By Suleiman Yakubu

The Archbishop of Lokoja Province and Bishop of Minna Diocese, Anglican Communion, Most Revd Daniel Yisa, has charged women not to push their husbands into desperation by making the home uncomfortable for their spouses.
In a sermon delivered during the opening service for the five-day retreat for clergy wives, organised by the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, and hosted by the Cathedral Church of St. Peter's Minna, the bishop said that it was only when leaders have peace at home that they will be able to concentrate on their duties.
Daniel Yisa frowned at church leaders who always want to be served by the members of their congregation instead of being servants themselves, adding that many church leaders were making access to their offices and homes difficult for the people they were shepherding.
"Some of us who are church leaders treat our fellow priests with disdain; our members do not have access to our homes even as we have free access to God; what type of leadership do we portray to the public?" he queried.
He admonished leadership at all levels to live a life worthy of emulation and advocated for constant discipleship.
In her address, Mothers' Union President and the wife of the Primate, Church of Nigeria, Most Rev'd Henry Ndukuba, Mrs. Angela Ndukuba, said that as partners in shepherding God's people, they were expected to look up to the Holy Spirit to enable His words to make an impact on their lives so that, by extension, they impact the women and girls under their tutelage as priest wives.
Mrs. Ndukuba charged the women to partner with and support their spouses to effectively shepherd God's people.
The senior clergy wives' retreat is an annual event that brings together senior wives of clergy of the Church of Nigeria and the Anglican Communion from across the country with a view to having a cross-fertilisation of ideas, experiences, and testimonies concerning faith in Christ and also equipping them to build the body of Christ to which they are ministers.
This year's event, which has as its theme "Shepherding God's Flock," taken from the books of Psalms 23:1 and 1 Peter 5:1-4, emphasises the importance of leading by example and protecting the shepherd they lead.
The five-day retreat is expected to be wrapped up on Saturday, August 19.

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NGSG to spend N3b on food palliatives By Akawu Ibrahim
The Niger State Government will spend N3 billion on palliatives to cushion the effect of subsidy removal.
Governor Umaru Bago disclosed this at the closing of a two-day retreat organised for Commissioners, members of the State House of Assembly, Special Advisers, local government council chairmen, and heads of MDAs, which was held in Suleja, Niger State.
He explained that each ward in Chanchaga, Bida, Suleja, and Kontagora local government areas will receive N20 million, while the remaining wards in the 21 local government areas are to get N10 million each.
The money, according to the governor, would be used to purchase food items for onward distribution to the people at the grassroots.
The governor also disclosed that 30,000 farmers in the state would be given farming tools, including fertilisers and chemicals, to improve food production and bring down food prices.
He said a committee would be set up for immediate implementation.
Speaking at the retreat, he charged participants to be proactive in revenue generation, saying that was what the state needed to drive its developmental plans.