The President of the Apostolic Church of Nigeria (ACN), Pastor Gabriel Olutola has said President Muhammadu Buhari cannot solve myriad of Nigerian problems alone except Nigerians intercede on his behalf with fasting and prayers to God.
The cleric spoke during the 70th birthday celebration of the President of Christ Apostolic Church, (CAC), Worldwide, Pastor Abraham Akinosun in Bashorun, Ibadan.
Pastor Olutola said: “The only advice I have for Nigerians is to fervently to God for President Buhari to succeed as there is no other solution to myriad of Nigerian problems, saying because Nigerians have decided not to withdraw from their wickedness.”
He said until they turn away from vices such as favouritism, nepotism, corruption and other immoral acts, the country will continue to suffer from problems caused by these wicked acts, saying except this, there is little President Buhari can do.
He, therefore, congratulated the celebrator, saying he is a product of Christ and the birthday is to celebrate Christ; which made many people to celebrate the man of God because of his many virtues.
Pastor Akinosun, however, thanked God for giving him the grace to celebrate the birthday, adding that many of his mates are dead but he was opportune to see the glorious day.
Reacting to the crisis rocking the church, the celebrator said the church today, unlike the time of Apostle Ayo Babalola and his co-founder, many people plant churches without reckoning with the centre. This is very dangerous.
He said they do not consider the importance of being under the authority of the church saying, “this is the reason we are tasking members to be heavenly-focused by doing away with perishable things of life to avoid further rancour in the church”.
On the effort by the church to bring back departed members, the President said: “We are trying our best but they are not after unity but position. Our faction, from all indications, maintain that we are the original CAC while they are members without names.
“We recently went to them to seek reconciliation but they insisted that out of three principal officers’ positions, they should be given two which we considered impossible.”
The CAC President, however, said they are still making efforts to persuade the departed members to come back even though the real institution is with them and standing better chances, adding that they want them back to become one body in Christ.
While performing the launch of a book written by Pastor Ade Alawode, the church’s Public Relations Officer in honour of the celebrator, entitled The Lifestyle of a Performer and Reformer, Pastor Edwin Etomi said the celebrator is a good mentor and a man of great honour.
Etomi, who represented the General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministry (MFM), Pastor Daniel Olukoya added that he dedicated the book to the General Overseer whose ministry is the offshoot of the CAC Worldwide.
In its bid to boost power supply in Nigeria, ex-President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration approved 10 additional electricity transmission sub-stations early in 2011. Ondo State was one of the states where the projects were sited. LEKE AKEREDOLU, who visited the site recently, reports that lack of funds may impede the realisation of this all-important project
The administration of ex-President Goodluck Jonathan had the intention to improve socio-economic activities in the country by genuine development of the power sector. This, it reasoned, would help the country’s economy to grow.
To realise this vision, his government, early in 2011, approved the construction of 10 additional electricity transmission sub-stations in various states in order to increase power supply.
Ondo State is one of the states where a 2x150MVA, 330/132/33KVA electricity sub-station was located. The project is located at Owode community along Akure/Owo Expressway and would cost N6 billion.
When the project took off, many, especially those travellers who usually ply the road thought it was being executed by the Governor Olusegun Mimiko-led government of Ondo State.
Only few knew it is one of the 10 electricity transmission sub-stations being constructed by the Federal Government.
The multi-billion Naira project was attracted to the state by a former member of the House of Representatives, Prince Abiodun Derin Adesida who represented Akure South/North Federal Constituency when he was a member of the Ad-doc Committee on Power of the sixth National Assembly.
The ongoing project, if completed, will relieve the state and others contiguous to it from sourcing electricity from the Osogbo Power transmission station in Osun State.
However, this dream may not be realised as work at the project site has completely stopped.
The N6 billion project, which began late in 2013 and being handled by a Lebanese construction company, Matelec S.A.L Engineering and Contracting Division, was expected to have been completed within one-and-half or two years if the necessary funds were made available.
Southwest Report gathered that construction work which had reached 70 per cent completion stage stopped due to non-availability of fund.
When our correspondent visited the site, he met only four Nigerians and two Lebanese who are members of staff of the company handling the project.
•Rassi
The chairman of the company was absent from the site, but the storekeeper, Mr Simeon Rassi took this on facility tour of the project.
Rassi said the project was in three phases and began with civil work.
He noted that the largest phase is the 330KVA, followed by 150KVA which are about 70 per cent completion stage while the 33KVA phase also has reached 70 per cent completion stage.
