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THE STATES
Adamawa
The Adamawa State Government has announced the arrest of an employee in its Ministry of Education who has been fraudulently collecting a monthly salary of N6 million.
The Head of Service, Alhaji Othman Mohammed, who made the announcement while inaugurating the audit committees for the local government staff, said the fraud was discovered before the recent introduction of e-payment for the workers.
He challenged members of the committees to do a thorough job, particularly in ascertaining whether workers were properly paid the salaries due to them.
“You need to verify that a worker placed on level six or seven is not receiving something higher than his director.
Bauchi
Ningi Community in Ningi Local Government Area of Bauchi State, has petitioned against some officials of the state government over alleged diversion of vehicles donated to it by the Canadian Government.
The community alleged that the vehicles were donated to the community for health care projects, claiming that they were diverted for personal use by the officials.
The petition, last Wednesday, was addressed to the state government and copied to the Commissioner of Police, Mr Ikechukwu Aduba.
The vehicles allegedly diverted were three Toyota Hilux vans, which the Canadian Government donated to the community during the administration of Governor Adamu Muazu.
Borno
The first batch of 500 pilgrims from Borno who performed the 2011 Hajj in Saudi Arabia, returned home on Wednesday.
The pilgrims, who looked healthy, arrived at the Maiduguri International Airport with their luggage.
They arrived on board a Kabo Air Boeing 747 aircraft at the early hours of Wednesday.
The pilgrims were mainly from Kala Balge, Gamborou Ngala, Dikwa, Abadam, and Gubio Local Government Areas.
Some of them who spoke to newsmen, expressed satisfaction with the performance of the Borno Pilgrims Welfare Board (BSPWB).
They prayed to Allah to accept their supplications during the pilgrimage in the Holy Land.
One of the pilgrims, Fugo Goni, expressed gratitude to Allah for a successful and hitch- free exercise.
FCT
The Minister of Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, has ordered the management of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to stop posting new corps members to Borno and Yobe States.
A statement by his Senior Assistant on Media, Mr Julius Ogunro, in Abuja quoted the Minister as directing that no new corps members under the current Batch “C“ should be posted to the two states, while those already posted there would be redeployed to Benue and Nasarawa for orientation.
He, however, promised that corps members would be posted to all states of the federation except Borno as soon as they concluded their orientation programme in Benue and Nasarawa respectively.
Kaduna
Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) President Abdulwaheed Omar in Kaduna has called on the Federal Government to urgently resolve the country’s security challenges.
Omar who made the call at the opening of the NLC’s 10th Harmattan School for 2011, expressed concern over government’s laxity in addressing the security problems in the country.
The NLC president also decried the non-implementation of the new minimum wage, which had been signed in July, warning that failure to honour the agreement could provoke a general strike and mass protests.
Omar accused the government of deliberately devaluing Nigeria’s currency in order to devalue the N18,000 national minimum wage.
He added that government’s insistence to hike fuel prices by 120 per cent was capable of worsening the economic plight of the citizenry.
Katsina
The Director of Agriculture in Malumfashi Local Government Council of Katsina State, Alhaji Balarabe Yusuf has cautioned residents of the town against indiscriminate felling of trees for firewood.
Yusuf told newsmen in Malumfashi, Katsina State that there was the need for collective efforts to protect the environment.
He described indiscriminate felling of trees as one of the major human actions detrimental to environmental sustainability.
The director said that through joint efforts between individuals, communities, institutions and organisations, the desired impact of team work to check desert encroachment would be achieved.
Yusuf said that the local government council had engaged 500 youths, on casual basis, to plant 30,000 tree seedlings this year, and called on the communities in the area to protect the trees.
Kebbi
INEC has appealed against the nullification of the election of Governor Saidu Dakingari (PDP) of Kebbi at the Court of Appeal in Sokoto.
Counsel to INEC, Mr Adegboyega Awolomo (SAN), made this known in a statement in Birnin Kebbi.
Our correspondent recalls that the Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal on Sunday nullified Dakingari’s election following a petition by Alhaji Abubakar Mallam (CPC).
INEC holds that the tribunal erred in law by making a case against the commission.
According to the statement, INEC is seeking the setting aside of the judgment or decisions of the tribunal and dismissing the petition as one without merit.
Kwara
The Kwara State Government plans to establish an agency responsible for the formulation and implementation of its local content policy.
News of the plan is contained in a letter entitled: Kwara State Content Developer Agency Bill, 2011, sent to the Kwara State House of Assembly by Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed in Ilorin on Thursday.
In the letter read by Speaker Rasak Atunwa, the governor said the agency would ensure the utilisation of human and material resources and services available in the state in all contracts involving government or its agencies.
