Adamawa

Suspected armed robbers on Sunday killed two students of the American University of Nigeria (AUN), Yola, a statement from the university stated.

The statement, issued by the Deputy Director of Information of AUN, Mr Innocent Okorie, named the students as Mr Levi Nyat and Mr Abaagu Charles.

The statement said the incident occurred at a barbecue (suya) spot, near Jimeta main market, where the suspected robbers snatched a car belonging to one of the victims.

The President of AUN, Dr Margee Ensign said she was deeply saddened by the incident, which led to “the untimely death of the two students in the prime of their lives”.

Benue

Four traditional rulers in Guma Local Government Area of Benue on Monday appeared at a Makurdi Chief Magistrates’ Court for complicity in the violence in Agasha village in May.

The rulers, Chiefs Joseph Chekwu, Simon Agah, Ikyowe Adebur and Gideon Tiev are charged with criminal conspiracy, culpable homicide, inciting disturbance and causing death by fire.

The prosecutor, Mr Godwin Ebonyi, said that the actions of the suspects contravened sections 97, 221, 114 and 337 of the Penal Code.

Ebonyi told the court that Mr Stephen Kpev, the Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of Tarka Local Government Council, reported at the State CID Department that the accused conspired with youths to set Agasha community ablaze.FCT

FCT

The Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufai, said on Monday that the Federal Government would take concrete steps to address the deplorable state of education and the problem of mass failure in Secondary School Certificate Examinations.

Speaking with State House correspondents shortly after briefing President Goodluck Jonathan on the plans of her ministry for the next four years, Rufai said that the issue of improving the quality of education and easy access to education would be the areas of priority for the ministry.

“We have just mentioned to the President that the ministry is going to focus on two main areas — the issue of access and equity and the issue of standard and quality assurance.

Jigawa

Alhaji Hanati Yakubu, the Jigawa Commissioner for Water Resources, said on Monday in Dutse that the state needed N6.2 billion to boost water supply in the state capital.

Yakubu told newsmen that the figure was arrived at after a survey carried out by the government.

He explained that due to the low water level in Dutse, the water would be sourced from Cintirimawa River, a distance of 50 km from Dutse.

The commissioner said that because of the huge capital outlay, the state would seek financial assistance from the Federal Government to finance the project.

Kebbi

The National Teachers Institute (NTI) in Kebbi has commenced a capacity building workshop for 2,491 teachers on new teaching methodologies under the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

The state NTI Coordinator, Alhaji Abdullahi Maiwada, who disclosed this in an interview with newsmen in Birnin Kebbi, said that the training programme was organised jointly by the MDGs Office and the NTI.

He said that 50 resource persons had been deployed to the training centres located in Birnin Kebbi, Argungu, Bunza, Yauri and Zuru, adding that the programme recorded nearly 96 per cent attendance.

He said 1,753 participants were primary school teachers while the remaining 738 teachers were JSS teachers who would receive training on four subjects, including English language, Social studies, Integrated Science and Mathematics.

Kogi

Work on the Neem-based organic fertiliser plant established by the Kogi government has been completed and ready for inauguration, an official said.

Dr Abdulkarim Abubakar, the Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, made the statement in Agbeji-Anyingba, Dekina Local Government Area, on Monday during an inspection tour of the plant site.

He said the plant had undergone a test-run within the last three months after its completion and was ready for inauguration.

He said the construction of a road network within the plant site was the only constraint to the inauguration.

Kwara

A university lecturer, Prof. Wole Ogundele, has expressed worry on the possibility of some local languages, including Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba, going into extinction in about 50 years time.

Ogundele who is the Director of the Black Culture and International Studies Centre at Osogbo in Osun, gave the warning in Ilonn on Monday at the inauguration of the Black Culture and Arts Foundation.

Bemoaning the inability of government to develop the nation’s languages, Ogundele advised the Federal, State and Local Governments to explore ways oftransfonning the nation’s arts and culture to create wealth and employment opportunities.

According to him, government at all levels in Nigeria have failed to tap the abundant resources in arts and culture but have instead, succeeded in making Nigerian culture look fake and second­hand.

Lagos

The National President, Ijaw Youth Development Association (IYDA), Mr. Amassoma Daniel, in Lagos has called for the review of the scheme for the training of Niger Delta ex-militants.

At an event organised by the Ijaw Monitoring Group (IMG) to celebrate President Goodluck Jonathan’s 100 days in office, Daniel said that the amnesty programme was being poorly implemented.

In an interview with newsmen, he said that “we have discovered that those undergoing the various trainings are not well equipped for self-sufficiency.

He said that there was the need to review the training module of the amnesty programme.

Niger

The World Bank has earmarked N120 million for the execution of community development projects in Niger, the General Manager of Community and Social Development Projects, Alhaji Adamu Abubakar, has disclosed.

Addressing the maiden meeting of the board of the organisation in Minna last Monday, Abubakar said that only N38.7 million of the sum had been accessed by communities benefitting from 62 approved micro-projects.

He blamed the inability of communities to access the funds to non-adherence to the bank’s guidelines and slow execution of projects.

Osun

A political scientist, Prof. John Ayoade, has said that the way salaries of public servants were fixed violated the principle of true federalism.

Ayoade stated this in a lecture he delivered  last Monday as part of the activities lined up for the 20th anniversary of the creation of Osun State.

He called on President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure the practise of true federalism and argued that the Federal Government should allow every state to fix its workers’ salaries on the basis of productivity and ability to pay.

He observed that the failure of the country to address the problem of structural imbalance had been the bane of the Nigerian federalism.

The don argued that fixing a uniform salary might result to the problem of overpaying some workers while underpaying others within the same country.

Taraba

Mrs Josephine Zirder, the President, Tailor Made Tours Limited (TMT) Israel, a company that facilitates the movement of Christian pilgrims in the Holy land, has pledged to sponsor five members of Taraba cultural troupe to pilgrimage.

Zirder made the pledge on Tuesday in Jalingo at a meeting with the board members of the state Christian Pilgrims Welfare Board (CPWB).

Zirder and other management staff the company were visibly thrilled at the performance of the troupe during the meeting.

“We thank God for making it possible for us to be in Nigeria. We are excited at the warm reception accorded us, especially in Taraba.

“The performance of the cultural troupe has particularly been wonderful. TMT will sponsor five members of the troupe to perform during the 2011 Christian Pilgrimage in the Holy land.”

Zirder said their visit was to build a strong relationship between Nigeria and Israel as well as to commend Nigerian Pilgrims for always being peaceful and loving while on pilgrimage.

Sokoto

Alhaji Lawal Zayyana , the Speaker of Sokoto State House of Assembly, says the Assembly has embarked on the review of the state’s dormant and obsolete laws .

“The review is to make the laws to be in tune with the contemporary time and improve on the internally-generated revenue base of the state,’’ Zayyana told newsmen in Sokoto last Monday.

He said some of the affected laws had been in use for two to three decades.

“The exercise is going on smoothly and it will be completed soon. This action is intended to improve the provision of the needed services to the people,’’ he stated.

According to him, the review of the laws will directly bolster the revenue base of the state and rather than the state depending solely on the monthly allocation from the federation account.