Earlier today, Ekiti State House of Assembly commenced the screening of the Commissioner-nominees sent to the House by His Excellency, the Governor, Biodun Abayomi Oyebanji.
Recall that the House had earlier informed and invited the public to the screening exercise of all the Commissioner-Nominees sent to the House for ratification.
While the screening of Dr(Mrs) Kofoworoola Aderiye, Mr. Oyeniyi Adebayo, both from Ido Osi, and Mr. Seun Fakuade from Oye Local Government took place yesterday; the screening of Mr. Adebayo Gold Adesola, Dr. Kareem Makanjuola Akande, and Chief Folorunso Olabode will be taking place today, Tuesday, 4th, July 2023.
Veteran Nollywood actress, Joke Silva has opened up on marital struggles with her husband, actor Olu Jacobs.
Silva, in an interview with popular media personality and actress, Nancy Isime, revealed that Olu Jacobs’ ailment has changed him.
Speaking on how her husband’s battle with dementia has affected their relationship, the actress reflected on their early years together.
She said: “It hasn’t been easy. There was a point of acceptance for me that everything happening is reality and it is like the person I married, 80 percent of the time is no longer there.
“But the thing is this, when he was there, he was an incredible father to his children and an amazing husband, he was practically my best friend.
“The husband I knew is no longer there for me, but this man that is here is someone I still love.”
As the take off of the Federal College of Education Ilawe Ekiti gathers momentum, the Alawe of Ilawe Ekiti,HRM Oba Adebanji Ajibade Alabi, AFUNTADE 1, has set up a high powered 12 -man committee headed by a renown University Don, Professor Bode Asubiojo with a directive that the committee should work at the speed of light in providing a seamless take off of the college.
This was contained in a statement signed by Alawe’s media Adviser, High Chief Ajibade Olubunmi and made available to Heritage News in Ado Ekiti on Monday.
The Alawe said that the committee should seek for suitable accommodation for the Provost and other Principal Officers of the college, and secure adequate and conducive permanent site for the college among other assignments.
The Alawe said the Provost had contacted him and made his intention known to swing into action immediately. The committee members are: Prof. Bode Asubiojo (Chairman)
In the meantime, the Alawe said that the Federal College of Education Ilawe Ekiti was approved and located or sited in Ilawe Ekiti and nowhere else as against claims being peddled by some people in Omuo Ekiti .
“You can not talk of relocation where there was never a location . Nothing was located in Omuo .You only talk of relocation when there was an earlier location.
The bill being mentioned by the Omuo Ekiti people did not go through third reading and never got the approval of the Senate.
Moreover, it never got to the House of Representatives for conccurrence talk less of coming before the President for assent whereas Alawe and his people made requests in writing and communicated with Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Education since 2016 and got an approval.
Gunmen suspected to be kidnappers have k!lled a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Ogun State and abducted seven worshippers.
It was gathered that the gunmen stormed the RCCG parish at Abule-Ori in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of the state on Saturday, July 1, 2023.
The Ogun State So-Safe Corps Commander, Soji Ganzallo, who confirmed the incident to newsmen said his officers have since rescued the seven church members and ki!led one of the kidnappers during a rescue operation.
In a statement made available by the So-Safe Director of Information and Public Relations, Moruf Yusuf, Ganzallo was quoted as saying that the incident occurred at about 12 am.
“The special operation team of the Corps, Owode-Egba Zonal Command, under ACC Jimoh Rasaki Omoniyi, received a distress call that some of the members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Desires of Nations Parish, under Ogun Province 22, Abule-Ori in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area were attacked during a vigil; seven members of the church were k!dnapped and the pastor k!lled,” the statement read.
According to him, officers of the Corps were charged to go after the suspects to rescue the victims unhurt, stating that “the officers swung into action immediately.”
The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Sunday, said it would withdraw the result of a certain Ejikeme Mmesoma for manually inflating her result and announcing herself as the top scorer for the 2023 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination.
According to a statement issued by the board, Ejikeme used her manually inflated score to attract a N3 million scholarship from Innoson Motors and was set to be honoured by the Anambra State government before she was exposed.
“The attention of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been drawn to several publications in both print and online media celebrating certain candidates for being high scorers in the 2023 UTME.
“The Board is constrained to set the records straight and wishes to state unequivocally that many of the results which many of these candidates are parading are fake. In many instances, some of these candidates had actually obtained far lower scores than they are claiming and had used some funny software packages to manipulate their results to deceive unsuspecting members of the public.
Governor of Oyo State, ‘Seyi Makinde, has declared that the Ibadan Dry Port Project may likely come on stream quicker than expected because the present leadership of the country under President Bola Tinubu, understands “the benefits of developing the economic value chain.”
