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Tag: Governor Ibikunle Amosun

  • Woman named Amosun’s running mate

    Woman named Amosun’s running mate

    A  business management expert , Mrs. Yetunde Abosede Onanuga has emerged as the running mate of  Ogun State Governor  Ibikunle Amosun for the 2015 governorship election.

    She was presented to the All Progressives Congress leaders in the state at Abeokuta, the state capital, by Governor Amosun, who described her a worthy partner in the continued mission to rebuild the state.

    The 54 years old indigene of Ijebu – Igbo, in Ijebu North Local government Council, is married to Biodun Onanuga from Ijebu – Ode

    Mrs Onanuga who revealed that she has been nursing the ambition to become a deputy governor since four years ago, promised to loyal to the party leaders and Ogun State.

    According to her, she would be ” faithful, loyal and honest in the service of Ogun State” if elected into office in 2015 along with her boss, Amosun.

  • Amosun gives 500 C-of-Os

    Amosun gives 500 C-of-Os

    There was excitement among home owners yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, as Governor Ibikunle Amosun presented 500 Certificates of Occupancy to them.

    Distributing the title documents to the second batch of 500 beneficiaries under the Homeowners’ Charter Scheme, Amosun said the exercise proved traducers and critics wrong as they had said the scheme won’t succeed.

    Amosun said: “We designed this programme to enable our people acquire genuine titles to their landed properties, amongst other benefits, which will invariably enhance the development of our dear state.

    “We considerably reduced the amount payable from about N500,000 to N95,000 and remove all those restrictive bottlenecks.

    “I have directed the team to issue 500 title documents weekly. Let me, assure all other applicants who are yet to get theirs, to be patient.”

     

  • Traders target 1m votes for Amosun

    Traders target 1m votes for Amosun

    Traders in Ogun State pledged yesterday to garner a million votes for Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

    The traders, who converged on the MKO Abiola Stadium, Kuto-Abeokuta, at the launch of the Trade Route Incident Mapping System (TRIMS), said the governor deserved a second term.

    Market leaders at the ceremony include Mercy Owolana (Iyaloja of Remoland), Sadiat Elewuuju (Iyaloja of Ijebuland), Mrs Yemisi Abass(Iyaloja of Yewaland) and that of Egbaland, Chief Ishat Iyaniwura.

    The Babaloja of Yewaland, Prince Adewale Adesina, said: “Delivering a million votes for Amosun is achievable in 2015 because of our numerical strength.

    “There are over 250 markets in Yewaland alone – Ogun West Senatorial District. If we combine this figure with those from other parts, we can meet our target.”

    Amosun praised the traders for organising themselves. He approved a N50million loan facility for them.

    He said the money would have been up to N200million, if opposition politicians had not scuttled efforts to obtain the fund from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    The governor promised to inaugurate a marketing board and an agricultural and micro – credit agency to make trading beneficial for everybody.

  • Ogun 2015: PDP blocs form alliance against Amosun

    Ogun 2015: PDP blocs form alliance against Amosun

    Hitherto sworn political enemies in the battle for the soul of Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are back as friends to achieve just one objective: get Governor Ibikunle Amosun out of office in 2015. In this report, Assistant Editor, Remi Adelowo, examines the prospects and the thorny issues that could likely endanger the alliance

     

    In the run-up to the 2011 general elections, the Ogun State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was virtually in tatters.

    For some reasons, including the ego of the leading gladiators which resulted in the failure of the party to forge a common front, the party was whitewashed in the governorship election by the then opposition party, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    Prelude

    At the heat of the crisis, the principal actors who included former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo; ex-governor, Gbenga Daniel; former Minister of Commerce, Jubril Martins-Kuye; major financier of the party, Buruji Kashamu, amongst other chieftains, did not see eye to eye.

    On one hand, Obasanjo, who had fallen out with Daniel, had seized control of the party structures using his influence at the Presidency to have his way. In concert with Kashamu, who invested heavily in the project, the former president ensured the emergence of Gen. Tunji Olurin (retd) from Ogun West Senatorial zone as the PDP governorship candidate.

    Daniel somehow saw this coming and had a Plan B. Having realised that he was losing grip of the Ogun PDP and, like most outgoing governors desirous of handing over to a trusted ally, Daniel had surreptitiously floated another political party, Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN), a platform he used to install his former aide and close associate, Gboyega Nasiru Isiaka, as the party’s 2011 governorship candidate.

