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Tag: Oyo

  • Oyo NUT and LG autonomy

    Oyo NUT and LG autonomy

    SIR: The protest embarked upon by some members of the National Union Teachers, Oyo State, in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital on Wednesday, July 28, is welcome development. The NUT was enjoying its fundamental human rights to protest against a policy that would be injurious to her health.

    The state government and security forces deserves accolade for allowing the peaceful protest to hold. Although, it appears the protest was in tandem with the state government position on local government administration. However, if the NUT was to support the Local Government autonomy; the protest would have been stopped for constituting a breach of public peace. Disruption of an NLC-led peaceful protest over non-payment of salary few years ago and harassment of the leaders, I think including the leaders of July 29, protest is still fresh in memory.

    The NUT Oyo State wing failed to state her position on local government autonomy and this is rather unfortunate for an association saddled with such enormous responsibility of imparting knowledge into our future leaders. From the inscription on the placard carried by the protesters and the speech of a leader, Niyi Akano, the NUT is against local government autonomy because “experience had shown that the local government tier lacked the capacity to run and fund primary education effectively particularly because that is the bed rock of education”.

    From the above, one realizes that NUT does not want autonomy for local councils because she does not have the power that is resources to fund primary education. What the above means is that the NUT do not know what local government autonomy means and this is rather unfortunate. Simply put, autonomy means power that would be granted local governments in the constitution that would make them fiscally independent of states control. Presently, the joint account system being operated by state and local government has turned the local governments into an appendage of the states and crippled her financially.

    It is a known fact that local government councils are the government closest to the grassroots and are the facilitators of the development there until the joint along crippled them. I believe protesting members of NUT know this. In all honesty, it is a common knowledge that there is corruption in local governments, but this is not peculiar to it as the revelation from EFCC of billions stolen by the operators of federal and state government showed.

    The roles of local governments in the development of the grassroots cannot be overemphasized. Therefore, it is preposterous for the NUT to throw out the baby and the bathwater because of lack of resources in the local government. As Akano concluded, the primary education should be placed under state government for effective funding. This is better than outright rejection of LG autonomy and that should have been more befitting clamour of the NUT, now that the call for restructuring of the Nigeria polity is gathering momentum.

     

    • Adewuyi Adegbite,

    ayekooto05@gmail.com

  • Oyo to get residents’ registration agency

    The Oyo State government has submitted a bill to the House of Assembly to establish an agency that will register and manage residents’ data.

    Speaker Michael Adeyemo broke the news to The Nation in Ibadan the state capital.

    Adeyemo said the bill was on the second stage of consideration, indicating that it will most likely scale through all legislation hurdles.

    The lawmaker said the agency would be responsible for registering residents across the state, adding that it would update the data and manage it for planning purposes.

    He said: “There is a bill that is currently at the second reading stage in the House. It will address the issue of having Oyo State Resident Registration Agency in such a way that we will have an agency that will take care of the registration of all residents for the purpose of planning, expansion and development of facilities across the state.

    “The data will also be useful for security because we must know who and who are residents of the state. So, the government is thinking along that line. I can assure you that the Assembly is going to speed up the work on it and pass the bill into law. I believe the agency will be set up. I think the registration will begin as soon as possible.”

    The project may lead to the introduction of residents’ identification cards, which will also help the government to plan social welfare services and projects across the state.

     

  • Oyo govt urges schools food vendors to resume work

    The Oyo State government has appealed to striking food vendors engaged for Federal Government’s primary school feeding programme in the state to resume work.

    It said government will clear all the outstanding arrears this week.

    There are about 1,000 food vendors across the state cooking for primary schools.

    They have withdrawn their services as the Federal Government failed to pay over three weeks’ arrears owed them.

    Commissioner for Education, Prof Joseph Adeniyi Olowofela, who spoke with The Nation yesterday on the development.

    The commissioner assured the food vendors of government’s commitment to the programme.

    He blamed the non-payment on logistics problem.

    Olowofela said: “I can assure you that their accounts will be credited before tomorrow. The state government, immediately the matter was brought to its notice, held a meeting with the food vendors after consulting Federal Government’s officials in charge of the programme and we have gotten the assurance that their accounts will be credited anytime from now.”

