Nation

THE STATES

Published

11 years ago

January 15, 2014

Bauchi

The Bauchi State Commissioner of Police, Alhaji
Mohammed Ladan, has doled out N50,000 to the state police command football team for beating State Security Service (SSS) team 2-1 in a friendly match.
Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Mohammed Haruna, who made the disclosure in a statement in Bauchi on Saturday said that the match, played last Friday, was organised by the SSS management to foster cordial relationship between the two sister organisations.
Haruna said the commissioner commended the team for making the state police command proud and added that the commissioner had promised to organise a similar friendly match to reciprocate the SSS management gesture.

Benue

The Benue State Commissioner for Lands and Survey,
Mr John Tondo has said a restroom in his Makurdi residence was last Sunday completely burnt down by fire.
Tondo, who is also a gubernatorial aspirant in the 2015 elections in the state, however, said while conducting newsmen round the scene of the incident that the inferno had nothing to do with his political ambition.
“This has nothing to do with my political ambition. It was as a result of a problem from public power source which can happen to anybody. “The incident occurred as a result of a spark from the transformer that gutted the bushes around it and mistakenly through the air gutted my restroom. “I thank God that it has not affected the main building and nobody was hurt,” he said.
Men of the State Fire Service and some of the commissioner’s neighbours helped to put out the fire.

Borno

The Borno State Government has announced the eleva
tion of the Emir of Uba, Alhaji Ismaila Mamza and that of Gwoza, Alhaji Idrisa Timta to First Class status.
A statement issued Sunday in Maiduguri by Mr Kwapchi Pata, a Senior Special Assistant to Gov. Kashim Shettima stated that the elevation was with immediate effect.
The statement reads in part: “Gov. Kashim Shettima has approved the elevation of the emir of Uba in Askira-Uba Local Government Area (LGA), Alhaji Ismaila Mamza and the Emir of Gwoza in Gwoza LGA to First Class status.”
No reason was given for the elavation, but the statement reiterated that the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Garbai, remains the Chairman of the State Traditional Council.

FCT

The Abuja Metropolitan Management Council (AMMC),
Department of Development Control, last Sunday demolished two recreation spots, FESCO Security Gardens and Deos Gardens in Imo Crescent Area 1, Garki, Abuja.
Both spots also accommodated Churches at the time of the demolition. Deos Gardens accommodated the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s Sunday service, while FESCO Gardens accommodated the Illumination Gospel Assembly.
Coordinator of AMMC, Mr Rueban Okoya, said that the spots were removed because they engaged in illegal activities, adding that even the Churches were illegal.
Okoya said that it was not abnormal for the Department of Development Control to carry out demolition of structures on Sunday because it worked round the clock.

Jigawa

The Federal Government said last Saturday that it had
provided fertiliser and seedlings for distribution to 145,000 registered farmers in Jigawa State.
The Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources, Mr Akinwumi Adesina, who made this known in Auyo, Jigawa said that the farm inputs were provided to the farmers under the Growth Enhancement Support (GES) programme.
He said that the fertiliser was provided to the irrigation farmers for the current dry season and aimed at accelerating paddy rice production adding that more than 100, 000 farmers have redeemed fertiliser from the scheme in the 2012 and 2013 cropping seasons.
The minister said the government had also concluded plans to establish four agriculture equipment hiring support centres in the state and explained that the centres would be equipped with tractors, riggers and ploughs.
Kaduna

Alhaji Muttaqa Darma, a former Executive Secretary of
Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), last Sunday lamented that most Nigerian universities’ graduates were “half-baked and unemployable”.
Darma, who made the assertion in an interview in Zaria, Kaduna State, noted that the situation appeared to “get increasingly worse every day”.
He attributed the situation to “massive corruption in academic institutions”, pointing out that students gain entry into the institutions “through all kinds of means and use such means to pass examinations”.
Darma advocated for increase collaboration between universities and other systems toward building strong networks that would check wrong practice and put premium on quality.
Kano

The Kano State Government has fined three tanneries
N500,000 each for careless discharge of industrial wastes.
The Chief Executive Officers of the companies have also been summoned to a meeting with government officials.
The state Commissioner for Environment, Alhaji Abdullahi Abbas, who made this known
said that the body found the three companies culpable inspite of several warnings.
“The three companies, Unique Leather at Sharada Industrial Area as well as Mahaza and Mamuda tannery at Challawa Industrial Area were fined by the mobile court operating under the sanitation committee,’’ he said.

