Category: News

The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has urged Nigerians to expect improved power supply in few months to come and advised that people should desist from raining curses on electricity workers in the country but always pray for them.

He said only prayers and support from Nigerians can make the power ministry succeed in its vision towards providing adequate and stable electricity to Nigerians.

The minister said he would do everything possible to make sure the ministry, under his leadership, laid a good foundation for 24/7 power supply in Nigeria.

He made the disclosure on Saturday during a radio programme on Fresh FM as monitored by ODUDUWA NEWS.

“I can tell you that between six months, we will start seeing improvement in the power sector.

“Within the next six months, there would be major addition to the national grid, in terms of hydro power plant, that is the Zugeru 700mw in Niger state, that is about to be completed. This will be the biggest one in Sub-sahara Africa when completed.

“The Kanji dam that we all grew up to know supplies about 460mw, Sororo dam supplies about 520mw.

“I will do everything to ensure that Zugeru power plant is inaugurated and subsequently add 700mw to the national grid,” he stated.

He said the power sector despite being the most criticised, yet, pivotal to the economic emancipation of Nigeria, saying 70 percent of Nigeria’s problem would be solved if Nigeria gets it right in power sector.

He said his vision for the Ministry of Power is to leverage on Nigerian Electricity Act of 2023 which opened new avenues for power provision and encourages collaboration among states and federal governments.

He said the ministry under his leadership would foster robust partnerships between the private and public sectors and build upon the foundation laid by his predecessors.

A 28-year-old Nigerian woman, Rebecca Oyedotun, has d!ed after she slumped on the eve of her wedding day. Rebecca and her fiancé, Abiodun Oluwadamilare, were set to wed on Saturday, August 19, 2023, in Ogbomosho, Oyo State but she d!ed at the hospital on Sunday, August 20.

It was gathered that the Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, graduate, and her friends were having her bridal shower ceremony on Friday, August 18, when she reportedly slumped at 10:30pm.

She was rushed to LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso where she was revived but her condition did not improve until she gave up the ghost in the early hours of Sunday.

“Everything was set by Friday, the cows had been slaughtered and the meat fried, every necessary preparation was made, there were a lot of people coming and going to rejoice with us, the groom and his people had come from Abeokuta,” a sister-in-law of the deceased, who did not however mention her name, told Ogbomoso Online at their residence at Caretaker area, on Wednesday, in the presence of the father of the deceased, Evangelist Moses Oyedotun.

She further revealed that the parents of the groom had in fact slaughtered their cow in Ogbomoso, as Abiodun is their only child, not knowing that tragedy was ominously lurking in the corner.

“We had bought ewedu to be used, ingredients had been ground, and in the morning of Saturday, amala (yam flour paste) was made, rice was ready, the venues were set, but the ceremony was never held as the bride was never available,” the sister-in-law added.

National Chairman of Labour Party (LP), Lamidi Apapa, has said that only candidates endorsed by him can participate in November 11 governorship elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo.

This is coming after it was reported that a court of appeal sacked the Julius Abure-led faction of the Labour Party and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to recognise governorship candidates produced by Apapa’s faction for the election.

Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Thursday, August 24, Lamidi said;

“You will recall that on the April 5 the FCT High court restrained Abure and others from parading themselves as national officers of the party. As a result, the party appointed the Deputy National Chairman, Alhaji Lamidi Apapa, as the acting national chairman of the party pursuant to its constitution.

“Sequel to that the party under my leadership wrote to INEC changing its date of primary election earlier scheduled by Abure from April 15 to April 16. Notwithstanding the fact that he was under a restraining order, Abure still went ahead to conduct his primaries for Imo, Kogi and Bayelsa on those dates.

“Peeved by the primary conducted by me, a candidate who participated in the Abure primary took my candidate to court whilst maintaining that Abure’s candidates were the authentic ones. The case was frantically defended, and the Federal High court, Owerri Division, declared the primaries conducted by me as the authentic candidate as Abure was under a restraining order as at the time he screened candidates and conducted his primaries.”

The Ondo State Government has reversed the order of the Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, to close markets over traditional festival celebrations.

The monarch ordered the closure of markets to observe the annual Aheregbe Festival on Friday, but the government criticized the order, claiming it infringed on the fundamental human rights of Akure residents.

The state’s Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mrs. Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, stated that the decision was reached at the state Executive Council meeting and that the closure would have been limited to Oja-Oba (Oba’s Market) in Akure.

The statement urged Akure residents to go about their normal business on Friday and beyond, urging them to be law-abiding and move about freely in the pursuit of happiness.

There was panic in Tinumola area of Osogbo, the capital of Osun State on Wednesday when a tenant reported to be an officer of the Directorate of State Security Service (DSS) allegedly stabbed his caretaker, Omosola Oladele after an argument over payment of an electricity bill.

The crisis ensued on Tuesday night when fellow neighbours reported the DSS officer who was simply identified as Tifase to the caretaker about his nonchalant attitude to bills in the house.

According to the Nigerian Tribune, an eyewitness disclosed the DSS officer stabbed the caretaker with a dagger after he asked him about payment of an electricity bill.

