THE STATES

Adamawa
Governor Mohammed Bindow of Adamawa State last Wednesday urged the military to intensify security on the Borno-Adamawa border, to check any attacks by the Boko Haram insurgents on Adamawa communities.
Bindow, made the call at the swearing-in ceremony of two newly-appointed Permanent Secretaries in the state.
They are: Mr Kennedy Batimaus, who until his appointment was a deputy permanent secretary in Ministry of Youths and Sports, and Abubakar Saliyu, a former Provost, College of Nursing and Midwifery, Yola.
The governor also advised residents of the border communities to be on alert and communicate any suspicious characters to the security agencies.
He said the insurgents were struggling to prove that they were not defeated, when the Federal Government had already decimated them.

Borno
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, has decorated 65 soldiers with gallantry medals for outstanding performance in the counter-insurgency campaign.
The spokesperson of the 7 Division, Nigerian Army, Lt. Col. Emmanuel Kingsley, announced this  in a statement released last Wednesday in Maiduguri.
Kingsley said that Buratai had last Tuesday decorated two officers and 63 soldiers in recognition of their prowess.
“Two officers and 63 soldiers serving under the 151 Task Force Battalion, 21 Brigade Nigerian Army, Operation Lafiya Dole, were decorated for their gallantry and bravery in the face of the enemy.
“On 10th July, the soldiers came under Boko Haram insurgents’ attacks on two separate occasions, but they were able to manoeuvre their way out of the ambush”, he said.

FCT
Protesters under the aegis of “OurMumuDonDo,” have vowed to continue the action, saying that no amount of intimidation would deter them.
In a statement in Abuja last week, by its Special Assistant on Media and Public, Mr Ezrel Tabiowo, the group said that nobody could discourage or intimidate its members on the mission.
It stated this at the backdrop of alleged harassment of its members by the Police during its peaceful sit-out on Tuesday in Abuja.
It also condemned reports credited to the Senate, distancing itself from the protest.
The Senate had said that President Muhammadu Buhari had not violated any law by being away from the country for health reason for a long time.

Kaduna
The Kaduna State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board last Wednesday, said a total of 4,437 pilgrims from the state are now in Saudi Arabia for the 2017 Hajj.
The board’s spokesman, Yunusa  Abdullahi, told  newsmen in Kaduna that the remaining 2, 163 intending pilgrims would be transported in the next few days.
He said so far, 3,116  males and  1, 321 females were transported by the two airlines engaged by the board.
Abdullahi explained that Med-View Airline had transported 2, 230 intending pilgrims in seven flights while Max Air had transported 2, 209 pilgrims in four flights.
The spokesman told newsmen that Governor Nasir El-Rufai had visited the Hajj transit camp  where he expressed satisfaction with the ongoing airlift operation.

Kogi
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it has registered 61,075 new voters in Kogi State.
The State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Prof. James Apam, disclosed this last Wednesday in Lokoja at  a meeting between the commission and leaders of   political parties in the state.
He said that the new registrants were captured during the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise which started nationwide on April 7.
According to Apam, the voters comprised of 31,438 males and 29, 637 females.
The commissioner  further stated that 2,189 cases of transfer of voter cards  were treated while 3,060 damaged or defaced permanent voter cards were replaced for the owners.

Kwara
An Ilorin-based lawyer, Mr Jamiu Ahmed, has called on government at all levels to invest in road projects as a way of reducing accidents and save lives on Nigerian roads.
Ahmed made the call in Ilorin last Wednesday while speaking with newsmen.
He said that the numbers of lives and property lost to road crashes on the nation’s highways was worrisome and unacceptable.
The legal practitioner described the state of some Nigerian roads as “terrible,” adding that they had become nightmare and fast lane to death.
‘‘The lives of many innocent Nigerians have been lost due to the bad conditions of the road”, he said.

Lagos
The production and circulation of an anti-Igbo song in parts of Northern Nigeria is “embarrassing and unfortunate’’, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, a former governor of old Kaduna State, has said.
Musa told newsmen on telephone in Lagos that the content of the song did not reflect the true feelings of most northerners.
He described the promoters of the song, which calls for violence against the Igbos, as “criminals’’, whose objective is to threaten the peace and security in Nigeria.
The former governor stated that the song is a deliberate ploy by the originators to generate disaffection towards northerners.

Osun
Five hundred and forty Nigerians are set for deportation from Libya, beginning from August 10,  the Director-General, National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons(NAPTIP), Mrs. Julie Okah-Donli, has said.
Okah-Donli disclosed this last Wednesday in Osogbo, at the inauguration of the North-West Zonal Command Office of the agency.
She said that the deportees would be brought back to Nigeria in three batches of 180 each.
The NAPTIP boss said that more than 2000 Nigerians were deported from various part of the world from February till date, over various migration offences, including human trafficking.

Oyo
Residents of  Ibadan, Oyo State, have called on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to create additional Continuous Voters Registration (CVR) centres in every ward in the country to enable more eligible voters to register and vote in the future elections.
They made the call last Thursday, while speaking with newsmen in Ibadan on their assessment of the exercise.
The residents noted that many eligible voters were yet to register in the exercise due to long distance from their places of abode to CVR centres.
Mr Michael Owoyeni, who resides at Alaakia area in Ibadan, said many residents in his area, especially youths who had reached voting age were yet to register.

Taraba
The Taraba State Police Command last Wednesday confirmed that four suspected kidnappers were killed by a mob at Tella in Gassol Local Government Area of Taraba State.
Spokesman of the command, Mr David Misal, told newsmen in Jalingo that the fifth suspect, Salisu Zakari, who narrowly escaped the mob action, was arrested and detained in the command.
He said the mob had forcefully removed the suspects from a local vigilante group station at Tella and hacked them to death.
“The incident occurred on August 6. Five people were sighted in Tella and were suspected to be kidnappers.
“They were arrested by a local vigilante group, but before being handed over to the police, a group of irate youths lynched them and threw their bodies into the river.
“One of the suspects escaped and was later arrested in Jalingo. He is presently in our custody,” he said.

Yobe
The Yobe  State Police Command, has arrested officials of the state’s Pilgrims Welfare Board and Potiskum Local Government Council over alleged missing hajj fares paid by 41 intending pilgrims.
The command’s Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Jafiya Zubairu , a Deputy Superintendent of Police, confirmed the development to newsmen last Thursday in Damaturu.
According to him, officials from both organisations allegedly diverted deposits made by 41 intending pilgrims from the Potiskum Local Government Area, and could not secure visas for them.
The PPRO said: “The Criminal Investigation Department (ClD) arm of the command is currently investigating the matter.
“However, I cannot give the exact number of those involved and other details, as investigation is still going on.”

Zamfara
The Zamfara State Government recently announced Alhaji Muhammadu Bawa as the 18th Emir of Tsafe Emirate Council.
The State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Alhaji Muttaka Rini, made the announcement in Gusau, the state capital.
Bawa replaced the former Emir, Alhaji Habibu Aliyu, who died last Wednesday at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital, Sokoto, after a brief illness.
Until his appointment, Bawa was the Chairman, State Community and Social Development Projects (CSDP).
Bawa started as a secondary school teacher and became a principal of various government secondary schools in old Sokoto State.