Category: South West

Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday launched the ‘Lagos Ride Transport Initiative’, with 1,000 new GAC cars rolled out in the first phase.

The taxi hailing initiative, operated on a lease-to-own basis, is a component of the government’s multimodal transportation blueprint, executed under the Traffic Management and Transportation pillar of the THEMES agenda.

The initiative is a partnership between Lagos State-owned IBILE Holdings Limited and CIG Motors Company Limited.

Operators are required to pay about N1.9 million down payments, covering the 20 per cent equity of cost of vehicle, registration and insurance. Each car being used in the scheme comes with technology-enabled security features that monitor every journey undertaken.

Sanwo-Olu said the state had moved another step forward in its drive to develop an efficient transportation model, in tune with modernity and comfort.

He said the aim was not to run existing hailing ride operators out of business, but to offer safer alternatives and clear the roads of rickety cars.

The scheme, he added, would provide opportunities to the operators to become owners within three to four years.

The governor said: “The need to provide better, dignifying and more rewarding means of transportation and livelihood for unemployed and underemployed population gave birth to the new ‘Lagos State Taxi Scheme’, which will be operated on a lease-to-own basis. Under this arrangement, a beneficiary will be provided a new car, which will become the driver’s property after completing payment of its subsidised cost.

“This scheme will complement the bus services, which are making significant impact in the lives of our people; the water transport service, which is recording unprecedented patronage, as well as the Blue and Red Line Rail services, which are on course to begin operations between the last quarter of this year and the first quarter of 2023.”

Sanwo-Olu said an automobile assembly plant being set up in Lagos – another component of the partnership with CIG Motors, is 60 per cent completed, with  anticipated launch and start of operations expected in September.

He said: “What we are witnessing today is that Lagos is moving away from the era of rickety ‘kabu kabu’ to new, comfortable and safe transport system. The multiplier effect of this initiative on job creation, youth employment and economic growth and development in the state cannot be overstated.”

Commissioner for Transportation Frederic Oladeinde described the scheme as another milestone achievement by the government.

Ahead of Saturday’s national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Coalition of Progressive Youth (COPY) yesterday supported Afeez Bolaji ‘Repete’ to become the National Vice Chairman (Southwest).

‘Repete’, former Deputy National Youth Leader of APC, hails from Oyo State.

Speaking with reporters in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, the convener of the group,  Olanrewaju Oloja, said the decision of ‘Repete’ to join the race and his eventual emergence would show the world that APC was concerned about youth inclusion in the party.

He said: “This is the first time Oyo State will be having a National Working Committee (NWC) position since the formation of the party in 2014.”

Oloja added: “‘Repete’ distinguished himself and taught the younger generation the true meaning of loyalty when he (‘Repete’) resigned his membership of the National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party to pave the way for the late Senator Abiola Ajimobi to become the party’s Deputy National Chairman (South).

“As a well-respected group in the party, we are behind the aspiration of one of the leading figures in the state. We have no doubt that he is prepared for the challenges ahead. He will not only unify the leaders, he will also give the youth a sense of belonging in the party if trusted with the position.”

“His aspiration symbolises the aspiration of the generality of youths, and we believe that if trusted with the position, he will not only deliver as expected, he will also strengthen the party in the region as we move towards 2023 general election.”

The group appealed to Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and his Ondo State counterpart, Rotimi Akeredolu, to also key into ‘Repete’s’ youthful agenda, as other Southwest governors have done.

It urged the delegates to vote for ‘Repete’ on Saturday.

THE Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Chief Afe Babalola, has urged the political elite and influential Nigerians to desist from seeking medical treatments and other health-related services abroad.

He said Afe Babalola Multi-system Hospital had adequate capacity to offer advanced health services, adding that with its medical exploits so far, Nigerians had no reason to go abroad for medical attention.

The foremost legal luminary spoke at the 13th matriculation and grand finale of the 4th anniversary of the Multi-system Hospital, which will begin operation on March 21, 2018.

He said the teaching hospital had become a frontline and first-class health institution in Africa in the area of general medicine and treatment of kidney, heart and cardiovascular diseases.

Babalola described infrastructure, equipment and personnel in the teaching hospital as supersonic, imploring Nigerians to show more trust in the services offered by tertiary health care providers in the country.

He said funds going to other countries where Nigerians sought medical treatment would help improve the country’s ailing health system when people patronised local health facilities.

