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Tag: Akeredolu

  • Akeredolu: Between expectations and reality

    Akeredolu: Between expectations and reality

    When thousands of Ondo State citizens lined up in the sun on November 26, 2016 to vote a new leadership for the state, they wanted something different from what Dr. Olusegun Mimiko was offering them. The people had three major candidates namely – Rotimi Akeredolu, Eyitayo Jegede and Olushola Oke – as options to choose from.

    Akeredolu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) eventually won the election.

    The ex-president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) was sworn in at the Akure township stadium before thousands of Ondo State citizens and guests from all walks of life.

    Sitting and standing in that stadium were weary faces whose parents hadn’t received salaries for months, young unemployed graduates, old men and women looking forward to policies that will actually move the state towards a NEW direction (as promised during the electioneering process).

    The crowd cheered loudly as Aketi as he’s fondly called promised to lead the state to “redemption.”

    Two weeks have gone by without any commissioner named, no public statements about government owned parastatals, no clear focus or blueprint unveiled and announcement of any major policy.

    Rather, there had been some unnecessary political statements and one begins to wonder if the governor has not forgotten his campaign promises so early.

    At the gala dinner organized for the new government, the governor was said to have lambasted a Senator for not supporting him during the election period but went ahead to publish in the newspaper  an advert  congratulating him upon inauguration.

    One wonders if the rumoured internal wrangling within the ruling party won’t affect Akeredolu’s performance in office.

    The southern part of the state hasn’t had electricity for many years now, also, the Akoko areas in the north haven’t had light in about a year. Equally, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko needs proper funding to make the institution better than it is presently, this must also be done without putting financial burden on the parents/guardians through increment in fees.

     

  • Ondo education summit soon, says Akeredolu

    Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has reiterated his determination to organise a summit on education.

    He spoke in Akure,the state capital, while playing host to the management and members of the Governing Council of the Adekunle Ajasin University(AAU)Akungba-Akoko led by its Chairman,Otunba Solomon Oladunni.

    Akeredolu,who expressed appreciation for the rapid transformation going on in the university, pledged to support the trend of development in the institution.

    Oladunni rejoiced with Akeredolu on his inauguration as the sixth executive governor in the state, urging the government to intervene in the institution’s financial constraints.

    Oladunni who reeled out the various challenges confronting AAUA, appealed passionately to the governor to intervene.

    He said: “As you are aware, AAUA is presently a leading state university in Nigeria, and it is not resting on its oars. But there are a number of challenges that are confronting the university.

    “Prominent among these is finance; though it is common knowledge that the nation’s economy is in distress, we are appealing passionately to you to kindly intervene in resolving these challenges so that the university can continue to soar”.

    The institution’s Vice Chancellor Prof Igbekele Ajibefun, said Akeredolu’s pedigree and credentials speak volumes of what he can do in his new capacity as the chief executive officer of the state.

    He added that the university was ready to key into the development programmes of the  Akeredolu-led government.

    His words: “We are not unaware of your achievements in the previous leadership capacities that you held in the past.

    “We are prepared to key seamlessly into the development programmes and plans of your government. We pray that God will abide with you in your earnest pursuit to take the state to the next level.”

     

  • Akeredolu appoints SSG, others

    Akeredolu appoints SSG, others

    Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu has approved the appointment of Ifedayo Abegunde as Secretary to the State Government (SSG) and Olugbenga Ale as Chief of Staff.
    Senior Special Assistant, Legislative Matters, Taofeek Olawale Abdusalam; Senior Special Assistant, Research and Documentation Kunle Adebayo; Senior Special Assistant, Infrastructure Raheem Olayiwola Aminu; Senior Special Assistant, Special Duties and Strategy Doyin Odebowale; Chief of Protocol Tosin Ogunbodede and Deputy Chief of Protocol Bola Alabi.
    All appointments take immediate effect.

