The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Oyo

  • Tinubu to Ladoja, Akala: anti-Ajimobi plot ‘ll fail

    Tinubu to Ladoja, Akala: anti-Ajimobi plot ‘ll fail

    Politics was in the air yesterday at a landmark ceremony — the opening of a flyover — in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Action Congress of Nigeria (AC N) National Leader Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who cut the tape to open the key facility, had a word for the duo of former Oyo State Governors Rashidi Ladoja and Adebayo Alao-Akala. Your gang-up against Governor Abiola Ajimobi will fail, he told them.

    Ladoja, who is the leader of Accord party and Alao-Akala, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), were former arch enemies, who have united to fight the Ajimobi administration.

    “It (the alliance) will collapse like a pack of cards,” the former Lagos State Governor said as he inaugurated the Mokola Flyover built by the Ajimobi administration.

    The bridge is expected to ease the traffic jam at the ever-busy Mokola axis of the city. It is the first to be built by any civilian administration in the state in the last 35 years.

    Also inaugurated yesterday was the ultra-modern motor park at Podo with the capacity to accommodate 60 luxury buses and 311 mini-buses. It has a terminal building, shopping malls, restaurants, management office, vehicle service points, a car wash, public toilets and boreholes.

    The third project is a neighbourhood business complex at Scout Camp, Challenge, comprising 760 open stalls, 384 lock-up shops, two blocks of warehouses, an administrative building, a large parking space and a canteen.

    Tinubu said: “ I read recently that some of them were collaborating; the old enemies who drove themselves out of office with guns, cudgels, sticks and cutlasses. They say they want to collaborate again. Ah! they have failed because they will fail again . They were down before; they are down again.

    “No matter what evil they put together, they will continue to collapse like a pack of cards. Lest they forget; we helped them before; let their conscience tell them. I, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, did what I had to do to protect the integrity, the character, the content of our democracy and the freedom of our people through him, but what did they pay back? Today, here we are. They left the office of the governor in shambles and they turned the state backward and rotten.

    “Now, the office is clean, free and you see rapid progress; you see a government that made the people the cornerstone of economic policy. You see civilisation in the Ajimobi administration. You see restoration; you see commitment and radical transformation and urban renewal.”

    Tinubu contrasted the two years spent so far in office by Ajimobi with that of the two former governors, saying: “They even refused to paint the buildings in the secretariat where they worked. They were enemies of progress; they were enemies of change and they were enemies of the people,” he said.

    At the ceremonies were the National Chairman of ACN, Chief Bisi Akande, Governors Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun), Rauf Aregbesola (Osun) and Rochas Okorocha (Imo). Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola was represented by his deputy, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire.

    Others were the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi, the Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao, Chief Kola Daisi, the Chief Judge of Oyo State, Justice Badejoko Adeniji, the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Mrs. Monsurat Sunmonu and WEMABOD Chairman Dr. Adebayo .

    Crowds of ordinary folks thronged the inaugurations held in three locations within the Ibadan metropolis. Many were singing and drumming to celebrate what they described as monumental achievements of the administration.

    Okorocha praised his Oyo State counterpart for transforming the state, particularly Ibadan where he said he built one of his schools taking care of indigent students.

    Amosun congratulated the people of Oyo State for voting a “performer’’ as the governor, saying the result of their decision is the all-round transformation being witnessed in the state.

    Goodwill messages were also given by Mrs Orelope-Adefulire and the National President of the Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes (CCII), Chief Bayo Oyero, among others.

    Ajimobi said the bridge was a dream come true and a historical mileage in the state.

    He berated the opposition whom he said embarked on a campaign of calumny since the day the construction of the bridge began. He urged them all to acknowledge excellence wherever they saw one.

    The governor said: “I remember that on Thursday, December 22, 2011, when we flagged off the construction of this flyover, we provoked the unbelief and disdain of cynics and political opposition. To them, the construction of the bridge was akin to building the biblical Tower of Babel, with its impossible tendencies.

