Railway has been described as key to economic boost, Director, Civil/Newlands Department of Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Ayeni Ojobola, has said.
He spoke at the lecture of Lagos branch of Nigeria Society of Engineers (NSE) in Lagos. Ojobola was guest lecturer.
Ojobola ascribed Nigeria’s existence to railway connection, from amalgamation to development of commerce.
“Look at what happened in 2023, it was the same thing the late former governor of Lagos State, Alhaji Lateef Jakande, had wanted to do in 1983. But then railway was on the exclusive list. But thanks to former President Muhammadu Buhari, who signed the bill to remove it from exclusive list to concurrent list…’’
He said trailers should not transport petrol. ‘’Before now, there were some firms that specialised in this, most especially during the late Gen. Sanni Abacha. In Kano, only trains transported petrol.
“When there was fuel scarcity then, it disappeared immediately train was able to deliver petrol to the state same day, which was about 40 trailers. The wagons are still there, it is just the facilities for loading and off loading that should be put in place. But the problem is banditry, vandaliem and insecurity on the road,” he said.
NRC’s Managing Director, Freeborn Okhiria, expressed delight at what the corporation has been able to develop, such as Tracks Access Frame Work to make things easier for states with rails.
“We need to use this, that’s what can guide against vandalism. We have other states, where we are trying to make the tracks available just as we have done in Lagos with Red Line. So, we hope by so doing, instead of looking for money to do another rail, we will encourage them to patronise the ones in place,” he said.
The NRC MD also spoke about the expectations on the private sector participation, which he said is always after money.
“The rail sector is money driven, the locomotive alone is about 4.5. million dollars before you talk about the coaches. We will continue to encourage them to come on board, it’s only when we accept the basic truth that we will move forward,” he stated.
The representative of the keynote speaker, a Director in the Lagos State Ministry of Transport, Engr Olasunkanmi Ojowuro said that it’s an established fact that the railway transportation contributes to the growth of an economy in the sense that it can move people, goods and services enmasse, adding that it’s cheaper when compared with other modes of transportation.
Engr Ojowuro emphasized that rail system is good for the environment, saying that this is because it’s powered by electricity or gas, and that releasing carbon emissions into the environment is reduced.
Ojowuro said that it also takes out stress from the road because when people shift from road to railway, it reduces traffic congestion on the road and the money the government supposed to use for the maintenance of the roads would be channelled into other sectors for development.
“Additionally, it can go where the trailers cannot go. It reduces accidents, and reduces other nuisances caused by trailers that ply roads.
“For the passengers, it makes it faster for them to get to their places of work, and makes it faster for traders to do their businesses. It creates employment opportunities because a number of people would be employed through the system.
“Also, where you have train stations, there would be services, people would do business transactions in their shops, there would be banks, and restaurants, which would boost the economy.
“It promotes inter-modal transport system, just that train can not take people to their door steps because it’s on tracks, therefore, there has to be other means of transportation from train stations to your door steps or nearest bus stop to your final destination,” he said.
He added that looking at the whole rail system, it boosts the economy, increases GDP, safety of the environment, and increases livelihood of people generally.
According to him, when goods and services are transported by rail, it makes the goods get to the final destinations on time and at cheaper rates.
It donated materials to paediatric cancer patients and paid hospital bills for four patients.
Members present included President – Gbenga Bolarinwa; Club Service Chairperson-Ashiru Waheed; Secretary-Abimbola Olaberinjo and Director-Ololade Adewunmi.
They were received by Dr. Shodiya, a paediatrician.
The materials presented were: cartons of gloves, packs of mentholated spirit, blood pressure meter and weighing machine. Shodiya and the hospital management expressed gratitude. “This is a relief for patients’ families’’, Shodiya said.
After the presentation of the treatment materials, cash presentations were also made to Master Aleem, two years old, a leukemia patient, who needed lots of blood; Master Daniel, four years old; Miss Cherish, 14 years old, who has a plastic anaemia and will need bone marrow surgery later on. The other lucky patient was Master Victor, five years old, who has acute myology leukemia.
The cash gifts were deposited at the pharmacy account for the purchase of the items.Lions Club donates materials, money to patients at LASUTH L the payment of hospital bills for four selected patients in the hospital, in a bid to assist the patients’ families and improve services at the hospital.
Lagos Central Lions Club members who were at LASUTH for the presentation included: the President -Gbenga Bolarinwa; Club Service Chairperson-Ashiru Waheed; Secretary-Abimbola Olaberinjo and Director-Ololade Adewunmi.
They were received by Dr. Shodiya, a paediatrician.
Some of the presented materials were: cartons of gloves, packs of mentholated spirit, a blood pressure meter and weighing machine. Dr. Shodiya expressed his gratitude for the items. The hospital management also expressed gratitude.
Shodiya said the gifts arrived when they were much needed.
“These will be a relief for the patients’ families, as they wouldn’t be purchasing things like gloves and spirits till they are exhausted,” Dr. Shodiya said.
After the presentation of the treatment materials, cash presentations were also made to Master Aleem, two years old, a leukemia patient, who needed lots of blood; Master Daniel, four years old; Miss Cherish, 14 years old, who has a plastic anaemia and will need bone marrow surgery later on. The other lucky patient was Master Victor, five years old, who has acute myology leukemia.
The cash gifts were deposited at the pharmacy account for the purchase of the items.
When in January 2022 President Muhammadu Buhari visited Ogun State to commission projects, he could not help exulting in the sheer beauty of the roads constructed by the Dapo-Abiodun led government in Ogun State. He said: “I arrived early today and commission the 14Km Ijebu-Ode, Mojoda Epe road which is reconstructed to a modern expressway by your administration. This impressive road will complement the Shagamu Benin expressway that the FG is presently reconstructing which is also due commissioning this year. Just across the road is the 42-km Shagamu Interchange Abeokuta road which the state government has reconstructed and equipped with street lights and other modern furniture which I will commission shortly. I am particularly impressed by the quality and standard of the road projects.”
The president was not being facetious; he was being very real. What he called the “constructive engagement cooperation and collaboration between the state and Federal Government” was evident for all to see. Travelling on the 42 km Abeokuta-Sagamu road had a delightful feel. Electric polls dotted the road, with clear lighting making driving at night such a beauty. The road was adjudged the best in the country given the modern furniture. The fact is well known that the Abeokuta- Sagamu Interchange road, the ceremonial route to the Gateway state capital, Ibara, Kuto, MKO Abiola Stadium, Oke Mosan, Laderin, Kobape, Siun to Sagamu interchange, links the Lagos Sagamu expressway to Lagos and the South-East. With the replacement of new asphalt overlay of both binder and wearing course, the replacement of cleared road shoulders and median with layby, reconstruction of existing earth drains with adequate turnout where necessary, and provision of new street lights for illumination at nights for safety and security purposes, the road was such a soul-lifting sight. Industries and housing estates sprang up and blossomed very quickly. They are now deeply entrenched in the Ogun ecology.
Driving on the road, now in September 2023, is still a great experience, but beyond the beauty lies a huge cost to Ogun State in financial terms. Knowing the strategic importance of the road, the Ogun State government, this week, took a great step to arrest an unsavoury development, reiterating its commitment to ensuring that it remains in good condition for motorists and other road users. It announced a plan to collaborate with truck owners and other stakeholders on the road. Lamenting the continuous deterioration of the road due to the pressure daily put on it by the obvious increase in the number of heavy duty trucks servicing the large number of quarries and housing estates in the area, the state government, in a statement by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Works, Engr. Ade Akinsanya, said it would continue to seek ways to continue maintaining the road in spite of the huge financial implications to the state government.
