Bauchi

The Chairman of Committee on Internally Displaced  Persons in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi State, Abdullahi Musa-Garkuwa says the state  is currently harbouring about 48, 475 internally displaced persons.

Musa-Garkuwa said last Sunday in Magama Gumau that 47,000 of them were victims from the Jos and Kaduna crises, noting that the victims were resettled by the state government in 53 settlements within the council between 2010 and 2013.

Musa-Garkuwa said the council had in the last two weeks received 1,475 persons, mostly women and children, whose husbands were killed in the recent crisis in Bokkos, Plateau.

He added that Gov. Isa Yuguda of Bauchi had allocated a large expanse of land for the resettlement of victims at Kara layout in Magama-Gumau, and disclosed that each of the victims was given building materials which included three bundles of roofing sheets.

Benue

The Chairman of Benue State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Yimam Orkwar, has urged the Federal Government to create grazing reserves to check conflicts between herdsmen and farmers in the country.

Archbishop Yimam Orkwar said last Sunday in Makurdi that dams should be built close to the reserves to provide water for the cattle.

The cleric suggested that the dams and grazing reserves should be built in the northern parts of the country where cattle-rearing is most predominant.

He said the dams would allow the herdsmen to stock grasses during the rainy season for use during the dry season.

The cleric said the measure would also check the activities of other militia groups that hide under the attacks to cause mischief in places where such conflicts are rampant.

Borno

The Borno State Government on Sunday said it had set up a committee to handle the distribution of seats to prospective pilgrims for this year’s Hajj.

The Secretary to State Government (SSG), Alhaji Baba Jidda, told newsmen in Maiduguri that the committee was expected to evolve a fair and equitable formula for distribution of the seats.

The committee was set up following complaints about non-availability of forms for prospective pilgrims.

Some applicants last week relocated to the headquarters of the state’s Pilgrims Welfare Board after unsuccessful attempts to secure application forms from their local governments.

“Gov. Kashim Shettima has approved the appointment of a high powered committee to handle the distribution of the 2013 Hajj seats in the state. The committee is expected to work out a fair and equitable formula for the distribution of the seats among all the 27 local government areas in the state,” Jidda, who is the chairman of the committee, said.

Kano

An elder statesman, Alhaji Tanko Yakasai, has advised the Federal Government not to be deterred by withdrawal of some members of the committee on amnesty for Boko Haram members.

He, however, advised the Federal Government to always contact people before appointing them in order not to appoint those not interested in assignments.

“This is a voluntary assignment, so only people who are interested should be appointed to participate in such assignment. “It is also a very sensitive issue; so, there is need for the government to consult people it wants to appoint in any committee or for any assignment,’’ he said.

The Presidential Adviser on National Assembly Matters to former President Shehu Shagari in the second republic, urged the government to appoint replacements to enable the committee to commence its assignment.

Kebbi

Governor  Saidu Dakingari of Kebbi State said he would complete all on-going projects before the end of his tenure in 2015.

Dakingari said this during an inspection tour of projects by the good governance media tour to the state.

The Minister of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Tanimu, who represented his counterpart from the Ministry of Information, led the delegation on the tour.

The road projects inspected by the delegation included the N1 billion Sanchi to Elembu; the 10-Kilometre Zuru to Sanchi; N57 million Marafa to Bacita; the N1 billion Zuba to Ribah and the N3 billion Ribah to Kyabu.

The governor said his administration embarked on provision of good road network to open rural areas that had been denied opportunity to interact with other communities for social and economic benefits. He said funds would be provided for the completion of the projects.

Kwara

The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) last Sunday urged due process in the investigation of journalists for any offence.

In a communiqué at the end of its standing committee meeting in Ilorin, the Guild decried what it called a siege to the media.

The communiqué signed by Messers Femi Adesina and Isaac Ighure, the Guild President and General Secretary, respectively said that the latest siege were the harassment and detention of journalists of the Leadership newspaper.

The Guild said that, while it was not against investigation of journalists when and where necessary, such investigation must conform to the basic norms of due process permissible in a democracy.  It urged the government to depart from the old ways, whereby journalists were  arrested and detained arbitrarily.