    Though the PPN won a sprinkle of seats in the House of Assembly elections and at the House of Representatives mostly from the Ogun West zone, its candidate and that of the PDP were defeated by the now defunct ACN’s Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

    Failed reconciliation moves

    With the 2011 election already won and lost, Kashamu putting his wealth to maximum advantage took control of the Ogun PDP by facilitating the election of his supporters from the ward to the state levels. In the process, he fell out with Obasanjo, who also wanted one of his allies, Senator Dipo Odujinrin, as the state party chairman.

    Several attempts to broker truce between the two warring camps were unsuccessful due to disagreements over the sharing formula of party offices. One of such reconciliatory meetings was held at the Lagos residence of former minister, Jubril Martins-Kuye, with Kashamu; a former senator, Lekan Mustapha and other party chieftains in attendance.

    With Obasanjo having also fallen out with President Goodluck Jonathan, Kashamu soon began to call the shots in Ogun PDP and by extension a few other state chapters of the PDP in the South West.

    Piqued by this development, the Obasanjo camp became completely ostracised from the party and have kept a distance from the affairs of the Ogun PDP.

    Jonathan 2015 project

    With the PDP determined to make an inroad into the South West in order to brighten the chances of Jonathan in the 2015 presidential elections, underground moves commenced to bring former members of the party back into the fold.

    One of such members is Daniel, who had since berthed in the Labour Party (LP) and has been installed by the national leadership of the party as the Ogun LP leader.

    The former governor, who would be formally received back in PDP on October 8, had earlier spoken of his desire to work in alliance with the PDP to ensure Jonathan wins the South West zone in 2015.

    But his gesture was not welcome by Kashamu. However, the former governor refused to be bullied. In a statement issued some weeks ago, he described Kashamu as “suffering from political inexperience and over-confidence.”

    Kashamu, who is currently the Chairman, Organisation and Mobilisation Committee of South West PDP, fired back in salvos. Describing Daniel as “someone suffering from an overdose of political prostitution,” the PDP chieftain in a statement by his media aide, Austin Onyiokor said, “It is Daniel that is suffering from overdose of political prostitution as a result of his serial defeat in the battle for the souls of the various parties he sought to ply his trade.

    “It is laughable that a renowned political prostitute like Daniel can refer to someone, who has defeated him several times as inexperienced and over-confident. What Daniel probably presumes to be his experience is how he uses party platform to negotiate and feather his own nest just like he did in 2011. The national leadership of our great party, the PDP, is wiser now and will not fall for such tricks anymore.

    “Perhaps, he thought we have forgotten that it was the same Daniel, who jumped from the Alliance for Democracy (AD) to the PDP and from PDP to PPN, now PPN to LP, after the PDP made him all that he claims to be today.

    “Now, he has gone back to LP and yet he says he wants to collaborate with us to chase away the APC government in Ogun State. We say no. How can you collaborate with us to chase away the APC government when you are fielding candidates for the same offices apart from the Presidency?”

    Truce at last?

    In the last few weeks, Daniel had held separate meetings with Kashamu and Jubril Martine-Kuye preparatory to his formal return to the PDP.

    The agenda of these meetings, it was gathered, is on the need to present a united front against Governor Amosun ahead the 2015 governorship elections.

    It is, however, not clear yet whether concrete agreements have been reached by the gladiators on issues such as the sharing of party offices and choice of governorship candidate.

    Who picks the PDP ticket?

    The Nation gathered that one of the issues that may prove contentious within the new alliance is the choice of a governorship candidate and the state leader of the party.

    But a former commissioner in the Daniel-led administration, who is a PDP chieftain, disagreed. He told our correspondent on the condition of anonymity that only one goal is paramount among PDP leaders in the state.

    He said: “Nobody is talking about who will be the leader of the party in the state at the moment. The agenda right now is how to defeat (Governor) Amosun. And the only way that can happen is for our leaders, who are scattered in different parties, to unite. Anything short of that would spell doom for the party at the polls, because to defeat an incumbent has never been as easy task.”

    While expressing his optimism on the prospects of achieving unity in the party, the former commissioner added, “Once we choose our governorship candidate, that person would serve as the rallying point for the party in the state.”

    The list of governorship aspirants in Ogun PDP include a third term lawmaker, Abiodun Akinlade, who is also the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology; two former federal lawmakers, Kayode Amusan and Sikiru Ogundele.

    Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, is also rumoured to be interested in the ticket, but sources disclosed that he is yet to formally declare his intention due to the “negative signals he is getting from leaders of the party in Ogun State.”

    Bankole, according to a source, is wary of plunging headlong into the race unless he receives fool-proof assurances from party leaders to back his aspiration.

    But those assurances may be hard to come by, as other aspirants, particularly Akinlade, has since taken off from the starting blocks in the race for the PDP 2015 governorship ticket.

    In the last five months, the lawmaker, who hails from Ogun West zone, which is yet to produce the state governor since its creation in 1976, has been quietly mobilising party leaders from the three senatorial zones in the state in furtherance of his ambition.

    Kashamu tackles Daniel for Ogun East senate ticket

    Another thorny issue that may put the impending alliance in jeopardy is the alleged plan by Buruji Kashamu to contest for the Ogun East Senatorial ticket against Daniel, who is also interested in the seat.

    This development, according to a source, is a clear indication that Kashamu is not ready to cede his leadership status in the party to Daniel. Kashamu’s camp is afraid that if Daniel wins the seat, he could use his privileged position to assume the leadership of the party, particularly if the PDP fails to unseat Amosun.

    As the reconciliation process trudges on, it remains to be seen whether this would be enough to dislodge Amosun from the Oke Mosan Government House.

  • Many landlords’ve no documents of ownership, says Amosun

    Many landlords’ve no documents of ownership, says Amosun

    Many property owners in Ogun State have no legal titles to affirm their ownership, Governor Ibikunle Amosun has said. Amosun, who made this known at the launch of the State’s Home Owners Charter last week, said: “Such property, no matter how valuable, cannot be offered as security for even the smallest loan.”

    He said: “In terms of valuation in sales transactions, most properties are relatively undervalued compared to similar ones in neighbouring states. This is a direct consequence of the absence of documentation.  In addition, our courts are regularly inundated with cases relating to property disputes that would be avoided if standard documentation were widely available.”

    He said property ownership is more than serving the basic needs of shelter; it is the single most important and valuable investments a person can make.

    He said: “Property across the world is prized and cherished, it is passed from generations to generations through wills, selling and exchanging. It also supports many financial transactions. A vibrant property market must be orderly, easy to understand and the standards of proof of ownership must be widely understood and adhered to. That is the standard set for Ogun State. All over the developed world, property is a convertible commodity that is used as collateral and for raising funds.”

    Amosun said as part of his administration’s commitment to the provision of affordable housing and urban renewal, an ambitious Geographical Information System (GIS) project to “automate our land processing systems and land records” was embarked upon.

    “This GIS project involved satellite imaging of the entire state which was undertaken remotely over a period of 12 months. The resulting data provided detailed images of the entire state, showing each individual building,” he said.

    The GIS finding, he noted, revealed that the “level of development in certain Local Government Areas was significantly in excess of that suggested by official records.

    “Indeed, some areas which, on official records were villages or even farmlands, were actually densely populated urban settlements. Other areas which were recorded as government owned lands had been extensively encroached and were fully developed. These included lands belonging to Housing Corporation and OPIC as well as the land bank of Ogun State Government,” he said.

    Further analysis, according to him, “showed that in some key areas, the vast majority of residential properties in Ogun State did not have legally recognised documentation in the form of Building Plan Approval, or Certificates of Occupancy.”

    “In the past 10-12 years, the culture of building without approval had become rampant and well-orchestrated. Property owners often resorted to constructing at night and over weekends to evade the officials of the Ministry of Urban and Physical Planning who were unable to monitor the sheer volume of the development. The consensus view that prevailed among the people was that once the property had been constructed “Government cannot and will not do anything about it,” he said.

    The consequences of this action, he noted, are “extremely serious for the people affected as well as Government and many homeowners are now regretting their false economy. Not only are the properties so constructed, illegal but the uncontrolled development of properties create unplanned areas devoid of essential infrastructure such as  water, schools, health facilities and road services”. Owners of such illegal property, he added, have now found themselves between the proverbial “devil and the deep blue sea”.

    “They are unable to process ownership documents such as Certificates of Occupancy (C of O) since Building Plan Approval is a pre-requisite for such. The fines payable for building without approval make the process unaffordable for many who now wish to regularise. In addition, those who have built on government owned lands live with the uncertainty about government intentions and, therefore, have no means of regularising their status,” he said.

