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Tag: ONDO

  • Lassa fever hits Ondo

    Lassa fever hits Ondo

    An outbreak of Lassa fever has been reported in Ondo State.
    Dr Liasu Ahmed, the Chief Medical Director of Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Owo, confirmed the outbreak to newsmen on Monday on telephone.
    Ahmed, however, declined to give further details.
    He said that it was the prerogative of the Ondo State Government to release details on the outbreak.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that some persons suspected to have been infected were taken to the FMC, Owo, while others with critical conditions were said to have been referred to Irua Specialist Hospital in Edo for treatment.

    Similarly, a medical doctor with the FMC, who spoke on anonymity, confirmed that a family of four persons were brought to the hospital from Oka-Akoko area of the state, while another six suspected victims were also rushed to the centre from Owo and Ose Local Government Areas of the state.
    According to the medical doctor, health workers at the FMC were working under fear of contracting the epidemic.
    The state government is yet to react to the development as the state Commissioner for Health, Dr Wahaab Adegbenro, did not answer calls nor reply to text messages.

     

  • Boroffice welcomes Oke, others to APC

    Boroffice welcomes Oke, others to APC

    Prof. Ajayi Boroffice, Senator representing Ondo North Senatorial District has applauded the return of the former legal adviser of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olusola Oke and his supporters to the All Progressives Congress ( APC ) in Ondo State.

    Oke, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria ( SAN ), and a 2016 governorship candidate of Alliance for Democracy ( AD ), defected to APC on Thursday in Akure with his supporters.

    Boroffice commendation is contained in a statement issued by his Media Adviser, Mr Kayode Fakuyi, on Friday in Akure.

    READ ALSO: I’m a loyal deputy, says Olusola

    “The senator is delighted to note that the laudable efforts of himself and other party leaders to woo politicians from other political parties to join the APC have started yielding positive results.

    “As a matter of fact, the wave of defection is currently blowing across Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti and Lagos States,” it read.

    The statement added that in the weeks ahead, APC would receive more political gladiators into its fold.

    It urged the defectors to quickly perfect their membership registration in order to join hands with party leaders to build a united and formidable party in the state.

    NAN

  • IPMAN orders members to stop sale of fuel in Ondo

    IPMAN orders members to stop sale of fuel in Ondo

    The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) in Ondo State yesterday ordered the closure of filling stations across the state.

    This followed the reported arrest of its members.

    It was learnt that there was a confrontation between fuel dealers and the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Governor on Special Duties, Doyin Odebowale, in Akure, the state capital.

    The State IPMAN Chairman Adejimi Adedapo, who gave the directive, said the action of the SSA and his team was a sabotage and arbitrary punishment of marketers and the public.

    He said the association recently ensured that the residents got Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), or petrol, at all cost, despite the challenges they encountered in getting the product.

    The IPMAN chairman said the PMS was N165 per litre from the depots, with other factors, like haulage, overhead cost and others not included.

    One of the leaders of the association, who was arrested, Bayo Olowookere said the action of the governor’s aide was unwarranted.

    According to him, his wife and some workers of his filling station were harassed before he was ordered for arrest alongside his wife.

    A former IPMAN Chairman, who spoke in confidence, said majority of the filling stations were disrupted and their fuel dispensed indiscriminately.

    He said members of the association in the state could not continue to bear the hardship, adding that attempts to meet with the state government on the matter were rebuffed.

    Olowookere urged union members to stop selling fuel to customers in the 18 local government areas of the state.

    There had been an outrage from the public over the hike in fuel price between N200 and N220 in the state without the intervention of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) officials.

    The development prompted the recent action of the state government in the interest of the residents.

     

  • Scores dump PDP for APC in Ondo

    Scores dump PDP for APC in Ondo

    •Oke to return to ruling party tomorrow

    Scores of leaders and supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo East Local Government Area of Ondo State yesterday defected to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The development coincided with the planned return of the Alliance for Democracy (AD) 2016 governorship candidate, Chief Olusola Oke (SAN), into the fold of the ruling progressives.

    Sources said the lawyer will tomorrow return to the party he left after the controversial APC primaries in September 2016, which incumbent Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu won.

    The event, which is scheduled for Democracy Park in Akure, the state capital, is expected to be attended by many APC leaders, especially from the Southwest.

    The defection of PDP stalwarts, which took place at the Ondo East Local Government’s headquarters at Bolorunduro, was attended by APC State Chairman Ade Adetimehin, the senator representing Ondo Central, Tayo Alasoadura and other party leaders.

    Leader of the defectors, Yemisi Akinmade, who spoke on behalf of the others, accused PDP leaders of destroying the future of the nation’s youths for their personal aggrandisement.

    He said the defectors joined APC to enable the party win all elective positions in subsequent elections in the local government and other parts of the state.

