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Tag: Lawmaker

  • Lawmaker empowers youths

    A member of Lagos House of Assembly,  Abdul Olawale (Omititi), has partnered with the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO)  to empower his constituents.

    Two hundred youths have been enrolled for a two-month training in utilising smart  technologies for agro allied processing of local staples such as cassava flour,  bread and oil production, and other useful products derivable from local raw materials.

    Some were also admitted for a two-month training in soft Information Technology skills including web-designing, photo-editing, Microsoft Office, Corel Draw and internet application.

    Speaking at the sensitisation forum tagged:  “Computer training and agro empowerment scheme”, Olawale said it was geared towards addressing unemployment among youths, alleviating poverty and distributing the dividends of governance.

    He said the scheme took a new shape with the collaboration with FIIRO in order to give people opportunity to benefit from the industrial facilities within the local government.

    Olawale said: “The idea is borne out of the need to fight poverty in our constituency. I paid a visit to FIIRO and my team discussed extensively with the Director-General of the institute and we had an understanding to empower the people inside Mushin. To go there and not bring resources nearer to the constituency will be an aberration.

    “So, that is why we are here. I believe if you are empowered, you can be independent. The FIIRO has a lot of technology in its domain to benefit all participants. Poverty will also be alleviated through commercialisation of our own technology. The essence is to create employers of labour. We want to teach them how to fish not give them fish. The second approach is to expose them to computer training so that my constituency will be empowered.

    “We are going to use the facility of the Lagos State Government’s N25billion empowerment scheme to be dished out for their empowerment as well.”

    He urged beneficiaries to make judicious use of the opportunity as good ambassadors of Mushin, adding that participants with impressive performance will be rewarded with laptops and necessary equipments in the areas of agro-processing.

    Lauding the impactful gesture, the Sole administrator, Mushin, Yinka Esho said the scheme will be of immense benefit to many in the area as it would trigger stream of income for the teeming youth.

    He said: “It is one of its kind. We realise FIIRO is in our local government and we have not been able to tap into what they have been doing there but the honourable in his wisdom has brought the goodies to us. It is an opportunity for the people of the local government to use the knowledge impact to become employers of labour themselves.”

  • Lawmaker helps IDPs

    Lawmaker helps IDPs

    Since the dissolution of their camps and integration into the society, the Internally Displace Persons (IDPs) in Gombe State have faced grim challenges. Some of those challenges include what to eat, renewing their house rents and getting schools for their children.

    Now, help has come their way in the form of food supplies sent by a member of the state House of Assembly, Rambi Ayala.

    Dinah Bashir from Gombi Local Government Area of Adamawa State who spoke on behalf of the IDPs, applauded Ayala for the gesture.

    Also speaking, Pastor Yohanna Dawa after appreciating the host communities for their kindness, also asked for more assistance from them. He bemoaned the IDPs rent challenges, calling for assistance in helping their children to get better schools. He also made a case for children orphaned by the insurgency.

    At least 200 bags of assorted grains went to some IDPs’ families in Billiri and Kwami local government areas of the state, courtesy of Ayala.

    ”It is a humble experience to give a shoulder for others to lean on. And by way of lending a helping hand, I felt that we should do something towards providing a shoulder for them (IDPs) to lean on, no matter how little,” said the legislator who made the donation under the auspices of his NGO, Healing Hands International in conjunction with Hope Spring International.

    He said the move was inspired by his visit to Yola about a month ago, following an invitation by a consortium of NGOs which articulated the plight of the displaced across the country.

    He said, “At Malkhori Camp, it was yet again another touching experience that will even move someone to tears. It was on that note that I reached out, we mobilised resources and sank a borehole in the camp.

    ”That visit or experience informed what is happening today (the grains distribution) or why we are gathered here today,” Honourable Rambi explained.

