Chukwuma Soludo, governor of Anambra, has appointed Bayo Ojeyinka, an Osun indigene, as a permanent secretary in the state civil service. Soludo also appointed Joachin Achor, a native of Abia state, as a permanent secretary. Ojeyinka has been in the Anambra public service since 1995 when he completed his National Youth Service Corps scheme (NYSC) in the state. At the end of the service year, he was awarded the best-serving corps member in the state and got automatic employment in the civil service. “I am so excited to be considered. I don’t see this as a right but rather a rare privilege because so many brilliant officers also merited the promotion,” Ojeyinka was quoted as saying in reaction to the appointment. “I thank Mr Governor, Prof. Charles Soludo, for this honour, and Ndi Anambra for all their love, kindness and support in my 29 years of living in Anambra State.” His appointment breaks the traditional practice of reserving top civil service positions for indigenes and demonstrates the governor’s willingness to utilise talent from all corners of Nigeria.

  Saturday 09 March 2024 School mass abduction: Kaduna hires private negotiator to free 287 pupils Rivers community mourns as Wigwe, wife, son are buried today Buhari never saw Oronsaye’s report, says ex-minister Kidnappers Deserve Death Penalty, Says Remi Tinubu FG Must Ensure Safe Release Of Over 600 Kidnap Victims, Says Amnesty Int’l DSS Issues Advisory, Warns Nigerians Against Crowded Gatherings Six Policemen Killed As Suspected Gunmen Attack Police Checkpoint In Ebonyi IWD: My Administration Committed To Prioritising Women’s Welfare – Tinubu FG Calls For Safe, Quick Return Of Abducted Kaduna Students Obi, Wike, Fubara, Others Attend Christian Wake For Wigwe, Wife, Son Inmate Grabs Warder’s Rifle, Shoots Vulcaniser In Kwara Tinubu Condemns Borno, Kaduna Abductions, Directs Immediate Rescue Of Captives Police Nab Four KWASU Students For Allegedly Beating Colleague To Death Food Crisis: How focus on yam, cassava, not rice can rescue Nigeria — Experts Bandits Break Into Kaduna Mosque, Gun Down Worshippers Nigeria Purchased N5tr Worth Of Armoured Tanks In Q4 Of 2023 – NBS Hardship: Men Have Failed, Let’s Give Women A Chance – PDP Why Contractors Are Fighting Me – Umahi Tough time for road contractors as price of bitumen soars by 150% in seven months Kaduna abductions: Bandits using pupils as human shields —Sources Gunmen kill four police officers, two others in Ebonyi Scarcity of husbands looms in Southeast, Commission warns 80-year-old man commits suicide in Lagos 31 million Nigerians expected to be in food crisis – Report State police: IPOB kicks, adopts regional security Visit a newspaper stand this morning, buy and read a copy for yourself…

  An outbreak of measles has been reported and confirmed in two schools located in Akpabuyo’s local government areas of Cross River state. The Commissioner for Health in the State, Dr. Henry Ayuk confirmed the outbreak, identifing the two schools as Navy Secondary School and Penniel Primary Schools, both cited in the area. He disclosed that the State Rapid Response Team from the Ministry of Health has been activated and deployed to the affected area. Also “reactive vaccination for children is ongoing in the affected areas and in other local government areas where there are no reported cases. He said the State Primary Healthcare Development Agency is intensifying routine immunization to build up herd immunity. Warning that Measles is a highly contagious infection, especially among non-immunized children, parents and caregivers are encouraged to respond positively to routine immunization campaigns for their children.” Already, the management of the Nigeria Navy School has closed down the school due to the outbreak and directed parents to immediately come and pick up their children in the boarding facility. The statement from the Navy School to parents read: “Good morning dear parents/guardian. This is to inform you that the school is vacating today due to some prevalent circumstances. The second-term academic activities will continue upon the return of the students. The date of return will be communicated. Please note that all SS 3 and JSS 3 students are to check for regular updates on WAEC, NECO, and BECE information. To this end, parents/guardians are kindly requested to pick up their children/wards with effect from today Fri 8 March 2024. Thank you and God bless.” Efforts to talk to the School Commandant, Capt FI Uchieme were unsuccessful as his phone number wasn’t going through. The Chairman of the Parents Teachers Association in the School, Okon Bassey, confirmed receipt of the message forcing the children into vacation but said he was yet to get through to the school management over the development. Bassey said that whatever the case, he trusts the school management to have taken the right decision under the circumstances they find themselves. He maintained that he had yet to ascertain the actual situation necessitating the school closure. The state ministry of health explained in her statement that Measles displayed symptoms especially rashes and coughing in children, should be reported early to the nearest health facility, adding that self-medication should not be an option.

  At least two worshippers were killed during Friday prayers at Anguwar Makera under Kwasakwasa Community in Birnin Gwari Local Government Area of Kaduna State. The incident happened around 2 pm on Friday, according to locals in the area. A community leader, Hudu Kwasakwasa, who confirmed the incident, said the bandits opened fire on the worshipers. “The two worshipers killed were among other Muslims attacked at the Juma’at Mosque in Angwar Makera when the bandits opened fire on them and abducted others today (Friday). The victims have been buried at Old Kuyello cemetery,” he said. He said the people were in the second raka’at of the salat when they were attacked, which forced the remaining people to run for their lives. He added that a few days ago, the same bandits abducted about 9 people at a community called Angwar Kanawa under Kwasakwasa area. He appealed for help from authorities concerned, saying the bandits were raiding the communities unchallenged. The latest attack on the worshipers came less than 24 hours after bandits abducted over 287 students in the neighboring Chikun Local Government Area of the state. The State Government and the Police Command are yet to react to the mosque incident as the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Mansir Hassan, couldn’t be reached on the phone and is yet to reply to a text message sent to him seeking clarification.

