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  • Kwara road repair costs N3.2b

    Kwara road repair costs N3.2b

    One year into its second term, the Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed administration in Kwara State has said  road rehabilitation cost is N3.2 billion this year.

    The sum covers completed and ongoing projects.

    The administration was confident that it achieved some feat in infrastructure development last year.

    Early this year, it said it would spend N56 billion on infrastructure across the 16 local government areas of the state. The governor added that out of the amount, the administration would source N20 billion bonds from the capital market, explaining that bond “is one of the ways we will device to execute capital project in the in-coming year.”

    Alhaji Ahmed then listed the projects to be executed with the N20 billion to include construction of Ilesha-Baruba-Gwanara Road; rehabilitation of Kaiama-Kishi Road, dualisation of Michael Imoudu-Ganmo Road; dualisation of Zango-University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH) and completion of Ilorin water reticulation project.

    Others are construction of flyover bridge at Gari-Alimi Roundabout in Ilorin to ease traffic in the area; purchase of 860 transformers for rural electrification; sinking of 938 boreholes in all the 16 local government areas of the state; equipping the yet-to-be-commissioned International Vocational Centre in Ajase-Ipo, Irepodun local government area, establishment of the Kwara state University (KWASU) branches in Osi and Ilesha-Baruba in Ekiti and Baruten local councils.

    Despite the shortfalls in the monthly accruals from the federation account and the lean resources of the state government, Governor Ahmed-led government has recorded some achievements on road rehabilitation in the last one year.

    Reeling out some of the administration’s achievements, Works and Transport Commissioner Alhaji Aro Yahaya said the state approved the release of N3.2b for the completion of outstanding roads rehabilitation in the state.

    Alhaji Yahaya added, saying, “One of these important roads to address traffic congestion in the state, is Asa-Dam-Egbejila-Airport Road. It is 7.5 kilometres road and work is still ongoing there. Drainage and construction of the bridge are still on. The objective is to reduce traffic congestion around Gari-Alimi roundabout and airport axis.”

    Said he: “Some of the ongoing road projects in the State include; the Aduralere-Isalekoko-Ojagboro-Sanu Sheu Road, Henry George-Agbo-Oba road, Henry George-Unilorin mini campus road, Ita-Alamu village road, Oloro Palace Road, Share-Oke Ode (lot 1), Share-Oke ode (lot 2), Kishi-Kaiama Road, Egbejila Road, Ilorin, Arobadi Magida Road in Moro Local Government, Baboko Market Road, Ilesha Baruba-Gwanara road, Rore-Ipetu Road, construction of three span bridge in Ilala, Ifelodun Local Government, Oniju street, Babanloma in Ifelodun Local Government and Anilelerin Road, Offa.

    “There is also channelization network at Ita-Alamu, Ilorin South local government area of the state. The area has over the years, been threatened by erosion. Government has thought it wise to channelize the area for the control of election in that axis so that it will not affect the rail lines there.

    “As soon as that is done we will be able to focus on the road network within the vicinity. Rehabilitation is also ongoing on the Gaa-Akanbi road network.

    “We have other interventions that are ongoing in terms of small roads and I want to assure that government is desirous to pay serious attention to infrastructural development in the state in order to promote economic development. Most importantly too we have other roads lined up for rehabilitation in the state and any moment from now Governor Ahmed will launch their construction.

    “I want to seize this opportunity to inform you that when these facilities are completed they will improve the image of the state in terms of infrastructural development. It will also ease human and vehicular traffic.

    “We are equally proposing to dualise Kulende-University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital (UITH)-Oke-Ose road. About two years ago, the governor expanded the road from Kulende to Oyun bridge axis to address the suffering of our people who ply that road. The state also plans to construct fly-over bridge from Gari-Alimi end to airport road area.

    “Most importantly, these projects require funds. I want to appeal to the Nigerian public especially Kwarans to also exhibit their civil responsibility through payment of taxes so that government will have funds execute these laudable programmes.”

