Nation
THE STATES

L-R: Convener, Coalition for Minority Rights (CMR), Mr Mark Lipo, representative of vice President, Joseph Malomo and representative of plateau Governor, Mr Stephen Gadong, at the commemoration of stefanos Foundation Internally displace persons (IDP) camp anniversary and launching of coalition for CMR in Jos on Saturday.
Borno
The Borno State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Teach
ers (NUT) has donated reading glasses to 140 teachers with eye problems after free medical treatment.
The state Chairman of NUT, Alhaji Bulama Abiso, disclosed this in Maiduguri in an interview with newsmen
He said 14 out of the beneficiaries would undergo eye surgery, while others were given free eyeglasses.
Abiso said the free eye screening was conducted by a team of medical experts from Afro Eye Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO).
He said patients with minor eye problems were treated at its medical centre, while those with surgical cases were referred to the University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital for operation.
Abiso said that the gesture was part of the union’s efforts
Ekiti
An Ado-Ekiti High Court has sentenced one David
Olugboyega to death by hanging for armed robbery involving N14,570.
Justice John Adeyeye passed the judgment following the confessional statement of the convict and the conclusion of trial by the prosecution.
During trial, the prosecutor, Mr Alaba Adeyemi, told the court that the convict committed the offence on March 20, 2003 at Araromi Street, Ikere -Ekiti.
He said the convict, armed with dangerous weapons including gun and cutlass, robbed three people of N14,570.
Specifically, Adeyemi said the convict robbed Kola Owolabi of N8,000; Beatrice Olawumi, N5,000 and Idowu Abiodun, N1,570.
The prosecution called seven witnesses to prove the case.
The convict, who made confessional statement at the police station, opted to defend himself without a lawyer.
FCT
Director-General of Centre for Management Develop
ment (CMD), Dr Kabir Kabo has warned unaccredited management training institutions and uncertified consultants to close shop or face the wrath of the law.
Kabo gave the warning in a statement in Abuja by his Special Assistant on Media, Alhaji Abdulkadir Ibrahim.
Kabo said the Nigerian Council for Management Development Act gave it a regulatory role to sanction any management consultant or training institution that undertook training programme without accreditation.
CMD, which is a parastatal agency under the National Planning Commission, is the operational arm of the council.
The visit took Kabo to some organisations, including Jheyah Nig. Ltd., PAN Training Centre, Shehu Shafi’i and Co. and Rafisa Safety and Management Consultants.
The DG added that the council was determined to ensure quality assurance, control and intervention in the operations of manpower and management developers.
Jigawa
The Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate
(PTAD) has commenced the verification of federal pensioners in Jigawa State.
This is contained in a statement by the PTAD Director-General, Nellie Mayshak, in Dutse. The statement stated that the verification, which began on November 2 with pensioners in the North-West – Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Sokoto, Katsina, Kaduna and Zamfara, would end on November 14.
It stated that South-East – Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi, Abia and Imo would hold between November 30 and December 12, while North-East, South-West, South-South and North-Central would hold in the first quarter of 2016.
Kaduna
The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of
Nigeria (IPMAN), Kaduna branch, has appealed to the Department of Petroleum Resources to urgently address the current fuel scarcity in the area.
The IPMAN Spokesperson, Alhaji Sani Yushau, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen.
Yashau said the problem had been worsened by the inability of the refinery in Kaduna to produce as well as the non transportation of fuel from Lagos by marketers.
Kano
The Department For International Development (DFID),
has promised to partner the Kano State Government in addressing the problem of unemployment in the state.
The Manager in charge of DFID’s training programme in Kano, Dr Muhammad Sagagi, stated this in an interview with newsmen in Kano.
Sagagi had had an audience with Alhaji Kabir Rurum, the Speaker of the Kano State House of Assembly.
He said the programme focusing on Kano, Kaduna and Katsina States was tagged Way Out ‘Mafita.’
According to him, the three states have the highest number of unemployed people in the country.
Katsina
Senator Mustapha Bukar (Katsina North), has rolled out
his free eye treatment for no fewer than 7,000 people in his constituency.
Speaking at the inauguration of the free eye programme, Bukar noted that the beneficiaries were selected from the 12 local government areas of the senatorial district.
He said the free eye treatment and surgery was instituted as part of welfare programmes for the people.
“Many of the beneficiaries could not afford such medical treatments or operations due to financial constraints.
“We engage 20;qualified doctors for the exercise and it is expected to be completed within one month.”
He restated his commitment to introduce more programmes that would improve the living standards of the people.
Lagos
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities
(SSANU), has called on the Federal Government to find ways of improving the working conditions for its members.
The National President of SSANU, Mr Samson Ugwoke, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
According to him, rather than relieving workers in the system, the government should seek means of improving the living conditions in the universities.
It will be recalled that members of the association had in June, protested a circular directing Vice-Chancellors of Federal Government universities to stop accommodating their staff school teachers in their emolument structure.
Nasarawa
Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has of
fered free medical services to all persons living with disabilities in the state. Al-Makura disclosed this during the commemoration of World Disability Day in Lafia.
He said the state government had embarked on a census and registration of all persons with disabilities across the 13 local government areas to enable them to access the service and other gestures from the government.
He said the state had tried the free medical services in the past without success due to activities of saboteurs.
Oyo
An Alternative Therapy Medical Practitioner and Nutri
tionist, Dr Ayelara Oni, says lemon is an anti-cancer food.
Oni made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Ibadan. She said lemon was acidic to taste but was an alkaline-forming food, explaining that this was why it was good for balancing a highly acidic condition in the body, thereby balancing the body’s pH.
She added that lemon contained 22 anti- cancer compounds, including limonene, which was the natural oil that help to slow or halt the growth of cancer.
Oni, who is also a Director at a herbal store, said lemon had a substance called flavonol glycosides which could stop cell division in cancers.
Plateau
The Executive Chairman, Plateau State Universal Basic
Education Board, Prof. Mathew Sule, has called for the establishment of health clubs in public schools to enlighten children on prevention of HIV/AIDS.
Sule made the call in an interview with newsmen in Jos.
He said such clubs would be good platforms to enlighten pupils and students on the ultimate target of eradicating the pandemic in the society.
He added that “the best time to inculcate knowledge in children is when they are minors; that is the time such awareness could be firmly rooted in their subconscious.’’
The SUBEB boss explained that the health clubs, which were already part of school curriculum activities in Plateau, should serve as platforms for enlightenment on AIDS and the dangers it posed to the society.
He exressed regret that many children had been made orphans by the scourge, pointing out that such persons were worst hit because they would find it difficult to acquire education and other neccesities of life.
Sokoto
Former Treasurer of APC in Sokoto State, Alhaji Muktari
Mapia, has advised the state independent electoral commission to use card readers in the forth coming local government election.
Mapia told newsmen in Sokoto that using card readers would enhance the credibility of the conduct of the election.
He called on the commission to provide a level playing field for the conduct of transparent election to usher in democratically elected leaders at the grassroots.
The former treasurer also called on leaders of political parties in the state to sensitise their followers to the dangers of involvement in political violence and thuggery.
He advised security agencies to brace up for the challenges by providing a peaceful atmosphere for the conduct of the election in the state.
Nation
Council Boss Impeached 48 Hours To LG Polls In Katsina
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.
Nation
Association Tasks Fubara On Rumuwoji Market Phase Three
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.
Nation
AfDB President Denies 2027 Presidential Ambition
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.