Borno
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, has ex
pressed satisfaction with the success recorded by troops fighting insurgency in the North-East.
Represented by Maj. Gen. Hassan Umar, the Chief of Training and Operation, Buratai made the statement during the Combat Support Arms Training Week at the 7 Division Headquarters in Maiduguri.
“I am glad to state that significant progress has been made and several successes recorded especially in the current operation.
“Our troops have been able to carry out timely and synchronised operations in the theatre thereby denying the Boko Haram terrorists freedom of action.
“Success in battle depends largely on the support provided by the supporting arms. We shall continue to do our best within available resources to make improvement in our overall well being.”

Ekiti
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA),
Ekiti State command, said establishment of drug free education clubs in secondary schools was a proactive measure to curb drug abuse.
The Public Affairs Officer of the NDLEA in the state, Mr Peter Njoku, disclosed this during an interview with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti.
He explained that several researches and investigations had been conducted and it was discovered that both male and female students in secondary schools take hard drugs.
Njoku said the drug free clubs were being established in schools to educate students on the danger inherent in taking drugs not prescribed by doctors and other harmful substances.
He said the main objective of the agency was to ensure that all students in secondary schools were well informed so as to avoid and reduce the intake of hard drugs.

Gombe
Gombe State Government says it will use technology to
block leakages in its revenue collection drive and improve the economy of the state.
The state Commissioner for Finance, Alhaji Muhammadu Hassan, told newsmen in Gombe that the plan was aimed at reducing over-dependence on federal allocation.
He said that a lot of measures had been put in place to ensure the state succeeded in providing more dividends of democracy to its people.
“In terms of IGR we are looking at trying to increase the efficiency of collection of all across the revenue generating MDAs and to block leakages at the same time.
“In blocking leakages we intend to use technology, because whenever you have a leakage that means somebody is paying and the money collected by another person is not remitted to government account,” Hassan said.

Jigawa
Jigawa State has got a new Police Commissioner. He is Mr
Henry Fadairo, who until his appointment was the CP in charge of Research and Planning at the headquarters.
He takes over from Alhaji Muhammad Mustafa, who has been redeployed to the Federal Capital Territory Command as the helmsman.
A graduate of Political Science from the University of Lagos, Fadairo, who hails from Ekiti, joined the police as a Cadet Assistant Superintendent, according to a statement.
The statement, a copy of which was made available to our correspondent in Dutse, was signed by the command’s spokesman, SP Abdu Jinjiri.
Fadairo had also served as the CP of Cross River State.

Kwara
Seven female intending pilgrims from Kwara State have been
disqualified from performing the 2016 Hajji for being pregnant.
The Executive Secretary of the State Muslim Pilgrims Welfare Board, Hajia Fatimah Abolore-Jimoh, disclosed this state, newsmen in Ilorin, recently.
She said the affected women who had paid their Hajj fares in full were discovered to be pregnant during screening conducted by the board.
The scribe said the board took the decision for the safety of the women and the unborn babies.
“The seven women were detected to be pregnant during the medical screening.
“They were disqualified because it a risky to allow them make the trip to the holy land,’’ the executive secretary said.
Abolore-Jimoh said that the women had been informed of their disqualification by the board.
She said the board was ready to refund the Hajj fares paid by the women.
Nasarawa
Governor Umaru Al-Makura of Nasarawa State says
his administration could not conduct local government elections due to the current economic challenges facing the country.
Al-Makura made the remark in Lafia on Monday during the swearing in of Interim Management Committees (IMC) to head the 11 local governments in the state.
The governor said that appointment of IMCs was legal and cheaper to maintain than democratically elected officials.
According to him, the appointments were backed by Section 2 (1-4) of Nasarawa State Local Government (Amendment) Law 2006.
Al-Makura explained that wide consultations were made before the appointments.
“As a listening administration, I want to assure all concerned that where there is a flaw, all necessary actions will be taken to address the issues raised”, he said.

Niger
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said
that about 662, 463 children in Niger State were suffering from malnutrition.
UNICEF Nutrition Specialist, Dr Florence Oni, made this known at a Nutrition Interventions Implementation Review Meeting in Minna.
She said malnutrition was a major cause of death among children under the age of five, adding that Niger had moved from a medium burden to high burden state.
“Malnutrition is real and ravaging our children. Nutrition is not about having enough food to eat but eating right and eating the right proportion of the different variety of foods.
“Malnutrition accounts for more than half of under five mortality rate, as such we must increase the awareness levels of our people on nutrition because Niger State has moved from medium to high burden state,” she said.

Ogun

The Unit Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps
(FRSC) in Ota, Ogun State, Mr Leye Adegboyega,  has donated goods worth N150,000 to the Ilo-Awela Orphanage Home, to mark his birthday.
Adegboyega said that he decided to give back to the society to show appreciation for what God had done in his life.
‘’I wish to give thanks and glory to the Almighty God because many of my colleagues had died, but God kept me alive,’’ he said.
Adegboyega reassured the children of his commitment to assist them within the limit of his resources.
He also promised to be visiting them on regular basis to know how they were faring.
Oyo
The Agro Impact Projects Empowerment Initiative, an agri
cultural organisation, has urged government at all levels to train farmers on post harvest management of agricultural produce to boost food sufficiency.
The organisation’s members led by  wife of the Vice-Chancellor of University of Ibadan (UI), Dr Eyiwumi Olayinka, made the appeal in an interview with newsmen in Ibadan.
Olayinka implored government to adequately fund research institutes to develop technologies that would enable farmers to preserve excess produce.
“Farmers need to be trained, from time to time, to ensure that they deploy best practices; this will, in turn, help to regulate prices of produce and eradicate scarcity in some seasons,’’ she said.

Plateau
A Jos Chief Magistrate’s Court has sentenced two men,
Azi Itsegok, and Atsen John, to 12 months in prison each for stealing four aluminium windows and a dane gun.
Itsegok, 20, and John 21, both of Lamingo, Jos East, were charged with criminal trespass, housebreaking, theft and receiving stolen property.
The Magistrate, Mrs Oluwatoyin Mafuyai, handed down the sentence after the convicts pleaded guilty and begged for leniency.
Mafuyai did not give the convicts an option of fine, and said that the sentence would serve as a deterrent to those who might want to engage in similar acts.
She also ordered that the convicts pay N40,500 to the nominal complainant as compensation for the value of the property stolen or spend additional 12 months each in prison.

Sokoto
Sokoto State Government will rehabilitate the General Hos
pitals in Dogon Daji and Yabo in Tambuwal and Yabo LGAs respectively, at the cost of over N369 million.
The Commissioner of Information, Alhaji Abdulkadur Jaleni, made the disclosure in Sokoto, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeing of the state executive council.
He said that the project would involve rehabilitation of all structures in the two hospitals, adding that the job is expected to be completed within six months.
“The rehabilitation of the two hospitals is in line with the commitment of the government to provide qualitative healthcare services to the people of the state,’’ he said.

Zamfara
The Zamfara State branch of  Nigerian Medical Associa
tion (NMA), says health services in the State are poor and therefore urged the government to solve the problems urgently.
Chairman of NMA in the state,  Dr Aminu Sakajiki,  made the remark at its 4th Annual General Meeting and Scientific Conference in Guzau, recently.
“The health sector’s sorry condition is as a result of inadequate facilities, inadequate health workers, especially medical doctors and nurses, and poor remuneration of the workforce.
“Poor implementation of the sector’s health budget is also a major problem’’, Sakajiki said.
The NMA chairman urged the state government to ensure effective recruitment, training and retraining of health workers.