By Suleiman Yakubu

Speaker of the Niger State House of Assembly, Barr. Abdulmalik Sarkin Daji, has promised to synergize with the Pharmacy Council of Nigeria, Niger State chapter, in the acceleration and passage of motions and bills that have to do with the good health of the citizenry.
The speaker made the promise at the pharmaceutical unit of Minna General Hospital after a 4.6-kilometre road walk organised to mark the World Pharmaceutical Day celebration with the theme "Pharmacists Strengthening the Health Systems", that started from the state assembly complex and concluded at Minna General Hospital.
The speaker, while commending the state chapter for organising the walk to improve fitness for the lawmakers and other participants, assured the gathering of the assembly's determination to make more punitive laws on hard drugs.
He therefore assured that they would, as legislators, not relent in their responsibilities to also ensure the active participation of other lawmakers in future exercise.
Earlier in his remarks, the state chapter chairman, Pharmacist Yakubu Maji Isah, expressed profound gratitude to the state Governor, Mohammed Umaru Bago, for his tremendous support of the chapter in making the annual day celebration a huge success.
He described the support expressed by the state governor when the chapter paid him a courtesy visit as a significant achievement.
Pharm Maji Isah therefore urged all professional practitioners in the state to continue to put in their best effort in providing adequate services to citizens, particularly those residing in the rural and urban areas of the state, and to always ask for professional guidance on the use of drugs.
He also appealed to the citizenry to avoid patronising quacks, especially those hawking drugs in the nooks and crannies of the state.
He then advised them to make sure that they sanitised their environment and ensured that they used their mosquito nets during sleep.
In his own remarks, the state director of pharmaceutical services, Abdullahi K. Yahaya, thanked the speaker and other members of the state assembly for their support and cooperation.

By Suleiman Yakubu

Tribunal affirms the election of member representing Chanchaga By Uthman Yawa-Siraja
The National and State Assembly Election Petition Tribunal (NAEPT), sitting in Minna, has dismissed the petition filed against Mohammed Abubakar of the All Progressives Congress (APC) by Aminu Garba of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The petitioner, who contested the State House of Assembly Election of Chanchaga State Constituency on March 18, 2023, had approached the tribunal challenging the election of the respondent.
The petitioner further claimed that the respondent did not score the lawful votes at seven polling units in Tudun Wada Ward of Chanchaga Constituency, as the elections in the unit were marred with irregularities and other electoral malpractices.
Aminu Garba has filed the petition requesting the tribunal to nullify the election of Mohammed Abubakar on the ground of non-compliance with the electoral act 2022.
The petitioner also requested the withdrawal of the certificate of return already issued to the respondent by the first respondent, the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC), and to declare him the winner.
He claimed in his petition that the form EC8 was not duly signed by the presiding officer, which, according to him, rendered the election invalid.
After reviewing the submissions of the legal teams of both parties, Justice Mojisola Ishaq Sule asserted that the petitioner failed to prove the allegations concerning the non-compliance with the provisions of the electoral act as claimed.
She then dismissed the petition, describing all the evidence and submission tendered before the tribunal as hearsay, which, according to her, could not hold water, and thereafter affirmed the election of Hon. Mohammed Abubakar.