The Nation Newspaper

Tag: ONDO

  • Ondo Tribunal upholds PDP lawmakers election

    Ondo Tribunal upholds PDP lawmakers election

    The Ondo State House of Assembly election petition tribunal sitting in Akure Tuesday upheld the elections of two PDP lawmakers at the State House of Assembly.

    The lawmakers are Fatai Olotu representing Akoko North East and Tuyi Akintimehin from Idanre Constituency.

    In a separate judgement in the two suits, the three man tribunal led by Justice Ojobor Ogar ruled that the petitioner, Muyiwa Ogunyemi of the All Progressives Congress (APC) could not tender enough oral and documentary evidence to prove that the re-election of Olotu was characterized with electoral irregularities.

    Also, the panel held that the APC candidate in Idanre constituency, Adeuyi Omotadowa equally failed to prove his petition beyond reasonable doubt that the election of the PDP lawmaker was marred with electoral frauds.

    Reacting, lead counsel to the APC, Dr Tunji Abayomi vowed that he would challenge the two judgements at the appellate court where he expressed optimism that his clients would be declared the winners of the April 11, 2015 Assembly elections.

    However, the two PDP lawmakers praised the tribunal for what they called “sound judgements”.

  • Five injured in Ondo auto crash

    Five persons were injured at the weekend in multiple accidents in Oka-Akoko, Akoko South West Local Government Area of Ondo State. Two vehicles were damaged.

    The accident, which occurred on the Owo/Abuja Road, was said to have been caused by over speeding.

    The first happened at the accident-prone Oke-Alabojuto. The other was at Oke-Maria near Oka-Akoko.

    It was gathered that the truck rammed into a car coming from Abuja and the driver reportedly fled.

    An eyewitness, Mrs Taiba Yaya, said the accident caused gridlock on the busy road, which links the South to the North.

    It was learnt that the victims were rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo.

    The unit commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Ikare, Jimoh Basiru, said over speeding was responsible for the accident.

    The FRSC boss said the truck had been impounded. He warned drivers against over speeding.

  • ONDO FIRST LADY HOSTS BON BOOK READING

    ONDO FIRST LADY HOSTS BON BOOK READING

    THE First Lady of Ondo State, Mrs Olukemi Mimiko, penultimate Sunday, hosted the organizers of Best of Nollywood awards (BON) in Akure. The event which took place at the Mega Primary School, Iro, Akure saw Mrs Mimiko read off Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Half Of A Yellow Sun while students from various primary and secondary schools listened.

    Addressing the students at the event, Mimiko urged them to “Make every effort to be nothing but the very best because that is the whole idea. To encourage you, to inspire you, we want you to be like them (the celebrities) we want you to be better than them in any field either as an engineer, as a doctor, as a teacher, as a politician, as an actor or actress or as the president of Nigeria. It is already deposited in you, so as you leave here  today be assured that the governor loves you and I love you dearly.”

    Speaking about this year’s reading, Mr Seun Oloketuyi CEO BON awards described it as a professional ceremony. Citing reasons why Ondo State is hosting this year’s ceremony, he said; “at the moment Ondo State has just built probably the biggest event center in Nigeria called The Dome and we thought that bringing the award here will synchronize what the government is doing.”

    The book reading had in attendance top Nollywood actors and past winners of BON awards like Muyiwa Ademola, Bidemi Kosoko, Tope Tedela, Abdulateef Adedimeji Osuolale, Jibola Dabo, Chelsea Eze and a host of others.

    Also present at the book reading were top government officials from Ondo state including Mrs Oluboye wife of the Deputy Governor of Ondo State.

  • Owena: Lawyer withdraws appearance before Ondo CJ

    There was a mild drama in High Court 1, Akure, the Ondo State capital, yesterday when a lawyer, Victor Olatoyegun, withdrew from a case.

    Olatoyegun withdrew his appearance for the applicant, Charles Titiloye, a fellow lawyer, who sued the government over the demolition of Owena Hotel.

    Titiloye went to court to compel the government to disclose to the public, based on the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, the content of the private/public partnership agreement between the state and the multinational company, Shoprite.

    The case suffered a setback when the Chief Judge (CJ), Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi, who reportedly participated in the foundation laying with one of the defendants, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, assigned the case to his court.

