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Tag: Southern Governors

  • Stampede: Southern governors pay condolence visit to Makinde

    Stampede: Southern governors pay condolence visit to Makinde

    Southern governors have paid a condolence visit to one of their members, Seyi Makinde, over the death of 35 persons at a funfair for children in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    Also yesterday, former President Goodluck Jonathan expressed sadness over the Ibadan stampede and those that happened in the Federal Capital Territory(FCT) and Okija, Anambra State on Saturday. He expressed sadness over the tragedies and called for prayers as well as support for the victims’ families.

    Police in Anambra State put the death toll in the Okija incident at 22 while reports had  it that 10 lives were lost in that of the FCT. 

    The victims were among thousands of people that thronged venues of cash and rice distributions by private charity organisations. 

    During the visit to Makinde in Ibadan, the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum(SGF) Dapo Abiodun, said that he was sure that the stampede on Thursday would not have happened if the state government had been carried along by the organisers. 

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    Abiodun said: “I am here on behalf of myself, the government, and the good people of Ogun State and the Southern Governors’ Forum (SGF) to commiserate with the governor of Oyo State and the people on the unfortunate incident where a good initiative turned sour.

    “It is most unfortunate that, in response to the current realities, an NGO(Non-Governmental Organisations) decided to share the joy of the season with children, which led to the loss of 35 lives.

    “I think that we’ve seen this trend in Anambra and Abuja during this Yuletide.’’

    The SGF chairman, who is also the governor of Ogun State,  described the stampede as unfortunate and advised that governments and relevant stakeholders should always be carried along by organisers of events requiring large crowds.

    His words: “I believe that what we must also take away from this unfortunate incident is that when private sector players, non-governmental organisations, and charities want to embark on such initiatives, they should try to work with the government.

    “As a responsible government, we carry out such initiatives, and it doesn’t end like this because we have people who are charged with such responsibilities.

    “They planned it to ensure that it is well implemented. So, one must admonish others who have such initiatives that a lot of lessons must be learned from what has happened, and we must ensure that we avoid such mishaps in the future.” 

    He stated that the SGF was pained by the loss of loss and that as the chairman of the forum, his visit was to condole with Makinde and all Oyo State people  .

    He prayed for the repose of the souls of those who lost their lives and for their families to bear the loss.

    Governor Makinde said the visit by Abiodun provides an opportunity for the cross-fertiliSation of ideas that would benefit the two(Ogun and Oyo) sister states.

    He revealed that leaders of the two states would meet next year to see what they could learn from each other. 

    In his Christmas message, former President   Jonathan urged governments and other relevant authorities to implement measures to prevent incidents that could lead to deaths in the future.

    He said: “The unfortunate incidents have left all of us in shock and sorrow. My thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who have lost their loved ones and with those who have been injured.

    “I urge the authorities to provide the necessary support to the victims and ensure that measures are put in place to prevent such occurrences in the future.

    “As we navigate through this painful period, I encourage all Nigerians to show compassion and solidarity, especially during this festive season.

    “Christmas is a time of love, unity, and hope. It reminds us of the importance of caring for one another and working towards peace and harmony in our communities.” 

    Jonathan also urged Nigerians to embrace the spirit of Christmas by extending love to those in need and fostering unity across all divides.

    Jonathan prayed that the season would rekindle Nigerians’ collective resolve to build a nation founded on justice, fairness, and mutual respect.

    It is callous to politicise tragedies

    In Abuja, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) took a swipe at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)    for linking the stampedes to the reform programmes of the Federal Government. 

    The party said it was “callous” by the opposition to do so at a time when the nation was in grief.

    It said: “At a time of national grief over stampedes in Oyo, Anambra, and the Federal Capital Territory that resulted in the death of citizens, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) seized the moment to engage in callous political chicanery.

    “Rather than genuinely commiserate with the victims and their families, the PDP chose to politicise the grief of the victims by blaming the stampedes on the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

    “It is grossly indecent, insensitive, and despicable for the PDP to exploit these tragic incidents in a senseless attack against the administration that has devoted itself to fixing the ruins of nearly two decades of PDP administration.’’

    The APC pointed out that “Nigerians have not forgotten the tragic stampede at the ill-fated Nigerian Immigration Service recruitment exercise in 2014 at the Abuja stadium,’’ under the watch of the PDP administration.

    “The PDP’s allegations only remind us of its sordid record of maladministration and utter incompetence,” it added.

    The  APC stated that “the PDP is either mischievous or totally out of touch with reality to suggest that President Bola Tinubu-led administration has not shown commitment to Nigerians’ welfare.

    It added that for many years,  successive PDP administrations ‘’operated a phantom economy wired with complex distortions and suffocating corruption while deluding Nigerians into thinking that the economy was healthy.’’.

    Group knocks Obi 

    Meanwhile, the Arewa Think Tank (ATT) has lambasted  Labour Party’s Presidential Candidate   for the 2023 general election Peter Obi  for attributing the stampedes to  ‘systemic failures.’

    The group, in a statement by its Convener, Muhammadu  Yakubu cautioned politicians against linking the stampedes to   Tinubu’s economic reforms.

    It said: “We want to advise Peter Obi to be civic in his criticism of this government because he too contested to be president, if he had won, would he be happy receiving bashing against his administration as he is now doing to President Tinubu?’’

    ‘Overcrowding spreads infections’

    A medical practitioner,  Muhammed Odedeji, has, however, warned that large gatherings at small places is a risk factor for transmissible infections, especially among children.