    “Even when the bridge was being constructed, we became the butt of jokes of the opposition who, either out of mischief, naivety or their well-known cynicism, mocked the absence of an erect bridge, months after its flag-off. Unknown to them, the essential components of the bridge, being mostly pre-fabricated, were undergoing construction in the company’s yard. Now that the bridge has been completed, they have shifted their mischief to the cost of the project, choosing to ignore the comprehensive features of the project which, among others, include the upgrading of 1.2km long service roads and intersections, beautification of roundabout and space under the flyover, construction of new water mains, street lighting and the payment of compensation to the numerous property owners whose properties in this commercial centre of the city were affected.”

     

  • Oyo police nab suspected ritualist

    A 17-year-old boy has been handed over to the Oyo State Police Command after he was caught by teachers at St. Luke Grammar School, Molete, Ibadan, while allegedly chanting incantations on a student at a nearby bush where the student had gone to ease himself.

    The action, the teachers claimed, was to kidnap the victim

    According to the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), OlabisiOkuwobi-Ilobanafor, the suspect, ChukwuChijoke, had claimed that the charm found on him was a gift from his grandfather, which has the powers to make him command anyone to do whatever he asked them to do.

    But the suspect explained that the charm posed no evil on the student.

    He said the name of the charm was “Ezebinafor” and that it was a gift from his grandfather for protection and to invoke command.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Oyo celebrates Child Health Week

    Oyo celebrates Child Health Week

    The Oyo State Government has said it will reduce maternal mortality rate through a monthly free health service programme.

    The governor’s wife, Mrs Florence Ajimobi, spoke yesterday at Idi Ogungun Community Health Centre, Ibadan, the state capital, during this year’s Maternal, Newborn and Child Health Week.

    She urged parents to be passionate about the welfare of their children because they are their future.

    The governor’s wife said the Abiola Ajimobi administration is also passionate about the welfare of women and children.

    Mrs Ajimobi said: “We are trying to reduce the high rate of maternal mortality rate in this state by allowing expectant mothers to get the right medical attention, advice and drugs. We have equipped our primary health centres with drugs and facilities to aid safe delivery.”

    The governor’s wife explained that health interventions planned for the week would be conducted in the 33 local government areas.

    She said they will include immunisation of infants from age O to five years, distribution of family planning commodities, vitamin A supplements, birth registration of children and tests for malnutrition.

    Mrs Ajimobi advised nursing and expectant mothers to take advantage of the health week, which will end on Friday, by visiting any health facility for vaccination or collection of the listed interventions.

     

  • Reinventing Oyo

    For many years, Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, stood out. The ancient city had many firsts. The first television station in Africa, WNTV; and the first tallest building, Cocoa House, and university in Nigeria. Then the city lost its shine, but things are looking up again, courtesy of Governor Abiola Ajimobi. Wale Alabi reports.

    The years of locust in Nigeria also took their toll, on Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, but a recent visit to the ancent city shows that the Ajimobi administration is determined to restore its glory.

    The Yoruba adage says ‘morning shows the day’, and this is beginning to manifest in the little that the government has been able to achieve in the past two years.

    On transportation, more than 100 buses have been acquired to replace the old rickety intra- and inter-city buses. There are free buses for workers in the civil service and recently, the state began its own version of the Lagos Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). The government has also given tricycles, popularly known as ‘Keke Ajumose’ to thousands of people in the state.

    Moroof Adegbile, a resident of Ibadan, in assessing the government performance in public transportation, said, he had seen some buses and tricycles popularly called “Keke Ajumose” to replace the rickety buses and taxis plying the metropolis.But he feels the government still has to do more, so that the impact will be felt in the state.

    “I think the government is kicking off on a good note in the providing befitting means of transportation for the populace, but more needs to be done so that this can reach the nook and cranny of the state. Don’t forget that this is a very big state with huge population in the hinterlands who needs to also feel the impact of this government in the area of public transportation.”

    On infrastructure and urban renewal, the Ajimobi administration has rehabilitated over199 roads and bridges across the state and also constructed the new N2.1 billion flyover at Mokola. This is no mean feat as previous governments never saw the need to do this. Other steps taken to clear the environment of the old status include: clearing of over 120 blocked drains in Ibadan metropolis, dredging of 43 rivers and streams across the state, on-going beautification of Trunk A roads in Ibadan and Local Government headquarters and the institutionalisation of weekly environmental sanitation.

    The Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi attested to this at a public forum recently when he said: “In the last two years, we have provided infrastructural facilities that are unprecedented in the history of our state. We have constructed/rehabilitated over 260 roads and several bridges across the state.

