Oyo
PDP governors: Restructuring necessary to avert civil war
File Photo Amidst rising tension across the country, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors Forum, yesterday, said an urgent devolution of power and restructuring of the polity has become imperative, as the country cannot afford another civil war. The Forum raised the alarm that the country is fast becoming a failed state, under the All Progressives Congress (APC) led federal government. The PDP governors expressed worries that all fault lines and differences in the country has been stretched to the limit by the present administration, because it allegedly lacks the capacity to governors. The opposition governors stated this, in a communique, issued at the end of their meeting, in the Benue State capital, Makurdi. The meeting was attended by Governors Aminu Waziri Tambuwal, Sokoto St...
Ekiti reduces stake in Wema Bank
Ekiti State, one of the shareholders of Wema Bank Plc, has reduced its stake in the bank by 666.670 million from 1.191 billion shares. Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun, and Osun States are shareholders in Wema Bank. While Oyo, Osun, and Ogun held 666.670 million or 1.73 per cent each, Ekiti held 1.191 billion or 3.09 per cent as at December 31, 2019. But in a notification to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), signed by the Company Secretary of Wema Bank Plc, Johnson Lebile, the bank said Ekiti State Government sold 666.670 million shares at 65 kobo per share on the floors of the NSE, amounting to N433.336 million. According to the bank, the transaction took place between March 3 and 4, 2021. With the transaction, Ekiti State now holds about 524.1 million shares. Neem Tree Limited remains the majority shar...
Governor Makinde: Nigeria’s redemption will begin from Oyo
Governor of Oyo State, ‘Seyi Makinde, has declared that God will redeem Nigeria from its current challenges of insecurity, ethnic and religious tension starting from Oyo State. The governor, who dwelt on the uniqueness of figure seven, said that God will use the seventh election in the Fourth Republic coming up in 2023 to get Nigeria to perfection. According to him, the fact that Oyo State currently produced the Seventh President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), as well as the Worldwide President of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) is a sign that God loves Oyo State and would redeem the country starting from Oyo. A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Taiwo Adisa, indicated that the governor also challenged Nige...
2023: Northwest speakers declare support for Asiwaju Tinubu
Serving Speakers and their predecessors from the Northwest zone of Nigeria have declared their support for Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the successor to President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023. Their declarations and promises are coming some weeks after a similar endorsement of Tinubu was carried out by their colleagues in the southwestern zone of Nigeria. At a meeting held in Kano for the states in the northwestern zone on Friday, the senior lawmakers declared that Tinubu remains the right person for the presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at this time. Some of them argued that with the challenges currently being faced by the country, Nigeria deserves a leader who is detribalised and has shown over time that he has the capacity to lead the country. Praising Asiwaju Tinub...
Niger governor decries level of corruption in Nigeria
The Niger State Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has decried the level of corruption in the country’s political and economic environment, insisting that corruption is endemic in all the facets of the nation’s life. Speaking at a two-day ‘Get involved leadership’ training in Minna Wednesday, Governor Bello said: “The problem with Nigeria today is enormous, every sector is corrupted. There is no country that can develop with the level of corruption we have. According to the governor, “When you have a system where only limited or few people are transparent, the system can never work.” He submitted that as a result of the high level of corruption in the polity, political positions either elective or those appointed have always gone to the highest bidder, a development he described as unac...
Ekiti governor’s wife calls on government to remove tax on sanitary pads
The wife of Ekiti State Governor, Mrs Bisi Fayemi, has called on government to remove taxation on sanitary pads and engage in its local production to make it less expensive. She said this on Thursday at the inauguration of project P4iGC3, Pad for Improved Girl Child Education, by Balm in Gilead Foundation For Sustainable Development, BIGIF in Ado-Ekiti. Mrs Fayemi explained that such government’s policy was needed to promote the girl-child upbringing and keep them in school. “In rural areas, women do not have access to sanitary products. It is safe to say that one in every three girls in the country cannot afford safe and hygienic sanitary pads for proper menstrual hygiene management” she said. She also called for the sensitisation of adolescent girl child on menstrual health management to...
