Bauchi

Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda last Monday refuted recent media reports that he was lobbying to run as vice-president alongside President Goodluck Jonathan in 2015.

In a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the national chairman of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Osaro Onaiwu, Yuguda said he thought he put the speculations to rest when he previously stated that he was returning to his farm upon completing his second term as the state governor in 2015. Onaiwu said the governor said he would not be distracted from his commitment to stay focused on delivering dividends of democracy to the people of his state before he leaves office.

The Special Adviser further blamed the peddlers of such rumours as political jobbers who are looking for ways to profit from creating disaffection among politicians.

Borno

Five people, including a traditional leader, two Islamic clerics, a policeman and a resident were at the weekend killed in separate attacks in Borno and neighbouring Yobe State by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram.

Our source gathered that the traditional ruler who was the District Head of Auno, a small community along the Maiduguri-Damaturu highway was killed last Friday night by suspected Boko Haram Islamists.

Sources said the gunmen drove to the residence of the district head in a volkswagen Golf car at about 9pm and opened fire to scare residents before they kill  the district head. Auno is 22 kilometres west of Maiduguri, Borno State capital.

The two clerics, according to sources, were shot dead at Kandahar and T-junction areas of Potiskum town in Yobe State at about 8pm and 10pm last Friday while another resident was reportedly killed at about 9.30am last Saturday.

Unconfirmed report also indicated that a policeman was shot dead near Muna Motor Park along Maiduguri-Dikwa road last Saturday morning. Neither the police nor the JTF confirmed all the killings as at press time.

Ekiti

Ekiti State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has charged its members not to think that the state deputy governor, Mrs Funmi Olayinka, was killed by evil people, saying that her battle with cancer started manifesting since 2009 “when we were in the trenches.”

This is just as it mourned the death of Mrs Olayinka, saying that it would ensure that her death would not be a source of discord in the party.

Chairman of Ekiti ACN, Chief Jide Awe, who addressed newsmen in Ado-Ekiti last Monday, said “we are determined to ensure that her death will not be a point of disagreement among us in the ACN.”

Chief Awe, who described the death of Mrs Olayinka as a big loss to the party, said should there be any rancour among the membership of the party, “she will never forgive us.”

FCT

The PDP has alleged that a group of opposition parties are planning to use INEC and the judiciary to discredit its leadership and destabilise the party.

This allegation is contained in a statement by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, in Abuja last Sunday.

According to him, they used judicial officers of questionable integrity to destroy the credibility of the PDP 2012 national convention which brought in its current National Working Committee. (NWC).

Metuh said that till date, the PDP remained the only political party in the country that conducted transparent internal elections which started with the ward, local government and state congresses.

The PDP spokesman maintained that the party’s 2012 convention was not only unique in the level of participation of party members, but was free of rancour.

Kano

The police in Kano State have demoted 10 officers for offences related to misconduct and the lack of professionalism, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Musa Majiya, said.

He said three of the 10 officers were Inspectors, demoted to the rank of  sergeants, while the sergeants among them were demoted to the rank of  corporals.

The spokesman said the corporals were demoted to the rank of constables, while the constables were issued with warning letters.

He noted that among the offences committed by the officers was corruption, incivility to the public, maltreatment as well as the lack of professional conduct.

Majiya said that 18 of the complaints lodged by the public were amicably resolved the command, as they were mainly due to the lack of understanding by the public and urged the public to be watchful and report to the command any strange police action.

Lagos

Mixed reactions have continued to trail the Federal Government’s inauguration of a committee to consider amnesty for the Boko Haram sect, with some politicians lauding the move, while others faulting it.

Reacting to the development last Saturday, Alhaji Musa Umar, the former Deputy National Chairman of the de-registered Alliance for Democracy (AD), said the decision was welcomed.

According to him, any hope of peace at this moment was worth pursuing.

Also, Mallam Yusuf Buba, the National Chairman of the de-registered Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD), said that the decision was understandable and welcomed.

Niger

Worried by the difficulty in finding lasting solution to insecurity in the region occasioned by activities of the Islamic group, Boko Haram, Chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF) and Governor of Niger State, Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, has challenged the governors to fish out members of the dreaded group in their states.

Aliyu’s recent position is coming against the backdrop of allegations among a section of Nigerians that some Northern state governments know and dine with members of the group because, “they cannot exist in a vacuum or isolate themselves from other humans”.

Aliyu spoke at the opening of a one-week in-house workshop on “the review and evaluation of the 2006 population and housing census”, organised for all Federal Commissioners and State Directors of the National Population Commission (NPC) in Minna.

Ogun

Ogun State Govenor, Ibikunle Amosun last Saturday offered automatic employment to 19 first class graduating students of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye.

Amosun who made the announcement during the 22nd convocation ceremony of the institution in Ago Iwoye last Saturday, said the state civil service would be glad to absorb the students so that they can  impact positively on the development of the state.

While congratulating the graduating students, Amosun said government would continue to give its support to the university.

Earlier in his speech, Prof.Saburi Adesanya, the acting Vice-Chancellor of the institution said 7,794 graduands were being conferred with first degrees and higher degrees.

Ondo

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State and the state government, last Monday, disagreed over welfare of workers in the state, as the PDP accused government of inability to pay workers’ salaries.

The party, in a statement by its director of publicity, Ayo Fadaka, alleged that the state government had, since the beginning of the year, not been able to meet its obligations to the workers.

“Government, in an attempt to shield the fact of the matter, has embarked on a subterfuge that it is trying to unmask the existence of ghost workers in its workforce, but the truth is that, the Olusegun Mimiko-led administration, in its years in government, has grossly mismanaged the finances of the state to the level that it can no longer fulfil its financial obligations,” the PDP said.

Oyo

More Nigerians and political parties have joined in mourning the death of Ekiti Deputy Governor, Mrs Funmi Olayinka.  The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Oyo State in a statement issued by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Dauda Kolawole, in Ibadan last Sunday described her death as unfortunate, shocking and devastating.

It said the South West zone was passing through a difficult moment with the death of its illustrious sons and daughters whose services were much needed for the zone’s development.

Taraba

The Acting Governor of Taraba State Alhaji Garba Umar, has called on the Federal Government to reimburse the state for constructing two federal roads.  Umar made the call in Jalingo last Saturday when officials of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC) paid him a courtesy visit.

He said the reimbursement would cover the cost of constructing the 72 km Jalingo-Sunkani- Garbachede and 45 km Mararaba-Baissa- Abong roads.

Umar added that work on the Mararaba Baissa-Abong road had reached advanced stage while the Jalingo-Sunkani-Garbachede road would be inaugurated next month.