Nation
THE STATES
A lecturer at the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti
State, Mrs Aderonke Ogunleye, has urged teachers to adopt modern methods of teaching, to make more impact on students.
Ogunleye gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Ado-Ekiti.
The lecturer said that the landmark achieved by Ekiti State students in the recent National Examination Council (NECO) examinations results showed the resolve of teachers to achieve good results.
She, therefore, called on teachers not to relent in their effort to ensure standard and qualitative teaching, which was necessary for students to excel.
Ogunleye urged teachers to utilise computers, research and the Internet to improve on their skills,, for effective learning by students.
FCT
Prof. Umar Danbatta, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nige
rian Communications Commission (NCC) says Nigeria Broadband Penetration has reached 20.95 per cent.
Danbatta said this in Abuja while presenting the first progress report of the 8 Point Agenda he unveiled to the media in 2015.
According to him, broadband is a flagship of the eight point agenda he unveiled in Kano and Lagos.
“The active mobile broadband penetration released by the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development shows that Nigeria has reached a penetration of 20.95 per cent.
“On the percentage of internet penetration, the country has reached a milestone of 47.44 per cent, second to South Africa in the continent,” he said.
Kaduna
Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the organised
labour have rejected the suggestion for the sale of Nigeria’s strategic assets as a way of reviving the economy.
The groups said in Kaduna that rather than sell the assets, ”allowances of public officers and government overhead cost should be reduced to cushion the harsh effect of recession.”
The ACF and the National Union of Garment, Textiles and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria, said in separate statements that Nigeria was not for sale.
They said that selling national assets, such as airports, Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and refineries was like selling Nigeria.
The ACF National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Muhammad Ibrahim, said that the previous sale of national assets had not helped the country economically.
Kano
The Kano State police command has arrested three
housewives in connection with the alleged attempted murder of a girl.
The command’s spokesman, DSP Magaji Majiya, confirmed the development to newsmen in Kano.
He said that the girl was thrown into an old well in Gayawa village, Ungoggo Local Government Area of the state.
It was gathered that the girl had spent two days inside the well, where she was allegedly thrown into by her step mother, a week ago.
The girl was subsequently rescued alive by men of the state Fire Service.
Majiya said that the suspects were apprehended in the village on Sunday following complaint by the father of the girl.
Kogi
Persons Sresiding along the banks of Rivers Niger and
Benue in Lokoja are now gripped with fear of flooding as the water level in both rivers rose to 9.2 centimetres.
A statement issued in Lokoja by Kogi State Ministry of Environment, confirmed that the water level in both rivers was close to the 9.9 centimetres which led to the 2012 flooding.
“With this development, flooding is very likely in some communities along rivers Niger and Benue and their tributaries,” the statement, signed by Ms Dorathy Onoja, Public Relations Officer of the ministry said.
It advised residents living along river plains to immediately relocate to higher grounds for safety of their lives and property.
Kwara
Pastor Samuel Ojo of Christ Apostolic Church (CAC),
Great Commission District headquarters, Osere, Ilorin, Kwara State has urged Nigerians to pray for their leaders rather than raining curses on them.
Ojo, who made the call in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, said that leaders needed the people’s support in delivering good governance.
He stressed that insults would not solve the problem bedevilling the country.
“Our leaders need people’s support through prayers and not curses, Nigerians are fond of raining curses on their leaders rather than praying for them.
“We need to say positive things and declare positive prayers for our Jerusalem (Nigeria), instead of speaking negative things against our dear nation,” he said.
Lagos
An expert on culture, Mr Adeyeye Abraham, has de
cried the rate at which western influence had eroded African culture and tradition.
Abraham, who spoke in an interview with newsmen in Lagos described the development as “disheartening”.
“The country will be more developed if Nigerians can value and uphold their culture effectively.
“It is uncalled for Nigerians to imbibe foreign culture to the detriment of our local culture and practices.
“Nigeria has amazing and historical culture that can attract foreigners,” he said.
Nasarawa
The West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme
(WAAPP), has distributed 36 million improved fingerlings to farmers across the country in the last three years?.
The Acting National Project Coordinator, WAAPP, Mr James Apochi, made this known when he visited the Chairman of Senate Committee on Agriculture, Senator Adamu Abdullahi in Keffi, Nasarawa State.
Apochi said the WAAPP improved fingerling can grow to size of a table in 16 weeks
He said the programme had also developed brood stock that produces eggs all-year round and have been equally distributed to farmers across the country.
Niger
The National Emergency Management Agency
(NEMA) has advised farmers to embrace irrigation instead of the raining season farming to reduce destruction of farmlands by flood in Niger.
The NEMA Coordinator in Niger, Mr Lugard Slaku, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Minna.
It would be recalled that farmlands in 24 communities were destroyed by flood in Mokwa Local Government Areas of the state on September 19.
