The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Oyo

  • Robbery suspects arrested in Oyo

    The police in Oyo State have arrested two robbery gangs, Commissioner of Police Abiodun Odude said yesterday.

    The first gang was smashed  on March 22 by detectives of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department.

    Represented by the spokesman Adekunle Ajisebutu, the commissioner said Abdulkareem Wasiu (26), Segun Odelotan (28), Afolabi Segun (26) and Lekan Usman (19) were responsible for robberies in Odo-Ona and other areas in Ibadan.

    Recovered from them were one locally made cut to size single barrel gun and two cartridges.

    Odude added: “Policemen from Alakia/Adelubi Division on a stop and search arrested a gang at Iwo Road.

    “Kunle Adelakun was arrested on March 30. Two locally made cut to size single barrel guns and cartridges were recovered from him.

    “His arrest led to the arrest of two others at their hideouts.

    “During interrogation, Adelakun said the gang was responsible for snatching cars, motorcycles and other valuables.”

  • Expert decry dangers of lead contamination on school playgrounds

    Expert decry dangers of lead contamination on school playgrounds

    A Professor of nuclear analytical geochemistry at the Ajayi Crowther University, Oyeyemi Oshin, has warned that high concentration of lead contamination on schools’ playgrounds can affect children’s blood, which can cause learning disabilities, behavioural problems, anaemia and even deaths.

    Speaking today as a guest lecturer at the 6th inaugural lecture of the university, Professor Oshin said it is a known fact that children are daily exposed to metal concentrations from playground equipment and playground dust ingested via the hand-to-mouth pathway.

    ‘’Lead is one of the naturally occurring elements in our environment, usually found in combination with other elements to form different minerals. Lead is also toxic to all humans, and when exposed to high
    concentration, an individual may get lead poisoning and eventually die.’’

    Oshin explained that one pathway by which individuals can be exposed to an abnormally high concentration of lead is through Lead Acid Battery Recycling.

    ‘’This is the act of processing used or scrap lead-acid batteries for the recovery of lead. The recycling process starts by removing the combustible materials, such as plastics, and insulators by manual sorting or burning. The metal alloy containing lead and other elements like antimony can then be smelted. Alternatively, the lead in the battery can be processed as a whole through heating in a special furnace with the metals recovered at the end of the process.”

    The expert hinted that whatever the method used, gases from the burning of the battery contains particles of lead and other pollutants.

    “When done in a controlled and organised manner, the combustion gases are sent to a scrubber where the pollutants are neutralised and removed. However, when the recycling is done in a crude manner, the combustion gases are spewed into the environment through a chimney thereby creating a potential threat to the humans around the processing plant.

    Oshin, who is also Head of the Department of  Earth Sciences, Ajayi Crowther University,  further cautioned that  Oyo town may be prone to many of the problems that impact on human lives and health.
    This, according to him, may be due to the impacts of indiscriminate discharge of cassava juice on soil and groundwater.

    Cassava is perennial root crop that is consumed in Nigeria in various forms, including cassava flour [garri]. Oshin explained that in Oyo township alone, there are over thirty garri processing centres, adding that cassava is known to contain small quantities of cyanogenic glycosides, especially hydroxy cyanic acid.

    “Cyanide compounds are toxic to humans. Up to ninety-percent of the total cyanogens in cassava may however be removed in the fermentation fluid [cassava juice] produced during  the processing of cassava to garri . The  cassava juice is potentially toxic to the environment, if carelessly discharged during the dewatering stage of the cassava processing.’’He submitted that research results of the systematic  geochemical

    He submitted that research results of the systematic  geochemical mapping conducted in Oyo town and its environs revealed that soil in the immediate vicinity of the cassava processing sites have relatively
    high concentrations of total cyanide.

    “This suggests that cyanide is rapidly attenuated  by the soil, and unless the discharged cassava juice is allowed to navigate into a receptacle, the cyanide in it is quickly absorbed by the soil.