Here’s why: there are currently about 40 quarries in Abeokuta, the state capital, while another 20 operate along the road. The weight of the trucks bearing the granite, cement, stone base, laterite and other materials, with some of them often overloaded, continues to cause immense damage to the road, making the government to rehabilitate it at huge costs. That is not all: further pressure is exerted on the road by trucks and other heavy-duty machinery deployed by estate developers in the area. Said Akinsanya: “We all can attest to the growing numbers of housing estates and other companies on that axis of the state…Everyday, you also hear of accidents that leave street lights damaged by overspeading drivers. This, coupled with the incessant vandalism of street lights and other infrastructure on the road by hoodlums, makes constant rehabilitation a must.”
If motorists take advantage of the smoothness of the road and engage in speeding, that can only lead to accidents. It is a fact that most of the vehicular accidents witnessed on the road affect the road furniture. This gives room to vandals to cut the cables and cart away iron. The government is then forced to move in and replace them. While security agents have the mandate to enforce traffic rules, the government has to do much more, which is why it now wants a collaboration with the truck owners implicated in the constant damage to the road. They will be required to pay mere stipends when the trucks use the road, with the proceeds used to augment the government’s financial investment in the maintenance of the road.
As our elders say, if soup is delicious, money has played its part in the story. The Abeoluta-Sagamu road has transformed the Ogun environment, but great care must be taken to ensure that motorists from Ibadan and other parts of the country plying that road continue to escape the hassles that defined travelling to Ogun State till the Dapo Abiodun administration came on board and spawned a new reality. A road of such strategic importance, equipped with state-of-the-art furniture, can only take so much damage. With a network of industries attracted by the road, with developers and estate owners within that corridor doing brisk business, the road will need to be in prime, unblemished condition. If those whose trucks and big lorries leave the road in an unpleasant state are being asked to be part of the conversation on its maintenance, which the Ogun State government has hitherto ensured in order to deliver a pleasant driving experience for the road users, even at night, it is the right thing to do. The truck owners service the construction companies within Sagamu-Ibadan corridor, and within the Sagamu-Ore corridor. The road is overused and this means that the government must continually spend money on it, a responsibility it has undertaken so far without fail. But its resources are not infinite, and the new initiative targeted at sustainable maintenance of the road deserves to be applauded by all.
•Branco sent this piece through funmibranco@aol.com
Today, September 14, 2023, the Egba people who occupy the entire Ogun Central Senatorial District comprising six local government areas – Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, Ifo, Odeda, Ewekoro, and Obafemi Owode – as well as their brothers, sisters, and friends across Nigeria and the diaspora will roll out the drum to celebrate.
They will be out to celebrate a man who symbolises and represents the unity of their federation, sophistication, education, industry, brilliance, uniqueness, pathfinding, and leadership roles as well as their many achievements in the larger national, continental, and global context.
Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, Okukenu IV is 80 years old today and this is a monarch in whom the Egbas are well pleased and proud.
The Egba, a group of people who work hard, study and travel widely, achieve greatly, and celebrate flamboyantly, will demonstrate their predilection to partying when they roll out drums, gongs, and flutes, churn out the best musical lyrics, and most poetic lines, display the best of cuisines, drinks and clad in some of the most fashionable attires to celebrate their monarch.
The best achievement of Oba Gbadebo as a monarch who has been on the ancient throne of his forefathers since August 2, 2005, when he was selected as the 10th Alake of Egbaland has been his ability to bring about unity, peace, tranquility, and sense of community development among his people while his tenure has also witnessed tremendous physical infrastructure and economic development in both Abeokuta and the communities in the six local government areas dominated by the Egba.
To understand why the Egba will celebrate this monarch as he joins the rank of octogenarians, one must have a good grasp of the delicate but highly sophisticated traditional system of government of the Egba. It is a system that is worthy of being studied, emulated, and developed by the rest of Nigeria as a way of restructuring the current warped federal system that has continued to be a burden and a setback for our national development.
The Egba have a unique traditional system in which four traditional rulers co-habit and rule in one big town – Abeokuta township. With the Alake of Egbaland as the paramount ruler of the Egba, there is the Osile of Oke Ona Egba who is the ruler of the Oke Ona Egba, the Agura of Gbagura-Egba , and the Olowu of Owu-Egba. The subjects of all these traditional rulers are Abeokuta indigenes.
Also, unlike in many towns, every Egba person rightly belongs to two local government areas. While the homestead is in Abeokuta town which has been divided in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into Abeokuta South and Abeokuta North LGAs, a true Egba must also belong to a community or village in any of the four other local government areas in Ogun Central senatorial district – Ifo, Obafemi Owode, Odeda and Ewekoro. These communities were farmlands where our ancestors established their farms. From mere farmlands, the communities have grown from hamlets to villages to big communities whose population and land mass surpass those in some other state capitals.
This has been my explanation to other Nigerians who sometimes wonder why former President Olusegun Obasanjo is said to be from Owu, Abeokuta, and Ibogun at the same time. Some even add Ota where the General has the headquarters of Obasanjo Farms as part of the myth on the man’s real base.
President Obasanjo, an Egba man is from the Owu quarters in Abeokuta North Local Government Area. And he has his house there. His village is located in Ibogun in the Ifo Local Government area where he also has a house. Ota is just a place where he has his business, the farm. In any case, Obasanjo Farms also has branches in other parts of Nigeria like Lanlate in Oyo State, Mambila in Taraba State, and Owiwi in Ifo LGA, among other areas.
In Abeokuta, while we know who is Ake, Oke Ona, Gbagura, and Owu, we are all Egbas and we have respect for all our traditional rulers. This federal system has worked for us and the traditional Egba chieftaincy titles are shared among indigenes from different quarters. In the past, personality differences and idiosyncrasies have tended to create disagreements among the monarchs. However, these negative tendencies have disappeared since the current Alake took over, of course, with the co-operation and support of his brother Obas.
All Egba traditional rulers move and work as a united team. There is cooperation, unity of purpose, and a peaceful relationship between all our Obas. Under Oba Gbadebo, the usual bickering, unhealthy rivalry, or superiority fight has seized. Our Obas now attend each other’s personal or community events. Thus, events like Lisabi Day and others are celebrated together by all Egbas and their friends, at home and abroad. No discrimination. No segregation. The newfound unity has also percolated to the ranks of the prominent indigenes. The Egba people wherever you have them, now work together and rally around their monarchs such that you don’t know who is from which quarters.
The state of peace and tranquillity in Egbaland is a reflection of the person of Oba Adedotun Gbadebo. As a member of the State Executive Council for four years, I had the opportunity to relate with and observe Kabiyesi from close quarters. He was a gentleman to the core. The type they call ‘Officer and gentleman’, bearing in mind that he is a retired, decorated military officer.
Oba Gbadebo joined the army after bagging a degree from the Faculty of Arts of the nation’s premier university, the University of Ibadan. Though he left the army as a Colonel, he worked at the highest level in the force by serving as Principal Staff Officer to the last occupant of the powerful Office of the Chief of Staff, Supreme Headquarters, Brigadier Tunde Idiagbon. Those who knew him then believed he was a workaholic, organised, focused, and disciplined officer who earned his place in heading what could be the policy and strategy headquarters of the military administration headed by Major General Muhammadu Buhari.
Oba Gbadebo always wears that gentle, genial look of a man who is never bothered by anything. He speaks gently, very articulate, and eloquent. He bears the visage of a man who has seen it all. A golf player who must be missing the company of his younger friend and brother Oba, the late Oba Saburi Babajide Bakre, the Agura of Gbagura-Egba who joined his ancestors earlier this year. They both played golf together. Oba Bakre invited me several times without success to join the duo at the Abeokuta Golf Course where he was ready to teach me the game since I own a complete Golf kit.
Oba Gbadebo is very free with everybody. I usually enjoy the tough jokes between him and Kabiyesi, Awujale of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru Kayode Adetona, anytime the Obas had a meeting in the Governor’s Office, Oke Mosan when I was Commissioner for Information and Strategy in the State. The Alake would laugh heartily as both of them trade banters.