“The government need to release money for us to complete this job. As you can see, all the needed materials have been procured. But we need money to get this job done.
“You will discover that no engineer is on site because there is no money. We are aware that a new administration of President Muhammadu Buhari has taken over and we hope he will soon get in touch with us for the completion of the job,” Rassi said.
On how much the firm needed for the completion of the project, he said: “I don’t know, but I know the amount of money needed is huge. This is a large project and the materials are very expensive.
“When completed, power supply to Ondo and other neighbouring states will improve. Not only this, Ondo State will stop depending on Osogbo power transmission for electricity supply. You know a state that has stable power supply will attract industries, which in turn, makes jobs available for the unemployed.
“We have done this type of project in Algeria and some Asian countries and they are working perfectly for them. We hope to get good signal from your new government soon. My boss has been in touch with the Federal Ministry of Power and Steel, but you know there is no minister as at this moment and we hope when a new minister is appointed, he or she will always be in touch with us,” he said.
A resident of Akure, Mr. Ayobami Olasupo, appealed to the Federal Government to release funds for the completion of the power project.
Olasupo said he was sure ýthat the Buhari administration would want to complete the project but since he has not appointed his ministers, he can only do little about the project for now.
“By next month when the new ministers would have been appointed, I pray work on the project would begin again,” he said.
Another resident, James Ekpo, said when the project is completed, it will strengthen and stabilise power transmission and distribution to most states around Ondo State.
He said: “We cannot wait for this project to be completed. I am a businessman and I know how much I spend from my little gains to power my ýgenerating set. Only few areas enjoy light in Akure and I believe when this project is completed, power supply will improve in Akure and other parts of the state.”
A founding member of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), Comrade Linus Ezeala Okoroji has appealed to the federal, states and local governments to give priority attention to the nation’s health sector, with a view to improving the quality of health care delivery to the citizens. He also advocated a policy that would reduce the cost of accessing health care by poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Comrade Okoroji spoke after a church thanksgiving service at St Matthew’s Catholic Church, Maiyegun-Oro Street, Amukoko Lagos State penultimate Sunday. The event was organised by members of his family, friends and well-wishers to thank God and celebrate his survival of grave accident he had in Oshogbo, Osun State in January, last year.
The activist maintained that there was urgent need to improve the equipment and standards of treatments at our hospitals, even as he canvassed strong support to states and local governments that campaign to ban or reduce the operations of motorcycle operators, popularly called okada.
He said: “I support the initiative of the Lagos State Government and any other state in Nigeria to restrict the use of okada as means of transportation on our highways. The use of okada as a means of transportation demeans the dignity of our citizens. It is not only an extremely dangerous means of transportation but also that which is fraught with high rate of death occasioned by serious accidents resulting from undisciplined behaviours among okada operators.”
Speaking from experience, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Humanity Services Project (HSP) noted that “having been a victim of okada accident for which we are thanking God today for saving my life, I will not wish my ‘enemy’ boards an okada to anywhere and from anywhere. After the accident, I was taken to the Government House Clinic for first aid, thereafter transferred to the National Orthopaedic Hospital Igbobi in Lagos where I was hospitalised for six months. I underwent four surgery operations while on admission.
“It was an opportunity for me to witness firsthand the ugly experience of many poor Nigerians on health care issues. In spite of my horrific situation, I had no choice than to turn a ‘philanthropist on bed’, out of the generosity of Governors Rauf Aregbesola, Babatunde Raji Fashola, friends and well-wishers, as I supported many co-patients who were not able to meet the payment of their bills and purchase recommended drugs.
“My bills were very enormous as treatment at the hospital was very expensive. Governors Aregbesola and Fashola had to pick all my bills at Igbobi Hospital.
My mentor; Rear Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu (rtd) deserves special appreciation as he visited me several times at Igbobi and kept close tab on my condition. God bless them and all who supported me through my trying period.”
Notwithstanding the challenges the Osun State Government is experiencing in the area of paying workers’ salaries, the success story of the loan scheme evolved by Governor Aregbesola-led administration last year in order to boost the economy of the state is worthy of note. The initiative aimed at moving the state away from being a civil service state to an economically-viable one through the revolving loans.
This is the view of the General Manager, Osun Micro-Credit Agency, Mr. Dayo Babaranti, who explained to Southwest Report that “the agency has extended credit facilities to 133 small and medium enterprises, 800 co-operative societies; 9,955 individuals across the 30 local government areas and the Area Office in Modakeke.
