The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Oyo

  • Oyo govt warns land grabbers

    The Oyo State government at the weekend warned all trespassers on its land holdings across the state, particularly in Ajoda, Egbeda local government area where its estates are located to desist from such practice noting that legal machinery are already in place to deal precisely against defaulters.

    The state government through the state housing corporation also urged members of the public not to patronise land grabbers who are parading themselves as legal owners of parts of the Corporation’s land holding especially at Ajoda New Town, saying such patronage would amount to falling victim of land fraud.

    The Corporations in a release signed by the Acting General Manager, Mr. Samuel Adekunle and Director, Public Relations and Information, Mr Kunle Sanni reiterated that the government through the agency is still in full control of the about five thousand hectares of land, located within the Egbeda LG of the state.

    Faulting the claims of the alleged land grabbers, the Corporation recalled that a magistrate court sitting at Ejioku gave a judgement in its favour by refusing all the prayers of the applicant and subsequently dismissing the application brought against the Corporation.

    Advising anybody interested in buying land at Ajoda New Town to approach the Corporation or conduct necessary verification and or search in order not to fall victim of fraud, Oyo State Housing corporation said it has renewed its commitment to surpass its revenue target for the year and generate income to the coffers of the state by inaugurating a task force for revenue generation.

    Read Also: Oyo commissioner to youths: shun money politics

    According to the Corporations AGM, Mr Adekunle, the eight member committee will among other things “identify new sources of revenue, monitor distribution of bills to clients in respect of such payments, make a follow-up and ensuring that clients settle bills promptly, compile and collate suns paid on such sources of revenues on each estate of the Corporation and give weekly report to the management through the revenue supervisory committee members.”

    While imploring members of the task force to see their appointment as a call to duty to turn around the fortune of the Oyo state Housing corporation, the AGM during the inauguration urged the entire staff to key into the policy of the state government aim of making government and parastatals self sustaining.

    He said if all the available revenue sources to the Corporation are adequately tapped, the agency will surpass its revenue target for the year.

  • Osinbajo: Local technologies to deal with climate change issues

    The development, deployment and transfer of locally relevant climate technologies remain the best solution to climate change challenges, the Acting President , Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has said.

    The Office of the Vice-President said Osinbajo made the statement on Friday at the inauguration of the Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre (NCIC) situated at the Enterprise Development Centre of the Lagos Business School.

    Mr Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice-President, made Osinbajo’s view known in a statement on Saturday.

    The Nigeria Climate Innovation Centre is a public-private partnership involving the Federal Government, the World Bank Group and the Pan-Atlantic University.

    The Centre provides holistic, country-driven support to accelerate the development, deployment and transfer of locally relevant climate and clean energy technologies.

    Osinbajo said the task of advancing climate action was crucial, especially for Nigeria, in the view of the challenge of climate change and the need for the adoption of an innovative approach.

    “The pressure for livelihoods and food for a huge population will put tremendous pressure on natural resources and the implications for climate change will be dire indeed.

    “The creation of an enabling environment for climate-smart businesses to thrive is simply the only way to go,’’ he said.

    Osinbajo said he had visited several start-ups, technology hubs and innovation spaces around the country and seen innovativeness, creativity and drive of Nigerians.

    He said Nigerians were “constantly developing and deploying solutions in many sectors’’, including “agriculture, health, transport, security, climate action and many more locally relevant climate technologies’’.

    According to him, one of the key sectors where there is potential for high impact interventions by green technologies is the off-grid solar sector.

    Osinbajo said the Solar Home Project and  Energising Economies Initiative were some of the private-sector-driven efforts targeted at providing off-grid power to homes, markets and economic clusters across the country.

    He said that so far, 13,000 shops at Sabon-Gari Market in Kano were currently being powered through high-capacity stand-alone solar systems.

    He said more were expected to come on stream soon at the Ariaria Market in Aba, Sura Market in Lagos, and other markets in Oyo, Edo and Ondo states.

    The acting president challenged the new climate Centre to develop and deploy technology and expertise required to deliver clean energy in areas prone to oil pollution and other related hazards.

    According to him, the innovation Centre must seek to develop the technology and expertise required to deal with the oil spill challenge in the Niger Delta region.

    He said the Federal Government was investing considerably in Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) to help overcome challenges and risks brought about by the use of kerosene and firewood in homes.

    Osinbajo tasked the NCIC team to come up with innovation in smart cooking equipment that could utilise LPG in the most efficient manner.

    The acting president urged stakeholders in the off-grid power sector to take advantage of the Green bond issued by the Federal Government and the opportunities provided at the newly inaugurated climate Centre to fund their projects.

