Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
Adamawa Muslim Pilgrim’s Welfare Board has received an initial allocation of 2,401 seats from the National Hajj Commission for the 2012 Hajj.
The Administrative Secretary of the board, Malam Musa Lamurde, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Yola.
Musa explained that the seats had been distributed to the 21 local government areas of the state.
He said a committee had been set up to train and enlighten the intending pilgrims on how to perform the Hajj.
Lamurde called on the Hajj commission to allow state pilgrims boards to feed their respective pilgrims during the Hajj in Saudi Arabia.
Benue
Benue State House of Assembly has passed the bill seeking to amend the 2007 Local Government Law .
Our correspondent reports that with the passage of the bill, the tenure of elected local government councils in the state would be slashed from three to two years.
The bill was passed last Tuesday by the legislature during its plenary session through a voice vote conducted by Speaker David Iorhemba.
Iorhemba said that local council caretaker committees would be appointed to oversee the affairs of the councils for six months.
He said the committees would comprise seven members – chairman, vice chairman and five supervisory councillors.
He further said that the committees would be dissolved after inauguration of elected councils.
FCT
The Federal High Court in Abuja has directed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to serve former Gov. Timipre Sylva of Bayelsa with summons by substituted means.
The court gave the order in Abuja on Monday following the EFCC’s request.
EFCC had on February 24, dragged Sylva to court on alleged misappropriation of N6.46 billion state funds.
Justice Adamu Bello gave the order in a ruling on an exparte motion filed by Mr Festus Keyamo, counsel to the prosecutor.
“The application is granted.
“So, the prosecutor is now authorised to either serve the accused person by pasting the service on the gate of his house at No 3 River Niger Street, Maitama, Abuja or through publication in not less than two national dailies.’’
The prosecutor had sought the order of the court to allow it to serve Sylva the summons by substituted means “in view of his evasive nature.’’
The anti-graft agency, in suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/23/2012, claimed that Sylva and others now at large, committed the offence between October 2009 and February 2010.
Gombe
The Chief (Mai) of Tula in Kaltungo Local Government Area of Gombe State, Alhaji Abubakar Buba, has called on entrepreneurs to invest on the rich tourism potential in the area.
The Monarch made the call in an interview with newsmen in Kaltungo.
Buba said such investment would boost the economy of the state and improve the lives of the people there.
“I am calling on both local and international investors to invest in Tula because in the North East I would say, Tula stands out to be different in terms of the weather, the high altitude and the historical background of the chiefdom.”
He said Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo had assured the people of the area of his plan to develop the tourist sites in the area to attract investors.
He identified resorts and hotels as well as iron and solid minerals, as some of areas in which the investors can put in their money.
Jigawa
The Fadama III Office, in collaboration with the Jigawa Government, has disbursed the sum of N189 million to farmers to boost commercial agriculture in the state.
The Fadama National Project Coordinator, Mr Tayo Adewumi disclosed this during the inauguration ceremony of the project and disbursement of cheques in Dutse.
Adewunmi said that 36 Fadama Community Associations and 432 Fadama User Groups in the state would benefit from the programme.
Represented by the Zonal Coordinator, Alhaji Bala Shaibu, Adewunmi said that the project’s concept was “community-demand-driven”, adding that every stakeholder in the business must be carried along.
He urged beneficiaries to use the funds for the intended purpose so as to produce more food for consumption and for export.
In his remarks, Gov. Sule Lamido, said that his government was committed to boosting agriculture, being the occupation of the teeming populace in the state.
Kwara
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) says it will continue to embrace policies and programmes which promote unity and peace among students.
The association stated this in a release in Ilorin against the background of the ongoing 13th West Africa University Games (WAUG) at the University of Ilorin.
The release issued by the association’s Sports Director, Saheed Ninalowo, was made available to newsmen.
The association said policies and programmes like WAUG would bring together students and other youths across the world to share common ideas and values.
“The Games provided a medium of bringing all students across West African universities together to agitate and discuss policies and programmes that affect their existence,,’’ it said.
Lagos
A pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Atayese, on Tuesday, urged the state governors to each organise referenda in their respective states and ethnic nationalities to determine what the people wanted.
At a news conference in Lagos, the Chairman of the group, Chief Tokunbo Ajasin, said it was the people’s desires that should be reflected in the presentations at the national conference Nigerians were clamouring for.
“The agitations for a sovereign national conference are okay but it must be preceded by a referendum.
“The people of each ethnic nationality must be allowed to decide on issues that they want to bring to a national discourse,” he said.
Ajasin suggested that the referenda should not be delayed to avoid more tension in the polity.
Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has passed the N104 billion appropriation bill for the state for 2012.
The House Speaker, Ahmed Musa-Mohammed, said that the appropriation bill was increased by over N7 billion to N104 billion to enable the government complete pending projects.
Musa-Mohammed said that the increase was specifically to construct three kilometres of road in each of the 13 local government areas of the state.
He said that the Clerk of the House had been directed to produce a copy of the bill for ratification by the Committee on Finance and subsequent assent by the governor.
