Nation
THE STATES
Governors of States, during a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, yesterday
Benue
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State, says that God
has given the people of Nigeria everything a nation needs to be successful.
Ortom, who made the remark at Igbor in Gwer East Local Government Area of the state, however said the country had failed to harness its resources to become a successful nation.
The governor was at Igbor to inspect the Benue Burnt Bricks Company and Ikwe Wildlife Resort.
He noted that the state was blessed with abundant human and natural resources which needed to be properly tapped for the good of all.
According to him, the failure to transform existing industries in the state and across the country is part of what is retarding the nation’s development and the attendant hardships faced by people.
FCT
The Nigerian military says it has the constitutional and
moral responsibility to protect Nigerians and could not suddenly engage in mass murder as portrayed in the allegations by Amnesty International.
Chief of Administration of the Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Abubakar, said this while briefing newsmen on the recent allegations of war crimes against some senior military officers by the Amnesty International.
Abubakar said following the Amnesty International report released on June 3, the Nigerian military as a responsible corporate organisation was bound to respond to the allegations in order to put the records in proper perspective.
He recalled that upon the written request from Amnesty International to the military to comment on the allegations, the military promptly commenced investigations into the allegations.
He said consequently, several investigations on the allegations were ongoing.
Gombe
The Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, Gombe
State, has ordered Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to expedite action on the reproduction of necessary documents requested by lawyers to prosecute their petitions before it.
Justice Mathew Adewara, Chairman of the tribunal, being assisted by Justice Abba Mohammed and Justice Hafsat Abdulrahaman gave the order at the pre-hearing season in Gombe on Saturday.
The chairman gave the order following the complaints by Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), who is the counsel of the petitioner, Alhaji Inuwa Yahaya and APC, who also petitioned the victory of Gov. Ibrahim Dankwambo, joining the PDP and INEC.
He said they had made several efforts for the INEC to serve them with some of the viral documents to be use before the tribunal.
According to him, they were served with some and denied other documents as requested.
Jigawa
Governor Muhammad Badaru of Jigawa State, has re-
appointed Alhaji Sani Alhassan, as the Executive Secretary, Jigawa State Pilgrims Welfare Board.
A statement by the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Adamu Abdulkadir, in Dutse, said Alhassan was reappointed based on his “excellent performance in the past.”
It said that the appointment was with immediate effect, and urged the executive secretary to continue rendering selfless service to the state.
“While we commend you for the excellent performances you recorded in the previous Hajj operations, we also urge you to continue with that in future operations,” the statement further said.
Kaduna
The Anglican Bishop of Wusasa Diocese in Zaria, Kaduna
State, Rt. Rev. Ali Buba-Lamido, on Saturday advocated death penalty for corrupt public office holders.
He made the call at the Sixth Synod of the Wusasa Diocese of the Anglican Communion, held in Zaria, Kaduna State.
According to him, the death penalty option is the only way to put public officers in Nigeria in check.
Buba-Lamido said the call became imperative in view of the fact that corruption could kill more people than a conventional weapon.
“If our leaders know that they would be prosecuted if found corrupt they would be on their toes to avoid corrupt practices,” he said.
Katsina
President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians to
be patient and accept democracy not as a system of government but as a lifestyle in order to ensure development of the country.
The president said this when he paid homage to the Emir of Daura, Alhaji Umar Faruk Umar, after attending the Juma’at prayer at the Lowcost Mosque, in Daura, Katsina State.
The President, who delivered his speech in Hausa, urged those who were aggrieved after the 2015 elections to seek redress through democratic means and institutions.
Buhari noted that Nigeria was adopting democracy from the western nations and learning fast by avoiding mistakes made when studying the weaknesses and strengths of those nations.
According to him, if Nigerians decide to be hasty, some avoidable mistakes can be made.
Kwara
Nigeria has the largest population of people with sickle
cell disease in the world, with over 150,000 babies born with the serious condition every year, researches have shown.
A pharmacist with the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Mr Lanre Alege, said this in a lecture delivered during June edition of the keep fit exercise for staff of the hospital at the Kwara stadium on Saturday.
He said it was estimated that only five per cent of the children with Sickle Cell Disease live past the age of 10 in Nigeria, compared to over 96 per cent surviving into adulthood in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Alege, who is the Coordinator of the programme, also disclosed that the recurrent pain and complications of the disease can interfere with many aspects of patients life, including education, employment and psychological development.
He said that Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic disorder due to the presence of an abnormal form of haemoglobin in the red blood cells, called haemoglobin S (Hb S) instead of haemoglobin A (Hb A).
Lagos
Primary school authorities in the country have been ad
vised to encourage their pupils to make use of libraries to improve their reading culture.
