₦airaland Forum

Violent thugs suspected to be supporters of Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals today disrupted the All Progressives Congress, (APC) primary in Ado-Ekiti.
The thugs numbering about 20 who had entered the stadium venue of the voting exercise pounced on ballot boxes following proven suspicion that Senator Babafemi Ojudu was leading the 33 aspirants with former Ekiti State Governor, Chief Segun Oni on his trail. Thousands of delegates had voted before the thugs sprang violence, kicking the boxes and disrupting the entire exercise.
"We are shocked about the manner Fayemi brought thugs to this place. They came in under the guise of observers. They were brought in from Ondo and Kogi States where his friends ate the state governors", Chief Hakeem Fakunle, a supporter of Mr Segun Oni told our correspondent. He said Dr Fayemi became unease following indications that Senator Ojudu was leading.
2,618 delegates were registered to vote ij the primary where only one candidate will emerge in a rowdy pack of 33. No fewer that four local governments had voted before mayhem ensured.
Many delegates who spoke to our correspondent said Dr Fayemi demonstrated rash desperation in his bid to lead the largely agrarian state again. Fayemi was the state governor until he lost to Mr Ayodele Fayose in 2014. "We are shocked by what Dr Fayemi did today.
It's a big disgrace. He acted below best global practices in democratic culture" a human rights activist who came to monitor the election told our correspondent.

Evidence of cloned cards and sheet used to record serial number of ballot paper to compromise delegates have been detected. Ballot papers have been compromised and election cancelled! #EkitiAPCDecides #EkitiPrimary2018 #Ekiti

MEDIA STATEMENT

Ekiti State needs a man of courage, honesty and vision to be able to rekindle the spirit of handwork and honour that was the past time of the state, the South West Professionals' Forum, (SOWPROF) has said.

In a statement on Monday, the group which has hundreds of Yoruba professionals as members said inspite of the lowly monthly allocation, human resources remain the greatest asset of Ekiti.

SOWPROF therefore urged delegates in the May 4 Ekiti State gubernatorial primary  to support Senator Babafemi Ojudu being the candidate that can reclaim the dwindling fortunes of the largely agrarian communities.

“Ekiti State has immense human resources. This can be turned into huge assets. Japan and Singapore have very little natural resources yet they are world leaders in many fields. Ekiti has abundance of human resources in virtually all fields. The technical knowhow of the people is amazing. We have confidence in Senator Ojudu that he is better placed to explore these resources for the greater good of Ekiti State”, the statement signed by SOWPROF President Chief Segun Ajibulu and General Secretary Adewale Adeoye stated.

The statement said Chief Ajibulu a fund raiser and consultant to several international development organisations has been in the United States for the past six months during which Senator Ojudu visited. His main agenda is to raise the profile of Ekiti State for economic and cultural fortune.

“Chief Ajibulu has been in the US for months, meeting potential investors. The responses have been quite amazing. Senator Ojudu also visited him recently while in the US. The investors are looking for a honest, credible and cosmopolitan leader who has integrity that the investors trust can protect their wealth. Senator Ojudu fits into this box. He has a glowing reputation as a conscientious man who has led a distinguished public service career without blemish,” the group stated.

SOWPROF urged delegates not to allow themselves to be bought by ‘desperate and overzealous aspirants motivated by greed, avarice and vengeance.” The group said the main problem with Ekiti is the lack of a ‘creative leader than can turn round the mountains, the valleys, the lurch green forests and the thick loamy soil into economic prosperity,” adding that the state has largely been afflicted by leaders who depend on monthly subventions without the needed creative energy that can lift up the state from stupor.  SOWPROF said its trusts that  the concern of Ekiti delegates should not  be to elect a candidate with the highest bidder, but that they should focus on a candidate that will take create a new spirit, a new order and a new generation of proud and flourishing people.

“We know Senator Ojudu will take extraordinary measures needed to make bring back the state form the brink. We need an unusual leader in an unusual situation. That is the only way to tame the long chain of poverty and the new trend where workers are owed salaries running into several months.”

The group said Yoruba professionals at home and abroad are waiting anxiously to give their full support as long as  Ojudu emerges in the forthcoming primary. The professionals said Ekiti will slide into darker oblivion if a new leader emerges without the necessary global networking and the credibility needed to spur diaspora interest and bring investors into the state.

Ajibulu said “Our collective decision is to turn around Ekiti State and make the territories a hub of industry, tourism and agriculture. We have been holding series of concultations involving local professionals and those in the diaspora. Our heart is with Ojudu. We know what he can do. We trust him. We believe in him. We know he has the rare candor and valour of a statesman. He will definitely lead a social and agrarian revolution in Ekiti State.”

The race for the governorship position by the numerous aspirants in Ekiti State is at the peak now as the aspirants continue with the tours of the towns and villages. All the aspirants are projecting themselves as the Messiah that will restore hopes, better life and rapid developments to the state if elected in the forthcoming governorship election in the state. It is a matter of certainty that many of the aspirants may possess certain qualities and capabilities which are making them to remain the best choice for Ekiti people. At this juncture, it must be made sound louder and clear to all patriotic Ekiti sons and daughters that they must be very articulate in their assessments of the prospective aspirants before making their choice. Ekiti people must consider the value of the contributions which each of them has made towards the developments of the various communities where they come from as well as their acceptability by the people of their communities and the entire Ekiti people. The levels of patriotism that each of the aspirants has towards the growth and development of the State since it's creation. Ekiti people must avoid the mistake of following any any aspirants because of cups of rice and the crumbles of cash that will be thrown at them during the electioneering campaigns. The people must consider the programmes which the aspirants have for their future and that of their children both present and the yet unborn before given their supports to any aspirant. They must ensure that they put into consideration the impacts which the aspirants have made in community development programmes in their communities and the State in general. Above all, the people must critically articulate the visions of the aspirants for the rapid developments of the State.Let Ekiti people know that a new Ekiti is possible to achieve. The new Ekiti that will restore hopes instead of hopelessness, Ekiti that will ensure regular foods on the tables of the masses and Ekiti where education shall be a pride to all and sundry. Ekiti people must give their supports to an aspirant that stands out as an asset to Ekiti people either in terms of good governance, good and impeccable characters, high levels of maturity, tolerance,patience and good levels of leadership capabilities in managing human and resources to the benefits of all Ekiti people. Having possessed all these qualities, SENATOR BABAFEMI OJUDU stands out clearly as a man of high repute, good conducts, political tolerance and. a great asset of inestimable value to Ekiti State generally. To those aspirants who are sponsoring political thugs and miscreants to be destroying posters, bill boards and banners of SENATOR BABAFEMI OJUDU, they are wasting their time, efforts and resources because Our political critics make us strong!
Our political fears make us bold!
Our political haters make us wise!
Our political foes make us active!
Our political obstacles make us passionate!
Our political losses make us wealthy!
Our political disappointments make us appointed!
Our unseen political treasures give us a
known peace!
Whatever is designed against us in our progressive struggle to rescue Ekiti state from the political vultures and miscreants will work for us because we are the formidable TEAM that will build a new Ekiti State where the interests and the socio-economic well - being of all and sundry shall be made priorities and compulsory obligations.
There is no going back in our progressive quest to rescue Ekiti state from those who have made themselves semi and misguided gods to the poor masses in the state.
SBO is Ekiti, Ekiti is SBO.AS GOD LIVETH, OJUDU WILL KEEP A DATE WITH HISTORY AS THE NEXT EXECUTIVE GOVERNOR OF EKITI STATE COME JULY 2018. Destroyers of posters, banners and bill boards, eyin leku ofo nitori ara yin lense.

