Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State has ap
proved the extension of the appointment of Justice Nathan Musa as the acting Chief Judge of the state.
Nyako also approved the appointment of Alhaji Muhammed Alkali as the acting Grand Khadi of the state Sharia Court of Appeal.
The approvals were contained in a statement signed by the Adamawa Judiciary Head of Information, Mr Ishaya Lidawus, last Tuesday in Yola.
The statement said the extensions were in line with the recommendation of the National Judicial Council (NJC).
“Both appointments were in accordance with the provisions of the 1999 Constitution as amended,” the statement said.
Ekiti
A Muslim cleric, Alhaji Musbaudeen Yisah, last Tuesday
urged Muslim faithful to be moderate in their celebration of the forthcoming Eid-el-Kabir festival.
According to him, Muslims should use the period to serve Allah wholeheartedly and worship the creator in accordance with His command.
“It is against Islamic injunction to take loan or spend above your limited resources for the celebration. Allah does not have interest in how much you expend in buying rams but your commitment and sincerity of purpose,” Yisah said.
He noted that some people lay more emphasis on the celebration than the worship of Allah and doing His will and appealed to Muslims to monitor the movement of their children and wards during the celebration to avoid unpleasant occurrences.
FCT
Justice Abubakar Umar of an FCT High Court last Tues
day ordered a Polish woman, Dora Gilmaska, standing trial over a N9 million scam, to appear unfailingly on November 14.
The judge gave the order after the Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Samuel Ugwegbulam, said that the woman had for the second time, failed to appear in court.
The EFCC is prosecuting Gilmaska, the Executive Officer of Icon Media and Marketing Agency Limited, for allegedly forging and issuing a dud cheque of N9 million to one Tayo Olugbemi in 2012.
Her counsel, Mr Selekowei Larry (SAN), prayed the court for an adjournment to enable him trace her, electing that his client had not communicated to him, her reason for not being in court.
The judge, then adjourned the matter to November 14 for adoption of the final written addresses.
Gombe
Traditional rulers in Gombe State last Tuesday promised
to reinforce their campaign against rape in the state to save the girl-child from being ruined.
They made the promise when members of the Child Protection Network (CPN), an NGO, and officials of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) paid advocacy visit to the Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Abubakar, in Gombe.
The District Head of Bolari, in Gombe metropolis, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, descried the increasing cases of rope in the state.
Earlier, the Coordinator, CPN Kano, Alhaji Mohammed Ali-Mashi, urged the traditional rulers to take the campaign to their subjects and enjoined the traditional rulers to impress on clerics to preach against the menace in mosques, churches, naming ceremonies and other social gatherings.
Jigawa
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC)
in Jigawa State has said that it arrested a 45- year-old man for alleged fraud.
The State Commandant, Mr Muhammad Gidado, said that “the suspect had been duping people in Dutse and its environs”.
He alleged that the suspect paraded himself as a close associate of Jigawa and Kebbi States governors adding that the suspect promised to secure his victims contracts to supply 500 cars each to the Kebbi and Jigawa governments.
Gidado said the suspect told his victims that the money would be used to pay for his hotel and feeding allowances throughout his stay in the states to facilitate the contracts.
Kaduna
The Kaduna State House of Assembly has expressed
dissatisfaction with the level of sanitation in the state, saying the government must justify the N90 million it spends monthly on refuse disposal.
The House took the stand last Tuesday after reviewing the report of its committees on Environment, Natural Resource, Solid Minerals, Works and Transport as well as Land, Survey and Country Planing.
The Assembly had on September 25 mandated the committees to jointly evaluate the sanitation situation in the state following complaints from the public.
It said the state was too dirty and that the government needed to take action to justify the huge monthly expenditure on refuse evacuation and disposal.
Kogi
Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) last Tues
day said it had rehabilitated 300 km out of 1, 630 km federal roads in Kogi.
The Director of FERMA in the state, Mr Kayode Emmanuel, said in Lokoja that 225 km of the roads were awarded to contractors for rehabilitation.
According to him, the remaining 75 km were executed through direct labour by the agency and listed the roads rehabilitated to include: Itakpe-Ogaminana-Kabba road, Ajaokuta-Anyigba road, Anyigba-Otukpa road and Kabba-Okorogbede road.
The director said that all the Federal Government roads in the state were in good condition except Okene-Ajaokuta road, Kabba-Omuo-Ekiti road and Egbe-Kwara State boundary road which were in terrible shape.
Kwara
A bill seeking an amendment to the Area Court Law of
Kwara, 2006, last Tuesday passed second reading in the state House of Assembly.
The bill was sent to the House in September by Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed.
The motion for the second reading of the bill was moved by the Majority Leader of the House, Alhaji AbdulGaniyu AbdulKareem, and seconded by Mrs Ebun Owolabi representing Ekiti Constituency.
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Prof. Gana Yissa, who presided over plenary, referred the bill to the House Committee on Judiciary, Ethics and Privileges for more inputs. He directed the House Committee on Business and Rules to monitor the progress on the bill.
Nasarawa
The National Association for the Blind, Lafia chapter in
Nasarawa State, has urged the state government to institute a scholarship scheme for its members.
The Chairman of the union, Malam Hassan Adogo,who made the appeal in a statement last Tuesday in Lafia Adogo said members of the union needed scholarships to enable them to pursue studies that would make them become self-reliant later in life.
