The Nation Newspaper

Tag: COMMUNITY

  • Kogi community pledges support for APC

    The indigenes of Yagba in Okunland, a Yoruba-speaking community in Kogi State, have pledged their support for the All Progressives Congress (APC), expressing the desire for one of their sons to become the Senator representing Kogi West Senatorial District during next year’s general elections.

    The people, spread across three local government areas – Yagba West, Yagba East and Mapa/Amoro – believe it is their turn to produce the next Senator. They noted that the zone has not produced a senator since the creation of the state in 1991.

    Therefore, many of them have resolved to support the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate from the district.

    In a statement made available to our correspondent in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, some concerned members of the Yagba Federal Constituency claimed “retired Col. Tunde Ogbeha from Koton Karfe/Lokoja area represented the district between 1999 and 2007 and Senator Smart Adeyemi from Kabba/Bunu/Jumu Constituency is representing the district since 2007.

    “Senator Ogbeha served two terms and Senator Adeyemi is serving his second term, and both are of the PDP. For the sake of justice, equity and fairness, it is our turn to produce the next Senator for the district,” they said.

    They lamented that “the two PDP Senators had not represented their interest well in the Senate since the beginning of the “current democratic dispensation.

    “It is our firm belief that of all the politicians aspiring for that position, Otunba Samuel Dele Aro of the APC from Odo-Eri, Yagba West Local Government Area, possesses the requisite experience to give the district in general and Yagba people in particular quality representation.

    “Having served as a member of the House of Representatives between 2007 and 2011, he is qualified to represent the district appropriately. He didn’t disappoint us as a member of the then House of Representatives.

    “Our people are also convinced that it is the APC; a party of the progressives, that can lead us out of the current socio-economic and political predicament that has been our lot.”

  • Dafara: Community in search of development

    Dafara: Community in search of development

    Among several communities in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Dafara is said to be one of those that lack infrastructure. In this report, GBENGA OMOKHUNU examines the people’s plight and what could be done to ease their suffering.

    The essence of having an area council administration is to ensure that communities under it enjoy the benefits of democracy. In most situations, the reverse is the case as people at the grassroots go through horrifying hardship if their leaders fail to take care of their well-being.

    Dafara in Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) seems a perfect example of this scenario.

    Residents of the community, which is just about six kilometres from the council’s secretariat, are not satisfied with the state of affairs. This is because the community is experiencing what they described as ‘developmental delay’ as a result of negligence on the part of the council chairman who has failed to fulfill his electioneering promises to them.

    Investigation revealed that residents of this peaceful community have been denied of necessities  that enhance their welfare.

    That they lack every amenity even when they live closer to the council’s secretariat is surprising to them. They alleged that members of the community have not benefited in any way from the council in the past three years.

    The Madaki of the community, Mr. Zaphania Tezh, who represented the community’s chief, Joseph Makeri, told our correspondent that the community is in need of government’s presence, adding that, despite that the people support the administration of the council, they are still far from witnessing development. He also said the community was experiencing challenges which include lack of potable water, electricity and access road.

    He said: “We know that the council chairman is doing his best to reach out to communities in Kuje. But we feel that since we are close to the secretariat, development should not be far from us. We really need infrastructural development in this community. That will give our people a sense of belonging.

    “Our youths also need to be empowered. In Dafara Village, we have many graduates that are jobless. The leadership of the council should come to our aid by making our people feel they are part of the government in Kuje.”

    A resident, Mr. John Iyan, said the community lacked some amenities that would have given the people a sense of belonging, adding that the leadership of the council should assist the community in the area of water, since the rivers on which the people depend for drinking and cooking are not hygienic enough.

    “We know government cannot do everything for the communities within its area. The past chairman, Hon. Danladi Zhin, did his best to reach out to communities in Kuje. But Dafara was left out in the course of providing certain amenities. We are appealing to the present chairman, Hon. Shaban Tete, to come to our rescue in providing water boreholes, transformers for electricity. It is hard to believe there is no electricity in this community that is very close to the council’s secretariat.

