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  • ‘Enormous’ economic potentials in Sapele, Warri other ports revival – Omo-Agege

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, has described as “enormous,” the economic gains to be derived from reviving the Sapele, Warri, Burutu, and other ports in Delta state.

    He also harped on the need for oneness in Urhobo nation, urging its leaders to prioritize the interest of the ethnic nationality in their different dispositions.

    The DSP spoke at the inaugural public lecture of the Urhobo Renaissance Movement (URM), held Tuesday, at the PTI Conference Centre, Effurun.

    URM, a group of professionals of Urhobo extraction, seeks to “rekindle the spirit of unity” and promote development across Urhobo nation.

    Represented by an aide, Chuks Erhire, Senator Omo-Agege said rebirthing the culture of Urhobo people will include developing the economic and social sectors of the land.

    “Your task in cultural renaissance, as you know, has to take into account the totality of our ‘Urhoboness’. It is in this context that I understand your earlier call on the federal authorities to resuscitate the six sea ports in Urhobo and adjourning lands that have since been abandoned or closed to commercial traffic. These include Sapele, Warri, Koko, Forcados, Burutu and Escravos ports.

    “There’s need for a concise, constructive and sustained follow-up on this until the desired results are obtained as we are aware of the enormous economic potential this holds. This is in terms of job creation, as well as the creation of ancillary industries, complete with the multiplier trails they leave in their wake.”

    Omo-Agege while recalling the efforts of the founding father of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU), Chief Mukoro Mowoe, to ensuring unity across Urhobo land, posited that the establishment of the renowned Urhobo College, Effurun (UCE), in 1946 “is a reconciling symbol”.

    He further urged the organisation to use its various capacities to forge the much needed “unity of purpose and interest within the Urhobo leadership, and nation in general. We cannot be tired of calling for unity of purpose among our people since our nominal strength translates to divisions and clashes”.

    Meanwhile, in his lecture, Professor of Commercial and Industrial Law, Prof. Joseph Abugu, opined that keys to reviving the fortunes of Urhobo nation should be directed towards cultural, economic and political “resurgence”.

    Read Also; Nigeria, South Africa to review 32 agreements

    Calling for Urhobo leaders to be “vocal” in the agitation for Nigeria’s restructuring, he said, “the clamour for restructuring of this country will continue and only equity will cure it. Our independence will come when our leaders recognize there is inequality in the system.”

    Former Minister of Information, who chaired the occasion, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire, had earlier commended the organization for remaining steadfast in its vision to ensuring the development of Urhoboland, urging those with “access to where decisions are being taken” to use it as an “asset”.

    Dignitaries at the ceremony include member representing UghelliSouth North/South/Udu Federal constituency Hon. Francis Waive, Convener of URM, Professor Hope Eghagha, traditional rulers, among others.

  • My wife subjects me to perpetual fear, man tells court

    Rahimi Ganiyu, a businessman, on Thursday, petitioned a Mapo Customary Court in Ibadan to dissolve his 17-year-old marriage over his constant fear of his wife, Adijat Ganiyu.

    Ganiyu, a resident of Soka area in Ibadan explained before Chief Ademola Odunade, the President of the court that his wife whom he married in 2002 had become a terror by constantly causing him apprehension and discomfort.

    He added that the only option he had left was to seek legal intervention in getting Adijat out of his house or she might get rid of him any moment from now.

    “For some years now, my cohabitation under the same roof with Adijat can best be described as passive or servant-master relationship because of the fear my wife has instilled in me.

    “If there is any misunderstanding between both of us, Adijat usually aim at my life and she does this by threatening me with knife.

    “In fact, she recently got petrol in an attempt to set my house ablaze and it took the effort of well meaning people in the community to pacify her.

    “I cannot count how many times Adijat has willfully destroyed my personal wears including; clothes shoes and other properties.

