Nation
THE STATES
FCT
The non-inclusion of young people in the National
Honours list has been criticised by the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC).
A statement by the President of CYC, Mr Ahmed Adamu, said young people were disappointed for not making the list of the awardees.
“Young people are disappointed for not being included among the list of Nigerians to be awarded with the national honour. There are thousands of young people who excel in different areas both within and outside Nigeria. Young people make up majority part of the country’s population, and we should not be marginalised,” he said.
“Recognising young people with this kind of award is one of the best ways to encourage and inspire youth who have made it and those who are working hard to succeed respectively.
“We want young people to be active players in politics and governance, and that is why, CYC members are demanding for 30% allocation of elected and appointed political positions. We want young people to be inserted in the list of the recipients of the national honour award.”
Jigawa
More facts have emerged as to why the Chairman of
the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Tony Anenih and other top leaders of the party were in Dutse, to see the Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido.
Leaders of the party, it was learnt, were not fully convinced that Lamido, who was part of the seven governors that formed a splinter group within the party last year and until last week was being peddled as nursing the ambition to contest the presidential ticket of the PDP with Jonathan, had fully reintegrated into the party.
The governor, sources said, was placed top on the list of those the party felt had to be interrogated to find out their grievances with a view to working out ways to fully reabsorb them and ensure their loyalty for the success of the party in 2015.
The PDP it was learnt feels some of its governors might work for the opposition parties if they are not properly managed.
Kano
The Managing Director of Kano Electricity Distribu
tion Company (KEDCO), Alhaji Jamilu Gwanna, has read a riot act to its staff, warning that the company will not hesitate to sack any worker, who fails to discharge his duties efficiently.
Gwanna, who warned members of staff that the company would no longer tolerate negligence of duty, during a five- day induction programme for the 360 newly recruited staff and old ones, urged the staff to brace up so as to ensure that customers were satisfied at all times.
His words, “we have competition in terms of other distribution companies; every distribution company is trying to ensure that they are the best. Now, in our area of operation, we are a monopoly here, in terms of our own objective, in our own setting, it is not to have over-populated workforce.
According to him, our cardinal objective is to have a 24-hour power supply to our customers, so, we have to start somewhere and we all know the challenges that we are facing and our main target is to have power generation through increased power supply and this involved huge investment and planning.
Katsina
A young man suspected to be a cable vandal was elec
trocuted yesterday, while attempting to operate on a transformer in Katsina metropolis.
Our correspondent gathered that the victim was found lying dead beside the transformer situated opposite the Katsina State Arts and Culture Bureau.
A resident of the area said vandals had been removing cables from the transformer and that the people had had to replace the wires on several occasions.
A staff of the bureau, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said his office had repaired the transformer over four times due to activities of vandals.
The corpse of the suspect was taken to the Katsina General Hospital.
Kwara
A new set of female medical students of the University
of Ilorin yesterday joined the list of beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme instituted by Media Trust Limited, publishers of the Daily Trust, Weekly Trust, Sunday Trust and Aminiya.
The beneficiaries were presented with their cheques at a ceremony held at the College of Health Sciences located at the permanent site of University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH).
Under the medical scholarship scheme instituted by the company seven years ago, ten female students from three benefitting universities are selected annually and awarded scholarship of N100,000. They are to receive the amount until the completion of their medical training.
Other benefitting universities are the University of Maiduguri and Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
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Lagos
The police authority in Lagos State yesterday reiter
ated its resolve to enforce the Government Traffic Law which outlawed the use of commercial motorcycles on major roads within the metropolis.
The state Commissioner of Police, Cornelius Kayode Aderanti, in a statement said the operation of Okada riders on some roads in the metropolis remained banned.
He called on the leadership of Okada unions in the state to advise their members to respect the laws of the land or face the law.
“It would be recalled that the Lagos State government in 2012 amended its road traffic law which expressly banned and restricted motorcycles from plying some specific routes. However, the police command has observed with total dismay that some Okada riders do not have any iota of respect for the laws of the land, as they have continuously and flagrantly breached this traffic law,” he added.
He said that anyone or group of persons arrested flouting the laws of the state would be prosecuted.
Ogun
Residents of Ikenne Local Government of Bayelsa State
have been assured that the abandoned Sagamu-Ikenne road dualisation will be completed very soon.
The assurance was given by the Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, during the continuation of his tour to council areas in the state.
It would be recalled that the road project was started by the immediate past administration in the state.
Governor Amosun promised that his administration would not relent in its effort at providing infrastructure development for the people of the area.
He described the council area as a “federal” local government because it is the local government of the sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.
Oyo
As political parties warm up to present candidates for
various elective positions in the 2015 general elections, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Oyo State, has vowed to conduct its primaries in such a transparent and democratic manner that would encourage the emergence of only the best among many aspirants, who would not only contest and defeat candidates of other parties but also perform creditably in their respective positions throughout their tenure of office.