The Egba monarch speaks in a measured, persuasive tone to implore, encourage, or motivate anybody who will bring in development projects, industrial concerns, or business ideas that will generate employment opportunities, aid the continuous modernization of Egbaland, and draw international attention to Abeokuta city and its growing communities.
The traditional ruler believes he has a pact with destiny as there is the talk of an enduring divination that the era of the 10th Alake would bring rapid physical and economic development to Egbaland. Incidentally, Oba Gbadebo, a holder of the military’s service medals of Force Service Star (FSS) and Defence Service Medal (DSM) as well as the national honour of the Commander of the Federal Republic (CFR), is the 10th Alake of Egbaland. Like his name, ‘Adedotun’ suggests, his ascension to the throne has brought renewal, modernisation, and great shine to the glory of the Egbas in the Nigerian milieu.
His era has witnessed an Egba son who was President of Nigeria, (his fellow Baptist Boys High School, BBHS, old boy, Obasanjo) and a speaker of the House of Representatives (also a BBHS old boy, Dimeji Bankole). Under his reign, an Egba man, late M. K. O. Abiola, also an old boy of BBHS, was recognised post-humously as the winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election. Also, under his reign, the Egbas have produced a second governor of Ogun State, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. Before then, veteran journalist and the Akinrogun of Egbaland, Chief Olusegun Osoba had been the first governor of Ogun State of Egba origin.
Oba Gbadebo is from the Laarun Ruling House. His great-grandfather was Oba Okukenu, the first Alake of Egbaland. His grandfather, Oba Gbadebo was the sixth Alake who ruled from 1898 to 1920. His Uncle, Oba Samuel Adesina Gbadebo was Okukenu III while the incumbent Alake is Okukenu IV. Oba Gbadebo’s Laarun ruling house was established by an Alake who reigned in the 1700s before the Egbas relocated to the present Abeokuta.
Oba Gbadebo is the chairman of the board of Oando PLC and Chancellor of the Federal University, Ndufu Alike Ikwo (FUNAI), Abakaliki in Ebonyi State. A royalty who is at home with the common people, he has proved to be the true father of all Egbas and, by extension, the good people of Ogun State and all Nigerians who come with good ideas for the development of the country.
Oba Gbadebo is truly the epitome of an apolitical royal father. His measured interventions and contributions on national issues are always respected and taken seriously by all. At 80, the monarch still looks well-kept, strong, and ready to play golf any day. In him, the Egbas and their friends across Ogun State, Nigeria, and around the world, truly have many reasons to celebrate the 80th birthday of a revered royal father. The fact that today is a Thursday may not disturb anything.
A good number of activities had taken place to celebrate the monarch, including the prayers in the mosque and churches, particularly the Cathedral Church of St. Peter’s, Ake, Abeokuta, the first church in Nigeria, which also houses the first copy of the holy bible ever brought into Nigeria. I am sure it has been a colourful festival in honour of a monarch in whom the subjects and their friends are well pleased. Happy birthday, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, omo Ara Ake Majo. Majo meji. Omo Eru ni nsin ni. Eko ki nsin eniyan. Oju a ma ri Odun. Ajinde ara ma je o.
Because of the privations to which Nigerians have been subjected over the years, there is a tendency in the land to assume the worst of leaders. Guilty or not, governors face the guillotine, condemned to hell by our elite commentariat. And that is why it is not surprising that in the latest scenario involving the recently suspended chairman of Ijebu East Local Government Area, Hon. Wale Adedayo and the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun, the allegation by the latter that the former had been stealing and/or diverting local government funds are typically being treated as gospel truth while the rebuttals by the Ogun State Government and the constitutional organ responsible for disbursing the funds, the Ogun State Joint Account and Allocation Committee (JAAC), the chairmen of local councils and even the Federal Government are being shunned.
Some commentators are asking for the governor’s head on a charger, throwing rationality, the spirit of inquisitiveness, logic and fairness into the trash can. Sadly, the piece, The wind that blew Dapo Abiodun’s rump, authored by the respected Sunday Tribune columnist, Dr. Festus Adedayo, falls into this category.
Essentially a rehash of the LG chairman’s claims (“Adedayo…alleged that this blind thievery began immediately Abiodun took over the reign of office in May 2019, leading to “zero allocation” of funds to develop the councils,” etc.), Dr. Adedayo’s piece deplores the alleged stealing of LG funds by governors, relying on a Premium Times report wherein the reporter was purportedly “told by sources among local government chairmen in Ogun State that monies enter council accounts in the morning, and they develop wings by evening.” This, Dr Adedayo asserts, “is a pattern adopted by many of the state governments.” Well, there is no thievery by Governor Abiodun in Ogun State. It is a terrible thing to hang an innocent person simply because of the office that he occupies. Just how can Governor Abiodun, who by law is not a signatory to the JAAC which disburses money to LGs, tamper with LG funds?
Because there is so much misconception about LG operations, media commentators often look at issues at face value and rush to judgment instead of doing a little investigation. The structure of LGs in Ogun State is not different from the one in other states. JAAC has its responsibilities as a constitutional provision, the organ that identifies and sorts out first-line charges. It came about after long agitations by teachers and LG workers over the delay in the payment of their salaries and emoluments.
In the last 26 months that Wale Adedayo has been chairman, the records show that he attended JAAC meetings, where LG funds are disbursed after being received from the Federation Account, 15 times. His sudden claim of zero allocation to councils in Ogun State is therefore curious, to say the least. Records show that, like other LG chairmen, he has collected N3 million every month as imprest, while his council also shared from all the allocations given since 2019 when Governor Abiodun came on board, including the N5.2 billion allocation shared in August this year; the N4.4 billion shared in July, the 5.2bn shared in June and the N4.5 billion shared in May. So, where did he get his zero allocation from?
Last Friday, the Ogun State government established the fact that it had invested N1.8bn in executing projects in the councils. This was at a press conference addressed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Mr Tokunbo Talabi, and the Economic Adviser and Commissioner-designate, Mr Dapo Okubadejo. Indeed, as the government argued, if the LGs had not been getting their allocations since 2019, how then had they been paying teachers, healthcare workers, members of traditional councils, pensioners and local government and security votes for the LG chairmen?
Rather than stealing the LG funds, the state government has actually been augmenting their allocations to enable them to meet their obligations. It is a fact that in 2020, N43.121 billion was budgeted for first-line charges, while N34.750 billion was received from the federation account for the 20 LGs, leaving a deficit of N6.619 billion. The total allocation released for the LGs in 2021 was N38.723 billion, while payment for first-line charges was put at N47.845 billion. In 2022, the LGs got N48.074 billion from the Federation Account, whereas the actual amount needed to pay first-line charges was N54.182 billion. As 2023 dawned, therefore, there was a deficit of almost N17.4 billion, paid for by the state government. It is not for nothing that members of the Ogun JAAC debunked Wale Adedayo’s slanderous and libellous proclamations, confirming that there were instances when the state government had to augment shortfalls to allow all the LGs to take care of all their first-line charges. For a chairman in office for more than two years to suddenly claim zero allocation to Ogun councils smacks of pure mischief. This is the same person who was collecting N3 million every month for imprest. He lied recklessly and shamelessly just to create mischief and stoke crisis in the state.
For those who do not know, money is paid directly to LG accounts and like governors, chairmen as CEOs of LGs do not issue cheques but only give approvals. Governor Abiodun is not a signatory to the LG accounts. LG funds are paid directly to their accounts, from which the civil servants there disburse the money to the beneficiaries (emoluments, salaries). On the allegation of money disappearing, we need to ask questions, as no state government can take money from JAAC. During the COVID-19 crisis, most of the LGs did not pay PAYEE tax because of the shortfall in federal allocations. After the crisis, the Ogun State government then had to deduct this tax. But before then, the money had to get to their accounts first, and the civil servants in charge had to indicate the months for which the payee deductions were being made, because the law is that every taxable adult must pay tax. Strangely, these payee deductions were characterized as money disappearing from LG accounts, and our columnists did not even bother to investigate the matter properly. Rather, they resorted to character assassination just because, in the face of incontrovertible evidence, Wale Adedayo had said, “I know for a fact that my Ijebu East Local Government is not owing Abeokuta one naira!” Even Lucifer does not lie in this manner.