He said: “The agency came into being in June, last year and was launched at Freedom Park Osogbo where the people were told of the enormous opportunities accruable to them through the interest-free loan.
“The government has warned that nobody must be left out in the programme. One good thing is that we still have the opportunity of accessing the N2 billion micro-small and medium enterprises development fund from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“So, we have accessed N1.675 billion from that money. In fact, the CBN has sent a delegation to inspect what we are doing and they confirmed from all the beneficiaries of the loan that we actually disbursed the money.
“The belief of the government is that micro-finance banks are closer to the petty traders and that was why they said we should use micro-finance banks because the people who are in need of the money are those people selling pepper, foodstuffs and the likes.
“Secondly, our own demand is not as cumbersome as orthodox commercial banks. People are very appreciative of the gesture and more so, it is interest-free. When the programme was launched, some people did not believe it. It is unlike the Islamic banking system which shares profit equally with the customer. In this case, the government is saying, use this money for one year, don’t pay any interest; just pay back the principal. You can see that it is rare.
“The interest element on this money that the beneficiary should have paid is a cost borne by the government. The state government underwrites the interest just to alleviate poverty and take burden off the citizens of Osun State.
•Block-moulding machine under construction at Alaral Tech Company, Ofatedo, Osun State
“The zero-interest of the facility has forced all micro-finance banks in the state to review downward the hitherto high interest rates to borrowers. The participating micro-finance banks have also employed more staff to manage the funds under the scheme.
“We have placed priority on the co-operative groups for the disbursement of the loans under this programme because they know themselves. We have one year, three years and five years tenures, among others. There is nowhere in the word that they will give you N100, 000 and ask you to pay N100, 000 back after one year. That is why this scheme is far better than the so-called interest-free Islamic banking system. In this scheme, nobody is sharing profit. Your profit is gross to you, just pay back the principal.
“The state government is responsible for our salaries. It is an agency of government. We have a full room that contains the form of applicants.”
Speaking on the impacts of the programme, Babaranti said it has improved employment. The SMEs we give are those that are manufacturing and or producing different type of things. As a result of increment in their capital, they have employed extra hands.
“People who have benefited from this programme are paying tax which improved the state’s internally-generated revenue (IGR). Most of those motorcyclists have learnt one trade or the other. It was during the documentation that we discovered this. It was because of lack of capital to buy instrument and start their own businesses that turned them to street boys, okada riders and people who foment trouble. This has also led to the reduction in crime rate as we have given money to those classes of people to start their own businesses.
•Chalk-moulding machine and others under construction at Alaral Tech Company
Babaranti, however, commended the beneficiaries for being committed to the repayment guidelines and procedures.
One of the beneficiaries, who are also the General Manager, Lawod Metal Limited, Mr. Funso Olawoye, said: “We benefited from Osun Micro-Credit Agency. It has enabled us to improve on our productions as more workers were also employed.
“There was a moratorium of six months during which we will begin paying the loan; which is from this month. It is interest-free and a three-year term. I have procured more equipment with the money.”
He explained that during the time of Bola Ige, “the government bought equipment for us and we paid back. The difference is that only Aregbesola has given us interest-free loan in the history of this state.
“We must praise Governor Aregbesola and at the same time we want to urge the government to expand the scope on this free-interest loan. We want them to patronise local manufacturers and pay us on time,” he said.
On the number of employees in his company, Olawoye said: “We have over 50 personnel that are permanent in this company and we hope to increase it to 100 if there is fund to increase production.”
Recounting his experience, Director Alaral Technical, who is the state chairman of Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Produce Spare Parts Mr Ali Alabi said: “Personally, I have benefited from the micro-credit loan and I know many of our members also benefited, particularly in the N220 billion Federal Government SME’s funds.
“Incidentally, N2 billion of that belonged to Osun State which the state government, through the Micro-Credit Finance have disbursed.
•Chalk-moulding machine and others under construction at Alaral Tech Company
“We used to have what we call Small-Scale Industrial Credit Scheme, which was inherited from the old Oyo State. The state government also partners with Bank of Industry (BOI) for SME funding which some of our members also benefited from.
“The most recent is the intervention fund by the CBN released for SME which is particularly of interest to me because it is interest-free. It is not interest-free at the national level but the Osun State Government decided to pay the interest. It was disbursed with no interest to all those that applied through the SME.
