A community leader has called on the Enugu State Government to quickly inject life at the Songhai agricultural project which is meant to tackle insecurity,unemployment and food insufficiency.
The Town Union President, Nkpologu community, in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area, Mr. Christian Onodugo, disclosed this while fielding questions from our Reporter in Enugu yesterday.
Mr. Onodogu said, “The Songhai/Ada-Rice project would have to a great extent, tackled unemployment, food insufficiency,instilled a measure of security in our area and above all bring a wholesome development.
“The well structured agricultural policy that is to transform the fortunes of the council area and the state has failed to meet the expectation of the people.
“It first of all started with human capacity training. The government selected graduates from all the communities in Enugu State who read agricultural related courses and sent them to Benin Republic for training to handle the project when started.
“In 2013, the budget approval of fifty million was obtained for the project but was abandoned. At the farm, facilities such as poultries, fish ponds, nurseries, piggeries, hostels etc have been fully completed and abandoned.
“The youths that were sent to Benin Republic stayed six months during the training. The dams meant for irrigation farming were fully completed and powered.
“Farm was commissioned but road leading to it was abandoned after contract award and payment. So, it makes it difficult to be accessed. Farm produce from the area do not get to their desired destinations.
“What baffles us is that immediately after the commissioning, farm produce such as pepper, corn, okoro, melon were being exported to neighboring countries in commercial quantity. Government deceived us by saying that they are duplicating the farm in other areas of the state. They moved human and material resources away from the farm.
“All the people that went for training with government resources and equipments at the site were evacuated. If you go there now, its a ghost town. It has collapsed completely. It could have added to government Internally Generated Revenue,IGR, create employment and establish a semi urban centre to decongest the already saturated urban centers.”
Members of the Senate on Thursday berated the Imo State governor, Chief Rochas Okorocha, over his infamous contemplated policy of issuing identification cards to northerners residing in Imo State.
Okorocha said that the policy is aimed at preventing Boko Haram insurgents from infiltrating the ranks of northerners in the state.
But Okorocha’s policy came under heavy criticism by members of the Senate, who advised the governor to rescind the unpopular policy without further delay.
Consequently, the Senate called on President Goodluck Jonathan to direct security agencies not to partner with the state government in the implementation of the policy.
This was sequel to a motion moved against the policy by the deputy Senate leader, Senator Abdul Ningi, who cited relevant sections of the constitution, which the proposed policy contravenes.
Ningi argued that the policy contravenes the provisions of sections 41(1) and 42(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended, which guarantee amongst others, free movement of Nigerians from any part of the country to the other and right of residence without any inhibition or condition whatsoever.
He observed that the policy, if not reversed, is tantamount to gross abuse of the citizens rights.
“And if not checked, it could throw the entire country into chaos, and threaten the survival of the nation’s democracy,” he added.
Speaking in support of the motion, the Senate leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, described the policy as wrongheaded, unconstitutional and discriminatory.
He lampooned the governor for even contemplating such a policy at this level of the nationhood.
“Yes, right away, Nigeria is passing through the most difficult period of our history, even worse than the civil war, going by the kind of anxiety enveloping the country presently as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency. But that should not be used as a license by any governor or anybody to go out of our constitutional provisions in coming up with a policy to tackle the problem.
“This policy is discriminatory and unconstitutional, and must be rejected from the onset by all concerned Nigerians. I condemn it in its entirety, and urge all stakeholders coming up with any policy to address the security challenges facing the nation to tackle them within the confines of our constitution,” he said.
Senator James Manager, who also condemned the policy in its totality, described it as evil and dangerous for the survival of Nigeria as a nation.
“The situation in Nigeria presently is not that of China or Hong Kong, where people need to be discriminated against when moving from one part to the other. People of Imo State are different from the government that came with this obnoxious policy, and they must join other Nigerians outside their state to condemn it,” he urged.
