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Ekiti
A 44-year-old wife, Modupe Alegbeleye, last Thursday told an Ikole-Ekiti Customary Court in Ekiti State  that she denied her husband, Ebenezer Alegbeleye, sex because of the cigarette odour  from him.
Report that Modupe said this while replying to a statement by her husband that she denied him sex for three months.
According to her, my husband likes smoking cigarettes but I do not like its odour.
“So, whenever he smoked and demanded sex; I was always turning down his demand as I hated cigarette’s odour.
“Although, I knew that my husband was a cigarette smoker before we started our relationship, I was always advising him to stop it.
“I was also praying  so that he would quit it, but to no avail.

FCT
The United States, through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has provided an additional $9.5 million to the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) to ensure more than 175,000 mothers and children under five do not suffer from malnutrition during this year’s “lean” season.
The grant from USAID’s Health, Population, and Nutrition Office, augments ongoing support for the humanitarian assistance in Nigeria by its Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) and Food for Peace (FFP), and seeks to bridge a funding shortfall announced by WFP late last month.
The grant will fund a blanket supplementary feeding program to protect the nutrition status of children aged six months to five years and lactating women in IDP and host communities of Borno State through provision of specialized nutritious foods.

Gombe
The reduction of average speed by mere five per cent could reduce fatality of accident by 80 per cent in an event of automobile crash,  Sector Commander of  Federal Road Safety Corps in Gombe, Mr. David Mendie, said last  Sunday.
Mendie, who stated this during a Thanksgiving service at the Saint James Catholic Church, Gombe, marking the end of United Nationa’s 4th Global Road Safety Week, said a credible research had proved so.
“Research has so much said that if an average speed is cut by five per cent, there is tendency for the reduction of fatality by 80 per cent whenever road crash occurs”, he said.
He said that based on the findings, the need for road users to adhere to the recommended speed limit, could not be over-emphasised.
According to him, FRSC in Gombe has intensified campaign on the need for motorists to manage speed while driving.

Kaduna
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) last Tuesday donated a 350-seat ultra-modern lecture theatre to the Department of Accounting, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria.
The ICAN National President, Mr Dicon Titus-Soetan,  said at the inauguration of the facility, that the donation was part of the institute’s efforts to encourage the study of accounting.
Titus-Soetan urged the university to make judicious use of the theatre.
He said that ICAN, established in 1965 with the aim of training accountants and regulating accounting practice, had 42,000 members so far.

Kano
The Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje has called on Muslims in the state to pray for peace and development of the country during the Holy month of Ramadan.
The governor made the call in a statement by the Commissioner  for Information, Youth and Culture, Malam Mohammed Garba and made available to newsmen in Kano on Saturday.
He also called on the people of the state to strictly adhere to the dictates and teachings of Islam during this Holy month of Ramadan.
The governor also urged Muslims to strive to imbibe in greater measure, the virtues of piety, self-discipline, tolerance, justice, fairness and compassion for the less-privileged and fear of Allah in all their undertakings, which the Ramadan fast promotes.
He said fasting, which is one of the five pillars of Islam, should not be just a period for abstaining from food and drink, but also be used to make greater sacrifice by praying fervently for peace, security and rapid socio-economic development of the state and the country in general.

Lagos
Governor Akinwunmi  Ambode of Lagos State last Saturday said his administration was determined to protect children from abuse or molestation in order  to safeguard their future while  preparing  them for the challenges of life.
Ambode, who was represented by his deputy, Dr Idiat Adebule, said this in Lagos at the 2017 Children’s Day Celebration organised by the Ministry of Education as part of activities to mark the  Lagos at 50 anniversary.
The theme of the Children’s Day celebration  was “ Children of  Today, Our Keepers Tomorrow.’’
“ We must protect these children today so that they can protect us tomorrow.
“It is a double celebration for us all in the state. It is children’s day and Lagos at 50 celebration.
“I was a child like you 50 years ago and some of us occupying leadership positions today got here because of the opportunities given to us by this great state.

Nasarawa
Some secondary school students in Nasarawa State, have called for truce between the government and labour unions to end the ongoing workers strike by academic staff in tertiary institutions in the state.
Secondary school teachers in the state have also joined the strike.
A cross section of the students appealed to the government and union leaders to ‘take step’to end the strike in the interest of the students.
They made the call  in Keffi  on Tuesday in separate interviews with newsmen
Recall  that on May 12, labour unions in the academic sector embarked on indefinite strike to demand payment of their salary arrears, payment of their full salary and other entitlements.

