Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The 23rd Amoured Brigade chapter of the Nigerian Army Officers’ Wives Association (NAOWA), last Wednesday distributed personal breast cancer examination kits to some women in the barracks after an enlightenment campaign.
The NAOWA Coordinator of the brigade, Mrs Magaret Akinroluyo, said in Yola that, the gesture was part of the association’s efforts to enhance the well being of the families of officers and soldiers as well as those of the surrounding communities.
Akinroluyo said that, the decision to concentrate on breast cancer was due to its dangers and ignorance about the dangers by many women.
“The ignorance on the effects of cancer in our society has done more harm to people due to lack of adequate awareness on the dangers of the disease.
“It is against this background that we decided to organise an enlightenment and education programme on cancer for our women in the barracks to ensure that they take preventive measures against the disease.
Borno
Brig.-Gen. Garba Audu has assumed office as the Commander of the 21 Brigade of the Nigerian Army in Bama, Borno State.
Audu took over from Col. Adamu Laka, who is proceeding on strategic course at the National Defence University, Pakistan.
The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations Department, Lt.-Col. Samuel Kinsley said this in a statement in Maiduguri.
According to Kinsley, Audu is a member of the 37th Regular Course of the prestigious Nigerian Defence Academy and commissioned into the Nigerian Army Amour Corps.
Until his appointment, he was Deputy Director, Safety at the Department of Standard and Evaluation, Defence Headquarters Abuja.
Meanwhile, the Acting General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division Nigerian Army, Brig.- Gen. Victor Ezugwu has organised a farewell luncheon in honour of the former commander according to the statement.
FCT
Mr Musa Dikko, Chairman of Bwari Area Council, FCT, last Thursday, promised to increase traditional rulers’ monthly stipends by one hundred per cent.
Dikko, who led the council executive to the 10 political wards in the area, made the promise during his inspection visit to Ushafa community, in Bwari.
The wards visited were, Igu, Kawu, Usuma, Kuduru, Dutse, Ushafa, Bwari central, Kubwa, Byazim and Shere.
He said, the failure by past administrations of the area council to integrate and empower the traditional institutions, in their quest for development, was responsible for the lack of visible development in the communities.
Dikki, therefore, promised to review upwards, the monthly stipends of N10, 000 paid traditional rulers to N20, 000 with the aim of encouraging them to key into the council’s development efforts.
Gombe
The Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ), has urged the Inspector General of Police, Idris Abubakar, to ensure the arrest and prosecution of the killers of Mr Famou Giobaro, a broadcast journalist in Bayelsa State.
The union made the request in a communiqué issued yesterday, at the end of the NUJ National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, held in Gombe State.
The communiqué was signed by the NUJ National Secretary, Malam Shuaibu Leman.
Recall that, on April 16, some unidentified gunmen had killed Giobaro, a staff of Bayelsa-owned Glory FM 97.1, in his residence at INEC Road, Kpasia in Yenagoa, the state capital.
Kano
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Kano State, said it had deployed 220 staff for Continued Voter Registration (CVR) commencing on Thursday.
The Administrative Secretary of the commission in the state, Alhaji Bala Shittu, disclosed this, at a stakeholders’ forum last Tuesday in Kano.
He said that, the meeting was to brief the stakeholders on the commission’s preparations and purpose of the exercise.
He said that, INEC had concluded all the necessary arrangements to ensure success of the exercise, adding that, five staff would be used in each of the 44 local government areas of the state.
Shittu said that, the 220 officials were presently undergoing training, stressing that, the purpose of the exercise was to enable citizens who had turned 18 years since after the last exercise in 2014, to register.
Kwara
An evangelist, Mr Olayiwola Abegunde, last Thursday advised politicians to promote tolerance and peaceful co-existence, to ensure peace, progress and political stability in the country .
Abegunde, gave the advice during a special prayer in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara.
He said that, tolerance and peaceful co-existence would also ensure smooth transition in 2019.