He said the blind had always participated in elections but never received any dividends of democracy when elected governments were inaugurated.
The scholarship, he added, would go a long way in helping many of its members to complete and even further their education.
Ogun
The Nigeria Postal Service (NIPOST), Ogun territory, last
Tuesday said it had received 362,593 letters and parcels within eight months.
The Area Postal Manager, Mr Afolabi Mathias, said in Abeokuta that emphasis was shifted from individual mailers to bulk mailers between January and August.
The manager said that the use of ICT had enhanced the services of NIPOST, adding that the Internet was, however, limited in the number of facilities provided.
According to him, the baggage on ground can not be sent by Internet and maintained that the post would continue to be relevant because people would continue to receive and send messages, especially hard copies.
He advised students to embrace the habit of writing letters to improve their writing skills, saying that the use of postal service would boost their writing skills.
Ondo
Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation,
Chief Olu Falae, last Tuesday, urged members of the cc State House of Assembly to render selfless service to the people.
Falae made the remark in his Oba-ile residence in the state when the lawmakers paid him a condolence visit over the death of his son, Deji in the plane crash in Lagos last Thursday.
The Afenifere Chieftain appreciated the lawmakers over the Assembly’s nomination of his deceased son as a two-time commissioner under Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s administration.
In a remark, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr Dare Emiola, who led other lawmakers to Falae’s house, described Deji’s death as “rude shock and as a great loss to the people of the state.“
Sokoto
Governor Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto State has directed
the Ministry of Finance to begin the payment of October salaries to the state civil servants.
A statement Tuesday in Sokoto by the Senior Special Assistant to Wamakko on Media, Malam Sani Umar, said the directive was to enable the Muslims to celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir slated for October 15, next tuesday.
It stated that the payment of the salaries should start today.
‘’The governor has therefore, directed the state Ministry of Finance to ensure that the salaries are paid latest by Friday. ‘’The measure is meant to assist the civil servants to celebrate the Eid-el-Kabir comfortably with their families,’’ the statement added.
Yobe
Yobe State Livestock Pilot Development Programme, Dr
Mustapha Gaidam, said 5.2 million livestock had been vaccinated against various diseases since 2009 in the State.
Mustapha said in Damaturu on Saturday that the state was now targeting 1.7 million cattle, sheep, goats and dogs in the 2013 mass vaccination.
He explained that 800,000 herds of cattle were to be vaccinated against Contagious Bovine Pleuro Pneumonia (CBPP) and Black Quarter (BQ).
“Also, 900,000 sheep and goats will be vaccinated against pest de petit ruminantes and 2,500 dogs will be vaccinated against rabies”, he said.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has commemorated the 15th anniversary of the release of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Assessment Report on Ogoniland, reaffirming its commitment to restoring the environment and improving the livelihoods of affected communities.
In a statement signed by the Project Coordinator, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, to commemorate the anniversary, HYPREP described the anniversary as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s environmental restoration efforts, noting that the project has made remarkable progress in implementing the recommendations of the landmark UNEP report released on August 4, 2011.
The UNEP report had revealed extensive oil pollution across Ogoniland, severe environmental degradation, and serious public health risks resulting from decades of petroleum operations. It also recommended an initial $1 billion fund to commence the cleanup of the affected communities.
According to HYPREP, the Federal Government formally launched the Ogoni clean-up in 2016, while the Project Coordination Office was established in 2017 to drive the implementation of UNEP’s recommendations.
Zabbey said the current administration has continued to prioritise the project under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Providing an update on the cleanup, the Project Coordinator disclosed that 30 of the 65 contaminated sites identified by UNEP have been fully remediated, while work is ongoing at several medium- and high-risk locations. It also stated that more than 1.5 million mangrove seedlings have been planted as part of what it described as the world’s largest restoration of oil-degraded mangroves, with over 1,000 hectares of shoreline already rehabilitated.
Zabbey further revealed that 49 Ogoni communities have been connected to potable water schemes through multiple water projects and booster stations aimed at providing safe drinking water across the region.
In the health sector, he said the 100-bed Ogoni Specialist Hospital in Kpite and the 43-bed Cottage Hospital in Buan are nearing completion, adding that several existing health facilities have been upgraded with modern medical equipment, while five ambulances have been donated to improve emergency healthcare services. The Project Coordinator also disclosed that a three-year human health biomonitoring study is being conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
On economic empowerment, Zabbey stated that the Project has created more than 8,000 direct jobs and trained thousands of Ogoni youths and women in various vocational and technical skills, including software development, cybersecurity, aviation, commercial diving, seafaring, mechatronics, and creative arts. The project also reported awarding scholarships to more than 1,000 students, providing grants to small businesses, and supporting persons living with special needs through skills acquisition programmes.
The statement further highlighted ongoing legacy projects, including the Ogoni Power Project and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, which it said is about 96 per cent complete. HYPREP also welcomed the recent designation of the Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site of International Importance and pledged to continue promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of the ecosystem.
Marking the anniversary, Zabbey said the progress achieved over the past 15 years demonstrates the collective commitment of government, development partners, stakeholders, and local communities to restoring Ogoniland. He called for renewed collaboration to sustain the cleanup effort, promote environmental sustainability, and support the long-term development of the region. 3