THE STATES

Bauchi

The Bauchi State Government, has released about N10 million to sensitise nomads across the state on the need to allow their children to acquire Western education.

Chairman Bauchi State Agency for Nomadic Education,    Alhaji Umar Mustapha , disclosed this on Tuesday in Bauchi in an interview.

Mustapha said the agency was established by the incumbent administration in the state to cater for the educational needs of pastoralists, fishermen, nomads and immigrant farmers.

He expressed satisfaction with the increase in the number of primary schools for nomadic pupils and said that the number increased from 233 some few years ago to 245 this year.

 

Benue

The Chairman, State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) in Benue, Mr Anum Iho,  said on Tuesday that the welfare of teachers in the state would soon be enhanced.

Iho stated in Makurdi while addressing teachers at the Makurdi Local Government Education Authority (LGEA)  that he had already initiated discussions with appropriate authorities towards enhancing the teachers’ package.

The chairman said that, being a teacher; he would take up the challenges of the sector with urgency,  urged primary school teachers to always channel their grievances to the appropriate authorities through dialogue.

Also,  the Education Secretary of Makurdi LGEA, Mr Godfrey Torgeri, commended the state governor for appointing a teacher as the head of the board.

 

Borno

The Shehu of Borno, on Tuesday renewed call Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Garbai, on the Boko Haram sect to dialogue with the government to end the violence in parts of the country.

Ibn Garbai made the call at the opening of a capacity workshop for Local Government Hajj Fare Collectors in Maiduguri.

“Let me add my voice to the numerous appeals to our brothers in the Jama’atul Ahlis Sunnah Lida’awati Wal Jihad by well meaning Nigerians. “They should seek the course of peace and harmony in the months ahead and beyond.’’

Ibn Garbai pointed out that Islam did not encourage violence in any form. “The bedrock of Islam is peace and this great attribute of our religion must not be overlooked.

“I am appealing to our brothers to stop the acts of violence and come forward for dialogue if they wish to seek redress on any issue.”

 

Gombe

A consultant haematologist with the Federal Medical Centre, Gombe, Dr Ahmed Girei, has advised intending couples to ensure they go for genotype test before planning marriage.

He gave this advice during the World Sickle Cell Day commemoration in Gombe.

“It is important for intending couples to know their genotype so that they will not produce children who are carriers.   “People should be aware that sickle cell condition is an inherited disorder and is in existence.’’

Girei advised people to seek the necessary information to enable them take precautionary measures, noting that  for those that inherited the gene, it was possible to live a normal live with proper care.

According to the consultant, sickle cell is not curable but there are measures that patients need to take to limit the crisis and complication.

 

Kaduna

The Kaduna State chapters of  Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and Jama’atul Nasir Islam (JNI) on Tuesday appealed to residents of the state to be calm “no matter the provocation or agitating passion’’.

Addressing a joint news conference in Kaduna, the organisations also called on the residents to be law abiding and not to take the laws into their hands.

The conference was addressed by the chairmen, Rev. Samuel Kujiat and Alhaji Ja’afaru Makarfi of CAN and JNI, respectively.

The chairmen also told the residents that they would render account of their deeds before God, urging them to cooperate with government and security agencies to restore peace.

 

Kogi

The Police in Kogi have arrested four persons for allegedly exhuming a corpse for ritual purposes at a cemetery in Ayetoro-Gbede, Ijumu Local Government of Kogi.

Briefing newsmen on Tuesday in Lokoja, the Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Katsina, said the suspects were arrested on June 7 by the command’s ambush squad at the cemetery after exhuming the body.

He said his men laid ambush for the alleged ritualists and watched them “desecrate the serenity of the environment” as they exhumed the body.

Katsina said the suspects were in the process of dismembering the head when policemen swooped on them.

 

Kwara

A labour activist, Mr Emmanuel Aiyeoribe, on Tuesday urged the Federal Government to prosecute those involved in the oil subsidy scam in the interest of the masses.

