The community radio of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State (Radio AAUA 90.30FM) Nigeria, has begun test transmission.
The radio station hit the airwaves last Wednesday. It will be inaugurated on Saturday by Ondo State Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu as part of activities marking the university’s seventh convocation.
The Vice Chancellor, Prof Ajibefun Igbekele, said achieving Radio AAUA was a dream fulfilled.
It was an exciting moment for the 1981-1984 set of the old students of the Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo State, following their meeting at the Mind Builders School, Ikeja last week.
They exchanged pleasantries, dined together, took photographs and danced to various genres of music after three decades of leaving their alma mater.
It was the second reunion party of the set fondly called the ‘Arbicans’ since they parted ways 35 years ago after their studies.
Amidst laughter and mimicry, they introduced themselves, the positions they held and their current status. They also celebrated an alumnus, Mrs Bola Gureje, a poultry farmer whose birthday coincided with the reunion.
Gureje, who had earlier made plans to celebrate her birthday in Ibadan, said she cancelled it to mark it with her peers.
“My joy knows no bounds to meet with my old mates. It brings back those days of school. The closeness, the trust and support we gave ourselves. It rejuvenated the old days.
“I did not hold any position, but I was active in students’ activities. We would always come out en masse to support any cause that benefited the students. During that period there was nothing like cultism, what existed was Palmwine Drinkers Club,” she said.
The founder of The Arbicans, Mr Adewale Shiji, said there was need for a reunion.
Shiji, also known as ‘Mr White’, recalled how he formed the Man O’ War arm of the school and was the director of students’ welfare.
He was happy that members of the set had excelled individually, with many becoming prominent personalities in the society.
“It is a great reminiscence leaving school 35 years ago and meeting them again. It is not easy; to God be the Glory.
“I am happy that the set has produced people, who are contributing to the society. This set has about five permanent secretaries, heads of service, directors, 32 principals and still counting,” he said.
The set also appointed their leaders to ensure effective continuity of the reunion.
The embattled acting Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Mr. Ade Adetimehin has been accused of working against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari and other candidates of the party in the 2015 general elections in the State.
In a press statement signed by the Progressives Youth Group (PYG) Coordinator, Comrade Adeoye Bakare, the group said Mr. Adetimehin is a political trader with rich record of anti-party activities.
The statement reads in part: “We are concerned about recent political controversies and contentions unfolding within our dear party, the All Progressives Congress, in Ondo State. We are worried about the state of the party. We are also disturbed about the unending political brawl over the chairmanship of our party and its attendant consequences on innocent and committed party members in Ondo State.
“For instance, there is an unfortunate situation whereby the deputy chairman of the party, Mr. Ade Adetimehin has accused the state chairman, Mr. Isaac Kekemeke of anti-party activities in the November 20, 2016 gubernatorial election in Ondo State.
“Whereas, credible records have also shown that Mr Adetimehin himself worked against the election of President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2015 general elections. Mr. Adetimehin also worked against the election of the senator representing Ondo Central senatorial district, Senator Tayo Alasoadura on the 28th of March, 2015. Likewise, Mr. Adetimehin worked against Hon. Bamidele Baderinwa, the candidate of APC for Idanre/Ifedore Federal Constituency.
“It is a matter of public record that the preferred aspirant of Mr. Adetimehin for Ondo central senatorial ticket was Mr. Ifedayo Abegunde. However, Mr. Ifedayo Abegunde, the serving secretary to Ondo State Government, lost the APC primary election held in 2014 to incumbent Senator Tayo Alasoadura.
“While it was expected that all loyal party leaders and members would rally round and support the candidate of the party in the general election, Mr. Adetimehin chose to strike mouth-watering deal with leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party in Ondo Central senatorial district. He worked for the PDP in the 2015 general elections.
“After the receipt of incontrovertible evidence from those who hired and mobilised Adetimehin and his cohorts to work against the APC in 2015, we have no option than to conclude that Mr. Adetimehin is a political trader with rich record of anti-party activities.
“The general public should note that Mr Adetimehin is not alone in the business of political trading. Two serving commissioners in the Governor Rotimi Akeredolu-led administration are co-acomplices and his fellow conspirators.