    “Most of our youths are graduates but they are jobless. We are appealing to the council chairman to empower youths in this community so that they will be useful to themselves and the society.

    “No matter what, our youths are still part of the leaders of tomorrow. So, they should be empowered,” he said.

    Another resident, Ismaila Matthew, said though the previous administration worked towards providing water for the community, the project failed. He also said they have not benefited much from the government apart from the primary and junior secondary schools being built.

    “Tete should fulfill promises he made to this community over a year ago. We believe that those things we lack currently could be provided if he wills. Again, the youth will have a sense of belonging if they are empowered. He should better our living condition,” he said.

    Efforts made to speak with the chairman of the council were futile as one of his aides told our correspondent to wait till when the council chief will address the press on it.

  • Community gets first grassroots fire station

    Community gets first grassroots fire station

    To facilitate quick response to fires in his domain, Yaba Local Council Development Area (LCDA) chairman Olajide Jimoh has built a fire service station.

    Opening the facility, Jimoh said the council also provided fire-fighting trucks with a structure to house them and ready water supply among others.

    He praised the management of Lagos State Fire Service which, he said, gave the council “absolute cooperation,” especially by training personnel to man the station.

    Jimoh said the need for programmes that would enhance residents’ standard of living informed the decision to build the facility.

    Governor Babatunde Fashola lauded the council chief for being the first in the country to build a fire station.

    Fashola’s spoke during the passing out of the 17 fire fighters through the Commissioner for Home Affairs and Culture, Oyilomo Danmole. He urged other council chiefs to emulate Jimoh to complement government’s efforts to ensure safety of citizens and their property.

    The Controllers General, Federal Fire Service, Mr. Olusegun Okebiorun, also hailed the “good initiative” of the council, saying that it would be of benefit to the people.

    A statement from the Federal Fire Service, Abuja, signed by Assistant Controller (Corporate Service), Mr. Elechi Collins, reads: “This initiative is worthy of emulation and highly commendable because of its importance in the drive towards prevention and other emergencies in the country… it is a demonstration of good governance.”

    Director of Lagos State Fire Service, Mr. Razak Idowu Fadipe also praised Jimoh, saying: “I am elated that the Yaba Local council chairman has keyed into the focus of this administration. When the governor first came on board, he observed that we had only eight power stations; he swiftly added five more.  Now two more power stations are currently under construction and will be due for inauguration this year.”

  • Community denies report against proposed Gurara State

    Contrary to a report by a group of individuals called the representatives of the people of Lere Local Government, Kauru Chiefdom and others under the name Kaduna Development Elders Initiative, on the need for a peaceful split of  Kaduna State, the Federated Kurama Association (FKA), Kurama Chiefdom and its people have dissociated themselves from such stand.

    A statement made available to reporters by Peter Sallau Ndochi and John Boyi Ladan, president and general-secretary OF FKA on behalf of the Kurama community said the writers of the report spoke for themselves, adding that it was done without their knowledge and consent.

    “FKA, Kurama Chiefdom and members take exception to the wild, ignorant and misleading publication and it should be rejected.

    “They do not have the mandate of Kurama community or are they representatives of any legitimate existing community of Kurama people.

    “FKA, Kurama Chiefdom and the people have accepted to belong to the proposed Gurara State if the Federal Government creates it.”

  • ‘Why companies must invest in community’

    ‘Why companies must invest in community’

    Nonny Ugboma is the Executive Secretary of the MTN Foundation (MTNF), the vehicle for driving MTN’s Corporate Social Responsibility strategy. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Financial Analysis from the University of Warwick, England and a Master’s degree in International Management from King’s College, University of London, England, she joined  MTN in 2003 as a Financial Analyst/Business Planner in the Marketing Division. In this interview with Bukola Afolabi, she speaks on the functions of the Foundation 

    MTN Foundation has received considerable visibility in the media via its interventions in different segments across the length and breadth of Nigeria. What is the strategy behind your intervention projects?

