Adamawa

Mrs. Wale Fwa, the only female member in Adamawa Assembly, has described as encouraging the growing number of women aspiring for elective offices in the 2011 general elections in the state.

She told newsmen in Yola that the women should not relent in their efforts at joining the political class and also called on others nursing political ambition to be courageous and come out to declare their interest.

The PDP lawmaker, who is representing Demsa Constituency, declared her interest to re-contest the seat, saying she would love to see more women joining her in the state assembly.

Bauchi

 Hajiya Yelwa Tula, a renowned woman politician in Bauchi, has called on women to use their numerical strength to vote for women candidates at all level of representations in the 2011 elections.

Tula, who made the call in an interview with newsmen in Bauchi, urged women to show greater interest in politics so as to ensure effective gender representation in governance.

 ‘’Politics cannot be left to men alone. We have all it takes to change the course of history through the electoral process,’’ she said.

The woman politician urged women in Bauchi State to close ranks and vote for gender-friendly candidates at various levels of representations.

Ekiti

Ekiti State Government is to spend N1 billion on the construction of classrooms in public primary schools under the 2009 SUBEB/UBEC projects, an official said.

The Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB), Mr Dayo Adeyeye, told newsmen in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday that the project would include the provision of furniture.

He explained that the projects, which would be executed in the 16 local government areas of the state, would involve the construction of 26 storey buildings, blocks of three and four classrooms with offices and computer and library projects.

FCT

The Congress for Democratic Change (CDC) has aligned itself with the decision of leaders from the northern part of the country to drop the zoning policy in the interest of democratic governance.

A spokesman of the party, Mr Jimoh Abdullahi, told newsmen in Abuja that the decision against the “unwholesome campaign” would be in the best interest of democracy in the country.

“If eleven sons of the same father will form a formidable national team, let them go ahead and represent the country to deliver result.

Kaduna

A member of House of Representatives, Joseph Gumbari has urged the Church to go beyond preaching against crime and initiate steps that would create jobs to curb idleness and minimise temptation to crime.

Gumbari, who is aspiring to represent Southern Kaduna in the Senate in 2011, was speaking in ECWA Church, Biniki, where he delivered a paper on “the importance of skills acquisition to the youths of Southern Kaduna’’.

He urged the Church to partner with local and international Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) to establish skills acquisition centres where youths could train to facilitate self-reliance.

The legislator advised youths against waiting on unavailable white-collar jobs but to seek ways of exploring their hidden talents to achieve success in life.

Kano

The Kano State Directorate of Societal Re-orientation has lauded the efforts of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Sen. Bala Mohammed, to rid Abuja of prostitutes.

The Director-General of the agency, Malam Bala Muhammad, said in a statement that the measure was necessary to prevent the territory from being taken over by unscrupulous persons.

He noted that “this unfortunate trend has reached such alarming stage that if all hands are not put together to fight it’’, its consequences would be disastrous for the society.

“This is because the menace is on the increase with young ladies as well as teenagers continuously flooding into the federal capital for a better life,” Muhammad said.

Kebbi

The Emir of Argungu in Kebbi State, Alhaji Samaila Mera, has called on the National Orientation Agency (NOA) to embark on intensive campaign to re-orientate the people on the 2011 general election.

Mera, who received the state NOA Director, Alhaji Umar Babuga, in Argungu said government organs were expected to embark on campaigns to encourage Nigerians to support good leadership.

He also called on state and federal authorities to ensure adequate funding of the agency to ensure people were enlightened on government programmes and policies as well as make the people part of decision making..

He said the agency was better placed to re-orientate the people on the irrelevance of ethnicity, rumour mongering, tribalism and the need to engage in activities that would usher in good leadership and development.

Kogi

The Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) says it will revolutionise agriculture, power and energy, if voted into power in 2011.

The Vice-Chairman, North Central zone of the party, Alhaji Abu Onaji, gave the assurance on Thursday  while speaking with newsmen in Lokoja.