We recall that the prayer tagged: ‘Omu-Aran For Christ’, was organised by the UK/Northern Ireland chapter of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC).
The prayer, third in the series, was held at the palace of the Olomu of Omu-Aran, Oba Charles Ibitoye and was to seek divine intervention in the socio-economic development of the community.
Lagos
In a major re-jigging of the Nigeria Customs Service for effective and efficient service delivery, the Comptroller General, Col. Hammed Ali (rtd), has approved the redeployment of 48 Comptrollers.
A statement signed by the service spokesman, Deputy Comptroller, Joseph Attah and made available to our correspondent in Lagos said, the redeployment which is inline with the ongoing reforms moved Comptroller Madugu, M.J. from Sokoto/ Kebbi/Zamfara to Ogun State Command, Comptroller Udo-aka, EA from Investigation to Oyo/Osun Commands and Comptroller . Isiyaku K from Tariff and Trade to Port-Harcourt 1, among others.
Similarly, the Comptroller General’s compliance team has been disbanded and a new team reconstituted .
The new compliance team is divided into three which comprise Team A for Western Axis, B for Northern Axis and C for Eastern Axis.
They are to complement the Federal Operations units in order to vigorously crackdown on all forms of smuggling activities nationwide with particular focus on the enforcement of no importation of rice and vehicles through the land borders.
Nasarawa
Nasarawa State Government has approved over N32 million for school feeding and other logistics for the 29 boarding secondary schools in the state.
The Commissioner for Education, Malam Aliyu Tijjani, made the statement last Thursday in Lafia, at a meeting he held with principals of secondary schools from the southern senatorial district of the state.
Tijjani, who was represented by Aliyu Abdullahi-Agwai, Permanent Secretary in the ministry, said that, the monthly allocation for the school feeding programme was N20 million.
“However, the state government decided to increase the allocation by over N12 million due to some inadequacies and other basic needs in the schools in view of the free education policy,” he said.
The commissioner said, the gesture was in line with the government’s quest to re-position the education sector.Niger
Niger
A university teacher, Malam Bashir Yankunzu, has lauded President Muhammadu Buhari for suspending two key functionaries in his administration over allegations of involvement in corrupt practices.
On April 19, Buhari suspended the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Babachair Lawal and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Mr Ayodele Oke.
Lawal, was suspended over corruption allegations in the award of contracts in the Presidential Initiative for the North East.
Oke was suspended in connection with the discovery of large amounts of foreign and local currencies in a residential apartment at Osborne Towers in Ikoyi, Lagos.
The suspension of the two principal officers appears to have given a clear signal on the renewed determination of the President to stamp out corruption in the country.
Ogun
A 29-year-old man, Dotun Akande, who allegedly stole N935,000 of his employer, was on Tuesday brought before an Ota magistrates’ Court in Ogun
Akande, who lives at No. 28 Ayantunde St., Iyana-Iyesi, Ota, is facing a charge of stealing.
The Prosecutor, Sgt. Chudu Gbesi, told the court that the accused committed the offence sometimes in May to August, 2016, at Orisun Microfinance Bank, Sango-Ota.
He said the accused, who was the staff of the Microfinance Bank, collected N935,000 from customers and refused to remit the money to his employer.
Plateau
Over 400 Fulani Christian converts have been tasked on preaching the gospel of peace to their kindred in order to reduce the prevailing crises in the country.
Rev. Copper Sebok, Reverend in charge of COCIN Church Panyam, gave the charge yesterday at the end of a 3-day conference organised for all Fulani converts of all denominations across the country.
Reports that, the conference was aimed at awakening the need for preaching peace to their fellow brothers and sisters across the country.
“The conference is also a re-union service for all Fulani converts regardless of their denominations and to share experiences and encourage one another in the propagation of the gospel of peace.
Yobe
Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State, has appealed to the Federal Government to intensify the mop-up operations against Boko Haram remnants in the North-East to save lives and property.
