ONITSHA—All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, women wing has started intensive mobilization of women for the second tenure of the Anambra State governor, Chief Willie Obiano.

ABUJA—The Rivers State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Abuja, yesterday, dismissed an application by the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its governorship candidate in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside seeking to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to transfer all the materials used for the April 11 governorship election in Rivers State, to Abuja for inspection.

First of all, I want to say that we have made all our research findings available to industry and we are encouraging industries to come and look at our innovations and commercialise them, particularly in the build environment. We have worked with the Council for Regulation of Engineering. We are developing a concrete mix design manual for the country to end the controversy on cement. The tests for the development of the manual are being done in NBRRI and the University of Uyo.

MALAM Ahmed is one of the drivers in the Government House pool in Maiduguri. Whenever I visit the Borno state capital, he was almost always the driver that carried me around. Last Saturday afternoon, just after noon, Ahmed called from Maiduguri to inform me that the Borno state Deputy Governor, Alhaji Zannah Umar Mustapha, had died in Yola, Adamawa state. I was stunned and immediately placed a call to Kashim Shettima, the Borno state governor.

THE Head, Trade Division of the African Union Commission, AUC, Mr. Nadir Merah, has disclosed that cooperation among standard organisations in Africa can boost sustainable agriculture and food security in the continent. Mr. Merah, who represented the Chairperson of the Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Zuma , at the just concluded 52nd African Organisation for Standardisation’s, ARSO’s meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, said Africa was close to realising the lofty dream given the rate of collaboration and cooperation among the ARSO members.

Absence of trial judge, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, has stalled the trial of Seun Oladapo, a suspected killer of a Lagos-based human rights crusader, Kunle Fadipe. Justice Ipaye, who has been sitting since inception of the long vacation for judges in the state, on Monday, joined her colleagues to observe her own holiday.

However, there is a need for legislative reform such that, among other things, the damages which a public institution has to pay to whistle blowers like Ibirogba should be borne personally, collectively and/or individually, by those who constitute the Management and/or Governing Council and who knowingly participated, aided, condoned or allowed the looting, dissipation, mismanagement and/or waste of public funds, rather than the monetary penalties being taken from public treasury.

The issue of extra judicial executions by the Nigerian police has, for quite some time, been on the front burner of national discourse and despite denials by the Police High Command the ugly trend has continued unabated with many public health institutions raising alarm over alleged harassment, intimidation, and highhandedness of police officers in their bid to off load the victims of their mass executions.

WARRI—OVER 350 communities, which are victims of the Bonga oil spill in Bayelsa State and negatively impacted have given Shell Nigeria Exploration Company, SNEPCO, a 14-day ultimatum to compensate them for their operations in the Niger Delta region or will be shut down.

BENIN—A legal practitioner, Bola Amaye and two of his siblings, Fome Amaye and Shola Amaye, have been arraigned before an Oredo Chief Magistrate Court sitting in Benin, Edo State over alleged stealing of documents of property belonging to late Engineer Samuel Amaye.