THE STATES

Benue

Two  persons died in a motor accident that occurred last Friday in Wannune, Tarka Local Government Area of      Benue State.

Mr Daniel Ezeala, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Benue State, said in Makurdi that the accident occurred when a lorry conveying members of the NKST Church, travelling from Ukum to Makurdi, fell off the road after hitting another vehicle, killing two persons with others sustaining injuries.

“`The vehicle, which tried to avoid a speed bump, ran into another vehicle in front, thereby causing it to fall into a ditch, which resulted into the death of the two passengers,’’ he said.

Ezeala said that the passengers were travelling for a conference of the NKST Church in Makurdi,

FCT

The Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr Reginald Stanley, last Saturday assured Nigerians of steady fuel supply.

A statement issued in Abuja by Mr Lanre Oladele, the Public Relations Officer of PPPRA, quoted Stanley as saying that the NNPC and other marketers had sufficient fuel in stock.

The statement said that the agency gave the assurance to remove the fears created in the minds of the public that there might be fuel scarcity.

It said that the agency, however, expressed regret that some marketers usually hoarded petroleum products so as to make profit during festive periods.

“We wish to assure Nigerians that there is steady trucking out of products across the country and the trend shall continue without any hindrance,’’ the statement said.

Gombe

The Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Gombe has been upgraded to a  Teaching Hospital.

According to a release signed by Malam Haruna Abdulrasheed, Assistant Director, Public Relations of the hospital issued last Friday, the approval for the upgrade was given by President Goodluck Jonathan

It said copies of the approval have been sent to the Minister of Health, Secretary to the Government of the Federation and Governor of Gombe State.

The release further said the upgrading was to enable the hospital to be used for the training of medical students of the Gombe State University.

Jigawa

The Police in Jigawa State said it recorded 21 murders and four suicides from January to December 2013.

The Commissioner of Police in the State, Mr Kayode Theophilus,  made the remarks in Dutse last Sunday.

Theophilus said 13 of the cases had been charged to court while the remaining ones were being investigated.

Theophilus stated that 72 persons were arrested for causing grievous harm/ inflicting injuries on people. “The suspects have been charged to court.’’

He disclosed that 10 armed robbers were arrested while 426 people were nabbed for stealing and three others for forging currency notes and disclosed that crime rate in the state had drastically reduced when compared with the past.

Kadunaa

The Kaduna State Police Command last Saturday in Kaduna paraded seven suspected members of a gunrunning syndicate involved in the sale, manufacture and repair of locally made guns.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Olufemi Adenaike, said that the suspected gun-runners were arrested following a tip-off from a member of the public.

Adenaike said that seven suspects, including Malam Aliyu Yahaya, the Village Head of Sabon Gidan, Kakau, in Chikun Local Government Area of the state, were arrested in the operation. According to him, investigations are still going on, with a view to arresting other members of the syndicate and others involved in the manufacture and repair of locally made guns.

He urged the public to continue to support security agents by providing them with useful information that would aid efforts to safeguard the state against terrorism and other crimes.

Kano

The Kano State Government says it will establish an e-learning centre in each of the 44 local government areas of the state this year.

The state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Tajuddeen Gambo, said last Friday in Kano State that  the project, which would be executed in collaboration with a Canadian non-governmental organisation, was part of the government’s effort to encourage e-learning.

“By 2015, JAMB examination is going to be done electronically. “So you have to ensure that all your students taking the examination are computer literate otherwise they will not pass the examination.

“The e-learning centres will be opened in each of the local government areas with no fewer than 30 computers in each centre,’’ he said.

According to him, the state government will also provide 61 computers in every secondary school.

Kebbi

The Kebbi State chapter of the Nigeria Cassava Growers Association says it is collaborating with local government councils to secure a N500-million loan for cassava growers and processors.

The association’s Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Nasiru Magaji, in a statement in Birnin Kebbi last Saturday, said that 20,000 cassava growers and processors would benefit from the loan.

He said that the gesture was to encourage more people to participate in cassava farming and processing and  commended the state government for assisting 1,488 cassava farmers to obtain loans from the Bank of Agriculture.

Magaji   also said that the moribund Cassava Processing Plant in Birnin Kebbi was being revived to produce pellets, chips, industrial starch and flour for domestic and international markets.

“The national body of the association will also assist the state branch with six additional cassava processing plants to boost the fortunes of cassava farmers,’’ he said.

Kwara

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and youths under the auspices of Youths for Change Initiative (YCI) in Ajase-Ipo in Kwara State, last  Sunday pledged to work for the victory of the party in the 2015 general elections.

The groups, in a joint communiqué issued at a meeting on political developments in the state, said the party deserved their support at this critical period.

The communiqué was jointly signed by Yusuf Rasheed, Ward 2 Secretary of PDP and the Public Relations Officer, Oyinloye Simeon, while Suleiman Mansur, signed for YCI.

According to the groups, the achievements recorded by ex-governor Bukola Saraki and his successor, Alhaji Abdulfatai Ahmed, were made possible by the people-oriented policies of the PDP.

Lagos

Commercial motorists in Lagos State last Saturday appealed to the Lagos State Government to extend the December 31, 2013-deadline fixed for the new registration of commercial vehicle operations.

Lagos State Ministry of Transportation commenced the new registration of commercial vehicles on November 1, 2013 and the exercise was expected to end on December 31, 2013.

The Commissioner for Transportation, Mr Kayode Opeifa, said at a recent meeting with transport service providers that the new vehicles’ registration was for purely security reasons.

He said that the measure was adopted to address some security issues, including kidnapping, which were always linked to commercial vehicles in the state.

Yobe

Yobe State Government has refuted the claim by the Minister of State for Finance that the Federal Government is building the 31km Gashua-Yusufari road.

In a statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Ibrahim Gaidam on Information and Press Affairs, Abdullahi Bego, the government said the claim is “stunningly false”.

The statement reads, “the attention of this office has been drawn to a false claim by the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama, that the Federal Government is building the Gashu’a-Yusufari road. “The minister made the claim during the 9pm network news of the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) last Thursday.

“Why would the minister ignore the lack of Federal Government projects in the state and instead choose to make desperate and false claims to projects being executed by Governor Gaidam.

“Coming from a politician desperate to explain the troubling lack of federal presence in Yobe State and much of the Northeast, the minister’s claim, though unbelievable, is understandable,” Bego said.

Plateau

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Plateau State said last Monday it secured 122 convictions and seized 1,494.185 kilogrammes of hard drugs in 2013.

The NDLEA Commander in the state, Mrs Ngozi Madubuike, said in Jos that all the convicts were males between the age of 17 and 22 years.

Madubuike said that their jail terms also ranged between 30 days and seven years in prison and she attributed the rise in the use of drugs in Plateau to various factors, including peer group pressure, family disintegration, unemployment and cold weather.

She appealed to the public to cooperate with the agency by providing it with useful information that could assist in stopping drug trafficking and abuse.

L-R: Majority Leader, Oyo State House of Assembly, Mr Oyeniyi Akande, Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Badejoko Adeniji, Governor Abiola Ajimobi, the deputy, Otunba Moses Adeyemo, and Chairman, Oyo State All Progressives Congress, Chief Akin Oke, at the inter-religious prayer session to usher in 2014 in Ibadan last Monday. Photo: NAN