    He commended the governor of the state for his wisdom in integrating the IDPs in the state into the society in order to free them from stigma, give them a sense of belong in their various host communities, while taking care of the educational needs of their children.  He told the beneficiaries that the event was an indication of the wiliness to identify with them, assuring that it was just the beginning, as he would continually see and fashion out how to identify with them in his little and whatever way possible and for as long as time would allow.

    ”We feel your pains, we understand with you. We know what it means to be away from your homes. I was relating with one of the IDPs this morning, he told me how his eldest son, his wife and their child were literarily murdered in his presence.”

  • Recession: Lawmaker launches ‘Operation Back to Farm’

    Rather than dissipate energy debating whether it was the Goodluck Jonathan administration or that of President Muhammadu Buhari that caused the recession, a member of the House of Representatives, Hon Sunday Karimi has said it is better for Nigerians to return to agriculture as a way out of the economic crisis.

    Karimi who spoke in his native Yagba, Kogi State, told his audience that the only option available to them if they must combat the looming hunger in the land was for all and sundry to return to the old culture of farming, which used to be the mainstay of the economy of the area.

    He disclosed that plans were afoot to launch “Operation Go Back To Farm” in Yagbaland that would see each family encouraged to own a farm. This, he stressed, was the case in the his days as a teenager when students spent their holidays farming, noting however that “modernisation has since made youths of nowadays to think of farming as a dirty job.”

    Under the scheme, he assured of support to would be farm owners in the areas of planning, funding, farm implement and seedling, among others.

    The 2016 empowerment programme  tagged “Town Hall Meeting, Empowerment and Financial Aid”.

    The federal lawmaker, accompanied by journalists and party loyalists embarked on tour of the three councils in Yagba Federal Constituency, namely Yagba West, Yagba East and Mopamuro. According to him, the programme, the fourth of its kind since he was elected as a federal lawmaker in 2011, was with a view to sharing with the electorate in their time of needs.

    It will be recalled that Hon Karimi in 2014 initiated Yagba People Empowerment Initiative (YAPEIN) through which small and medium entrepreneurs were given revolving loans to boosts their businesses.  Buses, cars, motorcycles, grinding machines among others were also freely given to hundreds of beneficiaries across the 34 electoral wards in Yagba Federal Consistency.

    However, pressed by the biting hardship and growing demands from parents who could not meet up with the school fees of their wards in the various tertiary institutions as a result of lack of or irregular salaries, Karimi disclosed that aside the distribution of items such as motorised tricycles, motorcycles, grinding machines, sewing machines, he decided to include financial aids to indigent students.

    Breakdown of items distributed across the three local governments are as follows: 130 motorcycles; 20 tricycles; 55 grinding machines; 40 sewing machines; 15 2.5 KVA power generating sets; 310 KVA power generating sets; 4 Nos block moulding machines; 350 students disbursed with student aids (N20,000 each).

    Total value of this year’s empowerment programme is put at about N70m.

    A beneficiary, Blessing Ojo Oluremi, HND 2 student of Kogi State Polytechnic said “I don’t have much to say. It is a difficult time for our parents, difficult times for the students, difficult times for everyone. In fact I am so much happy. Not everybody has benefited anyway.  I pray pray God to continue to help him so that he can extend similar gesture to others”.

    Karimi’s predecessor, Hon TJ Faniyi who spoke at Isanlu, headquarters of Yagbe East Local Government said without any doubt Nigerians going back to farming was the surest shortcut to the country’s economic downturn, saying Hon Karimi’s farming initiative was a welcome development and came at the auspicious time.

    “That is the aspect I cherished most,” he added.

  • NUJ honours lawmaker, Orji

    NUJ honours lawmaker, Orji

    The Abia State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Correspondents chapel has held its press week, honouring the immdeiate past governor of the state Theodore Orji and two other leaders in the state.

    The two other honorees were Hon Uko Ndukwe Nkole, a member of House of Representatives for Arochukwu/Ohafia federal constituency and Chris Odinaka Igwe, a community developer and businessman.

