Nation
THE STATES
Bauchi
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (NPHCDA) has donated 45 scanning machines to Bauchi State Government for Primary Health Centres (PHCs) across the state to reduce pregnancy related complications.
The machines were last Wednesday presented to Bauchi State Primary Health Care Development Agency (BSHCDA) by NPHCDA in Bauchi at the end of a 10-day training for midwives in Bauchi.
Reports indicate that the scanning machines were earlier donated by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) named GE Healthcare supported by USAID.
Handing over the equipment to the state, the Coordinator of NPHCDA in the state, Mr Bashir Maidabino said the equipment would go a long way to improve maternal health in the state.
Borno
Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno State says President Muhammadu Buhari’s appeal to the World Bank is to address economic rebuilding and humanitarian crisis in the North-East.
Shettima said while reacting to reports alleging that the president called on the World Bank to focus its interventions to the northern region.
A statement signed by the governor’s Special Adviser, Communication and Media Strategy Isa Gusau,in Maiduguri, said the presidential appeal was aimed at addressing the destruction by the insurgency in the region.
“The request was made by the President in the open and everyone thought it was the right thing. States in the northeast like Borno have been working with the World Bank, putting all the collaborative machinery in place.
FCT
The Monkey Pox virus outbreak has spread to 11States with 74 suspected cases recorded, Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole has said.
Adewole made the disclosure in Abuja last Wednesday when he briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
President Muhammadu Buhari chaired the meeting held at the State House Council Chamber, Abuja.
The Federal Government, on October 11 confirmed that 33 suspected cases of the virus were recorded in seven states.
Monkeypox is a rare viral zoonosis (a virus transmitted to humans from animals) with symptoms in humans similar to those seen in the past in smallpox patients, although less severe.
Gombe
The National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has assisted 5,623 disaster and crisis victims in Gombe State between March and July this year.
The Head of Operations, Gombe and Bauchi NEMA office, Malam Abani Imam disclosed this in an interview with journalists in Gombe State last Thursday.
Imam said that 4,200 were affected by flood in Akko, Kaltungo and Yamaltu Deba Local Government, while 1,148 were victims of Billiri/Shongom Local Government communal clash.
He said that 231 people in Dadin-Kowa community were also affected by flood, while 44 others were victims of inferno at Gombe Timber markets.
Kano
Two brothers who allegedly strangled their father are to cool their heels in prison until November, a Kano Chief Magistrates’ Court ruled last Wednesday.
The duo of Rabiu Adamu, 27, and Auwal Adamu, 26, had strangled their 55-year-old father, Adamu Gamji, in Sumaila Local Government Area of Kano, the prosecution said.
The accused pleaded not guilty.
Chief Magistrate Muhammad Jibril, ordered that the accused should remain in prison until next date of adjournment.
The accused are facing a two-count charge of criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide punishable under Section 97 and 221 of the Penal Code, Laws of Kano State.
Kwara
The Kwara State Government has denied rumours that soldiers are injecting school pupils in Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of the state with killer vaccines.
The Special Adviser on Security to the Governor, Alhaji Amusa Bello made the denial in a statement last Wednesday in Ilorin.
Our correspondent reports that parents and guardians had on hearing the rumour rushed to schools to withdraw their wards.
They besieged both private and public schools in the area as early 9 a.m. on hearing the rumour of the presence of vaccine injection team allegedly accompanied by soldiers in the town.
Lagos
A media consultant, Adebisi Boboye has called on the three tiers of government to partner with the mass media to inculcate the right values in young people.
Boboye told newsmen last Wednesday in Lagos that the partnership would go a long way to orientate the youth properly on leadership and some other responsibilities.
According to him, the media remained the best tool for such orientation.
“In recent times, the media through technology have become the biggest platform that can be used to either make or mar.
“Government must find means through which it can partner with the media as well as control what it puts out for public consumption.
Niger
The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC) has urged rural communities in Niger State to support the fight against corruption.
“We have embarked on a crusade against corruption and want everyone, especially rural dwellers, to be part of the effort to rid Nigeria of the menace,” ICPC acting chairman Bako Abdullahi said last Wednesday in Minna.
He spoke at a one-day engagement with Community Development Associations (CDAs), organised in partnership with a democracy action group, Dispute Resolution and Development Initiative.
Represented by Mr Baba Ashiru, the commission’s Head of Education, Abdullahi asked rural communities to assist the commission with useful information about corrupt practices in their localities.
Oyo
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Ayuba Wabba last Wednesday urged workers not to lose hope on the actualisation of proposed minimum wage.
Wabba made the call at the National Delegates’ Conference (NDC) of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees (AUPCTRE) in Ibadan.
He said NLC would not rest on its oars until the current minimum wage was reviewed upward and workers’ welfare ascertained.
He added that “I assure you that this struggle will take us to the promise land; be determined for a people determined can’t be defeated.
Plateau
Worried by the incessant midnight attacks on Plateau State rural communities, Chief Alexander Mwolwus, a PDP chieftain has urged the state government and security agencies to “act decisively” to end the trend.
“The attacks are frightening; they have become a daily affair. Governor Simon Lalong must rise to the challenge because we cannot continue like this,” Molwus told newsmen in Pankshin.
According to reports, 35 people had been killed and several others injured in midnight attacks on Bassa rural communities in the last three weeks.
According to figures released by the Plateau State Police Command, 25 people were killed at Ncha village, six in Taegbe, while four were killed in Jebu-Miango.
Last Friday, the attackers visited Wereh, a village in Barkin-Ladi Local Government and killed four persons, including an unnamed soldier and former Plateau State Head of Civil Service, Mr Moses Gwom.
Sokoto
The newly-established 8 Division of the Nigerian Army, Sokoto has taken off with the assumption of duty of its pioneer General Officer Commanding (GOC), Brig.-Gen. Olabanji Samuel,
Samuel disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to Governor Aminu Tambuwal at Government House in Sokoto last Wednesday.
He said necessary arrangements had been put in place to ensure the smooth take off of the new division.
He said the bulk of the men and officers of the division had now been mobilised to ensure its proper take off .
“As you may recall, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Yusuf Burutai, announced the establishment of this division when he visited Sokoto earlier this year.
Taraba
The wife of Taraba State Governor, Mrs Anna Ishaku last Wednesday launched the payment of N5,000 stipend to 4,350 destitutes in the state under the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme.
Speaking at the inauguration of the programme in Ardo-Kola, Ishaku commended the Federal Government and the World Bank for collaborating with the state to support its poorest citizens.
She urged the officials disbursing the funds to fear God and ensure that due process was followed in the disbursement.
“I urge you to avoid sentiments in the disbursement and focus only on the poorest of the poor who are the target of this programme.
“Be mindful of the fact that if you select people who are not poor, you are leaving the state with a high burden of poor people,” Ishaku said.
The governor’s wife urged the beneficiaries not to misuse the stipend but rather to invest it wisely to improve their living conditions.
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.