The Vice Chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede has ordered the immediate suspension of Prof Richard Akindede pending the final determination of the disciplinary case of alleged sexual harassment against him.
The suspension followed the consideration of the interim report of the Committee set up to investigate the allegation of sexual harassment revealed in a recent audio recording that involved Akindede of the Department of Management and Accounting of the University.
A statement signed by the VC stated that it has been established that the voice in the controversial “marks-for-sex” audio recording is that of Prof Richard Akindede.
“The interim report submitted to the Vice Chancellor, Prof Eyitope Ogunbodede revealed that Professor Richard I. Akindele, of the Department of Management and Accounting, is now established to be the lecturer in the controversial “marks for sex” audio recording.
“The female voice has also been identified as that of Miss Monica Osetobe Osagie, a Postgraduate Student on the Master of Business Administration Regular programme.
“Although the Investigative Committee had invited both Professor Richard I. Akindele and Miss Osagie, only Prof Akindele had appeared before the Committee, while Miss Osagie is yet to appear or make any representation.
“The report indicated that many other witnesses appeared before the committee and gave useful evidence. The University is making efforts to ensure that Miss Osagie appears before the investigative committee so that it can hear her side of the case and promptly submit its final report.

“The committee observed that a prima facie case of inappropriate relationship with the female student had been established against Prof Richard I. Akindele.
“The vice-chancellor, having carefully and dispassionately considered the report, also came to the conclusion that a prima facie case of serious misconduct had been established.
“Having regard to the gravity of the offence for which Prof Richard I. Akindele is found to be prima facie liable, the Vice-Chancellor, in line with the Code of Conduct for the University Community and acting under all the laws and regulations of the University enabling him in that regard, has directed that Prof Richard I. Akindele be suspended forthwith from the University, pending the final determination of the disciplinary case against him,” the statement said among others.

https://leadership.ng/2018/04/20/sexual-harassment-oau-suspends-prof-akindele/

Kayode Fayemi betrayed APC, Tinubu
Kayode Fayemi betrayed APC, Tinubu
Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti state governor, has revealed that his predecessor, Kayode Fayemi is a serial betrayer who betrayed his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu who helped him to power.

Fayose said this on Thursday by noting that his government was destroying the legacies of huge debt, unpaid salaries, white elephant projects, bad governance and corruption left behind by the All Progressives Congress, APC, government of Dr. Kayode Fayemi, his immediate predecessor.

The governor, who was reacting to Fayemi’s interview in some newspapers in which the former governor said that “his legacy was being destroyed”, said no responsible government will sustain a legacy of over N86 billion debt that was incurred on projects with no direct bearing on the welfare of the people.



In a statement issued by Fayose’s Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka, the governor said it was necessary for Fayemi’s negative legacies to be destroyed, and that “even in the APC, his legacy of betrayal of Senator Bola Tinubu, the man who made him governor is being destroyed.

“Today, Fayemi has been ostracised by those who assisted him to office because he has betrayed all of them, including Tinubu.

“Never again shall Ekiti be governed by those who will borrow billions of naira to plant flowers and create comfort for themselves alone,” Fayose declared.

“Does he then want us to sustain the legacy of serial betrayal of his benefactors?

“If he served Ekiti and its people well, why was it that he was roundly defeated in all the 16 local councils in the state in the 21 June, 2014 governorship election and his party was also defeated 16 to 0 in the presidential, National Assembly and House of Assembly elections?

“Even his own party men described his electoral defeat as the worst in Nigeria.”

The governor, who said it was shameful that Fayemi, who left two months’ salary and four months cooperative and unions deductions from workers’ salaries, as well as pensions and gratuities unpaid could be talking about his legacies being destroyed.

Fayose wondered: “did Fayemi leave behind any positive legacy in Ekiti?

“When Fayemi became governor, he chose to close down two universities established by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, government of Segun Oni and abandoned the Oba Adejugbe General Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, claiming that the state could not fund more than one university.

“The same Fayemi, who said Ekiti had no money to fund more than one university preferred to take N25 billion bond to plant flowers that never germinated up till now and build a new governor’s lodge, civic centre, pavilion and execute other irrelevant projects.

“Furniture alone, in the N3.3 billion governor’s lodge that he built for himself and his wife cost N604.9 million and Fayemi wants such legacy of profligacy to be sustained in Ekiti?

“We are sorry to tell him that we won’t sustain such legacy of waste.

“Even vehicles bought for traditional rulers and political appointees, his government did not pay and uncompleted Oba Adejugbe General Hospital and State Pavilion were commissioned with fanfare.

“Today, Ekiti State is under the yoke of debt, courtesy of Fayemi’s mismanagement of the state resources and what we are destroying are those legacies of mis-governance he left behind.

“One bad news that we must however tell Fayemi is that we won’t only destroy his legacy of misgovernance and betrayal in Ekiti, we will also make sure that economic devourers like him will never taste power in the state.”

Dr. Kayode Fayemi must either have a joker in the pack even his party members are not aware of OR he has an over-bloated idea of himself and his worth.

I was in Ekiti between Thursday and yesterday. Coincidentally, Fayemi declared his governorship ambition this last weekend. I was actually in Ekiti for my kid sister's wedding.

As I usually do, I sounded people on the street out on the chances of each of the contenders for state Government House.

NINE out of TEN persons I spoke to told me point blank that Fayemi was wasting his time. Even those who attended his declaration said they were either paid to attend or due to party loyalty.

We were at the wedding reception when his convoy drove past my hometown both his party members and neutrals were booing him. One even said that was Mr. Money Waster driving past.

PDP members are even saying they will be happy if APC can pick Fayemi as the standard bearer. They are so confident they would defeat him like they did four years ago.

Many of his political appointees did not attend his declaration. I met one of his former SAs who said he won't even come to Ado-Ekiti that day not to talk of attending his declaration.

Yet, Fayemi carries on as if only he and his wife will vote for him. He must know something we don't know.
Samuel Ajayi

SEXUAL VIOLENCE 101

HOW TO TREAT A FRIEND WHO HAS BEEN SEXUALLY ABUSED - Abimbola Awojirin.

Actions of rape victims may vary, he or she might be angry, sad or afraid. Your friend who is a victim of sexual violence has decided to confide in you about the ugly incident.
How should you respond?

1. YOU LISTEN: For someone to disclose a case of sexual assault to you, it means they trust you enough to share their painful story. Listening with compassion can be so helpful.

2. BELIEVE HIM/HER: It is alright to ask a few questions but rather than asking too many irrelevant questions, just believe the person. This is not the time to come up with biased societal notions that might make the victim’s story unbelievable.

3. GIVE OPTIONS: In order to give a sense of control back to your friend, allow him or her to carefully choose what option is the best way forward. Encourage him/her to carefully choose from reasonable options only. For example, if the incident just happened You can encourage him/her to see a doctor immediately for medical attention.

4. REMIND THEM THAT IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT: No one deserves to be raped or sexually violated and no victim should be blamed for the ugly incident.
Ask questions in a sensitive way. Imagine yourself in their situation, how will you feel? So that you can get a better sense of what happened, be honest about that. For example:
“I’m going to ask you some questions because I want to really understand your experience not because I think you did wrong, is that okay?”

5. ENCOURAGE THE PERSON TO REPORT THE INCIDENT TO THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITIES: Do not force the victim to report to the police. But let the victim know that doing so ensures that the offender is prosecuted and justice is served to the victim.
When the person cannot report personally, a petition can be brought before the police on behalf of the victim.
Do not encourage your friend or plan with him/her to go on some dangerous revenge mission. Two wrongs don’t make a right.

6. KEEP HIS/HER STORY CONFIDENTIAL: After your friend has confided in you, do not tell everyone about his/her ugly incident. It should not become a gossip topic. The more you spread his/her story, the more you promote the stigma that comes with sexual violence and make it difficult for your friend to recover from it. If you must talk to anyone, talk to someone who can really help your friend.

These simple steps can set a victim of sexual violence on a part to quick recovery from the incident.

SAY NO TO SEXUAL VIOLENCE!!!
DO NOT REMAIN SILENT!!!!!

Report all cases of Sexual Violence at www.rapeisacrime.org or 08118884144(whatsapp) or the following hotlines +2348149171224; +2348055971317; +2348171325565; +23480118884144.