Slaku said that the federal and state Ministries of Agriculture should collaborate to encourage irrigation farming and liaise with experts to educate farmers on crops that could be cultivated before the raining season.
Osun
Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun says his adminis
tration will continue to adopt new approaches to meet the yearning and aspirations of the people.
Aregbesola made the commitment in a statement issued by his media aide, Mr Semiu Okanlawon in Osogbo.
The governor said the administration would continue to pursue policies and programmes that would enhance people’s welfare and good governance in the state.
“I have reasons to tell the people of the state and others who care to listen at the inception of my administration that I will run an unusual government.
“We knew that for us to deliver on governance which we promised our people, we must be ready to break the rules.
“We consciously designed our programmes and policies to be different from the norms.
Yobe
Increasing population of Queala birds in Nguru, Ngeji
and Ngalda wetlands is threatening bumper harvests in five local government areas of Yobe, the Commissioner for Agriculture, Mustapha Gajirima, has said.
Gajirima told newsmen in Damaturu that the birds were threatening rice and millet plantations in Nguru, Jakusko, Bade, Karasuwa and Fika Local Government Areas.
According to him, the state government lacks the capacity to undertake aerial spray to destroy the birds.
“Yobe state is appealing to the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for early aerial spray before the swarm strike on the farmlands.”
Zamfara
Farmers in Zamfara have called on the state
government to quickly commence the aerial spray against quayle birds in order to protect farm produce.
The Chairman of the state’s Farmers Association, Alhaji Hassan Kwazo, made the appeal when he spoke with newsmen in Gusau.
He said that the call had become necessary in view of the appearance of the destructive birds in some parts of the state.
He said the birds usually came toward the end of the rainy season when plants were maturing for harvest.
According to him, the birds migrate annually from parts of Niger Republic and come into the country through Sokoto and Zamfara which shares borders with Niger Republic.
The Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project(HYPREP) has inducted and given orientation to 100 Ogoni youths for training on Creative Arts. The beneficiaries were drawn from Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme Local Government Areas of Rivers State.
The induction and orientation ceremony, which took place at the CRAB of the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt on Wednesday, was a prelude to the training proper, billed to commence next Tuesday.
As usual, HYPREP issued undertaking forms to the trainees, for them to complete and submit as a guarantee that they would subject themselves to the requirements of the programme as well as be of good behaviour throughout the four-month duration of the training.
HYPREP also announced that it would pay N150,000 to each of the beneficiaries monthly, as transport and feeding allowance, stressing, however, that only those who fully participate in the training would be entitled for the allowance.
Speaking at the event, the Project Coordinator of HYPREP, Prof Nenibarini Zabbey, welcomed the trainees to the programme, saying, HYPREP’s projects are evolving and that one thing that is happening today is that the Project has gotten leadership right, by making promises and keeping those promises.
According to him, the Project had equally promised to move away from rudimentary skills acquisition to high impacts acquisition levels, which it has kept today by sponsoring the training on Creative Arts.
He noted that in planning its livelihood programmes for Ogoni youths, HYPREP has taken time out to look for skills that would add value to the lives of the beneficiaries.
Zabbey, who was represented at the event by the Director of Technical Services, Prof Damian-Paul Aguiyi said by packaging the Creative Arts training, it was expected that the Ogoni people would have their own version of Nollywood known as Ogoniwood just as Nigerians are familiar with Hollywood, Bollywood, Kannywood and Nollywood.
To achieve this goal, the Project Coordinator explained that it was the reason for choosing a reputable establishment like Halibiz Consult Limited, to partner with the Department of Theatre Arts of the University of Port Harcourt, which he described as one of the most prestigious in the Niger Delta, for the training of the beneficiaries.
He also indicated that in doing this, HYPREP was desirous of going for talents that would help the Ogoni people grow in the film industry, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously.
Zabbey equally enjoined the trainees to put in their best so that in the next three to five years, they would carve a niche for themselves and become forces to reckon with in the film industry.
On her part, HYPREP’s Head of Sustainable Livelihood, Mrs Josephine Nzidee said HYPREP does what it says it will, stressing that the process of training Ogoni youths on specialised skills started three years ago.
According to her, the selection process for the training was rigorous and transparent, and was carried out by renowned actors actresses.
She disclosed that the training consists of three major aspects, which include acting, script writing and make-up, while Nollywood actors like Charles Nnoje, Ngezu J. Ngezu and award-winning make-up artist, Jude Odo would be on hand to drill and groom the beneficiaries.
Mrs Nzidee noted that the programme is a specialised training that does not have anything like starter packs but that it is purely a professional certification programme that would launch the beneficiaries into the Nollywood industry in Nigeria.
According to her, the Creative Arts training is one of the four specialised trainings organised by HYPREP to ensure that the Ogoni people are well positioned in vital industries like Aviation, Maritime, Creative Arts and Mechatronics.