    “Worst still, she damaged my car key and the windscreen and I cannot allow her to kill me before my time,” Ganiyu said.

    Read Also: 60-year-old arrested for defiling 9-year-old niece

    In her argument, the respondent opposed the suit and refuted all the allegations leveled against her.

    Adijat however, prayed the court to consider the four children between both of them in dismissing her husband’s divorce prayer.

    “My lord, none of the submissions made by Ganiyu against me is true, though we sometimes had quarrels.

    “He doesn’t even fend for the children, let alone their feeding or mine.

    “I even suggested to him that I can jointly shoulder the responsibility with him. He however, adamantly refused to do anything.

    “We quarreled because he never wanted to be responsible, he doesn’t like paying the children’s school fees,” Adijat stated.

    In his judgment, Odunade held that the court was convinced that the allegation of threat to life was well proven against Adijat.

    Consequently, he dissolved the union and granted custody of the first two children to the plaintiff and the last two to the respondent.

    The Arbitrator also directed Ganiyu to pay N10, 000 as the children’s monthly feeding allowance in addition to being responsible for their education and other welfare needs.

  • Ondo lawmaker, Yomi Akinrutan, celebrates love

    Proverbs 18:22 says: “Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD”. Hon. Prince Abayomi Akinrutan, is a happy man, whose joy knows no bound as he is still basking on the euphoria of immense blessings and favour marriage has thrown at him.

    The Ondo State Lawmaker representing Ilaje constituency 1 is in gay mood as he celebrates his 15th year of nuptial bliss with his delectable wife Olamide On October 2. The love birds tied the knot on the 2nd of October in 2004 ever since that moment, they have witness tremendous growth in every aspect of life till date as they are both blessed with three beautiful kids.

    The Olugbo of Ugbo crown Prince never ceased to show his flare for writing. He took to his social media where he eulogised the tenacity and doggedness of Olamide, stating how she stayed with him through hard times.

    Read Also: Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila’s large heart

    “Thanks for being the reason behind my smile, for making me look forward to tomorrow and for always pushing me towards success., Thanks for accomplishing me in this journey of my life and for being such an amazing person”.

    ABA, as he is fondly called, is a business man who has his hands tied on several business littered across the country ranging from; hospitality, Oil and Gas, Recreational Centre, Entertainment, Music business etc. He is the current parliamentary Secretary and Ondo State Chairman House committee on OSOPADEC.

  • Tiger kills woman at national park in Nepal

    A wildlife official, on Thursday, said a wild tiger has killed a 48-year-old woman, who was collecting fodder for her cattle near a national park in south-western Nepal.

    Apa Baral, Chief Conservation Officer of Bardia National Park, said the woman was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her dead later.

    Baral said that the woman suffered injuries on her head, hands and face.

    In August, wild tigers killed two people near the national park.

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    Baral said shrinking of the endangered animal’s habitat and an increase in human activities near the protected area were causing the attacks by wild animals.

    He said wildlife and security officials were tracking the movements of the tiger in the area.

    “We will decide on whether to capture it after analysing the footage from camera traps,’’ Baral said.

    Nepal is home to 235 endangered wild tigers that live in protected areas in the country’s southern plains along the border with India.

  • BREAKING: Senate receives MTEF/FSP report

    The Senate on Thursday received the report of its Committee on Finance and National Planning on the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).

    The report was laid before the Senate by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Adeola, who also moved for the report to be considered.

    In the document, the Federal Government proposed the sum of N10.002trillion as the 2020 Appropriation Bill and the sum of N2.45trillion for debt service for next year.

    The Senate had on September 25 received the 2020-2022 MTEF/FSP from President Muhammadu Buhari and on September 26th, referred the document to its committee on Finance to report back on Wednesday, October 2.

    Read Also: Senate moves to check illegal mining

    Lawan, however, appealed to his colleagues to note that the report has been harmonized between the Senate and the House of Representatives who worked on the report jointly.