Sustainability Directorate
Uniabuja Law Clinic
1

By Ogunsona Peter (Nigerian Human Rights Community)



Nationalities from the South and Middle Belt will be meeting in large numbers for the first in Lagos on Thursday. The conference is to address the problems of livelihood by working out a national peace building framework.

According to a statement made available to Irohinoodua and signed by the President, Southern Nigeria and Middle Belt Development Forum,(SNMBDF) Mr Sidney Imobhio and the South West Regional Coordinator, Mr Adewale Adeoye, the conference will develop the best strategy to address the challenges of environment and food security common in the South and Middle Belt hemispheres.

“There are a lot of challenges facing Nigerians from these identified zones. In building a national economic, cultural and social consensus, the starting point is for the people to begin to talk to themselves, share their challenges and work out a common solution for a more cohesive and peaceful country”, the statement stated. The Guest Speakers are Professor Banji Akintoye, Mr Femi Falana and Mr Ojukwu.
The organisers said the conferences are driven by youth leaders and organisations from about 24 states of the South and Middle Belt backed with several community-based organisations, peasant and artisan groups.

“We look forward with a mix of excitement and delight at the new window of opportunities the conference will open for the peoples to actualize their long thirst for collaboration in various spheres. This is the beginning in the series of consultations necessary for peace and justice in Nigeria”, the organisers stated.

According to a release by the SNMBFD President, Mr. Sidney Imobhio, the conference is non-partisan but motivated by the strategic consideration for establishing solidarity and brotherhood among all ethnic groups in Nigeria.

Thousands of people representing several nationalities and social movements are expected at the conference aimed at forging alliance between the people of Southern Nigeria and their middle belt counterparts. It is the first of such historic inter-geo political gathering in recent memory.

“This is the first conference of younger peoples of the middle belt and their southern counterparts. We share the same history, the same background and common destiny. This conference is to build an everlasting bridge between the indigenous peoples in these ancient territories towards peace, liberty and justice in Nigeria,” the group stated.

According to the organisers the conference took several months of intensive consultations and extensive travels across the country before arriving at the need for the conference which they said would open a new vista of hope and opportunities for the peoples of the South and the North.

The conference will also address issues of democracy, justice, liberty and livelihood of the indigenous peoples.

“There is a long history of relationship between the peoples of the South and the Middle Belt. This is necessary for peaceful relationship generally in Nigeria. The unity of the peoples of Nigeria is crucial to any meaningful democratic reforms in Nigeria.

The group stated “We already have structures in 24 states. We are going to work together. The movement is being driven mostly by younger people. We are going to make history. It’s a new beginning that will end despair and friction between various nationalities in Nigeria.”

Venue: 25, Fajuyi road, Femi Falana chambers.

Time: 9am.
Signed

Sidney Imobhio

National President



Adewale Adeoye

South West Coordinator

March 18, 2018 #PunchNews

The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Sen. Babafemi Ojudu, tells SUNDAY ABORISADE that the removal of his billboards by the Ekiti State Government will not affect his governorship campaign

What are your plans for the people of Ekiti State, if you become the state governor?

There is so much poverty in Ekiti. Our people are hungry. The farmers are angry. The artisans are jobless and the civil servants are living from hand to mouth because they are owed several months’ salaries.

The level of unemployment is massive. Our brilliant young men and women struggle to acquire higher education but they remain jobless despite the good grades on their certificates.

The first thing we are going to invest heavily in is agriculture. Ekiti is an agrarian society; so, our people should not go to bed hungry. We are going to embark on massive mechanised farming.

We will not only put foods on the table, we will also provide jobs and boost the internally generated revenue by encouraging investors in the sector. They will process our raw agricultural products for both local and foreign manufacturing firms.

We will collaborate with the private sector to ensure that we have farm settlements in each of the local government areas of the state. We have fertile lands that do not require fertiliser to grow all types of consumable and cash crops.

There is massive unemployment in Ekiti at the moment because there is no agro-based firm that can employ up to 30 people. We have both the human and natural resources that we can use to banish poverty from Ekiti. What we lack at the moment is visionary leadership which I am coming to provide.

Are you sure that the political environment in the state is conducive for the emergence of a governor from any of the opposition parties in the state?

We do not expect anybody to create a political atmosphere for the emergence of a visionary leadership that will liberate our people from the shackles of political louts for us. We will create it by ourselves.

I am not alone in this. We have a mass movement known as the Ekiti Rebirth Organisation. We have a long list of prominent indigenes of Ekiti within and outside the country who share in our vision and have pledged to work together with us in order to make our dream a reality.

They are channelling their energy, resources and time to the ERO project with the hope that their dream of a modern, peaceful Ekiti will be realised with our emergence as governor. We are not only determined to win, but to also make the state a model in Nigeria.

Your campaign organisation recently clashed with the state government over the issue of billboard erection in certain areas of the state capital. What actually happened?

We have been erecting billboards and posting bills in various places since we started our campaigns about three months ago. The practice is that when you erect a billboard, the signage agency will issue an invoice and give you the time to pay.

On the eve of our campaign, we erected about 200 billboards and we approached the signage agency and obtained the invoice so that we could pay. Four days to the expiration of the date the agency gave us, the state government mobilised some policemen to remove our billboards from strategic areas. They are dazed because they have not seen anything like that in Ekiti State before.

So, what action are you taking to retrieve your property from the state government?

Governor (Ayo) Fayose and his aides know that we are too determined to be intimidated or harassed. We expect them to do the right thing by returning our billboards, but in any case, we have briefed our lawyers and all necessary legal actions are already being taken on the issue. We will definitely challenge the state government’s action in court.

You were accused of going abroad to inaugurate your campaigns with huge funds that could have been used to empower some of your people. What is your reaction to this?

I inaugurated my campaign successfully in Nigeria, precisely in Ekiti, and many people all over the state witnessed it. What I did abroad was to talk to the Ekiti people in the Diaspora to let them know that I cannot do it alone and that I need their support.

Our people back home are poor. They depend on them to join hands with us to provide a kind of leadership that will deliver them from poverty and that will enable them to pay their children’s school fees and clear their medical bills.

It has been alleged that some of you are enjoying special support from the Presidency and might be anointed above other aspirants in the All Progressives Congress. What is your take on this?

I can assure you that there will not be anything like an anointed candidate and the party leadership will not adopt any aspirant and impose him on the others.

The APC will organise a credible primary election and the best candidate will emerge. We are all united and determined to take over from the Peoples Democratic Party. There is no controversy or rancour among us. We have resolved to mobilise massive support for whoever emerges as our candidate.

Ayodele Fayose, governor of Ekiti state, on Tuesday, clashed with Babafemi Ojudu, special adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on political matters, on Twitter.

Ojudu is seeking to be elected the next governor of Ekiti.

Fayose had called for the arrest of Ojudu over his campaign billboards. He accused Ojudu of erecting the billboards illegally, by not paying the required fees for it.

“In saner climes, Ojudu will be arrested for erecting billboards without approval of the Signage Agency and payment of necessary fees,” he wrote.

Hours after the tweet created a storm, Fayose deleted it but before then Ojudu hit back at him, accusing the governor of pasting the campaign posters for his presidential campaign through the back door.

Fayose had declared interest to contest in the 2019 presidential election — an ambition Ojudu described as “jaded”.

Ojudu asked the governor how much he paid relevant authorities in Abuja for the posters he reportedly pasted in the city and also for the ones “littering the whole of Ekiti”.

He wrote: “Just the way you should have been arrested when you pasted posters in Abuja announcing your jaded ambition to be president. How much did you pay to the Abuja authorities?

“Please tell the world how much you have paid for your surrogate posters littering the whole of Ekiti.”

Just as the regime of Governor Ayodele Fayose is gradually coming to a close, an executive bill that will allow the governor and his family enjoy perpetual welfare benefits after leaving office is about to be forwarded to the State House of Assembly.

