JAMB Has Finanly Extends 2018/2019 UTME Registration

he Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) announces the extension of registration for 2018 UTME till midnight of Sunday, 11th February, 2018.

JAMB as a responsive organisation has taken the decision albeit with great hesitation to accommodate candidates who failed to register between the two months window period that ended at midnight of Tuesday, 6th February, 2018.

The failure of these candidates to register is unfortunate and the Board hastens to add that this culture of impunity will not be tolerated henceforth. Indeed penalty will be imposed for late registration from next session.

UTME candidates are therefore strongly advised to take advantage of the extension to register as request for further extension would not be entertained.

Registration for Direct Entry candidates however continues.

For emphasis, 2018 UTME registration now closes at midnight of Sunday, 11th February, 2018.

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Gov. Bello, When Are You Going to Sell Kogi Revenue House?

The prodigal Governor of Kogi state is at it again. After enjoying the exciting inflow of gargantuan cash from bail out, monthly allocations, IGR and Paris club refunds, the thought of going through 2018 without such inflows must have given our Governor repeated nightmares. Now, he is showing his prodigal tendencies again with the concluded plans to sell off legacy assets of the state to himself and his cronies.

For all I care, he can sell the state assembly quarters to lawmakers who have been his loyal partners in mis-governance of Kogi state. But any attempt to touch the historic Kogi Hotels that is older than him, Confluence Beach Hotel built by late Abubakar Audu, Kogi House, Confluence Stadium, Lokoja International Market and our liaison offices in Lagos and Abuja will have dire consequences.

After reading through the list of assets this prodigal governor is bent on selling to himself and his cronies, I wonder why he did not include the recently commissioned Kogi Revenue House.

Prodigal governor, when are you going to sell the Kogi Revenue House and the new SDG office complex?

You can’t move to eliminate the projects executed by your predecessors and leave your immodest projects intact. Why are you so bent on erasing the legacy of Igalas in Kogi State? You agenda is not secret and it will boomerang soon. We will resist your evil agenda traditionally and physically.

Good people of Kogi state, we must all rise up now and halt this prodigal entities from selling off our properties to themselves.

– Adamu Ojonogwa writes from Lokoja

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National Assembly Election To Hold First, Presidential Holds Last – NASS Panel

THE National Assembly elections will be conducted first in 2019, the panel of the two legislative conference committee on the amendment of the Electoral Act has endorsed.

The committee also placed the governorship and state assembly elections as the second to hold while the presidential election comes last.

The committee said that the new election sequence would ensure that every candidate is elected on his own merit without riding on another person ’ s popularity .

The House of Representatives had in its amendments to the 2010 Electoral Act included section 25 (1 ) into the Act by re- ordering the sequence of the elections to start with that of the National Assembly .

The order was followed by governorship and state assembly election before the Presidential election as against earlier sequence rolled out by the Independent National Electoral Commission ( INEC ) last year which put Presidential and National Assembly election first before that of governorship and state assembly elections .

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What Kogi Need is Federal Govt’s Socio- Economic Intervention, Not Cattle Colonies

Truly stupidity and and foolishness have taken the front seat, while wisdom and commonsense has taken the back seat under the Yahaya Bello administration.

Out of the 36 states in Nigeria plus the federal capital territory, only Kogi state has approved the forceful seizure of the peoples’ land and be used as Cattle Colonies.

One question that comes to my mind is that is it only Yahaya Bello that knows the importance of cattle colonies to their states than the other state governors or is it that the level of his political sycophancy to the Abuja cabal has led him to engage in an act capable of causing and fueling generational conflict on the people of the state?

What a shame and an act of political stupidity for a governor who cannot attract viable federal government policies and programs or infrastructural interventions for the past 23 months but only to attract the establishment of cattle colonies to the state as a second year anniversary present to the people.

This is a clear case of a governor that was not voted by the people, an Abuja based transporter who failed the APC primaries and was forced on the people via series of legal manipulation. Hence the government or governor lack and doesn’t have the feeling of pains of the people at heart. Never considered the implication of such policy as criminal as the establishment of the cattle colonies on the people, both at present and in the future, giving the antecedents of the Fulani tribe in the recent past.

State Governors who were voted by their people love their people hence have consideration for their present and futuristic plight. Hence the rejection of the cattle colonies by those governors. But ours in Kogi state just like Ajala The Pregnant Tortoise, the situation is unfortunate.

If the common sense thermometer of this Yahaya Bello and his co- pilot are functional, it should have told them that such policies with political, social, economic, traditional, custom, conflict and generational implication are supposed to be discussed on a round table with stakeholders in the various sectors of the state before decision are reached.

Imagine, less the 72 hours after announcement of the policy by the federal government, Kogi state volunteered to be the pioneering state. This alone shows that there was no iota of consultation, but a pure act of autocratic pronouncement by Yahaya Bello which has been the hall mark of his administration. The only thing that will save this administration from the impending doom that awaits it before or in 2019 is for it to appoint a Special Adviser on Human Reasoning and Common Sense.

Attract to Kogi state Federal government interventions in road construction, poverty and hunger alleviation, and capacity building programs aimed at improving the socio-economic living standards of the people, not Fulani cattle colonies.

– Sam Enemama Akubor

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Lassa Fever Outbreak in Kogi; Infected Medical Doctor Dies

Idowu Victor Ahmed, a medical doctor at the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Lokoja, Kogi state, has lost the battle to Lassa fever.

Ahmad contracted the virus in the line of duty and was transferred to Irrua, Edo state, for treatment.