    The Press Week had the theme: ‘The Imperatives of Equity and Fairness: A Case Study of Abia State’.

    Orji, now a senator representing Abia Central, was honoured for his role in the election of Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, a development viewed as historical because no one from Abia South had governed the state.

    Hon Nkole was honoured for his various community development activities which he started long before his people wooed him into active politics and so voted him in 2015 into the federal house which he has never relented since going into the federal House of Representatives, while Igwe was specially selected for among others, partnering the state government in constructing a community road for which he, according to the state governor Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, paid  40% of the cost and establishing a cashew processing plant at his community.

    The keynote address was delivered by the Speaker of the state House of Assembly Rt Hon Martins Azubuike with the topic derived from the theme of the Press Week, saying that equity is derived from a concept of social justice and represents a belief the people.

    Azubuike said that there are some things which people should have, that there are basic needs that should be fulfilled, that burdens and rewards should not be spread too divergently across the community and that policies should be directed with impartiality, fairness and justice towards these ends.

    The Abia Speaker said, “Equity is the quality of being fair, unbiased and just and involves ensuring that everyone has access to the resources, opportunities, power and responsibility they need to reach their full, healthy potentials as well as making changes so that unfair differences may be understood and addressed”.

    “Equity as a concept is also fundamental to sustainable development and well entrenched in international law and universal declaration of human rights”.

    The occasion which was chaired by the State Works Commissioner a journalist and immediate past member of the House of Representatives Hon Eziuche Ubani said that Abia state has not gotten to where it ought to be in the community of states in the area of development despite that it has the right people piloting its affairs.

    In a speech, the National Vice President for the Southeast Zone Comrade Chris Isiguzo, said, “The Southeast zone of the country has been landlocked and additionally heightened by the menace of herdsmen”.

    “There are no [passable] roads now from Onitsha to Enugu, Enugu to Port Harcourt, Umuahia to Ikot Ekpene, Enugu to Abakaliki, Owerri to PH, Owerri to Okigwe, Aba to Ikot Ekpene.”

    Isiguzo called on the federal government to quickly declare a state of emergency on the Southeast roads and urged the governors from the zone to find a solution to infrastructural decay in the region.

     

     

     

     

     

  • 1000 students graduate from lawmaker’s computer training

    In fulfilment of his campaign promises, Nollywood star cum politician Desmond Elliot, who represents Surulere constituency  in the Lagos State House of Assembly, has trained about 1000 students in computer literacy and skill acquisition.

    The two-week programme, which was in partnership with an information technology firm, Tech Quest, involved students between six and 16 years.

    The participants also acquired vocational skills in soap making, shoe making and tailoring.

    Elliot said the gesture was part of his own way of giving back to the public and preparing the children for a challenging future.

    According to him, participants were  drawn from within Surulere constituency, irrespective of tribe or party alliance.

    He said of the lot, the best 32 would be trained as facilitators in the next edition of the programme.

    Elliot said: “We are going to give the best 32 among them an indepth training in computer so that by next edition, they would also be among facilitators that will tutor the next 1000 students.

    He continued: “The world is going global and if Surulere is not thinking globally then we will be lagging behind in the next 10 years.”

    One of the co-founder of Tech Quest, Charles Uchenna Emembolu, explained that students were taken through computer programming and animation.

    “I must say some of these students are some of the best we have ever taught,” Emembolu noted.

    “We had lessons in HTML (Hypertext Markup Language); it is a programming language in computer that can be used to develop websites. We also had lessons in SCRATCH: it is a computer tool the children use in creating animation. It makes the children want to know about the computer and invariably in developing their mental creativity,” he added.

     

  • Kidnap: Lagos schools are safe, lawmaker assures

    Despite the recent attack on Lagos State Model College, Igbonla in Epe, where some pupils and teachers were kidnapped, a member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Olanrewaju Ogunyemi, has assured that schools in the state  are safe for learning.

