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Tag: ONDO

  • Kekemeke: PDP, LP are dead in Ondo

    Kekemeke: PDP, LP are dead in Ondo

    Hon. Isaac Kekemeke, a lawyer, is the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, (APC) in Ondo State. In this interview with DAMISI OJO, in Akure, the state capital, former Secretary to the Government (SSG) spoke on the party’s chances in next year’s elections.

    How did  you emerge as the APC chairman in Ondo State?

    It was a keen contest. I had 499 votes; my closest rival had 497, followed by an aspirant with 136 and another had 10. I have received delegations from almost all the local government areas with some other interest groups who pledged their support. Upon receiving these delegations, we gave them our vision and mission and told them that the congresses were over. We are now aiming at changing our status from an opposition party to a party in power; from a party outside of government to a party in government; from the street of Akure to Alagbaka Government House; from the streets of various local government headquaters to their secretariats and our new vision is to build electorally prosperous APC in the state.

    Now that you are the chairman, how would you sell your party to the people?

    I think there is a number of reasons why people should vote for us. First is that our party has a manifesto. The manifesto is people-centered; the manifesto is about impacting on the lives of the ordinary Nigerian. The manifesto is about social welfare. The manifesto is about heath. The manifesto is about education. The manifesto is about the development of infrastructure. The manifesto is about providing security. The manifesto is about power so that individuals can thrive. In fact, it is about the fact that government exists only for the people. And that’s what APC governors do all over the country, building roads, providing security, quality education, health services, caring for the elderly, providing jobs. This is all our party is about.

    The second reason is that I do not think that any non-partisan Nigerian will want our country to run the way it is running for another four years.So, for anybody who is not a partisan person, for anybody who is not taking immediate benefit from this government, I think it is almost unreasonable to say we should have another four years of what is happening in our country today. That is a compelling reason why I think people should vote for our party. At least, let’s have change. Let’s move on. The PDP has done its best for almost 15 years. Let them get out.

    Many people believe the defunct Action Congress of Nigeria(ACN )performed woefully in the last governorship election in Ondo State due to some reasons. What is your plan ahead of next year’s and 2016 elections?

    The ACN lost because it didn’t have structures here and that they started late, and maybe, a number of other factors. Don’t forget the APC has new people from the PDP, new people from the Labour Party and new people from the legacy parties. It is now a mega party. What we will do differently is that we have started to build our structures. We will mobilise the people. We will run an organised campaign. We will be transparent with forms. And of course, the process of picking our flag bearer will be decided according to the constitution and the guideline of the party. We are going to do a number of things differently. We have many more people now; we have much more commitment than before.

    How can you rate  APC governors, particularly in the Southwest? Do they deserve second term?

    The philosophy of our party is the well-being of the people. You can almost be sure that, rather than becoming non-functional, I know they will gear up and want to work hard. I think there is an unsaid desire to leave a legacy for posterity and for generations to come. That’s the difference between those who served under the APC and those who served under the PDP who are just about power and power alone.Our governors are performing everywhere apart from the Southwest and they deserve second term.

    What are your chances of winning elections in Ondo State?

    Our chances are high. Our party has become a destination of choice for many people in other political parties, for many people in the government, both at the state and the federal. I receive calls. I hold meetings almost every other day with people in those parties, expressing their desire to join and team up with us. Here in Ondo State, the Labour Party is dead. Our Iroko leaves have continued to wither because there is no more water to supply the Iroko tree. It’s just a matter of time to get him off there. The administration in the state is already deteriorated. The PDP is in coma. The only living party is the APC. So, people are coming and we are trying to put our house in order. We will take over government. We will get united. We will expand and we will win.

    I am appealing to the citizenry in the state to keep faith with the APC for the betterment of the people and the country. We are embarking on mobilisation tour to all the 18 local government areas to sensitise people on the need to embrace the progressive party that has a people-oriented programmes.

