THE STATES

Bauchi
The Heal Disability Initiative, a Bauchi State based NGO, has called for the training of healthcare workers on sign language.
The Coordinator of the NGO, Mr Ayuba Mainas, made the appeal yesterday in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi.
Mainas also advised the Bauchi State Government to train its health personnel on sign language in the area of reproductive healthcare.
He noted that women with disabilities face challenges in seeking medical attention and healthcare due to such lack of communication skills in health facilities.
“Women that are physically challenged are facing challenges of accessing healthcare service in areas of immunisation, antenatal and family planning which are vital in improving maternal and child health.

Benue
Police in Benue State say they have arrested a male primary school teacher suspected to be sexually abusing some pupils.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Bashir Makama, told newsmen in Makurdi yesterday that the teacher was in the habit of molesting pupils in school.
Makama said that three boys, all in primary five, were brought to the command’s headquarters in Makurdi, from Okpokwu Local Government Area, to substantiate the allegation against the teacher.
According to him, it was established that the teacher has been molesting the boys for some months after school hours and warned them never to tell anybody.

FCT
The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) says reforms initiated by late Taraba Governor, Danbaba Suntai, to promote delivery of dividends of democracy to Taraba people would not be forgotten.
The National Caretaker Committee of the party stated this in a condolence message on the demise of the former governor, issued recently in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Dayo Adeyeye.
Suntai, 56, died last Thursday of complications from injuries he sustained when a plane he was piloting crashed on October 25, 2012, in Yola, while in office as governor.
The committee-led by Sen. Ahmed Makarfi condoled with the Gov. Darius Ishaku, the people of Taraba State and the family of the deceased former governor.

Jigawa
Not less than 220 houses and property worth millions of naira were destroyed by windstorm in Babura Local Government Area of Jigawa State, according to an official.
The official, Alhaji Sulaiman Doro, Information Officer at the local government Council, told newsmen in Dutse yesterday that the windstorm occurred on June 27.
He said that the windstorm blew off the roof of some schools and clinics in the local government area.
He said that the 220 houses destroyed by the windstorm are located in Jigawar Dan-Alli, Gurfai, Manga, Unguwar Tsamiya and Yarkirya villages.
Doro said that victims of the windstorm had appealed to the state and local governments to come to their aid.

Kaduna
The Kaduna State Quality Assurance Board recently said it had trained 68 quality facilitators as part of efforts to ensure quality teaching, learning and management of primary and secondary schools in the state.
The Executive Director of the board, Mrs Maureen Wyom, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Kaduna.
Wyom explained that the 68 facilitators would be responsible for the training of evaluators who would evaluate the quality of teaching and learning in public and private schools in the state.
She said 70 head teachers from the three senatorial districts of the state would also be trained this week on effective school, class and teachers management, as well as stakeholders engagement.

Kogi
The Kogi State Government has recently commenced the distribution of 24,000 Chlorhxidine-gel for care of umbilical cord in 120 public health facilities across the 21 local government areas of the state.
The State Commissioner for Health, Dr Saka Audu, said at the flag-off ceremony in Lokoja that the governor in his magnanimity had made free donations of the gel to all public health facilities in the state for cord care and prevention of newborn infections.
He warned that the commodity should not be sold to patients under any circumstance, but be given to all mothers that delivered in the hospitals free of charge.
“Since the inception of the new administration led by Gov. Yahaya Bello, we have made health sector a priority and committed to reducing newborn mortality to less than 10 per 1,000 live births by 2019.

Kwara
Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has identified community policing as an effective and efficient means of tackling various security challenges in the country.
The governor said this last Sunday while receiving the new Commissioner of Police in the state, CP Lawan Ado at Government House, Ilorin.
According to him, community policing was a feasible option in the existing battle against insurgence, kidnapping and other forms of security threats to the country’s corporate existence.
Ahmed, therefore, charged the police to strengthen existing police public relationship with communities in order to resolve issues militating against peaceful coexistence between various groups.

Lagos
The Head of Lagos State Child Protection Unit, Mrs Modupe Adebambo, last Sunday said that government should engage parents and teachers in finding lasting solutions to the high rates of child abuse in the country.
Adebambo said they would achieve this by creating awareness among the public on the evils of child abuse on their victims.
Adebambo told newsmen on the sideline of the Parent,Teacher Association (P.T.A) conference on Child Safeguarding and Protection held on Saturday in Lagos that child abuse is the physical, sexual and psychology mistreatment of innocent children by adults.
The conference attended by no fewer than 1,000 parents and teachers from schools in Lagos State was organized by the Lagos State Government in collaboration with the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT).

Nasarawa
Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State yesterday lauded the Federal Government’s economic diversification efforts via the yam export initiative.
The governor gave the commendation in Lafia through his Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Ahmed Tukur.
Al-Makura said that the ongoing construction of the Lafia cargo airport would greatly enhance the yam export initiative because of its strategic location in the north-central zone, widely known as the hub of yam production in the country.

Osun
The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) in Osun State, says it has endorsed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Dr Ademola Adeleke, for the July 8 senatorial bye-election in Osun-West.
Secretary of the conference in the state, Mr Gbade Adelakun, made this known at a news briefing recently in Ede the State.
Adelakun said that the group endorsed the PDP candidate because it believed that he would deliver the dividends of democracy to people in the constituency.
He said that nine political parties had supported Adeleke’s candidature for the bye-election, and listed them as All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Action Alliance (AA), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Green Party of Nigeria (GPN).

Oyo
Oyo State Government, has urged residents of the state to expose suspected criminals around them to complement and sustain government’s efforts at protecting lives and property.
Executive Secretary, Oyo State Security Trust Fund (OYSTFF), Mr Femi Oyedipe, made the plea while addressing newsmen in Ibadan recently.
Oyedipe said that the government in conjunction with the security agencies in the state was synergising to arrest pockets of armed robbery incidents in some areas.
“The government and security agencies cannot do the task of protecting our community alone. We need the support of the people of the state.
“We cannot be in all the nooks and crannies of Oyo State at the same time; this is why we need the support of our people.
“We want them to collaborate with us to expose criminals in their domains and we guarantee the protection of their identities as we have been doing,” he said

Plateau
A cross section of Plateau State residents yesterday lauded the dissolution of the Local Government Caretaker Committees by Governor Simon Lalong.
Some of them, who spoke with newsmen said that the dissolution was “long overdue”.
Lalong had, on Thursday, announced the dissolution of the caretaker committees of the 17 local governments, and directed them to immediately hand over to the Secretaries of their respected areas.
According to the sacked local government officials were appoint by the governor in July 2015, after sacking the elected chairmen he met on assumption of office on May 29, 2015.
A civil servant in Pankshin, Mrs. Jessica Dakyen, said that the chairmen should count themselves lucky that they were kept in office for two years even though they were not elected.