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Tag: kwara

  • NOA begins nationwide campaign on ‘Building People of Peace’

    NOA begins nationwide campaign on ‘Building People of Peace’

    The National Orientation Agency ( NOA ) has commenced a nationwide campaign tagged “Building a People of Peace’’ to foster harmonious relationship among Nigerians.

    The Kwara State Coordinator of NOA, Mr Olusegun Adeyemi, made the disclosure on Monday while delivering his speech at the flag off of the programme in Ilorin.

    He said the campaign was to foster peace in homes, workplaces and religious organisations.

    “Let me reiterate the fact that peace and harmonious living are the sine quo non for development, economic growth and well being of all and sundry.

    “Peace is an issue that cannot be over emphasised because without it, the society will experience crisis and be in chaos without achieving any developmental goals,’’ Adeyemi said.

    The NOA coordinator called on all stakeholders to play vital role in building peace, especially at a time when hate speeches and separatist agitations were being fuelled by selfish Nigerians.

    Kwara State Head of Service, Mrs Susan Oluwole, who spoke at the event, said equity and tolerance were necessary for peace and harmonious relationship and in building heterogeneous society.

    “To achieve cordial and peaceful relationship in the society, we should shun tribalism, favouritism, injustice and other vices,” she said.

    Oluwole called on civil servants to be committed to their duties and adhere to laid down rules and regulations governing their jobs.

    She urged NOA not to relent in the sensitisation of the public on issues that would promote peace in the society.

    The Guest Speaker, Prof. Isaac Albert, Director, Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies, University of Ilorin, said Nigerians must respect their socio-cultural and religious differences in order to build a strong and peaceful nation.

    He said: “we are not created to think and act the same way, therefore we must recognise the contributions and opinions of every citizen in Nigeria.

    “The country is diversified with different cultural and socio-political settings which tolerance and respect for one another must be factor of consideration to achieve peace.”

    NAN

  • NSCDC partners sister security outfits to curb kidnapping in Kwara

    NSCDC partners sister security outfits to curb kidnapping in Kwara

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kwara Command, says it is collaborating with other security agencies to curb kidnapping and other social vices in the state.

    The Commandant of the corps, Mr Wasiu Adeyinka-Ayinla, stated this while receiving a Security Data Base System from the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state on Thursday.

    Adeyinka-Ayinla said the corps was living no stone unturned to rid the state of kidnappers and other criminals.

    He said intelligence officers of the corps were on alert alongside other security outfits to achieve the objective.

    He said the security data system produced by ALGON would assist the operations of the corps especially in tackling kidnapping and other security challenges in the state.

    The Director-General of ALGON, Mr Yemi Adurotoye, said the security system was put in place to curb cases of kidnapping and other vices in the state.

    Adurotoye said the system would be made available at all times and free of charge to users in any part of the state.

    Read Also:  NSCDC to deploy 300 personnel, others for council election in Enugu

  • Monkey Pox : No outbreak in Kwara

    Monkey Pox : No outbreak in Kwara

    The Kwara Government on Monday said there was no outbreak of Monkey Pox disease in any of the 16 local government areas of the state.

    The state Commissioner for Health, Alhaji Atolagbe Alege, disclosed this  in llorin on Monday.

    He said that investigation by state health officials to all nooks and crannies indicated that there was no outbreak of Monkey Pox disease in any part of the state.

    “For now, Kwara has zero record of Monkey Pox and we are working round the clock to maintain the record,’’ he said.

    The commissioner also said that the state government had trained 241 health workers for prevention and treatment of the disease in case of possible outbreak.

    According to him, the trained personnel are already in all the 16 local government areas ensuring the prevention of an outbreak of the disease.

    The commissioner advised residents of the state to maintain clean environment at all times to complement government efforts at ensuring healthy living.

    He also urged residents to embrace hand washing at all times to prevent the outbreak of communicable diseases.
    Alege said the state was collaborating with traditional rulers and community leaders in the state to provide quick information on possible outbreak of the disease.

    NAN

  • 2, 045 corps members to pass out Thursday in Kwara

    2, 045 corps members to pass out Thursday in Kwara

    A total of 2, 045 corps members are expected to pass out from the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) scheme after the completion of the mandatory one year national service in Kwara.