  • Ondo to prosecute erring traditional birth attendants

    Any traditional birth attendant and mission house operator who record deaths of pregnant women during child delivery will henceforth be prosecuted by the Ondo State government.

    They are therefore advised to refer all pregnant women that came to them to give birth to government hospitals.

    This was part of the resolutions reached at a health seminar tagged “The Role of Traditional Birth Attendants in Maternal Health and Child Survival” organized by Hala Nigeria.

    Participants were drawn from the health sector for one common goal of redefining the roles of traditional birth attendants and mission houses.

    The state Commissioner for Health, Dayo Adeyanju who believes in the efficacy of prayers, however said the lives of the pregnant women should not be put in the hands of operators of mission houses.He warned operators of such centers to desist or face the full wrath of the law.

    In order not to render them useless, the Commissioner mandated them to refer pregnant women to government hospitals.

  • How female Youth Corps member lifted Ondo community

    How female Youth Corps member lifted Ondo community

    What was expected of her as a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), was to go quietly to her place of primary assignment and do whatever was assigned to her to qualify her for the discharge certificate to indicate she had served her fatherland.

    But Esther Olaoluwa Ogunsuyi, a graduate of Medical Laboratory Science from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, Edo State has done more than this.

    With State code OD/13C/0968, Miss Ogunsuyi serving at the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) has taken it upon herself to leave a positive long lasting impression on her immediate community.

    The Youth Corps member singlehandedly raised money to drill a borehole at FUTA around Obakekere staff quarters to boost water supply particularly in the university community and Akure, the Ondo state capital in general.

    Besides, she gives regular sensitisation talks to youths in Akure on the importance of voluntary blood donation.

    On July 17, 2014 she organised a voluntary non-renumerated blood donation exercise at FUTA where she encouraged youths and students to donate blood. She did this in collaboration with the National Blood Transfusion Service, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.

    After the blood had been screened and certified save for transfusion, she donated 20 pints to Mother and Child Hospital, Akure in Ondo State as part of her personal contribution to the well being of Mothers and Children in the hospital.

    The gesture was to complement the transformation agenda of the Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko to improve public healthcare delivery in the State.

    Ogunsuyi also organised a seminar on Life Building Skills that would enable the youth to live a successful and productive life.  Such skills include Communication Skills, Goal Setting Skills, Assertiveness Skills, Time Management Skills and Value System among others.

    In a chat with The Nation the Youth Corps member said she wanted the people living within the area of her primary assignment to continue remembering her contribution to the community through various projects she personally influenced into the area long after she must have finished her service year.

    One of the community leaders in Akure, Chief Oluwole Adeoye commended the young woman for developing Akure Community in particular and Ondo State in general.

    According to him, Esther deserves commendation because her kind gesture is worthy of emulation by her colleagues.

    The Youth Corps member pledged to continue impacting positively on her immediate environment, Ondo State and Nigeria as a whole, stressing that this is the essence of national service.

  • LP, PDP members defect to Ondo APC

    LP, PDP members defect to Ondo APC

    ABOUT 1000 members of Labour Party (LP) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State yesterday defected to the All Progressives Party (APC) at Igbatoro, Akure North Local Government Area.

    They announced their defection at the declaration of an aspirant for House of Assembly and a chieftain of the APC in the local government, Mr. Akinola Olaleye.

    The defectors were received by an APC chieftain, Mr. Olorunnimbe Ameto and other leaders.

    The leaders of the defectors, Femi Oluale of LP and Sesan Oni of PDP, said they decided to join the APC because of the need to salvage the state from the “deceitful” present administration.

    Oluale lamented that there was no project at Obatedo, Familugba and Igbatoro communities since the inception of Mimiko’s administration.

    He said they decided to dump the ruling party to help their kinsman, who is contesting for the House seat to achieve his dream of bringing development to Igbatoro.

    “Many politicians have been coming here and when they are elected, they never come back to Igbatoro. We wonder what we have done wrong, considering that this town has the largest vote in Akure North.

