Ondo State governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, yesterday commiserated with the family of the Chairman, State Muslims Pilgrimage Welfare Board, Alhaji Khaleel Fawehinmi, over the death of his wife, Alhaja Abimbola Fawehinmi.
Akeredolu also sent his condolences to the Adako family of Iyere Owo over the death of their father, Chief Koya Adako.
The late Alhaja Fawehinmi was a Commissioner for Women Affairs and later Commissioner for Education in Ondo State between 1997 and 1999.
The Olubaka of Oka-Akoko in Ondo State, Oba Yussuf Adebori Adeleye, has urged Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) to direct relevant agencies to fix the dilapidated Oke-Oka highway.
Also, the monarch hailed the nomination of the National Coordinator of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, as the Aare Ona Kakanfo of the Yoruba.
Addressing reporters at his palace, Oba Adeleye praised Akeredolu for his administration’s policies.
But the monarch regretted that the Oke-Oka road has become a death-trap, resulting in several motor accidents in which a number of persons have died.
Oba Adeleye said: “In my opinion, our governor, Arakunrin Akeredolu, has proved to be a leader with human compassion, character and focus since assuming office. It is for this reason that, on behalf of the people of Oka-Akoko, I appeal to him to mobilise contractors to rehabilitate the Oke-Oka road, which has become a source of pain and agony to us.
“The situation is now so bad that motor accidents occur almost on a regular basis on the road. Being an action governor, we are counting on Akeredolu to come to the aid of the people of Oka-Akoko and end the loss of lives.”
On the nomination of Adams as Aare Ona Kakanfo of the Yoruba by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, the Olubaka said: “It’s an honour well deserved.”
Adams hails from Arigidi, also in Akoko area of Ondo State.
The Oluwarotimi Akeredolu administration in Ondo State will not allow any group or individuals to take undue advantage to cheat the people, the government has said.
Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Yemi Olowolabi, spoke at the weekend in Akure, the state capital, when members of the Tax Justice and Governance Network visited him.
He said: “These are hard times for everyone, and the government owes the people a responsibility of protection, which comes in different ways.
“One of the best methods is ensuring that the people’s hard-earned money is not taken away by cheats.
“This government, led by Governor Akeredolu, has decided to be different. From what you have seen so far, you should know that any act of illegality will not be condoned.
“Recently, the activities of a union were suspended due to reports of misdeeds. That is the way Akeredolu’s government will be run. There are plans to streamline the tax system in such a way that multiple-taxation will no longer take place in the state.
“Taxation is inevitable; we must collect it. However, it should not be seen as being punitive or burdensome due to multiplicity. Nobody no matter how highly placed will be allowed to add to the burden of the people.
“We owe the people a responsibility of reducing their burden through good governance. That is the promise we made during electioneering and we intend to do that.”
The group’s Chairman Olakunle Oyegoke said Tax Justice and Governance Network is a non-government organisation (NGO) for mobilising people to pay their tax.
The chairman urged the government to see to the multiplicity of taxes being paid by the people.
Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), yesterday reiterated his administration’s commitment to make youth empowerment its priority.
He said his administration would continue to work hard to improve on its youth empowerment drive in the state.
Akeredolu stated this in Akure during an interactive session with participants of Course 26, National Defence College, Abuja, after their strategic one-week study tour of Ondo State.
The governor, who said his administration, had embarked on various initiatives to make the promise a reality, told the participants that Ondo sought collaboration with foreign investors to engage in afforestation and regeneration of the state’s forest resources.
He said: “We have encouraged a good number of our youths to engage in tree planting. Wewood, a Chinese company, has partnered with us and the company has employed a good number of our youths.”
Akeredolu said that his administration had keyed into the Federal Government’s Anchor Borrower Programme to boost development of agriculture in the state.
“We have also signed on to the school feeding programme,” he said.
Akeredolu added that the state government agric village in Ore, which had been abandoned, would be revived and put to maximum use.
He said: “Infrastructure is critical here; we need to provide infrastructure at the agric village for the farmers to enjoy themselves. Farmers too want to watch television, especially premier league. So, when basic infrastructure are provided, more people will be encouraged to embrace farming.”
Akeredolu added that the state government had paid its counterpart fund to enable it to key into the Rural Access Road Maintenance (RAM) aimed at connecting rural roads to the markets.
The governor also broke a piece of good news to the farmers in the state. He said bills aimed at protecting them and their produce against attacks were being considered.
Akeredolu, while responding to a question from one of the participants, attributed the relative peace in the state to effective collaboration between his government and security agents in the state.
To continue to boost security in Ondo State, Akeredolu added that his administration planned a joint patrol of the coastal line with the Lagos State government.
On the assessment of Npower project, the governor remarked that the programmed had not been impactful.
