Borno

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in the United
.States is to assist Borno  and other states in the North East  Zone in the areas of primary healthcare and agriculture.
The President, Global Development, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr Chris Elias, made this known  during a meeting with officials of  the Borno and Bauchi State Governments in the U.S.
The Special Adviser to the Borno  Governor on Media and Communication , Malam Isa Gusau, made this known in a statement issued in Maiduguri on Sunday.
“Gov. Kashim Shettima and his Bauchi counterpart, Governor  Isa Yuguda,   were at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation headquarters in Washington D.C where they held meetings with the officials for hours.

FCT
WaterAid Nigeria has called on the Federal Govern
ment to address water and sanitation issues in the country to curb deaths among children.
The organisation’s Country Representative in Nigeria, Dr Michael Ojo,  described the high mortality rate of children under five from water related cases as “scandalous’’.
Ojo made the call in an interview with newsmen in commemoration of the World Water Day, in Abuja.
He said there was need to reverse current statistics of infant deaths arising from diarrhoea and water borne diseases in the country.

Jigawa

Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa has urged
political parties to shun sentiments in the choice of their flag bearers during elections.
Lamido said this when he received the executive officers of the Nigeria Guild of Editors (NGE) in Dutse.
He said aspirants needed not to be popular among the leaders of political parties, if they had the required will to work for the people.
The governor said that over the years, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had carried out its objective of delivering dividends of democracy to Nigerians.
“It is either PDP or PDP, there is no alternative to our party, the only party that is owned by Nigerians”, he said.
Lamido said the PDP had always demonstrated that it was a party not owned or controlled by anyone or some individuals.

Kano

The Serendipity Health Care Foundation, an NGO based
in Kano, has called on the Kano State Government to focus more on the provision of safe drinking water to rural communities.
Its Coordinator, Mrs Samira Faruk, made the call at a rally the NGO organised to commemorate the World Water Day in Kano.
She said the call was necessary in view of the importance of water and sanitation to human lives.
‘’We appreciate the laudable projects Governor Rabi’u Kwankwaso is doing, but we want him to do more especially in the areas of water and sanitation in the rural areas.’’
She said the organisation was ready to partner with the state government in the area of water and sanitation with a view to achieving the desired objectives.

Kaduna

The Integrity Network, a group under the All
Progressives Congress (APC), has urged youths in the country to shun “politics of deceit, money, religious bigotry and ethnic manipulation”.
Leader of the network Malam Umar Yahya, made the call at an interactive session with youths in Kaduna as part of the APC’s grassroots mobilisation.
The session has as its theme: Integrity and Corruption: Wither Nigerian?
Yahya said the aim was to ensure that the youths played vital role in the evolution of a new leadership in the country through democratic principles.

Lagos

Some lawyers in Lagos have criticised the wearing of
branded jackets belonging to religious organisations by the accused while standing trial in court.
Their reactions came against the backdrop of an accused, Dairus Nweze, 37, who appeared before a magistrate in a sleeveless branded jacket of a church — The Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Church — with Scriptural inscriptions on it.
Our correspondent reports that the accused is facing a charge of assault at an Ogudu Magistrates’ Court.
He had earlier entered a plea of “not guilty’’.
Court officials had asked the accused to remove the jacket, but he reluctantly responded that he could remove it and chose to walk out of the courtroom.

Niger

The Niger Government has sent packing 200 Fulani
herdsmen from Gunu village in Shiroro Local Government Area of the state to Rijana, their ancestral village in Kaduna State.
The Director-General of the state’s department in charge of Nomadic Affairs, Alhaji Sadiq Abubakar, addressed the herdsmen shortly before their departure.
He said the decision to send them home was based on “security issues’’.
Abubakar said the herdsmen erred by not informing their association in the state about their intention to migrate in such a large number with their herds.

Ogun

As the world observed World Water Day recently, the Ogun
Government has renewed its commitment to make potable water available to the citizens.
The Commissioner for Special Duties, Mr Olu Odeyemi, said this in Abeokuta in an interview with newsmen.
Odeyemi said that the state government’s efforts in providing good drinking water for the people were being hampered by inadequate power supply.
He disclosed that the government was negotiating with some power companies from Índia and China to have alternative way of generating power rather than depending on the government.
Osun
A former military administrator of Ebonyi, Sen.Simeon
Oduoye, 69, is dead.
Oduoye, who represented Osun Central Senatorial Zone in the Senate on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party from 2003 to 2007, died in Osogbo.
Mr Bola Ajao, PDP Publicity Secretary in Osun, confirmed Oduoye’s death to newsmen in an interview last Saturday in Osogbo.
He described Oduoye’s death as “a blow to the party” adding that the deceased was a gentleman to the core, who served the country diligently.
Plateau

The Plateau Government says it will spend two billion
naira to restock the 30-years-old Jos Wild Life Park.
The commissioner for Information and Culture, Mr Abraham Yiljap,  made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Jos recently.
Yiljap said the step would address the park’s declining fortunes and patronage following years of neglect of the facility famed to be the largest man-made zoo in Nigeria.
“We want to upgrade the facility to realise its full potential”.
“The multiplier effects are massive but we specifically target a situation where every family will seek to visit the Jos Wild Life Park and have a good time,’’ he said.

Sokoto

A 4-day Maiden Conference on Basic and Applied Sci
ences has ended in Sokoto with participants advocating inter-disciplinary approaches to researches.
This is contained in a communique signed by the Dean, Faculty of Science, Prof. Aminu Ibrahim, and made available to newsmen in Sokoto recently.
The conference which was organised by the Faculty of Science, Sokoto State University, Sokoto, between March 17 and March 20, had as its theme, “Impact of Basic and Applied Sciences on Resource Acquisition and Management”.
The communique advised that, “the institutions of higher learning and research institutes should give more emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches to researches.’’
It also called for more “investigations in order to obtain a qualitative and enduring solution to resource scarcity”.

Taraba

The Acting Governor of Taraba, Alhaji Garba Umar, says
he believes in the ability of the new  leadership of the PDP to bring back those who defected from party.
Umar said this during a media parley with newsmen in Jalingo recently.
‘’Ahmed Muazu is active and he wants his people to return to PDP. I believe he will achieve this and win back most if not all defectors before the next general elections,’’ Umar said.
He said Taraba remained peaceful in the region because the PDP brought all the stakeholders to dialogue and enlightened the people on the need for development through peaceful co-existence
‘’We achieved peace in Taraba today through dialogue. We brought together major stakeholders: emirs, chiefs, clergymen to enlighten and talk to the people that destruction of lives and property was affecting our development and advancement.

L-R: Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State (2nd-left) and Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu (right), signing an MoU for National Vesicovaginal Fistula (VVF) Centre in Bauchi, last Monday. Photo: NAN.