THE STATES

Ekiti

The police have arraigned two men, Sunday Eyinafe, 23 and Adepoju Odunayo, 20, before an Ado-Ekiti Chief Magistrates’ Court for alleged assault.

The police prosecutor, Cpl. Curtis Enabulele, told the court that the accused committed the offence on February. 13 at Sabo Area of Ado-Ekiti.

According to him, the accused persons unlawfully assaulted two police officers, Akpamu Nicholas and Faluyi Olalekan, by biting and beating them while performing their official duties.

He alleged that the accused stole one Samsung cell phone worth N21,000 and another item valued at N10,000 belonging to Nicholas.

FCT

The Methodist Archbishop of Abuja, Rev. Chimaroke Iweha, has charged Christians and Muslims to lead godly lives that will impact positively on the society.

Iweha spoke with newsmen last Sunday, in Abuja, after the presentation of the new Abuja Diocesan Lay President of the Church, Mr David Fadairo

Iweha urged adherents of the two faiths to reflect and practise their beliefs and teachings not only in their places of worship but wherever they found themselves.

“Our problem is that we leave God in the Church and our various places of worship, with the feeling that it is the only place we can see God.

Gombe

The Gombe State Government says it will meet the 2015 Millenium Development Goals’ (MDGs) aspirations and the yearnings of the people of the state.

The state Commissioner for Water Resources and Environment, Alhaji Idris Mahadi,  said this while speaking to newsmen in Gombe recently.

Mahadi said that the state government had continued to execute projects inherited from the previous administration.

According to him, the state government, in collaboration with the MDGs office, had awarded contracts for the drilling of solar boreholes in over 60 locations in the state.

Jigawa

Alhaji Muhammad Sambo, the Coordinator, National Directorate of Employment (NDE) in Jigawa has praised Governor Sule Lamido, for allocating 30 hectares of land to the directorate.

Sambo, who made the commendation in Dutse in an interview with newsmen, said that public works and housing units would be constructed on the 30 hectares land.

He said that the houses would be constructed on a two-bedroom and three-bedroom categories.

The coordinator said that the project would be financed by the Federal Mortgage Bank in collaboration with the directorate.

Kaduna

The Kaduna Agricultural Development programme (KADP) says it has registered more than 687 women groups under the KADP cooperatives project, to  address the challenges of food security.

The Head of Women in Agriculture in the KADP, Mrs. Debora Bakut,  told newsmen in Kaduna that the cooperative groups were registered to be able to access farm inputs and financial support.

Bakut said the groups were eligible to benefit from both the Federal and State Government soft loans to smallholder farmers and the newly introduced e-wallet fertiliser scheme, to enhance food production.

Katsina

President Goodluck Jonathan has given the assurance that the Federal Government will adequately fund and equip Nigerian universities to meet world standards and enhance development.

Jonathan gave the assurance at the maiden convocation ceremony of Umaru Musa Yar’adua University, Katsina.

“Our universities must be equipped and modernised to be able to play their role in nation building and compete with other universities in the world.’’

Jonathan, who was represented by the Vice Chancellor of Federal University, Dutsin-ma, Prof. James Ayatse, said the government planned to establish a research and education network to provide national bandwidth and Internet backbone for universities.

Kwara

The IIorin East Local Government Council in Kwara has commenced the rehabilitation of 20 rural roads to boost socio-economic activities of the area.

The Chairman of the Council, Hajiya Aminat Ishola, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Oke-Oyi, headquarters of the council.

Ishola said that more than 40 per cent of work on the roads spread across the 12 wards of the council had been achieved.

She listed some of the roads as Apado, Iponrin, Maya and Ile-Apa, among others.

She said that some of the groups would also benefit from the Bank of Agriculture loans as well as the World Bank Commercial Agriculture programme in the state.

Lagos

Prof. Nnenna Okore of Arts Department, North Park University, Chicago, USA, said on Sunday that the mindset of Nigerian youths could be changed for the better through creative arts.

Okore, who made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Lagos, said that changing the mindset of youths through arts was very vital for the country’s development.

The Professor said that engaging youths to develop their skills through the arts would also promote a better awareness of Nigerian arts internationally.

“It will also improve the level of intellectual pursuit in the visual arts sector.

Niger

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, says the Nigerian Army will establish a “reserve force’’ to be able to respond to emergency situations quickly.

“We want a situation where if there are some emergencies, we will have a force we can just call upon and immediately there will be response, whether the emergency is internal or external,’’ Ihejirika told newsmen in Kontagora.

“About 600 of the 2,904 soldiers who just graduated from the basic counter terrorism course at the Nigerian Army Training Centre in Kontagora will form the basis of the reserve force.

Osun

The Public Affairs Manager, Power Holding Company of Nigeria, Osogbo Business Unit, Mr Timothy Adesanya has said that there is adequate power supply in the area.

Adesanya told newsmen in an interview recently that  the allegation in some quarters that there was a drop in power supply in the Osun State capital was not true.

He explained that the company was working hard to ensure there was stable supply of electricity across the country.

He said, “such an allegation that there is a decline in the supply of electricity in Osogbo as far as I am concerned is spurious and it is not objective in any way”.

Plateau

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Plateau has tasked its youth wing to embrace democratic ideals and also keep abreast of developments so as to remain relevant.

The state Assistant Organising Secretary of the party, told some youths in Jos that they must seek out and understand what was expected of them as key vanguards of the party.

“The party undergoes all kinds of reforms on a daily basis and it is incumbent on all of you to be in tune with the changes.

“You must also get the party’s constitution so as to know the roles assigned to the local, state and federal levels,’’ he said.

Zamfara

The Zamfara House of Assembly has urged the state government to reconstruct the Birnin-Magaji road connecting Magami-Gabake road to Mesa-Teke and Barkeji and terminating at Zurmi.

The House passed the resolution following the motion by Alhaji Rufai Chiroma (Kaura-Namoda north), saying the people of the area had suffered a lot due to the poor condition of the road.

Chiroma further noted that farmers and business men in Kaura Namoda Local Government Area could hardly carry out their activities during rainy season owing to difficulty in transporting their goods and services.

He said that the roads were not motorable and that movement from Kaura Namoda to Zurmi as well as Birnin-Magajii local government areas for economic activities was almost impossible during the rainy season.