THE STATES

Benue

The price of Dangote Portland Cement in Benue has gone down from N2,600 to N2,250 while Bua Cement has also gone down from N2,700 to N2,250.

The drop in the prices of the product became necessary as a result of the Federal Government’s ultimatum to cement companies to cut down their prices.  Mr Ejike Okafor, a dealer told newsmen that the cost of manufacturing the product was still very high but that companies had opted to cut down their prices in line with government’s order. Okafor said that the cost of transporting the product from the factories to warehouses was still high. Another dealer, Mrs Veronica Nwabueze, blamed the high prices of cement on the high cost of diesel.

“Cement companies use diesel in their production machines and it is also used by the articulated vehicles that transport the product to dealers,” Nwabueze said.  Mr Timothy Gbin, a trader, urged the Federal Government to prevail on the oil companies to cut down the prices of their products.  “If that is done, the cost of producing and transporting the product would be drastically reduced.

FCT

The Muslim Media Watch Group (MMWG), has called on the Federal Government to declare Friday, June 23 and Sunday, June 25 as work-free days for special prayers and fasting. The call was contained in a statement issued on Friday in Abuja and signed by Alhaji Ibrahim Abdullahi, the Co-ordinator of the group. The statement described Thursday’s bomb blast at the Force Headquarters as unacceptable, saying the work-free days would enable Muslims and Christians to pray, to avert such incident in the country in future.

It said that the security challenges of the nation were beyond what government and security agencies alone could cope with and that there was a need for prayers to deliver the country from evil doers.

The statement urged the government to go beyond its security agencies and seek assistance from foreign security experts who could provide clues in addressing the challenges. “Since it is now clear that the security challenges of this nation are beyond what the government and the security agencies can cope with, let us go back to our creator to deliver us from evil-doers by changing their minds. “Government needs to go deeper into our security problems by not only replying on our nation’s security agencies but conduct its own investigation by the help of foreign-based experts,’’ it said.

Kano

Some women in Kano have called on Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso to appoint more women into his cabinet.

Hajiya Uwani Bako, a politician in Kano noted that only one woman made the list of 12 commissioners the Governor submitted to the State House of Assembly for approval.

She said that the appointment of one woman was against the governor’s promise to women during his campaign.

Malama Hauwa Usman, a housewife, also expressed concern over the appointment. She urged the Governor to appoint more women for gender balance. PDP’s women leader, Hajiya Umma Garba, who commended the Governor for appointing a worthy woman into the cabinet, urged him to appoint more.

Speaking with newsmen in Kano, Garba reminded the Governor about his promise to take the issue of women empowerment seriously.

Kaduna

The Kaduna State Government on Friday said it would soon commence the payment of the N18,000 minimum wage to its workers. Briefing newsmen to mark the beginning of this year’s Civil Service Week in the state, the Head of Service, Mrs Hannatu Ugah, said the State Government was waiting for the release of guidelines for the implementation of the new salary. Ugah said the State Government had taken proactive measures to boost its internal revenue base. She said the government had also taken measures to improve the living condition of its workers, adding, “we have given workers welfare a top priority.

“The State Government did not shy away from implementing the previous salary structures and will still not shy away from implementing the minimum wage once the guideline is available to government,” she added.

The Head of Service said the State Government had so far invested N900 million into the staff micro-credit loan scheme, which would be available to all categories of workers.  “The scheme has disbursed loans to 4, 570 workers to the tune of N1.430 billion as well as distributed 400 units of laptops to workers at a subsidised rate.’’

To enable workers own houses, Ugah said the State Government had in collaboration with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria, built and allocated 165 housing units to serving civil servants on ownership basis.

She disclosed that an additional batch of 1,500 housing units were under construction at Kaduna New City Layout, Zaria and Kafanchan.

Kwara

The Code of Conduct Bureau has directed new political office holders in Kwara to submit their assets declaration forms within 30 days to avoid prosecution.

The state Director of the Bureau, Mr Joseph Olajide Adeoye, told newsmen in Ilorin on Saturday that political office holders must respect the law on asset declaration in their own interest.

According to him, a special committee from the bureau’s headquarters in Abuja is expected in Ilorin between July 5 and July 8 to verify assets declared by such persons.