    Ogunyemi, Chairman, House of Assembly Committee on Education, said his committee emphasised  security during its oversight visits to some schools, and that the government had done its best on this.

    The lawmaker spoke during the presentation of Excellent Leaders award to him in his office by a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Christian Coalition Against Corruption.

    According to him, in same manner as in Barbinghton Macaulay Secondary School, Ikorodu, the kidnappers that raided Igbo Nla took the pupils and teachers away in daylight and escaped with a boat.

    “This was why Governor Akinwunmi Ambode ordered the demolition of shanties around waterways. The government is providing security in the schools and they have done much for the Lagos State Police Command by buying equipment worth billions of naira for them.

    “Our schools are safe and they would continue to be safe. Our government will not compromise on that, and we will soon install CCTV in all the schools,” he said.

    Ogunyemi added that a bill on kidnapping that is before the Assembly would be given all the necessary attention, saying the crime has almost become a daily occurrence in the state.

    He said Lagos would follow the footsteps of Edo State, which imposes capital punishment on kidnappers, seizes their properties and freezes their bank accounts.

    The lawmaker said teachers in the state enjoy the same benefits like other civil servants.

    He said the state has enough welfare packages for teachers, and that they also extend vehicle loans to them.

    Ogunyemi noted that about 1,300 teachers were recently employed for primary schools, adding that plans are underway to hire additional 1,000 teachers for secondary schools.

     

  • EFCC operative arrested for collecting N15m bribe from lawmaker

    EFCC operative arrested for collecting N15m bribe from lawmaker

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday said it has arrested one of its operatives, Uzodinma Kingsley Agbazue, for allegedly collecting a N15million bribe from a lawmaker to kill a case.

    The commission said the suspect might face trial after administrative action has been taken against him.

    The EFCC made the disclosures in a statement by its Head of Media and Publicity, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, against the backdrop of the ongoing cleansing of the anti-graft commission of bad eggs.

    The statement said: “In furtherance of its avowed commitment to upholding the integrity of its officers, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Thursday, September 15, 2016 arrested one of its operatives, Uzodinma Kingsley Agbazue for offences bordering on criminal conspiracy and extortion.

    “Agbazue, a Deputy Detective Superintendent, DDS, was arrested following a complaint by a lawmaker currently under investigation by the commission, alleging that the operative collected N15million from him with a promise to give him soft landing by compromising the investigation.

    “According to the complainant, Agbazue allegedly approached him, claiming he had been mandated by the officer handling the case to discuss and reach an agreement on how to ‘kill the case’.

    “Following the approach, a sum of N15million was given to Agbazue whose game plan collapsed after the investigating officer, who was ignorant of his scheme, refused to do his bidding.

    “With the investigation gathering increased momentum after parting with the hefty sum, the complainant became uncomfortable and demanded a refund.

    “The complainant stated that when he requested for the refund of his money, Agbazue only returned N5million claiming that the balance of N10million had been given to someone ‘to kill the case from the top’.

    “The complainant also alleged that the operative collected N1million at a different time as assistance for settlement of his wife’s medical bill.

    “Agbazue’s action is in contravention of the commission’s mandate and ideals as the EFCC will not solicit or accept gratification from a suspect to compromise a case under investigation.

    “The suspect will be subjected to administrative action as precursor to possible prosecution at the end of the investigation.”

  • Lawmaker partners NHIS, NGO on health care delivery

    Lawmaker partners NHIS, NGO on health care delivery

    Mindful of the United Nations (UN) stance that access to quality and affordable health care will solve most of health challenges confronting humankind, especially those dwelling at the rural areas, the member representing Ilaje Constituency 1 in the Ondo State House of Assembly, Mr. Abayomi Akinruntan, has provided quality health care services for members of his constituency.

    The gesture was in collaboration with the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). It was aimed at giving medical support to the people.