    “However, the presence of significant amount of cyanide in well water around the processing sites shows that some cyanide is also leached into the groundwater that feeds the well water,” findings showed.

  • Oyo: no polio in seven years

    The Oyo State government has said the state has not recorded any polio outbreak in the last seven years.

    Commissioner for Health Azeez Adeduntan made this disclosure at the weekend during the launch of the first round of the 2017 National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) held at the secretariat of Oyo West Local Government, Ojongbodu, Oyo .

    Adeduntan said the government would scale up the collaboration between the state and local governments to ensure that immunisation services reach every child.

  • Oyo pays two months’ salary

    The Oyo State government has said it will ensure it clears the salary arrears of its workers’ and pensioners.

    Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism Toye Arulogun said despite the shortfall from the Federation Account, the Abiola Ajimobi-led administration will meet its wage obligation to workers.

    He said: “The government is committed to clearing the backlog of salaries owed its workers. In December 2016, the government paid two months salaries for the months of June/July 2016 and repeated the same feat in February 2017 to cater for August/September 2016. The government has now approved and released October/November 2016 payment this month, March 2017, which is another two months’ salary.

    “We are doing a lot of financial reengineering to expedite action on payment of arrears to workers in order to cushion the effects of recession in the country. The government wants to start paying salaries promptly and that is why more efforts are being put in place to clear the backlogs.”

  • Oyo to immunize 3m Children

    The Oyo State Government says  it is targeting more than 3 million children  in the 2017 National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) against Poliomyelitis and Tetanus Toxoid.

    The state’s  Commissioner for Health, Dr Azeez Adeduntan, told newsmen in Ibadan on Thursday that pregnant women would be immunised against Tetanus Toxoid.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the first round of the NIPDS in the state  is scheduled to hold from March 25 to  March  28.

    Adeduntan disclosed that  more than  1.6million children of zero to 59months were targeted for Oral Polio Vaccination   while  1.7 million women of child-bearing age  would be vaccinated against Tetanus.

    He stated that 4,152 children below one year (zero -11 months) , who had  missed their routine immunisation,  would be vaccinated according to their due antigens.

    Adedutan added that children from ages of zero to five years would be immunised against poliomyelitis while missed routine antigens would be administered on children between 0 – 11 months who missed the routine immunisation scheduled.

    He said  the NIPDs was  a supplemental immunisation campaign   to ensure immunity among  under-five children against poliomyelitis.

    Adeduntan said that it was also aimed at vaccinating unimmunised under-one-year-old children against every other vaccine preventable diseases.

    The commissioner gave  an assurance that the  government  would   not relent in its efforts to improve health care delivery in the state

  • Oyo to prosecute herdsmen with guns

    Herdsmen caught with guns will be treated as criminals and prosecuted accordingly, the Oyo State government has said.

    This was stated in a communiqué issued at the end of the State Inter-Religious/Ethnic Committee (OYSIREC) held in Ibadan at the Executive Chamber of the governor’s office.

    The meeting was attended by religious, tribal, ethnic and community leaders, including security agents, with Governor Abiola Ajimobi in attendance.

    OYSIREC appealed to clerics to stop preaching hate and inciting sermons that derogate other religions.

  • ‘Silent revolution taking place in Oyo’

    ‘Silent revolution taking place in Oyo’

    Chief of Staff to Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, Dr. Gbade Ojo, is an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Ilorin. In this interview with JEREMIAH OKE, he speaks on the Federal Government’s anti-corruption war, the policies of the Abiola Ajimobi administration and the newly-created Local Council Development Areas (LCDAs).

