The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ex-Commissioner

  • Ex-Commissioner unfolds ambition in Ondo

    A former Commissioner for Agriculture and  two-term  Chairman of Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State, Pastor Olusegun Aiyerin, has identified bad debts as the  factor militating against resoration of  power supply to Ondo South Senatorial District.

    Aiyerin, an All Progressives Congress (APC) House of  Representatives  aspirant for Okitipupa/Irele Constituency, said unless the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDEC) is sufficiently funded, the over 11 years of total black-out  in the area will persist.

    He said if he is given the opportunity to represent the constituency, he will use his experience to restore electricity to the area.

    The aspirant made this known to reporters at Ilutitun-Osooro during the mobilisation tour of the constituency ahead of the party’s primary.

    He said: “The people did not know why the problem have persisted, because when the new management of Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDEC) came on board, they inherited the assets and liabilities of the defunct PHCN. What they met on ground was not favourable and until the debts are cleared, it will be difficult for people to receive power supply.”

    He assured the people that he would provide good empowerment programmes, employment opportunities for youths and constituency projects, if he is given the chance to serve.

    Aiyerin said the ‘Sit at Home Scheme’ for widows and elderly where people that fall in that category were paid a stipend of between N5,000 to N25,000 monthly will be re-introduced to cater for the yearnings’ of the people.

    He said the record of his administration sponsoring 96 Christian pilgrims to the  Jerusalem, when he was local government chairman is yet to be broken and that he would reinstate the programme, if given the opportunity to do so during the coming election.

     

  • Ex-commissioner to contest for Senate in Ekiti North

    Former Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Bayo Aina, has unfolded his senatorial ambition in Ekiti North District.

    Aina served during the administration of former Governor Adeniyi Adebayo between 1999 and 2003.

    He also served as the Chairman of Ekiti State Fiscal Responsibility Commission during the past administration of Dr Kayode Fayemi.

    The former commissioner intends to vie for the senatorial seat on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He is the son of former deputy governor of the old Ondo State in the Second Republic, Chief Nathaniel Aina.

    Aina, who hails from Otun-Ekiti in Moba Local Government Area, said he was running for the Senate to give the people of Ekiti North vibrant representation and contribute to quality lawmaking for all Nigerians.

    He said he understood the problems  of Ekiti North, promising to solve them as a legislator.

    Aina said he has been on ground, lived among the people and invested in Ekiti, thereby giving employment to many people in the state.

    The aspirant said he has been receiving positive response from party members and the electorate on his ambition.

     

  • Ex-commissioner to contest for Senate in Ekiti North

    Former Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Bayo Aina, has unfolded his senatorial ambition in Ekiti North District.

    Aina served during the administration of former Governor Adeniyi Adebayo between 1999 and 2003.

    He also served as the Chairman of Ekiti State Fiscal Responsibility Commission during the past administration of Dr Kayode Fayemi.

    The former commissioner intends to vie for the senatorial seat on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    He is the son of former deputy governor of the old Ondo State in the Second Republic, Chief Nathaniel Aina.

    Aina, who hails from Otun-Ekiti in Moba Local Government Area, said he was running for the Senate to give the people of Ekiti North vibrant representation and contribute to quality lawmaking for all Nigerians.

    He said he understood the problems  of Ekiti North, promising to solve them as a legislator.

    Aina said he has been on ground, lived among the people and invested in Ekiti, thereby giving employment to many people in the state.

    The aspirant said he has been receiving positive response from party members and the electorate on his ambition.

  • 2019: Ondo PDP adopts ex-commissioner for House of Reps 

    The leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)in Ifedore local  government area of Ondo State yesterday, adopted a former Commissioner for Information, Mr. Kayode Akinmade, as its candidate for next year’s House of Representatives election.

    Their Idanre counterparts had earlier adopted Akinmade as their candidate.

    Leader of the party in Ifedore, Mr. Lawrence Ibukun, said Akinmade had all it takes to give quality representation to the people of the federal constituency.

    According to him, the aspirant’s experience as a former Special Adviser on Media to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and two-time Commissioner for Information in Ondo State would assist him in no small measure to bring quality development to the area.

    He said that the party decided to toe the line of bringing forth a sole candidate in the federal constituency in order to checkmate people who did not have good intentions for the constituency.

