Nation
THE STATES
Benue
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State has assured trainees from the state of access to loans to start small scale enterprises.
Suswam gave the assurance in Makurdi at the inauguration of theUultra-Moderne entrepreneurship development centre built to serve states in the North Central zone.
The states include Benue, Kogi, Nassarawa, FCT, Plateau and Kwara States.
Suswam said his administration was committed to youth empowerment, stressing that funds would be available to the youths “as soon as they have completed their training at the centre”.
FCT
Chairman, Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa, Mr Sylva Waribugo, has described the figures declared for the council in the 2006 National Population and Housing Census as grossly inaccurate.
Waribugo stated this while testifying before the Census Tribunal last Tuesday in Abuja.
He said that the 130,966 figure declared for the area did not represent the exact inhabitants in the area, adding that some of the communities were omitted during the exercise.
According to him, 300 communities in the council area were not captured by enumerators during the exercise.
Gombe
Farmers in Gombe State have lauded the efforts of the Federal Government in the distribution of subsidised fertiliser with free improved rice seeds to each registered farmer.
Some of the beneficiaries gave the commendation in separate interviews with newsmen in Kwadon area of Yamaltu/Deba local government area.
They said that each farmer had received three bags of fertiliser at N3, 000 each with a free 50-kilogramme bag of improved variety of rice seed.
Malam Hassan Ahmadu, a farmer, said the Federal Government’s gesture had helped them to cushion the effects of last year’s floods.
Jigawa
Some expectant mothers in Kiyawa, headquarters of Kiyawa local government area of Jigawa State, have commended the Partnership for Transforming Health System (PATHS-3) for renovating the maternity clinic in the area.
The PATHS-3 project, supported by the British Department for International Development (DFID), had initiated various programmes to enhance ante-natal care services in rural communities in the state.
Some of the projects executed under the PATHS-3 programme in the clinic include the renovation of the labour room, wards and upgrading of water supply system.
A cross section of the women, who spoke to newsmen in Kiyawa last Tuesday, said the rehabilitation had encouraged them to attend ante-natal clinic.
Katsina
No fewer than 339 workers of local government councils in Katsina State will benefit from in-service training this year, Chairman of the state Local Government Service Commission, Alhaji Abdulkarim Abubakar has said.
Abubakar, who announced this in Katsina, while presenting funds to some of the beneficiaries, said government had earmarked N29.7 million for the training.
He said that out of the amount, N14.8 million would be paid to 176 workers under the first phase, while the others would receive their money “in due course”.
He urged the local governments to ensure that only genuine workers benefited from the exercise.
Kogi
Kogi Deputy Governor Yomi Awoniyi has appealed to the Presidential Committee on Floods to provide more funds to meet the challenges of rehabilitating flood victims in the state.
He said that the funds would also help in the reconstruction of affected infrastructure.
A statement issued last Tuesday in Lokoja, by his Press Secretary, Mr Michael Abu, said the deputy governor made the appeal when he appeared before the committee in Abuja.
He noted that more funds from the Federal Government would enable the state government to meet the challenges posed by the devastation in the state.
Kwara
A man, Tunde Akanbi, last Tuesday, told an Ilorin Area Court that he was often provoked into beating his wife because she had no respect for him.
His 31-year-old wife, Iyabo, had urged the court to dissolve the marriage on the ground that her husband was temperamental.
The complainant told the court that her husband was often angry at the slightest provocation.
“My husband will at times beat me in the midst of our neighbours whenever he is upset,” she said.
Nasarawa
Gov. Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has commended the state’s Amirul-Hajj team for the successful conduct of the 2012 pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Al-Makura gave the commendation when he received the report of the 2012 Hajj operation from the Chairman of the team, Ahmed Aboki, in Lafia.
The governor thanked members of the team for serving the state in that capacity despite their tight schedules.
“I acknowledge your worthy contribution and for taking the responsibility with diligence in serving your father land.’’
Ogun
The Ogun State government has advised teachers in public schools to ensure timely compilation of examination marks to enable students collect their results before proceeding on vacation.
The Commissioner for Education, Mr Segun Odubela, gave the advice in Remo while monitoring the on-going second term unified examinations in public secondary schools in the state.
He said the advice became necessary to enable students and parents study the document before schools resumed for the third term.
Odubela added that the academic time-table was fashioned in a way that would give examiners ample opportunity to mark the scripts before the end of each term.
Plateau
The National Orientation Agency (NOA) has decried the misuse of mobile phones as a tool for examination malpractice.
