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Tag: ONDO

  • Man ‘beheads’ niece in Ondo

    A 42-year-old man, Samuel Omosaba, has been arrested by the police for allegedly beheading his three-year-old niece on Tuesday at Ilepa quarters in Ikare-Akoko, Akoko North East Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    The suspect, who is jobless and single, was said to have contacted an herbalist in Ipe-Akoko for blood money. He was told to look for a baby’s head.

    It was gathered that the girl was always in her grandmother’s care, whenever her mother, Bunmi, a trader, was going to the market.

    An eyewitness said: “On Tuesday, Bunmi took her daughter to her mother-in-law but met her husband’s elder brother at home. He promised to take care of the child, until her grandmother returns.

    “On her return from the market, Bunmi met her daughter’s body in her brother-in-law’s room.

    “The suspect ‘confessed’ to family members that he killed the girl. He was nearly lynched by aggrieved youths before the police rescued him.”

    Police spokesman Femi Joseph said the matter had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigative Department (CID), Akure.

  • Adesanya: APC ’ll rebuild Ondo

    Adesanya: APC ’ll rebuild Ondo

    Omo’ba Abayomi Adesanya is the Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress(APC)in Ondo State.He spoke with DAMISI OJO on the governorship election in the Sunshine State and other partisan issues. Excerpts:

    This is election year in Ondo State. What are your expectations?

    We are eagerly waiting for the governorship election, as Ondo State is now an ‘election’ state. Governorship elections in Nigeria are now staggered into almost every two years. We believe the present leadership of INEC will not be biased, but will conduct a credible election in the state, making it difficult or almost impossible for any desperate politician to inject names into the voters’ register. The reality is that the Mimiko led LP/PDP government in the state is a spent force that has expended all its  ‘maradonic’ cards and tricks. The people are tired of governor Mimiko-led government known to be deceitful and corrupt to mention but a few. There are lots of consultations going on at the moment among our party leaders and other leaders, which will eventually culminate in mass exodus from within Ondo PDP to the APC. This will further weaken the political structure of the already bartered image of the ruling PDP in Ondo State. So, our preparations are in top gear and we are battle ready for the election. It will amaze you to know that we have set in motion on internal mechanism to forestall rancour and to conduct a free and fair primary election ahead of the people oriented gubernatorial election. Once we get it right at the primary election, then, we are good to go.

    The APC is parading no fewer than 205 aspirants. What is the implication of this?

    Implication? It has none. That is the beauty of democracy. It shows that our party has prospects and it is a party to beat, where progressive minded people can realise their visions and dreams. No one will want to invest his/her time and hard earned resources in a venture or project that is dead or in comatose on arrival and ready for final funeral like PDP in Ondo State. That means you already know the result from the beginning.

    APC will conduct free, fair, transparent and credible primary election in Ondo state. So, our highly esteemed aspirants have nothing to fear. I can only urge them not to embark on hate campaigns in the interest of our great party and the larger interest of the good people of Ondo state that are yearning for change. The people are already looking up to us as the best alternative to unseat the Mimiko’s anti-people’s LP/PDP led party in the state.

    There are groups and factions within the party, which may be inimical to the success of the party. How will the unity come?

    No! no! no! there are no factions in Ondo state APC. That insinuation is not correct! We are not polarized. We do not have that in our party. We are structured on ideology and principle, centered on selfless services to the people of the state and members of our party. The caliber of individuals we parade in our party are principled and highly successful in their various fields of endeavor. So, I believe no one is pursuing personal agenda that could factionalize the party. Though, there are interest groups in Ondo APC and grouping is one of the ingredients of democracy and politics. But, they must have common goals, aims and objectives in consonance with the party’s policies and constituition. We must not allow groups to degenerate into factions. So, in Ondo APC, we are more united than ever.

    What about those prominent PDP members that have defected to the APC? Won’t they rock the boat and bring misfortune to the party?

    Sincerely speaking, majority of those who defected to our party from the PDP are progressive minded personalities, who we believe will add values to the party. Don’t forget that our party’s constituition is clear as regards the rules governing its operations. The people you are talking about are aware of the rules. We believe they cannot bring misfortune to the party like Governor Olusegun Mimiko who destroys every political parties he joins. During Adefarati, he destroyed AD for PDP and later destroyed PDP for LP during Agagu’s regime. But, Ondo PDP was able to survive his tsunami then, because of the Presidential umbrella of PDP at the centre. Now, Governor Mimiko is back in PDP, with deadly political virus, ‘Ebola’, the party is faced with massive defeat experienced in the south west that he coordinated for the 2015 presidential election. As if that is not enough, since he emerged the PDP Governors forum chair, the party has been jumping from one frying pan to another fire and one crisis leading to another.

