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Tag: Ondo state

  • Akeredolu lauds military for Nigeria’s unity

    Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has commended the Nigerian Military for its efforts at keeping Nigeria united as an indivisible entity.

    Akeredolu made the commendation while hosting the General Officer Commanding (GOC) 2 Division of the Nigerian Army in Ibadan, Maj.-Gen. Fidelis Azinta, on Friday in Akure.

    The governor noted that if military had not fought wars and other battles to keep the country as one, the unity being enjoyed today could not have been possible.

    “All of us in this country hold the existence of Nigeria to the military which has brought all of us together.

    “We look up to the Military as the last hope of this nation in terms of security. You have done your best and fought many wars to keep Nigeria united as one.

    “We appreciate all your efforts and may the labour of your heroes past never be in vain,” he said.

    According to him, no part of the country is being excluded in military administration.

    He advised Nigerians to see themselves as one like military personnel, adding that there was no way Nigeria could be divided for any reason.

    Read Also: Akeredolu hails Fed Poly

    The governor described 32 Artillery Brigade, Owena, Akure, which falls under the division, as a tremendous assistance to the state government.

    Akeredolu, therefore, appealed to the GOC to consider possibility of building an estate on unused expanse of land in the brigade as it was done in the military division in Ibadan.

    He also enjoined Azinta to give the land to individuals who might be interested in temporary farming for use.

    Earlier, the GOC lauded the governor for honour accorded to the division by gracing the closing ceremony of the 2 Division Inter-Brigade Combat Proficiency Competitions 2018 of the Nigerian Army.

    He assured the governor that the brigade would do everything possible to ensure safety of lives and property in the state.

    “We want to assure you that with your support, together with other security agencies, we will flush out criminal elements out of the state,” he promised.

     

    NAN

     

  • Court slams death penalty on armed robber in Ondo

    Ondo State High Court sitting in Akure, the state capital on Thursday sentenced one James Ofem, an armed robbery culprit, to death by hanging.

    Ofem was part of the notorious robbery gang terrorizing residents and mostly motorists on the Ondo/ Ore road and had been the security watch list for a long time.

    Presiding Judge, Justice Williams Olamide, who delivered the judgement said that Ofem, the convict, was guilty of the two count charge of conspiracy and armed robbery made against him.

    He said that the witnesses brought to court to testify on the case made allusion to use of arms in the armed robbery attacks executed by Ofem.

    According to Justice Olamide, the prosecution had proven the robbery case beyond reasonable doubt with lot evidences that the accused was indeed guilty of the crime.

    Wale Bamisile, the Prosecutor from Department of Public Prosecution, (DPP) in the Ondo State Ministry of Justice had recalled how Ofem with his gang on July 12, 2017 conspired to robbed Adamu Mustapha off his CoolPad phone, Infinix and Nokia handsets.

    Read Also: Suspected fake drug dealer arrested in Ondo

    Another witness, Sergeant Franklin Alabi of Enuowa Police Station who tendered the exhibit recovered from the suspect before the court noted that investigation into the case all revealed that the culprit was found culpable in the robbery case.

    He narrated how the police received a distress call about the robbery attack which took place on the Ore road which prompted the anti-robbery squad to swing into action.

    Adamu Mustapha, who was also in the court and served as witness to corroborate the prosecutor account, explained that he and a motor-boy were waylaid by Ofem’s robbery gang around the liyetu village on the Ondo/Ore road.

    Mustapha added that the gang laid barricade on the road and their bus rammed into it while the hoodlums emerged from the bush, beat them mercilessly and robbed two of them of their personal belongings.

    According to him, “I and my motorboy ran into a barricade on the Ondo/Ore road and suddenly from no where the armed robbers emerged, they beat us mercilessly and in the process robbed us of our clothes, phones and a sum of N52, 710.

    “We reported the case to the Police Station at Enuowa Division in Ondo town and few days later they called us that they have recovered stolen items and also arrested the culprits”

  • Fake drug dealer apprehended in Ondo

    A suspected quack drug dealer, Olowolayemo Ifetayo is now in security operatives’ custody in Ondo state.

    To this end, the State Government has vowed to deal decisively with quarks, fake and counterfeit drug dealers in the state.