The bill according to a document which was exclusively sighted by the Periscopeonline, provides an humongous welfare packages for the governor and his family after leaving office.

According to an insider source, the bill, which is about to be forwarded to the State House of Assembly in a few days to come, will ensure that Governor Ayodele Fayose and his family enjoy and live off the state’s largesse in perpetual luxury. Accordingly, the bill also seek to give special protection on all the properties of the governor and that of his family from being confiscated or taking over by the state, either now or in the nearest future by the successive governments.

In the proposed bill, Governor Fayose would be entitled to a 500 million naira a year as special pension package; a new car and a utility vehicle every four years. He will also enjoy 50 million naira a month pay as state allowance, 10 personal aides and at least 5 security details, a befitting house in Abuja and Lagos and a furniture allowance of 300 percent of his annual basic salary once every four years.

Also in the bill, the state will also bear the cost of fuelling his vehicles at 300 percent of his basic salary, and a monetised severance benefit of 300 percent of his basic salary. It does not end there; Governor Fayose will also be entitled to a yearly utilities allowance of 200 percent of basic salary and an entertainment allowance of 100 percent of basic salary.

Another provision that was also captured in the bill is that the state must bear the full cost of all the medical expenses of the governor, his wife and children. It also provides annual vacations for the governor and his family in any country of their choices twice in a year, all expenses fully paid by the state. The bill also put into consideration that the old Governor's official residence (Osuntokun House), should be well furnished and be converted to a special lodge for the former governor and his family.

If the bill is finally passed into law as expected, Governor Fayose will be one of the few Nigeria's Governors that will be living in opulence and perpetual affluence after leaving office.

As it is today, poverty is rampant and social amenities are limited only to the state capital of Ado Ekiti and a couple of other towns. Workers salaries arrears running between 7 and 8 months are yet to be settled by the governor. Also, the two notable higher institutions in the state are currently on industrial strike due to several months of unpaid salaries and other emoluments.

Not minding the outcry of the state workers and the impoverished people of Ekiti State, Governor Peter Ayodele Fayose is presently at the forefront of installing his Deputy, Professor Olusola Eleka, as the next Governor to succeed him after leaving office in October 15, 2018, in a project tagged "Continuity."

Periscopeonline believes that the Bill is a self-serving one, obscene and in contrast with the provisions of the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Allocation Commission (RMAFAC).

The provisions of the bill is also seen to be designed to perpetually put Ekiti people into widespread slavery and poverty which today prevails across the state.
However, if the bill is forwarded to the state assembly and eventually passed into law, and Professor Olusola Eleka also succeeded Ayodele Fayose as governor of Ekiti State, then the implementations of this expectant law is assumed to be settled and sealed.

In response to the most confused man and journalist in the world=LERE IROYIKA

RE- SENATOR BABAFEMI OJUDU VISITATION TO UK A SCAM...

Gov FAYOSE needs help

Our attention has been drawn to a publication with the subject above emanating from the outgoing governor of Ekiti State. ordinaryly, we could have treated such verbose expressions as one of those statements coming from the irritant Governor Fayose. But for the sake of the unsuspecting public's, we wish to make this clarification.
Senator Babafemi Ojudu visitation to UK is based on invitation from ERO UK CHAPTER that is deeply committed to how ekiti diaspora can contribute to the development of Ekiti state through Ojudu's aspiration since Ekiti State is currently captured by its enemies with the supervision Governor Fayose.

Ekiti state is facing shortage or non availability of private industries and this also affect the economy of our dear state. This accounts for one of the reasons unemployment rate is very high among the youths in Ekiti whereas our sons and daughters are there in diaspora establishing different factories and company which also serve as provision of employments in diaspora..

This is the reason why ERO UK CHAPTRR invited Senator Ojudu to deliberate on how they can lure Ekiti people in diaspora to come and establish in the development of ekiti state.

The mission of Senator OJUDU for travelling abroad is Ekiti State development especially ekiti youths in terms of provision of employment. We make bold to say the current leadership of our state under Governor Fayose has taken the state one step forward and 10 steps backwards.

So how does this amount to a scam? What is clear is Governor Ayodele Fayose together with his stooge Prof Olusola Eleka are afraid of Senator Ojudu entrance into the race. Ekiti State electorates will resist the continuity agenda which has made them poorer come July 14th.

It was a mammoth crowd of All Progressives Congress, APC, stalwarts, members, loyalists and lovers of Senator Babafemi Ojudu, SBO,who trooped out in Ado, capital city of Ekiti State, to sheer and nudge him to victory as he stormed Okeyinmi Street to declare his intention to run as the next governor of the state this morning.
Vehicular movement swelled and indigenes trooped out in numbers to show solidarity for the only son of the soil in the race for the Oke Ayaba plum office which none of their own has occupied since the state was created on October 1, 1996.

Business activities suffered a little hitch as many small business entrepreneurs close down shops while a chunk of the popular motorbike riders (Okada) abandoned commercial service to provide complimentary glamour to the colourful event with theatrical riding display.
Traffic snarl ruled the day as the only route allowed for passage by the seating governor could not accommodate the massive movement of participants who came in from different parts of the state.
Earlier, the governor, Ayodele Fayose had ordered the dismantling of the campaign posters, standing banners and billboards of Ojudu that adorned the streets of Ado Ekiti but for the swift intervention of loyalists who mounted resistance.

The journalist turned politician entered into the receiving hands of party faithful who were being treated to good melodious music coming from popular fuji musician, Saheed Osupa. Ojudu immediately dissolved into the fanfare with sweat provoking dance steps.
“I am here to liberate my people. I am here to take Ekiti to the Promised Land. I am learned. I will not watch and see my people perpetually being humiliated by those who have no plan for us. I am here to set our people free and then restore our economy. Today I declare my intention to run as the governor of this State. Today, I enjoin all of you to come with me and let us rescue our state from the claws of our oppressors.
“We shall not waver, we shall not surrender, we shall not rest, until our today is bettered for a promising tomorrow. We shall all join hands in this struggle to save our state.”

The train later moved colourfully to the Ajilosun end of the town where the APC state secretariat is located to meet party leaders who received him before he made his declaration to contest.
The party leader were full of praises as they all eulogised Ojudu and commended him profusely for his past developmental activities in the state and the country in general.

It has been a lockdown in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital of Ekiti State when Senator Babafemi Ojudu (SBO) declares his willingness to contest for the state governorship election.

So far, he has received a massive turnout by the good peopl of Ekiti-State.

Ekiti 2018: Ojudu writes Opeyemi Bamidele 2nd March 2018.
 
Hon Opeyemi Bamidele,
Iyin Ekiti
Ekiti State.
 
My dear brother,
GOODWILL MESSGAE
As the March 7, 2018 date for your formal declaration of your intention to vie for the office of the governor of our beloved Ekiti State draws closer, this to express my heartfelt wish to you and your well-wishers for a successful event.
 
It is heartwarming that you are throwing your hat in the ring with some other matured and disciplined party men and women to battle for the ticket on the platform of our dear party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) at this critical period. The courage to take the plunge now that the incumbent has brought the State on her knees is commendable. Similarly, the determination to give it all it takes to rescue our people is appreciated.
 
I sincerely hope that we can continue to display maturity and discipline during and after the Primary Election to ensure that we restore the Progressives back to political power in Ekiti State through the APC. Salvaging our dear State is paramount and we should all link hands to ensure this comes to fruition on July 14, 2018.
 
Wishing you the best of luck!
 
Best regards,
Sen Babafemi Ojudu

The only "Man" that can restore back Ekiti State's Glory is Babafemi Ojudu.

Ojudu's Campaign Website/Crowdfunding Platform goes LIVE!

As activities for the March 9 2018 formal declaration of the intention of Senator Babafemi Ojudu to compete for the ticket of his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the governorship election coming up in Ekiti on July 14th 2018 gain momentum, the Special Adviser to the President on Political Matters has launched a website with a first of its kind Political Crowdfunding platform in Nigeria.

