The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ogun

  • Ogun adopts ‘Safe care campaign’

    The Ogun State Government has adopted the “adoption and adaptation’ of SafeCare” basic healthcare standards to ensure the peoples’ well-being.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun, said this would address the problems of hospitals holistically, and ensure better services.

    Amosun, represented by the Commissioner for Health, Dr Babatunde Ipaye, spoke during the adoption of safe care standards for quality improvement.

    He said there was the need to build standards that are synonymous with what are obtainable internationally in the sector.

    “Our objectives are to adopt and adapt quality improvement standards for improved service delivery in all healthcare facilities in Ogun State,” he said.

    Besides, health environment should be friendly to achieve quality care.

    He underscored the importance of standard quality in healthcare system.

    Amosun said: “We should begin to serve the people conscientiously. Moreover, the way we present ourselves represents who we are”.

    Country Director, PharmAccess Foundation, Njide Ndili, said Ogun was the first state to adopt the Safe Care standards, describing it as a “milestone”.

    She said her organisation, a Dutch non-governmental organisation (NGO), supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DfID), was committed to supporting the state to achieve sanity in the sector.

    According to her, there was Medical Credit Fund from PharmAccess with which the state can begin the programme.

    “The reality, however, is that state should take ownership of the programme,” she added.

    Moreover, the Society for Family Health (SFH), Marie Stopes and International Finance Corporation (IFC) are also collaborating to make the programme a success.

    Ndili  said other states, such as Kwara, Delta and Lagos, among others are on the Safe Care programme, stressing that Ogun State was the only state that has fully adopted and adapted the standards.

    “We have about 400 facilities using Safe Care standards presently in Nigeria,” she said.

    She said the initiative is long term, addin that it was a five-year programme ending next year.

    “The project started three years ago, so it will still run for another two years,” she said.

    The Country Director said PharmAccess will train officials of the state to be able to carry out the assessment of the facilities, and generate improvement plans on their own.

    African Health Market for Equity (AHME) Lead, Dr Olamide Okulaja said his organisation’s aim was to help address African health market’s impediments.

    He continued: “We want to provide healthcare for the downtrodden in the society. The poor should be remembered always”.

  • Police arrest militant leaders in Ogun

    The Police have arrested four leaders of a militant group behind attacks and damaging of facilities belonging to Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) / Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in Arepo,  Ogun State.

    The suspects –  Pere Ugbozuwa, Audu Tony, Ifeanyi Eze and Ojogo Ezekiel – were apprehended during a special operation coordinated by Commissioner of Police Abdulmajid Ali.

    Police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi, who said this in statement yesterday, stated that Ugbozuwa(40), who is the secretary of the militants and three others, were already being interrogated at the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Abeokuta.

    Adejobi said the suspects, who had given out vital information, were responsible for killings, damaging of PPMC/NNPC pipelines and criminal acts at Arepo for years.

    According to him, Ogun State Police Command had deployed operatives from the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Police Mobile Force, Safer Highway and other anti-crime units to tackle hoodlums in the creek of Arepo with two Armoured Personnel Carriers (APC).

    He said the operatives were deployed last Friday.

    Other vandals arrested included Olamilekan Akinyemi and Ramon Mudashiru.

    They were apprehended near the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry, on Lagos – Ibadan Expressway on Saturday with a Ford bus, marked LAGOS MUS 887 XF, loaded with 14 pieces of 200 litre drums and several jerry cans of petrol.

  • Gunmen kidnap ex – Deputy Speaker’s wife, daughter in Ogun

    Gunmen have abducted the Director of Information in Odogbolu Local Government Council of Ogun state, Mrs Nofisat Oshin, and her daughter,  Miss Afolabi Oshin.

    They were whisked away to an unknown destination at gun – point.

    Nofisat and Afolabi are the wife and daughter of the former Deputy Speaker, Ogun State House of Assembly (OGHA), Dr Tokunboh Oshin.