    Commissioner for health, Dr Wahab Adegbenro said  government holds the lives of residents seriously and would not allow anybody toil with it in the name of making money.

    Adegbenro said government would not hesitate to prosecute those operating hospitals under the guise of Patient Medicine Store and endangering the lives of residents.

    The commissioner was represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr Dipo Durojaye who spoke after a monitoring exercise by the Task Force on Counterfeit and Fake Drugs in Akure.

    He advised residents to be careful where they seek Medicare, as there are accredited facilities all around where they can seek Medicare when the need arises.

    Read Also: Rain washes off bridge, cuts off community in Ondo

    The Health commissioner also warns quarks and fake drugs dealers that it would not be business as usual while appealing to patient medicine dealers to play the game by the rules.

    Ifetayo who was nabbed during the monitoring exercise was paraded before journalists.

    Various control and banned drugs injections such as Enagin were found in his possession.

    He was suspected to have been carrying out various   nefarious activities such as administering of drips,   transfusing blood with wrong instruments, injecting his victims with banned and dangerous injections, disposal of Medical wastes in an unlawful manner among others.

    Ifetayo was handed over to law enforcement agents to remand for prosecution.

  • ‘Olanusi’s comment on indirect primary misleading’

    The Ondo State government has condemned a statement credited to former deputy governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Ali Olanusi.

    It described the statement as “a mix of mischief and double speak”.

    Reports had said Olanusi purportedly condemned the adoption of indirect primary by the state APC ahead of next year’s general elections.

    But a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Yemi Olowolabi, noted that Olanusi’s statement was “intricately woven to misinform, mislead and manipulate sacred facts to achieve clearly perverted political goals”.

    The government said: “Our attention has been drawn to reports credited to …Alhaji Olanusi, who purportedly condemned the adoption of indirect primary by the state chapter of the APC ahead of next year’s general elections. This report smells like a mix of mischief and doublespeak intricately woven to misinform, mislead and manipulate sacred facts to achieve clearly perverted political goals.

    “For the record, Alhaji Olanusi was not only present but also actively participated at the Ondo State APC Executive Committee meeting on September 5, where stakeholders unanimously adopted indirect primary to select the party’s candidates for the 2019 general elections.

    “In fact, Olanusi actually set the tone for the debate, which culminated in the rejection of direct primary with his personal story: ‘I joined the APC 48 hours to the presidential election in 2015. Up till now, I don’t have APC membership card. You can then imagine, if, as a senior member of the party, I don’t have a membership card. What then is the fate of other people who are members of the party?’”

    The government faulted Olanusi’s stand, especially describing direct primary as “a recipe for confusion since the party was not yet prepared for all requirements of direct primary”.

    It added: “Other speakers toed this line of reasonable thought and consequently agreed to go with indirect option.

    “From the foregoing, therefore, it is inconceivable for the highly respected politician to turn around and condemn the collective decision of Ondo State APC stakeholders, including himself.

    “For the avoidance of doubt, Alhaji Olanusi’s seminal and illustrative contributions at APC State Executive Committee (SEC) substantially helped in arriving at the final decision to dump the direct primary.”

  • Akeredolu, Monarchs hail Ondo Speaker over ‘excellent’ representation

    Ondo state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu and traditional rulers in Ifedore local government have lauded the good representation of the speaker of the State Assembly, Bamidele Oleyelogun.

    Oleyelogun is the lawmaker representing Ifedore Constituency in the state.

    Akeredolu spoke at Igbara-Oke, headquarters of the local government during the empowerment programme for 200 widows and phyically-challenged sponsored by Bamidele Oleyelogun International Foundation(OIF).

    The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Agboola Ajayi lauded the speaker for his excellent and proactive representation at the parliament.

    He said the gesture had assisted in improving the lives of  his constituents.

    Akeredolu used the occasion to advise the beneficiaries and other eligible voters in  the council area who have not collected their permanent voter’s cards to do so in order to enable them participate in the 2019 elections.

    The governor said their vote was their right to elect leaders of their choice.

    Read Also: Ondo youths rally support for Buhari, Boroffice

    He pointed out that the present administration in the state was doing everything possible to empower women, noting that many women-oriented programmes including Micro-credit facilities, empowerment and skills acquisition were being put in place to better position of women and give them their rightful place in the scheme of things.