The website- www.babafemiojudu.net - launched today and is already seeing unprecedented traffic from far and wide.


Check more here!
http://www.babafemiojudu.net



Ero witi witi!!!

Senator Babafemi Ojudu is a journalist and lawmaker born in Ado-Ekiti on March 27,1961. He is the special adviser to President Buhari, and he is handling political matters for Nigeria's leader.

Beyond the fact that this journalist was born in Ekiti state, there are other very important details regarding his personality that tells better why he has been chosen for the vital role in this current dispensation.

1)Erudite Scholar

If there is any qualify that would be befitting for Ojudu, then it will be the term erudite scholar, as he showed great scholarly promise even from his youth.

2)Dauntless Journalist

After his journalistic exploits in Ife and Unilag, Ojudu started writing for African Concord magazine. He started as a staff writer and moved up to assistant www. However, in 1992, Ojudu resigned in protest of a request by MKO Abiola, the publisher, to apologise to the then President Ibrahim Babangida.

3)Respecter of everyone, Afraid of no one

Ojudu was arrested, tortured and detained several times during the Sani Abacha regime (1993–1998).

He was arrested and detained for three days at the notorious Shagisha prison in the outskirts of Lagos on August 11, 1996.

4)Man of the people

Ojudu is loved by the Ekiti people, and that fact was made evident when he formally declared that he would run for the Senate in August 2010. He left his post as Group Managing Editor of Independent Communications Network to run for office.

5) Man of integrity

Events in the political landscape of Ekiti took a sad turn for Ojudu, when on March 17, 2011, a Federal High Court in Abuja issued a judgment, recognizing the incumbent Senator Festus Bode-Ola as the ACN candidate for Ekiti Central.

By Adewale Adeoye

Like an epic battle between a lion and a tiger, Nigerians are anxious for the 2018 elections in Ekiti, a small but significant ancestral state. Since 2003, Ekiti has seen a star actor on the national stage.

Sitting like an incubus is Ayo Fayose, 49. His opponent know this: elections with Fayose is like the fight between a professional boxer who adheres to conventions and a notorious chief thug of the ghetto whose rules are drawn from the barbaric, riotous instinct of a swamp dwelling brute.

The 2018 battle has started. An array of arrows is fashioned against him, he insists his shield is awesome. Daily, Fayose continues to develop fresh wits to counter the flood of attacks. He has turned the state TV and radio into maverick propaganda tools, boasting that he will humiliate his opponents in the next rumble in the jungle. What are the sources of his strength? Let us admit, he has strategies and tactics ignored at the peril of his adversaries. He came to power in a swooping whirlwind in 2003. His stay was marked by deadening controversies leading to his impeachment and exit in 2006. His reemergence in 2014 as the governor in a disputed poll where he “won” all the 16 Local governments remains the most shocking in the state’s electoral history. If his first coming was like the swoop of a falcon, his second coming was like the swift precision of the hawk. I have had opportunity of “spying” at one of his pre-election rallies. Fayose is oratory, captivating and a maestro of red district vocabulary. When he launches tirade of attacks with his cynical remarks, he would then convert his rhetoric into captivating songs to the rapturous trance of his faithful. His policies are shrewd, designed to curt personal favour. In a poor state, this draws fanatical loyalists. His development projects target one thing: sustaining the euphoria of the public. He understands the facts and figures of elections; he invests only where his political gains are immense. He plays on the sociology of immediate needs, the desperate passion and poor judgment of the uneducated among the voters. He feigns to be the ally of the common man. He drinks paraga with them, shares his jokes, dances in the market and above all, exploits public ignorance to the brim. He sets up pictures he takes with the downtrodden to create the impression he is at home. His imaginative power and ability to sway the audience is real. For instance, he was in my town during the 2014 elections. As soon as he entered the palace, he crashed his height in prostration. The new palace was being built. He immediately offered to supply the tiles which he did the second day. Such is his ability to feast on the momentary feelings of his hosts. He holds out flashy pecks and takes the advantage of poor people rushing to his given point. Fayose came at a time moral values have been perverted, owing partly to years of military rule that fueled the poverty of ideas. Instead of lifting the ethnical status, he concentrated on deepening the rot which he then maximizes to huge electoral harvests. For instance, he tells the people anyone can be the state governor, even the starkest of the illiterates. This drums blind support for him from the fanatical and often violent dregs of the society who have come to see educated people as a threat.

His Machiavellian tactics includes relishing in the misery of the people; he builds himself in a fortress and holds carrot sticks, throws out crumbs, leaving the people with the false inkling that he is their eternal savior. He does not believe in institutions, for there lay checks and balance; he deliberately kills his political party’s structure, holds forth the powers and privileges of his aides, making them perpetually at his mercy. He holds out baits and forlorn hope, keeping his supporters in unending expectations tied to him. He has the rare gift of leading an undisciplined multitude which his opponents, used to decent political culture, will find tasking. He instills fear in his aides and commands them to his sovereignty. He ensures none of his aides is particularly in means huge enough to either challenge or truncate him. His officials are placed in positions that make them subservient to his command and phantom generosity. His propaganda machine is immense, turning every tiny issue into electoral advantage. Fayose has an edge in his cult-like control of the House of Assembly. He runs an idolatry political industry. Two years plus, no force has been able to polarize the State House of Assembly he once described himself as the Speaker, adorning military attire. Before the 2014 election, he made only one request from the State PDP, that he should be allowed to pick the 26 House of Assembly aspirants. He did. In screening each, he asked each to write “IMPEACHMENT”. Those that could not spell the word passed the text. He was once impeached, so, that became the ghost that continued to hunt him. He cannot contest in 2018, but having a rookie is as crucial to his escape from the looming hunt. Fayose will be put to a difficult position, which will make him fight desperately. Not grounded in any ideology, he could offer a political trade-by-barter. In this case, to surrender his machine to the formidable opposition, if for instance, he would be considered a Senatorial candidate.

Even when he leaves in 2018, the new governor will still need to contend for two years, with his yes-men and zombies in the parliament. He also has the advantage of feeding on the divisions within the APC. There is no single opposition figure against him, with each APC aspirant building personal political fiefdom as against forging a collective opposition before the main battle. It is an old war tactic, that a divided army becomes easy prey. Fayose is also fueling the crack in the leadership of the APC at the national level, with a faction already seeing him as a potential ally that should be preserved for the 2019 battle.

He is a man of deception, a critical element in warfare. He feigns disorder, when under attack, he positions himself as weak in order to seek public sympathy. He concentrates on projects that catch public eyes even when they are ephemeral. However, inspite of his claim to certain advantages, the 2018 battle certainly will be the most fierce he had ever fought. For many reasons, he is at a weaker point compared with his past energy. The fact is that Fayose had never won any election without the brutal and vicious onslaught of the Federal government. His greatest advantages remain the federal might and unimpeded access to illicit funds. These two elements now face the greatest threats. In the past, his victories were propelled by arm-twisting and intimidating tactics, arrests of opponents, seizure of funds meant for campaigns, bravado and a rhapsody of killings. In all the elections he had “won”, instilling fear through barbaric force has been his trademark. In 2018, Fayose will be contesting without his traditional hegemonic backer. He would face the same fate in 2011 when Senator Babafemi Ojudu tore him into pieces during the contest for Ekiti Central Senatorial district. He will also contend with his encircled situation, with Ekiti being the only PDP state in the entire South West. With the prying anti-corruption hawks, his campaign funds will be depleted. With complete manipulation of the security forces out of his way, he will contend, for the first time, on a turf he is unfamiliar with. In his despotic calculation of not building formidable individuals, he left the battle and his fate only on his palms, making him easy target. He is said to have a nasty temper with a rash instinct. The opposition had explored this, drawing him out to make volatile statements that produced fatal enemies even up north. Vengeance is an old art in politics. 2018 won’t be an exception. Also, Mr Fayose has been trumpeting from the gallery with his scathing brickbat against Northern establishment raising the prospect of his contending with authority vengeance. Realizing how difficult his defeat might be, opposition continues to plot his impeachment before the 2018 election. However, one of the worst steps would be for the APC to throw into the ring, a fighter whose tactics are already known to the belt holder, by picking a former governor of the state to run in 2018. This will show the party is at wits end. Apart from leaving the electorate in a quagmire, it will also portray the political parties as being the same in form and content, without offering the people a qualitative, inspiring choice.