“I can authoritatively say that the interest is written off by the state government and that is a very big plus. Before now, we have been clamouring for fund for development with generous interest rate but this one is a good one. We have been asking the Federal Government and the BoI to reduce the rate of SME development fund to 2% or 2.5% that is obtainable in the Southeast Asia, India and China. The maximum interest rate for SME is between 2% and 2.5%.
“The tenure given to us is a good one; it ranges between five years and 15 years. There is nothing you want to do with that money that you will not make it on the long run.
“One, the interest rate is very low. Two, the moratorium is there. Then the tenure is also long. That is what we have been clamouring for in Nigeria. If we have to compete with the developed countries such as China and India, our funding must be competitive.
“Though the money has helped us a lot, the major problem we experience currently is that the economy is so dull. We pray that the change in government will change the tide of things because the situation is very terrible.
According to Alabi, Osun State remains a civil service state. We supply spare parts to Nigeria Breweries, Cocoa Products Industry (CPI) in Ede and many other places.
Commenting on whether the state could be moved to an industrialised one away from civil service state, he said: “It is possible. Look at CPI Ede, when it was functioning, not less than 1,000 people were benefiting indirectly from it. The area was like market every day. In fact, people used to come from Ghana to buy ashes there. They employed not less than 500 workers. They have some contractors which I am one of them. We supply spare parts and also carry out repairs for them.”
An unexpected largesse has come the way of commercial motorcyclists in Ekiti State as ex-Speaker of the House of Assembly and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, Femi Bamisile, began distribution of free petrol to them as a form of economic empowerment.
Over 200 motorcycle operators popularly called okada riders received free fuel at designated filling stations in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital.
The benefiting commercial bike operators hailed the APC and Bamisile for the gesture which many of them described as “unexpected from a party that is currently out of power.”
The benefactor, who promised that the scheme would be a continuous one said it was one of the programmes designed to shore up the popularity of the APC as “the real of the masses” and to assist the downtrodden to tackle economic hardship.
Bamisile also assured that the APC would soon unfold special package for the vulnerable segment of the population such as widows, orphans, unemployed youths and physically-challenged people, among others.
One of the motorcyclists, Debo Asubiojo, described the gesture as “unprecedented in the history of the state.”
Another okada rider, Bayo Agbede, said the largesse is a “challenge to the government in power to do something for the masses.”
Speaking while flagging off the scheme, Bamisile explained that the free fuel distribution scheme was part of his efforts and that of his party to bail the riders out of the present economic hardship.
He said the gesture was also in line with the cardinal objectives of the Muhammadu Buhari administration “to give lifeline to Nigerians battered by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governance and poor handling of the economy.”
A group, under the aegis of Youth Alliance for Better Nigeria (YABN) and residents of Agege and Mafoluku Oshodi have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to beam searchlight on all electricity distribution companies across the country in his current campaign against corruption.
The group said there is the urgent need for the Federal Government to set up a committee that will monitor the operations of these companies to checkmate their inefficiencies, even as it maintained that there is a lot of misconduct on the part of the companies in the distribution of electricity as well as extortion of money from customers through coded and estimation bills.
The group suggested that the Federal Government should revoke the licences of the private companies and bar them from distributing electricity to consumers. It alleged that the electricity distribution companies were operating contrary to the laid down rules of the Federal Government and National Electricity Regulation Commission (NERC).
The group alleged that the companies are over-billing the residents despite poor services rendered to them compared to the period of the defunct National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) and Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN).
The group expressed its resentment to the situation in which some of the companies sell the pre-paid metres to costumers at a high price instead of giving them free to residents.
•Resident protesting prolong power outage
Joined by residents of Agege and Mafoluku Oshodi, the group embarked on a peaceful protest to the State Secretariat, Alausa, to register their displeasure and grievances against the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) over its poor operation, outrageous bills, epileptic power supply lack of pre-paid metres and unlawful disconnection of their electric wires, among others complaints.
No fewer than 50 buses conveyed the more than 3,000 residents to the State House. Adorned in all black attire to signify darkness which the company represents, some of them held placards with many inscription such as “we want pre-paid/smart metres,” “pre-paid metres will surely put a stop to IKEDC fraudulent act,” “Agege people are not chronic debtors,” “we are suffering from their unjustifiable net arrears of IKEDC,” “90 per cent buildings in Agege and Mafoluku Oshodi fall into the category of coded/estimated bills,” “we know they are intentionally starving us of the pre-paid metres,” and “save Agege/Mafoluku from the hands of this electrical Boko Haram.”