“The party leaders who are desperate to impose Mr. Adetimehin on the party should know that he lacks the credibility to lead the APC in Ondo State. He cannot be trusted. Imposing Adetimehin as acting chairman is as troubling as crowning a member of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party as the state chairman of All Progressives Congress in Ondo State. It will amount to political suicide.
“Finally, we wish to call the attention of the National leadership of our party to the reality that Ondo APC is presently on autopilot. If radical action is not quickly taken, the party might crash as unimaginable turbulences are on the route to 2019 general elections.”
A former Minister of Education, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, on Tuesday said more women should occupy government positions where decisions on the collective good of the society are taken, to minimize corruption.
She gave the advice at a lecture organised by HID Awolowo Foundation in Victoria Island, Lagos.
The lecture had as its theme: “Ethical Politics, Development and Security in Nigeria: The Critical importance of Women’s Leadership’’.
According to her, research has shown that when women are represented in leadership, there is better performance in measurable numbers.
“Research shows that in Africa, only five per cent of women are CEOs, 22 per cent are cabinet members, 25 per cent are parliamentarians, 29 per cent are managers, 36 per cent are promoted, and some 44 per cent of senior women hold line roles.
“With Nigeria in the lead, this tells that women have been marginalised and this is evident in the poor governance that the continent has produced.
“So, men must take full responsibility for the state of affairs of Nigeria and the continent.
“What this is saying to us is that we need to improve on the participation of women in our political system.
“We need to have many more women in the local government, state government and centre of authority as well as in the judiciary,” Ezekwesili said.
She said that a wise society will know that empowering its women is smart economy.
Ezekwesili stressed that no one is doing a favour to the Nigerian or African woman by involving her in the process of governance on the basis of evidence that data has shown.
She described barriers militating against women coming into the political space as being cultural, religious, economic, social as well as self-imposed.
The ex-minister urged women to rise up and disrupt the existing paradigm that says that women must be held down.
According to her, women are incredible human resources that must not be put on hold.
Lady Maiden Ibru, one of the discussants and chairperson of the occasion, urged women to stand up and get out of their comfort zone, for them to be heard.
“Women have always fought for equality; time has come for women to come to the forefront and say enough is enough.
“What makes a woman is character, accountability, honesty and these we must bring to governance.
A former governor of Ondo State, Dr Olusegun Mimiko, said the best way to empower a community is to empower the woman.
He said: “In a family, if a woman is empowered, you will see the difference in the house, you will see the difference in the children, even the man will see the difference from the dining table.
“But the other way round, if a man is empowered, his pocket suddenly increases.
“The empowerment of a woman is very important for the nation to move forward.
“I have no doubt about that, although it is not always automatic that a woman is necessarily not more corrupt than a man.
“There is no universal application that a woman is necessarily less corrupt than a man because there are some cultural contexts to it.’’
NAN
Three men who allegedly stole seven goats valued at N70,000 were on Tuesday brought before an Okitipupa Magistrates’ Court in Ondo State.
The accused — China Lawrence, 23; Rapheal Toriola, 21; and Eniola Amoo, 33, — of no fixed addresses and without specific occupations, are facing a three-count charge of conspiracy, felony and stealing.
The prosecutor, Insp. Zedekiah Orogbemi, said that the accused committed the offences at Igodan, Okitipupa around 12:00 a.m. on October 15.
He said that the goats, property of one Grace Badru, were later recovered from the house of one of the accused.
The offences are punishable under Sections 390 (9), 430 and 516 of the Criminal Code, Cap.37, Vol.1, Laws of Ondo State, 2006.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Magistrate, Mr Banji Ayeomoni, granted the accused bail in the sum of N30,000 each, with a surety each in like sum.
Aiyemomi said that the sureties must show evidence of of tax payment for one year.
He adjourned the case until December 8 for further hearing.
The Ondo State Government has warned and directed owners of illegal structures in market vicinity to vacate the areas, to pave the way for modern and unhindered trading activities in the state.
Chief Timehin Adelegbe, the Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperative Societies, gave the directive on Wednesday while inspecting Igbokoda International market in Ilaje Local Government Area of the state.
Adelegbe said that the state government would soon clamp down on illegal structures impeding sanity of economic transactions.
“What prompted our visit is the complaints we received from market women, the traditional rulers that the market is not properly managed; dirty and people are not properly occupying the stalls.
“We have discovered that illegal shops are causing gridlock and other problems and we have agreed that they must be demolished after proper approval from the state governor.
