Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The Federal Government said last Tuesday that it is addressing the challenges against poverty eradication in the country.
The National Coordinator, National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO), Mr Peter Paka, said this in Yola.
Paka spoke while flagging-off a three-day training of community based targeting team of the federal government cash transfer programme to the poor and vulnerable in Adamawa.
He described lack of proper coordination and weak synergy between tiers of government as some of the major factors affecting the smooth implementation of poverty eradication programmes in the country.
He regretted that several poverty eradication programmes were set up by previous administrations, but the interventions were not translated into reality because of poor targets and performances.
Bauchi
The Bauchi State House of Assembly has placed embargo on sales of lands in some local government areas that were identified with petroleum resources.
The chairman,House Committee on Information,Hon.Ibrahim Hassan stated this last Tuesday during a meeting with stakeholders and the Presidential Sub-committee on Economic Development in Bauchi.
He said that the measure was to prevent the sales of such lands to people that were not indigines of the state.
“We learnt that in Alkaleri and Kirfi local government areas, some people are selling off their lands to people that are not indigines of the state.
“The state House of Assembly has stop Red that action because the areas are endowed with petroleum resources.
“We do not want incidences where we sell out lands and when it is time to start drilling the available natural resources, it becomes something else,” he said.
Benue
The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Commission, Benue State Command, Mr Chidiebere Nkwonta, has advised commercial drivers and other stakeholders to install the speed limiting device to avoid arrest and prosecution.
The Sector Commander gave the advice on Tuesday in an interview with newsmen in Makurdi.
According to him, the FRSC held meeting with stakeholders such as commercial drivers and some private vehicle owners.
“We have met with the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN).
He said that the meeting was to remind the drivers to make sure they install the speed limiting device on or before the enforcement date of February 1.
The commander urged them to comply with the directive, saying the enforcement was nationwide.
Ekiti
The police have arrested two persons in Ayede Ekiti, Oye Local Government Area of Ekiti State, following a violent protest which trailed the alleged killing of one person by a traditional ruler in the area.
The protest, which lasted for hours, was said to have been ignited when the victim identified as Seyi Oladipo was allegedly shot dead by the traditional ruler over a land dispute.
Sources told The Tide that the land in dispute was at Orisunmibare located between Ayede Ekiti and the neighbouring town of Itaji Ekiti.
The 40-year-old father of three was allegedly shot on the hand by the traditional ruler who then fled , resulting in the protest by youths in the aggrieved community.
The swift deployment of policemen from the Oye Police Division prevented a breakdown of law and order.
Gombe
The Road Transport Employer Association of Nigeria (RTEAN), Gombe State chapter, has appealed to the Federal Government and the National Assembly to review the prices of speed limit device to make it affordable.
Publicity Secretary of the associationMalam Abdullahi Muhammad, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Gombe on Tuesday.
The Tide reports that the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has declared February 1 as the official date for the enforcement of the use of the speed limiting device in the country.
Muhammad said, “N48, 000 is too much for the limiting device, going by the current economic situation in the country.
Kaduna
Ahead of the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week which started on February 1, a Muslim woman has donated chairs to a Church and a pastor decorated a Mosque both in Kaduna to boost inter-religious tolerance and harmony.
Hajiya Ramatu Tijjani, a Peace Ambassador, told newsmen in Kaduna last Tuesday that the donation was also to promote mutual respect and better understanding between Muslims and Christians in the state and the country in general.
She said the World Interfaith Harmony Week was to promote peaceful religious co-existance and dialogue on peace, share love, unity and encourage togetherness, irrespective of faith.
The week, beginning from February 1 to February 7 every year extends the Two Commandments by adding “Love of the Good” and “Love of the Neighbour”, she said.
Katsina
The National Hajj Commission of Nigeria (NAHCON), has allocated 4,722 hajj seats to Katsina State for the 2017 hajj exercise.