    The duo were abducted by people suspected to be kidnappers along Akobi street in Ijebu – Ode on Thursday around 8pm while the victims’ car was later abandoned at Okunowa community in Odogbolu Local Government.

    The Ogun Council of Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) has condemned the abduction, describing it as “barbaric act.”

    In a statement by the Acting Chairman of NUJ in the state, Soji Amosu, he said Nofisat is one of the NUJ members, adding that her whereabout and the daughter remained unknown.

    Amosu urged the “security agencies  and the state government to fish out the perpetrators of the barbaric act.”

  • MSSN Ogun gets new leaders

    The Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria, Ogun State Area Unit has appointed Ustadh Yahya Abiodun Hassan as the new Amir (President) to manage the affairs of the organisation in Ogun State for the next three years.

    The appointment of Ustadh Hassan was announced after the dissolution of the former executive headed by Mallam Saheed Hamisu at a state congress held in Sagamu.

    Other members of the executive are: Ustadh Miftaudeen Rufai, Vice-President Training, Ustadh Sadeeq Uthman, General Secretary, Mr Tijani  Misbahudeen Public Relations Officer (Media Affairs), Dr Yinusa Ganiyu, Public Relations Officer, (Inter-organisational Affairs) and Hajiya Hafsah Ibrahim, Coordinator, Female Affairs, among others.

    Speaking at the conference, Dr Yinusa AbdulGaniyy, a lecturer in the Department of Business Administration, Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) Ago-Iwoye, enjoined the new leaders to pursue a developmental agenda.

    AbdulGaniyy said MSSN impact has not been significantly felt in the state, urging the executive to run an inclusive administration.

    In his inaugural speech, Ustadh Hassan said he accepted the mandate as a divine call to national service, adding that he will discharge his responsibilities within the framework of Quranic and prophetic guidance.

    Youth development, he said, will be the utmost focus of his administration as it is key in achieving good governance, societal transformation and national development.

    He extended the hands of cooperation to the dissolved cabinet, saying “I appeal to all members of the dissolved Executive Members to come and let us work together to take this great society to a greater height.”

     

  • Sheriff remains our leader, says Ogun PDP

    Sheriff remains our leader, says Ogun PDP

    Ogun State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said Senator Ali Modu Sheriff is still the national chairman of the party. It said that it will not support the caretaker committee headed by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, a former governor of Kaduna State.

    The chapter said that it also stands by the rule of law on the matter, adding that the Port-Harcourt national convention of the party was invalid.

    Its factional Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Adeniji, said in a statement that two separate court orders barred the conduct of elections into three and 18 offices respectively.

    He said the National Chairman postponed the convention on the basis of the court order. Citing the Article 33 of the PDP constitution (as amended 2012), he said: “No convention of PDP can stand without the presence and convocation of same by the National Chairman.”

    “The gathering in Abuja and a caretaker committee purportedly constituted on the Port-Harcourt convention ground after the Chairman’s press briefing suspending the convention, is ‘ultra vires’, illegal, null and void and of no binding effect.

    “Ogun PDP clearly stands by the rule of law and consequently, we support the National Working Committee under the leadership of Ali Modu Sheriff.

    “The aborted Port-Harcourt national convention of our party remains suspended and invalid. Two separate court orders barred the conduct of elections into three offices and 18 offices respectively and for this reason, the National Chairman postponed the convention; making it ‘fait accompli’. Subject to article 33 of the PDP constitution (as amended 2012), no convention of our party can stand without the presence and convocation of same by the National Chairman.

    Adeniji said: “The gathering in Abuja and a caretaker committee purportedly constituted at the Port-Harcourt convention ground after the Chairman’s press briefing suspending the convention, is ‘ultra vires’, illegal, null and void and of no binding effect. Ogun PDP clearly stands by the rule of law and consequently, we support the National Working Committee, under the leadership of Sen. Ali Modu Sheriff.”

