The 2023 Labour Party Gubernatorial Candidate for Lagos State, Rhodes-Vivour, has accused the Babajide Sanwoolu administration of spreading falsehoods and misleading the citizens.
It has come to light that the Lagos procurement agency’s list revealed that a staggering amount of 200 million Naira from the state’s funds was allocated for the governor’s legal cases.
However, Gbenga Omotoso, Commissioner of Information, Lagos State, has debunked the report as false and misleading.
Gbedebo alleged that the governor’s appointed commissioners, who made an effort to communicate with the public through the media regarding this issue, were essentially attempting to conceal the truth and mislead the people of Lagos.
A student of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Subair Enitan, on Friday started a handwashing marathon to break the Guinness World Records for longest hour of handwashing by an individual.
She started her marathon on Friday at the Sub car park, OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
Enitan aims at breaking the record by washing her hands for 50 hours.
As of the time of this report, Enitan has washed her hands for over six hours.
The Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, has denied a media report that his principal has approved the removal of Rotimi Akeredolu as the Governor of Ondo State. A news platform (Not Naija News) had claimed that President Tinubu and other All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders have agreed to invoke the doctrine of necessity to remove Akeredolu and appoint the embattled Ondo Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as acting governor.
The report said the decision was reached during a closed-door meeting between President Tinubu and political stakeholders from Ondo State at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Friday.
It added that with the doctrine of necessity invoked, the Ondo Assembly is expected to reconvene on Monday to formalise Aiyedatiwa’s appointment as acting governor, granting him full executive powers to steer the state forward.
Reacting in a tweet via his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Saturday, the presidential aide described the report as very fake news.
Tension hovers around the Ojo area of Lagos State following the killing of a suspected cult gang leader in the area at the weekend.
The deceased, simply identified as Shulee, was said to be the number two man of the Eiye confraternity in the area.
Shulee was allegedly hacked down by members of a rival group in the area and his head cut off.
Residents alleged that the head of the deceased was sent to the camp of Eiye as a sign of the rivals stamping their authority in the area.
A resident who refused to be named for fear of being tracked said: “Shulee is the number two man of Eiye in Ojo. His activities had been notorious. He did not look back when killing rival gang members. He was feared in the entire Ojo, Okomaiko and Ajangbadi areas.
“There has been tension in the entire Ojo since his death was announced. The leaders of the Alaba International Market have advised traders not to stay outside late.”
Another source alleged that the deceased was tracked down to an area around Alaba Rago and that he was eventually killed around PPL bus stop.
Since his killing, there have been several notices in social media warning residents not to stay outside their houses late.
The Lagos State police spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, said, “I am not aware of any such killing and there is no tension anywhere in the state.”
Construction of bus stations for the take-off of the Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) Mass Transit scheme along the Lagos-Ibadan expressway axis will commence soon.
The stations are to be sited within Mowe, Ibafo Arepo, and Berger axis of the ever-busy expressway.
This was disclosed by the Commissioner for Transportation, Engr Dairo Olugbenga, while speaking on a radio programme in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital on Thursday.
According to him, the construction will commence in earnest, as necessary implementation frameworks have been put in place, even as he urged the people to lend their support to the state government towards the successful construction activities in those areas.
“I want to use this medium to plead to our people for their support, as this is another integral parts of development geared towards easing the movement of people and goods in Ogun State, which will serve as a respite to environmental pollution by reducing emissions and promote a cleaner and safer environment in the state,” he said.
Engr Dairo noted that the CNG powered mass transit buses will be deployed to the corridor for cheaper and safe movement in advance of the construction of the bus stations.
Speaking on the process of operating urban transportation system in the state, the Commissioner highlighted infrastructure, law compliance, operation, and price control as the four key elements applied by the state governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun.
He said: “We need to let our people know that there are four applicables and adopted ways to transportation, and that is infrastructure, which if you observe during our first tenure, the Governor has worked on bad roads in all the local government areas across the state and work is still on-going.
“The second is law enforcement, which will ensure all road users comply with rules and regulations guiding the usage of the roads, fostering security and safety of passengers and drivers while the third is operation.