    Also involved in the collaboration is Equitable Health Access Initiative (EHAI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

    To this end, the representatives of the NGO and the NHIS in Ondo State had visited two out of the 18 health centres in the constituency in preparation for the commencement of the health insurance scheme.

    The two health centres visited were Ilowo Comprehensive Health Centre located on the riverside communities which serves the people residing at the riverside, and Ugbonla Basic Health Centre in Ugbonla.

    The team observed that the health centre in Ilowo community, which was built some years ago by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to provide quality health care to the people  and being managed by the Ondo State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission (OSOPADEC) on contract basis, was in a terrible shape.

    During the visit, the two members of staff on duty, who took the team round the facility, decried the level of neglect by OSOPADEC. They urged the state government to show more interest in the maintenance of the health centre.

    One of the workers said: “All the equipment here are obsolete as a result of which we can’t treat patients. I have been working here for over 10 years. This place was serving the people of the riverside area but since three years now, we’ve not been getting support again from OSOPADEC that is managing the facility.

    “The only thing we get is our salaries; no equipment, no drugs and the staff quarter is dilapidated. We now refer our patients from here to the upland in Ugbonla Basic Health Centre or Igbokoda General Hospital. It has not been easy for members of staff here.”

    However, the condition was somewhat better at the Ugbonla Basic Health Centre as the place had just been renovated by Consolidated Oil Company, (Conoil).

    The Head Nurse, who took the team round the health centre, appreciated the regular support of the local government, adding that even though they are still experiencing some challenges, with time they will overcome them.

    Speaking at the palace of Olugbo of Ugbo, Oba Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan, the lawmaker said he had decided to bring relief to his constituents after realising the challenges they face in accessing affordable and quality health care.

    His words: “Our people, especially in the riverside area, face a lot of problems before they access quality health care in their communities. It’s expensive and not easy moving pregnant women and emergency cases with boat or canoe from the riverside to the upland.

    “I realised the need for urgent intervention on their health facility in the riverside area and I have decided to take it upon myself to foot the bill of delivering quality health care for my people; not minding the harsh economic situation. This tour was for us to assess the level of readiness of the centres to provide such services.”

    Responding, the NHIS Director in Ondo State, Mr. Simon Adeniji, commended the lawmaker for giving them a platform to deliver the Federal Government’s initiative to the people of Ilaje Constituency 1.

    He said the aim of the NHIS was to ensure that communities, especially those at the rural areas, have direct access to quality health care across the country at no or low cost, adding that the purpose of their visit was to assess the infrastructure at the health centres and strategise on how to deliver good and quality health care to the people.

    The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of EHAI, Dr Akinmurele Timothy, admitted that Mr. Akinruntan has done a noble thing by caring about the welfare of his people. He added that only those who have their people in mind will decide to bear the cost which he put at N800 monthly per person.

    After the inspection of the facilities, the team visited the Olugbo of Ugbo land.

    The monarch said the state of the health centres in Ilaje is worrisome, even as he called on the state government to intervene for the benefit of people living in the riverside areas. He promised to collaborate with the team in achieving their goal of delivering better health care to his people.

     

  • Oyo community relishes lawmaker’s gesture

    Residents of Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State received sufficient democracy dividends when the lawmaker representing them at the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Samson Olasunkanmi Oguntade, decided to give back to them from the little he has gotten from the state government and for giving him their mandate in last year’s general elections.

    At the ceremony attended by National Leader of Accord Party and former governor of Oyo State, Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, Accord Party National Secretary, Mr. Nureni Adisa, Oyo State chairman of Accord Party, Bashir Lawal, members of Oyo State House of Assembly, among who were the Minority Leader, Hon Gunju Ojo, Chief Whip, Hon Kehinde Ayinla Oloya, Hon Muideen Olagunju, representing Oyo East/ West, Hon Ademola Ige, Hon Adebiyi Omikunle and Hon Adebiyi Adesina.