Yes, we all know that because of the suffering in the land, people are not happy with governors. However, we still cannot generalize. It is unfair to impugn the integrity and image of Governor Abiodun just because he is governor. He also deserves fair hearing.
Again, a lot of negativity has been ascribed to the Ogun LG chairmen’s meeting with Governor Abiodun, but it is important to make the following clarifications. First, the chairmen had met with the Ogun State SSG, Mr. Joseph Talabi, requesting a meeting with the governor to tender an apology over Adedayo’s fabrications, because they knew the facts of the case. During the meeting with the SSG, they, however, raised the issue of the Permanent Secretary to Ministry of Local Government Affairs who had issued a statement calling on them to utilise the funds released to their various councils judiciously, whereas the money was meant for the payment of salaries. The statement led to people harassing them in their LGs. The SSG apologized, acknowledging that the statement was misleading. Still, he pointed out that it was not an excuse for Wale Adedayo to fabricate falsehood against the governor. The chairmen apologized and said they needed to meet the governor. Adedayo was in both meetings, and the act of prostrating to the governor was spontaneous; he never demanded for it. It is therefore cheeky to call him an emperor.
Since Governor Abiodun came on board, Ogun State has been peaceful and calm. Unlike in the past, there have been no violence or political assassinations. Some people must not be allowed to throw the state into crisis.
The media should be interrogating, not venerating him.
•Akinmade was two-term Commissioner of Information in Ondo State and Consultant on Media to the Governor of Ogun State, Prince Dapo Abiodun
‘To ensure equity among all local government areas …the commission should identify ongoing projects …and where the funds committed to such projects are insufficient, funds may be drawn from the legacy debt to augment’
For two days, top shots of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and stakeholders gathered in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, to review the agency’s budgetary process in order to build confidence and inclusivity, Ibrahim Adam reports.
At the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), it is the era of “doing things differently.” At its core, are consultations and collaborations with stakeholders in order to create sustainable development for the region. Towards this end, NDDC has held a Partners for Sustainable Development (PSD) Forum 2024 Budget of Reconstruction Conference in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital. The conference was attended by representatives of the nine member-states of NDDC, international oil companies (IOCs), Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs, Traditional Rulers of Oil Mineral Producing Communities (TROMPCON), civil society organisations, youth groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
The participants noted the strategic importance of the PSD Forum in the NDDC budgetary process, saying that it would eliminate duplications and institutional suspicions in the development process; reduce the incidence of working at cross purposes and check the waste of scarce resources. They affirmed that the best option for facilitating regional development in order to fulfil NDDC’s mandate was for stakeholders to work together as partners. They called for town hall meetings and the engagement of the ethnic nationalities of the region before the preparation of NDDC’s budget so as to get the people’s input. In a communique, the participants urged NDDC to operate a lean budget to allow it to begin and complete projects in a budget cycle. They said less of new projects should be captured in the 2025 budget in order to ensure the quick completion of all ongoing projects under the 2024 budget.
The timeline for payment of contractors, they argued, should not exceed 45 days, allowing for 15 days buffer after which penalties will accrue for non-payment of contractors. They requested that completed projects should be removed from the budget to pave the way for new ones. They said provisions should be made for flood control in the 2024 budget, considering the flood predictions, the likely impact on the region and the provision of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps in local government areas to cater for would-be victims. The participants stressed the need for the commission to strike a balance between meeting political demands and serving the region by executing people centric-projects.
Part of the communique reads: “To ensure equity among all local government areas regarding the 2024 budget, the commission should identify deserving ongoing projects with significant completion status and where the funds committed to such projects are insufficient, funds may be drawn from the legacy debt to augment.”
Earlier, NDDC Managing Director, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, said the commission was building partnerships that would yield results for the people of the region. ”We are also looking at partnerships with the IOCs and the NLNG to execute projects. We are looking at a situation where the IOCs will use their contributions to the NDDC to fund projects in the region. We don’t just want to collect the contributions. We are looking at a situation where we evaluate the specific IOC’s contribution and direct them to use for specific projects that we identified.” Ogbuku said the PSD Forum was a testament to collective collaboration and coordination, uniting a diverse spectrum of stakeholders within the region with a view to addressing pivotal issues such as environmental degradation, social exclusion, and governance gaps.
He lamented the challenge of inadequate funding, but noted that the commission had continued to erect veritable platforms for sustainable partnerships. According to him, since the current NDDC management came on board, it has focused on public private partnership (PPP) as the way to achieve the commission’s mandate of ensuring the region’s sustainable development.
In a keynote address, Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs Permanent Secretary, Dr Shuaib Belgore, urged the leadership of NDDC to ensure timely submission of the commission’s annual budget to enable the ministry conduct its due diligence before sending the proposal to the Presidency. Belgore, represented by the ministry’s Director of Planning, Research and Statistics, Mr. Alfred Abah, praised the NDDC for developing a budgetary process that brought all stakeholders on board, noting that this was in tandem with the provisions of the laws.
He said NDDC budgets over the years had faced some challenges, which included belated submission and delayed approvals, which led to poor implementation. The Permanent Secretary said NDDC did well by assembling critical stakeholders to prepare its 2024 budget of the Commission, which focused on a common quest for the development of the Niger Delta region. He said the theme of the conference was apt for achieving an effective budgeting system for the NDDC in line with the ‘’Renewed Hope’’ agenda of the Federal Government.
NDDC Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Major. General Charles Airhiavbere (retd), emphasised the need for an all-inclusive budget for the commission. The conference, he said, was geared towards stakeholders’ participation and restructuring of the commission’s entire budgeting process in order to achieve a realistic and implementable budget, and the attainment of strategic goals and objectives through PPP.
His counterpart for Projects, Mr. Charles Ogunmola, said the management was doing things differently, noting that the conference was a first step in achieving a renaissance for the Niger Delta.
Deputy National Chairman of TROMPCON, Oba Obafemi Ogbaro, called for closer ties between NDDC and traditional rulers in the region, urging the commission to involve the royal fathers in the monitoring and supervision of development projects.
In a goodwill message, Economic Adviser to Akwa Ibom State governor, Dr Uduakobong Enang, implored the stakeholders to focus on meeting the aspirations and goals of the people of the region.
In Nigeria, religion is a passionate topic. Of course, given the extent that religion, particularly Islam and Christianity, have shaped and are still shaping the country, it shouldn’t be surprising. Many schools were founded by pioneers of these faiths. Governments declare holidays during Islamic and Christian festivals. It even sponsors Muslims and Christians on religious pilgrimage to some Holy lands. Often, when religious balance is being discussed, the choice is between Islam and Christianity.
To many Nigerians, Indigenous traditional religions are invisible. Where they are seen, many consider them evil. Yet, across the country, there exist worshippers of traditional religions. Sadly, over the years, adherents of traditional religions have been subjugated, denigrated and fought against by the majority of Christians and Muslims. Call it a tyranny of the two big religions and you won’t be wrong.
While this situation is not restricted to Nigeria, it was to balance such as it exists all over the world that the United Nations declared every August 20 as African Traditional Religion (ATR) Day. This year, Lagos has braved a new frontier to officially recognise the ATR Day which is popularly called ‘Isese’ Day amongst the Yoruba. While the southwest states of Ogun, Oyo and Osun have also declared public holidays to celebrate the festival, the case of Lagos leading this drive is important. The place of Lagos as a microcosm of Nigeria in terms of cultural diversity, population and unity is undeniable.
