THE STATES

Adamawa

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
says it has established seven new camps in Yola to accommodate Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) from the recent attacks in Mubi, Adamawa State.
Its North-East Coordinator, Alhaji Muhammadu Kanar,  disclosed this to newsmen in Yola, shortly after he distributed relief materials to no fewer than 3,000 IDPs at Daware camp in Fufore Local Government Area.
Kanar said that 10,000 IDPs were registered within the last two days adding that several thousands were still trooping into the camps.
He said the state government had provided over 100 vehicles to help evacuate those that were stranded in the bushes and highways after escaping the insurgents’ attacks in Mubi and Uba towns.

FCT

The Budget Office of the Federation has urged stake
holders in the review of workers’ minimum wage to consider the revenue generation profile of the country in taking decisions.
The Director-General of the office, Dr Bright Okogu, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Abuja  recently.
He observed that the Federal Government raised workers’ wage bill from N857 billion in 2009 to N1.8 trillion in 2014.
He said that the increase followed incessant strikes by various labour unions across the country.
He said that “if you have that kind of situation in an environment where your revenue is not growing with the same margin, obviously there will be challenges.

Gombe

The Ministry of Transport is to develop a strategy on how best to safeguard motor parks in the country, says the Minister  Malam Idris Umar.
Umar stated this in Gombe while speaking to newsmen shortly after visiting the Federal Teaching Hospital and Specialist Hospital Gombe, where the victims of bomb blast were admitted as well as the scene of the blast.
“I will soon summon an emergency meeting with Commissioners for Transport to discuss how best to safeguard our motor parks.
“Just recently we concluded the National Transport Council meeting; we addressed the issue of safety and security.
“But of course even the current level of challenges, we need to probably do more on the level of guarding the motor parks”.
Kadunaa

A gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of All
Progressives Congress (APC) in Kaduna State, has appealed to politicians to shun money politics.
Addressing party executives of Zaria Local Government in Zaria the aspirant said the call became necessary in view of the influence of money in the nation’s politics.
Lukman said avoiding money politics would certainly guarantee authentic and vibrant democracy in Nigeria.
The aspirant said that he was in Zaria to formally inform the executive members of APC in the area that he had purchased the form to aspire for gubernatorial seat.
Lukman urged the party leadership to give all aspirants a level playing field.
Kebbi

The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kebbi State
says it is working towards a consensus governorship candidate for the 2015 polls.
The party said each of the three senatorial districts would present an aspirant for screening before zeroing in on one candidate.
The Chairman of the Resolution Committee of the party, Alhaji Suleiman Argungu, told newsmen in Birnin-Kebbi that whoever emerged of the three would be the party’s flagbearer in the election.
“The resolution committee will ensure each of the Senatorial Districts presents an aspirant out of the many aspirants,’’ he said.
Argungu said the 10 aspirants who had indicated interest to contest the governorship seat were expected to agree on only one.
Kogi

The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Kogi
State says that its mobile court has convicted 47 drivers of various traffic offences within one week.
The Sector Commander in the state, Mr Godwin Omiko, told newsmen in Lokoja that the convicted drivers were serial violators of the road safety rules and laws.
He said that the drivers were arraigned before a mobile court presided by Senior Magistrate Rachael Omajali, who found them guilty after trial.
He also said that those convicted were among 89 motorists arraigned before the court for overloading, over-speeding, seatbelt violation, phoning while driving and dangerous driving, among others.

Kwara

A member of the Kwara State  House of Assembly,
Moshood Bakare, has expressed concern over the mass exodus of employees from the private to the public sector of the economy.
Bakare also expressed concern over the attendant negative consequences of the situation on the nation’s economy.
He said that economies, in developed parts of world, were driven by the private sector while the reverse was the case in Nigeria.
Addressing newsmen in Ilorin, the lawmaker expressed worry over what would befall the nation’s economy if urgent steps were not deployed to tackle the situation.
Bakare, who represents Omupo Constituency in the assembly, said there was need for the government to return normalcy to the ailing economy.

Osun

The Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Osogbo on the
August 9 Osun State governorship election has begun hearing the preliminary objections together with the substantive petition filed by Senator IyiolaOmisore to challenge re-election of Governor Rauf  Aregbesola of the All Progressives Congress.
The Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Elizabeth Ikpejime, said on Tuesday in her ruling that the panel would hear the issues of jurisdiction together with the petition of Omisore, who contested the election as the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.
Counsel for the petitioner, Dr. Alex Iziyon(SAN), had on Thursday prayed the tribunal to hear the preliminary objections and the petition together in order to save time but Aregbesola, had through his lead counsel, Chief Akin Olujinmi(SAN), raised an objection to this.
He said the issue of jurisdiction, which bothered on the competence of the petition, should be first heard before the substantive petition.
However, the panel, in the ruling delivered on Wednesday, said all the four motions pending before it would be taken together with the petition.
Oyo

Team Akala, a support group for the re-election of former
Governor Adebayo Alao-Akala of Oyo State in 2015, has said that its principal is not jittery over the exercise.
The group said this in a statement signed by its Coordinator, Mr Niran Adeyoju, and made available to newsmen in Ogbomoso recently.
The group said a statement being circulated that Alao-Akala was jittery over 2015 was untrue.
The group also condemned the reports that its principal disrupted the distribution of voting materials for the ward congress of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) held across the state on Saturday .
“The former governor did not in any way disrupt the congress when it is obvious that he was already leading in virtually all the wards.
“There is no basis for him or any of his political aide to have led thugs to the party secretariat to disrupt the process of distribution of materials, when we are already aware that the congress was already in our favour,’’ it said.

Plateau

The Plateau  State chapter of the PDP is to conduct a
fresh ward congress in Pankshin Local Government, after it failed to carry out the exercise on Saturday, says its Organising secretary, Mr Michael Dachom.
Our correspondent reports that the congresses are expected to produce delegates to form the Electoral College to conduct the party’s primary elections— preparatory to the general elections in 2015.
Dachom told newsmen in Jos that the ward congresses could not hold in Pankshin because of some disagreements among stakeholders over the officials posted to conduct the exercise.
“The disagreements dragged on till late into the night and we had to postpone because of the terrain in Pankshin, coupled with the fact that the electoral panel had to move to all the wards,’’ he said.

Yobe

Twenty-nine people died yesterday in the mid-day sui
cide attack on Muslim Shiite sect members celebrating the Ashurah Day in Potiskum, Yobe State,  eyewitnesses said.
The suicide attack took place at TsohonKasuwa, a densely populated area in the commercial city. It is 100km south of Damaturu, the state capital.
But the police put the figure of the dead at four, including the bomber. They said five people were injured.
The leader of the Shiite group, Mallam Mustapha Lawan Nasidi, said 29 members of the group were killed; over 80 injured.
Lawan blamed the military for the rise in the death toll, alleging that “many of the people were killed by security agencies, particularly soldiers”.

L-R: Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Mrs Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire,; Governor Babatunde Fashola and Commissioner for Sciene and Technology, Mr Ayo Mabadeje, at a briefing on Public Security System Demonstration in Lagos recently.