Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The committee set up by the Adamawa State Government for the payment of outstanding salary liabilities from Paris Club refund to the state has commenced sitting in Yola.
The Chairman of the committee, Alhaji Abdulrahman Abba-Jimeta, said at the inaugural meeting last Tuesday in Yola that the state government had received N4.8 billion out of the N12.8 billion being expected.
Abba-Jimeta said that the government had approved the utilisation of the entire N4.8 billion for the settlement of salary arrears of teachers, local government staff, primary health care staff and political office holders in local government areas.
Borno
Borno State Government has ordered all hospitals and health agencies standby to provide emergency medical response to victims of Rann attack by Nigeria’s Air Force jet.
The army’s fighter jet had misfired during an operation in Kala Balge, killing civilians and humanitarian aid workers.
However, the governor’s spokesman, Isa Gusau, in an email to journalists in Maiduguri, said that Governor Shettima received the news with very deep concern.
Isah said “Following the unfortunate situation at Rann in Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno State, Governor Kashim Shettima has since ordered the state Ministry of Health to set up an emergency with all medical hospitals under the state government located in Maiduguri. This includes the State Specialist Hospital.
Kaduna
The Kaduna State Government says it will strengthen the operations of major markets across the state as part of its efforts to improve its revenue generation profile.
The Commissioner for Commerce, Industry and Culture, Dr Shehu Adamu, made the disclosure to newsmen after he met with the market leaders in Kaduna.
According to him, markets have huge potential for revenue generation and the state intends to optimally exploit such to provide dividend of democracy to the people.
Adamu said that plans had been concluded to provide the entire infrastructure needed in all the markets across the state to ensure their viability.
Katsina
A former Chairman of Malumfashi Local Government of Katsina State, Alhaji Muktar Ammani, has appealed to politicians to empower youths in their academic pursuits to eschew vices.
Ammani, a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, said in Katsina last Tuesday that political elites should guard against misguiding youth in the country.
He advised the youth against being easily swayed by politicians into indulging in social vices for meager empowerment, and enjoined youth to remain steadfast, focused on their goals, shun all forms of distractions and crimes as well as manage their time effectively.
Kebbi
The Kebbi State Government has approved the release of N5 billion for the payment of pension and gratuity to pensioners.
The Commissioner of Finance, Alhaji Ibrahim Augie, disclosed this in Birnin Kebbi while briefing newsmen.
“Further to recent expanded meeting between Governor Atiku Bagudu and stakeholders on payment of pension and gratuity, the governor has approved N5 billion for the settlement of outstanding pension and gratuity of pensioners in the state,” Augie said.
Kogi
The Minister of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Aisha Alhassan, has urged Kogi State women to embrace the Federal Government’s social protection and empowerment programmes.
The minister gave the advice at a one-day advocacy and sensitisation meeting with Kogi women on Government Enterprise and Empowerment Programme (GEEP) in Lokoja. She said that the meeting was aimed at sensitising the women to government’s efforts to cushion the impact of the harsh economic realities confronting the nation.
“The scheme is for petty traders, market men and women, food vendors, farmers, informal service providers, artisans and other small-scale entrepreneurs.
Kwara
The Kwara State Government has commenced the distribution of certificates to beneficiaries of the Women Empowerment Programme, the Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, has said.
The Commissioner, Hajia Asiat Saka, in a statement she issued in Ilorin, advised them to come to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development for the collection.
She stressed that the certificates would be required at the Kwara Commercial Micro Finance Bank, Ilorin, to enable them access their funds.
Saka directed all beneficiaries of the empowerment programme to visit the headquarters of the ministry, adding that collection of the certificates would hold between 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day.
Nasarawa
Speaker, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Alhaji Ibrahim
Balarabe, has promised a speedy passage of the 2017 appropriation bill to cushion the effects of the economic recession on the people.
Balarabe, while deliberating on the 2017 budget, during the House’s proceeding in Lafia, assured Nasarawa State residents that the lawmakers were aware of the current hardship and were determined to shore up their fortunes.
The Speaker expressed optimism that the 2017 budget would reduce the sufferings of the people, and challenged his colleagues to redouble their efforts toward enacting laws that had direct impact on the lives of the people.
He restated the readiness of the assembly to partner with the executive arm so as to initiate more people-oriented projects.
Niger
Police in Niger State have appealed for information that would lead to arrest of killers of a policeman, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) operative and a civilian.
