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Tag: ONDO

  • Oke promises to complete abandoned projects

    Oke promises to complete abandoned projects

    the Ondo State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Chief Olusola Oke, yesterday promised to complete major projects the past administration of the party started but were abandoned by the ruling Labour Party (LP) administration, if elected in the October 20 election.

    The former Legal Adviser of the party said such projects include the Olokola Free Trade Zone, a deep seaport in the coastal area, an industrial park, sericulture and apiary farms, Adagbakuja town, Akure Modern Stadium and the reticulation of Owena Dam.

    Oke explained that because the projects would solve unemployment challenges, it has becomes necessary for any government that desires the well-being of the people to complete them.

     

  • Youths back ACN candidate

    Youths back ACN candidate

    Scores of Akoko youths, under the aegis of Akoko Youth Alliance (AYA), at Ikare Akoko, the headquarters of Akoko North East Local Government Area, have backed the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

    The youths were from the four local government areas in Akoko Division.
    They unanimously promised to support Akeredolu with legitimate means to win next month’s election.
    AYA Coordinator, Mr Banji Adewunmi, berated the ruling Labour Party (LP) administration for not providing jobs for youths.

    He challenged Governor Olusegun Mimiko to announce the number of graduates he has employed in the last three and a half years.

    Adewunmi said: “We are supporting Akeredolu because the youths will be the first major beneficiaries of an ACN administration. This is because we have keyed into his promise of providing 30,000 jobs in his first 100 days in office. We believe him and we know he will deliver on his promise because he is a man of integrity.”

    The group’s Secretary, Mr Aleriwa Shina, said the Ondo North rally is held every fortnight.
    The Deputy Director-General (North) of Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO), Mr Stephen Olemija, hailed the youths for supporting ACN and its candidate.

    He urged them not to deviate from the goal they have set, adding that they should ensure Akeredolu’s victory in the October 20 poll. The wife of the ACN standard bearer, Mrs Joy Akeredolu, attended the event.
    The rally became a carnival of sort when campaign souvenirs, including branded T-shirt, fez caps, key holders and others were inaugurated.

    Others at the event were ACN Northern Senatorial Chairman, Chief Idris Elemeje; the state’s Organising Secretary, Rahman Daudu; ACN Chairman in Akoko North-East, Deacon Ishola Moshood; Mr Omole Gbenga and Alhaji Bakare, who represented the former ACN governorship aspirant, Chief Segun Abraham.

     

  • ‘Akeredolu has no blemish as NBA President’

    ‘Akeredolu has no blemish as NBA President’

    The Okitipupa branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) yesterday warned politicians, individuals, corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to stop using the name of the association to discredit its reputable members for political reasons.

    It urged the public to avoid being used by politicians against its members.

    The Okitipupa Vice-Chairman of the association, Mr. Segun Lema, told reporters in Akure, the state capital, that a statement credited to an organisation, Good Governance Monitor (GGM), against its former President, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), was unacceptable.

    The organisation allegedly accused the former NBA President of embezzling a N3million donation the Niger State Government made to the association in 2010.

    He said the statement was politically motivated and a calculated attempt to tarnish the reputation of the former NBA chief.

    Lema said: “Akeredolu left the NBA with clean hands and an unprecedented record of achievements. There was never a time he was alleged or indicted for any financial misconduct. His achievements in office have become celebrated legacies in the legal profession.”

    The lawyer noted that the allegation against Akeredolu was the handiwork of his political detractors, particularly those who see his rising profile in the governorship race as a threat to their political careers and an end to their corrupt practices.

    Lema said: “If Akeredolu had been involved in any fraud, either big or small during his days as NBA president, the association’s secretariat in Abuja would not have been named after him. If the man had been involved in any financial misconduct as a lawyer, he wouldn’t have become NBA president.

    “NBA is an association that will never condone or shield any member accused of corruption. The NBA has a lot of respect and regard for Akeredolu, not only as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria but also because of his high moral standing. If Mr. Akeredolu had done anything wrong while in office, it would then behove on NBA to make it known to the public. But there was nothing of such either before, during or after his tenure.”

    The lawyer added that his colleagues in the profession would prevail on NBA national body to investigate the allegation and unmask those behind it.

    Lema said this would ensure that the accusers are made to face the consequences of their actions, if they are found guilty.

  • LP members join ACN in Ondo community

    LP members join ACN in Ondo community

    Over 500 leaders and members of the ruling Labour Party (LP) in Akoko Southeast Local Government Area of Ondo State yesterday defected to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).

