The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State has said it will adopt consensus, direct and indirect primaries to choose its chairmanship and councillorship candidates for the forthcoming local government elections in the state.

Ogun APC Publicity Secretary Tunde Oladunjoye announced this in a chat with newsmen shortly after the party’s stakeholders meeting at the weekend inside the Presidential Lodge, Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital

The party’s spokesperson explained the party, having agreed on consensus names with leaders for positions in some local governments, would then activate either the direct or indirect primaries for other local governments that couldn’t arrive at an agreement for a consensus candidate.

Oladunjoye, while saying the stakeholders meeting was to ensure that none of the contestants in the LG elections spend money unnecessarily, also said the party had been able to come up with solutions to multiple candidates in some local governments.

He added the ruling party would ensure that the local government election is free and fair, noting the primaries won’t hold secretly like it was done in the past.

“We are all in Ogun State, we know what happened with “breaking news” at this particular venue when the immediate past administration made arrangement whereby all the names of 236 councillors and 20 local government chairmen were just held in a file, including even other elective officers at the state and national level.

“But to the glory of God, we are not having that kind of dispensation in Ogun State now, we have a governor that has chosen to consult the people and the leaders, and the primaries we are going to have will not be conducted in one corner of the house.

“The constitution of the party states that such primaries for local government must be conducted at the local government headquarters and those for the ward must be conducted at the meeting venue of the ward,” Oladunjoye stated.

He however stated the process of reaching consensus on the candidates had already started, saying lists of agreed candidates would be made available during the week.

“The leaders have assured the Governor that the process of reaching consensus is ongoing, and by Wednesday, they will come back with the list of agreed candidates in the local government.

“We expect that some local governments will come back with one candidate, while those who have more than two or three will go for direct primaries,” the APC Publicity Secretary submitted.

Preparations for the Festival of Adire, Arts and Crafts and Ofada Rice received a boost recently as the Ogun State Ministry of Culture and Tourism hosted its partners and stakeholders in Abeokuta, the state capital.

At the meeting, the Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Toyin Taiwo, emphasised the need to reintroduce what the gateway state stands for to Nigerians all over the world. He also noted that investment opportunities and tourism potential of the state was underexplored.

He said, “The planned expose on adire (tie and dye), the locally cultivated Ofada rice and other artistic products which are identities of the state will be the focal points of the festival.”

Taiwo also reiterated the commitment of Governor Dapo Abiodun to arts, culture and tourism.

The festival, which is a brainchild of the ministry, Jimson Global Services, Saubana Multi-Global Ventures, Fritots Global Communications and Creative VIillage Productions, is slated for the last quarter of the year in Texas, USA.

Mikecold:
Blame Buhari

I don't see anything wrong with it, we are just expressing true ourselves here.

No caps, it is even the on ground pretence that is fake

A sensible government would come here to look at the undiluted opinions of the people.

If you do the right thing there would be nothing to talk about

Presently we can not pretend their is not a jihad subjugation agenda by the fulanis on the others for instance

We can not pretend we don't see buhari nepotism and that he has an agenda

We can not be expressing pretence when it's all at our door steps

Finewarriboy:
It's a proud assertion...
It's shameful that a sound minded human will canvas for Tinubu to rule Nigeria.

Na from hell fire to Nigeria be that already...

The Ogun state governor, Dapo Abiodun has asked residents to take full ownership of the recently launched Amotekun security outfit and other security apparatus in order to address the security challenges confronting the state in recent times by supplying adequate and quality information.

He made the call in Abeokuta, the state capital while hosting the league of Imams and Alfas and selected political leaders to a launch to mark the end of the holy month of Ramadan

While assuring who be investors and business owners in the state of adequate security of life, property, and investments.

He however threatened criminal elements trying to truncate the relative peace being enjoyed in the state to leave the state or face the full weight of the law

Ogun State government said about 100 youths have been empowered across the three senatorial districts in different vocational skills through Public Private Partnership.

According to a statement titled ‘Ogun govt, private firms empower 100 youths’ on Wednesday, they were trained in catering, baking, tie and dye, coding, animation and a arts and crafts.

The training was facilitated by the government in collaboration with two private firms, IHS Nigeria Limited and WeforGood International, both in Lagos.

The State Deputy Governor, Mrs Noimot Salako-Oyedele, while speaking at the graduation ceremony of the trainees in Abeokuta, said the Public Private Partnership initiative of the State Government, had given the youths opportunity to be self-reliance and sufficient.

Salako-Oyedele, who was represented by the Senior Special Adviser to the Deputy Governor, Hon. Raman Salako, through the agency’s spokeswoman, Mrs Oluwakemi Ogungbade, explained that vocational skills were essential to the development and growth of a nation.

