Nation
THE STATES
Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Saddiq Abubakar (left) and Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos during a visit of the Chief of Air Staff to Governor Ambode in Lagos, recently.
Adamawa
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared
Adamawa as a polio-free state.
The WHO Coordinator in the state, Dr Nuhu Ningi, confirmed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Yola.
Ningi said in the statement that Adamawa was free of Polio virus since 2009.
According to him, the absence of Polio in Adamawa was not a “mere chance” as speculated in some quarters.
“It is very unfortunate to describe all efforts of government and partners fighting against polio in the state as ‘mere chance occurrence’.”
“This statement by the Zonal Coordinator is unfortunate and absurdly lack scientific base,” Ningi said.
Bauchi
The Bauchi State Police Command, has confirmed the death
of two policemen and four civilians in an auto crash on Darazo-Bauchi road.
Spokesman of the command in a press release in Bauchi, DSP Mohammed Haruna, indicated that the accident, which involved a Vectra vehicle with registration number GJW 446 XA, occurred on April 13.
Haruna said that the vehicle, conveying two suspected kidnappers from Soro Police Division, had an accident at Dabe village in Ganjuwa local government area of the state.
He said eight other occupants of the vehicle with various degree of injuries were conveyed to Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University Teaching Hospital (ATBUTH) in Bauchi for treatment.
Ekiti
Farmers in Ekiti State have expressed worries over the delay
in getting assistance from the Federal Government to develop and expand their farms ahead of this year’s farming season.
Mr James Kupoluyi, the spokesman of All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Ikole local government area told newsmen that the delay might have negative impacts on the current farming season if not addressed urgently.
He disclosed that the Federal Government in the third quarter of 2015, directed every farmer in Nigeria to register for a programme tagged “Nigeria Agricultural Payment Initiative’’ (NAPI), with the aim of assisting farmers.
“Many of us registered and have been waiting since then but have not got the assistance from the government to expand our farms.
FCT
The Consumer Protection Council (CPC) has solicited
stronger partnership with the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for improved telecom services in the country.
The Director-General of CPC, Mrs Modupe Atoki, made the call when she visited the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta, in Abuja.
“There are certain complaints that we received and which we want to share and which we want to have this deliberation on a way forward to make sure that Nigerians begin to enjoy value for money.
“First is the quality of service, which every one of us here would have experienced one way or the other.
“It is still poor in spite of the effort that the NCC has put in, in streamlining their quality.”
Jigawa
The National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Jigawa
said it would soon introduce a skill acquisition training programme tagged, “School to Work” for secondary schools students in the state.
The NDE Coordinator,, Malam Muhammad Sambo, announced this in an interview with newsmen in Dutse.
Sambo said that the programme was part of the directorate’s initiatives targeted at SS3 and JS3 students.
“The programme is already captured in our budget this year,” Sambo said.
He explained that the agency would use long vacation period to train them in various skills to make them self reliant.
Katsina
Funtua local government area of Katsina State had returned
230 cows and 22 sheep to their lawful owners after they were recovered from the rustlers by a joint security taskforce at Sheme village.
Alhaji Hassan Gambo, Head of Administration of the local government, told the gathering that the rustled cows were stationed in Funtua for 18 days after they had been rescued from the bandits.
Gambo said that the local government officials carried out all the required processes of cattle identification and clearance from the owners before they were handed over to them.
He explained that the identification was done in the presence of the District Head of Funtua, Alhaji Sambo Idris, security agencies and the leaders of headsmen association.
Lagos
A total of 25,781 candidates registered for this year’s
National Common Entrance Examination (NCEE) in Lagos.
Our correspondent reports that the examination was for admission into the 104 Unity Colleges across the country.
The Lagos State Zonal Coordinator, National Examinations Council (NECO), Mr Gbenga Olapade, organisers of the examination, said in an interview that a total of 115 centres were being used for the examination across the state.
Olapade said that there were additional four centres for this year’s examination, when compared with 111 centres used for the same examination in 2015.
Ogun
A 68-year old man, Sulaimo Akindele, has been charged
before an Ota Magistrates’ Court for allegedly damaging a fish pond valued at N4 million belonging to one Adetayo Olanrewaju.
Akindele, who lives at No. 23 Ogunyemi Street, Iyana-Iyesi, Ota, is facing a two-count charge of conspiracy and malicious damage.
The Prosecutor, Sgt. Ebibomino Itaita, told the court that the accused and others still at large, committed the offences on February 20 at about 11:20 p.m. at Odo-Pako area of Ota.
Ebibomino said that the accused and his accomplices unlawfully damaged a fish pond valued at N4 million belonging to one Adetayo Olanrewaju.
Ondo
A petitioner in a divorce suit, Mr Olusola Ogunleye, has
told an Akure Customary Court that his wife’s siblings advised him to divorce her because of her stubborn nature.
Olusola, who had been married to his wife, Funmilayo, for 13 years, and the marriage blessed with four children, accused the respondent of always threatening him with knives and broken bottles whenever they had misunderstandings.
He said that whenever there was any misunderstanding between them, his wife was also fond of destroying his properties.
Nasarawa
The Akwanga local government in Nasarawa State has
inaugurated a 17-man taskforce to remove illegal structures along major roads in Akwanga and its environs within two weeks.
The Sole Administrator of the council, Mr Kwanta Yakubu, said in Akwanga while inaugurating the committee that the aim was to ease traffic and ensure healthy environment in the affected areas.
According to Yakubu, the decongestion is to discourage hawking, trading and other illegalities on major roads.
“The aim is to make Akwanga clean, healthy, and peaceful for everybody.
“The high rate of congestion along major roads has become a source of concern and as responsible government, we cannot fold our hands and watch the situation,” he said.
Plateau
The Bishop of Pankshin Diocese in Plateau, Mr Michael
Gokum, has urged the Federal Government to be pragmatic in its policy and programme implementation and save Nigerians from the current hardship.
He made the call in an interview with newsmen in Pankshin recently.
“Times are hard and the people are really suffering; I hope God will inspire our leaders, especially the Federal Government to do something drastic and save the situation.
“Nigeria is so blessed yet the people are suffering because of the greediness of our supposed leaders, who are starshing billions of naira within and outside the country.
“The doctrine of putting the interest of others before yours is not being observed here in Nigeria because of lack of fear of God, ’’ he lamented.
Yobe
Yobe Government in collaboration with the Nigerian
Army has reopened the 132km Damaturu-Biu federal road, which was blocked three years ago by Boko Haram insurgents.
Our correspondent reports that the road, which was a major link between Yobe and southern part of Borno, was inaugurated at Buni Yadi.
Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff, said at the occasion that the road was strategic to the economic well being of Yobe as it linked the state capital with many communities.
He said reopening of the road would boost economic activities of Yobe, Borno, Adamawa and Gombe State.
“This will also impact positively on the current military operations in the area by boosting the achievement of the troops,” he said.
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.