Before the passage of the budget, Muhammed Baba- Igbako, representing Udegye/Loko Constituency, had urged the House to expunge the provision for establishment of an airport in Lafia from the budget.
Niger
The prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS has dropped from 6.2 per cent to 4.0 per cent in Niger, Director General, Niger Action Committee on HIV/AIDS Mr Baba Umaru, has said.
“The drop was due to effective awareness campaign embarked upon by the committee across the state,” Umaru said on Monday in Minna in an interview with newsmen.
He added that the support and cooperation received by the committee from the government also contributed in reducing the pandemic.
The director general said the services of the committee had been made available in all the 25 local government areas of the state.
Osun
More than 73,000 children under the age of five years were immunised against polio in Olorunda Local Government Area of Osun during the second round of the 2012 immunisation exercise.
The Council’s Immunisation Officer, Mrs Jumoke Akande, disclosed this on Tuesday in an interview with newsmen in Osogbo.
Akande said the exercise was to ensure that all children between 0 to 59 months were given oral polio vaccine to protect them against poliomyelitis.
“ A day-old child is expected to be immunised at least few hours after birth until the child is nine months to have the normal routine immunisation,’’ she said.
Plateau
The Plateau government has earmarked N8 billion for the construction of additional water reservoirs to mitigate water shortage in Jos metropolis and adjourning towns.
The amount would also be deployed to overhaul old water pipes and lay new ones to address persistent shortage of potable water in the state.
The Commissioner for Water Resources, Mr. Idi Waziri, told newsmen in Jos that an initial N2.2 billion earlier released by the state government was used to rehabilitate three water treatment plants.
He explained that the rehabilitated plants would provide 140 million litres of water daily to the metropolis.
“This will improve the situation drastically as only 30 million litres are currently being pumped out,’’ he said.
Waziri, however, declared that the full potential would be achieved only when all the old pipes were overhauled and more water reservoirs constructed.
“We have finished the mechanical aspect which is the rehabilitationof the three water treatment plants.
Sokoto
The President of the Pontifical Council on Inter-religious Dialogue at the Cardinal James Tauran, Vatican, has called for sustained dialogue to ensure global peace and unity.
Tauran made the call in Sokoto when he paid a courtesy call on Gov. Aliyu Wamakko as part of his one-week working tour of Nigeria.
Tauran also said the fight against illiteracy and diseases should be fought collectively by Muslims and Christians globally.
“There must be moral formation and we must be peace-makers in the churches, mosques, schools and the universities, among others.’’
He said that in spite of the cultural and religious diversities, dialogue brings about change at all levels.
“In spite of all the diversities of religions, cultures and ethnicity, we are all the same and it is good to live together.’’
He commended the existing cordial relationship between the Muslims and Christians in Sokoto State, describing the state as a model in NIgeria.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) has inducted and given orientation to 100 Ogoni youths for training on Creative Arts. The beneficiaries were drawn from Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
The induction and orientation ceremony, which took place at the CRAB of the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt on Wednesday, was a prelude to the training proper, billed to commence next Tuesday.
As usual, HYPREP issued undertaking forms to the trainees, for them to complete and submit as a guarantee that they would subject themselves to the requirements of the programme as well as be of good behaviour throughout the four-month duration of the training.
HYPREP also announced that it would pay N150,000 to each of the beneficiaries monthly, as transport and feeding allowance, stressing, however, that only those who fully participate in the training would be entitled for the allowance.
Speaking at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, welcomed the trainees to the programme, saying, HYPREP’s projects are evolving and that one thing that is happening today is that the Project has gotten leadership right, by making promises and keeping those promises.
According to him, the Project had equally promised to move away from rudimentary skills acquisition to high impacts acquisition levels, which it has kept today by sponsoring the training on Creative Arts.
He noted that in planning its livelihood programmes for Ogoni youths, HYPREP has taken time out to look for skills that would add value to the lives of the beneficiaries.
Zabbey, who was represented at the event by the Director of Technical Services, Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi said by packaging the Creative Arts training, it was expected that the Ogoni people would have their own version of Nollywood known as Ogoniwood just as Nigerians are familiar with Hollywood, Bollywood, Kannywood and Nollywood.
To achieve this goal, the Project Coordinator explained that it was the reason for choosing a reputable establishment like Halibiz Consult Limited, to partner with the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt, which he described as one of the most prestigious in the Niger Delta, for the training of the beneficiaries.
He also indicated that in doing this, HYPREP was desirous of going for talents that would help the Ogoni people grow in the film industry, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously.
Zabbey equally enjoined the trainees to put in their best so that in the next three to five years, they would carve a niche for themselves and become forces to reckon with in the film industry.
On her part, HYPREP’s Head of Sustainable Livelihood, Mrs Josephine Nzidee said HYPREP does what it says it will, stressing that the process of training Ogoni youths on specialised skills started three years ago.
According to her, the selection process for the training was rigorous and transparent, and was carried out by renowned actors actresses.
She disclosed that the training consists of three major aspects, which include acting, script writing and make-up, while Nollywood actors like Charles Nnoje, Ngezu J. Ngezu and award-winning make-up artist, Jude Odo would be on hand to drill and groom the beneficiaries.
