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.
Senator representing Kogi Central Senatorial District in the National Assembly, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has commended the efforts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) to apprehend and prosecute the immediate past governors of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, over an alleged N80.2 billion fraud.
This is just as she also hailed the EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, for ceding 14 properties that were initially forfeited to the federal government to the government and people of Enugu State.
Reacting to Bello’s excuse for not honouring the EFCC’s invitation, the lawmaker emphasized the need for the commission to investigate other corrupt public officials to avoid the impression that their actions against former governor were meant to witch hunt him.
In a now-viral video, the EFCC chairman had claimed Belloh told him that a female senator (name withheld) allegedly gathered journalists to humiliate him anytime he was at the agency’s Abuja office for interrogation.
“I called Yahaya Bello, as a serving governor, to come to my office to clear himself. I shouldn’t have done that. But he said because a certain senator had planted over 100 journalists in my office, he would not come.
“I told him that he would be allowed to use my private gate to give him a cover, but he said my men should come to his village to interrogate him,” Olukoyede was quoted as saying.
But Senator Natasha in a statement signed by her Chief Press Secretary, Arogbonlo Israel and issued at the weekend in Abuja, reminded Yahaya Bello of the importance of respecting Nigeria’s laws and constitution, given his former position as the chief security officer of Kogi.
“I was surprised to hear that Yahaya Bello evaded the invitation from the EFCC, despite having served as Kogi’s former chief security officer. As a former governor, he should understand the importance of respecting Nigeria’s laws and constitution.
“It’s a well-known fact that ‘he who comes into equity must come with clean hands’. As such, I advise him to honour the invitation and clear his name while he still has the chance.
“I’d also like to take this moment to appreciate the diligence of the EFCC in handling the case so far. No Nigerian is above the law, and therefore the agency must see this case through to the end if they are to gain the trust of both Nigerians and the international community in the fight against corruption,” she said.
Worried over the latest depreciation of the Naira against major foreign currencies, the Senate through its Committee on Finance, has stated that the Legislature is exploring a range of policy options to mitigate the impact of Naira depreciation and foster economic stability in the country.
These, according to the committee, in a statement signed by its chairman, Senator Sani Musa (APC Niger East) and released yesterday, includes robust oversight of fiscal policies, engagement with key stakeholders, and the formulation of targeted interventions to support key sectors of the economy.
Senator Musa said the statement became necessary “to address the current state of the economy and the need for concerted efforts at tackling the instability and continuous depreciation of the Naira.”
This is even as he hoped that the “economic managers will adhere strictly to the norms and standards set by this administration to ensure that we achieve the desired outcomes in taking Nigeria to its economic growth and prosperity”, pledging the support of the National Assembly to the executive arm of government to achieve the set goals.
He, however, urged Nigerians to remain vigilant and resilient as they navigate these uncertain times, saying “together, we can overcome the challenges facing our economy and chart a path towards prosperity for all.”
The statement titled: “State of the Nation Economy and Naira Depreciation’, reads “The Nigerian economy is facing significant challenges, exacerbated by both internal and external factors.
“Despite efforts to stabilize and bolster economic growth, the numerous initiatives and bold but necessary steps and policy decisions taken by President Bola Tinubu, the persistent depreciation of the Naira against major foreign currencies has become a pressing concern.
“The recent depreciation of the Naira underscores the need for proactive measures to safeguard the stability and resilience of our currency.
“The Senate Committee on Finance is closely monitoring the situation and is committed to working collaboratively with relevant stakeholders to implement effective policies and strategies.
“It is imperative that we address the root causes of Naira depreciation, including but not limited to fluctuations in global oil prices, fiscal deficits, and structural imbalances in the economy.”
The Senator, representing Rivers West Senatorial District at National Assembly Sen.Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo has advocated for legislative backings to enforce immunisation as a pre-condition for admission into nursing, primary and secondary schools in Nigeria.
Banigo made the assertion recently in a statement to commemorate this year’s week-long immunisation campaign in line with the World Health Organisation advocacy.
Banigo, a Harvard-trained Public Health personnel, explained that such legislation would strengthen the National Immunisation Policy in the administration of vaccines, saves lives, helps in the child normal growth, prevents serious illness and disabilities such as poliomyelitis .
The former Deputy Governor of Rivers State who is also the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health (Secondary and Tertiary), noted that Nigeria must attain at least, 90 percent vaccine coverage for all childhood and adolescence; stressing that a fully vaccinated child should have received BCG, Mussels and three doses of DTP and Polio .
She emphasised the need for collective efforts by stakeholders in the campaign against preventable diseases .
The theme for this year’s World Immunisation Week is “Humanly Possible: Saving Lives Through Immunisation” while the national theme is “Vaccine Works For All”.
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