He said that the dry port project will also benefit hugely because his administration will collaborate with the Federal Government more than ever before, stating that the recent change of government at the federal level would not affect the project negatively.
Governor Makinde stated this at the weekend, when he inspected several ongoing projects, including the Ibadan Inland Dry Port, the College of Agriculture and Renewable Energy, Iseyin, a campus of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso; the Engr. Lere Adigun Housing Estate, Basorun and the Ibadan Circular Road.
According to the governor, the state has made good progress with regards to the projects, though there is still a lot of work to be done.
He equally noted that his administration had been creating wonderful opportunities through infrastructure building and other key developments, which have begun to attract investors.
The governor, therefore, urged the youth to key into the opportunities by contributing and getting the rewards, rather than leaving the country for foreign lands in search of imaginary greener pastures.
Fielding questions from newsmen on the projects inspected shortly after inspecting the Ibadan Circular Road Interchange at Egbeda Local Government, the governor said regarding the inspected projects: “Well, I will say so far, so good, there is still a lot of work to be done but we are making a good progress. You have seen it as well.
“We were on that campus [LAUTECH Campus, Iseyin] before the election and we have seen between then and now that a lot of progress has been made. And even here [Ibadan Circular Road], we have interest-investors coming around to say, look, what exactly are we projecting in terms of the opportunities in Oyo State.
“To the people, we have many opportunities around here especially for our young folks. They should not japa because if they are hardworking, they can contribute and get their rewards.
“So, I will say we are creating opportunities across the spectrum and people are paying attention to what we are doing.”
Governor Makinde, while responding to a question on how the change of government at the federal level might stall the Ibadan Inland Dry Port project, reassured residents of the state the project would come on stream quicker than expected.
He said: “I think the change of government is even positive for Oyo State because we have a new administration at the federal level that understands what it is to develop the economic value chain. So, I think we will even cooperate more with the federal government and that project will come on stream quicker than we were expecting.”
Movements and commercial activities were on Saturday paralyzed in Omuo Ekiti for several hours by protesters who were protesting alleged relocation of the Federal College of Education meant for Omuo Ekiti to Ilawe Ekiti.
It could be recalled that the Bill seeking the establishment of the Federal College of Education Omuo Ekiti, was sponsored by the Senator Representing Ekiti South senatorial district, Senator Biodun Olujimi and was passed by both chambers of the 9th National Assembly.
The protesters including youths, women and traditional rulers from Omuo Ekiti, the headquarters of Ekiti East Local Government, trooped to the streets as early as 9 am, to protest alleged injustice meted to them by relocating the FCE meant for the town to another community.
Some of the placards displayed by the protesters read: “On Omuo FCE we stand! No more! No less, This injustice must be redressed Return Our FCE back to us, Don’t rub peter to pay Paul, FCE belong to Omuo Ekiti, among others.
Travellers going to Abuja and those passing through the major highway in the town to Lagos, Ado Ekiti and neighboring Ondo State, had a herculean time as the roads were barricaded.
Efforts by the Nigerian Police, the Directorate of State Service and the other security agencies drafted to maintain law and order to prevail on the angry protesters to allow free flow of traffic, were rebuffed.
Earlier in the morning, the paramount ruler of the community, His Royal Majesty, Oba Noah Omonigbehin had directed that all markets, shops and other businesses must not open as a mark of protests for the alleged injustice brought on the community.
Addressing the protesters, a leader in the community, Chief Segun Akanle Appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Governor of Ekiti State, Mr Abiodun Oyebanji to come to the rescue of Omuo Ekiti by returning the Federal College of Education back to the town.
The standard bearer of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in Oyo, during the March 28 governorship election, Senator Teslim Folarin, on Saturday, said he lost his bid to govern the state due to what he termed “political arrangement” for the party to win the presidential poll for President Bola Tinubu.
Describing the APC as the strongest party in the state, having won the three senatorial seats of Oyo South, Oyo Central and Oyo North, including nine federal constituency seats out of 14, he declared that “I was thrown under the bus” as part of the high wired politics and intrigues of our party to secure victory during the February 25 presidential election.
Folarin made this disclosure in Idigbaro, Ologuneru area of Ibadan while addressing APC members during a reception and victory party held in honour of a member, representing Ibarapa/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Honourable Remi Abasi Oseni.
Speaking in Yoruba, he stated: “If we are talking about the strongest party in Oyo State today, it is APC. We won three senatorial seats and nine out of federal constituency seats. Our people are already in the election tribunal and I can tell you that we would win two more federal constituency seats. On the governorship election, we were thrown under the bus.”
According to Folarin, “In politics, if I am asked to choose between governorship and presidency, I will choose the latter. We have taken the presidency and our president, Senator Bola Tinubu is doing well. Things are hard now, but I want Nigerians to bear and exercise patience because better days are coming soon.