The NOA Director in Plateau State, Mr Musa Chantu said this during the agency’s campaign against examination malpractice at Government College, Jos.
“Handset is meant to assist in bridging the hitherto communication gap within the society as the world is striving toward globalisation.
“It is rather unfortunate that most students usually misuse the rationale of having access to this communication gadget.
Oyo
An Ibadan Senior Magistrates’ Court has sentenced one Ayobami Adeoti, 35, to six months imprisonment for stealing a mobile telephone handset.
The Senior Magistrate, Mrs Kehinde Omotosho, who handed down the judgement without option of fine, said that Adeoti should serve his term with hard labour.
Our source said that the accused, who was arraigned on March 6, 2012, had pleaded guilty to the charge of stealing.
Earlier, the Prosecutor, Cpl. Sunday Ojeleye, told the court that Adeoti stole a Nokia C2 handset, valued at N8,000 belonging to one Ode Beatrice at City Centre Hotel at Mokola in Ibadan.
Zamfara
The Zamfara Government has introduced the e-payment system to curtail sharp practices in revenue generation, the Chairman, Board of Internal Revenue, Alhaji Mustapha Isa, said.
In a statement in Gusau Isa also said that the government had ordered the immediate stoppage of payments through officials of the Internal Revenue Board.
He said that the measure was in tune with global practice of electronic monitoring transactions.
The chairman also said that the new system would assist the state to improve its internal revenue base to enable it service its development strategies.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) has inducted and given orientation to 100 Ogoni youths for training on Creative Arts. The beneficiaries were drawn from Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
The induction and orientation ceremony, which took place at the CRAB of the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt on Wednesday, was a prelude to the training proper, billed to commence next Tuesday.
As usual, HYPREP issued undertaking forms to the trainees, for them to complete and submit as a guarantee that they would subject themselves to the requirements of the programme as well as be of good behaviour throughout the four-month duration of the training.
HYPREP also announced that it would pay N150,000 to each of the beneficiaries monthly, as transport and feeding allowance, stressing, however, that only those who fully participate in the training would be entitled for the allowance.
Speaking at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, welcomed the trainees to the programme, saying, HYPREP’s projects are evolving and that one thing that is happening today is that the Project has gotten leadership right, by making promises and keeping those promises.
According to him, the Project had equally promised to move away from rudimentary skills acquisition to high impacts acquisition levels, which it has kept today by sponsoring the training on Creative Arts.
He noted that in planning its livelihood programmes for Ogoni youths, HYPREP has taken time out to look for skills that would add value to the lives of the beneficiaries.
Zabbey, who was represented at the event by the Director of Technical Services, Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi said by packaging the Creative Arts training, it was expected that the Ogoni people would have their own version of Nollywood known as Ogoniwood just as Nigerians are familiar with Hollywood, Bollywood, Kannywood and Nollywood.
To achieve this goal, the Project Coordinator explained that it was the reason for choosing a reputable establishment like Halibiz Consult Limited, to partner with the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt, which he described as one of the most prestigious in the Niger Delta, for the training of the beneficiaries.
He also indicated that in doing this, HYPREP was desirous of going for talents that would help the Ogoni people grow in the film industry, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously.
Zabbey equally enjoined the trainees to put in their best so that in the next three to five years, they would carve a niche for themselves and become forces to reckon with in the film industry.
On her part, HYPREP’s Head of Sustainable Livelihood, Mrs Josephine Nzidee said HYPREP does what it says it will, stressing that the process of training Ogoni youths on specialised skills started three years ago.
According to her, the selection process for the training was rigorous and transparent, and was carried out by renowned actors actresses.
She disclosed that the training consists of three major aspects, which include acting, script writing and make-up, while Nollywood actors like Charles Nnoje, Ngezu J. Ngezu and award-winning make-up artist, Jude Odo would be on hand to drill and groom the beneficiaries.
Mrs Nzidee noted that the programme is a specialised training that does not have anything like starter packs but that it is purely a professional certification programme that would launch the beneficiaries into the Nollywood industry in Nigeria.
According to her, the Creative Arts training is one of the four specialised trainings organised by HYPREP to ensure that the Ogoni people are well positioned in vital industries like Aviation, Maritime, Creative Arts and Mechatronics.
She said the last of such trainings on Mechatronics would take place in the coming months, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously so as to put the Ogoni people on the Nollywood map.
