The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Steve Otaloro

  • Ondo APC’s reaction to Boroffice’s statement

    The Ondo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has criticized the statement credited to the lawmaker representing Ondo Central District, Senator Ajayi Boroffice that elective congresses will be jettisoned for mere filling of the vacancies created  in the Ward, Local Government, State and National Executive Committee(NEC).

    The statement alleged that some party officials in the state have perfected plans to hoard nomination forms from legitimate party members

    But, in a statement by its Director of Media & Publicity, Steve Otaloro said members of the APC know that nomination forms are not yet out and those who are coming to conduct the election have not arrived the state yet, wondering why  Boroffice is cooking up this falsehood.

    He said “This electoral body would be responsible for the conduct of the election. They would call for stakeholders meeting where they would reel out the modalities of the election. We currently don’t know who are members of this electoral committee which would be sent down by the National secretariat in Abuja.

    “So, it is not the State Secretariat that would select and conduct the election. We are aware that Boroffice had compiled list of aspirants from his camp in his clandestine meetings, promising them nomination forms last week.

    “But to save his face from looming embarrassment, he’s now alleging the party leadership of hoarding the nomination forms even when they are not yet out.

    “No doubt, Boroffice has lost touch with our party as well as the people and it is obvious he would lose out in the coming congress.

    “This is another lie least expected of a distinguished personality like Senator Borofice Ajayi. It’s a sheer figment of his imagination. Nomination form is not yet out, so how could this be hoarded.

    “This falsehood revealed how distant Senator Boroffice is to our party and confirmed his scheming to defect from the party.  We know from good source that he has been holding series of clandestine meetings with some people in his bid to defect to another party to execute his obnoxious ambition.

    “How would a sitting senator be unaware of the happenings in his acclaimed party. Rather than contacting his party secretariat, he went to the media to cook up stories against our party leadership.

    “What would the party gain in disenfranchising its members or hoard nomination forms? The party stands to gain more with more aspirants accessing the nomination forms and participating in the election.

    “Senator Boroffice should know that APC Ondo State chapter has resolved to abide by the dictates of our party constitution. Boroffice is not in a position to tell us what our party constitution says about conduct of Congress because he’s double dealing.

    “No one knows where he belongs. He is far away from our party that’s why he doesn’t know what is going on in the party.

    “He should be asked when last he visited the party secretariat either in his local government or the state headquarters.

    “Boroffice is only trying to create crisis in our party by cooking up these allegations because he’s jittery having lost out in all his unholy scheming.  Although we are not surprised because this is his stock in trade, causing crisis and fighting constituted authorities right from when he was in Labour Party (LP)”.

  • Ondo East APC crisis deepens; two injured in bloody clash

     

    The lingering leadership tussle in the Ondo East local government chapter of the All Progressives Congress(APC) has led to a bloody clash between supporters of two rival groups in the local government.

    During the melee, two party supporters were reportedly injured at the Council’s Secretariat, Bolorunduro.

    Already, the executives of the party in the local has petitioned the State Commissioner of Police, Gbenga Adeyanju and other relevant  security agencies to quickly intervene in the prevailing dispute.

    In the petition made available to ‘The Nation’ and signed by two party executives in the local government,Roseline Okafor and Jimoh Adebayo with two council executives,Alhaji Rabiu Awotunde and Olafisoye Festus,they accused the State APC chairman,Ade Adetimehin of instigating the crisis in the local government.

    They urged the security officers to call Adetimehin with his cohorts especially one kelly Agboola to order to prevent crisis in Ondo East local government

    However, Adetimehin speaking through APC’s Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro described the allegation as frivolous; stressing that he was not involved in the dispute.

    Adetimehin said as the chairman of the ruling party in the state, he was aware of the rift among some members in the local government, which was being investigated for amicable settlement.

    The petitioners hinged the crisis on the alleged move by Agboola, a supporter of Adetimehin to impose one Isaiah Adejo as the acting chairman of APC in the local government.

