THE STATES

Borno
Governor Kashim Shettima, of Borno State, recently appealed to the Nigerian military to intensify efforts to end the Boko Haram insurgency that had ravaged the North East for long.
Shettima made the appeal, while speaking at this year’s Eid el Fitr reception for members of the State Executive Council and other dignitaries at the Government House Maiduguri.
He said although the military had recorded tremendous successes against the insurgents, the recent spate of attacks in different parts of the state was worrisome.
“We have to commend President Muhammadu Buhari and the military for their efforts in fighting the Boko Haram insurgents.

FCT
The wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Buhari, has charged youths in the country to imbibe the culture of hard work and dedication to service.
Mrs Buhari made the call in a speech, at an occasion organised to mark the Eid el-fitr for young couples at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
Mrs Buhari, who was represented at the event by the wife of the acting President Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo, urged the youths to stay focused and avoid anything capable of creating hate and disunity among Nigerians.
She said that the emergency of new technology had arrested the attention of many young people in the country.

Kogi
Kogi State Agricultural Development Project (ADP), says agricultural extension workers will soon be deployed to rural communities across the state to assist farmers with extension services to boost their productivity.
Mr James Ogunmola, General Manager of the ADP, said this at a meeting of Core Delivery Team (CDT) of the State Partnership for Agriculture (SPA) in Lokoja on Wednesday.
The meeting was organised by Synergos Nigeria, with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
Ogunmola said that the extension workers, who were recently trained, were primed for deployment to various communities to assist the farmers.
According to him, the effort is aimed at supporting farmers to produce more food and cash crops in the state.

Kwara
Impressed by the N200 million intervention projects at a community school, youths and the traditional ruler of Omu-Aran, in Kwara State have lauded the old students association for the initiative.
Oba Charles Ibitoye, the traditional ruler of Omu-Aran, told newsmen in Omu-Aran, on Monday that the projects including the tarring of the 2-km road leading to the school were worthy contributions to educational development and the community.
The Omu-Aran Government Secondary School Old Boys Association (OGSSOBA), had recently flag-off the rehabilitation of the access road at a cost of N30 million with a completion date of six weeks.
Chief Jide Adebayo, OGSSOBA’S 1st Vice-President and one-time NAN Acting Managing Director, said the ongoing N200 million projects were conceived to give their alma mater a facelift ahead of its 50th anniversary.

Lagos
A 32-year-old man, Jeremiah Dopemu ,who allegedly obtained N100,000 under false pretence from one Akasa Eniyekeye, was last Wednesday granted N100,000 bail by an Apapa Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State.
The accused was also charged with parading himself as an officer of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).
The chief magistrate, Mr Titus Abolarinwa, in his ruling on a bail application told the accused to produce one surety in the like sum as part of the bail conditions.
Abolarinwa also said that, the surety must be gainfully employed and should show evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
Earlier the prosecutor, Insp. Tony Elibeh, had told the court that the accused, who resides at Ajegunle area of Apapa, committed the offences on May 5 at Nosamu Street, Ajegunle.

Nasarawa
The Emir of Wamba in Nasarawa State, Alhaji Lawal Musa-Nagogo, has suggested early distribution of fertiliser and inputs to farmers to boost food production in the country.
Musa-Nagogo made the suggestion last Wednesday, while speaking with newsmen in his palace in Wamba, Wamba Local Government Area of the state.
He said that early distribution of the commodity and other farm inputs to farmers by the government would assist farming and increase food production.
According to him, we are now in June and farmers have yet to get fertiliser and seedlings.
“We are all aware that there is fertiliser in the markets but the commodity is expensive for ordinary farmers.

Niger
The Niger State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hajiya Fatima Madugu, recently urged the Federal Government to adopt Nanotechnology in the development of science and technology sector.
Madugu, who made this known in an interview with newsmen in Minna, noted that, Nanotechnology if adopted would impact positively on industries and all spheres of the society.
She said that Nanotechnology was the application of extremely small things that could be applied across all fields of sciences such as chemistry, biology, physics, material science and engineering.
“The technology will offer better built, long lasting, cleaner, safer and smarter products for the home, communication, medicine, transport, agriculture industry as well as the power sector.
“Imagine a technology that can be used to deploy a medical device that travels through the human body to seek out and destroy small clusters of cancerous cells before they can spread.

Ogun
The Foundation for Academic Excellence, says it has concluded plans to partner with foreign agencies to grant scholarships to Nigerian postgraduate students.
The founder of the foundation, Mr Samuel Macaulay, made this known during a Public Awareness Seminar in Ota, Ogun State last Wednesday.
The theme of the seminar is: “How Nigeria Can Provide Findings for Postgraduate Students’’.
It was reported that the foundation was established in 2014 to provide scholarships for Nigerian postgraduate students within and outside the country.
Macaulay said the foundation would partner UNESCO, USAID, and the MacArthur Foundation to grant scholarships to Nigerian postgraduate students.

Ondo
The Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon Bamidele Oleyelogun, has called on Muslims and non-Muslims to pray fervently for Nigeria and its leaders.
In his Sallah message recently in Akure, Oleyelogun congratulated Muslim faithfuls for the successful completion of Ramadan.
He said the completion of Ramadan was worth celebrating in view of the current economic situation in the country.
“I want to salute the courage and perseverance of my Muslim brothers and sisters, and I pray that Allah will continue to sustain them and the people of Ondo state”.

Osun
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has advised parents to warn their children to avoid violence.
Ogunwusi gave the warning when a group of the Ife Muslim Community visited his Palace on Sunday as part of the Eid-el-Fitr celebration in Ile-Ife.
He urged the youth to focus their attention on things that would bring progress and development to the country.
The Ooni thanked Allah for giving the  Muslim faithful the grace to witness the 2017 Eid-el-Fitr and congratulated them on the festival.
According to him, 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population is made up of the youth.

Plateau
A 50-year-old man, Abdullahi Yusuf, last Wednesday appeared before a Jos Upper Area Court, sitting at Kasuwan Nama, charged with allegedly raping a 9-year-old girl.
The accused, a resident of Lasisi Street, Laranto, Jos, first appeared on May 6, specifically accused of rape.
The police prosecutor, Mr E. A. Inegbenoise, during the arraignment, told the court that the victims’ father reported the matter at the Laranto police station, on March 17.
Inegbenoise alleged that the accused person lured the minor into his room and had carnal knowledge of her.

Zamfara
Governor Abdulaziz Yari of Zamfara State, says full farming activities have resumed in the state following government efforts at brokering peace between farmers,  herdsmen and armed bandits.
The governor said this on Sunday, in a Sallah broadcast.
He said farmers and herdsmen have resumed normal activities without any hindrance.
He said the reconciliation committee set up by the state government under the chairmanship of the state deputy governor, Malam Ibrahim Wakkala, encouraged the warring parties to embrace peace.
While urging all communities in the state to remain peaceful, Yari assured that the state government would continue to uplift the lives of citizens.