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Tag: Ogun

  • Students, Turkish teacher, others kidnapped in Ogun

    Three female supervisors, a female cook, a female teacher and three students have been kidnapped by gunmen at the Nigerian Tulip International Colleges (NTIC) in Ogun State.

    They were kidnapped on Friday evening by a group of people armed with dangerous weapons who gained entrance to the girls’ section of the school through different means.

    The Spokesman of the school, Cemal Yigit, who confirmed the incident in a statement, said security agencies are currently on the kidnappers’ trail as the whole area has been cordoned off.

    ” We wish to assure parents and guardians that the students and teacher will return to safety soon as everything possible has been deployed to ensure that our teachers and students return unhurt by God’s grace,” Yigit stated.

  • Five Police officers rewarded for rejecting assassins’ bribe

    The Ogun State Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC), has rewarded five police officers serving in the state for intercepting and arresting suspected assassins – Chigozie Nworie and Kingsley Ofotele, fleeing to Anambra state after a botched assassination bid on a Lagos based businessman, Mr Tochukwu Onyebuchi.

    Announcing the reward which comprised of Letter of Commendation and cash gift for each of the officers at the Police Officers’ Mess, Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, on Saturday, the Chairman of PCRC in Ogun, Alh. Ibraheem Olaniyan, said the officers were honoured for their “patriotism, professionalism and shunning  bribe to save the life and property of a crime victim.”

    The Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, also said the officers acted in the spirit of the new mantra to the effect that ‘Change begins with me’ of the government at the centre.

    The beneficiary – officers including Afoloyan Sunday attached to the Highway unit of the force,  turned down the N53,000:00 bribe offered them by Chigozie Nworie and Kingsley Ofotele, last October 20 when they stopped them at the Ijebu – Ode stretch of the Sagamu – Ore expressway for a search while escaping with their victim’s Range Rover Jeep – a Sport Utility Vehicle(SUV).

    The two suspects and another yet to be apprehended, attacked their victim, Mr Tochukwu Onyebuchi, in his Compound at Ajah area of Lagos State using cutlass and rods before pouring acid on him, but Tochukwu survived the assassination.

    The suspects were allegedly hired by the victim’s wife, Oluchi Onyebuchi, to eliminate him and provided the weapons used by the suspects.

    The 32 years old Oluchi, a banker and who is now standing trial before a magistrate court in Lagos, in connection with the crime, allegedly arranged for the cutlass, Iron rod and acid used by the suspects and kept them somewhere in the husband’s compound in Lagos after she had described where the weapons were kept to the assailants.

    One of the honoured officer, Afoloyan Sunday, who expressed happiness for being rewarded for doing his job well, said the honour attested to the fact the eyes are watching everyone for any good or evil done by one.

    Afoloyan said he and colleagues shunned the N53,000 bribe offered them by the suspects and elected to do their work professionally not knowing that they were helping to save life but also to foil of the theft of the victim’s vehicle worth millions of naira.

    “On that fateful day, we stopped the jeep they were driving and asked them to come down. We saw that the side mirror was shattered and one the boys had bruises.

    “So, we became more curious and while searching the vehicle, blood stain was seen and the two the suspects were unable to give satisfactory account of themselves and we arrested them.

    “We saw many call cards from the jeep and made phone calls to numbers on the cards, and got to know that there was an attack on somebody.

    “Further calls revealed the victim and from there we got the assurance that we  had suspects in our hands and further investigation led to the arrest of a woman connected to the crime,” Afoloyan said.

  • Lassa Fever: Ogun places 396 people under surveillance

    The Ogun Commissioner for Health Dr. Babtunde Ipaye has said that 396 people that had primary and secondary contacts with the Assistant Chief Nursing Officer of Federal Medical Centre (FMC) Idi- Aba in Abeokuta, who died of Lassa fever have been traced and placed under surveillance in case they develop symptoms of the disease.

    Ipaye  made this known during an official commissioning of Shoremekun Memorial Hospital (Blue Star) at Ifo Local Government Area of the State, yesterday.

    The Commissioner said that the primary contacts are majorly members of the late victim’s family, while the secondary contacts are the victim’s co-workers in the hospital, particularly those in her department.

    He noted that none of the contacts have shown abnormal temperature  since they began monitoring them and said the medical officers attached to each of the contacts would continue to monitor until the specified period in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO) standard.

    The affected people could be medically adjudged to be free of the disease when they exceed the observation period.

    “All the 396 contacts have not shown any abnormal symptoms or signs of Lassa fever. Their temperature is under control and we  have stationed our monitoring officer with each of the contacts to continue monitoring throughout a specific period in line with the World Health Organisation standard,” he said.

