Bauchi

The Senior Special Adviser to Governor Isa Yuguda on
Pilgrims Affairs, Alhaji Sanusi Sarkin-aska has solicited the establishment
of  a pilgrims’ camp near the Bauchi
International Airport, currently under construction.

He made the call in Bauchi while speaking at a farewell
ceremony organised for intending pilgrims from Bauchi State.

Sarkin-aska said that if the pilgrims’ camp was close to the
airport, it would make things easier for pilgrims and officials during hajj
operations and  commended the state
governor for aiding the Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board to discharge its duties
effectively.

In his message, the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Adamu,
urged the intending pilgrims to be mindful of the fact they were travelling to
Saudi Arabia purposely to perform their religious obligations.

FCT

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters,
Alhaji Ahmed Gulak, has called on Nigerians to support government to nurture
democracy to maturity.

Gulak made the call on Sunday in Abuja in an interview with
our correspondent.

“All Nigerians must
put their hands on deck to see to it that this democracy is nurtured to
maturity and it is sad that many have failed to see national issues different
from partisan politics,” he said.

The special adviser urged Nigerians to believe and genuinely
contribute their quota to the success of the Nigerian project to actualise and
enjoy the dividends of democracy.

Jigawa

The Jigawa State Government on Saturday said it would
prosecute parents who reject the Oral Polio Vaccine (OPV) for their children in
the on-going immunisation exercise in the state.

The Commissioner for Health, Dr Abubakar Tafida, told
newsmen that defaulters would be sentenced to between six months and one year
imprisonment without an option of fine.

Tafida said this at the beginning of the October round of
Immunisation Plus Days (IPDs) exercise in Dutse, pointing out that the state
House of Assembly had enacted a law which was assented to by the governor to
deal with “anybody who rejects the vaccine and also to promote participation in
the exercise.’’

He said that the state had also adopted effective campaign
measures to sensitise communities on the importance of presenting their wards
for vaccination and also mobilise participation in the exercise.

Jos

The Association of Architectural Educators in Nigeria
(AARCHES) has advised the federal and state governments to always engage
architects in urban design to avoid ecological problems arising from climate
change.

The advice is contained in a communiqué issued at the end of
the three-day biennial general meeting of the association, held at University
of Jos.

“Government should create consultancy services for
architects in urban design so that such professionals can solve ecological problems
arising from climate change.

“The architects are in the best position to advise
government and suggest ways out of incessantly changing climatic conditions,”
the communiqué stated.

Kano

The Kano State Government has donated 52 truckloads of
relief materials to flood victims in neighbouring Niger Republic.

The items include 5,000 bags of maize, 5,000 bags of millet,
5,000 bags of guinea corn, 5,000 blankets, 5,000 pieces of “Shadda’’ brocade
and 5,000 pieces of female textile wax.

Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso, who presented the items at
Bandirawo, Dawakin Tofa Local Government
Area of the state, said that the donation was aimed at alleviating the
suffering of the flood victims.

Kwankwaso, who spoke about the long-standing relations
existing between Kano State and Niger Republic, stressed the need for people to
be their brothers’ keepers so as to strengthen harmonious living and promised
to continue to work with the Nigerien government in efforts to promote
socio-economic ties between Kano State and Niger Republic.

Kogi

Four persons from Ajaokuta Local Government Area in
Kogi  State are still missing after the
flood that ravaged the area recently, a council official said.

The acting Chairman of Ajaokuta Local Government Council, Mr
Aloysius Okino, said in Lokoja on Sunday that the missing persons included
three women and a man, pointing out that
when he visited the displaced persons in Gadumo camp in Ajaokuta  the victims were from Onakumi Island, which
was completely submerged in the flood

He said all efforts to trace the four had been fruitless.

The Tide recalls that the Red Cross had earlier confirmed
the death of two male adults in Ajaokuta area during the disaster.

Apart from Onakumi village which was completely washed away
by the flood, Okino said that fishing which was the traditional occupation of
the people, had been disrupted while rice farms and livestock were washed away.

Lagos

A former President, Association of National Accountants of
Nigeria (ANAN), Dr. Samuel Nzekwe has urged the Federal Government to
effectively implement the budget, particularly the capital expenditure.

Speaking with the newsmen in Lagos, Nzekwe said that
effective implementation of the budget would create the enabling environment
for the productive sector of the economy to thrive as well as create job
opportunities.

According to him, it will increase the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) and solve the problem of infrastructure deficit.

Nzekwe further asked government to evolve people-oriented
projects aimed at creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youths, pointing
out  that creating more job opportunities
would reduce the level of criminal activities in the country.

Nasarawa

The Federal Polytechnic, Nasarawa in Nasarawa State has
expelled 59 students for examination malpractices.

The Registrar of the polytechnic, Hajiya Fati Jimeta, told
our correspondent  in an interview in
Nasarawa  that the students were caught
during the 2011/2012 academic session.

She said the management of the polytechnic reached the
decision to expel the students at a meeting of the Academic Board.

Jimeta said 18 were full-time students, while 41 were
part-time students, adding that the students had been blacklisted by the
institution.

The registrar warned that any of the students seen within
the premises of the polytechnic would be arrested by the security.

Niger

The Commander, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),
Niger State Alhaji Abdullahi Abdul has called on the state government to
sponsor a bill for the control and sale of cough syrups in the state.

Abdul made the call in Minna in a paper he presented at the
Niger Security Awareness Summit, tagged “Grass Roots Campaign on Internal
Security as a Sustainable Developmental Tool in Minna”.

He said that the drug had the same adverse effect with
cocaine, heroin and cannabis when abused.

“It will be recalled that these brands of cough syrup with
codeine content, have the same effect as cocaine, heroin, cannabis etc, when
abused and thus jeopardising security,’’ he said.

He further said that users of the cough syrups got easy
access to any patent medicine store where the drugs were sold indiscriminately
and without prescription.

“Most youths, especially in the higher institutions of
learning, are into this practice and the consequences are alarming.

Ogun

Nine persons, including an infant, died on Saturday morning
in a fatal accident on Abeokuta-Sagamu expressway in Obafemi Owode Local
Government area of Ogun State.

The Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ogun State
Command, Mr Ayobami Omiyale told newsmen that the accident occurred a few
kilometres to the Police College in Kobape area of the road.

Omiyale said that two vehicles, a Volvo tipper, marked LAGOS
JJJ 489 XB and a Toyoa Hiace bus with registration number, XF 795 AAA, were
involved in the accident.

He said that although 20 people were involved in the
accident, only nine could be confirmed dead by the FRSC.

Omiyale added that “nine persons, which include an infant
less than a year old, were confirmed dead by my men.’’

Oyo

The Treasurer, Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria, Oyo
State Chapter, Mr. Bernard Adegoke has called on government to support a
first-generation commercial bank in assisting cocoa farmers with loans.

Adegoke told The Tide
in Ibadan on Sunday that the collaboration of the government with the
bank in giving out loans to cocoa farmers would boost production.

“ We need the government to support us, to assist us and
support the First Bank of Nigeria to help the farmers in giving us the loan.

“We all are seeing what is happening in the oil market now,
oil is going to finish either we like it or not, it’s going to remain farming
and if we are talking about farming we are talking about cocoa.

“If we are talking about cassava or maize or whatever, you
cannot be comparing that with cocoa.’’