Nation
THE STATES
Borno
The Borno State chapter of the National Union of Road
Transport Workers (NURTW) has warned drivers against picking passengers along the highways but at designated motor parks.
It said this was to avoid bad elements that could cause havoc from boarding their vehicles.
The state Chairman of the union, Malam Bello Maduganari, gave the warning in an interview with newsmen in Maiduguri.
Maduganari said all commercial transport operators and drivers must also ensure proper checks of both passengers and their luggage at various motor parks before embarking on any trip.
Ekiti
A Federal High Court in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced to four
years imprisonment, a 51-year-old husband of four wives, who unlawfully possessed 26.5kg of marijuana.
Justice Taiwo Taiwo sentenced Akindele Oso without an option of fine, after he pleaded guilty.
”The defendant was shown all exhibits tendered to the court by the prosecution, and he confirmed signing them without objection.
“I have listened to the submission of the prosecutor and the plea of guilt by the defendant in the open court. The defendant is found guilty as charged.
FCT
An FCT High Court will deliver judgement in the alleged
murder of Remigius Nzekwe in a date to be communicated to the counsel.
The judge, Justice Sunday Aladetoyinbo, made this known when the parties adopted their final written addresses.
Aladetoyinbo said the date of the judgement would be communicated to the parties.
The prosecuting counsel Mr. S.M. Labaran while adopting his final written address, urged the court to convict and sentence them accordingly.
But Counsel to the defendant, Mr. Ehi Uwaifoh, prayed the court to discharge the defendants.
Gombe
Gombe State Government in collaboration with United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), on Monday, commenced skill acquisition training for 264 women and youths in the state.
The training is part of efforts by the administration of Governor Ibrahim DankwamNAbo to provide livelihood skills and support for youths and women in the state.
The 264 beneficiaries will be trained in Plumbing, Plasta of Paris (POP), Solar Power Installation, Tailoring and Fashion Design.
Speaking at the commencement of the training, the Commissioner of Economic Planning, Alhaji Danladi Mohammed, said the governor had made skills acquisition and empowerment a priority of his administration.
Jigawa
No fewer than 150 less privileged children in Hadejia,
Jigawa, have benefitted from an education support programme initiated by an NGO, Association for Advancement of Women in Nigeria (ASSAWIN).
The Programme Manager of ASSAWIN, Mrs Ameachina Chinelo, told newsmen in Hadejia that the organisation had been providing the education support in the last two years.
Ameachina said that the NGO distributed school uniforms, bags, shoes books and other instructional materials to the children selected from 20 primary and junior secondary schools in the area.
She said that the gesture was to encourage enrolment and retention in school.
Katsina
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Funtua, Katsina
state, has established Human Rights help-desks to increase the people’s access to legal services in the area.
The NBA Chairman, Malam Aminu Garba, made the disclosure in an interview with newsmen in Funtua.
Garba said the branch had also designed legal aid clinics for litigants, adding that the clinic would be manned by lawyers on National Youth Service Corps scheme and supervised by senior lawyers.
The chairman said the scheme would be of immense benefits to both corps members and the litigants.
Kwara
A factional Chairman of the PDP in Kwara, Mr Sunday
Fagbemi, has led some of his sympathisers to take over the party’s secretariat on Asa Dam Road in Ilorin.
Members of the party, who are loyal to the Ahmed Makarfi-led Caretaker Committee of PDP, had stormed the secretariat early in the morning amid wild jubilation.
The jubilant PDP supporters were sighted carrying placards with various inscriptions affirming Fagbemi’s leadership.
Speaking with newsmen at the secretariat, Fagbemi said his executive committee members remained the authentic leaders of the PDP in the state.
But in his reaction, the Publicity Secretary of the Oyedepo-led executive of the PDP, Mr Rex Olawoye, insisted that Oyedepo remained the authentic state chairman of the party.
Lagos
The Provincial Coordinator in charge of the Children Church
of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Rekiya Iletu, has urged mothers to spend quality time with their children.
Iletu, who made the plea in an interview with newsmen at the Musical Concert of the Lagos Province 15 of RCCG, Idi-Oro, Mushin, Lagos, said that sexual abuse was on the increase, adding that parents had the responsibility to educate their children on the dangers of sexual abuse.
“The economy is tough, parents are busy trying to get means of livelihood for these same children that are being neglected. They should spend short but quality time with their children”.
Iletu said that to avoid sexual abuse, parents should create the awareness from age four.
Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State Government has said that its continued
monthly briefing on Federal allocations to local government councils in the state is to ensure transparency and accountability in governance.
The state Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Tijani Ahmed, stated this while speaking with newsmen in Lafia.
According to him, transparency and accountability is the watchword of Gov. Tanko Al-Makura’s administration in order to bring the much-needed dividends of democracy to the citizens.
“Let me make it clear that the essence of the monthly briefing of allocations to the local government is to ensure transparency and accountability in the process of governance in the state and in the interest of peace and national development.
Niger
The Nigeria Prison Service (NPS) in Niger State has said that it
was taking proactive measures to prevent any attempt of jail break in the state.
The prisons in the state currently have 1,500 inmates.
The Comptroller of Prison in the state, Mr Baba Gana, disclosed this to newsmen in Minna.
Gana that the prison service along with other security agencies had put in place security measures against any unforeseen circumstance.
He said that well armed security personnel had been deployed to effectively manage the prisons at Kontagora, Bida, Minna old prison, New Bussa, Agaiye, Lapai, Kagara and Minna new prisons.
Osun
Members of the National Association of Nigerian
Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) have expressed concern over the shortage of nurses and midwives in public health facilities in the country.
The National President of the association, Alhaji Abdulrafiu Adeniji, expressed the concern at the 6th quadrennial National Delegates Conference of the association in Osogbo.
The conference has as its theme: “Nursing Education in Contemporary Nigeria System; Issues and Challenges.’’
Adeniji said it had become imperative for the government to address the issues of acute shortage of nurses and midwives to guarantee adequate health service delivery.
Oyo
The Oyo State Government says it is committed to the
implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it has with its workers on payment of salaries.
The state Commissioner for Information, Mr Toye Arulogun, said this in an interview with newsmen in Ibadan.
Arulogun was reacting to speculations that the state government had decided to be paying 50 per cent of salaries to workers, including the 50 per cent of the six months salary arrears owed.
The commissioner, who dismissed the speculations, said “ government still stands by the last MoU which is to be paying the workers based on the allocation it receives.’’
Sokoto
The Education Secretary in the Sokoto North Local Gov
ernment, Alhaji Mustapha Ladan, has called on politicians and wealthy persons to support the state of emergency in the education sector.
Speaking with newsmen in Sokoto, Ladan said that the situation called for the support of all stakeholders in the sector.
“The aim of the emergency on the education sector will be achieved if stakeholders, teachers and the entire people are fully committed to the programme,’’ he said.
He called on politicians and wealthy individuals to emulate a member of the House of Representatives, Alhaji Bala Hassan, who renovated three primary schools in Sokoto North Local Government.
Plateau
The Judicial Commission of Inquiry sitting in Jos has
reserved ruling in a memo submitted by Njin Gyara against former governor of Plateau, Jonah Jang.
The Chairman of the commission, Justice Stephen Udah, reserved the ruling to a date to be communicated to the parties after hearing them on Tuesday.
Gyara, a former deputy director, Plateau Ministry of Finance, had filed a petition against Jang for dismissing him in office for refusing to sign a cheque of N112 million contract.
He alleged that he was suspended from office in 2012 after he refused to sign the said cheque, which he said, did not follow due process.
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.