    As a political scientist, how would you rate Nigeria’s democracy?
    If we want to evaluate the democratic performance of Nigeria today, we are doing well. Nigeria has got a pass mark. The reason is very simple. In democratic theory, there is something we called “time test.” Democracy must have been on the ground for a minimum of 30 years before we begin to talk of democratic consolidation. What we have been doing since 1999 is effort to sustain a “nascent democracy.” What is the meaning of nascent? “Young”. “In the process of maturity”. “Just coming into existence and beginning to display signs of future potential”. Nigeria got independence in just about 56 years ago, while America got independent in 1770 or thereabouts. So, in comparative politics, you do not compare two things that are not comparable.
    For instance, before now, there was nothing like whistle blower, there was nothing like serious struggle against corruption. Whether people are in jail or not, the mere fact that the Federal Government is recovering money buried under the ground or kept in water thank, we can ultimately say; democracy is working in Nigeria. Those who are untouchable before are now facing the wrath of the law. A whole Inspector General of Police was once disgraced out of office. We have seen cases of leaders being taking to court, which was not like that before. So, we are doing well.
    Observers say part of the recovered loot should be used to shore up the dwindling economy…
    The way democratic system of government operates, you cannot spend any money outside the budget. It is the National Assembly that must appropriate before the executive can spend money. If a certain amount of money was approved by the National Assembly and during the year you are able to get some money from other sources, you have to keep it for another year’s budget. Alternatively, you have to write to the National Assembly for supplementary budget. If the Federal Government begins to spend the recovered loot without the consent of the National Assembly, it is an impeachable offence.
    But, none of the looters has been prosecuted as expected…
    Credit should be given to former President Olusegun Obasanjo for creating the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). Before the Obasanjo regime, it was the police that use to investigate corrupt charges. It was later discovered that Nigeria required a special agency to handle the corruption war. Kudos should be given to Obasanjo for that. But, President Buhari can actually build on that, by giving us a Special Court to handle election petition cases. The problem with the corruption cases is the judiciary. Our judiciary is corrupt and there is no way we can have the best out of such a corrupt system. The bench and the bar are the problem. Nigeria also requires some sort of re-orientation, vis-a-vis corruption. Let them know that if anyone is in public office, he is holding public resources in trust for the public and that it is not your property. That can be done by injecting it in school curriculum from primary school to post graduate level. Let corruption be a course, even if it is an aspect of general studies. Let’s teach our younger ones moral.
    Do you subscribe to the call for scrapping one of the chambers of the National Assembly?
    No! We need a bi-cameral legislature. It is only a layman that would argue that we don’t need it. The beauty of bi-cameral legislature is that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Nigeria is a plural and deeply divided society, with over 350 ethnic groups. If you want to manage such a country without crises, this kind of legislature is the most suitable. The major difference between the House of Representatives and the Senate is that the age qualification for the latter is higher. When you look at the Senate, you will also discover that it has equal representation. That means we have three senators from each state, irrespective of its size and population. So, when certain decisions are to be taken, you need those who have advanced in age, because, if the decisions are to be left with those who are young, they may be exhibiting a kind of youthful exuberant and that could lead to a serious problem in a plural society like Nigeria.
    What are the implications of President Buhari’s absence?