Babalola said: “I challenge the Council of Traditional Rulers to go and pass a resolution,  asking President Muhammadu Buhari to come here and see what we are doing.”

“Former Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan came here. Why can’t President Buhari be here to see how we are contributing to nation building?”

Addressing the matriculating students, Babalola congratulated the parents, saying “they have chosen the best university in this part of the world that offers good and reliable certificates as well as infusing good moral standing in students.”

He said: “ABUAD was not just set up for certificate acquisition, we also mould character. I know we can only get it right in this country in terms of functional education if universities are places where you get certificates as well as promote good character.

“This is why whatever certificate you get here will open doors for you, because we believe in character building. Without character, education will be useless.

“If you comply with our rules, you will come out with high class and you will be rewarded. This is the only university that rewards scholarship.”

Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has appealed to Ile-Ife indigenes, who are protesting the choice of a new vice chancellor for Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, to give peace a chance and stop the protest.

In a statement yesterday by his Chief Press Secretary, Ismail Omipidan, Oyetola noted that universities anywhere in the world are sacred institutions and everything must be done to accord them that dignity.

He said although the state has no role in the choice of who becomes the vice chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, being a federal institution, he has responsibility for the safety and security of the institution and its workers as the host governor.

Oyetola urged the protesters to exercise restraint and allow peace to reign.

Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has condemned the invasion of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, by some Ife indigenes and traditionalists, over the appointment of a vice chancellor.

The protesters on Monday stormed the institution over failure by the authorities to appoint “an Ife indigene” as the V-C.

Akeredolu, an alumnus of OAU, said the action of the protesters showed the extent to which the university system had sunk.

He noted that the appointment of a vice chancellor was supposed to be a rancour-free internal process, “but it has now become a subject of intense politicking among the academics and their non-teaching counterparts.”

The governor, in a statement he signed and issued in Akure, said alumni of the institution were disappointed with the development.

He said: “Those responsible for this disgrace should be ashamed of themselves. This is assuming they possess any sense of shame. This act should elicit the most strident condemnation from all good people. I condemn it without equivocation.

“Obafemi Awolowo University has been a pride of the Southwest since its establishment by the purposeful political leadership at that period. Its new status as a national institution notwithstanding, the people of this geo-political space possess this emotional attachment, traceable to the politics of its establishment, anchored on the vision for the redemption of a race from colonialism, its tendentious predilections and the attendant loss of identity.

“The disturbing facts emanating from Ife over an appointment, which is internal, almost entirely, reveal the depth of rot in that system. The intensity of campaign for an office, which serious scholars declined to take in the past for the fear of distraction, gives a glimpse on the quality of research purportedly undertaken in most places in recent times. It is disheartening!

“The events of the last few days depict, clearly, that our universities seem interested in issues too distant from teaching and research. The painful reality, which comes with the knowledge that our Great Ife has joined other erstwhile centres of excellence, which deal with the burden of rapidly receding glory, is sad indeed.”

The fact that the ancestral home of the Yoruba is where this desecration takes place should goad our people to act fast before permanent damage is brought to bear on our collective psyche.”

Barely two weeks after the management team from a top Nigerian bank visited the Senator Tokunbo Abiru Innovation Lab (SAIL) in Ikorodu to assess the facility, curricular and faculties for possible talents hunting, the Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Sustainable Development Goals, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, yesterday visited the innovation hub.

Orelope-Adefulire, a former Lagos State deputy governor, hailed the lawmaker  representing Lagos East Senatorial District, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, for his exceptional programmes, especially the setting up of a tech innovation hub in Lagos East that would create lasting socio-economic impact on the lives of the participants.

Abiru thanked the SDGs boss for touring the SAIL facility.

He said the programme was well thought out to ensure that participants got job placement after the training.

The Debt Management Office (DMO) yesterday chided ex-Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Economic Planning Wale Bolorunduro over utterances on Osun State debt profile.

Bolorunduro, who served under the administration of Rauf Aregbesola, had accused the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola of releasing jaundiced figures, in a bid to stain Aregbesola.

He said: “The loan deduction on the first bond of N30billion was N640million monthly. It ceased since July 2019. So, Governor Oyetola must have borne the burden for only nine months. I expect total repayment on this to be about N6billion, the loan deduction on the second bond (N11.4billion) was about N320million monthly and it has stopped since March 2020. So, Governor Oyetola couldn’t have borne it for more than 17 months. So, I expect total to be about N5billion.”