    He urged Akinmade to see Ifedore and Idanre as his people and ensure that equity and fair play define and dominate his legislative agenda. Ibukun advised  the leadership of the party in both Idanre and Ifedore to go back home and work assiduously for the emergence of the party’s standard-bearer in the election.

    Earlier, Akinmade promised to provide quality representation and ensure equity and fairness in the distribution of federal projects in the constituency. According to him, the era of marginalizing Idanre/Ifedore in the National Assembly is gone for good.

    He assured the people that he would use all his political networks to ensure that the anomalies of the past against the constituency were remedied. He promised to be with the people at all times and use the instrumentality of legislation to provide quality representation to the people.

    Also speaking, a former governorship candidate from the constituency, Mr Osakuade, said that the constituency was  lucky to have an aspirant in the caliber of Akinmade coming out to contest the House of Representatives election.

     

     

  • Ex-commissioner: Fayose dissolves Exco to deny me SAN title

    A former Ekiti State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Owoseni Ajayi, has said Governor Ayo Fayose dissolved the State Executive Council (Exco) to deny him the opportunity of becoming a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN).

    The lawyer said the governor dissolved the Exco a day before he (Ajayi) faced an interview of Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) for the award of SAN in 2017, which negatively affected his chances of getting the rank.

    He said Fayose allegedly took the action because “he doesn’t want anybody serving under him to grow, develop and have a better status”.

    Ajayi stressed that the action denied Ekiti State an opportunity of producing a SAN for that year.

    He said: “Assuming I had succeeded in that (getting SAN rank), I would say I have got something out of this administration, and it would have brought glory to Ekiti State and to him (Fayose).

     

     

  • ‘Wike, aides attempting to blackmail Amaechi, ex-commissioner’

    ‘Wike, aides attempting to blackmail Amaechi, ex-commissioner’

    The coordinator of the All Progressives Congress (APC) non-indigenes in Rivers State, Chief Callistus Nwachukwu, has accused Governor Nyesom Wike, his aides and three others of trying to blackmail Transportation Minister Rotimi Amaechi and ex-Commissioner for Agriculture Emma Chindah.

    He noted that the group’s former coordinator, Chief Uchenna Okokoba; the former vice chairman, Wole Agunbiade; and former Secretary, Alhaji Yusuf Tanko, resigned their membership of APC for selfish interest.

    Nwachukwu, who was with other executive members, Alhaji Hamed Adisa (vice chairman) and Mrs. Rabiat Mohammed (secretary), yesterday said that the three former officers should not be taken seriously.

    The Special Assistant to Wike on Social Media, Mr. Oraye St. Franklyn, yesterday, posted on Facebook, a message allegedly from Chindah to Okokoba, which read: “Chief Okokoba, what is happening? You promised to come yesterday (Saturday), but I did not see you and you are not taking your calls. You know I deserve respect from you, as a former commissioner.

    “I told you that Hon. Minister (Amaechi) sent me to Port Harcourt because of you and he dropped N20 million for you and your group. Please, make sure you come to my house this (yesterday) morning, after service, by 11 am. I will go back to Abuja by 12 noon.”

    St. Franklyn then stated in another Facebook post: “APC in Rivers State has finally collapsed, with the defection of the coalition of non-indigenes in the party to the PDP. All efforts to get them back by Hon. Emma Chindah, on the instruction of Minister Amaechi have completely failed.

    “Chief Okokoba says there is no going back, as he has moved out of the APC and solidly identifies with the PDP and Governor Wike, on the strength of the Rivers governor’s performance, reliability and popularity.”

    The coordinator, however, described the allegation as mere fabrication and a lie.

    Nwachukwu said yesterday evening: “On Saturday,  our former coordinator, Chief Uchenna Okokoba; the former vice chairman, Wole Agunbiade; and the former Secretary, Alhaji Yusuf Tanko, went on air to announce the resignation of their portfolios and their membership of our great party, the APC, in Rivers State.

    “Their resignation was unilateral. They did not consult the executive members of non-indigenes APC in Rivers State, the stakeholders, unit leaders and the elders of the party. We believe that their decision was borne out of their personal interest or for pecuniary reason.

    “There is a rumour going round, which we deem necessary to debunk. The three former officers have been going round, claiming that our great leader, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, the Transportation Minister, through somebody, has been making overtures of N20 million to them to rescind their decision and return to the APC. That is a lie from the pit of hell.