    Akeredolu disclosed that all the ongoing projects in various communities in Ifedore  will cut across all wards in the local government,  adding that government would continue to do its best to put smiles on the faces of the people of the state.

    At the event, beneficiaries were presented with cash, foodstuffs such as rice, poundo yam,  semovita, spaghetti, bathing and washing soaps and toiletries, among others.

    Oleyelogun who is also the chairman,Conference of Lawmakers in the Southwest explained that the gesture was borne out of his desire to care and cater for the needs of widows in the local government area.

    He said “My quest to alleviate the suffering of the widows arouses my interest in my past experience in supporting them in the little way. I am proud to say that my long years of investment in the lives of the less privileged people was part of what inspired me to set up Oleyelogun International Foundation (OIF).

    The Deputy National Chairman of the Speakers’ Conference said the objectives of the foundation was to build the family and the nation.

    Oleyelogun urged all well-meaning members of the society to rally support towards putting smiles on the faces of widows and less-privileged.

    He also listed some of his achievements in the local government to include payment of WASC registration fee of 49 selected students for 2017/2018 session,  skills acquisition and vocational training for 100 participants , supply of laboratory/scientific equipment and computer among others.

    Some traditional rulers including Adapogun of Ipogun, Oba Ojo Raphael; Asarun of Isarun, and Oba Joseph  among others said all rulers in the local government were solidly behind the Oleyelogun.

    They added that they had endorsed the Speaker for another term in the State Assembly to sustain development in the constituency.

    The royal fathers who described Oleyelogun as a transparent representative, appreciated Akeredolu for the good work he had done in the local government.

    They promised their unflinching support to his administration for more developments.

    Beneficiaries appreciated Oleyelogun for alleviating the sufferings of  the widows in the council area, describing him as a selfless leader who is passionate about improving the lives of his constituents.

     

     

  • Ondo APC members sue Exco over Council Poll

    A faction within the ruling All Progressives Congress(APC) in Ondo state,Unity Group(UG) has dragged the executive committee of the party to the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking rejection of list of candidates for December 1, local government poll in the state.

    Joining in the suit as defendants are the Independent National Electoral Commission(ODIEC), Attorney-General/Commissioner for Justice,the state APC Chairman, Ade Adetimehin and National Chairman of the party, Adams Oshiomhole.

    ‘The Nation’ learnt that the development was the fall-out of the controversial congress from Ward to National held between May and June 2018.

    During the exercise,some members were allegedly denied access to party forms to participate in the Congresses.

    At a media briefing in Akure, the state capital on Tuesday, the chairman of the group, Idowu Otetubi supported by its Secretary,Gani Muhammed recalled that they held parallel congresses from Ward to State level in all the 203 wards and 18 Local Governments of Ondo State.

    Read Also: Shakarau returns to APC, after four years in PDP

    According to them, they recently produced their executives despite persecution, intimidation and maiming of their members and some reporters at the BTO Hall in Akure where they had the State Congress.

    Otetubi said “After the Congress, we submitted the result to the National level of the Party and copied Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)but unfortunately, the former National Chairman,Chief John Odigie-Oyegun did not allow our list to see the light of the day.

    “We have continued to carry on as a Party Executives that emerged following the party congresses conducted in substantial compliance with the APC Constitution and guidelines.

    He said they had continued to defend the policies of the APC led government at the National Level and continued to mobilize to the party on daily basis.

    The group however commended the new leadership of the party led by Adams Oshiomole for the good job it had been doing.

    It said “We are elated that the NEC had adopted Direct Primary at all levels to nominate candidates for the 2019 general election. We are not unaware of the unpatriotic stand of some of our governors who have been in the forefront of kicking against the most democratic system of nominating candidates.

    “We are not surprised at the stand of those handpicked executives in the states. We know that they are afraid of any direct contest. All they want is to be handpicked as candidates of the party which shall be counter-productive.

    The group which claimed of having 75 percent of APC in Ondo State said it would do everything to resist imposition of unpopular candidates for the 2019 election.