“Let us stand with this government because it is our government. This is because if there’s a problem in the future regarding governance, they will say we need to call the Yoruba to fix it. Two things are constant in my life, which are Islam and politics. My own level has passed the fact that I have to become the governor before thanking God.”
Speaking at the event, Oseni expressed his gratitude for the support and love he received during and after his election, just as he promised to provide qualitative representation to his constituency in the House of Representatives.
He posted: “Nigerians should be patient with President Tinubu because he has the capacity to address the nation’s challenges and turn Nigeria’s situation around for good. I’m pleading with you to give him maximum support for him to succeed.”
Dignitaries, who graced the occasion include, Senator Teslim Folarin, former deputy governors of Oyo State, Iyiola Oladokun, Moses Alake, Shina Alabi, chairman of the APC in Oyo South senatorial district, Honourable Mojeed Olaoya, former chairman of Ibadan North Local Government, Mr Ademola Omotosho, traditional rulers, clerics, among others
The crack among members of the Ondo State Executive Council have further deepened due to the absence of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu. Akeredolu is expected to resume from his medical leave on Thursday, July 6th.
Akeredolu handed over power to his Deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa in a letter he sent to the Ondo Assembly.
It was gathered that some cabinet members refused to honour meetings called by Aiyedatiwa.
Sources said the State Executive Council meeting held only once since the Governor proceeded on medical leave.
Aiyedatiwa is said to be interested in succeeding his boss but he has not received the buy in of all the cabinet members.
Others cabinet members interested in the governorship race include Commissioner for Finance Wale Akinterinwa and Secretary to the State Government, Oladunni Odu.
A top government official said cabinet members loyal to Aiyedatiwa have pushed for more funding to his office by virtue of an Acting Governor but such move was said to be resisted.
Ondo Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, said the Acting Governor has not summoned State Executive Council meeting.
The Commissioner said all cabinet members would attend if the council meeting were to hold.
She also dismissed talks that some cabinet members refused to attend meeting called by Aiyedatiwa.
A Muslim group, Majlisu Shabab li Ulamahu Society, in Ilorin, Kwara State has stormed the residence of a traditional religion priestess to impose a ban on any form of isese festival in five local governments in the state.
Isese, the Yoruba word for tradition, is used to denote different kinds of festivals held by adherents of the Yoruba traditional religion in Nigeria and Cuba, Brazil, the United States, Benin, and other countries.
The group listed four local governments in the state where any form of traditional religion is prohibited. The local governments are Ilorin West, Ilorin East, Ilorin South, and Asa.
The group warned a young woman who attended to them at the priestess’ residence that the Emir of Ilorin, Dr. Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari, sent them to convey the warning.
In a viral video published on Facebook on Monday by one Arowolo Abdulfatai (Sheikh Abdul Fathai Arowolo), members of this group located in the Oke Adini area of Ilorin said the visit was prompted by reports of an imminent traditional festival, known as isese, planned by the priestess.
The priestess, who is an Osun devotee, Yeye Adesikemi Olokun Omolara Olatunji, had reportedly released fliers announcing a three-day traditional event aimed at celebrating certain Yoruba deities.
Reacting to the social media post, members of the Muslim group stormed the home of Yeye Adesikemi where her sister simply identified as Alaba, whom many of the Imams present, took turns to either address or confront with statements and questions, to warn against the actualisation of said event.
Although the group stressed that the visit and their intentions were peaceful, the Imams, while making subtle threats, warned Alaba of the potentially dire consequences of holding the festival, while stressing that the state only supports Islamic activities.
Speaking in Yoruba, a member of the group, who described himself as an Imam, said, “Ilorin does not permit idol worshipping, we are ardent Muslims in the land of the emirate.”
Another Imam further reiterated the group’s stance adding that they were sent by the “Emir of Ilorin, to warn against this Isese festival.”
He continued saying traditional religious worshippers could celebrate in private but never publicly in the ’emirate’ as the only deity that could be publicly celebrated is the one Muslims in the state serve.
”We are here on behalf of the Emir of Ilorin to ask that you desist from any Isese. We are also backed by the laws of the land. We are not here to fight you but to warn you against this celebration.”
In a short video published after the visit, Yeye Omolara bemoaned the development.
Speaking in Yoruba she said, ”I have been living in Ilorin for many years and have experienced nothing but peace until recently. I have always been fair and kind to my neighbours and this has been reciprocated over the years.
”One of my people shared the invite online which caught the attention of the Imams. In a matter of hours, I was tagged on numerous posts and also began to receive death threats.
”I also heard that meetings were being held to ensure that the Aje festival does not hold in Ilorin.”
