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THE STATES

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Benue

The price of Dangote Portland Cement in Benue has gone down from N2,600 to N2,250 while Bua Cement has also gone down from N2,700 to N2,250.

The drop in the prices of the product became necessary as a result of the Federal Government’s ultimatum to cement companies to cut down their prices.  Mr Ejike Okafor, a dealer told newsmen that the cost of manufacturing the product was still very high but that companies had opted to cut down their prices in line with government’s order. Okafor said that the cost of transporting the product from the factories to warehouses was still high. Another dealer, Mrs Veronica Nwabueze, blamed the high prices of cement on the high cost of diesel.

“Cement companies use diesel in their production machines and it is also used by the articulated vehicles that transport the product to dealers,” Nwabueze said.  Mr Timothy Gbin, a trader, urged the Federal Government to prevail on the oil companies to cut down the prices of their products.  “If that is done, the cost of producing and transporting the product would be drastically reduced.

FCT

The Muslim Media Watch Group (MMWG), has called on the Federal Government to declare Friday, June 23 and Sunday, June 25 as work-free days for special prayers and fasting. The call was contained in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja and signed by Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Co-ordinator of the group. The statement described Thursday’s bomb blast at the Force Headquarters as unacceptable, saying the work-free days would enable Muslims and Christians to pray, to avert such incident in the country in future.

It said that the security challenges of the nation were beyond what government and security agencies alone could cope with and that there was a need for prayers to deliver the country from evil doers.

The statement urged the government to go beyond its security agencies and seek assistance from foreign security experts who could provide clues in addressing the challenges. “Since it is now clear that the security challenges of this nation are beyond what the government and the security agencies can cope with, let us go back to our creator to deliver us from evil-doers by changing their minds. “Government needs to go deeper into our security problems by not only replying on our nation’s security agencies but conduct its own investigation by the help of foreign-based experts,’’ it said.

Kano

Some women in Kano have called on Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso to appoint more women into his cabinet.

Hajiya Uwani Bako, a politician in Kano noted that only one woman made the list of 12 commissioners the Governor submitted to the State House of Assembly for approval.

She said that the appointment of one woman was against the governor’s promise to women during his campaign.

Malama Hauwa Usman, a housewife, also expressed concern over the appointment. She urged the Governor to appoint more women for gender balance. PDP’s women leader, Hajiya Umma Garba, who commended the Governor for appointing a worthy woman into the cabinet, urged him to appoint more.

Speaking with newsmen in Kano, Garba reminded the Governor about his promise to take the issue of women empowerment seriously.

Kaduna

The Kaduna State Government on Friday said it would soon commence the payment of the N18,000 minimum wage to its workers. Briefing newsmen to mark the beginning of this year’s Civil Service Week in the state, the Head of Service, Mrs Hannatu Ugah, said the State Government was waiting for the release of guidelines for the implementation of the new salary. Ugah said the State Government had taken proactive measures to boost its internal revenue base. She said the government had also taken measures to improve the living condition of its workers, adding, “we have given workers welfare a top priority.

“The State Government did not shy away from implementing the previous salary structures and will still not shy away from implementing the minimum wage once the guideline is available to government,” she added.

The Head of Service said the State Government had so far invested N900 million into the staff micro-credit loan scheme, which would be available to all categories of workers.  “The scheme has disbursed loans to 4, 570 workers to the tune of N1.430 billion as well as distributed 400 units of laptops to workers at a subsidised rate.’’

To enable workers own houses, Ugah said the State Government had in collaboration with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, built and allocated 165 housing units to serving civil servants on ownership basis.

She disclosed that an additional batch of 1,500 housing units were under construction at Kaduna New City Layout, Zaria and Kafanchan.

Kwara

The Code of Conduct Bureau has directed new political office holders in Kwara to submit their assets declaration forms within 30 days to avoid prosecution.

The state Director of the Bureau, Mr Joseph Olajide Adeoye, told newsmen in Ilorin on Saturday that political office holders must respect the law on asset declaration in their own interest.

According to him, a special committee from the bureau’s headquarters in Abuja is expected in Ilorin between July 5 and July 8 to verify assets declared by such persons.

The director said the committee would screen every asset declared to ascertain the authenticity of the documents.

He stated that many defaulters in Kwara were currently being tried by the agency and more than150 staff of Kwara State Polytechnic had been prosecuted at the tribunal.