    It said “We are aware of an attempt to conduct Local Government Election in Ondo State. It is very unfortunate that only Aketi’s group had access to the nomination forms as members of our Unity group have also been illegally excluded.

    “We wish to state that the Adetimehin led executive in Ondo State is not competent to submit list of candidates to Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission (ODIEC) because it did not emerge in a Congress done in accordance with the party guidelines.

    However, Adetimehin insisted that those calling themselves Unity Group members are not APC members, saying they are acting as spoilers to the ruling party but would not succeed in their mischief.

  • 2019: Constituents demand return of Ondo Speaker

    Apparently satisfied with the performance of the Speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly, Hon Bamidele Oleyelogun, the people of Ifedore local government area of the state have demanded that he should retain his seat at the parliament after 2019 elections.

    The constituents including the royal fathers, Youth, and women groups endorsed Oleyelogun who is also the Chairman, Conference of Speakers in the Southwest for another term in office.

    According to them,” We are happy about the proactive representation of the incumbent Speaker, whom they described as worthy son.

    The monarchs particularly sought the cooperation of other aspirants in Ifedore local government to step down for the Speaker to prevent the local government area from losing out the number three position in the state.

    The royal fathers hailed members of the State Assembly for believing in Oloyelogun by electing him as their leader.

    They also appreciated Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, his Deputy Agboola Ajayi and the Party chairman, Ade Adetimehin for trusting the leadership of Oleyelogun in leading a critical arm of government.

    Ifedore constituents believed in the dictum that “there is no point changing the winning team”,stressing that there was peaceful coexistence between Executives and Legislative arm of Government  in the State.

    Read Also: Ondo Monarchs to BEDC: We are disappointed

    They also praised Akeredolu for appointing their son as Commissioner of Health, Adviser on Transport and Special Assistant.

    The Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi represented the governor at the Oleyelogun International Foundation (OIF) held at the weekend which empowered more than 200 widows, aged women, Physically challenged and women group across all the wards and town in Ifedore local government.

    Akeredolu commended various ongoing developmental projects ongoing in Ifedore, while appreciating the speaker for ensuring harmonious relationship with the state governor especially on various developmental projects.

    Oleyelogun at the event rendered his score cards with documentary and pictorial evidence.

    Some parents testified that Oleyelogun was sponsoring their children even in private higher institutions with laboratory equipment, renovation of health centers and youth empowerment annually.

    He thanked his constituents for the confidence reposed in him, stressing that as Deputy Leader of Conference of Speakers in Nigeria he would accept the request of the people to serve again.

  • Buhari has no respect for rule of law – Afenifere

    The pan Yoruba socio cultural organization, Afenifere on Tuesday said President Muhammadu Buhari’s call for the placement of national interest above the rule of law was illogical.

    It noted that the claim was a proof of the President’s lack of respect for the rule of law since assumption of office.

    The group in a communique issued at the end of its monthly meeting held yesterday at the residence of its leader, Chief Reuben Fasoranti in Akure, the Ondo State capital said Buhari’s statement undermined his belief in democracy.

    The National Publicity Secretary of the group, Yinka Odumakin who read the communique said the All Progressives Congress (APC) and president Buhari have failed Nigerians, even as he declared that the president lacks the ability to deliver his campaign promises.

    Besides, he noted that the APC and President Buhari do not believe in restructuring which he said remains the only solution to the problems confronting the country.

    According to the communique “We maintain that restructuring remains the major issue in Nigeria and the meeting reviewed the comments made by the Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo at town hall meeting in USA.

    The Vice president was quoted as saying “the problem of our country is not the matter of restructuring and we must not allow ourselves to be drawn into the argument that our problems is drawn from geographical destructuring , it is about managing resources properly and providing for people properly. ”

    “The statement of the Vice president should be viewed against the background that in 2016 the APC as a party inserted restructuring into its manifestos and in 2017 when the argument about restructuring became so loud, they set up the El-rufai committee to go and provide their own idea of restructuring and up till now they have not told us their new definition only for them to be telling us that restructuring is not our problem.

    “That shows clearly that restructuring for the APC is an issue to play gallery with,  they don’t believe in it, they are not committed to it,  and for the Acting President to say the problem of Nigeria is managing resources, we want to ask them how much of it they have done in the last three years ?