Senator Ahmed Lawan, who threatened a northern retaliation of the policy, if not reversed, likened the proposed policy to apartheid regime in South Africa of past years, where the blacks were expected to carry cards as a form of pass to access white dominated areas.
“The policy is abominable, unacceptable and certainly driven to cause disunity in the country. We northerners will not accept this. If you do this to us in Imo, we shall definitely retaliate,” he threatened.
At this juncture, the deputy Senate president, Ike EKweremadu, quickly interject by calling on the senators to debate the motion as patriotic Nigerians and not as senators from south or northern part of the country.
Other senators, including: Hellen Esuene, Smart Adeyemi, Mohammed Tukur Bello, Martin Nwaogwu, Olugbenga Kaka, Ita Enang, etc also debated the motion by condemning the policy in its entirety.
But the condemnation took a more potent dimension when Senator Chris Anyanwu from Imo State hit harder on the governor in her own contribution.
She described Okorocha as a man full of himself, who always works on his own and above the law without carrying anybody in the state along.
“Today, the governor of Imo State has drawn an unusual attention to himself because he failed to respect the constitutional provision of free movement, free association, free worship which are well cherished by our people.
“Our people are the best travelled and most liberal minded in the world. We are highly accommodating, we are a people that are very friendly to the extent that we have a settlement for the Hausa people in Owerri, who had been living there for generations.
“I have some of the Hausa children, most of whom are speaking better Igbo language, on my scholarship scheme, while I have been sending some of their parents on hajj.
“However, someone somewhere, who doesn’t respect the constitution of Nigeria, who doesn’t respect the law, who doesn’t believe in due process, and who doesn’t understand our people, suddenly wakes up one morning and introduced a policy that tends to create enmity between us and our beloved neighbours.
“We cannot plead on his behalf because we did not believe in his policy, and he is a governor that doesn’t listen to the advice of his people,” she concluded.
In his own remarks before putting the two prayers of the motion to vote, Ekeremadu, who presided over the session, thanked the senators for being very patriotic in their contributions over the matter.
He, however, lamented that ethnicity still remains one of the problems affecting the nationhood drive of Nigeria over the years.
He joined the other senators to condemn the policy by saying that the fact that some Northerners have been indulging in Boko Haram insurgency or terrorism does not make all northerners to be seen or classified as terrorists.
“Regrettably in this country, we have a strong sense of ethnicity profiling. We must find a way that only the guilt suffered for whatever offence committed and not innocent ones of his or her ethnic stock doing that I strongly believed will better make Nigerians live peacefully with one another and more united,” he said.
The motion is entitled: the issuance of identification card to northerners residing in Imo State – urgent call for policy reversal.
A bill for the passage of the N271 billion 2014 Appropriation of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) suffered a hiccup at the floor of the House of Representatives on Thursday, following heavy protest from members.
The executive bill, which was presented for second reading by the House leader, Hon. Mulikat Akande-Adeola, was given due audience, while she went through her presentation.
Trouble, however, erupted when the deputy leader, Hon. Leo Ogor, began his contribution to support the bill.
Ogor was intermittently interrupted by other members, who complained that they did not have the details of the proposed budget, and as such could not contribute meaningfully to the debate.
He fought hard to ignore the shouts from his colleagues, and insisted on going on with his contributions.
But he was overwhelmed by the disorderliness on the floor, which forced the speaker, Rt. Hon. Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, to call for restraint.
The speaker observed that it became necessary for the debate on the bill to be put off since no member of the House had submitted his or her name to him to contribute to debate on the bill.
He cited Rule 97(4) of the House Standing Rules, which states that during debate on money bills, members should submit their names, which would be arranged alphabetically and allotted five minutes to each to make his or her contributions.
The proposed sum for the 2014 fiscal year is N271,125,103,635 billion.
Out of the above sum, N49,200,944,858 billion is for personnel cost, N62,891,521,857 billion is for overhead cost, while the balance of N159,032,636,920 billion is for capital projects for the service of the FCT.