    The food vendors in the 33 local government areas have stopped giving meals to primary school pupils in the past four weeks.

    They said they have been using their personal funds to provide meals for the pupils.

    In a show of appreciation, scores of the food vendors yesterday converged on the governor’s office, Secretariat Complex, Ibadan, to thank the state governor Abiola Ajimobi for his quick intervention in the matter.

    One of the food vendors from Oyo town, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have been using our money to feed the children in the past four weeks without pay. Now that we don’t have any money to continue feeding the pupils, we have to stop cooking because there is no money to buy food items anymore.”

  • That Oyo State may prosper

    When the 80-year-old mother of Ramdulari Devi first heard that her son had been elected the Prime Minister of India, her reaction was: “I expect Lal Bahadur to ensure that the country prospers even if he has to sacrifice his life for it” (J. Maurus, 2004).

    Similarly, the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajumobi, has said repeatedly that when he was contesting for the governorship of the state, he told God to make his election to the post possible only if he would do well by the people of the state. If God knew he was not going do well in the post, Ajimobi said he told God not to allow him clinch the coveted seat.

    During Ajimobi’s first coming, his focus was security and infrastructure. The first task as he saw it was to restore peace and security to the state, particularly to Ibadan, the state capital, which had acquired the notoriety of a garrison town where life was not only unsafe, but short and brutish with the daily deadly battles between the various factions of the transport unions for supremacy.

    In less than six months of taking office, Governor Ajimobi was able to restore peace by sending strong signals to trouble makers that they would no longer find a safe haven in Oyo State, and this enabled government to proceed with its infrastructural development plan which included the construction of roads along Eleyele-Magazine Road-Dugbe axis, Jericho-Aleshinloye, Eleyele-Sabo etc. But the road infrastructural development was not confined only to Ibadan Metropolis; for the first time in the history of the state, simultaneous construction and expansion of some roads to four and six lanes commenced in Iseyin, Oyo and Ogbomoso townships.

    One of the challenges faced by the Ajimobi-led administration when it came on board in 2011 was the issue of flooding, especially within Ibadan metropolis. The torrential rains of that year flooded many neighbourhoods and swept away many roads and bridges cutting off many communities. The government promptly went into action by reconstructing the bridges and building alternative roads. A clear case in point was the Apete Bridge in Ido Local Government of the state capital which was washed away by the floods, thus cutting off a large swathe of communities up to Akufo.

    Because the government was bent on building not only a better bridge in Apete, but also upgrading the road leading to Apete from Ijokodo, it constructed another road from Ajibode to Apete within months to alleviate the problems of the people of the area, a road which serves them well even after the completion of the Apete main bridge and road.

    The 2011 experience with floods in Ibadan led the government to device an early warning system and flood control methods that have minimized floods to the barest minimum in the state. Thus during the last rainy season when floods swept through other cities in the country, Ibadan was spared because at the approach of the rains, all the water ways were dredged and solid bridges provided for communities prone to floods. Construction of roads and bridges is still going on in flood prone areas.

    Since the beginning of this year, the Oyo State government has embarked yet again on the massive construction of roads across the state which when combined with past efforts will truly change the face of Ibadan to the status of a mega city and modernize other cities in the state. Some of these roads reconstruction for which contracts have been awarded since January and for which the contractors have mobilized to site include Idi-Ape-Iwo Road Interchange which would be expanded from the present four lanes to six lanes, Bus Stop-Old Ife Road-Alakia Road, Eleyele-Ologuneru Road up to Ido junction, Beere-OritaMerin, Agbeni-Ogunpa and The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic-Ibaruba Road in Saki. All these roads are to be expanded into four lanes to enhance not only the aesthetics of the towns and ease transportation, but to also enhance commercial viability of the areas.

    Perhaps, the most far reaching reform of Governor Ajimobi’s government is in the education sector where he has taken on the herculean task improving the standards of education in the state. In the last few years, the state, which was renowned for its academic excellence, hosting the very first university in Nigeria and the largest concentration of research institutes in Africa, has been lagging behind in the Senior School Certificate and the National Examination Council examinations sometimes taking the 34th position out of 36 states. This situation, the governor found unacceptable, and in his words had said: “We must improve education in the state”.