He explained that most of the Npower participants had been reporting at their duty posts.
Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has named Princess Oladunni Odu as the Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB).
A statement last night by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor Segun Ajiboye said the members of the board are Princess Olufunmilayo Brown (Fulltime member) and Mr Tayo Isaac Fayanju (Fulltime member).
Ex-officio members representing local government areas are: Augustine Oloruntogbe (North), Adebiyi Ayinuola (Central) and Adenikinju George (South).
Other members of the board are: Alhaji Omolaja Abimbola A. (PTA), Comrade Victor Oladele Amoko (NUT), and Mrs Ronke Ojo (Women Group).
Nigeria spends over N300billion on bitumen importation annually, Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has said.
He spoke during the inauguration of the board of the State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) in Akure, the state capital.
According to him, it is scandalous that the country spends such a huge amount on bitumen importation when the state has a large deposit of the commodity, which if processed, can boost the nation’s foreign exchange.
The governor said his major priority was to make the state the number one destination of investors by year 2020.
He said he established ONDIPA to ensure that corporate organisations and businessmen interested in doing business in the state did their transactions without any hassles.
Akeredolu announced that the first company for Bitumen Exploration and Processing in Nigeria would begin operation in the state before the middle of next year.
“I want to use this opportunity to announce to this gathering that the first company for Bitumen Exploration and Processing in Nigeria will commence operation in our state before the middle of 2018. We are the largest producer of oil palm and cashew nut in South West,” he said.
Assuring the investors of their safety in the state, Akeredolu said: “ONDIPA means business. The mandate of ONDIPA is to ensure that private sectors have no problem doing businesses in Ondo State. Today, you do not need to go to ministries to register your business and process papers, ONDIPA will do everything for you.’’
“I want to assure investors that whatever Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) we sign with you will be fulfilled with sanctimonious attention. We would not compromise integrity. In three years, I want to see Ondo being the number destination of investors in Nigeria. I want to export our cash crops and mineral resources to reduce pressure on our naira to boost our foreign exchange. My office is opened to investors. ONDIPA is open. The office of ONDIPA is even beside my office,” he further stated.
The agency will be chaired by the governor while it will be directly supervised by his Special Adviser to the Governor on Development and Investment, Mr. Boye Oyewumi who will also double as the Vice-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Among the dignitaries at the event was the Minister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, deputy governor, Hon. Agboola Ajayi and his wife, Secretary to the state Government, Hon. Ifedayo Abegunde, members of the state executive council, permanent secretaries and several other government functionaries.
Also present at the occasion were the representative of the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, Mr. Omolola Adegbenga, Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Mr. Femi Falana, Executive Director, Energy Renewal Division, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Alhaji Abdulahi Adamu, Director General, National Emergency Agency (NEMA, Alhaji Mustapha amongst others.
Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has said his priority is to make the state the number one destination for investors by 2020.
He spoke yesterday at the inauguration of the board of the State Development and Investment Promotion Agency (ONDIPA) on Tursday in Akure, the state capital.
The governor said the state had no reason to rely on Federal allocation from Abuja before meeting its commitments to the people, if the large deposits of minerals and agricultural resources in the state were well annexed.
Akeredolu said Nigeria spends N300 billion annually on importation of bitumen, despite having the largest deposit of bitumen in Nigeria.
He said if the resources were processed, they could reduce pressure on the naira and boost the nation’s foreign exchange.
The governor, who also spoke on several investment opportunities in the state, said he established the ONDIPA to ensure that corporate organisations and businessmen and women interested in doing business in the state do their transactions without stress.
Akeredolu said: “We are the largest producer of cocoa in Nigeria. We are the largest producer of cassava in Nigeria. We have the largest deposit of limestone in Nigeria. Let me inform this gathering that Ondo has the largest deposit of bitumen in Africa and second in the world.
“I want to use this opportunity to announce to this gathering that the first company for Bitumen Exploration and Processing in Nigeria will commence operation in our state before the middle of 2018.
“We are the largest producer of oil palm and cashew nut in South West. We have dedicated 150,000 hectares of land to boost cocoa, oil palm and cassava in Ondo State. We have major cash crops; maize, rice, soya beans, citrus, plantain; coffee, cowpea; we have the highest load of granite in South west. We have large rubber plantations in Ondo. We have oil and gas; we are the 4th largest producer of oil and gas in Nigeria, we can use gas to power of electricity.”
With what he saw while touring schools in Akoko Southeast /Southwest Federal Constituency, a lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Kolawole Babatunde, has urged Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredoulu to give education emergency attention.
Babatunde spoke in Akungba-Akoko while presenting mobile science kits to secondary schools in his constituency.
The lawmaker said his tour of schools in the four local government areas of Akoko zone to determine areas he would intervene in education revealed dilapidation of infrastructure ans dearth of learning facilities.
