THE STATES

Adamawa
A former member of the House of Representatives, Emmanuel
Bello, has joined the race for the Adamawa State governorship seat as he picked the All Progressives Congress (APC) nomination form yesterday in Abuja.
Bello who represented Gombi/Hong Federal Constituency from 1999 to 2003 said he is in the race to better the lot of the Adamawa people who have been suffering from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governors since 1999.
“If you look at our state, it has been degraded. The PDP government of Nyako degenerated the state in such a way that the roads are degraded, the health and education systems have collapsed. No system is working in Adamawa.
“Unfortunately, the security situation is not helping matters, and for that reason, we sat down and thought over it and said ‘look, if APC is the party of hope, it’s the progressive party that wants to unite Nigerians; it’s the party that wants to bring about change, then we should aspire under the APC in order to find a lasting solution to our state,” he said.

Borno
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State has directed
that 1,000 bags of processed wheat and maize as well as assorted drugs should be delivered to people who are trapped at Banki, a border town between Nigeria and Cameroon.
Usman Zanna, a member of the Agric Transformation Committee of the state government, said the governor gave the directive following reports that the people in Banki had run out of food and could not go to Bama because Boko Haram insurgents had blocked the road.
It was gathered that the people could not also cross over to villages in Cameroon as a result of stringent measures put in place by the Cameroonian authorities, which include closure of the border to contain the spread of Ebola virus.

Ekiti
Ekiti State governor-elect, Mr Ayodele Fayose, has set up
a nine-man transition committee to do underground work for his smooth take off on October 16.
Fayose had also lamented the debt profile of the state under Governor Kayode Fayemi, saying it was “worrisome and disturbing.”
He also warned those with political ambition in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015 against name-dropping, saying “nobody in the party has been slated for any appointment, except two people he promised to be given on concessional grounds.”
Inaugurating the committee in Ado Ekiti, the state capital, yesterday, Fayose regretted that Fayemi’s government had plunged the state into huge debt, to an extent that members of the public would have to be sensitised about situations on ground, because of high expectations.

Kaduna
A former Minister of State for Aviation, Felix Hassan Hyat,
has declared readiness to contest for the governorship election in Kaduna State on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Hyat, who hailed from Southern Kaduna, told journalists, that he would contest the governorship because Southern Kaduna, was morally entitled to fly the PDP ticket in 2015 in comparison with previous precedents in the state.
He flayed the endorsement of the incumbent governor, Mukhtar Yero saying it cannot stand because it was not done with consultations.

Lagos
The Federal Government has announced a direct assistance
of N200 million to Lagos State government, to enable it to successfully curtail the spread of Ebola virus disease in the state.
Government had recently set aside the sum of N1.9 billion for the 36 states of the federation to combat the disease, following its importation into the country by the index case patient, the Liberian-American, the late Patrick Sawyer.
Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu, disclosed this while briefing State House correspondents on the outcome of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan, at the Presidential Villa, on Wednesday.
Niger
Niger State governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu, has said
state governments across the country are struggling to survive financially, as a result of low returns from the federation account.
Governor Aliyu, who is the chairman of the Northern States Governors’ Forum (NSGF), said for several months now, the allocation to the states had been on the downward trend, which had hampered developmental strides of the administrations.
Aliyu spoke in Minna, the Niger State capital, recently, after inaugurating the Board of the Niger State Transport Authority, which has former secretary to the Niger State government, Mohammed Adams Erena as chairman and the Local Government Service Commission’s retired Permanent Secretary, Mr Peterson Kaura, as member.
The governor specifically said that in the last allocation, the state lost well over N100 million, a trend he said had been on since late last year.

Osun
Some students of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU),
Ile Ife, have expressed worry over the large population of ceaseless migratory fruit bats, which have been living in various parts of the university community, including academic areas, for decades.
The university re-opens on Sunday, August 24.
Bats are one of the primary sources of contracting Ebola and the fruit bats are members of the Pteropodidae family of bats, which act as pollinators and seed dispersers and are said to be found in primary or maturing secondary forests.
One of the students, Sodiq Oyeleke, on Wednesday, captured the panic being expressed by his colleagues on the possible temporary shutdown of the school by the Federal Government, in an effort to stop the spread of Ebola.

Sokoto
There was a protest in Sokoto yesterday by some youths
believed to be supporters of the PDP against the collection of a N3.6b loan by the state government, resulting in the destruction of four vehicles, one of which was completely burnt.
The state government had said the loan would be used for the completion of some ongoing projects in the state, but the PDP alleged that it was meant to finance the  2015 election campaign.
The demonstration started at the roundabout close to Binji Pharmacy and ended at the state House of Assembly. Our source explained that problem started when some of the some youths started throwing stones at passing vehicles, smashing their windscreens.
It was gathered that a vehicle of the Government House press crew was also attacked.
“We were just passing through the area on our way back to the Government House with our official vehicle when they attacked us with stones. We came back with one of the stones which hit me on the back”, a member of the press crew said.
Taraba
The federal government yesterday said it is poised to
improve maternal and child healthcare services in Taraba State through its SURE-P/MCH Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme.
Executive Director of National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA), Dr Ado Muhammad stated this in Jalingo during the inauguration of a 12-man- committee that would ensure smooth execution of the programme in the state.
He said the committee members drawn from among key stakeholders were expected to ensure adequate co-ordination and implementation of the Conditional Cash Transfer Programme in the state.
The NPHCDA Executive Director, who was represented by Dr Isah Jidda, urged the committee members to ensure effective advocacy, community sensitisation and mobilisation of pregnant women to access the programme.

Yobe
Yobe State House of Assembly yesterday endorsed
Governor Ibrahim Gaidam as the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate for the 2015 election, saying the move is to demonstrate the level of confidence it has on the governor.
The 24 members at a special sitting dismissed alleged plans to impeach the governor and passed a vote of confidence on Gaidam.
Alhaji Sirajo Wakil, representing Bade East, standing on a matter of urgent public importance, said it’s necessary for the assembly to make it’s position clear on the allegations that some legislators met in Saudi Arabia during the lesser Hajj “and perfected plans to impeach the governor.”
He said it was also reported that money was given to some of its members to facilitate the impeachment, saying “the House needs to make its position clear that the allegation is false and baseless.” Wakil then moved a motion for a vote of confidence on Governor Gaidam to dispel the rumour.

Zamfara
Zamfara Central Senatorial district Youth Forum has
endorsed member representing Gusau/Tsafe federal constituency, Engr.  Ibrahim Shehu Gusau as the right candidate for the forthcoming governorship election in the state.
The chairman of the forum, Mallam Abba Muhammad said that they had decided to rally round the lawmaker in his bid to grasp the PDP ticket for the governorship election in the state going by his sterling leadership qualities.
“Ibrahim has impacted positively on the lives of the people he is representing at the National House of Assembly especially in the areas of women empowerment, health care deliveries, education, rural water supply and other infrastructures,” he added.
He then called on the people of the state especially the youth to support the candidacy of Ibrahim Shehu so that their promising future would be guaranteed through job creation and other poverty elimination strategies.

L-R: President Goodluck Jonathan, former Head of Interim National Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan, Vice President Namadi Sambo, former Heads of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, at the National Council of State meeting in Abuja, recently.