“We are going to formalise transport operation, in that, whoever is going into it must have between 10 to 30 buses under him.
“Current operators will be encouraged to coalesce into cooperatives. This will aid proper management and monitoring of the movement of goods and people in the state.
“Aside from this, there is price control. This administration is further working on providing affordable transportation for the good people of Ogun State.”
The Coroner Court in Lagos state has revealed that the most crucial aspect of an autopsy to determine the cause of death of late singer Ilerioluwa Aloba aka Mohbad, is being conducted in the United States of America.
The state counsel, O. Akinde also told the Coroner Magistrate, Adetayo Shotobi on Wednesday, that the autopsy into the external body of the deceased had been completed.
Akinde made the disclosure following the concerns by the counsel to Mohbad’s father, David Fadimu, NKay Music Worldwide, and O.S.A. Aranmolaran, representative of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Ikorodu.
According to the state counsel; “The toxicology test, which has to do with the internal body, is being done in the US.”
The disclosure comes as a shock to many because few weeks ago, the Lagos police command said the autopsy had been concluded and they were waiting for the result.
The post reads; “Mohbad: Autopsy Update. The Nigeria Police Force wishes to inform the public that the autopsy procedure for Mr. Mohbad has been successfully completed. Further information will be provided as soon as the results are available.”
Police PRO Ben Hundeyin added; “Autopsy has been concluded. Awaiting result… #JusticeForMohad #Justice4Mohbad.”
Reacting, Nigerian music sensation, Bella Shmurda called on police authorities to arrest the people responsible for the death of his colleague, Mohbad.
He took to microblogging site, Twitter and declared that if justice is delayed then it is the same as, injustice and he is more concerned about those that assaulted and oppressed Mohbad when he was alive.
He wrote; “Delayed justice is injustice. Bring out those who oppressed and maltreated the hell out of him when he was alive that the goal. Autopsy or not he no concern me. Unless our govt don’t have feelings.
Despite moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to formally extend the validity of the old naira notes, reports of scarcity have emerged across the country. Recall that the CBN had affirmed that it has enough currency notes in the market and, hence, no need for panic withdrawals by members of the public.
The apex bank announced plans to extend the validity of the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes indefinitely. The bank noted that it was working with relevant authorities to vacate the subsisting court ruling on the same subject.
On Wednesday, Lagos Reporters reported that the CBN filed an application before the Supreme Court seeking an extension for old naira notes to remain in circulation.
But a report by The PUNCH confirmed scarcity in some parts of Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Kwara, Gombe, Edo, Sokoto, and Ekiti States.
Visits to some banks on Wednesday revealed scanty banking halls and ATM galleries due to the scarcity of old and new Naira notes.
A customer, who gave his name as Ganiyu Tunde, at the Union Bank branch along Oshodi Expressway in Lagos claimed that banks were only dispensing N5,000 via ATMs to non-customers.
Bank customers of Union Bank were, however, able to get up to N20,000 at the ATM and inside the bank. The rows of ATMs at an Access Bank branch nearby were empty because there was no cash in them as of the time of filing this report. A banker who spoke to The PUNCH on the condition of anonymity blamed the cash scarcity on weak supply from the CBN.
The banker said, “It is the CBN that is responsible for this cash scarcity. We are not getting enough from them. They are just causing unnecessary suffering for the masses.”
A bank teller who works with Guaranty Trust Bank Plc in their Palmgrove Branch, Lagos, affirmed to The PUNCH that customers cannot withdraw more than N20,000.00 across the counter. According to the teller, the bank was experiencing a shortage of cash.
In the Federal Capital Territory, one Festus Okoromadu expressed concern that he could not withdraw at the First Bank branches in his area.
He said, “What I was told was that the bank’s network was temporarily unavailable, which made the transaction impossible. This has been the case at some of the banks in the FCT in recent times. Withdrawing money is becoming more challenging.”
In Kano, some commercial banks were not honouring customer withdrawal requests, and ATM galleries were dry.
Investigation further showed that the few banks that were paying customers did not give beyond specific amounts.
A customer who gave his name as Hayatudeen said, “Many banks lack money to give to customers, and when you inquire, they will not give you any satisfactory explanation as to why.”