She said the last of such trainings on Mechatronics would take place in the coming months, and urged the beneficiaries to take the training seriously so as to put the Ogoni people on the Nollywood map.
She further indicated that while Charles Nnoje and Ngezu J. Ngezu would take the beneficiaries on the practical aspects, Jude Odo would take them on the make-up aspects.
Also speaking, the External Relations Manager of Halibiz Consult Limited, Alabo Experience Douglas said his company gives much premium to standard and quality, and assured that the firm would give the trainees value for the money spent on the programme.
While charging the beneficiaries to be dedicated and punctual, he stressed the need for them to approach the programme with the mindset of being empty so that at the end of the day, they would benefit maximally.
On his part, the Head of the Theatre Arts Department of the University of Port Harcourt, Dr Ovunda Ihunwo said the CRAB is an acronym for Creative Review of Arts and Books, stressing that it was named by renowned playwright, Prof Ola Rotimi.
According to him, the CRAB had nurtured, groomed and produced Nollywood actors and actresses like Bobmanuel Udokwu, Ejike Asiegbu,Francis Duru, Hilda Dokubo, Monalisa Chinda, Julius Agwu, and a host of others, assuring the beneficiaries that they were on fertile environment to hone their talents.
He noted that symbolically, the crab is a nutritious seafood common in the Niger Delta, and reiterated the need for the beneficiaries to come empty for the training, as it were.
Ihunwo disclosed that the theory classes of the programme would run for three weeks while the fourth week would be for the master classes, and urged the trainees to avail themselves of the opportunity to make a difference by telling the Ogoni story, which he described as inexhaustible by themselves, in order to put Ogoni on the map.
A 23-year-old student of Nasarawa State University identified as Jatau Rilokwah, has been reportedly found dead in the university’s senior staff quarters.
A counter-insurgency expert, focused on the Lake Chad region, Zagazola Makama, disclosed this on his X handle on Tuesday.
According to him, the discovery was made on April 27, 2025, by a security officer at the university, Emmanuel Gyawo.
He stated that Gwayo was directed by Prof. Shedrack Jatau to check on his son upon arriving at the residence, and he found Rilokwah hanging from the ceiling.
“Professor Jatau, who was reportedly out of the State at the time, was informed of the incident. A team of police detectives, led by the Divisional Crime Officer of Angwan Lambu, was dispatched to the scene.
“The body showed no signs of violence, and no suicide note was found. Rilokwah was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre in Keffi, where he was confirmed dead by a medical doctor,” he further stated.
He added that the student’s corpse had been deposited in the hospital morgue.
He also quoted police sources as saying that investigations were ongoing to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.
The Ogun State Government has partnered with Nike Art Gallery to establish a new exhibition space at the Olumo Rock Tourist Centre in Abeokuta, a move Governor Dapo Abiodun says is aimed at boosting annual tourist visits from 20,000 to over 100,000.
Abiodun disclosed the plan on Wednesday while receiving the founder of the Nike Art Gallery, Chief (Mrs) Nike Davies-Okundaye, at his office in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
“I went to Olumo Rock about a month ago and I decided that we needed to do something about restoring Olumo Rock to its old glory. From statistics, Olumo Rock hosts about 20,000 people a year in its current state, and I felt that we could increase that to at least ten times,” the governor said.
As part of the plan, an events hall within the tourist centre will be repurposed as a permanent gallery operated by Nike Art Gallery.
“I told them to shut it down. Practically, we want to bring it down and turn it into a gallery for you to use as an exhibition gallery,” he told Davies-Okundaye.
He added that the gallery will be ready before the National Sports Festival in May, when the State will host about 15,000 visitors.
“I want them to be able to see our tourist sites,” he said, listing attractions such as the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, the Ransome-Kuti family home, and the Adire market among key heritage spots to be showcased.
Highlighting Ogun’s improved infrastructure, the governor said, “Now that we’ve succeeded in having the intra and inter-state roads in place, you can come to Ogun State by rail; you can come by air. We’ve constructed one of the best airports in Nigeria, and very soon, you will be able to come by sea.”
Davies-Okundaye, in her remarks, praised the state’s efforts to promote tourism and pledged to use the new gallery to attract global attention.
“This gallery will bring many Heads of State. The one I opened in Abuja already has more than 10 Heads of State, including those from South Korea and the Czech Republic. The same will happen here,” she said.
She also applauded the Governor for his commitment to the Adire fabric industry.
“Adire is all over Nigeria, but Ogun has been promoting Adire for over 50 years. Today, the only cloth we can call our own is called Adire. This is what we can sell to the Europeans,” she said.
Abiodun reaffirmed his administration’s backing of the Adire industry, citing policies such as the Adire Ogun Digital Marketplace, compulsory wearing of Adire in the state, and provision of solar-powered production equipment to support artisans.
He also revealed plans to open a creative arts and entertainment village in partnership with Bolanle Austen-Peters, expected to be completed within two months.