Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
From January 2016 to date, the Adamawa State Govern
ment has generated over N7 million revenue from the sale of timber, Permanent Secretary, Mr Barnabas Pata, Ministry of Environment, has said.
“In 2015, government discovered underground dealing and unlawful activity by the association of timber dealers, Adamawa branch.
“We invited and held meeting with the members and categorically informed them of the importance of registration and government supervision.
“I am therefore happy to inform you that, as a result of the meeting, the ministry generated over N7 million between January and today, ” Pata told newsmen in Yola recently.
Bauchi
Governor Mohammed Abubakar of Bauchi State said
that previous administrations in the country were responsible for the poor state of local government councils.
Abubakar made the assertion in Bauchi while having an interactive session with the 20 council chairmen in the state.
He said that past administrations in the country had reduced activities at the local governments to nothing.
“Workers only visit the councils at the end of each month to collect salaries and allowances,’’ he said.
Abubakar said local governments, if effectively utilised, would wipe out poverty and create wealth.
He said that the country needed radical measures that would proffer sustainable solutions to the myriads of problems and scarce resources facing the country.
Borno
Alhaji Abubakar Deribe, Caretaker Committee Chairman,
Jere Local Government Area, Borno State said the council had sunk 42 boreholes with hand pumps in the area.
In addition, he said that the council constructed 20 earth dams to support the boreholes in providing water to people in the area.
Deribe told newsmen in Maiduguri that the projects were undertaken to address the problems of potable water supply in the 12 wards under his council.
He said that the projects were also conceived to minimise the heavy dependence on diesel and petrol-powered boreholes and save cost.
“Water supply has been a major problem in Jere for quite some time; so, to address the problem, we decided to do the hand pumps which are cheaper and easier to maintain”.
Ekiti
An Ado-Ekiti Customary Court has dissolved a four-
year-old marriage between Yetunde Kayode and her husband, Temitope over lack of care.
The President of the Court, Mr Joseph Ogunsemi, who dissolved the union said he observed that it had broken down irretrievably.
Ogunsemi awarded the custody of the five month old baby of the union to the mother, Yetunde, saying that Temitope would be responsible for the child’s education at all levels.
He held that Temitope should pay N5, 000 as monthly feeding allowance for the child. Ogunsemi granted the respondent access to see his child whenever he wanted to.
Earlier, Yetunde, a resident of Abekoko, Falegan area of Ado-Ekiti, told the court that when she got pregnant and told her husband he gave her money to abort the child.
She said she refused to abort the pregnancy because she had once aborted a pregnancy for him, saying she was not ready to die.
FCT
Alhaji Isiwele Shehu, President of the Road Transport
Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), has called on state governments to allow local government in the country to enjoy autonomy.
Shehu made the call in an interview with newsmen in Abuja recently.
He said that said autonomy for the councils was one of the recommendations of the 2014 National Conference, which should not be ignored.
Kogi
The Kogi State Pastor of the Living Faith Church, Lokoja,
Pastor David Popoola, has urged the people of Kogi to be united irrespective of their ethnic diversities and political differences.
Popoola spoke to newsmen in Lokoja on the sidelines of the 25th anniversary celebration of the creation of the state.
He said that, though, tongue and tribe might differ, people should learn to live together in peace and harmony, and as brothers and sisters.
“We should celebrate and promote those things that unite us and do away with things that separate and divide us as a state and a nation.
“The Lord will help our leaders at all levels and give them divine wisdom to know and do what it takes to move this state to greater heights.
Kwara
The Muslim Media Watch Group of Nigeria, a Non-Gov
ernmental Organisation (NGO), has called for industrialisation of Kwara State in order to boost the state’s economy.
The call is contained in a statement issued in Abuja by the group’s National Coordinator, Alhaji Abdullahi Ibrahim.
“We appeal for industrialisation of Ilorin to boost its economic power and commercial activities. The state government should create the enabling environment for this economic boost to come to reality,’’ the statement said.
The group congratulated the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Ibrahim Gambari, on his 21st coronation anniversary.
“We call on the people of Ilorin Emirate to support the Emir by moving closer to him, and admonish him on the importation of some cultural behaviour.
Lagos
Governor Akinwinmi Ambode of Lagos State has or
dered the contractor handling the Berger area expansion project to deliver the project by December, 2016 or face sanction.
Ambode, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Habib Aruna, gave the ultimatum while on inspection visit to some ongoing projects in the state, recently.
According to the statement, the governor ordered the contractors to work day and night, saying that the directive became imperative in view of the strategic importance of the axis as major gateway to the state.
It said that Ambode ordered the construction of iron barricades under the newly-completed pedestrian bridge to compel usage, save lives and facilitate free flow of traffic.
The statement also said that Ambode inspected the newly-completed lay-by at Car Wash Bus Stop in Oworonsoki and 1.65 kilometre road from Olopomeji in Oworonsoki to Ifako.
It added that Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, Mr Ganiyu Johnson, said the projects, upon completion, would not only give Berger even a befitting look, but would permanently remove gridlock associated with the area.
Nasarawa
Head of Nupe community in Nasarawa State, Chief Baba
Bello, has called for truce between the state government and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in the interest of the state.
He said that both parties should bury the hatchet and urged leadership of the workers to end the two-month old strike in the state.
Bello, who is Sarki Nupe of Nasarawa State, made the call while addressing newsmen in Lafia.
According to him, the strike which has lasted for two months now has brought untold hardship to the people of the state and also brought setback to the economic fortunes of the state.
Plateau
The management of Jos University Teaching Hospital
(JUTH), Plateau State, said that it had resolved the feud with its striking workers months after it started.
It said this was after a joint meeting facilitated by the Federal Ministry of Health .
Its Chief Medical Director (CMD), Prof Edmund Banwat, said in Jos that the meeting, brokered by the former Governor of Plateau, Senator Joshua Dariye, provided the platform where all the parties ventilated their positions on the lingering dispute.
Our correspondent reports that all had not been well between the workers and the JUTH management since March which had resulted into intermittent strikes and street protests among others.
Sokoto
The National Hajj Commission (NAHCON), Sokoto
Zone, has transported 8,500 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the 2016 Hajj in 17 flights.
Alhaji Abubakar Kaoje, the zonal coordinator of the commission, told newsmen in Sokoto that the pilgrims were from Sokoto and Zamfara States.
He said that the pilgrims were transported by Max Airline from the Sultan Abubakar International Airport, Sokoto.
According to him, 4,500 of them were from Sokoto and were transported through nine flights.
Taraba
Senior Special Assistant to Taraba State governor on
Media and Publicity Mr Sylvanus Giwa, says the digitisation of the state’s broadcasting station would be completed before June, 2017.
Giwa gave the assurance in an interview with newsmen in Jalingo saying that, the move was to beat the 2017 deadline for switch-over from analogue to digital broadcasting.
He said that the state government signed the contract for the full digitization of the station with Pinnacle Communication Limited in December, 2015 to ensure that the deadline was met.
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.