Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
No fewer than 13 families in Shuwa District in the Madagali Local Government Area of Adamawa, have been displaced by flood, the Sole Administrator of the Development AreaAlhaji Suleiman Duhu has said.
Duhu told the newsmen that several hectares of farmlands had also been destroyed by floods in Mayo-Wandi and Kirchinga Villages, following a heavy down pour last Thursday.
He said that the rain which lasted for about six hours caused the Kwasagama River to burst its banks, submerging houses and farmlands.
Duhu said that the flood destroyed maize, millet and sorghum plantations and washed away part of the Shuwa-Kwirchinga-Tzuyal access road.
He said that most of the displaced families are now residing with their relatives in the area.
The sole administrator said that the development area would monitor the villages, to ascertain.
Bauchi
Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State last Friday swore in 16 commissioners and 20 advisers as members of the state executive council.
The immediate past Speaker of Bauchi State House of Assembly, Alhaji Abubakar Faggo, who lost his bid to return to the House in the April general elections, was among the new cabinet members.
Yugudaalso swore in 19 Local Government Caretaker Chairmen, while the 20th person was absent on health ground.
Shortly after the appointees took the oath of office, the governor said that the commissioners and advisers were chosen on merit.
He said that the cabinet members were personally selected by him unlike in the last dispensation when most of the former commissioners and advisers were imposed on him by his political associates.
Ile-Ife
The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu has said that ObafemiAwolowo University Teaching Hospital Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife, Osun, would soon perform open heart surgery.
Chukwu made the statement during an assessment visit to the hospital preparatory to the inauguration of the Federal Government/VAMED projects in the institution.
The minister said the medical team for the surgery had been trained and nearly all the equipment needed installed.
He also said that DNA analysis could be done by both the OAUTHC and the University of Benin Teaching Hospital and called on Nigerians to make effective use of the facilities instead of going overseas for medical treatment.
Taraba
The PDP in Taraba has called on residents of the state to show understanding on the delay in filling up the ministerial slot meant for the state.
The Chairman of the party in the state, Dr Abdulmumini Vaki, made the call in an interview with a correspondent on Saturday in Jalingo.
Vaki assured that the state would eventually get its slot.
People of the state through their representatives, unanimously rejected the nomination of the immediate former Minister of Water Resources, Mr Obadia Ando, by President Goodluck Jonathan.
Vaki gave an assurance that Gov. Danbaba Suntai and Jonathan were committed to appointing an acceptable person to replace Ando.
The party chairman also debunked rumours making the rounds that plans were on to impeach the state’s Deputy Governor, Alhaji Sani Danladi.
“It is baseless. Mind you, the PDP and the state’s assembly are one family.
Jos
Sen. Gyang Dantong has advised Nigerian leaders to emulate Britain’s handling of the London protests to rid the nation of incessant violence.
“Insecurity and crises are worldwide, but what matters is the way we handle such situations,’’ Dantong told newsmen in Jos on Sunday.
“The perpetrators of the London violence have been arrested, tried and sent to prison, unlike in Nigeria where those arrested were usually freed.
“If anyone had said that London will be insecure today, no one would have agreed, but that is the reality.
“So, you can see that the handling of the violence is the difference; In London, hundreds have been arrested, charged to court and jailed; The rioters have been taken off the streets and away from the society.
Kaduna
A cleric of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, (RCCG) Revelation Sanctuary, Barnawa, Kaduna Pastor Chucks Godswill on Sunday urged Nigerian leaders to reposition themselves for selfless service.
Godswill said this while delivering a sermon entitled “Reposition Yourself”, stressing that it aimed at encouraging Nigerians on what seemed hopeless in the nation.
The cleric said that if the leaders repositioned themselves for selfless service, there would be a better Nigeria.
He urged leaders at all levels to work according to what they were called for, stressing that “selfless service
is the only motto to moving the nation forward.’’
Katsina
A 19-year old man, Aminu Usman, was on Friday found dead and hanged on an iron bar in front of the residence of one Alhaji Adis’s in Sha’iskawa quarters in Katsina metropolis.
An eyewitness said that the body of Usman was discovered shortly after the Muslim morning prayers.
The witness said residents of the area were confused as they never heard sounds of struggling from the deceased before his death.
The deceased had taken his pre-dawn meal (Sahur) and washed two sets of clothes few minutes before he was found dead.
The deceased, said to be a secondary school leaver, was described as ‘ ‘quiet’’ and never seen engaged in a fight with anyone.
Kebbi
The coordinator of the Kebbi office of the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Alhaji Yahaya Fanna, has alerted the public of the sale of sub-standard tyres and other products in the state.
Fanna, who visited the Director of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) in the state,Alhaji Umar Babuga, in Birnin Kebbi, cautioned the public on the purchase of sub-standard products, especially for domestic use.
He solicited the support of the NOA in enlightening the public to be wary of the products they purchased.
He said in addition to sub-standard tyres, torch lights and electric cables were among the sub-standard products sold in the markets.
Lagos
Pastor Enoch Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, has said that 80 babies have been delivered since the 59th Annual Convention of the church began on Monday.
Adeboye, who made the announcement at the Redemption Camp on Saturday, said 37 of the babies were boys while 42 were girls.
The pastor, who expressed happiness over the development, said “the boys are catching up with the girls’’.
Delivering a sermon titled “The seven categories of progress,” the clergyman urged Nigerians to imbibe the virtues of Jesus Christ by submitting to Him.
Maiduguri
Hajiya Nana Shettima, the wife of the Borno State Governor, on Saturday presented food items to members of the Muslim Widows and Orphans Association in Maiduguri.
She donated several bags of rice and sugar.
Speaking at the event, Shettima pointed out that the gesture was in fulfilment of Islamic teachings of assisting the needy, particularly during the Ramadan.
“As a woman I always feel touched when I remember the pains the less-privilege go through trying to get food in the current harsh economic situation in the country.
“I decided to make the presentation during the month because Ramadan is a period of sober reflection, repentance and charity.”
Shettima urged widows and those who were yet to be members of the association to register so they could be eligible to benefit from government’s assistance to the group.
Minna
Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger last Saturday pledged to sustain the state’s polio-free status for the next 10 years.
Speaking during a one-day sensitisation campaign against polio at the palace of the Emir of Minna, Aliyu said the state would strengthen its primary healthcare system to take proactive action on polio eradication and other routine immunisation.
“We must sustain the efforts of the past two years of a zero polio state and ensure that we achieve the total eradication of polio among our citizenry”, he said.
He called on stakeholders to continue to support the effort to sustain the gains already recorded in the fight against polio and sustain the momentum for the next 10 years.
Osogbo
Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun on Friday assumed the portfolio of Commissioner for Works in the state cabinet, while his Deputy Mrs Titi Laoye-Tomori, took charge of the Ministry of Education.
The governor announced the appointments during the inauguration of a 14-member cabinet in Osogbo.
He urged his colleague commissioners in other ministries to perform their duties well.
Aregbesolaurged the Commissioners to draw inspiration from the late Chief obafemi Awolowo, the Premier of the defunct Western Region, who belived that his cabinet was one that “any head of government in the world will be proud of”.
Quoting Awolowo, the governor said his team was “a well knit, highly disciplined and fanctically loyal team”.
Yola
The Adamawa Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (ADCCIMA) has declared that Savannah Sugar Company, a subsidiary of Dangote Group, has no case to answer in the compensation dispute between the sugar company and its host community.
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.