The Nation Newspaper

Category: South West

  • Sanwo-Olu picks PVC

    Sanwo-Olu picks PVC

    • Urges Lagosians to get voter cards

    Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has appealed to residents, who are of voting age, to pick up their permanent voter cards (PVCs), from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) offices in their localities.

    He made the appeal yesterday when he stopped by at INEC office in Sura area of Lagos Island Local Government to pick up his reprinted PVC alongside Deputy Governor Dr. Obafemi Hamzat and some of his Executive Committee (Exco) members.

    Governor Sanwo-Olu, who is seeking re-election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a few months ago re-designated his location and updated his details, having moved his polling unit from Ikoyi to Lagos Island, ahead of next year’s governorship election.

    He reminded the people that it is only when they collect their PVCs that they will be able to exercise their franchise during next year’s general election.

    He said: “Today, INEC officially started the collection of PVCs and because I did a re-designation of my address of where I was and where I am now, I had to move my polling unit.

    “I am here to demonstrate to all our citizens that I have complied. I have come to pick up my reprinted voter card and I want to enjoin everyone to take this opportunity to go out and pick their PVCs.

    “I have collected mine and you can see that I am at the INEC office here, and it is peaceful. Within two minutes they sorted it out and I signed to collect my own. So my advice is for all of us that still have our PVCs uncollected to please come out and do the rightful thing.

    “It is only with this that you can participate in next year’s election. I wish all of us the very best and as we go into this exercise, I hope it is something that is worth it very seriously as another civic responsibility.”

    Governor Sanwo-Olu expressed confidence that Lagosians would  do the right thing by re-electing him during the governorship poll based on his administration’s performance during the first term.

  • Adeleke cries out over non-remittance of 13% derivation on gold

    Adeleke cries out over non-remittance of 13% derivation on gold

    Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke has lamented that mining companies across the state for the past 25 years never remitted 13 per cent derivation fund to the state’s coffers.

    Adeleke, inaugurating the Solid Mineral Sector Committee and Revenue Committee at his campaign office in Osogbo yesterday, slammed mining companies across the state for refusing to obey Osun extant laws and pay less or no attention to the rivers polluted by their activities.

    He ordered that illegal mining activities must stop; warning that illegal mining syndicates would be arrested and prosecuted.

    The governor said: “Osun State according to extant laws is entitled to 13 per cent derivation from every ounce of gold extracted from our gold and other solid mineral fields. “Segilola Company and other operating firms are expected by law to pay Osun State 13 per cent derivation on the value of gold and other solid minerals produced in the last 25 years. To date, we have no record of any payment made by Segilola and other mining companies to Osun State. My administration is determined to recover every penny owed Osun State by companies operating in Osun gold fields.

    “This administration is committed to protecting Osun assets across board. Hence, I am today beaming strong searchlight on the solid mineral sector, especially activities of Segilola Company and other similar firms operating in our gold fields.

    “Osun State has been subjected to intense environmental degradation arising from activities of mining companies. River Osun has been polluted and our people are dying, as related illnesses are spreading. I will not allow Osun people to continue to be exposed to polluted river water and the state to be so cheated.”

    He said his administration was conducting an audit of Osun assets in the mining sector to recover state mining licences already diverted to private possession.

    Adeleke urged the committees to present their reports within two week for actions to be taken.

    He instructed Revenue Committee to review the State Internal Revenue Service and submit recommendations to increase Internally Generated Revenue by substantial percentage.

  • Youths vow to deliver 90 per cent of vote to Tinubu

    Youths vow to deliver 90 per cent of vote to Tinubu

    A youth-based group sympathetic to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Youth Peer-to-Peer, has promised to mobilise and deliver 90 per cent of the total vote cast in the state to APC candidates in the coming elections.

    It made the vow in Lagos at the launch of the second phase of its campaign for the presidential candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and his running mate, Senator Kashim Shettima.

    Speaking at the campaign tagged: “The desire for the rebirth of Nigeria”, the Chairman, Otunba Stephen Akinruli, said during the second phase, the group would reach out to stakeholders within and outside the party with the message of hope and rebirth of the greatness inherent in the Asiwaju Tinubu and Senator  Shettima presidency.

    He said the group, through its campaign, would project the potential of their principals as president and vice-president to garner more votes than ever in the history of Nigeria in 2023.

