Nation
THE STATES
Osun
The Ooni of Infe, Oba Okunade Sijuade, Olubuse II has praised the Federal Government and all those who made the licensing of Oduduwa University possible.
Oba Sijuade was speaking in his palace recently when the chairman, board of Trustees of the University, Dr Oluwole Adedoyin presented the license of the institution to him for divine blessing.
He expressed deep appreciation to Dr Adedoyin for his steadfastness and commitment in his pursuit of excellent and patriotism, adding that, he has “added value to the lives of all people the state and the entire country.”
The Ooni advised Dr Adedoyin and his team not to toil with the name and take advantage of the leadership skills of Oduduwa in solving some of the challenges that might be encountered in the course of the administration of newly licenced institution.
“Nothing greater could have been done to honour Oduduwa by the Yoruba than the establishment of Oduduwa University. It must be made to succeed. The coming of Oduduwa University will in particular bring limelight to Ile-Ife and honour to the nation” – he said.
In his response, Dr Adedoyin, lauded the Ooni and the entire people of Ile-Ife for t heir encouragement and motivation towards acutalising the dream.
The Maye of Ife, Adedoyin told the Oba that the University plans to have linkage programmes with other universities and technical schools for staff exchange.
Ondo
Parents and family members of a dinner allegedly tortured to death by security operatives over alleged oil theft in Arogbo, Ondo State, have called for an official inquest into his death. The deceased 31 year-old Julius Gbeneme, (alias Asio) was reportedly arrested on the high sea alongside two others and detained in Okitipupa, Ondo State, where he gave up the ghost after being repeatedly tortured in a detentionc amp by some security operatives. According to the family of the deceased, Gbeneme’s death engendered panic among the security operatives who quickly released the other two suspects. They also alelgedlyr eached out to know chieftains of illegal bunkering activities in the area to douse the tension created by Gbeneme’s death by pacifying his family.
It was gathered that the illegal oil-bunkering leaders were making overtures to the deceased’s family with a view to giving them monetary compensation for the loss of their son. But one at the deceased’s brothers who lives in Lagos and pleaded anonymity, said Gbenemes was tortured to death by security operatives who were desperate to cover their tracks in cohort with beneficiaries of illegal bunkering activities in the riverine area of Ondo State.
Nasarawa
Thirteen years after the creation of Nasarawa State, the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Lafia is yet to be connected to the national power grid, General Manager of the station, Maxwell Uloko, has said.
The station, situated on one of Lafia’s hills off the Doma Road axis of the state capital, has been transmitting using diesel-powered stand-by power generating set since inception.
While governments in state created alongside Nasarawa have ensured that their stations were connected to the national grid, NTA Lafia has not enjoyed government’s patronage in that respect.
Rather, it has often been attacked by armed robbers, who even carted away the station’s first heavy-duty power generating set by yanking it off its concrete stands during the second term of former Governor Abdulahi Adamu.
According to Uloko, since the stations connections to the national grid has been delayed for so long, the current cost of linking it to the nation’s power supply is about N8 million.
He said: “this is because so many equipped would be purchased, including transformers, ups facilities and cables to take electricity up the hill where the station. Once that is done, we will save a lot of money and may even go 24 hours.”
According to Ulooko, it costs over N1 million to transmit programmes like the recently concluded Under-17 Football World Cup alone.
He stressed that hooking the station to the grid would save man-hour and other resources spent on generating its own electricity.
Benue
Benue State House of Assembly has alleged that the State Ministry of Finance had misplaced resources by using funds meant for the execution of capital projects in the 2009 budget to settle recurrent claims at the Benue State University Teaching Hospital.
Also, members of the House Tuesday condemned the release of only N5 million to the Benue State Agency for the control of HIV/AIDS (BENSACA) by the State Ministry of Finance, when the State has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rate in the country.
Leading debate on the House committee on Health and Human Services report, minority leader, Tsetim Ayagwer, said the committee found out in the course of its oversight duties that the State Ministry of healthy illegally set aside the recurrent provisions of the 2009 budget for the State University Teaching Hospital and instead continued to release N10 million monthly to the hospital, which still operates with temporary accreditation.
Ayagwer stated that the committee received no satisfactory explanation on the matter from the Ministries of Finance and Healthy, hence its resolve to report the development to the Assembly.
Chairman, House Committee on Education, David Orjime, expressed worry that the Ministry of Finance could ignore the 2009 budget passed by the Assembly, adding that similar violation of the budget might exist in other ministries.
Kwara
Kwara state government has declared its determination to revive its identified tourist centres to boost Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) capacity.
According to the chairman of the State Tourism Board, Alhaji Funsho Aikone, Tuesday in a chat with pressmen in Ilorin, the state government has perfected plans to involve more private participation in its tourism endeavours.
Prominent among the monumental centres in the state is Esie Museuna, Esie in Irepodum council of the state.