In a related development, the House deferred till next Tuesday a bill for an act to amend the Electoral Act, No. 6, 2010.
This was because the House could not conclude debate on the proposed amendment to the 2010 Electoral Act, which was sponsored by Hon. Daniel Reyenieju.
The proposed amendment is entitled “a bill for an Act to further amend the Electoral Act, N0. 6, 2010 to ensure a level playing field for all participants in the electoral process and more transparent process of conducting elections in Nigeria and for other matters connected therewith”.
Giving details of the proposed items, Reyenieju said the bill seeks to amend Section 2 of the principal act fixing the tenure of the secretary to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at four years renewable only once.
The amendment also seeks to empower INEC to accredit observers and monitors during election.
It also seeks vest the power to request the president to deploy soldiers during election in the INEC only.
The bill was supported by the deputy leader, Hon. Leo Ogor; minority leader, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila; chairman, electoral matters, Hon. Jerimon Manwe; chairman judiciary, Hon. Aminu Shehu Shagari; chairman Committee on Public Service, Hon. Andrew Uchendu, and chairman Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Hon. Dakuku Peterside.
Others, who spoke in favour of the amendment, were Hon. Ali Sani Madaki and Hon. Fort Dike.
We are living in desperate times now and it’s becoming clear as the days go by that the PDP and President Goodluck Jonathan’s burning ambition to be re-elected would come at all cost even with the blood of Nigerians. The recent bomb explosion in Ife, Osun state has all but exposed the hands of the PDP and shown that Boko Haram is of three types- There is the religious Boko Haram led by Abubakar Shekau which all know, there is the criminal minded ones and there is the political Boko Haram which in the run-up to the 2015 elections everyone would find out is the militant wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In my article some months back on Boko Haram I mentioned the three forms of the terrorist group including the political one. I gave the example of Kano during the 2012 fuel subsidy protest and reminded Nigerians of the church worshippers who were killed according to eyewitness account with semi-automatic rifles, the type issued to government secret service agents, that together with other incidences including the Boko Haram suspects that were arrested in an abandoned Bayelsa state government building in Ijora-Lagos state, plus the bombing in Ife penultimate Tuesday shows for a fact Boko Haram has a political arm used by faces in this present government to terrorise Nigerians (see my article titled Musings on Boko Haram and its Sponsors as published on this medium: http://saharareporters.com/article/musings-boko-haram-and-their-sponsors-its-time-stop-them-or-they-stop-nigeria-ola%E2%80%99-idowu).
The PDP has set the stage for its tactics ahead of the elections in 2015 and its simple- bomb parts of Nigeria and indeed Nigerians and place the blame on the door of the opposition APC. Men like Femi Fani-Kayode are being used to attack them in the press and various online media as sponsors of terror. Isn’t it queer that days after Fani-Kayode accused the APC without proof of having a militant terror wing and an evil character in Musiliu Obanikoro accusing Bola Tinubu and his friends as starting Boko Haram that suddenly Ile-Ife was bombed? Coincidentally, the crown witness in Fani-Kayode’s EFCC corruption case was nowhere to be found when the trial resumed last week, an obvious step towards throwing out the case by the judge for lack of diligent prosecution as scripted by the Presidency and the PDP in exchange for his recruited job of blackmailing the APC and its leaders. The same Fani-Kayode who has no known political constituency and has never won an election as a politician is the one castigating the APC and pontificating for the people of the South-West and indeed Nigerians. He defected to the APC and called the PDP all sorts of names but came back to the same PDP and now the APC is the evil party. A man who called President Barack Obama of the US the Antichrist prior to his re-election in 2012. In a sane and civil society such a man would not be taken seriously and would have been forced to have himself checked to prove his mental sanity but in Nigeria such people bestride our airwaves feeding us with garbage. Obanikoro on his part I wouldn’t blame too much, I lay all the blame on Tinubu’s shoulders. Tinubu it was in 1999 who brought back such dubious anti-democratic element from exile in the US claiming he wanted technocrats and ‘sons of the soil’ in his government.
