Category: South West

House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila yesterday inaugurated 12 roads he facilitated in his Surulere I Federal Constituency in Lagos State.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the roads, which were either reconstructed or rehabilitated, included Odejayi Crescent, Olodeokuta Street, Ramos Street, Rosamond Street, Iponri Zone A-B Road, Mayday Road and Bishop Kaale Road.

Others are Bishop Howell Road, Royal Estate Road, Eric Moore Towers Road, Mabo -Fashoro-Bishop link Road and Shodipe -Akobi-Owokoniran-Laniyan link Road.

The speaker had on December 30, 2021 inaugurated 13 inner roads, including Nathan Street, Jacob Street, Atan Street, Leigh Street, Jacob Street and Ajao Road.

Gbajabiamila had urged the people around the delivered projects to take ownership of them so as to serve their purpose.

“All these roads and other projects we are delivering are to make life better for our people in Surulere.

“So, I appeal to you to take ownership of these projects and not do anything that will compromise their structural integrity,” he said.

Gbajabiamila said he was committed to the welfare and well-being of his constituents, adding that he would continue to execute impactful projects in the area.

Mr. Suleiman Yusuf, Chairman of Surulere Local Government, hailed the speaker for construction of the roads and other projects he had facilitated in the area.

Yusuf described Gbajabiamila as a true and worthy representative, who had impacted on many lives in Surulere.

“Gbajabiamila has done so much for us in Surulere. Since he assumed office as the speaker, Surulere has experienced a turn around with many lives touched.

“Over 120 roads have been completed by the speaker in this area and we are still counting.

“Apart from roads, he has executed so many other projects that are too numerous to mention, talk of hospitals, stadia, schools and so on.

“We thank the speaker for all he has done and I want to appeal to our people in Surulere to continue to support him to do more,” he told NAN.

The Lagos State government has directed public and private primary and secondary schools to resume for the second term on January 4, 2022. Pupils in the boarding house are to resume on January 3, 2022.

A statement by the Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance (OEQA), Ministry of Education Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni noted that academic activities should resume immediately.

The statement also noted that schools are to break for the mid-term on February 17 and 18 and wrap up the term on April 8.

The statement reads: “Lagos State Government has announced that all public and private schools below the tertiary level in the State are to resume for Second Term 2021/2022 academic session on Tuesday, January 2022.

“The Director-General, Office of Education Quality Assurance, Mrs. Abiola Seriki-Ayeni, said all learners are expected back in school as academic activities start same day.

“The Director-General wishes the students and teachers happy resumption while enjoining all school leaders to enforce strict compliance with all subsisting COVID-19 safety protocols in the state.

“School leaders should also note that the Mid-Term break for the second term is Thursday 17 and Friday, February 18, 2022, while school closes on Friday 8 April 2022.”

Mrs. Seriki-Ayeni said that the Officers from the OEQA would monitor compliance with the Lagos State Unified Academic Calendar.

The Oluwo of Iwoland, Osun State, Oba Abdulrosheed Adewale Akanbi, has enjoined Nigerians to keep their hope alive in the greatness of our country, Nigeria.

He called for attitudinal change, urging people to always present themselves as pride and good ambassadors of Nigeria.

He described 2021 as a challenging year, saying surviving the natural and artificial incidences of the year was a grace.

In a release issued by his media aide, Alli Ibraheem, Oba Akanbi commended the federal government led by President Muhammed Buhari for infrastructural developments most especially the ongoing reconstruction of the Lagos-Ibadan expressway.

He said that motorists plying Lagos-Ibadan road users are now enjoying their journey without traffic jams, noting such was magic to him for the past 2 weeks.

“Hope is a promissory note. When you have hope, you have to work for it. The first step is the will. That is, you must believe in yourself. It starts from there. As Nigerians, whether at home or in diaspora, we must trust and have hope in our country. It is a collective task. Our society is a product of what we do to it. Let’s imbibe the spirit of patriotism and begin to bring out the best in Nigeria.

