Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
Adamawa State House of Assembly has directed the state Acting
Chief Judge, Justice Ambrose Mamadi to constitute a seven-man impeachment panel within seven days to investigate allegations of gross misconduct levelled against Governor Murtala Nyako and his deputy, James Bala Ngillari.Gov. Nyako.
The directive is in defiance of an earlier court order restraining the Assembly from proceeding with the matter which was before the court.
At yesterday’s plenary, the House cited Section 188 (3)(4) of the 1999 Constitution as amended, which empowered the members to proceed with the impeachment processes. They said that both the governor and his deputy failed to defend themselves against allegations of gross misconduct made against them, adding that due processes had been followed to that effect.
The House further noted that the directive to the chief judge followed the expiration of the two weeks given to Nyako and Ngillari to reply to the allegations of gross mismanagement and fraud levelled against them.
Two requests signed by 20 out of the 25 legislators and verified by the Speaker, Alhaji Umaru Fintiri, led to the resolution of the House to start the impeachment proceedings against Nyako and Ngillari.
Bauchi
The Bauchi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress
(APC), says it will institute a legal action against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led state government over the recent appointment of caretaker committee chairmen for the 20 local government councils in the state.
Governor Yuguda had through a letter dated June 27, addressed to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Right Honourable Muhammed Yahaya Miya, sent the names of the new caretaker chairmen to the House for screening and confirmation.
The letter, which was read on the floor of the House last Monday, generated heated debate as the Minority Leader, Honourable Baba Abubakar Suleiman, vehemently opposed the appointment of another set of caretaker chairmen in the state, arguing that the continuous refusal to conduct local government election in the state since the last was held in 2008 was undemocratic.
The House, however, confirmed the appointment of the 20 nominees at its sitting on Tuesday. They were subsequently sworn in by the state governor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, Tuesday evening.
Reacting to the development while speaking to newsmen in Bauchi, on Wednesday, APC state chairman, Honourable Uba Ahmed Nana, stated that the appointments were null, void and ultra vires, adding that party would approach the court on the issue, with a view to stopping the government’s action.
FCT
The Federal Government last Monday said it had enough equip
ment to fight and curtail the activities of Boko Haram.
Coordinator, National Information Centre, Mr Mike Omeri, said this at a news conference in Abuja.
He said contrary to insinuation in some quarters that insurgency elements had more sophisticated weapons compared to the military, the military were more equipped and well trained to curtail the activities of insurgents.
According to Omeri, a lot of assets and security gadgets are being deployed for the fight against Boko Haram and the Federal Government will not relent in its efforts to bring them to justice.
He appealed for calm among Nigerians and said that statements inimical to the security of the people should be jettisoned.
Jigawa
The Jigawa State Government said it was committed to the
completion of grass control project on Hadejia River.
The State Commissioner for Water Resources, Alhaji Abdulkadir Jinjiri, who said this during an inspection tour of the project at Matara community in Kirikasamma Local Government Area of the State said the State government in collaboration with the Hadejia River Basin Development Authority had so far cleared several kilometers of grass on the river.
Jinjiri said the state government had also executed various water projects to enhance access to safe drinking water by the rural communities.
Also speaking the Chairman of the council, Malam Haruna Dauda, commended the government over the project and pledged this council’s support for the exercise.
Dauda said that the project was providing rural dwellers with alternative means of livelihood.
Kano
The Kano State Government has provided 50 kilometers of land for
the Great Green Wall project in four local government areas of the state.
The state Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, made this known on Monday at the opening of a one-day training of rural women on the use of alternative energy to save the environment.
Abbas said the state government aimed to improve soil fertility and fight desert encroachment so as to complement the efforts of the Federal government in the Great Green Wall initiative.
The commissioner explained that the workshop was organised to give the rural women other alternatives to firewood so as to reduce cutting down of trees.
Katsina
Grains, livestocks, poultry, vegetables and fruits trad
ers in Funtua, Kafur and Malumfashi markets in Katsina State have decried low patronage and dwindling price of the commodities.
The traders said last Monday that activities in the markets have worsened because of the Ramadan fasting.
Chairman, Vegetable Traders Union, Malumfashi Market Alhaji Yakubu Haruna, attributed the high price of fresh vegetables in the area to scarcity as the rainy season had set in.
Haruna said that irrigation farming that produced most of the vegetables had yet to be harvested adding that people had resorted to buying dried vegetables which now sold at between N550 and N600 depending on its quality.
Kogi
The sum of N78 million donated by the World Bank to
the Kogi State Agency for Aids and HIV Control, KOSACA, in the state is allegedly missing.
The money which was to be disbursed to Non-Governmental Organisations, NGOs, to curtail the spread of the diseases in the state was said to have been cornered by some top officials of the agency who later set up some “emergency’’ NGOs to siphon the fund.
Our source gathered at some of the non-exesistent NGOs had no offices, while the few that could boast of offices were largely owned by staff of the agency and government officials.