The Executive Secretary of the state hajj board, Alhaji Muhammed Rimi, told newsmen last Tuesday in Katsina State.
“The commission has directed us to start collecting hajj deposit from intending pilgrims and we have begun collecting the deposit in the 34 Local Government Areas of the state.
“The board has directed each pilgrim to deposit the sum of one million naira, pending the final announcement of the actual hajj fare by the commission.
“We have begun preparation for the 2017 hajj exercise, as the board had already secured accommodation at Mecca and Medina at strategic places near the Holy Mosque.
Lagos
The Minister of State for Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, last Tuesday reiterated the Federal Government’s commitment to the growth and development of the transportation sector.
Sirika gave the assurance in Lagos while speaking with newsmen on the sidelines of the listing by introduction of Medview Airline on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
The minister commended Medview for taking the bold step of going public, saying it was an indication that Nigerian airlines were getting healthier.
“I think this is very good, and it is a plus for us, because it shows the confidence that Nigerians are beginning to have once more on our industry,” he said.
Sirika charged other entrepreneurs within the sector to emulate Medview Airline by running their businesses in such a way that would be beneficial to the country at large in the long run.
Nasarawa
Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC), says it plans to spend N900 million on the conduct of local government elections in the state.
Chairman of the commission Dr Abdullahi Modibbo, disclosed this in Lafia recently while defending the commission’s budget before the State Assembly Committee on NASIEC, Multilateral Cooperation and Community Development.
He said that the commission plans to use card reader machines for the polls.
Modibbo told the committee that the card reader had been successfully used in three states of the federation and Nasarawa would not be an exception.
Ogun
The Ogun State House of Assembly has passed a bill upgrading Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) to a University of Science and Technology.
The Majority Leader, Mr Adeyinka Mafe, moved the motion for the third reading of the bill during plenary in Abeokuta and was seconded by the Minority Leader, Mr Olawale Alausa.
The bill was originally entitled ” A bill for a Law to Provide for the Establishment of Moshood Abiola University of Technology and for Matters of Administration and Discipline of Students Connected Therewith.’’
The bill is now entitled : “ A Bill for a Law to Provide for the Establishment of Moshood Abiola University of Science and Technology and for Matters of Administration and Discipline of Students Connected Therewith.’’
Oyo
The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, says the dispute on the creation of 35 Local Council Development Areas(LCDAs) by the state government will be settled out of court.
The monarch said this last Tuesday after a closed door meeting with Governor Abiola Ajimobi at the Governor’s Office in Ibadan.
The Tide reports that 15 village heads had approached the court on issues bordering on the newly created Local Council Development Areas(LCDAs) in the state.
One Chief Oladokun Abiola and 14 others from Oyo- East Local Government Area had approached the court claiming that the LCDAs would ostracise them from their ancestral land.
Justice John Tsoho of an Abuja Federal High Court had on January 20 granted an interim injunction stopping the local government election scheduled for February 11 in the original 33 Local Government Councils and the newly created 35 LCDAs in the state.
Sokoto
Governor Tambuwal of Sokoto State, has advised residents of the state to endeavour to pay their taxes regularly to enhance service delivery.
The governor gave the advice on Tuesday in Sokoto while declaring open the 2017 Stakeholders’ Budget Summit.
The summit was organised by the Office of the Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, in collaboration with the state chapter of the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organizations.
Tambuwal said: “as it is now, only civil servants pay their taxes and revenues as at when due.
“Other categories of the citizens do not pay while those who pay are not paying as at when due.
Yobe
A cross-section of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Yobe State say the National Emergency Management Agency’s (NEMA) humanitarian support programmes have facilitated their resettlement. The IDPs made the commendation on Tuesday in separate interviews with The Tide correspondent while reacting to NEMA’s donation of food items to them.
Musa Manu, an IDP resident at Nayi Nawa in Damaturu, said that the Federal Government, through NEMA and other agencies, had gave displaced persons a new lease of life.
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.