The command’s spokesman, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Mr Bala Elekana, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Minna.
He said that although sufficient security personnel had been deployed to hunt for the killers of the persons, the police still required the help of the public.
“We have put in place measures that will pave way for the arrest and prosecution of all those involved in the senseless killings, but the residents should complement the effort of the command.
Osun
The Controller of Nigerian Prisons Services (NPS), Osun
State command, Mr Segun Oluwasemire, lastTuesday advised newly- promoted officers and men of the service in the state to make discipline and excellence their watchwords.
The controller gave the advice during the decoration of 71 promoted officers and men in the state.
He commended the leadership of the Comptroller-General of Prisons, Mr Ja’afaru Ahmed, for rewarding excellence, dedication and service.
Oyo
Oyo State Government has approved routine maintenance of 14 roads across the state, the State Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr Toye Arulogun, has said.
Arulogun, in a statement issued in Ibadan, said the approval was given at the State Executive Council meeting.
He explained that the state government would not relent in its infrastructural development drive and ensure good roads across the state.
The commissioner urged the citizens to avoid activities that could lead to destruction of roads in the state.
Arulogun also listed some of the roads to be affected by the routine maintenance to include: Beere-Oranyan-Orita Aperin road; Ogbomoso High School – Baptist High School Road, Oroki – Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo (Phase I), among others.
Plateau
Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has said that the state government would re-engage retired permanent secretaries in order to benefit from their wealth of experience.
Lalong stated this in Jos, when a Forum of Retired Permanent Secretaries in Plateau, led by its Chairman, Mr John Gobak, visited him.
The governor said that the retired permanent secretaries had spent their lives working for the state and garnered a lot of experience that should not be allowed to waste.
He added that some of them would be engaged in agriculture, an area that the federal and Plateau governments were very passionate about.
Sokoto
Mosques and churches should be places of compassion as well as houses of God which should be well protected.
A Director in the Islamic Education Trust, Minna, Niger State, Alhaji Nuruddeen Lemu, made the remark at the end of a two-day North-West Joint Interfaith meeting in Sokoto.
Lemu, a member of the Advisory Committee on the Protection of Holy Sites Project in Nigeria, told newsmen that “when we respect these places, then we are compelled to protect them as Muslims and Christians.”
He explained that the meeting was convened to foster more understanding between Muslim and Christian faithful in the country.
Yobe
The Yobe State Government has distributed self-employment facilities and cash totaling N142 million to 400 youth as part of efforts to check unemployment in the state.
The state Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Gaidam, distributed the materials, which included sewing and knitting machines, electrical tools, and car wash and aquaculture facilities, among others.
In his remarks, the governor said agriculture and entrepreneurial development were veritable means of fighting poverty and unemployment. He said over 500 hectares of land had been developed at Boloram, Jakusko, Muguram and Nguru lakes to engage over 1,000 youth in irrigation farming.
The governor said that apart from the job creation facilities, the beneficiaries were given N20, 000 each, courtesy of the state government and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) office.
Gaidam said the UNDP also donated Maize, Millet, agro- chemical and sprayers to support the agriculture programme.
Zamfara
The Zamfara State Government has established 130 adult education centres across the state as part of its effort to improve mass literacy among grassroots people in the state.
The Special Adviser to the state governor, on Mass Education, Alhaji Kabir Jangeru disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Gusau .
Jangeru said that the state government planned to establish standard and comprehensive adult education centres across all the political wards of the state under its policy.
He said that the aim was to reduce illiteracy among people of the state, especially in rural communities.
According to him, the state mass education board in collaboration with the UNICEF have also established 136 Integrated Qur’anic Schools (IQS) across the state aimed at teaching those children in Qur’anic schools western education.
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
News5 days agoShell Trains 40 Imo Youths For ANOS Gas Project
Business5 days agoFG To Shut Ikorodu Terminal Over Explosive Overtime Cargoes
Business5 days agoEstate Surveyors Reject Housing Deficit Report
Sports5 days agoAkwa United Can Stun CR Belouizdad In Algeria – Ikpeba
Sports5 days agoRemo Stars To Appoint Ogunbote Head Coach
Sports5 days agoCAF CL: Why Akwa United Struggled Against CR Belouizdad
Sports5 days agoNFF, Premier Lotto To Seal Partnership Deal
Business5 days agoCBN Not Supporting Solid Minerals Dev – Minister