Category: South West

Ex-Minister of State for Defence Sen. Musiliu Obanikoro yesterday urged youths to engage in acts, programmes and campaigns that would foster national development.

Obanikoro, who addressed a group of youths between the ages of 18 and 35 during a mentorship programme at his office in Ikeja, Lagos, said his generation owed it a duty to mentor youths, provide a healthy platform for their development and redirect their focus.

He decried the dearth of creative thinking among youths, noting that the society would not develop when people put their challenges at the doorsteps of those occupying positions in government.

The social media, Obanikoro said, should be a virile and a viable platform for youths to organise and coordinate themselves into major actors and players, as they are in the majority.

Osun State Governor Adegboyega Oyetola has inaugurated an Independent Power Plant (IPP), donated to the Osun State College of Technology, Esa Oke, by LivingTrust Mortgage Bank PLC.

He described the project as one of the fruits of his administration’s increasing collaboration with the private sector for infrastructural development and economic growth.

The governor, represented by his Special Adviser on Education, Alhaji Jamiu Olawumi, said: “The state government has consistently demonstrated its commitment to educational development and what we are witnessing today is another testament to that commitment. We have also succeeded in attracting a lot of private sector participation in the state’s economy through our encouragement of public-private-partnership.”

He hailed the bank for its gesture to the school, urging other corporate organisations to emulate it.

The Rector, Dr. S. A. Adegoke, explained how he reached out to financial institutions and other corporate organisations to assist the college in developing its infrastructure, saying LivingTrust Mortgage Bank was one of the first to respond positively.

The bank’s delegation at the ceremony comprised its Managing Director, Mr. Adekunle Adewole; Head, Strategy & Communications, Bolaji Kolawole; Head,  Banking Operations, Aderanti Adewole and Head, E-business, Abimbola Adeyanju.

Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun has rewarded Miss Joy Adesina, who emerged the Best Graduating Student from the Faculty of Clinical Sciences, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile Ife, with a house, N5million and a scholarship for further studies.

Abiodun, who announced the rewards at a reception organised in honour of Miss Adesina, yesterday, noted that the medical scholarship would be for her

residency at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Teaching Hospital, Sagamu.

The governor said the awardee, by being the best medical graduate to have come out of the OAU, is “an accomplishment, a rare feat that most of her peers can only dream of.”

Adesina scored 10 distinctions and won nine top awards in her final exams.

The honouree appreciated the gestures extended to her by the state, saying: “I am very fulfilled.”

She thanked her uncle, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, for “his inspiration” and parents for their love and support to achieve the feat at the medical school.

Abiodun said: “Her accomplishment is coming on the back of the spectacular performances of some of our young indigenes, who recently excelled in their academic pursuits and were duly rewarded by our administration under a programme called the Ogun Academic Laureates”.

The governor noted that with the Ogun Academic Laureates Awards, his administration had introduced hope to rekindle passion for excellence in academic excellence and innovation, especially for the successor generation.

This, according to him, “is to groom and harvest more Wole Soyinkas, Theophilus Ogunlesis, Adeoye Lambos, Olikoye Ransome-Kutis, Akin Mabogunjes, Oyinade Olurins and more Obafemi Awolowos.”

He reiterated that his administration would continue to recognise and honour exceptional indigenes or residents of Ogun State, who through a dint of hard work attained academic excellence and were found worthy in character and innovations.

Abiodun disclosed that Ogun Academic Laureates had been fully rewarded with the promised scholarships, cash prizes and houses, stressing that “we did this, not just because it is the right and honourable thing to do having made the promise, but also because we are a promise-keeping administration. We do not make promises that we do not intend to or cannot fulfil.”

“We are all gathered here to celebrate the rare academic feat attained by Dr. Joy Oyinlola Adesina, an indigene of our dear Ogun State, who went to the Medical School at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife. She saw, she learnt and she conquered, returning home after hard study and rigorous examinations with a record breaking of 10 distinctions and nine top awards.

“Dr Adesina won virtually every academic laurel available in Medicine at OAU, Ife. We are proud of not only you, but people like you, especially the young ones who continue to fly the flag of excellence and ‘Omoluabi’, for which we are renowned.