    They were led by a chieftain of the ruling party, Mr. Yakubu Balogun, who accused the LP administration of deceit.

    The defectors were received at Ipe-Akoko by a former commissioner and ACN chieftain, Mr. Solagbade Amodeni.

    At the event, ACN Chairman in Akoko Southeast, Mr. Omoware Ajayi, said the defectors have equal rights as old members.

    They defied the rain to demonstrate their loyalty to ACN.

    Ajayi urged the defectors to work for the victory of the party and its candidate, Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN).

    The politician congratulated the new ACN members for their decision, adding that they would not regret it.

    A chieftain of ACN in the United Kingdom (UK), Mr. Bolaji Odidi, yesterday urged party members across the state, particularly in Igbokoda, the headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area, to vote massively for Akeredolu.

    Odidi spoke at a reception for him in Igbokoda when he met with leaders and members of the party in Ward 3 of the local government.

    The politician hailed the former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President, saying he is the best candidate in the governorship race.

    A ward chairman, Mr Tope Omoyele, hailed Odidi for leaving his UK base to join other stakeholders at home to rally support for Akeredolu.

    He said Odidi has turned around the fortunes of the party in Igbokoda through his generosity.

    Omoyele, who is a former PDP Youth Leader, said Igbokoda is a “no-go area” for other political parties.

    He added that instead of losing out, the residents joined ACN because it believed the party would win the election on October 20.

  • Court to rule on PDP, Ondo CJ suit Friday

    Court to rule on PDP, Ondo CJ suit Friday

    An Akure State High Court will on Friday rule on a suit filed by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) against the Chief Judge, Justice Sehinde Kumuyi, and Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

    The PDP took the action over the duo’s alleged involvement in the internal affairs of the party.

    Justice Kumuyi was alleged to be a card-carrying member of the Labour Party (LP) and accused of attending the party’s meeting, according to a letter written by the former Chairman of the party, Dr. Olaiya Oni.

    The PDP is praying the court to bar Kumuyi from presiding over any of its cases at the High Court or assigning same to any judge.

    The party averred that the CJ breached his oath of office when he allegedly joined the LP and had a meeting with Mimiko, where it was reportedly decided that the Kumuyi should grant certain orders to destabilise the party.

    At the resume hearing of the matter yesterday, the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), opposed the jurisdiction of the court to hear the matter on the ground that the action ought not to start with an originating summons.

    Justice B. F. Adeyeye adjourned the matter till Friday for ruling on jurisdiction.

     

  • Akeredolu to Mimiko: your achievements cosmetic

    Akeredolu to Mimiko: your achievements cosmetic

    The Akeredolu Campaign Organisation (ACO) of the Ondo State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday dismissed Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s achievements in the last three and a half yearsas cosmetic.

    It described as untrue the governor’s claim that the state’s tertiary institutions paid the least tuition fees in the Southwest and that its workers earned N22,000 minimum wage.

    In a statement in Akure, the state capital, Akeredolu said: “For us at ACO, this is another cheap propaganda by the drowning Labour Party (LP) to hoodwink Ondo State to vote for its candidate.

    “When ACN governors reclaimed their mandates in Ekiti, Osun and later won in Ogun and Oyo states from the reactionary Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), what they did was to slash the high tuition fees imposed on the students.

    “For instance, Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi slashed tuition fees by 75 per cent, irrespective of the course being pursued by the students. This has been applauded across the state. It is equally on record that Governor Rauf Aregbesola did the same in Osun State when he assumed office, apart from the massive infrastructures provided in the institutions. Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN) has promised not to increase tuition fees in Ondo State-owned tertiary institutions.

    “Besides, it is a notorious fact that while Mimiko was locked up in a battle of wit with Ondo State workers, the governors of ACN-controlled states had started paying minimum wage. It is, therefore, curious that a government that failed to pay N14,000 relativity salary could wake up to pay N22,000 minimum wage.

    “It is on record, based on the pay slips of workers in Ondo State, that after deducting taxes, an average worker goes home with less than N14,000. Therefore, where is the payment of the so-called N22,000 minimum wage?

    “It will also be interesting to note that the Mimiko administration has shortchanged teachers when he cleverly claimed that he had paid them the 27 per cent increment agreed with them, whereas he only paid two per cent of it.

    “How could Mimiko claim that his education sector is the best in the Southwest, with the collapse of primary and secondary schools, as a result of the poor condition of the structures of these schools?