    “It provides a platform to attracting or unlocking venture financing and private equity funds for climate-smart businesses and Nigerians providing climate-smart solutions,’’ Osinbajo said.

  • Oyo: Breastfeed your kids exclusively, govt urges mothers

    Oyo State government has appealed to pregnant women and nursing mothers in the state to breast their children exclusively, for at least the first six months of their lives.

    The state’s Commissioner for Health, Dr. Azeez Adeduntan, made the plea while declaring open, the 2018 World Breastfeeding Week, organised by the state government in collaboration with ANRiN, a non-governmental organisation (NGO).

    At the event, which held at the House of Chiefs, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, Adeduntan said newborns must be allowed to enjoy breast milk, in order to enjoy a healthy growth.

    The Commissioner, who was represented by the Executive Secretary, Primary Health Care Board, Lanre Abass, explained that exclusive breastfeeding means that the breast milk given to children will not be complemented with water, fluid or any other food.

    He explained, that, children fed exclusively with breast milk, would be  protected from malaria, diarrhea and respiratory tract infections.

    The health commissioner also asserted that the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, comprising the time of conception to the first two years, is very important, because within the period, the child’s brain develops rapidly.

    The Head, Health Promotion and Nutrition, at the event, Dr. Khadijat Alarape, said the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Oyo state has increased from 30.5 percent in 2013 to 50 percent in 2017. She advised nursing mothers to embrace the practice, so that the state’s target to achieve 80 per cent for breastfeeding can be achieved

  • ADC to register 500,000 members in Oyo in 2 weeks-Chairman

    The African Democratic Congress (ADC) says it aims to register 500,000 new members in Oyo state in the next two weeks.

    The National Chairman of the party, Mr Ralph Nwosu, disclosed this on Thursday during the inauguration of the state party congress committee in Ibadan.

    The chairman stated that the party had become a leading brand in Nigeria since prominent persons in the South/West zone of Nigeria had become members.

    “The essence of this gathering is to re-arrange the party, for the leaders to know what to do. We have since built leaders who mounded the role they want our members to play.

    “Our party is people-owned and that is why we are different from others.

    “Let me assure you that our party will register 500,000 members in the state within the next two weeks,’’ he said.

    He called on the committee to bring up new leaders in the state to transform the party into a continental brand.

    He said, “If Oyo state could boast of the first university in the country and the first political capital of old western region, then you should know the state is special in the country.’’

    The committee, headed by Dr Femi Majekodunmi, also has Dr Dele Ajadi as the Secretary among other members.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event had in attendance former Gov. Rashidi Ladoja and a former National Chairman of Alliance for Democracy, Chief Michael Koleoso.

    Also present were Sen. Monsurat Sunmonu (ADC-Oyo Central), Mr Abdulwasi Musah, Deputy Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly and other members of the State Assembly: Olusegun Olaleye and Bolaji Badmus.

    Amb. Taofeek Arapaja, Sen. Femi Lanlehin, Dr Yunus Akintunde and three former Secretaries to Oyo State Government: Alhaji Sharafadeen Alli, Dr Ayodele Adigun and Chief Olayiwola Olakojo also attended the occasion.

  • ‘Oyo ranks second in human trafficking’

    Oyo State government has decried the spate of human trafficking, especially those involving women and female children.

    It noted this has earned the state second among states with high cases of human trafficking.

    Women Affairs Commissioner Mrs. Atinuke Oshunkoya, and Information and Culture Commissioner Mr. Toye Arulogun, speaking yesterday at the 2018 Human Trafficking Day, said the cases were mostly reported in Oke Ogun area.

    Oshunkoya highlighted the evils of human trafficking and called for efforts to stop it.

    She said the fight against human trafficking must be seen as a collective responsibility.

    Arulogun, who spoke in Yoruba, told the audience steps taken by the government to ensure the perpetrators were brought to book.

    He blamed parents and advised them to stop raising funds to sponsor their children abroad where they engaged in prostitution and drug trafficking.

    National Vice President of National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA) Mr. Dagunduro Olatokunbo said Oyo was listed second after Edo in human trafficking.

    The 2018 Human Trafficking Day was organised by Oyo State in collaboration with Human Rights Personal Privileges, to create awareness on human trafficking.

  • Oyo returns acquired land to the deaf

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has ordered the immediate release of the 20 acres of land belonging to the deaf.

    The Commissioner for Lands, Housing, and Survey Isaac Omodewu spoke at a forum organised by the Oyo State Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in Ibadan, the state capital.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Omodewu, who had signified interest in contesting the governorship election in 2019, was at the forum to share his vision for the state.

