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Tag: ONDO

  • Ondo gets new board members, aides

    Ondo gets new board members, aides

    The Ondo State Government has announced the appointment of new chairmen and members of boards, parastatals and agencies as well as senior special assistants and special assistants.

    They are: State Property Development Corporation (OSPDC) with the former Chairman, Akure South Local Government, Adedayo Omolafe (Expensive) as Chairman and Akindoyeni Folukemi as part-time member.

    The State Waste Management Board (OSWMB) Chairman is Sina Fadamitan. Full- time members are Olumide Saporu, Falohun Layo and Ajamah Omimine.

    The State Sports Council will be headed by a former commissioner for Information, John Ola Mafo with Mary Bakare, Tope Ogunleye and Tony Adetoye as full-time members.

    Rotimi Olasogba is the Chairman, State Universal Basic Education (SUBEB).Full-time members are Dr. Dapo Iwala, Dapo Filani and Akinwale Ojo.

    Steve Giwa will head the State Water Corporation  with Ronke Akinkuowo and Rev Kola Adeyemi as full-time members

    Hospital Management Board (HMB) will be headed by Dr Niran Okunrinboye. Full-time members are Dr Femi Ayodele, Tunde Adegbonmire and Margaret Akinsuroju.

    The State Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM) is chaired by Dr. Francis Igbasan with Abdulazeez Momoh, Dr Ikuemelo and John Akindutire as full-time members.

    The Chairman of Agricultural Inputs Supply Company (AISC) is Niyi Adebusoye with Femi Adeoye, Boro Eniola and Seye Adegboye as full-time members.

    Taiye Akinyele is the Chairman, Local Government Service Commission (LGSC). Alhaja S.O.K Ogunmodede and Bayo Omotoye will serve as full-time members.

    The senior special assistants are Otito Atikase, Ebenezer Alabi and Kunle Agunbiade.

    The special assistants are Esther Ebiwonjumi, Lawrence Fagbolagun, Alana Adeyanju, Ife Ifedayo, Ogundele Bola and Ademola Adeyemi.

     

     

     

  • Ondo deputy governor illegally appointed, says APC

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State has called on Lasisi Oluboyo to stop parading himself as deputy governor.

    It advised him to vacate the office for the impeached deputy governor, Ali Olanusi, or risk jail for false assumption of office.

    A statement in Akure by its Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya, said: “We have it on good authority with incontrovertible evidence that the oath of allegiance and oath of office purportedly taken on April 27 by Lasisi Oluboyo were administered by the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Eyitayo Jegede.”

    It said: “This was against the provisions of Sections 185 (2) and 187 (2) of the 1999 Constitution. Sections 185 and 187 empower the Chief Judge, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi, to administer the oaths of allegiance and oath of office on the governor and deputy governor of Ondo State.

    “Contrary to these constitutional provisions, Justice Kumuyi delegated his constitutional responsibilities and powers to Jegede for reasons best known to him.

    “The chief judge, thereafter, issued a false certificate claiming to have personally administered the oaths, which the government has been relying on to cover up this constitutional aberration.

    “The CJ’s action is illegal and an abuse of office. In view of this illegality, in the eyes of the law, Oluboyo’s swearing-in is null and void.

    “Therefore, he is not known to law. He should stop parading himself as deputy governor and we advise him to vacate the office or face criminal prosecution that may land him in jail.”

    Adesanya praised the National Judicial Council (NJC) for the query issued to Justice Kumuyi.

    “We appeal to the NJC to thoroughly investigate the matter, and that Justice Kumuyi be punished for abdicating his constitutional responsibilities.

    “Similarly, we are calling on the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee to sanction and debar Jegede (SAN), because he cannot claim ignorance of the law for his action.”

  • Kidnapped Pastor regains freedom in Ondo

    After spending eleven days in captivity,the pastor- in-charge of the Apostolic Faith Church, Ilepa in Ikare Akoko, Pastor Japhet Obafemi has regained his freedom.

    He was kidnapped barely 24 hours after the former Secretary to the Government of the Federation(SGF)Chief Olu Falae was abducted in his Ilado village farm site.

    Sources said the 70-year-old cleric was released by his abductors at Ise-Akoko few kilometres from where he was picked last week Monday along Auga-Akunnu road in Akoko North-East Local government area of ondo state.

    It was learnt that the suspected kidnappers eventually released the pastor without collecting any ransom.