Niger
The Nigerian Army said it raided a Boko Haram cell at Mokwa and its environs in Niger State last  Thursday and arrested three leaders of the terrorist group.
The army spokesman, Brig.-Gen. Sani Usman, who disclosed this in a statement on Friday, named the suspects as Mustapha Muhammed (Adam Bitri), Ali Saleh and Uba Mohammed.
Usman said that they were picked up at their hideout at Gidan Mai village on Mokwa-Tegina road.
“Preliminary investigation has confirmed that one of the terrorists, Mustapha Muhammed (Adam Bitri), along with one Bakura (at large), was among the group of the Boko Haram terrorists that kidnapped the late elder statesman, Alhaji Shettima Ali Monguno, in Maiduguri on May 13, 2013.

Osun
The Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Mr Najeem Salaam, has urged Muslims  to take advantage of  the Ramadan  to pray ceaselessly for the nation as demanded by Prophet Muhammed.
The Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker,  Mr Goke Butika,quoted Salaam as saying in his  Ramadan message  on  Saturday in Osogbo  that  the economic challenges the nation was facing would be tackled with prayers.
He also enjoined Islamic clerics  to use the Ramadan lectures to speak the truth to those in power, saying leaders at this time would appreciate this in the spirit of the season.

Oyo
Rep. Abiodun Olasupo (APC- Iseyin/Iwajowa/Kajola/Itesiwaju Federal Constituency) says the bill on whistle blowing  is at an advanced stage of being passed by the National Assembly.
Olasupo also said the National Assembly was  working hard to ensure that all enabling laws   protect the identity of whistle blowers and strengthen  the principle.
The federal lawmaker spoke in Iseyin during a  routine tour of his constituency to inaugurate projects and brief constituents.
“You should not be surprised that all the measures used in the anti-corruption crusade today were developed by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.
“The Jonathan administration developed the policies  of whistle blowing, Bank Verification Number (BVN), Treasury Single Account (TSA) but lacked  the political will to implement them.

Plateau
The PDP in Plateau State has gone philosophical over the gale of defections that has emasculated its fold, declaring last Sunday that God was “sieving the chaff from the grain”.
“The defections do not surprise us; we believe that God is sieving. He is blowing away the chaff and leaving only the grain,” the party’s Chairman, Mr Damishi Sango, told journalists in Jos.
Our correspondent  reported that the party has lost many of its key members including Sen. Joshua Dariye, Rep. Edward Pwajok and Yusuf Gagdi, Deputy Speaker, Plateau House of Assembly, to the APC.
The party, which also had 13 members to APC’s 11, when the Plateau House of Assembly was inaugurated in June 2015, currently has only eight, while the APC has 16.
But Sango told newsmen that the defecting members had only confirmed that they were only interested in where there was power.

Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has earmarked over N202.3 million for the digitisation of its Radio and Television stations, Rima Radio and Rima Television.
Reports have it that the state’s Commissioner for Information, Alhaji Abdulkadir Jeli, disclosed this in Sokoto, on Saturday, at a news briefing to mark the two years of Governor  Aminu Tambuwal in office.
He said that the state government has concluded arrangements to meet National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) digitisation deadline for state-owned media organisations.
“The government is fully aware of the deadline set by the NBC for the digitisation of all broadcast stations in the country.
“As such, the ministry has made contacts with companies with bias in Radio and TV equipment, for the supply of radio and television digital equipment for the state-owned broadcast stations.