Tinubu did this against all the advice of Lagosians then who cited how Obanikoro burnt down the ancient landmark City Hall building in Lagos during the Sani Abacha regime when he was the chairman of Lagos Island Local Government and a popular campaigner for Abacha’s life presidency at a time Tinubu was in exile fighting for democracy with NADECO. He didn’t listen and rehabilitated Obanikoro politically, going on to make him a senator in 2003 under the Alliance for Democracy (AD) banner and today his fingers are being burnt with those decisions. Of all the so called technocrats Tinubu brought into government, its ‘non-technocrats’ like Babatunde Fashola and Rauf Aregbesola that are still standing strong by him today. Most of the rest have since bitten the fingers that fed them. I lay the blame on Tinubu for not identifying and even up till now talents amongst the die-hard party supporters who have stood with the party from AD, AC, ACN and now APC and are the foot soldiers who have the grass-root appeal but I believe things are changing now.
An Obanikoro who after leaving the AD for the PDP did not win its governorship primaries in 2007 losing out clearly to Hilda Williams (the widow of the late Funsho Williams) but the ticket was still given to him by Bode George and then PDP chairman Ahmadu Ali. His campaign in 2007 proved to be the most violent in the history of Lagos state perhaps in the entire South-West. Every single campaign he held from Idumota to Ojota to Ikeja, at least five AC supporters and innocent bystanders were killed in hails of bullets. It was the darkest time I ever witnessed in the history of Lagos state not even Abacha’s regime was that terrifying in the state. It was so bad, Lagosians were asking themselves if Obanikoro’s thugs kill everyone, who would be left to vote for him on election day? Not surprisingly he lost the election by a handsome margin. Now, that same terror template is being imported into the West ahead of the elections in Osun state on August 9th and the elections in 2015.
In the lead up to the elections in Osun state, Ile-Ife (where PDP candidate Iyiola Omisore hails from) has been bombed and obviously it would be pinned on APC by the likes of Omisore, Obanikoro and Fani-Kayode. The plan is to get Omisore interacting with the masses eating pop-corn and climbing iron horses (okada) and claiming to the popular with people, then the political Boko Haram, the militant wing of the PDP would be bombing parts of Osun state including Ife and claim its the APC doing it because they are jittery of him winning like Fayose did in Ekiti state and they are trying to stop him campaigning especially in Ife where he hails from.
Its the same template they would use across the whole South-West so as to win sympathy for President Jonathan and claim the APC are the demons who have prevented him from performing and that is where I worry. The real Boko Haram promised to bring their campaign of terror to the South particularly our oil refineries and oil installations in Rivers, Bayelsa and Delta state but definitely not Ife. Everyone remembers Akure prisons was attacked by people suspected to be Boko Haram but it was to release their members jailed there, but they have no reason to bomb Ile-Ife. Lagos state naturally is a target for any terror organisation as its the commercial nerve of the country but the state government has done well so far to limit attacks there through prompt intelligence operations and arrest of suspected extremists and aliens including the ones arrested in the Bayelsa state government lodge in Ijora but to bomb Ile-Ife is far-fetched for the real terrorists as it gives them no political mileage. The APC governor in Osun state, Aregbesola, cannot bomb his state as that would be senseless. The bombers were clearly the militant wing of the PDP, the political Boko Haram who would soak the feet of Jonathan in blood so as to get re-elected.
