Nation
THE STATES
Adamawa
Some residents of Yola, Adamawa State, have expressed
delight at the release of 21 Chibok girls by their abductors.
The residents said in an interview with newsmen that the development would boost government efforts to secure the release of the rest of the schoolgirls.
The state Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Malam Ahmad Sajoh, lauded the development and called for more action to secure the release of the remaining Chibok girls and others abducted by the insurgents.
A market woman, Hanatu Adamu, who described the development as “exciting”, said she was happy for the girls’ parents and the people of Chibok.
Sanusi Gambo, Janet Zira, Musa Buba and Lami Mohammed, students of Adamawa Polytechnic, also expressed joy at the development.
Bauchi
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has
concluded plans to mobilise some of its equipment to Bauchi and Gombe States in anticipation of oil exploration in the Benue Trough.
Its Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru, disclosed this when he spoke with journalists at the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa International Airport, Bauchi.
He, therefore, advised that the people of the two states should not panic when they see the movement of the equipment into the states.
He said his mission to the two states was to sensitise the people to the anticipated exploration of oil in the area.
Benue
The office of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is
building six primary healthcare centres in Benue State.
Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Media and ICT attached to the SDGs office Makurdi, Mr Terkula Ati, who made the disclosure said that medical equipment needed for the take-off of the healthcare centres had been purchased.
He said that the healthcare centres were the last MDGs projects in the state that were constructed.
Ati attributed the delay in the construction of the projects to non-payment of counterpart funding by the previous administration.
Ekiti
Contractors handling projects at the Federal University,
Oye-Ekiti in Ekiti State have been warned to complete the projects in November or risk revocation of their contracts.
The Deputy Director of Procurement in the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Musa Odiniya, gave the warning when he led a team of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Government Projects to the university.
Odiniya said that the committee would not hesitate to take punitive measures against erring contractors.
He warned that Tripod Nigeria Ltd. and Dumaco Best, handling the Central Administrative Block and the University Library projects, respectively, must stick to the November, 2016 deadline agreed on.
Jigawa
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has selected
Kafinhausa Local Government Area of Jigawa State for the flag-off of the 2016 Global Handwashing Day in the state.
The council’s Information Officer, Malam Fahad Muhammad, made this known in an interview with newsmen in Dutse.
Global Handwashing Day is observed every October 15 to raise awareness of handwashing with soap as a key approach to disease prevention.
“It is a campaign to motivate and mobilise people around the world to improve their handwashing habits”, he said.
Kaduna
The Kaduna State Government has earmarked N35 billion
for massive roads and schools construction in 2017, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Muhammad Abdullahi, has said.
Abdullahi said in Kaduna at a coordination meeting with development partners, that the government would spend N15 billion on roads construction in the coming year.
He said that the government has already contacted 11 construction companies that would be engaged in the road construction, both in rural areas and urban centres.
He also said that N20 billion would be expended on schools construction across the state.
The commissioner explained that the essence of the meeting was to align all interventions by development partners in the state to avoid duplication of efforts and resources.
Kano
The Kano State Government has set aside N500 million as
intervention fund for small and medium moribund industries.
The state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Alhaji Rabiu Bako, disclosed this when he visited the Kaura Macaroni Company, Kano, makers of Kaura Macaroni and biscuit.
He said that the state government was determined to revamp ailing industries for economic development.
Bako said that the government had selected 50 small and medium scale industries for support to return them to full business.
Kogi
A Lokoja Chief Magistrates’ Court has remanded two auto
mechanics, Ibrahim Audu and Husseini Idris, for allegedly robbing an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) manager, Elias Amos, of N402,510 at a gunpoint.
Both Audu, 28, and Idris, 25, are to be kept behind bars at Federal Prisons, Ankpa on the order of Chief Chief Magistrate Levi Animoku.
Animoku described armed robbery as a grievous offence and one of the social vices that had permeated the society.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Sgt. Tuesday Ganagana told the court that the accused with others still at large, committed the offences on September 2 at about 4.00 p.m. at Imane-Barracks in Olamaboro Local Government of Kogi.