The director said the committee would screen every asset declared to ascertain the authenticity of the documents.

He stated that many defaulters in Kwara were currently being tried by the agency and more than150 staff of Kwara State Polytechnic had been prosecuted at the tribunal.

“Political office holders and other public officers are cooperating with us. It was only Kwara State Polytechnic lecturers that were dragged before the tribunal three years ago for failing to declare their assets.

“They were subsequently fined N4.8 million after being found guilty with each of them paying the sum of N30, 000,” he said.

Lagos

The Ikeja Electricity Distribution Zone of PHCN says more than N120 million has been spent to repair the burnt injector sub-station at Maryland, Lagos.

Mr Chris Akamnonu, Chief Executive Officer of the zone, disclosed this to newsmen after the inspection of the burnt transmission sub-station in Maryland. The sub-station was on Tuesday gutted by fire.

Akamnonu, however, assured affected customers that power would be restored back fully on Monday with the replacement of the burnt equipment.

He also said the zone would commence test run on Saturday and Sunday to confirm the effectiveness of the equipment. To guard against a recurrence, he said PHCN management had constituted a six-man panel to look into the incessant burning of the sub-station.

Oyo

The Transition Monitoring Group (TMG) has condemned the spate of bombings in the country, describing it as “a great tsunami capable of threatening the foundation of the country.’’ A statement signed by the National Chairman, Mr Moshood Erubami, in Ibadan on Sunday stated that the bombings were gradually becoming the official means of expressing dissent “which is dangerously assuming an intolerable dimension’’.

It noted that the act must be condemned by all peace-loving Nigerians, pleading with law abiding citizens to resist the temptation of using bombs to ventilate their grievances on innocent co-Nigerians.

The statement added that “the bombings in Abuja and Maiduguri, which claimed innocent lives, is a big challenge to the intelligence gathering capacity of the country’s security agencies’’.

The group expressed regret over the ease with which crimes of bombing and kidnapping were committed in the face of unwholesome excuses from agencies saddled with the responsibility to safeguard the citizenry.

Plateau

Monsignor Cletus Gotan, the Parish Priest of Church of Immaculate Conception, Zaramangada, Jos, has advised parishioners to be the policemen and women  of their lives by being security conscious.

Gotan told the congregation during Sunday mass that “security is the collective responsibility  of all and everybody must play his or her part.

“Don’t leave your lives in the hands of accredited security agents alone; do what you can  do on your own to remain alive. “If you see somebody you don’t know around you, feel free to ask who that person is.

If you are not comfortable with the person’s response, raise an alarm.’’ The priest also told the parishioners to always be conscious of cars parked around their vicinities,  as well as bags dropped around them, saying such were the things used by people who  planted bombs.

The church had acquired security gadgets which it uses to screen members before  letting them in.

Sokoto

The Federal Ministry of Environment has commenced a training programme for 240 refrigeration and air conditioning practitioners in Sokoto State.

The workshop is being sponsored by the United Nation Development Programme. A UNDP consultant, Alhaji Sikiru Rufaí, told newsmen in Sokoto on Saturday that the workshop was to sensitise participants on the need to protect the ozone layer. “ This is to reduce the emission of ultra violet rays which negatively affects the environment and leads to an array of consequences,’’ Rufaí added. “The environment needed to be protected from danger and by so doing, protecting the living organisms against danger,’’ Rufaí, said.

He said some of the negative consequences of ozone layer depletion included desertification, flooding, as well as ailments like trachoma.

Taraba

Alhaji Abdullahi Gambo, a reporter with Taraba State Broadcasting Service (TSBS), has emerged the winner of the chairmanship election of the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ), Taraba State Council. Declaring the results on Saturday in Jalingo, the NUJ Deputy National Secretary, Mr Gbenga Bamidele, said Gambo polled 80 votes to defeat his only challenger, Mr Kefas Sule of the NTA, who polled 72 votes.

In his acceptance speech, Gambo, who said his victory was from God, added that he could even lay down his life to ensure that the past glory of NUJ in Taraba was restored.

He said “I am ready to do anything humanly possibly even if it means laying down my life to ensure that the past glory of the NUJ in Taraba is restored.’’

He urged Sule and his supporters to join hands with him to take Taraba NUJ to greater hights.