    Let me start by saying MTN Foundation is very appreciative of the media for their untiring efforts at coverage of all the Foundation’s activities and we hope that you would continue to avail us your support. We consider the media as critical in MTN’s quest to improve on the lives of people living in the communities where we operate, and to be a critical agent for social economic development of Nigeria as a whole.

    For us, MTN has adopted corporate culture to do good, it is not only important for us to give back to communities where we operate but it is also smart business. We believe that healthy communities are important to the wellbeing of the society. MTN’s Corporate Social Investment (CSI) is an integral part of the business and so we believe that the Foundation is a vehicle to implement MTN’s CSI agenda. We have adopted a systematic approach in delivering our interventions. We consider things like wide impact, replicability of projects – we must be able to replicate projects across the six geo-political zones of the country. We also look at the sustainability of the projects to ensure that the impact is long-lasting

     You mentioned that MTNF’s projects have a wide reach. Can you be more specific?

    MTN Foundation has 20 projects located in over 300 project sites in the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT under three core areas – Education, Economic Empowerment and Health.  The reality is that we are unable to intervene in all the areas of need nationwide, but we certainly hope that we can act as catalysts to encourage other organisations and individuals to do their bit by giving back.  Prior to the Foundation being set up, a study was done and the three core areas of intervention were agreed.  Subsequently, stakeholder forums were held under each of the three portfolios to prioritise areas of needs that we as a Foundation should concentrate on.

    What do you consider critical when selecting your implementation partners?

    For us to deliver the quality of projects that we conceptualise in the Foundation, we have instituted clear project consultants’ selection criteria. It is a rigorous process and we go through this with the procurement department to determine the best fits with regard to competence and values. Competence is very key as the organisation must have the technical ability to roll out the project. Values are also very important to us in terms of corporate governance and ethics.  These two points are critical agents that can affect the spirit of partnership. In the past, we have had to end relationships with project consultants because they could not deliver on the projects assigned to them. We have also ended relationships with organisations whose corporate governance fell short of the acceptable level. So they go hand in hand. An organisation can have all the competences but if their values do not align with that of MTN’s we would not engage them in any of our activities.

    Your initiatives in the health sector have been lauded by many stakeholders. You seem to focus a lot of attention and resources on the health sector. Could you tell us why this is so?

    Well the importance of good health in the life of an individual cannot be overemphasised. We are very proud of the interventions we have made under our health portfolio because a healthy nation is a wealthy nation. Some of our interventions under the health portfolio are the Eyesight Restoration Scheme, Y’ello Doctor Mobile Clinic, Medical Support Project under which we have Haemodialysis and Mammography Centres. We support people living with the sickle cell disorder, we support orphanages, we engage in community health screening and we have taken care of many children who were in need of medical intervention here and abroad. I guess health initiatives tend to touch the flesh more because we are either restoring eyesight or we are giving hope through treatment or curing one form of ailment or the other. We also attribute the same level of importance to the other portfolios we have which are education and economic empowerment because they all go hand in hand. We cannot speak about a healthy nation without mentioning education and empowerment really so we are trying to maintain a balance with regard to the projects that we roll out. We try as much as possible to ensure that sustainability is woven into each of our unique projects. The definition of sustainability is different depending on the project so you could have sustainability for income generating activities. For example, at the haemodialysis centres that we have provided, patients pay a reduced fee of N15,000 into the treating hospital’s account compared to an average of N35,000 at other unsubsidised centres across the country.  This account is jointly managed by the project consultant and the hospital authorities and the generated funds in this case are used to maintain and keep the facility running.  This is an illustration of sustainability from an income generation perspective.  Now in the case of the Eyesight Restoration project people may ask, what is the sustainability there? For us, the fact that we have helped people to regain the use of their eyes means that we have contributed to them leading a sustainable life. Ultimately, by helping them to regain their eyesight, we are making it possible for them to continue their education or employment that way they are positioned to be empowered economically. That, to us, is also a sustainable intervention.  We also have the situation where we give out scholarships to university undergraduates. The sustainability here is the fact that we are providing students with financial assistance to enable them get education and upon graduation they will be able to lead and maintain a sustainable life, all things being equal. Bottom line is that we are flexible in defining sustainability and ultimately it is the longevity of the impact of the project in the lives of the beneficiaries.

