Adamawa

No fewer than 23 Fadama User Groups in Adamawa need at least 35,300 fingerlings to boost their activities.

The Communication Officer of the State Fadama Office, Malam Dalhatu Girei, disclosed this to newsmen in Yola.

Girei said that three of the 20 groups had been supported with 6,000 fingerlings and other inputs.

He said that the office had finalised arrangements to assist the remaining 20 groups with fingerlings.

According to him, the 23 registered groups have been exposed to various enterprises in fishery related activities in the state.

Bauchi

Implementers of the National Fadama Programme in the country have been urged to re-enforce the use of communication to achieve its goals.

The Regional Head, National Food Reserve Agency (NAFRA), North-East Zone, Mr Daniel Kakwi, made the call in a paper presented in Bauchi at the National Communication Officers Review Meeting of the programme.

He stressed that the use of communication in achieving the objectives of the programme was necessary in view of the role of the media in mobilising the grassroots toward the success of the programme.

Kakwi commended the implementers for introducing community radio programme in their activities, saying that it would go a long way in enhancing the accomplishment of the objectives of fadama.

Ekiti

The new Chairman of the Ekiti State branch of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Mr Julius Jegede, has warned members of the union against engaging in violence.

Jegede issued the warning in Ado-Ekiti last Wednesday during the inauguration of the new state executive of the union.

Jegede succeeds Chief Omolafe Aderiye, who resigned from office in November, last year, following a protracted intra-union crisis.

The chairman described members of the new executive as men of integrity, who should be seen as agents of peace and stability.

FCT

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Prof. Sheikh Abdallah, has canvassed for more funding to boost the agriculture sector.

Abdallah made the call while defending the ministry’s N63.5 billion budgetary proposal before the Senate Committee on Agriculture.

He said the Maputo Declaration had stated that 10 per cent of Gross Domestic Product be devoted to the sector, adding that the country needed more than that amount to realise the Vision 2020:20 objectives.

Jigawa

The Jigawa government said last Thursday that a total of 891,149 children were immunised in the state against measles in January.

The State Immunisation Officer, Alhaji Hassan Kwalam, made this known in an interview with newsmen  in Dutse.

Kwalam said that 900,000 children were vaccinated during the exercise out of the target of 1,150,016 children to be immunised against polio.

He noted that the rejection of immunisation had reduced drastically, saying that traditional rulers and religious leaders had been mobilising the people to accept vaccines for the good of their wards.

Kaduna

The National Population Commission (NPC) in Kaduna has urged people in the state to register births, deaths and still-births.

The state Director of the commission, Alhaji Ibrahim Riruwai, told newsmen in Kaduna that the registration would help in the planning and execution of projects.

“The registration would assist the government to prepare its plans in health, education and other sectors of the economy in the country,” he said.

Kano

The incidence of Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF) has reduced in the North-West Zone of Nigeria due to increased awareness, according to Dr Yalwa Usman, Coordinator for Reproductive Health of the Post-Abortion Care Network(PAC –NET),

Speaking with, newsmen  Usman said that the rate of the infection had drastically reduced when compared to the early 80s and 90s, when it was high in the area, although she did not produce figures to back up her claim.

The states comprising the zone are Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Kebbi, Jigawa and Katsina.

“Remembering those years we spent at the Murtala Muhammed Specialist Hospital, Kano in the late 80s and the early 90s treating victims of the disease, I can say the situation has improved.

Katsina

Alhaji Sule Kuki, the Executive Chairman, Katsina State Universal Education Board, says a total of 8,000 primary school teachers are to benefit from the 2010 promotion exercise.

Kuki, who said this in an interview with newsmen  in Katsina, explained that the processing of the 2010 promotion had been completed.

He added that the list of deserving primary school teachers to be promoted would be released next month.

According to him, the promotion arrears for the deserving teachers are being processed to ensure that they are paid on time.

Lagos

Stakeholders in the aviation industry in Lagos have  urged airlines operating in the country to enforce the 100, 000 dollars insurance compensation for victims of air mishaps.

Speaking at a sensitisation seminar on aviation insurance for stakeholders, they noted that the compensation was stipulated in Chapter 111 of the schedule to Civil Aviation Act of 2006.

The stakeholders said the Montreal Convention of 1999, which specified a liability limit of 100,000 dollars, superseded the Warsaw Convention of 1929 which stipulated a compensation of 10, 000 dollars.

Ondo

The Ondo State Government has declared that its 2011 budget would focus more on completion of all on-going projects.

Addressing a news conference, the Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Akin Adaramola, said this was to consolidate on the gains already achieved by the state government.

He said the budget of N143.5 billion, made up of N58.190billion current and N85.190 billion capital expenditure, was packaged for the delivery of required services to the citizenry.

Oyo

A multimillion naira jatropha processing plant for producing bio-diesel is to be established by a private investor in Oyo State this year, according to The Tide’s source.

The State Chairman of Jatropha Productivity Stakeholders Association of Nigeria (JAPSAN), Mr Kayode Adebiyi, said this in Ibadan in an interview with the source.

He said the plant would be set up by Simrad Bio-energy Limited which was collaborating with jatropha farmers in the South -West region.

Plateau

The National Council for Women Society (NCWS) has advocated more roles for women in governance “because they were better managers of human and material resources’’.

The NCWS Chairperson in Plateau, Hajiya Ramatu Umar, made the call at the PDP Presidential Campaign Rally in Jos last Thursday.

She said “women deserve a greater role in governance. We are ready for change and we believe that it is only the Jonathan/Sambo ticket that will make that possible.’’

Sokoto

Alhaji Arzika Tureta, Director-General of Wamakko/Shagari Campaign Committeesays, the body has perfected measures to win all elective positions in the April elections.

He told newsmen in Sokoto that the electorate would vote massively for all PDP candidates, including Governor Aliyu Wamakko in April.

Tureta said Wamakko’s administration had succeeded in formulating policies and programmes that had been improving the lots of the governed.

Tureta, who is the state Commissioner for Education, said “we never had it so good until the coming of Wamakko because people-oriented policies were implemented in our state”.

Taraba

The Federal Government has signed the contract for the construction of Mambilla Dam in Sardauna Local Government of Taraba.

President Goodluck Jonathan announced this in Jalingo at the launch of the PDP presidential campaign in Taraba.

He said the signing of the contract was in line with his administration’s desire to solve the country’s problem of water and power.

Zamfara

The Zurmi Local Government Council in Zamfara has suspended three village heads for alleged involvement in partisan politics.

This was announced in a statement signed by the Secretary to the council, Alhaji Aliyu Magaji in Zurmi on Thursday.

The statement named the village heads as Alhaji Isah Dankane of Dutsi, Alhaji Magaji Mande, Maizuma and Alhaji Hashimu, Gidan-kayya.