    NAN also reports that members of the Christian Mission for the Deaf, on July 9 in Ibadan, protested the alleged illegal acquisition of 20 acres of land from their 39 acres by the state government.

    Omodewu said records at government’s disposal revealed that the land was acquired by a past administration.

    The commissioner said the governor urged the group to inform him wherever they might need his assistance in building their proposed University for the Deaf.

    He also dismissed speculations that the state government had allocated land for ranching in the state.

    Omodewu, an accountant, said he was the best to succeed Ajimobi, considering his experience and active participation in the current administration.

    The commissioner also said the governor had laid a solid foundation for the development of the state.

    He said: “Lagos State is one of the best in the country because the people embraced continuity. Asiwaju Bola Tinubu laid the foundation which his successors have been building on. Ajimobi has also laid the foundation in the state. He needs successors who will build on it.

    “In doing this, only an established person is required to succeed him. The established person must be one who knows about the foundation, where it is and where it is going, like me. I know of the foundation, where we are today and where we are heading to…”

     

     

  • Oyo – Ogbomoso Road: Disquiet over non-completion 18 years after

    For too long, residents of Ogbomoso have been hopeful that the Ogbomoso-Oyo axis of the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway would be fixed swiftly. As a result of the frequency of accidents that claim many lives, they wished the road whose contract was awarded 18 years ago would soon be completed. All these years, the residents have been patient.

    But they could no longer  be patient as they see people; including members of their community, die almost daily.

    Therefore, they decided to plead with relevant authority to urgently fix the road to avoid persistent loss of lives.  They were resolute in their demand.

    Virtually all families present at the meeting had one unhappy tale or the other to tell about the dangers posed by the road which they described as death trap.

    Their demand was not egotistical as the benefit that will accrue from fixing the road would be relished by all motorists that ply the road.

    Giving the Federal Government August 1 deadline within which to fix the road, the residents said they want an end to 18 years of witnessing deaths on the Ilorin-Ogbomoso and Oyo-Ibadan axes of the road whose condition in deplorable.

     

    Their pleas

    Worried by the sad situation, residents of Ogbomoso land have passionately appealed to the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to expedite action on the re-construction of the Ogbomoso-Oyo section of the Ibadan-Ilorin Expressway.

    They also pleaded with the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola to urgently declare a state of emergency on the section of the road and ensure that the road is completed by August 1, 2018. They maintained that if the government failed to complete the road, they would embark on massive protest that will ground activities on the route.

    At a press conference held at the Soun Ogunlola Hall, Oja-Igbo, Ogbomoso, the residents said fixing the road will save the lives of Nigerians plying the highway from many dangers that the one-way Ogbomosho-Oyo Road poses.

    The press conference was attended by religious leaders, community leaders, youth groups and market groups. Others in attendance included traditionalists, indigenous groups, security chiefs, local government leaders and representatives of the various ethnic groups resident in Ogbomoso land.

    Some dignitaries that participated in the talks were the head of churches in Ogbomoso, Dr. Israel Olaniyan, Secretary, Head of churches, Bishop Adebayo Akintola, Chairman, League of Imams and Alfas, Ogbomoso zone, Imam Nafiu Abdulkareem Atanda and Secretary, Egbe Omo Ogbomoso Parapo Agbaaye, Chief Michael Abioye and the Araba Awo of Ogbomoso land who was represented by Chief Opeifa Ala and Chief Olasunkanmi Odewumi.

    Also present were the Chairman, Oyo State Pilgrims’ Welfare Board, who also doubles as the Convener, Bishop David Moradeyo, Bishop of Ogbomoso Anglican Diocese, Bishop Titus Olayinka, the Vice-Chairman, Egbe Omo Ogbomoso Parapo Agbaaye and Pa Sayo Opatoyinbo, among others.

     

    Their pains

    The people revealed that earlier in the year, three principals of secondary schools and one account officer lost their lives on the Ogbomoso-Oyo axis of the road while attending a meeting of all secondary school principals convened by the Oyo State government, even as no fewer than 15 students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso lost their lives in a ghastly motor accident on the same road barely three weeks ago.

    While speaking through their spokesperson, Dr Israel Olaniyan, the somber-looking protesters said the Ogbomoso-Oyo Road has become a death trap. According to Olaniyan, no fewer than 780 lives are lost on the road annually and over 14,000 persons killed in the last 18 years the construction of the road had lasted.

     

    Tales of woes

    Virtually all the people present at the press conference had tales of woes and pains to complain about. But one thing common in their various accounts is that the road had taken too many lives.