    But a factional chairman of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo put a lie on the state government’s achievements.

    Oyedepo said: “I want to say this, not because am in the opposition, I will validate whatever I tell you with objective analysis. I don’t believe the government is doing well at all. If the governor and his predecessor have been in government for about 13 years (2003 till now) and the state is as it is, what other evidence do you need to show the whole world that these people are not doing well?

     

     

  • Kwara community comes alive with Aso-oke contest

    Kwara community comes alive with Aso-oke contest

    Residents of Ilorin East Local Government Area, Kwara State, watched in awe as young aso-oke weavers proved who was best and fastest in the trade, writes Adekunle Jimoh

    The colourful fabric is an instant head-turner but even the fine art of waving it proved to be a crowd-puller. In Okelele in Ilorin East Local Government Area of Kwara State people could not resist watching the making of the popular Aso-Oke.

    It was a remarkable day for the fabric as well as the youths who spun it in a contest. In 10 minutes, each contestant had to prove he was the best in the Aso-Oke weaving business. The competition took place at Alaro compound located in the precincts of Okelele, known to be the hub of Aso-Oke weaving.

    The event which started with an opening prayer by Alfa Alabidun, attracted a huge crowd.

    There were 10 contestants, each given about 10 minutes to prove their weaving skills, and indeed they gave a good account of themselves within the time.

    With locally-made weaving tools, there was a rhythmic twisting of legs and movement of hands. They wove with rapidity, creating a delightful spectacle for the crowd.

    Like any other community with a distinct culture and tradition, Ilorin, the state capital, is also a city with a difference. However, the uniqueness of the culture of Ilorin is seen in its economic hub.

    Ilorin is popular with some vocational skills, which in the olden days were used to measure its economic advancement and development.

    The concept of naming houses in the city was derived from the type of occupation or vocation the people living in those houses did. For instance, compounds like Ile-Onimago, Onikijapa, Onidilali, Asileke and Alaro among others, historically got those names from what their progenitors preoccupied themselves with.

    Weaving of local fabric otherwise known as “Aso-Oke” is an occupation known with some cities across the country including Ilorin. Specifically, weaving of local textile is very popular among Yoruba- and Igbo-speaking people.

    It is a clothing material with diverse styles and colours that lovers of locally made fabrics wear at ceremonies such as weddings, naming ceremonies, chieftaincy titles, house-warming and other prominent events.

    As a result of Nigerians’ insatiable appetite for foreign products including attires, the demand for Aso-Oke soon nose-dived. Those whose inherited the occupation abandoned the job for less profitable ones while a few of the    educated ones looked for elusive white collar jobs.

    Despite its threat of extinction of the Aso-Oke fabric, there are some areas in Ilorin city that cannot afford to let their long-time inheritance die.

    One of such areas is  Alaro compound, Okelele-Ojuekun area in the heart of Ilorin.

    The contest was initiated in 1992, but was halted a few years later due to the lull in the business.

    Speaking at the competition, Dr Abdulganiyu Salaudeen of Kwara State University, Malete, told the gathering that Aso-Oke weaving was a means of identity and source of foreign exchange.

    Clad in full Aso-Oke with shoes to match, the lecturer said the current efforts to strengthen the value of the naira could only materialise when locally made goods were prioritised and exported.

    Salaudeen, who teaches agriculture in the university, explained that the weaving profession is a source of social security that eliminates all forms of social ills and prevents youths from indulging in anti-social activities.

    He assured that his institution would support the revival of weaving in Ilorin in line with its community service mandate.

    Also speaking, Mr. Suleiman Okubiyi said weaving projected Ilorin community positively to the entire world, adding that the occupation was famous among the natives of Ede, Oyo, Iseyin in Yoruba land, Igbo and the people of Ilorin and Kogi State.

