THE STATES

Adamawa

The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) last
Thursday closed its case in the Adamawa Governorship Election Petitions
Tribunal after fielding 66 witnesses.

The ACN gubernatorial candidate is  Mr Marcus Gundiri  is challenging the return of Governor Murtala
Nyako as the duly elected governor of Adamawa.

The ACN, its gubernatorial candidate, who
joined the PDP, INEC and others as co-respondents alleged that the February 4,
2012 election was marred by irregularities.

Gundiri urged the tribunal to declare the
ACN candidate as the duly elected governor of the state or order the conduct
fresh election in the state.

The last witness olufwa Akin was a data
analyst, who conducts biometric analysis of election materials from some of the
polling units in the 11 Local Government Areas being challenged by the ACN.

The Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice
Bitrus Sanga adjourned the petition to June 4, for the respondents to open
their defence.

 

Bauchi

The Bauchi State Primary Education Board
has set up a learning centre for female children hawking within the metropolis,
Mrs Karimatu Katagum, the Replication Coordinator, Girl Education Project, has
said.

Katagum said in Bauchi on Tuesday that the
centre was established in 2011 to provide basic education for girl-child
hawkers.

She said that study lessons were being
carried out for two hours daily, adding that more centres would be established
across the state.

“We have an impressive turn out of the
girls; and soon more will be established across the state,” the coordinator
said.

Katagum said that schools for married women
were also established in six local government areas mainly for school dropouts.

“The school is a second chance programme
for those women, who left education as a result of circumstances, and who are
still interested in making it up,” Katagum said.

She said that through the board, the
schools base management committees were set up by all the primary schools and
some junior secondary schools.

According to her, the committee advocates
for the enrolment, retention and supervision of the girl-child education in
communities.

 

Jigawa

Rivers State Governor and Chairman
Governors’ Forum of Nigeria, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers has attributed
the current security challenges in the country to ignorance and poverty.

Amaechi, said this in an interview on
Wednesday in Dutse, where he had gone to inaugurate a road project.

He advised his Jigawa counterpart, Alhaji
Sule Lamido, to give attention to education, adding that the sector was key to
human development.

The governor explained that in a society
where people were educated, it would be easier to bridge the gap between the
rich and the poor.

According to him, if people are educated,
they will be well informed as well as be gainfully employed or be on their own.

He commended Lamido for the progress
recorded in different sectors in the state and called on the people to support
him.

 

Kaduna

Two former security personnel at the
ongoing Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) week in Kaduna on Wednesday suggested
that massive employment of youths was a panacea to current national security
challenges.

Retired Rear Adm. Gbadejo Adedeji and
retired ACP Godson Uzowuru, made the suggestion in separate papers presented at
the occasion.

Adedeji said in his presentation:
“Understanding the Present Security Challenges in Nigeria”, that youth
unemployment was the major cause of criminality and terror activities in parts
of the country.

He also identified poor education, poverty,
bad governance and a lack of justice and fair play among politicians as some of
the causes of such challenges.

The resource persons advised governments to
address “these challenges and that would go a long way in tackling the security
crises the country is facing”.

On his part, Uzowuru said the failure of
intelligence gathering had complicated the current situation and advised the
police and State Security Service (SSS) to reintroduce the aspect in their surveillance
teams.

Uzowuru said in his lecture entitled:
“Overcoming the Current Security Challenges in Nigeria”, that inadequate
training of security personnel on basic security and the use of obsolete
security gadgets posed obstacles to the agencies.

 

Kano

Fistula Foundation, a Non-Governmental
Organisation, says it plans to raise awareness of Vesico Vaginal Fistula (VVF)
through film shows in Kano and other states in the northern part of the
country.

The director of the organisation, Malam
Musa Isa said in Kano on Thursday that the awareness level on the causes of the
condition was still low.

He said that a lack of proper understanding
of the condition and its management had caused many problems in some homes and
communities.

