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 Senate yesterday approved the bills for the establishment of Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences and College of Education, Bende at its plenary session.
The two bills sponsored by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon . Benjamin Kalu came to the Senate for concurrence after the approvals from the House of Representatives.
The Deputy Leader of the Senate, Sen. Lola Ashiru in the absence of the Majority Leader presented the recommendations of the Lower Chamber for consideration and Concurrence .
The Bill for an Act to establish Federal College of Education, Bende in Abia State seeks to provide full-time courses, training in technology, applied sciences, commerce, social sciences, arts and humanities among others.
Kalu had in his lead debate stated that Bende has remained undivided since its creation in 1976, even though with the size of four local government areas as found in comparative federal constituencies.
“Despite its strategic location in Abia and sharing a border with Akwa Ibom, with a growing population and landmass, there is no tertiary institution in the Federal Constituency operated either by Federal or State Government. Bende deserves to have the presence of a tertiary institution to serve the education need of the teeming youthful population, especially now that the need for well-trained educationists has risen. This is accompanied by the need to fill the gaps created by both the consequences of brain drain and the lack of qualified educationists to provide quality training at all levels of education,” he said.
For the bill seeking the establishment of Federal University of Medical and Health Sciences, Bende, Abia State, he said when it becomes law, the university will be charged with the responsibility to, among other things, offer full-time training leading to the award of degrees in medical and health sciences.
Nneka Amaechi-Nnadi
South East Caucus of the Senate has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to immorttalise late Professor Humphrey Nwosu considering his commitment to achieving a practical democracy for Nigerian.
The Senators visibly angered by the Senate’s rejection of the need to immortalise the late National Electoral umpire who stood for democracy through the turbulent 1993 elections stormed out of the Senate Chambers and spoke to the press .
The Chairman of the South East Caucus, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe ( Abia South), as he did in plenary on Wednesday, presented a motion for immortalisation of Humphrey Nwosu by naming the national headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) , after him , for laying the foundation in 1993 and conducting the freest and fairest Presidential election in the country .
The late Professor Nwosu was the National Chairman of the National Electoral Commission ( NEC) , now known as Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC) , who through option A4, conducted the June 12, 19993 presidential election , adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the country.
Abaribe in the motion co – sponsored by 15 other Senators , said late Humphrey Nwosu deserved to be immortalised like other heroes of the June 12 , 1993 presidential election .
He also urged the Federal Government to honour the late former electoral umpire with post humous national honours .
But Abaribe’s request , seconded by Senator Victor Umeh (Anambra Central) and supported by Senators from the South East including forner Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi ( Kebbi North) , was roundly rejected by other Senators who said the deceased deserved no immortalization .
Specifically , Senator Adams Oshiomhole ( Edo North) , in his contribution to the debate said the motion to him, was nothing but an attempt to manipulate and rewrite history.
“ Professor Humphrey Nwosu as NEC Chairman in 1993, failed to deliver on the June 12 , 1993 Presidential Election for lack of Courage
“ He who is not ready to die for something , will die for nothing
“ If he was afraid of the gun from announcing the election results and winner in 1993 , he cannot be rewarded now , more so, when many Nigerians died for what he inadvertently created “, he said .
Nneka Amaechi -Nnadi
The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, says the Nigerian Military is committed to facilitating sustainable food security in the country through the establishment of farms.
Musa said this in Abuja yesterday during the unveiling of the Defence Farm and Agro-Allied Products Logo.
He noted that the agricultural sector played crucial role in guaranteeing food security which was requisite for sustainable national security.
He said that the adverse impact of climate change, environmental degradation and conflict across some parts of the country had continuously threatened food security with dire consequences on national security.
According to him, to address this, the Defence Headquarters in May 2023, conceptualised the Defence Farm and Agro-Allied Products initiative.
“This is with the aim of keying into the federal government’s efforts at addressing food security challenges in the country.
“The initiative which aligns with the ‘People Centric’ policy thrust of my leadership concept is aimed at creating job opportunities and enhancing rural infrastructural development while significantly contributing to food security in the Country.
“Considering the extensive consultation, planning and preparation made by the committee thus far, I am optimistic that the Defence Farm and Agro-Allied Products initiative will have a positive transformative impact on host communities while enhancing national security.
“With similar initiatives replicated across the country, I envision a future characterised by modernised farming techniques in which the agricultural sector significantly contributes to economic growth and national development.”
The CDS enjoined all members of the Armed Forces and the general public to embrace the initiative and maximise its associated gains.
He expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu, for his sterling leadership and relentless pursuit of national peace, security and economic prosperity.
He also appreciated the efforts of members of the committee who worked assiduously to actualise the initiative.
Earlier, the Chairman, Defence Farms Committee,