    He added” The State Executive Committee also adjudged the congresses in Ogun state that brought into office as very successful, remain valid and that the new executives is a composition of credible people with the required capacities for their various offices.

    It also lauded Senator Buruji Kashamu for his unwavering commitment to sustain the PDP in Ogun State in the last few years, despite the distraction by detractors.

  • Ogun: Counting the gains from Investors’ Forum

    Four years after holding the first Ogun State Investors’ Forum, about 100 firms with investment in excess of over $200 million, have settled in Ogun State. Presently, China’s investment in the state has hit $2.1billion; its industrial zone ranked as the best in the country, coupled with her ranking as the third best in ease of doing business, are enough carrots to dangle before a discerning investor. MUYIWA LUCAS writes that the third in the investor’s forum series, which held last week in Abeokuta, may further consolidate the state’s desire to be the industrial hub of the country.

    For two days, the business community both locally and internationally, converged in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, for the third edition of the  Ogun State Investors’ Forum. The event, which started in 2012, has now become a medium for investors and other business related stakeholders to foster their nest as they seek means of expanding or setting up their businesses. This year’s edition was themed: “Emerging Economic Powerhouse” with three areas of focus: Agriculture, Environment and Transportation

    Through this forum, the state has been able to showcase its investment potentials, and also telling potential and existing investors that it has considerably enabled its environment for investment. Besides, it also presents a means of sentising the public that it is ready and open for business.

    “We want to showcase to the world the opportunities that abound in Ogun State; we want to come together to look at areas of mutual benefits for us and potential investors”, says Ibikunle Amosu, the state governor.

    But how well has the three editions of this forum impacted the fortunes of the state? Amosun revealed that more than at any time in the state’s 40 years history, industries and entrepreneurs from within Africa and around the world are now choosing Ogun State as their preferred investment destination.

    Available statistics from the state indicate that between the time the first investors’ forum held in 2012 and last week, the number of new companies operating in the state has hit 90 and may increase to 100 before the end of the year. These are companies that have invested between $100 and $200 million each in the state’s economy; some of these companies are said to have even recorded up to a billion-dollar investment.

    Besides, as at last April, the state has attracted a $2.1 billion of investment from China, which was directed mainly towards the development of the planned railways and Free Trade Zones development in the state. Besides, the state’s industrial zone ranked first in 2014; new investment into the state in 2014 was valued at N514. 87 billion which had an increase of N376.57 billion from 2013 while the total investment in the state by the end of 2014 stood at N691.77 billion. The state also emerged first in terms of states that were able to grow their IGR in 2015.

    The fallout of the several fora, has also enabled the state to secure the technical cooperation of several of the world’s leading international development agencies. In this regard, Amosun revealed that the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), has been integral in assisting to streamline the state’s administrative procedures to ensure that reforms that foster business growth were adopted and implemented by the government, understood and utilised by the public. The French Development Agency (AFD), DFID, The World Bank, IFC, AFC, ADB and several other development agencies at different times have also played a vital role in the business environment of the state.

    The result of these efforts, perhaps, influenced the ranking of the state by the World Bank in its “Doing Business” assessment – the ease of opening businesses – from 36th position in 2010 to 5th in 2014.

    All these may have explained why the state, under Amosun, has coined a cliché for herself as “The emerging industrial hub in Nigeria.”

    Yet, more investment is needed to realise the full potential of the State. The State’s Master Plan, which is the statutory policy of government guiding the physical development of the State, captures the many areas where the discerning investor may wish to put his or her money to secure attractive returns.

    Amosun said the choice of this year’s theme was apt as it gave consideration to key areas that support investment- infrastructure, environment, agriculture and transportation.  “We have realised that environment affects us, our lives and living and takes centre stage, especially now, with new technology, innovation and climate change”, the governor noted.