    Some people, he said, had wondered why he was putting himself to so much trouble about education in the state, especially considering the crisis the reform generated initially. Ajimobi’s answer to that was that posterity would not judge us well if we were in a position to do something and we refused to do so. Lack of proper supervision has been identified as one the banes of education in the state, and to enhance close monitoring of each school, the government has introduced a Governing Board for each school made up members from the communities where the schools are situated. The rationale for this is that each community is to take ownership of the schools in their area. The government would still continue to pay teachers’ salaries, provide infrastructure and other teaching aids, but members of the community and old boys whose children attend these schools must supervise the running of these schools for effectiveness. We are already seeing results as the state came second in the last NECO exams whose results were released earlier this year.

    In the State Executive Council meetings, Governor Ajimobi charged members to come up with iconic projects that would improve things in the state for the better and return the state to the leadership position for which the state has been destined. One of such iconic projects is the Polaris-Pacesetter Free Trade Zone. Polaris is a multi-billion dollar Chinese conglomerate which wants to set up manufacturing companies in conjunction with Oyo State in the free trade zone. More than 100 companies are expected to be set up on the 1000 hectares of land for the project to provide employment and business opportunities to our teeming population not only in the state, but all over the country as people migrate to places where there are jobs.

    Ajimobi has often been dubbed by critics as tyrannical, unbending, dictatorial and undiplomatic. Some even said he is not a listening governor. The critics may have a point, but as John Emerich Edward Dalberg, the 1st Baron of Acton said: “Great men are almost always bad men… There is no worse heresy than that the office sacrifices the holder of it” (Geddes and Grosset, 1994). Why did the Baron say great men were almost always bad men? Because in the pursuit of great deeds like Ajimobi is doing, a lot of changes would have to be wrought as it could no longer be business as usual. And people would resist change as human beings are naturally averse to change.

    Though Ajimobi demands excellence from those who work with him and does not compromise standards, though he is a slave driver as he himself is a workaholic, oftentimes working into the wee hours of the morning tirelessly, yet he is a man full of the milk of human kindness and a man who listens to criticism as can be seen in his recent moves wherein he went to town on different occasions to brief the ordinary man on the street about his various projects, especially the new road projects, appealing to them for understanding and apologizing to them for the inconveniences the construction projects would cause them. His only desire is to see that Oyo State prospers.

     

    • Ganiyu is Oyo State Commissioner for Special Duties.
  • Oyo APC to Ladoja: don’t rewrite history on Ibadan circular road

    Oyo APC to Ladoja: don’t rewrite history on Ibadan circular road

    The Oyo State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as ridiculous and misconceived the claim by former Governor Rashidi Ladoja that his administration conceived the Ibadan circular road.

    Kick-starting the N70 billion project on Friday, Governor Abiola Ajimobi said the idea was conceived by the Lam Adesina administration in 2002.

    But Ladoja, who was governor between 2003 and 2007, faulted Ajimobi, saying his administration conceived it.

    Ladoja spoke through Accord Party (A), which he leads in the state.

    The statement by APC’s Director of Publicity and Strategy, Olawale Sadare, condemned Accord Party’s claim.

    APC said Ladoja was attempting to rewrite history.

    The statement reads: “In the history of Nigeria, between 2003 and 2007 represents an era when little or no development took place in Oyo State as a result of reign of terror occasioned by the hijack of power by some characters who should not have had any business in government. This was a period when violence, brigandage and lawlessness became the order of the day while those at the helms of affairs could not do anything meaningful for the people.

    “But for pettiness and vindictiveness, a supposed senior citizen should not have instigated any controversy over the idea of designing and constructing a circular road for a sprawling metropolis like Ibadan. The records are there for those seeking to alter history because the fact remains that the administration of Alhaji Lamidi Onaolapo Adesina came up with the idea in 2002 but paucity of fund aborted the plan.

    “On this note, it is important to remind former governor Ladoja that incompetence, battle for political survival and corruption heralded his reign for four years such that his administration winded up without any concrete achievement for the state. Also, the ill-conceived contract award of the circular road project he did as soon as he came back from his impeachment break in 2007 was cancelled by the Alao-Akala administration immediately he came to power to succeed Ladoja.