But this sentiment is not the same across the country as some recent happenings in Kwara have brought this religious tyranny to national light. In July, an Osun priestess, Yeye Ajesikemi Olokun Omolara Olatunji, announced a three-day traditional event aimed at celebrating certain Yoruba deities to be held in Ilorin, the state capital. But a Muslim group, Majlisu Shabab li Ulamahu Society, went to her house to warn her against it. Also, the International Council for Ifa Religion (ICIR) had planned to celebrate its Isese festival on August 20 in Ilorin. But various Islamic clusters kicked against it, vowing to ensure the festival does not hold.
And just last week, the Council of Ulama (Islamic clerics) in Kwara State warned anyone from celebrating Isese Day in any part of the Ilorin Emirate. Speaking at a press conference behalf of the chairman of the Council of Ulama and Chief Imam of Ilorin, Sheik Bashir Salihu, the executive secretary of the council, Justice Salihu Mohammed, said Ifa Festival would not be allowed in Asa, Moro, Ilorin East, Ilorin West and Ilorin South local government areas which make up Ilorin Emirate. Present at the event were Imam Gambari, Ajanasi Agba, Sheikh Yusuf Pakata, Professor Badmas Yusuf, two former grand Khadis, Justices Idris Haroon and Ola AbdulKadir; former president of Ilorin Emirate Descendants Progressive Union (IEDPU), Alh AbdulHamid Adi; and representatives of Imams and Alfas from all the 16 local government areas of the state.
Harping on how Islam has been practised in Ilorin for over 200 years, Mohammed opined that it was a security “threat” and act of “cultural imperialism” for the ICIR to hold their festival in Ilorin on August 20th 2023. He also asked the Kwara State government to restrain the youths from practising any traditional religion.
“As community and opinion leaders in our various places of abode, we are not unaware of the readiness of various youth groups never to allow the staging of the so called ‘isese’ festival anywhere in Ilorin,” Mohammed said.
“To them, such activities would pollute the peace and tranquillity of the community as it is also seen as an invasion and an act of cultural imperialism.
“We as leaders, see merit in the position of the Muslim youths. We sincerely believe that it is unwise and wrong for non-residents of a community to forcefully impose imported thoughts or practices on their hosts .This is repugnant to natural justice and it will certainly lead to the breakdown of law and order.”
“We must make it abundantly clear that we are not against the celebration of Isese festival. What is important to let the whole World know is that we , the people of Ilorin, have absolutely nothing to do with it. We understand the motive of their sinister and abominable move but warn that Ilorin have moved on.
“The Emirate might be a Yoruba speaking city, it must be realised that its present culture is no longer that of Yoruba, Hausa, Fulani, Nupe or any other, but purely an Islamic culture. We therefore advise that they should allow peace to reign across Nigeria. All we are saying is that it should not be held where the celebrators and celebration would not be welcomed. Ilorin is certainly not among the places that should be considered for such a festival if the organisers are patriotic and well-meaning.”
Reacting to the situation, the Kwara State Police Command had advised ICIR to relocate celebration of the Isese festival to another state, citing security reports against it being held in Kwara.
“They (ICIR) have been advised to relocate their celebration to another state pending a favourable security situation in the state,” said the Kwara State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Okasanmi Ajayi, in a statement.
It is interesting to note that the police could have offered the traditionalists protection but did not. Eventually, ICIR was browbeaten to cancel its proposed celebration of Isese Day in Kwara.
In a country that is secular, it is shameful what played out in Kwara where traditionalists are prevented from practising their faith. It is also condemnable that the Kwara State government is maintaining a deathly silence over the matter. If this is not religious bullying by the Kwara Muslims, I wonder what it is.
However, the case is different in Lagos. Traditionalists had also been clamouring for some sort of official recognition and in July, it was reported in the news that the Lagos State Council of Obas and Chiefs wanted the state to officially recognise and declare August 20 as Isese Day holiday in the state.
“It is a demand that has been on the table of the governor for so long,” said the Elegushi of Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom, Oba Saheed Elegushi, on behalf of the council.
“We, the traditional institution, celebrate the yearly Isese Day on August 20, and we’ve written to the (Lagos State) House of Assembly, which is still pending before them. We should have our holiday on August 20 to celebrate Isese Day. That’s why we are begging the governor for approval because we’re in a democracy, and we should be able to practise our religion, irrespective of who we are.”
As Lagos continues to show, it is more productive to promote aspects of religion that embrace peace and harmony rather than focus on the differences and hence divisive aspects of religion. With mutual respect, tolerance and cooperation, different religions can thrive side by side. After all, they largely preach the same thing – love for God and love for fellow men.
With Lagos now officially recognising the day, it would bring about a sense of belonging to traditionalists. Folks in Kwara and similar states can learn from Lagos how to allow people practice whatever religion they like as long as it does not contravene the law or harm others.
Once again, it’s kudos to Lagos for championing the rights of traditionalists.
Of the 16 newly elected Governors in the country, Senator Uba Sani, the young and ebullient Governor of Kaduna State seems the most prepared for the top job. For one, Senator Sani is thoroughly rounded in administration and governance. Better still, the Kaduna State Governor has a firm understanding of the workings of all arms and tiers of Government at both the Federal and State levels.
Though Governor Uba Sani started out as a fiery pro-democracy and human rights activist in the heady days of military rule in Nigeria – working closely with pro-democracy icons of that era like the late Chief Gani Fawehinmi, Beko Ransome-Kuti, Chima Ubani, Yinka and (his wife) Joe Okei-Odumakin, among others; with the nation’s eventual attainment of democratic rule in 1999, Uba Sani retreated to his professional training as an Engineer and calling as a businessman. Today, however, Governor Uba Sani has become a shining symbol of careful grooming in politics and governance.
The rather down-to-earth Governor of Kaduna State is deploying inclusive governance as a very potent weapon to curb acute poverty, banditry and general insecurity in the State. The Governor makes no pretenses about his administration’s resolve to make overwhelming majority of the citizens and residents of Kaduna State, directly feel the impact of government. Uba Sani intentionally treats all the local government areas in Kaduna State as equals and spreads both infrastructural development and political patronage equally.
Even more important, Governor Uba Sani is a believer in identifying and harvesting the good in people and he readily avers that underdevelopment, poverty and lack of inclusion are at the root of the seemingly intractable security challenges that Kaduna has been battling with over the years. He seeks to change the poor narrative and status quo. Governor Uba Sani is totally committed to opening up and bringing to the mainstream all the geo-political zones in Kaduna State but specially targeting the poor, vulnerable, underserviced, youth and women population in the State.
Governor Uba Sani is building on the giant strides of his immediate predecessor, Mallam Nasir El Rufa’i without seeming to be duplicating efforts already accomplished or achieved by the phenomenal El Rufa’i. Governor Uba Sani is at home with the fact that government is a continuum. ÒOur vision is to make Kaduna the Leading Economic Hub in the North. We want to create a business cluster that will drive competition in the Northern Region. Kaduna State is rich in natural and human resources. It is the gateway to many parts of Nigeria. It is a transportation hub. The immediate past government worked assiduously to upgrade the infrastructure in the state. We are determined to build on that legacy to fasttrack the economic development of the state,Ó the Governor says.
Governor Uba Sani who proved himself as a champion of financial inclusion while he served as the Chairman of Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Matters between 2019 and May 29, 2023, when he was sworn-in as Governor, is leading a revolution of sorts in Kaduna State by bringing millions of underserviced persons under one form of financial service or the other.
Indeed, long before the Federal Government announced series of palliative measures aimed at cushioning the effect of the withdrawal of subsidy on petroleum products, notably PMS (petrol), Governor Uba Sani made history on Tuesday, 25 July 2023 when he signed his first Executive Order as Governor on “Financial Inclusion in Kaduna State.Ó The Order is pursuant to his administration’s efforts to address the exclusion of about 2.1 million poor, underserved and vulnerable citizens in the rural areas from financial services in Kaduna State and to ensure they benefit from the State’s and Federal Government’s Social Intervention Programmes.