She stated that effort of the present administration had brought about the birth of techhub and jobs portal, calling on other private organisations to hunt for talents, to engage youths meaningfully.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Job Creation and Youth Empowerment, Prince Lekan Olude, represented by the Special Assistant to the Governor on Job Creation, Mr Biola Odetola, said job creation was one of the critical pillars of the present administration to deliver the young people from idleness and unemployment.

He noted that skill acquisition programme was a way of delivering the dividends of democracy.

Olude charged the trainees to make good use of the knowledge gained.

“Consider the skill you have as your life, nurture it, live on it daily and the sky will be your starting point, as it will improve your standard of living,” he said.

In her remarks, the Director of IHS Towers Nigeria Limited, Mrs Ama Sholoton, said young people were more likely to be unemployed, compared to adults.

She noted that 14 million youths were unemployed due to the effect of COVID-19 pandemic.

The training, she said, was meant to make the graduands self-reliance and needed to gain technical skill that would make them successful.

Finewarriboy:
Barely a trend where there is no tribal sentiments. From education to politics, who are these people ?.

Why is it so important for them to discredit one another online. I find it childish and annoying, going through a simple trend and someone throws comment like a retard.

What are you tribal zealots dragging ?

One tribe hate Nnamdi Kanu for fighting for his own people, something that does not concern them.

Another tribe hates Yoruoba for no just cause...

Tinubu wants to rule by all means, why not rule his people ? Why do you want to force him on us(like Buhari the plague of the Nation). Get Oodua and rule there, nor be by force to put people for your nairabet politics.

I'm an Urhobo, i don't see the crime of the Igbo, honestly. The Igbo wants to go, let them go. Is it by force to be with you...

Yoruoba is a great nation, though not a nation yet so forgive my kindergarten narrative, still, they are amazing. I have lived in Lagos before so i know what i am saying.

Make ona forget this fight ... It's becoming stale and senseless.

In its determination to modernize and promote efficiency in the transport sector of the state, the Ogun State government has taken delivery of high-capacity new buses equipped with modern technological capabilities.

The new buses which were the first batch, are designed to have better capacity and reliability than a conventional bus system with a view to providing commuters a safe, affordable, fast, and pleasurable experience on the roads.

Taking the delivery of the buses, on Tuesday, the State Commissioner for Transportation, Gbenga Dairo said that it was a testimony to the commitment and readiness of the Dapo Abiodun-led administration to strengthen the local economy through transport development, thereby creating jobs along the value chain of the transportation system.

The bus mass transit scheme was part of the government’s deliberate efforts at modernizing and promoting efficiency in the transport sector, as contained in its urban renewal programme.

“This is a commendable fulfillment of a promise made two weeks ago by the Governor, Dapo Abiodun. It is also cheering news for the good people of Ogun State as regards commencement of bus mass transit scheme in the state”.

“The scheme, it is important to note, is designed to make transportation more accessible, affordable and safe with more jobs being created and the state economy getting a boost without throwing people out of jobs”, Dairo said.

The Ogun State Judicial Panel of Investigation on Police Brutality, Human Rights Violations, and Extra-Judicial Killings has concluded its sitting six months after it held its inaugural session.

A total of 58 petitions out of the over 100 complaints received were treated in the course of the panel’s sittings at the Magistrate Court 1 in the Isabo area of Abeokuta, the state capital.

The Chairman of the panel, Justice Solomon Olugbemi, announced the completion of the committee’s sitting while briefing reporters in Abeokuta at the end of the six-month period.

“The panel received a total of 106 petitions, out of which 58 were treated and the remaining 48 were either withdrawn, rejected, or abandoned wholly or halfway by the petitioners,” he was quoted as saying in a statement by the media officer of the panel, Femi Osipitan.

Justice Olugbemi explained that some of the petitions were rejected because they were not in line with the terms of reference that the panel was given by the state government.

He, however, assured all petitioners and respondents of justice without fear or favour, saying the panel’s report was ready for submission to the state government.

The chairman of the panel stated that after submission, it would be left for the government to implement the report or not.

“Although the panel encountered some logistics challenges, it was able to surmount them,” he said of some of the hurdles faced by the panel.

The state governor, Dapo Abiodun, inaugurated the members of the panel on October 19, 2020, and gave them six months to receive and investigate petitions from members of the public whose human rights have been violated and abused by security personnel within the state.

He also asked the panel to make appropriate recommendations to the state government.

The Ogun State Police Command has killed two suspected armed robbers at Sagamu interchange along Lagos-Ibadan expressway while carrying out robbery operation.

Penpushing reports that, the Command Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Oyeyemi made this known in a statement, that the Divisional Headquarters of the Police in Sagamu received a distress call about the operation of the armed bandits, and raced to the scene.

