THE STATES

Adamawa

An Upper Area Court in Jimeta, Yola, has sentenced two single mothers to six months imprisonment for attempting to sell their daughters.

The convicts, Sharon Julius and Helen Awoke, both of Ghana Street in Demsawo ward of Yola, were charged for abandoning and showing cruelty to their children, an offence contrary to sections 237 and 238 of the penal code.

They were arrested by the police when they approached the proprietor of a day care centre in Yola and proposed to sell their little daughters at N200,000 and N150,000.

The women pleaded guilty and begged for leniency, saying they were forced by poverty and neglect to engage in the act.

Delivering judgement, Justice Danladi Mohammed sentenced them to six months imprisonment each with an option of N20,000 fine each.

Borno

Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has announced the appointment Chief Kester Ogualili, an Igbo man, as his special adviser on community relations.

Ogualili is the first southerner to have such a political appointment in the state.

A statement signed by  the Director of press affairs in the Borno Government House, Alhaji Usman Chiroma said 24 other special advisers were also appointed.

They include the former NLC Chairman in the state, Comrade Garba Ngamdua.

Shettima described the appointees as credible persons that were carefully chosen to help in the development of the state.

“I quite believe that the calibre of personalities that I appointed as my special advisers will work hard to contribute to the development of the state,” the governor said.

FCT

The Federal Ministry of Science and Technology, says it is working in partnership with the Federal Ministry of Environment to produce a “robust climate change policy” for the country.

Head Energy and Environment Group, National Centre for Technology Management, Dr Olalekan Aquila made the disclosure in Abuja on Wednesday in an interview with newsmen.

“It is in view of this that the Ministry of Science and Technology in partnership with the Ministry of Environment plans to produce a robust climate change policy that will stand the test of time,” he said.

According to him, the partnership will involve joint development of technologies on renewable energy and that of fossil fuel exploitation.

Gombe

Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State has been called upon to hasten the appointment of a deputy governor.

This followed the vacuum created by the death of the former Deputy Governor, Mr David Albashi on November 4 in Germany.

A PDP Stalwart Bature Cromwell made the call in Gombe on Thursday in an interview with newsmen in Gombe.

Cromwell, a former Chairman, Caretaker Committee of Kaltungo Local Government Council, said the appointment would eliminate the “hullaballoo” that is likely to arise as a result of the delay.

“The delay would heat up the polity and create bad blood among the people.

He urged the governor and the party to hasten the decision and make the right choice.

Jigawa

The first batch of Jigawa Pilgrims from Saudi Arabia returned home on Wednesday en-route Malam Aminu Kano International Airport.

The Executive Secretary of Jigawa Pilgrims Welfare Board, Alhaji Sani Muhammed told newsmen in Dutse on telephone that all necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure the safe arrival of the pilgrims.

Muhammad explained that the delay in the arrival of the pilgrims before now, after the completion of their spiritual obligations in the holy land was due to long queue at the security check point of the King Abdul Aziz International Airport in Jeddah.

He explained that the first batch of pilgrims who returned on Wednesday were those from Kiri Kasamma, Gagarawa, Guri, Kaugama and Gwaram Local Government Areas of the state.

Kano

Seven foreign countries have indicate interest to participate in the forthcoming 32nd Kano International Trade Fair.

The seven countries are China, India, Egypt, Senegal, Niger Ghana and Cameroun.

The Director-General of Kano Chamber of Commerce Mines and Agriculture (KACCIMA), Hajiya Fatima Mohammed disclosed this to the newsmen in Kano.

“So far we have registered about 80 participants at the event and we are expecting not less than 200 more,” she said..

The KACCIMA chief said that the theme of this year’s trade fair is “Policy stability: a Hope for Industrial and Economic Development”.

Lagos

Former Director with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Dr. Omolara Akanji has said uncertainty and imperfect knowledge of the economy by operators contributed to the nation’s monetary policy challenge.

Akanji, who was the director in charge of Trade and Exchange, said this at the bi-monthly forum organised by the Finance Correspondent Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Lagos.

The former director spoke on the topic “An Overview of Monetary Policy Transmission Mechanism in Nigeria”.

She said that the underdeveloped financial market and cash-based payment system was another challenge affecting the monetary policy transmission.

Akanji said that the informal sector had a lot of influence in the monetary policy management and needed to be captured for the implementation of cashless economy initiative.

Niger

The Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMFAC) has called for the diversification of the nation’s economy to guarantee economic prosperity instead of over dependence on the oil and gas sector.

The call is contained in a communiqué issued after the North Central Zonal meeting of RMFAC on economic diversification and enhanced revenue generation in Minna.

It said that the previous studies on the diversification of the economy should be put to use by the various levels of government in line with the present administration transformation agenda.

Ondo

The Ondo State Government on Wednesday in Akure flagged off the Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week (MNCHW), aimed at reducing mortality among children under five years as well as ensure safe delivery among pregnant women.

Governor Olusegun Mimiko said at the occasion that tremendous success had been recorded in the past rounds of the exercise.

The governor, who was represented by his Chief of Staff, Dr Kola Ademujimi, said the week strategy was aimed at scaling up a package of key maternal, neo-natal and child survival interventions that had been proven to reduce high neo-natal and child mortality in the country.

He said the interventions that would be implemented during this month’s round of the MNCHW were immunisation.

Plateau

The Plateau State Chapter of the League of Veteran Journalists has appealed to Governor Jonah Jang to rehabilitate the Plateau State Publishing Corporation to end the untold hardship faced by workers in the company.

The league in a statement on Wednesday in Jos said that it was worried over the dwindling fortunes of the company, publishers of the Nigerian Standard Newspapers.

In the statement signed by the league’s protem Chairman, Mr Gideon Barde, the league urged the government to take urgent steps to fund the corporation.

It noted that the corporation had remained a legacy within the North Central Zone, employing a significant number of journalists in the country.

Stating its neutrality in political matters, the league said that its objective was to enhance the quality of the journalism profession.

It also lamented the prolonged closure of the Jos Campus of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism which serves as a training ground for journalists in the northern part of the country.

Yobe

A vehicle tyre burst in Damaturu on Wednesday caused pandemonium as people scampered for safety thinking it was a bomb explosion.

Gun shots followed the tyre busts, as security operative tool positions to avoic the November 4 blasts which led to the death of scores of people in Yobe.

The commissioner of Police in the state, Alhaji Suleman Lawal confirmed the incident late on Wednesday, saying the tyre bursts had scared most people in the state.

Lawal said the police had been directe4d to avoid shooting inthe air in order not to cause further panic except when confronted by any physical threat.

Our Correspondent recalls that bombs explosions rocked the metropolis on November 4, destroying the Police Command Headquarters, Police Anti-Terrorists Squad, Federal Secretariat, First Bank of Nigeria branch and some churches.

Zamfara

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mr Musa Sada, says the ministry will provide extension services to artisanal miners in Zamfara to teach them best practices in mining business.

A statement by Mr Marshal Gundu, Deputy Director, Press, in the ministry quoted the minister as saying that the artisanal miners were being exposed to standard best practices in mining operations, “especially as it applies to gold mining and processing”.

The statement said that the ministry would also carry out sensitisation campaign in the state to enlighten the rural populace in the mining communities on the dangers of inappropriate mineral processing and illegal mining.

The statement said prospective miners should use safety gadgets as provided for in the mining regulations to enable them to carry out mining activities with minimum risk.

It urged the artisanal miners to formalise the process currently being undertaken by the ministry to form mining cooperatives for the purposes of securing small-scale mining lease and to benefit from the extension services.