    Read Also: Ondo poly students seek ‘reasonable’ reparation fee

    They insisted that the local government party Exco had constitutionally appointed Ibikunle Awolope since August 1,2017 as contained in a letter signed by 14 Exco members.

    According to the petition,there was another contrary letter signed by the APC state secretary on February 16 recognising Adejo as the acting chairman without reference to the August 2017 letter of the local government Exco appointing Awolope as its Acting Chairman.

    “We plead with the Police Commissioner to provide security at the APC secretariat in Bolorunduro to prevent Agboola from taking it over, which can create anarchy in the local government, we are contended with our chairman, Awolope,we are against any imposition through any external influence” The petition stressed.

    The party local government executives also called for the suspension of State Working Committee (SWC) visit to Ondo East pending the resolution of the crisis.

    Adetimehin urged the warring parties in the local government to embrace peace and unite ahead of 2019 polls to guarantee victory for the party in the local government.

     

     

  • “Oyegun has no hand in Ondo APC Chair’s suspension”

    “Oyegun has no hand in Ondo APC Chair’s suspension”

    The Ondo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress(APC) has criticized the report credited to its former state chairman, Isaac Kekemeke, blaming his suspension on the national leadership of the ruling party.

    The party in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity Steve Otaloro, said Kekemeke in an effort to ‘distort’ allegations leveled against him by the party leading to his suspension, descended on the APC national leadership.

    It noted that the former chairman faulted the letter from the national Secretariat that appointed Ade Adetimehin as the acting state chairman.

    The statement also quoted Kekemeke of accusing the National Chairman, Chief John Odigie Oyegun of unilaterally suspended him from office.

    Read Also: Ondo House of Reps aspirants worried over deplorable roads

    The party said “It is unfortunate that Kekemeke deliberately maligned our party national chairman and denigrated the highest authority of our party with a view to portraying himself as being innocent of all the allegations levelled against him.

    “All the allegations he levelled against the national chairman, according to him, are based on hearsay”

    The party pointed out that the former chairman as a lawyer should know that it was faulty to rely on hearsay to blame the national chairman in other to exonerate himself from exonerating from allegations against him.

    It noted that the choice of Oyegun as APC national chairman was not only based on his political prowess but his dignity to speak the truth at all times.

    The party however advised Kekemeke to wait till the issue will be sorted out by Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s reconciliatory committee, stressing that his ‘concocted’ claims would not help his case.

    It said” the timing of this falsehood is wrong most especially when President Muhammadu Buhari has saddled the national leader,  Asiwaju Bola Tinubu with the role to reconcile all aggrieved members of the party”.

     

  • No factions in Ondo APC – Spokesman

    No factions in Ondo APC – Spokesman

    The All Progressives  Congress (APC) in  Ondo State says  there are no factions  in the party.

    Mr Steve Otaloro, the Director of  Media and Publicity of the party in the state, said this in a statement issued in Akure on Wednseday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN )  reports that  some stakeholders  led by Sen. Ajayi Boroffice had on Nov. 27  passed a vote of confidence on the Isaac Kekemeke – led State Executive Committee (SEC).

    The group had also  reiterated its support for the APC – led Federal Government and the State Government.

    But Otaloro in the statement said: “It has come to our notice that some members of our party  who indulged in anti-party activities during the 2016 gubernatorial election in the state have regrouped to launch themselves back to limelight through all crooked means.

    “Nevertheless,  there are no factions in our party.

    “ We are one and our party chairman is Mr Ade Adetimehin and our leader is Arakurin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, the executive governor of Ondo State who was a year ago overwhelmingly elected by the good people of Ondo State under the banner of APC.”

    Mr Kayode Fakuyi, the media aide to Boroffice, however, said the  senator was not ready to join issues with anyone.

  • “Reduction in Ondo Varsity reparation fee, unacceptable”

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo state has rejected the reduction in the reparation fee of N25,000 to N15,000 imposed on students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, as a condition for their readmission into the institution.

    The development was the aftermath of the rampage that greeted the death of one of them, Afolabi Ojo

    APC said the reduction has not changed the fundamental that the levy is still unacceptable and a travesty of justice.