    “But now, we have seen our own son who is contesting for House of Assembly. We all have to support him. I can assure you that every genuine son and daughter of Igbatoro will join APC, because we need someone who can drive development into our community,” Oluale said.

    Olaleye, who addressed the defectors, promised a level-playing field for all members.

    He said the citizenry were disappointed with Mimiko’s administration following the neglect of the community.

    The APC chieftain revived a borehole at Obatedo and empowered farmers with cocoa chemicals and cutlasses at Familugba and Igbatoro.

  • Ondo to make cremation law

    Ondo to make cremation law

    The Ondo State Government hinted yesterday it will enact a cremation law to deal with bodies brought to the state without certificates.

    Governor Olusegun Mimiko spoke at the inauguration of the Ondo Central Missionary Diocese of the African Church Nigeria and Overseas at the Ebenezer African Church Cathedral, Akure, the state capital.

    Mimiko’s statement came as the Primate, Rev. Emmanuel Josiah Udofia, ordered that body contacts be avoided in the churches.

    Udofia, who inaugurated the missionary diocese, explained that although God could heal all diseases and protect His people, humans should not take unnecessary risks.

  • Medical experts warn Ondo community over high birth rate

    Medical experts warn Ondo community over high birth rate

    Medical experts have advised the Ondo State government to embark on sensitisation programmes to discourage high birth rate in Ilaje Local Government Area.

    The leader of the medical team sent by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Dr. Livinus Martins, gave the warning at the weekend.

    He said if the government failed to act, this might lead to a population explosion.

    The doctors, who spent five days in the communities, recalled a man in Ode-Igo community in Ilaje, with 13 children and wants 15 more.

    Martins said the sensitisation programmes must be organised to warn the people on the danger in having many children.

    He said about 376 people passed through laboratory tests, six went through major surgery, 770 were out-patients, 678 passed through pharmaceutical section and 41 were treated for dental problems during the medical visit.

    The State Representative on the NDDC Board, Benson Amuwa, said the commission’s aim was to make healthcare available to the riverine people.

    He lamented that the Niger Delta’s people had been deprived of their rights due to non-availability of time and fund.

    His words: “What the NDDC is aiming at is that the people of the mandate areas will enjoy basic healthcare at their doorsteps and we know that most of them cannot afford the kind of healthcare, which normally they should get.

    “From the records, we have been told that several operations have been done in a community like this. For someone to do any major operation, you will spend about N100,000. To get such amount of money in a community like this, a whole family may need to donate it.

    “NDDC has come out, making it possible for people to be treated. Our projection is that NDDC should be empowered so that it can reach more people. We still have a lot of people waiting to be treated. But the team has a time limit and by Friday, the medical experts will be gone. We need more time and fund so that we can reach more people.

    “Our medical team told us that this kind of programme should be carried out two times in a year. The NDDC, under the present board, would like to do that. But it is just the enablement. Our projection is that fund be made available because we have over 10,000 people that need medical assistance”.

    Amuwa assured the people that NDDC would complete all abandoned projects and also construct more roads.

  • APC flays LP of delaying Ondo by-election

    APC flays LP of delaying Ondo by-election

    Ondo State Chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the Labour Party (LP)-led state government of playing politics with the destiny and the development of people of Odigbo Local Government Area.

    APC, in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Abayomi Adesanya, urged the House of Assembly’s Speaker, Princess Jumoke Akindele, to respect the constitution by declaring the seat of the late speaker, Samuel Adesina, vacant.

    Abayomi said: “There are complaints, petitions and protests as to why the Speaker and the House of Assembly refused to notify the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) of the vacancy existing in Odigbo Constituency ll, to facilitate the conduct of the bye-election.

    The party noted that since the demise of the late Adesina, the government has not deemed it fit to fulfill its constitutional responsibility by declaring the seat vacant to avail the people an opportunity to have a replacement.

    The statement noted that the LP-led administration was afraid of losing the seat to the APC, because council area is a stronghold of the party.

