Nation
THE STATES
Bauchi
The management of NIGAZ company has said that River Kolmari, situated between Bauchi and Gombe States border, is capable of producing 10 Megawatts of electricity for the nation.
A representative of the firm, Mr Andrey Maslov, said this in Bauchi while presenting the feasibility studies the company conducted in conjunction with the Northern Nigeria Development Company (NNDC).
The feasibility was presented to the Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Alhaji Sangir, and other stakeholders.
Sangir said that 25 million dollars (N3.89 billion) was required for the whole project which was expected to be completed within 15 months to 18 months from the date of commencement.
FCT
The Budget Office of the federation has denied issuing any directive to ministries, departments and agencies to ignore the implementation of the 2013 appropriation bill.
This is contained in a statement by Mr Francis Ojiah, Director, Administration, Budget Office, in Abuja.
“We wish to state categorically that this is absolutely untrue.
“At no time since the passage of the 2013 budget and subsequent assent by Mr President, did the budget office issue such a directive,” it said.
Gombe
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Aminu Tambuwal, has performed the foundation laying ceremony of the N2.7 billion International Conference Centre (ICC) in Gombe State.
Tambuwal commended Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State for initiating the construction of the centre and other projects executed in the state.
He said the governor’s efforts were in line with the PDP’s manifesto of peace and development.
“You are all aware that Gombe State is the second least in terms of federation allocation but the projects the governor has executed show that there is prudence and accountability in the state,” he said.
Kaduna
The Kaduna State University, Kaduna, last Saturday graduated 1,705 students from 2008/2009 and 2011/2012 sessions.
The Vice Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Barnabas Qurix, announced this during the maiden convocation of the institution.
Ourix said 14 students graduated with first class honours.
He said the candidates graduated from mathematics, computer science, bio-chemistry and other departments.
Kano
The Kano State Government I says a total of 1,600 women were trained in poultry production in the state in the past two years.
The governor of the state, Alhaji Rabi’u Kwankwaso, made the disclosure at the graduation ceremony of the sixth batch of 600 women, who received training on poultry production at the Kano Poultry Institute in Tukui, Kano.
He said the trainees were selected from 16 out of the 44 Local Government Areas in the state, pointing out that the remaining 28 council areas would soon take their turn.
Kwankwaso gave an assurance that the State Government would continue to support beneficiaries of all its empowerment programmes.
Kwara
Dr Emmanuel Ojo of the Department of Political Science, University of Ilorin, has accused Nigerian lawyers of not doing enough in the fight against corruption.
The political scientist told newsmen in Ilorin that lawyers, through frivolous applications, frustrated anti-graft cases in court.
“The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), is not really helping matters in the fight against corruption in Nigeria.
“The lawyers manipulate the court system on grounds of technicalities to secure frivolous adjournments, thereby frustrating the polity and encouraging corruption.”
Lagos
Former Chairman, Ikeja branch of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN), Mr Chukwuemeka Eze, has called on federal and state governments to strictly enforce the tax laws.
Eze made the call while speaking in an interview with newmen in Lagos.
He said that strict enforcement of the tax laws would encourage compliance and ultimately improve revenue generation in the country.
Eze said that it would be difficult to achieve optimally in terms of revenue generation from taxes when the laws regulating them were not properly enforced.
Nasarawa
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Office, in Obi local government area of Nasarawa State, has advised communities in the state to ensure proper maintenance of projects executed in their domains.
The Technical Assistant Officer in the council Mr Ahmed Musa, gave the advice during an inspection of various MDGs projects in the area.
Musa said: “The government has played its part by executing these various projects in order to fight poverty and hunger.
“I urge various communities in this area to complement government’s efforts by safeguarding these projects executed in your communities.
Ogun
Two 100 level students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNNAB), were killed last Friday by a hit-and-run motorist currently at large.
An eyewitness account said that the incident happened at about 7.30 p.m. in front of Isolu Muslim High School, Alabata, about a kilometre away from FUNNAB.
The driver of the vehicle, a golden colour jeep, was said to be on top speed and trying to avoid a collision with a vehicle from the opposite direction, when he suddenly swerved and ran into the students, who were said to be returning home from school.
Ondo
The Deji of Akure, Oba Adebiyi Adesida, has commended the Ondo State Government for its urban renewal and beautification projects in Akure and other major towns.
Adesida gave the commendation in Akure, while speaking with newsmen.
He noted that the administration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko had performed creditably in many areas.
The monarch particularly extolled the administration for transforming Akure into a modern state capital.
Adesida, who is the Chriamn of Ondo State Council of Traditional Rulers, stressed that he was happy that Akure had experienced a remarkable transformation, especially in the area of infrastructure.
Plateau
Women in Riyom Local Government Area of Plateau State failed to attend the free medical treatment organised by the Special Task Force (STF) maintaining peace in the state.
The medical outreach was organised by the task force as a strategy for creating mutual co-existence amongst the people of the state.
A representative of the women, Mrs Naomi Dalyop, said they refused to avail themselves of the service for fear of being poisoned by the military personnel.
“A lot of women refused to show up here because we were told that the drugs that would be given to us at this free medical outreach would be poisoned.
“So many of us have this notion that if we show up here, we might not return alive to our various homes.
Taraba
The permanent site for Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) in Taraba will soon be ready for commissioning, the site engineer, Mr. Shaba Owolabi, has said.
Owolabi, who spoke on behalf of the construction company handling the project, Eurobel International, stated this on Monday in Jalingo in an interview with newsmen.
He said the project, which began in November 2012, would be handed over to the board by March 23 as scheduled.
Owolabi commended the state’s JAMB coordinator, Mrs. Veronica Ayuba, for her “unflinching support” towards the completion of the project.
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.