Benue
The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development,
Chief Audu Ogbe, has distributed improved variety of cassava stems to farmers in Otukpo Local Government Area of Benue State.
While distributing the stems which were developed by the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP-Nigeria), Ogbeh said they were enriched with Vitamin `A’ to enhance nutrition.
The minister said government’s agricultural programmes were targeted at ensuring availability of food to the people. .Ogbeh said farmers deserved all forms of support from government and Nigerians, adding that it was their efforts that had prevented food crisis in the country.

FCT
The Chairman, Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC),
Mr Abdullahi Candido, has called on residents of the council to cultivate the habit of protecting government’s projects in their localities.
He made the call in Abuja, while inaugurating some completed projects embarked upon by his administration as part of activities to mark his 100 days in office.
Our correspondent reports that some of the projects inaugurated were a community borehole at Karshi, blocks of classrooms at Azhata and a skills acquisition centre at karu.
The chairman also laid the foundation of a new market in Kurudu, which is to be built under a public-private-partnership arrangement to decongest the existing market.
Kaduna
The Safety Awareness and Environmental Support Ini
tiative (SAESI), a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has trained 97 youths in Kaduna on various environmental challenges.
The Controller-General of SAESI, Mallam Yahaya Mohammed, made this known in Kaduna recently during the passing out parade of new intakes into SAESI.
Mohammed said that the training had empowered the youths with adequate knowledge on how to tackle environmental problems in their areas.
He said that the training of the youths would complement the effort of the government as well as enhance the operation of the organisation.
Kano

The All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Kano
State chapter, has expressed concern over late distribution of fertiliser under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) scheme in the state.
The State’s Secretary of AFAN, Alhaji Garba Bichi, made the observation in an interview with newsmen in Kano.
Bichi said though the scheme was a pilot programme, but the commodity should have been distributed much earlier than now.
He, however, commended the mode of distribution, adding that the exercise was going on smoothly in spite of the challenges faced by farmers at the initial stage.
Katsina
The Katsina State Government says it will construct a
dam in Danja Local Government Area in order to boost sugarcane production and irrigation activities in the state.
Governor Aminu Masari told newsmen in Katsina that his administration had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with a Chinese firm on the project.
“Channels will be constructed, while the existing sugarcane factory will be upgraded to boost sugar production for both domestic and foreign consumption,” he said.
Masari regretted that the Danja Sugarcane Factory, established for over 25 years ago, was neglected by previous administrations.
The governor said its revival had become imperative to hasten the diversification of the state’s economy.
He said the project would also assist to create job opportunities, since the dam would enhance all-year-round cotton and rice farming.
“Research once showed that Katsina had comparative advantage in cotton and rice production as it produced 60 per cent of cotton in the country.
Kwara
A legal practitioner in Ilorin, Kwara State capital Mr
Jude Obi, has blamed parents for indecent dressing that he describes as rampart among ladies across the country.
Obi said this in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, noting that parents were the major cause of the rampant indecent dressing, especially among ladies.
He added that most parents taught their daughters indecent dressing by pampering them right from childhood.
The lawyer noted that most parents would go to the market to buy dresses that were transparent for their daughters to celebrate.
“This had changed the mentality and mode of dressing for many females on the street; the parents are only misleading them”, he added.

Lagos
The Lagos State Government says owners of build
ings recently demolished in Ikoyi area of the state were duly served with contravention, removal and quit notices before the exercise was carried out.
The State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Steve Ayorinde, said in a statement that the government had noted with dismay the disobedience of building regulations and resolved to remove illegal structures.
“In our effort to maintain a sustainable and organised environment, the government will not renege on its declared stance of zero tolerance for structures and properties without development permit or approved building plans.
“We have documentary evidence of service of all statutory notices; the buildings were also marked with the X red oxide to also call the attention of the owners to physical planning contraventions,” he said.

Nasarawa
Governor Tanko Almakura of Nasarawa State has
inaugurated a 27-member tripartite committee to re-negotiate and resolve the lingering face-off between the government and striking workers over review of workers’ salaries in the state.
Speaking at the ceremony at the Presidential Lodge in Lafia, Al-makura said that the state government set up the committee to resolve the dispute on the salary amicably.
Our correspondent recalls that members of the Nigeria Labour Congress in the state embarked on strike on June 28 to protest downward review of their salaries by the state government.
He said that the renegotiation was necessitated by the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment to end the impasse between government and labour.Oyo
An Ibadan-based general physician, Dr Tosin
Odusanmi, says untreated worm infestation in children could lead to malnutrition, poor learning abilities and stunted physical development.
Odusanmi, who works with Alafiatayo Hospital, Ibadan, said this in Ibadan while speaking with newsmen recently.
According to him, children were more disposed to worm infestations than adults.
“Worm infestation remains a major problem in children due to poor or unhygienic conditions and practices.
“It remains one of the main problems that hinder children’s physical growth and development because worm infestation produces nutritional deficiency and anaemia in children, “ he said.

Plateau
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Plateau
State Command, has convicted 25 motorists in Jos over various road traffic offences.
The Corps Public Education Officer in the state, Mr Andrew Bala, disclosed this to newsmen in Jos.
Bala said that the offenders were apprehended via a mobile court exercise carried out by its officers and men on patrol.
He said the exercise took place on some highways within Jos-Bukuru metropolis.

Sokoto

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has
decried the reduction of the Federal Government’s allocation to the education sector from 11 per cent in 2015 to eight per cent in 2016.
The ASUU Sokoto Zonal Coordinator, Dr Lawal Argungu, made this known at a press conference in Sokoto.
“The way FGN treats the funding of education in this country makes it difficult for ASUU to believe the sincerity of the government in reforming the education sector in Nigeria.
”It is certainly quite possible for us to reposition our educational sector appropriately if we put our priorities right in this country in spite of the apparent economic hardship.

Zamfara

The National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has ad
vised communities in Zamfara State to join Community-Based Social Health Insurance Programme (CBSHIP), to access quality healthcare services.
The Coordinator of the scheme in the state, Alhaji Yusuf Uwais, made the call during the flag-off of the programme in Kaura town, Kaura-Namoda local government area of the state.
Our correspondent reports that the NHIS has licenced three organisations to run the programme in the state.
The organisations are Garetawa Mutual Health Intervention in Tsafe local government, Gusau Mutual Health Association for Gusau local government, and YOPA Mutual Health Association in Kaura-Namoda local government.