More of his weaknesses: Inspite of his advantages, Fayose’s humiliation from power seems inevitable. By 2018, if he has not been impeached, he will be a diminished ghostly shadow, his bully instinct subdued, his pugilist manners cut to size and his grandstanding humbled. For one thing, on his shoulders hang the cross of the murders of Tunde Omojola and Dr Ayo Daramola which the opposition continues to drum. For one thing, he may have some projects to show, like the overhead bridge and the Ikere-Ado Ekiti highway, but in all, his policies have further impoverished the masses. Contracts are awarded to cronies. The tender’s board exists in his bedroom. One top civil servant told me that Ekiti has become “Hitler’s Concentration Camp.” No one can challenge his bullying authority. He owes workers about 6 months’ salary, not purely due to the national meltdown, but largely due to his reckless and disorganized roadmap combined with corruption and the muzzling of public funds. The civil services which he claims to control have turned 360 degree against him. He cut the salaries of the Obas. His party, the PDP is in shreds. There is visible anger on the streets marked with bottled up disenchantment ready to explode. For the first time, many Ekiti people have never witnessed the level of deprivation, poverty and hopelessness. His propaganda stunts are exhausted. More than ever before and despite the divisions within the APC, the party and the people seem determined to put an end to the shame and ignominy imposed on them. Fayose who claims to be a tiger, this time in 2018, seems will not be fighting a lion, but a liger, a more vigorous hybrid from the genes of a lion and a tiger. Perhaps, he already knows that his fall from the cliff-edge is inevitable, prompting is confession that 2018 is uncertain. Worst still, by 2018, he will be out of his immunized fortress to face the chilling consequences of his past. For now, he may have to begin to think of how he will contend with the post-election political blitzkrieg. If politics is war by other means, Fayose should expect the bitterest war in his political career come 2018 and possibly his most chilling defeat.

Adeoye, a multiple award winning journalist is an indigene of Ekiti State

There is going to be a million match rally for Buhari tomorrow, interested participant should join.

Ado-Ekiti--Close to a thousand men and women gathered in Ikere Ekiti on Monday to grace the launching of a new Mass Movement aimed at reclaiming what the organisers described as the "floundering fortunes" of Ekiti State and her almost 3million people. Drawn from 132 towns and villages, the new movement, IBILE was launched amidst pomp and pageantry, speeches, cultural display and a drama with the theme: Iwa Rere L'eso Eniyan (Good character is the essence of humanity). Addressing the mammoth crowd of largely rural folks, the Chairman of thw Local Organising Committee, (LOC) Mr Diran Obalola, said IBILE was established to provide a people-driven answer to the complex problems of cultural and economic livelihood of the people. He said "IBILE has come to rescue the threats to our heritage as a people. We have come to deconstruct the narratives of backwardness and hopelessness. We have come to constructively engage our people so that they can seize their destiny and reclaim their future. This is not a political organsation. It is rather a movement of the people that will ensure the ordinary man and woman will no longer take the back seat in the affairs that affect their livelihood and survival". He said IBILE hopes to recruit 50,000 people in the next six months with the apex target of 1 million people before the end of the year. "The greatest thing we can do is for the poor people to unite and speak, work together in dealing with their pains and agony. The people must come together before they can deal with food shortage, environmental problems and poverty arising from lack of an organised group that can pool and share resources together."
Speaking at the launching of the movement the Director General Mr Adewale Adeoye said IBILE will promote the ideals and good works of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo. "Our motto is IRAPADA Ekiti. This we hope to achieve through self help and community service for the greatest good of the greatest number."


He said that worried by massive poverty in the state, IBILE also aims to form a working group led by young Ekiti Professionals that will establish economic groups and cooperatives in the 16 local government areas to access loans from agencies and financial institutions ready to assist the ordinary Ekiti man or woman and also to provide the leadership in skill acquisition and technical training."


Adeoye, explained that the movement was not a political group but to "promote the cherished core values of Ekiti people and assist the poorest of the poor."


He said that IBILE drew inspirations from Awolowo whom he described as the greatest Yoruba politician of all time and one of the greatest the world had ever seen.


The journalist-turned activist said that was why IBILE was launched on March 6, Awolowo's birthday noting that the movement was established to promote the welfare of people in the grassroots which the late sage worked for in his lifetime.


Adeoye who disclosed that IBILE has started recruitment in all the 16 local government areas of Ekiti State added that membership of the movement is open to people who are 18 years and above.


He said: "Our coming together today is symbolic in many respects. It marks the unique birthday of the greatest politician of modern times, Chief Obafemi Awolowo whose philosophical ideals continue to dominate the centre piece of discourse till date.


"Our choice to launch IBILE on this day was deliberate; the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo stood for free education, justice, integrated rural development and above all the greatest happiness of mankind all of which some of the kernel principles from which IBILE derives its prowess and strength.


"From one town to the other, from one farmstead to the other, poverty and want are now written on the faces of our people. Apart from the poor economic situation in our communities, those values that gave us honor are fading away like a candle wind in the wind.


"Today we gather here to make the historical declaration about our future as a people. We have gathered here with a determination to rewrite the narrative of Ekiti people and chart a new course for our long suffering people." Several representatives of Labour, Civil servants, farmers, peasants, self determination groups and students attended the launching where several soverniers and membership forms were distributed

President Muhammadu Buhari is fortunate a good
number of Nigerians are on his side regarding the
removal of the fuel subsidy
The Industrial Court ruled against the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) and Trade Union Congress (TUC) from
embarking on any strike
The discordant tune among the labour leaders has
made the strike action embarked upon on Wednesday,
May 18 unsuccessful in some parts of the country
Despite the ruling of the Industrial Court that the nation’s
labour unions should not go on strike on Wednesday, May
18, some members of the labour body still went ahead. The
question to ask first is why did the NLC embark on the
strike action? The plausible answer to this is that they
wanted to prove their mettle.

Currently, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) is split into
two factions, namely the Comrade Ayuba Wabba led-faction
and the Comrade Joe Ajaero-led faction. While the former
faction wanted workers to down tool, the latter faction
washed its hand of anything like a strike action.

1. The January 1, 2012 strike action experience
Nigerians were highly moved to support the leadership of
the national presidents of the Nigeria Labour Congress
(NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), when the
government of Dr Goodluck Jonathan removed fuel subsidy
on January 1, 2012. Nigerians came out in droves,
especially those who converged on Freedom park at Ojota,
Lagos state for more than five days.
Comrade Abdulwahid Omar, national president of the NLC
and Comrade Peter Esele, national president of the TUC got
the support of millions of Nigerians regarding the strike of
that period. However, the labour leaders led Nigerians to
the garden path, by backing out of the strike at the eleventh
hour, making all the sacrifices made by Nigerians to be an
exercise in futility.
The experience of that time is what has made some
Nigerians to passionately detest the labour unions in
Nigeria.

2. Factionalisation of the labour union
A house divided against itself will definitely not stand. In the
words of Comrade Ajaero on Tuesday, May 17 regarding
why the strike is totally not needed. He said there were
some ulterior motives from his co-faction members, calling
the pulling down of tools by workers as totally wrong.
Quoting the factional NLC national president verbatim, he
said:
“So, we will wait for our group to meet. But definitely, it
appears that by ideology and every other thing, we can no
longer meet. We thought we should have managed this in
the interest of Nigerians but from the look of things, it
appears we have to go our different ways.
“We have condemned the increase and called for
negotiation and reversal. It was on the basis of our calls
that this meeting was summoned for us to meet and find
the way forward.
“If we wanted to be serious about an action, you can’t call
for an action on Wednesday (May 18). It is only an action
that is sold out that is called for Wednesday so that by
Friday, you say you have strike lethargy and call it off.”