    Oguntade, accompanied by his wife, said the empowerment was meant to appreciate his people on whose mandate he was in the Oyo State House of Assembly.

    He expressed appreciation to former governor of Oyo State, Senator Ladoja and all stakeholders in Accord Party, especially from Egbeda State Constituency and all residents of Egbeda Local Government Area.

    He urged all politicians to be honest in all their dealings. He said the gesture was in fulfilment of his campaign promises, adding that he decided to give back to his constituents for their support.

    He said he had reached out to various communities in Egbeda and decided to reach out to his constituents. He added that 10 constituents from each ward will also benefit financially from the gesture.

    Materials distributed included insecticide sprayers, grinding machines, power generating sets, sewing machines and hair dressing implements.

    National Secretary of Accord Party, Mr Adisa, expressed happiness to witness the empowerment programme and also thanked Hon Oguntade for the gesture he extended to his people, despite that the state government was hugely indebted to the lawmakers.

    Hon. Peter Oyetunji, a member of Oyo State House of Assembly, said despite not belonging to the same party, Hon Oguntade has remained steadfast in what he believed in and has never wavered in his membership of the Accord Party.

    He added that in the House, all lawmakers are one without regard to party affiliations.

    Senator Lanleyin congratulated Oguntade on his commitment to reach out to his constituents, despite the economic situation in the country, adding that voting for the Accord Party was not a misplaced action. He also said the gesture was just the beginning of greater things from Hon. Oguntade.

    Chairman of the state Accord Party, Bashir Lawal, said Governor Abiola Ajimobi, is deceiving the people with his decision to conduct local government polls.

    Senator Ladoja praised state lawmakers for their unity of purpose in the House, without regard to party affiliation and despite the economic recession.

    He berated the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for its failure in delivering democracy dividends to the people, not only in the state, but also nationally, adding that the state government has failed in its promise to conduct local government election.

    He said the 2011 election result in Egbeda was better than that of last year, saying the reason was anti-party actions of some members.

    He praised Hon Oguntade for his empowerment gesture, despite the economic quagmire state lawmakers have found themselves under the Ajimobi administration. He also congratulated beneficiaries of the empowerment programme.

    He praised all lawmakers elected on the platform of the Accord Party for not disappointing the party.

    He took a swipe at the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), praying that God showed its leadership the light to come to be part of the Accord family, noting that there is no solution in sight for the crisis bedevilling the PDP.

  • Ondo Poll: Another APC aspirant withdraws from race

    Ondo Poll: Another APC aspirant withdraws from race

    Ahead of Saturday’s primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, another aspirant, Mr. Derin Adesida Friday withdrew from the race to clinch the ticket of the party.

    Adesida, who was the former House of Representatives lawmaker between 2007 and 2011 said he dropped his ambition in order to support another aspirant, Dr. Segun Abraham.

    He said he made the decision after due consultation with some leaders and members of his political family.

    In a statement signed by head of media and Publicity of Derin Adesida Campaign Organisation (DACO) Mr. Adeyemi Lebimoyo said the former lawmaker having regard for the leadership of the party, decided to toll the path of loyalty and sacrifice his ambition

    “Being a very strong politician from Akure, Adesida is poised to make winning easy for the APC in his town

    “Adesida is still ever formidable and a force to reckon with in Akure political circle

    “Stepping down from the race is to allow for the process to present our candidate to be less stressful

    “While I know that so of my delegates who are battle ready to see that we clinch this ticket may be disappointed, I want to implore them to understand that party interest must overide our personal ambitions

    “Clustered aspirations may hinder our party from taking over the Alagbaka government house.”

    However, it is now three of the aspirants out of 24, who collected forms and screened in Abuja that have dropped their ambition for Abraham.

    Only 21 will now participate in the poll that will be conducted by APC electoral committee headed by Jigawa State Governor, Muhammad Badaru Abubakar.