    The Cleric was abducted at a time he was just being discharged from hospital after months of sickness.

    The abductors had earlier demanded for N60m ransom,which they later reduced to N16m.

    They told his wife,Olu to sell all their properties in order to get the the money demanded.

    Narrating his ordeal Pastor Obafemi who sustained injury on his head noted that he trekked over six kilometres from the bush where he was released to Ise-Akoko.

    At the Cleric’s mission house at Ilepa-ikare, prominent people including religious leaders were visiting to felicitate with him, his Wife Hannah, and church members.

    The Caretaker Chairman of Akoko North East Local Government, Alhaji Azeez Al-Amam, expressed appreciation to the Media, Security Agencies and Governor Olusegun Mimiko for their various roles in ensuring the rescue of the cleric.

  • Ondo lawyer petitions CJN

    Ondo lawyer petitions CJN

    An Akure lawyer, Victor Olatoyegun, has petitioned the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) for the alleged mishandling of a suit by the Ondo State Chief Judge, Justice Olasehinde Kumuyi.

    In his petition, Olatoyegun claimed that he filed a suit on behalf of Charles Titiloye against the Ondo State government.

    Titiloye, under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act, sought information from the government on the public/partnership agreement that led to the demolition of the state-owned Owena Hotel, Akure, the state capital.

    The CJ assigned the case to his court but Titiloye, in a letter, requested the CJ to transfer the case on the grounds of likelihood of bias.

    Titiloye supported his position with a picture of Justice Kumuyi and one of the defendants, Governor Olusegun Mimiko, laying the foundation of the shopping mall to be built on the site of the demolished hotel.

    The CJ was said to have ignored the letter and dismissed the application that he should disqualify himself from hearing the matter.

    The judge also failed to serve Olatoyegun the hearing notice of the date for the ruling on the disqualification suit, thereby preventing the claimant from appealing his ruling.

    The CJN has directed Justice Kumuyi to take action on Titiloye’s complaint on his refusal to transfer the case from his court.

     

  • Youths protest in Ondo

    Over 200 youths yesterday marched on the streets of Akure, the Ondo State capital, to protest the abduction of former Secretary to the Government of Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae.

    The youth, who converged on the palace of the Deji of Akure at 8am, blocked major roads in the town.

    The protest took the protesters to Oba Adesida Road, Oyemekun Road and Oja Oba, among other places.

    The protesters, under the aegis of Akure Youths Coalition (AYC), declared that they would resist all attempts by Fulani herdsmen to frustrate the people.

    AYC President Oluwatuyi Adekambi said before Falae’s kidnap, three people have been allegedly hacked to death at Igoba and Oba-Ile by suspected herdsmen.

     

     

  • Sallah tragedy: 10 die in Ondo auto crash

    No fewer than 10 people lost their lives in a fatal auto accident which occurred in Uso, a sleepy community, along Akure/Owo highway in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    The accident, which occurred on Thursday evening, involved a trailer

    with registration number LSD 438 XE;  a Nissan Sunny taxi car with number AL 750 WWW and a Mitsubishi bus with number LQG 122 JD.

    Eye witnesses said the trailer which was heading towards Abuja rammed into the two vehicles, coming from the opposite direction, while trying to avoid potholes on the road, killing 10 occupants of the vehicles.

    It was gathered that vehicular movement was halted for several hours as a result of the accident, thereby causing gridlock on the busy road.

    Men of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and the Nigeria Police Force controlled traffic on the road, while officials of the National Emergency Management Agency(NEMA) evacuated the victims from the scene of the accident.

    It was learnt that the driver of the truck is now at large.

    The Head of Operations of the Ondo State Sector Command of the FRSC, Mr.Akin Adedipe who confirmed the accident also said 11 persons

    were injured in the accident.

    He noted that the accident was due to dangerous overtaking on the part of the vehicles involved.

    Adedipe said the victims had been taken to the Federal Medical Centre, Owo for treatment while the bodies of the deceased victims were deposited at the morgue of the hospital.

  • Why Ondo workers have not been paid

    Why Ondo workers have not been paid

    Civil servants in Ondo State are yet to receive their three months’ salaries, despite the receipt of the N14.686billion bailout fund from the Federal Government.

    The non-payment led to Tuesday’s protest where aggrieved workers demanded the removal of the Accountant-General, Fredrick Ajibokun.

    The workers accused Ajibokun of conniving with the government to delay their salaries.