    I can assure you, mark my words, PDP will cease to exist by 2019 general elections because the corruption that brought them together, which was the bane of Nigeria’s problems, will soon be completely uprooted by Buhari’s people’s government. PDP cannot survive without corruption. The Party is corruption personified.

    What should people and APC supporters be expecting from the primary election?

    Members of our party should expect a rancour-free exercise. Our party has the record of conducting the most credible Presidential primary election in the political history of  Nigeria. That was when the Party (APC) had won the Presidential election. We will domesticate this template in Ondo State. Unlike PDP who endorsed Goodluck Jonathan as their sole Presidential candidate, shut doors against other aspirants. I remembered I wrote a press release titled “Jonathan Endorsement, Glorification Of Failure”. Same thing will replicate itself in Ondo PDP.

    The good people of Ondo should be expecting good governance from our party. We won’t just sit in the Government House and take decisions for the people. We shall plan with the people and execute developmental projects for the people. The APC will run a transparent government in Ondo State. It is criminal when a Governor hides the finances of the State from the people. Our party will not engage in such act. And the government of APC in Ondo State will implement the manifestos of the party on education, health, security, human empowerment and others. ?By the time we take over government, our prime focus shall be to develop infrastructures, agricultural sector, revive all ailing industries and put the Sunshine State back on the path of sustainable development.

  • ‘Ondo ‘ll shine again’

    Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship aspirant Dr. Segun Abraham has promised to transform the state from poverty to prosperity.

    He said the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) administration has nothing to offer, stressing that better days are ahead when the APC takes over the Alagbaka House.

    Abraham said that Ondo needed a resourceful leader to harness its abundant minerals, stressing that he would not disappoint the people when elected.

    He said: “When I was the  Chairman  of  the Owena Hotel, it was indebted to the tune of more than N50 million which I paid within six months. We were able to make more profit. As a matter of fact, when I got there, I brought managers from Sheraton Hotel, Lagos and asked them to bring their expertise to Owena Hotel.

    “They came there and trained the people. We even doubled staff salaries twice before I left. The hotel became instant money spinning venture and people rushed to buy the hotel because they now realized how profitable it was.

    “Oodua Investment took it over during Agagu’s regime to manage  because they discovered that they could make good profit. It became an eye opener for people because it led to hotels and hospitality expansion in Akure. You can still see the effect because not less than 10 standard hotels could be seen within the Akure metropolis,” he said.

    The aspirant urged the people to have faith in the APC, promising to work harder to restore the lost hope in people. He said the situation has become worrisome in view of the disillusionment that dominates both public and private life.‘’We will develop organic food that is now the new paradigm shift in economic returns. We will revive information technology, so that our state can function as the sunshine state for others to emulate. It will become the hub for organic food globally.

    “We will avail them of various opportunities offered by our international connections through the African Pacific Funding and Management. The Ministries of Industry, Trade and Investment will be established, with offices in Europe, America and Asia.

    “This will increase our international profile, export drive and employment generation. We should be able to generate about 500,000 employment opportunities through this drive. We will set up Government Demand Industry (GDI). Through this, a lot of industries will be set up to complement the major industry that will support the government policies and programmes’’

    Abraham stressed that some of his programmes will include the rehabilitating schools and upgrading the school curriculum to meet global best practice.

    He said Ondo schools would be linked with international schools in term of exchange programmes that expose its graduates to self reliant drive and jobs opportunities.

    Abraham maintained that  public servants have failed to justify their calls to service because of selfish reasons, noting that only leaders with public interest could reduce poverty.

  • ‘PDP is heating up Ondo’

    ‘PDP is heating up Ondo’

    Ondo State All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain Akin Ogunsakin, in this interview with MUSA ODOSHIMOKHE, explains that the Peoples Democratic Party (APC) is heating up the Sunshine state by insisting on the conduct of the local government elections without following due process. 

    What is your assessment of the political situation in Ondo State?

    My personal assessment of the political situation in Ondo State is that Governor Olusegun Mimiko is heating up the polity. He has run the state to a standstill. The level of rot in the state is nothing to write home about. All that we need do is for the people of Ondo State to rally round and look for a credible candidate to replace him. If there is anything like sentiment, we should forget about it this time around and look for a candidate that can turn the state around. We must vote for those who understand what is meant by governance. We must look for somebody with the pedigree, to come to Alagbaka House, to fix Ondo State back to its former glory. When people talk about the achievement of the incumbent governor, I wonder, if he has actually achieved what they lay claim to. There is nothing to show that he has achieved something for the state. He has rather, took Ondo State 20 years backward. He took the state back to the era when we were still crawling. We thank former governors like Chief Adebayo Adefarati, Chief Olusegun Agagu, who had done virtually well, but we did not know. We did comparism of the achievement of Agagu and the incumbent governor and discovered that the incumbent failed. It is very glaring that the incumbent governor has done nothing.