“But more importantly, we celebrate Miss Adesina because she is a daughter of the soil. She is from our own Ogun State and she has made us proud. In Ogun State we are the leader in education in Nigeria. We are the education capital of Nigeria. We have the highest number of secondary schools and tertiary institutions in this country. We are the birthplace of free education in Nigeria. We can go on and on to reel out our string of FIRSTs in education as well as other fields in the country,” the governor said.

Ondo State Security Network code-named Amotekun Corps has intercepted 18 wanderers that were being conveyed to an unknown destination.

The 18 youths were sandwiched inside a truck that was conveying bags of beans.

Driver of the truck was said to have told Amotekun operatives that he was conveying only bags of beans to Akure, but when the truck was searched, the young men were found stacked inside.

Also found inside the truck were butchered motorcycle parts.

Commander of Ondo Amotekun Corps, Chief Adetunji Adeleye, who paraded the wanderers before they were sent back to their states, said search had begun for 30 others who were dropped before the truck was intercepted.

Adeleye said the youth could not state their destination during questioning.

He said they claimed that somebody asked them to board the truck.

He said: “Our men while on duty saw a suspected vehicle filled with bags of beans and we trailed the vehicle to Arakale. They stopped along Arakale road and while searching the vehicle, we realised that they were not carrying only bags of beans, but 18 young men hid in the truck.

“We asked them where they were going, but they did not know their destination, as some of them said Sokoto, while others said Jigawa State.

“We took them to our office, gave them food to eat and called on the head of Hausa community in Ondo State to take them back to their destinations.

“We felt they could constitute nuisance in the state, as we are on the trail of 30 others because we were told there were over 50 of them who were sandwiched inside the truck.

“They were about to be let loose in Akure. We invited representative of the beans sellers and we have released the bags of beans. We have chartered a bus and we are taking them back to Sokoto.”

A former Special Assistant to Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Hausa Fulani Matters, Bala Umaru, said talks have been on with truck drivers to desist from bringing in individuals without a clear destination.

A community leader in Ibarapa land, Mr. Adeagbo Taiwo, has reported a threat of another imminent attack by criminal herders on Tapa and Konko communities in Ibarapa North Local Government of Oyo State.

He reported the threat in a letter to the Commissioner of Police, Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko.

Criminal herders attacked Igangan, a border community in Ibarapa, on June 5 during which 15 people, including a child and a woman, were killed. The attack was a reprisal to the eviction of Seriki Fulani Soliu Abdulkadir from the community on January 7.

Adeagbo is an Igangan indigene.

In the report, Adeagbo said herders from Ogun State, with the support of one Memudu, were making moves to attack the communities.

He said he mentioned Memudu in an earlier communication with the police boss on a related issue.

Adeagbo said it was imperative to handle the information with priority and a sense of urgency, adding that handling it with  levity might cause another loss of lives.

The family of Gbadamosi Adedeji of Kosedawo’s compound, Agodi, Ibadan, Oyo State is to remember the former Ekefa Olubadan of Ibadanland, High Chief Yusuf Adisa Deji, 21 years after his death.

Deji, otherwise called ‘Baba Elepo’, who was born on March 3, 1910, died in August 2000 in his Ibadan home after a brief illness.

A family source said the fidau (prayer) for the 21st remembrance will hold on Friday at his home, Kosedawo compound, Idi-Oro, Agodi, Ibadan.

The deceased is survived by children, including the first woman in Oyo State to attain the rank of a Colonel in the Army, Chief Nike Akerele (rtd.).

Deji became the Mogaji of Kosedawo family in the early 80’s and Jagun Olubadan of Ibadanland in the mid-80’s. He climbed the ladder of Olubadan of Ekefa Olubadan of Ibadanland before he died.

FORMER Editor of Daily Times Mr. Dapo Aderinola has lost his mother-in-law, Mrs. Josephine Adebukunola Oresusi.

Aged 99, Mama Coates, as she was popularly called, died during a brief illness.

She was, at various times, a sewing mistress, textile dealer at Gota market on Lagos Island and a distributor with John Holt.

Mama Coates was a citizen of Nigeria and the United States, and was a staunch member of the Christ Apostolic Church.

A ranking member of the church described her as a caring woman “who was imbued with intense motherly love and the spirit of steadfastness, thirst  and hunger for God and holiness”.

A statement by the family said a wake would be held for her on February 2, and her remains interred on February 4.

Mama Coates is survived by children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, among whom is Mrs Funso Aderinola.

