The Nation Newspaper

Category: City Beats

  • Council chief signs 10 bills into bye-laws amid fanfare

    Council chief signs 10 bills into bye-laws amid fanfare

    The chairman of Ifako-ijaiye Local Government, Apostle Oloruntoba Oke, has signed 10 bills into bye-laws.

    The ceremony was witnessed by over 500 residents representing all the community development associations (CDAs).

    Oke said the laws were enacted to improve the quality of life of the people.

    He said the bye-laws went through the processes including public hearing to get the input of stakeholders before they came into being.

    The laws were enacted to streamline the various activities within the council’s geographical location to conform with its aspiration of making it more responsive and effective to the greatest number of residents, Oke said.

    The Council Chief listed the bye-laws to include: The conversion of some roads within the council area to one way drive, and one regarding the one-side parking; the routes prohibition and control of motorcyclist activities; the environmental cleanliness and provision of dustbin refuse disposable bags.

    Others are: the pest control in regulated premises bye-law; tree planting/cutting, foodstuffs, regulated premises maintenance of sewage tanks and drums for commercial ventures, the environmental sanitation and waste management, house numbering in the local government area and the revalidation of street naming law.

    He said with the bye-laws, it has become an offence for any resident to flout any of its provisions, urging groups to obtain copies of the laws for their education and guidance as well as take cognisance of its provisions in their interactions with the local government.

    Oke said those roads designated as one-way would soon be appropriately marked to avoid crisis, adding that all the laws would take effect from next month.

    Giving insights into the byelaws, a councilor, David Olaniyi, said they addressed areas, such as safe motoring, environmental cleanliness promotion of the green culture, and the control of routes prohibitions for motorcycle operations.

    Earlier the council’s Majority Leader, Israel Olaniyi Fadare, said the laws were enacted in line with Sections 1&2 of the 1999 Constitution.

  • Local govt chief preaches cleanliness to curb Ebola

    Local govt chief preaches cleanliness to curb Ebola

    Residents of Ojodu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) in Lagos State have been advised to imbibe cleanliness to prevent the spread of Ebola.

    The Council Chairman, Olumuyiwa Oloro, said at a parley with stakeholders warned that Ebola thrivers in an unclean environment.

    He distributed fliers to the stakeholders, urging them to take the campaign to the grassroots.

    Oloro said the council’s environmental health officials would ensure that residents abide by rules for healthy living.

    “I make bold to say that our council was the first to flag off the campaign against Ebola disease. However, before it became an issue, we had never shirked our bounden duty to keep our people alive to the fact that they must live clean and maintain a filth-free environment. This we shall continue to do,” Oloro said.

    The council chief urged residents to desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse and defaecation in public places.

    He said every member of the council would monitor residents’ to ensure their compliance with sanitation rules, especially during the state’s monthly exercise.

  • 2,000 benefit from Senator’s largesse

    2,000 benefit from Senator’s largesse

    No fewer than 2,000 members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos East Senatorial District have benefited from the empowerment programme of Senator Gbenga Ashafa.

    At 8am, APC members besieged Somolu Local Government Area and Bariga Local Council Development Area for the programme. They sang the praise of the Senator during the distribution of items.

    The distributed materials included sewing machines, deep freezers, refrigerators, vulcanising machines, welding tools and generators. Some people were also given grants to start up business.

    In his speech, Senator Ashafa said he was committed to the welfare of his constituents.

    He said: “Just a few weeks ago, we held a mega empowerment programme in Ibeju-Lekki where over 1,000 party members benefited. Today is another empowerment of our party faithful in Somolu /Bariga axis. This is to show that APC, our party, is ever committed to the welfare of the people. And we shall continue to do this to reduce poverty and unemployment in our state.”

    The beneficiaries praised the senator for the gesture.

  • Police to reduce crime in Ember months

    Police to reduce crime in Ember months

    The Police in Lagos have stated their readiness to collaborate with other security agencies to reduce crime during the “EMBER” months.

    The Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) in charge of Operations, Mr. Emmanuel Ngwu, made the pledge after the weekly security meeting with Governor Babatunde Fashola.

    Ngwu said the police and other security agencies would curtail crime during the months leading to the Christmas and New Year.

    “If you are not new in Lagos you will know that each time the EMBER months arrive security agencies in Lagos begin to be proactive. This is because if you look at the population of Lagos you will see the need for the police and the armed forces to do their job and the need for  every other security agency to be ready for the task ahead”,  he said.

  • Motorcyclists snatch rifle from policeman

    It was like a movie scene. In a commando style, some fast riding commercial motorcyclists popularly known as Okada snatched yesterday a policeman’s rifle at a road intersection in Lagos.

    Passersby watched in awe amid the ensuing confusion as the police attempted to recover the rifle. It all happend at the Ojekunle Street junction close to the Ladipo Auto Parts Markets in Mushin, Lagos.

    The Okada riders were said to have gone after the police for allegedly impounding a motorcycle.

    Sources said the policemen who were patrolling in a vehicle marked ‘OPS Attack’, arrested one of the motorcyclists at Oshodi for plying illegal route.

