Adamawa

The Federal Polytechnic Mubi Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), has elected an eight-member executive council to run its affairs.

A statement signed by Mr. Stephen Stanley, said the election followed the removal of Mr. Innocent Ephraim the former Vice-Chairman and five others.

The statement said the congress unanimously endorsed the impeachment of the former officials and replaced them with the new elected members.

It added that the newly elected officials had already been inaugurated.

According to the statement, some of those elected are Mr. Stephen Stanley, as chairman, Muhammad Lawal, vice-chairman, Ndidi Camilia, secretary and Hussaini James, as assistant secretary.

Benue

The reconstituted Governorship Election Petition Tribunal in Benue, on Monday refused an oral application brought by  ACN governorship candidate Prof. Steve Ugbah, for the consolidation of his application with that of Prof. Daniel Saror of ANPP against Gov. Gabriel Suswam.

Ugbah on Monday made the oral application for consolidation through his counsel, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN), at the commencement of the pre-trial session on both petitions.

Both Ugba and Saror had petitioned against the governor on the grounds that he was wrongfully returned by INEC as the winner of the April election.

Ugbah is also claiming that the elections were marred by electoral malpractices while Saror alleged that the governor had no Secondary School certificate, and as a result was not qualified to contest.

Their petitions were however dismissed by the Justice Munir Ladan’s Tribunal on the grounds of technicalities.

FCT

The National Coordinator of the One Nigerian, One Emblem Project, Dr. Kenneth Kalu has appealed to Nigerians to support the campaign to give military retirees better living conditions.

Kalu made the appeal on Monday in Abuja at a news conference on the preparation for the sale of the 2012 emblem for the Armed Forces Remembrance Day Celebration.

He said that every emblem purchased by a Nigerian was a donation to the Nigerian Legion, adding that the project was a charity drive meant to uplift a segment of the society.

Kalu noted that the Nigerian Legion was unpopular in the country but promised that the organisation would promote the body to make it popular.

Gombe

The National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) has suspended elections into the executive of the Gombe State Council of the union, earlier scheduled for Tuesday.

Briefing newsmen on Monday night in Gombe, the National President of the Association, Asabe Baba-Nahaya, said the suspension of the election was based on petitions written by some members of the association.

Baba-Nahaya also said that the office of the Vice President, Zone E and the Gombe State Council did not inform her of the election.

She said that the state executive did not follow established procedure in forming the election credentials committee, hence the need to resolve certain issues before the election.

Also in a press release, the NAWOJ president said the shift in the election date “is based on the petition received by the National Secretariat and the rancour currently going on in the association in the state.’’

Kano

Participants at the just concluded three-day retreat for management staff of the Centre for Management Development (CMD) have appealed to the Federal Government to fund research institutes in the country.

A communiqué signed by the Director-General of the center, Dr Kabiru Usman, said on Tuesday that the effectiveness of the institutes was tied to adequate funding.

The communiqué identified research activities as crucial for national growth and development, and urged the Federal Government to formulate policies that would enable the institutes to be result-oriented.

Lagos

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State on Monday inaugurated an eighth-member task force to develop strategies for the eradication of poliomyelitis among the populace.

At the inauguration in Ikeja, Fashola said that the state had not recorded any case of polio in the last three years and that the task force was aimed at maintaining the record.

Fashola said the state would soon carry out joint polio immunisation and sensitisation activities with Ogun to ensure that the achievements of both states were not set back by migration.

The governor called on all stakeholders to do their best to eliminate polio from the country.

The task force is headed by the state Commissioner for Health, Mr Jide Idris.

Niger

Two rice mills are to be built in Badeggi and Wushishi in Niger State under a Public Private Partnership arrangement, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Akinwumi Adeshina, said in Minna on Monday.

Adeshina said the projects were in addition to the rehabilitation of the old rice mill in Badeggi.

The minister said when he paid a courtesy call on Gov. Babangida Aliyu of Niger that the ministry would work closely with the Niger government toward boosting rice production.

He said the ministry would construct one Agro-Industrial Estate in Minna in conjunction with the state government to process 6,200 tonnes of rice per annum.

Adeshina said a market for the farmers would be constructed in Bida to warehouse fresh produce and market on favourable conditions to consumers.

He also said that one-stop shops and agricultural input centres would be constructed in Bida, Wushishi, Salka and Mokwa towns in 2012.

Osun

The Osun State Government has employed 12 Nursing Tutors as part of its efforts to strengthen the personnel in the health sector.

Gov. Rauf Aregbesola made the disclosure at the inauguration of the “Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme” in Osogbo on Tuesday.

Represented by Mrs Temitope Ilori, the Commissioner for Health, the governor said the services of nurses were indispensable in any health conscious society.

According to him, nurses are key players in the restoration of a healthy living, which is one of the six-point integral action-plan of his administration.

“Nurses are essential in ensuring that government’s plan for the provision of effective health care for the people is successful,” Aregbesola said.

He recalled that his administration had recently approved the implementation of the new medical salary scale known as Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for health workers.

Plateau

An Upper Area Court in Jos has sentenced a commercial motorcyclist, Federick Adamu, 30, to six months imprisonment for stealing a motorcycle.

Adamu stole a motorcycle estimated to cost N50,000 belonging to his friend, one Michael Anthony, contrary to section 287 of the Penal Code.

The court, however, gave the convict an option of N3,000 fine.

The Judge, Malam Mustapha Hassan, had said that the prosecution convinced the court beyond reasonable doubt that the accused committed the offence.

Hassan said that the court relied heavily on section 157(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) that stipulated quick judgemnet for any persons that pleaded guilty to his or her offence.

Earlier, the prosecutor, Mr Shuaibu Tambaya, had told the court that the accused committed the offence on November  22.

Sokoto

The Federal Government in collaboration with the Sokoto State Government have commenced comprehensive rehabilitation of dilapidated primary schools in the state.

The Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board ( SUBEB), Alhaji Umaru Nagwari, told newsmen in Sokoto on Tuesday that the rehabilitation would gulp N2 billion.

“The Federal Government will contribute N1 billion while the Sokoto State Government will contribute N1 billion for the project.

“Arrangements have been concluded for the commencement of the state-wide project, aimed at giving a general face-lift to the primary schools in the 23 local government areas of the state.

“Most of the primary schools are currently in a sorry state and Gov. Aliyu Wamakko got worried during his just –concluded state-wide tour.”

Nagwari said the contract for the rehabilitation would be given to competent persons and companies who would do a good job.

Yobe

Four persons suspected to be assembling explosives in Damaturu on Monday sustained injuries, the Yobe State Commissioner of Police (CP), Alhaji Lawal Tanko, has confirmed.

The commissioner told newsmen in a telephone interview that one was apprehended at the site with wounds, while three others escaped with wounds.

He said “the police had intensified its searchlight to arrest the three suspects.”

Tanko added that the police had also made some recoveries “and we are still collecting the details on the incident.”

The Yobe capital was on November 4, rocked by series of bomb blasts and gun shots which resulted in the death of several security men and civilians.

However, normalcy had returned, with residents going about their normal businesses.