The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Adesoji Adeniyi

  • Osun: Senator Adeleke’s brother defects to PDP

    Osun: Senator Adeleke’s brother defects to PDP

    • Becomes party’s sole aspirant for primary poll

    Younger brother to late Isiaka Adetunji Adeleke, Ademola, is the sole aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary poll for Osun West Senatorial District July 8 bye election holding today at Iwo City Stadium, headquarters of Iwo Local Government.

    Two contestants for the seat on the platform of the PDP, former Minister of the Youth Development, Senator Olasunkanmi Akinlabi, and a retired Colonel of the Nigerian Army, Olayiwola Falabi, earlier cleared for the primary last night stepped down for Ademola Adeleke after he had shown intention to defect from the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Until Monday, Adeleke was sole aspirant of the APC until his co-contestant, Mudashiru Hussain, disqualified by the party’s screening committee and the Appeal Committee was cleared by the national working committee of the APC.

    It was gathered that Adeleke wrote a letter to the APC to withdraw from the race on the platform of the party, therefore leaving Hussain as the party’s sole aspirant in today’s primary holding on the outskirts of Osogbo at Egbedore Local Government Area of Osun State.

  • Osun students clash over girlfriend, three injured

    Osun students clash over girlfriend, three injured

    There was pandemonium in Osogbo, the Osun State capital on Wednesday as students of the Technical College and Osogbo High School engaged in a violent clash.

    The students, who went on a rampage and threw people of Okefia, the area where the two schools are located into panic allegedly used matchets and other dangerous weapons to attack one another.

    No fewer than three students were allegedly injured on the instance.

    It was gathered that two male students of the two schools were fighting over another female student of Osogbo Grammar School.

    The investigation further revealed that the cultists in the two schools were eventually dragged into the matter and therefore turning it into a violent clash.

    However, his rival was said to have replied him to go and look for a girlfriend among his peers at the Technical College and stop trespassing.

    The reply said to have infuriated the boy from Technical College, who allegedly mobilised members of his cult group to unleash terror on his rival and students of Osogbo High School but they were reportedly resisted.

    The police and a local vigilance group later came to disperse them.

  • 127 sacked policemen cry out to IGP for reinstatement

    127 sacked policemen cry out to IGP for reinstatement

    About 127 sacked policemen have cried out to the Inspector General of Police, Mr Ibrahim Idris, for their reinstatement.

    The police men from Zone 11 Command of the Nigeria Police Force, comprising Oyo, Osun and Ondo States were disengaged in 2007.

    They also demanded full remuneration of their allowances as well as the payment of their gratuities.

    At a press conference in Osogbo, the Osun State Capital, the spokesperson for the group, Mr Ibrahim Shaibu, described their disengagement as unlawful.

    According to him, the claim of over-age given for their disengagement by the police was not correct, adding that they were within the lawful age of service when they were retrenched.

    He said: “We were not over-aged as at the time we were retired. They gave us certificates of retirement which confirmed the action.”

    Shaibu, who claimed that several complaints to the Force Headquarters, Abuja have been unsuccessful, disclosed that 16 out of the 144 officers from Osun have been recalled without recourse to them.

    PoliceOne of the letters addressed to the Inspector General of Police, Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 11, and the Osun State Commissioner of Police, by Cpl Bolorunduro Oni, dated 4/10/2015, a copy obtained by our correspondent in Osogbo, the officer appealed to the relevant authorities to urgently heed their agitation.

    Other members of the group told newsmen that they have been confirmed dead by the current Inspector General of Police when he was invited by federal lawmakers.

    “On January 19, 2017, at the House of Representatives, Abuja the Inspector General told the lawmakers that we were dead but when we made efforts to reach him on the matter he said that was what he met from his predecessors,” one of them explained. 

    The retirees stated further that some of them had c9mmited suicide by hanging himself when he could not endure hunger.

    Mr Shaibu also said since their disengagement letters were issued, they have not been paid their gratuities as their pension fund administrators are yet to be notified.

    He said: “We want our gratuities paid, we want to be back in service. We do not want to turn street beggars, we want to take care of our children. IG please, help us.”

  • About 7 dead, 11 injured in Osun auto accident

    About 7 dead, 11 injured in Osun auto accident

    No fewer than seven people on Sunday evening died in a ghastly auto crash along Osogbo/Gbongan road while eleven others sustained varying degrees of injury during the accident.

