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Tag: kwara

  • Kwara first class monarch dies

    The Olomu of Omu-Aran in Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State, Oba Charles Ibitoye is dead. The late monarch was a first class traditional ruler.Aged 65, Oba Ibitoye was said to have died in the early hours of yesterday after a brief illness. The Petu of Omu-Aran, Chief Festus Awoniyi confirmed the death of the monarch shortly after the meeting of the Olomu-in-Council yesterday in Omu-Aran.

    “We have just finished our meeting at the palace where the news of Olomu’s demise was officially broken. There should not be buying and selling for three consecutive market days and a curfew is hereby imposed as a mark of honour for the late Olomu,” he said.

    Oba Ibitoye who hailed from Ikoja compound in the town and from Ijawusi ruling house ascended the throne in January, 1993 after the death of Oba Suleiman Durotoye Abegunde. A retired civil servant with the State Ministry of Finance, the monarch is survived by his wife, Olori Omowumi Ibitoye and four children.

     

  • Buhari administration, investors’ friendly – Olajiga

    Buhari administration, investors’ friendly – Olajiga

    The Chief Executive Officer of the largest locally owned cashew processing company in Nigeria, FoodPro Nigeria Limited, Mr. Ayo Olajiga, has described President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration as investors friendly.

    Olajiga said this on Wednesday in Ilorin in an interview.

    Olajiga explained that the support he has received from the Bank of Industry ( BOI ), is huge hence the backing from the Federal Government for the institution ( BOI ) to function well.

    He said the fact that the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, came to commission the extension of the factory recently was a testimony that this administration encourage the Private sector.

    He said the company has contributed to the unemployment situation of the country with its employment of over 400 people.

    “Through domestic processing of raw cashew nuts, we have created more than 400 direct jobs and several thousand indirect jobs for farmers, vendors, suppliers and artisans who form the heartbeat of FoodPro’s value chain.

    “With 90% of FoodPro’s employees being women, we are humbled by the role we play in impacting communities and improving economic and social development conditions in our host community.” Olajiga said.

    He explained that the company has been in operation since 2013 and recently ramped up its capacity from 1,000 to 5,000 tonnes of raw cashew nuts per annum making it the largest locally owned cashew processing company in Nigeria.

    Olajiga added that FoodPro factory is the only factory certified by the African Cashew Alliance for Food Safety and Quality.

    He said the company’s plans is double its operating capacity further to 10,000 tonnes, commence export of packaged and branded goods, including existing brands – Lion Cashew & Go Nutz as well as a range of additional products that are currently in the development phase.

    Olajiga explained that most of the company’s outputs are exported to the United States of America ( USA ) with other retain brands across local store in the country.

    He said the choice of Kwara State as where the factory was located was because of its strategic location to where the company source for its materials from, coupled with the state government’s friendly business policies.

    He commended the Bank of Industry ( BOI ), for its support to the company and the Kwara State government.

    NAN

  • Lawmen to retire at 65 in Kwara

    Lawmen to retire at 65 in Kwara

    The Kwara State government has extended the retirement age of magistrates and state counsel to 65 years.

    Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General Kamaldeen Ajibade (SAN) spoke in Ilorin, the capital, at a sensitisation on the National Policy on Justice.

    The workshop is organised by the Federal Ministry of Justice and the government.

    Ajibade said: “This was done to ensure that officers’ deep experience is not lost when their services are at the peak. It would also enhance the quality of justice.

    “An executive bill in respect with the administration of criminal justice is at the House of Assembly for passage into law. Despite the challenges we face, we hope to get things right.

    “We are optimistic that Nigeria will excel in the administration of justice. We are glad that the Federal Government has approved programmes to enhance justice, and recently the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Walter Onnoghen, constituted a Judiciary Monitoring Committee to enhance justice in corruption-related cases.

    ‘’The success of the justice sector reform will determine Nigeria’s place in the world.”

    Attorney General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami (SAN), represented by Mrs. Ifunanya Nwajagu, said the national policy on justice “provides a blueprint outlining reforms in the sector to engender smooth, fair, just and transparent administration of justice.’’

  • Carry us along, Yoruba in Kwara beg Adams

    Carry us along, Yoruba in Kwara beg Adams

    The Yoruba in Kwara State have appealed to the Aare-Ona-Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Gani Adams, to carry them along in his quest to unite the Yoruba.

    The Olupo of Ajase-Ipo, Oba Sikiru Atanda Sanni, and the Eleese of Igbaja, Oba Hammed Awunni Babalola, made the plea yesterday when Adams visited them.

    Oba Sanni said: “Those of us in the West should not forget those of us here. We are Yoruba; don’t throw us away because we want to be carried along in the drive to unify the Yoruba and the promotion of its culture.”