    What were the factors you considered before embarking on the EYERIS project? Did you consider sight impairment to be more critical than say, malaria, HIV and AIDS, among other diseases that afflict many people?

    The fact is, we consider every debilitating and adverse circumstance to be tragic and awful and can’t say one situation is better than the other. Regrettably, we cannot intervene in every area. For HIV and AIDS, for example, we’ve had a number of initiatives in the past that have touched lives like voluntary counselling and testing centres. As I explained earlier, we help sickle cell sufferers. We have five sickle cell clinics across the country, we have haemodialysis and mammography centres and so on and so forth. But for the Eyesight Restoration scheme, we are aware that the incident of cataract is quite high in Nigeria. Cataract is known to be one of the most common causes of preventable blindness and has very significant social-economic impact on the Nigerian economy. So for us, it was an area we could easily go into and we had the right project partner – the Eye Foundation. The idea was to spend three weeks in each beneficiary state and try as much as possible to screen the eyes of patients and give treatment to those deserving it and conduct cataract surgeries for those who require it. For the EYERIS project, we had the endorsement of the Federal Ministry of Health and we implemented it in six states – Osun, Niger, Abia, Delta, Sokoto and Jigawa. It was a very collaborative experience in these states. You know, when we had the expressions of interest published in the media, many states wanted to be part of it so we shortlisted states where we conducted verification inspections and finally we selected those who were able to provide sites for the exercise to be conducted. Each state must also provide the logistics such as transportation for the beneficiaries to get to the screening and surgery venues. So these six states emerged successful and the project was implemented in the states between April and November 2013 and we touched the lives of 33,000 people across the six states. The 33,000 beneficiaries were broken down as follows:  over ten thousand cataract surgeries were performed; twelve thousand pairs of glasses were also given out to those who needed them and in addition we gave out drugs to about eleven thousand patients to treat the various eye conditions they had. This project is very heartwarming especially when you see individuals wrestle back their dignity and their economic empowerment from the scourge of blindness. There are several personal stories of individuals whom I saw when I went round the beneficiary states.

    Do you have any success stories from the perspective of your beneficiaries that you would love to share with us?

    Yes we have quite a lot of them from all our projects but I will say this one for the EyeRIS project. There is this particular gentleman in Delta State that comes to mind, he used to be a commercial motorcyclist commonly called Okada rider and sadly  he lost his sight in both eyes due to cataract and he is the bread winner of the family. He was first brought in by his wife and other family members for the surgery one eye at a time because our surgeons don’t operate on both eyes at the same time. When this gentleman came out of the second surgery, he was alone and the fact that he sat on his motorbike and drove after healing from the surgeries was really remarkable. His family members were extremely elated and the out pouring of gratitude to the Foundation for providing succour is most touching. We have also had lots of stories around our Medical Intervention scheme wherein we help families who have children with congenital conditions especially those of them with holes in their heart. We helped them with the necessary treatment here and in India. We are always very thrilled to see them when they return hale and hearty laughing and running around like normal children. There is a particular child from the Heart of Gold Hospice who had a Fistula and as a result she could not pass out faeces like normal children and she had to be in diapers even at nine years old.

    A surgery was done and a pathway was created for her to pass out faeces like every other child like herself. This is very moving and touching. I can be here all day talking about success stories. There is the story of the MTNF MUSON Scholars who have been undergoing music training at MUSON School of Music through our scholarship programme. Nearly 200 students have graduated with diplomas from this institution in six years. To see these students graduate from this institution and go on to further their studies in schools here in Nigeria and abroad is very satisfactory. Three students from the first set became the first African students to graduate with honours from the University of Dayton, Ohio. Some have become professional performers singing in concerts with the likes of London Philharmonic Orchestra, some have also become music teachers teaching music in primary and secondary schools. It gives us great pleasure to know that the graduates from this institution are successfully engaged. There are so many success stories to talk about should we talk about people who have used our haemodialysis centres across the country and how their family members show their appreciation when we visit these centres for evaluation purposes.