    Akinruli urged the Lagos State chapter of the group to work with the leadership of the APC in the state and other stakeholders to ensure total victory for the party at the polls.

    The National Youth Leader of the APC, Dayo Israel, congratulated the youth for identifying with the APC to ensure victory for the party’s candidates in the coming elections.

    The Director-General of the group, Ismaeel Odulana, said the P2P, which began as a youth development initiative, had provided support for indigent youths across the nation since 2014.

  • Oyetola, governor bicker over alleged looting of Governor’s Lodge

    Oyetola, governor bicker over alleged looting of Governor’s Lodge

    Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke and his predecessor, Adegboyega Oyetola, have disagreed on the alleged looting of property at the Governor’s Lodge in Abuja, owned by state government.

    Barely two weeks after Adeleke alleged that Oyetola’s men looted property at the Government House in Osogbo and Oyetola denied the allegation, saying he handed over the government assets on November 26;

    Adeleke in a statement yesterday by his spokesman, Olawale Rasheed, said the Physical Inspection Team of the State Assets Inventory and Recovery Committee, chaired by Dr. B. T. Salam and other top government functionaries, discovered that the Abuja Governor’s Lodge had been stripped of all valuables acquired with public fund by officials of the past administration.

    However, Oyetola through his media aide, Ismail Omipidan, described the allegation by Adeleke that the State Lodge in Abuja was looted by Oyetola’s men as a mere diversionary tactic by the governor to cover up his unpreparedness to govern Osun.

    He said: “If a panel on Assets Recovery has been set up, why not allow the panel to do its job and present findings? You promised to invite people to appear before the panel. You have not heard from them, yet you are passing judgment already. What’s the essence of the panel since you already know the outcome?

    “I said clearly then that these people were not ready for governance. We all can see now. It is manifesting.”

  • Workers to Adeleke: offset Aregbesola’s arrears

    Workers to Adeleke: offset Aregbesola’s arrears

    Osun State workers, under the aegis of All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), has appealed to Governor Ademola Adeleke to offset the salary owed its members by the Rauf Aregbesola administration.

    They spoke at the weekend in Osogbo at the 32nd annual congress and presentation of educational blueprint to the governor.

    ANCOPSS President Mr. Akinropo Ijaodola admonished the new administration to take their welfare more seriously and improve on the quality of education.

    He called for re-accreditation of WAEC and NECO after the schools were restored to their original status by the administration of Adegboyega Oyetola.

    Ijaodola said: “Let me passionately appeal on behalf of the teachers in the state for the payment as well as the need to offset the 29 months half salaries owed by the Aregbesola administration.

    “The salary owed the workers is a major concern to all workers, as it will benefit the sizable number of retired and serving teachers. The non-payment of these half salaries is like a dagger in the heart of workers that needs to be healed.”

  • Oyo clears refuse on Gbagi market pedestrian bridge

    Oyo clears refuse on Gbagi market pedestrian bridge

    The Oyo State Government Waste Management consultant, Mottainai Recycling Ltd has cleared heaps of refuse and human excrement at the new Gbagi pedestrian bridge, in Ibadan.

    They said the bridge has been effectively cleaned up and the authorities have assigned sweepers to ensure its sustainability.

    The Managing Director, Mottainai Recycling Ltd, Mr. Adey Adewuyi said the decision to clean pedestrian bridges in the State capital was part of the company’s commitment to keep public spaces in the State clean.

    Adewuyi called for public participation in sustaining the Oyo State Government clean environment drive.

    Read Also: Makinde hails 3SC, Team Oyo on successful outings

    “Until recently, this pedestrian bridge was home to destitute, but henceforth, we will deploy a Special Task Force to flush them out and put an end to the misuse of public infrastructure,” he said.

    He said the objective of ensuring the safety of all road users, through the use of pedestrian bridges, must not be neglected.

    Adewuyi noted that the decision to build the bridge was not unconnected with the high rate of mortality usually recorded on busy roads.

    He appealed to pedestrians to use the bridge, saying the government’s intention with the bridges is to save lives.

  • Ondo CP orders arrest of councillor’s killers

    Ondo CP orders arrest of councillor’s killers

    Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Oyeyemi Oyediran, has ordered his men to fish out attackers of Koseru community, a farm settlement in Odigbo local government area, in which a councillor was killed.