  • Visually-impaired to Akeredolu: give us jobs

    Visually-impaired to Akeredolu: give us jobs

    A Visually-impaired graduate of Adekunle Ajasin University (AAU), Akungba- Akoko, Ondo State, Alegbeleye Sanmi, has appealed to Ondo State Governor Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN) to assist the People Living with Disabilities (PLWD) in the state with employment.
    At the corporate office of The Nation in Lagos, he urged the governor to attend to PLWD after payment of workers’ salaries owed by his predecessor.
    Sanmi said there were over 100,000 PLWD in the state, adding that none had been employed into the civil service since 2003.
    This, he said, had contributed to increase in the number of unemployed PLWD.
    “We are appealing to our governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, to employ PLWD in Ondo State. Many of us are graduates, but we have no jobs. Our suffering is too much. We have about 18 local governments in the state and there are no PLWD working there,” Sanmi said.
    The governor, he said, has always assisted PLWD in the state, even before he became a politician, adding: “This is the time we need him to employ our people. He built a hostel for us in AAU, among other things. Now that he is a governor, I plead with him to do more for us.”
    Sanmi, a graduate of Guiding and Counselling, said he has no job since he graduated in 2015.
    “The only thing I do is to sell the book I wrote in 2012,” he said.
    Sanmi, the Founder of Disabled Political Organisation (DPO) and Treasurer, Joint National Association of Persons with Disability (JONAPWD) in Ondo State, said: “They always think a blind person cannot do anything, but they don’t know that there is ability in disability. It is the same school the ‘able people’ went, that we ‘disabled persons’ also graduated from, so why the discrimination? I know of some blind persons, who have got employment in organisations and they are working effectively. I can also perform if I am employed in the area of my discipline. I can work in the civil service or private sector.”

  • Akeredolu pledges support for the Bar

    Ondo State Governor, OluwarotimiAkeredolu (SAN) has vowed to support the Bar.

    The former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) president spoke while inaugurating the Law Chambers built by Akure lawyer and activist, Sir Charles Titiloye in Akure, the state capital.

    The project which was the first to be inaugurated in the state since the governor assumed duties on February 24 is a three-floor edifice accommodating the law firm and human rights centre.

    Akeredolu described Titiloye as an ‘industrious young man committed to the service of the oppressed and downtrodden’.

    “Titiloye is my close associate. I always used his office as my point of contact anytime I came to Akure for professional assignments. He  belongs to a special class of lawyers who combined activism with legal practice.

    “Only very few people like Gani Fawehinmi, Kanmi Ishola-Osobu and Femi Falana had succeeded in marrying the two trades together, hence, I salute Titiloye for his greater responsibility to serve humanity,” Akeredolu said.

  • Akeredolu pays Ondo workers

    Akeredolu pays Ondo workers

    Ondo State civil servants have received their February salaries.

    Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, who inherited a backlog of seven-month salary arrears, made a public declaration of his intention to make workers’ welfare a priority during his swearing-in on February 24.

    He assured the workers of his administration’s plan to pay the arrears soon.

    On February 25, Akeredolu set up a committee headed by the Accountant-General, Albert Olaolu Akindolie, to work out the modality for the payment of the arrears.

    And, expectedly, smiles returned to the faces of the workers last Thursday when they received credit alerts on their telephones.

  • Akeredolu dissolves boards, parastatals

    •••Promises better days for education in Ondo

    Ondo State Governor, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), yesterday approved the dissolution of all boards and parastatals in the state. A statement signed by the Head of Service (HoS), Mr. Toyin Akinkuotu, ordered the immediate dissolution of all boards and parastatals in the state.

    By this development, Akinkuotu urged all chairmen, political appointees and non-career employees in all boards and parastatals in the state to hand over all government properties in their custody to the accounting officers in their respective organisations.

    The statement however said that statutory commissions whose tenure are specified in the 1999 Nigerian Constitution are exempted from the dissolution

    In a related development, the governor has also declared that an all-encompassing Education Summit would soon be organised by his administration to proffer permanent solutions to the various problems confronting tertiary institutions in the state.

    He made the declaration   while playing host to the Governing Council of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, led by its Chairman, Otunba Solomon Oladunni.

    Akeredolu, who said that the Education Summit would have stakeholders in the education sector in attendance.

    On the issue of the disengaged staff, Arakunrin, Akeredolu said that government was aware of the issue adding that it would soon be amicably resolved.

  • Akeredolu promises better days for education in Ondo

    Akeredolu promises better days for education in Ondo

    Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu SAN, has declared that an all encompassing Education Summit  would soon be organized by his administration to proffer permanent solutions to the various problems confronting the Tertiary Institutions in the state.

    Governor Akeredolu made the declaration ý while playing host to the Governing Council of the Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko led by its Chairman, Otunba Solomon Oladunni .

    Arakunrin  Akeredolu who said that the Education Summit would have stakeholders in the education sector in attendance , including parents, teachers and students, would provide veritable opportunity towards taking decisions on some contentious issues within the state owned Tertiary Institutions.

    On the issue of the disengaged staff, Arakunrin Akeredolu said  that government was aware of the issue adding  that it would soon be amicably  resolved.

    He assured the council of the University that the February salaries to be paid to Civil Servants in Ondo State will accommodate  the University  as well  as staff of other state owned institutions in the state.