Onaji, a onetime General Manager of Kogi State Broadcasting Corporation, Lokoja, said the party would evolve people-oriented philosophy of selfless service to improve the well-being of the people.

He said that the party was determined to wrestle power from the ruling PDP in 2011, adding that agriculture and power sectors would be prioritised.

Lagos

The Chairman, Apapa-Iganmu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), Dr Samuel Adedayo, on Saturday urged the Lagos Metropolitan Development and Governance Project (LMDGP) to be more procative in upgrading slums in the area.

Adedayo made the call in Lagos when the wife of the state Governor, Mrs Abimbola Fashola, inaugurated some projects in the LCDA.

He said that bureaucracy employed by the LMDGP had stalled the reconstruction of 15 roads and projects in three schools in Apapa-Iganmu LCDA. This has tasked our people’s patience beyond limit and has become a source of embarrassment and pressure on our administration”, he said.

He said the cardinal objective of his administration was to ensure even development in various wards that constituted the LCDA.

Niger

The Chanchaga Local Government Council in Niger State executed development projects worth N437.9 million between April 2008 and June 2010, its chairman, Alhaji Yakubu Sallau has said.

Sallau made the disclosure on Saturday in Minna at the inauguration of a primary health care clinic constructed by the Council.

He listed the projects to include the renovation and construction of classrooms and provision of instructional materials amounting to N204.3 million.

Others are the construction of primary health care centres in Kpakungu, and provision of other health facilites, which gulped a total of N53.8 million.

He said that N40 million was expended on environmental sanitation within the period, while the provision of boreholes in different parts of the local government area gulped N19.4 million.

Osun

NYSC Director-General Maharazu Tsiga has urged corps members to contribute to the success of credible election in 2011.

Tsiga, who made the appeal at Ede on Wednesday when he visited the orientation camp of the National Youths Service Corps, said INEC would need the services of 400,000 corps members as electoral officers during the elections.

He said their involvement in the elections would drastically reduce the cases of electoral fraud characterised with previous elections.

Tsiga said the scheme had been one of the unifying factors in Nigeria, adding that those calling for the scraping should be enlightened on its importance.

Sokoto

The Nigerian Ambassador to Argentina, Mr Nduka Kanu, has advised the Federal Government to take pro-active measures to effectively tackle the problem of kidnapping to restore confidence in the populace.

 He told newsmen in Sokoto on Thursday that it was not in the culture of Nigerians to be involved in the evil act.

 Kanu said that kidnapping posed a great threat to the survival of the nation’s democracy, adding that government should put in place approriate security arrangements to guarantee the safety of Nigerians.

 He stressed the need for vigillance and adequate internal security to ensure smooth implementation of people-oriented programmes by the three tiers of government.

 He also called for more political tolerance and understanding among Nigerians to ensure free, fair and transparent elections in 2011.

Yobe

Dr Shettima Saidu, Provost, Federal College of Education Potiskum, Yobe State  says upgrading colleges of education to degree awarding institutions would reduce the pressure on the universities.

Saidu told newsmen on Saturday in Potiskum that the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE) should be empowered to accredit colleges to award degrees.

He said the NCCE should be empowered to accredit colleges of education that have met the requirements to award degrees to reduce the pressure on universities.

He explained that, the FCE had gone a long way in striving to become a centre of excellence in Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Zamfara

 Due to the recent lead poisoning in Zamfara State, the National Environmental Standards and Regulation Enforcement Agency (NESREA) has advised the government to broaden the scope of its environmental assessment.

The tragedy claimed about 153 lives, according to government figures.

Alhaji Abdullahi Bindawa, the agency’s Director for North West zone, gave the advice while speaking with newsmen in Gusau.

Bindawa said that widening the assessment beyond the affected areas, would serve as a preventive measure against future outbreak of mining related disasters.