A rights activist in the state, Comrade Idris Miliki had also raised an alarm on the state television programme, Coast to Coast, expressing his displeasure over the alleged poor manner the agency disbursed the money stating that persons with HIV/ AIDS in the state were suffering in silence while some government officials were smiling to their banks with the World Bank grant.
Kwara
The Police in Kwara State said it had discovered human
parts market in an uncompleted building in the outskirts of Ilorin, the state capital.
The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Ambrose Aisabor, who announced this when he briefed journalists in llorin.
Monday said there were decomposed headless bodies of a male, human feet, snail shells and clothes suspected to be used in strangulating victims.
He said no suspect had been arrested in connection with the crime but 85-year old woman who claimed to be the owner of the building was being interrogated.
The commissioner said investigation revealed that some people involved in rituals had turned the abandoned building into a market where they bought human body parts.
Niger
Niger State Government has accused the All Progressives
Congress (APC) in the state of dishing out falsehood to the people, warning that nobody has the right to sacrifice genuine and constructive criticism on the altar of cheap political propaganda.
Addressing journalists in Minna, the state Commissioner for Information, Communication and Strategy, Danladi Ndayebo, described the allegation as a deliberate ploy to distract the attention of the people from the landmark achievements of the Governor Babangida Aliyu administration.
“Let me state categorically that the state government has never misapplied funds meant for its 25 local councils and I wonder why APC has chosen to feed the people of the state with outright lies and whipping up cheap sentiments,” he said.
Ndayebo said if APC must find fault with the ruling party, it should be done within the confines of civility, adding that there was need to confront the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) with facts.
Ogun
The Speaker of Ogun State House of Assembly, Mr. Suraj
Adekunbi, say members of the seventh legislature of the Ogun State House of Assembly are committed to improving the living standard of the people in the state.
The Speaker made this remark during the inauguration of some capital projects and empowerment programmes facilitated by him in his Yewa North State 1 Constituency.
Among the commissioned projects were two blocks of classrooms at Ayetoro and modern public toilets with a borehole at the Ayetoro Market. A patrol van was also presented to a vigilance team to enhance the security of the community.
Adekunbi said the people of the state were always taken into consideration before the passage of any bill by the lawmakers, adding that the bills passed on the floor of the Assembly reflected the interests of residents.
Osun
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last
Wednesday, said that the former Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Ambassador Rufus Akeju, was removed from office because of the barrage of allegations made against him by some key stakeholders in the state ahead its August 9 governorship election.
Speaking at a media workshop in Kaduna, on Wednesday, the Deputy Director of Public Affairs of the commission, Mr Nick Dazang, who confirmed the removal of Akeju, disclosed that the removal was formally approved after INEC’s executive meeting in Abuja.
He explained that at a stakeholders’ meeting last Feburary, in Osogbo, there were protests even in the presence of the chairman of the commission, Professor Attahiru Jega, where documented evidence against Akeju were produced; hence, it became very clear that he would not be able to conduct a free and fair election.
He also added that during an interface with editors in March, Akeju’s credibility to conduct the election against the background of allegations was questioned.
From Right: Chairman, Governing Council of Lagos State College of Health Technology, Dr Abiola Tilley-Gyado, Lagos State Health Commissioner, Dr Jide Idris, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State and the Special Adviser on Public Health, Dr Yewande Adeshina, at the 2nd Convocation of Lagos College of Health Technology in Lagos yesterday. Photo: NAN
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), has urged the national assembly to expedite action on passage of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Bill 2021.
The Secretary-General of NUT, Dr Mike Ike-Ene, made the appeal in an interview with The Tide yesterday in Abuja.
He said the passage of the bill and its eventual signing into law by the President would go a long way in giving teachers the hope that their profession was being given the needed attention.
Ike-Ene said the hope of passage of the bill on June 30, having been mentioned on the Order Paper, was dashed because of the controversy that followed the debate on the Petroleum Industry Bill, now an Act.
“We are expecting that as the national assembly has resumed, the bill will be one of the first few bills to be passed.
“We expected the bill to be passed on June 30 concurrently by the two houses having been mentioned on the Order Paper but the debate of the Petroleum Industry Act and debate of the Electoral Reform Bill took the day.’’
The Secretary-General commended the National Assembly for its commitment to ensuring conclusion of work on the bill.
He expressed optimism that when passed, President Buhari would not hesitate in signing it into law.
He thanked the President for the effort to reposition the teaching profession, saying the union had been in the forefront in the struggle for elongation of tenure for teachers, among other things.
According to him, we have actually been fighting for some of the things the President promised to do for teachers, for instance, the elongation of years.
“We have been agitating for 65 years retirement age or 40 years by service and one of the reasons for the agitation is that we discovered that about 26 states did not recruit a single teacher for over 20 years.
“Yet teachers were retiring in their dozens, in hundreds and more deaths were being recorded as a result of the growing insecurity, particularly in schools.
“Some died naturally, others were resigning, yet teachers were not being employed.”
He further said, “We have also been agitating for Teachers Special Salary Structure (TSS) but hazard allowance was granted instead.
“The hazard allowance accumulated to 27.5 per cent of the basic of teachers’ salaries which were not what we were agitating for.