  Nigeria’s First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, has called on state governors and lawmakers to prescribe capital punishment for kidnapping. While lamenting the abduction of children and women whom she says are the future of the country, Remi Tinubu described the act as heart-rending. Her media aide Busola Kukoyi quoted Remi Tinubu as saying this during a meeting with the national women leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the State House, Abuja. “They are cowards. Our hearts bleed. I call on the state governments that once we take hold of them, they deserve capital punishment. Why can’t they take men of their size, why are they touching women and children,” Remi Tinubu according to a Friday statement by Busola. ““What they are doing is that they are trying to kill our future, we all know that when parents are old, we rely on our children, we see them as our investments that have not gone to waste especially when they are successful. “Why will you now take them from their schools? Right now, I think enough is enough. As a former lawmaker, I believe that any one of them captured deserves capital punishment. “I believe most mothers will support me on this because we carry our children for nine months, and we cannot watch what we love to wither away,” she said. Senator Tinubu also told the women that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu places a strong emphasis on creating opportunities for women to thrive economically, socially, and politically. “As women, we constitute a significant portion of our society, and it is vital that our voices are heard and our contributions acknowledged. As women leaders, your role is very crucial to our nation’s development. You are the eyes and ears of the Government at the grassroots. I therefore encourage you to set a robust agenda for empowerment, inclusion, and welfare of women within our Party and across the Nation,” she told the gathering. Friday’s meeting coincided with the 2024 International Women’s Day with Remi Tinubu celebrating Nigerian women for their courage, resilience, and doggedness. “”On my part, the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI) was established to focus on championing women’s causes and implementing various programmes and initiatives nationwide with our motto, which states, ‘Towards a better life for families’. ““Accelerating progress in any endeavour requires that women have to be more involved, that is why I see investing in women, not as charity, but as a crucial strategy to build the future of our dear nation, Nigeria. ““Empowering women with education, resources, and opportunities to unlock their full potentials, such as supporting women’s businesses, investing in women’s health, agricultural programmes for women, and creating pathways for women in science and technology will help in dismantling economic and social barriers that women face. “”Therefore, my charge to you all is to be each other’s keeper, let us all come together, bond, and love one another. Each of you should commit to pulling a sister up, one at a time. You will all be amazed at what we can achieve collectively,” she said. Earlier, the group, led by its national leader, Dr Mary Alile; her deputy, Zainab Ibrahim, and members of the executive, thanked Senator Remi for her impact on the lives of Nigerians through various interventions on the platform of the Renewed Hope Initiative (RHI). It also requested her help to press for more inclusion in the current government.

  A prison inmate at the Oke-Kura Correctional Centre in Ilorin, Kwara State capital has shot and wounded a roadside vulcaniser. This happened on Friday when some prison inmates were being led out of the facility. But one of the inmates seized a warder’s rifle and fired some shots which hit the unidentified vulcanizer staying close to the area. While the injured vulcanizer who was shot in the stomach was rushed to a medical facility for treatment, the culprit was detained at the ‘C’ Division Police station, Isale-Ojo, in the Ilorin metropolis. The incident which occurred at about 8.00 a.m, caused panic and anxiety as residents of the area scampered for safety while the drama lasted.

  Operatives of Abia State Police Command busted a baby factory Thursday night at Aba and rescued 16 pregnant inmates. The police also rescued eight children which comprised of five males and three females. Parading the inmates on Friday, an operative of the Rapid Response Squad that led the operation said that the rescue of the inmates followed credible information by locals at their disposal. The RRS operative said, “Yesterday night, we decided to visit the place, a four-story building with 10 flats and another adjacent building in the same compound. “We were able to capture 16 of them, all pregnant. One of the facilitators, Onyinyechi, was also pregnant and another, Ekpene (male) who lives in the compound was also arrested and eight children were recovered.” The operative said they were still hunting for other occupants, while the investigation has commenced, adding, “We are tracking them”. Speaking, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Ngozi Felix, represented by her Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Ogechi Oguama, expressed her excitement, stating, “Today, we are celebrating the International Women’s Day, we are receiving back women ‘social mothers’ on their path to destruction.” He added that the ministry is collaborating with the office of the wife of the state governor to receive the women, and promised to keep them in “good custody while investigation is still on”. She lamented that most of the vices are poverty-driven and urged parents to be open to their children and train them on the right tradition. Also speaking, the state governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, commended the police and other security agencies on the feat, stating that they have shown commitment and professionalism and this is not the first time they are recording the feat. “The truth is that if they have not shown professionalism and commitment in ensuring that sanity is ensured, maybe, the discovery may not have been made. The police in the state determined that whoever is involved in the illicit activity must be brought to justice and needs the support of the public through credible information. “We as a government are committed to ensuring that peace, security and normalcy are restored in our state. The Ministry of Women Affairs in collaboration with the office of the First Lady will do everything humanly possible to ensure that those girls are protected and properly taken care of, while we will give the necessary support to our security agencies, especially the police to ensure that whoever is involved are properly prosecuted,” he said. Ekeoma appealed to all that “this is not our culture and we are not known for this”. He also appealed to the parents to discourage their children from being involved “in this kind of activity” and advised those who see it as an avenue to make money that this is an unholy business, immoral, unacceptable and anti-society”. Most of the “Social Women” (inmates) attributed their going there due to abandonment by their parents.