There is clear danger for the Yorubas, Nigerians and indeed the opposition APC as this PDP government of Jonathan is ready to turn their terror machine on everyone. The signs are as clear as daylight, and places where they feel they would struggle for votes like in the South-West would be the epicentre of bombing campaigns. Expect to see their activities increase in Osun state, then they move to Lagos, Ogun and Oyo state with more bombings as all those places are controlled by the APC. On standby would be the likes of Fani-Kayode and Obanikoro to blame it on Tinubu and APC and try to turn the people against him rather than against Jonathan who has shown generally, he does not care about Boko Haram believing they are killing Northerners anyway so its none of his business. But for me these terror war has become personal as I have families in Lagos and Ogun, lots of friends in Oyo and Osun state. Its also time Tinubu, APC governors and stalwarts organise a high-powered emergency security meeting (call it the COBRA meeting like the UK Prime Minister chairs when there is clear danger) and face this new threat from the PDP’s Boko Haram militant wing who are hell bent on bombing Yorubas and indeed Nigerians in the South-West to death.
In part two of this article I would highlight why the life of the Ooni of Ife is in danger and he needs urgent security protection before his cousin allegedly kills him and pins it on Boko Haram, APC and Tinubu who was reported to have generally made some remarks against some Obas in the South-West. I would also explain why the lives of Obas in Yorubaland are at risk (Boko Haram has killed and attempted to kill Emirs in the north ,so its easy to kill an high profile Oba in the west by PDP’s political Boko Haram and blame it on Tinubu), while I would give my recommendations to the APC on what needs to be done urgently before things gets out of hands. Also I would give my one pence advice to President Jonathan and hopes he listens, as he has surrounded himself with immature, power hungry and evil men who would assist him in bringing our country to the end.
Ola’ Idowu a Management Consultant and Researcher writes in from the UK.
Travelers now spend almost the entire journey engaging in prayers for God’s protection while traveling in commercial vehicles and trucks along the Lagos\Ibadan expressway.They pray fervently not to be involved in ghastly motor accidents that have now characterized the expressway,among other tales of woe.
Bashed vehicles,blood stains and personal belongings of accident victims littering the road,are now sign posts of the daily tragedy that occurs along the road.
Just last week,Wednesday 16 April,2008,three occupants of a sleek new model black Honda Accord car with Lagos registration number had a collision with a truck.The car somersaulted several times before coming to a halt,while a middle aged man,clad in brown native attire survived the accident with serious bruises,the other two occupants,a lady and another man died instantly.
On the same day,at another spot along the road,some hundreds of meters to Ogere,a town along the expressway,two towing trucks made spirited efforts to rescue another truck,which found its way into a very deep pit,beside the expressway.
Curiously, investigations reveal that it is always celebration time for residents of villages along the road,when trucks conveying consumable and valuable products are involved in accidents.
One of such incidents,was when a petrol tanker fully loaded with petroleum products got involved in a ghastly accident which resulted in the spillage of its contents. Inhabitants of the villages near the scene trooped out in their hundreds to scoop fuel.
Sadly,although the regular and anti-riot policemen are noticeable at different spots on the road,their presence might be to fulfill personal desires, rather than get involved in rescue operations for accident victims and the arrest of looters at accident spots.
A resident of Sapade,Moshood Ariyo,insists that the poverty in the land has driven a lot of nigerians into contriving ways of survival.”A number of accidents along the road involving trailers conveying goods,are the handiwork of people with intentions to steal the goods.In the case of accidents involving other vehicles,the thieves rob the victims”,Ariyo disclosed.
He,however called on the law enforcement agencies to check the trend,before it becomes institutionalized.
Investigations also reveal that trailer and tanker drivers have for a long time now,converted the expressway to garages.Instances abound at Ogere and the Ibafo axis of the road. This, to a great extent has contributed to the road carnage.
Also,the reckless nature of commercial bus drivers already high on intoxicants,has sent the drivers and countless number of passengers to their early graves.
When this online medium visited a number of motor parks including the one at Ojota,Lagos and Iwo road,Ibadan,the urgent need to be intoxicated before embarking on any journey appears to be a major consideration.
This has resulted in passengers continuously controlling the driving style of the drivers all through the journey.