    The motorcyclists were said to have mobilised their colleagues and followed the policemen to Ojekunle junction, were they dragged the motorcycle from the patrol van with the two policemen guarding it.

    The Nation learnt that one of the policemen used the butte of his AK47 rifle to hit one of the riders on the head.

    An eyewitness said: “As the policeman hit the okada man on the head, another forcefully snatched the gun and pointed it at the policemen in the patrol vehicle. The Inspector, who led the police team ordered the driver to stop, and they all disembarked and fled. The okada rider also mounted one of the motorcycles and fled with the rifle.”

    Some minutes later, the Inspector led four other policemen to plead with some social miscreants to assist them recover the rifle.

    “It was a funny scene. The policemen knelt down before some miscreants, begging them for the hideout of  the motorcyclists. The policemen, who were almost in tears, told the miscreants that they risk losing their jobs if the rifle was not found”, a source said.

    The police team were seen driving back to Oshodi, where they impounded the motorcycle, in search of the rifle.

  • Elevator accident victim seeks N20m compensation from hotel

    Elevator accident victim seeks N20m compensation from hotel

    A 26-year old security man, Emmanuel Abah, has written to his former employers, Lagos Travel Inn, demanding N20 million compensation for injuries sustained in an elevator accident.

    He is claiming that the hotel abandoned him after the accident.

    But, the hotel is denying his claim, saying that it did all it could to help him medically and financially.

    Abah said he was employed as a security officer on March 2, 2012, adding that his appointment was confirmed on February 19, 2013. He said discharging his duties on November 13, 2013, he was involved in an accident that incapacitated him.

    According to him, he was carrying some dirty bed sheets and a cleaning equipment to another floor, and as he was about to enter the elevator, it allegedly malfunctioned.

    In a August 6 letter to the hotel’s chairman, his lawyer, Mr Daniel Onwe said: “In the course of our client faithfully discharging his duty, he was trapped by the leg and nearly pulled apart by a malfunctioning elevator in your hotel. It was by sheer providence that he narrowly escaped death. However, his foot was crushed, leaving him with a permanent disability.”

    Abah admitted the hotel gave him N50,000 to treat his injury, and also paid his salaries while he was receiving treatment in his hometown. He said he was charged N150,000 for the unorthodox treatment, adding that his uncle paid N110,000.

    He said when he returned to Lagos on July 1 and resumed work, he was redeployed to the laundry section, but was shocked when he got a letter terminating his appointment, and his “entitlements” paid.

    “It is obvious this (termination) is because of the disability he sustained in the course of his employment in your company,” Onwe wrote, adding that his sack without compensation for the accident was not only unfair, but “flagrantly violates” relevant laws.

    “Be that as it may, we are in no way insinuating that you reinstate our client against your will…However, since our client has sustained permanent disability in the course of working for your company, and as a result of the malfunctioning and unsafe elevator in your work place, the law demands that your company compensates him.

    “This is more so in the light of the fact that in his present condition, the chances of his working and fending for himself has been largely minimised. Accordingly, we have our client’s instruction to demand from you and your company, and we so demand, the sum of N20million. Take notice that if you fail to accede to our demand, we will explore all the available means to seek redress for our client…,” Onwe said.

    In its reply, the hotel, through its lawyer R. O. Okwudili, said the elevator did not malfunction, but that the accident was Abah’s fault. “Your client (Abah) had an accident when out of his own negligence, he wrongly operated and abused the elevator,” the hotel said.

    Travel Inn said it took Abah to a hospital with a commitment to pay his medical bill, but that Abah chose native healing despite the hotel’s and doctors’ advice to the contrary. The hotel added that Abah’s family took him to an “undisclosed destination” and he continued to receive salary for seven months.

    “On 1st July 2014, your client showed up purporting to resume duty and in his letter of appreciation, he casually asked for a loan of N40,000. While the loan application was still receiving attention, your client began to manifest nonchalant and lethargic attitude to work which was intolerable to the management of our client (Travel Inn). Accordingly, your client was removed from his job,” the lawyer wrote.

    However, Abah told The Nation yesterday that he was never issued with any query, and that he believed his appointment was unfairly terminated without adequate compensation. He said he deserves recompense for the incapacitation, adding that he has been unable to find work due to the effects of the accident.

    “They should compensate him so that he can pick up the pieces of his life,” Onwe added.

    Contacted on phone, the hotel’s Financial Controller, who identified him as Deola, said: “As I’m talking to you, he (Abah) has brought a letter from a lawyer. The company has asked its lawyer to respond.

    “I’m the Financial Controller and I can tell you we have information to back up everything that happened. For every staff that is laid off, we follow the due process in labour law.”

  • Ebola: Lagos to provide 600 schools with pipe borne water

    Ebola: Lagos to provide 600 schools with pipe borne water

    To curtail the spread of Ebola among pupils, the State Government has directed its water corporation to connect about 600 public secondary schools to its mains for water supply.

