Nation
THE STATES
Chairman, Tribunal of Inquiry into Collapsed Buildings in Lagos, Mrs Abimbola Ajayi (left), presenting the report of the tribunal to Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State last Monday.
Photo: NAN
Benue
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State last Mon
day charged auditors to curb corruption in the country by living up to their responsibilities.
Suswam gave the charge in Makurdi at the National Conference and Annual Meeting of the Committee of Heads of Internal Audit Department in Nigerian Universities (CHIADINU).
The governor said that corruption was affecting private or public sectors, reminding them that it was only auditors that could stem the ugly trend.
He also enjoined them to evolve strategies at checking misapplication of funds in all public and private organisations. .
In his keynote address, Prof. Richard Anao, said that the prolonged ASUU strike had far-reaching implications on the country’s university system.
Borno
The Borno State Government has appealed to the
United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) to include women victims of gender violence in its humanitarian service in the state.
Governor Kashim Shettima made the appeal while receiving Mrs Victoria Achenfon, the UNFPA country representative, in his office in Maiduguri.
Shettima said the gesture would help in rehabilitating women who suffered different kinds of gender violence due to the current security challenges in the state.
“Several young women have suffered different kinds of gender violence due to the insurgency facing the state.
FCT
The Auxiliary Bishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Abuja,
Rt. Rev. Anselm Umoren, has called on Christians to be grateful to God in spite of the challenges around them.
Umoren gave the exhortation in his homily at the Harvest Thanksgiving and Bazaar of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish, Gwarinpa, Abuja last Sunday.
He said the fact that they were alive was worthy of celebration, adding: “you may have food but not alive to eat.
“Let everything be an expression of all that God has given to you. If you are grateful, God will bless you for appreciating His blessings in your lives,’’ he said.
Jigawa
Thousands of youths under the umbrella of National
Volunteer for Lamido 2015 took to the streets of Dutse, the Jigawa State capital, protesting the arrest of two sons of Jigawa state governor, Sule Lamido, by officials of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), last week.
The two sons, Mustapha and Aminu Sule Lamido, were arrested last Thursday at their residences in Kano for alleged N10 billion money laundering.
Efforts by Governor Lamido and his associates to see that the EFCC released the two accused on bail proved abortive.
The state coordinator of National Volunteer for Lamido 2015, Malam Musa Gambo Guri, who addressed the crowd in Dutse, said the arrest was political, aimed at tarnishing the image of the governor.
Kaduna
Not less than 3,500 intending pilgrims from Kaduna
State will depart Kaduna for Abuja to perform this year’s Christian pilgrimage in Israel.
The Chairman, Board of Directors, Kaduna state Christian Pilgrims Board, Mr Buba Lamido, made the disclosure in Kaduna State at a sensitisation programme for the intending pilgrims.
He advised them to adhere to religious regulations in Israel, eschew extravagance and pray for Nigeria.
He said that the pilgrimage was meant to transform the moral and spiritual lives of Christians and urged the intending pilgrims to report cases of illness to the board before their departure from Abuja.
Kano
The Kano State Government has sponsored 251 senior
civil servants for the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON) workshop and examination to enable them to acquire quality administrative and managerial skills.
The state’s Head of Service, Dr Umar Minjibir, disclosed this at the launch of the 19th Batch ASCON workshop and examination at the Murtala Mohammed Library, Kano, last Monday.
He also said that the state government had sponsored 10 officers from the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning to pursue a master’s degree programme at the Regional Centre for Training in Aero Space Surveys (RECTAS), Oyo State
In his remarks, the Director-General of ASCON, Mr A. A. Peters, who was represented by a Director, Dr Tahir Fagge, said that the two-week management workshop would broaden the intellectual scope of the participants.
Kebbi
The Kebbi Government has established a shelter belt
covering 140 kilometres as part of the ongoing regional Great Green Wall afforestation programme, an official said last Monday.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Alhaji Katuni Sanusi, made the disclosure in Birnin Kebbi in an interview with newsmen.
Sanusi also said the programme was executed under the SURE-P projects scheme and in conjunction with the Federal Government.
He said the efforts made by the state in this regard had helped it in recording remarkable progress in the area of environmental protection.
“In addition to the established shelter belt, an additional 84 kilometres of shelter belt had been established in desert-prone areas,” the permanent secretary said.
Sanusi however advised the public against cutting down trees, in view of their long-term benefits, warning that violators would be prosecuted.
Kwara
The Kwara State University, Malete, has matriculated
1,127 new students.
The university’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. AbdulRasheed Na’Allah, in his address, said that the new students were part of the 9,500 candidates, who applied for admission into the university.
He stressed that the university had academic excellence, institutional integrity, equity and diversity as its core values.
He said that these core values would serve as a catalyst for the intellectual growth and personal development of the students.
Lagos
No fewer than 135 buildings collapsed in Lagos in the
last seven years, the state’s Tribunal of Enquiry on Building Collapse said lastMonday.
The chairperson of the tribunal, Mrs Abimbola Ajayi, said this while presenting the tribunal’s report to Governor Babatunde Fashola in Ikeja.
The tribunal was constituted by the state government on May 20, following the spate of collapsed buildings in the state. It had a mandate to unravel the causes of the problem and come up with recommendations within three months.
Ajayi said that 130 cases were recorded before the tribunal was inaugurated while five buildings collapsed after it was set up.
Niger
The Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment
Programme (SURE-P) has set aside N15 billion to pay allowances of unemployed graduates participating in its Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS).
Head of its GIS, Mr Akubo Adegbe, disclosed this to newsmen in Minna during an interactive session.
Adegbe said each of the 50,000 participants to be recruited for the internship programme would earn N25,000 monthly.
He said the scheme was aimed at providing participants with requisite experience in various disciplines preparatory to securing jobs.
Ogun
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State last Mon
day called for proactive measures toward eradication of quackery and ethical misconduct in the media industry.
Amosun made the call in Abeokuta at the 2013 Press Week organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Ogun council.
The governor was represented by Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy said that journalists were crucial to the national stability, good governance and promotion of democratic ideals.
Amosun advocated collaboration between leadership of NUJ, Nigeria Police and the State Security Service (SSS) in tracking down fake practitioners.
Sokoto
The Nigeria Medical Association (NMA), Sokoto State
Chapter, has introduced a programme for the free treatment of 2,000 diabetic patients monthly.
The programme tagged: “Collaborative Community Health Programme’’ was flagged off on Sunday at Gagi, near Sokoto in Sokoto South Local Government Area.
The programme will cover the 23 local government areas in the state.
It was jointly organised by the state chapter of the Islamic Medical Association of Nigeria, the Nigeria Aid Group of the Jama’atul Nasril Islam and the Minarat Science Academy, Gagi-Sokoto.
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.