THE STATES

Benue
Five officers of the Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS), serving in Benue State are to face the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to authenticate their certificates.
The Benue State Controller of Prisons, Mr Peter Pevigo, disclosed this in Makurdi last Tuesday in an interview with newsmen.
He said that the officers were among the 382 persons picked by the ICPC across the country to validate their certificates.
Pevigo explained that the officers were not guilty of certificate forgery, but were only invited by the anti-graft agency to clear some grey issues surrounding such certificates.
“No officer is found guilty until the joint investigation by NPS and ICPC is concluded, and an official report communicated to me; it is then that they could be deemed culpable.

Borno
The Police in Borno State last Monday said two Boko Haram suicide bombers were killed in a failed attempt to attack displaced persons’ camps and University of Maiduguri.
A statement signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Victor Isuku, said the suicide bombers were killed by security operatives before they hit their targets.
“On Sunday at about 2115hrs, a suspected female Boko Haram terrorist, took advantage of the darkness of night and attempted to gain access into Dalori 2 IDPs camp through the rear perimeter fence.
“Fortunately, she was sighted by vigilant security personnel on duty and chased.
“In an attempt to escape arrest, she hurriedly detonated the IED strapped to her body, killing herself alone.

FCT
A University teacher, Prof. Noel Wannang, last Tuesday stressed the need for a policy that would guarantee the safety and welfare of the aged population in the country.
Wannang is a Professor of Toxicology in Pharmacology Department of the University of Jos.
He made the call at the annual scientific seminar of the Association of Hospital and Administrative Pharmacists of Nigeria (AHAPN), FCT branch in Abuja.
Toxicology is the scientific study of adverse effects that occur in living organisms due to chemicals.
Reports say that the theme of the seminar is “Cardiometabolic medicine: Meeting the challenges of an aging population”.
Wannang who is also the Secretary-General, West Africa Postgraduate College of Pharmacists, decried challenges faced by the aged in the society.

Kano
Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has warned the new interim management officers for the 44 local government areas in the state against corruption and laxity to duty.
At the swearing-in ceremony last Monday Ganduje said that his administration would continue to give priority to service to the people.
According to reports the swearing in followed the confirmation of the officers by the State House of Assembly.
Ganduje urged the new appointees to perform their duties with diligence, honesty and fear of God, adding that they should initiate developmental programmes in their areas.

Katsina
Communities displaced by the construction of Jare Earth Dam in Bakori Local Government Area of Katsina State have urged the Federal Government to review the compensation approved for their houses and farmlands.
The communities, under the aegis of Jare Earth Dam Association, said in a letter to the government that they have been short-changed by the committee responsible for the payment.
The letter was signed on behalf of the communities by Malam Dahiru Musa and Alhaji Rabi’u Ahmad and obtained by newsmen.
The communities also requested the government to investigate the activities of the resettlement committee, alleging that some of those affected were either excluded or shortchanged in the exercise.

Kogi
The Kogi State Government last Monday distributed food, drugs, sanitary items and cash to 18 registered orphanages across the state.
The Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Mrs Bolanle Amupitan, who handled the exercise, said that the gesture was aimed at improving the living standards of the orphans.
“Government has resolved that the children must be well fed; we have resolved never to allow the circumstances of their birth to define their future,” she said.
Matron, Stagi Orphanage, Lokoja, Mrs Clara Owosagba, while thanking government for the gesture, praised Governor Yahaya Bello’s efforts toward a better life for orphans.

Kwara
No fewer than 60 volunteers in the Federal Government’s job creation scheme for youths are on payment hold and may be prosecuted for fraud, the Presidential aide on Job Creation, Mr Afolabi Imoukhuede, said last Monday.
He gave the indication while addressing 5,559 N-Power volunteers in Kwara State at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Ilorin.
At the event, he gave July ending as deadline for those experiencing payment issues to resolve them or be removed from the programme.
Imoukhuede had led a team of Monitoring and Evaluation officials to assess the performance of the volunteers in the state as well as mandate the state’s institutional partners to take absolute charge of the volunteers.

Lagos
Two men, Rabiu Rasaki, 46, a panel beater and Sakiru Adeogun, 47, a painter, were last Tuesday arraigned in an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court, for allegedly stealing their customer’s car valued at N3.8 million.
The two defendants who live at Orile Agege, a suburb of Lagos, are standing trial on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing.
The Prosecutor, Insp. Clifford Ogu, told the court that the offences were committed on October 29 ,2016 at Amoo St., Orile Agege, Lagos.
Ogu said that the complainant, Mr Yomi Ogunusi, gave his Toyota Hilux to Rasaki for repairs.
“Rasaki gave it to Adeogun to first panel beat the vehicle before spraying it,” he said.

Nasarawa
Traders in Masaka Market in Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State, last Tuesday urged the Nasarawa State Government to establish a fire service station in the market.
The traders made the call when some of them spoke with newsmen in Masaka last Sunday’s fire disaster in the market.
They said that such a measure had become necessary to avert future occurrence.
The traders have been counting  their losses following the early morning inferno that destroyed over 2,000 shops, a report said.

Ogun
The Ogun State Government has inaugurated a committee to look into the menace of  prostitution among under-aged youths in the state.
The committee members, drawn from the Ministries of Youth and Sports and Women Affairs, would sensitise, arrest and rehabilitate youths found engaging  in such activities.
Speaking at the inauguration of the committee last Monday in Abeokuta, the Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Mr Afolabi Afuape, lamented the rampant nature of open prostitution in the state.
He said that sensitisation would start from all the four stadia across the state for a week, after which arrests  could be made by security personnel.
“The ministry has always been an advocate against the act of open prostitution across the state, especially within the four stadia across the state.
“Yesterday, the committee swung into action by sensitising shop owners at MKO Abiola International Stadium,” he said.

Plateau
An NGO, Christian Women For Excellence and Empowerment in Nigerian Society (CWEENS), said last Monday in Jos that violence against women would persist unless measures were adopted to punish perpetrators.
“Perpetrators of the violence are not prosecuted; girls are commonly abused without any consequence. The evil will persist if nothing is done to punish the offenders,” Chairperson, CWEENS Observatory Steering Committee (OBSTEC), Mrs Ladi Madaki, stated.
Madaki told newsmen in Jos that existing laws and “some insensitive policies” had made it impossible to deal with the violence, much less eradicate it.
She said that some NGOs and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) were keen on complementing government efforts to deal with the menace, but were being held back by some bottlenecks.

Taraba
Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State said recently in Jalingo that the Paris Club debt relief fund received by the state would be used to settle outstanding pensions and gratuities.
Ishaku, in a speech shortly before signing the Anti-open Grazing Bill into law, said that the amount received would cover the outstanding pensions of local government workers and a substantial part of gratuities of both state and local government workers.
He expressed concern that local government retirees had not been paid their pensions and gratuities since 2013, and promised to address the situation.
The governor announced that he had requested the House of Assembly to approve the re-naming of the state airport after Mr Danbaba Suntai to immortalise the late governor that died last month.