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”.