THE STATES

Benue

The Benue State Fire Service has said that it saved 1000 lives and goods worth five billion naira from 136 fire outbreaks in the state in 2016.
The Acting Chief, State Fire Service, Mr Andrew Omakpo disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Benue.
Omakpo, however, put the estimated property destroyed by fire during the period at N4million.
According to him 1,000 lives were saved from fire incidents while seven died in the period under review.
He explained that fire resulting from electrical faults were more prevailing, adding that other cases of fire affecting life and property were from bush burning, kerosene explosion and fire outbreak at fuel stations.
Omakpo appealed to members of the public to always place emergency calls in case of any fire outbreak for prompt response, rather than resorting to self help.

Borno

The Borno State Government has banned the sale of charcoal and firewood on major streets in the metropolis to prevent pollution in the city.
The Commissioner for Justice, Alhaji Kakashehu Lawan, disclosed this in a statement made available in Maiduguri.
Lawan said that sellers of the commodities were expected to relocate to a new market on Damboa Road designated  for the sale of  charcoal and firewood.
He said that the operation of charcoal and firewood sellers on major streets had constituted environmental hazard in the state.
Lawan gave a two-week notice to all sellers to either relocate to the market or face prosecution.

Kaduna

Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State has approved the appointment of Prof. Muhammad Tanko as the new Vice Chancellor of the Kaduna State University (KASU).
Information on the approval is in a statement by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, Mr Samuel Aruwan, in Kaduna.
Aruwan stated that the approval followed recommendations by the Governing Council of the university.
He noted that Prof. Tanko was former Deputy Vice-Chancellor of KASU and holds a Ph.D in Accounting and Finance.
The new vice chancellor has teaching experience at undergraduate and graduate levels, with significant quality supervision and valuable inter-disciplinary collaboration, the special assistant added.
He stated that Tanko also had strong track record of research as evidenced by the quality of his papers in peer-reviewed journals.
Kano

A newly-formed Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) in Kano, ‘Kungiyar Hausawan Africa,’ has commenced recruitment of youth as volunteers in rendering voluntary services.
The President of the association, Dr Abdulkadir Koguna, made the disclosure while briefing newsmen on the genesis of the association in Kano.
Koguna said the youth were being recruited from all shades of opinion to be trained on the skills of rendering voluntary services in times of accidents and natural disasters.
He said the initiative was aimed at uniting the Hausa people both in Nigeria and in the diaspora with a view to achieving a common objective.
According to him, the existence of the Arewa Elders’ Forum was never meant to champion the cause of the Hausa people alone but the entire people of the northern part of the country.
Kogi
Prof. Gbenga Ibileye of the Federal University, Lokoja, has expressed “deep concern” over the worsening menace of ghost workers in the country, and recommended “strategic measures” toward tackling it.
Ibileye, in a paper presented at the 2nd Public Lecture of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPMN), held in Lokoja, suggested periodic surprise payroll audit as one measure to scare culprits that hurl in such ghost names.
Other measures, he said, included technological driven personnel sysem that would alert management of any addition to existing workers’ figure, as well as a centralised approval of all pay checques.
Kwara
Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State had launched a N41-million micro-credit loan scheme for the empowerment of women in the 16 local government areas that spread across the three senatorial districts in the state.
Ahmed said this while delivering his speech during the women empowerment programme in Ilorin.
He said that his administration was committed to supporting the course of the women folk in the state, and noted that women were critical to achieving the shared goal of prosperity.
The governor presented cheques for N20 million to the first set of beneficiaries, also promised that the remaining N21million would be disbursed in the next few weeks.

