The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Ondo state

  • Ondo will partner private sector on waste management – GM

    Ondo will partner private sector on waste management – GM

    Ondo State government will partner the private sector to ensure effective waste management in the state, Mr Ayo Mesulaya, General Manager, Ondo State Waste Management Authority, has said.

    Mesulaya told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Akure that waste management is capital intensive and could not be funded alone by the government without the involvement of stakeholders.

    He said: “Waste management all over the world is capital intensive and we cannot pretend that government alone can continue to fund waste management

    “So we need the private sector to partner with us to assist in reducing government spending on waste management and providing effective environmental sanitation in the state.

    “Currently we have 13 private companies working with us and I must say the experience is worthwhile.

    “If not for the private sector, the situation would have been difficult for us.

    “That is why Ondo state is one of the cleanest state in Nigeria today.”

    The GM said that the plan of the current administration is to expand the involvement of private partnership in waste management to major towns such as Ikare Akoko, Ondo town, Ore and Okitipupa.

    He said that the government had promised to create enabling environment for the private sector to thrive in the state.

    Mesulaya said that government would also embark on enlightenment and enforcement campaigns to ensure that the populace key into its environmental programmes.

    He assured that no stone would be left unturned to ensure that the state remains clean and free from diseases.

    “We only have one recycling plant in Ondo state but we have plans to establish two others in the southern and northern senatorial district respectively.

    “We have been able to recycle plastic, metal and produce organic fertiliser; people are coming to buy the fertiliser from neighbouring states,’’ he said.

    He urged the people to imbibe the culture of cleanliness and and healthy environment.

    “We all know that health is wealth and prevention is better than cure; when you live in a healthy environment, you spend less on hospital bills,” he said.

  • Akeredolu enjoins Police to checkmate kidnapping

    Akeredolu enjoins Police to checkmate kidnapping

    Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Tuesday enjoined the Police to provide adequate security to keep the menace of kidnapping out of the state.

    Akeredolu made the appeal when he received the new Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) of Police, Zone 11, Mr Agboola Oshodi-Glover, in Akure.

    He said the menace of kidnapping was a source of concern to the people and government of the state.

    “These miscreants are trying to infiltrate into our state and it is only the Police that can guarantee our security,” the governor said.

    He said the police had been doing well, but asked for more patrols to be able to keep such crime at bay.

    “All we need is a pro-active force, which is what we already have,” he said.

    The governor, who welcomed the AIG, said the state had enjoyed tremendous cooperation of the police, and would continue to give the needed support.

    Earlier, Oshodi-Glover assured the governor of the readiness of his men to ensure adequate security in the state.

    “I am here to talk to my men, ginger up their spirit, and intimate them on instructions from the Force Headquarters.

    “I started in Osun State and I’m now in Ondo State. I have been with them, giving them lectures; they are in high spirit and are ever ready to work and give their best for the security of the state and the nation,’’ he said.

  • Children’s Day: Akeredolu cancels Saturday’s restriction on movement

    Children’s Day: Akeredolu cancels Saturday’s restriction on movement

    Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu  of  Ondo State  has cancelled the restriction on  movement  during  Saturday’s monthly environmental sanitation due to the Children Day’s celebration.

    Mr Olusegun Ajiboye, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, said in a statement on Friday in Akure that  the cancellation was  to enable  children to enjoy the celebration.

    The statement, however, urged all residents of the state to still clean their  environment.

    It also admonished children to face their studies  as well as eschew violence to enable them become good leaders of tomorrow.

     

  • NUT urges Ondo state to recruit more teachers

    NUT urges Ondo state to recruit more teachers

    The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has appealed to the Ondo State Government to recruit more teachers to fill vacancies in public primary schools.

    Solomon Igbelowowa, NUT State Acting Secretary, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Akure that there was shortage of teachers in all the 18 local government areas.

    According to him, 500 teachers retire from the state teaching service every year, leaving many classrooms virtually empty.

    “Dearth of teachers is the greatest challenge facing educational system in the state, especially in public primary schools.