Kwara
A lecturer at the Department of Political Science, College
of Education, Oro, Kwara State, Mr Musbau Abdulkareem, has said that examination malpractice might weaken students’ reading culture.
Abdulkareem, who made this assertion in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, posited that examination malpractice negatively affected students’ zeal to read.
He said that students would no longer study hard, having relied on cheating in the examination hall.
According to him, students prefer to hang out on the eve of the examination to discuss how to perpetuate exams malpractices instead of reading their books.
The lecturer described the habit as bad, saying that students were only interested in their success in the examinations and not to widen their knowledge.
Nasarawa
The Pharmacists Council of Nigeria (PCN) says it has
registered over 22,000 qualified pharmacists since its inception in 1970.
The council’s Registrar, Mr Elijah Mohammed, disclosed this in Lafia at a pharmacy stakeholders’ meeting organised by the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Nasarawa State Chapter.
The registrar, who was represented by Mr Nwora Okpalaeke, called on drugs regulatory agencies to partner with PSN to tackle drug abuse and improve on the health of the populace.
Earlier, PSN Nasarawa chapter Chairman, Agada Vincent-Agada, had said the stakeholders meeting was aimed at providing solution to the problems associated with drug administration in the country.
Niger
The Niger State Governor, Sani Bello has called on the
Federal Government to immediately intervene in the rehabilitation of all federal roads in the state.
Bello, who made the call after inspecting the failed sections of Minna/Suleja Road, said all federal roads in the state are presently in bad shapes.
He said the quick rehabilitation of the roads would reduce the hardship faced by motorists and other road users across the state.
Bello directed the state Ministry of Works to come up with a comprehensive rehabilitation plans for some of the Federal roads in the state as a palliative measure to bring relief to the people.
Ondo
An Akure Magistrates’ Court has slammed a bail of N500,
000 each on two Union Bank staff, Tunde Daramola and Samuel Babatunde, for alleged assault and theft of N420,000.
Daramola, 30, a driver, Babatunde. 38, a cash officer, and others now at large, were arraigned on a four-count charge of conspiracy, assault, stealing and threat to life.
The Magistrate, Mrs Victoria Bob-Manuel, said the sureties must reside within the magisterial district and one them must be a religious leader or community leader in the residential area of the accused.
Bob-Manuel adjourned the case till November 21 for trial.
The Prosecutor, Insp. Martins Olowofeso, told the court that they committed the offences on Sept.30 at about 11:15 p.m along Oba-Ile Airport Road.
Oyo
The Oyo State Government has approved the constitution
of 10 mobile courts to prosecute environmental degradation offenders as part of efforts at ensuring clean environment and flood control.
The state Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Chief Isaac Ishola, told newsmen in Ibadan that the 10 mobile courts would be distributed across the state.
Ishola stated that five of the 10 mobile courts would be stationed in Ibadan, while one each would be in the remaining four zones, namely: Ogbomoso, Oyo, Saki, Iseyin and Eruwa.
The commissioner said that the state government would not tolerate the violation of the state environmental laws, such as indiscriminate dumping of refuse.
Plateau
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry in Plateau State,
under the administration of Governor Jonah Jang sold seven state-owned filling stations to private individuals.
Director of Commerce in the ministry, Mr Dauda Gashi, made the statement when he appeared before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry constituted by Gov. Simon Lalong to probe the activities of government between May 2007 and May 2015.
The commission was constituted in August this year.
Gashi told the commission that some of the filling stations were sold for N2 million, while others were sold for N1 million.
He said that several individuals in the state indicated interest when the tender and advertisement for the sale of the filling stations were made public.
The Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) Port Harcourt zonal command has held a one-day capacity workshop with some selected media organisations and civil society organisations in the state
The one-day capacity workshop was aimed at strengthening existing relationships among the media and the civil society organisations in the state with a view to improving the existing relationships among the graft agency and the media.