Southwest Report gathered that the crisis between the IKEDC and the residents began in January, and efforts made to resolve the issues were not successful as the company always ignores the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and agreement both parties entered into.
The residents said the overbilling of customers in the name of coded and estimation bills which IKEDC and other electricity distribution companies indulge in are part of corruption which President Buhari is waging war against, adding that their operations must be scrutinised.
Speaking during the protest at Alausa, the President of the group, Adegoke Moruf Niniola, said the residents are suffering and smiling, saying residents should be spared the hassles of spending their little income on estimation bills, coded metres and higher billing of IKEDC.
According to Niniola, all efforts made by the residents for the company to improve their services yielded no result; instead their bills keep on increasing at the end of every month.
He said several meetings have been held with the company in order to find solution to the issues.
“We have had series of meeting with the company on March 16, April 7, May 26 and June 28, this year. The meetings aimed at addressing the outrageous billings, epileptic power supply, quick distribution of pre-paid metres, maintenance of transformers, reconnection of fallen poles and cables and nonchalant attitude of their workers to the customers,” he said.
Continuing, he said: “A situation where residents used electricity for 72 hours in a month but ended up getting bills for 720 hours per month in the name of coded and estimated bills is unacceptable. The fraudulent act has rendered many Nigerians redundant. Many of the residents operating small-scale businesses can no longer continue because their little incomes were used to pay for electricity and fuelling their generating sets.”
Niniola urged the government to stop the IKEDC from charging residents before releasing the pre-paid metres. He said plans by some members of staff of the company to demand N6, 000 payments before giving out the new metres to residents have been uncovered.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Hon. Tunji Bello, who addressed the residents on behalf of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, praised the group and residents for the peaceful protest, promising that government would take necessary steps to address the issues raised.
A ramshackle government quarters allocated to the immediate past lawmaker who represented Ose State Constituency, Mrs Folajimi Olaseinde-Vincente while in office has pitched her against the Ondo State House of Assembly. DAMISI OJO reports.
The Ondo State House of Assembly and an ex-lawmaker who represented Ose State Constituency, Mrs Fola Olaseinde-Vincente are at daggers drawn over a government building “Quarter 13 type 2 Alagbaka” Akure, the Ondo State capital, which was allocated to the ex-lawmaker on August 14, 2012.
The apartment, which is now in a shambles, was originally allocated to Olaseinde-Vincente when she was still a member of the Seventh Assembly.
However, when the controversial building was allocated to the ex-lawmaker who is also a lawyer on August 14, 2012, she wrote a letter to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands and Housing, Akure on the need to renovate the building because its roof, paints, floor, doors, windows and fence were in terrible condition.
But, between then and the time the ex-lawmaker packed out of the building, there was no response from the state government in respect of the renovation.
•Akindele
After exhaustive deliberation on the matter on Thursday, June 18, the leadership of the House led by the Speaker, Princess Jumoke Akindele, set up an Ad-hoc committee headed by Hon. Araoyinbo Joseph to investigate the level of damage to the quarters formerly occupied by Mrs Vincente.
Consequently, on Thursday August 6, the committee invited the former legislator to a meeting at Araoyinbo’s office to clear herself from the circumstances surrounding the unlawful damage to the building.
Mrs Vincente appeared to defend herself over allegation of vandalisation of the government quarters.
Recall that Mrs Vincente was also suspended for several months during the Seventh Assembly over an allegation of being in possession of fetish materials which could not be proved.
She eventually dumped the ruling Labour Party (LP) then and joined the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) which is now one of the parties that formed the All Progressives Congress (APC).
•Olaseinde-Vincente
When she appeared before the panel, the ex-lawmaker tendered a letter dated August 14,2012 which she sent to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Lands and Housing requesting the renovation of the particular building (Quarter 13 type 2 Alagbaka) which was allocated to her.
The letter reads: “Sequel to the approval of quarter 13 type 2 Alagbaka, Akure as my official quarter, it has become imperative for me to complain about the level of bad shape of the apartment; especially its roofing, floor, doors, windows and fence.
“The building is due for total renovation and I will be grateful if my complaint can be responded to immediately.” Mrs Vincente maintained that she met the quarters in bad shape when it was allocated to her in August, 2012, stressing that it was not habitable.
The ex-lawmaker told the committee that the letter to the Permanent Secretary, Lands and Housing was received on September 12, 2012, while she also informed some political leaders who assured her that something would be done about it.