He noted that the story is the same with POS operators because they also complain of scarcity. He added, “Even though most of the POS operators are getting their money from traders and other business operators, they still complain of the scarcity.”
In Kwara, banks are rationing cash to their customers. But customers of Zenith Bank have it differently, they are still allowed to make daily withdrawals of up to N500,000.
Further investigations revealed that this scarcity started three weeks ago, and customers of UBA, GTB, First Bank, Union Bank, and others are the worst hit.
One banker said, “Banks do not have enough cash to pay out to customers because people are not bringing money to the bank.
We only ration the available money among the customers. Anyone that comes to withdraw is paid N20,000, but few highly placed customers are given N50,000 when they come to withdraw.”
In Ekiti State, an official at the Union Bank branch, Okesa Ado Ekiti, revealed that the branch was unable to meet the specific withdrawal demand of its customers because “there is no sufficient cash for now. We give what we can afford to ensure it goes around.”
Pandemonium broke out Wednesday at Akute Bus Stop and Alagboole in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State following a violent clash between commercial motorcyclists and transport union tax collectors, popularly known as Agbero, over a hike in ticket prices.
Our correspondent, who was at the scene, reports that shops were shut down and some properties were destroyed, just as residents and traders in the area scampered to safety.
A stranded commuter, identified simply as Aminu, who spoke with VOA News, claimed the motorcyclists were fighting a just cause, saying, “It is unreasonable to increase their ticket price from N700 to N1400, considering the cost of fuel. Where will they get money from? This cannot continue.”
Even though there were claims that one person was feared killed, our correspondent, who was at the scene of the clash, could not verify this.
Meanwhile, the Ogun State Police Command, through its Public Relations Officer, Omolola Odutola, could not confirm whether lives had been lost.
The police spokesperson, however, said the command was aware that some properties were destroyed, but they were yet to know the extent of the damage.
”They (motorcyclists) can have a peaceful protest, and they can bring their complaints through their different unions to the police. This particular gathering is illegal,” Odutola said.
Students of the Gateway Polytechnic, Saapade, Ogun State, on Tuesday, protested the attacks on their colleagues by armed men suspected to be robbers and cultists.
The students staying off campus stormed the campus on Tuesday displaying placards.
It was gathered that students residing in the off-campus hostels were mostly affected in the attack.
One of the students said, “They raped some girls and even beat two to death on Sunday. We can no longer sleep with eyes closed. These criminals will come to take our belongings and even force themselves on girls. It is getting too much. This must not continue.”
Man remanded over attempted kidnap, rape in Ekiti
Drunk girl raped in Ogun
Some images shared on social media show a corpse on the floor while four others with injuries are seen being attended to in a place that looks like a hospital.
The police spokesman in the state, Omolola Odutola, confirmed to our correspondent that, “The area commander is on ground there.”
The Oyo State House of Assembly on Tuesday approved three hundred and fifty-two billion, two hundred and eighty-two million, five hundred thousand naira only (#352,282,500,00) 2023 Supplementary Budget presented to the legislature by the State Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde.
The supplementary budget was passed after the presentation of the House Committee report on Finance, Appropriation and Economy.
The Committee had considered the inputs of the State Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning and projections in the Oyo State Government Medium Term Expenditure Framework before the eventual passage of the 2023 Supplementary Budget.
The Governor had sought upward review of the 2023 approved budget from #310,432,500.00 to #352,282,500.00.
This became imperative in order to cater for the twin policy measures of the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit and the floating of the exchange rates by the Federal Government on the State Government spendings.
In the supplementary budget, a sum of #169,477,038.38 was approved as recurrent expenditure while a sum of #182,805,366,965.62 is for capital expenditue.
The supplementary budget featured realignment of some MDAs.
They are, Office of the Governor; Oyo State House of Assembly, House of Assembly Service Commission, Ministry of Public Works & Transport, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Oyo State Investment Promotion & Public Private Partnership Agency, Oyo State Primary Health Care Development Agency, Ministry of Health, Oyo State Agribusiness Development Agency, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Special Duties.