A source told TheCable that Ahmad died in Edo state on Sunday.

“He died today. Lassa fever took him. He just secured placement for housemanship at Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja),” the source said.

On Saturday, Olatunde Alabi, medical director of FMC, Lokoja, had told reporters that the male doctor was diagnosed with the disease on January 19.

He said the victim’s blood sample was sent to the Federal Medical Centre, Irrua, for laboratory analysis, adding that it tested positive.

Alabi had said the 30-year-old doctor was in the early hours of Saturday taken to Irrua for further treatment.

He said all the people who came in contact with the sick doctor, both at home and work, had been placed under surveillance.

Alabi said the centre in partnership with relevant stakeholders had commenced contact tracing to enable it get the source of the disease and ascertain if there was any other victim within the community where the doctor resides.

He said the centre would also embark on health education for its members of staff to prevent human to human transmission of the disease.

The medical expert urged members of the public to endeavour to report cases of fever early to the nearest health facility.

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I Am Determined To Make Life More Meaningful For My People – Okene LG Administrator

By Amuda Dan Sulaiman FAB.

Determined to make life more meaningful to his people, the Administrator of Okene Local Government Area of Kogi State, Honourable Abdulrazaq Yusuf Muhammad, is not deterred by the economic realities confronting the country.

For him, accountability, probity and prudence are key ingredients needed to guarantee provision of basic amenities for his people before been accountable to them.

Since he assumed office, he immediately swung into action, leveraging on the resources at his disposal. Since then, he has embarked on projects which, for him, are indicative of the yearnings of his people. One of such is the grading of major roads within Okene and some feeder roads in the rural areas.

This step, according to him, would help in boosting the socio-economic development of the council area. The Administrator noted that governance is about being focused, effective and accountable to the electorate.

He emphasized that attaining measurable progress must be the norm of any government which would want to be viewed as people-oriented.

Muhammad also added that the council would consider the asphalting of some roads, as soon as funds are available in the purse of the local government.

The council boss, while speaking with this reporter, said he has grown to understand and deeply appreciate the needs of the people of the council area, hence his resolve to develop his jurisdiction.

“I was born in this local government area. I have seen so many things that are needed to be worked upon. I have a dream and that is what motivates me. I have been monitoring my Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to ensure accountability,” Muhammad added.

Employment is one of the areas of improvement which he has worked upon within the short timeframe, just as he informed that the council organized free training programmes for beneficiaries of the Federal Government N-Power project.

 He added that this initiative of the government at the centre is aimed at drastically reducing youth unemployment.

Muhammad said that the training was at the expense of the local government so as to enable the teeming youths of the unemployed fit into any sector they are posted to work.

Speaking further, the Administrator promised to implement the five cardinal programmes of the present administration of Governor Yahaya Bello,  in the overall development of his constituency.

He noted that the area of healthcare is key to his administration hence, his admonition to the people to take their health issues seriously. This piece of advice came to bare during the celebration of the World AIDS Day, last year.

The local government was not left out of the celebration as the Local Government Action Committee on AIDS organized an awareness walk round Okene, to sensitize the people on the need to protect themselves against the deadly Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).

The celebration witnessed free HIV/AIDS test, free medical check-ups, free treatments and provision of preventive measure materials.

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Gov Yahaya Bello Reiterates Commitment For Sports & Youth Development In the state

By Wale Mustapha.

Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello has again reassured the people of the state of his continued drive towards youth and sports development.

Comrade Sani Ogu Salisu, the newly appointed Commissioner for Youth and Sports in the state disclosed this on Thursday while receiving the management, players and officials of Kogi United, Confluence Queens and Kogi United Feeders in a courtesy visit to his office in Lokoja.

Honorable Salisu said sports have been a major cardinal points of his excellency’ blueprints to develop the youths in the state just as he promised that the sector would witness a tremendous turn around during his time in the ministry.

While commending the state clubs for making the state proud in their various league campaigns, Honorable Salisu charged them to their efforts in the coming football season to bring home trophies to the state.

“His Excellency has always shown interests in sports development and will continue to do so, he’s aware of what my activities on youth empowerment and students affairs, but he has categorically laid emphasis on sports which he has requested  for a dramatic development in the sports sector which is why he brought me here, and I’m ready to give you the needed supports to achieve success.

“The resources are there for us to achieve our goals, we only need the push which we are now getting from the Governor, and I’m ready to work with you to bring premier league ticket for Kogi United and also make Confluence Queens more formidable,” he said.

Mallam Abdul Sule, chairman of Kogi United, Confluence Queens and Kogi Feeders who congratulated Honorable Salisu on his new appointment, thanked his excellency for his unending support for the state owned clubs just as he solicited more of it, especially for Kogi United to actualize their target of promoting to the top flight division in Nigeria.

The Team Managers of Kogi United and Confluence Queens, Ameh Henry and Tosin Olorunleke Ojo in a separate remarks appealed for more funding and new coaster buses for the clubs so as to reach their set goals in the coming season.

Comrade Deola Eseyin, Special Adviser to Governor Yahaya Bello on Youth Empowerment, Sports and Students’ Affairs congratulated the new commissioner calling for team effort from other stakeholders to make the clubs a more formidable forces in the country.

The courtesy visit was attended by Senior Special Assistant, SSA to Governor on Sports, Honorable Segun Olobatoke, SSAs to Governor on Youth Empowerment from Kogi West, East and Central senatorial districts, representatives of Kogi United and Confluence Queens’ supporters clubs and other top officials from the ministry of sports and youth development.

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