    Right now, we are dualising major roads in the capital city of Ibadan, Ogbomoso, Iseyin and Oyo. Chief Victor Omololu Olunloyo, the former governor of the state, in commending the massive construction going on across the state said: “Rebuilding or even mere renovation often involves demolition of existing structures, be they standard buildings, shanties or slums; once they stand in the way of a new vision of what the place should look like. The work of the governor is, therefore, necessary, valuable, and commendable repair of the facade of Ibadan.”

    Also a leader of opposition party, CPC, Senator Solomon Ewuga, on visit to Oyo, said: “I want to use this opportunity to commend you on the work you are doing on infrastructure. We have gone round and we have seen the work you are doing; you need to be commended and please, don’t give up, that is the spirit of change that the new party is going to bring to Nigeria.”

    The Oyo State government is also focusing on tomorrow. And no stone is being left unturned to guarantee the future of tomorrow’s leaders. Oyo children are assured of quality education, courtesy of the state government.The government’s efforts on improving the standards of education are already being felt.Besides erecting new classroom blocks and prompt payment of teachers’ salaries, the overall results of Oyo State schools have improved drastically. The new Technical University project that has been embarked on in Oyo State will, upon completion, be one of the best universities in the world.Other feats in the area of education are: constant training of teachers, re-introduction of supply science and Home Economics in secondary schools and successful accreditation of courses at the Polytechnic and College of Agriculture, Igboora.

    But for the critics of the Ajimobi government, the government is yet to do enough, though it is acknowledged that the achievements so far in the last two years are a sure way of directing the footsteps of a purposeful government. According to Kole Ajidahun, “The government has been able to touch the lives of Oyo State’s citizens in the last two years to meet the aspirations of the people. The government will need to do more, if it is serious in bringing back the good, old days of the Action Group government in the west.”

    Also, a public affairs analyst, Abel Makinde, while acknowledging the achievements of the Ajimobi government in the past two years challenged the government, stating that the task of rebuilding of Oyo State must go beyond rhetoric. The government, he said, must be seen to be meeting the yearning and aspiration of the people with reasonable cost.

    In his words: “One can see the Ajimobi government pitching itself against the golden era of the Western Region. It is a bold step, but beyond words, he will need to confront the problems and challenges head on, in order to be seen that he is ready to take the bulls by the horn, in meeting the yearnings and aspiration of the people.”

    If the pace with which the Ajimobi-led government is maintained, then it can be said that Oyo State is set to reclaim its old glory and the citizens can once again beat their chest to say Oyo State is truly a pacesetter state and Senator Abiola Ajimobi is providing leadership that is driving this.

  • Rep says he executed constituency projects worth N120m in 2 years

    Rep says he executed constituency projects worth N120m in 2 years

    Hon Olayemi Busari, a member of the House of Representative on the platform of Accord Party (AP), says he has executed constituency projects worth over N120 million between 2011 and 2013.

    Busari told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in an interview in Ibadan that the money was spent to improve the standard of living of the people in his constituency.

    He said that he constructed a three classroom blocks each at Bioku and Aladun Communities in Ona-Ara and another one at Olosan in Egbeda Local Government area of the state.

    “Through my poverty alleviation programme, I have given to people of the constituency 100 motorcycles, 50 sewing machines,  30 deep freezers and cash gift of N40,000 to 200 beneficiaries.

    Busari said he had also provided 16 boreholes in the two local governments and at the same time sunk two drilled well in each of the 22 wards that make up the constituency, bringing the number  to 44 wells.

    He also said that he had facilitated the rehabilitation and refurbishment of PHCN office at Olorunsogo which was burnt down during the protest against the removal of petrol subsidy in January 2012.

    “I have tried within my capacity to secure appointments at the federal level for graduates in my constituency.

    “At least, 235 graduates have secured appointment in the federal civil service, Immigration Service, Nigeria Police, Civil Defence, Federal Road Safety Commission and Military, to mention but a few.”

    He said that N50 million had been budgeted for the execution of many projects in his constituency in 2013.

    Busari, however, said he was able to do all these programmes with total support from both Federal and state Governments.

