Governors

BY GEORGE OKOJIE, Lagos –

The Lagos State government at the weekend said it has commenced skeletal operation in the newly completed first ever high-powered DNA Forensic Laboratory in Nigeria.The Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Adeniji Kazeem who disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos to herald the commemoration of the 2017 United Nations International Day of Peace, said skeletal work had already commenced in the lab known as the Lagos State DNA Forensics Centre (LSDFC), saying it would be formerly commissioned in coming weeks.
Kazeem, who was represented at the briefing by the State’s Solicitor General and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Funlola Odunlami said the lab, among other initiatives of the State Government, was part of efforts geared toward enhancing peace in the state.

Bacardi has partnered with Tulsi Chanrai Foundation (TCF) in Nigeria on its mission to provide safe drinking water to communities in Kebbi State.
The initiative, which is part of Bacardi ‘Spirit for Life, Caring Together,’ its annual Corporate Responsibility community service, will see to the rehabilitation of 50 hand pumps to serve more than 30,000 villagers.

As part of efforts to curtail climate change, making Kaduna green and ensure environmental protection, Kaduna State government has so far planted over 1.5 million assorted types of trees accross the state, the state commissioner of Agriculture and forestry Professor Kabir Mato has disclosed.He made the disclosure at a collaborative flag-off of tree planting between the ministry and Rotary club of Kaduna district 9125.

The states must devise measures to run on their own steam
Despite the recent euphoria that greeted the announcement that Nigeria had come out of recession, the most fervent optimist would concede that the economy is still in the doldrums. This is more obvious in several of the 36 states. That perhaps explains why the federal government has decided to put in place a regulatory and monitoring mechanism to track developments, aside reiterating that consideration for support to these states would be contingent on certain parameters.

At a workshop organised by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) on alternative sources of revenue generation for sustainable development in states and local government councils, the federal government said only states with sound financial discipline would now access further assistance from it. Fiscal discipline, improved revenue generation, rational allocation and efficient use of resources, said Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo “must be strategies adhered to by every tier of government if we must return to a path of sustainable growth.”