Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
The Adamawa State Forestry Department has raised and sold about 5,000 tree seedlings to communities in the area in the last three months.
Mr Zakari Philip, the Zonal Forestry Officer in charge of the Mubi North Local Government Council, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Mubi on Monday.
Philip said that the seedlings included Eucalyptus, Albezia-lebbeck, Khaya Senegalesis,Azadirachita indica, cashew, guava, mango and tectons grandis.
He added that the tree seedlings project was being run in collaboration with the Federal Government.
“We are targeting about 200,000 tree seedlings under the supervision of a Federal Government’s forestry expert.’’
The officer said that the Forestry Department had embarked on a sensitisation campaign to educate the communities about the dangers of tree felling and the need to plant more trees.
Ekiti
The Ekiti State Police Command yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, paraded three suspects for their alleged involvement in the killing of Police Constable Olufowobi Olusegun during a robbery incident.
The trio allegedly killed the police officer during a robbery operation on July 20, at about 9 p.m. at the residence of the deceased at Moferere in Ado-Ekiti.
The suspects, one of them a medical student aged 24, allegedly committed the murder along with with two other suspects; aged 27 and 24.
A 22-year- old pre-degree female student, suspected to be a girl friend of one them had been detained for allegedly running errands for the suspects.
One the suspects is presently in coma at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital (OAUTH), Ile Ife, for gunshot injuries received during the robbery.
Jos
People who engage in self-medication are at the risk of delayed diagnosis and treatment when they take ill, a pharmacist has noted.
Rotkang Dimka told newsmen in Jos that such people risk prolong and ailments like cancer and diabetes which, when diagnosed early, could be treated or managed.
Self-medication is the act of obtaining and consuming drugs without diagnosis or prescription from a doctor.
“Once some people have symptoms similar to ailments they experience in the past, they just make references to previous prescriptions without going to health centres or hospitals for proper diagnosis”.
“Most of them feel they already know the treatment that will be given to them at the hospital and just go ahead to treat themselves without recommendations by qualified medical personnel.
Kano
The Kano Government is to reward the best local government in environmental cleanliness.
Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, the Deputy Governor, who disclosed this at a meeting with stakeholders in the environment sector, said this was necessary to improve the state of sanitation in the state.
He said that a trophy, to be competed for by all the eight local government areas, would be dedicated as the reward.
Ganduje said the initiative was informed by the state government’s commitment to effective observance of environmental sanitation by the people of the state.
He said that the state government had reintroduced the monthly environmental sanitation beginning from the end of last month.
He said that the government would ensure the success of the exercise in the state capital and in all the 44 local government areas of the state.
Kebbi
Sheikh Ismaila Gotomo, an Islamic scholar in Kebbi, was advised Muslims to embrace Islamic banking as approved by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Gotomo gave the advice in Birnin Kebbi while addressing the annual Pre-Ramadan lecture, organised by the state branch of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN).
He said that the non-profit banking system would provide expanded economic activities for investors and improve the nation’s economy, devoid of ethnic or religious differences.
Gotomo said that Islamic banking had been in operation for many years in some western countries, and that such countries had not been Islamised.
Kwara
The Kwara Government has called on the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) to join hands with it to ensure the success of the recently introduced Bridge Empowerment Scheme designed to reduce unemployment.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Sola Gold, made the call on Monday, in Ilorin, while receiving the executive and members of the state chapter of the council.
The scheme was geared toward creating employment opportunities for youths, he said, urging the NYCN to educate its members to embrace the scheme.
On the recently concluded National Sports Festival in Rivers, the SSG commended the council for its support and assistance to Team Kwara.
Nasarawa
TALLAFI Foundation, a pet project of the wife of the Nasarawa State Governor, Hajia Mairo Almakura, has donated food items to Quranic school pupils to curb street begging among them.
Hajia Almakura, who donated the food items to four of such schools in Nasarawa and Keffi local government areas, said the gesture was aimed at ameliorating the plight of the Almajiris to keep them off the street.