The people of the town some years ago heeded the call of a brave hunter identified as “Bayabon” to have a look that the collection of over 2,000 stone gaven images some metres to the town’s boundary.
Up till now, no one has specifically stated how he images got there. But the strongest report was that God turned the people into images due to their alleged idolatry tendencies.
According to Aikore, the museum, which today has its gallery and curator, will continually be seen as a great wonder of the modern world.
He also spoke on the Shao mass wedding in Moro council as another area the state would publicise.
Recently, 20 maidens from Suho, the Yoruba ancient settlement, participated in this year “Awonga” mass marriage ceremony.
The event, which had since been submitted under the programme of the state’s tourism board.
Oyo
An Ikeja High Court, Lagos Tuesday sentenced the Director of Micro Economic Planning in the Oyo State Ministry of Special Duties, Mrs Helen Banke Laoye, to 20 years imprisonment over fraud.
The judge found her guilty of the two counts of conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence which is contrary to sections 8 (a) and 3(e) of the Advance fee fraud Act and convicted her on bath counts.
The statement of offence stated that Laoye obtained money by false pretence and conspired with one Dr. Olaoluwa Balogun whi is now at large, to fraudulently collect N4 million from one Segun Olorunfunmi and Adeola Adepoju of the East Atlantic Business System Support Services.
Justice Morenike Obadina, while delivering her judgment said: it is unfortunate that the defendant abused her office. I here by sentence her to 10 years for each of the two charges to run concurrently from September 21, 2008 and she should refund N4 million as restitution upon her release from custody.
According to information field in count, the convicted Helen Laoye carried out the fraud under the pretence of carrying out a project of procuring bond for government in 25 states for the federal government through the DFID, and went ahead with the project without the knowledge of the Oyo State Civil Service.
Taraba
Governor Danbaba Suntai of Taraba State has urged the Igbo in the State to be more united in the interest of peace and development.
The governor made the call Tuesday at the Igbo Day celebration held in Jalingo, the State capital, adding that in spite of the rapid growth and development by the Igbo in the state, unity had continued to elude them.
Suntai, who further observed the uniqueness of the Igbo, said they were mostly spread across the country and beyond and were very accommodating, but lamented that those in the state were factionalised.
He attributed the disunity, which has split the Igbo in the state into two groups as the devils handiwork.
The Igbo Community in the state as gathered by the Guardian has been factionalised into two groups, namely: Igbo welfare Association (IWA) and Igbo Community Association (ICA).
Abuja
Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, on behalf of the party’s National Working Committee has felicitated with Muslims and all Nigerians on the occasion of this year’s Eid el Kabir – the great feast of Muslims’ sacrifice.
Prince Ogbulafor said in a message to Muslims yesterday in Abuja that the Eid el Kabir festival and celebration which places emphasis on the virtues of complete submission and sacrifice once again reminds all of their duties to the Almighty God and nation, Nigeria.
Ogbulafor said he and the PDP were happy to observe that Nigeria is at what he described as “the threshold of a great transformation”, adding that the momentum requires the patriotism, loyalty and sacrifice of all citizens to be sustained.
He said that the occasion therefore offers a unique opportunity to show and share LOVE to one another and not to dwell on issues that have a tendency to divide the nation and her peoples.
He added:” On this special occasion, our great Party, the PDP invites all Nigerians to join hands with the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Alhaji Umaru Musa Var’ Adua (GCFR) in our steady march to greatness. We wish all Nigerians a peaceful and Joyful celebration Barka Da Sallah”
Lagos
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State Tuesday enjoined Corps members servicing in the state to be of good behaviour, in the same vein, the State Coordinator of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), mr Ladipo Laniyan, has called on the corps members to avoid any anti-social behaviour.
They made the call Tuesday in Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos during the closing ceremony of the 2009 batch ‘C’ orientation for Corps members.
Fashiola who was represented by Special Assistant to the Governor on Special Duties, Mr Kofo Abayomi, promised to provide opportunities for the new corps members to contribute their “quota to the development of the state in the areas of education, free health care as well as environmental sanitation.”
While commending the corps members for their “display of abundant skills and talents during the orientation course” the governor urged them to accept their posting to their various places of primary assignments in good faith.
Ogun
The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), Ota Business Unit has launched 40 micro Business Units (MTSUS) to bring its service closer to electricity consumers in the network.
The units are billed to motivate customers’ bill settlement habit, monitor customers who illegally tamper with PHCN installations, record complains and ensure that adequate steps are taken to restore any faulty facility at any point in time.
Speaking at the official inauguration of the MBUS at the company’s promises in Ota recently, Mr Kayode Moyosore, said the establishment of MBUS was based on the premises to extend its services to some of the customers which the unit had hitherto found difficult to reach in the past.
“We have discovered that there are lots of potentials around here and if we do not reach out to them it may be difficult for us to extend our improved services to them” – he said.