    The Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Olayinka Oladunjoye, said yesterday during a sensitisation on Ebola for principals and head teachers of public primary and secondary schools and proprietors of private schools that the measure would help prevent the spread of the disease.

    She advised education stakeholders to inculcate in pupils the basic universal precaution of frequently washing their hands in the fight against the virus.

    Mrs Oladunjoye was represented by her Permanent Secretary; Mrs. Omolara Erogbogbo.

    She stressed the need for principals to be proactive in safeguarding the children in their care against Ebola which has killed eight persons in the country.

    Mrs Oladunjoye said: “As a responsive and responsible government, the state has deemed it fit to put together this sensitisation exercise in order to guard against the spread of the virus particularly among our students. And for us to achieve overall success in containing the virus, it has become imperative for us to organise this sensitisation programme to educate ourselves so that whatever knowledge we garner can be used to stop the spread.”

    The maintenance of personal and environmental hygiene and regular hand washing by students will go a long way in reducing the risk of infection and transmission of the disease, she said.

    The Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris said the importance of the exercise for key stakeholders in school health management cannot be overemphasised.

    He said: “By their nature, children especially the young ones, are very social beings that exhibit unhindered, innocent and almost carefree social interactions among one another such that limitations in contacts prescribed as a pillar of the Ebola containment strategy is observed more in breach rather than compliance in these ones. It is for this reason that I align with the State Ministry of Education for organising this sensitisation meeting involving the key relevant stakeholders in school health management”.

    The severity of Ebola, he said, necessitated extreme and aggressive measures to halt the spread.

    Some of the affected countries, he noted, had declared state of public emergency, restricting public gathering including closure of schools. Idris urged the public to imbibe the basic hand washing techniques in the fight against Ebola.

  • Police clear businessmen

    Two businessmen, have been cleared by the police of fueling crises in some boundary communities in Lagos and Ogun states.

    Alhaji Mutairu Owoeye and Chief Hakeem Alabi were cleared by a team led Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) A. Mammah following their investigation.

    The team did not find proof of the allegations of murder and unlawful possession of arms against them.

    The team from the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Monitoring Unit noted that the crises were caused by series of petitions which had taken the warring factions from Imota Police Station in Ikorodu to State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) at Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland and the IGP’s office.

    The communities are Adeekun Lambo, Lasunmon, Teele, Ewujebe, Ilu-Oloye, Ewumi, Oke-Arobi, Illisa oba, Lire and Aro Ofoly. Others are Salagberu, Tile-Tile, Igboasoro, Oke-Ibu, Oloride in Ogun state and Jaajo, and Oke-Agbo in Lagos.

    The team was raised following a petition sent to IGP by the Association of Communities against Terrorism in Lagos and Ogun State (ACATLO), accusing the businessmen of murder and unlawful possession of fire arms.

    In a related development, operatives investigated another petition by the Baale of Oke-Agbo, Chief Jimoh Ekundayo Ashafa accusing some hoodlums of invading his community.

    The IG directed a team of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), led by Adewale Nureni, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) to investigate the allegation.

    Six of the hoodlums were arrested and arraigned before an Ebute Meta Chief Magistrate’s Court on a five-count charge of conspiracy, unlawful possession of fire-arms, belonging to the outlaw Aiye confraternity, armed robbery and murder.

  • Church celebrates

    All roads lead to the Atunbi Mose C&S Church (The Holy Temple of God, El-Shadai Parish), Bakin-Ikun, Kaduna Road, Suleja in Abuja on Sunday as it celebrates its 15th Founder’s Day anniversary.

    Prophet Gbenga Ogundele, who doubles as its founder and minister-in-charge, said the ceremony was primarily put together to thank God for using the church as a huge blessing to humanity.

    The cleric, who also chairs the northern region of the church, said he had lost count of the number of people that had gained from the spiritual gift of the church, adding that God had been using it to hold the nation.

    “Apart from eating and drinking, the celebration will be used to praise God for his love for the church. It has continued to wax stronger in spirit. We will offer fervent prayer for worshippers, Nigerians and our troubled country because we need prayers at this point in time to rescue our nation,” he said.

  • Lagos Assembly cautions VIOs

    Lagos Assembly cautions VIOs

    Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Transportation, Commerce and industry, Hon. Bisi Yusuf has urged officials of the State Vehicle Inspection Office, V.I.O  to be more civil and friendly in discharging their duty.

    Yusuf made the plea during an interactive section with Zonal Heads of VIO Units at Alausa. The lawmaker said there is need for officials of the unit to change their attitude towards motorists when checking their documents.

    He also urged officials to be more proactive and stop harassing motorists unnecessarily, adding that “the way V.I.O stop moving vehicles for checks on the road is dangerous.

    “We are not pleased with complaints and reports from the public, that is why we invited all the Heads of the Unit so that they can pass the message across to their subordinates. The committee is not here to intimidate you or to witch-hunt anyone but to correct your wrong doing. I want to warn all the officials of V.I.O not to be  agents of any insurance company, any vehicle owner is entitled to collect insurance document from any recognized insurance company they like”, Yusuf said.