    A statement by the Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro said: “This reduction in fee has given credence to our earlier statements that the school authority erred in imposing levy on the students in the first place.

    “We are re-emphasising that this levy was hurriedly done to divert the attention of the public from government negligence in doing the needful for the state University.

    “It seems the school authority is not getting it yet. The point we (APC) are making is that there is no reason students should be punished for a preventable death of one of their colleagues when they are not the cause of the unfortunate death.

    “The government is as culpable when it refuses to provide a backup healthcare facility for Afolabi Ojo, as when it actually participated in his death.

    The statement said making scapegoats out of the students was a precarious move the government applied to save its face in the public.

    It said: “This is not working and will never work as the public had since exonerated the helpless students.

    “While not condoning any act of violence, we must however get things right. It’s natural that emotions always run high in human seeing the death of a colleague that could be prevented the way Afolabi Ojo seems to have been killed unattended to through non provision of good healthcare services at his disposal.

    “If adequate Medicare had been provided for him- as he might have probably paid for health centre fee as charged as part of school fee, the situation would have been different and understandable.

    “The students would not have gone on peaceful demonstration that was allegedly hijacked by hoodlums and resulted in violence.

    “As we all know times are hard in the state, people are hungry and consequently angry with the government for non payment of their salaries for an unprecedented five months which had resulted in low economic activities in the state.

    “Anyone could have tapped on the people’s anger for the PDP-led government in the state to perpetrate violence.

    “Therefore, forcing the students to pay reparation for a crime they did not commit- as there was no investigation that suggest otherwise, and having lost one of their colleagues to the cold hand of death in such a painful, shocking and unforgiving manner is excruciating enough to provoke another rounds of anger at the slightest provocation after their resumption.

    “This reparation fee that only the school authority will be the sole benefits, and not minding the death of their student is most pathetic to comprehend.

    “It is a callous reflection of their desire not to give value for life and a blatant disregard to the feelings of the parents of the deceased who are still grieving the lost of their son at this time and hoping to put a closure to the actual cause of the death of their only son by instituting a panel of inquiry to that effect instead of capitalising on their son’s death to raise unwarranted funds.

    “Public perception is very sensitive and not handling this situation properly, especially when the loss of life is concerned could be perceived as callous.

    ” This situation must be handled with care, sensitivity and dispassionately to make everyone involved calm down the boiling tension.

    “Any negative action as taken by the imposition of reparation fee such as this on students can spontaneously earned further provocation that would result in further uprisings in the future.”

  • APC to NLC: You are anti-workers

    APC to NLC: You are anti-workers

    The Ondo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has faulted the encomiums passed on Governor Olusegun Mimiko by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

    The party noted that it was  ironical that the commendation came at a time workers in the state are currently groaning through the insensitivity of the same government that has failed to pay salaries for four months.

    NLC President, Ayuba Wabba, in a letter applauded Governor Mimiko over what he described as his sterling leadership qualities in the transformation of Ondo State to a modern and one of the leading states in the country.

    This he hinged on provision of physical infrastructure and services and other landmark achievements, which according to him have impacted on the lives of the people of Ondo State.

    APC in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Steve Otaloro said it did not denying the present leadership of NLC its right to opinion and decisions

    It however expressed concern on the “injury of inept” leadership foisted on the state in almost eight years of misgovernance which ironically found commendations from an organization that should indeed show empathy towards the challenges faced by the people.

    According to the statement”what should readily have been a succour to the civil servants in Ondo state through the Federal Government’s bailout intervention of over N15 billion has neither been accounted for nor have the workers been paid. Yet the NLC leadership believes such commendations at this struggling time for civil servants is in good faith.

    “Our concern is the obvious disconnect between the realities being faced by residents of Ondo state, who have not experienced pipe-borne water in seven years but are told to celebrate the error of a water fountain which obviously the NLC leadership must have found awe-inspiring in its ill-fated commendation”.

    The party however advised the leadership of the NLC to always seek the truth from the people it represents before putting undue commendations on rejected governments.