Adamawa

No fewer than 70,000 farmers will benefit from the Federal Government’s Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme under the Agriculture Transformation Agenda, an official has said.

The Federal Director of Agriculture in the state, Dr Walia Hamman, disclosed this in an interview with The Tide in Yola.

Hamman told our correspondent that this followed the government’s decision to participate in the programme after several meetings between the federal and state government officials.

According to him, Adamawa was the only state that initially declined participation in the programme, adding that the agreement was contained in a letter signed by Governor Murtala Nyako on August 28, 2012, and made available to the ministry.

The letter read: “Honourable Minister, the Adamawa Government expresses appreciation for the effort and programme you are making to enhance the lot of our farming populace, especially those at the subsistence level.

Bauchi

Farmers in Tafawa Balewa Local Government area of Bauchi State have rejected the brand of fertiliser offered them under the e-Wallet System of Fertiliser Distribution.

Mr Bala Suleiman, the Head of Department for Agriculture of the local government council, made this know in Bununu, headquarters of the local government in an interview with The Tide.

Suleiman said, “The farmers are coming but not many, they are coming, but not like expected, but they are coming, it is not the type of fertiliser that they are in need of.

“Initially, they were to take one bag of Urea and one bag of NPK, but the problem we encountered here is that it was only NPK that was brought to this local government while none of the farmers was given seeds.

“We registered 147 farmers under the Agricultural Loan Scheme, therefore, you will see that we have enough farmers that could consume all the consignment.

“But by the time they brought NPK, the time for application of NPK had passed,” he said.

Suleiman said that the council recorded more than 8,000 registered farmers under the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES), while four trailers out of the 28 trailers allocated to the area was dumped at Bununu and Zwul sale points.

Ekiti

No fewer than 100 patients received free eye surgery at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti.

The state Commissioner for Health, Prof. Olusola Fasubaa, made this known at the Ophthalmology Centre of EKSUTH in Ado Ekiti on Monday.

Fasubaa said that the beneficiaries were treated during the 5th edition of Governor Kayode Fayemi’s Free Health Mission in the state and explained that the free health mission was part of the efforts of the Fayemi-led administration to improve healthcare delivery enshrined in its eight-point agenda.

He urged the beneficiaries to justify the government’s huge spending by taking their drugs according to prescriptions and undergo regular medical check-up.

Dr Kola Adu, the state Director of Hospital Services, said that the free health mission was a continuous exercise, adding that the 6th edition would be held before the end of 2012.

FCT

The Minister of Information, Mr Labaran Maku, has called on Nigerians to invest in the printing industry in the country.

Maku made the call when members of the Chartered Institute of Professional Printers of Nigeria visited him in Abuja on Monday.

“I call on Nigerians to invest in printing because it is very lucrative and has a very huge market.

“The manpower base in Nigeria is great, so foreign investors should not be allowed to take over the industry.

“Printing should be driven by the private sector because it is a great source of investment,’’ he said.

He further advised the institute to collaborate with the government and the ministry to foster capacity building.

Jos

The Plateau State Government is to build a centre for traditional medicine to modernise its practice, Prof. Comfort Piwuna, the Commissioner for Science and Technology, has said.

Piwuna told our correspondent in Jos on Tuesday that the gesture would advance herbal practice, rid it of quacks and minimise sharp practices.

“A formal centre for the practice of traditional medicine will bring the practitioners under one umbrella and standardise their reach,’’ he said.

The commissioner explained that the state government, through the Agriculture and Health Department of the Ministry of Science and Technology, had been conducting research on plants for medical purposes.

Gombe

Public schools in Gombe State will resume on September 30, Hajiya Aishatu Ahmed, the Commissioner for Education, has said.

Ahmed told our correspondent in Gombe that 12 schools would not resume until a later date because they were undergoing renovation.

According to her, the schools affected are Government Girls College Doma, Government Science Secondary School, Gombe, Government Science Secondary School II, Gombe, Govt Arabic College, Gombe and Govt Arabic College II, Gombe.