    Or do you want us to talk about the scholarship which is worth two hundred thousand naira that we are giving to brilliant but indigent tertiary students which we have also extended to the blind students? So there are so many success stories to share.  Since its inception, the Foundation had spent N10.2 billion in carrying out its CSR obligations and we have over 300 project sites in the 36 states and FCT. So with that kind of reach you would have lots and lots of success stories coupled with lots and lots of requests which also takes us back to the fact that we can’t do everything.

  • Stakeholders adopt community policing in Ebonyi

    Stakeholders adopt community policing in Ebonyi

    Stakeholders comprising labour/town union executives, traditional/religious leaders, civil servants, politicians, law makers, human right activists, opinion leaders and indeed the general public in Ebonyi North Senatorial zone have unanimously adopted community policing as the best strategy towards curbing the recent security menace bedeviling the country.

    The adoption followed an intensive campaign on community policing flagged off by the National Orientation Agency, Ebonyi State recently at headquarters of Abakaliki Local Government Area.

    Speaking during the campaign, the State Director of the agency, Dr Emma Abah explained to the people that the programme was a vital national exercise that calls for the attention of patriotic Nigerians, who are to fashion out pragmatic and people-centred approach to strengthen the pillars of peace and security in our society.

    Dr Abah reminded the stakeholders, especially the traditional rulers of their roles in the society prior to the coming of white men. He regretted that the leaders in the society, instead of collaborating with the police, after its creation to oversee that work, left the entire work of policing in the hands of the instituted force. He insisted that such was wrong and detrimental to the peace, security and development of any society.

    In his words: “Before the coming of the colonialists, traditional rulers and other leaders in the community were involved in ensuring security of citizens and their properties. This they achieved by maintaining law and order through their native authority system as well as their vast network of intelligence-gathering system.

    “With the institution of police force during the colonial rule, the community leaders relinquished their responsibilities to the police instead of collaborating with them to ensure a more perfect security system.”

    The director advised the community leaders to go back to the old system where policing was the responsibility of all adults in a community.

    He said: “It is not because the instituted police have failed us completely. No! But because we need all members of the community to become allies in the effort to enhance their safety and the quality of their neighbourhood.”

    Also addressing the people, the chairman on the occasion and member representing Abakaliki/Izzi Constituency at the National Assembly, Hon. Sylvester Ogbaga said the gathering was essential since it sensitises the people on the need to give a zone-to-zone intervention to the issue of security.

    Regretting, he said: “Before now, we have had people display reluctant attitudes towards the police, especially in the area of providing them with adequate information to work with, but today, all Ebonyi North stakeholders are here to correct that attitude by calling on all to rise and respect our security agencies.

    “The message is that you and I have roles to play in the security of our lives and property.  We must be responsive to the happenings around our environs since we can see that nobody is escaping the situation. There is danger everywhere and everybody must be aware of it.”

    Hon. Ogbaga urged all participants at the forum to assist in the proper dissemination of the campaign message to the people in the hinterlands, insisting that they must be involved if the enforcement must take place.

    In a goodwill message, the officer in charge of Servicom, Francis Onyedindu, an ASP who represented the Ebonyi State Commissioner of Police, CP Maigari Dikko FDC, reiterated that security is paramount to the survival and sustenance of any democratic policy in any given society, stressing that “community policing is a philosophy that promotes organisational strategies, which supports the systematic use of partnership and problem-solving techniques to proactively address the immediate conditions that give rise to public safety issues such as crime, social disorder, and fear of crime.”

    He advised the people to adopt community policing as a means of building a close tie between the police and the people, insisting that the police remains everybody’s friend.

    Also speaking, representatives of other security agencies namely Nigerian Immigration Service, State Security Service, Nigerian Army, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, present at the forum, noted that the philosophy of community policing rested on the belief that the security agencies and the community must work together as partners to solve the contemporary challenges faced in today’s society.