Nasarawa
Eighty-nine cultists from five tertiary institutions in Nasarawa State had denounced their membership.
National Coordinator of National Campus Cult Eradica
tion Foundation (CCEF), Samuel Ejembi, disclosed this to newsmen in Lafia.
According to him, the group which is a non-governmental organisation (NGO), is working in conjunction with the Nigeria Police Force to eradicate and rehabilitate cultism.
He said that the cultists were students from the Federal University, Lafia (FUL); Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia (NSPL), College of Agriculture, Lafia (COAL), College of Education, Akwanga (COEA) and the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK), respectively.
He said that with the support of the Inspector General of Police (IG), the group recently denounced 53cultists from different cult groups across various tertiary institutions in Benue State.
Responding, Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIGP) in charge of Training, Sani Muhammed, said the leaders of the NGO were former cult-members who denounced their membership voluntarily.
Ondo
The amalgamated union of artisans in Ondo State has commended the outgoing administration of Governor Olusegun Mimiko for its adequate loan empowerment to the various artisan-groups in the state.
The union leadership, who spoke with newsmen in Akure, said that artisans and trade unions in the state accessed no less than N1billion as soft loans in the last eight years from the Mimiko-led administration.
The union comprises of Carpenter and Furniture Makers’ Progressive Union, Ondo State Artisan and Trader Union (OSATU) and Ondo State Association of Hairdressers and Cosmetologists.
Others are Nigerian Automobile Technicians Association (NATA) and Nigeria Union of Tailors (NUT).

Osun
Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State, has charged young varsity graduates to shift attention from searching for white collar jobs and embrace agriculture as a means of self employment.
The governor gave this advice in a statement signed by his media aide, Semiu Okanlawon in Osogbo.
He said that the present economic situation had shown Nigerians the need to encourage farming as the only alternative to crude oil.
Aregbesola stated that graduates should stop searching for formal jobs that seemed not to be available any longer.

Oyo
The Deputy Governor of Oyo State, Mr Moses Adeyemo, has commended the military for efforts in restoring peace to the North-East and the entire country.
Adeyemo gave the commendation in Ibadan during the 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration.
The deputy governor said the military needed to be celebrated because of their contributions to ensure peace and stability in the nation.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Nigeria Legion, Oyo State chapter, Mr Michael Olagunju, urged the Federal Government to make the welfare of the military at the war front a priority to serve as a morale booster.
Plateau
Pastor Paul Ojoh of Shepherd House International Assembly, Jos has said that good plans could only work with the right strategy.
“It is not enough to have a good plan; one must have the right strategy to pursue that plan to fruition,” Ojoh said in a sermon in Jos.
The cleric, in the sermon titled: “Strategy for another kind of them’’, said that plans must be well examined and thought out, pointing out that strategies for success must be anchored along spiritual and physical means.
The Pastor emphasised the need for spiritual principles which encompasses tithes and offerings, as well as obeying the law on the first fruits.
Sokoto
Worried by the plight of the families of Nigeria’s fallen heroes, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State has solicited more support for their children and wives.
Tambuwal, who spoke at an event to commemorate the 2017 Armed Forces Remembrance Day in Sokoto, said the children and wives of the fallen soldiers should be taken care of.
He commended the armed forces for their sacrifices in helping to secure and keep the nation.
He said:”One of the best ways to honour Nigeria’s fallen heroes is to take care of the loved ones they left behind.

Yobe
The Yobe Government has said that it would enhance the process of resettlement and rehabilitation of victims of insurgency in the state.
The Deputy Governor, Abubakar Aliyu, stated this while receiving four people suspected to be associated with Boko Haram, but were cleared and released by military authorities in Maiduguri.
Aliyu is also the chairman of the state’s Committee on Resettlement and Rehabilitation of Internally Displaced Persons.
He was represented by the Commissioner for Justice, Alhaji Ahmed Mustapha, who said the government would provide them with humanitarian and rehabilitation assistance to rebuild their lives.
Zamfara

The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has donated 1,100 bags of assorted grains and building materials to victims of bandits and cattle rustlers attacks in Maradun and Maru local government areas of Zamfara State.
This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen by the Information Officer of NEMA, Sokoto Operations Office, Malam Aliyu Muhammad, in Gusau.
The items are: 200 bags of beans; 100 bags of rice each of; maize and guinea corn; 200 bundles of roofing sheets; 100 packets of zinc nails and 500 pieces of blankets for the victims in Maradun local government area.