    It said the state government is applying delay tactics to ensure that the election did not hold before the 2015 general elections.

    But the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Kunle Olujuyigbe, said the Assembly had concluded all arrangements to fill the vacant seat.

    Olujiyigbe said: “As far as the House of Assembly is concern, we have done what we are expected to do about the vacant seat and we have duly notified INEC. I think at the appropriate time, INEC will call for stakeholders’ meeting and tell us the next line of action”.

  • Ondo to recruit secondary school teachers

    Ondo State government has announced plans to recruit new secondary school teachers to fill some vacancies.

    Already, the process for the recruitment is on to pave way for the employment of fresh education graduates from universities, polytechnics and colleges of education.

    The Head of Service (HOS), Mr Toyin Akinkuotu, made this known a news conference to mark the Public Service day in Akure, the state capital.

    He said this was part of the effort to improve education standard in the state.

    Besides, no fewer than 7, 847 public servants are to benefit from this year’s promotion in the state.

    Akinkuotu said the promotion exercise is part of government commitments to raise workers.

    Akinkotu, who revealed that no worker in the state is owed any salary arrears, added that the government would continue to provide training both at local and international levels to workers to develop their human capacity.

    While highlighting other incentives to include a befitting civil service complex and ultra modern public service training institute at Ilara mokin, Akinkuotu assured of the government’s commitment to more reforms in the state in line with global best practices.

     

  • Ondo appoints Adediji to establish pension commission

    Following the enactment of the contributory pension law by the Ondo State Government, it has appointed the Group Managing Director, Pensionscope Group/Chief Executive Officer Interterms Pension Consultancy, Tai Adediji, a consultant to establish the state pension commission.

    The commission is expected to  coordinate and manage workers’ pension affairs in the state.

    With the appointment, Adediji is expected to bring to bear his experience on pension management, in drawing the template for the commission, draw the criteria for the appointment of the Director-General and relevant officers.

    He will also be responsible for the appointment of Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs) and Pension Fund Custodians (PFCs).

    Adediji, who was the pioneer Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the CRIB Pension Fund Administrator, has contributed to pension industry’s development through article publications, paper presentations at high profiled fora, production of pensionscope radio as well as pensionscope magazine, a monthly professional publication for both pension and insurance industries.

    Commenting on the appointment, Adediji pledged to do his best in ensuring that the state has one of the best pension commissions that can guarantee improved wellbeing for contributors, retirees and other stakeholders.

    He said the enactment of the state’s pension law, especially now that a new pension law has been signed by the Federal Government, will help enhance the moral of the workers.

    He lauded the efforts of the state government in joining other progressive states in laying a secured and prosperous future for its workers and called on workers in the state to reciprocate the gesture of the government by redoubling their contributions to the state’s development.

    He said: “When the Governor Olusegun Mimiko decided to bring in the change by the introduction of the contributory pension scheme in replacement of the Defined Benefit Scheme (DBS), it appears the governor was fully expecting reactions and in some cases rejections to the new scheme simply because a change was about to come.

    “This led to the application of democratic principle by opening up the window to dialogue with virtually all the interest groups. This has worked and averted what would have led to serious crisis in the state.”

  • NDLEA destroys over 184 hectares of cannabis plantation in Ondo

    NDLEA destroys over 184 hectares of cannabis plantation in Ondo

    A combined team of 100 National Drug Law Enforcement (NDLEA) officers drawn from eight commands have jointly raided Wese Forest Reserve and destroyed 184 hectares of cannabis plantations.

    The raid,  according to NDLEA spokesman, Mr Mitchel Ofoyeju, lasted 72 hours leading to the dismantling of a cannabis syndicate known as Akunnubas.

    The treasurer of the group, Eke Sylvester, 37, and five members of the association were apprehended.

    They are Friday Julius, 28, Azonobi Godwin, 21, Leke Cletus, 29, Festus Osagie, 30, and Charles Osanebi.

    Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Ahmadu Giade, has described the operation as a positive step towards the total dismantling of cannabis cartels in the country.

