Nation
THE STATES
Ekiti
Teachers working in Ekiti public schools on Monday defied the state government by shunning the Teachers’ Development Needs Assessment(TDNA) examination.
The examination, which was postponed thrice over disagreements with the teachers, was supposed to commence with a training session between 9:am and 12 noon.
However, investigation indicated that all the examination centres were empty with only a few supervisors, Area Education Officers of councils and security men in sight.
Investigation also revealed that rumour had been milling around Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, since Sunday that all the 39 designated centres had been laced with fetish substances.
FCT
An Abuja Senior Magistrates’ Court on Monday sentenced one Collins Kelechi of Ako Estate, Abuja, to eight months’ imprisonment for damaging the property of one Mrs Ipole Chinwe of the same address. He was sentenced on a two-count charge of wrongful restraint and mischief.
The Presiding Magistrate, Aliyu Shafa, said the sentence followed the convict’s confession that he committed the offence. He sentenced the convict to two months’ imprisonment with an option of N2000 for the offence of wrongful restraint.
Shafa also sentenced the convict to six months’ imprisonment for the offence of mischief with an option of N2000 fine and ordered that the sentences should run concurrently.
Earlier, the Police Prosecutor, Paul Anigbo, had told the court that the case was reported by Chinwe on June 17, 2010.
Jigawa
Some residents of Dutse in Jigawa have observed that the environment has become filthy since the commencement of rainy season and called for an immediate action to clear it.
A cross section of residents in Dutse on Monday said that many places in the town were stinking due to heaps of waste.
A resident of Gidan-dubu, Malam Sule Adamu, complained that the streets were littered with polythene materials and drains with refuse and other garbage.
Another resident, whogave his name as Rabiu Sabo, said faeces carelessly disposed in polythene bags was polluting the environment.
Sabo expressed fears that, if such wastes continued to be disposed indiscriminately, inhabitants would be exposed to diseases.
Katsina
The Katsina State Commissioner for Education, Prof. Aminu Gado, said on Monday that the State Government has ordered the recruitment of 200 casual workers to serve as security guards in schools.
Kado made the disclosure when he paid a courtesy call on the state’s Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abdullahi Magaji, in his office in Katsina.
He said the measure had become necessary to stop rampant cases of stealing of facilities in the 56 secondary schools in the state.
Kado also directed each of the 36 Local Government Areas in the state to post four security guards to its schools and praised the state’s police command for recovering items worth millions of naira stolen from the 56 secondary schools.
Kebbi
The Kebbi Government has inaugurated an 18-member committee to prepare a position paper on the review of the 1999 Constitution.
The Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Aliyu, inaugurated the committee in Birnin Kebbi on Monday.
He urged the committee to deliberate on wide-ranging issues, adding that the committee’s proposals would be expected in two weeks.
“Among the issues to be deliberated are devolution of powers, creation of states, role of traditional rulers, fiscal federalism, immunity clause, rotation of executive offices as well as residency and indigene provisions.’’
Kogi
The Kogi Government has appointed Prof Olugbenro Jegede, the pioneer Vice Chancellor of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), as the Secretary to the State Government.
Jegede, whose appointment is contained in a statement issued in Lokoja on Monday, replaced Alhaji Musa Ahmadu, who held the office since 2005.
The statement, signed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Mr Jacob Edi, said the appointment of Jegede, an indigene of Ogori in Kogi Central Senatorial District, took immediate effect.
Jegede is the Secretary -General of the Association of African Universities with headquarters in Accra.
Kwara
The Kwara Government on Monday blamed its late payment of salaries of government workers on the delay in the release of statutory allocation from the Federation Account.
Mr Demola Banu, the state Commissioner for Finance, told newsmen in Ilorin that the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) was supposed to meet on 13th of every month while disbursement of funds to states was to be made within a week.
“The money will be transferred to the respective states so that they would be able to meet their commitments, but the meeting for sometime now has been held on 20th, 28th at times. “ This had been causing delay in the payment of salaries,’’ the commissioner said.
The delay, he added, was responsible for the late payment of pension.
He also explained that the state had a major challenge in the payment of local government staff in May, saying:
Nasarawa
The Nasarawa State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised Gov Umaru Almakura over his plan to build a N1 billion airport in Lafia.
The state Chairman of the party, Mr Yunana Iliya, made the criticism while addressing newsmen, shortly after an expanded executive meeting of the party in Lafia on Monday.
He said the airport project was elitist as it would serve the interest of only about 1 per cent of the state population.
“As far as PDP is concerned, we wish to lend our voice to the cry of our people who oppose the construction of an airport in Lafia. “This is an elitist project; those who will use the airport will constitute less than 0.01 per cent of our population,” he said.
Iliya said that in a state, such as Nasarawa State, where most of the people were peasant farmers, the money for the proposed airport would be more useful in the improvement of agriculture and construction of rural roads.
Oyo
The Under-Secretary in charge of African Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Adamu Abas, says some state governments in the North are not doing enough to combat the effects of climate change.
Abas said in Ibadan that such states ought to do more because the effects, especially that of desertification, was more pronounced in the North.
He, however, commended Lagos which, though a southern state without problem of desertification, had planted four million trees.
Abas said the Federal Government had carried out many initiatives across the country to curb the effects of climate change. “What we need to do now is to encourage the states to do more, “ Abas said.
Plateau
The police in Plateau on Monday confirmed that two bombs were discovered in the premises of a hostel at the University of Jos on Sunday.
The Police Commissioner, Mr Emmanuel Ayeni, said the officers were able to detonate one of the bombs while the second exploded, injuring no person.
He said: “when my officers and men with the Anti-Bomb Squad arrived in the scene, they were able to detonate the second bomb and luckily, the one that exploded did not harm anybody or cause damage to the hostel block.’’
Ayeni said that although the police had begun investigation, no suspect had been arrested, describing the incident as criminal.
Yobe
The Yobe Youth Network for Justice (YYJ) has challenged Senators representing the three senatorial districts in the state to emulate Sen.Ahmed Lawal, of Yobe North in the execution of development projects.
The group’s Chairman, Bashir Tahir, who made the remark in an interview on Monday in Damaturu said that the state was proud of Lawal’s performance in debating issues on the development of the state, especially the creation of shelter belt and proposed constructions of earth dams.
“ We have also acknowledged his outstanding role as Chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts in the National Assembly,” he said.
The chairman, however, listed the award of scholarship to150 students of tertiary institutions, execution of water projects in 56 villages and 900 Youth Empowerment Projects as some of his excellent achievements in the state.
Zamfara
The Zamfara House of Assembly has passed 10 bills and 29 resolutions since its inauguration in June last year, the Speaker, Alhaji Sanusi Rikiji, said, at a news conference to mark one year of the assembly.
He said the house also adopted reports of 16 committees set up to investigate some aspects of the state administration.
He said some of the bills were those for the enactment of laws for the establishment of the state agency for the control of HIV/AIDS, debt management, cotton development agency and the 2012 budget.
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.