    “However, if the latest spate of attacks against the person of the performing Sen. Ajimobi is aimed at preparing a ground for Ladoja to come out of political retirement which the APC handed him in 2015, we make bold to have a rethink as no amount of such antics would either make the good people of the state fall for gerontocracy or misconstrue the sterling performance and astute leadership of Gov. Ajimobi for something else.”

    The APC added that Ajimobi would go down in the history of Oyo State “as a governor who raised the bar of good governance and purposeful leadership by defying all odds occasioned by lack of funds, unfavorable economic condition and political distractions to deliver on peace and security, massive infrastructural facelift, value re-orientation, key sectors development among others.

    “However, we urge Sen. Ladoja to desist from seeking to rubbish all the good work of the present administration in the state in their bid to warm up for another disgraceful outing in 2019. We wonder what could have made anyone to condemn massive projects like the ICR, Technical University and many others if not sheer hypocrisy and cluelessness. The truth remains that never again the good people of Oyo State wish for a governor who would not know what to do in government to move the Pacesetter State forward in whatever circumstance.”

  • LASTMA men for Edo, Kwara, Oyo

    LASTMA men for Edo, Kwara, Oyo

    The Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) has redeployed two of its officers to Kwara, Oyo and Edo states.

    Yekeen Babatunde Bello now heads the Kwara State Road Traffic Management Authority (KWARTMA), while Femi Falade is now in charge of the Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA). Both men were seconded from LASTMA.

    Dennis Oloriegbe will resume duty as the new Managing Director of the Edo State Traffic Management Agency.

    LASTMA also carried out intensive training for traffic officers in Delta, Ogun, Oyo, Ekiti, Kwara and Rivers states.

    The training, it said, was to acclimatise them to international best practices so as to make them more efficient and service driven.

    The statement said Oloriegbe’s release was sequel to the request of the Edo State Government for him to come and reengineer, package and position the Edo State traffic outfit in accordance with the best global practices.

    Before his appointment, Oloriegbe was the Chief instructor and head of the Lagos State Drivers’ Institute (LASDRI), Ikeja centre. He joined the service of LASTMA in the year 2000 and served in various capacities meritoriously to become a Zonal head, where he supervised and managed activities of over one hundred traffic officials successfully.

    LASTMA General Manager Olawale Musa thanked Oloriegbe, and wished him the best in his new assignment and other future endeavours.

  • 23 convicted in Oyo for violating environmental laws

    The Oyo State government has convicted 23 persons for violating environmental laws under the  Environmental Sanitation Regulations of 2013 and the Oyo State Waste Management Authority laws of 2004.

    The offenders were sentenced to four months’ imprisonment but given the option to pay N10,000 fine.

    Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Mr. Toye Arulogun, spoke at the weekend on the state’s efforts to enforce the state’s environmental laws.

    The commissioner said the offenders were arrested while dumping refuse in parts of Ibadan, the statet capital, including Monatan, Oremeji, Sango, Alakia and Adegbayi.

    He said they were arraigned on Thursday before Senior Magistrate 2, Giwa Babalola, at Magistrates’ Court 18 of Oyo Waste Management Authority at Agodi Gate in Ibadan.

    The offenders were arraigned on a two-count of indiscriminate dumping of refuse and refusal to use waste collectors.

    Each offence attracts a fine of N5,000 or two months’ imprisonment.

    The state’s Chief Environmental Health Officer Oni Kolawole said the government had zero tolerance for unlawful dumping of refuse on the median and roadsides.

    He said only Oyo State Waste management Authority (OYOWMA) or its agents are mandated to collect refuse.

     

     

  • Oyo issues ultimatum to illegal structure owners

    The Oyo State government has given property developers a 30-day ultimatum to pull down illegal structures to avoid sanction.

    The government urged the residents to get building plan approvals, in line with the laws of the state and the Federation from building development bureau and its zonal offices.

    In a statement yesterday in Ibadan, the state capital, the Director General of the Bureau of Physical Planning and Development Control, Waheed Gbadamosi, said it was imperative for the residents to comply with requisite planning laws and building instructions to avert dangers.

    Gbadamosi said a government task force will soon begin the certification of approved building plans, adding that those who have obtained building approvals from other sources should re-present them for processing to get necessary approvals after paying planning fees.