She further indicated that while Charles Nnoje and Ngezu J. Ngezu would take the beneficiaries on the practical aspects, Jude Odo would take them on the make-up aspects.
Also speaking, the External Relations Manager of Halibiz Consult Limited, Alabo Experience Douglas said his company gives much premium to standard and quality, and assured that the firm would give the trainees value for the money spent on the programme.
While charging the beneficiaries to be dedicated and punctual, he stressed the need for them to approach the programme with the mindset of being empty so that at the end of the day, they would benefit maximally.
On his part, the Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Ovunda Ihunwo said the CRAB is an acronym for Creative Review of Arts and Books, stressing that it was named by renowned playwright, Prof Ola Rotimi.
According to him, the CRAB had nurtured, groomed and produced Nollywood actors and actresses like Bobmanuel Udokwu, Ejike Asiegbu,Francis Duru, Hilda Dokubo, Monalisa Chinda, Julius Agwu, and a host of others, assuring the beneficiaries that they were on fertile environment to hone their talents.
He noted that symbolically, the crab is a nutritious seafood common in the Niger Delta, and reiterated the need for the beneficiaries to come empty for the training, as it were.
Ihunwo disclosed that the theory classes of the programme would run for three weeks while the fourth week would be for the master classes, and urged the trainees to avail themselves of the opportunity to make a difference by telling the Ogoni story, which he described as inexhaustible by themselves, in order to put Ogoni on the map.
A 23-year-old student of Nasarawa State University identified as Jatau Rilokwah, has been reportedly found dead in the university’s senior staff quarters.
A counter-insurgency expert, focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed this on his X handle on Tuesday.
According to him, the discovery was made on April 27, 2025, by a security officer at the university, Emmanuel Gyawo.
He stated that Gwayo was directed by Prof. Shedrack Jatau to check on his son upon arriving at the residence, and he found Rilokwah hanging from the ceiling.
“Professor Jatau, who was reportedly out of the State at the time, was informed of the incident. A team of police detectives, led by the Divisional Crime Officer of Angwan Lambu, was dispatched to the scene.
“The body showed no signs of violence, and no suicide note was found. Rilokwah was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he further stated.
He added that the student’s corpse had been deposited in the hospital morgue.
He also quoted police sources as saying that investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Ogun State Government has partnered with Nike Art Gallery to establish a new exhibition space at the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre in Abeokuta, a move Governor Dapo Abiodun says is aimed at boosting annual tourist visits from 20,000 to over 100,000.
Abiodun disclosed the plan on Wednesday while receiving the founder of the Nike Art Gallery, Chief (Mrs) Nike Davies-Okundaye, at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“I went to Olumo Rock about a month ago and I decided that we needed to do something about restoring Olumo Rock to its old glory. From statistics, Olumo Rock hosts about 20,000 people a year in its current state, and I felt that we could increase that to at least ten times,” the governor said.
As part of the plan, an events hall within the tourist centre will be repurposed as a permanent gallery operated by Nike Art Gallery.
“I told them to shut it down. Practically, we want to bring it down and turn it into a gallery for you to use as an exhibition gallery,” he told Davies-Okundaye.
He added that the gallery will be ready before the National Sports Festival in May, when the State will host about 15,000 visitors.
“I want them to be able to see our tourist sites,” he said, listing attractions such as the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the Ransome-Kuti family home, and the Adire market among key heritage spots to be showcased.
Highlighting Ogun’s improved infrastructure, the governor said, “Now that we’ve succeeded in having the intra and inter-state roads in place, you can come to Ogun State by rail; you can come by air. We’ve constructed one of the best airports in Nigeria, and very soon, you will be able to come by sea.”
Davies-Okundaye, in her remarks, praised the state’s efforts to promote tourism and pledged to use the new gallery to attract global attention.
“This gallery will bring many Heads of State. The one I opened in Abuja already has more than 10 Heads of State, including those from South Korea and the Czech Republic. The same will happen here,” she said.
She also applauded the Governor for his commitment to the Adire fabric industry.
“Adire is all over Nigeria, but Ogun has been promoting Adire for over 50 years. Today, the only cloth we can call our own is called Adire. This is what we can sell to the Europeans,” she said.
Abiodun reaffirmed his administration’s backing of the Adire industry, citing policies such as the Adire Ogun Digital Marketplace, compulsory wearing of Adire in the state, and provision of solar-powered production equipment to support artisans.
He also revealed plans to open a creative arts and entertainment village in partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters, expected to be completed within two months.