Across Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, these are the five top news stories you shouldn’t miss.

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Senate upgrades Maritime Academy to University

The Senate has passed a bill to upgrade the Maritime Academy of Nigeria to University for Maritime Studies – Premium Times reports

The bill was passed on Wednesday, 7th July at a plenary meeting. Also passed was a bill to establish the Institute of Information and Communication Technology, Ogoja, Cross River State. Both bills passed after the presentation and consideration of two separate reports by the Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND.

Sandy Onuh, representing the committee chairman, Ahmad Babba Kaita, disclosed that upgrading the academy into a university would help Nigeria in achieving the prerequisites of the International Maritime Organisation Convention on standard of training, certification and watch-keeping for seafarers.

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Ghana asks Nigeria to review list for banned goods

The Ghanaian government has requested that the Nigerian Government review the list of goods banned for importation into Nigeria – The Cable reports

Speaker of the parliament of Ghana, Alban Bagbin, conveyed the message in his address to members of the house of representatives in Abuja on Wednesday.

In his address, Alban said African countries must work together to combat emerging challenges.

“As I have repeatedly stated on various platforms, if COVID-19 has taught us any lesson, it is that no country, no individual and no group of persons can succeed on its own efforts. Given the nature of global emerging challenges which tend to be trans-territorial and trans-generational, we need, as people and nations, to forge and bond together.
If we want to survive in peace and prosperity, we have no alternatives than to work together to find common solutions in this global village,” he said

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Bayelsa varsity shut as protest over uniform continues

Management of the state-owned Niger Delta University in Bayelsa, on Wednesday, 7th July, announced the shutdown of the school following sustained demonstration by the students – The Punch reports

The announcement was contained in a memo dated July 7, 2021, and signed by the Registrar, NDU, Mr Benjamin Joffa.

The students had on Monday, 5th July, commenced peaceful demonstrations against the decisions of the management to introduce school uniforms, banning of students’ union activities and closure the fees portal for old students, among others.

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Adamawa government urges journalists to fight Violence Against Women

Adamawa State Government has urged journalists in the country to use the media to eliminate Violence Against Women (VAW) and children in Nigeria – The Guardian reports

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Women Affairs, Mrs. Sosa Benson, speaking at a workshop in Yola, observed some of the unethical practices by some journalists in reporting cases of violence against women and children.

In the presentation titled ‘Violence Against Women and Girls in Nigeria’, Ladi Alabi of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Bauchi field office, described the role of the media as very critical in the fight to eliminate violence against women and children.

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Akpabio: forensic auditors uncover 12,128 abandoned NDDC projects

Minister of Niger Delta Affairs Godswill Akpabio has disclosed on Wednesday, 7th July, that forensic auditors of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) have uncovered 12,128 abandoned projects – The Nation reports

According to Akpabio, the contractors could not be traced. He disclosed this while hosting the United Nations (UN) Deputy Secretary-General, Hajia Amina Mohammed, in his office.

“An interim report of the forensic verification exercise has been revealing. The process has been transparent. We listed 9,080 projects to be considered in the verification process but in less than three months, the report so far shows that 12,128 projects have been discovered as abandoned with no specific ownership attached to them,” he said.