Speaking at the event the zonal commander of EFCC, MR. HASSAN SAIDU, said the
initiative is part of the Commission’s ongoing commitment to strengthening collaboration with key stakeholders, particularly the media and civil society, in our collective fight against economic and financial crimes , adding that the decision to organize this workshop underscores the strategic importance the EFCC places on the roles of the media and the CSOs as watchdogs of the society.
According to him,all over the world, the partnership between anti-corruption agencies, the media, and civil society has been instrumental in promoting transparency, accountability, and good governance, noting that the collaboration is even more imperative in Nigeria given the scale and sophistication of economic crimes we contend with.
“Let me take this opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the invaluable support you have given to the EFCC over the years.
Your consistent focus on our work through reporting, advocacy, and public engagement has helped to sustain the momentum of our preventive and enforcement efforts.”
The EFCC’s mandate is both engaging and arduous. I say this because the landscape of economic crime is dynamic and your duty to report and interpret these developments requires diligence, patriotism and integrity.”
He posted that It is in recognition of these challenges that the Commission introduced a Specialized Workshop Series on Economic and Financial Crimes Reporting for journalists, adding that the commission has expanded this initiative to include civil society organizations to further demonstrate their belief in an inclusive and collaborative anti-corruption framework.
“As you are aware, Port Harcourt remains Nigeria’s treasure base of the Nation and a fertile ground for various forms of economic and financial crimes, ranging from pipeline vandalism, foreign exchange scams and business email compromise to investment and property fraud, and crude oil theft.”
The EFCC zonal commander averred that the 2025 edition of the workshop is Understanding Cryptocurrency Fraud and other Emerging Financial Crimes and Prosecution of Financial Crimes: Issues, Challenges and Way Forward , adding that
It is imperative for us to note that the surge of Cryptocurrency Fraud and other related offences in the Nigeria’s Cyberspace is becoming alarming hence, as part of the efforts of the EFCC to nip this menace and eradicate these crimes from Nigeria Cyberspace there is need for synergy with relevant Stakeholders, that is the reason why the Commission has chosen these topics to educate, create awareness and discuss arising issues that will yield more significant results as the EFCC tackles the spate of these crimes.
“We must work together to intensify public sensitization. Your platforms- print, broadcast, digital, and community-based- are essential in equipping Nigerians with the knowledge to make informed decisions and avoid falling prey to scammers. ”
He reiterated that the fight against economic and financial crimes is not the sole responsibility of the EFCC or other anti-corruption agencies. It is a collective national duty, meaning all hands must be on deck , stressing that
We owe it to our country and, indeed, the global community to expose and confront corrupt practices wherever they exist.
“The media must continue to hold public institutions accountable, while civil society must deepen civic engagement and promote transparency at all levels.
The EFCC remains committed to building a stronger and more effective partnership with all stakeholders in the fight against corruption. he stated.
Earlier In his presentation on cryptocurrency-related crimes, CSE Coker Oyegunle, Head of Advanced Fee Fraud, explained that digital assets are increasingly being used for money laundering, identity theft, phishing, malware attacks, and ransomware, most of which involve untraceable crypto payments.
He noted that Nigeria now has a coordinated regulatory framework involving multiple agencies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serves as the lead regulator under the Investment and Securities Act 2025, defining digital assets as securities and licensing virtual asset service providers.
Our correspondent reports that other topics presented during the workshop include prosecuting Financial crimes: Issues, challenges and the way forward and the role of CSOs and media in driving a preventive frame work.
Nation
RSU Blames Poor Funding for Failure to Meet Academic Targets as 1,356 Set for Combined Convocation on Saturday”
The management of Rivers State University (RSU), Port Harcourt, has stated that poor funding has hindered the institution’s ability to meet its expected academic targets.
The Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Isaac Zeb-Obipi, made this statement during a press briefing held at the institution on Monday in Port Harcourt, ahead of the week-long 37th and 38th combined convocation ceremony scheduled for Friday and Saturday this week.
