Nation
THE STATES

Representative of the Acting Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (nan), Hajiya Kahdijat Lawal (right), presenting a souvenir to the National Publicity Secretary, International Federation of Women Lawyers (fida), Princess Frank-Chukwani (left) and the fida National Secretary, Mrs Rhoda Tyoden-Moore, during the visit of fida delegation to nan headquarters in Abuja, recently.
FCT
The Senate Appropriation Committee has begun the
harmonisation of budget reports of various sub committees and promised that the committee would produce error-free budget.
Senator Danjuma Goje, the Chairman of the Appropriation Committee, who met with chairmen of the various committees, stressed that the harmonisation would ensure that all errors and discrepancies were corrected.
He promised that the committee would sit for one week and round up its report which would be submitted to the Senate next week.
“The appropriation committee is ready now to start receiving this report and we have one week to conclude this assignment, so this committee will sit from 10 in the morning till six in the evening.
Jigawa
The Jigawa State Government has approved N500
million for the procurement of 5,000 metric tons of assorted fertilizers for the 2016 cropping season.
Alhaji Bala Ibrahim, the state Commissioner for Information, stated this in Dutse while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting.
“As you are all aware, fertilizer plays a very crucial role in providing optimum production in agriculture, especially when it is timelessly applied by framers.
“And the state government has resolved to improve the living standard of the rural populace, hence the need to provide agricultural inputs to the teeming farmers during both wet and dry farming seasons,’’ he said.
Ibrahim said the council also approved the setting up of State Housing Authority.
According to him, it will facilitate accessing of over N2 billion loan from the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) for the construction of 1,330 houses in the state.
Kaduna
Kaduna State Commissioner for Education, Sci
ence and Technology, Dr Shehu Adamu, says the provision of free uniforms to secondary school students is part of efforts to reinvigorate the education sector in the state.
Adamu said this in a message to the presentation of the free uniforms to students under Sabon-Tasha Zonal Education Office in Kaduna.
Represented by Malam Usamatu Umar-Dabo, Deputy Director, Educational Services, the commissioner stressed that the gesture would ensure uniformity in the students’ wears.
“The essence of the gesture is to ensure that all secondary school students across the state wear the same uniform.
Katsina
The Katsina State Government has awarded N104.2
million contract for the renovation and construction of new buildings at Funtua General Hospital.
The Project Manager from the state Ministry of Health, Mr Abubakar Ado, said at the site that the facelift was aimed at improving healthcare delivery in the state.
Ado added that the contract was partial fulfilment of government’s readiness to uplift hospitals across the state.
He described the contract as Phase 2 that would cover the renovation of male and female amenities.
The manager said it also covered the renovation of the administration block, female and male mosques, Out Patient Department (OPD) and the central store.
Kano
Alhaji Saleh Marke, a legislator representing
Dawakin-Tofa Constituency in Kano State House Assembly, has donated 1, 000 double decker-beds to Government Girls’ Secondary School Kwa in Kano.
The school was recently gutted by fire.
Presenting the items to the principal of the school, Hajiya Fati Sarki, Marke said the gesture was aimed at assisting the students.
He said that it was his obligation to assist the school at the time the assistance was needed.
“As representative of my people I have no reason to ignore the plight of the students,“ he said.
Marke expressed hope that the gesture would reduce the suffering of the students and enable them pursue their studies without hindrance.
Kebbi
The Kebbi State Government would partner with the
National Cereals Research Institute, Badeggi, Niger State, to produce improved seedlings that would boost commercial rice and wheat production.
Information on the partnership is contained in a statement issued by Alhaji Abubakar Muazu, the Press Secretary to the Governor, made available in Birnin Kebbi.
The statement quoted Muazu as saying that the state governor had showed interest in buying the institute‘s new variety of improved seedlings after inspecting its model farms.
He said that the institute‘s Irrigation Officer, Fadeiye Olalekan, who conducted the governor round some model farms said the improved seedlings were free of diseases and capable of yielding 22 tonnes of rice per hectare.
He added that the governor had promised to distribute improved seedlings to farmers as part of efforts to produce rice in commercial quantity.
Kwara
The Emir of llorin, Alhaji lbrahim Sulu-Gambari,
has appealed to Nigerians to ensure the success of the forthcoming 2017 census across the country.
The emir made the appeal when he received the management staff of the National Population Commission (NPC) in his palace in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Our correspondent reports that the delegation was led by the NPC Federal Commissioner in the state, Alhaji Abubakar Ndakene.
Sulu-Gambari said that accurate and reliable census was one of the indices for planning any development in any country.
He prayed for the successful conduct of the exercise and pledged to help mobilise all traditional leaders in the state for its success.
Nasarawa
A Mararaba Grade 1 Area Court, Aso Pada,
Nasarawa State, has sentenced a 23-year-old bricklayer, Matthew Isaac, to 12 strokes of the cane for unlawful possession of army uniform.
The presiding officer, Mr Albert Maga, sentenced the convict after he pleaded guilty and begged for leniency.
Isaac, a resident of Nyanya Gwandara, Nasarawa State, was convicted for being in possession of army uniform, three caps and two boots.
Maga warned the convict to be careful in future with what he goes about holding as he would not take it likely with him next time.
The Prosecutor, Cpl. Friday Adaji, had told the court that Idoko John of Elite Security Organisation, Mararaba, reported the matter at the ‘A’ Division Police Station on February 21.
Ondo
A 31-year-old man, Hassan Adeyinka, charged with
conspiracy and armed robbery, has been remanded in Olokuta Prisons custody by an Akure Chief Magistrates’ Court.
Chief Magistrate Sunday Adedapo ordered the remand of the accused in prison custody, pending the receipt of legal advice from the state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)
Adedapo said that the original copy of the case file should be sent to the state Chief Registrar for safe keeping.
The Principal Legal Officer, Mr Wale Bamisile, told the court that the accused and others at large, armed with guns and other offensive weapons, attacked and stole a Techno IPad phone valued N95,000.
Sokoto
The Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto (UDUS)
Alumni Association, Abuja Chapter, says it is undertaking a water project for the institution at the cost of more than N46 million.
The President of chapter, Mr Kasimu Yahaya, disclosed this while fielding questions from reporters on the sideline of the association’s retreat in Abuja recently.
The theme of the retreat is ‘Strategic Thinking, Planning and Organisational Transformation’.
“We have project of N46 .something million- that is about the water project- because we cannot allow our brothers, our children to be in the university where they have inadequacy of water supply.
“It is a very key thing; we are looking at it.
“So, we are trying; both our senior ones and us to see how we can come together and finance this project at the chapter level.
Nation
Council Boss Impeached 48 Hours To LG Polls In Katsina
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.
Nation
Association Tasks Fubara On Rumuwoji Market Phase Three
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.
Nation
AfDB President Denies 2027 Presidential Ambition
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.