ÒIn exercise of the powers conferred on me by Section 5 (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) and all other powers enabling me in that behalf, I make the following orders: A Financial Inclusion and Literacy Committee is hereby constituted to fashion strategies and modalities to ensure the inclusion of the poor, underserved and vulnerable in Kaduna State, as well as equip them with financial skills to enable them make sound financial and investment decisions,Ó the Governor asserts in the Executive Order.
The target of the State Government is to include about 1.2 million poor, underserved, unbanked and vulnerable citizens in the financial services sector in the next one year; The State Government, in collaboration with key stakeholders, including CSOs, NGOs and Financial Technology Companies (FINTECHS) is poised to develop a State Financial Inclusion Strategy. In this regard, the Executive Order stipulates as follows: The State Government shall develop a State Register of the Poor, Under-Served and Vulnerable. The Register will be subjected to various stages of integrity tests; The State Government shall work with banks and other financial service providers to open bank accounts for un-banked citizens, and embark on aggressive sensitisation programme to ensure the mass participation of the State’s citizens in this exercise; The State Government, in collaboration with regulatory agencies in the financial sector will organize Financial Literacy Workshops to equip citizens with financial skills that will enable them make sound financial and investment decisions.
The Executive Order further compels the Kaduna State Government to consult with key stakeholders like Traditional Rulers, Religious Leaders, Local Government Chairmen, Youth, Women and Community Development Associations to ensure the mass sensitisation and involvement of the citizens in this financial inclusion drive.
Governor Uba Sani is a strong proponent and believer in both the kinetic and non-kinetic option in battling banditry and general insecurity in Kaduna State. On the kinetic option, he has since assuming office, visited the service chiefs of the nation’s armed forces to pledge the full cooperation of Kaduna State in the fight against bandits and criminals in the State. ÒMy administration shall work very closely with the nation’s military and other security agencies in our collective efforts to rid the State of bandits and criminals. We are even prepared to fund some of their operations in our state within the little resources available to usÓ he said in a recent media chat.
Similarly, Governor Uba Sani has rebooted the Kaduna State Vigilante Service. Other than procuring needed vehicles and other equipment for the Vigilante Service, his administration is currently recruiting able young men and women into the re-energised Kaduna State Vigilante Service. The Governor says the State will recruit 7,000 persons to nudge up the current size of the Service’s personnel from 2,000 to 9,000.
ÒThroughout my stay in the Senate, I was a strong advocate of State Police; but unfortunately, the 10th National Assembly, despite our best efforts was unable to achieve this. But the law permits States to set up Vigilante Services. Ours in Kaduna State will abide by all extant laws; In fact, they will be trained at the Police College and shall work very closely with the Police. We are projecting that in a matter of days, Kaduna State will rank among the safest States in Nigeria,Ó Governor Uba Sani enthused.
On the other hand, Governor Uba Sani’s non-kinetic approach centres on taking development to the remotest parts of the State. Governor Sani, who has since taken a 50 per cent salary cut himself, wants to conquer poverty and crass deprivation in rural areas of Kaduna State, provide basic necessities and empowerment for persons leaving in rural communities, especially the youth population and women. ÒWe may not eradicate entrenched institutional causes of insecurity in Kaduna State immediately but we are on a daily basis reducing incidences of banditry, organized crimes and general insecurity in the State by deliberately targeting and meeting the needs of the poor, vulnerable and underserviced persons in our vast rural communities. Curbing insecurity is not a 100-metre dash, that is achievable in seconds like Usain Bolt; it is a marathon; I can attest to the fact that in this big race, we are taking giant strides and our efforts are yielding huge positive results, by the grace of God,Ó Gov. Uba Sani opined.
Pursuant to this goal of opening up and bringing development to all the local government areas of Kaduna State, earlier this month (August), Governor Uba Sani performed the groundbreaking of the Qatar Sanabil Project, initiated by Qatar Charity for the construction of the Kaduna Economic City and provision of Mass Housing for the Less Privileged persons in Kaduna State. He was joined at the ceremony by top officials of the Kaduna State Government, Embassy of the State of Qatar, Qatar Charity and enthusiastic citizens of our dear state.
Located at Millennium City, Kaduna, the Economic City, when completed, will provide world class infrastructure and make Kaduna a reference point in modern and affordable accommodation, adequate security and conducive atmosphere for business activities. The Economic City will facilitate international trade. It will serve as a platform for entrepreneurs and traders. It will help harness product value chain opportunities and improve economic growth. In the Economic City, there will be Houses for the Poor, Clinics, Shops, Poultry Farms, Farmlands for Rainy Season and Irrigation Farming.
ÒThe Mass Housing Project for the Less Privileged is a major contribution towards putting roofs over the heads of the poor, underserved and vulnerable in our state. This will go a long way in addressing a major gap in our Interventions in the Housing Sector over the years,Ó the Kaduna State Governor said.
Other empowerment programmes that the poor, underserved and vulnerable in Kaduna State will benefit from the Qatar Charity include: scholarships for orphans and children of the poor, distribution of sewing machines, welding machines, irrigation pumping machines, salon kits, and drilling of hundreds of boreholes across the 23 local governments of Kaduna State.
ÒOn behalf of the good people of Kaduna State, I want to specially thank Qatar Charity, as well as the Qatar Government and the Qatar Embassy in Nigeria for choosing to support the Kaduna State people with a multimillion dollars charity project, the ‘Kaduna Economic City’ that will include building of houses for the less privileged, underserved and vulnerable people, special homes for orphans, hospitals, markets, schools etc,Ó Governor Uba Sani asserted at the event.
In addition to this charitable work, the Qatar Charity will also provide startup support for small scale businesses, poultry farms and irrigation farmlands for the poor, full scholarships for thousands of orphans and poor children, provision of hundreds of boreholes across the 23 local governments amongst others.
Relatedly, pursuant to his efforts to promote digital inclusion and leverage technology to drive economic growth in Kaduna State, Governor Uba Sani has attracted digital technology giant, google, to Kaduna State. The Governor recently received a high-powered delegation from Google Africa led by its Director for West Africa, Mr. Olumide Balogun to Kaduna recently.
ÒI am glad that Google Africa has answered our call to promote digital innovation and inclusion. Kaduna State has a high digital maturity index. We have creative and talented young people who are ready and motivated to learn, especially in this age of Artificial Intelligence,Ó an elated Governor Uba Sani said at the meeting.
The Kaduna State Government in collaboration with Google, will train 5,000 women and girls in data science, artificial intelligence, and entrepreneurial application of digital technologies. The programme will be executed by Data Science Nigeria, which will set up Arewa Tech4Ladies. This initiative is crafted to serve four key semi-urban and rural communities in Kaduna State, offering specialised women-focused learning, mentoring, and job placement support facilities.
Governor Uba Sani said that the Kaduna State Government will give Google and its partners the necessary support to effectively implement this laudable initiative.
Following a recent outbreak of diphtheria along the Kaduna medical corridors, Governor Uba Sani left nothing to chance as he mobilized his team and collaborated effectively with agencies of the Federal Government to battle the scourge. With the scare of diphtheria fully surmounted, the Governor proceeded to proactively launch a Statewide Immunization Campaign for the Prevention of the Integrated Fractional Inactivated PolioVirus Vaccine (FIPV).
Governor Sani is prioritising Human Capital Development as a key pillar of his administration’s developmental agenda. On this score, the Governor is determined to return as many indigenes of Kaduna State back to both formal and vocational education. The Governor is keen on removing all barriers to access to education for children and youths of the State.
For starters, in response to the public outcry over the seemingly prohibitive fees being charged by tertiary institutions in Kaduna State and its effect on school enrolment and retention, Governor Uba Sani directed heads of tertiary institutions in conjunction with the State’s Ministry of Education to obtain relevant information on the extant fees regime in state owned tertiary institutions. At the end of their assignment, far-reaching observations and recommendations were made for the Governor’s consideration and approval. These include: That the extant fees regime in the state-owned tertiary institutions is burdensome and has led to a significant decline in student enrolments; That the extant fees have made many students to either abandon the pursuit of tertiary education or moved to alternative institutions; That to reverse the trend mentioned, it is imperative that a competitive fees model should be adopted in the State’s tertiary institutions and that the competitive fees model responds to current realities and promotes access to quality education.