Kwara State government will on November 11 launched the construction of the Osi-Obbo road, a strategic border motorway connecting Kwara to Ekiti State, ending years of public agony along that corridor, according to an executive council  (Exco) briefing yesteday.

Addressing reporters at a news briefing in Ilorin, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, Hajia Sa’adatu Modibbo-Kawu, said the launch of the construction work on the 11.1km road will proceed as planned, barring any unforeseen hitches.

She said the Exco also approved the award of a contract to execute the KwaraLearn programme, which seeks to tackle absenteeism, boost school enrolment, upgrade children in public schools to digital learning, and improve education outcomes.

The news briefing was attended by the Commissioner for Enterprise, Hajia Fatima Arinola Lawal;  Olasumbo Florence Oyeyemi (Finance); Olaitan Bosede Buraimah (Communication); Suleiman Rotimi Iliasu (Works); and Special Adviser to the Governor on Political Communications Alhaji Bashiru Adigun.

Modibbo-Kawu said the cabinet has also approved for the state government — like every other states in the country — to key into the federal government’s N18bn bridge Finance to underwrite old loans inherited from the former administration as well as execute some infrastructural projects in the state.

Modibo-Kawu said the bridge Finance is the initiative of the Federal Government to cushion the effects of loan repayment on the states, including the facilities the former administration received in September and December 2015.

She also announced that the administration has revoked the initial Kishi-Kaiama road contract initially awarded by the former administration to Rocad construction Limited. She said the revocation is as a result of objections by the Federal Government. She said the contract would now be awarded to CPN (Construction Product Nigeria Limited) that won the bid in line with the provisions of extant laws and the position of the Federal Government. Section 1 of the road, stretching 34.5km between Kaiama and Tesse, will gulp N3,702,874,523.94, according to the commissioner.

Modibo-Kawu said the cabinet also approved the construction of a Flyover at the Tanke Pipeline Junction in Ilorin metropolis to tackle the current and expected traffic logjam in that busy corridor.

She said the contract was awarded to a prominent local contractor JMK Construction Company Limited for N2,272,899,200.00 with  completion period of 12 months.

The full text of the news briefing reads:

• You may be aware that the Federal Government has offered some bridge finances for all the states of the federation to cushion the effects of some loan repayment dating back 2015. To do this, there is a need for SEC and legislative approvals. This is the standard process which other states have also followed.

Consequently, Council listened to a presentation of the Hon. Commissioner for Finance and has approved a memorandum for Kwara State Government to apply for the Federal Government’s N18bn bridge finance to cushion the effect of repayment of some previous FG intervention facilities. It is recalled that the last administration had in September and December 2015 taken some FG facilities to pay salaries and meet other obligations. The repayment of these facilities has now started across the country, eating deep into governments’ revenues. To cushion the effect of the repayment, the Federal Government is extending a bridging financing worth N18bn each to all the 36 states of the federation. All the states of the country are taking advantage of this bridging finance. This cabinet approval will now be taken to the House for legislative nod for the administration to also submit its expression of interest (EOI) letter to the Federal Government.