Others are Government Science Secondary School Billiri, Govt Day Secondary School, Ibinola, Hassan Central Primary School Gombe, Kumo Central Primary School, Gabuka Primary School Gombe, Herwagana Primary School and Abubakar Umar Memorial Primary School Gombe.

Kaduna

The police in Kaduna State on Tuesday confirmed the killing of a suspected armed robber and the arrest of another in Zaria in the state.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Aminu Lawal, told our correspondent that the police recovered two guns from an aborted robbery attack in Zaria on Tuesday.

Lawal said on telephone that “our men have succeeded in killing one of the armed bandits, one is in our custody, while we recovered two guns and some ammunition from the gang,’’ adding that investigation into the matter had already begun and urged members of the public to be vigilant and report any suspicious act to the appropriate authorities.

An eyewitness told The Tide that the robbery attempt occurred at about 3 a.m. when a gang of four armed robbers attacked the house of a retired Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Mr Murtala Abbass, at Unguwan-Fatika, Zaria.

Kebbi

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in Kebbi State has promised to assist the State Urban Development Authority on solid waste management.

Dr Ahmed Kasim, the Coordinator of the agency, stated this in Birnin Kebbi when he visited the newly appointed General Manager of the urban development authority, Malam Yahaya Chindo.

He called on the authority to solve the waste management challenges, especially identifying designated dump sites where refuse in the metropolis and urban centres are located and evacuate them.

Kwara

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara has threatened to blacklist contractors delaying execution of government projects or doing shoddy jobs.

The governor issued the threat when he paid an unscheduled visit to the State General Hospital, Share, headquarters of Ifelodun Local Government area. The hospital is undergoing renovation.

He charged contractors handling government projects to execute them in good time and according to specification, or risk sanctions.

Ahmed, who was visibly enraged with the slow pace of work at the hospital, said his administration would not allow shoddy execution of projects and waste of the state’s scarce resources.

Lagos

Chairman of Nigerian Society of Engineers, Mr Olatunde Jaiyesimi, has  advised government to fully engage professionals in the management of construction sites.

Jaiyesimi who gave the advice in an interview with The Tide in Lagos, said that the Federal and State Governments would deliver on their promises to develop the infrastructure if they fully engaged professionals in the construction industry.

He said that construction professionals were the only ones that were complying with construction and building codes.

Jaiyesimi noted that the incidence of building collapse in the country was partly due non-adherence to building codes.

He said that the use of quacks had also compounded problems in the construction industry.

Ondo

Governor  Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has announced that 50 tricycle ambulances and 10,000 mobile phones would be distributed across the state to assist pregnant mothers.

Mimiko made this known while inaugurating the construction and rehabilitation of Ore township roads in Odigbo Local Government area of the state on Monday.

He said the tricycle ambulances became necessary because “when our mothers are in labour most of them don’t have a way to get to the hospital.

“They are ambulances and mobile hospitals where mothers can give birth,’’ he said, explaining that  mobile phones would be given to pregnant women as means of communicating with their health rangers and to call for assistance during emergencies.

Osun

The Chairman, Osun House Committee on Education, Science and Technology, Mr Oladoyin Bamisayemi, has urged the State Government to recruit more primary school teachers.

Bamisayemi made the call when the Directors of the state Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) appeared before the committee in Osogbo.

He said that majority of primary schools in rural areas had shortage of teachers, adding that those to be employed should be posted to these areas.

The chairman appealed to the directors to ensure that teachers when employed were evenly distributed to schools to improve the standard of education of the pupils in the state.

Bamisayemi said the nine local governments, which needed primary school teachers included Ife South, Oriade, Atakumosa East and West, Ejigbo, Ifedayo, Obokun, Ola Oluwa and Bolorunduro.

Zamfara

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Malam Musa Sada, has denied the allegation that the N650 million meant to assist Zamfara State lead poison victims by the Federal Government had been embezzled.

Sada who denied this allegation in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the matter said the ministry applied for N650 million to the Federal Government so as to assist the victims but that this money had not been released to his ministry even though it received the Federal Government’s approval.

Sada assured that whenever this money was released the ministry would make judicious use of it to the victims.