    A weaver at the event, Alhaji Suleiman Oba Machine said the resuscitation of the competition was a good omen for the people of Ilorin and encouraged the organisers to sustain it as an annual event.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Abductors free Kwara APC chairman, secretary

    Abductors free Kwara APC chairman, secretary

    Kwara State chairman and secretary of the All Progressives Congress ( APC)  Ishola Balogun- Fulani and Chief Bode Adekanye have  regained their freedom.

    They were rescued by  policemen of the Kogi State Command. The abductors had earlier demanded for N50 million.

    The APC chiefs were reportedly snatched away on Friday morning at Lokoja-Okene road while returning from Abuja.

    It was gathered that the families of APC chiefs offered to pay the abductors N10 million and they accepted.

    “In fact, our people are on their ways to Okene- Lokoja axis for a possible location of the abductors’ hideout with a view to pay the ransom and secure the release of our chairman and secretary,” a close aide of one of the victims said.

    Reacting to the development, Kwara state Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has decried the kidnap of the APC chiefs.

    The governor described the reported kidnap as atrocious, despicable and unfortunate.

    Governor Ahmed in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Abdulwahab Oba, urged security agencies in the country to ensure early rescue of the APC chiefs.

    The governor promised the readiness to render required assistance to security agencies to ensure both men regain their freedom.

    He urged anybody with useful information that could lead to the rescue of the men to avail security agencies such vital information.

     

  • Kwara urged to set aside one per cent of budget

    Business owners under the aegis of Kwara State Coalition of Business and Professional Associations (KWACOBPA) have urged the government to set aside one per cent of its annual budget to support entrepreneurs.

    They said they have sent a bill to that effect to the House of Assembly.

    The coalition enjoined the government to set up a committee, whose members would be drawn from the private sector, to manage the fund.

    The Chairman of the coalition, Chief Hezekiah Adediji, who spoke yesterday in Ilorin at the presentation of policy briefs on business agenda to private sector stakeholders, advised the government to use the one per cent as a revolving loan for every business owner, devoid of any political colouration.

    He recommended an interest rate of five per cent.

    Adediji advised the government to access its N2 billion from the N220 billion the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) set aside for micro small and medium enterprises fund.

  • Kwara PDP splits into two

    The recently-conducted Kwara State Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP’s) congress has divided the party into two factions.

    The factions led by the ex-Chairman of the party, Akogun Iyiola Oyedepo and another by Prince Sunday Fagbemi conducted parallel congresses at different venues in Ilorin on Tuesday.

    The next day, members of the party, particularly from Kwara Central, decried the exercise, alleging non- accreditation of their delegates.

    Addressing reporters yesterday in Ilorin, Prince Fagbemi, the former chairman of the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), claimed that the congress, which produced him as the chairman, was witnessed by five of the seven-man national electoral panel from Abuja.

    He added that  representatives of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and security agencies also witnessed the congress.

    Fagbemi accused the Oyedepo-led executive of imposition, intimidation and electoral malpractices, saying some contestants were barred from the venue of the congress at Stella Obasanjo Multipurpose Hall, Ilorin.

    Fagbemi, who alleged that the congress at the ward, local government and state government levels were manipulated, added that nomination forms and result sheets were made available to the contestants favourable to Oyedepo.

    The PDP chieftain, who said the development led to the conduct of a parallel congress at a different venue the same night, added that executive members emerged and he became the chairman.

    He described the congress held by the Akogun-led exco as pre-determined, saying delegates from eight councils, namely Ilorin West, Ilorin South, Ilorin East, Asa, Moro, Offa, Isin and Ekiti were disallowed from participating in the congress.

    Fagbemi said: “Efforts to correct the anomalies at different levels of the congress were rejected by the electoral panel. I had to force myself into the hall when about 29 contestants were denied entry. The scenario led to a riotous moment, sporadic gunshots by thugs, firing of teargas and discovery of a vehicle laden with weapons, arms and ammunition at Stella Obasanjo Hall.”

    Fagbemi, who decried happenings in the PDP, said the party had never had it so bad, with no seat in the House of Assembly.