    “They are using it (N20 million overture claim) as a game plan to shore up their market value and increase their bargaining power with PDP. They do not possess any value. They should be very careful. The three estranged officers are on their own.

    “Hon. Emma Chindah is one of the leaders of APC. There was never a time that Hon. Emma Chindah met with the so-called Okokoba, much less of offering him money.”

     

  • Ex-commissioner urges EFCC to probe Fayose’s projects

    Ex-commissioner urges EFCC to probe Fayose’s projects

    •‘Flyover, market built with Fed funds’

    A former Ekiti State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Mr. Dapo Kolawole, has urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe some projects executed by Governor Ayo Fayose.

    Kolawole said the anti-graft agency should investigate the Ikere township road project, which he said was meant to be dualised from the town to Iju, a boundary town with Ondo State.

    He said former Governor Kayode Fayemi’s administration, which he served, had paid N1.3 billion mobilisation fee for the project, while the Fayose administration restricted construction to Ikere township.

    The dualisation of the road to Ondo State boundary, according to him, was awarded to China Railway 3 Construction Company, which Fayose allegedly drove away for Kopek Construction Limited.

    The commissioner urged the EFCC to probe what happened to the N1.3 billion Fayemi paid and how Fayose started work “without the approval of the House of Assembly, led by Dr. Adewale Omirin”.

    Kolawole, who addressed reporters yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, the staqte capital, said the Ado-Ekiti Flyover and the new Oja Oba Market projects were executed with funds from the Federal Government and not with Ekiti State funds, as Fayose reportedly claimed.

    Reacting to the recommendation of the state government’s White Paper, which slammed a 10-year ban on him and Fayemi from holding public offices, Kolawole described the ban as a “sacrilege”.

    According to him, there is need to react to Fayose’s allegations and debunk the government’s claims – to put the records straight “in the interest of Ekiti people”.

    He also debunked Fayose’s claim that Fayemi left a debt of N85 billion, an allegation he said was contrary to Ekiti’s official record of financial statement.

    The ex-commissioner said the Fayemi regime left a debt of N30 billion and N17 billion in the state treasury.

    Kolawole also revealed that the Fayose administration used Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) to finance the construction of the Funmi Olayinka Women Development Centre located in Fajuyi area of Ado-Ekiti.

    He said the project was supposed to be sited on the campus of Ekiti State University (EKSU) and not at the present location and the money for its construction belongs to the Federal Government.

    On the alleged 17 missing vehicles, Kolawole said no vehicle was missing as stated in the affidavit of Coscharis Motors before the Judicial Panel of Inquiry

    Kolawole said: “Fayose has written for reimbursement on Ado-Ifaki Road, Ikere dualisation on which Fayemi paid N1.3 billion mobilisation fee and approved by the Tenders Board.

    “I am calling on the EFCC, Debt Management Office and Federal Ministry of Finance to investigate these as contained in the financial statement of Ekiti State.

    “Fayose collected more revenue from the Federal Government than Fayemi, let them come and investigate Ikere-Iju Road.

    The dualisation is supposed to be from African Church Comprehensive High School at Ikere and stretch to Iju. Where has the N1.3 billion paid by Fayemi gone? We want to know the whereabouts of the N1.3 billion.

    “The financial advisor advised that he (Fayose) keeps remitting the funds, has the government of the day listened to the financial advisor.

    “The Oba’s Market has started (before we left government) and if they say it has not started, then they are ignorant.”

    On the ten-year ban, Kolawole said: “The ban will not hold, legally we have not committed any offence but Fayose has committed sacrilege.

    “I have a Father who can ban in Nigeria, who can ban in other parts of the country and who can ban in any part of the world.

    “Fayose is just entertaining Nigeria with his laughable ban. He cannot ban me and my boss, Dr Fayemi because he lacks the power. Fayose is treating the whole world to a meal of comedy.”

     

  • Abductors of ex-commissioner keep silent

    Abductors of ex-commissioner keep silent

    Panic has gripped the family of the kidnapped ex-Commissioner for Transportation in Bayelsa State, Mrs. Marie Ebikake, following silence by her abductors.

    A family source said four days after she was kidnapped, her captors only called on Monday and said she was in their custody.

    The source, who spoke in confidence, said after the brief phone conversion, the abductors switched off their phone.