    Olatoyegun, who is Titiloye’s counsel, had applied that the case be transfered to another judge but was overruled by Justice Kumuyi.

    Upon discovery that he was out of time to appeal the ruling, Olatoyegun petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) and National Judicial Commission (NJC), accusing Justice Kumuyi of bias.

    Olatoyegun argued that  Justice Kumuyi having been widely reported by the media to have been seen with one of the defendants at the ceremony in respect of the project ought not to hear the case.

    The CJN, writing on behalf of NJC, directed Justice Kumuyi to act on Titiloye’s request for transfer of the case and furnish his office with the step taken.

    Olatoyegun said he was surprised that despite the CJN’s directive, Justice Kumuyi is still hearing the case.

    This, according to the counsel, made him to openly withdraw from the case at the resumed hearing yesterday.

    He said he could not continue to participate in a proceeding where his client has openly expressed his lack of confidence in the court’s neutrality.

    Justice Kumuyi has adjourned the case till October 26.

  • Man declared missing in Ondo

    Man declared missing in Ondo

    A 30-year old man, Vincent Igiri from Benue State has been declared missing in Ilu-Alaye near Araromi-Obu in Odigbo local government area of Ondo State.

    Sources hinted that the man who is a part-time commercial motorcycle operator carried passengers to Abigi village in the water side area of Ogun state on the last ‘Ileya’ day and have not returned to his base since then.

    One of his brothers, Egbodo Phillips told The Nation that the missing father of three children left his home around 7pm on the fateful day to pick the unknown passengers.

    He said the family members have contacted Police in Abigi and Araromi-Obu on the matter but yet to get inkling on his whereabouts since.

    Another relative of the missing man, Sunday Silas said they had combed several adjoining villages in Ogun state waterside, stressing that he personally reported the case at Ijebu-Ode Area Command.

    He however said the Area Commander-in-charge directed him back to Araromi-Obu Police Division in Ondo state.

    Silas said Vincent’s disappearance since about three weeks ago has brought untold hardship to his wife, children and other family members.

    He urged the Police and other security agents to rescue the missing man.

    Sources at the State Police Command in Akure, the state capital said the case has not been reported at the Command for necessary action.

  • ‘My wife is a prostitute’

    A civil servant in Ondo State, Mr. Adebayo Ojo has asked an Akure Customary court to dissolve his 17 year-old marriage with his wife, Ebunoluwa over alleged of infidelity.
    Besides, Ojo also expressed his distress over the attitude of his three children toward him, accusing the defendant of turning them against him.
    The plaintiff told the court that he could no longer cope with marriage because he has on several occasions caught his wife with several men on their matrimonial bed.
    He added that his wife was found of making suspicious phone calls during the day and midnight, saying “these are evidences that would attest to the fact that my wife is a prostitute”
    Ojo also accused his wife of being disrespectful and refused to show any remorse about her behaviour.
    Ebunoluwa while defending herself said all the men claimed to be her concubines by her husband were just people she worked with as a labourer.
    She said she regretted of marrying her husband, who she believed has two wives but later discovered his wives were eight.
    The defendant noted that the children were only angry with their father over his failure to perform his responsibility as a father.
    However, the Customary President, Mr. Olayinka Falodun, while adjourning the case till November 4, asked the two parties to bring two of their relatives each to the court.
  • Falae’s abductors arrested

    Falae’s abductors arrested

    Five of the suspected abductors of the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Chief Olu Falae, have been arrested.

    The arrest came three weeks after Falae was kidnapped on his farm at Ilado Village in Akure North local government area of Ondo State, by some suspected Fulani herdsmen

    The elder statesman was released after four days in captivity along Akure-Owo road.

    Family sources confirmed that three of the hoodlums were arrested in Niger State last Sunday, while the other two were picked over the weekend.

    It was learnt that all the suspects had been kept in the custody of Special Anti-Robbery Squad(SARS) of the State Police Command, Akure, the state capital.

    Police men were also still on the trail of the other fleeing suspects.

    According to a source “Five of them have been arrested, three were arrested in Niger State on Sunday while two others were arrested somewhere I cannot say for now but all the suspects arrester are now in the custody of SARS.

