L-R: Chairman, Amazon Energy, Trevor Akindele, Managing Director, Design Extra, Yemi Idowu; Chief Executive Officer, Wichtech, Dr Chidozie Nwankwo; Governor Akinwumi Ambode of Lagos State, Lagos Regional Pastor, the Redeemed Christian Church of God, City of David Parish, Pastor Idowu Iluyomade and a Director of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc., Dr Idowu Sunmonu, during a visit of some investors to Governor Ambode in Lagos last Wednesday.

Adamawa

Assemblyman Abubakar Abdulrahman representing
Mubi South in Adamawa House of Assembly, has expressed concern over what he described as the pathetic state of Mubi General Hospital.
Abdulrahman, who spoke to newsmen in Yola, said the hospital, which was vandalised by insurgents, was in dare need of support to enable it to deliver service to the people of that zone comprising five local government areas.
The APC lawmaker lauded the recent visit to the hospital by the state Deputy Governor to assess the situation.
He said something urgent needed to be done in view of the hospital’s unique position in catering for the people in the northern part of the state, including military men operating in the area.

Bauchi

Bauchi State Government has again warned commercial
banks operating in the state against poor services to customers in the state.
The state government had in June 2015 warned banks in the state over the poor services to customers.
The Bauchi State Deputy Governor, Nuhu Gidado, issued the new warning in Bauchi during an unscheduled meeting he held with branch managers of various banks.
Gidado asserted that in spite of the existence of about 17 branches of various banks in Bauchi Metropolis, the banks had failed in their responsibilities to provide effective services.
He said that the over crowding at the premises of these banks was a security risk ,especially with the renewed activities of insurgents.

Ekiti
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),
Ekiti State Command says the agency would intensify efforts in counselling and rehabilitating drug addicts in the state.
The State Commander of the Agency, Mr Suleiman Jadi, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti
He said that the Department of Drug Demand Reduction Unit had been set up to counsel and rehabilitate any addict.
He listed the harmful drugs that youths and adults consume to include cocaine, cannabis, tramadol among other harmful drugs, saying “few people are into cocaine peddling”.
Jadi said that adequate mechanism and experts on drugs intake were available to attend to cases of abuse of drugs by teenagers and adults.

FCT

The Human Rights Writers Associations (HURIWA), an
NGO, has urged the Federal Government to return checkpoints as means of reducing bomb blasts and other criminal activities in the country.
The National Coordinator of the organisation, Mr Emmanuel Onwubiko, made the call in an interview with newsmen in Abuja.
He said “we want to urge the Federal Government to return all counter terrorism military checkpoints across the country.
Onwubiko said the introduction of stop-and-search by the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase, did not go down well with many citizens of the country.
He added that “with the daily explosions in the country, we are calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse this order and bring back the military to the roads.

Jigawa

The Jigawa office of the National Agency for Food and
Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has confiscated fake food items and drugs worth N3.28 million.
The Director of the Agency in the state, Mr Olakunle Olaniran told newsmen last Thursday in Dutse that the items were confiscated in Dutse and other major towns in the state in the last three years.
He explained that the food items and drugs confiscated were fake and adulterated.
The director said that the items included sugar, spaghetti and vegetable oil.
He said the others were oxytocin injections, gentamacin injections, sudrex tablets and augmentin syrup.

Kaduna
a
Kubau Local Government Area of Kaduna State says it
will strategise to boost its internally generated revenue to reduce over dependence on federal allocation.
Its Interim Management Committee Chairman, Alhaji Ahmed Haruna, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Anchau recently.
He spoke shortly after swearing in three councilors in the local government.
The chairman identified some weekly and bi-annual markets in the area as the main sources of revenue for the council apart from other minor means of generating revenue.
On priority areas of his administration, Haruna promised to focus attention on education, health and agriculture.

Kogi

Hajiya Halima Wada , the wife of Governor Idris Wada
of Kogi State, last Thursday empowered current trainees of the Lokoja-based Advanced Fashion and Design Centre,(FAREC) with 56 modern sewing machines.
This brings to 226, those trained and empowered by the governor’s wife since the inception of her pet project : Kogi Women Empowerment Network (KOWEN).
She congratulated the graduands for their dedication to complete the training through which they had liberated themselves from the shackles of poverty.
Wada advised them to utilise the knowledge and skills acquired during and through the training to better their lives and the society.
Wada said her office and KOWEN would continue to explore all avenues that would be beneficial to the society, especially the less privileged, the unemployed youths, women and children.

Lagos

A University Lecturer, Dr Bright Eregha, has warned
against any rise in Nigeria’s external debt profile, saying that more measures were necessary to curb any increase.
Eregha, who teaches economics at the University of Lagos, spoke against the back drop of Nigeria’s external debt which was put at 9.4 billion dollars as at March, according to the Debt Management Office (DMO).
He newsmen in Lagos that the Federal Government needed to initiate more measures and regulations to reduce the nation’s external debt.
He told said reduction of Nigeria’s debt would increase the nation’s influence in international politics.
Eregha also urged the Federal Government to examine the expenditure of past loans from development partners with a view to exposing any corruption.
The don said that increase in the internally generated revenue (IGR) of all the states in Nigeria would help to reduce the nation’s current debt profile.
Niger

The Niger Police Command says it recorded success in
the fight against crime across the state between January and June.
The Commissioner of Police in the state, Olusola Amore, said this at a forum in Minna.
He said that the feat was achieved through constant raid of criminal hideouts, neighborhood policing as well as community safety partnership.
“The synergy in proactive policing strategies contributed to the huge success recorded in the fight against crime and social disorder in the state.
“Also, the crime mapping analysis helped us to discover four major crimes such as cattle rustling, armed robbery, ransom kidnapping and youth gangsterism,” Amore said.

Oyo
All Framers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Iseyin Chap
ter, Oyo State, has expressed concern over insufficient rainfall in most parts of the country.
Speaking with newsmen in Iseyin, Mr Fehintola Sunday described the development as “worrisome and highly disturbing.”
“This is July and we are still unable to introduce the new yam and other crops, even maize is not available as it ought to be due to insufficient rainfall. “So many farmers have obtained loans from banks to plant crops thinking that by now they will be harvesting, but reverse is the case,” he said.
He also called on leader at all levels to change their ways, so that the country could continue to enjoy God’s mercy and favour.

Sokoto
The Secretary of the Aliyu Magatakarda Advocacy Group
( AMAG ), Alhaji Abubakar Yabo,  has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the prompt release of funds to settle the salary arrears of workers in some states.
Yabo told newsmen in Sokoto that Buhari had demonstrated his commitment towards ensuring good governance in the country.
He said that the gestures would enable the affected states to settle workers with a view to motivating them.
He, however, called on the Fderal Government to investigate why the affected states could not pay the salary arrears, in spite of collecting their monthly allocations regularly.
Zamfara

Zamfara House of Assembly has pledged to collaborate
with relevant stakeholders to enact laws that would improve healthcare delivery in the state.
The Speaker, Alhaji Sunusi Rikiji, gave the pledge when he received officials of the state Malaria Action Committee, who paid him a courtesy visit in Gusau.
Rikiji said the assembly had already listed the health sector among areas it would give top priority in the next four years.
He noted that rural communities were facing challenges of accessing quality healthcare services and promised that the assembly would intervene to improve the situation.