Category: South West

Ogun state government has called for  collective responsibility  towards ensuring  a safer and carbon-free  environment.

Commissioner  Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tpl. Tunji Odunlami  made the call at an event to commemorate the  2021 World Habitat Day held at Oba’s Complex, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, saying the issue of increasing  generation of greenhouse  gases and increasing  carbon footprints are largely urban centers’ phenomenon  and to a lesser extent the rural areas.

Tpl. Odunlami said the serious issue of  impact of urban and city activities  on the ever-increasing  carbon footprints calls for a course of action towards reducing  it and eventual zero generation of the carbon.

While suggesting possible  ways to mitigate and reduce  the carbon emission, Odunlami  encouraged  the people to buy energy efficient bulbs, use less water, turnoff the lights when not in use, use alternative means of transport to work, embrace the 3Rs including reduce, reuse and recycle  as well as change of dietary habits.

Odunlami opined that “we owe it to our planet and our continuous  survival to get on the train of this advocacy by changing our habits and spreading the gospel to our communities “.

Delivering a goodwill message at the event, the National President, Nigerian Institute of Town Planners, Tpl Olutoyin Ayinde said the urban centres accounted for more than 70% of emissions produced globally through activities of transportation, buildings, energy and waste management which have contributed significantly to generating greenhouse gas emissions.

Ilorin, Kwara state based pro democracy group, Kwara Must Change has urged the Kwara state Governor AbdulRaman Abdulrazaq to immediately conduct the local government election in the state rather than appealing against court judgement.

A state High Court had on Friday sacked all the 16 local government areas transition implementation committee (TIC) executives appointed by the governor in March this year.

The court declared that TIC is not known in law, describing the governor’s action as executive rascality and abuse of power.

The group noted that, conducting the local government election as soon as possible is the right thing to do, irrespective of the court judgement or other consideration, including the ongoing appeal court case on Kwara State Independent Electoral Commission (KWASIEC).

Convener of Kwara Must Change, Abdulrazaq Hamzat added that, while government has right to appeal the judgement, “we are of the view that, setting motion in place to conduct the election will do both government and people of Kwara much good.

”Before the current judgement, in a case instituted by Elite Network for Sustainable Development, the justification for not holding election is that government could not proceed with the election because it could not constitute KWAISEC due to ongoing court case.

“However, with this latest judgement, the argument of KWASIEC has been laid to rest, because we now have a court judgement, which if properly interpreted, means that government have a duty to not only  constitute another KWASIEC board as a matter of necessity, but to also conduct election as soon as possible.”

Kwara Must Change therefore maintained that, instead of engaging in long legal battle, government should see this as an opportunity to legally constitute KWAISEC and conduct the election.

A gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Mr Kayode Adaramodu, has urged all the members of the party to close ranks, settle whatever differences they have to assure victory in the forthcoming elections in the state.

Adaramodu who spoke to reporters when his committee of friends (CoFs) and former colleagues at GTBank donated the nomination and Expression of Interest (EoI) forms to his campaign.

Receobing the forms, Adaramodu expressed gratitude to the donors. He said his vision “to make the state a healthy self-sufficient community of proud citizens and the best place to live in Nigeria” remained on course.

According to him, the PDP remained the hope of Nigerians particularly Ekiti where functional governance has been suffering.

The one-time Economic Adviser to the UK government, who has in the last two years been preaching peace among party members in the state said: “For us in the PDP, there is no gain saying the fact that our people are tired of APC in Ekiti State. We need to close ranks more, resolve our differences and walk into our deserved victory come 2022. The government house is ready for us come next year and I promise victory for this party.

“In practical terms, the current administration in Ekiti state is sound on paper in policy formation but lacks the needed impetus to translate such into reality for the common good of all. We are in this race to drive impactful improvements and systainable development that meet the needs of our people.”

The CoFs and his former colleagues at GTBank, went to the PDP national headquarters to obtain the forms as part of their contributions to the project.

Leader of the team, Otunba Olumide Adekunbi, said Adaramodu’s capacity and competence to lead the state forward is undeniable judging from their experiences with him.  He said the form donation is one of the various supports being outlined for his aspiration.

Adaramodu had declared his intention to run for the office of the governor of the state in March this year. He has since received the blessings of broad spectrum of the party leadership, stakeholders and royal fathers.

The Ondo State Command of the Nigeria Correctional Centre said it has re-arrested over 70 percent of inmates that escaped from one of its facilities during last year’s ENDSARS protest.

Hoodlums broke into the Medium Security facility in Okitipupa, Okitipupa local government area and set the inmates free.

Several buildings within the facility was also set ablaze. Ondo Comptroller of Corrections, Opeyemi Fatinikun, who spoke in a chat in Akure, said efforts were on to arrest other fleeing inmates.

Fatinikun said members of the host Okitipupa community has helped to rebuild some of the destroyed facilities.

He said the NCC was yet to get any feedback from its petition to the Ondo State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality and Other Related Matters.

The panel which was headed by Justice Adesola Sidiq (Rtd) had however recommended payment of N755,730,897.83 to victims of police brutality and some of the petitioners.

Fatinikun however said the destruction of Correctional Centres facilities would not occur again across the country as the Centres have been declared ‘red zones.’

