THE STATES

Benue
The Society for Gender and Child Advancement recently told the Federal Government to invest more in the training of teachers to engender development.
The Director of the group, Mrs Eva Kyaagba, who made the call at Aliade in Benue State, said that investing in teachers’ training would accelerate the development of basic education nationwide.
Kyaagba was speaking at the opening ceremony of a five-day teachers’ training workshop, at the Mount St. Michele’s Secondary School in Aliade.
The workshop was organised by the society in collaboration with the school.
She said that, the training would expose teachers to various teaching techniques and skills.

Ekiti
A housewife, Adedoyin Babatunde,  recently told an Ikole-Ekiti Customary Court that her love for her husband ceased when  she discovered  he had  three other wives and children.
Reports indicate that the 35-year-old mother of three said she did not know she would be the fourth wife  to bear children for  her  husband .
She said that her husband, Mr Olusola Babatunde, first  proposed to her seven years ago.
Adedoyin  also told the court that, her husband only told her that he had  a child from another woman when they met.
The estranged wife also said  that she confessed to him too that she  too  had a child already.
The plaintiff  said that she discovered in 2015 that her husband, a commercial driver, already had three other women who bore him four children.

FCT
The Senate has urged, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure credibility in Saturday’s bye-election in Osun West Senatorial District.
The call followed the adoption of a motion by Sen. Duro Faseyi (PDP-Ekiti) at plenary last Thursday.
Moving the motion earlier, Faseyi had said that, there were series of allegations and counter-allegations of plot to manipulate the outcome of the election.
He said that, there was tension in Osun West ahead of the Saturday poll for the replacement of Sen. Isiaka Adeleke, who died on April 23.
Faseyi said that, INEC must ensure equity, fairness and transparency in the bye-election to enhance its credibility.

Kaduna
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), recently, assured investors in the agricultural sub-sector of adequate security from cattle rustlers and vandals.
A statement by the Kaduna State Command of the corps, said that the Commandant-General of the NSCDC, Abdullahi Gana gave the assurance when he visited Golden Acres Farm located on Kaduna-Abuja Express Way.
The statement, signed by the command’s Public Relations Officer, Orndiir Terzungwe, quoted the commandant-general as saying that, the establishment of Agro-Rangers unit of the corps was to provide security  to agricultural investments.
“Providing physical security for agric investments and investors has become necessary in supporting the Federal Government’s plan towards diversifying the economy from over dependence on oil to agriculture,” Gana was quoted as saying.

Katsina
Katsina State Government has allocated 10,382 bags of fertilizer to Zango Local Government Area for the 2017 wet season farming.
Senior Special Adviser on Political Matters to Governor, Aminu Masari, Alhaji Usman Zango, announced the figure while launching the sale of the commodity in Zango last Wednesday.
Zango is also the Chairman of the Committee on sale and distribution of fertilizer in the local government.
He said that, the commodity would be sold to interesting farmers at the cost of N5,500 per bag at the 98 polling units in the council area.
The chairman said that, each polling unit would be allocated 109 bags of the Urea and NPK.

Kwara
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has registered 18, 000 voters in Kwara State since the beginning of the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) on April 27.
The INEC’s Administrative Secretary in the state, Mr Paul Atser, made this known in Ilorin last Thursday while answering questions from journalists during an inspection tour of registration centres.
Atser said that, the commission had also created six additional registration centres in the state.
The administrative secretary said that, the six new centres were spread across the three senatorial districts of the state.
According to him, the centre are Oro Ago, Ajase I, Oke Oyi, Pake, Bani and Malete.

Lagos
The Lagos State House of Assembly, last Monday moved to assess the mid-term performance of the state’s 2017 budget to ascertain how Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) in the state were faring.
The House decided to take the step after the Chairman, House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Rotimi Olowo, harped on the need for such review.
According to Olowo, reviewing the budget performance in the last six months will help give direction for the 2018 budget estimates, which he noted, could hit the N1trillion mark.
“The exercise will help scrutinise how the MDAs are doing in terms of  the revenue generated, as well as their level of compliance with their capital and recurrent expenditure,” he said.

Nasarawa
The 13 local government areas in Nasarawa State, have shared N1.65 billion for the payment of staff salaries for the month of June.
Mr Haruna Illiya-Osegba, the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, made this disclosure to newsmen last Wednesday in Lafia, after the state’s Local Government Joint Account Committee and stakeholders’ meeting.
He explained that, the LGAs in the state got N1.5 billion from the federation account for the month of June.
“The wage bill of the council areas stood at N2.2 billion, making the current allocation insufficient to pay full salaries to the workers.

Niger
A Minna Magistrates’ Court, last Thursday in Minna ordered the remand  of a 33-year-old cleric Paul Aderinwa,  in prison for allegedly raping a minor.
Aderinwa was arraigned on a count charge of rape, contrary to section 283 of the penal code law.
The Police Prosecutor, Insp Gunduma Ibrahim, told the court that, one Oluwatoyin Joseph of Gurara reported the matter at Kpakungu Police Station on June 28.
Ibrahim told the court that the defendant, also a resident of Gurara, invited the  daughter of the  complainant to his house under the pretext of sending her on an  errand.

Osun
Two persons were last Wednesday remanded in custody at the Ilesa Prisons by an Osogbo Chief Magistrates’ Court over the alleged possession of Canniabis Sativa, otherwise known as Indian hemp, and some charms.
The accused persons were Adeleke Nurudeen, 17, and Adeleke Lukman, 16.
They are facing a three-count charge bothering on conspiracy and unlawful possession.
The Magistrate, Mrs Olubukola Olowolagba, gave the order that the accused be kept in prison custody, due to the magnitude of the offences committed.

Plateau
The Plateau State Commissioner for Environment and Solid Minerals, Mr Abudullahi Abbas, last Wednesday said indiscriminate human activities were responsible for flooding in the state.
Abbas, in an interview with newsmen in Jos, noted that the state was blessed with an excellent topography which facilitated free flow of water.
He, however, identified building houses along water ways, dumping of waste in drainages, erection of houses without drainage and poor drainage among the major factors leading to flooding in the state.\
“We, on the Plateau are not meant to be afraid of flooding, because of our topography, if only we avoid the dumping of waste in drainages.

Sokoto
The Zonal Commanding Officer, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Sokoto State, Mr Ayobami Omiyale, has warned personnel of the commission to steer clear of extortion or be ready to face the consequences.
Omiyale, gave the warning on Thursday, in Sokoto at the opening of a retreat on the executive order on the Ease of Doing Business, signed recently by acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
Reports that, the retreat has as its theme,”Actualisation of Presidential Order, 001 On Transparency in Doing Business: FRSC Perspective.”
Omiyale said, “you should not receive or demand for bribe; on no occasion should any officer extort money from the motoring public.

Yobe
The Yobe State Government, says it has cleared 1,000 hectares of land to re-engage over 500 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) into farming.
The Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Mustapha Gajerema, said this on Thursday in Damaturu, while inspecting newly procured farm implements.
He said that, the government had procured tractor spare parts, tyres, plough discs, thrashers and other equipment worth N38 million to boost agricultural production in the state this cropping season.
Gajerema said that, the government would provide the IDPs with improved seeds and fertiliser to support their efforts to engage in food production, so as to boost the state’s food security and economic recovery.