Niger

No fewer than five persons were killed in Mokwa, Niger State, last Friday when a tanker carrying petrol ran into 10 stationary vehicles along Jebba-Mokwa highway.

The accident occurred when a petrol tanker coming from the Jebba end of the highway lost control and ran into the popular Saw Mill area of Mokwa in Mokwa Local Government Area.

The tanker ran into the vehicles parked on that side of the highway and exploded, causing the vehicles and some business premises and houses to go up in flames.

An eye witness, who pleaded anonymity said that the 10 vehicles were completely burnt and many shops and houses were also torched by the fire that lasted hours owing to lack of fire fighting trucks in the area. It was gathered that of the five bodies recovered, two were burnt beyond recognition.

Ogun

Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State said the state government would plant 50 million trees as part of effort to provide friendly environment for the people.

Amosun, who spoke last Saturday, during the launching of the “Ogun Goes Green Walk’’ in Abeokuta, said the initiatives is aimed at restoring dwindling environment to support our survival as human race and to ensure that Ogun goes green.

“l urged you all to cultivate the habit of protecting our environment through planting of trees to secure our environment against degradation, deforestation and decline of biodiversity,’’ he said.

In her remark, the Chairman, House Representatives Committee on Environment, Rep. Uche Ekwenife, said the Federal Government had released money to some states in the north to confront challenges of deforestation.

Plateau

Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ado Maikilishi, has urged northern leaders to assist the Federal Government in the current amnesty deal with the Boko Haram sect.

Maikilishi said in Jos that the sect had remained largely faceless and that any effort to reach out to them would assist the committee in the task.

He said that the leaders could bridge the gap by using their intelligence network to gather information about the sect from the ward, village and district heads and forward to the committee.

Sokoto

Former chairman, Isa Local Government Area of Sokoto State, Alhaji Yusuf Abdullahi, last Saturday appealed to Nigerians to assist the security agencies by exposing dubious characters in their midst.

Abdullahi said the measure would ensure that peace, progress and political stability be sustained in the country.

He said that the present security situation could only be tackled if Nigerians developed the habit of offering intelligence reports that could lead to the arrest and prosecution of criminals within their midst.

According to him, vital information from members of the public would enable the security officers to fashion out comprehensive security measures that would pave the way for peaceful coexistence in the country.

Abdullahi said that the nation’s security officers were in dire need of intelligence reports from good citizens to end the senseless killings of innocent Nigerians and called on the security officers to be friendlier with the members of the general public.

Yobe

Political parties, politicians and government officials have lauded the Yobe State Independent Electoral Commission (YSIEC) for postponing Local Government election indefinitely.

The commission on April 18 at a stakeholders’ forum announced the postponement because of renewed security challenges in parts of the state.

The Special Adviser to Yobe Governor on Political Affairs, Alhaji Maimala Buni, said that the postponement was commendable, adding that YSIEC heeded to requests of political parties in postponing the poll.

Buni noted that the stakeholders’ forum organised by the commission for political parties afforded them the opportunity to collectively agree on the postponement.

“YSIEC has since the release of the election time-table demonstrated true democracy and gave everyone a sense of belonging in the electoral process,’’ he said.

Meanwhile, 10 political parties, including APGA, CPC, NCP, PDP and ANPP, among others, said the postponement was in the collective interest of all parties.

Zamfara

The Zamfara  State branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), has alerted the public on the danger of hypertension as a major killer disease that required regular and careful watch.

The chairman of the branch, Dr Sunday Onazie, raised the alarm  last Sunday in Gusau when he led tens of medical officers on a “work for live’’ road show as part of activities to mark this year’s World Health Day.

Onazie said that the trek, which covered about five kilometres within Gusau metropolis, was intended to draw public attention to the need for body exercise as a means of curtailing hypertension traits.

“This road show trek is intended to serve as a wake up call on the general public to let people appreciate the need for everyone to create a little time out of his or her schedules to exercise the body and keep it fit. “When you engage yourself in regular physical exercise you are reducing the chances of having traits of hypertension and other heart-related ailments,’’ he said.