The Nation Newspaper

Tag: residents

  • Earthquake: Oyo govt allays fear among residents

    The Oyo State government has allayed fears among the residents, especially in Oke-Ogun area, over the likelihood of an earthquake in the state.

    Last month, there was a suspected earthquake incident in Oke-Ogun.

    The government assured that the land-shaking incident was the result of a “force exploration leading to Meteorite breakages of Galatica Rock on the earth surface”.

    It said samples of the meteorite had been sent to the Department of Geology at the University of Ibadan (UI) to analyse the body of the rock and determine its composition.

    The government said it planned to discover the rock radioactive and hazard associated with the meteorite breakages “as investigation result is being expected”.

    The Special Adviser to the Governor on Solid Minerals, Mathew Oyedokun, recalled that on April 19, a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid or meteoroid, which originate from the planetary orbit between Mars and Jupiter, survived its way through the atmosphere to reach the surface of the earth and hit villages near Ipapo in Itesiwaju Local Government Area; Aba Leke, Anberee Oke, Owode and Tede in Atisbo Local Government Area.

    Oyedokun said meteorite was accompanied by series of reverberating and disturbing noise on the Earth’s subsurface as observed by residents of the affected localities and other parts of the state, including Ibadan, Oyo and Ibarapa.

    The governor’s aide said he was accompanied on a two-day investigation in the localities by the Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Chief Isaac Ishola and the Special Adviser to the Governor on Community Relations, Alhaji Abidemi Siyanbade, to ascertain the level of impact and damage to the communities.

    He urged the residents to be calm, saying the meteorite impact did not occur in a built-up area, gas station, among others, which could have resulted in deaths and destruction of property.

    He said ground impacts were made in the localities and a tree was burnt down because “meteorites are hot bodies moving at high velocity”.

  • Residents protest death of nonagenarian in Sagamu

    Some residents of Sagamu have protested the death of a 90-year-old woman, Madam Bintu Jinadu, in the hands of land grabbers.

    The deceased was said to have taken ill after policemen hijacked her son, AbdulRahman AbdulKabir, from the toilet about 10pm on March 26.

    Two others – Chief Idowu Sanya and Dauda Owolabi – were also arrested from different locations by the same police team.

    The protesters marched through the popular Ewusi Road, about 7am, from the Awolowo Market to the palace of the Ewusi of Makun, Oba Timothy Oyesola Akinsanya.

    They chanted songs to denounce an alleged land grabber, Mr. Kamoru Lamina, popularly called Sir Kay Oluwo.

    Their leader, Jamiu Lajiga, urged the Federal and state governments, as well as monarchs of entire Remo land to end Lamina’s nefarious activities.

    He said: “It is unfortunate that Sir Kay Oluwo, and many other land grabbers evicted from Lagos State, have relocated to the Remo towns and villages, terrorising our people to forcefully dispossess them of their family lands.

    “Sir Kay operates with impunity, in manners that suggest that he is above the law, as shown in his recent show of force against some of our people that led to the death of a 90-year-old woman.”

    Reports said Madam Lagjiga died on March 15 and was buried according to Islamic rites.

  • Residents protest ‘crazy bills’ in court

    No Fewer than 300 protesters yesterday besieged the premises of the Federal High Court in Lagos to challenge increase in electricity tariff.

    The protesters had stormed the court’s premises around 7.32 a.m. following a suit instituted on their behalf by a Lagos human rights lawyer, Mr Segun Ogunsanya.

    Ogunsanya had filed the suit on behalf of four communities in Lagos namely: Alaba-Oro, Mosafejo-Amukoko, Abule-Kere and Olaniyonu, challenging the alleged arbitrary estimated billing system of the Eko Electricity Distribution Company (EKEDC).

    The claimants are also demanding distribution of prepaid meters to members of the communities.

    Also joined in the suit is the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

    The case which was filed before Justice Oluremi Oguntoyinbo has been adjourned till May 30.

    In a similar development, EKEDC said it has restored power supply to residents of Ijegun Imore New Estate in Satellite Town after nine months outage due to transformer fault.

    EKEDC Business Manager, Festac Unit Owolabi Olubango told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday that the company repaired the faulty transformer and installed another one to ensure stable power.

    He said: “We have installed and energised two transformers for the community on April 13. Supply was restored to the community on April 15, but unfortunately the repaired transformer exploded a day after the restoration. We have gone to check the transformer and effort is on to put it in proper shape, but notwithstanding more than 70 per cent of the residents are now enjoying supply from EKEDC.”

    Chairman, Electricity Committee of the area, Kamorudeen Akorede, confirmed that EKEDC had restored electricity supply to area.

