THE STATES

Borno
A humanitarian organisation, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) last Sunday, said it had deployed more than 1, 700 personnel to Borno State to provide emergency support services to communities ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency.
The organisation also known as ‘MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES’, said it was providing intervention in the areas of health care delivery, food and nutrition support as well as water and sanitation services.
The MSF’s Head of Mission, Mr Moctar Abassi, told newsmen in Maiduguri that the personnel included 1, 600 Nigerians and 130 expatriates.
Abassi said that the organisation had extended its outreach to 11 locations, to enable it render support to the displaced persons and vulnerable persons in the state.
He listed the benefitting areas to include Maiduguri, Pulka, Gwoza, Monguno, Damasak, Benisheik, Dikwa, Banki, Ngala, Rann and Bama.

FCT
Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, has approved the appointment of Prof. Bisala Ekele, as the substantive Chief Medical Director (CMD) of the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital (UATH).
The Assistant Director of Information in the hospital, Mr Frank Omagon, made this known in a statement last Sunday, in Abuja.
It said that the letter signed by the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, indicated that the appointment was for a four-year term with effect from June 1, 2017.
The acting president, in the statement, called on the new CMD to be conscious of the enormous responsibilities of the office.
“You must be conscious of the yearnings of our people for an effective and responsive healthcare delivery system,” it quoted the acting president as saying.

Gombe
The management of the Federal College of Education (Technical) in Gombe State, has declared a ‘no work, no pay’ policy following the indefinite strike embarked by lecturers of the institution.
This was  disclosed  in a statement signed by  the Director, Establishment and Council Affairs Ibrahim Shehu, last Sunday, in Gombe.
Reports have it that the lecturers embarked on an indefinite strike on July 11 demanding the payment of the backlog of allowances owed them by the college authority.
Shehu described the action by lecturers under the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) as uncalled for.
He added that the management of the institution has no option but to apply the policy in line with directives by the federal government.

Kano
Kano State Governor, Alhaji Umar Ganduje, last Saturday, observed that Fulfulde language and culture in Nigeria were slowly ‘dying,’ warning that it was a question of time before they became ‘extinct’.
Ganduje made the observation in Yola during formal inauguration of Board of Trustees and Directors of newly established Yola-based Pulaku Radio FM station.
“Fulfulde is becoming a dying language in Nigeria, especially among the elites; Fulanis themselves should wake up and promote their language.
“Many elites who are Fulani by origin will tell you, sometimes with some element of pride, that their father or grandfather was Fulani but they (elites) cannot speak the language,” Ganduje lamented.

Kwara
One of Landmark University’s best graduating-students in the 2016/2017 academic session, Oladiran Ezekiel, has attributed his feat to the inspiration he garnered from his father, a chartered accountant.
Ezekiel said this last Sunday, during the post-convocation thanksgiving service held within the university in Omu-Aran, Kwara State, where it  is located
Our correspondent reports that Ezekiel was among the 468 students that graduated during the institution’s 4th Convocation held last Friday.
Sixty-six students, that included Ezekiel, graduated with First Class Honours in various courses of studies.
Ezekiel, apart from bagging a First Class Honours in Accounting, is also a certified Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountant of Nigeria (ICAN) as well as being a member of the Association of Certified Chartered Accountant (ACCA) upon his graduation.

Lagos
The Managing Director of the Jos-based Nigeria Film Corporation, Dr. Chidia Maduekwe, says Nigerian movies are among the best   internationally in terms of contents, settings and acceptability.
Maduekwe told newsmen in Lagos that many movie-producers and marketers were smiling to their banks because of impressive turnover from the sales of their videos based on quality and public acceptability.
“There is no doubt that today Nigerian movie-producers are improving in the qualities of their home videos.
“Take for example the “Wedding Party’’ or “1976’; these are blog busters that are raking-in hundreds of millions of naira for their producers, because they have better production qualities,.

Niger
Five students are to enjoy full scholarship to study Medicine at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, courtesy of a Niger State lawmaker, Mr Danlami Bako.
Bako, representing Rafi Constituency in the State House of Assembly, told newsmen last Saturday, that the sponsorship was part of efforts to support the educational pursuits of youths.
“The sponsorship is my own little way of encouraging the educational development of our teeming youths in Rafi.
“The importance of education in one’s life cannot be over-emphasised and that is why I support people who are willing to embrace it,’’ he said.
Bako disclosed that he had paid the WAEC, NECO and JAMB fees of 22 students drawn from the 11 wards in his constituency.

Osun
Outraged by the abduction and killing of  a Permanent Secretary in Osun State, Mrs Kemi Kolawole, the Speaker of the State House of Assembly,  Mr Najeem  Salaam, has called on the Federal authorities to provide adequate security on the nation’s highways particularly the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja Expressway.
He spoke against the backdrop of the killing of Kolawole and her driver, on Okene-Abuja highway by some suspected kidnappers.
“It is painful and shocking,” the speaker said in a statement last Saturday, in Osogbo, signed by  the Chief Press Secretary, Mr Goke Butika.
Salaam decried the spate of killings and insecurity particularly on Okene-Abuja road and urged Kogi and the Federal Government to take urgent steps to find the killers of the permanent secretary and her driver.

Oyo
Property owners occupying government lands at Fasade and parts of Egbeda town in Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State, have appealed to the state government not to demolish their houses.
The spokesman of the affected landlords, Mr Michael Adeniyi, made the appeal last Saturday, because of the ongoing demolition of unapproved structures built on government lands at Ajoda new town.
According to Adeniyi, appeal remains the only option for the landlords, having realised that the lands actually belong to the government.
“We have resolved to make this passionate appeal to the state government to leave out our community out of the several hectares acquired.

Plateau
The Plateau State Police Command says it has apprehended a 25 year-old man for allegedly posing as ‘female sex worker’ in Jos.
The command’s spokesman, ASP Terna Tyopev, told journalists, last Saturday, in Jos, that the suspect, identified as Michael Atseng, was arrested on July 13 at Gwom Guest House, Hwolshe, at about 9:30pm.
“The hotel management alerted us that someone is lodging in their hotel who poses as a woman but with physical features of a man.
“We mobilised our men and at exactly 9:30 pm, he was accosted and had been in our custody, “ Tyopev said.
Tyopev, who described the suspect as a “habitual homosexual’ said in 2016, he was arrested by  soldiers but returned to his normal business after he was released.

Sokoto
The Kebbi State Governor, Senator Atiku Bagudu, last Sunday, visited Wamakko, the home of Senator Aliyu Wamakko (APC-Sokoto North),to condole him over the death of his younger brother, Rep.Abdullahi Muhammad(APC-Kware/Wamakko).
Bagudu, according to our correspondent, was accompanied on the visit by his Sokoto State counterpart, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal.
Bagudu described the death of the late lawmaker as a great loss not only to his family and Sokoto State, but also to the country in general.
He prayed God to repose the soul of the deceased and grant the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.
Responding, Wamakko commended Bagudu for the gesture and described Muhammad’s death as a collective loss.

Taraba
A member representing Ussa Constituency in the Taraba State  House of Assembly, Mr Timothy Anderifun, has awarded scholarship to 200 students from his constituency studying in various tertiary institutions across the country.
Presenting the scholarship last Sunday, in Jalingo, Anderifun said he was moved to reach out to the students given his personal experience during his school days.
According to him, the scholarship is to encourage them to work hard so as to become patriotic future leaders of the country.
“I want to encourage you to work hard, even in the face of economic hardships and insecurity facing the nation.
“Education remains the bedrock of any societal development and it is my belief that you all will succeed in your endeavours.