Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), has advised staff to partner with local communities and governments at all levels for the needed support to generate more revenue.
The Executive Chairman, Mrs Ifueko Okauru, gave the advice at the opening of the North East Region Enlarged Management and Town Hall meeting of the organisation in Yola.
Ifueko also called for the cooperation of states and local governments in the zone, to show commitment to off-setting all tax arrears within the shortest possible time and to avoid situations where arrears piled up again.
Bauchi
Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State has approved N597,000 as maximum Hajj fare for intending pilgrims in the 2010 pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
Alhaji Ibrahim Ninge, the Permanent Secretary in the state Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, made this known on Saturday in Bauchi while addressing newsmen.
Ninge also said that the sum of N582,000 was approved as medium fare while N488,000 was approved as minimum fare.
He explained that each pilgrim in the three categories would be given 750 dollars, 1,000 dollars and 1,500 dollars respectively as Basic Traveling Allowances (BTA).
He called on intending pilgrims who had already made deposits with officials of the board in the 20 local government councils to complete the payment before July 28, 2010.
Benue
FRSC’s “Operation Eagle Eye” will this month focus on the violation of the over loading regulation, driving with worn-out tyres and non-possession of spare tyres nationwide.
Mr Osita Chidoka, the Corps Marshal of the FRSC, made the disclosure in Makurdi, on Friday, while flagging off the operation.
He said the FRSC would continue to invest in call centres and ambulance services to ensure safety on the road.
Chidoka, who was represented by Mr Bake Kwaga, the Zonal Commanding Officer in Markurdi, expressed readiness to involve mobile courts in the prosecution of erring traffic offenders on the spot.
Borno
The Borno State Government on Friday warned its pilgrims to Saudi Arabia to avoid prostitution, child labour and other negative vices.
“We have observed that some Nigerian women are of the habit of staying back in Saudi Arabia after the pilgrimage with the intent to engage in some activities that are negative in nature,”Hajiya Hauwa Mai-Musa, Commissioner for Women Affairs, said at Train-the-Trainer workshop in Maiduguri.
She was speaking at the North East workshop for women group on this year’s pilgrimage, added that some women also engaged in child trafficking to Saudi Arabia.
Mai-Musa said that rather than indulge in criminal activities in Saudi Arabia, the pilgrims should return home and engage in lawful businesses.
Ekiti
As part of its efforts to provide quality healthcare delivery, the Ekiti State Government is to redistribute more health workers to rural areas, Governor Segun Oni has said.
Oni said this on Friday, in Ado-Ekiti, when the people of Ilokun-Ekiti led by Onilokuno of Ilokuno-Ekiti, Oba Adebayo Jegede paid him a courtesy visit.
He said that the efforts would also combat the inadequacy in the number of qualified health personnel in the rural areas.
The governor noted that the inability of past administrations in the state to ensure fair play in the distribution of the available human resources in the sector led to the drought of qualified health workers in the rural areas thereby putting communities in the areas at a disadvantage .
FCT
Vice-President Namadi Sambo, has given an assurance that the execution of the Zungeru hydropower plant will be fully financed through appropriation.
He said this had become imperative in view of the fact that concessionary loans had yet to be sourced for the project.
Sambo made the disclosure at a meeting of the co-ordinating ministries, consultants, contractors and stakeholders handling the Mambilla, Zungeru and Gurara phase two hydropower projects at the State House.
The meeting was to address issues bordering on the provision of adequate hydropower supply in the country.
Kebbi
The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in Kebbi State plans to collaborate with the youth corps members to expand the scope of tree planting in the state.
Dr Kasim Ahmed, the agency’s coordinator in the state, announced this in Birnin Kebbi while addressing batch ‘B’ NYSC members posted to the state.
He said the agency would engage corps members posted to rural communities to embark on tree planting to protect the environment even as the agency would seek the cooperation of corps members to create awareness among the people on the relevance of tree planting and the need to discourage tree felling.
Lagos
An NGO, Gender-Based Violence Response Network (GBVRN) on Friday, in Lagos ,called for a multi-level approach to stem the spate of child sexual abuse in Nigeria.
Its Programme Officer on Human Rights Education, Miss Kate Ibeanusi, told newsmen that sexual assault and harassment of underage female children had become rampart.
“The increasing reports of cases of child sexual abuse in the state are a worrisome development that needs urgent concerted efforts to stem the tide,’’ she said in a statement.
Ibeanusi disclosed that at least 24 cases were reported between April and June.
Niger
A Minna Chief Magistrate Court on Friday, sentenced one Ayuba Umar of Suleja town in Niger, to two years imprisonment with hard labour, for extortion.
Umar was convicted on a charge of extorting N72, 000 from one Patrick Marshal of Otunsha Hotel, Keffi in Nasarawa.
Umar was charged with “systematically extorting the money from the complainant after series of telephone calls threatening to assassinate him if he refused to cooperate’’.
The Police Prosecutor, Mr Ahmed Danladi, told the court that Umar committed extortion punishable with death under section 294 of the Penal Code.
