Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
Mr Umar Atiku, Adamawa State Commissioner for
Works said yesterday that the state government had approved a total of N2.6 billion for the reconstruction of Jimeta to Yola highway.
Atiku told newsmen in Yola, that the project would cover two major roads in the state capital.
He said among the roads to be reconstructed included Police round-about to Karewa junction and Army Barracks junction to Yola town.
He said contract in respect of the project, was awarded to PW Nigeria Construction Limited, and would start as soon as the rainy season was over.
He added that the project would be completed in eight months.
Ekiti
Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi has inaugurated
the 20-km Ikole-Ijesaisu-Ilumoba road, rehabilitated by his administration.
Fayemi also flagged off the construction of the eight-km Ikole township road and 20-km Ikole-Ara-Isinbode road, linking Ekiti and Ikare in Onda State.
The governor said that his administration was delivering on its electioneering promises in all sectors of the economy, especially in the provision of infrastructure.
Fayemi said that his administration was interested in rehabilitation of roads because this would engender development and improve the socio-economic lives of the people.
Gombe
The police in Gombe State said it recovered two Ak47 riffles
and 360 live ammunition in an uncompleted building during the Eid-el Kabir celebrations in Gombe metropolis.
The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, Mr Fwaje Atajiri, made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Gombe yesterday.
Atajiri said the police also recovered five empty magazines and a motorcycle in the building.
He said the period was hitch-free, but the command got intelligence report about a criminal hide-out in Kondulum Area of Gombe metropolis on Wednesday and raided the area.
The police spokesman said the suspects ran away on sighting the police operatives and left the weapons and ammunition.
He said the police was investigating the incident as well as the owner of the building.
FCT
A Muslim Scholar, Alhaji Mufutaudeen Ajijola-Anabi, has
urged Muslim parents to give proper training to their children.
Ajijola-Anabi, who is also the Chief Imam of the Abuja branch of “Dairat Jafariyat Fitorikat Tijaniyat’’ Islamic Organisation, gave the advice at the Eid-el-kabir praying ground in Abuja.
According to him, Allah has commanded Muslims to always show affection and kindness to their children, stressing that He forbids ill-treatment, abuse and neglect of duties.
The cleric quoted Allah as saying in the Qur’an: “Your Lord has decreed that you shall worship none except Him and show kindness to one another.’’
Kaduna
The transportation of prospective Christian pilgrims from
Kaduna State will commence on October 19, an official said.
Rev. Joseph Yari, the Executive Secretary, Kaduna State Christian Pilgrims Board, told newsmen in Kaduna that most arrangements had been concluded for the transportation.
He said 800 prospective Christian pilgrims were expected to embark on the 2013 pilgrimage to Israel.
Yari said the board would screen the intending pilgrims before they leave, adding that “the pilgrims will hold a national prayer in the Holy Land on October 24.
“The prayer is to intercede for peace, unity and development in Nigeria.’’
Kogi
Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State has urged Nigerians to
live in peace and harmony irrespective of their religious affiliation.
The governor made the appeal in Lokoja in his congratulatory message to Muslims as they celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir.
He urged Muslims and Christians not to see themselves as enemies but as brothers and sisters created equally and with the same purpose by only one God.
Wada said the insecurity in some parts of the country could have been avoided if there was peace and love among adherents of the different faiths.
Kwara
The Olugbense ruling house of Offa has petitioned the
Chief Justice of the Federation (CJN), Justice Aloma Muktar, praying her to reassign the stay-of-execution of judgment suit filed by the deposed Olofa of Offa, Mufutau Gbadamosi.
The petition, which was signed by Mr Saka Keji on behalf of the ruling house, was dated October 8 and made available to newsmen recently.
Keji stated in the petition that the Olugbense family had no confidence in the new panel of the Court of Appeal to which the suit had been assigned.
“We have no confidence that the new panel of justices can do justice to us in the case just as we have our fears and concerns on the motion for stay,” he added.
Lagos
The Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly, Mr Adeyemi
Ikuforiji, says only God would determine his governorship ambition.
“As a believer, I know that when the time comes, the Almighty God will show the light and make it clear that this is your next direction and your next seat.
”No matter the noise, the plotting of the coup and counter coup, what God has destined to be, no man can stop,” Ikuforiji told newsmen in Epe, during the Eid-el-Kabir celebrations.
He said that he became the speaker by the will of God, and that only God would determine his next political step in 2015.
Nasarawa
Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has
inaugurated five newly acquired fire-fighting trucks to boost the fire-fighting capacity of the state’s fire service.
Al-Makura said that the fire-fighting trucks would boost the operations of the state’s fire service.
He said that the trucks would be deployed to strategic areas that were vulnerable to fire outbreaks, enjoining the firemen to make judicious use of the facilities.
Besides, Al-Makura said that the towing vehicles would be stationed at accident-prone areas, especially the Akwanga-Lafia road.
Ogun
The police yesterday arraigned a driver, Adewale Adesanya,
40, before an Ota Magistrates’ Court in Ogun on a two-count charge of manslaughter and reckless driving.
The police prosecutor, Cpl. Rosemary Brown, told the court that the accused committed the offence on September 27 at 2.30 p.m. near Excel Primary School on Ilogbo-Oju-Ore road, Sango Ota.
The prosecutor said the accused drove his Mitsubishi gallant car with Lagos registration number SMK 916 BL recklessly and killed a 47-year-old Sunday Balogun.
Brown said the other victim, Mr Ibrahim Otefila, was still receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital in the state.
She said the offences contravened sections 17 and 18 of the Road Traffic Act 29 Vol. 21 of the revised laws of Ogun State, 2006.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Osun
Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State has stressed
the need for peace, security and cooperation among Nigerians to move the nation forward.
The governor said this in his Eid-el-Kabir message, signed by Mr Semiu Okanlawon, the Director of Communication in the Governor’s Office.
He urged Muslims to live in peace, while exhibiting tolerance towards adherents of other faiths.
Aregbesola, however, called on the adherents of all religions to protect the sanctity of human life, saying in all the Scriptures, God never commanded or appointed anyone as judge over other human beings.
Oyo
No fewer than 157 graduates of Caleb University, Imota,
Lagos State, would participate at the third convocation ceremony billed for Saturday.
This was contained in a statement issued by the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Ayodeji Olukoju, and made available to newsmen in Ibadan.
The vice- chancellor said the convocation ceremony would mark another milestone in the history of the university which took off in 2008.
“As at today, the university has continued to enjoy the National Universities Commission’s full accreditation status, thereby confirming our core objective of ensuring the production of quality graduates who would contribute positively to national growth,’’ he said.
Sokoto
The Sultan of Sokoto State, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged
striking workers to call off their strikes and go back to the negotiating table.
Abubakar made the call as part of his Eid el-Kabir message to the Muslim faithful.
“We wish to use this opportunity to call on all those on strike, especially university academic and non-academic staff to call off their strikes so as to reduce the sufferings of the people.
“And they should go back to the negotiating table in order to bring an end to the crisis.
“This is a problem in the development of the country. We urged the government to listen to the complaints of the workers with the intention of solving them”, he said.
Aig Zone 12, Mr Edgar Nanakumo (left), with Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State during his courtesy visit in Bauchi, yesterday Photo: NAN
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.