Nation
THE STATES
un Resident Coordinator, Ms Fatma Samoura handing over unfpa Health Kits to Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno during her visit to Maiduguri last Thursday.
Adamawa
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA)
has advised Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in Adamawa not to sell relief materials donated to them by the agency and other donors.
The state Coordinator of NEMA, Mr Sa’ad Bello, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Yola.
Bello said the advice became necessary as some beneficiaries of relief materials sold the items.
He said that on many occasions when such relief materials were seen in the market, people accused NEMA officials of selling them.
“Not for sale is boldly written on the materials. I want to appeal to the public to report any person seen selling the materials to the nearest police station,’’ Bello advised.
Benue
Concern Universal, an NGO, said it has received a grant
of N642 million from the Department for International Development (DFID) to scale up sanitation and hygiene in Cross River.
The Programme Manager of the organization Mr Nanpet Chuktu, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Makurdi.
He explained that the grant would be used for implementing the Community-Led Health Improvement through Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion (CHISPIN) in Nigeria.
He said the programme was expected to run for three years in similar design of the Rural Sanitation and Hygiene Promotion Programme with emphasis on activities at the local areas.
Chuktu said using the Community Led Total Sanitation approach, no fewer than 702, 000 persons in Biase, Ikom and Yala local government areas would benefit from the programme.
Ekiti
An Ado-Ekiti High Court has sentenced two students of
Ekiti State University (EKSU)- Akintunde Olumide and Oladapo Olaoluwa, to three years imprisonment each for belonging to secret cults.
Justice Mosun Abodunde, in her judgment held that the prosecution established a case of secret cultism against the two convicts beyond reasonable doubt.
The judge said that the police found in their custody, a small cutlass, black head warmer band, black T. shirt, and black trousers during investigation.
The judge held that the short cutlass was not the type used for agriculture or weeding grass.
“It is not a tool for education, it is a weapon of danger and incriminating, and should not be seen within the school premises,’’ she added.
Gombe
Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo of Gombe State has urged
traditional rulers in the state to sensitise their subjects on the need to guard against fire outbreaks.
Dankwambo made the call when he visited the Emir of Pindiga in Akko local government area.
He said traditional rulers had an important role to play in sensitising their subjects against fire disasters in view of the recent reports of fire outbreaks in parts of the North.
He advised the public to always switch off electrical appliances before closing from businesses, offices and their houses when going to bed, to avoid fire outbreaks.
The governor also advised people to desist from storing petroleum products in their houses, warning that such act may lead to fire outbreak.
Jigawa
The Jigawa Government says it wants some Chinese com
panies that have indicated interest to invest in agriculture to establish their factories in the state.
The Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, Alhaji Kabiru Ali, made this known when he briefed newsmen in Maigatari on the visit of the Chinese investors to the state.
“Basically, what we want these Chinese to do is to establish the factory here in Jigawa so that the state will be buying in bulk the equipment we need.
“Also, other states will come to Jigawa and buy the equipment they need,’’ Ali said.
Ali said that Chinese were in the state to see the possibility of establishing a factory for the manufacturing of small farm equipment.
Katsina
Sen. Mustapha Bukar (APC-Katsina North) says he is
training 710 youths in Computer and Information Technology (ICT) in Katsina State.
Bukar stated this in Daura at the opening ceremony of the training programme.
He said that the training would be conducted by the Global Plus ICT in collaboration with the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) sponsored by him.
According to him, the beneficiaries will be trained in three months, after which a certificate would be given to each trainee.
He pointed out that the programme would complement the state government efforts at making people of the state computer literate.
“Computer education is regarded as backbone of societal development worldwide, but our youths are left behind in that area,’’ he said.
Besides, Bukar said that the trainees would be empowered with working materials and capital to enable them establish their businesses and become self-reliant after the programme.
Kaduna
The Kaduna State Government has awarded N11 billion
contracts for the renovation of schools and provision of furniture, the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Dr Shehu Adamu, has said.
Adamu said while briefing newsmen in Kaduna that N7 billion would be spent on the renovation of 420 secondary schools, while N4 billion was for the provisions of furniture.
