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By Onimisi Alao (Daily Trust) The Ajaokuta Steel Company Limited is not obsolete because the installed machines are still vital for Nigeria's industrial development, former secretary of the interim management committee of the company, Professor Ibrahim Abdullahi Madugu, has said. Professor Madugu, who is a metallurgy engineer and currently director general and chief executive of National Metallurgical Development Centre (NMDC) located in Jos, said the Itakpe iron ore which was planned to feed its mills, as well as similar mineral deposits in Agbaja, Kotonkarfi, Obajana (where there is the Dangote Cement factory) and other places around Kogi, make the state a wealth zone. Speaking in an interview with Daily Trust, Madugu said: "The future is very bright, not for Ajaokuta alone if we get our acts together and do things the right way. The whole of that Kogi State area will be like the Peaceburg area of Chicago. The raw materials are there in huge tons: the Agbaja iron ore, the

The Director of Local Government (DLG) , Adavi Local Government Council in Kogi state, Alhaji Abdullazeez Ohere was on Saturday evening kidnapped by some unknown gunmen in his house at Agassa in Okene local government area of the state. According to report by Per Second News, the kidnappers numbering about ten jumped over the fortified fence of the DLG house at Agassa, a community in  Okene local government at about 11 : 00 pm on Saturday. The hoodlums was said to have used a dynamite to break the main door of the house before they gained access to  Ohere's residence. According to source, the kidnappers  on  entering   the house collected all the phones  of occupants in the residence and told the DLG that they were hired to assassinate him , but if he  co-operate they will not kill him. The DLG was said to have surrendered  to the abductors  in order to safe his life and that of his family members that were reseeding with him at the time of the incident.  He surrendered  some

President Goodluck Jonathan President Goodluck Jonathan has promised to properly repackage the Ajaokuta Steel Rolling Mills in Kogi State if reelected the president of Nigeria for a second term. The president was speaking at a meeting with traditional rulers in Kogi State just before he headed to the stadium to address a rally. The President described Kogi as home for the PDP saying that its role as the first capital city of Nigeria must be recognised. The President also promised that his administration will tap into the solid minerals in the state and provide jobs for the people. The Meeting with Kogi State traditional rulers was presided over by The Attah of Igala and chairman of Kogi State Council of Traditional Rulers, Dr Micheal Ameh Oboni. The President has been campaigning round the country seeking for votes ahead of the presidential elections scheduled to hold on February 14.

By Usman A. Bello Lokoja — A youth group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Youth Vanguard, has threatened to take legal action against the police over "indiscriminate arrest" of its members in Ajaokuta Local Government Area of the state. President of PDP Youth Vanguard, Ajaokuta chapter, Comrade Irikiti James Irikiti, said yesterday in Lokoja that the arrests were politically-motivated. "We are using this medium to draw the attention of the Inspector General, Mr. Suleiman Abba and the state commissioner of police to the indiscriminate arrests of some PDP members in Ajaokuta, based on a petition said to have been written by a lawmaker, alleging the kidnap of his mother", he said. Responding, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Elvis Aguebor, said they are not involved in the political or indiscriminate arrest of anyone. He said the commissioner of police has warned his officer to steer clear of politics. Source: Daily Trust.

By Ismail M. Kabir Muhammed Adoke (SAN) The Attorney General of the federation, Hon. Muhammed Adoke (SAN) has promised to pay the WAEC fees of Secondary school students   in Kogi central currently preparing for their final exams. He made the declaration at the PDP stakeholders meeting recently held at the FCE Okene. Adoke made the promise in response to the plea from parents who besieged the venue of the programme to solicit the support of the Justice Minister following the announcement by the Kogi state governor, Capt. Idris Wada that the state government would not be able to pay for the students this year. The state government has been responsible for the payment of the WAEC fees for the students across the state. Governor Wada has earlier stated that the state government could no longer bear the huge cost of the examination fee which according to the governor has been inflated by the officials from the state ministry of education from its former sum of abou