Nation
THE STATES
R-L: Minister of Finance and author of the book, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; former Commonwealth Secretary General and Chairman of the occasion, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, representative of the President of Nigeria, Vice President Namadi Sambo and the Chief Launcher, Ide Ahaba, Chief Sonny Odogwu, at a book presentation entitled `Reforming The Unreformable, Lesson From Nigeria' by Dr Iweala in Abuja,recently. Photo: NAN.
Benue
Benue State Commissioner for Education, Dr Elizabeth Ugo, has advised secondary schools principals in the state to desist from admitting students into JSSIII, SSII and SSIII classes.
Ugo gave this advice in Makurdi at a meeting between the ministry and stakeholders in the education sector.
The commissioner who emphasised that the stoppage of the practice had become necessary to check and to eliminate all forms of examination malpractice., lamented that Benue was always on top of the chart of states that indulged in examination malpractice, adding that the development was tarnishing the image of the state.
Ekiti
The Chairman, Ekiti Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board, Chief Aaron Komolafe, has urged contingent to the 2012 Jerusalem pilgrimage to see the exercise as a serious spiritual one and not as a jamboree.
He gave the charge in Ado-Ekiti at a one-day orientation programme organised for the intending pilgrims.
Komolafe, who noted that the programme was aimed at sensitising intending pilgrims on what would be required of them before and during the pilgrimage, advised them to allow the impact of pilgrimage to reflect on them, their families, Ekiti and the country at large.
He warned them to be moderately dressed and to exhibit characters that would show them as people from the land of honour, adding that they should be good ambassadors of the state.
FCT
The Minister of State for Education, Chief Nyesom Wike has urged the Universal Basic Education Commission to improve its monitoring and evaluation of basic education projects.
Wike, who made the call while monitoring the Federal Government Special Girl-Child School project in Lafia, Nasarawa State, said that the practice would ensure that the projects achieved their desired results.
He expressed disappointment over the poor supervision of construction work in the school and regretted that the quality of job carried out by the contractor under the supervision of UBEC consultant was below the specification of the Federal Government.
“I wonder why UBEC consultant would write the UBEC management claiming that the school has been fully completed and initiating the takeover process for the school.
Gombe
All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Gombe State Chapter, says over 1,600 farm lands were affected by flood in the state.
The Secretary of the association, Alhaji Gambo Sarkin-Noma disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Gombe.
He said that members of the association accompanied the committee set up by the Federal Government to inspect some of the affected areas that were seriously flooded, noting that plans were under way to drill boreholes in those areas for irrigation purposes.
According to him, almost every part of the state was affected but he identified the areas worst hit to include Dadin-Kowa in Yamaltu/Deba Local Government area which is close to the upper Benue river basin.
Jigawa
The Chairman, Jahun Local Government of Jigawa State, Alhaji Idris IIIiyasu has warned traders against indiscriminate dumping of wastes.
Illiyasu gave the warning while inspecting shopping malls, canteens and restaurants in Jahun town.
He decried the practice of indiscriminate dumping of waste by the traders, saying that the filthy environment exposed the residents to health risks.
“Poor waste disposal is posing serious environmental challenges,” he said, adding that the council would not condone acts capable of destroying the environment.
Kaduna
The Kaduna State Government said it spent more than N85 million on the payment of fees for its students that sat for the rescheduled 2011/2012 NECO examinations.
The state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Muhammed Usman, said this in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna.
Usman said the amount was used to pay the fees for all candidates in public and private schools in the state.
The examinations were rescheduled following the June 17 bomb attack on Churches in Zaria and Kaduna, and the reprisals that followed which led to the imposition of a curfew in the state.
Kano
Livestock traders in Kano State said that they recorded low patronage during the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.
Muslims worldwide celebrated Eid-el Kabir last Friday to mark the end of the 2012 Hajj operation.
“We have no choice but to return our unsold animals home due to low sales recorded this year,” some of the traders said.
Malam Habu Mu’azu, a trader from Rimin-Gado Local Government area of Kano, said he recorded a loss due to poor patronage.
“This year has been a horrible one in terms of sales. I brought 30 rams but I only sold eight during the two weeks of my stay in the city.”
Kebbi
The Kebbi State Government has released N156 million for the payment of tuition and registration fees for indigent students on scholarship in tertiary institutions.
The executive secretary of the state scholarship board, Alhaji Murtala Yauri told newsmen in Birnin Kebbi has that the payment to each institution would be immediate.
He said personal details of beneficiaries would be scrutinised to avoid irregularities, adding that students who had earlier paid their tuition or registration fees would be refunded “after showing evidence of such payment”.
He said N1.2 billion had been spent in the past two years for the payment of tuition and registration fees for students within and outside the country, pointing out that the government recently released N67 million for the sponsorship of 32 indigent students to study Medicine and Pharmacy in Sudanese Universities.