    He said efforts were not made to forge unity by the incumbent executives, adding that his members would not fold their arms and allow the party to be destroyed.

  • Train derailment claims four lives in Kwara

    Train derailment claims four lives in Kwara

    An 11-coach train with one cargo coach at the weekend derailed in Jebba, Moro Local Government Area of Kwara State. Four people died and three were injured.

    An eyewitness said yesterday that the train derailed on Saturday night.

    Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Transportation Mr. Sabiu Zakari said yesterday that families of two of the victims had been identified. He went on an inspection of the scene, representing Minister Chibuike Amaechi.

    “We were informed when the accident happened and we swung into action immediately, but it is unfortunate that we lost four people, while three others sustained injuries. The three injured have been treated and discharged. The Federal Government picked up their bills.

    “For the dead, we have been able to identify two of them at the mortuary and we have contacted their families. We will continue to look for the families of the remaining two. Once we get them, government will take responsibility of their burial and we will also facilitate the transportation of the bodies to their relations,” he said.

    Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) Fidet Okhiria said: “No time for blame game but to reflect on what happened, mourn those who died and commiserate with their families.”

    But he said those in the coach were illegal passengers who hid in the loads packed by the coach.

    “There are 12 coaches going to Kano from Lagos and 11 of them are already in Kano. The last one was the one that was involved in the accident. The train that was involved in the accident is not a passenger coach but a carrier one. So those people who died there are illegal passengers who hide in the loads.”

    Mr. Okhiria said there is life insurance for drivers being managed by the Industrial and General Insurance (IGI).

    He confirmed that the government is working to change the narrow gauge to standard ones, saying work is going on at Abuja-Kaduna rail line, Lagos-Calabar rail line and many others, which will be changed from narrow gauge to standard one.

    The father of one of the victims whose severed body was seen, Mallam Muhammed Usman, said he was on the scene to appeal to the government to release the half body in the mortuary to them for burial.

    He lamented that he didn’t understand why his son, Aliyu Usman, was involved in the accident because he was an employee of the NRC working between Mokwa and Minna.

    He added that his deceased son allegedly travelled to Offa in Offa Local Government Area of the state.

    Residents of Jebba where the accident happened urged the Federal Government to assist them to find a solution to railway problems in the country, saying the accident was about the fourth they would witness within a few years.

  • Kwara approves payment of 24, 042 verified workers, pensioners

    Kwara State Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed has approved the payment of March and April salaries and pensions of 24,042 workers and pensioners, who have been cleared in the staff verification.

    A statement by the alternate Chairman of the Committee on Personnel Database Development, Alhaji Isiaka Gold, said the approval followed the final clearance of the affected workers and pensioners by the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System (NIBBS).

    Gold, who is also the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), said the March and April salary and entitlements of the workers and pensioners would be paid this week.

    He said 1,427 workers and pensioners found to have submitted invalid Bank Verification Number (BVN) will have their entitlements withheld, pending further investigation.

    Gold said the governor ordered that the 144 workers and pensioners, who had issues with their BVN, but whose defences were genuine, should be paid.

    He noted that Ahmed directed that 390 workers and pensioners found to be operating multiple accounts should be re-screened by the committee.

    The SSG stressed that any worker or pensioner found to be fraudulently collecting salary or pension would not only be made to refund the money, but would also be penalised.