    The monarch, who said he does not speak the Hausa language, urged Adams to always remember he has people in Kwara State.

    Oba Babalola, who said he migrated from Oyo, claimed to be from Ajiboro house in the ancient town of Oyo.

    He thanked the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, for his decision to bestow the title on Adams.

    They both wished Adams a successful reign as the generalissimo of Yoruba.

    Adams, who also visited the Orangun of Ila, Offa and Ira, thanked the monarchs for their love and prayers. He urged traditional rulers to promote their native religion with zeal.

    The generalissimo warned them against neglecting their primary responsibility as custodians of culture and tradition, saying “there are dire consequences for the neglect of our native tradition.

    “Let us identify the differences between religion and tradition; let us practise Christianity and Islam, as well as our traditional religion moderately, without allowing one to affect the other.

    “You should celebrate the relevant festivals in your communities as this will pave the way for your progress and that of your town.

    “Marking these festivals does not prevent you from playing your roles in your churches and mosques, and even the traditional religion.”

     

  • VAIDS: FG recruits 2190 tax officers – Adeosun

    VAIDS: FG recruits 2190 tax officers – Adeosun

    The Federal Government has recruited and trained 2,190 Community Tax Liaison Officers (CTLOs) under the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), says the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun.

    Adeosun, in a statement by her Special Adviser, Media and Communications, Mr Oluyinka Akintunde, said that 1,710 CTLOs had already been deployed to 33 states, out of the number recruited and trained.

    She said that their task was to raise awareness about the scheme and taxation in general.

    She said that the CTLOs were currently operating in Adamawa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Enugu, Kaduna, Kwara, Lagos, Nassarawa, Niger, Ogun and Oyo states among others.

    Adeosun said there was no hiding place for tax evaders residing in Nigeria or abroad, noting that the Federal Government had put in place a data mining mechanism to fish out evaders.

    “The unique cooperation between the various arms of Federal Government, state governments and foreign governments has provided an unprecedented level of data that allows the Nigerian Government to profile taxpayers accurately.

    “We are now able to identify those whose lifestyle and assets are not consistent with their declared income.

    “A lot of data mining is going on daily, both locally and internationally, on property ownership and other items. Data is an extremely powerful tool that is now being utilized.

    “For instance, we have reviewed all companies that received major payments from the Federal Government in the last 5 years and found that even those who made money from government, under-declared,” she said.

    Adeosun said that the tax compliance team had looked at import records and compared the value of goods imported to the tax declarations of the importers, but the discovery was worrisome as “the variance was disturbingly wide”.

    “On personal income taxes, we reviewed property and company ownership as well as registration of high value assets and foreign exchange allocations, which gives us a sense of the lifestyles of the persons.

    “But again, we found major non-compliance. In some cases, people declared as little as N10 million as income but purchased expensive property overseas and in Nigeria.

    “They also registered high specification vehicles and funded luxurious personal events costing multiples of the declared income,” she said.

    Adeosun said that now, with the centralisation of data under Project Lighthouse within the Federal Ministry of Finance, a major tax loophole has been plugged.

    She reiterated the willingness of the Federal Government to prosecute tax evaders after the tax amnesty period had elapsed.

    Adeosun also said that the Federal Government had compiled a list of 500 prominent Nigerians with property and trusts abroad, to determine their tax compliance status.

    The 500 prominent Nigerians, according to her, will receive their letters beginning from Monday, asking them to take advantage of the tax amnesty to regularise their tax status and avoid prosecution and fines.

    VAIDS, an initiative of the Federal Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the State Tax Authorities, is a revolutionary programme that provides tax defaulters a nine-month opportunity to voluntarily and truthfully declare previously untaxed assets and incomes.

    The tax amnesty period is expected to lapse on March 31, 2018.

    Job creation is one of the spin-offs of the VAIDS initiative, with the scheme expected to create 7,500 opportunities for Nigerians as CTLOs through the N-Power scheme of the Federal Government.

     

  • Who succeeds Ahmed in Kwara?

    Who succeeds Ahmed in Kwara?

    No fewer than 15 politicians are scheming to succeeed Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, whose tenure expires in 2019. Correspondent ADEKUNLE JIMOH examines the contenders.

    KWARA State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed will bow out of office in 2019. Who succeeds him? No fewer than 15 All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftains are struggling to emerge as its governorship candidate.

    Although the election is still two years away, gladiators and those interested in the Ahmadu Bello way Government have started oiling their machinery.

    The posters of those front line contenders and pretenders are yet to flood Ilorin, the state capital and other major towns and cities in the state. But, there are clandestine meetings.