    On the issue of blackout in Ondo North and South Senatorial  Districts, the Governor said the management of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko and  the State  Government should find a  way round the problem by negotiating with the management  of Benin Electricity Distribution Company. He charged them to be creative in their quest for increase Internally Generated Revenue while promising  that his administration will continue to prioritize their welfare.

    Earlier,  the Chairman of the Governing Council, Adekunle Ajasin University Akungbba Akoko , Otunba Solomon Oladuni who congratulated the governor on his inauguration, sought his support in solving some of the challenges confronting the institution.

  • Lawyers storm Ondo as Akeredolu is inducted into golf club

    Lawyers storm Ondo as Akeredolu is inducted into golf club

    Lawyers gathered in Ondo State to witness the induction of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu as a member of the Smokin Hills Golf Resorts, Ilara Mokin.

    The governor was inducted by the founder, Elizade University, Ilara- Mokin, Ondo State, Chief Michael Adeojo.

    Akeredolu was inducted along with his deputy, Agboola Ajayi.

    The  event attracted many lawyers, many of whom are golfers, from different parts of the country.

    They include  Plateau State Governor Simon Bako Lalong and Bauchi State counterpart, Mohammed  A. Abubakar, both lawyers; a former captain of the IBB Golf Club  Abuja, Chief Joe-Kyari Gadzama (SAN), former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)  president Prince Lanke Odogiyan, former NBA Legal Adviser NBA Mrs Lindan Rose Bala, Mr. Dapo Otunla, Mr. Tunde Afolabi, D. Musa, Grace Lukas, Tina Micheal, Shade Obawunmi,  Mr. Marc Enamhe, among others.

    As part of their induction rights, their spouses will also enjoy the same status with them at the resort, which is reputed to be Africa’s biggest golf course.

    Speaking at the event, which held at the weekend, Adeojo, who founded the golf course, said: “ Today is one of my happiest days. For the brand new governor and his deputy  to pay a courtesy call on this resort outside the capital city of Ondo State is very significant. For this resort to be recognised by His Excellency is a great joy for me.”

    Adeojo recalled the journey that to the setting up of the golf course.

    “I started Elizade Nigeria Limited 46 years ago on August 1, 1971. I started the company by selling cars and taking commission on the sales. In one week, I sold 40 cars and the commission I got from  the sales was far more than my  annual  salary so I pulled out  from B. P Nigeria Limited where I was working and started the car outfit.

    “It has helped me to put this town on the map of the world through the establishment of Elizade University and this golf course where His Excellency has just come to grace. I thank God because when I look back and see what God has done through me, I get surprised, this is the way I was born.

    “I want people to benefit from whatever it has pleased God to give me. There is nothing I have that I was not given, with this ideology, I have made life better for any body I come across. This place will become a little Mecca, a sports point and an entertainment point

    “We intend to have game village situated somewhere not too far from this place, we intend to have Nigerian villages Yoruba Village, Hausa Village, Igbo Village Fulani Village, Tiv Village and so on. These are the things that fascinate me and are the things I want to showcase to the world.

    “I have visited Japan 49 times and they celebrate everything there even their tea. We have the best food in the world, we have the best weather in the world, we have the best of everything in the world we only need to educate our people so that we can harness them and get to the top. With good management, we do not need to look anywhere before this country prospers,” Adeojo said.

    Akeredolu said he was proud to be associated with Adeojo.

    “I first met chief Adeojo in 1998-1999 when I was Attorney-General and Commissioner for  Justice in this state. That was when the Oba was to be installed and Chief Adeojo dealt decently with us,” he said.

    Akeredolu urged Ondo indigenes to return home and invest in the state and its people.

    “I beg all of you who are interested in developing Ondo State, please come. You (Adeojo) are one of those we are looking up to, this is my first port of call, Smokin Hill is very lucky,” he said.

    Mr. A.S.K  Makinde was the over all winner of the inaugural golf tournament in honour of Akeredolu. The price was presented by Chief Adeojo and his wife, Taiwo.

    The  event attracted many golfers from different parts of the country including the  Plateau State Governor, Rt. Hon. Simon Bako Lalong, his Bauchi State counterpart, Mohammed  A. Abubakar, the captain of  Smokin Hill Golf club, Mr. Gboye Adegbenro,  a former captain of the IBB golf Club  Abuja, Chief J-K Gadzama (SAN), Mr. Dapo Otunla, Mr. Tunde Afolabi, D. Musa, Grace Lukas, Tina Micheal, Shade Obawunmi, former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA)  Prince Lanke Odogiyan, former Legal Adviser NBA,  Mrs Lindan Rose Bala, Mr. Marc Enamhe and others.