THE STATES

Bauchi

The National Agency for Food, Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), has employed 14 desk officers to assist in monitoring unwholesome drugs in some Local Government Areas of Bauchi state.

Mr Michael Attah, Bauchi state Unit Head of the agency, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi on Tuesday.

Attah said the action was to boost NAFDAC activities at the grassroots level in view of the inadequate staff of the agency.

The unit head said the desk officers had been deployed to 14 out of the 20 local government areas of the state.

Attah said that the officers had been mandated to enlighten members of their communities on the dangers of unregistered, adulterated and fake drugs.

He said that the local councils had agreed to provide office and residential accommodation to the desk officers.

“The hawkers conduct their activities at odd times; sometimes we apprehend them whenever we visit the rural communities, sometime we don’t.

“When these drugs are exposed to the sun, some of its active ingredient will be affected, so instead of curing one’s ailment, one ends up with complications. ’’

 

Ekiti

The new Commissioner of Police in Ekiti, Mr Ibrahim Maishanu, assumed office and promised to make the state better in terms of security and peaceful co-existence among the people.

Maishanualso pledged to implement the reform agenda of the Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Abubakar, in the command.

The commissioner made the pledge at the Police headquarters in Ado- Ekiti at a handing over ceremony marking his official assumption of office.

Maishanu is the immediate past Commissioner of Police of Niger.

He succeeds Mr Olayinka Balogun, who has been posted to Edo as Commissioner of Police .

Maishanu promised to work harmoniously with the state government, members of the Police Community Relations Committee and the public to sustain the peace existing in the state.

He promised to build on the foundation laid by his predecessor and promised to unveil his policies and programmes in due course.

Maishanu’s predecessor, Balogun, had urged him to tackle corruption within the Police and ensure that all road blocks that had been dismantled did not resurrect anywhere in the state.

 

FCT

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) plans to introduce a Ministerial Open House platform to unite policy makers and stakeholders and enrich public policy in the country.

The Agency’s Director-General, Mr. Mike Omeri, announced this when the Director, Speakers’ Corner Trust, Mr. Peter Bradley, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) plans to introduce a Ministerial Open House platform to unite policy makers and stakeholders and enrich public policy in the country.

The Agency’s Director-General, Mr. Mike Omeri, announced this on Tuesday when the Director, Speakers’ Corner Trust, Mr. Peter Bradley, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

The NOA boss said it was high time that groups that had been denied access to government policy making process were considered in policy formulation.

“We intend to give policy makers and those who will be affected by such policies a platform for discussions so that stakeholders can make inputs into existing and intended policies.

 

Gombe

Executive Secretary, National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Ado Mohammed,has commended Gombe State for having the lowest maternal and child mortality rate in the North East zone of the federation.

Mohammed gave the commendation at the launching of the free polio programme in Gombe last  Saturday.

He also applauded the state for ensuring that there was no recorded case of polio since 2009.

Mohammed said that Gombe State was surrounded by states with cases of polio, charging the state to maintain the tempo.

He said the success achieved in Gombe State was a result of the government’s commitment as well as the effort put in by other development partners like WHO, UNICEF and other non-governmental bodies.

Mohammed said the agency would introduce community health inspectors in states and rural areas to enlighten the public on issues of hygiene and primary health.

According to him, health teams from Abuja will soon visit Gombe State to concretise the arrangement.

He commended traditional rulers and religious leader for mobilising their subjects to take advantage of health programmes.

 

Jigawa

The Jigawa State House of Assembly has passed the state’s 2012 appropriation bill of N104.4 billion.

Presenting the appropriation committee report before the passage of the bill, the Chairman of the Committee, Alhaji Babangida Mohammed, said the estimate now had an increment of N60 million from the initial budget proposal presented by Gov. SuleLamido.

Mohammed explained that the increase of N60 million which was not captured in the initial appropriation bill presented to the house would be used by Gunduma Health System to pay the salaries and allowances of medical personnel who would be recruited.

He said that several adjustments had been made in the capital expenditure, overhead, personnel cost and stabilisation fund.

