The Nation Newspaper

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  • Ondo community vows not to vote for Oke

    RESIDENTS of Ala Goke in Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State have vowed not to vote for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olusola Oke.

    They accused him of abandoning an electricity project contract, which he secured from the Olusegun Agagu administration in 2003.The residents drew the attention of Governor Olusegun Mimiko to the project during his campaign tour of the area at the weekend.

    They vowed not to vote for Oke or any of his party members in future elections until he completes the project.
    The people noted that by Oke’s action, the agrarian community has been in darkness since then.

    Speaking through one of its leaders, Mr. Moses Oladeji, the community said the electricity project was awarded to Chief Olusola Oke by the immediate past Dr. Olusegun Agagu led administration in year 2003 and has since been left uncompleted. The people noted that for Oke, it was now time for reckoning as they would ensure that he did not get a single vote from them.

    Dr Olusegun Mimiko who was in the community to commission a Health Centre constructed by his administration was briefed further of the agony being experienced by the people of the community as a result of the abandonment of the project. They called on the governor to assist them in calling the attention of the PDP governorship candidate to the project which they believe would connect them to the outside world.

    Mimiko assured the people that he will do something on the project as soon as he received detailed reports on the project. He stated that he would not allow any project to be left uncompleted by any contractor, especially when such contractor had been paid for the contract.

    Dr Mimiko who also disclosed that the Health Centre project which was one of the 64 projects executed by his administration in Idanre Local government in the last three and a half years of the Labour party administration in the state.

    According to him, the health Centre which was constructed by Idanre local Government would go a long way in bailing the people out of the problems of travelling several kilometres whenever in need of health care services.

    Mimiko promised that he would use his second term in office to provide more social infrastructure for the people of the area especially road construction for the community to be linked to their neighbouring communities. The Labour party Governorship candidate who turned the campaign tour to a season of project commissioning also commissioned a block of six classrooms at Ala-Elefosan Community High School to replace the old school structure built since 1978.

    Addressing the people of the community Dr Mimiko appealed to all ethnic groups living in different parts of Idanre land and the state at large to live peacefully with their host communities; warning parents against planting seeds of discord among their children who he described as the core of the unity of the country, adding that parents should not leave a legacy of discord among their children.

    The governor who noted that no physical development can take place in any environment devoid of peace appealed to the hosting communities to see non-indigenes living among them as fellow Nigerians.

    According to him, the development witnessed in the last three and a half years of the Labour Party administration was as a result of the efforts of his administration to restore peace to the state, calling on the people of the state to work towards the sustenance of peace among them.

    The governor described the school project as a demonstration of his administration’s resolve to improve on the standard of education in the state and government intervention to make learning more conducive for students at all levels of education.

    Soliciting for votes of the people in Oct 20 governorship election, Governor Mimiko assured the people of the state to use his second term in office to extend his transformational revolution to all nooks and crannies of the state, adding that his administration would meet the needs of the people of the state.

    The Governor who also visited Owena town was received to the town with songs and dance by the people in appreciation of various developmental projects executed in their area by the state government.

    Addressing the people, Mimiko assured them that his administration will continue to bring the dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of every community by embarking on projects that will transform the lives of the people. He noted that all projects executed in different parts of the state were done according to the request of the people, adding that no project was forcibly executed in any community in the state.

    Receiving hundreds of defectors from the opposition parties led by Hon Adeolu Oluwatuyi, Governor Mimiko noted that only the Labour Party administration in the state could meet the needs of the people through its Caring Heart Programmes. The good work his administration and the urban-rural transformational programmes of the Labour Partyled administration, Mimiko stated, had touched the lives of everybody in the state, adding that people should be expecting more during his second term.

    The leader of the defectors Mr. Adeolu Oluwatuyi said that he decided to dump PDP for Labour Party in consideration of overwhelming performances of Labour Party administration in the last three and a half years of its governance.
    According to him, the good work executed by the governor and his selfless services to the people of the state had endeared him into the heart of people, including members of the opposition party.

    Oluwatuyi, therefore, promised to work with the leaders of the Labour Party in the Local government to ensure total victory for Labour Party candidate in Oct 20 election.