The police spokesman said, the armed robbers sighting the police engaged them in gun duel, adding that the superior fireworks of the police led to the death of two of the gang, while others narrowly escaped with gunshot injuries

‘The two suspects were shot dead following a distress call received by the DPO Shagamu Division, CSP Okiki Agunbiade, at about 9 pm, that a robbery operation was going on at Shagamu interchange and that one of their victims has been seriously injured’, he explained.

‘Upon the distress call, the DPO quickly led his patrol team to the scene where they met the robbers attacking another person one Agba Enoch. The team engaged them in gun duel at the end of which two members of the gang were fatally injured, while others escaped with gunshot injuries’,Oyeyemi said.

Penpushing further reports that, the Command Public Relations Officer said,items recovered from the gang include: three handsets, one mock guns, one electric clipper, three ATM cards and one blood stained cutlass.

The police image maker said in the statement that the injured victim, Adekunle Adewale, who was seriously matcheted on the head, as at the time of filing this report had been rushed to hospital for medical attention.

Penpushing reports that, the Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun, who commended the gallantry display of his men, has directed a massive manhunt for the fleeing members of the gang, with the view to bring them to justice, and equally appealed to members of the public, especially hospital, to quickly alert the police if anybody with gunshot injuries is seen in their area.

- Five new gates installed
- Gear hoists installed
- Gear hoists control panel in place
- Cofferdam demolished
- Water flow restored

Other civil and electro-mechanical works still ongoing.

The contractor and Ogun State Water Corporation's team of engineers are working hard to ensure an on-schedule delivery of the rehabilitation project.

The Management of the Ogun State Water Corporation is appealing for patience from esteemed customers and other relevant stakeholders as works are accelerated towards a smooth and timely completion.

The Corporation is reiterating its commitment to a sustainable provision of quality, potable water for all residents of Ogun State.

ceejay10:
i don't agree on yaradua. he had a brilliant team all round. If not for death, he would ve been the best president we ever had. He is educated and not a bigot, unlike the dullard we have now.

The Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has said that the state targets far above N100bn as internally generated revenue (IGR) this year.

Tribune Online recalled that the state had a decline in its projected IGR in 2020, due to the effect of COVID-19 pandemic.

Abiodun disclosed this on Friday at a special Iftar (breaking of fast) with members of the House of Representatives, the State House of Assembly, the State Executive Council and the Body of Permanent Secretaries, in Abeokuta.

The governor explained that his administration was fully committed to putting the state on strong financial and economic footing through its creative approach

Abiodun, while pointing out that the dip in the IGR of the state in 2020 was a result of the inability of the state to earn from the Pay As You Earn (PAYE), the tax incentives given to industries in the state, and the lack of revenue from the education sector, disclosed that his administration had raked in N21b in the first quarter of the year.

He hinted that state planned to rake in over a N30b in the second quarter.

“Our Internally Generated Revenue dipped in 2020 and there are some reasons for that – there was no Pay As You Earn (PAYE) for us during the COVID-19 period, we gave incentives to industries because they couldn’t work during that period and because we are the education capital of the country, a lot of our IGR was coming from the tertiary institutions and because there were no students in schools, the revenue did not come in.

“Let me tell you what the good news is, the good news is that first quarter of 2021, we already got N21b. Last year, we did N58b, so we’ve already got half of what we got last year in one quarter. This present quarter, we will do at least N30b and by the end of this year, by the grace of God, we will do over a N100b in Ogun State”, the governor stated.

Abiodun added that his administration discovered that Land Use Charge was not being paid in the state and inherited a database of 14,000 people from the previous administration.

He disclosed further that the discovery led his administration to put in place different mechanisms, which according to him, has helped the state to realise a database of Land Use Charge for over 1.5million people, noting “this will translate into a lot for our administration.”

“We are being creative, our Land Use Charge, nobody is paying. When I resumed office,we inherited a database of land use charge of 14,000 people in the database, we’ve put different things in place and today, we have a database of land use charge of over 1.5million people. 1.5million from 14,000 in two years, you can imagine what that will translate into,” he said.

The governor further disclosed that his administration would soon be launching Ogun State Land Administration and Management System {OLAS), saying the system would help residents of the state who had built on government properties to come and regularise their papers.

“We now have a system that we call OLAS, Ogun State Land Administration and Management System. We are still going to launch that and what is that system? That system using ICT, we are going to ensure that all those that have built, we are starting with government-owned properties alone, all those that have built on government properties will have to come and regularise their papers.

In line with its synergy with the private sector, the Dapo Abiodun-led administration has taken delivery of three ambulances from the Abudu Samad Rabiu Foundation(ASR) and the BUA Group.

Receiving the ambulances at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, on Friday, Governor Abiodun commended the foundation and the BUA Group for being a responsible business concern which gives back to the society.

“I want to thank the BUA Group for being a responsible business concern, that wants to give back to the community where they are doing businesses”, Abiodun noted.