“What I am doing today is to see how to keep these children off the street by providing them with food since I learnt from their teachers that they basically go out to beg for food”.
I also want to see how we can come in to incorporate formal western education into the system,” she said.
Niger
Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State has said that governors are committed to paying the new minimum wage after the grey areas must have been be clarified.
Aliyu stated this while interacting with journalists shortly after attending a Speech and Prize giving Day ceremony at the Nigerian Military School (NMS), Zaria, Kaduna State.
“Nobody can run away from the payment of the minimum wage; all of us agreed to find ways to pay; I think we are now working on the ways”.
“These ways include resources and logistics. You must work out details on the payment. Again, you have to work out logistics”.
Ondo
An Okitipupa Magistrate’s Court has granted bail to Ebenezer Oke, 20, and Sunday Oyetakin , 23, both accused of conspiracy, stealing and receiving stolen property.
The Prosecutor, Mr. Zechariah Orogbemi, alleged that the accused who were granted bail in the sum of N500,000 each, committed the offences on July 8, at about 7:40 am in Igbokoda in Ondo state.
Orogbemi alleged that Oke stole N150,000 kept in a bag belonging to Mrs Abeni Ekudehinwa of Ajere Mobile Junction in Igbokoda.
“After stealing the money, at about 1:pm, Oke gave N10, 000 out of the stolen property to Sunday,” he alleged.
Osogbo
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has sponsored no fewer than 1,000 officers and men of the corps to various colleges for arms training.
Dr Ade Abolurin, the Commandant – General of the organisation, disclosed this yesterday at a workshop organised for the local government officials in Osogbo.
Abolurin urged all Nigerians to consider security issue as a collective responsibility and contribute their quota to the task of making the country safe, stressing that security agencies could not do it all alone.
“Every intelligence gathering revolves around the information supplied by the people. It is the information that the security personnel act upon for crime prevention.”
Sokoto
The Federal Government has reimbursed Sokoto State Government to the tune of about N1.27 billion for the construction of a 74-kilometre Sokoto –Illela federal road.
Alhaji Bashir Kankiya, the Federal Controller of Works in the state, announced this in an interview in Sokoto.
“Actually, the road is about 84 kilometres but the defunct PTF had rehabilitated 10 kilometres out of it while the state government awarded the contract for the construction of the remaining part of the road; the cost of the contract awarded was about N1.995 billion.’’
According to Kankiya , the contractor has completed 74 per cent of the road, amounting to about N1.5 billion .
Taraba
The Nigerian Red Cross in Taraba, has distributed relief materials worth thousands of Naira to victims of Kona and Mumuye ethnic clashes.
The clashes which occurred near Jalingo on July 10, claimed about 10 lives.
The relief materials included blankets, pots, mattresses and food items, which were distributed to Kaudad, Minda, Sambe, Jauro Shawo, Jauro and Awai villages.
Presenting the materials to the victims on Tuesday in Jalingo, the State Chairman of the Red Cross, Alhaji Hassan Abubakar, condemned the incident and prayed that such should never happen again.
A professor of English linguistics at the Rivers State University (RSU) Nkpolu Oroworukwu Port Harcourt, Prof. Isaac Enyi Ngulube, has advocated for better and improved funding for language centres in Nigeria, such as NINLAN Aba and Nigeria French Language Village, Badagry, for optimum value and effective local languages development.
He also called for funded research on the development of orthographies and language documents across the country to rescue local languages from extinction, as well as having a well-planned and implemented mother tongue education in all institutions in the country, from primary to tertiary.
Prof. Ngulube made with these assertions while presenting his inaugural lecture at the university’s 121st inaugural lecture with the topic “The Career of Rough Beats: Language, Literature and the Development of our Common Humanity” held in Port Harcourt, Wednesday.
The erudite scholar, in the lecture, stressed that the study of English language, linguistics, and literature is very broad, large, and difficult, adding that he overcame the rough roads through resilience and determination.
