Bauchi

The Gombe State Water Board, says the state will meet the objectives of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of providing potable water and basic sanitation to half of the population before 2015.

The board’s General Manager, Alhaji Isa Mohammed, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi recently.

Mohammed, who was in Bauchi to witness the launching of Bauchi State Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Policy, said the state had short-term and long-term policy toward achieving the MDGs objectives.

“We have short term solution and part of the short-term is all the boreholes are undergoing reticulation and about 70 per cent of the boreholes are functional and undergoing repairs.

Borno

Fifty persons have returned to Maiduguri after a three-month extensive training on agriculture in Thailand.

The group, comprising 41 males and nine female departed home in November for the course aimed at preparing ground for agricultural revolution in the state.

Receiving the group, Alhaji Zanna Mustapha, the Deputy Governor of the state, commended them for their dedication to study while in Thailand.

Mustapha explained that they were sent for training in Thailand so that the state would be among the top food producers in the country.

FCT

A member of the House of Representatives, Rep. Nkiruka Onyejeocha, says granting local government councils autonomy is not a solution to their problems.

Onyejeocha (PDP-Abia), the Chairman, House Committee on Aviation, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Abuja recently.

She said that the problem inhibiting the development of local government areas in the country was not who kept the money allocated to the councils, but how it was managed.

“Is the problems about who keeps the money or who gives out the money?

Gombe

The Director-General, National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr Paul Orhii, has enjoined stakeholders to follow proper channels to register their products with the agency.

Orhii made the call at the interactive session with the stakeholders in Gombe last Friday.

He said that following due process in the registration of products would assist the country in ensuring quality products for the consumers.

According to him, the purpose of the meeting is to interact with the stakeholders on the challenges facing them in the state and to look for a way forward.

Kaduna

The Federal Government is planning to establish mega universities to address admission constraints among Nigerians, President Goodluck Jonathan said last Saturday in Zaria, Kaduna State.

The President said this at a special convocation and launching of  N50 billion Ahmadu Bello University (ABU) Phase II Development Fund at the university’s main campus, Samaru, Zaria.

Jonathan was represented by Vice President Namadi Sambo.

He said that when established, each of the mega universities would absorb more than 200,000 students.

Kano

The Kano State Government has assured residents of provision of a healthy and safe environment.

The state Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, made the promise at the end of this month’s sanitation exercise in Kano.

Abbas said that the government would, however, require the support and cooperation of the people to make a success of the programme.

“The main objective for introducing this exercise was to change the attitude of people on the issue of health. The governor is very concerned in seeing that health is improved tremendously through personal sanitation and hygiene.”

Kwara

The Elerin of Erinle, Oba Abdulganiyu Ibrahim Olosooku, has appealed to parents to always encourage their children and wards who wish to participate in sporting activities.

Olosooku made the appeal recently at Erinle, Kwara, while honouring the U-15 Moje Queen FC of Erinle that represented Nigeria at a soccer tournament in Germany.

The monarch said the team’s feat overwhelmed him with joy, noting that many of such success would come the community’s way.

He commended their parents for releasing them for the tournament in spite of the misgivings of some of his subjects.

Lagos

Vincent Adekoya,  an Ear, Nose and Throat Surgeon, last Sunday in Lagos advised against the use of  car-piece and exposure to noisy environment to prevent hearing loss.         Adekoya, a lecturer at the Lagos State University College of Medicine, (LASUTH), gave the advice in an interview with newsmen to mark International Day for Ear and Hearing.

He said that 90 per cent of hearing loss could be prevented because most of the causes were usually acquired due to ignorance or negligence.

According to him, some pregnant women use drugs indiscriminately during the first three months of baby formation and this can affect the baby’s hearing ability.

Nasarawa

The Nasarawa State Government is to purchase 2,000 computer laptops for distribution to its civil servants, Mr Andrew Affi, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technology, has said.

Affi however, told newsmen on Saurday in Lafia that the laptops would not be given out free of charge.

“Any civil servant who is interested will be given one for N135,000 and will be expected to pay up the money within 18 months,” he said.

Niger

Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger has dissuaded the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) from making the killing of two students of Nasarawa State University to degenerate into national problem.

Aliyu gave the advice on Friday in Minna when he met with the NANS’ Director of Exchange programmes, Mr Olusina Oyebisi, who presented a document to him on the issue.

According to him, if the issue is not resolved it may affect the entire education sector of the country.

It would be recalled that two students of the university were allegedly killed by soldiers, while protesting against water scarcity on the campus and its environs on February 25.

Ogun

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo last Saturday identified lack of quality leadership among other factors as major hindrances to development in Nigeria as well as other African countries.

Obasanjo, who acknowledged that Nigeria and Africa had enormous potential, said it was only quality leadership that could bring such to realisation.

He spoke in Abeokuta during the final of Africa Region Intercollegiate Debate on Human

Security Africa, organised by Centre for Human Security, (CHS), an arm of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library.

Some University and secondary schools from secondary schools from Nigeria and other African countries participated in the debate.

Plateau

The Special Task Force (STF) maintaining security in Plateau said there was an attempt by some miscreants to bomb a mosque in Jos recently.

This is contained in a statement signed by the STF Media Officer, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, on Saturday in Jos.

It stated that the attempted attack on the mosque took place at about 8.30 p.m.

The mosque, the statement added, was located on the Bukuru expressway in Jos South LGA.

According to the statement, the miscreants threw a hand grenade into the mosque but it failed to detonate and thereafter, they fired shots in the air and escaped.