    ”The focus of community-oriented policing is not necessarily on response, but on preventing crime and resolving community problems,” he added.

    Continuing, he said: “Effective community policing has a positive impact on reducing crime, helping to reduce fear of crime and enhancing the quality of life of people within the community. It accomplishes these things by combining the efforts and resources of security agencies, community government and members in search for solutions to communal problems.”

    They also agreed that there was need for security agencies to share information among themselves to facilitate adequate provision of security for the people

    While appreciating that government and community leaders are beginning to recognise the importance of involving themselves in the protection of their areas, the Ebonyi North Zonal Assistant Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA), Mr. Anthony Uguru, maintained that the communities must take a unified stand against crime, violence and disregard for law and must also make a commitment to increasing crime prevention and intervention activities.

    He advised the community leaders to immediately identify critical areas in their communities that need local intervention, institute a community policing committee, as well as a standard operating procedure in conducting community policing in their areas.

    He called on the participants to rise to the challenge of nipping insecurity in the bud.

    He said: “No single agency can solve this complex social problem alone. A combined community cum police effort will definitely restore the safety of our neighbourhood. Let us join hands to make our society safe.”

    The chairman of the Abakaliki Local Government Area, Hon. Batholomew Ottah,, expressed satisfaction that his council was the flag-off point of such an important issue. He urged the residents to adopt the good messages preached by National Orientation Agency, Ebonyi State.

    Hon. Elizabeth Oshianu, Emmanuel Nwuzor, Solomon Ochopa, Simon Edezie and Nwobashi Cornelius who also were at the summit, condemned some security agents, who, on retirement, become threats to their societies instead of continuing with protecting the people. They advised them to desist from such act.

    They further urged the security agencies to ensure that they keep to their promise of keeping them from harm, especially when they disclose vital information to them.

    The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Abakaliki Central Police Station, SP Josephat Okoye, thanked NOA for the programme, even as he appreciated the participants for turning out en masse to adopt a strategy for solving this contemporary challenge.

  • Pillar of light comes over Otto community

    Pillar of light comes over Otto community

    What a Sallah celebration it was last week for the people of Otto in Lagos Mainland  as their long years of suffering erratic power supply came to an end during the Eid-Ul-Fitri festival when they were given a 500KVA electricity transformer by their representative in the Lagos State House of Assembly. OZIEGBE OKOEKI was at the handover ceremony.

    For residents of Otto in Lagos Mainland 1 constituency, there was no better Sallah present than the one given to them by their representative in the Lagos State House of Assembly Hon. Bashir Oloto last week.

    For quite a long time residents of the area have been experiencing erratic public power supply due to a fault detected in the  old transformer  that they have been using for years, forcing some of them to relocate. But as they celebrated the end of Ramadan last week, Hon. Oloto brought relief to them with his presentation of a 500KVA electricity transformer

    Oloto also gave out about 3,500 bags of rice, food items to his constituents as part of his goodwill gesture for the sallah celebration.

    According to the people of the area, several efforts have been made to get the attention of the relevant authorities to supply the area another transformer but such efforts have been unproductive. A community leader in the area, Taiwo Ajayi, who spoke to newsmen at the handing over ceremony of the transformer, disclosed that “we have been through a lot of challenges as regards the issue of electricity supply. Out of the 24 hours in a day, we hardly make use of electricity for one hour. There are times that we don’t have it for more than a week and almost every household relies on generator.

    “Our businesses have been down for a very long time because of lack of electricity supply. It was so bad that some had to relocate to neighbouring communities that are enjoying electricity. Now we are very happy that our representative in the House of Assembly has come to our rescue, the issue of epileptic power supply can now become a thing of the past,” Ajayi enthused.

    Oloto noted that the problem of epileptic power supply has been a major problem in the area “and it has been there before I became a member of the House. It was part of my electioneering campaign that I will ensure that Otto gets another power transformer and that is what I am doing today; I am fulfilling that promise I made before getting their mandate. As a lawmaker and representative of the people, it is my responsibility to make sure that my people get everything that will make them comfortable. Now that they have this new 500 KVA transformer, it will replace the old one and they can now enjoy regular supply of electricity,” he said.

