Nation
THE STATES
Bauchi
Hajiya Habiba Ali, the Co-ordinator of Rahma Women Development Programme, a Bauchi-based NGO, said on Wednesday that the organization had trained religious leaders on preventive measures against HIV/AIDS.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja, Ali said the trained religious leaders were to enlighten their followers in various Mosques and Churches on how to avoid the virus.
The co-ordinator said the religious leaders were also tutored on why the people should not stigmatise those living with HIV/AIDS, as prevalent in some communities.
Ali named other professional groups, youth peer-educators and some care givers as others sensitized by the NGO to carry the message to various segments of the society.
Borno
University of Maiduguri graduated 48,401 students between 1978 and 2006, the Vice-chancellor, Prof. Mala Daura, said in Maiduguri on Thursday.
Daura, who made the fact known at a news conference, explained that 6,842 of the graduates received diplomas and certificates, 36,848 received first degrees and 1,711 were awarded postgraduate diplomas.
He also said the university awarded 2,893 masters’ degrees and 107 doctorates over the period.
Daura said the university would graduate 15, 881 students at its 21st convocation, “the students are those who passed out during the 2006/2007, 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 academic sessions.
Ekiti
The Catholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, the Rt. Rev. Felix Ajakaiye, on Thursday, ordered the compulsory recitation of the National Anthem in all Catholic schools in the state.
Ajakaiye also directed that all social events organised by the Catholic Church’s establishments must start and end with the singing of the anthem from now.
He gave the directives when he visited the Holy Child Secondary School, Ado-Ekiti, for its 15th Founders’ Day celebration during which he discovered that there was no provision for the anthem on the programme of events.
The school is one of the nearly 60 institutions owned by the Catholic Mission in the state.
FCT
FCT
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has expressed readiness to assist Nigeria in the implementation of the Global Jobs Pact aimed at wealth creation.
Mr David Lamotte, ILO’s Special Adviser and Co-ordinator of the Global Jobs Pact, disclosed this on Thursday, in Abuja, when he met with the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Chukwuemeka Wogu.
Lamotte said his visit to Nigeria was to enlighten stakeholders in the labour sub-sector on the implementation strategy for the Global Jobs Pact which would help in reducing unemployment in the country.
Jigawa
No fewer than 75 per cent youth corpers constitute the teaching staff in Jigawa, Mr Nurudeen Baba, the state’s NYSC Coordinator has said.
Baba said this in Gumel during the swearing-in ceremony of Batch ‘C’ corps members posted to the state.
He explained that due to the dearth of teachers in the state, the NYSC posted 80 per cent of the corps members to schools in the rural areas to teach.
“From our statistics, more than 75 per cent of teachers in Jigawa are corps members. In some schools, some corps members are even made vice principals,” he said.
Katsina
A total of 5, 505 out of the 6,100 intending pilgrims from Katsina State have so far been airlifted to Saudi Arabia for the 2010 Hajj.
The Secretary of the Katsina State Hajj Committee and Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Public Affairs, Alhaji Nasiru Abdul, disclosed this in Katsina on Thursday.
He said the pilgrims were transported to the holy land by Max Airlines on 11 flights, stressing that the 11th flight of 502 pilgrims took-off from the Umaru Musa Yar’adua Airport, Katsina at 12:17 a.m.
Kaduna
Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State has inaugurated a 30-member Governorship Campaign Council with his former boss, Alhaji Ahmed Makarfi as a member.
Other people on the council are the Adviser to the Vice- President, Sen. Isaiah Balat, the Chairman of Peugeot Automobile Ltd, Alhaji Sani Dauda, and Alhaji Yusuf Hamisu, a PDP senatorial aspirant.
The team is to be chaired by the governor while Alhaji Muktar Yero, the Deputy Governor, will serve as the Deputy Chairman.
Inaugurating the council, Yakowa warned PDP supporters against campaigns of calumny and the use of indecent language, adding that they must be peaceful in their conduct.
Kogi
The Management of Obajana Cement Company in Kogi has finally agreed to send 1,200 truck drivers in the company to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) for safety driving training.
The Sector Commander of the FRSC in Kogi, Mr Sunday Maku, confirmed the development in Lokoja, on Thursday, in an interview with newsmen.
He said the training would be handled by the commission’s headquarters and that it would last for three days.
The management of the cement company had been under pressure from the FRSC which has consistently requested it to send its truck drivers for safety training.
Lagos
Workers of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) on Thursday cautioned the Federal Government against sacking 50, 000 workers in the company to avoid industrial crisis.
In a statement issued in Lagos, the workers said that the sack of the workers could also lead to a national blackout.
The statement was signed by Mr Mansur Musa, President, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), and the General Secretary, Mr Joe Ajaero.
The statement said that the workers were also planning a campaign for the removal of Prof. Bath Nnaji, the President’s Adviser on Energy, for allegedly misrepresenting the government.
Nasarawa
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Umar, says regular training and exercises by officers and men of the Nigerian Air Force will boost their combat readiness.
Umar said this on Thursday, in Keffi in Nasrawa State, at the “Small Arm Range Classification Exercise,” organised by the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters (NAF) for its personnel.
He was represented by Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh, Air Officer Policy and Plans at NAF Headquarters, Abuja.
“In protecting the nation you need the riffle, so the training that is being carried out is to give our air men and women proficiency on their jobs”.
Niger
The Niger state Government has promised to complete all projects conceived under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement in the state.
The state’s Head of Service (HOS), Alhaji Ahmed Matane, disclosed this in Minna on Wednesday, while reacting to recent media reports calling on. The media reports indicated that some Niger State indigenes had criticized the manner of implementation of the PPP projects.
They alleged that most of projects had been abandoned after expending huge sums of money on them.
The head of service, however, said that the government had pursued the partnership to achieve physical development against limited resources with “all honesty and due process”.
Osun
Physically challenged persons in Osogbo, the Osun capital, have appealed to governments at all levels to assist them financially to promote their vocational businesses.
Our correspondent reports that majority of those interviewed earn a living from hat, shoe and soap making.
Blessing Babatunde, a fashion designer, said: “Being
crippled is not the end of life. I am able to cater for myself and assist my younger ones.
“Despite all efforts to be independent, there is no help from government; the government should assist the physically challenged people so that beggars would reduce on the streets.“
Plateau
The FRSC in Plateau has started to clamp down on unregistered motorcycles and other vehicles in Plateau.
The Sector Commander, Mr Samuel Odukoya newsmen in Jos on Thursday, that owners of impounded vehicles were liable to a fine of N10,000 each.
“We are aware of the influx of motorcycle operators from neighbouring states and we want to ensure that they register their motorcycles before they operate here,” he said.
Odukoya called on motorists to ensure that their motorcycles and vehicles were “duly registered” to avoid being impounded or arrested.
Sokoto
Council has approved the electrification of 28 communities in 14 of the 23 local government areas of the state.
Briefing newsmen on the outcome of the state’s Executive Council meeting in Sokoto on Wednesday, the Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Faruk Yabo, said that the project would gulp N839 million.
He explained that the project work would include the upgrading, extension and improvement of some of the electricity installations in the communities.
He said that the council had also approved the divestment of the state government’s 766 million shares in Unity Bank of Nigeria Plc at N1 per share.
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.