Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The Adamawa State chapter of Association of Nigerian
Architectural Professionals (ATAP) has embarked on a tree planting campaign as part of activities to mark its end of year programme.
Speaking to newsmen on the campaign, the Chairman of the union, Mr Umar Marafa, said members had planted many tree seedlings in various parts of Yola to mark the end of the year.
He said that the association had also conducted career talks for students in various schools.
Also commenting, the National President of the association, Dr Olusegun Idowu, lauded the effort of the association, adding that the group was committed to nation building and promoting professionalism.
Benue
Two civil servants have been remanded in prison by a
Makurdi Magistrates’ Court on charges of criminal conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence.
When the case came up for mention in court, plea of the defendants was not taken for want of jurisdiction.
The police prosecutor, Insp. Abraham Akule, told the court that the defendants, Samson Abeh, an Accountant and Christina Mhambe, a Director of Finance were staffers of Benue Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Akule said a letter of complaint was written to the Commissioner of Police, Benue Command, dated September 30 by one Dr Felix Lawani of Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue.
Borno
The United Nations (UN) has promised to increase hu
manitarian support to the Federal Government to restore normalcy and security to the North Eastern part of the country.
The Country Director of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mr. Janthomas Hiemstra said this during a courtesy call on the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 7 Division of the Nigerian Army, Maiduguri.
Hiemstra said “we have come to assure the General Officer Commanding (GOC) that the UNDP are going to put more presence in this area’’.
“This second phase of the post-insurgency has to be done along with the humanitarian agencies.
Ekiti
A Superintendent of Police attached to Ekiti State Po
lice Command, Idowu Taiwo has been murdered by unknown persons.
The deceased was reported to have been initially kidnapped last Sunday night at a drinking joint in Ado Ekiti.
His corpse was later found on Monday in a car in Ado Ekiti after a search for his whereabouts.
According to a source, the motive for his murder is yet to be ascertained but until his death, Taiwo was the Officer in Charge of Finance, commonly called OC MSS.
The corpse of the deceased was discovered in a car with his hands handcuffed.
Jigawa
Police in Jigawa State have placed a total ban on the
use of fireworks, bangers and other explosives during the Yuletide in the state.
The command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr Abdu Jinjiri, made this known in a statement in Dutse.
“This is to remind the general public that the ban on the use of fireworks, bangers and other explosives during any celebration is still in force,” he said.
Jinjiri warned parents to advise their children and wards to refrain from the use of such explosives capable of instilling fear in the people, especially during the upcoming Yuletide celebration.
Kogi
The Secretary, Kabba Drivers Union, Onitcha chapter
in Kogi State, Mr. Ade Eseyin has decried the spate of recklessness among Dangote truck drivers on the Obajana-Kabba road.
Eseyin told newsmen in Lokoja that he was almost killed by one of the truck drivers along the route.
He said that he was on his way from Kabba to Lokoja when a Dangote truck ran into his car and destroyed his car and wounded some of his passengers.
He noted that when he reported to the Dangote authorities, he was told by one Mr Sanni Bello to either take 10,000 or take the driver to court.
Nasarawa
Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has
called on religious leaders in the state to consistently preach messages of love and peace in order to ensure harmony amongst all citizens.
Al-Makura gave the charge in Lafia at the farewell ceremony for the state contingent of intending Christian pilgrims for the 2016 pilgrimage to Israel.
The governor, represented by his Deputy, Mr Silas Agara, pointed out that such sermons hinged on tolerance and love for one another would go a long way in fostering religious harmony and societal development.
He also urged the intending pilgrims to use the opportunity of the exercise to pray fervently for the state and the nation to overcome the various challenges, especially the current economic recession.
Ogun
Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has reiter
ated his commitment to resuscitate the Gateway Hotel in Ota, Ogun.
Amosun disclosed this during the opening ceremony of the first Shoprite Plaza situated at the Toll-Gate in Ota.
According to Amosun, the resuscitation of the Gateway Hotel would complement the new Shoprite Plaza in bringing development to Sango-Ota, as well as the entire Ogun State, because of its proximity to Lagos State.
He added that this would boost commerce and industrial activities in the area and also generate employment opportunities for youth in the state.
Ondo
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) says it
would deploy more than 150 personnel on the Sagamu-Ore-Benin expressway during the yuletide.
The Unit Commander, Ore Command, Ondo State, Mr. Umoru Abudullahi said that the deployment was to check the excesses of motorists.
According to Abdullahi, commercial drivers are always in a hurry to make many trips during the yuletide.
He said this often resulted to road crashes.
The FRSC boss urged motorists not to speed so as to avert accidents during the festivities.
Osun
Three tanker drivers, who allegedly stole 33,000 litres of petrol, have been arraigned in an Ile-Ife Magistrates’ Court in Osun State.
The three accused persons are: Abdullahi Oladapo, 43; Wasiu Ogunsola, 44 and Gbenga Makinde, 31.
The Prosecutor, Insp Monday Ojiezele, told the court that the accused committed the offence on December 6, at 7:05 p.m. at Ibadan- Ife Toll Gate in Ile-Ife.
He explained that the accused stole 33,000 litres of petrol valued at N4.5 million in a tanker with Reg No. AGL 496 XP, property of Five OS Petroleum Limited, Ile-Ife.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the offence alleged against them.
Oyo
A Grade C Customary Court, Agodi, Ibadan, has granted
the prayer of a grandfather, Adeetan Adeoye, to end his 47-year-old marriage with his wife, Sekinatu.
Pa Adeoye had on December 5 requested for the dissolution of the union to avoid further embarrassment, molestation and provocation from the respondent.
In his testimony before the court, the petitioner stated that his wife used to partake in widows’ benefits and abused him whenever he raised eyebrows on her actions.
In her defence, the woman, who said the petitioner married her as a virgin 47 years ago, pleaded with the court not to dissolve the marriage that was blessed with four grown up children.
Plateau
The first and second joint convocation of the Plateau
State University (PLASU), Bokkos, earlier slated for December 2016 has been postponed to February. 4, 2017 due to some logistic problems.
The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the university Mr. John Agams stated this in an interview in Bokkos.
Agams disclosed that the authorities had tried to complete the library complex and the multi-purpose hall before now but to no avail.
According to him, the completion of those two strategic projects is very key to the success of the convocation, hence, the need to shift the date.
Agams expressed optimism that the projects would be completed before end of January to give room for successful hosting of the convocation.
Sokoto
The Sokoto State Police command says it has recorded
no fewer than 45 cases of culpable homicide across the state from January to date.
The state Police Commissioner, Mr Mohammed Abdulkadir, disclosed this to newsmen in Sokoto while reviewing the activities of the command within the year.
He said that the command had also arrested 69 homicide suspects within the year, 60 of whom had been charged to courts.
Abdulkadir said that the command had also arrested and charged suspects to courts over 141 cases of armed robbery.
Zamfara
The Commissioner of Police in Zamfara State says, Mr
Shaba Alkali, crime rate has drastically reduced in the state.
Alkali, who stated this in Gusau while launching the “Change Begins With Me “ campaign of the Federal Government at the state level, said this was largely due to collaboration between the security agencies and the general public.
He said many criminals who had terrorised innocent people in the state in the last two years had either repented or left the state.
Alkali expressed satisfaction with the change of attitude among people of the state, noting that “we still need to change for the better so that we can progress as a nation”.
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
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