    Traditional ruler of the area, Oba Ganiyu Odesanya, Oloto of Otto and Mainland, commended the lawmaker for the gesture, noting that “this is worthy of commendation because this is the best way a politician can repay his people. It is not when you give money to people that you can repay them. You look at what they lack and look for a way to provide those things for them, even if those things are out of your reach, you can use your position to get them for the people. Oloto has done well by remembering those that gave their mandates to him to represent them.

    “Some months ago, I was informed that he gave GCE forms to about 1, 000 students in his constituency, these are some of the things we expect from politicians not just to select some people and be doling money out to them, while many people will not benefit. I want to commend him and I want to advise him not to relent. The only thing we require from him is quality representation at the House of Assembly and I can assure him that he will always get the support of the people whenever the need arises,” Odesanya added.

    Speaking on behalf of the Community Development Association, Olufemi Akano, explained that “our community has waited too long to get this transformer and now that we have it, we will make judicious use of it. We will protect it very well, especially from those who can damage it. We thank out Honourable member for doing this for us and we pray that God will continue to protect and grant him his heart desires,” he said.

    Expressing the excitement of the community, the oldest man in the area, Elder Babatunde Ayinla, noted the tremendous achievements of the lawmaker since he was elected, even as he lamented the absence of power supply to the community for several months now and appreciated the lawmaker for coming to their rescue.

    “Personally, I have been monitoring his activities in the House of Assembly and to an extent, I can say he has represented us well considering the kind of representation we have had in the past. We have lawmakers that only share money among few people, instead of using the money to bring about development to the constituency; they give money out to their loyalists. But Oloto has not been like that, some people came to me to complain that Oloto doesn’t give them money and I told them that his responsibility is not to share money to people and since then, they have stopped coming to complain to me,” said Ayinla.

    While speaking on why he decided to reach out to his constituents, Oloto disclosed that he has not forgotten the overwhelming support the electorate gave to him and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the last election in Lagos State.

    In order for the constituents to have a joyful Eid-Ul-Fitri celebration, the lawmaker also gave out about 3,000 mini bags of rice to residents of the 11 wards in Lagos Mainland 1 constituency. This gesture, according to the lawmaker, “is just to appreciate the electorate in a little way. The packaged bags of rice we have shared were meant to let the people have something to celebrate the sallah festival. And what we have done is to go about the whole Wards in my constituency to share the food-stuffs.

    “Some people might feel we are doing these things because 2015 is fast approaching but this is far from it. I am very close to my people and it is important for me to do what I can do to provide for some of their needs and that sallah and nothing more,” said the lawmaker.

    Some of the beneficiaries applauded the lawmaker for the gesture, noting that such largesse could not have come at a better time. “Honourable Oloto is a kind person; I have known him for a very long time, before he became a member of the House. He has always been generous. He donated a transformer to the people of Otto and now, he has given some of us mini bags of rice, which we can use to celebrate the salah festival,” said Mrs. Aminat Ahmed, a resident of Ward A in Makoko area of the constituency.

    Another resident in Freeman Street, Mrs. Titilola Sawyer, said “we are grateful to our lawmaker for these bags of rice he has distributed to us. It is very rare and hard to see a politician that will come back and give back to the people. I want to personally say thank you to him for this gesture and I pray that God will grant him all his heart desires and wherever he is aiming to get to in life, the Almighty God will take him there,” Mrs. Sawyer prayed.

    When asked to give the financial estimate of the things he has done for the people, the lawmaker said “I really can’t give you the financial figure of these things I have done for my people. The point is I don’t always do the financial estimation of whatever I want to do for my people. No amount of money is too much to spend on those who gave me their mandate, so let us not talk about the financial cost of doing these things for them,” he said.