Gaidam, made the appeal in Damaturu on Thursday, while declaring open a two-day National Sensitisation Workshop on the Implementation of the National Counter Terrorism Strategy organised by the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
“I wish to make a passionate appeal to the Federal Government through the Office of the National Security Adviser to intensify the mopping up of the remnants of Boko Haram terrorists in the North-East in conjunction with the vigilance groups,” he said.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) has inducted and given orientation to 100 Ogoni youths for training on Creative Arts. The beneficiaries were drawn from Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
The induction and orientation ceremony, which took place at the CRAB of the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt on Wednesday, was a prelude to the training proper, billed to commence next Tuesday.
As usual, HYPREP issued undertaking forms to the trainees, for them to complete and submit as a guarantee that they would subject themselves to the requirements of the programme as well as be of good behaviour throughout the four-month duration of the training.
HYPREP also announced that it would pay N150,000 to each of the beneficiaries monthly, as transport and feeding allowance, stressing, however, that only those who fully participate in the training would be entitled for the allowance.
Speaking at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, welcomed the trainees to the programme, saying, HYPREP’s projects are evolving and that one thing that is happening today is that the Project has gotten leadership right, by making promises and keeping those promises.
According to him, the Project had equally promised to move away from rudimentary skills acquisition to high impacts acquisition levels, which it has kept today by sponsoring the training on Creative Arts.
He noted that in planning its livelihood programmes for Ogoni youths, HYPREP has taken time out to look for skills that would add value to the lives of the beneficiaries.
Zabbey, who was represented at the event by the Director of Technical Services, Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi said by packaging the Creative Arts training, it was expected that the Ogoni people would have their own version of Nollywood known as Ogoniwood just as Nigerians are familiar with Hollywood, Bollywood, Kannywood and Nollywood.
To achieve this goal, the Project Coordinator explained that it was the reason for choosing a reputable establishment like Halibiz Consult Limited, to partner with the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt, which he described as one of the most prestigious in the Niger Delta, for the training of the beneficiaries.
He also indicated that in doing this, HYPREP was desirous of going for talents that would help the Ogoni people grow in the film industry, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously.
Zabbey equally enjoined the trainees to put in their best so that in the next three to five years, they would carve a niche for themselves and become forces to reckon with in the film industry.
On her part, HYPREP’s Head of Sustainable Livelihood, Mrs Josephine Nzidee said HYPREP does what it says it will, stressing that the process of training Ogoni youths on specialised skills started three years ago.
According to her, the selection process for the training was rigorous and transparent, and was carried out by renowned actors actresses.
She disclosed that the training consists of three major aspects, which include acting, script writing and make-up, while Nollywood actors like Charles Nnoje, Ngezu J. Ngezu and award-winning make-up artist, Jude Odo would be on hand to drill and groom the beneficiaries.
Mrs Nzidee noted that the programme is a specialised training that does not have anything like starter packs but that it is purely a professional certification programme that would launch the beneficiaries into the Nollywood industry in Nigeria.
According to her, the Creative Arts training is one of the four specialised trainings organised by HYPREP to ensure that the Ogoni people are well positioned in vital industries like Aviation, Maritime, Creative Arts and Mechatronics.
She said the last of such trainings on Mechatronics would take place in the coming months, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously so as to put the Ogoni people on the Nollywood map.
She further indicated that while Charles Nnoje and Ngezu J. Ngezu would take the beneficiaries on the practical aspects, Jude Odo would take them on the make-up aspects.
Also speaking, the External Relations Manager of Halibiz Consult Limited, Alabo Experience Douglas said his company gives much premium to standard and quality, and assured that the firm would give the trainees value for the money spent on the programme.
While charging the beneficiaries to be dedicated and punctual, he stressed the need for them to approach the programme with the mindset of being empty so that at the end of the day, they would benefit maximally.