    It has no implication. Just that we love talking in Nigeria, despite the fact that we know the truth. Mr. President as a public officer is entitled to, at least, 45 working days-leave, which is more than one month. Senior civil servants do go on leave; don’t they? So, if Mr. President said he was going on leave and along the line that he will go for medical check-up, he has not committed any crime, because he wrote to the National Assembly to transfer power to the Vice President to act in his absence. In that wise, he has done the right thing. If he is on leave and undergoing medical treatment, why must he make unnecessary noise about it? If he were to be around, what could he have done that Osinbajo is not doing? That is the fundamental question. There is nothing wrong with what is happening now. People are comparing the situation with what obtained under the late President Umaru Yar ‘Adua. But, they forget that the late Yar ‘Adua was a sickler and that during electioneering campaign, he collapsed and he was rushed to a Germany hospital for treatment. Buhari did not collapse during the campaign or at any other point. In a democratic set up, nobody is indispensable; not even the president. If anything happens to Mr. President or governor of a state, another person must be sworn-in, because there mustn’t be power vacuum. If Mr. President didn’t transfer power to make the Vice President the Acting President, it would have been a different matter. For now, he has not done anything unconstitutional. We just love talking. We do not have a responsible opposition. What we call opposition in Africa is irreverent critic. They criticise, rather than coming up with a superior and overwhelming argument why things should not be the way they are.
    As a member of the newly inaugurated committee for Local Council Development Area (LCDA), how far have you gone?
    The House of Assembly had passed the bill and the implementation is on.
    What is the aim of creating new LCDAs when the existing ones are not viable?
    The last time local governments were created all over the country was a long time ago. If you look at the local governments today, their population has more than tripled; compared to the time they created. So, basically it is to enhance grassroots development.
    Governor Ajimobi has been nicknamed the constituted authority of Oyo State, especially on social media. Don’t you think this is derogatory?
    It is not derogatory. Is he not a constituted authority in the state? Who else should be carrying that title? If you are class teacher, you are a constituted authority in the class that you teach. If you are a pastor and you ask the congregation to make some noise or you ask them to rise up, you are a constituted authority in that church.
    But the people voted for him…
    That is what makes him a constituted authority.
    The opposition has described the education policies of Ajimobi as comatose. What is he doing to correct this abnormality?
    If you have been following the trend of things in Oyo State, especially the education sector, you’ll agree with me that the governor has done very well. When we came in 2011, the system was so bad that Oyo State was ranked 29 out of the 36 states of federation. Unfortunately, the past government was spending billions of naira on education, with nothing to show for it. Now, to confront the problem headlong, government targeted three things, in rejiging education in Oyo State, namely: students, teachers and infrastructures. Before 2015 election, we recruited over 5,000 teachers. That means if the problem is shortage of teachers, over 5,000 were injected into the system. Secondly, if the 5,000 will not be enough, there is a plan in the pipeline that primary school teachers with degrees should be transferred to secondary schools. We went round the primary and secondary schools and we discovered that in some primary schools, they have four teachers in a class, teaching between 10 and 15 pupils. So, if we drafted them to the junior secondary schools, it will give us far more teachers at the secondary school level. We have gone beyond that at the moment. There was an educational summit in 2012, immediately after Governor Ajimobi was inaugurated. Government has started the implementation of the findings of that summit. One of the findings was that some of the teachers don’t go to school regularly, especially those in rural areas. A number of them will stay in urban areas; they only go back at month end to receive their salaries. Recently, the governing board was constituted in virtually all the secondary schools. They will be monitoring from the principal to the non-teaching staff. Membership of this governing board is so diverse that it took care of almost all stakeholders such as alumnus, principals, community leaders within the vicinity of the school, current school prefects and the religion leaders in the communities where the schools are located. They are members of the board and they will be meeting regularly to deliberate on the state of affairs of the schools. So, I won’t be surprised in the next one year, if we witness a revolution in the area of infrastructure, because when you have a board for a school, they can call former students who are well to do in the society to assist their alma mater. So, a lot of silent revolution is taking place in the educational sector. Few weeks ago, Oyo State keyed into the homegrown school feeding policy of the Federal government. The issue of automatic promotion has been discarded. You have to pass the promotional exams before you can be promoted to another class. By the time we begin to see the result of this silent revolution; it will take the state to its rightful position which is to set the pace.

