Nation
THE STATES
Governor Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi State (left) with the Editor-In-Chief of the Media Trust Ltd, Mr Mannir Dan-Ali, during his visit to the Governor in Birinin Kebbi on Tuesday.
Borno
The Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj.-
Gen. Lucky Irabor, has attributed his troop’s recent successes in the anti-Boko Haram war in the North-East to improved welfare by the Nigerian Army Headquarters.
Irabor disclosed this when he spoke with newsmen in Maiduguri.
“When you see a troop that is fighting and making the kind of progress we have made from January to date, it means that the troop is motivated.
“If the troop is not motivated it will not give you that type of result,’’ he said.
Irabor was reacting to speculations about delayed payment of allowances to some soldiers working in the theatre.
“In January when my predecessor Maj.-Gen. Hassan Umaru took over the command, his maiden briefing was on the delay in payment of allowances to soldiers.
FCT
Stakeholders under the auspices of Project Harmony, a
non-governmental organisation, have urged Nigerians to support the Federal Government’s fight against corruption and mismanagement of the nation’s economy.
This is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a two-day National Conference on New Blueprint for Prevention, Resolution and Management of Conflicts.
The communiqué was signed by Mr Hassan Anka of Trade Union Congress (TUC) and Mr Nneka Ikelionwu of the Institute of Peace and Conflict Resolution, among others.
It stressed the need for encouragement of grassroots trade union leaders by their apex unions to avoid abuse of trade union immunity.
Kaduna
The Kaduna State Government said it would partner
with the Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals and other company to exploit the state solid minerals.
Governor Nasiru El-Rufai disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna.
“We are working with several companies and the Federal ministry of solid minerals to exploit some of our solid minerals in Kaduna.
“For instance, we have a lot of gold in the Birnin Gwari axis and we have gone far in discussions with several companies to come and do that,’’ he said.
He said the state government was also looking at other precious stones in Southern Kaduna and granite and marbles in other parts of the state.
The governor said discussions were ongoing and that the state government would also meet other prospective investors at the economic summit.
Kebbi
The Waziri Umaru Federal Polytechnic, Birnin Kebbi,
said it had sponsored 40 academic staff for post graduate studies within and outside the country in the last five years.
Its Rector, Alhaji Sani Aliyu, stated this in an interview with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi ,.
He said that 32 of the beneficiaries, including 12 doctorate and 20 master’s degree holders, had since completed their studies while the remaining eight were still pursuing their programmes at the various universities.
Aliyu said four of the beneficiaries had been “outstanding and worthy of celebration’’.
Kano
The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) said it
had sanctioned 15 filling stations in Jigawa and Kano States for various offences in the dispensing of petrol.
The department’s Controller in charge of both states, Alhaji Isa Tafida, made this known to newsmen in Kano after monitoring some filling station in the city.
He said that one of the erring stations was charged for breaking the seal of the department, in addition to the offence of selling above approved pump price.
Tafida said that the station paid fines of N1 million for breaking the seal in addition to N300, 000 for selling above approved price.
Lagos
The Iron and Steel Senior Staff Association of Nigeria
(ISSSAN) has advised the Federal Government to ensure that all legal issues that would affect the proposed revival of the Ajaokuta Steel Plant were settled amicably .
ISSAN President, Mr Otori Maliki, told newsmen in Lagos that the Federal Government should ensure that it settled any court case involving the company before restructuring it.
Maliki said that the steel plant stopped functioning since 2005 when it was sold to Global Steel, an Indian Company, during former President Olusegun Obasanjo- led administration.
He said that there were transnational irregularities at the rolling mill when it was privatised and those issues needed to be rectified before rebuilding it.
“Since 2007, the government has been in arbitration with Global Steel and Global Infrastructure Limited at the International Chamber of Commerce, (ICC) London.’’
Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State Government has revoked the con
tract for the construction of the new Orange Market bridge in Mararaba.
Governor Tanko Al-Makura made this known during the inauguration of TA’AL Community New Orange Market in Mararaba, Karu local government area of the state.
He said that the state government decided to revoke the contract following the inability of the contractor to meet the required specification and alleviate the suffering of traders and people plying the road.
Al-Makura said that the inauguration of the market would help to fight poverty, unemployment, youth restiveness as well as boost the socio-economic development of the state.
“Because of the slow pace of work and the inability of the contractor to meet required specification, the state government has no option than to revoke the contract,” he said.
Ogun
The Deputy Speaker, Ogun House of Assembly, Mr
Olakunle Oluomo, on Saturday, said the proposed Local Council Development Areas (LCDA) in the state would engender rapid socio-economic development.
Oluomo told journalists in Abeokuta that the bill was currently before the assembly, adding that when passed, would also promote efficiency and widen the revenue base of the state.
According to him, the LCDAs will bring efficiency in service delivery through redistribution of workers and enhanced revenue generation initiatives.
“The bill for a law to amend The Local Government Law of Ogun State, 2002, is currently before the house and we will do our bit to scrutinise it before passage,” he said.
Oyo
The Oyo State Government said that the 10-month old
agreement it had with organised labour in the state over unpaid salaries subsisted, warning them to refrain from confrontation.
This is contained in a statement signed by Alhaji Ismael Alli, a former Secretary to the State Government and leader of the government delegation which was made available to newsmen in Ibadan.
“We urge labour leaders to embrace dialogue and consultation instead of issuing threats and ultimatum of strike.
“As stakeholders they should brainstorm on how to bail the state out of its financial predicament,” it said.
Plateau
The Commandant, Police Staff College, Jos, Mr. Jo
seph Mbu, has called on Federal Government to rehabilitate police colleges ahead of the coming massive recruitment in the force.
Mbu, an Assistant Inspector-General, told newsmen that the recruitment would be worthless without better facilities in training schools.
It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari recently approved the recruitment of 10,000 policemen in the country.
Mbu described the state of police colleges as “in utter decay’’, saying hostels, lecture halls and other necessary facilities in the colleges were in very poor conditions.
Sokoto
A member of Sokoto State House of Assembly, Alhaji
Ibrahim Kabiru (APC), has advised President Muhammadu Buhari not to relent in his fight against corruption.
Kabiru, who gave the advice in Sokoto in an interview with newsmen urged Buhari to ensure that all those found guilty of embezzling the national treasury were prosecuted.
He said that the insecurity challenges facing the country were as a result of corruption by public officers in the last administration.
The legislator urged the government to ensure that looted funds were recovered, adding that such funds should be used in rehabilitating ailing industries in the country.
Yobe
The Executive Secretary of the Yobe State Emergency
Management Agency, Alhaji Musa Jidawa, has advised response groups to work as partners rather than competitors to avoid duplication and wastes.
Musa told newsmen in Damaturu that the emergency response actors had constituted a forum to coordinate areas of intervention to avoid over- lapping and duplication.
Musa, who is also the chairman of the forum, listed the actors as the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), the Red Cross, the World Health Organisation (WHO), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), World Food Programme (WFP), the UNICEF and Action against Hunger, among others.
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.