Category: South West

Osun State Government yesterday appealed to retirees to be patient. This followed a protest by pensioners in Osogbo recently.

Commissioner for Information and Civic Orientation Mrs. Funke Egbemode said in a statement that rather than take to the streets, the pensioners should be patient with the government, because since it was inaugurated in 2018, it had never defaulted in payment of pensions and gratuities, including those of contributory pensioners, just as it is gradually clearing the backlog it inherited.

“From 2018 to date, we have spent about N40billion to cater for the pensioners. This is a demonstration of love and commitment to our senior citizens and we won’t relent. Rather than resort to civil unrest, we appeal to our senior citizens to show understanding and be a little more patient with the government,” she added.

Osun State Government, in collaboration with the state chapter of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines & Agriculture and BTG Africa, with the support of Dagbolu International Trade Centre, will organise a trade fair in Osogbo.

The fair with the theme: “Stimulating Values Addition Through Digital Economy For Nigeria’s Sustainable Development”, is expected to draw not fewer than 2,000 exhibitors to showcase their products, over 100,000 business visitors and over 1million online shoppers.

The fair is a platform for business operators, manufacturers, producers, wholesalers and distributors of products and services, to meet and exchange ideas and seal business deals.

Private, public and international investors and business stakeholders have registered their intentions to attend the event, to achieve their business goals.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) youths in the Southwest have made case for generational shift in governance and allow for greater participation of younger people in politics.

The youth, under the auspices of the Progressive Youth Movement, said this in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital.

They promised to challenge older politicians in the ruling party in 2023.

The group Chairperson, Princess Zahra Audu, who lamented that older politicians have continued to dominate the political firmament, urged youths across the country to join one party and obtain permanent voter cards.

A BILL seeking to protect companies’ and individuals’ private information, yesterday scaled second reading at the Lagos State House of Assembly.

The Bill for a Law to promote the protection of personal information processed by public and private bodies, establish minimum requirements for the processing and protection of personal information, establish the Data Protection Commission and for other connected purposes, was presented at plenary by the lawmaker representing Lagos Island II, Lanre Afinni, who said the objective was to monitor data processor to avoid manipulation.

He said: “This Bill, if passed into Law, will save a lot of time wasted when people collate information from all quarters. It will prevent fraud and also help in preventing personal information leakage without owners’ consent.”

Speaker Mudashiru Obasa committed the bill to the House Committee on Science and Technology to report its findings in two weeks.

The first interim Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Adebisi Akande, yesterday met the Elders Caucus to resolve the crisis in the party ahead of the 2022 governorship election.

The meeting, held at his home in Ila, started at 11:15am and ended at 1:30pm.  It was attended by 29 elders comprising former governors, senators, ex-deputy governor, deputy speaker of House of Representatives and bigwigs of the party.

A source, who confided in The Nation, said: “Chief Akande presided over the meeting. We deliberated on the crisis rocking our party and ways to solve it since the congresses are now over. We talked about the re-election of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola and the need for the party to mobilise support for him so that we can win the 2022 governorship election.”

Another source said:  “Baba Akande and the Chairman of Elders Caucus, Chief Sola Akinwumi, urged aggrieved members to sheathe their swords and mobilise support for Oyetola’s re-election in 2022.”

After the meeting, while Chief Akande was briefing reporters, he said: “I expect a bigger, greater and widespread APC in Osun State. The meeting had always been held, but because of COVID-19 pandemic, it has not been held for a long time.”

Among the elders at the meeting were Sen. Ajibola Basiru, Lasun Yusuf, ex-deputy governor Titilaoye Ponnle, Sen. Iyiola Omisore, Prince Felix Awofisayo, Prof. Mojeed Alabi, former minister Dr. Isaac Adewole, Olosunjela of Osunjela, Oba Muhammed Babatunde, among others.

Ogun State Government has said it will continue to reward the best innovators, to encourage them, especially in future challenges.

It made this known at the 2021 Digital Nigeria Day celebration, held in Abeokuta.

Miss Rukayat Balogun, who emerged the best among the youth, developed a market guide application, which offers business owners and buyers an opportunity to know market prices and seamless advertisement at their closet.

She hailed Governor Dapo Abiodun for giving her the opportunity to showcase her intelligence through a pitching event competition for young innovators in Information Technology (IT), organised by the state’s Bureau of Information Technology (BIT), towards encouraging the best among them financially, nurturing their ideas and recommending them to the public, private and international organisations that could need their services.

Speaking while joining the programme virtually, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Dayo Abiodun, said the theme of this year’s programme, “Digital Transformation; A path for Sustainable Economy in Government and Private Sector”, has been a driving force of the current administration, reiterating government’s readiness to support anyone with productive ideas that would move the state forward in terms of digital economy.

Lagos State Head of Service (HoS) Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has reiterated the current administration’s commitment to capacity development of its workforce through training and re-training.

He said this is necessary to enhance the capacity building of officers, who are competent, versatile and relevant to the present and future needs of the state.

The HoS made this known in a statement at the weekend at the opening ceremony of a two-day retreat organised by the Public Service Office, Office of the Head of Service, for directors of administration and human resource in the public service, held on Victoria Island, Lagos.

Muri-Okunola said this year’s retreat with the theme: ‘’Principles, Policies, Practices and Procedures of Human Resource Management in the Public Service: A Thorough Look at the Workplace in Current Realities’’ is apt, given the current realities of the critical place of administration and human resource in policy making, strategic planning and policy implementation.

The Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office, Mr. Samson Ajibade, thanked  the Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu administration for approving the retreat.

THE Federal Government has promised to look into the deplorable state of Ibadan-Abeokuta expressway by making funds available for the road project abandoned four years ago.

It said that arrangement would be put in place to recall the contractor handling the road project, Messrs Kopek Construction Company, back to site to carry out palliative works, to ameliorate the suffering of motorists.

The Federal Controller of Works, Kayode Ibrahim, an engineer, spoke while reacting to the threats by Oyo and Ogun residents and motorists over the worsening condition of the road.

He assured the people of government’s commitment to the completion of the highway.

Ibrahim said the Federal Government was working to fix the road.

Ogun State Government has said it will today begin palliative works on the deplorable Sango-Ota-Joju road.

Chief Press Secretary to Governor Dapo Abiodun, Kunle Somorin said  yesterday that engineers had been instructed to begin work on the road.

He added that the discomfort the bad road had subjected residents and motorists to, had made it important to put in place the palliative measures.

He, however, said that the palliative road works, which would run concurrently with the ongoing rehabilitation work on Sango Ota-Idiroko road, sought to bring succour and make the road usable, pending completion of its reconstruction by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC.

“On the instructions of Governor Abiodun, engineers will today begin palliative works on Sango Ota-Joju road in Ado-Odo/Ota Local Government.

“The development is coming regardless of the ownership of the road by the Federal Government. The deplorable condition of the road makes it important to put in place palliative measures.

“These palliative road works, which will run concurrently with what is going at Sango Ota-Idiroko road, are to bring succour and make the road passable, pending completion of its reconstruction by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC,” the statement said.