    The Commissioner urged members of the public not to panic,  assuring that the government was on top of the situation.

    He however advised the people to cultivate high level of hygiene, keep their food away from rats and advised members of the public to report any case of malaria symptoms that may have exceeded three days to the nearest General Hospital, the Ministry of Health, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta or call the following dedicated lines; 09099140121 and 09099140122.

  • 2019: We know those who won’t be governor in Ogun – Amosun

    2019: We know those who won’t be governor in Ogun – Amosun

    Ogun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, on Friday said that while he does not know yet who will succeed him come May 29, 2019, he certainly knows those who won’t be governor in the state.

    Amosun said there are about seven persons aspiring and working to occupy the number one Office in the Gateway State in 2019, but added that none of them would become governor.

    The Governor, who spoke during an expanded meeting of the state chapter of the All Progressives Congress(APC)  caucus in Abeokuta, the state capital, said the seven aspirants – whom he did not mention by names, are simply wasting their time and resources.

    According to him, there are no qualities of a would – be – governor in any of them.

    Amosun, who was reacting to comments written about him on the social media regarding politics of Ogun State in 2019, said he was not bothered by such write – ups, dismissing the authors as “traitors and cowards.”

    In the comments on an alleged audio recording of a meeting last week, the governor was accused of abusing former Lagos State governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and claiming he will disgrace him.

    The Governor’s response came when Senator Lanre Tejuoso drew the attention of Amosun to social media report and wanted to seek clarification from him about it, but the Governor quickly cut-in and urged Tejuoso not to allow himself to be distracted.

    Amosun’s reaction in full: “Thank you Senator Tejuoso, my attention has been drawn to it. You should congratulate yourself. For me, we should be happy People are so afraid of whatever we do. They are just running round and it shows clearly that we are on ground and there is no problem.

    “They said they have audio and I said they are cowards or even traitors if they are inside the hall.  If they have audio, don’t wait for audio, this is me, I will not only give you the audio, do the video, I am here personally  and the way we are brought up, whatever we want to say, we will say it openly.

    “Those cowards or those traitors if they are trying to record something, I believe those people don’t have anything to do really and truly, you remember when I told you what we use to do truly.

    “We have responsibilities to govern, please don’t be distracted by somebody who said this or that but let me say this.  For us in Ogun State, I may not be able tell you quickly and say this is who our Governor will be, but we know those who will not be Governor of this state.

    “This is Ogun State, this is where I was born, my primary school, secondary school, and tertiary institution took place here. So, if I am speaking, I am speaking from the position of strength.

    “And I know with all our elders, even those that are political, I know those who will not be Governor. So, I know that at the appropriate time, we will get our people together and say this is your sons and daughters. We will pick and whoever we pick, is going to be Governor.

    “If you want something, there are several ways of getting it. Imagine people said that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu will finish him in Lagos and I said, don’t worry, they don’t know what they are saying.

    “I am from Ogun State, what will happen in another place I don’t know and I don’t talk about what I do not know. By the way, I say it all the time, that Asiwaju that you see, not money, he didn’t give me any money, no and I said it often “won ki fi oju olore gbole o,” (Don’t be ungrateful to your helper)  when I needed him, he stood by me.

    ” I talk to him, despite all of those things people will want to say. I think they are afraid to write something about what we are doing and what we are not doing.

    “So, the ones I feel they are correct is that we are confident. We are more than confident. This Ogun State, whoever  is probably backing them, they are just wasting their time. This Ogun State, we are no God, we are human,  but who will be Governor, by the time we say this is the person who will be Governor, our people will chose him because we will do our work,” Amosu stated.

     

  • Yuletide: Nigerians urged to watch source, quality of food intake

    Yuletide: Nigerians urged to watch source, quality of food intake

    The former Chief Medical Director, State Hospital, Ota, Ogun, Dr Tunde Banuso, has advised the Nigerians to watch the quality and sources of the food they eat during the festive period, in order to avoid food poisoning.

    Banuso told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Ota, Ogun that the step was necessary in order to prevent vomiting and contracting diarrhoea during the period.

    He also implored Nigerians to keep a clean environment during the Christmas and New Year period, in order to stay healthy.

    According to him, Nigerians need to be cautious in celebrating the Christmas and the New Year by desisting from excessive drinking and over-eating that could lead to some health problems.

    The former CMD, however, urged Nigerians to avoid taking too much alcohol that could lead to road crashes.

    “Nigerians should avoid the in-take of too much of alcohol that could result in loss of lives and property during the festive period, ” he said.

