THE STATES

Ekiti

The Chairman, Ekiti State Primary Health Care Development
Agency (PHCDA), Dr Sule Lawal, has appealed to the staff of the agency to justify
government’s huge investment in the sector by their commitment to duty.

Lawal  made the
appeal  in Ado-Ekiti at a meeting with
the staff of the agency.  He said the
state government had shown commitment to enhance personal efficiency and
effective service delivery in the health sector. Lawal said the establishment
of the agency by the state government was to tackle the spread of communicable
diseases, particularly in rural areas, as well as create a platform to improve
the welfare of health workers.

He said the implementation of a new salary structure for
health workers was an indication that the present administration was committed
to the welfare of staff.

FCT

President Goodluck Jonathan has challenged the Nigerian
Economic Society (NES) to devise practical solutions that could strengthen the
government’s drive to overcome poverty and unemployment in Nigeria.

Jonathan gave the charge in his remarks  in Abuja during the opening ceremony of the
53rd NES Annual Conference.

Represented by  the
Chief Economic Adviser to the President,Dr Nwanze Okidegbe, Jonathan, urged the
association to come up with the ideas for accelerating skill acquisition aimed
at creating employment through entrepreneurship.  He said a coordinated approach toward
tackling the twin problem of unemployment and poverty was inevitable if the
average man on the street was to reap the full benefits.

Kano

Flood has washed away several farm land in Doguwa Local
Government Area of Kano State destroying cash crops worth millions of
Naira.  The Tide learnt that the flood
was as a result of overflow of a river located between Doguwa and Tudun-Wada
Local Government Areas.

An eye witness told our correspondent in Kano  that villages affected included, Burji,
Dogon, Kawo and Gimawa.

The Tide reports that the river over-flowed its banks as a
result of persistent rainfall in the area.
When contacted,  the state
Commissioner for Water Resources, Dr Yunusa Dangwani, said he was not aware of
the incident.

Kogi

The Federal Government has been told to extend its ongoing
effort in boosting the teaching and learning of mathematics to all secondary
schools in the country.  The Kogi Deputy
Governor, Mr Yomi Awoniyi, who made the call in Lokoja  said the call became necessary for the
country to achieve its goal of becoming one of the best 20 economies in the
world by 2020.

Awoniyi, who spoke at the opening of a four-day capacity
building workshop for 208 mathematics teachers in unity schools, said that the
effort should be extended to secondary schools in the 36 states for overall
improvement in the teaching of mathematics and other science subjects.

Kwara

A meeting of Christian and Muslim leaders in Kwara State
with the Director General of the National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr Mike
Omeri, has  resolved  to sustain the country’s unity.  The meeting, which held in Ilorin, was tagged
“Special Interactive Session for Leaders of all Religious Groups in the State
on Peace and Stability.’’

In the resolutions made public, the leaders said: “ All
manner of violence against fellow Nigerians must be condemned.

“ Every religious leader in Nigeria should desist from
preaching hatred and violence in their places of worship. “

The NOA boss, who convened the meeting, said in his opening
remarks that all religious and political leaders should call their followers to
order while refraining from acts inimical to the stability of the nation.

Lagos

The Kuramo Tourism Investors Association has appealed to the
Lagos State Government to retain the Kuramo beach as the only public beach in
the state.

The Secretary of the association, Mr Micheal Onuwaje, made
the plea in an interview with The Tide in Lagos.

The Tide reports that the association made its position
known following the closure of the beach by the state government following an
ocean surge that killed about 16 persons on August18. Onuwajede scribed the
beach as one of the international tourist destinations in the country.
According to him, the Kuramo beach is the only public beach in Nigeria where
tourists are not restricted.

Jigawa

The Jigawa State Ministry of Empowerment has said it had
concluded arrangements to train 2,310 youth under its vocational and skills
acquisition programme. The Commissioner for Youth and Economic Empowerment,
Alhaji Rabiu Isah, made the announcement in an interview with our correspondent
in Dutse.

Isah said the training would be carried out with support
from political office holders who volunteered to sponsor the youths who were
selected from various respective constituencies.He said that under the
arrangement, political office holders, including members of the state and
national assemblies, commissioners and governor’s aids, would provide
resettlement packages. He said the state
government would take care of the training programme.

Nasarawa

The Nasarawa State Government has warned land title holders
in the state to pay their outstanding ground rents before the expiration of a
one-month grace period or face the wrath of the law. The government said it was
being owed over N5.2 billion in ground rents. The Commissioner for Lands,
Survey and Town Planning, Mr Sonny Agassi, who gave the warning, said the debts
were from the over 8,000 titles issued since the creation of the state. He said
that the government would no longer condone the attitude where citizens do not
pay rents on their titles.

Ogun

No fewer than 400 youths in Ogun have  commenced training on a health capacity
building programme, tagged “Y-Health” in Abeokuta.

The three-day training programme was organised by the
state’s Ministry of Youths and Sports in collaboration with the Institute of
Human Virology of Nigeria.

The Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr Olugbenga
Otenuga,  said the programme was
organised to improve the knowledge base of youths on health related issues.

He said the programme would assist in exposing
misconceptions about various kinds of diseases rampant among youths,
particularly HIV/AIDS.

Ondo

The Ondo State House of Assembly has commenced a three-week
recess.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Hon. Samuel Adesina, said the
lawmakers would resume plenary on September
18.

Adesina spoke during
last Tuesday’s plenary in Akure which confirmed the appointment of Mr
Kazeem Olanrewaju as a commissioner in the state’s Judicial Service Commission.

He, however, said that committees of the House could carry
out some oversight functions during the recess.

The confirmation followed the submission of the report of a
selection committee headed by the Deputy Speaker, Mr Francis Emiola.

Osun

The Police Public Relations Officer in Osun, Mrs Folashade
Odoro, has urged parents in the state to be vigilant while sending their
children on errands during the long vacation.

Odoro, who made the plea in an interview with The Tide in
Osogbo, spoke against the backdrop of reports of missing children.

She said parents must be conscious of the type of chores
they engage their children in so as not to expose them to danger.

Odoro also warned parents against sending their children to
hawk, noting that there was a special unit in the Force to handle juvenile
cases and other cases related to child abuse.

Oyo

The National Publicity Secretary of the ACN, Mr Lai
Mohammed, has urged political leaders to be liberal in the use of the political
power they control.

Mohammed made the plea in Ibadan at an interactive programme
organised by the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).

The ACN spokesman, who called for the “ democratisation of
power’’ linked the success of a nation’s economy to the way political leaders
choose to manage power.

He also urged political leaders to concentrate on building
lasting political institutions and beliefs instead of building personalities.

“People will die, but institutions will live forever,” he
said.

Sokoto

Senator Ibrahim Gobir (PDP –Sokoto) has  in Sokoto said that about N70 million had
been earmarked for the construction of eight solar-powered bore holes in the
Sokoto East Senatorial District.

Gobir told newsmen that each of the local government areas
in the district would get a befitting bore hole to boost the provision of
adequate potable water for both human and animal consumption.

He said that already feasibility studies had been carried
out in each of the local governments, where the projects would be sited.

The senator explained that the project was part of his
campaign promises to provide the needed social infrastructure that would
enhance the living condition of the electorate.

Gobir called on the people in the area to exercise patience,
as more policies and programmes that would have direct impact on the lives of
the people would be implemented.