₦airaland Forum

A governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ondo State, Chief Olayide Owolabi Adelami, has said the defection of the Deputy Governor of the state, Agboola Ajayi, to PDP is not a threat to the APC.

Speaking to journalists in Abuja yesterday after submitting his nomination form to contest the APC governorship primary election, he said the party members in the state were united and would work together to retain the state. On his choice of primary election mode, Adelami said, “The popular opinion is a direct primary.

I normally refer to it as election before election, nobody will be disenchanted and everybody will be given opportunity to express themselves.”

Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has said worship centres in the state may resume for services as from Friday, July 17th, in line with the agreement reached by the state government with leaders of religious organisations in the state.

Governor Fayemi who disclosed this on Tuesday in a state-wide broadcast on the next stage in the State’s COVID-19 Response said arrangements are in top gear to ensure that pupils and students return to school from July 20 as recommended by stakeholders in the education sector.

He also noted that the two largest markets in Ado Ekiti – Oja Oba and Bisi Market, will now be open to lock-up shops only, subject to compliance with protocols, stressing that street trading, makeshift stalls kiosks and open display of wares in the said markets remain banned.

The Governor also announced that the state government has taken a N2.5 billion Life Insurance cover of N2 million each for 500 frontline medical personnel involved in COVID-19 assignment in addition to the prompt payment of COVID-19 special allowances to qualified cadres.

However, he expressed dismay with the increasing refusal of residents to wear face masks in public which he said could spike community transmission of the disease.

Fayemi said security agencies and Ministry of Justice have been directed to arrest and prosecute any person caught in public places without wearing the face mask appropriately covering the nose, mouth and chin.

Expatiating on the conditions to be met before public worship resume, Fayemi said social distancing of six feet must be observed and hand washing as well as use of face masks are compulsory.

According to him, maximum capacity for each building should be determined with the six feet social distancing principle, adding that the number must be conspicuously displayed outside the building.

Governor Aminu Bello Masari on Monday told the visiting chief of Army Staff, Luitenant General Tukur Buratai that residents of the state especially those at the front line bordering the dreaded Rugu forest live in fear and apprehension following the spate of attacks by bandits. Rugu forest, which cut across 8 local governments of Jibia, Safana, Danmusa, Batsari, Dandume, Sabuwa, Kankara and Faskari has served as the hideout for the bandits.

Speaking when he received the officer on a courtesy call at the government house, Masari said ‘these bandits attacks with heavy weapons that led to loss of lives and properties.’

Although respite is being experienced in the 8 most-affected councils, Masari urged the military to sustain the tempo and not to allow the current insecurity to continue to linger to avoid external influence amongst the bandits and other countries.

He said, the bandits are illiterates without any ideology who now pride themselves with number of weapons in possession, adding that the “bandits have converted some schools and clinics constructed by the government to camps but following the recent military intervention, the bandits have been forced to flee to the Forests” Earlier, Burutai told Governor Masari that he was in the state to coordinate and supervise ongoing operations in Rugu forests and beyond.

He assured that the operations will continue to rid the Forests of bandits, noting that the military is determined to end it at all cost, not only in Katsina but the Northwest and the country at large.‎

The Lagos State Police Command says that a 26-year-old man, Chinedu Obi, has admitted before a team of interrogators that he has been sleeping with his employer’s 12-year-old twin daughters since 2019. Obi, who the police arrested on June 16, 2020, is being detained at the Aguda police station.

The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said that a woman in her mid-30s had reported at the Aguda police station that her salesman, Chinedu Obi, had sexual intercourse with her teenage twin daughters. Elkana said that the suspect took advantage of the fact that the mother of the girls always left them with him in the house whenever she was going out.

“The suspect was arrested and he confessed to the crime. The Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered that the case be transferred to the Gender Unit, State Headquarters, Ikeja, for investigation and prosecution,” he said.

Elkana also said that in a related development, the Bariga police station, on June 26, 2020 at about 7.50pm, received a report that a 33-year-old man, Chibuike Kalu, of Amodu Street, Bariga, allegedly defiled his 14-year-old daughter (name withheld).

“The survivor was taken to Mirabel Centre, Ikeja, for medical treatment and forensic examination. Kalu was arrested and he confessed to committing the crime. He will be charged to court,” he said.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has extended the deadline for the sale of its Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for the Ondo State governorship election. The deadline for the purchase of the forms as earlier announced by the party was June 22, 2020, but with the extension, aspirants will obtain their forms till June 24, 2020.

The PDP in a statement Monday night by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan did not give any reason for the extension. But a party official confided in our correspondent in a telephone chat that the extension was to give room for the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi who defected from the APC to the PDP to also obtain his forms for the race. Ajayi defected to the PDP Sunday, sequel to irreconcillable differences between him and his boss, Governor Rotimi Akeredolu, over his ambition to contest the October 10, 2020 governorship election in the state.