    As at the last count, the politicians eyeing the governorship under the banner of the APC include Dr Ali Ahmad, Moshood Mustapha, Bolaji Abdullahi, Ahman Patigi. Others are  Zakari Mohammed, Alhaji Abubakar Baraje.

    The APC aspirants are loyalists and supporters of the Saraki political dynasty. They are all followers of the leader of the party and Senate President Bukola Saraki.

    Some political analysts have argued that Dr Saraki’s sibling and 2011 governorship candidate of the Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN), Senator Gbemisola Saraki, may again try her luck. But the party under which platform she would contest is still shrouded in secrecy.

    Aspirants on the platform of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP) are Lukeman Mustapha and Abdulrahman Abfulrazak.

    Dr Mike Omotosho is interested in flying the flag of the Labour Party (LP).

     

    Dr Ali Ahmad

    The university law teacher-turned politician is the Speaker of the House of Assembly. He was a member of the House of Representatives at the 7th National Assembly. During that time, he headed the Judiciary Committee of the House.

    The former University of Ilorin lecturer had earlier served as Special Adviser Governor Bukola Saraki before his appointment as the Attorney General and Justice Commissioner. Ahmad hails from Ilorin, Kwara Central Senatorial District.

     

    Moshood Mustapha

    The ex-customs staff also hails from Ilorin, the state capital. He is the Special Adviser to Senate President Saraki on Special Duties.

    The son of a former commissioner in the state, was also in the 7th House of Representatives. The one-time special adviser to  Saraki has not hidden his ambition, while others are surreptitiously carrying out their campaigns.

     

    Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi

    He hails from Ilorin. The former Minister of Youths and Sports is a loyalist of Senator Saraki. He sacrificed his ministerial position under former President Goodluck Jonathan at the formative stage of the All Progressives Congress by throwing his weight behind his political godfather. The spectacular action,  it was gathered, has further endeared him to the ‘leader.’

    Mallam Abdullahi was also Special Adviser to Saraki on Media and Communications before becoming a full blown education commissioner.

    The odds,  according to political pundits, are in his favour for the slot.

     

    Alhaji Abubakar Kawu Baraje

    This is an astute politician. He is an indigene of Ilorin. Baraje is a retired teacher. The ace politician was a former secretary of the PDP.

    He led the group that held a parallel PDP congress culminating in the “New-PDP.” He  emerged as the national chairman of the n-PDP.

    N-PDP eventually fused into the APC.

    Baraje has never made his intention pubic, but his loyalists and supporters are reining in. Baraje once told his supporters to allow the leader make his decision on the choice of who becomes what.

    He added that, in the Saraki political dynasty, everything is orderly and turn by turn.

     

    Zakari Mohammed

    The former Radio Kwara Sports presenter hails from Gure, Baruten Local Government Area.

    He was a Commissioner for Energy and Youths and Sports under Saraki. He is serving his second term in the House of Representatives. At the 7th House of Representatives, he was House Committee Chair on Media and Publicity.

    The Odds are in his favour as he is one of Saraki’s boys.  According to APC’s zoning arrangement in the state, Kwara North is to produce the next governor of the state.

     

    Ahman Patigi

    The proprietor of the fledgling Ahman Patigi University hails from Patigi, Patigi local government of the state. He is currently a member of the House  of Representatives.

    He is also from Kwara North senatorial district. Both contenders from the north has been going about his ambition discreetly. PDP aspirants

     

    Alhaji Abdulrahman Abdulrazak

    The Abuja-based business man has been a serial aspirant. He was a PDP aspirant in 2011 and 2015 in the state. He is an indigene of Ilorin and the son of the first Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) of Northern extraction, Abdulganiyu Abdulrazak.

    At the public gathering recently to celebrate his dad’s 90th years anniversary, in Ilorin, one of the preachers at the event urged him to try a shot at the seat once again.

     

    Lukeman Mustapha

    Moshood Mustapha is the founder of the just debuted Sabo FM in Ilorin. The banker is little known in the political calculation of the state.

     

  • ‘Kwara cassava farmers yet to benefit from N1bn agric loan’

    ‘Kwara cassava farmers yet to benefit from N1bn agric loan’

    The Kwara Chapter of Cassava Growers Association of Nigeria on Friday said its members had not benefitted from the N1 billion Federal Government Agriculture Loan Scheme in the state.

    Mr Sunday Moses, the Secretary of the association, disclosed this while speaking in llorin.

    He said his members had acquired lands to cultivate cassava in large quantities and opened bank accounts in response to the request from the state government.

    According to Moses, the state government has disbursed N1 billion to 500 others small scale farmers and 40 commercial farmers in the state.

    The Secretary alleged that the agriculture loan was received by the state government from the Federal Government on behalf of 2000 farmers which included 500 cassava growers.