    What are the issues that will shape the Ondo State governorship election?

    One of the issues I perceive that will shape Ondo State coming election is that, there is lot awareness.  People are now very conscious of what is going on in the polity. The inability of the governor to pay salaries is one of them. The pensioners are not paid and the projects he started have been abandoned. There is propaganda everywhere, trying to hype the achievement of the governor. We are told of the tomato company that he rehabilitated, but we realized that it was lie. The governor has borrowed money to the extent that Ondo State is highly indebted to the stock Exchange and other banks. Recently, we learnt he wanted to take another loan, though we have been pressurizing the Ondo State House of Assembly and other concerned stakeholders, not to allow him to take the loan. Our debt profile in Ondo State is on the high side. He has made Ondo State borrowing state. Mind you, Ondo State is a Niger Delta state for that matter.

    What is your position on zoning in the state?

    Zoning is very clear, Agagu was from Southern Senatorial District, he came to the stage and left. The power shifted to the centre, which is Governor Mimiko. So, the next Senatorial District is the North. I don’t think this is contestable that it is the turn of the north. The leaders of the various parties in the state are aware of this position.

    Where do you now place the Akure agenda?

    The Akure agenda is unknown in the sense that, I would not understand why the Ondo Central should handover to another Central. There is no justice in that. There is no fairness in that. The informed Akure people among them are aware that it is not possible. It is only a gimmick being propelled by the governor. The governor just wanted to do something that will create an impression that it is the turn of Akure, so that attention will be shifted away from where it is supposed to be which is the north. Obviously, the North is very ready to come on board.

    What are the challenges facing the APC in the State?

    There are challenges, but they are not insurmountable. I can assure you that, the chairman of the party and members of the EXCO are doing everything possible, to make sure that the challenges are removed. What I see as major challenge this time around, is that our people are not conscious of what can happen in the next election. The people are still skeptical about the capacity of the APC to do certain things. Though, they are tired of the PDP, the government led by Mimiko, what they are thinking is that, if we give APC the chance this time around, what will be the aftermath? But, I can assure you that on the average, if election is conducted, APC will carry the day. The pendulum seems to be shifting to the side of the APC. They are a little bit on the good side of the people, but APC needs to do more work. They need to reach out to the people. They need to go on image laundering, telling them what they have and unfolding their manifesto. They should begin to talk about their plans for the state. I feel that is one of the things they are supposed to be doing now. They should raise the consciousness of the people, on what they have in stock for them. The people are really tired of Dr. Mimiko.

    What is your position on the local government election coming up in the state?

    The sitting governor has been committing an offence under the law. It is not allowed for any governor to constitute caretakers to take over the affairs of the council in the first place. It is uncalled for and there are statutory provisions for that. The law is very clear and unambiguous. The law says that as soon as elected governor takes over, he must conduct election into the local government. That is the position of the law. But, for logistic reason, two to three months can be accommodate for the logistic reason to be cleared. In this case, Mimiko  erred because his calculate on the rift between the Labour Party which actually elected him to power and the PDP became subject of litigation. When he came, the PDP chairmen were there at the local governments. He later dissolved the councils and the matter was taken to court. We are aware that any matter that is in court, you are not allowed to do anything on it until the matter is resolved. We expected that immediately he defected to the PDP, he should have done the needful but failed to do so. Now, he is calling the people and saying that we want to conduct election. This is the seventh year of the administration and had not done election all the while. The Ondo State election will come up in October and he is planning to conduct council election by April. I will not know what he wants to gain by conducting election at the tail end of his regime. To my own mind, this will amount to heating up the polity. He knows virtually that if he conducts election, there will be problem. I see a colossal disaster and at some points he will blame himself. One would have expected him to maintain the status quo and allow the new governor to do the needful. I would not know what he has in mind, but the truth of the matter is that the election he is trying to conduct is uncalled for. It is like a child play and nothing will come out of it.

    In a situation where we have 22 aspirants jostling for the APC ticket, will that not bring post-primary crisis?