     

    Agriculture

     

    The State’s desire to derive its economy through agriculture, again, proved central to the forum. This is why in the past three editions, the sector has always featured prominently. Ogun State Commissioner for agriculture, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, while urging investments in this area of the economy, explained that the state is endowed with favourable climate and good vegetation for all year round cultivation of various cash and food crops as well as livestock rearing. For instance, the southern part of the state provides evergreen forest vegetation and soil most suitable for the cultivation of cash and food crops like oil palm, rice, kola- nut, cocoa, cotton, cassava, cocoyam and vegetables. While in the northern part is a vast grazing savannah land that is very ideal for animal husbandry. In addition to this, there are forest reserves, rivers and lagoons. Other natural resources include forest and large quantities of mineral deposits, such as limestone, phosphate, granite stone, gypsum, bauxite, bitumen, feldspar, clay, glass sand, kaolin, quartz, tar sand and gemstones.

    Based on this, Sokefun noted that agriculture and agro-industry provide immense investment and business opportunities for international and indigenous investors. “ Our vision for agriculture includes expansion into agro-processing industries along the value chain. Presently only about 20 per cent of farm produce is processed, the rest is either sold as cash crops or left to rot due to insufficient processing capacity,” she said, noting that some of the areas that present the most viable business opportunities for investors are palm oil /palm kernel, rubber, aquaculture, and livestock.

    Indeed, with available arable land of 1,204,000 hectares (Ha) representing 74 per cent of the State’s entire land area; cultivated land area of 350,000 ha, which is a paltry 29 per cent of arable land area presently under cultivation, and  a yet to be cultivated area of 854,840 ha , or 71 per cent, Sokefun is convinced that vast opportunity beckons.

    She revealed that her state is the first in the country to adopt an Agro-Politan Development Strategy. This is a development paradigm that ensures that millions of people citizens engaged in the agricultural value chain are able to prosper where they are located.

    “The Agro-Politan Development Strategy emphasises the localisation of primary production and manufacture. The goal is to enhance the incomes and welfare of the rural areas through the acceleration of integrated regional development. By this, we will embark on rural and urban linkages that encourage development of agric-business network. The objective is a populace-based, competitive, sustainable and decentralised agro-politan region,” she assured.

  • Court hears suit against Ogun lawmaker June 6

    Some members of the Remo North state constituency in Ogun State have sued a House of Assembly member, Adebiyi Adeleye at the Federal High Court in Abeokuta, for allegedly presenting a forged certificate to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of last April 11 election.

    Wasiu Gbadebo and Onamuyiwa Olumuyiwa filed the suit for themselves and on behalf of “concerned members” of the constituency. INEC is the first defendant.

    The plaintiffs, through their lawyer Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), is praying the court to determine whether Adeleye, by virtue of Section 107(1)(i) and 109(1) (b) of the 1999 Constitution and Section 118(1)(k) of the Electoral Act, 2010, is a fit and proper person to represent Remo North Constituency.

    They urged the court to hold that the lawmaker allegedly presented a false School Leaving Certificate to INEC as contained in Form CF- 001 (Personal Particulars of Candidate).

    They said he also gave false information to INEC on oath by swearing that he was born on July 16, 1974, contrary to his true date of birth, which is December 17, 1974.

    The plaintiffs also accused him of presenting a questionable Ordinary National Diploma (OND) in Fisheries Technology as an Arts student, with only one credit in his West African Examination Council (WAEC) result.

    This, they said, fell short of the requirements into a science oriented school such as Federal College of Freshwater Fisheries Technology, New Bussa, Niger State, and is contrary to Section 107(1) of the Constitution and other extant laws.

    They prayed the court to determine whether, by virtue of the overwhelming evidence against the second defendant, the court can make an order declaring his seat vacant and a fresh election conducted by INEC.

    It was learnt that Adeleye is yet to respond to the suit filed on April 12

    The case was adjourned till June 6.

     

  • Ogun to construct 550 housing units

    Ogun to construct 550 housing units

    The Ogun State Government says it has put all machineries in place to construct 550-gated housing project at Idi-Aba in Abeokuta, the state capital in its mission towards providing affordable and ample shelter for its citizens.