    Banuso, however, enjoined Nigerians to be careful on the major roads across the country, so as to prevent crashes during the period.

  • Ogun civil servants to be allocated land for farming

    Ogun State civil servants are to be allocated land for agricultural purposes.

    Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, stated this while speaking to reporters during the visit of the Presidential Task Force on Agricultural Commodities and Production led by Kebbi State Governor Abubakar Dakingari.

    Amosun said the government took the decision as a way to improve food production, ensuring food security and improving workers’ personal income.

    He added that the civil servants will only be free to work on their farms after office hours and public holidays as they will perform their duties during the statutory five working days.

    Amosun, therefore, counselled the state civil servants to take advantage of this opportunity when the scheme is fully on board.

    Explaining the government initiative further, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Steven Ipinniwa, said each  interested  civil servant  will be allocated two hectares of cleared land at designated sites while government will also assist them with input.

  • Amosun and Ogun workers

    Wednesday, December 21 was another red letter day in Ogun State. In one iconic gesture, the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration devoted a whopping sum of N12.5 billion to clear the arrears of gratuities and cooperative deductions of the workforce. A fragment of the amount goes to offset the severance package of the political office holders under the Otunba Gbenga Daniel-led administration and last dispensation. This is aside the payment of December 2016 salaries and bonus to the workers.

    This is big news for many reasons. Nigeria is in economic recession, exacerbated by the unprecedented plunge in the price of crude oil in the international market. We all know the crisis going on across the states of Nigeria in terms of salaries. While Ogun is not immune to the realities of the recession, the state government has never defaulted in the payment of monthly salaries to its workforce.

    Not many compatriots actually know that the Amosun government began payment of gratuities to retired workers from 2008. That is three clear years before he was elected in 2011. Some N24 billion was expended on this, including inherited deductions.

    I recall the argument then. “Mr Governor, please concentrate on your own tenure. You were not the one that owed those workers. That amount is enough to settle all gratuities during your own term!” But Amosun demurred, “These people are Ogun indigenes. They have served the state meritoriously. Yes, I did not owe them. But they have to be paid. They deserve to be paid!”

    No one, in its wildest imagination, had dreamt of the current recession. But the Amosun government was proactive. It introduced immediately Single Treasury Account and e-payment. This shot up the revenue of the state geometrically. In the Ministry of Commerce alone, the income generated suddenly rose from the average of N45 million per annum under the previous government to N550 million per  annum (representing 1,122% increase) within a space of one year  – all simply by blocking the loopholes in the old system and introducing a cashless policy! That percentage increase in one ministry alone is staggering! The new government considerably reduced the salaries of political office holders in addition to being among the few states having the lowest number of such office holders.

    Thus the Internally Generated Revenue of Ogun State rose from N750 million monthly under the former administration to N5 billion within a short space of time.

    The World Bank Doing Business Report of 2014, which rated Ogun among the five states that made the biggest strides in terms of ease of doing business in Nigeria, is enough testimony to the economic transformation brought about by the current administration. Today, Ogun has become the industrial hub of Nigeria due to the enabling environment provided for business by the Amosun government. Over 110 multi-billion naira companies have berthed in Ogun in the last five years. The latest is the Palms Shopping Malls, whose first plaza in Ogun State (Shoprite), the biggest in the country.

    Therefore, if Ogun has been able to stay afloat during the current financial difficulties in Nigeria, and has enjoyed industrial harmony, let the reader understand the road it had marched economically in the last five years. Ogun is also affected by the current storms but never overwhelmed!

    All the 36 states of the federation must appreciate the government of President Muhammadu Buhari for its magnanimity, transparency and commitment to due process. Unlike the previous practice, where money was paid to only PDP states, all the 36 states of the federation are benefiting from funds released by the Federal Government to cushion the effects of the current recession. And one must immediately add that things began to fall apart economically in Nigeria since 2013. Everything was blamed on oil theft by the then government. Nigerians now know the truth – how billions of naira meant for development were squandered. Had they been well invested, such investments would have stood the country in good stead during the current drastic fall in global oil prices. As I once observed, we sowed the wind under the previous governments and we are now reaping the whirlwind.

    As the Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Barr Taiwo Adeoluwa, opined at a press conference on Wednesday, the Amosun government will continue to abide by the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the labour unions. It has even now surpassed the expectations of the MoU.

