Nation
THE STATES
From Left: Asst. Editor In-Chief, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Obike Ukor; Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Ajjampur Ghanashyam and Editor, Foreign Directorate, Mr Uche Annune, at the NAN Forum in Abuja last Sunday.
Adamawa
The Adamawa State Command of the National Drug Law
Enforcement Agency ( NDLEA) said it seized illicit drugs weighing 681.267kg from January to June 20, 2015.
Commander of the agency in the state,Yakubu Kibo, disclosed this in Yola in his speech at the commemoration of the United Nations International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.
Kibo explained that out of the seizure, Indian hemp accounted for 231.91 kg while psychotropic substances weighed 449.357 kg.
“The agency, between January 2015 and June 20, seized 681.267 kg of illicit drugs.
“Out of the seizure, Cannabis Sativa accounted for 231.91 kg while psychotropic substances weighed 449.357 kg,” Kibo said.
Borno
The wife of the Borno State Governor, Hajiya Nana Shettima
on Wednesday, urged women in the state to strive hard toward ensuring quality education for their children and wards.
She said proper education would enable them become useful members of the society. Shettima said this during the distribution of food items to women groups at the multipurpose hall of the government house in Maiduguri.
“Ramadan is also a time for Muslims to unite and share not only food and drinks, but also ideas on how best to improve the society within which we live.
“Therefore, it is our collective responsibility to continue to pray and stand firm against any act capable of destroying us as people” she said.
Ekiti
The Coordinator of Vanguard for Better Living, an NGO,
Mr Samson Olaide, has urged government at all levels to accord priority to widows’ welfare. Olaide told newsmen in Ikole that government should start by elaborate celebration of the International Day of Widows in the country.
“This will create awareness and make governments at all levels to see to the plight of widows and make necessary provisions for their upkeep.
“Internatioal Widows Day is June 23 every year but many people including the widows are not aware of it; even some council chairmen are ignorant of the day, “ Olaide said.
He also appealed to philanthropists across the country to collaborate with government in embarking on projects that would be beneficial to the widows, especially in rural communities.
FCT
Stakeholders in the fight against corruption in the country
have advocated for a different approach in the fight against corruption; saying the current methods have failed.
This view was articulated in Abuja at a seminar organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), with the theme: “The Fight Against Corruption in Nigeria, the Way Forward’’.
The President of the NBA, Mr Augustine Alegeh, noted that anti-corruption agencies were operating full blast to curb corruption, yet corruption was thriving unhindered.
“Since attaining independence over 54 years ago, Nigeria has continued to grapple with the unending issue of combating corruption.
Jigawa
The Jigawa State and Local Governments Contributory Pen
sion Scheme has released the sum of N468.1 million for the payment of pensioners and gratuity for dead civil servants.
The Executive Secretary of the scheme, Alhaji Suleiman Kiyawa, who spoke with newsmen after the screening of beneficiaries in Dutse, said the payment was for the month of March. Kiyawa explained that 349 pensioners and relatives of deceased workers would benefit, adding that cheques had been given to court registrars for onward delivery to the beneficiaries. According to him, the last payment was made to pensioners in April this year and that arrangement had commenced to pay the next batch by the end of June.
He said that the state government was committed to welfare of its retired workers and benefits of those that died in service.KadunaKaduna
Kaduna
The Commissioner of Police in Kaduna State, Mr Umar
Shehu, has solicited for the collective support of Nigerians to enhance peace and stability in the country.
Shehu made the appeal in Kaduna when he received a delegation of the state chapter of Igbo Community Welfare Association who paid him a courtesy visit.
He said that the police was committed to protecting lives and property of all Nigerians, adding that they would require the support of the general public to achieve the mandate.
The police commissioner charged the Igbo leaders to play more vital role in peace building, saying that partnership with other socio-cultural groups will be necessary in engendering mutual co-existence.
Lagos
The Environmental Health Officers’ Registration Council
of Nigeria (EHORCON), on Wednesday, said that it would not hesitate to sanction any members who compromise on ethics.
The Registrar of the council told newsmen in Lagos that the use of quacks in the execution Mr Augustine Ebisike of environmental health services would no longer be tolerated.
The council’s reaction followed criticisms by some residents of Lagos, on shoddy environmental health jobs like fumigation and waste management being handled by quacks.
Nasarawa
The Jamaatu Nasir Islam (JNI), an Islamic umbrella, has
called on clerics and Nigerians to be positive at all times to overcome the security challenges affecting the country. The Chairman of the organisation in Toto local government area of Nasarawa State Alhaji Saidu Umar, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Toto.
He urged Nigerians to adopt positive attitude at all times to overcome the present security challenges and other socio-economic woes affecting the country.
Umar identified corruption, kidnapping and ritual killing, among others, as some of the factors that are affecting the country and called for all hands to be on deck in order to tackle it for the overall development of the country.
Ogun
An Obstetrician , Dr Kayode Opadeyi, has urged govern
ment at all levels to increase budgetary allocation to the health sector to strengthen maternal and child health.
Opadeyi, who is also a gynaecologist at the Tolulope Specialist Hospital, Ijebu-Ode, told newsmen in Ijebu-Ode that increased budgetary allocation to the sector would also enhance economic growth.He said that inadequate funding for the sector constituted major hindrance to reproductive health activities and family planning.
“Inadequate personnel at health facilities are also posing serious threat to the provision of quality healthcare delivery.
Plateau
Some local government chairmen in Plateau State have com
mended President Muhammadu Buhari over his directive ordering the dismantling of checkpoints across the country.
Buhari had last Monday ordered the dismantling of the check points while directing the police to take charge of internal security.
The chairmen, in separate interviews with newsmen described the president’s directive as timely and a step in the right direction.
Chairman of Pankshin Local Government, Mr Samuel Goar, said that ordering the soldiers back to the barracks would restore their image.
The Chairman of Kanke Local Government Council, Mr John Gotau, who said internal security was the sole prerogative of the police, commended the president for the directive and said the road blocks help in frightening criminals.
Taraba
The Taraba State Ministry of Urban Development has said
the ongoing demolition of illegal structures erected within the Jalingo metropolis was to restore the state capital’s original master plan.
The Administrative Officer of the Ministry, Mr Abel Bako, told newsmen in Jalingo that the exercise was aimed at easing congestion in Jalingo.
Bako said the Jalingo master plan, which had been disrupted by illegal structures, must be restored before infrastructure development could occur in the metropolis.
He denied claims in some quarters that the exercise was politically motivated, stressing that the measure was carried out in line with laid down rules and regulations of the ministry.
The ministry had mobilised tractors and graders to Sintali Filling Station area and began destruction of about ten shops beside the station along Donga road.
Yobe
The General Manager, Yobe State Rural Water Supply and
Sanitation Agency (RUWASA), Alhaji Muhammad Bukar, has expressed the agency’s determination to ensure total elimination of open defecation in the state.
He gave the assurance in an interview with newsmen in Damaturu.
He said the agency had evolved strategies to scale up sanitation activities through sustained behavioural change.
He added that RUWASA hoped to achieve this through mobilisation of communities to understand the risks associated with open defecation.
The general manager said that with the support of EU and UNICEF, the agency had launched an awareness campaign across 200 communities in Bade and Nguru local government areas of the state to sensitise communities on the health hazards of open defecation.
According to him, the agency has also set up a task force group on sanitation to ensure that all latrines are well maintained and all open defecation sites cleaned.
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.