But the DMO Director General, Tunde Adejumo, said in a statement: “The debt portfolio passed by the last administration to the current government in the state is in excess of N200billion.

“Ex-commissioner Bolorunduro must know that public debt portfolio of either a sovereign or sub-national does not refer only to borrowing (which can be either domestic or external), but also includes domestic expenditure arrears. These are government liabilities on financial obligations already dispensed with or services rendered with, whose payments are yet to be made. These include contractors’ arrears, salary arrears, pension and gratuities, judgmental debts, and government-to-government debts.

“The totality of this, added to loan amount, is what is referred to as debt stock. I am indeed shocked that a former finance commissioner will be questioning the rationale (and the applicable accounting standard) for my inclusion of domestic arrears, as part of government’s liability or debt portfolio. If salary arrears, contractors’ arrears, pension and gratuity outstanding are not debt hanging on the state government, how come workers, contractors and pensioners in the state keep agitating for settlement of their arrears?”

He said DMO had since 2020 been publishing comprehensive annual report on the state’s Debt Sustainability Analysis (DSA) and Debt Management Strategy (DMS) on the state’s official website, adding:  “Bolorunduro’s claim is contrary to the agency record.”

The 20th remembrance of  Pa Omoba Abubakar Ajasa,  a Lagos  community leader, will hold on March 25.

Venue is Erelu Square, Off Enu Owa by Adeniji  Adele road, Lagos Island, Lagos. Time is 2pm.

Pa Ajasa is survived by children, grandchildren and great grandchildren.

In commemoration of International Women’s Day 2022, media entrepreneur and author, Adebola Williams has joined forces with the First Lady of Kwara State and CEO of Ajike People Support Centre, Her Excellency, Amb. Dr. Mrs Olufolake Abdulrazaq to equip the next generation of African Power Girls through an insightful capacity-building event scheduled to hold on 24th March 2022 at the Banquet Hall, Ilorin.

Themed ‘Building the Next Generation of African Power Girls’, the event seeks to empower women with essential leadership skills and strategically position them for personal and organisational success.

“Raising the next generation of African Power Girls require all hands on deck,” said Her Excellency, Amb. Dr. Mrs Olufolake Abdulrazaq.

“We need to give the next generation of women the leverage they need to maximise their potential and transform the world. This can only be achieved by creating meaningful platforms like these to help boost their self-esteem and allow them to participate on an equal platform as their male counterparts. We must also not leave out our boys — as they must be prepared for a world where both genders can lead side by side in various sectors,” she concluded.

Author of the world’s first-ever compendium of inspirational stories of African female leaders, Adebola Williams added that building the next generation of African Power Girls is “a product of maximising the successes of our sheroes past”.

“There is an incredible mind shift that happens when you see someone who looks and talks like you achieve phenomenal things,” said Williams.

“Through this event, we will show the next generation of African Power Girls that the only things that are impossible are the ones they refuse to do. Beyond painting possibilities, we will also offer the help they need to break through barriers. Every top-flying African female—at least those I am familiar with—can attest to having someone who encouraged them to pursue their dreams, revalidated their desires and visions and gave them a much-needed boost. This is what we seek to achieve through this event,” he concluded.

Adebola Williams is the group CEO of RED | For Africa. Referred to as the man with the golden touch, he is the author of several revolutionary books— the most recent being a 3-volume compendium detailing the awe-inspiring stories of some of Africa’s superwomen titled ‘African Power Girls.’

THE governorship candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ekiti State, ex-Governor Segun Oni, has named former Nigeria’s ambassador to Canada, Dare Bejide, as the director general of his campaign organisation.

In a statement by the Director of Media and Publicity, Jackson Adebayo, Oni noted that the appointment of the director general would provide clear direction for the party towards winning the June 18 election.

He said his wealth of experience as a former Secretary to the State Government (SSG) would assist in projecting the candidate and the SDP as a platform to be trusted by the electorate ahead of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The statement said:  “The new director general, a legal luminary who hails from Ilawe in Ekiti South West Local Government, was an Ambassador to the Republic of Canada and Secretary to the State Government in the first administration of former Governor Segun Oni.

“The leadership of the Segun Oni Movement, however, described the choice of Amb. Bejide as a blessing to the campaign organiSation, going by the antecedents of the first secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ekiti State and also the first running mate to the governorship candidate of the party in 1999 election.

“We therefore enjoin our members and supporters of Segun Oni to give him the cooperation as we prosecute the campaign to victory in the June 18 governorship election.”