    He expressed regret that none of his members benefited from the loan scheme.

    Moses said that about 500 members of the association had opened accounts with the Union Bank in line with the state government’s directive.

    He said that his members had been in the process of securing the loan for about one and half years now, but nothing had been forthcoming.

    “Five hundred members of our association have done the necessary things and submitted necessary documents, but it is surprising when the commissioner for agriculture said there was no provision for them,” he said.

    Moses appealed to the state government to consider the interest of his members of as they were part of the 2000 farmers that the loan scheme was meant for.

    In his reaction, Mr Anu Ibiwoye, the Special Adviser to Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed on Agriculture, said the state was yet to receive the N1 billion loan meant for cassava farmers in the state.

    He said the opening of account with with the Union Bank was just one of the conditions of taking the loan, adding that the cassava growers in the state were yet to meet other conditions to access the loan.

    Ibiwoye gave an assurance that the state government would release the fund as soon as the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN disbursed it to the state.

    NAN

  • 16 inmates freed in Kwara

    Sixteen inmates at the Oke Kura and Mandala prisons in Ilorin, Kwara State, have been pardoned by the Chief Judge, Justice Sulyman Kawu.

    During a visit to the prisons, Justice Kawu said the pardon followed a directive by the Federal Government to decongest prisons.

    He said the inmates were freed because they were  illegally arrested and detained.

    Justice Kawu, who promised more visits to the prisons, advised those freed to do well with their life.

    “We observe over time, that most of the inmates have skin disease, so we urge the prison authorities to address the situation before it spreads to. Whatever we feel the government can do as you requested earlier, we will try our best to press the government to fulfil its promise of providing vehicle medical inputs to treat.

    “We have gone through the list of 182 inmates, comprising convicted and awaiting trial, and we have decided, upon examination, that 15 inmates deserve to be released today. The basis of our decision is mainly because we think their detention is manifestly unlawful.

    “We have seen that some of the cases are civil in nature and not criminal, which will not attract any arrest or detention. We also observed that in some cases, the instruments of arraignment are either defective or not available; no proceeding can issue out of invalid instruments. So we have taken steps to release these inmates.

    “We also observed that there are some juveniles detained for belonging to a gang of thieves, through the facts contained in the First Information (FR). We believe the facts do not support the allegations contained in the FIR. So we have ordered they be released forthwith.

  • IBBU, RMRDC complete mapping of raw materials in three states 

    IBBU, RMRDC complete mapping of raw materials in three states 

    The Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University ( IBBU ), Lapai, has completed mapping and characterization of industrial mineral deposits in Nasarawa, Kwara and Niger states.

    This is contained in a press statement signed by the Vice Chancellor of IBBU, Prof. Muhammad Maiturare, made available on Thursday in Minna.

    Maiturare said the university was commissioned to undertaken the project by the Raw Materials Research and Development Council ( RMRDC ).

    He said that the full report of the project had been submitted to the Director General of RMRDC, Dr Hussaini Ibrahim.

    The vice chancellor commended the council for supporting the project through a research grant to the university, stressing that the gesture was in line with current focus on developing solid minerals to diversify the economy.

    He said, the study mapped and geochemically characterized five strategic industrial minerals, namely, Clay, Marble, Barite, Talc and Feldspar.

    ” The results showed that cosmetic, jewellery, cement, battery, paint, ceramics, pharmaceutical and building materials industries could be developed and sustained in these areas using the mapped industrial minerals.”

    Maiturare noted that sustained mining of solid minerals would generate employment, reduce poverty, create wealth and empower women and youth in the country.

    The Director General of RMRDC, Dr Hussaini Ibrahim, said when he received the report that the council would be commissioned to undertake similar study in the remaining states of North Central zone.

    NAN

  • Kwara LG poll: PDP shuns signing of peace accord

    Kwara LG poll: PDP shuns signing of peace accord

    The Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP ) has shunned the signing of a peace accord between political parties participating in local council election in Kwara.

    It can be recalled that 17 political parties signed the peace accord on Tuesday.

    The peace accord was initiated by the Security Consultative Committee for the 2017 Local Government election in Kwara, headed by the Police Commissioner, Alhaji Lawan Ado.

    The newly elected Chairman of PDP in Kwara, Chief Iyiola Oyedepo on Wednesday said that event coincided with the party’s congress.

    Oyedepo, however, expressed the readiness of the party to fully participate in the election.

    The commissioner of police said majority of the political parties had signed the peace accord, adding that the absence of the PDP would not vitiate the peace accord.

    Ado expressed the readiness of the command to ensure that the election was peaceful in all the 193 wards in the state.

    The local government council elections  in Kwara is slated for Nov.18.

    NAN