    These problems, in the words of the governor, have hampered both the medium and long term planning for the state, especially in areas of getting data on residents and their needs. “Indeed, one common characteristic of our unplanned areas is shortage of public services. The huge and unrecorded growth in population renders planning a difficult, if not an impossible task.”

  • Planned cities coming in Ogun, says commissioner

    Planned cities coming in Ogun, says commissioner

    As part of its cardinal programmes, the Governor Ibikunle Amosun’s administration intends to have planned cities across the state, Commissioner for Physical Planning Adebayo Fari has said.

    During an interview, he said: “We have been strict with the monitoring of property development by ensuring compliance with the master plan. Residents have been complying and cooperating with us. There has been improved voluntary compliance which is necessary in the enforcement of any law.

    ‘’We have identified some black spots but with the support of the governor, we are on the path of correcting the mistakes of the past.”

    He said the government encouraged some problems, adding: “One hurdle we faced on assumption of office as the commissioner for the environment was flooding. It created a lot of challenges for the government because of the unregulated property development across the state. Mostly affected were Ifo and Ota local government areas.”

    On compliance, Fari said: “The sincerity being exhibited by this administration has really helped us. With what the people have seen in this government, I believe they have made up their minds to cooperate and give maximum support. We have done series of sensitisation. The government acquired a number of vehicles and branded them Build right initiative and the modus operandi of this programme has been to go into the nooks and crannies of the state to engage communities in dialogue on the need to adhere to the master plan and the need to also visit our offices for first-hand information on land status and the consequences of not getting necessary permits before building.”

    He said the governor planned that in the next 10 years, more people are liekly to moved into the state because of the onging developmental projects.

    “This is why most of the roads we are constructing would be inaugurated in a short time. Most of them are six lanes. With a projection that the population of Ogun State will hit between 10 million and 11 million in another 15 years, we should be providing for that population now. That informed the massive investment in road infrastructure, in education, in urban and physical planning among other sectors. We are also doing a lot to make sure that everything is in line with the visions of the founders of the state,” he said.

    On the menace of land speculators Omo-Onile, he said: “We have noticed this and I want to admit that the government created an avenue for it in the past. What we have seen is that the government after acquiring large parcel of land and went to sleep thereby, giving room to land speculators (the Omo-Onile) to take advantage of this to encroach and resell such land to unsuspecting members of the public. The unsuspecting allottees will come forward to argue that they bought the land from someone who claimed to own it and then start to build. What should have been done is that immediately government acquires a parcel of land, it should go ahead and do a layout of the place and start allocating to people and provide the necessary infrastructure to make it habitable.”

  • Honour for Kongi at 79

    Honour for Kongi at 79

    From Lagos to Abeokuta and Osogbo, the celebration train of Nobel laureate Prof Wole Soyinka will on Saturday berth in London. A compilation of selected essays as well as the winning essays from WS76 to WS78 essay competitions, entitled That The Future May Live will be presented in London as part of the Prof Wole Soyinka’s 79th birthday celebration. The Nobel laureate will also flag off the WS80 essay competition to students in Diaspora, reports Assistant Editor (Arts) OZOLUA UHAKHEME.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State has described Nobel Laureate Prof Wole Soyinka as a man of great intellectual prowess. The literary giant, Amosun said, has consistently provided literary ingenuity through his works which are devoted to developing the society. In a tribute to Prof Soyinka, Governor Amosun said: “On this 79th year of his birth, we have noted an undiminished fervor in him as he continues to pressure our leaders to strive for the best for our nation particularly and humanity in general. His ultimate goal being the restoration of man’s dignity.”

    He said the revolutionary investment in quality education, which is the core reason why Ogun State is first among equals in the country and which has helped to produce the likes of Soyinka is one of the areas his administration has excelled.

    “It is our hope to produce new generation of Soyinkas from our public schools in Ogun State. As this exchange programme also focuses on education and mentoring of youths, we cannot but applaud it because our state is dedicated to providing qualitative education that will in future produce more Nobel Laureates in all fields of endeavours.

    Last Saturday in Lagos, no fewer than 79 students drawn from schools in 25 states of the federation took part in the essay competition at the Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos. The topic of the essay was Memoirs for our future followed by Do your thing, featuring debate, reading, spelling bee and drama performances. Later in the night, two plays, Children international and The Trial of Brother Jero were presented at the Terra Kulture, Victoria Island, Lagos. The essay competition adjudicators included Ropo Ewenla, Marcel Mbamalu and Razinatu Mohammed.