On his part, the Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Ovunda Ihunwo said the CRAB is an acronym for Creative Review of Arts and Books, stressing that it was named by renowned playwright, Prof Ola Rotimi.
According to him, the CRAB had nurtured, groomed and produced Nollywood actors and actresses like Bobmanuel Udokwu, Ejike Asiegbu,Francis Duru, Hilda Dokubo, Monalisa Chinda, Julius Agwu, and a host of others, assuring the beneficiaries that they were on fertile environment to hone their talents.
He noted that symbolically, the crab is a nutritious seafood common in the Niger Delta, and reiterated the need for the beneficiaries to come empty for the training, as it were.
Ihunwo disclosed that the theory classes of the programme would run for three weeks while the fourth week would be for the master classes, and urged the trainees to avail themselves of the opportunity to make a difference by telling the Ogoni story, which he described as inexhaustible by themselves, in order to put Ogoni on the map.
A 23-year-old student of Nasarawa State University identified as Jatau Rilokwah, has been reportedly found dead in the university’s senior staff quarters.
A counter-insurgency expert, focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed this on his X handle on Tuesday.
According to him, the discovery was made on April 27, 2025, by a security officer at the university, Emmanuel Gyawo.
He stated that Gwayo was directed by Prof. Shedrack Jatau to check on his son upon arriving at the residence, and he found Rilokwah hanging from the ceiling.
“Professor Jatau, who was reportedly out of the State at the time, was informed of the incident. A team of police detectives, led by the Divisional Crime Officer of Angwan Lambu, was dispatched to the scene.
“The body showed no signs of violence, and no suicide note was found. Rilokwah was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he further stated.
He added that the student’s corpse had been deposited in the hospital morgue.
He also quoted police sources as saying that investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Ogun State Government has partnered with Nike Art Gallery to establish a new exhibition space at the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre in Abeokuta, a move Governor Dapo Abiodun says is aimed at boosting annual tourist visits from 20,000 to over 100,000.
Abiodun disclosed the plan on Wednesday while receiving the founder of the Nike Art Gallery, Chief (Mrs) Nike Davies-Okundaye, at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“I went to Olumo Rock about a month ago and I decided that we needed to do something about restoring Olumo Rock to its old glory. From statistics, Olumo Rock hosts about 20,000 people a year in its current state, and I felt that we could increase that to at least ten times,” the governor said.
As part of the plan, an events hall within the tourist centre will be repurposed as a permanent gallery operated by Nike Art Gallery.
“I told them to shut it down. Practically, we want to bring it down and turn it into a gallery for you to use as an exhibition gallery,” he told Davies-Okundaye.
He added that the gallery will be ready before the National Sports Festival in May, when the State will host about 15,000 visitors.
“I want them to be able to see our tourist sites,” he said, listing attractions such as the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the Ransome-Kuti family home, and the Adire market among key heritage spots to be showcased.
Highlighting Ogun’s improved infrastructure, the governor said, “Now that we’ve succeeded in having the intra and inter-state roads in place, you can come to Ogun State by rail; you can come by air. We’ve constructed one of the best airports in Nigeria, and very soon, you will be able to come by sea.”
Davies-Okundaye, in her remarks, praised the state’s efforts to promote tourism and pledged to use the new gallery to attract global attention.
“This gallery will bring many Heads of State. The one I opened in Abuja already has more than 10 Heads of State, including those from South Korea and the Czech Republic. The same will happen here,” she said.
She also applauded the Governor for his commitment to the Adire fabric industry.
“Adire is all over Nigeria, but Ogun has been promoting Adire for over 50 years. Today, the only cloth we can call our own is called Adire. This is what we can sell to the Europeans,” she said.
Abiodun reaffirmed his administration’s backing of the Adire industry, citing policies such as the Adire Ogun Digital Marketplace, compulsory wearing of Adire in the state, and provision of solar-powered production equipment to support artisans.
He also revealed plans to open a creative arts and entertainment village in partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters, expected to be completed within two months.