According to him, the state has a total of 4, 225 primary schools and 524 secondary schools, most of which are dilapidated.
“The contract entails the complete renovation of the schools, construction of toilets facilities, provision of solar-powered motorized boreholes with overhead tanks, and construction of new classes where necessary.
“For the furniture, the contracts were awarded for the provision of more than 770,000 units of furniture to be distributed across the state”.
Nasarawa
A Mararaba Grade 1 Area Court, Aso Pada, has admitted
a 28-year-old wheelbarrow pusher, Friday Bebaca, to bail in the sum of N100,000 for alleged extortion.
Bebaca of Aso Junction Mararaba was arraigned on a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and extortion.
The presiding officer, Mr Albert Maga, in his ruling, ordered the defendant to produce one surety in like sum.
Maga ordered that the surety should have a fixed address, reasonable means of livelihood, and also reside within the jurisdiction of the court.
He adjourned the case till April 15 for further hearing.
Prosecutor Friday Adaji had told the court that Musa Abubakar of Aso Pada, Mararaba, reported the matter at ‘A’ Divisional Police Headquarters, Mararaba, on March 30.
Adaji said the defendant conspired with two others now at large to attack the complainant along Mararaba Junction while he was coming back from work.
Oyo
The Sickle Cell Hope Alive Foundation (SCHAF) said it
has partnered with the National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) to fight sickle cell in the country.
The President of the foundation, Prof. Adeyinka Falusi, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Ibadan.
Falusi said that the foundation was forging collaboration with NYSC as part of efforts to promote awareness and education on preventive approach to the disease.
“The objective of NYSC is to inculcate in Nigerian youths the spirit of selfless service to the community.
“The corp members are distributed nationwide and SCHAF is initiating a partnership with the NYSC to serve as a vehicle of Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) prevention.
Plateau
The Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) in Pla
teau has said that its Mobile Court has been a vital tool to check unqualified drivers and vehicles from plying the highways.
The state Public Education Officer of the commission, Mr Andrew Bala, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Jos.
According to him, the mobile court activity has been a vital tool that the corps is using to reduce the number of unqualified drivers and vehicles from plying highways.
“Mobile court proceeding has given our men on patrol the opportunity to charge traffic offenders and they are given a fair hearing when arrested.’’
Niger
Twenty thousand rice farmers in Niger would be as
sisted with a N1.8 billion loan, under CBN Anchor Borrowers Programme within the next four years, Niger Coordinator of Agriculture Graduates Association of Nigeria (AGAN), has said.
The Coordinator, Malam Hussaini Iliyasu, stated this in Minna at a stakeholders’ meeting.
Our correspondent reports that the Rice Value Chain Investment Project Multi Stakeholders’ meeting was held between the State Ministry of Agriculture, IFAD, CBN and the association.
Zamfara
The Emir of Gusau in Zamfara, Alhaji Ibrahim Bello, has
refuted rumours of his purported death being peddled across the state.
In a statewide broadcast on the state –owned radio station the emir assured the people of the state that he was still alive.
“I want the people to know that I am alive, but I will soon go to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment,” he said.
The monarch said the announcement was necessary in order to clear the air over rumours being peddled by some people that he had died.
The emir, however, thanked his well wishers for their concern over his well-being and urged them to continue to pray for him.
The Lagos State Government has disclosed that 26,592 public school students failed the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, raising alarm across the state’s education sector.
The state Commissioner for Basic and Secondary Education, Jamiu Alli-Balogun, during a ministerial press briefing yesterday in Alausa, Ikeja, said that “45.7 per cent of the 58,188 students from public schools who sat for the exams did not pass.”.
This failure rate comes despite the state government’s significant financial backing N1.577 billion was paid on behalf of the students to cover WAEC fees.
“Suffice to say that the sum of N1,577,794,000 only was paid by the state government as examination fees for 58,188 students who were captured for the year 2024 WASSCE,” Alli-Balogun announced.
In a bid to tighten accountability and avoid wastage, the Commissioner disclosed that biometric and image registration was carried out to accurately determine eligible students for government sponsorship for the 2025 WASSCE.