    “Mimiko’s government is yet to employ a single teacher in the last three and a half years. Infrastructure at the Adekunle Ajasin University (AAU), the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic in Owo (ROGIPO), among others, are begging for attention while the workers of both institutions have been protesting non-payment of their salaries and allowances in the last 28 months.

    “Mimiko claimed that ACN asked for his blueprint. Which one is he talking about? Is it the abandonment of N1.5 billion Doom-dome? Is it the inability to construct a single road, among others?

    “Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) of Lagos State has been transforming the state, continuing where Asiwaju Bola Tinubu stopped. Even before he reclaimed his mandate, Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole was on the same path. Where did Mimiko develop the so-called blueprint that ACN governors are asking for?”

  • Ondo community vows not to vote for Oke

    RESIDENTS of Ala Goke in Idanre Local Government Area of Ondo State have vowed not to vote for the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olusola Oke.

    They accused him of abandoning an electricity project contract, which he secured from the Olusegun Agagu administration in 2003.The residents drew the attention of Governor Olusegun Mimiko to the project during his campaign tour of the area at the weekend.

    They vowed not to vote for Oke or any of his party members in future elections until he completes the project.
    The people noted that by Oke’s action, the agrarian community has been in darkness since then.

    Speaking through one of its leaders, Mr. Moses Oladeji, the community said the electricity project was awarded to Chief Olusola Oke by the immediate past Dr. Olusegun Agagu led administration in year 2003 and has since been left uncompleted. The people noted that for Oke, it was now time for reckoning as they would ensure that he did not get a single vote from them.

    Dr Olusegun Mimiko who was in the community to commission a Health Centre constructed by his administration was briefed further of the agony being experienced by the people of the community as a result of the abandonment of the project. They called on the governor to assist them in calling the attention of the PDP governorship candidate to the project which they believe would connect them to the outside world.

    Mimiko assured the people that he will do something on the project as soon as he received detailed reports on the project. He stated that he would not allow any project to be left uncompleted by any contractor, especially when such contractor had been paid for the contract.

    Dr Mimiko who also disclosed that the Health Centre project which was one of the 64 projects executed by his administration in Idanre Local government in the last three and a half years of the Labour party administration in the state.

    According to him, the health Centre which was constructed by Idanre local Government would go a long way in bailing the people out of the problems of travelling several kilometres whenever in need of health care services.

    Mimiko promised that he would use his second term in office to provide more social infrastructure for the people of the area especially road construction for the community to be linked to their neighbouring communities. The Labour party Governorship candidate who turned the campaign tour to a season of project commissioning also commissioned a block of six classrooms at Ala-Elefosan Community High School to replace the old school structure built since 1978.

    Addressing the people of the community Dr Mimiko appealed to all ethnic groups living in different parts of Idanre land and the state at large to live peacefully with their host communities; warning parents against planting seeds of discord among their children who he described as the core of the unity of the country, adding that parents should not leave a legacy of discord among their children.

    The governor who noted that no physical development can take place in any environment devoid of peace appealed to the hosting communities to see non-indigenes living among them as fellow Nigerians.

    According to him, the development witnessed in the last three and a half years of the Labour Party administration was as a result of the efforts of his administration to restore peace to the state, calling on the people of the state to work towards the sustenance of peace among them.

    The governor described the school project as a demonstration of his administration’s resolve to improve on the standard of education in the state and government intervention to make learning more conducive for students at all levels of education.

    Soliciting for votes of the people in Oct 20 governorship election, Governor Mimiko assured the people of the state to use his second term in office to extend his transformational revolution to all nooks and crannies of the state, adding that his administration would meet the needs of the people of the state.

    The Governor who also visited Owena town was received to the town with songs and dance by the people in appreciation of various developmental projects executed in their area by the state government.

    Addressing the people, Mimiko assured them that his administration will continue to bring the dividends of democracy to the doorsteps of every community by embarking on projects that will transform the lives of the people. He noted that all projects executed in different parts of the state were done according to the request of the people, adding that no project was forcibly executed in any community in the state.

    Receiving hundreds of defectors from the opposition parties led by Hon Adeolu Oluwatuyi, Governor Mimiko noted that only the Labour Party administration in the state could meet the needs of the people through its Caring Heart Programmes. The good work his administration and the urban-rural transformational programmes of the Labour Partyled administration, Mimiko stated, had touched the lives of everybody in the state, adding that people should be expecting more during his second term.