Kogi

The Obaro of Kabba, Dr Michael Olobayo, has appealed
to security agencies to intensify efforts toward curtailing increased bank robberies in the country.
The monarch made the appeal on Saturday while reacting to Friday’s attack on a bank in Kabba, Kogi State. He stressed the need for the Federal Government to buy police helicopters for surveillance.
“Nigeria should have advanced to the level where government should procure helicopters for all police commands in the country for surveillance. “If a chopper was stationed in Lokoja, the police would have flow it to Kabba to support their men in their confrontation with the robbers,’’ he said.
He, however, commended the police bravery in confronting the bandits and condoled with them for losing one of their men in the gun battle with the robbers.

Lagos

Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, South
West zone, Archbishop Magnus Adeyemi Atilade, called for the commencement of 31 days of national fasting and prayers to save Christians and Nigerians from imminent danger and disintegration.
Atilade, who spoke with the media in Lagos said, “Christians all over Nigeria, particular in the South west should embark on prayer and fasting commencing from Tuesday to February 14 to abate insurgencies and promote peaceful co-existence of Nigerians irrespective of our religious differences.
The Archbishop while lamenting the alarming rate, at which Christians were killed in various attacks on innocent citizens in northern part of the country, enjoined all to partake in the spiritual exercise.

Osun

Scores of residents of Osogbo, the Osun State capital,
last Saturday commended the state government on the bi-monthly sanitation aimed at improving the health of the people.
A resident of Oke-Ijetu area of the town, Mr Adelani Tijani, said the policy was a move in the right direction.
“I am personally delighted about the exercise. It has seriously changed the face of our environment and made it clean, and the metropolis is now carrying the real face of a state capital.
“It is obvious that environment determines the survival of its inhabitants. It is the number one thing to consider in human development policies as a government,’’ he said.
Also, Mrs Akinyemi Daisi, a shop owner at Ogo-Oluwa area of the town, described the initiative as a proactive approach to healthy living.
“A serious government must take as an optimum responsibility the need for a healthy environment for its citizens, as it will transform to better economic conditions,’’ she said.

Oyo

A Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship aspir
ant in Ekiti State, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye last Sunday said the party would win convincingly in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in the State.
Adeyeye said in Ibadan that the party would win the election because it was the only alternative that could save the state from maladministration.
He said that the present administration in the state had failed and disappointed the people by spending so much on the purchase of four bullet-proof cars.
The Ekiti State PDP Chairman corroborated Adeyeye’s views, Chief Makanju Ogundipe, adding that the party would win the next election in the state.
essive Congress (APC) administration in the state.

Plateau

The National Provost, Catholic Laity Council of Nigeria,
Mr Boniface Gwotbit, last Saturday, urged Christians in the country to fully participate in politics.
Gwotbit made the call in a Mass at the Church of Immaculate Conception (CIC) Parish, Jos, as part of the ongoing national conference of the council with the theme; “A new Nigeria is Possible.’’
He charged Christians to take part in politics and use the spirit of God to do the right things for the good of the society.
Also, Rev. Father Dennis Kaye, the Parish Priest, CIC Jos, prayed to God to give Christians the wisdom to take decisions that would affect the Church and the country positively.

Sokoto

Nigeria’s Ambassador to Morocco, Senator Abdallah
Wali, says the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will
win the 2015 general election in spite of the current challenges facing it.
Wali told newsmen last Sunday in Sokoto that the current challenges facing the party were “normal and not unexpected”.
According to him, it will be impossible for the party to lose its present control of most states in the country and three quarters of local government councils where it has solid structures.
The envoy said that the party must, however, work harder to convince Nigerians on its outstanding performances since 1999.

L-R: FCT Minister of State, Oloye Olajumoke Akinjide; PDP Bot Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih; Senate President David Mark; President Goodluck Jonathan; Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha; Mother of the President, Mrs Eunice Jonathan; Secretary to the Government of The Federation, Sen Anyim Pius Anyim and the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe at the Armed Forces Remembrance Day Inter-denominational Church Service In Abuja on Sunday.

Nation

HYPREP Inducts 100 Ogoni Youths For Creative Arts Training

Published

2 weeks ago

May 2, 2025

The Tide

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.

Nation

Nasarawa Varsity Student Commits Suicide

Published

2 weeks ago

May 1, 2025

The Tide

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.

Nation

Ogun, Nike Art Gallery Set To Transform Olumo Rock

Published

2 weeks ago

May 1, 2025

The Tide

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.