    At the Ogun State Cultural Centre, Abeokuta, the 79 students were held to a reception by Prof Soyinka led by her Excellency, wife of Governor Amosun, while at Osogbbo, the students undertook a mentoring tour and reception led by deputy governor of Osun State, Otunba Laoye Tomori.

  • Amosun won’t be distracted by idle talks, says aide

    Amosun won’t be distracted by idle talks, says aide

    Special Assistant to the Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun on Political Affairs Adeniji Adesanya spoke with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE on activities of the administration.

    How would you react to the claims that Governor Ibikunle Amosun cannot foster unity in the Ogun State ACN?

    First and foremost, I would not have bothered to discuss this issue because it is baseless and jaundiced. But let me say that we all know who Senator Ibikunle Amosun is. He stands for integrity, progress and welfarism. Governor Amosun has ensured that Ogun State is renewed from the old dilapidated structures to a modern state, which we have all been clamouring for. The governor is working but idle minds will not see the positive impact the government is making in the lives of the people. And he will not be distracted by idle talks by anybody. Even before becoming a senator, he was all over the place in his generosity. Governor Amosun has ensured that every citizen, irrespective of political leaning, benefits from his government.

    Kayode Soyinka also said that the governor is more of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Nigerian People Party (ANPP) than the ACN. What is your take on this claim?

    Let me tell you that winner takes it all. Politics is about the game of number. Kayode Soyinka cannot win an election in his bedroom, much more at the ward level. Governor Amosun is a grassroots man. His winning the election simply shows that he belong to the people. When you go to the market places, the artisans and other less privileged people at the grassroots, the governor is in their minds. They love him and have been praying for him because of his developmental strides. The massive infrastructural development going on across the state is done to make life meaningful for the people who voted for him. Anywhere he goes, the people troop out to welcome him. Kayode is a true son of Ogun, he should not have said all those things about the governor. So, let me pass this message across to him, that: if he is not busy, he should find something to do to keep himself busy. The people that are busy are the ones seeing the things Governor Amosun is doing. He should support what the government is doing and not to sit down somewhere and be saying what does not exist, that Amosun cannot run a united ACN because he does not belong. Who told him that the governor does not belong? Give it to him, even the likes of our very good friend, the late Dipo Dina trusted Governor Amosun and he knew that the governor could deliver. So, if he is being paid to do a dirty job, he should desist from that and find himself something better to do. If he wants to live under the disguise of preaching negative things to the society, I think that is not good enough. It shows that he is not busy and should find something to do. The last time I heard about him was long ago when he was begging to be part of ACN and he lost. He cannot be compared with Governor Amosun, who is a winner all day round.

    The PDP in the state is fractured. Don’t you have the fear that the enemies of the ACN could also instigate division in the party to cause disaffection?

    If there are divisions in PDP, it has to be so because it is not a progressive party. It is not a party the people want for the state. And we have a progressive government of the ACN in place and it is doing fine. I think what the governor is doing is giving some people some concern because they have been overwhelmed by the achievements of the ACN led administration. If the PDP has any ambition, they should go and throw it into the ocean, with the massive developments going on all over the state, it would be foolhardy for them to think that they can make inroad back to relevance, when they had frittered away such opportunities in the past. The ACN is performing wonders. Just think of it, is it in the rural transformation, empowerment, health or education? They should just bury their dream. For us, we are not going to look back, the energetic governor has promised to make life better for the people and that is what the government is all out to achieve and no amount of side comments or lame talk will make government lose focus. The giant strides recorded by governor Amosun have earned him lots of commendations and awards.

    Government’s developmental plan has led to the pulling down of private structures in the state. Have those affected been compensated?

    Governor Amosun is a man of integrity. If he says something he does it. He is not somebody that promises something and later changes his mind. I want to let you know that, before he went to the streets to pull down structures that obstruct public interests, there have been alternatives for their owners. So, if he has not been doing something to address whatever deficit they suffered, I don’t think government house would have known peace. The whole place would have been jam-packed with people protesting. But let me tell you that some people are just hiding somewhere out of envy to cause disaffection by saying that the government does not really bothered how the people are affected in view of the transformation going on in the state.