Sadly,the activities of kidnappers and ritualists have contributed a great deal to the almost helpless situation. With their focus on passengers,who cannot afford the transport fares at the various parks,they lower theirs to attract people hanging along the expressway.
Once inside the vehicle,the unsuspecting passengers are driven to unknown destinations,after they might have been hypnotized.There have been several reported cases of abduction for ritual purposes along the expressway.
While some have been fortunate to escape,others have never been seen again,after their abduction.
With the situation already becoming worrisome and frightening,it is the hope that the law enforcement agencies would live up to expectation,while passengers look on to God for protection.
As His Excellency, Chief Dr. Willie Obiano, Gov, Anambra State marks his 100 days in office Anambra State Chapter of Community Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria, CONPAN has given thumbs up to the Governor whom, the chapter said has shown his determination to put the state on strong socio-economic development.
The two pronged programme of security and agriculture which Gov. Obiano has embarked upon, it noted, have the potential to make the people return to farming while making the state attractive for investment inflow.
In a statement signed by the Coordinator of the association,Hon. Tempest Udeze and the publicity secretary, Mr. Okechukwu Anene, after its state council meeting on Monday, CONPAN noted that while agriculture alone would create jobs for the teeming youth population as well as help reduce insecurity, the value addition, which in-put will flow from agriculture produce, will assist to halve unemployment in the state by 50% as a direct consequence, thereby creating enormous wealth for the state and its people.
CONPAN said that “Chief Obiano by his actions during his 100 days in office has buttressed himself as a knowledgeable administrator, an accomplished economist and a banker who knows what it takes to transform an economy, thereby creating fertile grounds for inclusive and all encompassing socio-economic development.” The chapter strongly aligned with the Governor’s other programmes which included building the housing infrastructure, industry and trade as well as oil and gas, which it opined would definitely improve the GDP of the state as well as the people’s standard of living, while making the state an investment hub within a very short period of time.
The statement further commended the Governor’s drive to strengthen all institutions of governance through incentive packages, but however enjoined the governor to lend his voice towards the liberalization of the regulatory frame-work in the power sector since the success of more than 60% of his programmes depended on availability of power to the people. Going further, it called on the Governor to attract and accommodate strategic voices and groups who would add value to his governance, assuring that CONPAN will be ready to partner the government in its development strides in the state.
CONPAN then called on the people of the state to cooperate with governor Obiano’s government because, according to it, the governor has shown knowledge, zeal, capacity and focus to accentuate Anambra State development index for the growth and development of the state and for the good of the people of the state.
THE Supervising Minister of Education, Barrister Nyesom Wike has commenced discreet campaign for President Goodluck Jonathan re-election in 2015 Presidential Election. Wike, said President Jonathan is special gift to the country and Nigerians should not allow the opportunity slip by in the forthcoming Presidential election.
He spoke in Abuja on Thursday while presenting some landmark achievements of the Federal Ministry of Education under his watch. In his presentation, entitled: “Education Sector Transformation Under President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’s Administration”, Wike, said Jonathan is an unusual transformer, urging Nigerians to ensure that he is re-elected in 2015 to continue with the good work he has started.
According him, President Jonathan’s administration has witnessed massive infrastructural development and injection enormous funds to the education sector.
Wike mentioned some of the land mark achievements as establishment of new Federal Universities to address challenges of access to higher education and equity, training of over 600,000 teachers aimed at enhancing quality of curriculum delivery.
He said also that TETFund interventions over the period of time under review have accelerated quality in public tertiary institutions among many other achievements.
Wike however lamented what he described as “unequal commitment to Basic Education Development by state governments saying billions of Naira meant for basic education are yet to be accessed by states.
According to him, “despite all our achievements, we still have big problem at hand. We cannot do much if our basic education is not standardised. We have billions of un-accessed UBE intervention funds lying idle in banks.
“Other challenges we have is attracting and retaining the right calibre of people into teaching profession”.