    “For the past 12 years, no single teacher was recruited to teach in our public primary schools.

    “We have a public primary school in Ondo State where there is only one teacher to 300 pupils at time.

    “How do you expect a teacher to cope with such situation?

    “With this, we are killing education and mortgaging the future of our pupils.

    “So, there is urgent need for government to recruit more teachers in the state now,’’ the secretary said.

    The NUT scribe said if pupils were not properly trained, they would grow up to engage in social vices that would be detrimental to the peace of the state.

    According to him, the menace of insurgency, militancy, ritual killings and armed robbery are perpetrated by the children who were not given proper education.

  • Fake `Mallam’ duping market women arrested in Ondo

    Fake `Mallam’ duping market women arrested in Ondo

    A middle aged man who had been allegedly defrauding market women in Ondo state particularly within the four local government areas of Akoko division has been arrested.

    The accused who hails from Ede in Osun state, simply called ‘Kusibau Bakare’, was said to be going about with long Muslim rosary ‘Tesbiu’ and Sabaka on his head, Mecca teeth and Holy Koran.

    Sources said Bakare was under the guise of telling market women that the fortunes of their markets had been sold out, and promised to restore it.

    When he got to Ikare-Akoko, he went to Iyaloja of Ikare to help her gathered market women for his usual business.

    It was at that gathering where he collected N50,000 on the spot that he accused the Are-Iyalaje of Ikare, Alhaja Risikat Mohammed who was not around as the person who sold the fortunes of Ikare market to Akure, adding that she was also building a filling station in Akure.

    When information got to Iyalaje, she reportedly went out in search of the ‘mallam’ and luckily got him at the neighbouring Ogbagi-Akoko where he was allegedly duping some Ogbagi market women.

    Sensing possible attack, he escaped from the town and rushed to his hotel room in Ikare-Akoko, which he was using as his hide out before being eventually arrested.

    He later confessed not to be a spiritualist but indulged in the act because of economic hardship.

    The`fake’mallam was later handed over to the police in Ikare-Akoko for further investigation.

  • 12 killed in Ondo road crash

    12 killed in Ondo road crash

    Twelve persons reportedly lost their lives Saturday afternoon in a lone road crash involving a Toyota Hiace bus carrying 20 passengers while eight others sustained serious injuries.

    The carnage was said to have occurred on yet-to-be completed Ajowa-Gedegede road brigde.

    According to Onigedegede of Igedegede,Oba Walidu Ekun,it was the deafening sound of the vehicle around 3.00 pm that attracted symphatisers to the scene.

    The spot which was littered with blood and mangled bodies of the dead travellers caused emotions,as motorists and passers-by wailed profusely.

    Confirming the incident,Ondo State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps(FRSC), Vincent Jack, said his men went on rescue operation and took the corpses to Ikare-Akoko State Specialist Hospital Mortuary while critical ones had been reffered to Federal Medical Centre(FMC)Owo.

    Jack attributed the incident to recklessness of the driver,urging Motorists to be cautious on highways and avoid excessive speeding.

  • We will try not to owe workers – Akeredolu

    We will try not to owe workers – Akeredolu

    Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State on Thursday said government will try and make sure it does not owe workers their salaries.

    Akeredolu made this promise while receiving report of Committee on Arrears of Salaries of Public Servants in Akure.

    He said the present administration does not have any other option but to pay salaries.

    Akeredolu expressed hope that the workers would waive the outstanding salary arrears as part of their contributions to development.

    “If they meet and say they waived two months, we will be glad but if they insist on having the full arrears, we thank them and will look for ways of paying.

    “The government will continue to try and make sure we don’t owe them salaries”, he said.

    The governor also said the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), needed to be increased very soon to tackle the salary arrears.

    “Before we present our budget and after presentation, I will have to address the workers to let them know that it’s not possible to use all our money to pay salaries.

    “We have said this many times, we must be prepared to make sacrifices because we don’t borrow money to pay salaries, something must be done.