“The exercise successfully captured and registered 56,134 students as bona fide beneficiaries of the Lagos state government’s sponsorship for the examination,” he added.
However, the Lagos State Government rolled out a bold educational intervention – the Eko Learners’ Support Programme for WASSCE and NECO candidates – aimed at reversing the tide of academic failure in the state’s public schools.
Launched on January 14, 2025, the initiative is part of a broader commitment by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education to equip Lagos students with tools for success.
“This forward-thinking initiative was designed to support and empower young scholars in attestation of the ministry’s commitment to advancing interest and management of the educational system in Lagos State,” Alli-Balogun stated.
Ekiti State Government says it has vaccinated 226,429 eligible girls in the State against the Human Papilloma Virus, an infection believed to be a leading cause of cervical cancer.
The wife of the Ekiti State Governor, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, said the HPV immunization exercise, which she flagged off in the State in May 2025 was a great success, noting that it reached targeted communities and protected children against cervical cancer.
The governor’s wife made the disclosure in Ado Ekiti yesterday during a one-day stakeholders’ sensitisation meeting on the introduction of Measles Rubella vaccines in Ekiti State.
She said, “The introduction of Measles Rubella Vaccines is a very crucial step towards protecting Ekiti children particularly the target age group of nine to 14 years from diseases.
“I urge all women in the State to regularly scan their breasts. This can be done with the aid of the Mammography machine which is available at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti”.
The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, noted that the Measles Rubella vaccines would be rolled out nationally in October, 2025.
Filani said that the State was taking proactive steps to sensitise residents of the State before the date to ensure adequate awareness on the vaccines by citizens.
The Acting Ochimba of Ogida in Etche Local Government Area of Rivers State, Eze Ndudiri Azuatalam, says peace remains paramount in the socio-economic development of Etche land.
Eze Azuatalam, however, called on his people to embrace and eschew violence at all times.
The Onwa Nagbara Oha made the call during the official commissioning of his palace at Ogida recently.
The epoch-making ceremony held at his palace saw the attendance of members of the Etche Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs; the academia; the political class; the clergy ; women as well relevant stakeholders within and outside Etche land.
The Ngbaragida of Azuafor re-emphasised the essence of peace and social harmony which he said open the window for meaningful development to take place.
He also sought the support and collaboration of his people to achieve the desired goals of development, progress and prosperity.
He noted that the peace being witnessed in the area must be sustained through collective effort, saying, contributions and sacrifices need to be made by all concerned to live in peace.
Eze Azuatalam said his aim towards building a better Ogida cannot be compromised as he and his people have no other place called home.
The Acting Ochimba said as part of efforts to build a better Ogida, he has instituted a number of development projects, adding that some of his kinsmen have been empowered through his hard-earned money and resources, saying, he will continue to assist the less- privileged around him.
He reaffirmed his desire to impact positively on the lives of his people as the engagement of the youths will help to reduce social vices in the area.
He thanked members of the Etche Supreme Council of Traditional Rulers and Chiefs for honouring his invitation.
He specifically thanked the Onyi Ishi Etche and Ochie of Etcheland, His Eminence E mmanuel Opurum for leading Etche on the path of prosperity, and described the revered King as a role model to the younger generation.
He said his fatherly role has been a source of hope and inspiration to his subjects.
The palace was unveiled by His Eminence with the assistance of Ochimba of Abara, Eze Jonah Nwala and other prominent Etche traditional rulers and chiefs while the Onyi Ishi Etche was represented by Eze Ken Nwala, Onyi Ishi Agwuru, Ulakwo/ Umuselem Clan.
The Onyi Ishi Etche urged other prominent sons of Etche to emulate the kind gesture of Eze Ndudiri Azuatalam as his magnanimity is being seen and appreciated by his people.
Eze Azuatalam also applauded the efforts of Prof Mekuri Ndimele, former Vice Chancellor of the Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in the growth of Etche land.
According to him, during Ndimele’ s tenure, a lot of development projects were sited at the institution, including the development of Etcheland and empowerment of Etche people.