    He said: “Since she (Ebikake) was forcibly taken away on Sunday morning, they (kidnappers) only called the family briefly on Monday. They did not tell us anything about ransom and why she was abducted.

    “Since then they have kept mum. Their silence is worrying us. The development has heightened fear and anxiety among us.

    “We’ve not heard from Madam Ebikake. The captors’ quietness is getting everybody confused. We pray she is well and kicking.”

    Police spokesman Asinim Butswat said: “We are investigating the incident.”

  • Youths demand release of abducted ex-commissioner

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) yesterday, told gunmen, who abducted a former Commissioner in Bayelsa State, Mrs. Marie Ebikake, to immediately release her unconditionally.

    The youths, who described the incident as abominable, unacceptable, barbaric and condemnable, vowed to assist security agencies to arrest and prosecute the hoodlums.

    Speaking in Yenagoa, IYC Central Zone Chairman Mr Tare Porri, asked misguided youths to apply caution and stop acts capable of embarrassing the Ijaw nation.

    Porri said it was abominable for anybody to be kidnapped in Ijaw land, adding that the abduction of Ebikake was most despicable.

    Describing Ebikake as a respected mother in the state, Porri asked her captors to spare no thought in releasing her without asking for ransom.

    “We want to condemn the act in its entirety and then call for caution. I do not see reason why the Ijaw will kidnap a fellow Ijaw. I don’t want to believe that the kidnap was orchestrated by Ijaw people.

    “As custodians of the Ijaw struggle, we don’t think it is ideal for an Ijaw man to kidnap a fellow Ijaw man. It is an abomination. It is unfortunate that in this 2018, people are still talking about kidnapping other human beings. It is unfortunate we have found ourselves in this situation.

    “So, I use this opportunity to call on security agencies to redouble our efforts to arrest and bring the perpetrators to justice. I call on youths to desist from this act. These acts are inimical to our development as a people.

    “I appeal to the captors to release this woman unconditionally. She is our mother and she is one woman that has made a lot of sacrifices for this state. So, whoever that is responsible should release this woman immediately without demanding ransom.

    “We won’t allow criminals to always embarrass the Ijaw nation. We have reached out to all the security agencies to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice. We are just trying to recover from the attack on Ndoro community and the next thing is this kidnapping.

    Porri expressed fears that the incident could be politically-motivated ahead of the 2019 election and called on politicians and leaders to be mindful of their personal security.

    The Nation gathered that the health condition of Mrs Ebikake was a source of worry to her family members, friends, political associates and other stakeholders.

    A friend of Ebikake, who spoke in confidence said, they were scared of her health situation, disclosing that the woman is diabetic.

    “She has been treating diabetes and we are praying for her to survive this attack. How can she survive without her drugs and the special food she eats? These kidnappers should set her free,” he said.

  • Gunmen kill ex-commissioner in Bayelsa

    Gunmen kill ex-commissioner in Bayelsa

    Two unidentified gunmen have killed a former Commissioner for Trade and Investment in Bayelsa State, Mr. Ayakeme Masa.

    It was gathered that Masa was killed in his house in Yenagoa, the state capital, on Sunday morning at about 6.30am in the presence of his wife.

    It was learnt that a family member opened the door for the gunmen unknown to him that they were hoodlums on an evil mission.

    A source, who spoke in confidence, said when they entered the living room, the assailants exchanged hot words with their victim and later shot him.

    “They didn’t take anything from the house. A family member opened the door for them. When the victim came out and saw them in the living room, there was an argument and the hoodlums shot him. They took nothing. Immediately they killed him, they fled the house”, he said.

    It was gathered that Masa was immediately rushed to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa, where he died on Monday evening.

    The hospital was said to have carried out an operation to remove the bullet from his body but, he reportedly died after going through the medical procedure.

    The Police spokesman, Mr. Asinim Butswat, said the police had intensified investigations to arrest the hoodlums.

    Masa was one of the first set of commissioners appointed by Governor Seriake Dickson during his first term in office in 2012.

    He was also the first to be sacked as a commissioner in the first major cabinet reshuffle carried out by Dickson in 2014.

    Butswat said: “Some gunmen came to his house and they were having some arguments. They shot him on Sunday morning at about 6.30am.

    “Two persons were involved in the killing. He was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa. I have confirmed and they said he died on Monday night.

    “The police are doing everything possible to get to the root of the matter. The hoodlums will surely be arrested to account for their crime”.