Aiyeoribe, former Chairman, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Kwara chapter,  said in Ilorin that the report of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee was unique.

He said it should be separated from the bribery allegation leveled against Rep. Farouk Lawan and others. “The Federal Government should separate the issue of subsidy scam from the bribery allegation in the interest of the Nigerian masses and justice.

 

Lagos

A former Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), on Tuesday said that good leadership would sustain Nigeria’s existence in the face of security challenges.

Agbakoba, also a rights activist, said  that providing dividends of democracy would avert religious and ethnic clashes among Nigerians.

He spoke against the backdrop of continued bomb attacks on churches in some northern states of the country.

“Until the leadership ensures that Nigerians partake in the dividends of democracy, terrorism, kidnapping, robbery and other vices will thrive. “There is the need for governments to make sure that Nigerians are provided with good education, adequate and free medicare. “This is the only way to prevent a revenge of the people,’’ he said.

 

Plateau

Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court, Jos,  Tuesday reprimanded lawyers who appeared before him and expressed regrets that standards had fallen “abysmally low.”

“Some lawyers who come to this court are not worthy to be addressed as lawyers because they mess up cases with their very poor knowledge of even basic processes. “Sometimes, I have to be a teacher for things to move smoothly; this is not good for the law profession to which I also belong,” Allagoa lamented.

The judge said that only “very few solicitors” were serious with the profession.

 

Sokoto

Secretary of Aliyu Magatakarda Advocacy Group (AMAG), Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Yabo,  on  Tuesday called on members of the National Assembly (NASS) to come up with more stringent laws that would end the senseless killings of Nigerians in some parts of the country.

Yabo said  in Sokoto that the NASS should also ensure adequate provisions for the purchase of modern equipment and up-to-date training for security agencies to ensure they could more effectively tackle the current crime situation in the country.

He was of the view that a better trained security force would be able to map out strategies that would lead to the arrest and prosecution of all those involved in planting bombs in some parts of the country.

Yabo said that as representatives  of the people, time has come for them to work out security modalities that would guarantee the safety of Nigerians.

 

Taraba

The Deputy Chairman, Taraba chapter of the PDP, Alhaji Danladi Shehu, on Tuesday called on political appointees and elected representatives of the people to commit their earnings into the well-being of their  communities.

Shehu said  in Jalingo that a situation where politicians stayed away from their constituencies only to resurface during campaigns was not encouraging.

He added that restiveness in some of the communities nationwide was due to unfulfilled promises by the political class.

Shehu said it would not take much for politicians to create jobs such as vulcanising, carpentry, bricklaying and farming to keep youths in their communities.

He said governments at all levels must also wake up to their responsibility of meeting the challenges of development by providing the required basic infrastructure and social services.

 

Zamfara

The Zamfara Government has voted N50 million to upgrade facilities and renovate dilapidated structures at the College of Agriculture and Animal Sciences at Bakura.

The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Malami Yandoto disclosed this on Tuesday during a facility inspection visit to the college.

Yandoto said that the college would continue to attract the attention of the state government to stand the test of time.

He said that the college remained one of the lasting and virile legacies of the late premier of the defunct Northern Region, Alhaji Ahmadu Bello Sardauna, adding  that the state government had prioritised agriculture as the mainstay of the state economy, adding that it would provide facilities that could assist farmers to imbibe mechanised agriculture.

“The government would do everything possible to provide facilities that could transform our farming,’’ he said.

The commissioner said that provision of standard facilities at the college would enhance better learning of modern agricultural techniques and open more grounds for technical training of extension workers.

He said that the knowledge would be imparted to rural farmers by the extension workers so that agricultural production in the state would triple while the local economy could grow fast.

Yandoto said that some of the facilities that would be renovated included classroom blocks and students hostel while laboratory and research equipment would be upgraded.

The Provost of the College, Malam Umaru Muhammad, commended the state government for coming to the aid of the institution.

He promised to make use of the facilities for high quality teaching and learning.