He told the court that from May 9 to July 9, 2010, Umar called Marshal on phone consistently, saying that he was hired to assassinate him
Ondo
An official of the Ondo State Ministry of Women Affairs, Mr Adeyemi Sarumi, has called on the state government to introduce sex and moral education into the school curriculum.
Sarumi, who is also a supervisor in the state Motherless Babies Home, made the call while speaking with newsmen on Friday in Akure.
According to him, adequate sex education for children will facilitate prevention of unwanted pregnancies and loss of lives among youths.
He also called for sensitisation of adults on fami
ly planning and sex education, while students should abstain from sex to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
Osun
The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile- Ife, authority has dismissed allegations of its involvement in a recent students’ clash in the institution as false.
During the clash, some students reportedly sustained injuries during the clash which erupted in the university on July 12.
Mr Abiodun Olanrewaju, the Public Relations Officer of university, told newsmen in Ile-Ife on Saturday, that it was the management that rescued some students from the spot of the attack.
Olanrewaju said that efforts were being made to reconcile the students with a view to restoring peace.
Meanwhile, a pressure group, the United Action For Democracy (UAD), Osun Chapter, has expressed reservations over the incident.
Sokoto
The Sokoto State Government has awarded contract for the rehabilitation of the state Rima Radio at the cost of N120 million.
The Commissioner for Information, Malam Dahiru Maishanu, told newsmen in Sokoto, on Saturday, that the contract included the construction of perimeter fencing, rehabilitation of the entire structures and upgrading of the studios.
Maishanu said the project was aimed at giving the premier radio station in the north west a facelift.
He said the government had also embarked on projects worth N178 million to upgrade the state-owned newspaper company.
Yobe
The Yobe State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Hajiya Asmau Kolo on Friday, said 85 women master trainers selected across the state had been trained in five skill acquisition programmes for economic empowerment.
The commissioner made the disclosure to newmen in Babangida, Tarmuwa local government area, at the graduation of 35 women trainees from zone ‘A’.
She said that the women were trained on soap, cream, liquid soap, room freshner and balm making.
“The women are mostly housewives whose economic status is low. They have been trained to train others in their localities for a wider coverage on skill acquisition”.
Zamfara
The Zamfara State Government has introduced a dress code for female teachers in academic institutions in its bid to inculcate discipline in the education sector.
Alhaji Isa Maru, the Public Relations Officer of the Ministry of Education, said in a statement that the state government was disturbed by the upsurge of indecent dressing among female teachers.
Under the new dress code, female teachers must be dressed in a reasonable outfit that could guarantee them respect, not only among staff and students, but by the general public. Isa said that, “henceforth, it is prohibited for any teacher to dress indecently, especially in ‘half-naked wears’ during school hours.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) has inducted and given orientation to 100 Ogoni youths for training on Creative Arts. The beneficiaries were drawn from Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
The induction and orientation ceremony, which took place at the CRAB of the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt on Wednesday, was a prelude to the training proper, billed to commence next Tuesday.
As usual, HYPREP issued undertaking forms to the trainees, for them to complete and submit as a guarantee that they would subject themselves to the requirements of the programme as well as be of good behaviour throughout the four-month duration of the training.
HYPREP also announced that it would pay N150,000 to each of the beneficiaries monthly, as transport and feeding allowance, stressing, however, that only those who fully participate in the training would be entitled for the allowance.
Speaking at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, welcomed the trainees to the programme, saying, HYPREP’s projects are evolving and that one thing that is happening today is that the Project has gotten leadership right, by making promises and keeping those promises.
According to him, the Project had equally promised to move away from rudimentary skills acquisition to high impacts acquisition levels, which it has kept today by sponsoring the training on Creative Arts.
He noted that in planning its livelihood programmes for Ogoni youths, HYPREP has taken time out to look for skills that would add value to the lives of the beneficiaries.
Zabbey, who was represented at the event by the Director of Technical Services, Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi said by packaging the Creative Arts training, it was expected that the Ogoni people would have their own version of Nollywood known as Ogoniwood just as Nigerians are familiar with Hollywood, Bollywood, Kannywood and Nollywood.
To achieve this goal, the Project Coordinator explained that it was the reason for choosing a reputable establishment like Halibiz Consult Limited, to partner with the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt, which he described as one of the most prestigious in the Niger Delta, for the training of the beneficiaries.
He also indicated that in doing this, HYPREP was desirous of going for talents that would help the Ogoni people grow in the film industry, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously.
Zabbey equally enjoined the trainees to put in their best so that in the next three to five years, they would carve a niche for themselves and become forces to reckon with in the film industry.
On her part, HYPREP’s Head of Sustainable Livelihood, Mrs Josephine Nzidee said HYPREP does what it says it will, stressing that the process of training Ogoni youths on specialised skills started three years ago.
According to her, the selection process for the training was rigorous and transparent, and was carried out by renowned actors actresses.
She disclosed that the training consists of three major aspects, which include acting, script writing and make-up, while Nollywood actors like Charles Nnoje, Ngezu J. Ngezu and award-winning make-up artist, Jude Odo would be on hand to drill and groom the beneficiaries.