He described language as “a purely human and non-instinctive means of communicating ideas and emotions,” noting that “the word is a fundamental need in language; you cannot study language without the use of language.”
He urged parents to be cautious with their utterances, warning that “what they refer to their children as is what they will automatically end up becoming.”
He recommended a branded English language for every profession or course of study, stressing that embedding oral literature in the teaching of students from primary to tertiary level will enable them to know their traditions and roots of origin.
“Tell them the folk stories and moonlight tales; you are sending them back to their people. You must be a human being first before becoming a medical doctor, engineer, or anything else,” Ngulube said.
He also called for better and improved production of quality language and literature teachers, provision of modern teaching/instructional materials, improved welfare packages for teachers, and provision of better infrastructure at both primary and secondary school levels.
He used the opportunity to appreciate the Vice Chancellor for the approval of the Department of English Language and Literature, adding that it had been his long-held dream for the university.
In his speech, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, while highlighting the lecture, opined that the lecturer x-rayed the lecturer’s journey into the study of English language, linguistics, and literature, describing the field as broad, large, and difficult, but with determination and focus, he was able to defeat the beasts he encountered on his way.
Zeb-Obipi agreed with the lecturer’s recommendations on ways to improve indigenous languages in the country and directed that modalities be worked out for the university to have the Department of English Language and Literature, among others.
He highlighted RSU’s recent victory in the Bilingual Community Project organized by the French Embassy, describing it as proof of the university’s rising excellence in language studies.
The Federal Government through the implementation of the various projects of the Ogoni cleanup programme is demonstrating a strong commitment to national peace and the development of Ogoniland.
The Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP), Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, who made this assertion at a two-day training on Mechanism for Alternative Dispute Resolution(ADR) and other Peacebuilding Techniques for Community Leaders In Ogoni, held in Port Harcourt, said through the ongoing environmental restoration effort, potable water provision, livelihood restoration, public health interventions, and the Ogoni Power Project, HYPREP is contributing to national peace and development.
He explained that by improving the living conditions in communities and creating new opportunities for young people, the Project is also reducing the social pressure that often fuels conflict, stressing that the Project is proud of this service to the Ogoni people and the nation.
Describing traditional leaders and stakeholders as peacebuilders and guardians of community harmony, Zabbey noted that the workshop would strengthen their capacities and reinforce the Ogoni dialogue process, which HYPREP continues to support in line with its mandate on peacebuilding.
He said HYPREP is actively promoting ADR alongside other mechanisms across its project sites and other areas of operation aimed at fostering unity, fairness, mutual respect and faster dispute resolution, stressing that these are qualities necessary for the future of Ogoni people and their communities.
He further indicated that the Minister of Environment and Chairman of HYPREP’s Governing Council, Malam Balarabe Abbas Lawal is disposed to promoting peace and stability across Ogoni communities and HYPREP project sites.
The Project Coordinator, therefore, charged Ogoni leaders to be mindful of their actions, words and body language, as what they say or do can either promote peace or fan the embers of conflict.
Continuing, he stated thus,”We must always ask ourselves: Is my position on this matter in the people’s interest? Does it promote unity and progress? Will it enhance development?”
The Project Coordinator assured the participants that HYPREP is working tirelessly in line with the directive of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda for the accelerated implementation of the Ogoni cleanup programme and ensure that its benefits reach the grassroots where they are needed most.
Stressing the need for Ogoni leaders and stakeholders to explore communication and trust options to prevent disputes from degenerating into violence, the Project Coordinator noted that it was time for all Ogonis to be united for development, leaving behind perceptions that do not serve collective progress.
Similarly, the Director of the Centre for Peace and Security Studies of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof Chioma Daisy Onyige, said the workshop is a strategic platform aimed at strengthening the capacity of traditional institutions and community leaders to sustain peace, foster dialogue and promote non-adversarial engagements in the implementation of the Ogoni cleanup programme.