    He, however, said some houses were still in darkness.

  • Residents protest 300 per cent electricity bill increase

    Scores of residents of Alimosho, a Lagos suburb, yesterday stormed the Egbeda Undertaking Office of the Ikeja Electric to condemn about 300 per cent increase in their March electric bills.

    They frowned at the ‘crazy’ bills.

    Their spokesman, Mr Dayo Ali, said there was no justification for the ‘crazy bill’ given to the residents.

    He said: “The billings have been increased beyond imagination. We don’t expect what Ikeja Electric is giving to us. It is so high that a single shop was given N18,000. Some houses got up to N30,000 and above. This is too much. We want reduction or else we will march to the headquarters in Alausa to protest this.”

    Ifeanyi Ugor, who lives on Bada Street in Akowonjo, said: “This is unacceptable; it should be taken back to what it was before. We are even complaining that what they give us monthly is out of the reality of our consumption. The power supply is terribly bad and now they are increasing our bill, we won’t take it from the IE.

    The Marketing Manager of the Akowonjo office, simply identified as Akinwale, told the aggrieved residents that the company billed them based on their power consumptions.

    He complained that they could not meter every customer because they did not have the funds.

    Each transformer, he said, has metre from which the company reads the power consumption in each area.

  • Residents sensitised on hygiene

    TO celebrate the 2018 World Health Day, leading hygiene solution provider, Tolaram Africa Enterprises Ltd, makers of Hypo bleach, has sensitised residents on the importance of clean environment to healthy living.

    The brand took its “Team Up to Clean Up” campaign to Ifelodun Community in Bariga, Lagos State, where residents were sensitised on the need to maintain proper hygiene.

    Marketing Manager, Hypo, Timothy Arowosegbe said the brand has become a household name and there were no better ways to give back to consumers than influencing a positive behaviour for good hygiene.

    Arowosegbe noted that poor sanitation kills about 5,250,000 children (under five) every year in the world. And, sadly, Nigeria is one of the major contributors to child-deaths due to poor sanitation.

    He said: “Hypo is the leading brand household cleaning. Sanitation is geared towards protecting and promoting public health which helps to improve the environment. We recognise our responsibility to the society and this is why we decided to donate to the betterment of the society.

    “Cleanliness is not a choice. To stay healthy, cleanliness must be imbibed as an essential way of life. If we have a cleaner environment, there is a good chance that most of the avoidable diseases tormenting us, like malaria, typhoid, dysentery and Lassa fever, would be far away.

    “This hope of a cleaner environment will only be achieved through proper waste disposal and management. Individuals should take the responsibility of disposing their waste properly.

    “Anyone who keeps his house clean will keep his immediate environment clean. I urge you all to take this message of hygiene seriously and diseases would be far from us.”

    Chairman of Ifelodun Community Development Association Babatunde Hakeem Musa said the decision to partner Hypo was to collaborate with a health inclined brand which prioritises the community’s wellbeing.

    He said: “Hypo started with the introduction of affordable bleach for all, and we believe that this outreach would not be the last partnership between the company and the community.”

    Popular Nollywood actress Fathia Williams, who led the clean-up, appealed to parents and guardians to live healthy through good public health practices.

    Clean-up tools such as latex hand gloves, rakes, nose mask, shovels, stick brushes, bowls, buckets, brooms, parkers, sanitary waste bags and Hypo bleach were given free to residents.

  • Senator, residents hail governor

    Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode got a pat on the back yesterday for fixing 21 roads in Alimoso Local Government Area.

    Senator Solomon Olamilekan Adeola (Lagos West District), led other residents to hail the governor for lifting the economic status of their domain with the network of roads.

    Speaking at the inauguration of Aiyetoro Bridge, Senator Adeola noted that the governor had surpassed the expectations of Lagosians, noting that many residents who relocated from the area years ago, have been returning to the axis due to the massive infrastructural renewal by the Akinwunmi-led administration.

    He said: “Your Excellency, we are assuring you of giving you one million votes in the coming election from Alimosho alone because if we should look at it during this your administration, Alimosho uses to be one of the great beneficiary.

    “Alimosho local government uses to be one of the biggest beneficiaries. Today alone, 21 roads, with two bridges are being opened. We have commissioned many in the past. One of the longest bridges after the Third Mainland was also commissioned in this Alimosho Local Government Area last year.

    “You know Alimosho used to be called Tinubu Home Country. But now, it is Ambode’s destination abode. We are taken aback and marvelled with the level of work you have done in our local local government.”

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ayobo Ipaja Local Council Development Area, Ladi Oluwaloni Olo, hailed the governor for opening the area to prosperity.

