Foremost poet and playwright, John Pepper Clark, also known as J.P. Clark, has called on the youths to cultivate reading habit.

ABUJA— Following the move to achieve mechanised farming in Nigeria, a Chinese company, YTO China-Africa Machinery Corporation, CAMACO, has concluded plans to supply 80, 000 tractors to farmers in the country.

Lagos—A hair stylist, Tokunboh Olanrewaju, who was alleged to have assaulted his supervisor after he was sacked at a beauty spa in Victoria Island Lags, was yesterday docked before a Lagos Magistrate’s Court sitting at Igbosere.

THE Cable News Network CNN , has disclosed plans to launch a new, multi-platform operation in Lagos, Nigeria designed to give the network a nimble, broad-based, digital-first presence in Africa’s most populous country.

VOLUNTARY teachers in
Lagos State have appealed to the government to absorb them into the mainstream civil service as it plans to recruit fresh civil servants, including teachers.
The teachers serving under the Voluntary Teachers Scheme, VTS, yesterday made their stance known at the Lagos State House of Assembly, where they urged lawmakers to prevail on the Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to consider their six years of service, as voluntary teachers, with monthly stipends of N15,000, as a parameter that qualifies them for full-time employment with the state government.
One of the teachers, Sunday Dada, said; “We want the state government to look into our case and give our members a chance during the current recruitment.
Addressing the group, the Majority Leader, Sanai Agunbiade and the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Lanre Ogunyemi, assured the protesters of the House’s support in pushing their request to the appropriate quarters.
While promising to look into the protesters’ plight, the lawmakers said they can not guarantee that their requests would be met by the government.

Lagos to engage technical graduates
Meantime, the state government has said that it would engage graduates of its technical colleges in a ‘Maintenance Gang’ initiative to be unveiled in August this year for maintenance and renovation works of public schools across the State.
The State Deputy Governor, Dr. (Mrs) Idiat Adebule made this known yesterday at the graduation ceremony of NECA-ITF Technical Skills Development Project for Students of Government Technical College, Ikorodu at NECA Auditorium, Alausa Ikeja.
She also used the occasion to advocate more support from successful entrepreneurs and business moguls in bridging the large skills deficiency gap.
Also speaking, the Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Mr. Babatunde Durosinmi Etti, urged the graduands to translate the knowledge acquired into reality by harnessing opportunities available to them in the competitive world of business.
The Director-General of NECA, Mr Olusegun Oshinowo described the graduands as individuals with ‘double edged sword’ who have been trained as skilled individuals as well as entrepreneurs.

YENAGOA—THE paramount ruler of Oluasiri clan in Nembe Local Government Area, Bayelsa State, His Royal Highness, King Iyerite Awululu, yesterday, survived an attempt on his life by armed bandits suspected to be assassins, who inflicted several machete cuts on him.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has called on the Federal Government to declare a state of emergency in the agriculture sector to stem the tide of hunger and poverty ravaging the country.

WARRI—Thirty million naira ransom is reportedly being demanded by the abductors of the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun’s Chief Security Officer, Mr. John Odogun.

ABEOKUTA—Kidnappers, yesterday, abducted Felicia, the wife of the lawmaker representing Ijebu East state constituency in the Ogun State House of Assembly, Olufowobi Oyenuga.

UGHELLI—THE National Association of Itsekiri Graduates, NAIG, yesterday, threatened to stage a mass protest to the National Assembly and petition the Chevron Home Office in the United States of America if the company fails to relocate its headquarters from Lagos to Delta State, where the company’s operation is located.