The 60-year-old caretaker, Oladele narrated his ordeal on hospital bed that “One of the tenants of the storey building reported to me that NEPA people came to cut light because they’ve paid the current electricity. She said that only two people, Tifase and one other person, have not paid.

“NEPA would have disconnected the light if people didn’t intervene but he angrily told me ‘they should cut it’. One of the eyewitnesses told him he should apologise for the utterance but instead, he went inside and came out with a dagger and stabbed me.”

While narrating the incident, one of the eyewitnesses, Comrade Morounkola Tosin, said that the issue started on the 16th of August when the occupants of the house needed to pay electricity bills.

“Some people have volunteered to pay the electricity bills but what they are asking for was a refund before he came out with a dagger to stab Mr Oladele.

“We rushed Mr Oladele to hospital and I went to report the case to Dada Estate Police Station. Before I came back from the police station I met some DS’s operatives who said they cannot hand him over to the police because he is their operative.”

Confirming the incident, the Osun State Commissioner for Police, Kehinde Longe spoke with News reporter on a phone call and said that he was yet to be briefed about the incident at the time of the call.

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, on Sunday demanded the immediate release of the detained Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Abdulrasheed Bawa.

Falana in a statement issued in Lagos, said the remand order for Bawa had expired hence the Department of State Services had no legal grounds to continue to detain him.

“In view of the fact that Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa has not been charged with any criminal offence whatsoever, the State Security Service ought to have released him from custody. I am not unaware of the claim that Mr. Bawa is being detained on the basis of a remand order issued by a Magistrate Court in the Federal Capital Territory.

“It ought to be pointed out that the remand order has become spent, invalid and illegal as no magistrate has the power under Section 493 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 or Section 35 of the Constitution of Nigeria to authorise the detention of a criminal suspect for 67 days without trial.”

He added, “Indeed, under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the cumulative lifespan of a remand order is 56 days. Therefore, having exceeded the detention period permitted by the Administration of Criminal Justice Act and the Constitution of Nigeria, the State Security Service should be directed to release Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa from illegal custody without any further delay.

“The Federal Government should ensure that the rights of Messrs Emefiele and Bawa are respected by the State Security Service and the office of the Director of Public Prosecution in the Federal Ministry of Justice, even though the duo had a penchant for disobeying the orders of the courts when they were in office.

“The plight of both suspects should be a lesson for all public officers in Nigeria who always behave as if there will be no tomorrow. However, the Government which rules by law is under a legal obligation not to breach the fundamental rights of citizens except in a manner prescribed by the Constitution of Nigeria.”

Bawa who is currently being held in the custody of the DSS, in Abuja, is being probed for alleged financial impropriety under his watch.
He has been in the custody of the Department of State Services for exactly 67 days since June 14, 2023.

There was a lone accident at exactly 1:30pm today involving a 14-passenger vehicle along Ibadan-Iseyin road, 22km away to Iseyin Local Government of Oyo State.

It was reported that one of the vehicle’s front tyres burst and the driver applied brake suddenly which resulted to the vehicle summersaulting.

According to an eyewitness who spoke to ODUDUWA NEWS under the condition of anonymity, “the driver of the vehicle suddenly applied the brake when it dawned on him that one of the front tyres had burst and this made the vehicle to summersault.

“Though, many people were injured but as at the time I am speaking there has not been a recorded case of death.

The victims were later rescued from the bus and conveyed inside a Micra car heading to Ibadan to receive emergency treatment.

Oduduwa News correspondent who visited the scene saw the team of Road Safety Corps coming from Ibadan to the scene of the incident to convey the victims to a nearest hospital.

Details later.

A National Youth Service Corps member, Miss Akande Abosede Esther, with Call-up No.: NYSC/IFE/2023/201810 (Batch B stream 2), has been kidnapped in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Akande, a graduate of Education/English from the Obafemi Awolowo University, was said to have been kidnapped on Wednesday while on her way to the NYSC permanent orientation camp, Magaji Dan Yanusa Keffi, Nasarawa State.

Reports have it that the kidnappers have since contacted Akande’s family and are demanding a ransom of N1m.

Deacon Olanrewaju reportedly passed on Saturday evening during a church programme in Akure.

A member of the church who preferred anonymity confirmed the death of the popular broadcaster to Positive FM.

Deacon Olanrewaju was the pioneer anchor of the famous alternative dispute resolution programme “IJOKO OJOGBON” on Ondo State Owned television station, OSRC from where he got his appellation, “OLORI EBI”

To commemorate the year 2023 Isese Day, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has declared Monday August 21st as Work Free Day for all Public Servants in the State.

The Isese Day, has been set aside in Lagos to celebrate the indigenous Yoruba culture and traditions as well as the preservation of the Yoruba heritage.

According to a circular issued by the Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, this Year’s Isese Day celebration will hold on Sunday, 20th August, 2023.

He stated further that the declaration of Work Free Day by Governor Sanwo-Olu is reaffirmation of his “commitment to continue to provide necessary support to traditional institutions in the State with a view to promoting our indigenous culture and tradition while preserving our heritage”.

The circular announced Tuesday, 22nd August at 8a.m. prompt as resumption of work for all State workers.