Adamawa

The Federal Government has reiterated its commitment to sustain its policy of subsidising fertiliser and other farm inputs

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Prof. Sheikh Abdallah, gave the assurance recently in Yola at the opening of the 1st General Assembly of Nigerian farmers organised by the All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN).

Abdallah said government was aware of the challenges facing agriculture and would do its best to address them.

He said that Federal Government had procured about 900,000 tonnes of fertiliser for the 2010 farming season.

Bauchi

Minority tribes in Dass, Tafawa Balewa and Bogoro Local Government Areas of Bauchi State, have appealed to the people of Bauchi-South Senatorial District to allow them produce the next senator from the zone  in the interest of political balancing.

The minority tribes made the call through their spokesman, Alhaji Ali Wakili, in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi.

The Bauchi-South Senatorial District comprises seven local government areas out of the 20 council areas of the state.  They are Bauchi, Alkaleri, Dass, Kirfi, Tafawa Balewa, Bogoro and Toro Local Government Areas.

Benue

The Rt. Rev. William Avenya, the Auxiliary Bishop of Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, on Saturday urged 13 newly ordained priests of the Church to be committed to their calling.

Avenya was delivering a sermon at the ordination of the priests at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral, Makurdi, saying the call to the priesthood was a call to humility.

“Jesus addressed his disciples and told them that those who want to be first must be last, and those who want to be great must be servants.

“The spirit of God is given to the ordained for the benefit of the people of God, for the salvation of the people of God.

FCT

A review of the Land Use Act will enhance the productivity of the Federal Housing Authority (FHA), according to its Managing Director, Mr. Terver Gemade.

Gemade, speaking at the Forum of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, said it had become imperative to remove the bottlenecks associated with land acquisition.

The Tide’s source reports that the Land Use Act, enacted in March, 1978, transferred the title and ownership of land from individuals and communities to the government.

The managing director said the authority would not urge the abrogation of the Act.

Kaduna

Mr Jonathan Kish, a Member representing Kaura Constituency at the Kaduna State House of Assembly, said he had supplied hospital equipment worth more than N150 million to some hospitals.

The Tide’s source reports that the equipment were supplied in collaboration with an International NGO, “Project Cure”.

Kish said this while speaking at a constituency briefing held at the local government secretariat, Kaura, in Kaduna State, on Saturday.

He said the equipment were supplied to Kaura General Hospital and Turaki Buga Memorial Hospital, Kagoro.

Kano

Kano State Government has  inaugurated its N945 million liaison office in Abuja.

Speaking on the occasion, the Governor, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, said the building would be fully commercialised to generate revenue for the state. 

“ When we came in 2003, this was one of the few projects that we put on the drawing board and although we started it we were unable to complete it during our first term in office.  

“But with God on our side, we were able to complete the project in this second tenure to the joy of every indigene of the state,’’ he said. 

Katsina

The PDP in Katsina State on Saturday raked in N324 million at its fund raising and foundation laying for its permanent secretariat in the state.

The highest donation of N50 million came from the Chief Launcher, Alhaji Dahiru Mangal, whose company, Afdin Construction Coy, won the contract for the secretariat.

Other donors included members of the House of Representatives from Katsina, N30 million; Alhaji Manir Abukur, N20 million; Alhaji Abdulaziz Maigoro, N20 million; and Senators from Katsina, N15 million.

The state political appointees, the state and local government civil servants donated five per cent of their salaries each which amounted to N120 million.

Speaking at the launch, President Goodluck Jonathan, represented by his Special Adviser (Political), Dr Akilu Indabawa, commended PDP for taking a bold step to construct its secretariat in Katsina.

Kebbi

Arewa Local Government in Kebbi has been meeting with health officials from Niger Republic on ways to avoid outbreak of diseases, the sole administrator, Alhaji Nurudeen Usman, says.

He told newsmen  in Kagiwa  that regular meetings were held to ensure effective conduct of Polio immunisation, adding that the cooperation “has assisted in preventing the spread of the disease”.

“We share ideas on eradication of Polio and diseases as people from both sides engaged in similar socio-economic activities with common market, same cultural background and inter-marriages,” he said.

He said people from both sides often travelled for business and social activities as they “relate well in line with ECOWAS treaty”.

Lagos

Engineering and Construction workers have urged the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission not to exclude them from benefiting from the minimum wage being worked out by the Federal Government.

The Justice Alpha Belgore-led committee set up by the government on new minimum wage for Nigerian workers recently recommended N18,000 as the minimum wage.

The proposal, if approved by the executive and legislative arms of the Federal Government, must be implemented by all employers in private and public sectors with up to 50 workers.

Ondo

The Ondo State House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture has advised the state Ministry of Agriculture to ensure proper disbursement of the N1 billion World Bank loan to farmers.

The chairman of the Committee, Mr Idowu Adebusuyi, who gave the advice on Friday in Akure at a news conference, said the Assembly had given approval to the ministry to disburse the loan.

Adebusuyi said the Committee had also advised the ministry to ensure that only farmers benefited from the loans, warning that the money should not be disbursed outside the farming season to avoid diversion of the fund to other uses.

Oyo

Two Action Congress chairmanship candidates in Oyo, Akinyemi Akinlabi and Femi Adelakun, have called for the doctrine of necessity to enable the appeal tribunal in the state to hear their case.

In a petition to the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Bolajoko Adeniji, the candidates said the call followed the strike by the Judicial Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) which affected their case.

A statement by the party’s Director of Publicity, Mr Wasiu Olatunbosun, in Ibadan on Friday, said the doctrine would enable the election appeal tribunal to dispense with their cases against the candidates of the People Democratic Party (PDP).

Plateau

PDP pioneer National Chairman, Solomon Lar has cautioned individuals claiming to be speaking for the north against portraying the region as “sectional and parochial”.

Lar told newsmen in Jos that such “self-acclaimed” leaders were “anti-democratic elements and enemies of the north”.

“I am constrained to restate that some undemocratic characters are trying to make the north look sectional and parochial.

“I find it necessary to state here that such an impression is not true of the north; national interest, fairness and unity are our guiding principles in the north,’’ he said.

Osun

The Osun State Commissioner for Land, Mr Ayo Akinsomi, says the scarcity of land for young farmers is due to lack of coordination among the three tiers of government.

Speaking in an interview with newsmen  in Osogbo, the commissioner said ideally, land should not be a barrier to young farmers.

Akinsomi said the country had enough land for the purposes of agriculture and other economic activities in accordance with the Land Use Act.

Akinsomi observed that scarcity of land usually arose because of coordination problems, stressing that ‘‘coordination among government authorities is the solution”.

Using Malaysia as an example, Akinsomi explained that the country achieved its present feat with the establishment of the Federal Land Development Agency (FELDA).

Zamfara

The wife of the deputy governor of Zamfara, Hajiya Aisha Moukhtar, is dead.

Alhaji Habib Alhassan, the press secretary, to the deputy governor, who announced the demise on Friday in Gusau, said Aisha died at Daula hospital in Gusau on Friday after a brief illness.

The late wife of the deputy governor, who died at the age of 28, left behind one child and her husband, the statement stated.

Gov. Mahmud Shinkafi, traditional rulers, politicians and top government officials were among the hundreds of people who attended the funeral prayer.