“2021 was one of the most challenging years, not only in Nigeria but mankind in general. We have laboured in 2021, I’m optimistic we shall reap bountifully in 2022. It shall be virile, productive, progressive, and remarkable.”

Lagos Police Command has warned owners of abandoned and recovered vehicles parked at the premises of Area E Command in Festac and Shasha Division to remove them within two weeks or risk forfeiture.

The vehicles at Area E Festac are Mitsubishi car( JH 787 EKY),  DAF  truck ( AS 4647T), and Shasha Division; Benz 230( DKA  442  ABC).

The Speaker of Osun State House of Assembly, Hon Timothy Owoeye, and eight lawmakers elected on the platform of the All Progressives; Congress (APC)  have visited the General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye over the feud between Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola.

The Nation gathered that the APC lawmakers visited Pastor Adeboye during the week at Redemption Camp soliciting for the help of the clergyman to broker peace between the incumbent and his predecessor.

A source who confided in our correspondent said: “The visit was led by the Speaker and they sought Baba’s help to help broker peace to guarantee and sustain the development of Osun. Baba appreciated the visit and the Speaker’s team’s initiative to resolve the issues. He stressed however that though he is not a politician, he will be guided by the scripture that said blessed are peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God. The General Overseer prayed for his visitors before they departed for Osogbo.”

Similarly, when the Media Aide of the Speaker, Mr. Kunle Alabi, was contacted about the development, he explained that “the speaker has been a regular visitor at the Redemption Camp and was even with the revered clergyman at Igbajo in December for a programme.

“Well, I was aware of the meeting but I am not privy to what was discussed. However, the speaker is a party man to the core and would stop at nothing, including, enlisting Baba Adeboye’s help to resolve the crisis, towards ensuring that APC is victorious during July 2022 governorship election.

“So, if such matter was discussed, it is not out of order. Baba Adeboye is an Ijesa man, Aregbesola is an Ijesa man, so also is the speaker. Moreover, Baba is from Osun and an elder stateman to that effect, so, he fit to be sought after”, he said.

Two suspected killers of Babatunde Dada, a pastor of a branch of  Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in the Festac area of Lagos State, Faruk Mohammed and Jamiu Kasali yesterday revealed that they hit the 46-year-old cleric with a bottle on the head and a plank on the neck in order to steal his bag.

Dada was killed inside the church in the Festac area of the state.Faruk Faruk, 15 and Kasali,17, were paraded by the Commissioner of Police, at the state police command headquarters, Ikeja admitted before reporters to have perpetrated the crime.

Kasali said: ‘’We killed him because of Faruk who had lied to his mother that he was coming to Lagos from Ilorin for a show and he is going to collect the sum of N200,000 for the show because we are hip-hop artistes; my stage name is Jayfrosh while Farouk is Zeelight. There was no show, it was a lie so we were both staying in the church hoping that we would get a free show to attend where we can get money since we are in December, a festive period.

‘’Faruk’s mum later called him to come back home in Ilorin because she was sick and she needed him around, so we had to find a way to get the N200,000 he had promised his mum he would get from the show.

‘’So on that day, on the 2nd of December the pastor was in the church so we went upstairs, I took a plank and my friend ( Farouk) took a bottle and we went up to the pastor so my friend threw the bottle at him while I hit him on the neck with the plank I was holding. The Pastor died immediately, we took his bag and ran away immediately. Farouk on his own part, said he regretted their action saying: ” I do not feel good about what we have done. When we did what we did, we did not know whether the pastor had money or not, we really didn’t mean to kill the pastor. I have been doing music since 2014, I just thought I would be able to get shows by coming to Lagos”.

According to the CP Odumosu, the exhibits used in perpetuating in act were recovered from the scene.

