THE STATES

Benue
Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State says he
will ensure that Terver Kakih, who leveled allegations of certificate forgery against him is punished to serve as deterrent to others who may contemplate such action.
Reacting to the Supreme Court judgement which dismissed the forgery case brought against him by Terver Kakih, Governor Suswam said he had already instructed his lawyer to institute a legal action against Terver Kakih.
He stated that he would get the court punish Kakih for trying to smear his name, saying petition writing in Tiv had become a recurrent decimal.

Borno
The closure of Maiduguri International Airport may have
started attracting casualties as the elder brother of Governor Kashim Shettima, Alhaji Shettima Mohammed Shettima was involved in a ghastly motor accident during a trip to Kano to join a flight to Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj.
The elder brother of the governor was fortunate to be alive after having multiple fractures but his police orderly attached to him after series of threat from Boko Haram insurgents was not lucky enough as he died from injuries sustained during the accident.
The Maiduguri International Airport, which was closed to commercial flights since February this year after the bombing of the Air Force base in the town by the insurgents, was closed by the Federal Government to all manner of   flights on June 27, 2014 for a period of three months due to security concerns.
This has compelled intending pilgrims for this year’s lesser hajj to travel by road to Kano amidst fear over their safety.

Ekiti
The Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State has appealed
to the Chief Judge, Justice Ayodeji Daramola, to assign its case challenging the proposed Local Council Development Areas by the Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi.
In a statement in Ado-Ekiti, last Tuesday, the State Publicity Secretary, Kola Oluwawole, said the delay to assign the case to a judge was frustrating its efforts to stop the plan to create new 18 LCDAs.
It said, “Our case, HAD/75/2014, challenging the illegality that the outgoing governor and his party are perpetrating was filed at the High Court of Justice, Ado-Ekiti Judcial Divison on July 1, 2014 and  deposed to by our State Chairman, Mr Makanjuola Ogundipe, on behalf of the party.
“Two weeks after the matter was filed, the Chief Judge refused to assign the matter to any judge to handle, until the national strike by judiciary workers began last Friday. We call on the people of the state and other well-meaning Nigerians to call Fayemi, Ekiti CJ to order. We know what to do. The National Judicial Council is there to call any errant judge to order’, it added.

Jigawa
The Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, said
it was not a crime for him or any other Nigerian to aspire to become the president of Nigeria next year, noting that those occupying political offices today never thought that they would be there some years back.
The governor who made the disclosure aboard Airlines, in its first commercial flight from Dutse to Abuja, explained that he felt fulfilled on completion of the Dutse International Airport under one year, which commenced its first commcial flight yesterday.
While calling on both local and foreign investors to come and invest in the state, the governor promised that the airport would open the state agricultural potential to the outside world.
In his remark, the Chief Executive Officer to the consultant to the government on the construction of the airport, El-Mansur Group, Mr Tunde Oyekola, explained that the timely delivery of the project under a year was as a result of Lamido’s tremendous commitment and determination to build an airport of international standard in a record time.
Katsina
Judiciary workers in Katsina State, under the aegis of
Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN), yesterday withdrew their services and ensured that all courts in the state remained under lock and key.
The state chairman of the union, Sa’idu Kakarku, said in a statement posted on the gates of the courts that the indefinite industrial action was due to the directive of its national executive committee.
He said, the strike, which began on July 11, was occasioned by the failure of the state governments to comply with the Federal High Court order of January 13, in respect of the financial autonomy of the judiciary as provided in the constitution.
Kakarku said members of the union would continue to remain at home and wait for further directives from the national body and  urged the striking workers to be law-abiding, as JUSUN would continue to function within the ambit of the law.

Lagos
Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has
criticised the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) for holding its rally at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, Ojota, one of the greening initiatives of the state government which they had continously described as “cosmetic and elitist”.
Fashola, said at the 2014 Tree Planting Campaign, held in Eti-Osa East Local Council Development Area (LDCA), that by their act, the PDP did not only vindicate his government’s greening policy, but had also displayed their inconsistency.
The governor, while expressing satisfaction at the success story of the greening initiative and tree planting exercise, which has provided job opportunities for thousands of youth, recalled that the PDP had criticised the programme and labeled it a waste of tax payers’ money.
He said the tree planting exercise and green programme since inception  in 2008, has generated over 75,168 employment opportunities for horticulturists, pruners, gardeners, welders, tanker drivers, security personnel and other artisans.

Nasarawa
The Speaker of Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Alhaji
Musa Ahmed last Monday, directed the Clerk of the House to serve Governor Tanko Al-Makura with notice of impeachment for ‘gross misconduct’.
The  development followed a motion of public interest raised by the Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Mr Yahaya Usman (PDP-Umaisha/Ugya) during plenary in Lafia.
The Chief Whip Mr Mohammed Okpede, (PDP-Doma North) seconded the motion. Usman presented a document signed by 20 of the 24 members of the Assembly which contained the allegations of gross misconduct against the governor.
The speaker, (PDP-Nasarawa Central), who officially received the impeachment notice, said the House had complied with the provision of the constitution to serve the governor with impeachment notice.
Ogun
The Ogun State Police Command, yesterday said its de
tectives attached to Ewekoro Division had arrested 16 suspected cultists, including students of a polytechnic in Itori, Ewekoro Local Government Area of the state.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Muyiwa Adejobi, in a statement said the detectives acted on an intelligence gathering on the activities of cult groups in the area and bust their initiation.
According to Adejobi, 16 suspects, including eight students of the polytechnic, were arrested.: “Those arrested were Akintunde Paul, Seyi Meshinoye, Fowoshade Gbemisola, Dare Olabode, Oyetayo Bolaji, Akintunde Femi, Ajibola Abiola, Amosun Eniola, Shola Ogunniyi, Fashina Michael, Bello Oyedeji, Adeshola Amore, Ebi Victor, Ogunsola Ibrahim, Babatunde Allyson and Awobajo Babatunde.”
The suspects have been transferred to the Department of Criminal Investigation, Eleweran, Abeokuta for further interrogation as directed by the Commissioner of Police, Ogun State, CP Ikemefuna Okoye.

Osun
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)
said it was planning heavy security presence during the August 9 governorship election in Osun State as was the case during a similar election held on June 21 in Ekiti State.
The State’s Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Segun Agbaje, who spoke in Abuja Wednesday, said the decision was informed by the heightening security situation in the state, arising from the unfriendly utterances of the major political players.
The REC said, of the 1,407,222 total registered voters in the state, INEC had distributed permanent voter card (PVC) to 63 per cent, translating to 792,200 of the registered voters. He said 1,250,569 of such PVC were received from the INEC headquarters as at July 11.  Agbaje said 19 candidates have been cleared to contest the election as at today. He said no voter would be allowed to cast ballot without  PVC. He assured that as against the case in Ekiti, any voter with valid voter’s card will be allowed to vote.

Plateau
No fewer than 11 people have been killed at Zamadede
in the Pil-Gani district of Langtang North Local Government Area of Plateau State.
The victims were killed in the early hours of Monday in a fresh violence that had seen Fulani herdsmen and local inhabitants fighting each other.
Among those killed were said to be a 45-year-old mother with her little son and a pregnant woman.
It was learnt that the herdsmen attacked the villagers while they were still asleep and ransacked two communities in the area.

Newly appointed Secretary to Adamawa State Government, Prof. Liman Tukur (right), taking oath of office before the Acting Governor, Alhaji Ahmadu Umaru in Yola, last Wednesday.