A management staff in the Office of the Registrar of the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, Dr Ayoola Olatunde, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
He said it was necessary to expose pupils to use of library facilities at tender ages.
The don described the primary school level as “ a crucial stage of development and a foundation, which the rest of the educational system is built on”.
Olatunde said that reading was one of the most effective processes of conscious learning, which must be inculcated in children.
Nasarawa
Chairman, General Private Nursing Practitioners of Ni
geria, Nasarawa State branch, Chief Stephen Angbas, has appealed to the state’s Ministry of Health to reduce the cost of renewing licence by practitioners.
Angbas made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Lafia on Saturday.
The chairman, who is also the proprietor of Angbas Medical Centre, Lafia, expressed concern over the increase in charges of renewing licence fees by private nursing practitioners in the state.
“We are appealing to them to look at the issue of renewing licence fees and make it reasonable to allow the private sector participate in health care delivery services.
“In those days, it was N13, 000, but now it had gone up beyond our reach,” he said.
Plateau
The price of tomatoes has soared in markets in Jos and
its environs.
A survey carried out in some markets also revealed that the price of pepper has also gone up.
Our correspondent learnt at the Farin-Gada tomatoes market, that a basket of fresh tomatoes which sold for N800 two weeks is now N6, 000.
The paint bucket which sold for N300 two weeks ago, now sells for N800.
A basket of pepper that was sold for N600, now sells for N4, 000, while the paint bucket of pepper now attracts N700 up from N200 which it sold two weeks ago.
Taraba
The Chairman, Muslim Council in Taraba State, Alhaji
Inuwa Manu, has urged Muslim faithful to use the Ramadan to demonstrate love and peaceful coexistence among different religious adherents in the state.
Manu made this known in an interview with newsmen in Jalingo on Saturday.
He said the call became imperative following activities of miscreants who were bent on causing public disturbances in the name of religion in the state.
According to him, criminals have infiltrated religious bodies with the sole aim of causing confusion so as to benefit from it.
He urged the people to embrace peace and respect each other’s religion so as not to create room for the miscreants to capitalise on it to cause problem in the state.
Yobe
Governor Ibrahim Gaidam of Yobe State has assured
security personnel involved in the war against Boko Haram insurgents in the state of prompt payment of allowances.
Gaidam made the pledge on Saturday during a special parade by troops of 27 Task Force Brigade, Operation Zaman Lafiya, in Damaturu.
The parade was to decorate deserving personnel who had spent a minimum of six months in the ongoing operation against the insurgents in the North East.
The governor also pledged to provide more logistic support to the brigade, to assist with its operations.
The operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) have arrested a medical doctor, Jane Chioma Ofoma, in Auchi, Edo, for selling drugged cookies and biscuits.
Its Director, Media and Advocacy, Mr Femi Babafemi, said in a statement yesterday in Abuja, that Chioma sold the drugged cookies and biscuits through an online catering service, Omachi’s kitchen.
Babafemi said the arrest followed intelligence and surveillance where narcotic officers of the Edo Command of the agency on Saturday June 19, stormed her operational base at 1 Winners Way, Auchi.
This, he said, led to her arrest and at least 94 pieces of cookies produced with cannabis sativa were recovered from the suspect.
According to him, Chioma, 26, who is a graduate of medicine from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, recently completed her housemanship at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital.
“She has confessed to baking the cookies with skunk in her statement while under interrogation,” he said.
In the same vein, Babafemi said a 30-year-old Emmanuel Ehiramhen, of No. 10 Egan Street Ekpoma, has been arrested by officers of the Edo Command of the agency for dealing in crack cocaine.
Meanwhile, NDLEA operatives in Kwara have arrested a 52-year-old ex-Soldier, Ibrahim Musa, with 12.167 kilograms of Arizona (cannabis sativa), 4 grams of Cocaine and 25 grams of flunitrazepam.
Babafemi said the suspect was apprehended on Thursday June 17, at Oke-Odo, Tanke area of Ilorin, when he arrived from Lagos to supply his customers.
He said Musa worked in the maintenance department at Abati Army Barracks, Lagos from where he was deployed to 117 Battalion in Chibok, Borno, before he deserted the Army.
He added that the suspect had arrived Ilorin with his wife, Basirat Musa, in his Honda Accord car with registration number JJ 707 BL Lagos with the seized exhibit.
He was, however, arrested at the point of delivery by operatives of the Kwara Command of the agency.
“Under interrogation, Ibrahim revealed that while at Chibok he got the connection of a supplier of Arizona (Cannabis) and other drugs in Lagos who he immediately contacted when he deserted the Army in October 2020.
“He said he decided to go into the illicit drug business to enable him fend for his two wives and three children.