    Special Adviser to the Governor on Housing Development and General Manager of the State Housing Corporation, Arch. Jumoke Akinwunmi disclosed this in a chat with newsmen in Abeokuta.

    She stated that the housing units would sit on 26 hectares of land along Ajebo Estate.

    She added that the corporation would harness the topographical feature of the site, with its high, medium and low densities to keep the concept of environmental sustainability for the benefits of residents.

    The General Manager, who described the project as ”smart value – for money” said it would be designed as two and three bedroom flats, terraces, semi-detached and fully detached bungalows with self-built homes on serviced plots.

    ”This scheme is designed to set a new benchmark in the local real estate market, create competitiveness and ease  demand for residential and commercial space for physical developments”, she noted.

    According to Akinwunmi, the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration ”has passion to create new benchmark that would stand the test of quality and affordability, towards delivering another gated estate, equipped with modern facilities ranging from central water system, back-up power supply, road networks to substantial landscaping.’.

     

  • Ogun 160-unit workers’ estate ready

    The Ogun State government has completed 160 units of two- and three-bedroom detached and semi-detached bungalows for its employees.

    The wife of the President, Hajia Aisha Buhari, inaugurated the Phase 1 of the estate named after the state’s first Head of Service, Chief Adedotun Adedeji Kayode Degun (AAK Degun MITROS Estate).

    Hajia Buhari lauded the state government for the estate located in Laderin, Abeokuta.

    Represented by the Minister for Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, Hajia Buhari praised the vision of the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration in providing standard housing for civil servants, urging workers to continue to support the mission to rebuild the state.

    She said the estate was a remarkable achievement for the administration, noting that the initiative would have a  great impact on the socio-economic development of the state.

    Amosun said the estate would reduce the hardship civil servants face to have a home of their own, adding that it would avail them the opportunity to access decent homes at affordable cost.

    He added that the project was in partial fulfillment of his mandate on home ownership, which seeks to deliver fully serviced homes to  its workforce.

    Amosun said the houses, which are fully serviced, have been subsidised, explaining that the first phase comprised 68 units of 2-bedroom semi-detached flats and 92 units of 3-bedroom semi-detached.

    Also speaking, the Special Adviser on Housing Development and General Manager of Ogun State Housing Corporation Mrs. Jumoke Akinwunmi appreciated those that contributed to the success of the estate, adding that 30 per cent of the project had been subsidised by Ogun State Government. All the housing units are ready with modern and the facilities.

    Akinwunmi, an architect, noted that the achievement was an affirmation that the corporation could build houses that would be affordable for the civil servants.

    Four former Heads of Service in the State, Chief Babatunde Osokoya, Mr. Godwin Ogun, Princess Iyabo Odulate-Yusuf and Mrs. Modupe Adekunle who also witnessed the commissioning, commended the efforts of the State Government on its home ownership scheme.

    The heads of service in their separate remarks, lauded the State Governments achievements in providing affordable housing and urban development, while the current Head of Service, Elder Sola Adeyemi applauded Government for the gesture.

  • Ogun: Investors’ Destination of Choice

    You do not attract investments to your state by folding your arms and expecting investors to knock on your doors. You have to showcase what you have. It is equally not enough for you to advertise and ask investors to come when you have a bureaucratic system that makes it easier for the proverbial camel to pass through the eye of the needle than for a prospective investor to establish business in your state. And you do not advertise for the sake of it. If a system does not work or yield returns, you reform or dump it outright.

    Following the First Ogun State Investors’ Forum in 2012, over 40 major industries berthed in the state. After the 2014 edition, greater number of companies were established. These are multi-billion naira investments that have created hundreds of thousands of direct and indirect jobs in Ogun State. In 2014 alone, Ogun attracted investments worth N690 billion. As far as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria is concerned, Ogun is now the industrial hub of Nigeria by virtue of the massive inflow of investments into the state in the last five years.