    Mr Oladipo Morakinyo, the State NYSC Public Relations Officer, via a statement issued on Tuesday in Ilorin, said the ceremony would be low keyed.

    “The management of the scheme scheduled a low-key passing out ceremony for the 2016 Batch B, Stream 1, for Thursday, Nov.2,’’ Morakinyo added.

    He added that adequate arrangements have been made to issue certificate of national service to the deserving corps members at some designated locations across the state.

    Morakinyo said that three Nysc members that distinguished themselves during the service year were nominated for the NYSC State Honours Award, while another eight will receive commendation certificates.

    He added that 25 Nysc members would be sanctioned for committing various offences during the service year.

    “They were sanctioned for various offences committed during the service year; some out rightly absconded from the service, while others contravened various sections of the NYSC bye laws.”

    Morakinyo announced that three corps members lost their lives during the service year.

    NAN

  • Police boss warns state SARS against extortion, misconduct

    Police boss warns state SARS against extortion, misconduct

    The Commissioner of Police, Kwara Command, Mr Lawan Ado, has warned officers and operatives of the state Special Anti-Robbery Squad (F-SARS) against misconduct or risk dismissal.

    Ado gave the warning while addressing journalists  on the outcome of his meeting with the officers at the Police Headquarters, Ilorin on Thursday.

    He said the warning was consequent upon different misconducts attributed to the outfit in recent times, adding that the development had brought some disrepute to the image of the command.

    According to Ado, the allegations which include extortion, checking of telephone sets of citizens, laptops and labelling every young man seen in a car as yahoo boy, should stop forthwith.

    He also said drunkenness, especially while on duty, is an offence stressing that he would not hesitate to wield the big stick on any officer whose actions or inaction would drag the name of the police in the mud.

    Ado reiterated the directive of Inspector- General of Police banning road blocks on the high ways and stressed that any police officer caught in such act would be severely dealt with.

    “They should be assured of our support and protection of the police authority at all times, and we will do everything within our power to make their work easy.

    “They have to be civil in all their dealings with the members of the public because the officers are not in any way different from other policemen.

    “As such, they must at all times abide by their rules of engagement and dress code and must neatly turn out as they are not immune against sanctions,

    “‘They have to be reminded that a male police searching a female suspect is a misnomer.

    ‘’Searching of telephone set belonging to accosted citizens by SARS operatives, escorting suspects to the ATM machine to collect money, or forcing suspect to make electronic money transfer is robbery.

    ”Any officer arrested doing any of the above will be dismissed and charged to court,” Ado said.

    He, however, advised the people in state to continue to support the team and volunteer information to enable the police discharge their responsibility adequately.

    NAN

  • Kwara gets new NYSC Coordinator

    Kwara gets new NYSC Coordinator

    The Director-General of NYSC, Brig.-Gen. Zakari Kazaure, has appointed Mr Amaefule Remigius as the new State Coordinator of the corps for Kwara.

    The NYSC state Public Relations Officer, Mr Oladipo Morakinyo, said this in a statement in Ilorin on Wednesday.
    It said the new coordinator would take over from Mrs Esther Atamenwan, who retired recently from service.

    The statement said Amaefule was until his new appointment, the Deputy Director, Corps Welfare and Inspectorate at the headquarters in Abuja.

    It added that the appointee has also served in several managerial capacities within the scheme.

    It described the new coordinator as an astute administrator, youth manager and mobiliser.

    The statement also announced that the formal handover ceremony would soon take place at the NYSC Secretariat in Ilorin.

    “While congratulating the new State Coordinator on the appointment, it is our prayer that the tenure shall be fruitful,” it added.

    NAN

  • Kwara Assembly passes 2017 revised Appropriation Bill of N166bn

    Kwara Assembly passes 2017 revised Appropriation Bill of N166bn

    The Kwara House of Assembly on Tuesday passed a revised 2017 Appropriation Bill of N166.1 billion.

    The passage of the bill was in response to the request of Gov. AbdulFatah Ahmed in his message to the House early in October.

    The revised state Appropriation Bill was passed after the House had approved all the classes on the bill during the committee of whole, which lasted less than one hour.

    According to the bill, the revised capital expenditure expenditure is now N80.9 billion, while the recurrent expenditure is N77.6 billion.