    He said there was need to speedily consider and approve the report to be able to catch up with the presentation of the budget early next week by Buhari.

     

    Details shortly…

  • Buhari’s visit to S/Africa allays our fears, says NICASA

    Mr Benjamin Okoli, President, Nigerian Citizens Association in South Africa (NICASA), said President Muhammadu Buhari’s visit to that country would allay citizens’ fears of xenophobic attacks from South Africans.

    Okoli said this in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday while responding to a question on the association’s expectations of the visit.

    He expressed the hope that President Buhari’s visit would help address issues bordering on the safety of lives and property of Nigerians, immigration permit, and balance of trade.

    According to him, President Buhari’s arrival in South Africa should ensure that there is fair treatment of Nigerians who qualify for permit but are not given; we want that to stop.

    “We expect President Buhari to look into matters of protection of Nigerian citizens here; to discuss with South African authorities on police brutality and killing of Nigerians living in South Africa.

    “Quite a number of Nigerians have been killed by the South African police.

    “So we expect President Buhari to demand an end to such.

    “We expect discussions on immigration, whereby South Africans will no longer deny Nigerians permit, which is what we call xenophobia in visa-processing.

    “People who qualify are not given because of nationality.

    Read Also: Buhari arrives in South Africa for talks

    “We also expect the president to talk about how we can balance trade between both countries, so that South Africans will not continue to have an advantage over Nigerians,” he said.

    He cited the UN survey report of 2017 which indicated that the total number of Nigerians living in South Africa was approximately 27,000.

    Okoli explained that Nigerians in that country owned small businesses, whereas South Africans in Nigeria operated bigger companies that generated huge incomes in favour of the South African economy.

    The NICASA president also said that the Nigerians largely affected by the xenophobic attacks in S0uth Africa were petty traders.

    He said that adequate arrangement had been made for a town hall meeting between the President and NICASA in furtherance of discussions on issues involving Nigerian citizens living in South Africa.

    He added that the names of Nigerians affected by the xenophobic attacks had been collated to enable them press charges for compensation.

    “We expect the South African government to compensate Nigerians that were attacked in that country because they lost businesses and properties.

    “Their businesses are not illegal; we have profiled them and we intend to go to court to seek redress,” Okoli said.

  • EFCC arrests four INEC officials over alleged diversion of N84.7m

    The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Sokoto Zonal Office, has arrested four officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for alleged diversion of over N84.6 million for ad Hoc staff allowances.

    This was contained in a statement by EFCC spokesman, Mr Wilson Uwujaren, made available to newsmen by the commission’s Sokoto Zonal Office, on Wednesday in Sokoto.

    He said the arrest was due to a petition by one Abdullahi Nasiru who wrote on behalf of all presiding officers that worked for INEC during the 2019 General elections in Zamfara State.

    “This, alleging that the Adhoc staff were denied payment of their N6,000 movement allowance each for the two elections.

    “They further alleged that what the Commission paid to them was different from what other states paid their Adhoc staff.

    “The Commision allegedly paid its staff the sum of N9,000 in Zamfara while other states like Sokoto State, the commission paid N12,000.

    “However, investigation by the EFCC revealed that none of the 10,500 presiding officers who participated in the elections were paid their entitlements commutatively put at N84,696,000,” he said.

    Read Also: INEC fixes October 26 for Katsina bye-election

    Uwujaren added that the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigations were concluded.

    Those arrested were Hassan Aliyu, Administrative Secretary, Hussain Jafar, Head of Operations, Abdullahi Abubakar, Accountant and Abdulmumin Usman all officials of INEC in Zamfara state.

  • BREAKING: Gunmen abduct Bayelsa commissioner’s father

    Unknown gunmen have abducted the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Doodei Week’s father, Chief George Agbabou Week.

    He was abducted from his home at Ayama-Ijaw in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of the state.

    The incident reportedly happened in the early hours of Thursday.