Following these recommendations, Governor Uba Sani on Monday, August 21, announced that Òas a caring, responsive and responsible government, his administration has accepted the recommendations and accordingly reviewed downwards the fees paid in all tertiary institutions owned by Kaduna Sate by between 30 per cent and 50 per centÓ. Under the new dispensation, the Governor moved the extant fee of N150,000 at the Kaduna State University to N106,000; Fees for the State-Owned Polytechnic (Nuhu Bamali Polytechnic) was reduced by 50 per cent from the extant rate of N100,000 to N50,000. In the same regard, fees paid at the State’s College of Education, Gidan Waya was reduced by 50 per cent from N75,000 to N37,000. Fees paid at the Kaduna State College of Nursing was reduced from N100,000 to N70,000, a 30 per cent reduction.
Governor Uba Sani said that the downward review of the extant fees regime in schools owned by the State aligns with his administration’s commitment to offering palliatives to cushion the effect of the rising cost of living in the polity, especially in the wake of recent petroleum subsidy removal in Nigeria.
ÒThe welfare of the people is our topmost priority. Our administration shall continue to take all measures necessary to ensure access to free and qualitative education for every child in Kaduna State from primary to secondary school; expand access to higher education; enhance Teachers’ Welfare & Teaching Standards; improve School Infrastructure; build ICT competence in our students from basic education level; and intensify investments in Technical & Vocational Education,Ó the Governor announced.
Governor Uba Sani summed up the immediate direction of his administration during the swearing-in event of the newly appointed commissioners in the State:
ÒI charge you all (Commissioners) to adopt the inclusive approach to leadership. You must build a team and see everybody as important. You must get down to work immediately and deliver on the 7-Point Agenda of our administration, namely: Safety and Security, Upgrade of Infrastructure, Strengthening Institutions, Trade and Investment, Agriculture, Investing in Human Capital, and Nurturing Citizens’ Engagement. The central focus of our administration is however the Transformation of the Rural Areas. We want to revitalize the economies of the rural areas through massive infrastructural development.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State will not cease to amuse the populace with its seemingly innocuous drama bordering on the proceedings of the Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, the state capital.
Once again, this week, the party went to town with another comedy of errors, celebrating a purported victory for its candidate, Oladipupo Adebutu, in the Wednesday ruling of the Court of Appeal on the counter-accusation of vote-buying filed against Governor Dapo Abiodun.
For proper clarification, Adebutu is the one currently facing the charges of vote-buying, disruption of the electoral process, criminal conspiracy, money laundering, and other sundry allegations of manipulation at the Tribunal. For fear of the unknown, he is currently on self-exile in an undisclosed location abroad to escape the long arms of the law. While the hearing lasted, we watched with consternation how his lead counsel, Gordy Uche (SAN), fiercely struggled to defend his case before he eventually succumbed to the overwhelming evidence of electoral malfeasances allegedly committed during the governorship election, declaring that “he was handicapped.”
One of these damning testimonies was made by an official of Zenith Bank, Mrs. Celestina Appeal, the Head of Card Services of the bank, who presented evidence of 200,000 preloaded ATM cards meant for vote-buying to the tribunal. The startling revelation of the underhand deal followed an earlier submission of two letters written by counsel to Governor Abiodun, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), to Zenith Bank in February, seeking clarification on how Adebutu opened a special account for the purpose of his action with the bank as well as the request he made for the issuance of 200,000 preloaded ATM cards containing N10,000 each, some days before the March 18, 2023 gubernatorial election.
Put under cross-examination, not only did Ms Appeal present the certified true copy of a letter written to Zenith Bank by Oladipupo Adebutu dated 27th February 2023, two days after the presidential election which the PDP lost, requesting to open an account for the production of 200,000 ATM verve cards containing N10,000 each, totaling N2 billion, but also tendered the record of delivery of and collection of the prepaid ATM cards to Adebutu, and the sample of the card, including the statement of account opened in the name of Oladipupo Adebutu, all indicating inflow and outflow of the account from February to May 2023 and Certificate of Compliance.
Two other star witnesses further corroborated this. The first was Mr. Odesanya Olalekan, an artisan from Ijebu North East, and Adeosun Waheed. Both of them confirmed the distribution of the preloaded ATM cards by PDP members on the day of the election and also testified that members of the party disrupted the voting process in the course of their resistance to the use of the BVAS in the conduct of the election.
With these testimonies, who will not know that Adebutu is merely running away from his shadow? But as a drowning man who desperately needed a straw to hold on to, the fugitive candidate, knowing full well that he had no route of escape, having been charged to court, decided to add a fresh twist to the matter, raising a counter-accusation of vote-buying against the APC and Governor Abiodun without any verifiable evidence to back up the claims.
Unfortunately for him, the machination could not stand the test of time. It fell with a loud thud following the police investigation into the matter. In the final analysis, the report presented before the tribunal expressly stated that the allegation of over-voting levelled against APC by the PDP was not substantiated.
The report of the findings reads in part: “That contrary to the claims of some of the witnesses brought forward by the PDP, Daniel Obadamilare, Adesina Sakiru, Dauda Kamil and Ogunleye Francis, their claims of vote-buying cannot be substantiated as they were unable to mention the POS agents that were alleged to have converted the cards to cash for them.
“The APC has denied the allegations leveled against them by presenting evidence such as the Official Gazette and the Executive Order establishing the Ogun State Social Investment Programme, presenting Local Government Chairmen as witnesses to its functionality at the grassroots, presenting beneficiaries of the social investment programme as witnesses and also a sample of appointment letter given to the SIOs (Social Investment Officers).”
Then, the clincher followed. The tribunal sitting in Abeokuta, summarily dismissed the case, declaring it as an afterthought on the ground that it was not part of the original petition filed against the respondents. It was as a result of his failure to bring down Abiodun that Adebutu hurriedly sneaked out of the country and still remains at large now, while he continues to fight a proxy war at the tribunal.
In the same vein and for the umpteenth time, a special panel of the Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja, Wednesday, affirmed the decision of the Ogun State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal which had earlier struck out all allegations of vote-buying and voter inducement filed against Governor Dapo Abiodun and APC.
The appellate court equally confirmed that all allegations of vote-buying in Adebutu’s reply were incompetent and as such, it struck out paragraphs 21, 22, 23, 24, 31, 32, 33, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44 of the Reply leaving some a few hollow paragraphs. In the same vein, the Court of Appeal threw out the entire appeal filed by Adebutu and PDP against the decision of the Ogun State Gubernatorial Election Petition Tribunal which upheld the validity of Governor Abiodun’s defence. It described the appeal filed by Adebutu as unmeritorious and struck it out in its entirety.
With these decisions, Adebutu and the PDP will have to face the full wrath of the law for the allegations of vote-buying that Governor Abiodun had instituted against them. But instead of facing the consequences of their action, they are out to create confusion in the state, interpreting the judgment that is unambiguously clear to suit their selfish purpose.
To set the record straight, however, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State has already alerted the public of the evil machination. In a press statement issued in Abeokuta and signed by the State Publicity Secretary of the party, Tunde Oladunjoye, the party urged the public to disregard the bull-and-cock stories being churned out.
The statement reads in part: “While we have applied for the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the judgment, we urge PDP and its agents to be responsible enough not to distort public records. Their lies cannot last for long.”
”It has become pertinent to alert the general public on the desperate antics of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ogun State on the judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered today.
“It is true the defeated opposition party and its defeated candidate, Ladi Adebutu, who is currently on the run, approached the Court of Appeal, where a suit was filed to challenge the decision of the Ogun State Governorship Election Tribunal, which earlier struck out claims of vote-buying made by PDP against APC and Governor Dapo Abiodun, which the Tribunal described as belated and afterthought.