Prof. Zeb-Obipi emphasized that poor funding continues to be a major challenge limiting the institution’s ability to meet its targets, adding that they trust the state governor, Sir Fubara Siminalaye, who is the visitor to the university, will continue to strengthen and support them.
He noted that the state governor has demonstrated his commitment to supporting the university, recently approving N700m for the ongoing NUC accreditation.
The Vice-Chancellor stated that the university faces deficits in classrooms, staff accommodation, and student hostels, with the infrastructure gap widening, and existing lecture halls and laboratories requiring renovation.
“We are prioritizing phased upgrades based on program needs,
He added that the university is short-staffed, having lost staff to retirement, death, and changes in job or place of work, and that new programs, departments, and faculties have been created to meet the contemporary needs of society.
Mean while,a total of 13,242 students are set to graduate in the combined convocation, with 10,648 undergraduates, 1,356 Master’s degree students, 700 postgraduate diplomas, and 538 Doctors of Philosophy.
The Vice-Chancellor also used the opportunity to list some achievements of his administration, including the creation of new directorates, completion of abandoned laboratories, and upgrades in the faculty of sciences, made possible with support from the Tertiary Education Technology Fund (TETFund).
He expressed appreciation to the governor and visitor to the university, Sir Siminalaye Fubara, for approving his appointment and promised to justify the confidence placed in him.
The Movement for the Survival of the Izon Ethnic Nationality in the Niger Delta (MOSIEND) has decried the neglect of communities in Obolo Nation and others in the Niger Delta Region
MOSIEND also called on the stakeholders to empower the youths in skill acquisition and other meaningful ventures to better their lives
This call was on Rhythm 93.7 FM Port Harcourt, Radio program, Talk of the Town, by MOSIEND Eastern Zonal Coordinator of MOSIEND Half Hour Comrade Tammy Bruce Longjohn, alongside Asarama Clan Chairman, Comrade Amos Zebedee Udu, and Unyeada Clan Chairman Comrade Owen Wilson Ngere monitored by our correspondent
The spokepersons underscores the urgent need for government agencies and development partners to respond decisively to the dire state of basic amenities in the area.
MOSIEND leaders in Obolo Nation lamented the absence of potable water, electricity, access roads, and other functional public infrastructures in the clans
“What is troubling is that these complaints continue to echo without corresponding action from the Rivers State Government, the Niger Delta Development Commission, and the oil companies operating in and around the area”.
According to the MOSIEND leaders, the situation has reached a point where community members, particularly youths and women, require deliberate intervention to rebuild livelihoods and restore hope.
They also emphasised the need for empowerment programmes, vocational training, and investments in local economies that depend heavily on fishing and trade.
The Clan leaders call for provision of small engine boats for fishermen and the construction of proper market spaces for the communities
Asarama Clan Chairman, Comrade Udu noted that the community participates fully in electoral processes yet continues to live without clean water or electricity.
He insisted that the clan is not benefiting as they ought to from any MoU with oil companies nor from NDDC projects, raises concerns about the fairness and inclusiveness of development planning in the state.
Equally troubling is the account from Unyeada Clan Chairman, Comrade Owen Wilson Ngere, who highlighted the alarming state of Unyeada Primary School, where children are forced to learn on bare floors without desks, chairs, or basic sanitation facilities.
” For a region that hosts oil and gas activities, such conditions are unacceptable and should concern all stakeholders”.
The Unyeada Clan Commended NDDC for the installation of solar lights in the communities, noting that the project is not enough for the entire community as they
appeal for more of the solar project in the area
While the leaders expressed appreciation to Governor Siminalayi Fubara for the ongoing construction of roads in the area, and to the local council Chairman for the provision of potable water in some communities, .
“Obolo Nation has shown remarkable restraint and continues to maintain peace, as noted by the MOSIEND Coordinator”.
“The issues highlighted are not demands for luxury,but are basic necessities that every community in the Niger Delta deserves.
“The time for promises has passed; what Obolo communities need now is visible, sustained, and inclusive development.
Chinedu Wosu
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