THE STATES

Bauchi

Unidentified gunmen have attacked the home of Alhaji Yakubu Lame, former Minister of Police Affairs in the late President Umaru Yar‘Adua’s administration, with explosives.

Lame was said to have travelled to Saudi Arabia for the lesser Hajj at the time of the attack.

Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Muhammed Barau, said on Monday in Bauchi that it occurred at about 7 p.m. on Sunday.

He said the suspects entered the former minister’s house on a motorcycle, dropped a bomb and ran off.

FCT

Minister of State for Defence Olusola Obada says the ministry and the U.S. Department of Defence are collaborating to establish more research sites on vaccines for the treatment of HIV and AIDS.

Obada disclosed this when she visited the ministry’s Emergency Plan Implementation Committee and Reference Laboratory in Mogadishu Barracks, Abuja.

She said the Federal Government would provide the required programmes that would improve the health of the masses.

Obada said the committee had 20 HIV and AIDS research sites and wanted to build some more depending on availability of funds.

Gombe

The Deputy Governor of Gombe State, Mr David Albashi,  who survived a fatal accident last Sunday, may be flown abroad for treatment.

A credible source at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Gombe, where he is on admission, said on Monday that Albashi would have been flown abroad last Sunday, but for the fact that he was still under a ventilator, which was removed in the early hours of the day.

Many relatives, supporters, politicians and other public servants have been trooping to the centre to sympathise with him.

Kano

The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, has called on the people of the state to continue to live in peace with one another.

Bayero made the call while addressing thousands of Muslim faithfuls who gathered at his palace after the Eid-Fitr prayer in Kano last Tuesday.

He noted that no country could achieve any meaningful development in an atmosphere of chaos and uncertainty, stressing that what the nation needed most at this time was peace.

The Emir who also prayed for continued peace and development in the country, advised his subjects against rumour mongering and engaging in any act capable of breaching the peace.

Kebbi

The Emir of Gwandu, Alhaji Muhammad Bashar has called for unity and understanding among Muslims in the country.

Alhaji Bashar, who is also the chairman of the State Council of Chiefs, made the appeal in his Sallah message to thousands of Muslims at the Eid-el Fitr praying ground in Birnin Kebbi.

He pointed out that peaceful coexistence was necessary for the rapid development of the country.

Gwandu emirate in Kebbi celebrated Sallah on Monday following the reported sighting of the moon at Bunza town and some local government areas in the state.

Lagos

The Lagos State Emergency Management Agency  (LASEMA), has urged residents of state not to panic against the background of the flood disaster in Ibadan last Friday.

Mr Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, the General Manager of LASEMA, told newsmen in Ikeja, that the fear expressed by some residents over the incident was unnecessary.

He said that the state government was on the alert and was well equipped to manage any spillover effect from Ibadan.

“Some residents have been expressing fears that what happened in Ibadan is a warning that Lagos might soon experience that kind of disaster, as on July 10.

“They are saying that the Ibadan flooding signals an imminent one in Lagos, especially as the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) had predicted another heavy rain in the state.

Niger

Former Military President Gen. Ibrahim Babangida has urged Nigerians to shun violence and support governments at all levels.

In a Sallah message last Monday in Minna signed by his spokesman, Prince Kassim Afegbua, Babangida also urged Nigerians to live within the dictates of the law.

He said the Ramadan fast was a period of total commitment to the will of Allah and offering of supplications to the most high, noting that “this month has been most challenging to us as a country and as a people with one destiny“.

“As we celebrate the completion of the month of Ramadan, I wish to salute all Muslim faithful worldwide for their sense of tolerance, perseverance, understanding and commitment to the ideals of Allah during the period.

Ondo

Gov. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State has restated his administration’s commitment to the health needs and general well-being of the citizens.

The governor said this in Akure while declaring open the 2011 Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference of the state chapter of Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).

“We want a sound mind in a sound body; In pursuance of this, our administration adopted a multi-pronged approach to develop the healthcare delivery system that is comparable to any in the developed world.

“Today, health care delivery has been brought to the doorstep of the people; Each of the 203 wards in the state has a basic health centre while each of the 18 Local Government Areas has at least a comprehensive health centre and a general hospital.

Oyo

The Wife of the Oyo State Governor, Mrs Florence Ajimobi, has assured the people of Ibadan that the government will find lasting solutions to the problem of flood in the city.

Florence, who was accompanied by the wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, gave the assurance while distributing relief materials to some flood victims in Ibadan last Monday.

She said that the government was taking necessary measures to ameliorate the sufferings of victims.

“Our visit today is to reassure the people that the government is on top of the situation.

“Though, the damage is too much, we will get over it with the support of everybody.”

“The state government officials, NEMA, SEMA and all other relevant agencies are working round the clock to ensure that we find lasting solution to the incident urgently,“ she said.

Plateau

As calm returns to Jos after Monday’s violence that claimed 10 lives, security has been beefed up in and around the city.

Our correspondent who went round some parts of the city last Tuesday, observed that fierce-looking personnel of the military Special Task Force (STF) were stationed in areas considered as flash points.

Mobile policemen were also in many other flash points while mobile vans coveying armed soldiers, policemen and officers of the local security outfit, “Operation Rainbow’’ were patrolling the city.

Encouraged by the tight security, residents appeared to move about freely, though many kept hoping that the peace in the morning would last throughout the day.

Sokoto

Friday’s explosion at the UN Secretariat in Abuja is an abominable act in Islam, especially in the blessed month of Ramadan, according to the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III.

The Sultan said this in Sokoto last Tuesday in his Sallah message to the Muslim Ummah in Nigeria.

“We, therefore, seriously condemn this act while commiserating with those who lost their property and condoling the families of those who lost their lives.

“We hereby call on the Muslims not to allow themselves to be used by our enemies in achieving their desired goals.

“We should not allow them to cause us to commit acts prohibited by our religion. We, therefore, call upon all those involved in this nefarious act, to fear God and desist from committing this grievous act,” he added.