Prof Onyige noted that the Ogoni leadership structure commands deep respect and legitimacy, and strengthening their capacity in ADR methods such as mediation, negotiation, dialogue, facilitation, and consensus building means strengthening the foundation of peace in the region.
Participants, comprising traditional rulers and key stakeholders in Ogoni, commended HYPREP for the initiative, and assured it of their continuous support to the Project by providing an enabling atmosphere for the smooth implementation of the cleanup project in Ogoniland.
Resource persons who presented thought-provoking lectures at the workshop included the Dean of the Faculty of Postgraduate Studies of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof Kinikanwo Anele; Prof Olariwanju Lawal; Prof Chioma Daisy Onyige; and Dr Gbenemene Kpae; among others.
With significant achievements recorded across thematic areas of the Ogoni cleanup programme being executed by the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), the Project Coordinator of the Project, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, has said that all these are enabling pathways to the development of Ogoniland.
This is coming on the heels of milestone achievements in the following areas and their impact on Ogoni communities. They are mangrove restoration which is 94 percent complete; shoreline remediation which stands at 67.1 percent; and the phase 2 land remediation progressing to 36.55 percent.
Moreso, HYPREP has constructed 14 water facilities, providing potable water to 40 communities. With the commissioning of the water schemes in Bane and Gwara communities, the number of communities with access to clean and safe drinking water will be 45. The process of operationalising the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration (CEER) which is at 92 percent complete, is ongoing. The same for the Ogoni Power Project which is progressing with wayleave compensation and construction works at Bodo and Wiiyaakaara substations ongoing
Similarly, the Ogoni Specialist Hospital and Buan Cottage Hospital are at 76.8 percent and 98.7 percent respectively.
This is alongside other public health interventions and the Human BioMonitoring Survey also in progress.
Under the livelihood
programme, over 7,000 direct jobs have been created for Ogoni women and youths, while over 5,000 have been trained in multiple skills and provided start-up kits, workshops, education grants, scholarships and other empowerment programmes. This quarter, training will commence in other demand-driven skill areas, such as cybersecurity, full-stack development, mud logging, software development, commercial diving, and underwater welding.
Zabbey had reeled out these achievements, during the third quarter interactive session between the Project Coordination Office engagement with Ogoni youths in Port Harcourt on Friday, in line with HYPREP’s strategic stakeholders policy to provide an interface opportunity to abreast Ogoni youths on the Project’s activities, while garnering their feedback.
Zabbey noted that, “This
quarterly engagement was,therefore, designed as an inclusive strategy to ensure that youth voices are heard, concerns are addressed, and progress updates are provided transparently. Also, it reflects our firm belief that a project of this magnitude must be people-centred, accountable, and participatory”.
” I am delighted to inform you that the Project remains on course to achieve its mandate as outlined in the UNEP Report on the Ogoni environment and the official gazette establishing HYPREP. HYPREP is committed to transparency and accountability in the implementation of the cleanup projects and activities”, he said.
He stressed that HYPREP’s achievements are pathways to a better Ogoniland, assuring that the Project’s goals are aimed at benefiting all categories of Ogoni youths, whether in business, farming, advocacy, education, entrepreneurship or community development.
”This Project belongs to all of you, and its success depends mainly on your participation, unity and constructive engagement. And with your support, we are confident that all challenges will be addressed in the overall public interest,” Zabbey said.
The Project Coordinator urged Ogoni youths to continue to support the Project by promoting peace, discouraging misinformation, and collaborating with project teams working in the communities, and address challenges through dialogue, rather than confrontation.
Prof Dinebari Badey, a Professor of Development Sociology in the University of Port Harcourt, delivered the keynote address, linking the nexus between HYPREP and youths in the development of Ogoniland through unity of purpose while Engr Solomon Akere, gave a talk on Ogoni youths in business.
Participants raised questions concerning the maintenance of the water projects, remediation efforts, and compensation for the Right of Way (RoW), among others.
In attendance were management staff of HYPREP who provided responses to the interventions.