    Akinmade urged other politicians in the local government, who were still contemplating defection to do so quickly to enable them work with other progressives to fix the nation’s battered economy.

    Receiving the defectors, Adetimehin assured them of equal treatment, saying there are no old or new members in the party.

    He urged them to register with APC in their wards and be punctual at ward meetings.

    Ondo East APC Chairman Agboola Kelly described the defectors as strong and tested politicians with good track records.

    He said: “Those defecting from PDP into APC are the pillars of the immediate past Dr. Olusegun Mimiko’s administration, Yemisi Akinmade is a former elected Chairman of the local government whose performance in office was generally adjudged excellent with enduring legacies.

    Among other chieftains of the PDP, who defected at the ceremony, were Wale Akinkuotu and Adedapo Adesemoye.

  • Medical Professionals reject Health Insurance Scheme

    Medical Professionals reject Health Insurance Scheme

    Medical professionals including Pharmacists, Medical laboratory Scientists and Nurses in Ondo State have rejected some aspects of the State Contributory Health Scheme bill pending before the State House of Assembly.

    They described the bill as oppressive, highly discriminatory and misleading.

    At a news conference in Akure, the state capital yesterday,the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), the Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN) and the National Association of Nurses and Midwives of Nigeria (NANMN) said membership and chairmanship of the proposed the Board of the Health Insurance Scheme should be opened to all health professionals rather than only medical doctors as proposed in the bill.

    Speaking on behalf of the Health Professional Representatives, Pharmacist Samuel Adekola who is also the National Vice Chairman of PSN, noted that the health professionals’ bodies equally demanded prohibition of global capitation as a means of payment in the implementation of the Scheme.

    Adekola said they had made their position known to the state House of Assembly and the Speaker, Bamidele Oloyelogun through a paper presentation at a public hearing on the bill.

    He called on the lawmakers to make necessary correction to the bill before passage.

    His words”We strongly advocate for the deletion of the Mis-leadings definition of Medical Practitioner as captured in the draft bill.

    Since, the decree 10 of 1985 which stipulates that only medical practitioners are medically qualified to be heads of medical institutions in Nigerian is well known to be highly discriminatory, sectional, oppressive and limiting the right of individual health professional in attaining administrative positions, and in any case the obstinate decree is currently being challenged in court”

    Adekola said, “We equally recommend that the board as stipulated in the draft bill be changed to Agency and be headed by chairman who must be a person of proven integrity and a professional in any field of Health”.

    “The composition of the board must reflect representatives of the four major health Services professional bodies namely NANMN, AMSLN, NMA and PSN”.

    He recommended the prohibition of global capitation as a means of payment at any given time under any disguise in the implementation of the scheme.

    According to him, the operational guidelines must strictly adhere to this prohibition.

  • Reshuffle: Battle for ministerial slot rages in Ondo

    Reshuffle: Battle for ministerial slot rages in Ondo

    With the expectation of a cabinet reshuffle by President Muhammadu Buhari, the battle for the Ondo state slot in the cabinet is raging on as leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Governor Rotimi Akeredolu’s loyalists are in hot contest.

    Minister of State for Niger Delta Prof. Claudius Daramola, who hails from the state, is considered “one of the weakest ministers” in President Buhari’s cabinet and it is widely believed that he is likely to be dropped in the anticipated reshuffle.

    The cabinet reshuffle is likely next month as 2019 politicking begins with the Independent national Electoral Commission (INEC)’s release on Wednesday  of the time table which shows that candidates for offices in the 2019 elections must emerge latest by October 7.

    Governor Akeredolu is believed to be pushing for his Special Adviser on Public and intergovernmental relations, Mrs Funmi Ademosun.

    But some forces in the state in collaboration with a governor in the North Central, are pushing for Akeredolu’s Special Adviser on Public Utilities Tunji ‘Light’ Ariyomo.

    The two of them are not just Akure indigenes but are also trusted allies of the governor.

    Akeredolu, sources said, had personally taken up the matter with some federal government officials in Abuja.

    Akeredolu is believed to be feeling betrayed that somebody he trusted and appointed would be lobbying for a ministerial slot behind him especially using royal fathers and the governor of another state.

    No official of the Ondo State government was willing to comment on the matter when contacted yesterday.

    “I’m not aware. This is not a matter for the government,” an official said last night.

    Apart from the ministerial bid, there is also a battle for the Ondo State slot in the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in anticipation that the federal government might dissolve the Commission’s board.

    One of the people linked to the bid for the slot is the embattled chairman of the APC in Ondo State Mr. Isaac Kekemeke.

    But there is a frosty relationship between Governor Akeredolu and Kekemeke, who was edged out of the party’s top seat for Mr. Ade Adetimehin.

