s rise up to the occasion and see how we can come together to fight this menace of shedding innocent people’s blood.”

The president made the call at a meeting with a delegation of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the State House, Abuja.

Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, disclosed this in a statement issued in Abuja on Thursday.

According to him, the President told the royal fathers “we have heard the loud cries of our youth and children, and we are attending to their concerns.”

He, however, stressed that “To succeed in all of this, we would require your support and voice to help amplify the message. Your proximity to the people places you in a unique position to communicate and ensure that our response is targeted and impactful.”

Describing their “role as guardians of our traditional values and culture” as most critical, the President urged them not to compromise their neutrality “because this is what significantly confers on you, your moral authority and legitimacy.”

The President, also revealed that his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, would lead senior government officials to various parts of the country “and directly engage with you as part of this process. He will be reporting back to me on your various perspectives.

“I want to once again thank you for the role you all have played to calm down our youth with wisdom and authority. By instilling hope and keeping the peace, you have rendered the country great service,” he added.

The Monarch who decried the killings during a meeting of Northern Traditional Rulers’ Council in Kaduna on Monday, September 7, described it as madness which must stop immediately.

He said “No man in his right senses goes on a killing spree of innocent people under whatever guise. If you keep on igniting killings based on ethnoreligious differences because it is the innocent children that are killed while that of the elites are protected”