Nation
THE STATES
L-R: Bukina-Faso Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Piabe Ndo, Bukina-Faso’s Special Envoy, Mr Rene Bagoro, President Muhammadu Buhari and the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Paul Lolo, during the visit of the Special Envoy to the Presidential Villa in Abuja last Thursday.
Adamawa
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
has said it had united 5,000 families in Adamawa and Borno States following the liberation of some communities from Boko Haram insurgents in the North East.
The Director-General, NEMA, Alhaji Sani Sidi, disclosed this while presenting relief materials to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) returnees in Uba, Adamawa..
Sidi said the integration programme was initiated by the agency to support displaced persons, who returned to their various villages.
Sidi, represented by Alhaji Sa’ad Bello, NEMA camp coordinator in Adamawa, said the agency would provide necessary assistance to the returnees in parts of the affected states.
He said some of the displaced persons who fled their villages in Mubi North, Mubi South and Maiha local government areas of Adamawa had returned to their respective villages.
Benue
The Governing Council of Benue State University, has
resolved to take proactive measures to cut down cost for the sustenance of teaching and research in the institution.
The decision is contained in a statement issued by the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Council, Prof. Ode Ojowu, made in Makurdi.
The statement quoted Ojowu as saying that contract staff whose tenure had expired would no longer be renewed, except contracts that were based on citizenship or critical needs.
He stated that employment into the university which was not required for accreditation purposes would be suspended forthwith and urged the school management to work out modalities to curtail overhead expenditure.
He said university funds would no longer be used to sponsor foreign trips of staff until further notice and appealed to those concerned to bear the cost.
Ekiti
Worried by the spate of kidnapping, the Ekiti State House
of Assembly, has unanimously passed a resolution calling on security agencies to be more proactive in their duties.
The lawmakers decried the ugly development, urging the Commissioner of Police, Mr John Etok, and other security agencies to ensure that they end the development.
Contributing during plenary, the members called for the enactment of law that would give a stiffer penalty for convicted kidnappers.
Messrs Olusanya Aladeyelu, Samuel Omotoso, Sunday Akinniyi and Gboyega Aribisogan, contributed to the debate.
The House charged members of the public to be more vigilant, security conscious and report any strange movement in and around their environment to security agencies around them.
FCT
The Pan-African Cultural Congresses (PACC) has said that
Africans are optimistic that implementing the continent-wide diversification policy will promote development.
The PACC Chairman, Mr Ferdinand Anikwe, made this know in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
Anikwe said that African leaders were aware that extraction and exportation of raw materials would not grow the continent’s economy.
“Most African countries are currently implementing diversification policies to make sure that the extraction and exportation of raw materials do not become the only economic activity driving growth.
“At the Pan African Congress, we encourage positive diversification policies, especially in the area of Culture and Arts as well as other economically viable areas.
Kaduna
A United States-based lecturer, Prof.. Aondover Tarhule,
has urged the management of the Kaduna State University (KASU) to establish a research proposal development centre.
Tarhule made the call on Wednesday in Kaduna while presenting a paper titled, “ Writing a Successful Grant Proposal“ during the university’s Faculty of Science monthly seminar.
Tarhule, Chairman; Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, University of Oklahoma, United States of America, said the centre when established, would address the challenges facing writing research proposals to get approval for funding.
He said international organisations and foreign government agencies are interested in funding researches, particularly in developing countries like Nigeria.
Kano
The Kano State Government has approved over N39 million
for clearing of drains in Kano metropolis.
The state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba , announced this while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting in Kano on Thursday.
Garba said the exercise was necessary to prevent possible flooding and to guard against possible outbreak of communicable diseases in the area.
According to him, the council has also approved N61 million for the revalidation of approval in respect of teaching skills programme.
He also said that the state government had approved N18 million for three rounds of polio Immunisation Plus Days campaign in the state.
Lagos
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Thursday,
constituted an eight member Ad Hoc Committee to review the circumstances that led to impeachment of former Deputy Governor Femi Pedro.
This followed an appeal made by the former Deputy Governor in a letter read on the floor of the House by the Clerk, Mr Ganiyu Abiru.
The ex-deputy governor urged the House to revisit his impeachment in a compassionate manner.
The Clerk also stated that the letter from Pedro was attached with his letter of resignation while leaving office.
Pedro appealed to the 8th Assembly to revisit the impeachment sanction levelled against him by the 5th Assembly in 2007.
Nasarawa
Governor Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has
promised to reconstruct the collapsed federal bridge along Abubakar Burga road in Keffi within two weeks.
Al-Makura made the pledge while inspecting the collapsed bridge.
He appealed to the residents of Keffi and motorists plying the route to be patient, assuring that government is doing everything possible to fix the bridge in order to reduce their hardship.
He said: “Although this is a Federal Government road, my administration is committed to initiate people’s oriented projects in order to better their living standard.
According to him, the reconstruction of the bridge if completed would go a long way in improving the socio-economic activities of the people.
Al-Makura also said that the state government was seriously worried by the hardship being experienced by the people as a result of the collapsed bridge which he said has cut off the city into two.