    The Amira of Ogbomoso Community, Alhaja Fatimoh Salaudeen said the community has lost many promising youths on the road. She added that the loss of 15  LAUTECH students devastated her.

    Mr. David Oladayo said he had lost about five cars to various accidents on the road and had suffered varying degrees of injuries, the latest being spinal cord injury. The elderly Oladayo recounted how he spent about six months on a hospital bed and how he spent all his fortunes to save his life.

    Speaking on behalf of the youth in the area, Pastor Adeniyi Emmanuel lamented that the youth have been affected most among those whose lives are lost on a regular basis on the road. He said the road has gone beyond a mere death trap to becoming a life-sucking path as it has claimed more lives than any epidemic in the community.

    A representative of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the zone, Mr Adegbola Adeyemi said the transporters have been the direct victims of the deplorable state of the road as it affects their productivity, especially the wear and tear of their vehicles. He called on the government to quickly fix the road so as to encourage commercial drivers that ply the road.

    Another resident, Mr. Olaniyan said:  “The construction of the dual carriage highway which began 18 years ago has left the Ilorin-Ogbomoso and Oyo-Ibadan portions in a deplorable condition while the Ogbomoso-Oyo axis of the expressway is yet to be started.

    “The old Ogbomoso-Oyo Road has become a death trap. Statistics at our disposal indicates that an average of 15 people die on the road every week. When this is multiplied by 52 weeks a year, it indicates an average of 780 lives is lost annually. When this is further multiplied by 18 years since the road contract was awarded, it shows that an average of 14,040 people have lost their lives on the Ogbomoso-Oyo Road. This is alarming and calls for urgent completion of the expressway.”

     

    Government efforts

    Aware of government’s effort toward fixing the road, the people thanked the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo who begun the construction of the road, and successive administrations after him who continued construction work on the project.

    They thanked the current administration for its on-the-spot assessment visit by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Raji Fashola and the Presidential Team made up of the Minister of State for Works and Minister of Information who had also visited the project site to assess the level of work done.

    The people, however, envisioned that the visits must translate to completion of the road so that lives can be saved.

    But the Oyo State Acting Controller, Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Kayode Adebanjo, an Engineer, explained that work on the new road has reached 54 per cent completion, even as he expressed confidence that the work would move on speedily so far as government releases funds to the contractors as at when due.

    Noting that the administration of President Buhari is doing much to ensure that the project is delivered promptly, Adebanjo who doubles as the Chief Highway Engineer noted that the government is also committed to ensuring that the Sukuk fund facilitated to complete the project is adequately and timely channeled towards the completion of the road project.

    Aware of the state of the old road which necessitated the protest by the Ogbomoso indigenes, Adebanjo said the ministry has done the necessary measurement and survey to repair the roads and awaits approval from the Abuja office.

     

    The protest

    To drive home their demand, the people who turned the press conference to a town hall meeting and later a protest, carrying placards with various inscriptions. Expressing the need for government to fix the road, they marched peaceably to the palace of the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Jimoh Oyewumi.

    Some of the inscriptions read: “Ogbomoso: indigenes and inhabitants call for quick action on Oyo-Ogbomoso Expressway”, “Save our lives on Oyo-Ogbomoso Expressway”, “The abandoned Oyo-Ogbomoso Expressway: A call for quick action”, “Ogbomoso-Oyo: 35 minutes before now, two hours today, FGN what have we done to deserve this”, “President Buhari, Oyo-Ogbomoso is part of Nigeria, complete our road”, among others.

    Receiving the people at the palace on behalf of the monarch, the Aare Ago of Ogbomoso land, Chief Samuel Sobalaje Otolorin thanked the people for their peaceful conduct and passion to make loss of lives a thing of the past on the road.

    He assured the people of the support of the monarch in their quest to ensure the road is safe from accidents.

    Chief Otolorin appealed to the Federal Government to give more attention to the people’s request in the interest of road users.

     

    The Convener

    Speaking on why he facilitated the gathering, the Methodist Bishop of Ogbomoso, Bishop David Ademola Moradeyo said he was compelled to organise the people when, in January, his parish lost five members who were among those that had attended a seminar organised for school principals in the state.

    He said: “The essence of the rally is to call on the Federal Government to complete the Oyo-Ogbomoso Road. The Oyo-Ogbomoso Road have been claiming lives of at least 15 people on weekly basis, about 60 lives monthly and over 700 in a year. We are calling on President Buhari- led government to complete the road by August 1.

