Bauchi

Hajiya Habiba Ali, the Co-ordinator of Rahma Women Development Programme, a Bauchi-based NGO, said on Wednesday that the organization had trained religious leaders on preventive measures against HIV/AIDS.

Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Ali said the trained religious leaders were to enlighten their followers in various Mosques and Churches on how to avoid the virus.

The co-ordinator said the religious leaders were also tutored on why the people should not stigmatise those living with HIV/AIDS, as prevalent in some communities.

Ali named other professional groups, youth peer-educators and some care givers as others sensitized by the NGO to carry the message to various segments of the society.

                             Borno

University of Maiduguri graduated 48,401 students between 1978 and  2006, the Vice-chancellor, Prof. Mala Daura, said in Maiduguri on Thursday.

Daura, who made the fact known at a news conference, explained that 6,842 of the graduates received diplomas and certificates, 36,848 received first degrees and 1,711 were awarded postgraduate diplomas.

He also said the university awarded 2,893 masters’ degrees and 107 doctorates over the period.

Daura said the university would graduate 15, 881 students at its 21st convocation, “the students are those who passed out during the 2006/2007, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 academic sessions.

                             Ekiti

The Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Felix Ajakaiye, on Thursday, ordered the compulsory recitation of the National Anthem in all Catholic schools in the state.

Ajakaiye also directed that all social events organised by the Catholic Church’s establishments must start and end with the singing of the anthem from now.

He gave the directives when he visited the Holy Child Secondary School, Ado-Ekiti, for its 15th Founders’ Day celebration during which he discovered that there was no provision for the anthem on the programme of events.

The school is one of the nearly 60 institutions owned by the Catholic Mission in the state.

FCT

FCT

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has expressed readiness to assist Nigeria in the implementation of the Global Jobs Pact aimed at wealth creation.

Mr David Lamotte, ILO’s Special Adviser and Co-ordinator of the Global Jobs Pact, disclosed this on Thursday, in Abuja, when he met with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu.

Lamotte said his visit to Nigeria was to enlighten stakeholders in the labour sub-sector on the implementation strategy for the Global Jobs Pact which would help in reducing unemployment in the country.

                       Jigawa

No fewer than 75 per cent youth corpers constitute the teaching staff in Jigawa, Mr Nurudeen Baba, the state’s NYSC Coordinator has said.

Baba said this in Gumel during the swearing-in ceremony of Batch ‘C’ corps members posted to the state.

He explained that due to the dearth of teachers in the state, the NYSC posted 80 per cent of the corps members to schools in the rural areas to teach.

“From our statistics, more than 75 per cent of teachers in Jigawa are corps members. In some schools, some corps members are even made vice principals,” he said.

                     Katsina

A total of 5, 505 out of the 6,100 intending pilgrims from Katsina State have so far been airlifted to Saudi Arabia for the 2010 Hajj.

The Secretary of the Katsina State Hajj Committee and Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Public Affairs, Alhaji Nasiru Abdul, disclosed this in Katsina on Thursday.

He said the pilgrims were transported to the holy land by Max Airlines on 11 flights, stressing that the 11th flight of 502 pilgrims took-off from the Umaru Musa Yar’adua Airport, Katsina at 12:17 a.m.

                          Kaduna

Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State has inaugurated a 30-member Governorship Campaign Council with his former boss, Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi as a member.

Other people on the council are the Adviser to the Vice- President, Sen. Isaiah Balat, the Chairman of Peugeot Automobile Ltd, Alhaji Sani Dauda, and Alhaji Yusuf Hamisu, a PDP senatorial aspirant.

The team is to be chaired by the governor while Alhaji Muktar Yero, the Deputy Governor, will serve as the Deputy Chairman.

Inaugurating the council, Yakowa warned PDP supporters against campaigns of calumny and the use of indecent language, adding that they must be peaceful in their conduct.

                             Kogi

The Management of Obajana Cement Company in Kogi has finally agreed to send 1,200 truck drivers in the company to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) for safety driving training.

The Sector Commander of the FRSC in Kogi, Mr Sunday Maku, confirmed the development in Lokoja, on Thursday, in an interview with newsmen.

He said the training would be handled by the commission’s headquarters and that it would last for three days.

The management of the cement company had been under pressure from the FRSC which has consistently requested it to send its truck drivers for safety training.

                             Lagos

Workers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on Thursday cautioned the Federal Government against sacking 50, 000 workers in the company to avoid industrial crisis.

In a statement issued in Lagos, the workers said that the sack of the workers could also lead to a national blackout.

The statement was signed by Mr Mansur Musa, President, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), and the General Secretary, Mr Joe Ajaero.

The statement said that the workers were also planning a campaign for the removal of Prof. Bath Nnaji, the President’s Adviser on Energy, for allegedly misrepresenting the government.

                         Nasarawa

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Umar, says regular training and exercises by officers and men of the Nigerian Air Force will boost their combat readiness.

Umar said this on Thursday, in Keffi in Nasrawa State, at the “Small Arm Range Classification Exercise,” organised by the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters (NAF) for its personnel.

He was represented by Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh, Air Officer Policy and Plans at NAF Headquarters, Abuja.

“In protecting the nation you need the riffle, so the training that is being carried out is to give our air men and women proficiency on their jobs”.

Niger

The Niger state Government has promised to complete all projects conceived under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in the state.

The state’s Head of Service (HOS), Alhaji Ahmed Matane, disclosed this in Minna on Wednesday, while reacting to recent media reports calling on. The media reports indicated that some Niger State indigenes had criticized the manner of implementation of the PPP projects.

They alleged that most of projects had been abandoned after expending huge sums of money on them.

The head of service, however, said that the government had pursued the partnership to achieve physical development against limited resources with “all honesty and due process”.

Osun

Physically challenged persons in Osogbo, the Osun capital, have appealed to governments at all levels to assist them financially to promote their vocational businesses.

Our correspondent reports that majority of those interviewed earn a living from hat, shoe and soap making.

Blessing Babatunde, a fashion designer, said: “Being

crippled is not the end of life. I am able to cater for myself and assist my younger ones.

“Despite all efforts to be independent, there is no help from government; the government should assist the physically challenged people so that beggars would reduce on the streets.“

Plateau

The FRSC in Plateau has started to clamp down on unregistered motorcycles and other vehicles in Plateau.

The Sector Commander, Mr Samuel Odukoya newsmen in Jos on Thursday, that owners of impounded vehicles were liable to a fine of N10,000 each.

“We are aware of the influx of motorcycle operators from neighbouring states and we want to ensure that they register their motorcycles before they operate here,” he said.

Odukoya called on motorists to ensure that their motorcycles and vehicles were “duly registered” to avoid being impounded or arrested.

Sokoto

Council has approved the electrification of 28 communities in 14 of the 23 local government areas of the state.

Briefing newsmen on the outcome of the state’s Executive Council meeting in Sokoto on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Faruk Yabo, said that the project would gulp N839 million.

He explained that the project work would include the upgrading, extension and improvement of some of the electricity installations in the communities.

He said that the council had also approved the divestment of the state government’s 766 million shares in Unity Bank of Nigeria Plc at N1 per share.