Gani Adams: Pan-Yoruba Congress is work in progress
File Photo The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, on Wednesday, restated his beliefs in the unity and progress of the Yoruba nation, maintaining that with the success of the Pan Yoruba congress, there is no doubt that the unity of the Yoruba nation’s is a collective project and it is surely, a work in progress. Speaking at the Pan Yoruba Congress held at Mapo Hall, Ibadan, Oyo state, Iba Adams said the gathering is geared towards focusing the race’s energy and strengths in securing the Southwest against criminal race, and also strategise in bolstering southwest’s agric and economic prospects. The Yoruba generalissimo also added that Congress offered a bigger platform for all groups to meet minds and discuss the way forward for the Yoruba nation. His words: “Today’s event is a ...
Fleeing Ibadan kidnap kingpin arrested in Ogun
A notorious kidnap kingpin, Usman Hassan, who escaped from Oyo State after killing one of his gang’s victims, has been arrested in Ogun State. Usman and his accomplices had earlier been arrested in Oyo State after they had kidnapped a farm owner at Solalu village, collected ransom and subsequently killed him He sneaked into Ogun State for cover and proceeded to recruit other Fulani men into a fresh kidnap ring, which he formed in the State. It was learnt detectives from Ogun State Police Command stormed his hideout in Imala area and arrested him when they got the information about his activity from those he had tried to recruit into his kidnapping enterprise. The Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi, who disclosed this in a statement, explained Usman had told detectives he con...
Oyo governor urges army to deploy troops to border towns
Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has appealed to the Nigerian army to deploy troops to border towns in the state to check the influx of criminal-minded people into the country. Makinde made the call while receiving the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, who led other top military personnel on a courtesy visit to the governor on Thursday in Ibadan. The governor, who was represented by his deputy – Alhaji Rauf Olaniyan, noted that the border towns in Oke-Ogun area of the state were porous. He said the challenge of insecurity was not peculiar to Oyo State alone, saying the problem was across the country. He urged the security agencies to intensify efforts in tackling the menace and restore permanent security of lives and property across the country. The governor, who said there was an e...
PDP governors inaugurate finance, legal affairs, legislative liaison committees
File Photo Governors of the Peoples Democratic Party have inaugurated three committees of the forum, namely Finance, Legal Affairs and Legislative Liaison. This was one of the outcomes of the meeting of the forum held Thursday at the Conference Hall, Sokoto State Governor’s Lodge, Asokoro, Abuja. A communiqué issued at the end of the meeting and signed by the Chairman of the Forum, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State says the Finance Committee is chaired by Abia Governor Okezie Ikpeazu and has as members Gov. Nyesom Wike of Rivers, Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta, Gov. Seyi Makinde of Oyo, Gov. Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa, Gov. Godwin Obaseki of Edo and Gov. Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom. The Legislative Liaison Committee has Gov. Bala Mohammed of Bauchi as chairman, while Gov. Okowa, Gov Ifean...
Controversy surrounds whereabouts of OPC men who arrested Iskilu Wakili
Controversy has surrounded the whereabouts of Oodua Peoples Congress operatives who arrested suspected Fulani warlord, Iskilu Wakili. While there are media reports that the men have been transferred to Abuja, some sources in the OPC said they do not know the whereabouts of the detained operatives. The OPC members were detained on Sunday after arresting suspected Fulani warlord, Iskilu Wakili, who was later handed over to the police. It was gathered that representatives of OPC and the Investigating Police Officer in charge of the case would meet at 1 pm on Tuesday (today). According to a media report, the OPC members involved in the arrest were first transferred from Oyo Police Command to Force CID in Alagbon, Lagos, from where they were taken to Abuja. However, sources in the Lagos State P...
Yoruba monarchs warn Nigerians to stop making inflammatory comments
Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, and the Oluwo of Iwoland, Oba Abdul-Rasheed Akanbi, yesterday, cautioned Nigerians against making inflammatory statements that could ignite ethnoreligious crisis in the country. The monarchs gave the warning during the visit of Oba Akanbi to the Alaafin’s palace, in Oyo. Asking those stoking ethno-religious crises to have a retrospective look at the past, the monarchs advised that anything that could fan the embers of discord should be avoided. They said: “Nigerians must exercise restraints; they must bear in mind Nigeria’s long history of ethno-religious conflicts, as people use this type of deep-seated animosity in their speech precisely because of the culture of impunity which reigns in the country.” “What is more, hate speech is an agent provocateur ...