    “We are calling on the Federal Government to ensure the road is fixed before August 1.”

  • Oyo pays N201m gratuity to 90 retirees

    The Oyo State government has released N201,585,089.20 for another set of 90 retirees to offset their outstanding gratuities.

    The government said the payment was for 2011 to January 2012 gratuity for retired civil servants and teachers under the payroll of the state government on all the grade levels.

    The State Head of Service (HoS), Mrs. Olawumi Ogunesan, while disbursing the cheques to the beneficiaries at the Old Ministry of Establishment and Training secretariat in Ibadan, assured that government would continue to pay the gratuities to pensioners without any influence or favour.

    Mrs. Ogunesan, who was represented by the Acting Permanent Secretary in the Office of the HoS, Mrs. Adejoke Eyitayo, said the government was making efforts to ease the pains of the pensioners in the state.

    According to her, the disbursement was done to make life meaningful for the senior citizens who had served the state meritoriously for 35 years.

    On behalf of the beneficiaries, Mrs. Owoeye Taiwo and Mr. Adewuyi Ajani thanked the government and Governor Abiola Ajimobi for releasing the money for their gratuities, despite the paucity of funds in the state.

    The state government had released N200,963,492.86 for the payment of 2011 and 2012 gratuity to the retired civil servants on Grade Levels One to Seven in May.

     

  • Oyo prosecutes 45 illegal street traders

    Oyo State Government has prosecuted about 45 illegal street traders in Ibadan metropolis, saying that street trading will not be tolerated in the state.

    Also, the state government has said that adequate measures are being put in place to prevent flooding in the state, noting that dredging has commenced on some major streams and blocked drainage are being cleared across the state.

    The traders who appeared before Magistrate Patricia Olasunbo Adetuyibi at the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources premises on illegal placement of their goods on public roads were prosecuted under Section 2, Sub-Section 14 of the Oyo State Solid Waste Management Offences, Fines and Sanctions.

    The traders, who pleaded that they would not display their goods on the street again, were sentenced to two months imprisonment with an option of fine ranging from N5,000 to N10,000 by Magistrate Adetuyibi.

    It would be recalled that Oyo State Government had been sensitizing the general public especially traders in the State to stop displaying their goods on the public roads and streets.

    The State Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources Chief Isaac Ishola said adequate sensitization and enlightenment have been made to stop street trading, saying that street trading is an act of violating the Environmental regulations Laws of the State.

    Ishola said, “We have engaged them on this cause, we have sensitized them, we have made them realise the benefit of Environmental hygiene. Trading on the street is against the Environmental regulation Laws of Oyo State, we have made series of arrests and appearances before the magistrate. If they are guilty, the court will sentence them to prison or an option of fine, but we are not really interested in their fines but compliance to no street trading. In essence, all what we are saying is no more street trading which is what the Law says”.

    He advised traders to comply with the no street trading Laws of Oyo State, noting that the government cannot fold its arms and allow the citizens to lose their lives all in the name of street trading and trading under high tension cables.

    He reiterated further that it is an offence for anybody to trade with wheel barrow by the road side in the State, adding that anybody trading on wheel barrow by the road side would be apprehended and appear before the magistrate for constituting an Environmental Nuisance.

  • NSCDC generates N4m revenue in Oyo state

    The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps ( NSCDC ), Command in Oyo state says it generated about N4 million as revenue from registration of private guard companies between January and June 2018.

    The Public Relations’ Officer of the command, Mr Olusegun Oluwole, disclosed this on Thursday in an interview with our reporter in Ibadan.

    Oluwole said the anti-fraud unit of the command also recovered N26.8 million from fraudsters which has been returned to the owners in the months under review.

    He said 731 approved private guard companies are currently operating in the state and some of them have been undergoing training with the command.

    Oluwole said the state commandant of the corps, John Adewoye, has vowed to sanction private guard companies operating illegally or failed to adhere to the rules and regulation guiding their operations in the state.

    He further said that anti-vandalism unit of the command also apprehended two tankers loaded with 66,000 litres of petrol, adding that the drivers abandoned the tankers and ran away.

    Oluwole said that investigation was on going at arrest the drivers as well as the owner of the product.

    The spokesman said the command has been mounting regular surveillance on NNPC pipelines to ensure that they were not vandalised.

    “The command’s anti-human trafficking and child protection unit treated 16 cases, while the crisis management and disaster unit handled nine cases.
    “The peace and conflict resolution unit handled 90 cases.
    “We are able to achieve these successes because the welfare of officers, training and retraining are paramount in the mind of our commandant, ’’ Oluwole said.