Kwara
The Kwara State Government has expressed its readiness to promote the cultivation of ‘Moringa’ plant tree because of its medicinal and economic potential.
Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed stated this in Ilorin in a message to the conference of the ‘Moringa’ Development Association.
He said that the government would encourage youths undergoing training at the Youth Farm Centre, Malete, in Moro Local Government Area to go into large-scale ‘Moringa’ farming with a view to boosting the state’s economy.
Lagos
Community Conservation and Development Initiatives (CCDI), an NGO, has urged local governments to establish local emergency management committees in their communities.
CCDI’s Director of Programmes, Mrs Kofo Adeleke, said in a statement in Lagos that such committees would be needed in disaster risk reduction and management.
Adeleke said that it was imperative for councils in the country’s six geopolitical zones to have structures on ground for reducing flood-related emergencies.
“Local councils in different parts of Nigeria need to be prompted to have these committees in place, as recently directed by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA),” she said.
Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development,Hajia Hadiza Alakayi, has urged parents to give priority to girl-child education to develop the state.
The Commissioner made the call at Obi during her familiarisation tour of Obi Local Government Area (LGA) of the state.
According to her, educating a female child is like educating the entire society; this is because women are vital instruments for development in every society.
She urged parents who considered the education of a girl-child as less important to reverse such notion and act wisely as that would enable them to overcome future challenges.
Ogun
The Ogun State Chief Judge, Justice Tokunbo Olopade, has set free 13 inmates in Ijebu-Ode and Sagamu prisons.
The inmates were released during the visit of the chief judge to the two prisons.
Nine inmates including four women regained their freedom in Ijebu Ode while an additional four in Sagamu prison had their sentences quashed.
The offences committed by the former inmates ranged from wandering, stealing, inability to repay loans as well as fighting.
Speaking during the visit, Olopade decried the attitude of the police in duplicating case files of the inmates, which she said, was making efforts at releasing those unjustly detained difficult.
Yobe
The Yobe State Livestock Development Programme said it had targeted 2,000 youths and women for training on commercial livestock farming and fattening before the end of the year.
The Programme Manager, Dr Mustapha Gaidam, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Damaturu said that the training would equip youths and women with techniques on commercial livestock farming as a means of employment and wealth creation.
The Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Maharazu Dayi, has been impeached.
Maharazu Dayi was impeached yesterday by 11 out of 12 councillors, barely two days before the local government elections in the State.
The councillors reportedly took action following allegations of misconduct and poor governance against the chairman after a dispute over the distribution of the council’s Paris Club funds.
The development has sent shock waves across the local government area, especially as the impeached chairman is among those who failed to secure the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to contest in the forthcoming election.
The Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association, Mile 1, Port Harcourt, has urged the state government to utilise the available spaces within the area to build phase 3 of the Rumuwoji Market in order to solve the ever increasing needs of traders.
The association, which said this at a media briefing in Port Harcourt, also described as a welcomed development the decision by the state Governor to open the phase 2 of the market for business.
According to the association, “We consider it as an answer to the various cries of the people, because he is a man on a mission who is out to place the interest of Rivers people first. It is a dream come true for the first time for the market to be dully allocated and open for business”
Chairman of the association, Hon Godspower Wobo, who briefed the press shortly after a meeting of the association in Port Harcourt, also urged the public to disregard the activities of some persons whose stock in trade is to cause disaffection in the market.
He said the attention of the association was drawn to the activities of some strange fellows who went about misforming the people about situation in the market, stressing that apart from his association, no other group exists in the market except subdiary unions.
Wobo also tasked the reallocation committee to tread with caution so as to avoid being deceived by any group.
According to him, time has come for the state government to engage in robust discussion with aggrieved shop owners who went to court and those who paid monies to the state coffers and issued with allocation certificates for the overall interest of peace.
He also advised the public to deal directly with his association, stressing that the meeting was to review activities for the last year as well as unveil their new Constitution.
Also speaking, former Chairman of the association, Deacon Kenneth Eze urged the Rivers State Governor, Sir Siminalayi Fubara to open the phase 2 of the market, as it is long overdue.
Eze who is the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the association also urged the public to do business with only the Rumuwoji Ultra Modern Market Traders Association as it is the only union recognised by the traders.
The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwunmi Adesina, has debunked reports linking him with the race for Nigeria’s presidency in 2027.
Reacting to the report on his X handle yesterday, following a recent interview with Arise TV, the AfDB boss said his quotes were misrepresented and misinterpreted in several Nigerian media reports.
However, the AfDB president denied the media reports, stating that he never said that he wanted to contest for President.
“A segment of my recent interview on @Arise TV has been both misinterpreted and misrepresented in several Nigerian media outlets. What I said was, “I will be available to serve in any capacity, globally, in Africa, anywhere, including my own country.”
“A listen to the substantive and robust interview, which is available online, will show this to be the case. For clarity and for the record, I did not say that I am running for the office of President of Nigeria,” Adesina said.
