THE STATES

Bauchi
The Federal Government has been urged to resolve its
differences with the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and end the seven-month-old strike by the lecturers.
The call was made by the  president of the students union government of  Federal  Polytechnic, Bauchi, Malam Abubakar Bako.
Bako told newsmen that the lingering strike by the lecturers was having a toll on the students hence the need to end it and prevent idle polytechnic students from taking to crime.
He said that the strike, if not resolved, could force students into social vices due to idleness and frustration.

Benue

The Benue State House of Assembly has elected a new
Minority Leader, Mr Benjamin Adanyi, representing Makurdi South constituency on the platform of All Progressives Congress (APC).
Adanyi was before his elevation the chairman, committee on Culture and Tourism.
Reading the letter on the elevation during plenary last week, the Speaker, Mr Terhile Ayua, stated that Adanyi’s elevation became possible due to the vacuum created by a Supreme Court’s ruling.
However, Mr Ianna Jato, (Katsina-Ala East), objected to the method used in Adanyi’s appointment, saying it breached the House’s Standing Rules.

Borno

The Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA) has
distributed 1,500 irrigation pumps to 70 farmers’ associations in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states to boost food production in the country.
The CBDA Managing Director, Dr Garba Iliya, announced this  while inaugurating the 2014 dry season farming in Maiduguri.
He said that the authority also drilled boreholes in the Jere Local Government Area of Borno State to provide irrigation water to farmers in the area.
He said that CBDA also cultivated 150 hectares of rice in two irrigation schemes in Yobe in spite of the current security challenges in the area.

FCT

The Head of Service, Alhaji Bukar Aji, has charged Per
manent Secretaries in federal ministries to create programmes and policies that would improve the lives of women in the country.
Aji gave the charge when he led a team of federal permanent secretaries on a peer review meeting to the Ministry of Women Affairs, Abuja.
He said it was important for all permanent secretaries to align themselves with the activities of their ministries, department and agencies (MDAs) to make the civil service a world-class institution.
He said that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) had been restructured to focus on training and welfare to improve the lives of all civil servants.

Gombe

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB)
has conducted advocacy campaign on computer-based test for 100 secondary school students in Gombe State ahead of its April Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examinations (UTME).
The JAMB Deputy Director in charge of Test Development, Alhaji Muhammad Buba-Sabo, stated this at a one-day sensitisation campaign for secondary school students in Gombe State.
Buba-Sabo told the students that JAMB decided to unify its examinations to give the students the opportunity to exhibit their abilities, and urged candidates who registered for its examinations to read hard to pass.
“Your performance will determine where you are going – university, polytechnic or college of education,’’ he said.

Kano

The National Orientation Agency (NOA) says it will col
laborate with some key stakeholders on environmental issues to prepare a work plan for the “Keep Kano Clean” campaign.
The acting Director of the agency in Kano, Alhaji Muhammad Bashir, made this known  during the agency’s campaign on “Do the Right thing: Keep Kano Clean” campaign in the Kano Municipal Council..
Bashir expressed optimism that the government would facilitate the execution of the work plan in all the 44 local government areas of the state.

Kebbi

Two female hostels in the Yauri Government Girls Sci
ence Secondary School were destroyed by fire, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Science and Technical Education, Alhaji Garba Kangiwa, said recently.
Kangiwa who made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi.
He said the hostels were destroyed by an early morning inferno when the students were at the assembly ground.
He added that though no life was lost, many personal belongings of the students were destroyed.
The permanent secretary said an alternative accommodation had been provided for the 400 students displaced.

Kwara

The wife of Kwara governor, Mrs Omolewa Ahmed, has
promised to set up a cancer community of Okuta, Baruten Local Government Area of the state.
The governor’s wife disclosed this in Okuta during her cervical and breast cancer awareness campaign in the community.
Ahmed, who is the founder of LEAH Charity Foundation, said the centre to be established in March would provide facilities for screening of breast and cervical cancer at a token fee.
She told the people that cancer could be cured if detected early.

Lagos

The Nigeria Police Force has commenced training of of
ficers and men, nine months after the rehabilitation of the Ikeja Police College.
The Force Spokesman, CSP Frank Mba, told newsmen in Lagos that some officers were currently having their promotion training at the college.
It would be recalled that President Goodluck Jonathan paid a surprise visit to the institution on January 19, 2013, after a television station exposed the decay of its facilities and promised to refurbish it.
Nigerian Army engineers completed the rehabilitation of the college in May 2013, after carrying out works on 29 different buildings, including the hostels, for about three months.

Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State Chapter of Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) has directed workers in the state to shun calls by the state government for a staff audit.
The congress advised the workers not to attend any screening exercise called by any of the government offices, including the office of the head of service.
The directive of the workers’ union was contained in a statement issued in Lafia by the state NLC Chairman, Mr Asoloko Maku, and the Secretary, Mr Jacob Makama, which was made available to newsmen.
The statement was also signed by Chairman and Secretary of Trade Union Congress (TUC) in the state, Mr Danladi Namo and Mohammed Umar,.

Osun

A chieftain of the  All Progressive Congress
(APC), Bola Tinubu, said that the large turn-out for membership registration was an indication of the party’s readiness for elections.
Tinubu made the remark while answering questions from newsmen on the just-concluded registration exercise of the party in Osogbo recently.
The APC chieftain said party faithful came out on their own, adding that the exercise was transparent and well organised.
In Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, there was a massive turn-out for the registration exercise.

Plateau

The Plateau State Executive Council has ap
proved N368 million for the completion of office accommodation for special advisers to the governor.
“Part of the money will go for the purchase of official vehicles for the speaker and deputy speaker of the state House of Assembly,’’ the Commissioner for Information, Mrs Olivia Dazyam, told newsmen after the weekly meeting in Jos.
She said part of the money would also be utilised for the purchase of equipment for the Plateau Publishing Company.
Dazyam said that the meeting, chaired by Governor Jonah Jang, also considered and approved a submission for the award of contracts by the Plateau Tender’s Board.

Vice President Namadi Sambo (left) with Govwenoe Sule Lamido of Jigawa State, at the National Quranic Recitation Competition in Dutse last Friday. Photo: Nan