    Another point that may not been known to the public is that the current government, in 2011, increased the salaries of workers. The rise almost doubled the wage bill of the state. And not just the state workers but local council’s as well. The argument of the governor has remained the same: “ Ogun workers are the best in the country, and there must be a commensurate reward for that.” Hence, Ogun, despite being number 25 out of 36 states in terms of the size of income from the Federation Account, pays the highest salaries to workers! This did not start today. It did not start yesterday, but since 2011. One is, therefore, shocked to the marrow that the present gesture to workers could be denigrated by some opposition elements in order to score a political point. But they are adept at hitting below the belt and scoring an offside goal. And we know the result of an offside goal – it comes to nought! While these detractors join the “Internet millipedes” to corrupt the public space with their half-truths and outright lies, Amosun is busy at his desk thinking and deploying strategies to further develop the state. As Ambassador Chris Cooter, Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria observed in April 2013, “The governor has been emphasizing that his administration is very particular about hard work. Here we are on a Sunday, I look at the construction going on, definitely, I am impressed. It is going to transform the state, no doubt. Whether it is canal, the road network, health or education, clearly, I can see a demonstration of the ‘can do’ attitude…”

    And while these “cold and timid souls” are asleep, snoring, Amosun is awake reading the feedback from the masses, who constantly send him messages about their views – and he reads them all and acts accordingly. Little wonder the bond that exists between him and the people.

    In the immortal words of Theodore Roosevelt in April, 1910, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly… who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

     

    • Soyombo writes from Abeokuta via densityshow@yahoo.com
  • Ogun okays N12.5b for, workers, 2,429 retirees, others

    Ogun okays N12.5b for, workers, 2,429 retirees, others

    The Ogun State government has released N12.5 billion to pay backlog of workers’ deductions, gratuities and severance package for political appointees, who served between 2007 and 2015, it was learnt.

    The government said it has approved December salaries, with 10 per cent bonus for state and council workers.

    Secretary to the State Government Taiwo Adeoluwa, who announced this at a briefing at the Oke-Mosan Governor’s Office, said the fund would address arrears of workers’ deductions as well as offset gratuities from November 2012 and January 2014.

     Adeoluwa explained that N5.5 billion would pay six months of the 12 months owed, N6 billion for  two years’ gratuities of 2,429 retirees, and N1 billion severance for political appointees between 2007 and 2011, and 2011 and 2015.

    “The governor pledged to pay a month arrears of the deductions every three months, and N200 million is to be released monthly to settle gratuities,” he said.

    The SSG said the state received N10.6 billion from the Federal Government as part of its share of the Paris Club refund.

    According to him, the government augmented the Paris Club refund with N1.9 billion sourced from savings to arrive at the N12.5 billion.

    He noted that the Federal Government directed states to set aside 50 per cent of the fund for workers emolument and the balance for projects “but the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration used it all on workers emolument because of its commitment to the welfare of public and civil servants”.

  • 1,000 receive C of Os in Ogun

    1,000 receive C of Os in Ogun

    The Ogun State government has said 70,000 applicants met the requirements for Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) and building plan approvals under the Homeowners’ Charter Programme.
    The Director-General, Bureau of Lands and Survey, Biyi Ismail, stated this during the presentation of title documents to another batch of 1,000 beneficiaries at the Arcade Ground, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta.
    “There were more than 150,000 applicants that came in under the programme but 70,000 of those that applied met the requirement and qualified.’’ he said.
    The Director-General reiterated that there was tremendous improvement on the C of O processing and that it would get better by next year.
    Commissioner for Urban and Physical Planning Mrs. Ronke Sokefun assured that issuance of C of O would continue until every applicant that met the requirements collect their title documents.

  • Ogun: Ten-lane road as a metaphor

    Ogun: Ten-lane road as a metaphor

    “We have built this six-lane road but made the bridge a ten-lane. Another whiz kid may come in ten or twenty years’ time and decide to expand this road to ten lanes. He will not need to break and reconstruct the bridge.”