He added that his administration would do everything possible to ensure that the people of the state enjoy the dividends of democracy.
Sokoto
The United Nations’ Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has urged
medical personnel in hospitals to continue to partner with community health workers to prevent disease outbreak in the country.
The Sokoto State Incident Manager for UNICEF, Dr Aminu Shehu, made the call on Thursday, in a presentation at a two-day sensitisation workshop organised for media practitioners by the Fund.
He said doctors in hospitals were largely concerned about individual cases brought before them by patients but failed to report same to the disease surveillance units for research and investigation.
He added that although, community health workers use effective disease surveillance on communities, they were sometime unable to trace possible outbreak of likely communicable diseases which could only be known when patients reported at the hospital.
Taraba
The newly-posted Commandant of the Nigerian Security
and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in Taraba State, Mr Kamilu Isah, has vowed to deal decisively with hoodlums in the state.
Isah, who said this at his maiden media briefing in Jalingo, said there would be no sanctuary for miscreants throughout his tenure in the state.
The commandant said he would form a synergy with other security operatives to combat criminal activities in the state.
Isah said the command would not relent in its mandate of tackling criminal activities and protecting lives and property.
“I’m here to complement other security agencies and to curb criminality,” he said.
Yobe
The Yobe State Primary Healthcare Management Board,
has said it used 40 health facilities to immunise children displaced by insurgency, to ensure that the routine immunisation chain was not broken.
An Assistant Director in the board, Dr Umar Ciroma, disclosed this in Damaturu at an interactive session with newsmen on the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) activities in the area.
He said the board had conducted follow-up activities by visiting Internally Displaced Persons in communities where they took refuge.
He said the board had been working round the clock to ensure that every displaced child was covered and immunized.
Zamfara
An NGO, Association of Reproductive and Family Health
(ARFH), has trained 568 women on different family planning methods in Birnin-Magaji local government area of Zamfara, according to an officer of the body.
The association’s Project Officer in the state, Mr Bamidele Oluwaseun, made this known at Birnin-Magaji during the Second Child Spacing Day.
Oluwaseun said the training was provided under the organisation’s Expanded Social Marketing Project in Nigeria (ESMPIN) project.
He added that the women were mobilised across the local government through the use of Community Based Distribution Agents (CBDAs) with support from the state’s Ministry of Health.
The project officer said that part of the child spacing methods taught the women included Implanon, Jaddel, Inter Urinary Device (IUD), Depo and the use of condom.
Other‘methods, he added, included long acting methods such as counselling, injection, insertions, as well as oral pills.
The officer then called for more support from traditional and religious leaders in addressing the myths and misconceptions regarding child spacing and commended the efforts of the Zamfara Ministry of Health and the Emir of Birnin-Magaji for supporting the programme.
He expressed the hope that the overall goal of increasing access, knowledge to women and men of reproductive age would be achieved if government played its role and if partners increased their commitment and support.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) has inducted and given orientation to 100 Ogoni youths for training on Creative Arts. The beneficiaries were drawn from Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
The induction and orientation ceremony, which took place at the CRAB of the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt on Wednesday, was a prelude to the training proper, billed to commence next Tuesday.
As usual, HYPREP issued undertaking forms to the trainees, for them to complete and submit as a guarantee that they would subject themselves to the requirements of the programme as well as be of good behaviour throughout the four-month duration of the training.
HYPREP also announced that it would pay N150,000 to each of the beneficiaries monthly, as transport and feeding allowance, stressing, however, that only those who fully participate in the training would be entitled for the allowance.
Speaking at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, welcomed the trainees to the programme, saying, HYPREP’s projects are evolving and that one thing that is happening today is that the Project has gotten leadership right, by making promises and keeping those promises.
According to him, the Project had equally promised to move away from rudimentary skills acquisition to high impacts acquisition levels, which it has kept today by sponsoring the training on Creative Arts.
He noted that in planning its livelihood programmes for Ogoni youths, HYPREP has taken time out to look for skills that would add value to the lives of the beneficiaries.
Zabbey, who was represented at the event by the Director of Technical Services, Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi said by packaging the Creative Arts training, it was expected that the Ogoni people would have their own version of Nollywood known as Ogoniwood just as Nigerians are familiar with Hollywood, Bollywood, Kannywood and Nollywood.
To achieve this goal, the Project Coordinator explained that it was the reason for choosing a reputable establishment like Halibiz Consult Limited, to partner with the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt, which he described as one of the most prestigious in the Niger Delta, for the training of the beneficiaries.
He also indicated that in doing this, HYPREP was desirous of going for talents that would help the Ogoni people grow in the film industry, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously.
Zabbey equally enjoined the trainees to put in their best so that in the next three to five years, they would carve a niche for themselves and become forces to reckon with in the film industry.
On her part, HYPREP’s Head of Sustainable Livelihood, Mrs Josephine Nzidee said HYPREP does what it says it will, stressing that the process of training Ogoni youths on specialised skills started three years ago.
According to her, the selection process for the training was rigorous and transparent, and was carried out by renowned actors actresses.