” The suspects, after committing the murderous act, absconded to unknown places. However, following intensive and discreet investigation, they were arrested in their hideouts. While Farouk was arrested in Ilorin, Kwara state, Jamiu Kasali was arrested in Festac Area of Lagos

Men of the Southwest Security Network codenamed Amotekun Corps have rescued 12 passengers and recovered goods worth over N50m from armed robbers and kidnappers along the Akure-Ilesha highway.

The goods were being conveyed from Lagos State to Kaduna State before it was attacked by some armed robbers.

The driver and conductor of the bus were said to have fled into the bush for their dear lives and abandoned the goods.

Commander of the Ondo Amotekun corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, said the robbers escaped after engaging Amotekun operatives in a gun battle.

Adeleye said: “We got information of the operation that passengers travelling from Lagos were being robbed by armed robbers. When we got there, the driver of the J5 bus was nowhere to be found.

“ The robbers abandoned the bus and ran into the forest.

“We had to start combing the bush after rescuing the other occupants of the bus. We checked till the following day when after a while he was found five miles away from the location of the robbery attack.

“At the end of the day, we were able to retrieve the hijacked goods.

“On our way back, we found another set of people in an 18-seater bus and also rescued them from another set of armed robbers.

“We have contacted the owner of the goods and in no time, his goods would be sent back to him in Kano state.

“This is part of Phase 7 of Operation Cleanup and to a word of assurance that anytime, any day,  that the New Year festivity would be criminal free.

“That is why I have no choice now than to sustain the ongoing 24 hours patrol on the road and also within the town.

“You will find out that virtually every junction is being manned by Amotekun personnel, NSCDC officials, and the police.

“This is to further ensure that the security of the state-guaranteed as far as we are concerned.  “There will continue to be zero tolerance for crimes in Ondo State,” he added.

The role of medical laboratory scientists in the health sector is critical, the Managing Director of ISN Products Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Felix Ofungwu, has said.

He said the need for their services had become more important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ofungwu said his firm instituted an award last year to celebrate quality medical laboratory practice and recognise laboratory scientists for their contributions to health care delivery.

The aim, he added, is to recognise and reward the unsung heroes of medical practice in the country.

A medical laboratory scientist with Clina-Lancet Laboratories, Lagos, Friday Odum, emerged as the 2021 ISN Medical Laboratory Scientist of the Year.

He beat nine other top contenders at the award ceremony held in Lagos.

For emerging as the winner of the award’s second edition, Odum received a cash prize of N1million and a capacity development training.

The laboratory where he works will get a medical lab equipment/reagents donation worth N1million.

Ndukwe Kelechi from Everight Diagnostics and Laboratory Services Limited, Abuja, emerged as the first runner-up.

He went home with a cash prize of N750,000 and a capacity development training opportunity.

Gabriel Oke, an employee of the National Hospital, Abuja, emerged as the second runner-up, winning a cash prize N500,000 and a capacity development training opportunity.

The other seven finalists were rewarded with a cash prize of N200 000.00 each.

Lagos Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, represented by the Director, Medical Laboratory Services, Lagos Health Service Commission, Mr. Tajudeen Olatunji, hailed ISN for the initiative.

He said it would boost morale and drive excellent service delivery in the medical laboratory profession in Nigeria.

The President, Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria (MLSCN), Mr. Tosan Erhabor, represented by the Head, Zonal Office, Southwest, Mr. Offutalu Paulinus, noted that medical laboratory scientists played a significant role in the health care delivery ecosystem.

He said that all the top 10 finalists should regard themselves as heroes.

The President, Association of Medical Laboratory Scientist of Nigeria (AMLSN), Prof. James Damen, represented by the second Vice-President, South West, Adebo David, said the professional body was looking forward to collaboration with ISN that would not only deepen knowledge in research, but also help to advance the cause of the profession in Nigeria.

Odum applauded ISN for its steadfast commitment to quality medical laboratory practice in Nigeria.

One of the profession’s leading lights, a lecturer and an author of repute, Dr. John Ochei, was conferred with the Lifetime Achievement Award to promote quality medical laboratory practice in Nigeria.