THE STATES

Adamawa

Ahead of the forthcoming governorship by-elec
tion in Adamawa State, the Presidency says President Goodluck Jonathan will not impose any candidate on the Peoples Demcratic Party  and the people of the state.
The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said this in an interview with newsmen recently.
Abati was reacting to reports that the Presidency was backing a former Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commisison, Mr Nuhu Ribadu, to clinch the party’s ticket.
The presidential spokesman said his antecedents, since assumption of office, had shown clearly that Jonathan was not favourably disposed to imposing his choice in any matter that has to do with democratic process.

Bauchi

Policemen attached to the G.R.A., Police Com
mand, Bauchi State have arrested a reverend father and one other person for allegedly defrauding one Joel Sumi of N60,000.
The state police spokesperson, DSP Haruna Mohammed, disclosed this yesterday.
According Mohammed, the two suspects, who posed as fortune tellers, deceived their victims, and defrauded him.
He said, “The victim decided to seek prayers from the reverend father and the other person in order to solve his problems, but fell into the wrong hands as he was asked by the suspects to bring N60,000 before conducting the prayers”.

FCT

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has said
that more than 57 per cent of the people in West Africa were without access to electricity.
The bank stated this in its “West Africa Monitor Quarterly”, for the second quarter of 2014 report, which was made available to the newmen in Abuja.
It said that the percentage approximated the average for sub-Saharan Africa,” but extremely low compared with 23 per cent in the developing world and 18 per cent globally.”
According to the report, with inadequate generation capacity, low electrification, and sporadic, unreliable and expensive service, energy is at the top of questions requiring adequate policy intervention.
It explained that access rates varied from country to country, with eight per cent in Niger and 15 per cent in Burkina Faso, Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau.

Governor Sule Lamido of Jigawa State has ap
pointed former President Olusegun Obasanjo as the pioneer  Chancellor  of the newly established Jigawa State University in Kafin Hausa.
The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Haruna Wakili, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Dutse.  Wakili said the State Government had sent a delegation to present the appointment letter to the former President at his country home in Abeokuta.
He explained that the appointment was based on Section 8 of the Jigawa State University Law, 2013.
Kwara
Members of a youth group in Kwara State, the
Kwara South Youth Forum (KSYF), last Saturday pledged to ensure that credible leaders emerge during the 2015 general elections.
President of the forum, Mr Charles Folarin, stated this in Omu-Aran,  during a youth leadership summit, organised by the forum, in collaboration with Mike Omotosho Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.
According to him, Nigerian youths should be prepared to play key role in ensuring that credible people are elected to move the country forward.
“I think we should not just sit down, fold our arms and watch, but take our destiny in our hands.

Kano
The battle for the presidential ticket of the All
Progressives Congress (APC) is creating tension in Kano State where the supporters of Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso and those of former Head of State, Major General Muhammadu Buhari, have clashed.
The state House of Assembly, dominated by the APC has broken into two camps, each supporting Kwankwaso and Buhari. The governor and former Head of  State are leading contenders for the APC presidential ticket. Some members of the assembly, under the aegis of G34, had,  last week, endorsed Kwankwaso for the APC presidential ticket.
But signs that all was not well in the parliament emerged, yesterday, when a member of the group, Yusuf  Abdullahi Atta, dissociated himself and some of his other colleagues from the endorsement, declaring support for Buhari.

Lagos

A frontline governorship aspirant in LagosState
and chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, (APC), Senator Ganiyu Olanrewaju Solomon, popularly called GOS, has held discussions with top officials of local governments in all the 57 council areas of the state.
The meeting, held to seek the support of the council boss for his gubernatorial aspiration was closely followed, last Saturday, by the declaration of total support for GOS by a socio-political organisation, Patriots Face. The group, parading thousands of members across the 57 council areas of the state, declared its support for the senator’s aspiration at a ceremony in Mushin.  A statement by Solomon’s campaign team, yesterday, said “the meeting midweek with vice chairmen and secretaries of all the local councils in Lagos was aimed at mobilising them for the senators governorship ambition which has been receiving widespread support across the state.
Niger

Governor Babangida Aliyu of Niger State could
not vote in the Niger East senatorial by-election last Saturday as he forgot his voter card in Abuja.
He told  newsmen at the Umaru Musa Polling Unit in Minna that he would abide by the rule which states that one cannot vote without having a voter card.
“I forgot my voter card in Abuja, which was human error, but I must commend those that came out to vote’’, he said. Aliyu, who was accompanied by his wife, said reports reaching him indicated a peaceful election in the zone.

Ondo

A former presidential candidate of Alliance for
Democracy, Chief Olu Falae, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to use maximum force to deal with Boko Haram. A chieftain of the Social Democratic Party, Falae said he was distressed that after more than 100 days in captivity, the Federal Government had not been able to rescue the more than 200 Chibok schoolgirl held hostage since April 14 by the Boko Haram insurgents.“I am very saddened and distressed that there is insurgency in Nigeria. I never thought it could come to this. If you look around the world, it is the same problem – you can see what is going on in Iraq and Syria; there is a group called Islamic State of Iraq and Syria that wants to take a part of Iraq and a part  of Syria. It is totally unheard of.
“In Afghanistan, Yemen, and other places, you see wars going on. Terrorism has become a worldwide phenomenon. It is unfortunate that the Boko Haram insurgency is a different kind of war; the traditional war is a war against territory but this terrorist group kills people indiscriminately, unprovoked. They commit mindless violence,” he said.

Osun
An aide to Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun
State, Mr Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has described the governor’s victory in the August 9 governorship election as a reward for his dedication to the service of the people. Oyintiloye, who is the Senior Special Assistant on Community Affairs to the governor, said this recently at the Christ Apostolic Church, Ibokun, Osun State during a special thanksgiving service for the governor’s re-election for a second term.
Oyintiloye said if not for the overwhelming support of the people and divine intervention, the victory would have been difficult to achieve. The SSA noted that Aregbesola’s vision and commitment had brought changes to the state.

L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr Ademorin Kuye, Governor Babatunde Fashola and Oba Rilwan Akiolu of Lagos, at a meeting of traditional rulers with Governor Fashola in Lagos recently. Photo: NAN