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The Guild of Medical Directors (GMD) has restated its commitment to collaborate with government to build world class hospitals in Nigeria to reduce foreign medical trips by Nigerians.
The GMD is a body of medical doctors who own and run private hospitals and clinics in Nigeria.
The new President of the guild, Dr Tony Phillips, made the pledge in Abuja while briefing newsmen on the activities of the body.
Phillips recalled that at the guild’s last general conference held in November, 2012, it stated that 60 per cent of healthcare delivery in Africa was provided by the private sector.
Jigawa
The new president of Royal Equestrian Club of Nigeria, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed-Sani, has mandated the club to encourage the game of horse racing in the northern part of the country.
Mohammed-Sani, who is also the Emir of Gumel, Jigawa, gave the charge while inaugurating the horse racing club last Sunday in Gumel.
He said that with the mandate, the club would promote horse racing in the area.
the president explained that a similar club was formed in the past with the same goal to develop the game of horse racing.
Kano
The Legal Aid Council, Kano State Office, and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills have sponsored skills training for 27 inmates of Kano Prison preparatory to their release.
The Kano State Coordinator of the council, Alhaji Abubakar Umar, said in Kano that the inmates were trained in baking and textile technology, known as tie and dye.
“We are trying to make sure that inmates are trained in various trades to enable them be self-reliant after reuniting with their families.
“The council is also making effort to see that the state government gives the trainees capital to start their own businesses when they return home,’’ Umar told newsmen.
Kebbi
The Kebbi State government said that it had concluded plans for the payment of N18,000 minimum wage to workers.
The State Head of Service, Alhaji Buhari Jega, said this after a meeting with officials of the Nigeria Labour Congress in Birnin Kebbi.
He called on the labour leaders and stakeholders to present a workable payment timetable for implementation.
Jega, commended the state NLC and entire workforce for their patience and understanding over the implementation of a uniform minimum wage.
Kogi
Nineteen awaiting trial inmates remanded in the six Federal Prison formations in Kogi State have regained their freedom folllowing the intervention of the state Chief Judge, Justice Nasir Ajanah.
Ajanah, who spoke in Idah at the end of his two-week prison decongestion tour, also granted conditional bail to 12 inmates.
The chief judge told newsmen that the unconditional release of the inmates was not a grant of amnesty or pardon.
He said that some of the inmates were unjustly and unconstitutionally incarcerated for allegedly belonging to faceless gangs of thieves without concrete charges.
Kwara
The Kwara State Government has approved the establishment of Public-Private-Partnership Office (PPP) to encourage investors and promote job creation.
The Commissioner for Finance and the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Communications, Dr Muideen Akorede, said this in Ilorin at a post-executive council news briefing.
Akorede explained that the framework of the office of the PPP was the engagement of the private sector investors in key sectors of the state’s economy.
He mentioned human capital development, economic development and infrastructure as key areas of interest to the government.
Lagos
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the Nigeria Police the judiciary and prisons should be reformed to reflect modern standards obtainable in developed countries.
Obasanjo was quoted as saying this at his investiture as the Life Grand Patron of the Prison Rehabilitation Mission International (PREMI) by its Chairman, Oba Adedapo Tejuosho, the Osile Oke Ona in Abeokuta.
The former president further said that the ill-treatment of citizens of any country could best be known through visitations to their prison yards.
‘’If reformation must to be achieved in Nigerian prisons, these three public sectors namely the police, the judiciary, and the prison must be seriously reformed.
Nasarawa
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Nasarawa Command, said last Sunday that it had arrested two men for stealing 43 iron doors and four windows at the Karu International Market, Karu.
The state Commandant, Mr Andekin Amos-Musa, who disclosed this to newsmen in Lafia, said that the arrest was made possible by officers of the Karu Division, following a tip-off by a good Samaritan.
Amos-Musa said that the suspects were arrested while trying to sell the stolen items to a trader at the scraps market, Mararaba.
The commandant said that the complainant, who is also a contractor in the market, had earlier reported the incident at the Karu Divisional Office of NSCDC before the arrest was made.
Ogun
The wife of the Ogun State governor, Mrs Funsho Amosun, has called on women in the state to support moves to end violence against the female gender.
Amosun made the call in Abeokuta during the 2013 International Women’s Day celebration, with the theme: “Time For Action To End Violence Against Women’’.
The wife of the Ogun governor expressed regrets about violence against women and described it as a major challenge confronting womanhood.
Millions of women and girls suffer from violence both in times of peace and war.
Oyo
A Federal High Court in Ibadan last Friday sentenced a 20-year-old tailor turned drug trafficker, Fatai Adetoro, to seven months imprisonment for being in possession of 800g of cannabis.
Justice Abimbola Obaseki-Adejumo found Adetoro guilty of the crime and sentenced him to imprisonment at the Oyo prison without an option of fine.
The judge said that her decision followed the evidence before her and the guilty plea of the convict and ordered that the sentence was to commence from the day he was arrested.
“I have, however, considered that the convict is a first time offender and that he had undergone counselling from the NDLEA,’’ she said.
Sokoto
The Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, has said that the maternal mortality rate in Nigeria dropped from 704 per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 487 per 100,000 live births in 2011.
The minister spoke in Sokoto recently during the inauguration of Kwannawa Primary Health Centre (PHC) to symbolise the inauguration of 230 such projects executed by Sokoto State Government.
The minister said there was also a decline in the mortality rate of children aged below five years to 141 per 1000 in 2011.
He said that the progress toward improving maternal and child health in realisation of MDGs 4 and 5 could not be sustained without giving primary healthcare the attention it deserved.
Taraba
Alhaji Ibrahim El-Sudi, representing Gashaka, Kurmi and Sardauna Federal Constituency of Taraba in the House of Representatives, has appealed to aggrieved members of the PDP in the state to unite.
El-Sudi told newsmen in Jalingo on Monday that a divided party could not win election in a competitive political arena.
He wondered why members of the PDP would engage in internal crisis when opposition political parties were forming strong alliance ahead of 2015 general elections.
“Our party is in control in the state but we cannot continue to be strong when divided.
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.