The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ogun

  • West African Ceramics to invest N8b in Ogun

    West African Ceramics to invest N8b in Ogun

    West African Ceramics Limited (WACL) plans to invest about N8 billion on the establishment of a state-of-art ceramic tile factory in Ogun State.

    Group Executive Director, West African Ceramics Limited, Alhaji Lawal Idirisu, who made this known during a courtesy visit to the Commissioner for Commerce & Industry, Ogun State, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, said the company plans to invest $50 million on a ceramic tile plant in the nearest future due to rising demand for European standard quality tiles in Nigeria and across the Sub-Saharan West African region.

    The firm has been manufacturing tiles in Nigeria since 1995 under the name Royal Ceramics. It changed to its current name in 2009. The company is the premium producer of Porcelain, Vitrified and Glazed tiles in West Africa.

    According to him, market demand for quality tiles as obtainable in European countries such as Spain and Italy is rising on an alarming rate owing to the trends in the home, property, and real estate industry.

    Idirisu, who was accompanied by the Group Consultant, Alhaji Abdul Balaya, noted that although the company’s factory in Ajaokuta, Kogi State is fully operational to capacity, meeting both domestic demands and export to the West African market, the company is being proactive based on consumer and industry insight, and research to establish another production plant.

    “Beside the availability of raw materials in quite enormous quantity, Ogun State is a viable commercial hub of industries with enabling climate and good governance and this will only improve our distribution system as well,” Idirisu said.

    Ashiru commended the investment plan and the choice of Ogun State assuring that the state would provide constitutional support in ensuring the investment is realised.

    He said the economic benefits of the ceramic tiles plant to the state and the people of the state are enormous noting that the new plant implies job creation for several people and good impact on the state.

    Reacting to the issue of smuggled products and importation of products into the market, he said “substandard products will naturally find their way out of the market and eventually close shop as they cannot be sustained competitively.”

    Ashiru urged the visiting team to remain determined in the expansion plan and assured them of all necessary support the state can possibly accord.

     

  • Ogun partners BoI on N1bn SME endowment fund

    The Ogun State Government said that it had recently entered a partnership with the Bank of Industry to provide N1bn for the Small and Medium Enterprises sector of the state.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun stated this during the celebration of the Ogun State Day at the ongoing Lagos International Trade Fair.

    Amosun, who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Segun Adesegun, said the loan window was aimed at providing funds to address internal issues in trade promotion within the state.

    “We are using this as a forum to stabilise the trade of our people, especially those in small businesses, who may not have easy access to bank loans. What we do is to serve as the bridge between them and the financial institutions so that they can have access to funds,” he said.

    The governor said the task of promoting trade in the state was the responsibility of the government and the organised private sector.

    He added that based on the understanding of the economic importance of trade, the state was also working on providing tax incentives to investors, depending on their business and location in the state.

    According to him, the state is also working on increasing agricultural production as a key sector for economic development.

    The state Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Mr. Bimbola Ashiru, said the state, in collaboration with the private sector, was building a profitable value chain in important sectors of the economy, especially agriculture.

    “Agriculture remains the most viable option to get out of the economic rot that petro-dollar has brought upon this nation; it is the only area where we wield the greatest comparative advantage,” he said.

    Ashiru said investment in agriculture and agro-allied products was often despised by investors, but it remained a rewarding venture that was capable of fetching good foreign exchange in the international market.

    The commissioner said the state government was working on mobilising available resources towards creating the enabling environment that would stimulate growth and development in the area of infrastructure, security, health care delivery and urban renewal.

  • Ogun NITAD holds AGM

    The Nigerian Institute of Training and Development (NITAD), Ogun Chapter, holds its Annual General Meeting (AGM) and elections on Wednesday, November 13 at 11:am at Lisabi Elite Club, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta.

    According to Mr. Soji Akinyemi, the Chairman AGM Committee, members of the institute in the state, including members of the council and key players in learning and development sector in the country are expected at the event.

  • Community seeks equal representation

    THE Egun indigenes of Ogun State have urged the National Advisory Dialogue Committee to ensure that each state of the federation has equal representation at the proposed national conference.

    In a statement, the Egun under the auspices of Ogun Concern Forum said while 10 delegates should represent a state, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) should have five. It advised that no political party should play a role in the selection of delegates.

    In a statement signed by the group’s President Mr Patrick Avoseh and its Secretary Dr Senayon Olaoluwa, it said: ‘’Delegates from each state should reflect its ethnic composition as well as be representative of existing nationalities within the state.”

    It added: “To avoid state paternalism, each ethnic nationality should be allowed to directly nominate via consensus at least 50 per cent of the delegates that represent it at the conference.”