    But a government insider said the accountant general should not be blamed as he was only acting on instruction “from above”.

    “Is it possible for the government to give an order and the accountant general, who is a mere civil servant, will say no? The workers’ leaders should direct their grievances to the right channel,” he said.

    Also, one of Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s former political aides, who pleaded for anonymity, said the delay was caused by the fresh verification carried out by the government.

    According to him, “the verification is to give those who did not participate in the previous exercise the opportunity to do it so that their names will not be deleted completely from the system.

    “I can assure the workers that immediately after the verification, the workers will be paid. Even political aides are still being owed.”

    The Joint Negotiating Council Chairman, Sunday Adeleye, said the workers were demanding the accountant general’s removal, adding that he connived with politicians to deny civil servants their right.

    Adeleye explained that the government had accessed the bailout fund two weeks ago and had no excuse not to pay.

    “Last week, the commissioner for Finance told me that he has directed the accountant general to pay workers.

    “The bailout fund came to the government account two weeks ago, they should have directed the accountant general to effect our payment, they failed.

    “I called the accountant general to confirm but he did not pick my call. Every effort we made to get his side proved abortive, which means something is wrong somewhere.

    Spokesman of the National Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) Victor Omodara said the delay in the payment was caused by the Sallah break.

    According to him, the union leaders met with the government where it was agreed that the July salary would be paid immediately. August was to be paid within the next 24 hours, but the arrangement failed because of the two-day holiday.

  • Ondo APC elders spank Mimiko

    Ondo APC elders spank Mimiko

    The Ondo North Senatorial Elders Assembly, a group within the All Progressives Congress (APC), has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari “on his laudable achievements in the last 100 days in office”.

    The elders, in a communique after their meeting, decried Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s running of the state.

    The communiqué reads: “ The Assembly observed with dismay and utter disappointment, the state of infrastructural decay all over the state inspite of the huge amount of resources available to the state government

    “It is unacceptable for Ondo State workers and pensioners to be owed salaries and allowances for over three to six months in view of the bailout funds received by Ondo State from the Federal Government.

    “The Assembly noted the pronouncement of Governor Olusegun Mimiko on the conduct of Local Government elections and observed that ODIEC (Ondo State Independent Electoral Commission) is yet to come up with appropriate guidelines and formal pronouncements. The Assembly therefore viewed the governor’s announcement with reservations.

    “ODIEC is hereby urged to come up with necessary notifications and guidelines on the proposed local government elections in the state.

    “The Assembly notes the numerous number of governorship aspirants from the zone and resolved that whoever emerges from the senatorial district should be supported by all.”

     

  • Ondo tribunal begins fresh hearing

    Ondo tribunal begins fresh hearing

    The Ondo State Election Petitions Tribunal yesterday began the hearing of the All Progressives Congress (APC) petitions, which were restored by the Appeal Court sitting in Akure, the state capital.

    The newly constituted tribunal is expected to wind up in two weeks.

    The three-member panel began entertaining the petitions afresh, with the APC presenting its evidence and calling its witnesses.

    One of the petitioners Festus Aregbesola’s counsel, Rotimi Akeredolu, called five witnesses to establish his case against the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Mrs. Kemi Adesanya, who was declared winner of the April 11 election in Akure South Constituency 1.

    The Tribunal had earlier dismissed the APC’s petition on technical grounds, claiming that they were filed prematurely.

    But the Court of Appeal overruled the tribunal’s judgment, ordering its president to set up a new panel of judges to hear the petitions afresh.

    It, consequently, set aside the dismissal of the two petitions by the Justice Anthony Oga-led panel.

     

  • Ondo to partner EU

    Ondo to partner EU

    Ondo State Governor Olusegun Mimiko has said his administration will strengthen its relationship with the European Union (EU) to provide international market for the commodities produced in the state.

    He added that the government would synergise with the EU in the area of investment and technical know-how.

    Mimiko spoke when the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Michel Arrion, visited him.

    He praised the EU for its previous poverty alleviation programmes through MPP3, MPP6 and MPP9 in the country, stressing that his administration had embarked on over 600 micro projects across the state to impact on the masses.

    He said: “Our administration in the last six years embarked on over 600 transformational micro projects aimed at alleviating poverty, youth empowerment and income generation among others.”

    Arrion said he was in the state for the Niger Delta Support Programme- 4 (NDSP-4), which is  an EU initiative.