    “This is an unprecedented feat that will be commended by unborn generation,”Olo told reporters after the opening of the roads.

    He said the roads would boost business activities at the boundary communities between Lagos and Ogun states.

    The party chieftain said besides ending traffic jams and damages to cars, the roads would be increase commercial activities in the area, concluding that “this will translate to prosperity”.

    Olo, a chartered accountant, said Ambode had fulfilled the promise he made last year when he inaugurated roads in the Alimoso, by building more roads, thus opening up the area.

    He said: “The governor’s action has shown that he is a leader who fulfils his promises. The only way we can pay him back is to support his administration by paying our taxes.

    “If we do so, we will encourage him to deliver more dividends of democracy to us in Alimoso and by extension Lagos State.”

  • Foundation sensitises residents on PVC collection

    A non-profit group, the Adekunle Osibogun Foundation (AOF), has begun sensitising residents of Ogun State on the need to register and collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC).

    This, it said, is to eliminate political apathy and instead encourage citizens to participate in the 2019 elections.

    A statement by its founder, Adekunle Osibogun, said the campaign is to engage the citizens on the need to be more active in the electoral processes.

    The statement said a review of the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) statistics of PVCs’ collected in Ogun State before the March 28, 2015 election, and the recent statistics, showed that there was still a large number of uncollected PVCs, while the number of newly-registered voters was not a true reflection of the state’s voting population.

    According to Osibogun, investigation conducted by his foundation showed that despite improved efforts by INEC to ensure more voters are registered before the 2019, there was a need to improve the reproduction rate of lost PVCs and also simplify the process of transferring PVCs.

    He added that the self-imposed political apathy embraced by youths will not solve national challenges or improve governance in the state; it will rather continue to stunt the state’s development.

    Osibogun urged Nigerians to join the campaign for PVC collection, and support INEC’s initiatives towards successful elections in 2019.

  • Residents hail arrest of beggars, destitute, others

    aMny residents of Oshodi have praised the Lagos State Government for clearing the area of beggars and destitute.

    Officials of the Ministry of Youth and Social Development swooped on the area and arrested about 43 beggars at different places in Oshodi and  environs.

    A resident of Mafoluku, Sikiru Babatunde said the activities of beggars in Oshodi had become worrisome, adding that some of them were often seen harassing people and insulting those who did not give them  alms.

    Besides, he said the beggars contributed to  abuse of the environment.

    “They litter the environment with all manners of trash and dirt. Apart from these, some of them also defecate and urinate indiscriminately on roads, median and other public places,” he said.

    Another resident  said they were afraid that the destitute’s activities could  pose ‘’great security risk’’ to residents.

    Commissioner for Youth and Social Development Agboola Dabiri said the exercise would continue  until  every part of Lagos was liberated from the menace of beggars, miscreants and destitute.

  • How Dapchi girls were brought back, by residents

    It was a dramatic and unexpected return. The Dapchi girls, who were kidnapped about a month ago, were dropped off in the heart of the town.

    Some of the girls relived their ordeal in the Boko Haram custody.

    Security sources told The Nation that troops were asked to withdraw from their camp shortly before the insurgents arrived with the girls in over 11 trucks and went into the town to drop off the girls.

    “Boko Haram drove into Dapchi and dropped off the girls and went back without us firing a shot. We were asked to leave our camp shortly before we saw the insurgents driving through our checkpoint   to drop off the girls,” the source said.

    Kachalla Bukar, one of the parents who received the insurgents in Dapchi, said he had a good time with the insurgents, shaking their hands and taking photographs with them as they exchanged pleasantries.

    “Boko Haram came here very early in the morning. We got information that they were coming into Dapchi with our daughters. Some people ran out of the town when they heard the news that the insurgents were coming into town but some of us whose daughters were abducted refused to go anywhere.

    “We waited until about 8.00am when we saw the Boko Haram bring our daughters back to town. It was a very happy moment for us. We played with the Boko Haram boys. I shook hands with them and even snapped pictures with them and they left.

    “One thing they told us was that we should not send our children back to western education. They told us that what they did was not terrorism, but just to teach us a lesson – that if we dared send the children back to the school again, they would abduct them and not send them back to us. They preached to us and left. We are very happy today,” Kachalla said.

    One of the released girls Khadija Grema relived her experience. She said: “The day they abducted us in the school, they came when we were about to break our fast. Everyone was confused and people were screaming. One  of them said we should come close to him. They were shooting and everyone was confused.

    “We ran towards the gate of the school. When we got there, they called one Babangida to bring the vehicles, and they began to drive us away.