  • Police rescue abducted girl in Oyo

    Police rescue abducted girl in Oyo

    •Suspected kidnappers held

    The Oyo State Police Command has rescued an abducted 19-year-old girl.

    She was found along the Iwo/Olodo road in Ibadan, the state capital.

    Speaking with reporters in his office yesterday, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Alakia/Adelubi Police Station, Musiliu Sogbade, said at about 8:15pm on May 15, the victim’s elder brother, Kunle Olaide, came to the station to report that his sister was missing. He said she had not returned from school.

    Sogbade said: “While Olaide was still filing his complaint, the kidnappers phoned him with the victim’s mobile phone, demanding that he sends them N6,000 worth of MTN recharge cards or risk having his sister used for rituals.

    “We asked him to play along and he sent them cards worth N3,000. They called back acknowledging it and asked him to pick his sister up on the Iwo/Olodo road.

    “That was when my Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) swung into action and rescued the girl around a farm at Olodo. Two boys, aged 19 and 20, were arrested. The third suspect is at large.

    “The girl was found unconscious. After medical examination, it was discovered that she was raped to a state of comma. The suspects have been arraigned for conspiracy, kidnapping, rape and stealing a Blackberry Curve 2 phone. They are being remanded at Agodi Prison.”

    Narrating her ordeal, the victim said she was coming back from school when she met one of the suspects, simply identified as Adebanjo, who was an ex-student of her school.

    The victim said Adebanjo, who happens to be her toaster, was with two of his friends.

    She said: “Adebanjo lied to me that his mother wanted to see me in their house, but I objected to it. Before I could say anything else, one of his friends used a charm ring on me and I did not know how I got to their house. I was gang raped by the three of them. After that, they called my family demanding for money.”

    The victim said since the incident, she has been bleeding from her private part.

    Her father, Mr. Lekan Akande, thanked the police for rescuing his daughter and urged the judiciary to punish the culprits.

  • Oyo gets six judges

    Oyo gets six judges

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has sworn in six high court judges.

    They are Mrs. O. Olatunji; Mr. Bayo Taiwo; Mr. Lekan Owolabi; Mr. G. Sunmonu, Mrs. O. Fadeyi and Mr. E. Ajayi.

    This brings the number of judges in the state judiciary to 22.

    Speaking on Monday at the swearing-in ceremony, which was held at the State Secretariat in Ibadan, the state capital, Ajimobi urged the judges to shun corruption.

    He said: “The powers of a judge are a sacred trust given to him to arbitrate disputes. Be outstanding, courageous, brilliant and incorruptible judges, who always stand in defence of the truth.

    “Keep the fountain of justice pure at all times and refrain absolutely from subjecting it to any pollution motivated by mercenary, primordial or pecuniary considerations.

    “Adopt role models among great jurists and strive to be pure and incorruptible like them. Emulate the likes of Lord Denning, Cardozo, Olliver Wendell Holmes, J. I. C. Taylor, Taslim Elias, Andrew Otutu-Obaseki, Mustapha Obaseki, Augustine Nnamani, Chukwudifu Oputa, M. L. Uwais, Issa Ayo Salami, N. O. Adekola, O. A. Boade and Bunmi Oyewole, to mention a few.”

    Judges were last appointed into the state judiciary in 2006.

     

  • Oyo police foil kidnap attempt by teenagers

    The police in Oyo State have foiled an attempt by two teenagers to kidnap a 15-year-old.

    The Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Indabawa, told reporters that the suspects were arrested on Tuesday around 2pm at Adegbaji in Ibadan, the state capital.

    He said: “Policemen attached to Egbeda Division got information that the teenagers were trying to charter a commercial motorcycle for N100,000. They trailed the suspects and arrested them.

    “The suspects, aged 17 years, confessed that they were on their way to kidnap one of them’s cousin, Victor Olokituyi, a pupil of Starlite School in Sango.

    “Investigations revealed that the key culprit, whose cousin was the target, had been on the trail of their target for over a week. He had been making phone calls to the unsuspecting mother of the target regularly, asking about the boy’s whereabouts and welfare.”

    The principal suspect told reporters that he planned the kidnap because his uncle did not give him the money he needed for his admission into a tertiary institution.

    He said: “I once lost admission into the University of Lagos (UNILAG) because I could not afford the N150,000 I was asked to bring.