But the PDP in the statement said: “All other time frames related the nomination processes for the Ondo state governorship election remain as earlier announced. “All leaders, governorship aspirants, critical stakeholders and members of our great party in Ondo State should be guided accordingly.”

The domestic wings of the Murtala Muhammed Airport (MMA) Lagos, and Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja have been rated 57 percent in terms of meeting the requirements of Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) for the commencement of operations.

This implies that if the federal government had not shifted the proposed resumption of domestic flights hitherto slated for Monday (today), it would have been practically impossible to restart operations given that there are many gaps required to be filled, Daily Trust can report.

The NCAA Director-General, Capt. Musa Nuhu had at a briefing of the Presidential Taskforce on COVID-19 on Thursday last week declared that the June 21 resumption date was no longer feasible. Our correspondent learnt that this conclusion was reached after a virtual stakeholders’ meeting held on Tuesday where all stakeholders presented their restart plan in line with the checklist provided to them by the regulatory authority.

At the meeting, it was discovered that there are still many gaps that were yet to be filled by the operators including airlines and airports managers. However, a follow-up meeting held on Friday night gave a vivid update on the status of the industry restart plan.

According to statistics from the NCAA, air navigation service providers are 80 percent prepared; airlines were scored 75 percent in terms of preparedness; ground handlers 180 percent, and domestic airports 57 percent. However, the Lagos airport private terminal known as the MMA2 scored 87 percent, showing readiness to resume operations.

There are five airports slated for the commencement of operations including Lagos, Abuja; Mallam Aminu Kano Airport, Kano; Port Harcourt Airport, Omagwa Rivers State and Sam Mbakwe Airport, Owerri. It was learnt that there would be a mock exercise tomorrow or Wednesday to simulate the planned resumption of flights, while the NCAA DG is expected to present another report to the Minister of Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika. A new date would also be suggested for the resumption of flights with stakeholders looking at between the first or second week of July.

Aviation analyst and former Commandant, Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos, Group Capt. John Ojikutu (rtd) said, “If FAAN is scoring 57% with Lagos and Abuja now, we should all be worried; what this conference has shown us is that the recent NCAA audits seem to put emphasis on private airline operators than the government operators.

Senate President Ahmad Lawan on Sunday said any officer found short of expectations should be shown the way out if he refuses to go. Lawan, who briefed State House reporters after meeting President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, said the National Assembly was ready to receive supplementary budget to tackle the security challenge, including the recruitment of more personnel in various security agencies in the country.

He said the resources must be provided to empower the security agencies to fight the Boko Haram in the North East, banditry and other security challenges across the country.

Lawan, who said the security situation in the country especially in the northern part of the country required that more resources be given to the security agencies, added that the heads of these agencies especially the service chiefs, must sit up and address the issues within timeline.

“We can’t just go on without any time frame for dealing with these issues,” he added. Lawan said: “You know the country is facing very deep and serious security challenges and I have come to discuss with Mr. president what we discussed previously that we should do whatever it takes to improve the security situation in the country.

“And we believe that the senate and indeed the National Assembly is positively disposed to receiving even supplementary budget purposely to address the fundamental needs of the security agencies of our country so that we are able to empower them, enable them to fight the Boko Haram in the North East, banditry and other security challenges across the country.

“Secondly, in the senate, we believe we need to provide more resources for recruitment by the security agencies: Army, the Navy, Air Force, Police, immigration, the paramilitary generally. “We need to have more manpower or personnel and this is not something you get on platter of gold. “Whoever wants to make an omelette will break an egg.

“Section 14 subsection 2b of the constitution of the Federal Republic Nigeria is very categorical and crystal clear, that the purpose of government shall be to provide for security and welfare of the people. “Therefore, we must, we have no luxury of any option other than to address the security challenges more than any other thing.

“We provided for N500 billion intervention for COVID for the revised budget, and various agencies, the CBN, the NNPC and the IOCs provided for palliatives and some kind of interventions for the COVID challenge. “I think we must tell ourselves the truth, that the security situation in the country especially in the northern part of the country, require that we give much more resources to the security agencies.

“And those who are heading these agencies especially the service chiefs, must sit up, in fact we must have milestones and timelines on how we are going to deal with this. “We can’t just go on without any time frame for dealing with these issues.

“If after we provide some support and someone is found short of expectations, he should be shown the way out if he refuses to go. Because the lives of Nigerians are so precious and therefore must be more important than any other considerations or sentiments. I believe that today, the most essential thing in government is to address the security challenges