Wike noted other challenges in the sector as “un-accessed TETFund funds by tertiary institutions, lack of commitment to Federal initiatives in education by benefiting states and communities, lack of reliable data to support decision-making in education as well as insecurity which is disrupting the school calendar in some parts of the country”.
While saying that frequent strikes by academics unions in the sector has not helped in the academic calendar, the Minister assured that there will be stability in the academic calendar as the Federal government is not leaving any stone unturned.
He equally promised transformation of the nation’s educational institutions into world class centre of learning s well as translating research and innovation activities to support Nigerians industrial development.
The ownership of service stations is now the trend in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo state. Most major roads in the state capital are characterized by the presence of these stations, located either between residential areas, office buildings or at junctions unsuitable for such.
The wish to make hyper-profits has been the major factor encouraging the proliferation of the filling stations. Indeed, the M.K.O Abiola way, New Garage/Orita/Challenge, Molete/Idi- Arere/ Beere, total garden,Oje/ Gate and New Ife roads are infested with a great number of these filling stations.
Sadly, those saddled with the responsibility of ensuring that structures are erected in line with town planning regulations, are yet to come up with convincing explanations on the increasing number of these stations at odd locations.
Interestingly, investigations reveal some unscrupulous officials in government, have overtime issued fraudulent approvals to unsuspecting members of the public for yet to be determined fees.
Although a cross section of residents have expressed fears over the effects of the continued construction of these stations in and around residential areas, owners of the stations insist that they have taken necessary safety precautions during construction.
Curiously, most of these stations do not have fire fighting equipment, should there be fire out break.
However, the mouth watering offers to owners of buildings, converted to service stations, have been too tempting for the owners to resist.
Expectedly, indigenes and non-indigenes alike have continuously sent protest letters to the state government on the development, as they wait patiently for a response.
Majekodunmi Aborode was the commissioner for Enivronment and Water resources in the immediate past administration in the state. Aborode confirmed that several petitions was received by his office concerning the ”indiscriminate and obnoxious ” approvals by the state Urban and Regional Planning Board on the citing of petrol stations and erection of GSM network masts on unsuitable locations.
”We listed about 200 illegally cited filling stations throughout Oyo state. Ibadan constitutes about 70%. I have a duty. I have a job to do, because I have promised members of the public that these illegally cited filling stations are going to be demolished. But nothing has been done”.
The Commissioner lamented then that he had already given the board the go ahead to embark on the demolition and stressed ” but now they have not been forthcoming”.
‘And I am really disappointed in them. And members of the public are saying a lot of things, negatively. And that is why I have taken over the responsibility. I am going to embark on the demolition exercise. Any filling station that is being cited without the approval of the Ministry of Environment is subject to demolition. And that is the truth. Any filling station that is not approvable, I would make sure it is demolished without delay or any further notice”.
But today, the situation still remains the same, as the political will to do the right thing is not there.
Waliu Adekunle represents Atiba constituency in the state House of Assembly. Adekunle insists that a lot has been put in place by the Ajimobi administration to show that it means well for the people.
Oyeniyi Oyeniran is the majority leader in the same House. Oyeniran amplifies Adekunle’s statement. ”there has been a lot of development. It takes time to change bad things to good. What we met on ground was very bad. This present administration has done very well, I am proud of the Governor, everybody is proud of him”.
However, Sat Guru Marahaji insists that Nigerians need a leader who will care for their needs.
In his views, Rafiu Adekunle, the minority leader in the State House of Assembly, who represents Saki west constituency, discloses that the Ajimobi administration should be given 65% in terms of performance in the last 12 months.
The lawmaker laments that dilapidated buildings characterize the structure of schools in the state, in addition to the shortage of teachers.
For the lawmaker representing Iwajowa constituency in the State House of Assembly, Adeniyi Farinto, the past one year has been a sweet bitter experience.