Due to this factionalisation, Nigerians see NLC as an
unserious labour body.

3. The romance between labour leaders and the
government
Most of members of the NLC are stooges of the
government. They are at the beck and call of political office
holders. They have sold their souls just for a pot of
porridge. Most of them no longer fight for the poor and
suffering masses. This is totally unacceptable. In advanced
countries of the world, there is no labour body which
supports the government on a policy which does not not
favour the citizens.
On the other hand, labour union members in Nigeria
support the government even when they know
government’s policy will bring hardship on the citizens.

4. Nigerians want to give the federal government a trial
The current administration is very fortunate to be in the
good books of majority of Nigerians. The government has
used this a lot to its advantage. Therefore, Nigerians want
to give the Buhari-led government more time. This is why
only a small percentage of the citizens want labour to
strike.
In addition, a good number of political analysts believe
President Buhari has the heart of a lion regarding his
passion to seeing Nigeria and Nigerians fare better in all
facets of human endeavours.

5. Fuel subsidy removal will no more be an excuse
All previous governments have hidden under the canopy of
fuel subsidy. The excuse of fuel scarcity is always said to be
because government is paying trillions to subside the petrol
Nigerians buy. Since, subsidy has now gone, Nigerians want
to see what will happen in a few days time regarding getting
pure motor spirit (PMS) with ease from filling stations.
Therefore, they see no reasons participating or supporting
any strike action.

Members of the House of Representatives on Tuesday approved the establishment of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun in Delta State. Lawmakers, sitting in the Committee of the Whole, considered and adopted a report on a bill to establish the institution. A female member from Delta State, Evelyn Omavowan- Oboro, had sponsored the bill at the 7th Assembly. However, by the rules of the House, which allow revisiting of bills introduced in a preceding Assembly, the House revived the bill by reconsidering it for passage in the Committee of the Whole. The university is primarily to serve as a training institution for oil and gas sector disciplines, particularly crude oil refining and other oil sector expertise that Nigeria currently depends on expatriates for. The report of the bill adopted by lawmakers on Tuesday explained that the university should be under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to impart knowledge without discrimination on the basis of sex, political affiliation, race or creed. However, Omavowan-Oboro, who was happy that the report had been adopted, at last by the House, said all that remained was the concurrence of the Senate. In another resolution, the House called on the National Emergency Management Agency to urgently come to the aid of thousands of victims who had been displaced in the Anambra-East/West Local Government Areas of Anambra State by rainstorm. A member of the House, Mr. Tony Nwoye, who reported the plight of the victims to the House on Tuesday, said the victims were sacked by a downpour on April 30. Part of the resolution read, “Aware that on April 30, 2016 Odekpe, lgbedor, Oroma-EtitiAnam, Ogwari Asako Nsugbe; Nando, Umuneri, Aguleri and other neighbouring communities in Anambra-East and West Federal Constituency were ravaged by rainstorm. “We are concerned that the rainstorm blew off roofs of over 100 residential buildings in those communities, thereby rendering thousands of people homeless. “We are also concerned that these internally displaced people are presently taking refuge in make-shift structures under severe weather conditions.”
punchng.com/reps-okay-creation-petroleum-varsity/

– National Industrial Court has stopped the Nigeria
Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress from going on
with their planned national strike
– FG has invited the leadership of NLC, TUC to a
meeting over the planned national strike
Labour members leading a protest
The National Industrial Court has stopped the Nigeria
Labour Congress, Trade Union Congress from going on with
their planned national strike over fuel pump hike.
President of the court, Babatunde Adejumo gave the order
on Tuesday, May 17 as FG and labour leaders continue to
meet over reduction in fuel pump price.
Recall that over the weekend, organised labour and the civil
society gave the Federal Government till midnight on
Tuesday to reverse the increase or face an indefinite
national strike.

Ruling on an exparte application filed by Abubakar Malami,
attorney-general of the federation (AGF), Adejumo ordered
parties to maintain the status quo until the hearing and
determination of the exparte motion.
He also directed the government to dialogue with the NLC
towards an amicable resolution of their dispute.
Meanwhile, the two major unions in Nigeria’s oil and gas
sector endorsed the price modulation mechanism adopted
by the Federal Government to arrive at the new N145 per
litre pump price for petrol.

https://www.naij.com/832816-breaking-court-stops-nlc-tuc-going-strike.html?source=category_latest_page

president of the Nigeria
Labour Congress [NLC] Paschal
Bafyau is dead.
He died died yesterday of heart
attack, at the age of 67.
Mr. Bafyau was the president of
the NLC between 1988 and
1994.
Elombah.com gathered that he
died in Abuja on his way to
National Hospital after a bout
of cardiac arrest at his home.
He hailed from Adamawa State.
Mr. Abdulwaheed Omar,
immediate past NLC president
disclosed this in a statement.
Read:
Paschal Bafyau: Labour
Giant, Passes On!
It is with shock and deep
sorrow but with total
submission to the Almighty,
that the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC) announces the
passing away of its former
President, Comrade Paschal
Myeleri Bafyau.

Check the full story @

elombah.com/index.php/reports/7089-former-nlc-president-paschal-bafyau-is-dead

– Pastor Adeboye has said what Nigeria is facing is
global issue and not peculiar to the country
– Nigeria is facing serious economic challenges with
increasing inflation rate, hardship following the
removal of subsidy on petrol

Popular pastor and general oversea of Redeemed Christian
Church of God (RCCG) Pastor Enoch Adeboye has
commented on the current situation facing the country.
Nigeria is facing serious economic challenges with
increasing inflation rate, hardship following the removal of
subsidy on petrol which has put the price of the product at
N145 per litre.
The nation is also battling terrorism in the north-east,
agitation for Biafra nation in south-east and Niger-Delta
militants in Niger-Delta region.
READ ALSO: MUST READ: What FG plans to do to NLC, TUC
over planned national strike
Speaking on his verified Facebook page, Pastor Adeboye
said what Nigeria is facing is global. He added that children
of God who give will not lack in this trouble time.
“Let me tell you the truth, the problems we are facing now
in Nigeria is global not just Nigeria alone but the children of
God, will grow fat. Those who have been giving can now go
and withdraw from their account with
God. #GiveLiveEatDie,” he wrote.
Post

PASTOR E. A. ADEBOYE
Let me tell you the truth, the problems we are
facing now in Nigeria is global not just Nigeria
alone but the children of God, will grow fat.
Those who have been giving, can now go and
withdraw from their account with God.
#GiveLiveEatDie
16 hrs · Public
8,167 · Like · 1,851 Comments · Share ·
Like Page · Full Story · More

Meanwhile, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and Trade
Union Congress (TUC) as well as their civil society allies has
given President Muhammadu Buhari three days to reverse
the increase pump price of petrol to N86 per litre or face
indefinite strike action.

https://www.naij.com/831000-must-read-pastor-adeboye-speaks-new-fuel-price-read-said.html?source=index_main

ON MAY 14, 20167:35 AMIN NEWSCOMMENTS 169 0 0 
•Enugu N190, Abuja N145, Minna N145, Kaduna N170, Akure N150, Maiduguri N190. •Ibadan N145,Lagos N145,Kano N145, Port Harcourt N145,Jos N145. 
On Wednesday evening, Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr Ibe Kachikwu announced partial deregulation of the down-stream sector of the Petroleum industry increasing the pump price of petrol to N145 per litre. Fuel stations across the country immediately reacted to the announcement by adjusting their pumps to the new price. Queues suddenly disappeared while some fuel stations which hitherto claimed not to have the product also opened up for customers.
 
