THE STATES

Borno
Three teenage female suicide bombers were last Wednesday night killed in Maiduguri, Borno State, when they attempted to attack a military outpost popularly called “Gontanamo” along Muna Garage.
According to a press statement by the spokesman of the National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA), Abdulkadir Ibrahim, the three teenage female bombers detonated the explosives strapped on them so as to avoid being arrested.
Ibrahim said a security officer, who was among those who intercepted the three teenagers, was injured.
The statement read,“Yesterday (Wednesday) night 3/5/2017, at 10:05pm, three female teenage suicide bombers attempted to attack military outpost popularly known as ‘Gontanamo’ along Muna garage.
“They were sighted, trying to gain access to the premises and were shot by the securities leading to the detonation of their concealed explosives, which killed all three of them and injured one of the security personnel.”

FCT
A Bill for a law, to provide N100, 000 fine for people who distort the country’s national flag, passed second reading at the House of Representatives last Thursday.
Sponsor of the bill, Rep. Sam Onuigbo (Abia-PDP), in the debate, said the bill sought to amend Flag and Coat of Arms Act 2004 and would make further provisions to preserve the country’s national heritage.
He said, there had been surreptitious effort to change the national flag as many public and private offices constructed the Coat-of Arms on it.
Onuigbo said that, the offices even included official photographs of governors, ministers, and even national assembly members in the designs.
According to him, it is important to declare that any addition, subtraction or superimposition outside the version designed by Pa Michael Akinkunmi in 1959 is not the Nigerian flag.

Kano
Former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Dr Maitama Sule has called on Nigerians to support President Muhammadu Buhari’s war against corruption.
Sule, made the call last Thursday, during the unveiling of NIPOST Anti-Corruption stamps at the Coronation Hall, Kano.
He said that, the anti-graft crusade launched by the present administration should be seen as a collective aspiration by all Nigerians and not necessarily Buhari’s individual struggle.
“The fight against corruption is a collective one. We are grateful to have a courageous president who said enough is enough,” Sule noted.
The one-time UN envoy expressed the hope that the Buhari administration would change Nigeria’s battered image abroad and curb corruption.

Katsina
Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina State, has accused senior civil servants in the state of sabotaging government activities.
Masari, made this known at a special dinner organised for labour leaders in Katsina State last Monday, to mark the May Day.
“Some senior civil servants have been indulging in acts that are against the progress of government programmes and policies.
“We are aware that some of the senior civil servants that we inherited from the previous administration have not been assisting the present government to implementing certain programmes.
“The present government believed that, civil servants are the engine room of the government but some senior civil servants are sabotaging our efforts.

Kebbi
The Senate has called on the Federal Government to assist Ngaski Local Government in Kebbi State, which recently lost 26 people in a boat mishap in River Niger, to blast stones and fell trees that hinder safe navigation.
This followed a motion by the Deputy Leader of the Senate, Bala Ibn Na’Allah, at plenary on Thursday.
The senate urged the government to assist the affected communities in the area with modern 50-seater boats to alleviate the transportation needs of the communities.
The Upper Chamber, also urged the Ministry of Transport through the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), to immediately conduct a survey into the stretch of River Niger in the area to put navigational aids in place.

Kogi
The Vice-President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Alhaji Mohammed Chapi-Emgali, has called on government at all levels to evolve deliberate policies to promote cashew production, processing and marketing in the country.
Chapi-Emgali made the call at a forum of stakeholders on Cashew and the association’s Dinner/Award Night at Anyigba in Dekina Local Government of Kogi last Saturday.
He called on the need for a revolution in the agriculture sector through cashew production and processing in the country.
He said that the product had impacted on the economy of Kogi East Senatorial District resulting in an urban to rural migration.
Chapi-Emgali urged Nigerian farmers to seize the advantage of the high exchange rate, and return the country to the era of agricultural boom and massive youth employment.
Also speaking, Mr Gabriel Aduku, former Minister of State for Health, called for greater attention to the agriculture sector in view of its multi-dimensional importance to national growth and development.

Lagos
The Catholic Archbishop Emeritus, Archdiocese of Lagos, Anthony Okogie has advised the country’s leadership to give special attention to the security of Nigerians.
Okogie in Lagos last Thursday, urged the government to have the courage and the political will needed to protect Nigerians.
He said in a statement that, a sizeable percentage of the budget was officially allocated to security.
“We have the security and intelligence agencies but the simple fact is that, they are not established to protect the people.
“They are established and operated to protect political actors. If the state does not protect us, can we truly say we have a nation,’’ he said.

Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State House of Assembly has pledged to work with the executive arm to ensure even distribution of development projects at the grassroots.
Mr Mohammad Odege-Okpoku, Chairman, House Committee on Works and Transport, made the promise while inspecting projects in Akwanga Local Government Area of the state, on Thursday.
Odege-Okpoku, who led members of the committee on the exercise, lauded Governor Tanko Al-Makura for releasing funds, for the construction of culverts and bridges across local government and development area councils in the state.

Ogun
Over 700 pensioners in Ogun State, were screened during the first day of physical verification of pensioners conducted by the government, Babatunde Agbaje,   Permanent Secretary, Bureau of State Pensions, has said.
Agbaje, who made the disclosure last Thursday in Ijebu-Ode, said the exercise would help to save funds for the government.
He said that, the exercise was also  aimed at establishing credible and authentic data base of pensioners in the state.
The permanent secretary added that, the exercise was conducted to update the record of the pensioners in the state and restore payment of monthly pension to genuine pensioners.

Ondo
The Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), Okitipupa  last Thursday, warned that, it would no longer tolerate disobedience to the rules and regulations of the university by the students.
Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Sunday Ogunduyile, gave the warning in Okitipupa, during the institution’s 7th matriculation ceremony where 706 students were matriculated for the 2016/2017 academic session.
Ogunduyile listed ills such as cultism, examination malpractice, indecent dressing, hooliganism and willful destruction of the university properties in which  the institution would exercise zero tolerance.

Sokoto
The National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), last Thursday said, it had received 2,000 doses of meningitis vaccines donated to it by Sokoto State Government.
The state’s Coordinator of the scheme, Alhaji Musa Abubakar, disclosed this in Sokoto at the passing out ceremony of the 1,697 corps members deployed to the state under the 2016 batch “A”, stream two.
Abubakar said, the scheme had consequently commenced mass vaccination of corps members across the state, as well as its staffers. He said, “vaccination started on May 1 and we plan to vaccinate more than 5,000 corps members and staffers.