    It is normal because they all have right to contest under the constitution of the party. The fact remains that, I will seriously advise the EXCO, the National Working Committee of the party to borrow a leaf from what happen to them in 2011. All that they need do now is to try to manage success. I am sure before the primary lot of them would have withdrawn from the race. Some of them have joined other serious candidates, I am not very sure that the 22 aspirants will go for the primary.  I am sure about five and six or there about, will go for the primary. We know the serious ones because we have been following their antecedent and pedigree.  We have been able to see some of their contributions and what they have done in the past. As a matter of fact, Alagbaka House this time around, is not a place to go for training. Somebody is going there, is going there to work.

  • Ondo farmers count losses of Fulani herdsmen’s attack

    Ondo farmers count losses of Fulani herdsmen’s attack

    Farmers in Ondo State are counting their losses after  the invasion of their farms by Fulani herdsmen.

    The siege led to the destruction of crops worth millions of naira by their cattle. The cattle grazed through the farms, trampling on crops which included maize.

    Rising from its meeting last month, the Ondo State Agricultural Commodities Association demanded N2 billion compensation from the Federal Government for the colossal loss suffered by cocoa and oil palm plantations affected during the raid.

    The meeting was attended by 24 agricultural commodity associations.

    In a communiqué signed by its Chairman, Akinola Olotu and the Secretary, Obaweya Gbenga, the group called for “urgent government assistance” for the affected farmers. The group said the  menace of the nomads had transcended just grazing on crops, with “a new dimension of bush burning, rape and physical attack with machetes, robbery, kidnapping and destruction being recorded across the state.”

    The group called for measures to deal with nomadic Fulani herdsmen. According to the group, the activities of the normads make them more dangerous and destructive as they destroy properties during raid.

    The farmers said they were living in fear due to the activities of the Fulani cattle rearers.

    They said they can no longer entertain Fulani herdsmen and their cattle because they’re not law abiding. According to them, a petition has been sent to the National Assembly to register their concern over the increasing threat to life and properties constituted by Fulani nomads.

    In protest, the group urged Ondo people and the Southwest to boycott or abstain from buying, selling and eating of beef throughout the month of March in solidarity with the farmers.

    The group warned that it would resist any attempt to create any grazing zone in the state, because there is hardly a space of one kilometre between farms across the state.

    “We reject the idea of acquiring land in our state for the purpose of planting grass to feed nomadic cattle. The Federal Government should please restrict this idea to the Northern region and irrigate the grass, like it’s being done to other crops there,” the group said.

  • ‘Why power should shift to APC in Ondo’

    ‘Why power should shift to APC in Ondo’

    Senator Olorunnimbe Farukanmi represented the old Ondo Central District in the Second Republic Senate.The octogenarian, who is  the Chairman of the Ondo State All Progressives Congress(APC) Elders’ Forum, spoke with DAMISI OJO on the preparations for the governorship election and other partisan issues. 

    How is the Ondo State APC Elder’s Forum preparing for the governorship election?

    As the forth-coming governorship election is of paramount importance,the leadership of the APC should work closely with all members of the party to ensure that the candidate of the APC wins. We are all aware of the problems created by the PDP in Nigeria, Ondo State inclusive, and all the efforts President Muhamamdu Buhari is making to revive the nation which has already been submerged in corruption, I don’t feel any reasonable Nigerian and Ondo State people inclusive will vote for a PDP candidate to continue with the destructive activities of the PDP rulers of the past. The APC Elders Caucus is prepared to work with all the candidates of the party to ensure that the various resources of the state are judiciously utilized and to ensure the diversification of the economy of the state. We as members of the Elders Caucus would mobilise our members at the units, ward and local government levels to ensure that our gubernatorial candidate wins the forthcoming election so that our governor would be able to work with President Muhammadu Buhari to re-position the country to overcome the numerous challenges confronting the country, particularly in the eradication of corruption, improvement of the economy, provision of all efficient security system, provision of all essential infrastructural needs of the country and bringing an end to poverty and provision of employment opportunities to the generality of Nigerians. Ondo State is one of the most viable agricultural states in Nigeria. This need to be revived.

    Is there a harmonious relationship between your group and the state executive committee of the party?

    The Elder Caucus is in the APC’s constitution and this group was inaugurated by Hon.Isaacs Kekemeke, the chairman of the state Executive. If it is illegal, he would not have done that, he conducted the election of the chairman and others openly in the party’s state secretariat. The members make personal financial contribution to keep the group running, if the group consisting of experienced administrators, professionals and politicians is not in the interest of the party, nothing stops the party from dissolving it so that the members can resign to their individual homes. Therefore if the chairman of the party conducted the election where the Elders Forum was not only inaugurated but also saw to the election of the Executive Members, I am surprised that the executive of the party would not recognize that, particularly as our main motive is to ensure that the party moves forward. Take note that in every democracy every vote is important. We have not constituted any financial burden on the state, our motivation is to ensure that the party is successful, hence we ask every member to report the progress of the party in their senatorial and local government levels. We were inaugurated to monitor the progress of the party in the state.