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Over 26,000 Lagos Students Failed 2024 WASSCE -Commissioner

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The Lagos State Government has disclosed that 26,592 public school students failed the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, raising alarm across the state’s education sector.
The state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, during a ministerial press briefing yesterday in Alausa, Ikeja, said that “45.7 per cent of the 58,188 students from public schools who sat for the exams did not pass.”.
This failure rate comes despite the state government’s significant financial backing N1.577 billion was paid on behalf of the students to cover WAEC fees.
“Suffice to say that the sum of N1,577,794,000 only was paid by the state government as examination fees for 58,188 students who were captured for the year 2024 WASSCE,” Alli-Balogun announced.
In a bid to tighten accountability and avoid wastage, the Commissioner disclosed that biometric and image registration was carried out to accurately determine eligible students for government sponsorship for the 2025 WASSCE.
“The exercise successfully captured and registered 56,134 students as bona fide beneficiaries of the Lagos state government’s sponsorship for the examination,” he added.
However, the Lagos State Government rolled out a bold educational intervention – the Eko Learners’ Support Programme for WASSCE and NECO candidates – aimed at reversing the tide of academic failure in the state’s public schools.
Launched on January 14, 2025, the initiative is part of a broader commitment by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to equip Lagos students with tools for success.
“This forward-thinking initiative was designed to support and empower young scholars in attestation of the ministry’s commitment to advancing interest and management of the educational system in Lagos State,” Alli-Balogun stated.

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Ekiti Vaccinates Over 226,000 Girls Against HPV

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Ekiti State Government says it has vaccinated 226,429 eligible girls in the State against the Human Papilloma Virus, an infection believed to be a leading cause of cervical cancer.
The wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, said the HPV immunization exercise, which she flagged off in the State in May 2025 was a great success, noting that it reached targeted communities and protected children against cervical cancer.
The governor’s wife made the disclosure in Ado Ekiti yesterday during a one-day stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting on the introduction of Measles Rubella vaccines in Ekiti State.
She said, “The introduction of Measles Rubella Vaccines is a very crucial step towards protecting Ekiti children particularly the target age group of nine to 14 years from diseases.
“I urge all women in the State to regularly scan their breasts. This can be done with the aid of the Mammography machine which is available at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti”.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, noted that the Measles Rubella vaccines would be rolled out nationally in October, 2025.
Filani said that the State was taking proactive steps to sensitise residents of the State before the date to ensure adequate awareness on the vaccines by citizens.

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Monarch Preaches Peace As He Unveils Palace

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The Acting Ochimba of Ogida in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, Eze Ndudiri Azuatalam, says peace remains paramount in the socio-economic development of Etche land.
Eze Azuatalam, however, called on his people to embrace and eschew violence at all times.
The Onwa Nagbara Oha made the call during the official commissioning of his palace at Ogida recently.
The epoch-making ceremony held at his palace saw the attendance of members of the Etche Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs; the academia; the political class; the clergy ; women as well relevant stakeholders within and outside Etche land.
The Ngbaragida of Azuafor re-emphasised the essence of peace and social harmony which he said open the window for meaningful development to take place.
He also sought the support and collaboration of his people to achieve the desired goals of development, progress and prosperity.
He noted that the peace being witnessed in the area must be sustained through collective effort, saying, contributions and sacrifices need to be made by all concerned to live in peace.
Eze Azuatalam said his aim towards building a better Ogida cannot be compromised as he and his people have no other place called home.
The Acting Ochimba said as part of efforts to build a better Ogida, he has instituted a number of development projects, adding that some of his kinsmen have been empowered through his hard-earned money and resources, saying, he will continue to assist the less- privileged around him.
He reaffirmed his desire to impact positively on the lives of his people as the engagement of the youths will help to reduce social vices in the area.
He thanked members of the Etche Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs for honouring his invitation.
He specifically thanked the Onyi Ishi Etche and Ochie of Etcheland, His Eminence E mmanuel Opurum for leading Etche on the path of prosperity, and described the revered King as a role model to the younger generation.
He said his fatherly role has been a source of hope and inspiration to his subjects.
The palace was unveiled by His Eminence with the assistance of Ochimba of Abara, Eze Jonah Nwala and other prominent Etche traditional rulers and chiefs while the Onyi Ishi Etche was represented by Eze Ken Nwala, Onyi Ishi Agwuru, Ulakwo/ Umuselem Clan.
The Onyi Ishi Etche urged other prominent sons of Etche to emulate the kind gesture of Eze Ndudiri Azuatalam as his magnanimity is being seen and appreciated by his people.
Eze Azuatalam also applauded the efforts of Prof Mekuri Ndimele, former Vice Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in the growth of Etche land.
According to him, during Ndimele’ s tenure, a lot of development projects were sited at the institution, including the development of Etcheland and empowerment of Etche people.

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