“The Court, in its lead judgment read by Justice MB Idris, also upheld another decision of the tribunal which confirmed the validity of the defence filed by Governor Dapo Abiodun.
“However, in a rare desperate machination, the PDP rushed to town, claiming the false allegations of vote-buying buying against APC and Dapo Abiodun have been restored by the Appeal Court! There is nothing further than the truth.”
What have we not seen since the tribunal started the hearing proceedings of the case against Governor Abiodun? We have seen the ugly face of violence foisted on the good people of the state in the immediate post-election period. We triumphed because we are on the side of the people. When that failed, they resorted to reckless campaigns of calumny against the innocent Governor. Yet, it didn’t gel. We cannot also forget in a hurry how they routinely organised street protests as a way of blackmailing the electoral umpire, INEC, and to also subdue the judiciary to do their bidding through subtle intimidation. Their last antic is to create confusion ahead of the tribunal judgment. All of these underscore their lack of confidence in the state institution including the judiciary. The whole effervescent after the filling of their election petitions was because they knew they had no case and they have nothing to turn to other than noise-making.
PDP as an opposition party has a prodigious capacity for mischief-making not only here in Ogun State but at any level of government. We know their antecedents. They are part and parcel of the forces fueling social media campaigns and all the negative sentiments that seem to cast an aspersion of the judiciary and other state institutions. As if we have never had an election before, they have routinely criticized and desecrated the temple of justice simply because they lost an election that they knew they could not win in the first instance under a free and fair contest.
But whether or not they like it, the judiciary will act accordingly to the law of the land not the wish of any political party, social media pressure, or influence by big politicians. At all levels, we have watched the whole proceedings of the election petition tribunals. The process has been very strict in terms of upholding the law. For these Judges we see, none of them will bow to intimidation. They will not yield to any form of superficial sentimentality. They are men of honour and integrity.
With the overwhelming weight of evidences the APC and Governor Abiodun have presented before the Tribunal, Adebutu, and his cohort have seen the defeat staring them in the face. The fugitive candidate fears the faith that will befall him if eventually he is convicted and found guilty of the alleged criminality he committed in the last election and so he will stop at nothing to escape the punitive sanction prescribed by the law.
By going to town with a distorted version of the Appeal judgment that is unambiguously clear, the PDP supporters have two things in mind to achieve. One is to cause deliberate confusion in the state. The second reason is self-consolation. Whatever happens, it is the fundamental right of every individual to make him or herself happy under all manners of circumstances. So, if the intention of the supporters of the PDP is to merely gyrate, making fun of the judgment with its innocuous dreams without necessarily causing any harm, so be it.
At the end of the day, judgement will come one day. As far as APC is concerned, there is no shaking; there is no cause for alarm. In the final analysis, it is what is presented to the tribunal the judiciary will go and rule on. It is not sentiment, it is not pressure.
All we are saying now is that parties involved in litigation should be cautious enough to give the Judges the benefit of the doubt for them to do their job. They should not put words into their mouth. Unfortunately, when we have come to a stage where some people have literally written judgments for the matters the trial Judges have not decided. It is all about the power game. Whether or not we like it, the judges will do their job without intimidation, fear or favour. They will give reasons for whatever decision they arrive at. They are not going to listen to any gossip or propaganda. The good people of Ogun State should just be patient, for the best is going to come in the fullness of time.
•Ogbonnikan wrote from Abeokuta, Ogun State capital
On Thursday, August 30, 2007, former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua directed that all the budgets for 2008 related to the Niger Delta region must be cut according to the Niger Delta Regional Development Master Plan, which was facilitated by the Niger Delta Development Commission. He was speaking at the launching of that momentous strategic development blueprint, which was developed with the active collaboration of all Niger Delta stakeholders.
The collaboration and synergy which he recommended was to be implemented by the Partners for Sustainable Development (PSD) Forum, which had also been created as part of the Master Plan’s implementation guideline. In response to that presidential directive, and in discharging that responsibility, key stakeholders in the region met several times under the PSD Forum, and worked out the best strategy for actualising the provisions and prescriptions of the Master Plan, across board.
For the first time in the history of the Niger Delta, Governors of the nine-member states, through their state officials, worked with other stakeholders to build a synergy with the NDDC, towards streamlining their 2008 Budgets for optimum delivery of development initiatives. As groundbreaking as it was, however, that very important collaboration did not last long, definitely not as long as the Master Plan itself, which expired in 2020.
Today, in this iconic Niger Delta city of Uyo, celebrated for its capacity to warmly receive every visitor, no matter his place or persuasion, with open arms, we are gathered here, sixteen years after that presidential directive, to renew our commitment as a region and as a people, to work together for our common good, and shared prosperity. Today, under a new leader, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose famed work in rebuilding Lagos State as Governor emboldens all of us to believe, once again, that there is hope for Nigeria and the Niger Delta region, in particular, we are laying a fresh foundation for the kind of partnership needed to facilitate regional sustainable development.
Our vision as Management is founded on this kind of partnership. In the past few months since our appointment, we have continued to erect a veritable platform upon which this partnership must thrive. As I have earlier noted, it is public knowledge that inadequate funding ranks very high among the numerous challenges of the Commission. Consequently, we are promoting the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, in order to provide an alternative source for key development projects and programmes. This initiative aligns with the NDDC mandate, as well as the sustainable development goals 17, which focuses on partnerships.
Only recently, we have hosted two NDDC-PPP summits, and engaged with potential foreign partners in Houston, United States of America, as a strategic stakeholder initiative to launch the NDDC PPP model. This model is designed to communicate a new phase for the Commission that will create a gateway of opportunities for foreign and local investors, captains of industry and multilateral agencies. Working together, we will build a new Niger Delta that fulfils the mandate of NDDC, of a region that is indeed socially stable, economically prosperous, ecologically regenerative and politically peaceful.
That is why this conference is very vital. For one, it helps to revive the platform of the Partners for Sustainable Development (PSD) Forum, which was created as part of the regional Master Plan implementation guideline, to bring all service providers and project implementers to the same table, to fashion a common pathway, based on a shared vision, for the development of the Niger Delta region. For another, it affords all of us the incentive and opportunity to pool our resources together, initiate projects and programmes within the obligatory goal of building a better region, and empowering our people.
By so doing, we would, arising from this conference, galvanise our energies for a common purpose, eliminate duplications and institutional suspicions in the development process, reduce the incidence of working at cross purposes, as well as reduce wastage of scarce resources allocated for regional developmental initiatives by all stakeholders. In the end, we all would be in a better position to achieve the different aspects and levels of our collective mandate to facilitate the sustainable development of the Niger Delta into a region of our shared aspirations and dreams”.
To succeed, we must remain committed to doing things differently from the past. We must move from the era where we express a determination to making a difference in the Niger Delta, to actually making that difference. There is no better time than now. We are improving and strengthening our internal processes and institutional protocols. We are taking definitive and definite steps towards following due process in all our operations. We must become transparent in ways that build confidence among our partners and stakeholders. We must be more mindful in the allocation of funds to projects and programmes, and remove all areas of waste.
And we stand a better chance to succeed by building that synergy that propels our work and our region into that future we have always envisioned. That work continues here, with all of us, by reviving this forum and the strength in our unity, with all its important benefits. It is our belief that this new initiative will help build needed consensus among partners and across the Niger Delta, to ensure that we can, together, truly implement visible projects and programmes with far-reaching impact in our communities, in our shared and unwavering commitment to rebuilding the Niger Delta.
Ultimately, therefore, we would have found a common ground with President Tinubu’s far-reaching vision of hope, our common heritage as a people and our known tradition of hospitality, equity, industry and common purpose, woven together in a fabric that proclaims: “partnership for progress”.
•Ogbuku is Managing Director Niger Delta Development Commission