  • ACN chieftain urges support for candidate

    ACN chieftain urges support for candidate

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Campaign Director for Ose/Owo Federal Constituency, Mr. Oshati Olatunji Maxima, has urged ward chairmen and the two local government chairmen in the constituency to ensure that the party wins with over 80 per cent votes in the October 20 election.

    Oshati spoke at a meeting with the chairmen, where he explained the party’s position and its preparedness for the poll.He said the party’s standard bearer, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), hails from the constituency, adding that the onus is on them to work harder for his victory.

    The ACN House of Assembly candidate for Ose Constituency in last year’s election promised that the chairmen would always be carried along in the directorate’s decisions.
    The party director hailed Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other leaders of the party for their wisdom and for believing in Akeredolu.

    He also thanked other senatorial zones for conceding the ticket to Owo/Ose since 1979, when the late Adekunle Ajasin led the state.
    The politician urged Owo/Ose residents, irrespective of their political affiliation, to vote en mass for Akeredolu to reap the benefit of Southwest integration.
    Also in attendance were: the State Constituency Supervisor for Owo 1 and 2, Mr Tosin Ogunbodede and Mr Tenuche Fatai; Mr Ogundinbola and F.O. Osedimibola, the chairman of Ose and Owo councils.

  • Lawyer earns asset recovery certification

    Lawyer earns asset recovery certification

    Former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) General-Secretary Ibrahim Mark has been awarded the Certified Specialist in Asset Recovery (CSAR) certification.
    The International Association for Asset Recovery (IAAR) said Mark, of the City Law Firm, Abuja, is among the select group to pass the rigorous CSAR certification examination.
    IAAR said in a statement that the CSAR credential is earned by individuals who pass the rigorous four-hour examination that provides a tough and objective measure of mastering the challenging field of international asset recovery.
    “For the successful candidates, the CSAR designation is a powerful evidence of highly specialised expertise that is recogised and welcomed by law firms, corporations, courts, peers, government agencies and clients,” said the President and founder of IAAR and a former federal prosecutor, Charles Intriago.
    The certification programme is administered by the IAAR, the premier membership organisation of professionals in the field worldwide.
    IAAR said the credential is an assurance to employers, colleagues and clients that a CSAR holder is serious about increasing the sums recovered from fraudsters and financial criminals following the fall of their criminal empires.
    The exam was said to have been assembled over an eight-month period by a team of 40 leading international asset recovery professionals under the guidance of an independent psychometric firm.
    It is to ensure that the certification was technically sound and legally defensible.
  • Community head accuses businessman of threatening the peace

    Community head accuses businessman of threatening the peace

    The traditional head of Oko-Olomi community, Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area of Lagos State, Oba Tajudeen Elemoro, has accused a businessman, Oluwafemi Bakare, of engaging in acts capable of threatening public peace.
    The accusation is contained in Elemoro’s counter affidavit to a fundamental rights enforcement application filed by Bakare and others before the High Court, Lagos. He averred, in a supporting affidavit, that as against the businessman’s claim, he was a victim of Bakare’s alleged violent activities.
    Bakare, the head of Eleku family, Tajudeen Mojeed Eleku and four others had sued Chief Shamba Elemoro, Ola Olowu, Semsi Elemoro and Molikiu Raji and accused them of instigating men of the Nigeria Police against them
    The plaintiffs accused Elemoro and others of petitioning the police and seeking their arrest for alleged violent conduct.
    They urged the court to restrain the police and their agents from inviting, arresting and detaining them in respect of the petition purportedly written by the defendants.
     Elemoro averred that contrary to Bakare’s deposition that he and others have been exercising unhindered right of ownership over a disputed piece of land at Oko-Olomi village, Olowu who is the Baale of the village (and one of the defendants) was the victim of the violent activities of the applicants.
    Insisting that the disputed land belonged to his family, Elemoro stated that the said land was excised to their family by the state government.
    Elemoro further averred that the state government acquired all the land from Moaroko to Epe in 1981 and repeated the acquisition in 1993 but in 2007 the government vide a Gazzete dated 22 February, 2007 returned some of the land acquired from his family to them.
    “It is not, therefore, true that when Oba Tajudeen Olowu became the Oba he planned to take over the land belonging to the applicants by using the police. Rather, the police were carrying out their lawful duties after a petition was written to the Inspector General of Police, complaining of the applicant’s violent activities.
    “The real intention of the applicants in filing this suit is to obtain an order of the court with which they can forcefully enter the defendants’ family land granted them through excision in the Gazette of 2007,” he stated.
    He further averred that Bakare was never arrested as claimed. He stated that Bakare  was only invited by the Area Commander of Area J Police Station. He stated that after the businessman was interviewed by the police,  it became clear that he is not a member of the Okunnu Eleku family and that the respondents have always reported his activities to the police.
    Justice A. Oluwafemi while adjourning the case to September 25 ordered that status quo be maintained.
  • Tinubu is Yoruba hero, says Akeredolu