Babatunde, who lamented that the pupils were learning in an unconducive environment, said it was worrisome to see dilapidated structures in the schools with the absence of laboratories and equipment.
“I had promised my people that I was going to do everything to promote education in my constituency and I took time to go round some of the schools, and I discovered that the structures there are dilapidated.
“Some of them did not even have a laboratory, not to talk of having the necessary equipment that is needed in the laboratories.
“I realised that I needed to intervene, and what I simply did was to partner UBEC and we secured the mobile kits which are being distributed today with the zeal to see how we can improve on science and technological education,” he said.
Babatunde expressed his commitment to promoting science and technological-based courses.
The lawmaker said Ondo State could produce the next innovators like foreign countries that promote science and technology.
“Russia, United States, China and other developed countries are where they are today, because they have been able to develop in Science and Technological based courses,” she said.
Babatunde noted that even though, lawmakers make laws, but he still saw it as his duty to influence infrastructural development.
He suggested that the state government should partner relevant agencies to rehabilitate, if re-constructing new ones was not possible.
Babatunde urged stakeholders to join hands with him to fix the decaying infrastructures in schools in his constituency.
He said Akoko needed the support of private and corporate organisations, including individuals, who are passionate about education to assist in putting good school structures in shape.
Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has urged judicial officers to ensure fairness, equity and justice in the discharge of their duties.
Akeredolu spoke yesterday while opening this year’s Chief Judge’s seminar, with the theme: Dispensation of Substantial Justice in the Eyes of the Law, at the International Events Centre (The Dome) in Akure, the state capital.
The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Agboola Ajayi, noted that the reforms in the Judiciary would lead to speedy dispensation of justice.
On the suspension of magistrates in the state, the governor said his administration had no hand in their removal.
He added that the development was introduced by the Judiciary Commission as part of efforts to cleanse the system.
Acting Chief Judge Justice Olanrewaju Akeredolu said the seminar would help the profession in aspects of law, life and new things to impact meaningfully on the society.
In his address, Justice Akintan Osadebay noted that the seminar postulated a reformative agenda for an effective justice delivery system.
•Seaport is for future, says Fayemi
After another closed-door meeting with the President, Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) told State House correspondents that the state needed the Federal Government to take advantage of the natural resources in the state.
He said: “We are asking that the country takes advantage of the natural resources in Ondo State. We have a seaport, which is very germane to our export activities, in particular, and our mineral deposits, which we have in large number. We need to have a deep sea-manning port. Ondo State is well suited for it.
“So, we impressed this on Mr. President on what we believe will be a lasting legacy, if we are able to accomplish it in his own time.”
On the volume of mineral resources for export warranting a deep seaport, Akeredolu said: “No. You just look at the volume of natural resources we are exporting through any port in Nigeria.
“The total volume, which is still not so high; the moment it gets high, we will need a deep seaport where we will even have a modern ship berth. We do not have anywhere in this country today where big ships can berth, not in Lagos or Calabar.
“That is why what you see is that so many of the ships will berth in the high sea while the smaller ones will be used to take the goods there or bring the goods from the ship. That is why we need a deep seaport where the biggest ships in the world can berth, and that is in Ondo State.”
The Minister of Mines and Steel Dr Kayode Fayemi said the deep seaport was about the future.
On non-oil revenue, he said: “We are emphasising solid minerals development as a vehicle for diversification, an agenda of Mr. President. So, we look at what role that will play in the future and the non-oil sector.
“Now, our oil wealth is going down; at the same time, we are talking that other countries are talking about manufacturing cars that will not use fuel in the next two decades. What will these cars be using? If you look at the Tata vehicles out there (in India), there are all battery-powered. Where will the battery power come from? It will come from lead, lithium, cobalt. These are things we have in abundance in Nigeria.
“So, although we may lose out on oil, it doesn’t mean it is a zero sum gain. We may be gaining other things which Mr. President is keen about.
“The President asked for an update on Ajaokuta and the Aluminium Smelting Company at Ikot Abasi. I came to brief Mr. President on the development to ensure these companies are back to life.
“I told him about the efforts the Vice President has been making at ensuring that we have a definitive solution to the sale of Aluminium Smelting Company at Ikot Abasi and that we also move forward in the resolution and agreement reached on Ajaokuta Steel so that we get ready for the second concessioning.
“We have appointed an adviser; we have appointed a new leadership there, because the term of the last leadership has expired. Those were the things we updated Mr. President on.
“Mineral resources have contributed significantly to the gross domestic product (GDP) and revenue. This year alone, we have exceeded the target given to us. If you look at the Bureau of Statistics’ report, you will see that the two sectors that have contributed immensely to the GDP are agriculture and solid minerals.”