Mrs Nzidee noted that the programme is a specialised training that does not have anything like starter packs but that it is purely a professional certification programme that would launch the beneficiaries into the Nollywood industry in Nigeria.
According to her, the Creative Arts training is one of the four specialised trainings organised by HYPREP to ensure that the Ogoni people are well positioned in vital industries like Aviation, Maritime, Creative Arts and Mechatronics.
She said the last of such trainings on Mechatronics would take place in the coming months, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously so as to put the Ogoni people on the Nollywood map.
She further indicated that while Charles Nnoje and Ngezu J. Ngezu would take the beneficiaries on the practical aspects, Jude Odo would take them on the make-up aspects.
Also speaking, the External Relations Manager of Halibiz Consult Limited, Alabo Experience Douglas said his company gives much premium to standard and quality, and assured that the firm would give the trainees value for the money spent on the programme.
While charging the beneficiaries to be dedicated and punctual, he stressed the need for them to approach the programme with the mindset of being empty so that at the end of the day, they would benefit maximally.
On his part, the Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Ovunda Ihunwo said the CRAB is an acronym for Creative Review of Arts and Books, stressing that it was named by renowned playwright, Prof Ola Rotimi.
According to him, the CRAB had nurtured, groomed and produced Nollywood actors and actresses like Bobmanuel Udokwu, Ejike Asiegbu,Francis Duru, Hilda Dokubo, Monalisa Chinda, Julius Agwu, and a host of others, assuring the beneficiaries that they were on fertile environment to hone their talents.
He noted that symbolically, the crab is a nutritious seafood common in the Niger Delta, and reiterated the need for the beneficiaries to come empty for the training, as it were.
Ihunwo disclosed that the theory classes of the programme would run for three weeks while the fourth week would be for the master classes, and urged the trainees to avail themselves of the opportunity to make a difference by telling the Ogoni story, which he described as inexhaustible by themselves, in order to put Ogoni on the map.
A 23-year-old student of Nasarawa State University identified as Jatau Rilokwah, has been reportedly found dead in the university’s senior staff quarters.
A counter-insurgency expert, focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed this on his X handle on Tuesday.
According to him, the discovery was made on April 27, 2025, by a security officer at the university, Emmanuel Gyawo.
He stated that Gwayo was directed by Prof. Shedrack Jatau to check on his son upon arriving at the residence, and he found Rilokwah hanging from the ceiling.
“Professor Jatau, who was reportedly out of the State at the time, was informed of the incident. A team of police detectives, led by the Divisional Crime Officer of Angwan Lambu, was dispatched to the scene.
“The body showed no signs of violence, and no suicide note was found. Rilokwah was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he further stated.
He added that the student’s corpse had been deposited in the hospital morgue.
He also quoted police sources as saying that investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Ogun State Government has partnered with Nike Art Gallery to establish a new exhibition space at the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre in Abeokuta, a move Governor Dapo Abiodun says is aimed at boosting annual tourist visits from 20,000 to over 100,000.
Abiodun disclosed the plan on Wednesday while receiving the founder of the Nike Art Gallery, Chief (Mrs) Nike Davies-Okundaye, at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“I went to Olumo Rock about a month ago and I decided that we needed to do something about restoring Olumo Rock to its old glory. From statistics, Olumo Rock hosts about 20,000 people a year in its current state, and I felt that we could increase that to at least ten times,” the governor said.
As part of the plan, an events hall within the tourist centre will be repurposed as a permanent gallery operated by Nike Art Gallery.
“I told them to shut it down. Practically, we want to bring it down and turn it into a gallery for you to use as an exhibition gallery,” he told Davies-Okundaye.
He added that the gallery will be ready before the National Sports Festival in May, when the State will host about 15,000 visitors.
“I want them to be able to see our tourist sites,” he said, listing attractions such as the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the Ransome-Kuti family home, and the Adire market among key heritage spots to be showcased.
Highlighting Ogun’s improved infrastructure, the governor said, “Now that we’ve succeeded in having the intra and inter-state roads in place, you can come to Ogun State by rail; you can come by air. We’ve constructed one of the best airports in Nigeria, and very soon, you will be able to come by sea.”
Davies-Okundaye, in her remarks, praised the state’s efforts to promote tourism and pledged to use the new gallery to attract global attention.
“This gallery will bring many Heads of State. The one I opened in Abuja already has more than 10 Heads of State, including those from South Korea and the Czech Republic. The same will happen here,” she said.
She also applauded the Governor for his commitment to the Adire fabric industry.
“Adire is all over Nigeria, but Ogun has been promoting Adire for over 50 years. Today, the only cloth we can call our own is called Adire. This is what we can sell to the Europeans,” she said.
Abiodun reaffirmed his administration’s backing of the Adire industry, citing policies such as the Adire Ogun Digital Marketplace, compulsory wearing of Adire in the state, and provision of solar-powered production equipment to support artisans.
He also revealed plans to open a creative arts and entertainment village in partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters, expected to be completed within two months.