    Details shortly…

  • Oyo guber candidate, Bayo Adelabu, celebrates

    For those who think his influence and clout will be submerged after his loss at the last gubernatorial election in Oyo state under the All Progressive Congress (APC) Bayo Adelabu with the sobriquet “Penkelemense”, is still enjoying massive support from his party and people around him.

    Away from his defeat to Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the former Deputy Governor of Central Bank, who challenged his election at the tribunal, has accepted the outcome of the result in good faith and currently working on his next move politically.

    After setting his feet in the murky waters of politics, the Agbaakin Parakoyi of Ibadan land was widely commended for pulling such a huge weight at the just concluded pools. This is a clear indication that, he is well loved in Oyo state and beyond.

    On the 28th of September, Bayse 1 as he is fondly called in the social radar, celebrated his 49th birthday amidst pomp. Many had thought he was going to be deserted by favour seekers and supporters.

    Read Also: Youth ambassador, Dayo Isreal’s bounty reward

    To the chagrin of his detractors, a mammoth crowd of supporters came out to share in his joy of his birthday. This turnout further certified that, Bayo is a heavy weight in politics.

    As part of the birthday celebration activities, APC leader in Oyo state, Mr Akin Oke also commissioned a new edifice. The Adelabu Penkelemense Political headquarters located at the highbrow area of Jericho, Ibadan.

    The birthday and building commissioning witnessed the presence of top political heavyweights in the state.

    In attendance were APC chieftain, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, ably represented by Mr Tunde Rahman his media adviser, Hon. Dapo Lam-Adeshina and a host of others.

    The First Class Accounting Graduate from Obafemi Awolowo University, we gathered, is currently focusing on his business, humanitarian foundation and human investment/development.

    He is currently restrategising and rebuilding his political dynasty. He will be relaunching his gubernatorial ambition in 2022, ahead of the 2023 general elections.

  • Youth ambassador, Dayo Isreal’s bounty reward

    The astronomic rise of Dayo Isreal is not new to those who have come in contact with him; his passion and drive for success, has made him a goldfish that has no hiding place, breaking impeccable records and gaining global recognition.

    The Ibita Ofin Lagos Island born lawyer has shown leadership traits and greatness right from his tender age, which has helped sustained him till this moment.

    His resume and wealth of knowledge are quite intimidating for his age. As a young chap, he was selected by the United Nations to represent all delegates to the UN General Assembly Special Session on Children on a special CNN Live Interview in 2002.

    For his contribution to Africa Diaspora Development, he was specially invited by Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh to a private reception at Buckingham palace. He was awarded by the Mayor of London, for his developmental role in Africa with the Person Earnestly Working for Africa (PEWA) award.

    Interestingly, his blistering performance on the world stage, landed him a job at the National Assembly of Nigeria (Office of Senator Omoworare – now Chairman Senate Committee on Rules and Business).

    A former student council chair at London Metropolitan University, he was responsible for Strategy Development, Project Design and Evaluation.

    He also created and maintained relationships with Strategic Global partners such as the World Bank, VSO, British Council and other International Organisations.

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    He is reaping what he has sowed in sweat. In 2016, he tried to clinch the All Progressive Congress (APC) primaries to win the party’s ticket to contest for Lagos Mainland Local Government Chairmanship. He lost out and accepted the outcome in good faith. In 2019, he also tried to clinch the APC ticket to represent Lagos Mainkand at the Halowed State Assembly but also lost the ticket. Little did he know that there is reward for loyalty, consistency, hard work and dedication.

    Few weeks ago, Governor Sanwo-Olu announced him as a permanent board member of the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (LASUBEB) under the chairmanship of Hon. Wahab Alawiye-King.

    His wealth of knowledge in education and development, we learnt, clinched him the role for the team member. He is currently working assiduously with his team to further revamp and re-position the quality of primary and secondary education in Lagos State.