THE STATES

Benue

Governor  Gabriel Suswam of Benue State  has urged the Federal Government to intervene in the Fulani/Tiv land skirmishes, to put an end to it.

Suswam  who made the call at the Town Hall Meeting in Makurdi to mark the end of the Good Governance tour in the state  said that the greatest problem besetting the rural farmers in the state was the intermittent land feud they had with some invading herdsmen.

The governor advised the Federal Government to take the issue of the Fulani/Tiv crises more seriously, to enhance the growth of the peasant farmers in the state.

Responding to questions from participants at the meeting, Suswam said Benue was a rural state and his administration was committed to the construction of rural roads.

He dismissed insinuations that teachers in the state were being owed, adding that a staff audit of the teachers had commenced, to avoid payment to ghost teachers.

 

Borno

Governor  Kashim Shettima of Borno State has expressed reservation with the quality of work in some sections of the proposed campus of the state university in Maiduguri.

Shettima made the observation when he paid an unscheduled visit to the campus located at the site of the defunct Borno Informatics Institute on Jos Road, Maiduguri.

He expressed concern about the quality of work at the administrative building and described it as ‘deficient.’

He advised the contractor handling the project to rectify the problem, noting that the supervising engineers from the Ministry of Works was responsible for the defects.

The governor warned that government would henceforth hold site engineers responsible for poorly executed projects.

“The site engineers posted from the Ministry of Works have the right to reject poorly executed projects from the onset.

 

FCT

The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HOSCF), Alhaji Isah Sali said on Thursday in Abuja that the introduction of Performance Management System (PMS) would enhance the productivity of civil servants.

Sali made the statement at a sensitisation workshop to PMS, organised by the office of the HOCSF for officers on the Directorate Cadre of the service.

Sali said PMS had been recognised as the backbone for transforming the civil service into an institution of excellence and quality service delivery and the vehicle to drive the transformation agenda of the present administration.

The HOSCF was represented on the occasion by Mr Charles Bonat, the Permanent Secretary, Establishment and Records in the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation.

 

Jigawa

Governor  Sule Lamido of Jigawa has said that President Goodluck Jonathan’s planned visit to the state would boost commercial activity in the state.

our correspondent reports that the President, billed to visit Jigawa  State between November 5 and November 6, is expected to lay the foundation stone of the proposed Jigawa State University of Agriculture and Dutse International Airport.

Jonathan is also scheduled to inaugurate other development projects executed by the Lamido-led administration.

Lamido told newsmen, shortly after inspecting some of the projects in Dutse, that the visit will enable the people of the state to meet with the president, adding that the visit would attract  positive developments to the state.

 

Kaduna

The Legal Aid Council of Nigeria has offered legal services to 719 persons in Kaduna State, the coordinator, Mrs Biba Ohwoavwovhua, has said.

Ohwoavwohua stated this on Thursday in Kaduna during the council’s nationwide annual awareness campaign.

She told newsmen that the council had provided legal services to persons who lacked the means to hire lawyers, adding that it was involved in civil and criminal cases, including cases of persons accused of capital offences.

“We assist them in making sure that they are not convicted before being heard. As far as legal aid is concerned, we are there to show concern, represent and to make sure we diligently defend whoever is accused,’’ she said.

Ohwoavwohua identified distance and inadequate funding as some of the challenges facing the organisation, noting that it was always difficult to offer necessary and timely assistance to people outside the state capital such as Kafanchan, Zaria and Birnin Gwari.

 

Kano

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Kano  State on Wednesday said that no fatal accident was recorded during the Eid-el kabir in the state

The Sector Commander, Shehu Zaki, told newsmen  that the commission’s public enlightenment and the deployment of its officers to the highways contributed to the success recorded.

Zaki, however, said that the commission recorded minor accidents, which did not cause much damage to vehicles and the passengers.

He cautioned motorists to keep the good behaviour, noting that the commission was disturbed at the rate of over-loading and over-speeding on some routes.

 

Kebbi

The National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) in Kebbi State will collaborate with faith based organisation to combat environmental degradation in the state.

The state Coordinator of the agency, Dr Kasim Ahmed, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi on Wednesday

Ahmed said that NESREA and Nasirullah Faith Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) would campaign against human activities which contributed to 60 per cent degradation of major cities and towns in the state.

He said the agency decided on the collaboration because NASFAT wide spread in the state and across the nation.

He said that the NASFAT interaction and sessions with Muslim faithful influenced their choice as well as their social and cultural orientation, adding that the two organisations would jointly campaign against unhealthy disposal of waste materials such as cans and polythene bags.

 

Kwaraa

The Kwara State Government treated 8, 979 people with eye disorders between January and July, Dr Afolabi Ezekiel, the Programme Manager of Kwara Eye Care Scheme, said.

Ezekiel told newsmen in Ilorin on Tuesday that the people were treated of eye afflictions, including cataract and glaucoma.

“The state government is committed to the treatment of eye disorders in the state,” it said, and  advised people above 40 years to go for regular eye tests to prevent blindness, stressing that 80 per cent of eye disorders which led to blindness were avoidable and treatable.

The ophthalmologist advised the people against the use of urine and other local medications for the treatment of eye diseases.

 

Lagos

President, Advisory Committee of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF), has urged budding talents in the country to show commitment to sport.

Oludotun-Segun told newsmen on Thursday in Lagos that his committee was evolving an arrangement to enable sportsmen and women to develop themselves educationally, just as they built their sports careers.

“Education is very important; it is also good to develop one”s talent, especially when it is discovered at the early stages. The idea is that no one should suffer any serious disadvantage,’’ he said.

According to him, poor educational background has a way of affecting an athlete’s career because such a person would not be able to interact freely with his or her contemporaries.

 

Ogun

Ogun  State Police Command says  it has arrested a 62-year old man for allegedly defiling his 10-year old step-daughter in Abeokuta.

Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Ogun State, Muyiwa Adejobi, told newsmen in Abeokuta that the suspect had earlier evaded arrest.

He said that the suspect committed the alleged offence on October  27 around Ayetoro area of Abeokuta, adding that the combined efforts of police and public-spirited individuals led to the arrest.

The ASP said that the suspect had been taken to the state Criminal Investigation Department of the Anti-Human Trafficking for further interrogations.

The PPRO said that information available to police was that the suspect had always slept with the victim before she finally broke her silence to relatives.

 

Oyo

The Catfish Farmers Association of Nigeria (CAFAN) has appealed to the Federal Government to protect local fish farmers against dumping of foreign fishes in Nigerian market.

The President of the association, Chief Tayo Akingbolagun made the appeal during the opening of the Oyo State CAFAN 2012 Catfish Fair in Ibadan.

He said that the protection became necessary to enable the farmers attain the target of one million tonnes of fish production in the next five years.

According to him, the target is set under the Federal Government’s Aqua-culture Value Chain Development programme, saying that dumping of foreign fish in Nigeria was one of the greatest challenges facing the local fishing industry.

“Government should address this challenge as stakeholders embark on strategies for effective take off of fisheries development under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda,’’ he said.

 

Plateauu

Information Minister, Labaran Maku has said that Nigeria was not ripe for state police.

Some governors have continued to clamour for state police, using the argument that the step would empower them, as chief executives of their states, to effectively secure their domains.

But Maku, who led the national good governance tour team, currently in Plateau State, to a visit to the Police Staff College, in the outskirts of Jos, said that the nation lacked adequate facilities to handle that.

He said that the nation’s police force was doing well in spite of the enormous challenges, stressing that advocates of state police had never looked at the area of training.

“Training is very key to success, unfortunately those asking for state police have not looked at that area.’’