    What is your assessment of the present leadership of the party under Isaac Kekemeke?

    We must take cognizance of the fact that there are many levels of the party leadership outside the states. The party leadership at the south west and National levels are best positioned to monitor and assess the progress the party is making at the grassroots and state levels. As an experienced politician, what is of paramount importance to me is to ensure the co-operation of the Elders Caucus or Forum in the progress of the party. As the chairman who interacts with the leadership of the party at the National level and as the man who inaugurated the Elders Caucus, he is in the best position to inform our leaders at the national level how all the levels of the party are performing.

    How best do you think the APC candidate should emerge among over 20 aspirants?

    As the Ondo State people are enlightened and considering the economic,security and poverty problems confronting them, they would like to pick a candidate which can face their problems headlong. They will be prepared to vote for the most suitable candidate, irrespective of his ethnic orientation. As such, the APC with its widespread support should field an experienced, dedicated, knowledgeable and seasoned politician who will be able to embark on a development programme that would bring giant development strides to our state and people. I would advise our people to discard sectional sentiment and go for a candidate that would not let Ondo State people down. Therefore, out of the over 20 aspirants, we should choose an experienced politician who will be able to generate new sources of revenue to develop the state since the cheap funds from the federation accounts, which were products of oil, have dried up. It is important to stress that many states have not been able to pay the salaries of their workers for the past four to five months since the decline of oil prices in the world market. So, the APC leaders  must choose an aspirant capable of confronting these unusual and serious problems.

    Could you compare your days in the Senate of the Second Republic with the present. What are some of the differences?

    In those days, the UPN, a progressive party on which platform I contested elections and other political parties did not put any financial burden on their candidates. Even the electorate did not ask for anything in form of gifts, unlike nowadays when contestants waste fortunes to fund the party and electorate. To recoup what they have spent, they earn exorbitantly at the expense of the electorate. During my time in the Senate, we earn no allowances and the salary  was a token sum per month, less than N10,000  per month, we were not given money to purchase vehicles, in fact there were no vehicle allowances, no transport allowances. But nowadays, millions of naira are earned by our Senators to maintain their offices and to bring about some development in their constituencies. The executives at federal, state and local government levels are expected to implement programmes that would bring benefits to their people. It is therefore strange to include the Senators and other legislators at the federal and state levels to be given funds to carry out developmental projects.

    What steps should be taken to reconcile various factions within the party to become one united force, ahead of the election?

    That the party has become factionalised is not untrue. The on-coming gubernatorial election is very important and the party leadership at the Southwest and National levels should take positive actions to ensure that the party is well coordinated and united to be able to make progress and to win the on-coming gubernatorial election. The leadership of the party under Chief Pius Akinyelure and Chief Segun Oni in the Southwest and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must promptly intervene to ensure that the party is well consolidated at all levels.They should ensure that the selection of the gubernatorial election is well conducted to ensure that a capable,experienced, dedicated and hardworking candidate is chosen. The leadership of the party must not allow sectionalism and ethnic interest to divide the party. It is usual for people who are made to spend fortunes on such primaries, if not elected, to withdraw with their supporters from the party, and this will not be in the interest of the party. The co-operation of all sections of the party will ensure that a thorough primary where contestants are not made to waste fortunes is conducted.

    What is solution to the division between youths who want political power from the elderly politicians?

    Age is no barrier to politics, what people look for are experience, honesty, sincerity, incorruptibility in politicians. To reach the apex of any profession, one needs good education and experience. Hence, before you are made a Chief Medical Officer(CMD), you must have qualified as a director and with many years experience. The same thing goes for other professions such as becoming a Chief Engineer, a principal of an Institution, a Chief Architect, Chief Town Planning Officer etc. but as far as politics is concerned one must be properly educated in any of the professions mentioned above. There is the need for one to be educated and have experience in one’s calling and one can start politics from councillorship, or House of Assembly before moving into the National Assembly. Any of the qualified and experienced members of any of the professions mentioned above can participate fully in politics. But nowadays, many youths want to take politics as a first calling. This means they must remain in politics to achieve all their personal needs – get married, educate their children from proceeds from political earnings and even build houses for themselves and so on. If the youths see politics as the sure opportunity to achieve these, there is doubt that corruption would be encouraged through politics. The youths must therefore be properly educated, work in one area or the other, gain adequate experience in the development of society before moving into politics. Politics must not be seen as the opportunity or chance to shortchange the electorate through cornering of the revenues that should be utilized to develop the society.