    For women and people with disability, it suggested: “For the advancement of our national ethos and policy of social tolerance, in considering interest group representation, the dialogue stands to go down in history as the most seminal by ensuring that women and people with disability are also represented with the percentage to be determined by the committee.”

    The conference should have sovereign powers and the outcome of its deliberation should be subjected to a referendum without necessary recourse to the National Assembly or any other existing political structure.

    On the duration of the confab, it suggested that should be six months, adding: ‘’and should wind up not later than October 2014.”

     

  • Ogun council woos investors with land offer

    Ijebu North East Local Government, Ogun State is wooing small and medium scale investors with an offer of affordable land.

    It is leveraging on its fertile and large unutilised land, giving to genuine agricultural entrepreneurs.

    The Chairman, Chief Femi Odufowokan, made this known during the distribution of empowerment tools and cash to artisans, farmers and women, among others, to mark his first year in office.

    He said over 15 hectares of land had been donated by the people of the area for small and medium scale investors in piggery, poultry and fishery, among others, expressing the hope that if the opportunity is well utilised, it would open up the area for development, boost the Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) of the Council and create jobs for youths.

    He said aside wooing investors, youths and local farmers are equally encouraged to go into agric-business and adopt modern farming techniques to increase yield, as well as their income.

    Odufowokan added: “We have mapped out land for investors in piggery, poultry, fishery business; forms are out for interested investors; it is free of charge for small and medium scale would – be – investors in agric-business.

    “Also, we have been training our farmers on modern farming techniques and over 300 of them have benefited from this. Similarly, the local government’s poultry at Oke-Eri has been resuscitated and equipped with 600 point-of-lay birds and revenue realised from sales of eggs has been tremendous.”

  • Ogun, NGO organise free eye surgery

    Ogun State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka has said that sight restoration and prevention of blindness have become the most considered and cost-effective interventionist strategies in the healthcare system.

    Dr. Soyinka stated this at the official flag-off of  a week-long free eye screening and surgical programme organised by the state government in collaboration with Rotary International and Indo-Eye Care Foundation

    Speaking while inspecting the programme at the State Hospital, Abeokuta, Dr. Soyinka assured that government was ensuring that partnership between government and the non-governmental organisations continues, pointing out that the medical team from India consists of highly qualified surgeons. He added that with the assistance of the partners “we are planning to expand the eye unit of the hospital.”

    At the official flag off of the programme, Dr. Soyinka, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Health, Dr. Olaolu Lawson said approximately 285 million people worldwide live with low visual and blindness, even as he said that Africa accounts for 15 per cent of the figure. He noted that over 80 per cent of visual impairment is preventable as they could be treated.

    Expressing appreciation to the Rotary organisation and the Indo-Eye Foundation from India, the Permanent Secretary, Hospitals Management Board, Mrs. Modupe Olurin said the programme which coincided with World Sight Day was a testimony of government’s commitment to taking care of the health needs of the people.

    She further said that the main objective of the programme was to restore and save the sight of the needy, adding that efficient healthcare delivery is highly paramount to Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration.

    While indicating that their medical team comprises highly qualified surgeons from India who are concerned about the vision of the people, the president of the Rotary Club Lagos, Mr. Venugopal Jajoo said the mission of the Indo Care Foundation is to partner with the state government to save the sight of the needy.

    Some of the beneficiaries Mr. Odunlami Oluwakayode and Mrs. Grace John expressed their appreciation to organisers of the programme for the gesture, even as they thanked the state government for implementing such programme for the less-privileged.

    Among dignitaries present at the event was the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Health, Mrs. Foluke Bello.

  • Ogun Assembly okays bills

    The Ogun State House of Assembly has passed the Child Rights Bill into law.

    It also passed the Pension Reform (Amendment) Bill into law.

    The motions for the third reading of the bills were moved by the Majority Leader, Mr. Israel Jolaoso, and seconded by Mr. Olayiwola Ojodu and Mr. Aina Akinpelu.

    Speaker Suraj Adekunbi ordered that clean copies of the bills be sent to the Governor Ibikunle Amosun for assent.

     

  • Six killed, 21 injured in Ogun road crash

    No fewer than six persons including four women were killed yesterday with 21 others critically injured following multiple accidents at Osuponri stretch along the Abeokuta-Lagos expressway.

    Among the three vehicles involved in the crash is Iveco Turboster truck with registration number (LAGOS) GGE 200 XC.

    The Itori Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Mr. Fatai Bakare, identified a Mazda pick-up van with registration number XA 626 AAW and a blue coloured Nissan pick-up van marked (LAGOS) XZ 19 EKY as two other vehicles involved in the crash.

    According to Bakare, 27 persons who included 20 males and seven females were involved in the crash which was allegedly caused by loss of control on the part of one of the drivers of the vehicles.

