Nation
THE STATES
Bauchi
Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State has reiterated the resolve of his administration to ensure security of lives and property of citizens in the state irrespective of religion, tribe or political differences.
He stated this in a goodwill Easter message to the people of the state, a copy of which was made available to The Tides source.
Yuguda said that the State Government would use all legitimate means to ensure that the state continued to remain peaceful, “where no one is molested or harassed’’.
“This administration will ensure prevalence of security, nurture our democracy to maturity and revamp our ailing economy,’’ the governor said.
He asked the people of the state to de-emphasise religion, ethnicity or political differences in their relationship with one another.
“God the Almighty has in His wisdom, created us and made us to live together in one place with all our differences. “We should learn to live together, tolerate and love one another.”
Benue
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue has filed a law suit against an Abuja-based business man, Mr Manasseh Joshua and three others for alleged conspiracy and libel against him.
The Tides’s source reports that the five count charge was filed at Makurdi High Court 1 by a Makurdi-based attorney, Jibrin Okutekpa, on behalf of the governor.
In the suit, the governor alleged criminal conspiracy and agreement which resulted in the printing and publication of defamatory materials against him in a magazine entitled, “Power Steering”.
The defendants, Manasseh Joshua, Tom Whia, Eddy Ochigbo and Dan Ekah, according to the writ of summons, caused to be published in November, 2009, injurious falsehood against the person of Governor Suswam.
It further averred that the libelous publication against the governor. contravened section 96 of the Penal code and was punishable under Section 97(1)and 2 of the document.
The applicant is therefore seeking a motion ex-parte application to prefer a charge pursuant to section185(b) of the Criminal procedure code rules 2 and 3.
The alleged offending document was allegedly circulated and sold in Benue.
FCT
The Federal Government has been urged to separate water sector from the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources.
Participants at a 5-day advocacy workshop for civil society organisations (CSOs) operating in Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sectors made the call in a communiqué issued on Friday in Abuja at the end of the workshop.
The communiqué, signed by Mr Muhammad Ibn-Ahmad of Centre for Peace Projects & Development and Mr Omoniyi Omojugbagbe of MEDIA NETWORK, also called on the government to appoint a technocrat as minister for the Ministry of Water Resources and provide more funding for the sector.
They called for the involvement of CSOs in budget planning and a mechanism to ensure adequate monitoring and implementation of budgets in the sector.
The statement also advised CSOs in the WASH sector to be strategic in their policy advocacy as well as budget analysis and tracking.
Kaduna
The Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Mr Mohammed Barkindo, has described as “very remarkable’’ the just completed turn around maintenance (TAM) of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC).
Speaking shortly after a tour of the facility recently, Barkindo said the refinery, which produces about 1.5 million litres of petrol daily, though not at full capacity, would be able to supply the product to most of the states in the northern part of the country.
“I saw a remarkable TAM of this plant after a very extensive tour of the facility.
“The refinery has re-streamed and there is a flare up there indicating that the distilling processes are on.
“I have been receiving tremendous reports from this plant in spite of your challenges.
“The management and corporate headquarters are happy with what you are doing here,’’ Barkindo said.
The Tide’s source reports that the GMD, who had earlier met with the management of the KRPC, also met with staff of NNPC locations in the Kaduna zone as well as launched the corporation’s transformation agenda.
Kano
Property worth about N1.776 billion was destroyed in the recent fire outbreak in Kantin Kwari Textiles Market in Kano.
The Chairman of the committee set up to investigate the disaster, Dr.Ibrahim Garba, told newsmen in Kano on Thursday that about N122 million would be spent on the renovation of some buildings including a mosque.
Garba said the details were contained in the interim report of the committee submitted to the state government.
He said a total of 1,216 persons were affected by the disaster, out of which 861 lost their property to the fire while 355 retrieved their goods intact.
The Chairman said the figures were arrived at after a thorough screening of the traders’ claims by the committee assisisted by the traders’ union.