She disclosed that the training consists of three major aspects, which include acting, script writing and make-up, while Nollywood actors like Charles Nnoje, Ngezu J. Ngezu and award-winning make-up artist, Jude Odo would be on hand to drill and groom the beneficiaries.
Mrs Nzidee noted that the programme is a specialised training that does not have anything like starter packs but that it is purely a professional certification programme that would launch the beneficiaries into the Nollywood industry in Nigeria.
According to her, the Creative Arts training is one of the four specialised trainings organised by HYPREP to ensure that the Ogoni people are well positioned in vital industries like Aviation, Maritime, Creative Arts and Mechatronics.
She said the last of such trainings on Mechatronics would take place in the coming months, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously so as to put the Ogoni people on the Nollywood map.
She further indicated that while Charles Nnoje and Ngezu J. Ngezu would take the beneficiaries on the practical aspects, Jude Odo would take them on the make-up aspects.
Also speaking, the External Relations Manager of Halibiz Consult Limited, Alabo Experience Douglas said his company gives much premium to standard and quality, and assured that the firm would give the trainees value for the money spent on the programme.
While charging the beneficiaries to be dedicated and punctual, he stressed the need for them to approach the programme with the mindset of being empty so that at the end of the day, they would benefit maximally.
On his part, the Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Ovunda Ihunwo said the CRAB is an acronym for Creative Review of Arts and Books, stressing that it was named by renowned playwright, Prof Ola Rotimi.
According to him, the CRAB had nurtured, groomed and produced Nollywood actors and actresses like Bobmanuel Udokwu, Ejike Asiegbu,Francis Duru, Hilda Dokubo, Monalisa Chinda, Julius Agwu, and a host of others, assuring the beneficiaries that they were on fertile environment to hone their talents.
He noted that symbolically, the crab is a nutritious seafood common in the Niger Delta, and reiterated the need for the beneficiaries to come empty for the training, as it were.
Ihunwo disclosed that the theory classes of the programme would run for three weeks while the fourth week would be for the master classes, and urged the trainees to avail themselves of the opportunity to make a difference by telling the Ogoni story, which he described as inexhaustible by themselves, in order to put Ogoni on the map.
A 23-year-old student of Nasarawa State University identified as Jatau Rilokwah, has been reportedly found dead in the university’s senior staff quarters.
A counter-insurgency expert, focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed this on his X handle on Tuesday.
According to him, the discovery was made on April 27, 2025, by a security officer at the university, Emmanuel Gyawo.
He stated that Gwayo was directed by Prof. Shedrack Jatau to check on his son upon arriving at the residence, and he found Rilokwah hanging from the ceiling.
“Professor Jatau, who was reportedly out of the State at the time, was informed of the incident. A team of police detectives, led by the Divisional Crime Officer of Angwan Lambu, was dispatched to the scene.
“The body showed no signs of violence, and no suicide note was found. Rilokwah was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he further stated.
He added that the student’s corpse had been deposited in the hospital morgue.
He also quoted police sources as saying that investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Ogun State Government has partnered with Nike Art Gallery to establish a new exhibition space at the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre in Abeokuta, a move Governor Dapo Abiodun says is aimed at boosting annual tourist visits from 20,000 to over 100,000.
Abiodun disclosed the plan on Wednesday while receiving the founder of the Nike Art Gallery, Chief (Mrs) Nike Davies-Okundaye, at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“I went to Olumo Rock about a month ago and I decided that we needed to do something about restoring Olumo Rock to its old glory. From statistics, Olumo Rock hosts about 20,000 people a year in its current state, and I felt that we could increase that to at least ten times,” the governor said.
As part of the plan, an events hall within the tourist centre will be repurposed as a permanent gallery operated by Nike Art Gallery.
“I told them to shut it down. Practically, we want to bring it down and turn it into a gallery for you to use as an exhibition gallery,” he told Davies-Okundaye.
He added that the gallery will be ready before the National Sports Festival in May, when the State will host about 15,000 visitors.
“I want them to be able to see our tourist sites,” he said, listing attractions such as the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the Ransome-Kuti family home, and the Adire market among key heritage spots to be showcased.
Highlighting Ogun’s improved infrastructure, the governor said, “Now that we’ve succeeded in having the intra and inter-state roads in place, you can come to Ogun State by rail; you can come by air. We’ve constructed one of the best airports in Nigeria, and very soon, you will be able to come by sea.”
Davies-Okundaye, in her remarks, praised the state’s efforts to promote tourism and pledged to use the new gallery to attract global attention.
“This gallery will bring many Heads of State. The one I opened in Abuja already has more than 10 Heads of State, including those from South Korea and the Czech Republic. The same will happen here,” she said.
She also applauded the Governor for his commitment to the Adire fabric industry.
“Adire is all over Nigeria, but Ogun has been promoting Adire for over 50 years. Today, the only cloth we can call our own is called Adire. This is what we can sell to the Europeans,” she said.
Abiodun reaffirmed his administration’s backing of the Adire industry, citing policies such as the Adire Ogun Digital Marketplace, compulsory wearing of Adire in the state, and provision of solar-powered production equipment to support artisans.
He also revealed plans to open a creative arts and entertainment village in partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters, expected to be completed within two months.