”Bitter because one is serving in an opposition government, where it is difficult to realise unfulfilled ambitions that we could have loved to achieve, so that has been the experience in the last one year”.
Farinto, who is the secretary parliamentary caucus states that inspite of the meagre salaries and allowances some of the lawmakers collects including himself, he has been able to bring succuor to the peole of Iwajowa.
For the opposition, a lot still has to be done by the Ajimobi administration.
YES O cadets are paid N10,000 monthly, of this amount N1, 500 is deducted as tax.The cadets were engaged by the state government as a part of its job creation initiative. But crime involving youths are on the increase in the state.
However, Fatai Salam, who represents Iseyin/Itesiwaju constituency points to the prevailing peace in the state as one of the outstanding achievements of the Ajimobi aministration. ”In the past one year there has been no case of arson and assassination. There is peace, it is what we can feel. It is about reality”. Even though a security guard of a former Secretary to the State Governement, Ayodele Adigun was murdered in cold blood recently.
Salam is the Chairman parliamentary caucus.
Salam’s views are supported by Sikiru Alli, who represents Ibadan South East II constituency. Alli, in addition,states that the people’ sanitation habi s are changing for the better. ”The peoples’ habits are changing for the better. My people have changed from what we used to know them to be”.
Sadly, most Commissioners and Special Advisers have for long been operating behind the scene. Indeed, majority of them are allergic to defending the administration’s performance so far. Why ?
One of them speaking incognito provides an answer: ”In a company, you have the Managing Director, if he does not give approval, you as a subordinate cannot do anything”.
No doubt the story in the past one year 11 months, has been that of different strokes for different folks.
Immediate-past governor of Imo State, Chief Ikedi Ohakim has raised alarm over what he called lack of federal government assistance to the state chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, saying nonchalant attitude may cost the party the 2015 governorship seat.
Speaking at the party’s stakeholders’ meeting in Owerri, Ohakim recalled that one of the weapons which led to his defeat in 2011 elections was pernicious propaganda from the opposition then.
He said those propaganda tools used then were bought by all the media houses in the country including the federal government-owned Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.
The former governor lamented that the same thing was no longer being tolerated even by the private media houses as Governor Rochas Okorocha has bought over all media houses including the social media.
According to him, the party leadership made good effort to package some of the ills of the Okorocha-led administration, “but to our greatest shock, after paying AIT and collecting receipt, we were called back to come and collect our money because the CEO of the outfit said that Rochas is a co-owner of AIT. Okay, what of NTA? We also went to Labaran Maku, but they rejected it. Channels TV did the same thing too.”
While insisting that the party would need the federal governemnt’s assistance to enable it oust Okorocha and his APC from Imo, Ohakim called on the party stakeholders and professionals to come up with ideas on how to unseat Okorocha as according to him, not much had been achieved in the area of propaganda.
Also speaking, the minister of state 1 for Foreign Affairs, Prof. Viola Onwuliri expressed surprise at the level of acrimony that had bedeviled the party in recent months over the quest to get the party’s ticket.
She told the stakeholders that the president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan would not want to lose Imo to another party as according to her, the mistake of the past must not repeat itself in 2015 elections.
She urged all aspirants in the party to embrace unity of purpose if they do not want the party to lose elections in the state come 2015
Armed robbers have invaded St. Joseph Catholic Church in Aba, Abia State, beat up the priest and stole an undisclosed amount of cash.
247ureports.com gathered that the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, located on Market Road, Aba held a dedication service to mark the building of new structures and the renovation of the entire church, where funds were raised for the project
In the night following the event, armed robbers invaded the church through the fence and made straight to where the funds realized during the day was kept and beat up the parish priest with the butt of their gun.
They were said to have carted away the funds but avoided cheques written in the name of the parish.
When our correspondent visited the church, the parish priest was said to be away.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abia State command, ASP Geoffrey Ogbonna said he is not aware of the incident.