    Tinubu is Yoruba hero, says Akeredolu

    The Ondo State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), yesterday said former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a hero who should be praised for standing by the Yoruba nation at its critical moment.

    The former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President said protesters against fuel price hike were molested by the Olusegun Mimiko administration in Ondo State.

    Akeredolu addressed reporters in Akure, the state capital, during an interactive session with members of the state chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ).

    In a statement by his spokesman, Mr Idowu Ajanaku, the ACN candidate said: “Asiwaju Tinubu is a hero of our modern time. He should be crowned for providing leadership for the Yoruba at this critical point in history.

    “Governor Olusegun Mimiko said I would be an ajele (stooge) for Tinubu in Ondo State, but the same Mimiko sought assistance from Tinubu when his (Mimiko’s) mandate was stolen. Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Segun Osoba, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd) are heroes who fought alongside other National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) leaders to enthrone democracy in Nigeria.”

  • Akeredolu: overhead bridges coming to Ondo

    THE Ondo State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has promised to transform Akure, the state capital, to a new millennium city, if elected.
    A statement in Akure, by his spokesman, Mr Idowu Ajanaku, said the candidate spoke during his campaign tour of Akure North.

    The former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President said: “Two overhead connecting bridges, which will decongest traffic on the Oba Adesida Road and other adjoining areas in Akure, will be constructed by my administration, if we are elected, as part of urban renewal programme.

    He promised massive construction of the inner roads in the city, adding that besides the Oba Adesida Road, which was built by the military over 30 years ago, there is no other good road in Akure.

    Akeredolu decried the neglect of the Akure Township Stadium, which was reportedly awarded by the Olusegun Agagu administration and inability of the ruling Labour Party (LP) administration to renovate it.

    This has forced the Sunshine Football Club of Akure to play its matches in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, despite claims by Mimiko that his government towers above ACN-controlled states in the Southwest.

    The frontline lawyer promised that if he is elected, his administration would partner the private sector to build modern amenities, such as shopping complexes, event centres, small scale industries, among others, in Akure.

    He said the state capital would wear a new took, when he becomes governor next year.
    According to him, Akure does not portray the image of the capital of a state that produces oil and earns huge revenue from the resource.

    He said: “Go to other states that do not have our kind of resources. As you enter, you would feel the beautification, culture and sense of belonging, in contrast to what you see here in Ondo State.”

     