    The earnings from politics should not be too expensive for the society to bear. We must imitate and replicate what developed countries are doing to ensure that their politicians don’t put unnecessary burdens on their people. Politics is not a profession that meet all one’s needs in life like marriage, building of houses etc. If there is crisis in politics,one should be able to move back to one’s profession. If one has a profession, it will assist in one’s performance in politics.

    Youths should not ask for political shift from elders, as age is immaterial to political performance. Goodluck Jonathan is under 60 years of age, he has brought Nigeria into the precipice, and Muhammadu Buhari who is now trying to rescue Nigeria is an elderly man, therefore, more than anything, performance, integrity, experience, knowledge and capability are germane and very important than age.

    Please, enumerate your journey through politics?

    As a graduate of Geography from the University of Ibadan in 1966, I taught in a secondary school for four years. I later went abroad to study at the University of Aston-in-Birmingham, U.K in 1969-1971 as a town planner. I worked for the Western Regional Government between 1972 and 1976. I was a Senior Town Planner when Ondo State was created in 1976. I later formed my own group of Town Planning Consultants from where I handled many master plans for state, the Federal Government and private individuals.

    By 1978, I won my election as a legislator into the Ondo State House of Assembly and by 1983 I won my election into Senate. The federal legislative Assembly was in Lagos before the military took over in 1981. By this time, I reverted into my businesses as a Town Planning Consultant, a saw miller and a poultry farmer. Sometimes in 1993-1998, I was a National Electoral Commissioner. The fact needs to be explained, every politician must have a profession, which can be reverted to, if one loses election or there is crisis in the politics of the day. The personal profession of politicians would assist them to have an alternative to fall on, if politics becomes unviable.

  • Ilori: Power should shift in Ondo

    Ilori: Power should shift in Ondo

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Special Adviser to the governor of Osun on Environment and Sanitation Matters, Bola Ilori, has joined other well-meaning Ondo State indigenes to congratulate the Sunshine State as she marks her 40th year of existence.

    In a statement by his media office, Ilori said Ondo people can celebrate for living as one peaceful entity since the state was created by General Muritala Muhammed in February 3, 1976.

    “It is, however, regrettable that despite its huge mineral and human resources, Ondo State is now competing with less endowed landlocked states like Ekiti and Osun for the title of highest salary debtor in the South West?

    ‘As of today, the oil producing and derivation collecting Ondo state owes more outstanding salaries, pension and deductions than any other state in the South West” Ilori said.

    While calling for more openness in governance, Ilori lamented that “Insincerity has eaten so deep into the governance ethos of the current band in Ondo State House that shame could not allow them reveal the real debt profile of the state. When other states declared their true debt and got bailout which was subsequently paid to their workers, Ondo State government chose to lie about the real debt profile and its now reaping the profane fruit of deceit as the bailout fund was consequentially sank by Access Bank because of huge undisclosed outstanding debt.”

    “I challenge the government to publish how it shared the twenty billion naira bailout fund he got from the APC led Federal Government in October 2015.”

    “Nobody has received any salary or pension bank alert in Ondo State since October 2015 till date.” Ilori submitted.

    However, Ilori who admonished the people to embrace the wind of charge blowing across the country, said there are better days ahead for the State. He urged people of Ondo State to remember the saying that ‘a fool at 40, is a fool forever’. The people must take charge and rescue the State from the present rudderless PDP led government.

     

    “No more foolery in Ondo, change cometh!”. Ilori concluded.

     

  • ‘PDP has failed Ondo’

    ‘PDP has failed Ondo’

    Alhaji Jamiu Ekungba, a member of the Board of Trustees (BoT) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), is a governorship aspirant in Ondo State. He spoke with EMMANUEL OLADESU on his plans for the state, the proposed shadow poll and the agitation for zoning.

    Why do you want to govern Ondo State?