 

Katsina

Katsina State House of Assembly has approved a total budget of N66.4 billion for the 34 local governments in the state for 2012.

The Speaker, Alhaji Ya’u Gwajo-gwajo, announced the approval in Katsina shortly after the House Committee on Appropriation presented its report on the local government budget proposals to the House.

He said that N48 billion was for their recurrent expenditure, while about N18 billion was for their capital projects during the year.

He directed the Clerk of the House to send a copy of the approved budget to the executive arm for assent.

The speaker also commended the house committee on appropriation for completing the budget screening on time.

Earlier, Alhaji Aliyu Iliyasu, the Appropriation Committee Chairman, said the Assembly had mandated the committee to work on the budget proposal based on the submission made by the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

 

Lagos

Some Lagos residents have called on the National Assembly to involve the nation’s anti-corruption bodies in NASS probe panels to achieve desired results.

They spoke in separate interviews with newsmen in Lagos on Saturday on the revelations in the ongoing probes in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

They said that theEconomic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) should have representatives each in the probe panels.

The Executive Director, Social Justice Advocacy Initiative (SJAI), Mr Damian Ugwu,decried what he called “corruption in the oversight functions of the National Assembly committees”.

 

Niger

More than N27.7 billion pension has been paid by the Niger government under the Pay-As-You-Go and the Contributory Pension schemes in the state from May 2007 to December 2011, an official said.

Director General of of the state’s Pension Board Mr Benu Yahaya ,  told newsmen in Minna that N15.3 billion went into the Pay-As-You-Go pension scheme, while N12.4 billion was for the Contributory Pension Scheme.

He said the board had also settled the outstanding pension liability of N1.4 billion inherited from the previous administration in the state.

 

Ogun

The Vice Chancellor of Babcock University, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun, Prof. Kayode Makinde, has urged government at all level to overhaul Nigeria‘s health sector for better delivery.

Makinde made the call in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Ilishan-Remo, Ogun.

The vice chancellor said it was time government and health practitioners adhered to the mission of medicine, “which is saving lives and not money-making venture”.

The don observed that the medicine profession has lost its compassion component in Nigeria.

“There is no secret; Nigeria medicine, largely has lost its compassion component. But then, those who are in healthcare should either have that compassion or get out of it.

“Money and materialism has replaced love; has replaced respect; has replaced anything that used to be of value when we are growing up. Nigerian medicine is just a little microcosm of the Nigeria society.

 

Osun

As this year’s rainy season draws near, the Osun Government has begun preparation to plough 1,000 acres of land for rice production at Osuntedo, Ejigbo Local Government Area.

The Coordinator, Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QIIP) Mr Dele Ogundipe, disclosed this on Tuesday when he received Mr Wale Adedoyin, the state’s Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Production, who visited the site.

He said government was looking forward to a production target of 2,000 tonnes of rice in 2012 from the site alone.

Ogundipe said no fewer than 20 farmers cooperative societies drawn from the community and other parts of the state would benefit from the project.

Each cooperative society, he said, would get a minimum of 50 acres, adding that tractors would also be provided for them to till the soil.

 

Plateau

The Plateau Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board has commenced the collection of deposits from intending pilgrims, Alhaji Salisu Musa, the Executive Secretary of the Board, has said.

A pilgrim is expected to contribute N500,000 in the meantime, pending the announcement of the final figure for this year’s exercise by the National Hajj Commission (NAHCO).

Musa told newsmen in Jos that the Board would not receive “anything less than the N500,000 to scare away people that see the exercise as a business venture.

He said that some persons usually paid the deposits only to later sell their slots in the event of a shortage of the slots.

 

Taraba

The Taraba Government has approved N23 million for the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism to organise the first Taraba Festival for Arts and Culture (TARAFEST 2012).

The Commissioner in-charge of the ministry, Mr Emmanuel Bello, disclosed the approval in Jalingo on Tuesday in an interview with newsmen.

He said that the event, which is going to be the first ever cultural fiesta in the state, would take place between April 11, and April 15, in Jalingo.

The commissioner explained that the festival was aimed at showcasing the arts and cultural heritage of the people of the state.