  • Group takes Gambia to Ecowas Court over two Nigerians on death row

    Group takes Gambia to Ecowas Court over two Nigerians on death row

    Two Nigerians on death row, Michael Ifunanya and Stanley Agbaeze, have sued the Gambian government before an ECOWAS Court of Justice in Abuja, praying it to stop their impending execution.
    The suit was filed on their behalf by a human rights group, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP).
    In the suit with the number ECW/CCJ/APP/11/12, instituted on behalf of the plaintiffs by the counsel to SERAP, Femi Falana, (SAN), against the Gambian government, the human right body alleged that the threat of execution while they (second and third plaintiffs) have been denied the right to appeal, violates their human rights to life; due process of law; access to justice and judicial independence; fair hearing; appeal, and to effective remedy.”
    According to the suit,  “The second and third plaintiffs are among 48 people on death row in The Gambia.The plaintiffs, therefore, in the reliefs sought,  want the Ecowas Court to declare the application of the death sentence as illegal and unjust, and to set aside the sentence of death.”
    They also want: “A declaration that the consistent and continue denial of fair trial and rights to the second and third Plaintiffs on death row and in prisons under dehumanising and harsh conditions in The Gambia violate Article 1,2,3,4,5,6,7 and 26 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.”A declaration that the public statement and the threat by the government of the defendant to secretly execute the second and third Plaintiffs amounts to violations of plaintiffs’ right to life under Article 4 of the African Charter and the resolution moratorium on executions adopted recently by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the UN General Assembly.”A declaration that the public threat by the defendant to publicly execute the second and third plaintiffs amounts to deliberate and willful disregard of the request by the African Commission to the effect that African countries , including The Gambia that still retain the Death penalty should fully comply with their obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and guarantee to every person accused of crimes for which capital punishment is applicable, fair trial standards.
    “An Order of perpetual injunction restraining the defendant and or its agents from carrying out the public threat to secretly execute the second and third Plaintiffs and other persons on death row in The Gambia.
    “An order directing the defendants to faithfully and fully implement its obligations under its own constitution and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights as well as resolutions on moratorium on executions adopted recently by the African Commission on human and Peoples’ Rights and the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly.”
    SERAP in a statement signed by its Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, said: “Without allowing them to exhaust their right of appeal, the Gambian government has threatened the plaintiffs on or about August 15, 2012 to execute them and all other persons on death row in The Gambia.The human right group said in spite of several appeals to the Gambian government by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and other organisations, the government carried out the threat and secretly executed nine persons on death row last month.
    It listed the nine persons executed by the government as Lamin B. Darboe; Alieu Bah; Lamin Jarju; Dawda Bojang; Abubacarr Yarbo; Abdoulie Sonko; Lamin F. Jammeh; Gibril Bah and Taraba Samba.”
    The Gambian government has threatened to carry out the secret and illegal execution of the Nigerians and other remaining persons on death row this month but the Gambian parliament has not passed any memorandum endorsing the execution of the Nigerians, as required by Section 81 of the constitution of the Gambia.”
    The plaintiffs, according to the suit, also argued that, the action of the Gambian government violates the resolutions adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the UN General Assembly requiring countries including the Gambia to adopt moratorium on execution of the death penalty.
    The resolution, SERAP said, also asked African Union member states including the Gambia that still retain the death penalty to fully comply with their obligation under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and guarantee to every person accused of crime for which capital punishment is applicable, fair trial standards; and to include in their periodic reports information on the steps they are taking to move toward the abolition of death penalty in their countries.

  • Group to partner INEC

    A non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Centre for Human Rights and Ethics in Development (CHRED), has said it would partner the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a free and fair governorship election in Ondo State on October 20.

    The group hailed the electoral body for conducting a successful election on July 14 in Edo State.It noted that the outcome of the poll demonstrated that there could be transparent election in Nigeria, if stakeholders play their role according to the rules of the game.

    CHRED said as part of efforts to ensure that votes count, it has constituted an institutional framework, to be called the Stakeholders’ Consultative Advisory committee (SAC). It comprises the representatives of INEC, the media, political parties, security agencies, lawmakers, among others.

    It said SAC would be domiciled in the state capital with dedicated phones for information and complaints as well as maintain contacts with those it described as election rovers from the 18 local governments.

    A statement by its Executive Director, Mr Mohood Erubami, said the Ondo State governorship poll would be another test for the INEC to prove that it is capable of conducting free and fair elections in 2015.

    The statement reads: “The Centre for Human Rights and Ethics In Development (CHRED) as a vital component of democratic governance, in collaboration with stakeholders has therefore decided not to be indifferent to the possible dangers already raring their heads in the state such that caused political acrimonies in the past.

    “We have decided to set an election observation platform to checkmate political office holders and their opponents from the contest for power with bitter divisions and rancour such that can make political violence a recurrent feature of Nigeria’s political life.

    “CHRED will use its election observation platform-the voters to compliment the efforts of INEC to improve on the challenges and achievements recorded during Edo election so as to make the coming Ondo State Gubernatorial election acceptable to all stakeholders.