Making this assertion in a statement issued by its Director of Publicity and Strategy, Olawale Sadare, APC assured that it would soon begin to issue Expression of Interest forms to members, who nurse ambitions to occupy various political offices in the next political dispensation “as guidelines for the smooth conduct of primaries are almost ready and would be made public any moment from now.
“As a party to beat in any election, APC in Oyo State, is mindful of the expectation of the general public, particularly, as it affects presentation of competent, credible and promising candidates for the available 32 seats in the State House of Assembly, 14 seats in the House of Representatives, three seats in the Senate and the coveted governorship seat. In all of this, we can proudly say that our party has more than enough men and women members, who have the wherewithal to deliver on their respective mandates if entrusted.
Osun
A High Court in Ilesha, Osun State, has sentenced a
30-year-old man, Obafemi Kolawole, to life in prison for raping a 19-year-old pregnant woman.
State prosecutor, Rachel Ojimi, told the court that Kolawole attacked the woman in her house, raped her and shaved her pubic hair which he forced into her mouth. Rachel further said Kolawole poured gin into her mouth.
A medical report obtained from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology Teaching Hospital, Osogbo was presented as evidence against him.
Justice AbdulKareem AbdulKareem found Kolawole guilty and sentenced him to life in prison. He also mandated the prison officials to ensure that he was whipped daily as part of his punishment.
Plateau
Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State has expressed
concern over the “silent killings and attacks still taking place in some villages in the state.”
Jang, who spoke when the Catholic Archbishop of Jos, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, led a delegation of religious and community leaders to his office, called on communities affected to expose criminals living among them.
He lamented that the hinterland was still facing security challenges and urged the archbishop and his team to extend their dialogue and reconciliatory meetings to the areas.
“I have been very concerned about the silent killings still going on in the villages; yes we are now enjoying peace in Jos, but the villages are not enjoying peace.
Nation
HYPREP Marks 15 Years Of UNEP Report, Highlights Major Cleanup Milestones
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) has commemorated the 15th anniversary of the release of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Assessment Report on Ogoniland, reaffirming its commitment to restoring the environment and improving the livelihoods of affected communities.
In a statement signed by the Project Coordinator, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, to commemorate the anniversary, HYPREP described the anniversary as a significant milestone in Nigeria’s environmental restoration efforts, noting that the project has made remarkable progress in implementing the recommendations of the landmark UNEP report released on August 4, 2011.
The UNEP report had revealed extensive oil pollution across Ogoniland, severe environmental degradation, and serious public health risks resulting from decades of petroleum operations. It also recommended an initial $1 billion fund to commence the cleanup of the affected communities.
According to HYPREP, the Federal Government formally launched the Ogoni clean-up in 2016, while the Project Coordination Office was established in 2017 to drive the implementation of UNEP’s recommendations.
Zabbey said the current administration has continued to prioritise the project under the Renewed Hope Agenda.
Providing an update on the cleanup, the Project Coordinator disclosed that 30 of the 65 contaminated sites identified by UNEP have been fully remediated, while work is ongoing at several medium- and high-risk locations. It also stated that more than 1.5 million mangrove seedlings have been planted as part of what it described as the world’s largest restoration of oil-degraded mangroves, with over 1,000 hectares of shoreline already rehabilitated.
Zabbey further revealed that 49 Ogoni communities have been connected to potable water schemes through multiple water projects and booster stations aimed at providing safe drinking water across the region.
In the health sector, he said the 100-bed Ogoni Specialist Hospital in Kpite and the 43-bed Cottage Hospital in Buan are nearing completion, adding that several existing health facilities have been upgraded with modern medical equipment, while five ambulances have been donated to improve emergency healthcare services. The Project Coordinator also disclosed that a three-year human health biomonitoring study is being conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
On economic empowerment, Zabbey stated that the Project has created more than 8,000 direct jobs and trained thousands of Ogoni youths and women in various vocational and technical skills, including software development, cybersecurity, aviation, commercial diving, seafaring, mechatronics, and creative arts. The project also reported awarding scholarships to more than 1,000 students, providing grants to small businesses, and supporting persons living with special needs through skills acquisition programmes.
The statement further highlighted ongoing legacy projects, including the Ogoni Power Project and the Centre of Excellence for Environmental Restoration, which it said is about 96 per cent complete. HYPREP also welcomed the recent designation of the Ogoni Wetland as a Ramsar Site of International Importance and pledged to continue promoting biodiversity conservation and sustainable management of the ecosystem.
Marking the anniversary, Zabbey said the progress achieved over the past 15 years demonstrates the collective commitment of government, development partners, stakeholders, and local communities to restoring Ogoniland. He called for renewed collaboration to sustain the cleanup effort, promote environmental sustainability, and support the long-term development of the region. 3
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