THE STATES

Bauchi

Alhaji Babayo Gamawa, the Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, says he will dedicate himself to the struggle for the creation of Katagum State if elected senator in 2011.

Gamawa, who wants to contest the seat for the Bauchi-North Senatorial District, made the pledge last Saturday in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi.

He said that if elected, he would devote 75 per cent of his time and energy in seeing to the creation of Katagum State.

Gamawa said that he made a lot of consultations on the issue with the speakers of state houses of assembly when he was speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly.

He said that he received encouraging words from the speakers and that many of them promised to support him in achieving the objective.

Borno

Borno State police command said on Sunday that it had arrested 13 suspects in connection to last week’s killings in Maiduguri. 

Suspected Boko Haram militants had killed at least four individuals in separate attacks on Wednesday and Friday in Maiduguri.

But the command Police Public Relations’ Officer Mallam Lawal Abdullahi told newsmen in Maiduguri that 11 suspectswere arrested in connection with the Wednesday’s killing.

“I want to inform you that we have already made a number of arrests in connection with the killings.

Ekiti

A non-governmental organisation, WaterAid Nigeria has constructed 38 boreholes in Ekiti state as part of its efforts to ensure that people have access to safe  water.

The Director of Justice Development Peace Initiative/WaterAid in the state, Rev. Fr. Raphael Aborisade said this at the weekend in Ado-Ekiti during a sensitization programme to mark the World Toilet Day.

Aborisade said the boreholes were constructed mostly in rural communities  in Ikole, Ilejemeje and Ekiti South West local government areas.

FCT

Some applicants who did not meet the height requirement in the FRSC recruitment process were barred from taking part in the written test conducted by the corps in Abuja last Saturday.

Male applicants were required to be up to 1.7 metres while their female counterparts were expected to be up to 1.6 metres.

Those barred from the examination due to their height were seen in groups discussing their fate at the Mogadishu Cantonment, venue of the exercise.

However, reports that as at 11:30 a.m. some 1,800 out of the 5,400 cleared to write the test had done so with others on a long line waiting for their turn.

Kano

Most Food Vendors in Kano have yet to resume business, five days after the Eid-el-Kabir festival.

  A survey conducted by our correspondent in the state capital revealed that the food sellers,many of whom hailed from other states of the federation, are still away,observing their Sallah break.

Our correspondents’ checks at Galadima Road, Audu Bako way,and the Sabon Gari market, found that most of the vendors’ stalls and other platforms remained desolate, due to the absence of the operators.

One  of the  operators, Hajiya Asiya Garba,told newsmen that she could not resume business now because she was still celebrating the Sallah.

Katsina

The Katsina Study Centre of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) on Saturday matriculated 207 students admitted to study various courses at the centre.  

Speaking at the occasion, Dr Kabiru Galadanchi, Manager of the Centre, said that out of the over 1,000 candidates that applied to study at the Centre, only 207 were given admission.

He attributed the situation to the mistakes made by most of the applicants in filling their application forms.

Kogi

A total of 150 students on Saturday matriculated at the Lokoja Study Centre of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) for the 2009/2010 academic session.

The Centre Manager, Mr Theophilus Balogun, who made the disclosure to the newsmen in Lokoja at the 5th matriculation, said that similar ceremony took place simultaneously at the NOUN’s 40 study centres nationwide.

He identified the lack of physical structures and truancy by some facilitators as some of the challenges confronting the study centre.

Balogun urged the Federal Government to expedite action on the ongoing construction work in the centre, noting that lack of structures had forced them to use facilities at the Bishop Delise College.

Kwara

Kwara State Public Complaints Commission says a total of five hundred and seventy – nine (579)complaints werereceived between January and October 2010.

The Acting Durector of Investigation, Mr Caleb Bukoye disclosed this in an interview with newsmen last Sunday in Ilorin.

According to him, during the period the Commission has investigated and successfully resolved 324 complaints.

Bukoye urged members of the public to seize the opportunity provide by the federal government through the service of the Commission in getting their problems and complaints solved.

Niger

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and other related matters (NAPTIP) has said that a 58-year-old father, who allegedly impregnated his 14-year-old daughter is currently being detained.

The 58-year old farmer and the daughter were paraded before journalists on Nov. 15 by Deputy Police Spokesman, DSP Samuel Jinadu in his Ikeja office.

The police said that the man forcefully had canal knowledge of his daughter and has now delivered a  baby girl from the relationship.

Ondo

The Ondo State Government on Saturday reiterated its commitment to sustain its zero tolerance for examination malpractice.

The state’s Commissioner for Education, Dr Pius Osunyikanmi, told newsmen in Akure that the state government had inaugurated an examination and ethics committee to monitor schools that engaged in malpractices.

He also said that disciplinary actions would be taken against any school involved in examination malpractice.

Osunyikanmi said that alreday, four schools had been banned from presenting candidates for public examinations for two years due to the high number of cheats recorded in that school.

Oyo

Some applicants, who turned up for the rescheduled test for recruitment into various positions in the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), on Saturday in Ibadan, have described  the exercise as discouraging. 

Some of the applicants, who would not want to be identified, alleged that they were made to sit on bare floor and write the test on their laps. 

They condemned the inadequate arrangement made by the FRSC authorities for the test, saying that the shoddy arrangement for the test had dashed their hopes on the recruitment exercise. 

Some applicants also alleged that their names were removed from the list of those qualified to write the test after they had scaled through the physical exercise conducted for the recruitment.

Plateau

Dr Mohammed Ali Pati, the Executive Director of Primary Health Care and Development Agency (PHCDA), says polio has reduced from 356,000 cases earlier recorded to below 1,000 in Nigeria. 

Pati disclosed this last Saturday at the Silver Jubilee Investiture of Rotarian Joseph Kigbu, as the new President of Naraguta Rotary Club, Jos.

“With the Government fight against the polio scourge in Nigeria, we have been able to reduce the over 356,000 cases to less than a thousand. 

“Very soon, we shall totally eradicate polio in Nigeria more so that we have other non-governmental organisations such as Rotary and USAID behind us in the fight,” Pati said.