• After listening to a presentation of the Honourable Commissioner for Works, including details of the tender process, Cabinet also approved the award of contract for the construction of a Flyover Bridge at Pipeline Road Junction, Tanke Tipper Garage. The contract was awarded to a prominent local contractor JMK Construction Company Limited, a sister company of Bulletin, for N2,272,899,200.00. The completion period of the contract is 12 months. This facility, along with ancillary road projects in the area, will help to address the current and anticipated traffic bottlenecks in that strategic transit point of the metropolis. Council took notice of the huge socioeconomic benefits of the facility.
• Council similarly approved a N1.7bn contract for the designing, remodelling and construction of buildings to house the Garment Factory Facility in preparation for the installation of already awarded procurement of machines and equipment for the garment factory. Council had earlier received briefings on the tender process. This contract was awarded to Building Services Design Consultants Limited. The garment factory is part of the government’s efforts to widen the economic space, create jobs, and rev up the revenue base of Kwara State.
• Notwithstanding the visibly huge investments of the administration in education infrastructure across the state, the administration feels a need to deploy technology to strengthen quality and modern teaching, curb absenteeism, and boost school enrolment and attendance. Consequently, cabinet has approved the introduction and running of ‘KwaraLearn’ programme in public schools across the state. KwaraLearn will transform the current analogue state of teaching and learning to a modern digital learning process using modern technology platforms. This will seriously improve education outcomes for our children across the state. The programme will be implemented by New Globe Consultant, a firm with a track record and achievements in similar projects. This project will cost N1,072,336,784.00 and will run between 2022 and 2025. Council observed that this project will place the educational standard of Kwara State at a better pedestal, make it an envy of other states. Apart from eliminating phenomenon of ghost teachers since there is going to be e-monitoring of teaching across the state, the programme will also expose our pupils to updated contents when it comes to e-learning and upon its successful completion move public primary school pupils from analogue state of learning process to the modern ICT Teaching and learning process. Council observed that states like Edo and Lagos have embraced similar concept with impressive result.
• Beyond council approvals, I am to also announce to you that the government will flag off construction work on the Osi-Obbo road on November 11, 2021, barring any administrative hitches. The contract is worth N1,183,960,097.25. Government assures members of the public that this strategic but long abandoned border road will be constructed by this administration. This is the promise of His Excellency, the people’s Governor. It is important to note that this road was awarded and was later abandoned before the coming of this administration. We will end the sufferings of the people of Kwara State on this road.
• Similarly, following the firm position of the Federal Government on the illegality of the contract initially awarded for Section A of the Kishi-Kaiama road by the last administration, this government has accordingly decided to revoke the contract awarded to Rocad Construction Ltd because Messers Rocad Construction Ltd was neither pre-qualified nor participated in the tendering process. It was also not part of the contractors that were sent for “No objection Certificate” at the bureau of Public procurement, hence it is not recognised as the contractor for the work since it has no record with the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and Bureau of public procurement on that project. The project will now be reverted/awarded to the contractor CPN (Construction Product Nigeria Limited) that won the bid in line with the provisions of extant laws and the position of the Federal Government. *Section 1 of the road, stretching 34.5km between Kaiama and Tesse, will gulp N3,702,874,523.94. Further details will be given on this important road, especially the flag off of the construction work. Also, talks are ongoing with the contractor handling Section 2 of the road between Tesse and Moshe (13.5km), which is estimated to cost N2,346,772,560.64. Section 3 of the road, valued at N1,896,588,570.00, runs between Moshe and Kishi town. The total cost of the 61.85km road is N7,946,235,663.58 and this will be executed in phases.

The police in ekiti state are to probe the alleged attack on the ado-ekiti, ekiti state home of the Leader of Ilana Omo Oodua, Prof. Banji Akintoye.

He alleged that the incident occurred a few months after his son’s residence in Agbor, Delta State, was invaded by gunmen, with property worth millions of Naira destroyed.

The Nation gathered that the assailants allegedly stormed the house located behind NOA Supermarket, Similoluwa, in Ado-Ekiti around 6:27am on Saturday.

An eyewitness, who craved anonymity, said the six masked gunmen invaded the house around 6:27am and went on a shooting spree for about 20 minutes.

The source added that the gunmen came in a blue Toyota Sienna car, climbed the fence and shot sporadically into the building.

Confirming the attack, Akintoye’s Media Manager, Maxwell Adeleye, described the incident as unfortunate and barbaric.

He said in a statement that the house was invaded by the assailants, who climbed a plastic chair outside the gate and riddled the house with bullets, adding that nobody was hurt.

The statement said: “Gunshots were fired into the house by the assailants, who apparently climbed a chair outside the gate to shoot. Luckily, Prof. Akintoye was not around at the time, and nobody was hurt.

“Bullets suspected to be from AK 47 rifles were recovered after they dropped from the ceiling to the floor.

“The matter has been reported to the Ekiti State Police Command.”

Police spokesman Abutu Sunday said that the command was unaware of the incident.

He said Police Commissioner Tunde Mobayo has, however, ordered investigation into the incident.

An inferno yesterday gutted a residential building of about seven bedrooms in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital.

It also destroyed five shops, it was gathered.

The fire was said to have started around 10:35am at a building located at 28, Reservation Road, GRA, Ilorin.

Fire Service spokesman Hassan Adekunle confirmed the incident. He said: “Our officials minimised the damage by preventing the fire from spreading to other rooms and shops.”

Adekunle urged the “citizens to always cultivate the habit of switching off their electrical appliances even before the bedtime, as this will help them to prevent  fire outbreaks.”