By Michael Eboh ABUJA-
All filling stations in Abuja, as at yesterday, had adjusted their pump price to N145 per litre, while the huge fuel queues which resurfaced since the beginning of the week had started to thin out. y However, a few filling stations were still engaged in sharp practices, short-changing motorists with the manipulation of their pump, a situation called under-dispensing. When vanguard visited petrol stations in Abuja, Nasarawa State and Niger State, the queues were gradually thinning out, while a number of the petrol stations only had less than 10 cars on queue to purchase to product. One petrol station attendant told Vanguard that most motorists no longer fill up their tanks, stating that majority of the people who patronized their station only purchased between N3,000 and N5,000 worth of the product. 

By Ola Ajayi IBADAN- I
n Ibadan, it was a big surprise that after the announcement of the new pump fuel price, all filling stations that had claimed it had no fuel suddenly opened to customers. In a twinkle of an eye, the queue vanished from filling stations. Some motorists who had been on queue at some filling stations selling at the old rate of N86.50 left after the fuel pump was adjusted to the new price. Saturday Vanguard observed that several motorists who could not afford the new price parked their vehicles at home and this led to reduction in vehicular movements within the metropolis. 

By Abdulsalam Muhammad KANO-In Kano despite upward review of the price of petrol, the commercial city of Kano there is still scarcity of the product. Few stations that had fuel were selling to motorists at N145 per litre. 

By Luka Binniyat KADUNA-
Most petrol retail outlets in Kaduna which had fuel yesterday, sold between N150 and N170 per litre. Saturday Vanguard findings showed that most of the filling stations that had claimed they had no fuel, had suddenly flung open their gates on Wednesday evening and started dispensing fuel. By Friday, not many fillings stations had fuel, but the few that had said they bought from second parties, not directly from the NNPC depot. They therefore sold fuel between N150 and N170 per litre. I would have sold even above this price of N170 per litre but we are afraid that the price may come down after the strike by Labour next week. So we want to finish what we have now, and wait for the outcome of the strike”, a manager of one of the filling stations told Vanguard under condition of anonymity. 

By Jimitota Onoyume PORT HARCOURT 
-Filling stations with petrol in Port Harcourt were dispensing at N145 per litre to motorists. Most of them suddenly opened for business after the federal government announced the new price. Vanguard observed that there were no queues in the filling stations on Station road, Aba road and several other areas in Port Harcourt. Motorists who spoke to Vanguard described the filling station operators as shylock, saying they were selling old stock at the new rates. “The are selling products they got at less than 84 naira per litre at the new rate of N145, this is exploitative.”, one of them said. The new pump price of fuel has also affected transport fares on all routes in the state capital, Port Harcourt. Most of the taxi and commercial bus operators have increased their fares by fifty percent. 

By Marie-Therese Nanlong JOS- In Jos, the Plateau State capital, major fuel stations were not dispensing the product at the time of this report but the few Independent Marketers that had fuel sold it at N145 per liter. Motorists however believed the fuel pumps have been tampered with to make them pay more than the said price. There were no noticeable queues in areas where the products were being sold and those buying in jerry cans from roadside traders paid between N900 and N1000 for a four-liter jerry can. 

By Dayo Johnson AKURE-
The fuel queues have not disappeared across Ondo state following the hike in the price of petrol by the federal government. Findings showed that independent marketers across the state sell the product for N150 per litre instead of the N145 new pump price. The Mega station located at Adegbola junction in Akure metropolis sold the product at N145 per litre. Many filling stations which had shut their gates to consumers started selling again for between N145 and N150 per litre. 

By Ndahi Marama MAIDUGURI-Following the announcement on the new price of petrol, fuel stations have adjusted their pumps selling at between N160 and N180 per litre. Some stations are even selling at N200 per litre. The stations are not only selling above the official price of N145 per litre but most of them have closed for business leaving motorists to queue for long distance without being attended to. Surprisingly, even the Main NNPC Depot situated along Maiduguri-Biu Road which was operating a day to the announcement has stopped attending to customers as the queue increased. 

By Francis Igata ENUGU-Also,following the announcement by federal government,filing stations in Enugu metropolis and beyond sells at N190 per liter while most commuters have resorted to trekking following eighty percent hike in cost of fares for intra-city movements. While speaking on a live television show yesterday,Secretary General,NLC,Peter Ozo-Ezon said,”the present economic situation has completely eroded the little salary that workers do have. If check the present economic situation, the devaluation of the Naira and sprialling inflation, the average Nigerian is already unable to meet basic needs. When under such situation,you then bring electricity tariff increase to further compound that situation,then you follow with a hike in fuel price to impoverish the masses,that cannot be the way Government should function. “It is unacceptable. The PPPRA Act sets up stakeholders forum in law that deals with this matter. The PPPRA Board has not been constituted for over two years. I have written President Muhammad Buhari on the illegality of not constituting the Board. Without a Board,how can you determine the template of N145 that we are using to sell petrol. The law is clear on how PPPRA should exercise their power. It is the Board that should set the template for pricing. So,for somebody appointed by the Minister of State for Petroleum to be playing that role is an illegality. “The Minister has become as it where, a sole administrator.”

On Wednesday, May 12, Nigerians got the news that the federal had finally removed fuel subsidy and fuel will now be sold at N145 per litre. Before the announcement, petrol used to sell for N87 per litre, though majority were buying for as high N200 due to scarcity of the product across the country. Former president, Goodluck Jonathan had attempted to remove subsidy in 2012 but, he was strongly opposed leading to the “Occupy Nigeria” protest. Jonathan eventually bowed to pressure and the subsidy was removed partially. Now, Nigerians are back to the removal of subsidy issue and it appears this time, there’s no going back. With the removal of subsidy and the increment of fuel price, Nigerians should expect the following.
1. Another occupy Nigeria protest: Hours after the announcement was made, the Nigerian Labour Congress vowed to resist the increment in fuel price. Apparently, they are gearing up for a protest. #OccupyNigeria is already trending on social media. Some are already asking when they will take to the streets to protest and the venue. Fingers are crossed as Nigerians await what happens next. 2. Prices of commodities will shoot up: An increase in fuel price will affect the price of commodities. Once the price of petrol is touch, it triggers a rise in the price of foodstuff, transportation and even rent.
3. Excuses, promises and explanations: Politicians will always have an excuse for every situation. Soon enough, members of the ruling party will start giving all kinds of excuses for the increase in fuel price. They have already started promising that Nigerians will benefit from the removal of subsidy. Nigerians are getting tired of the excuses and want action.
4. The suffering of Nigerians will be aggravated: Nigerians have been groaning over economic hardship and now they have to deal with increase in fuel scarcity. The worst part is that employers will not increase workers salary. Salary earners will have to figure out how to spend their income wisely. Power supply is nothing to write home about so people have to depend on generators which make use of fuel. Imagine spending more than half your salary fueling your generator. As if the hardship Nigerians are going through is not enough…
5. Blame Jonathan: Since the APC-led government took over power, they have been blaming Jonathan for every problem the country is going through. It’s like a taboo to accept responsibility for Nigeria’s problems so it’s best to blame it someone else.
6. APC out in 2019: Apparently, most Nigerians who supported the All Progressives Congress during the campaign period are having doubt about their decision. Nigerians voted for the APC because they promised “change.” But, they did not bargain for the kind of change they are experiencing at the moment. Things seem to be getting worse. Anyway, Nigerians have been told to exercise patience, better days are ahead.
7. Nigerians may finally learn their lesson: Politicians can never be trusted. They say one thing today and tomorrow, they are saying something else. They make all sorts of promise when they are contesting for election and once they’ve been voted into power, they get amnesia. In 2012, when Jonathan introduced fuel subsidy removal, APC politicians fought against it. They even said there was nothing like subsidy and today, the same subsidy they fought against, they have brought back.
8. The rate of crime may increase: Many may resort to other means of making money if their salary is not enough to meet their needs in the face of hardship brought about by fuel price increase.