    An eyewitness account revealed that two siblings of the same mother returning to school were among those that lost their lives.

    It was gathered that an 18-seater passenger bus around 5:00pm lost control after a tyre burst and collided with a Toyota Sienna space bus.

    It was also gathered that the passenger bus which had about 16 passengers on board immediately burst into flames after the accident and nobody could tell the cause of the fire.

    The eyewitness recounted: “We manage to remove some of the passengers in the commercial bus but about 6 people were trapped in the vehicle and got burnt. In the other private vehicle involved, one person died on the spot and the other occupant was brought out of the wreckage alive.

    “I can’t confirm what later happened. But those that were injured were taken to Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, OAUTH, Ife for treatment.

    “From what we were told when the corpses were being evacuated, two children of the same mother died in the commercial vehicle. The mother was travelling in another vehicle. She eventually met their dead bodies when she arrived the scene of the crash.”

    Meanwhile, the Osun Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, Mr Umar Ibrahim, confirmed that seven people died in the accident.

    According to him, the cause of the accident could not be immediately established, saying an investigation is being conducted to unravel the cause.

  • Traditional ruler to pay fines for five inmates

    Traditional ruler to pay fines for five inmates

    • Admonishes public not to stigmatise ex-convicts

    The Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdulrasheed Adewale Akanbi, Ilufemiloye Telu I, on Thursday offered to pay the fines of five inmates of the Nigerian Prisons Service in Ilesa, Osun State.

    Our correspondence gathered that the inmates have continued to be in prison custody for failure to pay an option of fines imposed on them by the courts.

    Oba Akanbi made the offer during his visit to the prison in Ilesa, where there are 582 inmates out of which 454 are awaiting trial.

    The traditional ruler, who made a donation of cow and cash to the prison service for the upkeep of the inmates, passionately appealed to the state Chief Judge, Justice Oyebola Adepele-Ojo, to look into the cases of those awaiting trial, many of whom had spent between two to twenty years behind bars.

    Disclosing that his mission was to have first hand experience of the situation behind the wall of prisons and see areas he could intervene, the Oluwo said he was identifying with the inmates to give them hope and reasons to believe their lives could still serve good purposes.

    The monarch also admonished members of the society to stop stigmatising ex-convicts and to make sure they are supported during their reformation, reintegration programmes for the society to be a good place for everyone.

    While exchanging handshakes with some of the inmates, Oba Akanbi enjoined them to change from their bad ways and make sure they contribute to the peace and development of the nation.

    He also appealed to the government to improve the facilities in the prison that have been built since 1900, adding that the prison environment, looking ancient, needed “serious rehabilation.”

    Responding, some of the inmates said they were surprised by the monarch’s visit which they described as unprecedented, therefore promising to be of good behaviour during and after their jail terms.

    They pleaded with the state government to grant those with good conduct state pardon while commending the officials of the prison for doing their best to better the lot of the inmates.

    Also, the officer in charge of the Prison, who is a Deputy Comptroller, Mr. Ope Fanmikun, disclosed that his men face huge challenges, conveying 454 inmates for trial daily in 72 courts across the state.

    “We take the inmates to court with just four vehicles. The newest of these vehicles was given to the prison four years ago. Presenting the inmates for trial has been difficult so we are calling on well meaning Nigerians to come to our aid,” he lamented.

    According to him, the prison needs at least 20 vehicles, medical facilities and consumables, adding that some of the inmates that were supposed to be referred for further treatment in more advanced facilities could not do so because of unavailability of funds.

  • Osun at 25th: Govt denies proposing N140 million for celebration

    The Osun State government has debunked the rumur that it has earmarked N140 million to celebrate the 25th anniversary of its creation coming up on Saturday.

    At a press conference in Osogbo, the state capital, yesterday evening the former Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties who is a member of the committee for the anniversary, Hon Ajibola Basiru, described the allegation as “a blatant lie.”An Osun state based group, Civil Societies Coalition for Emancipation of Osun State (CSCEOS) recently alleged that the state government has set aside N140 million for the state 25th anniversary.

    Basiru, who advised the people to disregard the statement credited to CSCEOS, said the allegation does not come from a credible source.

    He also urged the public to see the rumour as “mere politics.”