    Ondo is the only Southwest state that is oil producing, which means that, apart from the normal characteristics of that geo-political zone, that state derives money from oil production. The state also has mineral resources that are unique in the world today. Apart from oil, we also have bitumen and today, the asphalt with which we tar our roads are imported from Venezuela, despite the fact that we have the capacity to produce asphalt in Agbabu in Ondo State. The amount of money that we will use to manufacture our own is far lesser than what Venezuela is using to mine its own because Venezuela has to go hundreds of meters down to bring it out. In Ondo State, it is on the surface. Aside from that, Ondo is the only state in Nigeria that has a coastal line and a thick forest that grows gradually into shrubs and savanna. What that means is that there is no crop that is being produced in Nigeria that cannot grow in Ondo State. In terms of tourism, from the coastal to the inland, it is like a journey from the plains to the hills. We have the Idanre hills, Akoko hills. And there are virtually no mineral resources in Nigeria that is not available in Ondo State in commercial quantity. And there is the quality of manpower in the typical Yoruba, brilliant and industrious. So we have everything that makes it sickening to everybody why we should share border with poverty. That is the state I come from. One of our political leaders, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, once told me when I was apolitical, that people like me have no right to complain when things go bad. I found it unbearable that that state is one of the states that go to the Federal Government to borrow money before it could pay salaries. So, this is one of the things that is pushing me.

    Do you have the experience required for the job?

    With my background in academics and even in parental training, I am prepared to do the job of ruling the state. I am a certified teacher, an accountant, a banker and a financial consultant. I was one of the six, including Rt. Hon. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, that turned the International Bank of West Africa to Afribank, the first financial supermarket in Nigeria. That bank was grasping for life when our team was set up. We worked assiduously to turn that bank to one of the most active in Nigeria. That is the experience I am putting on board. When my friend was made the MD of Trade Bank, he didn’t know what he was going into. When he got there, he saw a shell, a bank that was dying and he came to beg me to join him. I was torn between my career and friendship, but I chose friendship and we made that bank one of the surviving medium-scale institutions. If I have been able to do that to other institutions, why cant I do it for my state. When Bicourteny was trying to build the only airport that is of international standard in Nigeria, I was there consultant. I did not only rebuild he image of Bicourteny in the banking industry I put together a consortium of six banks that raised the N20 billion with which the airport was built.  My own state, because I don’t have any other state I could call my own, is now in dire need of someone to take it out of the woods, from this state of comatose to life. I took up the challenge, because I want to be on the right side of prosperity. I offer myself because I have the capacity and the strength to make Ondo State the engine of national development, a model of democratic development and a state that would offer a thriving business environment for Nigerians and members of the international community.

    Considering the perceived ineffectiveness of the public sector, how do you want to repeat a success story that was achieved through the instrumentality of an effective private sector in the public sector?

    God has prepared me for this job because after rising to a high level in my chosen career, as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and as a member of Governing Council of the Institute, I still went to acquire more education and I read Corporate Governance at Leeds Metropolitan University in the United Kingdom at Masters level where I distinguished myself. So, theoretically, I know how to handle human beings of any character traits or intent because intentions drive man. I have been trained to handle these conflicting missions of individuals to project the corporate objective be it in public, private or religious.

    What is the strength of the opposition in Ondo State? There is the impression that the APC is weak….

    I think when newsmen say a thing; any politician that says he does not agree is living in fool’s paradise. I would not say I do not agree, but I would say that one thing an average politician does not know is that the man who is the governor of Ondo State is my friend. One of the lessons my father thought me is that if you make a mistake and you call somebody your friend, if that friend becomes devil, you can’t say he is no more your friend. This man is what I would call active Maradona of our time politically. He knows how to handle you press, the social media and Ondo State people. I think the practical example is that, when he was seeking his second term in office, he called all the Ondo State people and said he wanted to create local governments. He diverted attention from discussing political and economic activities of the state and everybody wanted local governments. So, there was no way anybody could do constructive criticism of him any longer, he diverted attention. Now, after the election, where are the local governments he promised, for which he spent billions of naira setting up committees to go round. Where are they?

    Now, in the last election, immediately we dealt a blow on him at the Presidential Election. He came and told the Obas and the chiefs that he wanted to upgrade some of them. Like I do tell some people in Nigeria, any politician that says that the traditional institution is no more relevant is joking. Immediately he threw in that one, everybody forgot everything, even the APC that had won sizeable votes for the president and the National Assembly poll, Senate and so on, forgot everything. We started talking about promotion of Obas, promotion of chiefs and re- classification and the man went to the drawing board of how to hit the indigenes below the belt, which he did successfully. The APC, a party that scored 54.6 per cent in Presidential Election now had five House of Assembly seats out of 26.

    Now, another election is coming, he now says he wants to conduct local government election. For seven and a half years, he has always told us that he could not hold local government elections because there is a case in court. Has that case been decided? No. Now he has fixed a date for local government election for 24th of April. Why? To divert the attention of the people from the rising profile of APC because, except the right people become governor, local government elections would continue to be manipulated. But like I told you, I am going to develop that state to model of democratic development. We have never seen a state governor that conducted a local government election and his party did not win 100 per cent. So even if APC is going to partake in that election, we know the result from the beginning. But now that there is going to be local council election, there is even crisis within the APC whether to participate or not, so nobody is talking about gubernatorial election any longer now in the APC, it is now local government election, which is April.

