Adamawa
The Adamawa State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Malam Ahmad says that, the state government Sajoh, has set up a High Powered Committee to resuscitate all skills acquisition centres in the state.
Sajoh, told newsmen, Thursday in Yola that the decision was taken at the State Executive Council meeting on Wednesday.
Sajoh said that, the committee had Gov.Bindow Jibrilla as chairman with some commissioners and some stakeholders in empowerment and poverty alleviation as members.
“The new focus of this government is youth empowerment, we are reappraising the skills acquisition centres.
“We have taken it so seriously that council has set up a High Powered Committee with the Governor as the Chairman and Chief of Staff to the Governor as Vice-Chairman.

Benue
The National Population Commission (NPC), last Thursday said, it has started the third phase of the Enumeration Area Demarcation (EAD) in Benue State for the 2018 National Population Census.
Mrs Patricia Kupchi, NPC Federal Commissioner in Benue, told newsmen in Makurdi that, the exercise started in Ohimini Local Government Area of the state.
She said that, enumerators would move round communities in the area to number and divide houses into enumeration areas, using satellite maps.
According to her, the exercise is aimed at dividing the enumeration areas into smaller units for effective census coverage.

FCT
Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama says, Nigeria is in need of about one billion dollars (N314.8bn) for recharging of drying Lake Chad.
The minister told newsmen last Wednesday in Abuja that the fund would also take care of the humanitarian needs of persons affected by Boko Haram insurgency in North East Nigeria.
Onyeama said that, an international conference of donor countries and agencies has been scheduled in Oslo, Norway, to raise the funds on February 24.
He said the conference was being put together with the support of Germany and Norway, who galvanised the international community to support Nigeria’s efforts in addressing its humanitarian challenge.

Jigawa
Director of Jigawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Shehu Sambo, last Thursday said, 3,260 children below the age of five in the state had died of malnutrition between 2010 and 2016.
Sambo disclosed this in a paper presentation on overview of Community-Based Management of Acute Malnutrition at the ongoing advocacy meeting on management of severe acute malnutrition by UNICEF, Bauchi field office.
He explained that, 36,271 out of 280,980 children admitted within the period under review were defaulters who did not complete treatment, hence some of them might have died thereafter while 20,226 of them were cured.
The Director noted that, it was worrisome that over 800 children died of malnutrition in the state in 2016 alone.

Katsina
The Katsina State Government says it has earmarked N12.3 billion for the completion and rehabilitation of some dam projects to boost water supply and irrigation in the state.
The Special Adviser to the Governor on Budget and Economic Planning, Alhaji Abdullahi Imam, said this during a news conference on Thursday in Katsina.
He said N5 billion had been set aside for the completion of Zobe water supply project in Dutsin-ma Local Government Area of the state.
Imam said that, when completed, the project would improve water supply to Kankia, Charanchi, Bindawa, Rimi Batagarawa and Katsina Local Government Areas.
“Government also sets aside N3 billion for the regional water supply in Danja Local Government Area to boost water supply and irrigation, particularly tomato and sugarcane production.

Kano
Kano State Executive Council has approved N780 million for the continuation of projects in various sectors in the state.
The state Commissioner for Information, Malam Muhammad Garba, made this known while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the State Executive Council meeting on Thursday in Kano.
Garba explained that, N60 million was approved for the procurement of chairs and desks for schools by the Ministry of Education.
Garba also said that, 37 junior secondary schools would be upgraded to Senior Secondary Schools and 66 new Junior Secondary Schools would be constructed.

Kogi
Kogi State House of Assembly last Wednesday in Lokoja passed the 2017 appropriation bill of N174.8 billion for the fiscal year.
The bill, passed during special plenary sitting in Lokoja, was based on expected revenue of N174.8 billion and an expenditure of same figure, giving it a balanced outlook.
The budget is made up of Recurrent Revenue of N81.66 billion and Capital Receipts of N93.18 billion as well as Recurrent Expenditure of N58.531 billion and Capital Expenditure of N116.320 billion, amounting to N174.851 billion.
Passage of the Appropriation Bill followed the adoption of report of the Assembly’s Committee on Appropriation and Budget Monitoring as well as clause-by-clause consideration by the Committee of the Whole  during the special sitting.

Kwara
The Kwara State Government has earmarked N3.2billion for the take-off of two new  campuses of the Kwara State University (KWASU) to be sited in Osi and Ilesa-Baruba.
The state Commissioner for Information and Communication, Alhaji Babatunde Ajeigbe, disclosed this on Thursday during a news conference on the outcome of the State Executive Council’s meeting held on Wednesday, February 22.
The briefing was also attended by the Special Adviser to the governor on Legal Matters, Mr Suleiman Atolagbe, the Senior Special Assistant (SSA), Dr Muideen Akorede and the Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Alhaji Abdulwahab Oba.
Ajeigbe said, the N3.2 billion was for the construction of roads, students’ hostels, lecture theatres, offices and water reticulation for the two campuses.

Lagos
The raid of Sango Ota Rice Garage last Tuesday night by operatives of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) sent “shivers down the spines” of Alaba Rago market rice sellers in Lagos.
The sellers, who expressed fear of a raid by officials of the Customs Service, had adopted more strategies to woo customers.
Some of the sellers told newsmen last Thursday in Lagos that Customs officials ought to restrict their operations to the borders.
According to them, there is no reason for Customs to go into the markets to harass sellers whose business is to sell the commodity and fend for their families.

Nasarawa
The National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) says it has commenced training of drivers on safety strategies to adopt while transporting pregnant women with complications to health facilities.
The Consultant of the NURTW Emergency Transport Scheme Alhaji Ismail Balogun,  made this known on Thursday in Lafia, Nasarawa State, while addressing members of the union.
Balogun said that the training was to curb the increasing rate of maternal mortality.
He said that 30 drivers selected from Doma and Nasarawa-Eggon Local Government Areas of the state would benefit from the scheme.
According to him, the training will focus on the safety strategies to adopt while transporting pregnant women with complications to health facilities for proper medical attention.

Ogun
The management of the Home Grown School Feeding Programme in Ogun State last Thursday assured that it remained committed to effective service delivery to benefitting pupils across public primary schools in the state.
The Programme Manager, Mrs Tinuola Shopeju, stated this during an interactive session with food vendors engaged under the programme in Abeokuta-North and Abeokuta-South local government areas of the state.
Shopeju explained that additional vendors would be considered to adequately meet the demands of the beneficiaries.
She assured that the department would sustain the interaction with the vendors at regular intervals, to ensure prompt service delivery and feedback towards resolving various challenges confronting them.
The programme manager enjoined them not to hesitate to forward their observations, as and when due, for necessary attention.

Plateau
A total of 450 entries from 32 secondary schools across Plateau State have been received for this year’s Plateau Internal Revenue Service (PSIRS) Essay Writing Competition.
The students are expected to write on taxation in the state, and specifically offer suggestions toward enhancing such receipts in Plateau.
The Chairman of the eight-man panel of judges assessing the entries,  Chief Vonjen Lar, disclosed this to newsmen last Wednesday in Jos.
Lar, a retired Permanent Secretary, described the response from the students and schools as, “very positive and “encouraging”.
“We have already started marking the scripts; we shall move through various stages and eventually arrive at the best three.