    However the NDDC move has been subdued after the federal government said in December that it had not plan to remove the Victor Ndoma-Egba-led board and Managing Director Nsima Ekere.

  • Akeredolu expresses commitment to South West integration

    Akeredolu expresses commitment to South West integration

    Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State  says his administration is committed to the integration and  socioeconomic growth of the South West Zone.

    Akeredolu made this known at a  Youth Regional Integration Summit  in Osogbo on Wednesday.

    The governor, who was represented by his deputy, Mr Agboola Ajayi, said  one of the cardinal programmes  of his administration was  job creation for the youths and women through sustainable agriculture and entrepreneurship.

    He also said his administration was committed to achieving the vision by creating an enabling environment that would  attract investors to the state and  across other south west states.

    Read also: Akeredolu approves committee on first year anniversary

    The governor revealed that his administration  had taken practical steps to make the dream a reality by signing an MoU with the NDDC for the construction of the road linking the southern senatorial district to Epe-Ibeju Lekki in Lagos State.

    “Other roads connecting our states to our neighbours in Ogun, Lagos and Edo States are receiving considerable attention,” he said.

    Akeredolu stressed that he had also put in place measures to  ensure  that the state  did not become a haven for miscreants and other deviants.

    He noted that the fresh amnesty programme had yielded positive result by reducing  the rate of crime in the coastal areas of Ogun, Lagos and Ondo.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event, which  began on Tuesday,  ends  on Wednesday.

    Dignitaries at the event  organised by the Osun government included  Vice-President Yemi Osibanjo, Gov. Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State as well as  representatives of Lagos, Ogun and Ekiti governors.

    NAN

  • NNPC restores Escravos-Lagos pipeline, resumes gas supply

    NNPC restores Escravos-Lagos pipeline, resumes gas supply

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) on Monday said the Escravos-Lagos Pipeline ( ELP ), which got burnt by a fire, had been restored.

    A statement in Abuja by the NNPC spokesman, Mr Ndu Ughamadu, said that gas supply to customers on the line, including power generating companies, had resumed.

    A section of the ELP at Abakila in Ondo State blew up in flames on January 2 due to bush fire.

    The incident affected gas supply to customers in Ondo, Ogun and Lagos states with subsequent shutdown of a number of power plants.

    ”With the restoration of the ELP and resumption of gas supply, the affected power plants, with a combined generating capacity of 1,143MW, would resume power generation.

    ”The plants include Egbin in Lagos State; Olorunshogo Power Plant, PEL Olorunshogo and Paras Power Plant in Ogun and Omotosho Plant in Ondo State.

    ”The 36-inch Escravos to Lagos Pipeline System ( ELPS ) is a natural gas pipeline built in 1989 to supply gas from Escravos in the Niger Delta to various consumption utilisation areas.

    It supplies gas to power plants in the South-West and feeds the West African Gas Pipeline System.

    NAN

  • DPR seals four filling stations in Owo

    DPR seals four filling stations in Owo

    The Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR ) says it has sealed four filling stations in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State for hoarding fuel and selling above pump price.

    The Controller of DPR in-charge of Ondo and Ekiti,  Mr Adewale Oseni, told newsmen on Friday in Owo that the operation was carried out late Thursday night and Friday morning.

    “We also auctioned the product to motorists before the stations were sealed off.

    “The operators of the stations still have to pay the imposed fine to deter them from selling above the pump price.

    “We hope it will send some lessons to erring marketers,” he said.

    Also Read: DPR, Oyo govt seal 10 filling stations in Ibadan

    Oseni said that the Federal Government would soon bring in more fuel to the state through the major marketers.

    NAN

  • Motorcyclist arraigns for hitting pedestrian

    Motorcyclist arraigns for hitting pedestrian

    A 27-year-old commercial motorcyclist, Jide Abusoro, was on Thursday brought before an Okitipupa Magistrates’ Court in Ondo State over alleged dangerous riding and injuring a pedestrian.

    The accused, whose address is unknown, is standing trial on a three-count charge of dangerous riding, riding without licence and riding an unregistered motorcycle on a highway.

    The accused, according to the Prosecutor, Sgt. Ayodeji Omoyeigha, committed the offences on November 23, 2017 at 3.00p.m. along Okitipupa-Ikoya Road.

    He said Abusoro rode an unregistered motorcycle dangerously without licence and hit a pedestrian, Bola Fafolu, and injured him.

    The offences contravened Sections 6, 10 (3) and 11 (2) of the Federal Highway Act, Laws of the Federation.

    In his ruling, Magistrate Chris Ojuola granted the accused bail in the sum of N50,000 with a surety in like sum.

    In addition, the surety must present an evidence of one year tax payment.

    Further hearing has been fixed for January 12.

    NAN