Bauchi

The INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Bauchi State, Sen. Iliya Audu, says the commission requires more than 4,074 Direct Data Capturing Machines (DDCMs) for the forthcoming voter registration.

Audu stated this in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi, saying each of the polling units in the state would be allocated a machine for the exercise.

There are 4,074 polling units, 212 registration areas and 2,130,557 registered voters in the state.

The REC said that when the voter registration was conducted last in 2008, there was only one machine which led to omission of names, adding that the forthcoming exercise would be comprehensive.

He said that INEC was compiling names of corps members serving in the state to be engaged for the registration.

Ekiti

The Ekiti State House of Assembly has appealed to the Presidency to accord it preferential treatment when considering where to site the proposed federal university meant for the South West Zone.

The Assembly’s plea followed the recent approval by the Federal Executive Council at its last meeting to establish six federal universities in each of the six geo political zones of the country.

The Ekiti House of Assembly Speaker, Mr Tunji Odeyemi, in a statement issued on Sunday in Ado-Ekiti, said: “Ekiti State is the most qualified to host a federal university in the zone.”

The statement signed on behalf of Odeyemi by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Rotimi Ajisola described Ekiti State as the academic basket of the nation and reservoir of intellectuals for most tertiary institutions in the country, but added that the state had long been marginalised in the area of federal presence.

FCT

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has called on the media and the private sector to collaborate with it in managing disasters.

A statement signed by the Head of Press and Public Relations, Mr Yushau Shuaib, said the Director General of the Agency, Alhaji Mohammed Sani-Sidi, made the call at the end of a consultative meeting of the executive held in Ibadan at the weekend.

The meeting, chaired by Sani-Sidi, noted the need for the private sector to participate fully in stakeholders’ meetings as well as the involvement of the media as major stakeholders instead of attending the meetings as reporters.

The statement said participants at the meeting urged NEMA to speed up the process for the establishment of National Council on Disaster Management.

It said the council would attract representations from stakeholders to provide policy guidelines for efficient and effective decision-making on disaster-related issues.

Kaduna

The Kaduna State Government will soon set up a committee to work out modalities for improved internal revenue generation, Governor Patrick Yakowa has said.

Speaking with newsmen shortly after inspecting projects in Zone III, Kaduna Southern Senatorial District, Yakowa said the committee would evolve ways of generating more funds to complement the revenue from the Federation Account.

He said the state government had done a lot in terms of projects implementation but noted that it required more money to undertake additional projects.

According to him, allocations from the Federation Account to the various states and local governments have dropped substantially, making it difficult for them to execute their projects.

Kano

As the Eid-el Kabir begins tomorrow, many Muslims in Kano have thronged to rural markets in search of cheaper rams, an investigation by The Tide reveals.

The rising cost of rams in Kano made it necessary for low income earners to go to rural markets where the cost of livestock is less.

Yesterday at Wudil, Gaya and Kachako markets, many customers said they came from Kano and Gusau to buy rams which they said were cheaper.

A civil servant, Malam Kabir Abubakar, said he travelled to Wudil ram and sheep market from Kano to buy his sallah ram as “the prices in Kano are prohibitive”.

“Only the super rich can afford a ram in cities because the ones I saw were from N50,000 and above,” he said.

Katsina

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Katsina State has warned parents against allowing their under-age children to drive during the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

The Sector Commander, Mr Habu Dauda gave the warning in Katsina over the weekend at a joint meeting of the commission’s officials, traditional rulers and other security agencies.

The sector commander, who was represented by the Public Relations Officer, Mr Muntari Fago, warned that any under-age child caught driving or riding motorcycle during the sallah period and beyond would be arrested and the vehicle impounded.

He said the warning was necessary in view of the rampant accidents usually recorded in the state capital and other major towns during festivities.

Kebbi

Medical practitioners should encourage people to exercise themselves physically to avoid hypertension, a consultant neurologist at the Usmanu dan Fodiyo University, Sokoto, Dr Salihu Balarabe, has advised.

Balarabe gave the advice in Birnin Kebbi during an interactive session on the topic “Hypertension, a killer disease”, organised by the state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

He said regular physical exercise and medical check-up were remedies for hypertension, noting that a survey on the disease conducted by the WHO indicated that one billion people were diagnosed to be hypertensive globally.

The NMA Chairman, Dr Aliyu Illo, said the session was designed to sensitise the public to the dangers posed by hypertension and how to avoid it.

Kogi

As Muslims rush to buy food items in preparation for Eid el-Kabir, the prices of rams, chickens and catfish have increased in Lokoja.

Conversely in Onitsha, Anambra, traders are complaining that low patronage had forced down the prices of the animals.

A market survey conducted by our correspondent at the Felele Market in Lokoja on Friday, showed that a big ram sold for between N50,000 and N70,000 as against N55,000 and N60,000 last year.

A medium ram which sold for between N25,000 and N35,000 last year, is now being sold for between N40, 000 and N48,000.

Similarly, a small ram which sold for N11,000 last year, is now being sold for between N15,000 and N20,000.

Mallam Abubakar Sani, the Chairman of ram and goat sellers association in the market, attributed the hike in price to “greedy motorists’’ who he accused of arbitrarily increasing transportations cost whenever there were festivities.

Lagos

A member of the House of Representatives, Mr Wole Diya, has attributed the delay in the passage of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Bill by the House to inadequate lobbying by the sponsors.

Diya told newsmen in Lagos on Saturday that Rep. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, a key sponsor of the private bill, had been unable to lobby the lawmakers well enough to pass the bill.

“It is not good enough to present a private bill before the House and expect it to sail through with ease.

“You have to lobby all the members, particularly the opposition.

“I am in strong support of the FoI Bill but what can I do alone in the House that has hundreds of members?” said Diya, who represents the Lagos East Constituency.

He urged Dabiri-Erewa to intensify effort in lobbying members of the House to accept and pass the bill.

Nasarawa

Pastor Jeremiah Kalejaiye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has attributed Nigeria’s low level of development to the lack of fear of God in political actors and government officials.

He said this on Friday in his sermon at the 9th annual Holy Ghost Service organised by the RCCG.

In the sermon entitled “King of Kings”, Kalejaiye declared that if government officials had the fear of God in them, the country would attain greater heights.

Quoting Psalm 111, verse 10, the pastor stressed that the fear of God was the beginning of wisdom, adding that anyone who did not fear God would always be deficient in wisdom.

“In our society today, it is unfortunate to note that the fear of man has replaced the fear of God and this is the beginning of the problems we have in Nigeria today.

Niger

The high cost of animals, especially rams, may prevent some Muslims from Bida and its environs in Niger from performing the sacrifice for the Eid-el-Kabir celebration.

Our correspondent in the area who visited some animal markets yesterday reports that the price of rams was exorbitant and many Muslims might not have the means to buy them.

An average ram which cost N10,000 last year now costs about N18,000, an increase of N8,000 or 80 per cent against last year’s price. A female goat, which was sold at about N6,000 last year now costs N10,000 this year, while a male goat that cost N8,000 last year costs between N13,000 and N15,000 this year.