    He added that the remains of the deceased have been deposited at the morgue of the General Hospital in Ifo, while the injured were taken to the same hospital for treatment.

     

  • No room for complacency

    There is no doubt that the on-going massive military offensive against the Boko Haram terrorist group, attendant on the declaration of a state of emergency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states by President Goodluck Jonathan has substantially crippled the capacity and capability of the extreme sect to wreak violence on the horrendous scale hitherto witnessed, particularly in the North-East zone of the country. Yet, the multiple explosions that rocked the Sabon-Gari area of Kano on Monday night, claiming at least 45 lives, according to community leaders, shows that it is still a long way to victory over terror in the country, and there must be no room for complacency.

    As their fortified strongholds in the North-East are routed by the Nigerian military, the Islamic extremists will naturally get more desperate as well as operate more randomly, arbitrarily and unpredictably in a way that can maximally undermine the country’s cohesion.

    It is certainly not by accident that the explosions in Kano were targeted at the Sabon-Gari area, mostly populated by non-indigenes. The Kano State Governor, Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, was thus right when he described the barbaric act as an attack on Nigeria. In his words, “This attack on Sabon-Gari is an attack on Nigeria because Muslims and Christians are involved. Several people of different ethnic extractions have either lost their lives or are critically injured. Whoever did this thing targeted Nigeria”.

    Political leaders and security strategists should, therefore, expect that the extremist sect will, in future, most likely strike in ways that can incite inter-ethnic, religious and regional animosity and strife. It is important to keep on enlightening Nigerians to see through the sect’s antics and refuse to fall for any such bait by maintaining the peace no matter the provocation.

    Also instructive is the observation of a community leader in Kano, Prince Ajayi Memaiyetan, that “What happened is that for the past two months, we in Kano have been enjoying the peace of the graveyard. We are waiting for security agencies to give us details on what really happened … The truth is that the security is not as effective as before because of the lull in attacks”. Increasing successes of the security agencies in containing the Boko Haram menace will, therefore, breed fresh challenges of its own that the authorities must be ready to tackle by continuing to fine-tune their anti-terror strategies in accordance with changing situations. At no time can we afford a lull in security alertness in any part of the country because the war on terror cannot be over until the extremists are completely subdued.

    The recent arrest of 42 Boko Haram suspects in Lagos and Ogun states adds a dangerous dimension to the saga of terrorism in the country. It is an indication that the sect plans to extend its destructive activities, so far limited to the North, to other parts of the country.

    We commend the vigilance of the security agencies which, acting on intelligence reports, apprehended the suspects at Ibafo trailer park and Ileke new trailer garage in Ogun State, as well as such locations as Aviation Quarters, Mafoluku, Oshodi; Ketu/Mile 2 Motor Park; Orile Trailer Park and the Bar Beach, all in Lagos. This kind of efficiency was also evident in March and June, respectively, when Boko Haram suspects were arrested in Ijora-Badia and Kotankowa areas of Lagos before carrying out their alleged plan to bomb specified designations in the state.

    While urging the security agencies to remain vigilant as well as continue to sharpen their intelligence gathering and counter-insurgency skills, we also call on the political authorities to expedite the pace of economic recovery in order to create jobs, boost prosperity and reduce the capacity of terror groups to recruit new members.

     

  • Ogun: our mid-year budget performance fair

    •IGR hits N4b monthly

    THE  Ogun State Government yesterday said its half year budget performance is fair.

    It was optimistic that a better progress would be achieved by the third and fourth quarter.

    It said the improved performance is made possible through the aggressive and collective commitment by the government to the state’s Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR), which stands at an average of N4 billion monthly.

    The House of Assembly last December approved the 2013 budget of N211.8 billion sent to it by Governor Ibikunle Amosun.

    Addressing reporters in Abeokuta, the Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Mrs. Oluwande Muoyo, said the state recorded a budget performance of 61.26 per cent. She described it as a “marked improvement” over performances in previous years.

    Mrs. Muoyo said the Amosun administration was making progress in its development agenda as encapsulated in the five cardinal programmes of affordable and qualitative education, healthcare delivery, agriculture production and industrialisation, among others.

    Said she: “Our administration recognises the place of infrastructural development as a key stimulating economic growth, creating jobs and alleviating poverty. We have, therefore, committed efforts towards massive infrastructural regeneration and development across the state.”

    According to the commissioner, the good road network being developed in the state would stimulate commerce and inter-linkages between sectors, adding that security is provided to ensure the safety of life and property of the residents.

    She noted that the developmental programmes undertaken by the Amosun administration required funding.

    Mrs. Muoyo appealed to indigenes to perform their civic duties and prevail on their employers to pay taxes to the state.