    Oloto, however, urged the people to protect the transformer from those who may want to vandalize it, saying “you have to protect the transformer from those that can vandalize it because once it is vandalized, it will become a problem for the community and I can’t imagine seeing you going back to darkness. So make sure you protect it very well so that you can keep enjoying constant supply of electricity,” the lawmaker added.

  • N500m Shell donation divides community

    N500m Shell donation divides community

    Members of the Oloma community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State are quarrelling over a N500 million donation by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to the community fund.

    The Nation learnt that youths, women and groups  are preparing for a showdown with the leadership of the Oloma Council of Elders over the alleged misappropriation of the money from the oil giant.

    The Secretary-General of Oloma community, Warisenibo Gabriel Godwin, has written to the SPDC management, accusing the Chairman of Oloma Council of Elders, Sir Amarigha Edward Hart, of misappropriating hundreds of millions of naira.

    Godwin, who is also the secretary of the Project Community Trust (P-CT), also accused Hart of assuming the status of “a demi-god” in the community, acting with impunity and threatening the running of the community’s organisation.

    In the letter, he called for  SPDCs intervention to avert the breach of peace in the community.

    Decrying Hart’s leadership style, the secretary said as an oil bearing community, SPDC pays certain funds as part of its Global Project memorandum of understanding.

    He said details of such payments are not only kept secret to members, but are also kept away from him.

    Godwin said SPDC deals with Hart alone, through one of its workers (name withheld), thereby ignoring the statutes of the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU), reached between the Oloma community and the oil giant (SPDC).

    One of the aides to Hart denied the allegation, saying: “We will speak when the time is ripe. But take it from me that Oloma community is calm and peaceful as we speak.”

  • Edo redeems pledge to Christian community

    Edo redeems pledge to Christian community

    Edo State government has redeemed its pledge to provide a bus for the use of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN).

    Presenting the keys of a 33-seater Coaster bus to the CAN Chairman at the weekend, Governor Adams Oshiomhole said although the government might not be able to sponsor individuals on a holy pilgrimage, its commitment to recognised faith-based associations, which helped to instil morals in the people, remained unshaken.

    He said: “In the past, you requested for a vehicle for CAN and I promised that we would provide you with a bus to assist you to move around and mobilise your members in your activities.

    “This bus has been procured for some time now and I realised that we have not formally presented it to you. So I decided to invite you to formally present the bus since the request was made formally by your leadership.

    “Also, I offered to help you build your secretariat. Time is going and I have about two and a half years to spend. I don’t want to make a promise that I will not fulfil. So I thought I should keep my promise.

    “From the end of this month, we will make some money available.

    “Every month, we will be committed to putting the money in your account so that in the next 10 months we will be able to raise N250 million to ensure that the project is completed while I am in office.”

    Oshiomhole thanked the CAN leadership and Christians for their prayers and support.

    The leader of the delegation and CAN Chairman, Rt. Rev. Peter Imasuen, thanked the governor and prayed that God would bless him.

  • ActionAid launches community sponsorship

    Charging the need to be one’s brothers’ keeper, ActionAid Nigeria, a non-governmental organisation, poised to end poverty and social injustice, has embarked on it latest fundraising strategy tagged ‘Take Action, End Poverty.’

    The launch of a community sponsorship effort, which is to raise funds locally for development of communities in dire need, took place in Lagos on Thursday.

    According to the ActionAid Nigeria Country Director, Dr. Hussain Abdu, there is enough resources to go around everyone but not enough for everyone’s greed.

    “Many Nigerians want to give to help,” he said. “In fact, they are already giving one way or the other. But with this community sponsorship, you can see the schools, boreholes, scholarships, and hospitals which your money is helping to build.”

    The community sponsorship targets middle income earners in Nigeria to subscribe for a minimum monthly donation of two thousand naira or three thousand naira.  Interested donors can access www.actionaid.org/nigeria for more information on how to donate.

    The event had in attendance ActionAid ambassadors and Nollywood actresses, Hilda Dokubo and Dakore Egbuson, people from civil society, business, as well as the press.

    ActionAid Nigeria began operations in Nigeria in January 2000 and has so far impacted on 205 rural communities.