Mrs Nzidee noted that the programme is a specialised training that does not have anything like starter packs but that it is purely a professional certification programme that would launch the beneficiaries into the Nollywood industry in Nigeria.
According to her, the Creative Arts training is one of the four specialised trainings organised by HYPREP to ensure that the Ogoni people are well positioned in vital industries like Aviation, Maritime, Creative Arts and Mechatronics.
She said the last of such trainings on Mechatronics would take place in the coming months, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously so as to put the Ogoni people on the Nollywood map.
She further indicated that while Charles Nnoje and Ngezu J. Ngezu would take the beneficiaries on the practical aspects, Jude Odo would take them on the make-up aspects.
Also speaking, the External Relations Manager of Halibiz Consult Limited, Alabo Experience Douglas said his company gives much premium to standard and quality, and assured that the firm would give the trainees value for the money spent on the programme.
While charging the beneficiaries to be dedicated and punctual, he stressed the need for them to approach the programme with the mindset of being empty so that at the end of the day, they would benefit maximally.
On his part, the Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Ovunda Ihunwo said the CRAB is an acronym for Creative Review of Arts and Books, stressing that it was named by renowned playwright, Prof Ola Rotimi.
According to him, the CRAB had nurtured, groomed and produced Nollywood actors and actresses like Bobmanuel Udokwu, Ejike Asiegbu,Francis Duru, Hilda Dokubo, Monalisa Chinda, Julius Agwu, and a host of others, assuring the beneficiaries that they were on fertile environment to hone their talents.
He noted that symbolically, the crab is a nutritious seafood common in the Niger Delta, and reiterated the need for the beneficiaries to come empty for the training, as it were.
Ihunwo disclosed that the theory classes of the programme would run for three weeks while the fourth week would be for the master classes, and urged the trainees to avail themselves of the opportunity to make a difference by telling the Ogoni story, which he described as inexhaustible by themselves, in order to put Ogoni on the map.
A 23-year-old student of Nasarawa State University identified as Jatau Rilokwah, has been reportedly found dead in the university’s senior staff quarters.
A counter-insurgency expert, focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed this on his X handle on Tuesday.
According to him, the discovery was made on April 27, 2025, by a security officer at the university, Emmanuel Gyawo.
He stated that Gwayo was directed by Prof. Shedrack Jatau to check on his son upon arriving at the residence, and he found Rilokwah hanging from the ceiling.
“Professor Jatau, who was reportedly out of the State at the time, was informed of the incident. A team of police detectives, led by the Divisional Crime Officer of Angwan Lambu, was dispatched to the scene.
“The body showed no signs of violence, and no suicide note was found. Rilokwah was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he further stated.
He added that the student’s corpse had been deposited in the hospital morgue.
He also quoted police sources as saying that investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Ogun State Government has partnered with Nike Art Gallery to establish a new exhibition space at the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre in Abeokuta, a move Governor Dapo Abiodun says is aimed at boosting annual tourist visits from 20,000 to over 100,000.
Abiodun disclosed the plan on Wednesday while receiving the founder of the Nike Art Gallery, Chief (Mrs) Nike Davies-Okundaye, at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“I went to Olumo Rock about a month ago and I decided that we needed to do something about restoring Olumo Rock to its old glory. From statistics, Olumo Rock hosts about 20,000 people a year in its current state, and I felt that we could increase that to at least ten times,” the governor said.
As part of the plan, an events hall within the tourist centre will be repurposed as a permanent gallery operated by Nike Art Gallery.
“I told them to shut it down. Practically, we want to bring it down and turn it into a gallery for you to use as an exhibition gallery,” he told Davies-Okundaye.
He added that the gallery will be ready before the National Sports Festival in May, when the State will host about 15,000 visitors.
“I want them to be able to see our tourist sites,” he said, listing attractions such as the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the Ransome-Kuti family home, and the Adire market among key heritage spots to be showcased.
Highlighting Ogun’s improved infrastructure, the governor said, “Now that we’ve succeeded in having the intra and inter-state roads in place, you can come to Ogun State by rail; you can come by air. We’ve constructed one of the best airports in Nigeria, and very soon, you will be able to come by sea.”
Davies-Okundaye, in her remarks, praised the state’s efforts to promote tourism and pledged to use the new gallery to attract global attention.
“This gallery will bring many Heads of State. The one I opened in Abuja already has more than 10 Heads of State, including those from South Korea and the Czech Republic. The same will happen here,” she said.
She also applauded the Governor for his commitment to the Adire fabric industry.
“Adire is all over Nigeria, but Ogun has been promoting Adire for over 50 years. Today, the only cloth we can call our own is called Adire. This is what we can sell to the Europeans,” she said.
Abiodun reaffirmed his administration’s backing of the Adire industry, citing policies such as the Adire Ogun Digital Marketplace, compulsory wearing of Adire in the state, and provision of solar-powered production equipment to support artisans.
He also revealed plans to open a creative arts and entertainment village in partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters, expected to be completed within two months.