“The suspect revealed that the latest journey was his second trip to Ilorin to deliver the drugs and decided to travel with one of his wives who was not aware of his mission to Ilorin,” he said.
Babafemi quoted the Chairman, NDLEA, retired Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa as commending the Edo and Kwara Commands of the agency for their vigilance and commitment to the goal of ridding Nigeria of the menace of illicit drug trafficking and abuse.
He charged the Commanders, officers and men of the two Commands and their counterparts across the country not to relent in the discharge of their responsibilities.
He assured them of his commitment towards making their welfare a priority.
The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) says six tankers, five trucks and two cars were destroyed in a tanker explosion at Ogere on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway yesterday.
Earlier, FRSC Sector Commander in Ogun, Mr Ahmed Umar, confirmed the incident to The Tide source, saying that it occurred at about 6.20 a.m.
Umar had said the explosion occurred in front of Romona trailer park on the expressway.
Giving update, he said, “the fire is serious, six tankers, five trucks and two cars are burnt in the explosion.’’
Umar said that one person had so far been rescued and taken to a private hospital in Ogere.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), has advised motorists plying the road to use alternative routes.
TRACE spokesman, Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi explained that the tanker which was laden with fuel suddenly burst into flames affecting other vehicles.
“Vehicles moving inbound Lagos should go through Saapade-Ode/Remo-Iperu-Sagamu to relink Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
“In addition, vehicles moving inbound Ibadan should also go through Sagamu-Iperu-Ode/Remo-Saapade to relink Lagos-Ibadan Expressway,’’ Akinbiyi said.
The incident was the fifth of such tragedies involving fuel tankers in the Lagos and Ogun State axis since the beginning of the year.
A similar fuel tanker-related fire was recorded on Jan. 7 on the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.
On March 21, a fuel tanker was the cause of fire on Otedola Bridge, also on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway in which many vehicles were burnt.
On March 25, a diesel-laden tanker went up in flames at the Ikotun area of Lagos, leading to the incineration of other vehicles and shops.
On June 17, fire from the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant at the Ogun State Property Investments Corporation (OPIC) Plaza in Lagos trailed a leaking gas truck which was on motion in the area.
This resulted in a fire snowball which engulfed many other vehicles and property.
Twenty-five cars were destroyed in the OPIC Plaza inferno, while 13 persons, mostly workers in the restaurant, sustained burn injuries.
Leaders of the South East geo-political zone have urged leaders of other geo-political zones in the country to protect Igbos living in their regions, even as they condemned in totality the activities of violent secessionist groups in the zone and elsewhere.
The lgbo leaders comprising the governors of the five states, members of the National Assembly, Ministers, Speakers of the State Houses of Assembly, the Clergy and Traditional Rulers, made their feelings known on Saturday, in a communique issued when they rose from a closed-door meeting at the Government House, Enugu.
Explaining that they made the request in view of what they described as “threats by some groups against our people”, the South East leaders promised to protect everyone, including Igbos and people from other regions, residing in the zone.
On the impression that South East leaders are silent over agitations for secession by some youths of the region, they stated that “is not correct”, stressing that “South East Governors, Ohaneze President, National Assembly members, notable leaders had come out publicly many times in the past to speak against such agitations”.
Proclaiming firmly that “we do not support them, they do not speak for South East”, the communiqué read by the Governor of Ebonyi State and Chairman of South East Governors’ Forum, Engr. David Umahi, made it clear that the leaders of the zone reiterated their “commitment to one united Nigeria under a platform of justice, equality of rights, fairness, love and respect for one another”.
The communiqué revealed that South East leaders, in order not to mismanage the unfortunate situation, “have set up a committee to engage such youths to stop and allow elders speak to address such fears”.
It added that South East leaders also condemned the killing of security agents, burning of strategic infrastructure and killing of civilians in South East and in other regions, and requested the security agencies to discharge their duties within the rules of engagement and the law
They, however, explained that the meeting was held “for articulation of our positions and further meet with the Presidential team”, sequel to the earlier meeting with the Presidential delegation, led by the Minister of Defence, Retired Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi, on June 11, 2021.
The communiqué disclosed that the meeting consequently “set up committees under Ohaneze Ndigbo to articulate and address our positions on all burning issues to further meet among ourselves and thereafter meet with the Presidential team”.
On the safety of the Igbo indigenes in other parts of the country and the newly established regional security outfit, the communiqué added that the “meeting directed our Governors and Ohaneze Ndigbo to liaise with indigenes from the northern part of Nigeria and indigenes of other regions to assure the nation, Nigeria, and their people of their safety in South East.
“The meeting endorsed our South East joint security outfit – Ebubeagu and asked them to work with security agencies and to respect the rights and privileges of all those living in the South East and our visitors”.
By: Canice Amadi, Enugu
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