    What are the conditions that make the state so attractive to business in the last five years? First and foremost is the vision of the Ogun State governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun. Without vision nothing can be achieved, even if you have all the resources in this world. The vision of the governor to move the state from the backwoods of civilization to the 21st century has resulted in doing things differently in the state.  To cite one example in parenthesis, the introduction of e-payment or cashless system suddenly raised the Internally Generated Revenue of the Ministry of Commerce 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 of the Amosun administration!

    Of course, it is no longer news that the current government inherited a state defined by insecurity. So the first step taken by the Amosun administration was to contain the menace because no sensible investor will bring their investments to an insecure environment. The next was to create (further) an environment conducive to investments by removing all identified bottlenecks that drive away investors as well as build infrastructure that will foster business development. It is apt at this juncture to quote the assessment by the World Bank.

    In its biennial report, Doing Business in Nigeria 2014, the global financial institution reports that “Ogun, one of the lowest ranked overall performers in both 2008 and 2010, is one of the top reforming states in 2014”. It rates Ogun, out of 35 states and FCT, as one of the five states “that made the biggest strides towards the national frontier of good practices.”

    According to the 2014 Report, “Thanks to a concerted effort across federal and state authorities, and in collaboration with the private sector, Ogun improved on three of the four Doing Business indicators benchmarked. The construction permitting system was radically overhauled, with the state government authorities decentralising the approval system and a new committee monitoring delays. Building permit applications and payments can now be made simultaneously in district offices. Private professionals issue environmental-impact assessments in accordance with the conditions and templates set out in a framework agreement. The certificate of completion is issued on the spot, immediately following the final inspection.”

    To begin a business in Ogun State, according to World Bank, “entrepreneurs no longer need to travel to Ibadan or Lagos, thanks to the Federal Inland Revenue Service’s new stamp duty office in Abeokuta. In addition, the state Ministry of Commerce and Industry abolished the requirement for a physical inspection of the business premises – today, a proof of company address, such as a utility bill, is sufficient. A business premises permit is issued on the spot upon payment of the fee. Finally, Ogun’s Bureau of Lands digitalised property records with the aim of enabling electronic title searches and making property registration more efficient.”

    In spite of the successes recorded so far, the Ogun State Government is not resting on its oars. “Since that 2014 Report,” said Governor Ibikunle Amosun at the opening ceremony of the Third Ogun State Investors’ Forum in Abeokuta on Monday, “we have expanded the Bureau of Urban and Physical Planning into a full-fledged ministry and have adopted reforms that fast track the process for obtaining development permits from six weeks to two and land clearance permits to one week. We have also established zonal offices in each of the Local Government Areas so that we can bring government services closer to the people. These partnerships will ensure speedy processing of our land documents (such as Certificate of Occupancy, Governor’s Consent and registration of titles). Our Geographical Information System (GIS) platform is being improved to enable ease of land management and services. With these developments, our Bureau now ranks among the best in the country.”

    The governor added that “To make it easier for investors to take full advantage of the vast opportunities in Ogun State, we are further expanding the services offered by the One-Stop-Shop that was launched in 2012. The One -Stop-Shop will enable potential and existing investors to go to only one office in order to process Urban and Physical Planning permits; to access the Bureau of Lands to conduct transactions such as land title searches, to purchase land and obtain certificates of occupancy/Governor’s consent; to access the Internal Revenue Service; to acquire land for agriculture; and finally to access the Legal Advisory Desk – all under one roof. The One-Stop-Shop will assign a dedicated officer as an advocate, who will ensure that things progress efficiently…”

    There is no doubt that Ogun State, under the current government, is taking giant leaps economically into the 21st century. It is indeed the “Emerging Economic Power House” in the country. What is expected of citizens of the state is to continue to co-operate with the government in order to sustain the momentum of development for the benefit of the present and future generations.

     

    • Soyombo, a media practitioner, sent this piece from Abeokuta.