“The market is our pride and I tell you that we will destroy all attachments causing gridlock and all debris will be evacuated.
“Anyone’s shop demolished will not receive any palliatives because there are many stalls in the market meant to be occupied with anyone who has paid his dues,’’ he said.
The commissioner added that collection of rate would only be done by officials of the ministry and that marketers would be encouraged to move in.
According to him, the tripartite agreement by the ministry, the Local Government and the traditional rulers will definitely prompt the market to achieve its targeted goals.
“I urge traders to hearken to this agreement reached because it is for their benefits as the state is considering it a big market that could make a lot of investment for the government.
Also, Mr Fayowole Aworetan, the Caretaker Chairman of the council, said that the market was surrounded with a lot of issues, saying the commissioner’s visit had been able to resolve them.
Aworetan noted that the Local Government was ready to partner with the state government and the market women, hoping that the market would soon be in its good glory.
The commissioner reported that Oba Afolabi Oladimeji, the traditional ruler of Igbokoda, decried the unwholesome activities taking place in the market but promised that the community would cooperate with the government to restore sanity.
Oba Oladimeji said that he wanted functional market and called for proper allocation of the stalls in the market.
He commended the government, saying that the visit would give the government proper information for good ideas to be implemented.
“It will help the government to come up with good policy making mechanisms because of cross fertilisation of ideas.’’
A Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Rhealyz Green Network, has donated learning materials to St.Williams Primary School, Oda in Ondo State, as part of its ‘Kit a child’ project outreach.
The pupils, villagers and teachers described the NGO’s gesture as a life-changing experience, especially in a rural community where accessibility is often difficult.
Rhealyz Green network, with its ‘Kit a Child project’ is committed to supporting child education, with the belief that every child has a right to quality and sustainable education in every sense of it.
Villagers said the gesture came at a time teachers were poorly motivated, in addition to derelict infrastructure and poor learning environment. This was further complicated by poverty and paarents’ inability to meet up subsidised fees for their children.
Ireti Adesida asked a question: what is the future of these kids? What hope is left for them with the present situation in the school?
Last week Thursday, the NGO team led by Ireti Adesida, arrived the school with books, bags, writing materials and paints, among others.
Adesida said one could see the dedication and passion of the team comprising of volunteers from different parts of the state.
Aside book reading and donation, creative painting was also conducted for over 60 children in primary four and five as a means of improving their literacy skills and enhancing their reading capability.
“It was an awesome experience to discover that the kids could do new things they had never done before,” Adesida said’
He noted that pupils in Primary Six were given tips in hygiene where they were practically taught how to wash their hands and teeth as necessary.
Adesida said the NGO discovered that despite their tender ages, majority of them came to school from the farm every morning.
The team said it would conduct a follow up and identify those in the ‘very poor’ category so they could be given special attention.
The headmistress of the School, Mrs O. Atere, praised the NGO for its contributions.
A middle aged man suspected to be a security officer was found dead Wednesday near the Multinational LG electronics company, along Pummeling road, Akure, the Ondo State capital.
The corpse of the security man, identified simply as Taiwo was found dead at the entrance of the company’s office.
It was observed that there was no form of violence or robbery at the office that might have caused his death, but symphatisers sensed cardiac arrest.
Police officers attached to the A’ Division in Akure condoned off the area and moved the dead body to the mortuary.
A staff of the organization, who spoke in confidence said the late Taiwo was active in the office and show no sign of any illness before the close of work on Tuesday.
While expressing shock over the death of the security man, he noted that there was no form of injury or mark in his body.
According to him, “He is our security man for this office and he has been doing it for some time now. We were together yesterday before we departed for our different homes after work.
“He was so lively and agile and he showed no sign of sickness
For us to come this morning now and found his dead body here is shocking and unfortunate”.
A woman, who said the deceased stayed in her house said he was too young to work as a security because of his age.
The woman, said that he had warned him against taken up the job because of what she described ‘as the peculiarities attached to being a security guard’
The Police Public Relations Officer of the State Command, Femi Joseph said the command had begun investigation to unravel the cause of the death.
The PPRO added that some workers of the office had been invited for further interrogation.
The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development says it has provided 6,975 different agro-chemicals and 48,334 pieces of agricultural equipment for sale to farmers in Ondo State.
