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.