  • ‘Dissolve my 25-year-old marriage before my husband kills me’

    A housewife,Bose Okeiye, on Tuesday prayed an Idi-Ogungun Customary Court, Agodi-Ibadan, Oyo State, to dissolve her 25-year-old marriage to her  estranged husband, Augustine Okeiye, and safe her from an untimely death.

    Okeiye had approached the court seeking dissolution of the marriage which had produced five children, on the grounds that her husband was a threat to her life, not caring and irresponsible.

    She narrated how the defendant battered her to the extent that she had to undergo surgery while on admission in a hospital for two months.

    “I was on admission in a hospital for two months and had to undergo surgery because of my husband’s brutality and constant battering.

    “He neither checked on me nor did he pay my hospital bill throughout my period in the hospital.

    “Later, my family members asked why he refused to visit me in hospital and his response was that my father offended him.

    “My lord, I am tired of him; please dissolve this marriage before he kills me. I want to take care of my five children in good health,” she pleaded.

    The defendant (Augustine) was, however, not in court to defend the allegations leveled against him despite three letters of summons from the court.

    The court’s president, Chief Mukaila Balogun,  in his ruling said, “having gone through evidence presented by the complainant and considering the disrespect of the defendant toward the court, it is clear that there is no more love between the couple.”

    Balogun, therefore, dissolved the marriage and ordered that the first two children should be in the custody of the defendant while the remaining three children should be with their mother.

    He also ordered the defendant to pay N9,000 to his wife as monthly allowance for the upkeep of the three children. (NAN)

  • Oyo assures residents of fairness

    Oyo assures residents of fairness

    Owners of properties and structures on the Oke Adu Agodi-Gate-Idi Ape-Iwo Road Interchange have been assured of professionalism as the demolition and expansion of the road begins.
    Commissioner for Works and Transport Wasiu Oladimeji Dauda said this at a stakeholders’ meeting with the owners of affected structures at the Ibadan North-East secretariat, Iwo Road, Ibadan.
    Dauda said: “The Abiola Ajimobi administration has the interest of citizens at heart.
    “The project is to fulfill the governor’s second term promises in ensuring that major link roads within Ibadan and major towns are expanded, reconstructed and rehabilitated.
    He appealed to owners of properties and structures not to allow individual benefits override general benefits.

  • Oyo community to govt: fix our road

    Oyo community to govt: fix our road

    The residents and business owners of Oniyeye, Alao-Akala Way, Okebadan Estate in Lagelu Local Government Area of Oyo State have appealed to the local and state governments to assist in fixing their road.

    They said the road was a death trap because it was full of potholes and many portions had been washed away by erosion.

    The Zonal Chairman for Oniyeye Residents Association, Adeleke Kayode, said after all efforts to call the attention of both the local and state governments did not yield any positive results, they pulled their resources together to repair the road.

    He said: “We have informed Lagelu Local Government but the chairman complained of paucity of fund to support us. He told us to go ahead with the project that he will support us when fund is available. When we were doing the stone-base, he gave us the graders and still promised to give stone-base and we are expecting.

    “To start the project, we started with six trucks of asphalts. Before now, we have laid 16 trucks of stone base and as you can see, there are graders, MC1 , bitumen and other materials are on ground. The resident engineers are on ground to make direct labour to save cost. Also, we make everything transparent as we pay directly from our director to companies’ account to purchase all materials needed for the construction. So, nobody is holding cash.”

    Adeleke added that they had requested for N10m from Lagelu Local Government for the three- kilometers road which needs N29 million to be completed.

    He said the road had gulped over N6m.

    He said: “I remember whenever former Governor Alao Akala wanted to travel to Ogbomosho, his hometown, he used to travel through this road to avoid traffic logjam.

    “Also, the government has awarded road project from Akobo to Olorunda end. This road will be busier because there will be diversion which will make people come through this road.

    “Due to this bad road in the past, we have had security issues where there were reports of hijacking of cars and that is one of the reasons we felt we should start this project earnest.”

    “We have started building police post around palace bus-stop which has almost reached completion. We are doing these to assist government because we know there are financial challenges before government of the day and we want them to complement our effort.”

    Also speaking, the Chairman working committee in the area zone, Adekola Sulaimon, said the condition of the road was terrible.

    He said: “This time we want to make a durable construction with quality materials that will make the road more durable. That is why we first applied the stone-base, adequate thickness of asphalts to make it last at least for 5 to 10 years.

    “Before now, we did put only laterite and stone base but this time, we use asphalts with high thickness to make it stronger to enhance its durability.

    “We are also putting up drainages to make the road last. Already, we have spent over N7 million and what we calculated to be our total cost on the whole road length is between N29 million and N30m due to market variables.”