    After the Clerk of the House, Alhaji Mohammed Katsina had read the bill for the third time, the Deputy Speaker, Mr Mathew Okedare, who presided over the plenary, directed him to produce a clean copy of the bill for the governor’s assent.

     The House had earlier approved over N160 billion as 2017 Kwara budget.

    In another development, the house called on the state’s Commissioner of Police, Lawan Ado, to critically look into complains about his officers and men over allegations of harassment.

    The house made the call after considering a matter of urgent public importance raised by Masud Bakare (APC, Omupo constituency).

    Bakare had alleged sexual harassment of a female along pipeline road in Ilorin by some Special Anti Robbery Squad ( SARS ) Officers under the command.

    NAN

  • NLC calls for review of minimum wage

    NLC calls for review of minimum wage

    Kwara State Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress ( NLC ), Mr Abdulyekeen Agunbiade, has called on the Federal Government to review the minimum wage in the country.

    The NLC chairman made the call in Ilorin on Tuesday while speaking with newsmen on the state of the nation.

    He added that according to Labour law, workers salaries should be reviewed every ten years.

    The labour leader explained that Nigerian workers would not settle for any amount less than N50, 000 as minimum wage.

    He declared that labour has not abandoned the call for upward review of the minimum wage for workers in the country.

    The NLC boss said that it was disheartening that Nigeria workers earn the lowest minimum wage among it contemporaries in the world.

    He said that the Labour Minister, Dr Chris Ngige, was not in control of the ministry because the spate of trade disputes across the country couldn’t have been that viral if he had been in charge.

    The NLC chief added a number of strike actions embarked upon by various trade unions were suspended out of sheer patriotism on the part of the labour leaders.

    Agunbiade stressed the need for Dr Ngige to consider his pronouncement as the Labour Minister, which according to him showed clearly that he could handle national trade disputes.

    Agunbiade said NLC was in full support of the call for autonomy of local governments in the country as well as true federalism of the country.

    According to him, for the local governments to be truly autonomous, it must take full control of its fund and appoint its personnel.

    NAN

  • Police arrest six suspected rustlers

    Police arrest six suspected rustlers

    Operatives of the Inspector General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IRT) have arrested six suspected rustlers, who specialize in stealing goats in Ondo, Osun, Ogun, Kwara, Ekiti and Lagos States.

    The suspects are: Gani Adeyemi, 29, Kabiru Oladimeji, 50, Alimi Ayodele, 32, Kunle Olasebikan, 45, and Umaru Mohammed, 46.

    According to police sources, the suspects had carried out several operations in the neighbouring states, where they stole goats, money, phones and jewelry at gun point.

    It was gathered that the suspects lured goats with raw white beans following which they would gag the animals and cart them away in the operational vehicles.

    Confessing, Ayodele said: “I am married with three children. I stopped at Senior Secondary three and became a bus driver. I started stealing goats seven years ago when armed robbery became very hard in Lagos.

    It was my friend Akube that introduced me into goat stealing. We operated at Osogbo, Oyo, Ilorin, Ijebu. In each of the operations we went home with at least 20 goats. We used to be three in number namely Alimi, Gani, Akube who is still at large. We used to  operate at about from 11p.m to 12 midnight along village roads where goats sleep.

    ‘’ Gani’s role is to drive our operational vehicle, Akube catches the goats with raw beans while Ayo seals the goat’s mouth. Most of the goats sleep on the road. We were challenged by vigilante men at Iyana Oba in Osogbo where they blocked the road and we exchanged fire with them. We sold the goats to one Kazeem at Mile 12 market (Lagos) at N7,000 each. Kazeem is still at large.

    ‘’For the 20 goats we got at last operation at Osogbo we got 20 goats and sold 19 for N133,000 and roasted the one that died out of suffocation and celebrated our dinners with it. Out of the N133,000, I paid N20,000 for fuel and N20,000 for vehicle maintenance and shared the balance.

    In his confession, Kabiru, whose gang operated in Ojodu Berger, Agbado, Mowe Ibafo and Sango areas of Ogun State said his group stole only three goats on a daily basis.

    Kabiru and other members of the gang were however arrested by a police patrol team which also recovered guns from them.