    “The voters under the umbrella of the Centre for Human Rights and Ethics in Development (CHRED) will ensure that conditions for credible election set by INEC are met by observing the early distribution of sensitive and less sensitive materials arrival of materials, and officials at pulling centres,

    “It will ensure conducive atmosphere for accreditation and monitor voting in all the voting centres, adherence to set voting time adequacy of voting materials, and good conduct of electoral officials, voters and security agencies.

    “The group will in addition, initiate and establish a rapid response intervention program to halt the trends towards dreadful and violent disruption of an electoral process and create a peaceful atmosphere for credible and legitimate election instead, so as to allow democracy to flourish.

    “In this way, the hegemonic violence trend will be crushed via the establishment of an institutional framework to be known as the Stakeholders Consultative Advisory committee (SAC), comprising of the Representatives from INEC, Media, Political Parties, Chief Security Officers, Legislators and Security Agencies.

    “SAC will take complaints of malpractices against the electoral act and INEC guidelines from people and take immediate proactive actions to remedy the situation before it escalates into big conflicts.
    The statement said’’ In the process, peaceful democratic transition is ensured and guaranteed.”

     

  • Court orders release of Ondo ACN members

    Court orders release of Ondo ACN members

    AN Akure High Court, presided over by Justice B. F. Adeyeye, has ordered the release of two arrested Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) members. They were arrested in the convoy of the party’s governorship candidate, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), and arraigned for alleged robbery and unlawful possession of firearms.

    The ACN legal team, led by Titiloye Charles and Victor Olatoyegun, approached the court to bail the accused after the Chief Magistrate Court in Akure declined jurisdiction on the matter.

    It ordered that the accused, Folagbade Dapo and Oluwasola Sunday, be remanded in Olokuta Prison. Akeredolu’s convoy was attacked by suspected Labour Party (LP) thugs on July 28. Rather than arrest the thugs, the police arrested the ACN members.

    The police anti-robbery unit, however, washed its hands off the matter, saying it was not properly investigated and that it should be withdrawn.
    The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, took over the matter.

    He averred that the accused have a case to answer. The Justice Commissioner issued a legal advice, which directed the trial of the accused for alleged robbery.

  • Ex-Osun Speaker threatens to sue Commission of Enquiry

    Former Speaker of the Osun State House of Assembly, Adejare Bello, has threatened to sue the Commission of Enquiry, if he is indicted in its report.
    He accused the commission of bias.

    The commission was set up by Governor Rauf Aregbesola to examine how loans and other major financial transactions were obtained under the government between May 2003 and November 2010.

    Addressing reporters at the Osogbo High Court venue of the panel’s sitting, Bello said it was wrong of the six-member commission not allow him give evidence before it ended its sitting.

    The commission, last Thursday, accused Bello, who was Speaker from 2007 till 2011, of refusing to appear before it.

    The former Speaker acknowledged that though the panel invited him, he was shocked that it had hurriedly wound up.
    The panel chairman, Prof. Femi Odekunle, told reporters on phone that he was not a politician and had no time for the former Speaker’s allegations against the panel.
    He said Bello was invited to give evidence before the commission, adding that he was said to have travelled abroad.

    Odekunle said the commission obtained the information Bello was to give from the Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation when the N18.3 billion loan was procured.

    “I exchanged correspondences with the panel on two occasions. When they told me to appear, I said it was not convenient for me because I was going on a vacation to the US with my family by August ending…”
    I told them when I would be back in the country and they said I should pick between September 3 and 14, 2012. I called when I came back into the country and expressed my readiness to appear.

    “When the Chairman of the panel, Prof Odekunle, publicly said last Thursday that I refused to appear before the commission and that I was blowing grammar when they invited me, I was shocked. I was at the public hearing when he made this allegation and I raised my hand to object, but he ignored me. This is unfair. The panel refused to listen to me because they knew I would shed light on the lies being peddled before it.

    “The panel told me to appear before it on Friday. I am here today; where’s the panel? I demand an apology from the panel. I will fight to the Supreme Court if my name is maligned in the panel’s report. The panel has no right to query the authority or actions of the state House of Assembly.”