Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development says it has registered 13,335 farmers for the 2013/2014 dry season farming in Adamawa State.
The Federal Director of Agriculture in the state, Dr Walia Hamman, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Yola.
Hamman said that the development followed the successful implementation of the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) in the state.
He added that the dry season farming scheme was the first of its kind, introduced by the Federal Government.
Borno
The Borno State Government has
presented certificates to 40 Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) patients, who were trained on various skills.
The State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Inna Galadima, said at a ceremony to present the certificates in Maiduguri that the women had undergone successful corrective surgery.
Galadima said that the women were trained in tailoring and catering services to enable them sustain themselves.
“I am pleased to inform you that the trainees have learnt different income generating skills that will assist them to improve their health conditions and provide support to their families.
Ekiti
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) has
advised unemployed graduates in Ekiti State to make themselves available for the various skill acquisition programmes of the directorate.
The State NDE Coordinator, Mrs Adeola Shafaru, gave the advice, while speaking with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti.
She stressed that jobless graduates would become gainfully employed if they embraced the programmes.
She said that the NDE had put in place a “Graduate Attachment Programme’’, where graduates were recruited and posted to government and private establishments for a six-month training to expose them to practical experiences in various vocations.
FCT
The Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Turaki,
has called on stakeholders in education to take urgent action and show commitment in tackling the problems of the education sector.
Turaki made the call in Abuja at the Pre-AGM Dinner of Unity Schools Old Students Association (USOSA).
“There is no substitute for good and qualitative education and we must all agree that education is the business of all.
“To ensure any transformation, there must be functional and social infrastructure, which education is a larger part,” he said.
Jigawa
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
(NSCDC) in Jigawa last Saturday said that it had arrested two suspects (names withheld) for allegedly stealing diesel.
The NSCDC Commandant in the state, Mr Muhammad Gidado, told newsmen in Dutse that the suspects were arrested on the Dutse-Huguma road by NSCDC officers who were on patrol of the area.
He explained that the suspects were arrested in a Golf car that was fully loaded with 30 jerry cans, containing 25 litres of diesel each.
Gidado said that the diesel was suspected to be stolen from the yards of Dantata and Sawoe, as well as Setraco construction companies.
Kaduna
A Catholic priest, Rev. James Bako, has urged
Nigerians to ensure equity and justice for all persons, irrespective of their religious affiliations or status in society.
Bako made the call in his homily at the Our Lady of Fatima Chaplaincy, Sabo in Kaduna State.
The cleric called on the populace to be humble, advocate truth and pray for peace, unity and development of the nation.
He also urged the citizenry to be unbiased in their judgments and to imbibe positive attitudes.
Kano
Female members of All Farmers Association of
Nigeria (AFAN), in Kano State, have called on the state government to include them as beneficiaries when distributing fertilisers.
Leader of the women farmers, Hajiya Fatima Kiru, told newsmen in Kano that government should also give them implements for irrigation farming.
“We are calling on the state government to give special consideration to our members in the distribution of fertilisers for this year’s dry season farming’’, Kiru said.
She said the call was necessary because members of the association produced about 500,000 bags of rice during dry season farming in the state.
Kwara
Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has
advised the new local government chairmen in the state, to practise politics of inclusion in their respective council areas.
He gave the advise while speaking with newsmen on the outcome of Saturday’s local government elections in 15 local government areas of the state.
Ahmed urged the winners to see their victory as part of nation building and therefore, be magnanimous in victory so as to collectively move the state forward.
“We are running a true democracy in the state and in an ideal democratic setting, people are free to do things the way they want it.
Lagos
A member of the Lagos State House of Assembly,
Suuru Avoseh has warned Lagos residents to desist from patronising roadside food vendors to prevent the spread of cholera disease in the state.
Avoseh, who is the Chairman of House Committee on Health Services, gave the advice while speaking with newsmen in Lagos State.
“The most important step to prevent the spread of cholera disease is to be conscious of whatever we eat.
“People should stay away from roadside foods; they should also be careful of the water they drink.
Niger
The Niger State Government has approved the sales
of uncompleted 250 housing units opposite Zuma Rock in Suleja in line with the tripartite arrangement for the project in 2003.
The Commissioner for Land and Housing, Dr. Peter Sarki, told newsmen in Minna that the State Executive Council approved the sales in agreement with the two other parties involved.
Sarki said the other two parties involved were Federal Mortgage Bank and Sintax Nigeria Limited.
He recalled that the Federal Mortgage Bank had earlier agreed to provide N639.7 million in three tranches of 40 per cent initial release and 30 per cent each in two subsequent releases.
Plateau
The wife of late Senator Gyang Dantong, Mrs Hanatu
Dantong, has inaugurated four health centres initiated by her husband and completed by his successor, Sen. Gyang Pwajok in Jos.
The widow inaugurated the Plateau North constituency projects at the behest of Pwajok in memory of his late predecessor, who died in a stampede on July 8, 2012, when gunmen attacked mourners in Bachit, Plateau State.
The four health centres, undertaken by the office of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) included a Management Care ward and Primary Health Care (PHC) centre facility at the Christian Hospital, Vom, as well as a PHC centre at Fan-Loh and Bisichi in Barkin-Ladi, Plateau.
Also inaugurated was a block of three classrooms, VIP toilets and boreholes at the Jos Township Primary School.
Taraba
The DSK Foundation, a non-governmental
organisation, has urged the people of Taraba State to eschew violence and embrace peace so as to enhance the socio-economic development of the state.
The foundation’s President, Chief David Kente, gave the advice in Wakari at the end of a two-day workshop on “Peace as a Panacea for Development’’, organised by the foundation.
Kente stressed that the recurrent acts of violence in parts of the state had slowed down economic activities, adding that the development had further aggravated the rate of poverty and hunger in the society.
“We must eschew violence and imbibe the spirit of ‘give and take’, so as to promote peace and development in the state.
L-R: Former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III and Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State when General Abubakar paid a courtesy call in Sokoto, yesterday.
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.