Isa said that the organisation had recently
supported 202 patients to undergo medical surgery and had empowered 118 to be
self-reliant.

“We are still denying the belief that early
marriage is responsible for the disease; rather,  a prolonged and
unattended labour make the woman to suffer and get infected with VVF in the
process,’’ he said.

 

Lagos

The police in Lagos have arrested a
32-year-old man (name withheld), who claimed to be a graduate of the Imo State
University, over alleged robbery.

Sources at the Victoria Island Police
Station said that the suspect was arrested on Wednesday afternoon after his
gang attempted to rob a motorist on Akin Adesola Street, Victoria Island, of
his car.

The sources noted that they had been on the
trial of the suspects for some time due to their criminal activities, saying
that the regular monitoring of the area by a police patrol team foiled their
operation.

“Our investigation revealed that the
suspect is based in Imo State. He usually comes to Lagos to carry out robbery
operations with his gang members, after which he escapes and returns to Imo.

“The suspect claimed to have graduated from
the Imo State University in 2009, with a degree in the Social Sciences. He also
confessed that they were a three-man robbery gang operating on the Island,” a
source said.

 

Ogun

The Old Students’ Association, of African
Church Grammar School, Abeokuta, has donated a block of 8-classroom to its Alma
mater. This is aimed at complementing the effort of the state government in
providing qualitative and affordable education to the people.

The National President of the association,
Mr Clement Oke, said that at a news conference in Abeokuta on Thursday,
that the association had over the years contributed toward the development
of quality education in the school.

Oke added that the building worth N50
million, was constructed at the cost of N32.5 million because of free services
offered by some members of the association.

He said that the funds for the construction
of the project were raised within the Old Students’ body with the support of
the Nigeria Breweries Plc, adding that the building would be inaugurated on May
22 by Gov Ibikunle Amosun, who also is an alumnus of the school.

 

Plateau

Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party in
Plateau, Mr. Sylvanus Namang, has described the impasse between Plateau
Governor Jonah Jang and correspondents covering the state as “unnecessary’’.

The Plateau Correspondents’ Chapel on
Monday resolved to boycott activities of the state government, citing
“indifference and insensitivity to their plight’’.

They particularly accused Gov. Jang of
refusing to address them over the happenings in Plateau, especially the
lingering violence.

But Namang, whose party’s governorship
candidate, Mrs Pauline Tallen, lost to Jang in the 2011 polls, blamed the
governor for allowing the situation to degenerate to such stage.

The Publicity Secretary accused the
Governor’s image makers of “a poor handling of the situation’’, pointing out
that the over reliance on the state owned media was not good for Plateau’s
external image.

“The government has continued to rely on
the state media alone, but that is erroneous because it is only the other media
houses that can adequately project Plateau’s image to the outside world.’’

He accused Jang of also maintaining poor
relationships with other stakeholders in Plateau, and called for an immediate
change in the interest of the state.

Namang cautioned Jang against undermining
the role of the media in consolidating the gains of democracy, and regretted
that the governor had continued to avoid the press “for the whole of the five
years he has been in power’’.

 

Sokoto

A senior member of PDP in SokotoState has
advised the Federal Government to organise special prayers for Muslims and
Christians for God’s intervention in Nigeria’s security challenges.

The Deputy Treasurer of the party, Alhaji
Mukhtari Mapia, said in Sokoto that prayers would enable the country to
overcome the challenges threatening the nation’s corporate existence.

He said clerics from both religions should
be engaged to mobilise Nigerians to fast and seek divine intervention in the
affairs of the country.

“ I am very optimistic that our problem
will be a thing of the past if the Federal Government will organise special
prayers for all Nigerians to seek God’s guidance,’’ Mapia said.

He said religious leaders were in a better
position to assist the government to restore peace through prayers.

“Our security agencies need information
from the public to enable them to map out effective strategies in apprehending
criminals,’’ he said.