    “After the experience, I engaged in different kinds of manual labour to raise money for my education, but not much was forthcoming.

    “I went to my uncle who was brought up by my father, but he said he had no money.

    “When the idea of kidnapping my cousin came to my mind, I talked my friend into it, but I now regret my actions.”

    A knife, cutlass, wraps of Indian hemp and facial masks were found on the suspects, who would be charged to court soon.

    On Monday, the command intercepted a white station wagon, marked Lagos AW 965 KTU, loaded with 3,525 rounds of live cartridges in three sacks.

    Indabawa said the car was intercepted in Saki.

    He said: “On sighting policemen, the vehicle stopped. Its five occupants jumped out and ran in different directions. One of the suspects engaged Corporal Idris Oyekan in a fight and was later apprehended, while the others escaped. The suspect is helping our investigation.”

    The suspect said he was a mechanic and was called to load the car with goods.

    He said: “They told me they were loading batteries and I did not bother to cross check because it was not my first time of helping them to load goods.”

  • Oyo students get N100m scholarship, 28 years after

    Twenty-eight years after scholarships were last awarded in Oyo State, Governor Abiola Ajimobi yesterday presented a N100 million cheque to indigenes in tertiary institutions.

    The ceremony was held at the House of Chiefs.

    The students and their parents were overwhelmed as the governor presented a symbolic cheque to representatives of the beneficiaries.

    Beneficiaries of the bursary/scholarship awards include final year students of universities and polytechnics, post-graduate students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria and abroad and those in aviation colleges.

    Ajimobi described the occasion as memorable.

    He said it was a demonstration of his administration’s commitment to boosting education and giving the people the dividends of democracy.

    The governor said: “No nation can hope to make meaningful progress without sound and qualitative education. According to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, ‘if you want to keep a man in perpetual slavery, do not give him education’.

    “The pivotal role of education in the development of any nation cannot be over-emphasised. It is on this premise that the state government has made the education of our children a priority. We have touched every local government with meaningful and pupil-oriented projects.

    “Aside the renovation of about 1,600 primary and secondary school buildings, this administration procured 20,000 pieces of furniture for the schools.

    “Efforts are being made to make schools students-friendly and the welfare of workers is our priority. Apart from providing free education in primary and secondary schools, this administration deemed it fit to sustain the State Scholarship Board through adequate funding.

    “Our raison deter was to reposition the board and make it effective to cushion the harsh effects of the rising cost of education in tertiary institutions, a burden that is always carried by parents.”

    Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr. Muili Olanrewaju Taofeek, a post-graduate student of Petroleum Geo-Science at the Manchester University in the United Kingdom (UK), thanked the governor for giving them an opportunity to attain their potentials.

     

  • Students hail council chief

    STudents of Oke-Ogun origin have urged public officials in Oyo State to emulate the performance of the newly-inaugurated Caretaker Committee chairman of Atiba Local Government, Dr Jacob Ogunmola.

    The students, under the banner of National Association of Oke-Ogun Students (NAOS), spoke through their president, Wasiu Owolabi.

    Wasiu said the association was commended the achievement of the council chairman, who he said had only spent three months in office.

    The council facilitated payment of bursary allowances to 894 Oke-Ogun students in different higher institutions.

    “We are not suprised that Dr Ogunmola, with what he is doing, has surpassed the achievements of his predecessors,” Wasiu said.

    He added: “Distribution of Ajumose First Aid box to all public primary and secondary schools with relevant drugs monthly; distribution of exercise books to pupils in public schools and inauguration of health equipment like 400 pieces of digital blood pressure measurement for hypertensive patients and the distribution of 400 glucometer for diabetic patients are some of these unprecedented feats. He does not forget the aged and staff of the council.’”

    Wasiu thanked Governor Ajimobi for appointing Dr. Ogunmola, adding that students would continue to support his administration.

    While praising the State Chairman of Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON), Hon. Yekinni Popoola, who presides over the affairs of Irepo Local Government, he urged the chairman to continue to float populist programmes which have continued to endear the hearts of people to their administration.

    Responding, Ogunmola said he was motivated with the praises heaped on him, saying that it will motivate him to do more. He assured that they should expect more educational support packages soon.