    The leader of the defectors Mr. Adeolu Oluwatuyi said that he decided to dump PDP for Labour Party in consideration of overwhelming performances of Labour Party administration in the last three and a half years of its governance.
    According to him, the good work executed by the governor and his selfless services to the people of the state had endeared him into the heart of people, including members of the opposition party.

    Oluwatuyi, therefore, promised to work with the leaders of the Labour Party in the Local government to ensure total victory for Labour Party candidate in Oct 20 election.

  • ACN chieftain urges support for candidate

    ACN chieftain urges support for candidate

    The Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Campaign Director for Ose/Owo Federal Constituency, Mr. Oshati Olatunji Maxima, has urged ward chairmen and the two local government chairmen in the constituency to ensure that the party wins with over 80 per cent votes in the October 20 election.

    Oshati spoke at a meeting with the chairmen, where he explained the party’s position and its preparedness for the poll.He said the party’s standard bearer, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), hails from the constituency, adding that the onus is on them to work harder for his victory.

    The ACN House of Assembly candidate for Ose Constituency in last year’s election promised that the chairmen would always be carried along in the directorate’s decisions.
    The party director hailed Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and other leaders of the party for their wisdom and for believing in Akeredolu.

    He also thanked other senatorial zones for conceding the ticket to Owo/Ose since 1979, when the late Adekunle Ajasin led the state.
    The politician urged Owo/Ose residents, irrespective of their political affiliation, to vote en mass for Akeredolu to reap the benefit of Southwest integration.
    Also in attendance were: the State Constituency Supervisor for Owo 1 and 2, Mr Tosin Ogunbodede and Mr Tenuche Fatai; Mr Ogundinbola and F.O. Osedimibola, the chairman of Ose and Owo councils.

  • Tinubu is Yoruba hero, says Akeredolu

    Tinubu is Yoruba hero, says Akeredolu

    The Ondo State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), yesterday said former Lagos State Governor, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, is a hero who should be praised for standing by the Yoruba nation at its critical moment.

    The former Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) President said protesters against fuel price hike were molested by the Olusegun Mimiko administration in Ondo State.

    Akeredolu addressed reporters in Akure, the state capital, during an interactive session with members of the state chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalist (NUJ).

    In a statement by his spokesman, Mr Idowu Ajanaku, the ACN candidate said: “Asiwaju Tinubu is a hero of our modern time. He should be crowned for providing leadership for the Yoruba at this critical point in history.

    “Governor Olusegun Mimiko said I would be an ajele (stooge) for Tinubu in Ondo State, but the same Mimiko sought assistance from Tinubu when his (Mimiko’s) mandate was stolen. Tinubu, Chief Bisi Akande, Segun Osoba, General Alani Akinrinade (rtd) are heroes who fought alongside other National Democratic Coalition (NADECO) leaders to enthrone democracy in Nigeria.”

  • Akeredolu: overhead bridges coming to Ondo

    THE Ondo State Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) governorship candidate, Mr Oluwarotimi Akeredolu (SAN), has promised to transform Akure, the state capital, to a new millennium city, if elected.
    A statement in Akure, by his spokesman, Mr Idowu Ajanaku, said the candidate spoke during his campaign tour of Akure North.

    The former Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) President said: “Two overhead connecting bridges, which will decongest traffic on the Oba Adesida Road and other adjoining areas in Akure, will be constructed by my administration, if we are elected, as part of urban renewal programme.

    He promised massive construction of the inner roads in the city, adding that besides the Oba Adesida Road, which was built by the military over 30 years ago, there is no other good road in Akure.

    Akeredolu decried the neglect of the Akure Township Stadium, which was reportedly awarded by the Olusegun Agagu administration and inability of the ruling Labour Party (LP) administration to renovate it.

    This has forced the Sunshine Football Club of Akure to play its matches in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State, despite claims by Mimiko that his government towers above ACN-controlled states in the Southwest.

    The frontline lawyer promised that if he is elected, his administration would partner the private sector to build modern amenities, such as shopping complexes, event centres, small scale industries, among others, in Akure.

    He said the state capital would wear a new took, when he becomes governor next year.
    According to him, Akure does not portray the image of the capital of a state that produces oil and earns huge revenue from the resource.

    He said: “Go to other states that do not have our kind of resources. As you enter, you would feel the beautification, culture and sense of belonging, in contrast to what you see here in Ondo State.”