The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Prince Bola Ajibola

  • Nigeria needs corruption tribunals – Prince Ajibola

    Nigeria needs corruption tribunals – Prince Ajibola

    A former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola, on Friday called for the establishment of “special tribunals” to defeat corruption in Nigeria.

    Ajibola, who was also an ex – judge of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), said such special tribunals are necessary to ensure social justice.

    The ex-minister said in a statement made available to The Nation that “abnormal situations often require abnormal remedies.”

    The elder statesman, who had also served in many arbitration panels around the world, stressed that to ensure social justice in the country, the spirit and letter of the law must be considered in resolving cases in many instances.

    He said: “We have done all these before, beaming of our searchlight on the judiciary, especially during the time I served as Attorney General and Minister of Justice of this nation in December 1991, having completed my service as President of Nigeria Bar Association (NBA).”

    He noted that recent judicial pronouncements on several cases of corruption and abuse of office showed “obvious weaknesses and spinelessness” in the nation’s criminal justice system.

    “We can still operate special tribunals with honest and intelligent justices of high integrity that will dispense justice fairly, impartially and equitably under the rule of law,” Ajibola added.

    He advised the executive and the judicial arms of government to quickly come together to initiate other  methods of tackling corruption as the current system has not yielded expected results.

  • Forum intensifies welfare efforts

    The Ogun State Elders’ Consultative Forum under the chairmanship of His Excellency Prince Bola Ajibola (SAN), has re-affirmed its total commitment to the general well-being of people of the state. It also promised to work towards hastening the state’s socio–economic growth.

    In a statement by the elders at their plenary session held at DLK Event Centre, Abiola Way Abeokuta. Prince Ajibola said the forum has focused more on how to assist the state in its quest to develop the state as an advisory body charged with such responsibility of providing guidance, insight direction for state governance and the people.

    Prince Ajibola, who revealed that efforts were being made to achieve set goals which include stimulating the state’s socio–economy growth at all levels, noted that without a tangible economic expansion, no government can achieve reasonable development.

    He informed that that is why the forum is approaching economic issues from various angles.

    The chairman of the forum further said that Ogun State Elders’ Consultative Forum (OGSECF), is a role model for other states Elders’ Forum in Africa that are trying to emulate it as a non-governmental or political organisation. He said that the forum is not a partisan one but a reliable independent body of reputable calibre of elders who have served the state and the country preciously.

    Prince Ajibola said that since the inauguration of the forum on October 9, 2005, it has achieved a lot of success in its various activities through its standing committees, which include Security and Peace-building Committee, Community Initiatives and Poverty Alleviation, Social Welfare, Security Committee, State Economy, Development Committee, Status and Legal Matters and Education Committee.

    Speaking at the plenary session, the coordinator and resource person of the Elders’ Forum, Aremo Taiwo Allimi, congratulated the members on their achievements, adding that the forum has been receiving a lot of commendation letters from the people of the state. He also expressed his gratitude to members of the forum for their selfless services to the people; especially in conflict mediation and crisis resolution.

    Aremo Allimi further stated that membership of the forum consists of a broad spectrum of renowned Ogun State citizens who are intellectuals, eminent and very distinguished men and women of rich experience and status.

    Earlier at the events, a minute silence was observed for the forum’s Editorial Chairman, the late Chief Soniran Sowemimo after which the forum’s compendium was launched.

  • South-West Expo

    South-West Expo

  • ‘South West regional integration should be devoid of politics’

    ‘South West regional integration should be devoid of politics’

    LEADERS of the Southwest states on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the regional Grassroots Business and Investments Forum (EXPO 2013) called on all the governments and people to join hands in building a prosperous zone.

    Prince Bola Ajibola, a former Attorney General of the Federation who was chairman at the ceremony organized by Vintage Press Limited, Publishers of The Nation held in Osogbo, the Osun State capital said political tendencies should be deemphasized in plotting the road to the future.

    The ex-Judge at the International Court of Justice, The Hague, was supported by a former governor of Oyo State, Dr. Omololu Olunloyo who called on the governors to close ranks and return the region to the glorious days of the old Western Region.

    The two governors in attendance, Rauf Aregbesola of Osun and Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo toed the same lines in the thought-provoking speeches they delivered. Governor Aregbesola extended a hand of fellowship to Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State who was elected on the platform of Labour Party at a well-fought electoral battle last October. Aregbesola said: “Elections are over now and Its time for us all to come together in the interest of our people. It is about the protection and development of our territory.”

    Ajimobi said: “This is not about party politics. It is about governance. It is about the region. Each of the states has an area of strength. What we need is develop areas of comparative advantage for the overall interest of our people.” Ajimobi  listed the benefits accruable from regional integration and appealed to his Ondo state counterpart to embrace the idea for the benefit of the people of the region .
    Some of the benefits, he said, are consensus based decision making processes, elimination of conflict and unhealthy rivalry, holistic articulation and
    effective mobilisation of varieties of resources , and utilisation of community resources  to facilitate optimal delineation of development roles among
    the integrating units amongst others.
    He said the need for the South West, which used to be a hub of the defunct Western Region and her people to be united under one economic umbrella has
    been on the front burner .
    “It is on this note I want to urge my brother governor in Ondo to join in this unique effort by participating in the regional integration for the
    economic empowerment of our people. He ( governor Mimiko) should not see it as politics because it goes beyond it”, Ajimobi stressed .

    Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State who delivered the keynote address was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Dr. Ganiyu Owolabi. He also challenged all the people to brace up for a new era when the people would cooperate rather than see themselves as unhealthy competitors.

    Governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State was represented by the Special Adviser on Agriculture, Mrs. Tinu Shopeju while Babatunde Fashola of Lagos was  represented by  his Special Adviser on Integration, Rev. Tunji Adebiyi.
    Ajibola said the achievements of governors in the zone were good enough to attract investments and  gave kudos to Aregbesola for progressive steps taken since he took  the reins of government in the state, describing him as the Omoluabi of Oodualand.

    Olunloyo said regional integration would correct many things that had been done wrong in the past, advising that politics should be de-emphasised in the agenda because “politics is a waste of valuable time.”
    Aregbesola, said the theme of the programme: “Actualising Economic Development for Regional Growth” was apt, noting that regional integration was meant to harness abundant resources within the South West to promote well being of the people and for socio-economic advancement of the people under responsive and responsible governments.

    He said: “We (new set of governments in the South West) inherited very bad situation. Because many good legacies were lacking, on assumption of office, we have to begin to work round the clock to make amends where necessary. In many situations we have to evolve strategic planning with strong involvement of the private sector and social groups.”