Mrs Funke Omagbemi, the state Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, said this in an interview on Tuesday in Akure.
Omagbemi said that 4,048 different agro-chemicals and 125 pieces of equipment were made available for sales in July.
She also said that 2,927 different agrochemicals and 48,209 pieces of equipment were also presented for sale to farmers in September.
“In the first batch, the state received 24 gallons of Super Grow; 692 sachets of Ultimax Plus; 1,406 litres of Champ D; 397 packs of Aflasafe (Cereal) and 169 litres of Cypermetrin.
“Besides, 45 litres of Grammazone; 573 litres of Paraquat; 147 litres of Pendimentaline; 204 of Retrazine and 392 litres of Uproot were received,’’ she said.
Omagbemi also said that in respect of agricultural equipment, the state received 29 3HP water pumps, six 2HP water pumps; 11 double-action solo pumps; two jab planters; 74 knapsack sprayers and three multipurpose threshers.
She said that under the second batch, the state received 16 gallons of Super Grow; 461 litres of Ultimax Plus; 936 sachets of Champ D; 265 kg. of Aflasafe and 113 litres of Cypermetrin.
Also, 115 litres of Cranston Spectrum; 382 litres of Paraquat; 98 litres of Pendimentaline; 136 litres of Retrazine; 261 litres of Uproot; 74 litres of Round Up and 70 kg. of Amine Salt were received, she added.
“In terms of equipment, the state received 20 3HP water pumps, four 2HP water pumps; 11,765 cocoa polythene bags and seven double-action solo pumps.
“Others include 36,250 oil palm polythene bags; one jab planter; 160 knapsack sprayers and two multipurpose threshers,’’ she said.
Omagbemi said that the items were sold to farmers across the state in highly subsidised prices.
“We tried as much as possible to make sure that those items were sold to real farmers, and not to those who wanted to resell them,’’ she said..
The state director said that if the state government could support the Federal Government’s efforts, the cost of agricultural production in the state would go down, while food prices would consequently be reduced.
“The Federal Government is not only encouraging farmers go into production, it is also providing inputs with highly subsidised prices for them so as to enable them to make more profit,’’ she said.
She, therefore, called on farmers in the state to key into Federal Government’s agricultural schemes so as to enable them to benefit maximally from government support.
Besides, Omagbemi said that the ministry had trained 12 unemployed graduates in fish farming.
“Each of them received 500 species of juvenile fish, six bags of feeds, farm booth, farm overall, weight scale, tank and N10, 000 financial support,’’ she added.
NAN
Militants in the riverine area of Ondo state, who embraced the amnesty programme of the Federal government in the state have trooped out in large number to surrender their arms and ammunition.
The exercise which started on Thursday has recorded massive turn out of militants in the five collation centers including Igbekebo, Arogbo, Igbonla, Ajapa, and Igbokoda, all in the southern senatorial district of the state.
Men of the Nigeria Army, the Navy , Police, and civil defence as well as representatives of each militant camp are present at the collation centers to ensure only authentic militants benefit from the program.
Ondo state governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu had issued a 21-day ultimatum to the militants to submit their arms in the area.
The amnesty program was part of the requests made by the kidnappers of the six students of Igbonla Model School, Epe Lagos state.
The government of Ondo state who played a major role in securing the release of the students promised to facilitate the amnesty program.
Deputy governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi who took the risk to effect the release and safety of the students is the Chairman of the amnesty program in the state.
Already, the repentant militants have been submitting their arms which included pump action, Dane guns, live ammunitions, locally made artillery weapons among others.
Ajayi, shortly after touring two of the collections points in Igbokoda and Igbekebo on Friday said he was delighted with the level of turnout of the repentant armed youths who came out from creeks to submit their weapons to embrace the amnesty of the Federal Government.
He called on those in the hideout to utilize the window of opportunity offered by the government, adding that whoever fail to utilize the opportunity would be dealt with by the Federal Government.
The Commanding Officer of the Nigeria Navy Forward Operation Base, lgbokoda, Navy Captain Chindo Usman Yahaya, described the turnout as impressive.
The Commander however said that it would be difficult to ascertain the number of weapons submitted since the commencement of the disarmament process.
One of the repentant commander of the armed youths, Osipapa Take Lion, lauded the federal and the Ondo state governments for the privilege given to them to lay down their arms.