However, she said no action was taken until she vacated the apartment, stressing that she paid a private contractor to do a minimum renovation on the building in anticipation of the approval for the renovation. She expressed displeasure over the step taken by the State Assembly without hearing from her before going to the press to malign her character.
She insisted that she did not vandalise the said building, adding that the shape the apartment was when she left was far better than she met it. Olaseinde-Vincente called for retraction of the aspersion cast on her person over the building and a refund of N4 million being the cost of the minimal renovation she spent on the controversial quarter.
The Oyo State Police Command has foiled plan of a suspected robbery syndicate and fraudsters that attempted to rob a first generation bank in Iseyin, Oke-Ogun axis of the state.
It was learnt that the suspects reportedly lured a member of staff of the bank in charge of teller unit, Mr. Owoade Olusegun, to give them the form grabber of the bank and connect the bank internet system to facilitate easy access and transfer of customers’ money from the bank.
The suspects were said to have cunningly spied and hoodwinked the bank’s security guard, collected the telephone number of the person in charge of the teller unit.
The suspects planned to rob the bank if their fraudulent attempt to transfer the money failed.
A native of Iseyin, Ojo Taofeek, was allegedly used by the syndicate to lure the bank staff to release the form grabber and connectivity to the internet. The suspects purportedly conspired and planned to defraud the bank. Meanwhile, six persons have been arrested in connection with the crime.
Youths under the aegis of Oriwu Central Mosque Youth Organisation (OCMYO) in Ikorodu area of Lagos State have described the Chief Imam of the Oriwu Central Mosque, Alhaji Yahya Oshoala as a man who promotes peace in Ikorodu Islamic organisations.
The group urged critics to desist from talking ill of the Chief Imam so as to allow peace to reign in Ikorodu Islamic Organisation.
In a statement issued and signed by the President of the organisation, Hadji Kazim Ganiu-Sanni, OCMYO said the Chief Imam of Oriwu is contented with the capacity at which he is serving and he has never vied for the office of Chief Imam of Ikorodu Central Mosque.
He further noted that Oshoala is ready for any move to facilitate settlement between the Oriwu Central Mosque and the Ikorodu Central Mosque.
According to the statement, leadership is not the problem of Oshoala but the progress of Islam, unity, justice and peaceful co-existence of the inhabitants of Ikorodu.
The statement stated that the rift between the duo Muslim organisations has existed for many years and the Imam of Oriwu Central Mosque cannot be blamed for it.
The statement read in part: “With reference to the above explanation, it is obvious that both Sheikh Oshoala and Oriwu Central Mosque are committed to any peace move initiated to facilitate amicable settlement of the ongoing rift between the two Central Mosques and will never stand in the way of such moves.
“We also want to reiterate that Sheikh Oshoala is a man of peace and is contented with his leadership role in Oriwu Central Mosque; hence, those cynically linking him to the Imamship of the Ikorodu Central Mosque for political gains are hereby advised to desist from the character assassination and allow peace to reign within the Ikorodu Muslim community.
“We also want to state that leadership is not the main concern of Chief Imam Oshoala of Oriwu but the progress of Islam, unity, justice and peaceful co-existence of the inhabitants of Ikorodu.”
Planners’ Bulletin, a publication put together by the Conference of Local Government Planners, comprising council managers in the 57 local governments and Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs) of Lagos State, has been launched.
The journal, according to the members, is aimed at making the activities of local governments in the state known to the public.
The Chairman of the editorial board, Mr. Olanrewaju Olalere, said Planners’ Bulletin was established, following the inauguration of a joint Planning Budget Committee by Mr. Ben Akabueze, the former Lagos State commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget.
Other members of the editorial board, according to Olalere, who is the council manager of Ajeromi/Ifelodun Local Government, are Adeyemi Adebola (Editor-in-Chief), Olusanya A. O. (Advert), Tijani Waheed (Marketing/Distribution) and Ajose Yetunde ( Finance).
Others are Balogun Toyin (Publicity/Press), Seriki Kehinde and Ogunbambi I. A., Correspondent/Relationship and Operations respectively.
The event also witnessed send-off in honour of Mr. Babatunde F. Salami, the former director of Planning, Onigbongbo LCDA and a member of Elders and Technical Consultancy to the Conference of Lagos State Local Government Planners, as well as presentation of award to Mrs. Basirat Akinsanya, the council manager, Lagos Mainland Local Government, as the best Council Manager in Lagos.