According to him, about N200 million has so far been collected as donations from some state governments and individuals with the highest donation of N100 million from a Kano businessman, Alhaji Aminu Dantata.
Katsina
In a bid to promote self reliance and reduce poverty in the rural areas, Musawa Local Government in Katsina State organised skill acquisition programme for 70 housewives.
Speaking at the opening of the training on Thursday, wife of the chairman, Hajia Binta Lawal, said that it was meant to empower housewives with skills to uplift their economic status.
Lawal said that participants were drawn from all the political wards in the area, adding that the beneficiaries were expected to train other women at their various localities.
She expressed the council’s commitment to assisting women and encouraging them to concentrate on the various businesses that would contribute to their families’ upkeep.
Speaking, the Facilitator, Hajia Jummai Garba, noted that the economic empowerment skills would reduce poverty and encouraged women to assist their families considering the economic condition of rural families.
Lagos
The Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Thursday faulted a suit by a lawyer, Mr Jiti Ogunye, challenging the state’s 2009 Magistrate Law.
Ogunye in February filed the suit challenging the validity of the law which became operational on Jan. 16
Briefing newsmen at a news conference in Lagos, the Chairman of the branch, Mr Chijioke Okoli, said any grey areas in the law could be amended without litigation.
“Any law made by man can be subjected to amendment; if there are some grey areas in the law, I think that it can still be handled instead of going straight into litigation,
“What cannot be amended is only the Holy Bible; but a law by man can be amended at any stage,’’ he argued.
Okoli said the NBA also faulted a ruling of the Lagos High Court directing that the state’s Magistrate’s Courts should revert to the 2003 Magistrate Law pending the determination of the suit.
Ogun
The Ogun government has established early childhood education centres in 75 percent of public schools in the 20 local government areas.
Mr Sina Adejobi, the Chairman of Ogun State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) made the disclosure to The Tide’s source recently in Abeokuta.
He said that the state government would focus more on early childhood education, under the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC).
“We have so far established early primary classes in 75 per- cent of public schools in all the 20 local government areas,” he said.
On the School Feeding Programme, the chairman, however, said that the state was not implementing that at the moment, but that plans were on to do so.
Osun
Osun State Youth Empowerment Board (OSYEB) has distributed equipment to 90 youths, with a view to empowering them to become self-employed.
Dr Adeniyi Ayeni, Chairman of the board, who presided over the distribution in Osogbo, said that gainful self-employment was a useful antidote to anti-social activities.
He said that the beneficiaries included those who recently underwent vocational training organised by the board and had attained competence in the trades they were trained for.
Ayeni congratulated the beneficiaries for enjoying the dividends of democracy and urged them to make judicious use of the equipment.
He also advised them to promptly establish their businesses in order to justify the state government’s investment in the project.
Sokoto
Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State on Friday inaugurated a 30- member committee for the hosting of the 24th edition of the National Quránic Recitation competition.
The competition would hold in the state from May 15.
The committee has the Speaker of Sokoto State House of Assembly, Alhaji Abdullahi Salame, as its chairman.
A statement, signed by Abubakar Muhammad, Special Adviser on Press Affairs to the Governor, quoted Wamakko as expressing the government’s commitment to ensuring the success of the event.
The governor also promised to support the committee to succeed in its assignment and expressed confidence that members of the committee would handle the assignment well.
Wamakko appealed to wealthy individuals in the state to contribute to the successful hosting of the competition to avoid a situation where the committee would go “outside looking for donations”.
Nation
Lawmaker Charges Politicians On Electoral Promises
A Lawmaker representing Lagos Mainland, Federal House of Representatives, Mr Olanrewaju Oshun, on Saturday charged politicians to fulfil their electoral promises to the masses, to continually gain their trust.
Oshun said this in an interview with The Tide’s source after casting his vote at PU 03, Ward 008, Lagos Mainland Local Government Area, for the Governorship and State House of Assembly Elections in Lagos.
According to him, Nigeria’s politics has changed to an era where electorate expect that only politicians who deliver on their mandate should be voted for.