    “I thank the people for their efforts and resilience. I know it’s not easy, but it’s also getting increasingly difficult for the government too; but whatever we do, we will try not to owe salaries”, he said.

    Deputy Governor Agboola Ajayi said the salary arrears owed workers by the previous administration amounted to ₦38.57 billion.

    “This is not inclusive of the ₦41.5 billion representing outstanding gratuities.

    “We came in on Feb. 24, we paid February, March, April salaries and also one month out of the six months salaries owed by the past government.

    “Right now, what is outstanding is N34.5 billion which is like I said, outside the N41.5 billion, representing outstanding gratuities across the board.

    ”What the government is owing now is N34.5 billion, representing  five months salaries as against the six months we met on board”, he added.

    He, however, commended the governor for promising to offset the salaries as soon as money was available.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the committee was inaugurated on March 7 to deliberate and report on ways of offsetting seven months’ salary arrears owed by the previous administration.

  • Teenager arraigned for keeping dangerous weapons

    A teenage boy, Kabiru Kogbodoku, on Wednesday appeared in an Okitipupa Magistrates’ Court, Ondo State, charged with unlawful possession of some dangerous weapons including an axe.

    The accused, 18, is facing a charge of unlawful possession of dangerous weapons.

    The Prosecutor, Insp. Zedekiah Orogbemi told the court that the accused was on May 2 at 1.00 p.m. on new motor park road, Okitipupa, was caught with an axe, two hammers and a knife.

    He said the accused was unable to give a satisfactory explanation what he wanted to the weapons.

    The offence contravenes Section 80 of the Criminal Code,  Laws of Ondo State 2006.

    The accused pleaded innocence of the offence.

    The Magistrate, Mr Banji Ayeomoni, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50,000 with a surety in like sum , who should also provide evidence of tax payment to the government.

    Further hearing has been fixed for May 16.

  • NSCDC arrests six suspected fraudsters, cultists in Ondo

    NSCDC arrests six suspected fraudsters, cultists in Ondo

    Ondo State command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Tuesday arrested six persons suspected to be cultists and fraudsters in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

    The spokesman of the command, Kayode Balogun said the suspects who had been terrorizing the people of the state were arrested after a tipoff.

    The suspects are Akeem Oyewole (28), Dupe Adewole (30), Oni Abiodun (33), Abiodun Oladimeji (21), Aron Sunday (20) and Anes John (28).

    According to him, the leader of the gang, Akeem Oyewole was arrested by men of the Corps after successfully duping a student of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo identified as Omokehinde Idowu.

    He said the fraudsters allegedly duped Idowu while on his way to the campus, and took him to their hide out where they collected his #58,000 school fees, a techno phone and wallet which contains school Identity card and Voters card from him.

    The spokesman alleged that the suspects hypnotized a 17-year old, Motunrayo who was asked to bring her parent money for them after being threatened to be killed if she declined their order.

    One of the suspects, Oni Abiodun, according to Balogun was arrested for buying a stolen phone from a member of the gang, while Aron Sunday was arrested for alleged cultism.

    He disclosed that all the suspects were still under investigation and would be charged to court immediately after investigation.

    Balogun warned criminals to steer clear of the state or face the full wrath of the law.

  • Commercial driver docked for dangerous driving

    The Police on Tuesday arraigned a 28-year-old commercial driver, Olusola Adeleye, in an Okitipupa Magistrates’ Court in Ondo State, over alleged dangerous driving.

    The prosecutor, Insp. Zedekiah Orogbemi, told the court that the defendant on April 19, around 2.00 p.m. drove dangerously a commercial Picnic car with registration No. Ondo KTP 500 AA, on the Okitipupa-Ore highway.

    He said that the accused allegedly hit one Rekiat Keshinro from behind, causing her severe injuries, which led to hospitalisation.

    Orogbemi said that the offence contravened Sections 5, Federal Highway Act, Cap F13, Vol.VI, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

    The Magistrate, Mr Banji Ayeomoni, granted the accused bail in the sum of N50,000 with a surety in like sum and adjourned the case until May 15 for further hearing.