  • Train derailment claims four lives in Kwara

    An eleven coach train with one cargo coach at the weekend derailed in Jebba, Moro local government area of Kwara state claiming four lives and injuring three others.
    An eyewitness at the scene of the incident on Sunday said that the accident happened on Saturday night, adding that nothing could be done to rescue the victims.
    Speaking during the inspection of the scene, Transport Minister, Chibuike Rotimi Ameachi represented by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry,Mr. Sabiu Zakari who confirmed the incident said the families of two of the victims have been identified.
    “We were informed when the accident happened and we swung into action immediately but it is unfortunate that we lost four people while three others sustained injuries. The three injured have been treated and discharged immediate and federal government already pick up their bills.”
    ” For the dead, we have been able to identify two of them at the mortuary and we have contacted their families. We will continue to look for the families of the remaining two corpses. Once we get them, government will take responsibility of their burial and we will also ensure how their corpses would be transferred to their relations.”
    He commiserated with the families of the dead and wished those injured quick recovery.
    Also speaking on the accident, the Managing Director of Nigerian Railway Corporation, Engineer Fidet Okhira, said “no time for blame game but to reflect on what happened, mourn those who died and commiserate with their families.”
    He however said those in the coach were illegal passenger who hide in the loads packed by the coach.
    “There are twelve of coaches going to Kano from Lagos and eleven of them are already in Kano. The last one was the one that was involved in the accident. The train that was involved in the accident is not a passenger coach but a carrier one, so those people who died there are illegal passengers who hide in the loads.”
    Mr. Okhiria denied the rumor by some locomotive driver who said there is no life insurance for them saying all their staff are insurance covered which being manage by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI).

  • Gani Adams must go, Ondo, Kwara OPC state coordinators insist

    Gani Adams must go, Ondo, Kwara OPC state coordinators insist

    Ondo and Kwara states Coordinators of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) yesterday insisted that the National Coordinator, Otunba Gani Adams, must resign.

    Some state coordinators in February passed a no confidence vote on their estranged leader, accusing him of alleged high-handedness and financial malfeasant.

    Consequently, the aggrieved members petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to probe about 17 years leadership of their former boss.

    Rotimi Akinsowon (Ondo) and Marauf Salami (Kwara) spoke in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, at a meeting with members of the group.

    Salami said: “Gani Adams must resign as OPC National Coordinator. There is no alternative because he has caused a a lot of irreparable havoc to OPC and if we fail to push him out of the system today, history will not forgive us tomorrow.

    “He used the OPC to catapult himself from obscurity to popularity. Gani Adams uses the cerebration of Olokun, Oya and other festivals to promote himself.

    “He headed OPC for 17 years but the group cannot boast of anything as he has cornered all. OPC has no account. He is the alpha and omega. He is the pencil and eraser for good 17 years. Enough is enough.

    “We don’t the group to be factionalised. It has happened once and we don’t want a repeat. That is why we are appealing to our members not to engage in any confrontation with those who still believe in him. We don’t to pick anybody now to lead the organisation until Gani Adams steps down from office.”

    Akinsowon added: “Our petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on the huge sum of money he received from the late Libyan President Muammar Gaddafi and ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on behalf of the OPC is still being investigated.

    “I am confident that in no distance time EFCC will invite Gani Adams for interrogation. We are insisting on his probe because he collected the money in the name of OPC.

  • Train crushes 2 to death in Kwara

    A Kano to Lagos passenger train on Sunday crushed a commercial motorcyclist and his passenger to death in llorin.
    A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent, who witnessed the incident, reports that the tragedy occurred along Kangu-lle-Araromi road in the llorin West Local Government Area.
    The train crushed the motorcyclist and his passenger, a middle-aged woman, when the motorcyclist tried to cross the rail line around 11 a.m.
    The train later stopped some metres from the spot of the accident but there was nothing anybody could do as the victims had died instantly.
    Hundreds of people, including motorists and commercial motorcyclists, trooped to the scene of the accident to catch a glimpse of the victims.
    Some residents, including children, burst into tears when they sighted the lifeless bodies of the victims.
    Some members of the commercial motorcyclist association at the gate of the Michael lmoudu lnstitute of Labour, identified the motorcyclist as one of their members.
    Policemen from the Ganmo Police Station later evacuated the two bodies.
    Officials of the Ilorin office of the Nigeria Railway Corporation were not in their offices when NAN correspondent visited the office for comments.
    However, the Public Relations Officer of the Kwara State Police Command, Mr Samuel Okasanmi, said the command would investigate the cause of the incident. (NAN)