Bauchi
Rep. Aliyu Gebi,  (Bauchi Federal Constituency) last Sat
urday called for devolution of powers from the federal level to the state and local government councils.
Gebi made the call in a paper entitled: “Hindrances to Transformation Agenda. The Way Forward”, he delivered at the Annual National Alumni Lecture of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.
He said it would be difficult to deliver dividends of democracy with the current power structure in the country, adding that it would be difficult to realise the aims of the Federal Government’s transformation agenda if power structure remained unchanged.
Earlier, the National President of the alumni association, Malam Mohammed Wada, said the association would continue to uphold the aspirations of the founding fathers of the university.
Benue
The priest in charge of the Catholic Youth
Centre, Makurdi,  Rev. Fr. Ambrose Amue, last Sunday appealed to Nigerians to exhibit humility in public service.
Amue, who  made the appeal at a sermon, said that humility was necessary as those in leadership positions were entrusted with such responsibility by the people.
He said  humility would always enable political officer holders to act with fear of God and  provide selfless service to the people.
The cleric urged politicians to consider political appointments as an opportunity to serve the people better.
According to him,  leadership is about rendering service and that those occupying the positions of responsibility must see themselves as servants  rather than  masters of the people.
Borno
The Borno State Government said last Sunday that it
would partner with Pakistan to harness the full agricultural potential of the state.
Governor  Kashim Shettima made the statement while receiving a Pakistani trade delegation, led by the Nigerian High Commissioner to Pakistan, Alhaji Dauda Danladi, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Maiduguri.
Shettima pointed out that the partnership would cover areas like agriculture, pharmaceuticals, sports and gum Arabic among others, and declared that government was also making effort to revive the state’s education system through strengthening of science education.
The governor said that the administration was also willing to partner with Pakistan in the area of training for science teachers and training of medical doctors.

Jigawa

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)
in Jigawa State has arrested a 25-year-old woman for allegedly dumping her new born baby girl in a graveyard in Kazaure Local Government.
The NSCDC commandant in the state, Mr Muhammad Gidado, said last Saturday in Dutse that the suspect was arrested last Friday at Ilallah quarters in Kazaure town.
Gidado said the woman, who was a housemaid in the area, was arrested after the corps conducted a thorough investigation among divorcees, widows, housemaids and prostitutes living in the area.
He said a medical examination at the General Hospital at Hadejia revealed that the suspect was the biological mother of the baby.
Kaduna
Kaduna State chapter of the Jamaatu Izalatul Bidia
Waiqatusunnah (JIBW) last Saturday said youth empowerment was key to the eradication of moral decadence and violence among them.
Chairman of the group, Sheik Tukur Isa said this when he led other officials to pay a courtesy visit to the Chairman of Jema’a Local Government Area in Kafanchan, Kaduna State.
He said government at all levels should take the empowerment of young people as a cardinal point in their programmes, adding that self-reliant youths remained one of the keys to addressing lots of the social vices facing the country.
The cleric commended Jema’a local government council’s efforts at uniting the people of the area and pledged its support and prayers for unity among the people.
Kano
Kano State Government has urged residents of the state
to desist from erecting structures on waterways to avoid flooding.
The Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, made the call while speaking to newsmen in Kano shortly after the monthly environmental sanitation exercise on Saturday.
Abbas said the flood which occurred in many parts of the state was man-made and could have been prevented if people did not block waterways.
According to him, “people erect structures on top of waterways and drains and when there is a down pour they experience flood because the passages are blocked. I want to commend the Governor Kwankwaso administration for its efforts to revert to Kano’s initial town plan. That is the only solution to the current situation as some structures have been moved away to free the waterways.”

Kogi

Governor Idris Wada of Kogi State has approved the
appointment of four new permanent secretaries into the state civil service.
This is contained in a statement by the Permanent Secretary in charge of the state Civil Service Commission, Mr Felix Ogbodo.
The statement, a copy of which was made available to newsmen last Sunday in Lokoja, named  new permanent secretaries  as  Messrs James Adedoyin, Usman Odawn, Ibrahim Joshua and Mrs Iyabode Agbore.
It said the appointments was with immediate effect.

Kwara

APC chairmanship candidate in the Irepodun Local Gov
ernment Area of Kwara State, Mr Abdulraheem Olawuyi, has called on religious leaders to assist government in reviving the nation’s education sector.
Olawuyi made the call last Sunday at the 2012/2013 Prize Giving Day ceremony of the Omu-Aran Summer School Programme in Omu-Aran.
Olawuyi who decried the not-too impressive fortune of the education sector in Nigeria, said the trend posed grave danger to the growth and economic development of the country.
According to him, any nation aspiring to develop either through research, scientific or medicinal needs to strive harder to ensure a high level educational development of its citizenry.
“Government at all levels in the country seems to be at a loss as the state of Nigeria’s education sector declines by day. It is declining at such an alarming rate, hence the need for divine intervention through prayers.

Niger

Activities of Prison Fellowship of Nigeria in the areas of
evangelism and care for inmates have brought about positive changes in the lives of inmates across the country.
Pastor Peter Okere, the chaplain of the fellowship, Suleja chapter, stated this last Saturday in Suleja, Niger State, at a one-day Prison Ministers’ Conference entitled  “The Chosen One’’.
He said the fellowship’s decision to embark on prison outreach programmes was informed by its belief that prisoners deserved God’s love.
Okere urged the public to have compassion for prisoners, insisting that experience had shown that repentant prisoners had been useful in the spread of the gospel and prevention of crimes.

Ondo

A teenager, Oluwaseyi Adelegan, 14, was last Friday
murdered by unknown assailants at his father’s house in Akure.
The deceased is the son of Chief Solomon Adelegan, the National President, Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services.
The Police Public Relation Officer (PPRO) in Ondo State, Mr Wole Ogodo, confirmed the incident.  It is obvious the young boy was killed while trying to move out of his bedroom to the sitting room before he eventually gave up,’’ Ogodo said.
Ogodo, who said that no arrest had been made, said that the case had been transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID).
According to him, “the information surrounding the death of the young boy is still sketchy, but I assure you that police will get to the root of the crime”.

Taraba

A joint meeting of Taraba State chapters of the Muslim
Council and the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) last Saturday advised politicians not to use religion to pursue their selfish agenda in the State.
In a communiqué issued at the end of their meeting in Jalingo, CAN and the Muslim Council decried the manner politicians in the state were whipping up religious sentiments to achieve selfish political goals.
The communiqué was signed by the State Chairman of the Muslim Council, Alhaji Inuwa Mafindi and the state Vice Chairman of CAN, Rev. Ben Ubeh.
It observed that Taraba had been “unnecessarily thrown into a state of confusion by selfish politicians who did not mean well for it since the return of Gov. Danbaba Suntai on August 25.
The communiqué commended the State Government and the peoples  efforts aimed at maintaining peace and for their tolerance of one another. It urged the people to remain calm to ensure that the prevailing peace was sustained.