THE STATES

Benue

The Benue State Government last Monday said that
retired civil Servants in the state were being owed gratuities amounting to N7.4 billion.
The Head of Service, Mr Terna Ahua,  disclosed   in Makurdi, that the debts dated back to 1995 and represented unpaid gratuities, owed either to retired civil servants or their next of kin.
Ahua said that it was unfortunate that during the military era, many public servants were relieved of their jobs, even when there were no resources to settle their benefits.

FCT

Commercial drivers at Abuja’s Jabi Motor Park have
lamented the dearth of passengers for them in recent times, blaming this on “illegal parks’’ and dwindling spending power of many Nigerians.
Some of them told our source last Sunday that “the poor state of the country’s economy’’ could be particularly responsible for the situation.
They said there was a paucity of cash in circulation in the last one month, pointing out that many Nigerians have as a result refrained from spending as before.

Jigawa

The Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) last Sunday announced Alhaji Abubakar Murtala of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the State House of Assembly by-election in Ringim Constituency of Jigawa, held last  Saturday.
The INEC Chief Returning Officer, Alhaji Umar Sani, said that the PDP candidate polled 22,431 to defeat his close rival of All Progressive Congress (APC) who scored 11,533 votes.
The re-run poll followed the death of the former Deputy Speaker of the state assembly, Alhaji Inuwa Udi in a road accident in August.
Sani said that a total of eight political parties participated in the by-election.

Kaduna

Christians resident in Kafanchan in Kaduna State
could not attend the usual Sunday church service as a result of the curfew imposed on the city after the civil strife in the city, last Friday.
They had to stay in their respective homes in compliance with the restriction on movements within the city.
The situation in the city, which is the Jama’a Local Government Area’s headquarters, was against the usual practice, as there was always a large turnout of Christians on Sundays for services.
Some  residents said the presence and strict measures adopted by security agents made it impossible for them to go to their respective churches.

Kano

Some victims of flood disaster in Tarauni Local Gov
ernment Area of Kano State last Sunday appealed to Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso to take necessary measures to ameliorate their sufferings.
Making  the appeal in an interview, one of victims, Malam Musa Lawan, said the call was necessary as no fewer than 575 persons were displaced in the area during the flooding of August 9 stating that nobody had come to their aid or given them any assistance since the flood disaster.

Lagos

Some lawyers last Sunday said the endorsement of a
national conference by Senate President, David Mark, was a realisation that the challenges facing the country needed to be discussed.
In interviews in Lagos, the lawyers said that it was important a national conference was convened in order for the country to remain a single, peaceful entity.
According to Mr Onyekachi Ubani, chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch, Nigeria stands to gain by organising a talk where the questions of the ethnic nationalities staying together will be honestly and unemotionally discussed.
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Nasarawa

The Police in Nasarawa State last Monday confirmed
the arrest of no fewer than 40 suspects in connection with the recent ethnic clashes in the state.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Umar Shehu, told newsmen in Lafia that the police also recovered weapons and charms from the suspects.
He said that the police had also discovered a shallow grave at Tudun Adabu in the Obi Local Government Area of the state, where Alhaji Alhassan Gidado, Managing Director of the Police Community Bank, Tunde Banwo and their driver, Aliyu Adamu, were buried after they were killed.
The commissioner said that the suspects directly linked to the killing of the bank chief were among those arrested by the police, while their remains had been unearthed for proper burial.

Ogun

The Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ota, Ogun
State, last Sunday, said it was set to embark on programmes that would reduce road accidents in the ember months.
The Ota Unit Commander of the corps, Mr Omafu Sunday, said in Ota that the programmes would help to sensitise motorists on speed limits.
According to him, the rate of road mishaps in Sango-Ota and its environ in the ember months is alarming and something must be done fast to check it.
“Our first outing will focus on public enlightenment rallies at all the auto parks in Ota. Subsequently, we will then move to other areas,’’ he said.

Ondo

The Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB)
said last Monday that its Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) would be computer-based from 2015.
The JAMB Registrar, Prof. Dibu Ojerinde, said this in Akure at an advocacy campaign on the advantages of the Computer-Based Test (CBT).
Ojerinde, who said that there were enough facilities for the CBT in Ondo state, also made it clear that candidates who chose to write the next UTME in the state would have no option than the CBT.

Oyo

Nigeria may not be classified as a developed nation
by 2020 if the country fails to tackle child labour.
This was contained in a communique issued at the end of a three-day workshop on elimination of child labour in Nigeria organised by the International Labour Organisation International Programme on Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) for media professionals.
The National Bureau of Statistics had in 2000 estimated that more than 15 million Nigerian children are involved in child labour consisting of 7,812,756 males and 7,214,856 females.
The ILO, however, said “Nigeria may not be classified as a developed nation by 2020 if predisposing factors are not addressed by stakeholders.”

Sokoto

Chairman of the Poverty Reduction Committee in
Sokoto State, Dr Jabbi Kilgori, says the Yabo Local Government in the state is planning to give jobs to 1,000 unemployed youths.
The committee chairman said last Sunday in Sokoto  State that the gesture was sequel to a recent directive by Governor  Aliyu Wamakko noting that the employment scheme was under the Subsidy Re-investment Programme (SURE-P) in the state.
Kilgori, who is also the state’s Commissioner for Environment said the youths would be paid monthly allowances of N10,000 each and disclosed that “The youths will be engaged in some projects aimed at improving the environment and keeping environmental problems at bay.”

Zamfara

Governor  Abdulazez Yari of Zamfara State las Mon
day in Gusau said gunmen had killed 160 people and abducted 10 married women in different villages of the state in the last three months. Yari who made the disclosure when he addressed members of the state House Assembly on security situation in the state  said the situation had caused disaffection between residents of the affected villages and the state government.
The governor said the hoodlums, who continued to terrorise villages in parts of the state, stole no fewer than 6,000 cows and 4,000 sheep within the period.
Yari said the state government was handicapped, and urged the Federal Government to deploy more security personnel to the state to protect lives and property of the people.
The Speaker, Alhaji Sanusi Rikijin, assured the governor of the assembly’s support,“We will consult with other state houses of assembly and the National Assembly to ensure justice, equity and fair play in the country,’’ Rikijin said.