THE STATES

Benue
A 33-year-old prison warder, Kenneth Jinge, has
been remanded in prison by a Makurdi Magistrates’ Court over alleged murder of a Road Safety Officer, Mr Aloysius Oguakwe.
The accused is facing a charge of culpable homicide punishable under Section 222 of the Penal Code Laws of Benue.
The Prosecutor, Mr James Zungwe, told the court that the wife of the deceased, Uzoamaka Oguakwe, reported the matter to the ‘B’ Division police station, Makurdi, on March 18.
According to the wife of the deceased, the accused,  who is their neighbour at BNARDA office, Makurdi and a staff of Nigeria Prison Service, had engaged her husband in a fight on that fateful day.

Borno
The Borno State Government has donated N10 mil
lion to the State contingents to the 2014 National Qur’anic Recitation Competition held in Dutse in March.
Governor Kashim Shettima announced the donation while receiving members of the team in his office in Maiduguri, the State capital.
Shettima said the gesture was in recognition of the superlative performance of the team at the competition which made the state proud.
He said the money should be shared equally among the seven members of the team who won laurels and their coaches.

Ekiti
A socio-cultural women group,‘Elegbe-Ulu‘, in Oye
Local Government Area of Ekiti State has advised politicians to abstain from what would spark off violence and disharmony in the state.
The leader of the group, Mrs Bolaji Omoleye, gave the piece of advice  in an interview with newsmen in Oye-Ekiti.
Omoleye, who was reacting to utterances by some politicians recently, said that such could result into violence, attacks and counter attacks among party loyalists.
According to her, it is the wishes of every woman in the state that the forthcoming governorship election is conducted under peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

FCT
A Public Health Physician, Dr Baba Ahmed has cautioned
Nigerians against excessive intake of alcohol to prevent chronic liver cirrhosis, dementia or mental disorder.
Ahmed, who works with the National Blood Transfusion Service (NBTS) told newsmen in Abuja that alcohol addicts were at risk of contracting Alzheimer’s or Parkinson disease.
According to Wikipedia an online dictionary, Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, there is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death.
Parkinson disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system, while dementia is a serious illness affecting a person’s brain and memory.

Gombe
The federal and Gombe State governments have provided
farm inputs to 16,000 rice farmers to boost dry season farming in the state, an official has disclosed.
The Programme Manager of the Gombe State Agricultural Development Programme (GSADP), Mr Ishaya Ngale, made this known to newsmen in Gombe recently.
Ngale said while the Federal Government supplied 25kg rice seeds and three bags of fertiliser to each farmer, the state government supplimented with water pumps, free tractor services and fertiliser.
According to him, the state government has 20 clusters of rice farmers spread across Funakaye, Kwami, Yamaltu/Deba and Balanga local government areas.

Kaduna
The Kaduna State Government has pledged to
work closely with the Corporate Affairs Commission to strengthen its capacity to register all existing businesses in the state.
The state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr Joshua Uchissa made the pledge in Kaduna at a workshop on business registration organised by CAC and GEMS3.
The workshop had as its theme: “Promoting Business in our Country”.
Uchissa said the state government had since put in place relevant machinery to fast track the registration of businesses, to boost the confidence of investors.

Kwara
The acting Director of the Centre for Peace and
Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, Dr Mahfouz Adedimeji, has urged the Federal Government to establish  a  Ministry of Peace in the country.
Adedimeji,  who made the call while receiving  national leaders of the  Society for Peace Studies and Practice (SPSP), said current developments in the  country had made  such a ministry imperative.
The SPSP is a non-governmental organisation  committed to promoting peace and conflict resolution.
Adedimeji also said conflicts  could be  resolved by  war,  court and dialogue, adding that efforts were not being made to resolve issues through a peace ministry.

Lagos
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has
urged members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) to shun truancy and other forms of anti-social behaviour that would jeopardise their future.
Fashola stated this at the closing ceremony of the three-week orientation programme for the Batch A members at the NYSC camp at Iyana-Ipaja, Lagos.
He urged the corps members to be good ambassadors of the NYSC by engaging in productive activities
The governor, represented by the Lagos State Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr Wale Ahmed, also implored employers in the state to assign challenging duties to corps members deployed to their organisations.

Nasarawa
The Chairman of Nasarawa-Eggon Local Govern
ment in Nasarawa State, Mr Akolo Amed, said corruption and indiscipline must be rooted out in order to build a virile country.
He made the observation in Nasarawa-Eggon during his maiden meeting with workers of the local council.
The chairman said that it was the responsibility of all Nigerians to help in building a strong, virile country by doing the right thing at all times.
Amed, who blamed indiscipline for the pervasive corruption in the country, cautioned leaders to always be prudent and patriotic in their conduct in order to inspire their followers.

Niger
The Federal Government has expressed its readi
ness to partner with Niger, Kogi and Benue governments to establish three crop processing zone.
Regional Director, North-Central, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr Sunday Edibor, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Minna.
He said that the move was to ensure food security not only in the zone but also a way of making various crops available in the country.
“The Federal Government has created three staple crops processing zones in the three states to ensure food security in the country,’’ he said.

Ogun
An Ota Senior Magistrates’ Court in Ogun State has
remanded two men, Godwin Edeh, 27, and Edeh Destiny, 30, for allegedly stealing a Bajaj tricycle worth N125,000.
The Magistrate, Mrs Titi Bello, directed that the accused be kept behind bars, pending the time their bail would be considered.
The accused are facing a two-count charge of stealing and conspiracy.
They, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Osun
Governor Rauf Aregbesola  of  Osun State has sent
a bill to the state House of Assembly seeking the establishment of a Special Offences Court.
In a letter dated December 1, 2013  which accompanied the bill to the Assembly, the governor explained that the court  would handle various environmental offences in the state.
The Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Najeem Salaam, read the letter at plenary in Osogbo.
“The State Executive Council at its meeting on December 1, 2013, considered and approved a bill for the establishment of  State of Osun Special Offences Court,” the letter stated.

L-R: Lagos Stae Commissioner for Education, Mrs Olayinka Oladunjoye, Secretary to State Government, Dr Ranti Adebule, Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris and Governor Babatunde Fashola, inaugurating Lagos State Expanded School Eye Health Programme in Lagos, recently. Photo: NAN