THE STATES

Adamawa

Adamawa Immigration Command said in Yola that it was prepared to ensure that foreigners did not register during the forthcoming voter registration in the border state.

Some politicians in Adamawa last week at an interactive session organised by INEC in Yola, raised alarm over plans by some people to recruit foreigners from a neigbouring country to participate in the exercise.

A statement by the Adamawa Immigration Command, Public Relations Officer, Malam Yahaya Ibrahim, said the command was prepared to stop any attempt to register foreigners.

Yahaya said immigration officials would not only check foreigners at the border but would also be around registration units to fish out any foreigner that attempted to register.

Ekiti

Oba Adetunla Adeleye, the traditional ruler of Ikole-Ekiti, in Ikole local government area of Ekiti State, is dead.

The death of the 76-year-old Elekole of Ikole-Ekiti was announced in a statement last week by one of the prominent title holders in the town, the Sajowa of Ikole, Chief M. Okunola.

The statement said the traditional ruler died on October 3 at the University of Ado-Ekiti Teaching Hospital, where he was on admission for an undisclosed illness.

Adeleye, a first class traditional ruler, ascended the throne at the age of 24 and ruled for 52 years.

Confirming the death, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Chieftaincy Affairs and Culture, Mrs Jolaade Onipede, told newsmen that the Ikole traditional council had officially notified the government.

 

FCT

Daniel Ige, a 33 year old recharge card seller, last week appeared before an Abuja High Court charged with robbery.

The prosecution had alleged that Ige committed the offence along with six other accused, who have yet to be arraigned.

Ige was arrested in 2006 following a raid by the Police in Idu-Karimo area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

He told Justice Ishaq Bello that he did not commit the offence he was being charged for.

Ige said that on May 28, 2006, at about 5 p.m., he was at his place of business when a police van filled with policemen pulled up beside him and ordered him to join the vehicle.

Kano

 The INEC is to supervise the conduct of party primaries, Amb. Ahmad Wali, the Zonal Commissioner for Kano, Katsina and Jigawa states, has said.

Wali, who disclosed this at an interactive session with political party leaders in Kano last Thursday, said INEC would not hesitate to reject the result of any election that was not conducted properly.

He said the commission would also not accept any arrangement for consensus candidate without active participation of party members.

Wali described conduct of credible elections as a collective responsibility, saying the forthcoming voter registration would be conducted in the presence of party representatives.

Earlier, the Kano State Publicity Secretary of ANPP, Alhaji Mukhtari Saleh, advised INEC to screen and disqualify candidates of questionable character.

 

Kastina

The Katsina State Government completed 23 road projects across the state in the last three and a half years, Deputy Governor Sirajo Damari announced last week.

Damari told the Minister of Works, Sen. Sanusi Daggash, who paid him a courtesy visit in Katsina, that the 23 roads spanned 395.19 km.

He said the roads were constructed across the three senatorial districts in the state to provide an adequate and effective road network.

“The present administration has, right from inception, focused attention on the critical infrastructure, which made it to gear its effort toward completing all road projects inherited in 2007,” he said.

 

Lagos

A Surulere Magistrate Court last week sentenced a 27-year-old man to six months imprisonment for stealing N61,000.

The prosecutor, Insp. Olaide Sunday, told the court that Obiora Eya, with no visible means of livelihood, stole from different people at various times at Tejuosho market.

According to the prosecutor, Eya stole N15,000 from Mr Ali Nnaemeka and N46,000 from Mr Donatus Ogba in March and July this year, respectively.

He pleaded guilty to the charges.

The Chief Magistrate, Mrs Abiola Soladoye, sentenced the accused to three months imprisonment on each of the two counts.

The Chief Magistrate said that the sentence, which would run concurrently, should serve as deterrent to other criminals.

Ondo

The Ondo State government has commiserated with families of the three staff members of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, who died in a car accident last week.

In a statement on Wednesday, in Akure, by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Kolawole Olabisi, the government also commiserated with the entire Owo community over the unfortunate incident.

The deceased union leaders met their untimely death while returning to Owo from Akure, where they had attended a meeting with the governing council of the institution.

 The polytechnic has been witnessing an industrial crisis in the last three months.

Ogun

An Abeokuta Chief Magistrates’ Court, last Thursday sentenced one Rotimi Ayedun,32, to two years imprisonment with hard labour and without an option of fine for stealing.

The Prosecutor, Insp. Paul Etusi, told the court that Ayedun at about 11.a.m. on November 19, 2008, at Owode Edgba stole N600,000.belonging to one Mr Semiu Oshola.

Etusi argued that the accused committed an offence contrary to section 383 and punishable under section 390 (4c) of the Criminal Code Laws of Ogun, 2006.

Plateau

The Plateau Muslim Pilgrim Welfare Board will start the transportation of the 2010 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia on October 19, an official has confirmed.

Alhaji Abubakar Dashe, the Executive Secretary of the Board, told newsmen last Thursday, in Jos, that the state’s 1,280 pilgrims would be flown to the Holy Land within 10 days.

According to him, the pilgrims will be flown to Saudi Arabia by Max Airline from the Kaduna Airport

He disclosed that the Board had secured 1,000 visas for the pilgrims, while 200 visas were still being processed.

 

 

Sokoto

 

Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State last week inaugurated the distribution of relief materials to flood victims in the state.

Wamakko said the victims had so far received donations totaling about N100 million and about 9,393 bags of different food items.

The governor said other items received included 50 gallons of cooking oil, 50 bags of salt and 250 bags of semovita.

Others items, he said, were 6000 wrappers, 1000 bundles of guinea brocade, 2,850 mats, 6,680 blankets, 198 plastic buckets, 1000 mattresses and 2,500 cooking pots.

According to him, the state government was also making efforts to resettle the victims.

 

Yobe

Yobe Deputy Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Ali, said last week that 132 deaths and 2,273 cases of cholera were recorded in the state from July to date.

Fielding questions from newsmen in Damaturu, Ali said 79 people were on admission in various hospitals in the state.

“These were cases that were brought and recorded at the hospitals by the epidemiological unit but the deaths at home were not recorded,” he said.

The deputy governor, who is also the Commissioner for Health, said the government had established camps in local government areas like Gashua with high incidence of the disease.

 

Zamfara

Six hundred and fifty-eight farmers in Zamfara last week in Gusau received N21 million loan under the National Programme For Food Security (NPFS).

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Zamfara Agricultural Development Authority (ZARDA), Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, said the beneficiaries were drawn from nine local government areas.

He said the local government areas were Bakura, Birnin-Magaji, Bungudu, Bukkuyum, Maradun, Maru, Shinkafi, Tsafe and Zurmi.

Abubakar said the programme was aimed at enhancing agricultural productivity in the state and guarantee food security in the country.

He said the state government had distributed more than 5,000 improved seeds of economic fruits to increase the income of farmers.