    Earlier, the Chairman, Organizing Committee, Dr. Charles Akinola, had stated that this year celebration would focus on the youths.

    According to him, the display of calisthenics by students would be the main activity of the programme with commissioning of some completed projects by the state government.

    He said the president, Muhammadu Buhari, who was expected to witness the calisthenics display and commission the projects would be unavoidably absent due to some important assignment.

    However, he assured that the president would visit the state on September 1st where he would be led to commission the projects.

    He maintained that the display of calisthenics goes beyond entertainment.

    He said the display was to inculcate the spirit of group work and make the students happy being the main focus of the celebration.

    He challenged the opposition to come up with substantial alternative to Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s policies instead of engaging in criticism.

  • Ooni, Owa battle at Osun monarchs’ meeting

    Ooni, Owa battle at Osun monarchs’ meeting

    The atmosphere preceding Thursday’s monthly meeting of the Osun State Council of Obas was charged.

    Reason: There was an argument over the seating arrangement.

     The Owa Obokun, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran, did not  allow the advance team of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, to place his seat at a vantage position.

    The vice-chairman of the council, Oba Aromolaran, allegedly refused to allow  the Ife team place the Ooni’s seat in front of him.

    The Ooni is the permanent chairman of the council

    It was learnt that Oba Aromolaran, who had arrived earlier before Oba Ogunwusi, allegedly stopped the Ooni’s advance team.

    It was further learnt that the dress of one of the emissaries (emese) was torn during the “scuffle”.

    The emeses were said to have insisted on placing the seat in a particular position. They claimed that they were acting on the Ooni’s instruction.

    The meeting was postponed indefinitely.

    Governor Rauf Aregbesola invited the monarchs to a meeting at the Government House.

    It was gathered that Oba Aromolaran left the Government House a few minutes before Oba Ogunwusi arrived.

    The Ooni went to visit the Owa at his palace in Ilesa.

    Oba Ogunwusi was said to have told Oba Aromolaran that he was not interested in fighting for any position but for peace among  Yoruba obas.

    The Ooni was also quoted to have said that “you are one of the prominent traditional rulers in Yorubaland and it is in my own interest and that of the larger Yoruba people to relate very well with the Owa”.

    “I have just spent about three months on the throne now while you, Owa, have spent about 34 years.

    “It is my responsibility to visit you first because you have been on the throne for long.

    “It has been said by God that I should come and liberate Yorubaland and to ensure peace and unity.

    “I am not engaging in any leadership supremacy with anybody.”

    Owa reportedly told the Ooni that “your visit is a surprise to me and it is the least expected. Now that you have come to show a hand of friendship, I will now join your unity train to unify the Yoruba.”

    The Ooni’s Director of Media and Publicity, Moses Olafare, said the Ooni’s position as the council’s permanent chairman  was incontrovertible.

    Olafare said: “Ooni would not want to be drawn into what happened.

    “But he (Ooni) remains the permanent chairman according to law.

    “The issue of who becomes the chairman is a creation of law and can only be reversed by law.

    “Whoever is not satisfied with the arrangement should either go to court or the House of Assembly and seek a review of the law.”

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  • Masqueraders protest in Osun

    Masqueraders protest in Osun

    It was an unusual sight yesterday as six masqueraders joined protesters in Esa-Oke, Obokun Local Government of Osun State to protest the proposed merger of tertiary institutions.

    The rumour had continued to spread in communities hosting the institutions – the State Polytechnic, Ikire, the State College of Technology, Esa-Oke, the State College of Education, Ila and State College of Education, Ilesa.

    It was gathered that the protesters prevented lecturers and students of the College of Technology, Esa-Oke, from entering the campus.

    They were said to have warned the government against the plan, maintaining that the move might have untold consequences if the proposed plan was not shelved.

    Residents of Esa-Oke yesterday barricaded the college road, sending students and workers back home.

    The Owamiran of Esa-Oke, Oba Adeyemi Adediran, said the protest was to prevent Governor Rauf Aregbesola from embarking on the alleged plan to merge the institutions.

    The monarch urged the governor to shelve the plan, saying the indigenes will prevent any attempt to merge the institution.

    Similar protests had been held in Ila-Orangun and Iree by indigenes of the two communities.

    However, the government had earlier stated that the plan was to restructure the institutions and not to merge them.