Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
Commissioner for Health in Adamawa State, Dr Fatima
Atiku, said Isa Hamman, the patient who lost his kidney in an operation at a private clinic in Yola, was responding to treatment.
Atiku, in a statement made available to newsmen in Yola, said that the patient was referred to Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano.
According to her, Governor Muhammadu Bindow personally intervened in the matter.
She said that Hamman was taken to Malam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital personally by the governor in good faith and that his kidney transplant will be conducted soon.
“Available reports show that Isa Hamman condition is stable, and he is responding to treatment, while clinical examinations are still ongoing,” Atiku said.
Borno
The Borno State Police Command says that it has placed
the former spokesman of the Boko Haram sect, Ali Konduga, under psychiatric investigation.
This, the police said, followed Konduga’s display of abnormal behaviour since his arrest last week.
Mr Victor Isuku, the spokesman of the command, said this in a statement he issued in Maiduguri.
Isuku said that Konduga was arrested after a complaint by one Muhammadu Kala.
“On September 14, one Muhammadu Kala lodged a complaint at the GRA Police Station, Maiduguri, that Mallam Ali konduga of Gwange ward had trespassed into the premises of the house of Senator Muhammed Ndume.
“The DPO led a team of policemen to arrest the trespasser where he had gone to receive treatment for injuries he sustained as a result of a mob action,” Isuku said.
Ekiti
Ikole local government council in Ekiti State, has implored
traders and people patronising Ikole Main Market and other markets in the council area to make use of facilities provided in the markets.
Head of the Department of Environment in the council area, Mr Tunde Famuyisan, made this call while addressing some traders at the Ikole Main market recently.
He urged the market men and women to maximize use of latrine, dustbins and clinic provided in the market.
Famuyisan said the council made provision of these facilities to those visiting the market for one activity or the other; so that buying and selling would be carried out under good hygienic environment”.
FCT
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,
Mr Fillipo Grandi, said at the UN General Assembly (UNGA), that the commission was committed to working with world leaders in addressing refugees and migrants crises.
This is contained in a statement released in Abuja to newsmen by Mr HansonTamfu, the External Relations officer, UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Nigeria.
Grandi, speaking at the opening ceremony of the Assembly said that the declaration marked a political commitment of unprecedented force and resonance.
He said that the UNHCR welcomed the adoption of the declaration by 193 governments at the UNGA first ever summit addressing the large movement of refugees and migrants.
“It fills what has been a perennial gap in the international protection system of truly sharing responsibility for refugees in the spirit of the UN Charter”.
Jigawa
The Jigawa State Emergency Management Agency
(SEMA) says flood has killed 18 persons and destroyed 6,637 houses in about 19 local government areas in the state.
SEMA Executive Secretary, Alhaji Yusif Sani, said this while briefing newsmen on the activities of the agency in Dutse.
Sani said that the incidents occurred during the current rainy season.
He explained that the persons died in Gwaram, Dutse, Jahun, Gumel and Ringim local government areas of the state.
The executive secretary said that the flood destroyed 141 houses in Dutse; 419 in Jahun; 525 in Hadejia, 417 in Babura; 525 in Ringim; 822 in Gumel; 529 in Malammadori and 126 in Birninkudu local government areas.
Kaduna
Prof. Nasiru Shua’ibu of Biochemical Parasitology De
partment, Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria has developed a new malaria vaccine to prevent high rate of death arising from malaria fever.
Speaking with newsmen in Zaria, Kaduna State, Shu’aibu said the new malaria vaccine was different from others currently in use.
Shu’aibu, who is currently working with the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Japan, said the result of the research on the new vaccine would soon be out for Nigerians to use.
“In a simple term that a layman can understand, the content of this malaria vaccine research is difficult, but let me try if I could simplify it, it is called DNA Vaccine.
“It is a new technology for discovery and delivery of vaccine against any infectious disease that was developed in the early to mid 1990s”.
Kwara
Head of Service (H0S), Kwara State, Mrs Zahra Omar,
said the recent discovery of polio outbreak in Nigeria was a disappointing development, despite all efforts to eradicate the disease.
She made the remarks during a courtesy visit to her office in Ilorin by the Rotary Club of Ilorin.
Omar, however, expressed optimism in the eradication of polio in the country.
She also commended the efforts of Rotary Club for assisting the state government in the areas of provision of water and eradication of polio.
Lagos
The Managing Director, Accion Microfinance Bank
(MFB), Mrs Olubunmi Lawson says the bank has partnered with a non-governmental group, JAKIN, to assist 500 vulnerable pupils in Lagos public schools.
Lawson told newsmen in Lagos that the gesture was to give hope and ensure brighter future to those at the bottom rung of the society.
According to her, the partnership tagged: “Dress a Child for School Project’’ is also to support UNESCO International Literacy Day marked on every September 8.
She said that it was also to check the increasing number of school dropouts.
Lawson assured that the gesture would be extended to vulnerable children in other parts of the country.
She said that the beneficiaries would get uniforms, sandals, bags, books and writing materials for 2016/17 academic session.
Niger
Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State, has ap
pealed to Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to help sustain peace at the grassroots in the state.
Bello made the appeal when he visited the Commandant-General of NSCDC, Mr Abdullahi Gana.
He said that the state, with the largest land mass in the country, needed deployment of more NSCDC personnel in certain local government areas.
Osun
A member of the Osun State House of Assembly, Mr
Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, has advised government to invest in tourism in its effort to diversify the economy.
Oyintiloye, who is the House Committee Chairman on Information and Strategy, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Osogbo.
The lawmaker said it was important for government to invest in tourism as it grappled with putting the economy back on track.
According to him, the tourism sector is a money spinning industry and can be used to stablise Nigeria’s economy.
Oyintiloye, who said that the country was blessed with many tourist sites, said that such sites could help boost the economy if government paid serious attention them.
He argued that apart from the fact that tourism could boost the national economy, it could also provide jobs for people.
Oyo
A Consultant Pathologist at the University College Hos
pital, (UCH), Ibadan, Prof. Femi Ogunbiyi, said on Tuesday that early health screening would reduce adult mortality in the country.
Ogunbiyi made the remark in an interview with newsmen, Ibadan.
He defined screening as “an examination or testing of a group of individuals to separate those who are well from those who have an undiagnosed disease or defect”.
The consultant pathologist said that screening included individuals with presymptomatic or unrecognised symptomatic disease.
“The objective of medical screening is to identify a disease in its pre-clinical stage and, therefore, hopefully still curable phase.
“Screening tests are somewhat unique in that they are performed on persons apparently in good health”.
Plateau
Executive Secretary, National Health Insurance
Scheme (NHIS), Prof. Usman Yusuf, has called on governors of the 36 States to adopt the scheme in order to achieve universal health coverage in Nigeria.
He made the call in Jos during the Progressive Governance Lecture Series held in Plateau State capital.
He said that the aim of the partnership between the NHIS and state governors was to extend healthcare to most Nigerians and also create strategies to improve health care financing across the states.
Yusuf said that the scheme had recorded low level of health coverage.
He said that most countries such as Kenya, Ghana, and Rwanda had achieved over 50 per cent coverage of its citizens.
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.