According to him, the agency will boost government’s efforts at human capital development and economic transformation of the state.
He urged the assembly to give the bill early consideration with a view to passing it into law.
Atunwa directed the Clerk of the House to prepare the bill for first reading tomorrow.
Lagos
The Center For Health Education Population and Nutrition (CHEPON) on Tuesday said that the nutritional status of our primary school children was worrisome and had a direct relationship with their cognitive development.
Executive Director of CHEPON Prof. Tola Atinmo said this at the Teachers’ Training Workshop and launch of Healthy Kids Global Programme for primary schools in Lagos State, organised by Nestle Plc.
“It is disheartening to note that many parents do not bother much about what these pupils consume on daily basis once they provide them with money, usually between N10 and N50 daily.
Ogun
Many applicants have besieged the Governor’s Office in Abeokuta, to ascertain their employment status.
The applicants who were on November 2 and 3, interviewed by the state’s Civil Service Commission, were asked to return for their employment letters on November 16.
However, some of them who spoke to newsmen on conditions of anonymity, expressed surprise that their names were not out as promised by the commission.
Another applicant, who also spoke anonymously expressed surprise at the inability of applicants to access the commission’s web site.
Sokoto
Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State has called on Nigerians to continue to live in peace with one another to ensure the smooth implementation of the on going Federal Government reforms.
Wamakko told newsmen in Sokoto last Wednesday that successful implementation of the reforms would ensure the nation’s political growth.
He urged Nigerians to tolerate and understand one another, irrespective of tribe, religion and political differences for peace to reign.
Zamfara
The Community and Social Development Project (CSDP) has disbursed more than N 272 million to 39 communities in Zamfara for the execution of various development projects.
The CSDP General Manager, Alhaji Garba Muhammad stated this last Wednesday in Gusau in an interview with newsmen.
Muhammad said that the projects were executed in the last two years in the areas of education, health care, rural water supply, feeder roads and skills acquisition programmes.
He explained that the communities had contributed 10 per cent of the total cost of the projects in their area, while the World Bank provided 90 per cent of the remaining fund.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has commemorated the 15th anniversary of the release of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Assessment Report on Ogoniland, reaffirming its commitment to restoring the environment and improving the livelihoods of affected communities.
In a statement signed by the Project Coordinator, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, to commemorate the anniversary, HYPREP described the anniversary as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s environmental restoration efforts, noting that the project has made remarkable progress in implementing the recommendations of the landmark UNEP report released on August 4, 2011.
The UNEP report had revealed extensive oil pollution across Ogoniland, severe environmental degradation, and serious public health risks resulting from decades of petroleum operations. It also recommended an initial $1 billion fund to commence the cleanup of the affected communities.
According to HYPREP, the Federal Government formally launched the Ogoni clean-up in 2016, while the Project Coordination Office was established in 2017 to drive the implementation of UNEP’s recommendations.
Zabbey said the current administration has continued to prioritise the project under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Providing an update on the cleanup, the Project Coordinator disclosed that 30 of the 65 contaminated sites identified by UNEP have been fully remediated, while work is ongoing at several medium- and high-risk locations. It also stated that more than 1.5 million mangrove seedlings have been planted as part of what it described as the world’s largest restoration of oil-degraded mangroves, with over 1,000 hectares of shoreline already rehabilitated.
Zabbey further revealed that 49 Ogoni communities have been connected to potable water schemes through multiple water projects and booster stations aimed at providing safe drinking water across the region.
In the health sector, he said the 100-bed Ogoni Specialist Hospital in Kpite and the 43-bed Cottage Hospital in Buan are nearing completion, adding that several existing health facilities have been upgraded with modern medical equipment, while five ambulances have been donated to improve emergency healthcare services. The Project Coordinator also disclosed that a three-year human health biomonitoring study is being conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
On economic empowerment, Zabbey stated that the Project has created more than 8,000 direct jobs and trained thousands of Ogoni youths and women in various vocational and technical skills, including software development, cybersecurity, aviation, commercial diving, seafaring, mechatronics, and creative arts. The project also reported awarding scholarships to more than 1,000 students, providing grants to small businesses, and supporting persons living with special needs through skills acquisition programmes.
The statement further highlighted ongoing legacy projects, including the Ogoni Power Project and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, which it said is about 96 per cent complete. HYPREP also welcomed the recent designation of the Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site of International Importance and pledged to continue promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of the ecosystem.
Marking the anniversary, Zabbey said the progress achieved over the past 15 years demonstrates the collective commitment of government, development partners, stakeholders, and local communities to restoring Ogoniland. He called for renewed collaboration to sustain the cleanup effort, promote environmental sustainability, and support the long-term development of the region. 3
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