    “How much of providing for the people have they done? How much of managing resources have they done with the monumental corruption? The Transparency International has said Corruption has worsen under this administration.

    Read Also: Fasanmi to Afenifere: ignore Obasanjo

    “Apart from the question of lack of coordination and incompetence in this government, it is clear that there is structural issues that is making it difficult to deliver to the people. And in any case, the issue confronting us today is not all about good governance, we have bad governance and bad structures and this is why we are experiencing bad governance within a bad structures, but even if we have good governance,  there are issues in our polity that good governance alone cannot resolve.

    “There is no any amount of good governance that can alter the derivation formula, good governance cannot address resource control, there are issues of restructuring that are outside the scope of good governance which is an essential ingredient of restructuring.

    “This remains the only condition for any political party to earn the support of Nigerians and Nigerians should not allow  anybody to deceive them again by playing on their emotions and after the election they will give another definition to restructuring, we have had enough of political fraudsters.

    “The meeting observe the recent statement by the President at the NBA conference  to defend the concept on the rule of law in all established democracy should be subject to some nebulous national interest or security.

    “Afenifere says and must be clear to everybody that this present government has done everything possible in the last three years to show clearly that it observes the rule of law in a breach and we have had disobedience of court orders,  detention of citizens without trials, arbitrary arrests,  extra judicial killings, invasion of National Assembly, invasion of National Assembly by thugs and till date no action has been done in it.

    “And many other clear subversion of constitutional role which is a great knock to our constitutional  democracy has been witnessing in the last three years” The communique stressed.

  • Flood sacks Ondo community

    Residents of Ikare headquarters of Akoko North East local government of Ondo state on Saturday urged the federal and state government to declare the community an ecological disaster area.

    For the past four days, the community have been witnessing torrential rainfall which flooded most parts of the ancient town

    Vehicles and motorcycles found it difficult to pass.

    Mostly affected   areas are Hospital junction,First Bank area and Jubilee market.

    Okoja-Iku-Awara dam road was washed off thereby making it impossible for vehicles to ply the area.

    Read Also: Sallah: 14 passengers cheat death in Ondo

    As a temporary measure to douse the consequence of an impending disaster which may lead to loss of lives and property, the caretaker chairman for the local government, Rafiu Eniayewu mobilized the local government workers, market women, members of NURTW and community leaders to clear debris deposited on the gutters to give way for easy passage of water.

    The Director of Environmental Services, Mrs Yemisi Adeniyi cautioned residents against indiscriminate dumping of refuse on water passage particularly during rainy season.

    Besides, she warned the people not to build houses in swampy and area close to the river which might submerge during rainy season.

    The Are Iyalaje of Ikareland Chief Risikat Mohamed who mobilised Ikare market women for cleaning up exercise noted that theo topography nature of Ikare Akoko called for both Ondo and the Federal Government to come to their aid in area of channelisation now that the population of the town was growing daily.

  • Go for political offices, SDP urges Youths

    The leadership of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Ondo State on Saturday urged youths to actively participate in politics in order to be part of the decision-making body that would shape the future of the country.

    Its chairman, Korede Duyile, spoke at the official declaration of Tajudeen Adefisoye,a youth, contesting  the seat of Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency.

    Duyile said the masses were tired of voting the same set of people with the same ideology.

    The chairman said the party was on ground and most people that had shown interest in various positions were from notable and credible family that were well known to him, coming from Idanre himself.

    Read Also: Angry youths set Area Commander’s Office ablaze

    He said “Our membership is already increasing in Idanre and in the state, more people are seeing our party and a credible platform,especially the youths, to fulfil their dreams,” he said.

    Also speaking, Tajudeen Adefisoye, who is in his mid-thirties, said he decided to run on the platform of SDP, because it had plans to allow youths to vie for positions.

    Adefisoye said he decided to be part of the real change and liberate the people of Idanre and Ifedore by bringing meaningful development to the constituency.

    According to him,” I am already assured of victory,there is no development in this town, we can’t be sending same old men to be representing us always.”

    At the event, Adefisoye was presented with the flag of the party, officially, and was charged to continue to promote the party in and outside the state.