    ” The police are still searching for the other seven suspects and I am sure they too will be arrested  very soon”.

    When contacted ,the state Police Public Relations Officer(PPRO) Mr Femi Joseph, could not confirmed the development but said the issue of the kidnap of the former Minister for Finance was being handled by the Inspector General of Police(IG)Solomon Arase.

    He said” I don’t know anything about the issue again, it is the IG that has taken over the issue of Chief Falae because it is a national issue. The IG is likely to brief the press about the development today”

  • Ondo must not repeat mistake of 2007

    Contemporarily, when a nation is failing, her leaders are questioned. Thus, a good leadership is the first expected panacea needed to savage a failing state.

    When a nation is short of good leadership, poverty and endemic underdevelopment would reign supreme. And in contrast, when a nation is headed by a purposeful leader, certainly there will be a fierce battle and competition for development.

    Today, despite the gargantuan creative and innovative breakthrough of Nigerians, the present political parlance of the nation of Nigeria is without doubt under the grip of intellectual Lilliputians without a career base.

    The system has promoted politicians without a career resume above men and women of substance who strived for knowledge before reaching the pinnacle of their chosen careers.

    Unfortunately, despite rated as the state with the second highest number of successful professionals in Nigeria, Ondo State is currently being piloted by a trained medical doctor that has never practiced for a day.

    The incumbent governor of my state, Olusegun Mimiko, studied medicine and surgery at the University of Ife, but he has never injected a patient in his life.

    Mimiko joined politics immediately he graduated from the university and I must say that luck has never left him till now. He rose from being a political hallelujah boy to become the Chief Executive Officer of our state. What a divine favour!

    Sadly, Mimiko’s personal good luck has been a bad luck for Ondo people. And from all indications, the way Mimiko has been governing Ondo State in the last six years shows how bereft he is of ideas and in leadership experience. So, my verdict is, politically, Mimiko scores an “A” but he’s a serial failure in governance.

    I aver thus because, today, all the factories Mimiko inherited from his predecessor are moribund. Okitipupa Oil Palm Mill is gone. Ifon Ceramics is gone. Bolorunduro Timbre is gone. Arigidi Tomato Paste factory is gone. Okeluse Cement is gone. Oluwa Glass, Igbokoda, is gone. The much celebrated Gani Faweyinmi Diagnostics Centre, Ondo which Mimiko claimed he built has been confirmed to be a fraud.

    Eight years after its establishment, the Ondo State University of Technology, Okitipupa (OSUSTECH) has not produced a graduate.

    The construction of a dual carriage road Mimiko started in his Ondo Ekimogun country home since 2009 has not been completed. Akure Township Stadium is now a mirage. The N2.1bn Akure Dome Project is begging for attention.

    Indeed, Ondo State is in dire need of freedom from the den of Mimiko.

    In reality, a leader of note, thought and candour, rooted and grounded politically and professionally, integrity personified and fearless, contented and God-fearing is needed at this moment to salvage Ondo people from the political tangle of Mimiko.

    Consequently, I have looked inward and perused into the idiosyncrasies of all the aspirants currently interested in Mimiko’s seat and found only one person suitable for the job and his name is Victor Adekanye Olabimtan, a Supare-Akoko born alumnus of the prestigious University of Lagos who embraced teaching as a profession after graduating from university and rose to the position of principal before he voluntarily retired in 2002 to contest for the position of Ondo State House of Assembly representing Akoko South West Constituency 1.

    He was subsequently elected by his colleagues as the Speaker and served for four years.

    Shortly after leaving office in 2007, he was appointed the Chairman of the Ondo State Teaching Service Commission. Without being sensational, let me say that Teachers in Ondo State never lacked promotion during his reign. Olabimtan was meticulous, hardworking and dedicated to his duty.

    – Akinrinlola Ademola

    Akure, Ondo State.

  • Ex-Ondo PDP Chairman rejects Mimiko’s appointment

    Ex-Ondo PDP Chairman rejects Mimiko’s appointment

    A former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, Mr Ebenezer Alabi has rejected his recent appointment as one of the Senior Special Assistants (SSA) to Governor Oludegun Mimiko.