    That was the voice of the Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, at the Isale-Oko bridge in Sagamu, during the “see-with-your-own-eyes tour” with media executives in 2014. It was equally the most affecting moment of the trip to the three senatorial districts of the state.
    All the international standard highways constructed by the Amosun administration across Ogun State have 10-lane bridges (built over rivers). For those familiar with highway construction, the bulk of the money goes to the construction of bridges once there are rivers on the road. A bridge can take as much as 30 per cent of the entire cost of a road. While you can easily construct a motorway on a dry land, it is a colossal economic cost to have to destroy a bridge in order to expand it from, say, four lanes to six lanes or from six to 10 lanes.
    The foresight of Governor Amosun therefore deserves plaudits. And this point was not lost on the editors who saw the massive infrastructural development across the state and futuristic considerations of the governor.
    It can then be safely concluded that Amosun’s 10-lane bridge or the ongoing Abeokuta-Sagamu 10-lane road is a metaphor for foresight, development and prosperity.
    Of course, I have heard and read the “lectures” of the opposition elements. But wait a minute! Were they the ones that taught Amosun how to raise the Internally Generated Revenue of Ogun State from a paltry sum of N750m per month he inherited to a whopping N5 billion per month within a space of two years without imposing any burden on the people of the state but simply blocking the loopholes through the introduction of cashless system? Does Amosun need any sermon from the opposition on when to complete a particular project or the other? The governor, a grassroots man par excellence, is in constant touch with his people and they know he will deliver on those promises.
    Do these opposition elements have any facts about the Abeokuta-Sagamu highway? Do they know the matrix and the socio-economic calculus that made the construction imperative at this time?
    But does it really matter for these critics? I remember one notable politician who stated at a public forum that he was not aware of a road construction in his area, yet his own house directly overlooks a major six-lane road complete with modern furniture, constructed by the Amosun government! That is the ridiculous level criticisms have attained in our country. No explanation about the content and character of the Sagamu-Abeokuta motorway or any project for that matter will satisfy them. They believe in politics of “let’s share it”, but Amosun is an apostle of politics of “let’s develop the state!”
    By way of analogy, and only for illustration purpose, these hidebound politicians still believe that in this 21st century, the best way to fight wars is the use of sticks, stones, bows and arrows. They can continue in such mentality. But we know we are in the age of armoured tanks, submarines, ballistic missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, etc. They may continue to use their hoes and cutlasses to farm. But we will make use of CAT bulldozers, MF 275 Xtra tractors, Baldan Disc Ploughs, Baldan Disc Harrows, Row-planters, etc. provided by the Amosun administration. Let them continue to use their pin-hole cameras, abacus or pascal’s calculators but we will scale up the use of digital cameras and computers. Indeed, they may continue to build and renovate their “face-me-I-face-you” roads, but the Amosun government will continue to build six-lane highways complete with modern furniture, flyovers and ten-lanes! The future belongs to those who prepare for it today.
    Let there be no mistake about it. Criticisms, of course, are expected in a democracy. I recall the governor often tells journalists to put public officials on their toes. But what is clearly against the grain in a democracy is destructive criticisms, which appear to be the stock-in-trade of some of our politicians.
    We should have expected these politicians to learn from history. You do not wait for tomorrow before you plan for it. Our revered leader, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, was equally criticised for being ahead of his time. When he mooted the idea of free education, he was criticised.
    When Awo built the first industrial and housing estates in Nigeria, what was the socio-economic situation at the time? When he established the first television service in Africa, how many Nigerians at the time had television sets? When he constructed the Liberty Stadium, the first in Nigeria, what was Western Region’s position in the world in relation to sports or how many children of the region were in school? Yet, but for the mismanagement of the country that followed, which greatly upset the golden era that Awo had launched the region into and the pace of its developmentt, the Western Region should have been like Europe today.
    But for the Awolowo-like vision of Amosun, Ogun Sate would have remained today the narrow and myopic image of the opposition elements. They want foreign investors to come, and in the same breath want the state to remain a 17th century backwoods of civilization by conduct! Do investors flock to a place that lacks modern infrastructure and semblance of a forward-looking government?!
    These critics now move about freely in the state without fear of insecurity, yet when Amosun bought the very latest technology of Armoured Personnel Carriers (APCs) in 2012 at a discounted price, the first of such APCs in Nigeria, they criticised him for not buying relics of outdated-technology World War II APCs that would work this hour and break down the next hour, thereby gulping millions of naira to maintain, yet not giving value for money!
    Our people do not have such a “pound-foolish-and-kobo-wise” mentality and Amosun will not be the governor to promote such. He won’t spend the hard-earned money of the people of Ogun State to maintain a completely failed highway in order to pander to the wimps and caprices of a few politicians.
    The future, as earlier observed, belongs to those who prepare for it today. Amosun’s 10-lane project remains a metaphor for foresight, development and prosperity.
    I shall end this exercise with a paraphrase of a portion of Awo’s address in the heyday of the Western Region:
    This government will press forward in the execution of the laudable projects which our people have overwhelmingly endorsed, confident also that our beloved and trusting masses, when they begin to enjoy the delectable fruits of the current investments and sacrifices, will now and in future years, remember us with gratitude and adoration as their faithful and devoted servants, and their only true friends and benefactors.
    **Soyombo, Special Assistant on Media to the Governor of Ogun State, sent this piece via densityshow@yahoo.com