Nation
Over 26,000 Lagos Students Failed 2024 WASSCE -Commissioner
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that 26,592 public school students failed the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, raising alarm across the state’s education sector.
The state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, during a ministerial press briefing yesterday in Alausa, Ikeja, said that “45.7 per cent of the 58,188 students from public schools who sat for the exams did not pass.”.
This failure rate comes despite the state government’s significant financial backing N1.577 billion was paid on behalf of the students to cover WAEC fees.
“Suffice to say that the sum of N1,577,794,000 only was paid by the state government as examination fees for 58,188 students who were captured for the year 2024 WASSCE,” Alli-Balogun announced.
In a bid to tighten accountability and avoid wastage, the Commissioner disclosed that biometric and image registration was carried out to accurately determine eligible students for government sponsorship for the 2025 WASSCE.
“The exercise successfully captured and registered 56,134 students as bona fide beneficiaries of the Lagos state government’s sponsorship for the examination,” he added.
However, the Lagos State Government rolled out a bold educational intervention – the Eko Learners’ Support Programme for WASSCE and NECO candidates – aimed at reversing the tide of academic failure in the state’s public schools.
Launched on January 14, 2025, the initiative is part of a broader commitment by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to equip Lagos students with tools for success.
“This forward-thinking initiative was designed to support and empower young scholars in attestation of the ministry’s commitment to advancing interest and management of the educational system in Lagos State,” Alli-Balogun stated.
Nation
Ekiti Vaccinates Over 226,000 Girls Against HPV
Ekiti State Government says it has vaccinated 226,429 eligible girls in the State against the Human Papilloma Virus, an infection believed to be a leading cause of cervical cancer.
The wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, said the HPV immunization exercise, which she flagged off in the State in May 2025 was a great success, noting that it reached targeted communities and protected children against cervical cancer.
The governor’s wife made the disclosure in Ado Ekiti yesterday during a one-day stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting on the introduction of Measles Rubella vaccines in Ekiti State.
She said, “The introduction of Measles Rubella Vaccines is a very crucial step towards protecting Ekiti children particularly the target age group of nine to 14 years from diseases.
“I urge all women in the State to regularly scan their breasts. This can be done with the aid of the Mammography machine which is available at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti”.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, noted that the Measles Rubella vaccines would be rolled out nationally in October, 2025.
Filani said that the State was taking proactive steps to sensitise residents of the State before the date to ensure adequate awareness on the vaccines by citizens.
Nation
Monarch Preaches Peace As He Unveils Palace

The Acting Ochimba of Ogida in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, Eze Ndudiri Azuatalam, says peace remains paramount in the socio-economic development of Etche land.
Eze Azuatalam, however, called on his people to embrace and eschew violence at all times.
The Onwa Nagbara Oha made the call during the official commissioning of his palace at Ogida recently.
The epoch-making ceremony held at his palace saw the attendance of members of the Etche Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs; the academia; the political class; the clergy ; women as well relevant stakeholders within and outside Etche land.
The Ngbaragida of Azuafor re-emphasised the essence of peace and social harmony which he said open the window for meaningful development to take place.
He also sought the support and collaboration of his people to achieve the desired goals of development, progress and prosperity.
He noted that the peace being witnessed in the area must be sustained through collective effort, saying, contributions and sacrifices need to be made by all concerned to live in peace.
Eze Azuatalam said his aim towards building a better Ogida cannot be compromised as he and his people have no other place called home.
The Acting Ochimba said as part of efforts to build a better Ogida, he has instituted a number of development projects, adding that some of his kinsmen have been empowered through his hard-earned money and resources, saying, he will continue to assist the less- privileged around him.
He reaffirmed his desire to impact positively on the lives of his people as the engagement of the youths will help to reduce social vices in the area.
He thanked members of the Etche Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs for honouring his invitation.
He specifically thanked the Onyi Ishi Etche and Ochie of Etcheland, His Eminence E mmanuel Opurum for leading Etche on the path of prosperity, and described the revered King as a role model to the younger generation.
He said his fatherly role has been a source of hope and inspiration to his subjects.
The palace was unveiled by His Eminence with the assistance of Ochimba of Abara, Eze Jonah Nwala and other prominent Etche traditional rulers and chiefs while the Onyi Ishi Etche was represented by Eze Ken Nwala, Onyi Ishi Agwuru, Ulakwo/ Umuselem Clan.
The Onyi Ishi Etche urged other prominent sons of Etche to emulate the kind gesture of Eze Ndudiri Azuatalam as his magnanimity is being seen and appreciated by his people.
Eze Azuatalam also applauded the efforts of Prof Mekuri Ndimele, former Vice Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in the growth of Etche land.
According to him, during Ndimele’ s tenure, a lot of development projects were sited at the institution, including the development of Etcheland and empowerment of Etche people.
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