    The order was contained in a statement issued by police spokesperson Funmilayo Odunlami.

    Odunlami said a case of attempted murder was reported at Kajola Division, wherein one Juliana Alaba Abejoye was shot by two masked men while working on her farm at Ogbontiba.

    The statement said Juliana sustained injuries and was rushed to tospital.

    “On the 10th December, 2022, in what seemed to be a reprisal attacks, Aiyetoro Boys in their numbers attacked Kuseru Village, set ablaze the motorcycle parks, killed livestock, destroyed motorcycles and cut down plantain trees.

    “Police contingents were quickly dispatched to the scene. While on patrol of the villages, corpses of vigilantes were met at the Palace of Baale of Kuseru Village who were said to have been allegedly ambushed and killed, the statement said.

    “The Commissioner of Police, CP Yemi Oyediran visited the scene, urged all parties involved to sheathe their swords and allow police carry out a thorough investigation on what really happened.”

  • Oyo Christians pray for Tinubu’s victory

    Oyo Christians pray for Tinubu’s victory

    Christians in Oyo State at the weekend converged and prayed for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general election, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    The event, attended by about 1,000 selected representatives of Christian groups, was held at Ilaji Hotels and Sports Resorts, Akanran, Ibadan.

    Those at the event included the chairman of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Ibadan, the vice chairman, CAN chairmen in Lagelu, Ido, Ibadan Southwest, Ibadan North, Ibadan Northwest, Egbeda, Akinyele, Oluyole, Ibadan Southeast as well as the vice chairman in Ona Ara Local Government.

    Speaking at the event, an Ibadan chief, Dotun Sanusi, represented by Mogaji Nurudeen Akinade, said the electorate must look beyond religion so that Nigeria could move forward. He said Asiwaju Tinubu was the solution to the current problem facing the country.

  • Abiru gets assurance for Ikorodu/Itoikin road rehabilitation

    Abiru gets assurance for Ikorodu/Itoikin road rehabilitation

    The Chairman, Senate Committee on Industries and the Senator representing Lagos East  District, Adetokunbo Abiru, yesterday visited the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to show appreciation for his efforts on two critical federal roads: Ikorodu-Itoikin Road and Ikorodu/Sagamu Road.

    During the visit, the #DoingGood senator extended the gratitude of the constituents to the minister for his support and efforts on the planned rehabilitation of 32-Km Ikorodu-Itoikin Road and the accelerated work on Ikorodu-Sagamu Road, which is almost completed.

    The minister told the senator that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved rehabilitation of the Ikorodu-Itoikin Road.

    Fashola assured Abiru that the rehabilitation of the road would begin next month.

    Critical sections of the 30-Km Ikorodu/Sagamu road, from Sabo, Okegbegun, First Gate, Odogunyan, Ita-Oluwo, Ogijo, Gbaga, Sotubo, Mosimmi to Gbara village, have been fixed, remaining less than eight- kilometre to get to Sagamu.

  • ‘How we reclaimed Ogun from warlord during 2019 poll’

    ‘How we reclaimed Ogun from warlord during 2019 poll’

    Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has said it was a “life threatening journey” to reclaim the state from a “warlord”, when he contested the governorship election in 2019.

    Although he didn’t mention the name of who he was referring to as a “warlord”, in the build-up to the 2019 governorship election in Ogun, Ibikunle Amosun, who was concluding his second term as governor, had refused to support Abiodun’s candidature.

    Amid the crisis in the party, Amosun had supported Adekunle Akinlade, who left the All Progressives Congress (APC) and secured the governorship ticket of the Allied Peoples Movement (APM) – after which Amosun was suspended from the APC at the time.

    After losing the election, Akinlade rejoined the APC.

    In what appears to be a continuation of the crisis, Amosun, still an APC member, has thrown his weight behind Biyi Otegbeye, the governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), for the 2023 election.

    However, the former governor has said he would support Asiwaju Bola Tinubu of the APC in the presidential election.

    Speaking at the weekend at the inauguration of the APC campaign council in the state, Abiodun, who is seeking re-election, said despite the odds he faced in the 2019 polls, he was grateful how the party had grown.