    “I am very pleased with the success of the Operation Wese. This is obviously a positive step towards the eradication of cannabis cartels. I commend the officers for a great job. Let me assure members of the public that this is the beginning of total war against cannabis cultivation in the country,” Giade said.

    Since the commencement of the Operation Burn the Weed exercise in 1990  where NDLEA officials discovered and destroyed cannabis farms,  the battle against cannabis cultivation has grown in leaps and bounds.

    According to Ofoyeju,  there  is no state that has not recorded cannabis farm destruction in Nigeria. From Lagos to Sokoto and from Adamawa to Rivers State, the story is practically the same.

    Cannabis,  he said, is grown effortlessly across the length and breadth of the country.

    NDLEA statistics have shown that large scale cultivation of cannabis occurs predominantly in the South West and South South states of Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Edo and Delta. The scope of cannabis cultivation has grown dangerously with grave security implications.

    The Operation Wese has revealed the modes of operation of cannabis production syndicates and related implications for the country.

    In Akure, the capital of Ondo State, cannabis cultivators have now organised themselves into illegal associations. The name of the cannabis syndicate dismantled by the Operation Wese is Akunnubas.

    According to investigation, this full-blown drug-trafficking network has an executive arm that oversees the administrative affairs of the group.

    There is a Task Force that implements policies and decisions as well as advisers who serve as consultants to the group on legal and technical affairs.

    In a surveillance operation that lasted six months, the NDLEA has uncovered  the top hierarchy of Akunnubas.

    The chairman of the group,  Akwuzonu, is currently at large. The chief scribe of the syndicate is known as Saky, while Ojo is the manager of the group.

    There is a Task Force headed by one Babatunde also known as “Brazil.” The treasurer of the Akunnubas, Eke Sylvester, known as  Okworo is among those apprehended during the Operation Wese.

    He said: “The cannabis cultivators find their way into the heart of Forest Reserves, cut down economic trees and cultivate their deadly weeds. The clandestine activities of the drug cartel are not known as legitimate farmers do not go that far into the forest to cultivate their crops.

    “In the early hours of the day, the 100-man tactical team drove into Wese Forest Reserve at the Ipele area in the Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    “After driving for over two hours along the narrow bush path, the team arrived at a point where the vehicles could no longer negotiate the rough terrain rendered impassable by the heavy rains.

    “The team had to continue the rest of the journey on foot. Armed with rifles, the team made its way through the heavy forest until they located the first cannabis farm which had at its centre a makeshift tent which served as shelter for workers who provide security and look after the farm.

    “The tent was camouflaged by corn stalks strategically planted around it to conceal it from view.  Upon arrival, a suspect was apprehended and the farm was immediately cordoned off.

    “Armed with machetes, the officers cut down acres of the cannabis farm and set the plants ablaze with the tent before continuing their search for more farms. Within 50 metres, they discovered that several hectares had been cleared and converted into a large collection of cannabis farms.

    “The officers walked the length and breadth of each farm to accurately calculate the size of the farms. This continued until it was getting dark and the team withdrew to  Akure NDLEA Command Office.

    “After a review of day one activities that night, the team rested for a few hours before setting out very early the following morning to continue the mission. Along the bush path one of the suspects, Festus Osagie was promptly apprehended while trying to escape on a motor bike with four bags of harvested cannabis weed. ”

    He further:”  The three-day operation, led to the discovery and subsequent destruction of approximately 184 hectares ( 456 acres) of cannabis plantations.

    “Cannabis plantations are located in the deep forests far beyond where legitimate farmers care to cultivate. The process is kick-started by cutting down trees to create room for sunlight at the nursery beds. It is from there the seedlings are transplanted to the farms. Much labour is required at the preparatory stages because it involves falling trees.

    “Investigation revealed that members of the group hire people to work in the farms. Part of the illegal workforce is drawn from minors and school age children. They are reportedly paid the sum of ?10,000 monthly. “