    He said: “The Oyo State government frowns at the development of illegal structures. This is to give the developers of the illegal structures a 30-day ultimatum to pull them down.

     

     

  • June 12 anniversary: Ondo, Oyo, Ogun declare Monday public holiday

    June 12 anniversary: Ondo, Oyo, Ogun declare Monday public holiday

    Government of Ondo, Osun, Ogun States have declared Monday as a work- free day in honour of the winner of the June 12, presidential election, the late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola..

    In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Segun Ajiboye, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu said the late Abiola’s supreme sacrifice culminated in the hurried departure of the military from the political scene in 1999.

    As part of the programmes lined up to celebrate the day, the government is organizing a lecture, with the theme: “June 12: A celebration of courage and resilience’.

    The event will hold at the International Events and Culture Centre (The Dome) in Akure.

    Eminent Nigerians, including notable activists are lined up to grace the event. Hon. Wale Oshun is chairman of the occasion, while human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, will be the guest speaker.

    Akeredolu asked politicians across the country to always demonstrate their unquenchable love for the country.

    The Oyo State government has also declared the day as a public holiday.

    A statement signed by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Olalekan Alli, said that Governor Abiola Ajimobi approved Monday as work-free day to commemorate the annulment of the anniversary of the June 12, 1993 elections, which was generally believed to have been won by late Chief MKO Abiola.

    The government said the anniversary was also in recognition and honour of the martyrdom of Chief Abiola, who laid down his life for Nigerians to enjoy the democratic dividends of today.

    Also, the government of Osun has declared Monday a public holiday to mark June 12 celebration in the state.

    A statement issued on Friday, by the Director, Bureau of Communication and Strategy, Office of the Governor, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, announced the holiday.

    The statement said: “In line with its established policy of observing June 12 of every year as Democracy Day, the State Government of Osun has declared Monday, June 12 as public holiday.

    ‘’The public holiday became imperative in view of the fact that June 12 marked a watershed in the history of democratic evolution in the country. It was the day the June 12, 1993 presidential election, adjudged to be the freest and fairest in the history of Nigeria took place.’’

    Late Bashorun Moshood Abiola won the election. However, victory was annulled by the then military head of state, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida.

    The Ogun State government also declared the day as work-free.

    The Secretary to the State Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa, in a statement said: ‘’Consistent with the practice of the past six years, and, as a way of identifying with and keeping the ideals of June 12 alive, the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has declared Monday, June 12, 2017 as work free.’’

    The statement added: ‘’This year’s celebration will feature the annual “Democracy Walk”, which will be led by the governor, starting from the JUNE 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta at 7 in the morning. The walk is expected to take participants through major roads in the state capital to the Abiola family homestead, at Oke-Ido, Gbagura, Abeokuta North Local Government Area, where special prayers and speeches will be made. Later in the day, an inspirational stage play, “Oju Kelekun” (farewell to reproach), directed by Prof. Bakare Ojo Rasaki, will be performed at the June 12 Cultural Centre, between 3:45 and 6:00pm.

  • Oyo has paid salary till February, says govt

    The Oyo State government has decried a report that it has not paid its workers since the beginning of this year.

    It faulted The Cableng for carrying what it called a faulty survey about states with backlog of salaries.

    A statement yesterday by Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, ‘Toye Arulogun, said the state was shocked by reading the report.

    It said: “The Oyo State Government has observed with dismay a news report with the headline, ‘Kogi, Abia, Oyo among six states that ‘haven’t paid workers in 2017’ in The Cableng, a news medium which is well respected by the Oyo State government. We consider the medium a reliable and credible source of information; it has earned its pedigree from professional conduct and due diligence in its reporting.

    “We are, however, shocked that a medium of such repute published a story that Oyo is one of the states that have not paid salaries this year, based on a survey by a civic tech company called BudgIT.

    “The quoted survey is faulty in its findings with a wide error margin, given the facts on the ground in relation to Oyo State. The reality on the ground casts serious doubts on the authenticity of the report. The methodology and approach of such a survey is questionable as the result is not in tandem with facts.

    “While it is understandable that the report was sourced from another reputable organisation, BudgIT, we believe The Cableng should have gone a step further to ascertain the veracity of the report before going to press, based on our belief that the ‘gates’ in the journalism profession should have helped in preventing this half-truth report.