“At this era, politicians must understand the fact that they need to fulfil their electoral promises and be close to the people.
“The masses are more conscious that it is only politicians who perform well that should earn their vote”, he said.
Oshun expressed optimism that the will of the people would prevail in the elections, having voted for their choices.
On his assessment of the election, he lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for improving on the conduct of the election, compared to the performance of the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly Elections.
According to him, the INEC officials arrived early at most polling units across the state, the Bi-modal Voter Accreditation System (BVAS) functioned effectively, while the overall process of the election was seamless.
“There is a great improvement in the conduct of the election, compared to the hitches we had at the last election.
“People have voted and made their opinion known, so it should be counted and let the best candidate win”. he said.
The lawmaker noted that the turnout for the election was impressive.
Oshun said, “one cannot say there is voter apathy as such, as reported in some quarters because people cast their votes in few minutes and left almost immediately.
The source reports that Oshun was re-elected during the Feb. 25 National Assembly Election to represent his constituency.
Nation
ICPC Arrests Four Vote-Buyers In Sokoto, Katsina
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) arrested four vote-buyers in Sokoto and Katsina states during the just-concluded Governorship and State Houses of Assembly elections last Saturday.
In its election monitoring operations across the states of the federation, officers of the anti-corruption agency encountered some vote-buyers at Kauran Miyo Primary School in Bodingo Town of Bodinga Local Government Area of Sokoto State.
The Spokesperson, ICPC, Azuka Ogugua, revealed this on Saturday night in a statement obtained by The Tide source.
She noted that the Sokoto State monitoring team of the commission arrested three male vote-buyers; Mahe Bello, Musa Adamu and Mustapha Mohammed, all of Kauran Miyo Bodinga.
Ogugua said, “Mahe Bello was caught in possession of a cash sum of N38,000, two PVCs, one ATM card and an Infinix phone, while Musa Adamu had CFA228,000 in his possession which was being offered to voters. The third suspect, Mustapha Mohammed, was arrested with some PVCs in his possession”.
According to her, the ICPC monitoring team, however, came under attack while carrying out the arrest of the three vote-buyers.
This was as she noted that an officer of the commission, Rabiu Ibrahim, suffered a head injury from being hit by stones, and has been admitted into a hospital and he is in a stable condition.
She added that the three alleged vote-buyers were kept in the custody of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps before being conveyed to ICPC’s detention facility in Sokoto.
In a related development, the ICPC election monitoring team in Katsina State arrested one Tanimu Tabale for vote-buying at Tashar Yamma Polling Unit in Zango Local Government Area of the State.
Tabale, a 35-year-old man, claimed he was an observer in Makama Polling Unit but was arrested at Tashar Yamma Polling Unit with the sum of N20,000 in different denominations attempting to buy the votes and was apprehended.
Nation
Elections: LG Chairman Lauds Officials … Says No Security Breach In Keffi
Chairman of Keffi Local Government Area (LGA), Nasarawa State, Alhaji Muhammad Baba-Shehu, has lauded concerned officials for ensuring the absence of security breach during Saturday’s elections in the area.
Baba-Shehu gave the commendation while speaking with Newsmen shortly after the State’s Governorship and House of Assembly elections in Keffi.
Baba-shehu noted that the success recorded was as a result of the zeal and commitment of security agencies in the area.
According to him, officers of the concerned security agencies worked hard to ensure no one carried out any act that would destabilise the peace being enjoyed in the area.
“So far, as the Chief Security Officer of the area, I have not received any report of any breach in security and that is because our security personnel are up and doing.
“All the security agencies in Keffi LG did what they know best and what was expected of them. They were in every corner of the community”, he said.
Baba-Shehu who stated that the peaceful conduct of the elections in the area was commendable, and lauded the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for ensuring the process met Nigerians’ expectations.
“I also have to commend INEC officials because the electoral materials reached polling units in good time and the election process also started early. So, there was no complaint of delay of accreditation or voting in Keffi”, he said.
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