He added that his administration had prioritised the implementation of the state economic agenda by ensuring that it provides the needed infrastructure in the five pillars of ‘ISEYA’, particularly in the area health infrastructure

The governor noted further that his government had also embarked on aggressive approach of rehabilitating its primary and secondary health care centers.

Abiodun, who also said that his administration had launched a 24-hour ambulance service across the state, disclosed that the three newly donated ambulance would increase the number of functional ambulances in the state to twenty and vowed to raise the number to thirty before the end of May.

“We have since launched a 24-hour ambulance service in Ogun State, and these three new ambulances will make them twenty. We met five and we added 12 making seventeen before today. And we are very confident that between now and the end of the month, the number will probably proceed to about thirty ambulances,” the governor stated.

Speaking earlier, the Managing Director, ASF Africa Foundation, Ubom Udoh, who commended the governor for the successes he has been to record under two years in office, said the Foundation would continue to support the state government in espousing good governance for the benefit of the people.

Ogun Governor Dapo Abiodun has commiserated with General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God(RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye, over the death of his son, Dare Adeboye.

Dare, 42, the third child of Adeboye, was reported to have died in his sleep on Wednesday in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, where he was based with his family.

The deceased, who was Assistant Pastor in charge of Region (Youth) 35, was said to have ministered the previous day and had returned home to sleep from which he passed on.

The Governor, in a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Kunle Somorin, on Thursday, expressed shock over the death of the young, vibrant and spirit-filled pastor, who according to him, was a role model not only to the youth in the RCCG, but in the country.

Abiodun, who paid a condolence visit on the respected cleric, described Dare’s death as heart- wrenching and shocking, saying he was one of the people who had followed the spiritual trajectory of the young pastor in the vineyard of God.

While expressing his condolences to Adeboye, Abiodun equally commiserated with the entire RCCG family.

He urged Pastor Adeboye to take solace in the fact that Dare served and died in the service of God, noting his footprints in the church will forever remain indelible.

Abiodun also prayed that God gives the Adeboye Family the fortitude to bear the irreplaceable loss and strengthen the church, in this time of God’s trial.

The Ogun State Government has been nominated to benefit from three Federal Government’s agricultural pilot programmes aimed at further positioning the state as the food basket of the country.

The Executive Secretary, National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), Paul Ikonne, made this known when he led the management of the Authority to the office of the state governor, Dapo Abiodun, at Oke Mosan, Abeokuta, on Wednesday.

He noted that the state would benefit from the Integrated Farm Estate, Garri Packaging Plant, a training programme on soil testing and extension services for 200 young graduates with science and agriculture related degrees.

The Executive Secretary added that the Integrated Farm Estate would be sited in the three senatorial districts of the state, stressing estate would involve everything from production to processing, packaging and marketing.

Ikonne explained that the Garri Processing Plant would give farmers the opportunity of farming with the belief that their efforts will not go to waste.

“We are running programmes and projects which Ogun State has been slated to be one of the pilot states. NALDA’s Integrated Farm Estate is going to be cited in Ogun State in the three senatorial districts of the state. The Integrated Farm Estate is a concept that takes in everything from production to processing, packaging and marketing, we also have residential areas for farmers inside the integrated Farm Estate.

“Knowing that Ogun has the highest capacity in cassava production, our Garri Packaging Plant will be located in the state, thereby NALDA will be the off-taker from the farmers, we process it, package it accordingly and move it into the market.

“We are training young Nigerians based on the President’s directives on soil testing and extension services, so Ogun State is expected to nominate 200 people in the first phase. Again, Ogun is one of the states in the pilot stage of this programme, it will nominate young graduates that have agric or science related degrees that will undertake this intensive two week training.

“They will be empowered by NALDA with soil test kits and implements to collect soil samples after the training and they will begin to generate money for themselves, thereby making a living from the programme,” he said.

He disclosed that NALDA would not sit back and watch the state improve the worth of agriculture alone, “the Authority would also be re-activating the 700 hectares of land at Joga-Orile immediately, with the hope that the reactivation will increase the status of the state in food production”.

Responding, Governor Abiodun attributed the success of his administration’s agriculture project to the support of the President Muhammad Buhari-led government, adding that his administration holds agriculture as a “triple barrel pillar” that allows the state to feed its people, create employment, as well as generate revenue for the state.

Abiodun who also noted that his administration recently started the construction of its International Cargo Airport to boost the agric sector, said that the state also won a bid to become a special agric processing zone, with the state using the advantage of the cargo airport that seats on a 5,000 hectares of land to its advantage.

He assured NALDA of administration’s support, especially with provision of land for the purpose of the Integrated Farm Estate.

The governor submitted that his administration would also set up a team to look at ways of starting the Garri Packaging Plant in quick time and ensure that the youths and graduates benefit from the training programme on soil testing and extension services.