“Political office holders and other public officers are cooperating with us. It was only Kwara State Polytechnic lecturers that were dragged before the tribunal three years ago for failing to declare their assets.

“They were subsequently fined N4.8 million after being found guilty with each of them paying the sum of N30, 000,” he said.

Lagos

The Ikeja Electricity Distribution Zone of PHCN says more than N120 million has been spent to repair the burnt injector sub-station at Maryland, Lagos.

Mr Chris Akamnonu, Chief Executive Officer of the zone, disclosed this to newsmen after the inspection of the burnt transmission sub-station in Maryland. The sub-station was on Tuesday gutted by fire.

Akamnonu, however, assured affected customers that power would be restored back fully on Monday with the replacement of the burnt equipment.

He also said the zone would commence test run on Saturday and Sunday to confirm the effectiveness of the equipment. To guard against a recurrence, he said PHCN management had constituted a six-man panel to look into the incessant burning of the sub-station.

Oyo

The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has condemned the spate of bombings in the country, describing it as “a great tsunami capable of threatening the foundation of the country.’’ A statement signed by the National Chairman, Mr Moshood Erubami, in Ibadan on Sunday stated that the bombings were gradually becoming the official means of expressing dissent “which is dangerously assuming an intolerable dimension’’.

It noted that the act must be condemned by all peace-loving Nigerians, pleading with law abiding citizens to resist the temptation of using bombs to ventilate their grievances on innocent co-Nigerians.

The statement added that “the bombings in Abuja and Maiduguri, which claimed innocent lives, is a big challenge to the intelligence gathering capacity of the country’s security agencies’’.

The group expressed regret over the ease with which crimes of bombing and kidnapping were committed in the face of unwholesome excuses from agencies saddled with the responsibility to safeguard the citizenry.

Plateau

Monsignor Cletus Gotan, the Parish Priest of Church of Immaculate Conception, Zaramangada, Jos, has advised parishioners to be the policemen and women  of their lives by being security conscious.

Gotan told the congregation during Sunday mass that “security is the collective responsibility  of all and everybody must play his or her part.

“Don’t leave your lives in the hands of accredited security agents alone; do what you can  do on your own to remain alive. “If you see somebody you don’t know around you, feel free to ask who that person is.

If you are not comfortable with the person’s response, raise an alarm.’’ The priest also told the parishioners to always be conscious of cars parked around their vicinities,  as well as bags dropped around them, saying such were the things used by people who  planted bombs.

The church had acquired security gadgets which it uses to screen members before  letting them in.

Sokoto

The Federal Ministry of Environment has commenced a training programme for 240 refrigeration and air conditioning practitioners in Sokoto State.

The workshop is being sponsored by the United Nation Development Programme. A UNDP consultant, Alhaji Sikiru Rufaí, told newsmen in Sokoto on Saturday that the workshop was to sensitise participants on the need to protect the ozone layer. “ This is to reduce the emission of ultra violet rays which negatively affects the environment and leads to an array of consequences,’’ Rufaí added. “The environment needed to be protected from danger and by so doing, protecting the living organisms against danger,’’ Rufaí, said.

He said some of the negative consequences of ozone layer depletion included desertification, flooding, as well as ailments like trachoma.

Taraba

Alhaji Abdullahi Gambo, a reporter with Taraba State Broadcasting Service (TSBS), has emerged the winner of the chairmanship election of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Taraba State Council. Declaring the results on Saturday in Jalingo, the NUJ Deputy National Secretary, Mr Gbenga Bamidele, said Gambo polled 80 votes to defeat his only challenger, Mr Kefas Sule of the NTA, who polled 72 votes.

In his acceptance speech, Gambo, who said his victory was from God, added that he could even lay down his life to ensure that the past glory of NUJ in Taraba was restored.

He said “I am ready to do anything humanly possibly even if it means laying down my life to ensure that the past glory of the NUJ in Taraba is restored.’’

He urged Sule and his supporters to join hands with him to take Taraba NUJ to greater hights.

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HYPREP Inducts 100 Ogoni Youths For Creative Arts Training

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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.

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Nasarawa Varsity Student Commits Suicide

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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.

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Ogun, Nike Art Gallery Set To Transform Olumo Rock

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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.

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