“We thank God that the Buhari’s administration has promised to implement the TSS and since that pronouncement, NUT, government and other stakeholders have been working to ensure implementation.’’
Ike-Ene disclosed that the promise made to teachers by the president would be implemented at different levels, stressing that while some would be passed into law, others would be implemented as policies.
President Muhammadu Buhari had in June, transmitted a letter on a Bill to increase the retirement age for teachers from 60 years to 65 years.
The Bill also seeks to extend the years of service for teachers from 35years to 40 years.
Meanwhile, the president at the commemoration of the World Teachers Day on October 5, 2020, approved a special salary scale for teachers and special pension scheme.
He also said the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) will begin to fund teaching practice in universities and colleges of education.
He further promised to ensure provisions for rural posting allowance, science teachers allowance and peculiar allowance.
The president also promised sponsorship of at least one refresher training, construction of low-cost housing for teachers in rural areas and reintroduction of bursary award.
Other promises are, expansion of the annual Presidential Teachers and Schools Awards and payment of stipends to Bachelor of Education students and automatic employment after graduation.
The Federal Government is collaborating with Ogun State Government to secure the Right of Way (RoW) for the construction of three bridges and an interchange on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, said this during an inspection of the highway last Wednesday.
Fashola, who was joined by Gov. Dapo Abiodun at the Lotto Bridge under construction, said the highway accommodated over 40,000 vehicles daily, hence the urgent need for additional flyovers and interchanges for decongestion.
The bridges are under construction at Makun, MFM and Lotto (Mowe) areas on the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
“We are trying to execute an interchange that will separate the main carriageway and give commuters choice, especially those going to religious places to worship, those going to universities and so on and so forth.
“So that what used to cause the congestion is limited to the barest minimum if not totally eradicated when the road is finished.
“So, we now require additional land to build the interchange, that is why I called the governor (Dapo Abiodun),” he said.
He said that the Buhari administration inherited several stalled projects which he was committed to completing by adequately funding the projects
Fashola expressed satisfaction with progress of work on the ongoing reconstruction/rehabilitation of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
On his part, Gov. Abiodun assured that the state government would give all the land and support needed.
Earlier, the Federal Controller of Works in Lagos, Mr Olukayode Popoola, gave the measurements and dimensions needed for the bridges and interchange.
Popoola also gave details on the number of buildings and services on the Right of Way of the bridges which, without paying compensations, would stall the project.
He said that section one of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway project, which spans from Ojota in Lagos to Sagamu Interchange, “has achieved 56 per cent completion”.
Also, during inspection of section two of the project, which spans from the Sagamu Interchange to Ojoo in Ibadan, the Federal Controller of Works in Ogun, Mr Umar Bakare, said that the section was 63 per cent completed.
North-East Development Commission (NEDC) in collaboration with the Bauchi State Government has commenced the construction of 500 mass housing units in Bauchi, to address housing deficit in the state.
NEDC’s Managing Director, Alhaji Mohammed Goni-Alkali, stated this at the ground breaking ceremony of the project yesterday in Bauchi.
Goni-Alkali said that 300 houses would be built in Bauchi metropolis while 200 others would be spread across the 20 local government areas of the state.
According to him, the project is to ease the accommodation problems as well as fast track the rapid social and economic development of the state, to mitigate the devastation caused by the insurgency.
Goni-Alkali said that the commission had so far constructed 1,000 housing units in Marte LGA of Borno, adding that the houses had been handed over to the state government.
He said that the commission would also construct one primary school in each of the senatorial districts across the six states in the region, to promote educational development.
The managing director said that the commission had presented food and non-food items to the Bauchi State Government for distribution to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
He listed the items to include 10,000 bags of rice; 2,000 bags of sugar; 10,000 gallons of palm oil; 3,000 cartons of pasta; 2,000 blankets; 2,000 plastic mats and 1,000 mosquito nets.
In his remarks, Gov. Bala Mohammed, lauded the impact of the commission in the North-East with regard to the construction of schools and roads.
Mohammed also commended NEDC for the provision of other essential services since inception in 2019.
He said that the commission had constructed one block of six classrooms each across the 20 local government areas of the state.
“We have recieved the intervention of the commission in health and agriculture,” he said.
Mohammed promised to distribute the donated items judiciously to the deserving families.
The Goni-Alkali and other officials of the commission would inspect road projects in Alkaleri and Kirfi, and Visco Vaginal Fistula (VVF) Centre in Ningi
Maritime5 days agoPirates Attack Vessel, Injure Crew Members At GoG
Rivers5 days agoLG Boss Hosts HOSTCOM, Lauds Group’s Proactiveness
- Opinion5 days ago
Abuses Of Indemnifying Provisions
Niger Delta5 days agoC’River Police Decry Shortage Of Personnel To Fight Crime
- Opinion5 days ago
Texas Of Icy Trauma
- Sports5 days ago
Diamond League Win African Record Thrills Amusan
Oil & Energy5 days agoMOMAN Seeks Representation In PIA Implementation Committee
Politics5 days agoNASS Has Spent 2% Of Nat’l Budget -Gbajabiamila