    The PDP that is dying will now start waking up. So, this is exactly what you have seen in Ondo State. And so now when people ask me, APC is not active in Ondo State, I ask, which APC? Is it the APC as a political party or the Ondo State of Mimiko that he has succeeded in dribbling everybody? The 22 people on the field, the only person he has not been able to dribble is himself and I am sure very soon, he would dribble himself. The point is this, the APC in Ondo State is strong enough, to the best of my knowledge, I know my structure, my own personal structure, I am not talking of the party structure now, within the APC. It is strong enough to win election today in Ondo State. My own structure within APC is strong and intact. Now, when you add the other structures, how will we not be able to win election?

    How prepared are the aspirants for dialogue and to accept any one of them that is chosen as the candidate?

    The last election in Lagos State, you had many people showing interest. When there is big job, because of that job, has so many sides to many people, some people see governor of Ondo State as being the chief executive of a state. A lot of us, the 24 in the race, if you ask them, they don’t even know the extent of the problem, so they just want to be there because everybody is contesting, let me contest, if by accident, I would be there. So if that person is there by accident, he would for the next four years, ruin the lives of our people accident, I didn’t say rule, I say ruin. So that is one side to it.

    There is controversy over zoning in the Ondo APC, ahead of the election….

    I have never heard the party saying they would not follow zoning, but the party does not impose zoning on anybody. It is not possible. It is not possible for APC to say it does not recognize zoning, because even in presidential election, we did it. We would just have picked the president from Katsina and picked the vice president from Borno and disturbed the country’s political balance. You see let me tell Nigerians this one, we underplay some important issues, things that touch somebody’s heart, don’t say it is not important. Zoning is very important in Nigeria. So on the issue of zoning, the party will not impose it on anybody. So it is important for the Ondo people to adopt what they have been doing before if they want to. So the Ondo State people have not sat down to look at it now, everybody has come out, everybody is campaigning.

    If the party adopts zoning finally, that would be good. It will reduce the number of aspirants, it will also address people wasting their resources so that there can be realignment and cooperation by groups. Whether zoning is adopted in Ondo State or not, it cannot affect somebody like me because from Ilaje to Oke-Agbe, my structure is there and working well.

    Who is your godfather in politics?

    All my political fathers admire me and they love me. They love something in my consistency, loyalty and integrity. From Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu to the smallest man in the party, they always show their admiration at all times, all of them. So all of them are my idols, I see them as people that motivate me.

  • Man commits suicide in Ondo

    Man commits suicide in Ondo

    A 42-year-old man identified as Ayo Boye was Thursday found hanged on a tree behind a block industry at Adofure area of Akure, Ondo State capital.

    According to the owner of the block industry, who identified himself as Olanrewaju, his workers called him on phone to inform him about the incident, stressing that on getting to his office, he also saw the lifeless body of a man hanged on a tree

    Olanrewaju said, ” When I saw this I and I cannot identify the man I called my police friend who advised me to quickly report the incident at a police station”

    It was gathered that the deceased came from Abuja to Akure to attend a church service at a popular prayer center located in the area and a few meters away from where he took his life .

    The founder of the prayer centre, Pastor Samson Oluwamodede, claimed ignorant of the incident as he said, ” there are many people that worship in my church, and there is no way I can recognize everybody ”

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the State Mr. Femi Joseph, who confirmed incident said the wife and relatives of the deceased had been contacted and his remains had been deposited at the State Specialists’ Hospital, Akure for autopsy.

    He said “We found a Nokia handset and a sum of N2, 500 on him, we found a copy of bible on him but we are not certain that he came to worship at the prayer center.

    Joseph said the reason the deceased took his life was still unknown to the command but the command had commenced investigation on the matter.

  • One million match in Ondo

    One million match in Ondo

    A group in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, G39, has kicked against residency card “Kaadi Igbeayo” for residents.

    It said: “We will soon organise one million man rally to protest the introduction of Kaadi Igbeayo as a pre-condition to benefit from social services in the state.”

    In a statement by its State Coordinator, Olorunnimbe Ameto, the group said self-acclaimed progressive politicians should not make life difficult for citizens.

    It noted that many government officials, including Governor Olusegun Mimiko, benefitted from the Western Region’s free education policy without any condition attached.

    The statement said the group would approach human rights agencies to determine the constitutionality of the scheme.

    The group urged the Federal Government to mandate the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) to investigate states’ financial activities.