    There are three new SSA including Alabi, Otito Atikase and Kunle Agunbiade.

    Alabi gallantly steered the ship of the PDP in the state until the uproar that greeted the defection of Mimiko from Labour Party (LP) to PDP.

    He sacrificed his position for the consolidation of members of both the old and new PDP in the state.

    Alabi handed the mantle of leadership to a close associate of the governor, Clement Faboyede, last year.

    Mimiko had during the week announced 42 appointments out of which only seven members of the Old PDP were considered.

    Political observers in the state believed that the appointment belittled Alabi’s status as a former chairman of PDP in the state.

    But Alabi, who was a one-time chairman of Ifedore local government council in a letter he personally signed and dated October 7, 2015, appreciated Mimiko for counting him worthy of the appointment which he said he could not accept due to some personal exigencies.

    Part of the letter reads; “Regrettably Sir, I will not be able to take up the appointment as I have set in motion businesses plan that now demand my attention. Pending the time the set-up stage will be scaled and surmounted, my presence must be sufficient in the day-to-day running of the business. For the above reason, I humbly plead you allow me turn down the offer.

    “I am also working on my professional practice which will commence soon. In a few months time, the office will be opened for business. Which means, in a few months to come, I shall have two businesses that will be competing simultaneously for my attention.

    “Your Excellency, let me assure you of my loyalty and that I shall continue to do my best for the PDP as one of its leaders in the state, thanking you for the honour and sincerely look forward to working with you sometimes very soon.”

    A PDP Chieftain in the state, Mr. Biyi Poroye has applauded Alabi for taking such decision and courage which he said would save him of his political career and benefit him in the nearest future.

    Poroye berated the governor for not taking good care of old PDP members in the state in the appointments.

    He said the appointment of Alabi as SSA to the governor was an embarrassment as it betrayed the agreement the governor had with the old PDP during his defection to the party in Abuja last year.

    According to him, Alabi as a symbol of the party deserves a better appointment to compensate the sacrifices he made during Mimiko’s struggle to take over the leadership of the party after his defection.

    He said; “I want to applaud Alabi for taking such decision and courage to turn down the offer. The appointment was a complete embarrassment. It betrayed the agreement we had with the governor during his struggle to take over the leadership of the party in the state.

    “Alabi as a symbol of the party deserves a better appointment under Mimiko’s government. I will advise the governor to address this injustice in other to save him and the party from further embarrassment.”

  • ‘Why Ondo can’t be broke’

    ‘Why Ondo can’t be broke’

    A University don, Dr. Theo Adebowale, has explained why Ondo State should not be broke, despite the economy crisis ravaging the nation.

    Adebowale said if its natural and minerals resources have been properly utilised, the state can survive by paying workers’ salary, constructing roads, building hospitals, providing jobs without depending on Federal Government allocations.

    The university don, delivered a lecture at a programme organized by the Broom Initiative for Empowerment and Sustenance [BIES] to mark the Independence Day in Akure, the state capital. The theme of the programme is: Party Supremacy: Leadership and Discipline

    He lamented that the state was listed among states that benefited from the bailout funds because it could not pay workers’ salaries.

    He said when a visionless leader is in charge of affairs, the result is that the economy would crumble and the masses would continue to suffer.

    Adebowale added: “ Ondo state is blessed with Oil, coffee, Cotton, Quart sand, Clay, Granite, Limestone, Talc, Kaolin, Coal, Columbine, Rock, Tin, River, Mineral deposits and Bitumen which is the 2nd largest in the world and if these are properly utilized  by a vision governor, the state should not be depending on federal government allocation before paying workers’ salaries.

    “If all our moribund industries like Oluwa-Glass, Okitipupa Palm Oil Company, Ifon ceramic industries and others are being revived, by now unemployment should have been reduced in the state”

    The lecturer lauded the former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, for proving himself as the best choice for the state when former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s regime stopped the allocation of the state.

    Adebowole, however, urged electorate to stop allowing money to influence who they would vote for during election time, saying that the result is always the production of bad leader in the seat of power.

    The Coordinator of the group, Erelu Modupe Johnson said the group aim is to enlighten the people ahead of next governorship election and also to empower the masses.