Borno

The 7 Division of the Nigerian Army yesterday reviewed
the curfew in Maiduguri to cover the period from 7pm to 6am daily.
A statement from Colonel Sani Usman said: “It is now to last from 7 pm to 6 am daily. All must comply with this directive. Anyone found flouting this directive will be arrested, dealt with decisively and prosecuted.”
Before the review, the curfew was taking effect from 9pm.
Though no reason was given for the review, sources said the measure may be related to rumours of impending attacks on Maiduguri.
Benue

Benue State Deputy Governor, Chief Steven Lawani has
urged the Tiv people of the state not to panic over power shift to the Benue  South Senatorial District of the state.
Chief Lawani who is aspiring for the governorship seat in the next election made the remark in Kwande local government area of the state during consultation with his Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders and traditional rulers at the weekend.
He noted that, in view of the close affinity between the various groups in the state and for the fact that the people have lived peacefully together for generations, it had become imperative to discard any form of suspicion about power shift to the Idoma speaking area.
“The fears, suspicion and doubts of the people over power shift to Benue south senatorial district are largely unfounded and baseless, as the ethnic groups in the state have lived peacefully together for generations. This is not by accident but by divine act.
“I want to assure that power shift will not affect the inalienable rights of the majority in the state. We will do everything to erase such fears by embracing all groups in the state,” he said.
Ekiti

The Ekiti State government has urged the Peoples Demo
cratic Party (PDP) in the state to focus on ways of ensuring a smooth transition in the state and how to record laudable achievements during the next administration instead of its “campaign of calumny against the present government”.
The Commissioner for Infor-mation and Civic Orientation, Mr Tayo Ekundayo, who gave the advice in Ado-Ekiti, said the PDP in the past couple of weeks has “been churning out lies as part of a sinister plan to generate public disaffection against the Fayemi’s administration”.
The commissioner cited instan-ces of false and misleading reports found to have originated from the PDP camp to include the allegation that the Fayemi administration recruited over 3,000 workers into the state civil service after the June 21 gubernatorial elections.
He said the allegation was far from the truth, adding that 500 mathematics and some core science subjects teachers were recruited in November, 2013, based on existing vacancies while 493 civil servants were recruited in February, 2014, to fill vacant positions.
“In any case, what is wrong in recruiting Ekiti indigenes into the state civil service if there are vacancies and budget provision to take care of such?” he said.

FCT

A female patient on admission in the same hospital with
the late Port Harcourt doctor Sam Enemuo, tested positive to the Ebola virus, bringing the confirmed cases to 16, Health Minister Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu said in Abuja yesterday.
He was speaking at an emergency meeting of the National Health Council.
The minister said the doctor’s wife also showed symptoms of the disease and has since been quarantined.
“It is expected that a few more contacts will develop the disease especially in Rivers State before Nigeria sees the last case of Ebola,” he said.
“While it is encouraging that so far, all confirmed cases of the disease have their roots in the index case, Mr Patrick Sawyer, great vigilance is required particularly at our ports of entry to ensure that we do not have cases of Ebola from other sources other than Sawyer.”

Jigawa

Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido yesterday disowned
the endorsement of President Goodluck Jonathan for the 2015 election by the North West zonal stakeholders of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday.
Lamido did not personally attend the zonal meeting in Kaduna, but he was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Muhammed Gumel, who led the state’s delegation that comprised party officials and others.
A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, which was attended by Vice President Namadi Sambo, said the zone decided to call on Jonathan to declare his re-election bid as he had achieved a lot for the North West and the country.
But Lamido yesterday said Jigawa State was not part of the endorsement as the communiqué was prepared even before the meeting was held.
The governor, who spoke in Dutse through the deputy governor, added that the president had also not fulfilled his campaign promises to Jigawa and therefore the state had no basis to support his re-election bid.

Kano

Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of Kano State has
concluded arrangements to formally declare for the presidency in 2015, a reliable source in Kano Government House has confirmed.
The source said Kwankwaso would formally declare his ambition this month.
Our correspondent gathered that the governor who has been at loggerheads with President Goodluck Jonathan is set to contest the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) so as to confront President Jonathan in the general elections.
Kwara

Intending pilgrims from Kwara State have been warned
against taking illicit drugs to the holy land.
Chairman of the state Muslim Pilgrims’ Welfare Board, Imam Uthman Olosun, told the intending pilgrims that death penalty awaits anyone caught for drug peddling.
He spoke at the enlightenment programme organised by the board where various agencies including the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), among others were invited to sensitize the intending pilgrims.
The chairman specifically warned pilgrims against going to Hajj with Tramadol tablets, saying the drug has been banned by the Saudi authorities.
Also speaking, Executive Secretary of the board, Hajia Fatimah Abolore Jimoh, said the intending pilgrims are expected to travel in five batches as soon as the inaugural flight takes off on September 6.
Lagos

Mrs Ganiat Fawehinmi, widow of human rights activ
ist, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, has asked President Goodluck Jonathan to resign his position if he feels he cannot tackle insurgency in Nigeria.
Mrs Fawehinmi made the call in Lagos, at a press briefing organised by the Gani Fawehinmi Memorial Organisation (GAFAMORG) to announce activities marking the fifth anniversary of the lawyer’s death. She said “the apparent helpless-ness of the president in the face of continuous bombing and the kidnap of school girls in Borno are enough to demand his resignation”.
“Look at the case of Chibok girls who were kidnapped; if they were the president’s daughters, wouldn’t he have acted? Look at how he acted when a relative of his in-law was kidnapped? He swung into action immediately and the person was found.
Nasarawa

The Nasarawa State House of Assembly yesterday de
nied reports of a fresh plan for another impeachment notice with additional allegations against Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura.
The House Committee Chair-man on Information, Mohammed Baba Ibaku, told newsmenthat the House had no such plan as reported yesterday.
”An impeachment notice is not told, it is done. If we are compiling fresh allegations against the governor, we will do so. It will not be the media that will urge us to do so with speculations. I don’t want to react to speculations, especially as there are no names mentioned in the report,” Ibaku said.
Osun
A lecturer with the Department of History and Interna
tional Studies in the Osun State University, Mr. Wale Farawe, died yesterday from injuries he sustained in an auto crash a fortnight ago.
The lecturer who was receiving treatment at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital in Osogbo had gone into comma after the crash which occurred during an excursion with students of the university’s Faculty of Humanities and Culture to the Ayinkunnugba waterfalls in Oke. A student, David Binuyo and the driver of the vehicle died in the crash.

Sokoto
The Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad
Abubakar, yesterday harped on the importance of education and need for all well-meaning and wealthy Nigerians to complement the efforts of government in the funding of education.
He said the era was gone when funding of the sector and general infrastructural development of schools at all levels were left to government alone.
The Sultan, who made the call when members of the Federal Government College, Sokoto Old Boys Association, visited him, urged former students of schools at all levels to support their alama matar.

Former Minister of Health, Dr Idi Hong, displaying his form of intention to contest for Adamawa governorship bye election to his supporters, before presenting it to the Secretary, PDP Adamawa State Branch, Mr Tahir Shehu (left), in Yola, recently.