Hundreds of supporters of the National Leader of All Progressives Congress (APC), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, yesterday thronged the Ikeja GRA, Lagos for a special prayer organised by the Tinubu Support Organisation (TSO) for the former Governor of Lagos State.

Asiwaju Tinubu returned to the country on Friday night after a medical trip to the United Kingdom.

The event had in attendance members of the Lagos State government executive, political leaders, Christian and Muslim religious groups, and well-wishers.

TSO thanked God for Tinubu’s quick recovery.

Members of the organisation, however, said they will continue to persuade the APC chieftain to run for the office of the President in 2023.

Lagos State Coordinator of TSO, Akinduro Ibesanmi, thanked God that the plan of the enemy did not come to pass on Tinubu.

“We thank God for His protection over our leader, Asiwaju Tinubu, who went abroad for medical check-ups and returned back to the country safely.

“Our prayer is that, as he returned, God should continue to protect him. We also pray that he will agree to run for the office of President. We masses believe he can consolidate on the achievements of President Muhammadu Buhari,” Ibesanmi said.

Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Tayo Ayinde, said that while the rumour of his death was spreading, those that were Tinubu loyalists were busy praying that God should not take him now and that he should live beyond 100 years.

Lagos State Commissioner for Wealth Creation, Mrs. Yetunde Arobieke, described Tinubu as a progressive-minded leader in the country, saying Tinubu is passionate about Nigeria’s development.

Asiwaju Tinubu, she said, has not for once relented in contributing his quota to the development of the country.

She noted that the developments currently been witnessed across Lagos were part of his blueprint while serving as the governor of the state.

A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday sentenced two men, Clement Ajayi and Bolaji Fajebe, to six years Imprisonment for illegally peddling Indian Hemp.

Justice Daniel Osiagor convicted the duo following their plea of guilty to separate two-count charges of conspiracy and unlawful dealing in 200 grammes of the banned weed.

The judge sentenced each convict to three years imprisonment on each count.

He gave them an option of fine in the sum of N100,000 and N500,000 on counts one and two respectively, in lieu of jail terms.

According to the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Ajayi and Fajebe, both of Arikwe Street, Aradagun in Badagry area of Lagos State, were arrested on August 18, while they were selling the hemp.

The offences, according to prosecution counsel Adebayo Oluwafemi, contravened sections 14 and 11(c)  of the NDLEA Act, 2004.

At last, the Ekiti State Government has granted recognition to Olukere of Ikere-Ekiti, Oba Ganiyu Ayodele Obasoyin as monarch after several years of agitations.

The territory that Oba Obasoyin occupies and superintends over was also granted autonomy by the government and is to be named Odo Oja, Ikere- Ekiti.

The recognition followed the approval of a memorandum presented by Odo Oja area of the community to the Justice Jide Aladejana-led Chieftaincy Review Commission (CRC) requesting autonomy for Olukere and his territory.

Obasoyin, like his predecessors, had sought similar recognition but was rebuffed by previous administrations. He had always claimed that his progenitors founded the Ikere kingdom before the coming of the paramount ruler of the community-the Ogoga of Ikere.

The current Ogoga, Oba Adejimi Adu Alagbado, had insisted that Olukere was a mere Chief Priest of Olosunta without any connection to the Ikere’s royal stool.

However, the government in a statement, by the Executive Secretary, Bureau of Chieftaincy, Mr. Adegboyega Morakinyo, granted recognition to Oba Obasoyin and Odo Oja as an autonomous town.

The statement said: “The Odo-Oja Community of Ikere-Ekiti submitted a memorandum to the Commission including an application for recognition as an autonomous town and its traditional head as an Oba.

“The Commission found merit in the application and further affirmed the eligibility of the Odo-Oja Community to be recognised as an autonomous town and its traditional head as Oba.

“In furtherance of the ongoing review of the implementation of the white paper on the report of the Commission, Government has revisited the recommendation on the application of the Odo-Oja Community of Ikere Ekiti.

“The State Government accepts the recommendation of the Commission. The Odo-Oja Community of Ikere Ekiti is accordingly granted autonomous status and its traditional head- Olukere is hereby recognized as an Oba”.

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has invited Lagos State to become a member of the Megacities Alliance for Water and Climate (MAWAC), a convergence of 33 mega-cities focused on addressing climate change challenges.

The alliance will be formally inaugurated in January 2022 in Paris, France.

Executive Secretary of Lagos State Water Regulatory Commission (LASWARCO), Mrs. Funke Adepoju, stated this at the opening of the ninth West African Clean Energy and Environment Trade Fair Conference 2021 in Ghana.

The conference was organised by the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce and is represented in 140 locations in 92 countries abroad to foster bilateral trade relations between Germany and other regions worldwide.

Adepoju said the invitation to Lagos will ‘provide an opportunity for the state to access technical and financial support for programs and projects to overcome the challenges of climate change.

According to her, the state, through LASWARCO, had developed frameworks and guidelines for stakeholders and service providers in the water sector in line with the regulatory mandate of the commission, in the last 20 years. These guidelines, according to Adepoju, include Packaged Water Service Guidelines, Regulation for Drinking Water Quality, Practice Order for Water Tankers and Groundwater Quality Control, and Drilling License Regulation.