    “Outside Dapchi, they asked who are the ones fasting? And some of us that were fasting were asked to come down from the vehicle. They gave us Maltina, meat, groundnut cake and ‘pure’ water. We had our prayers after breaking the fast. Then we continued our journey, until we got to a place with a big tree. They stopped and we were asked to cook food.

    “After eating, we continued the journey for a long time, until we got to a place where there is river. We came down from the trucks and they asked us to enter some canoes that took us across the river. Across the river, they took us to a house in one village that I don’t know; we stayed there for some time. Then, late in the night, they came to ask us to come out and we were taken to the river to continue the journey until we got to a thick forest. That was where they kept us; and they did not change our location until they brought us back.”

    Speaking on how they were treated by the insurgents,  Khadija said: “They fed us very well; they treated us very well. They did not beat us; they did not maltreat us. The people that took us away were all speaking Kanuri and Arabic. They didn’t tell us any meaningful reason when we were freed and returned. They just said we are Muslims and they felt it was right for them to free us so that we will not suffer. They did not molest or sexually harass us. They even said it was wrong for women and men to sit in the same place.”

    Khadija went on: “Five girls died while we were on the way to the bush; most of them died because they were trampled upon inside the vehicles. They freed all of us, except one girl who they said was a Christian and they held onto her.”

    Khadija’s story on the Christian girl, Leah Sherubu,  was collaborated by  some residents who said she was brought to Dapchi along with the girls but was taken back because she refused to renounce Christianity as instructed by her abductors.

    That story was, however, disputed by some of the girls who claimed that Leah was left behind for the journey because of her strong stand not to renounce her faith.

    Ibrahim   Husaini, a relative of one of the released girls who also had a parley with Boko Haram men when they brought back the girls, said: “Boko Haram came this early morning, telling the general public that they should not allow their  girls to go back to western education system because what they did is not terrorism but the teaching of Islamic right.

    “Apart from that, the girls were brought with the absence of security personnel. I don’t know whether they were close and they refused to go. They just dropped the girls and find their way, telling the general public that the girls should not go back to their school.

    “I asked some of the girls whether they would go back to school and they said ‘no’ because Boko Haram  told them not to go back to school, that if they go back to school and they abduct them, they will not be released any more.

    “We feel very happy because for the past 30 days that the girls were abducted, I have not been happy but today I am in a good mood, I can interact with anybody any time,” Ibrahim said.

    Some of the parents were not happy that the girls were taken to Abuja few hours after they were released.

    They told our correspondent that they were afraid that soldiers who could not protect their children from Boko Haram are the ones who came “to take our children away from us after they were released”.

    “It took a lot of time to convince some of the parents for the military to take the children away to Abuja”, one of the parents said.

  • ‘Workers must give quality service to residents, others’

    For proper administration of Lagos State, there is need for top quality service from workers to both government and residents of the state, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode has said.

    Ambode who spoke during a workshop tagged: “Building Values and Sound Human Relations Skills in Lagos State Civil Service” was represented by Commissioner, Lagos State Ministry Of Establishments, Training, and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson in Lagos.

    He said the workers must work without negative traits, practices and mindsets with values and the human relations skills that are vital for maintaining and renewing the effectiveness of the Lagos State Civil Service

    He stated that the objective of the workshop is to inculcate and sharpen the vital interpersonal human relations skills and values that officers of the state civil service require to properly and fully serve the government and the people of the state.

    He stressed that the ministry is charged with the responsibility for ensuring the adequate exposure of the Lagos State Civil Service to knowledge on an on-going basis.

    He also said that the governor is irrevocably committed to all matters relating to the Civil Service in the State.

    He said: “From time to time, we find people who wonder why this administration devotes so much resources and efforts to trainings such as this. The answer to that is the welfare of the people is the ultimate law. Governments who deny this assertion do so at the risk of ruining their stewardships and the trust of the citizens in governance. Furthermore, employers who deny this run the undeniable risk of ruining their enterprise and the trust and devotion of their employees.

    “Of the many wise employers living by this noble ideal, the state government is one of the most notable, if not the foremost. The passionate and unrivalled dedication of the Lagos State Government to the welfare of its workforce both during and after service cannot be denied. In furtherance of its dedication to this ideal, the governor mandated the Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions to embark on a continuous training of the officers of the state civil service in order to ensure the delivery of top quality service to government.

    “The Lagos State Civil Service is desirable of having officers with two skills sets of hard skills and soft skills. For instance, as an officer of the Lagos State Civil Service, you will attain better performance heights if you possess good communication skills. Again, your department will become more effective and efficient if you can work in a team and collaborate. The Lagos State Civil Service wants people who play well with others and can effectively work as part of a team.”