    Odedeji said that respiratory tract infections could spread easily, with the current dusty harmattan when a large number of people congregate at a small arena/place.

    “Medically, it’s bad to have that number of children gathering in such a micro-environment, as overcrowding is a risk factor for some transmissible infections.

    “For instance, among the 5,000 children, it’s possible to have someone with tuberculosis, which can be easily transmitted to others,” he said.

    The medical practitioner described stampede as an occurrence whereby a crowd begins to move, usually in the same direction.

    “As people press themselves so much that they cannot breathe very well, they tend to suffocate and fall. Anyone who falls could be trapped,” he said.

  • Southern governors chart agenda for region’s prosperity

    Southern governors chart agenda for region’s prosperity

    At the end of the Southern Governors Forum meeting last week, which took place at the Presidential Lodge, G.R.A, Ibara, Abeokuta, Ogun State, member states resolved to work together to fast-track the development of the region. Correspondent ERNEST NWOKOLO reports

    The Southern Governors’ meeting, which took place in Abeokuta, Ogun State, has come and gone but its impact is likely to shape the policies and politics of the various state governments that participated in it. Coming more than one year after the last general election, the atmosphere was relaxed and the participants were in an expansive mood, as one could glean from their attire. The participants were all decked in an attire (asoebi) made in the host state.

    Though it was largely a closed-door affair, the communique issued four days after, revealed that far-reaching decisions were taken to address the common issues affecting member states, especially the worrisome security situation. The communique said the governors congratulated themselves for their stand on power shift to the South in their “Asaba Declaration” of 2021, which was aimed at ensuring that the Southern region produced the presidential candidates of the major parties. The major opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) defied the Asaba Declaration by picking its candidate from the Northern part of the country, but it paid dearly for it, as it lost the election to the then-candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who hails from the Southern region.

    The southern governors, according to the communique, therefore commended their northern counterparts, under the auspices of the Northern Governors’ Forum (NGF) for their unwavering support for the Asaba resolution. One lesson learnt from the 2023 presidential election, the governors declared, was that “power is taken and not given”. The implication is that the era of anointing by political kingmakers and godfathers that threw up the likes of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the late Umaru Musa Yar’Adu and Goodluck Jonathan as presidents was gone.

    The forum also commended the laudable economic recovery reforms and policies of President Tinubu and the implementation of the Renewed Hope Agenda (RHA) and unanimously reaffirmed their support for him in his unwavering resolve to reposition the country and build a great future for the country and her over 200 million citizens.

    The governors equally threw their weight behind the N15tr Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project of the Federal Government, citing its strategic importance. The road, the communique said, holds strategic economic importance when completed because of the location. About 60 per cent of the businesses in the country take place in Lagos alone, while the Southwest, the South-South and the Southeast geo-political zones have been described as “Nigeria’s basin of wealth”. 

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    But, the roads in these regions remain largely impassable. This makes the idea of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway a noble initiative. It is believed that the coastal highway when completed will decongest traffic on the Lagos-Ibadan, and Lagos-Ore expressways respectively, fast-track the movement of goods and persons and bring about accelerated growth and development in the South and rest of the country.

    The governors reckoned that this laudable project would create employment in the construction industry ecosystem, boost productivity by drastically reducing travel time, promote tourism, and open up and integrate all the southern states and bring more investment opportunities. However, they urged the Federal Government to rehabilitate, repair or reconstruct all Trunk A roads and transfer the same to states that have expressed interest in taking them over.

    Member states also resolved to remain united in pursuit of their quest for development. They added that the physical boundaries that separated them do not compare to the strong bonds of enterprise, resilience, and culture that they share. In this respect, they mulled intra-region trade, partnerships, and investment facilitation and promotion which was agreed would require a structured and coordinated collaborative approach, as well as the creation of the Southern States Development Agenda (SSDA) to comprise a team whose primary responsibility will be to outline a holistic plan to foster trade and investment, sustainable growth and development, economic prosperity, social harmony, and food security for the region.

    By the envisaged arrangement, the governors pledged to work hand in glove with individual states’ investment promotion and facilitation agencies, the Nigeria Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), and other multilateral agencies to actualise set objectives for the south part of the country.

    Other notable resolutions include the creation of a regional multimodal transport master plan and the building of 90,000 MW of electricity to adequately serve the estimated 90 million people in the region. They also called on member states to implement a quick transition to compressed natural gas (CNG) and electric vehicles (EVs) as a condition precedent to full deregulation to cushion its effects on the people. 

    The Abeokuta meeting, which lasted for over four hours, was graced by the following governors: Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Biodun Oyebanji (Ekiti), Alex Otti (Abia), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Bassey Otu (Cross River). Others are Charles Soludo (Anambra), Francis Nwifuru (Ebonyi), Peter Mbah (Enugu), Duoye Diri (Bayelsa) and Uno Eno (Akwa Ibom). Rivers State’s Governor Similayi Fubara was absent. He also did not send a representative. The following deputy governors represented their principals: Chinyere Ekomaru (Imo) represented Governor Hope Uzodinma, Monday Onyeme (Delta) represented Governor Sheriff Oborevwori and Olayide Adelami (Ondo) represented Governor Lucky Aiyeditiwa.

    At the end of the day, the host governor, Abiodun emerged as the chairman of the group, with his Anambra State counterpart, Soludo as vice chairman. The forum concluded that henceforth its meetings would be held quarterly and that it would rotate among member states.