Oduduwa News

The National Universities Commission (NUC) on Thursday presented Letter of Recognition for the official take off of University of Ilesa.

The presentation of the letter gives birth to the successful completion of the formal documentary process into the establishment of the University.

This is even as Governor Adegboyega Oyetola reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that the establishment of the university will not in any way put unnecessary financial burden on the State.

By the recognition, the University becomes the 60th State University and 220th University in Nigeria.

The letter conveying the recognition was personally received from the NUC Executive Secretary, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed by the Osun Governor.

This is just as the NUC Executive Secretary lauded the governor for the initiative. He noted that the establishment of the university remains one of the most important legacies of Governor Oyetola, adding that the governor established the university in the “right place, with the right people. I am sure the people of Ilesa will not allow it to go under.”

Among those present at the brief ceremony were: former Osun Governor, Chief Bisi Akande, Emeritus Prof. Olu Aina, Speaker of Osun House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Timothy Owoeye, Chief of Staff to Osun Governor, Dr. Charles Akinola and former Health Minister, Prof . Isaac Adewole among others.

Receiving the Letter of Recognition at the NUC Secretariat, Abuja, Governor Oyetola said the event has further laid credence to his commitment to upgrading the 44 years old College of Education to a University.

Oyetola who described education as the bedrock of socio-economic and political development, said the establishment of the University would go a long way to address palpable deficit in university education, particularly in the State and beyond.

According to him, the University would further help to train and equip a diverse group of youths with professional skills, entrepreneurial ability, and innovative insights, especially in agri-business, mining and health.

He noted that since higher education is central to the creation of future wealth, better socio-economic attainment, efficient agro-economy and mining technology in the current dispensation of the knowledge economy, hence the quest to upgrade the College to a full-fleged University.

“The establishment of the University of Ilesa is necessitated by the massive gap between qualified candidates and available space in existing higher institutions within the State, as education remains the primary industry in Osun. The yearning is considerably insatiable, and as responsible leaders, we cannot ignore these needs.

“Our commitment is to contribute to developing the human resources needed to drive growth in Osun and Nigeria. Higher education worldwide is a veritable driver of human development, innovation, technological advancement, and resource exploration.

“The new University of Ilesa shall focus on Agriculture and Agri-business to address food insecurity; mining technology, building on the abundant gold deposit in Ijesaland; and Medical Sciences to enhance the human resource need in the health sector.

“We are very deliberate in our approach as we seek to contribute to the diversification of our economy and wean it away from over reliance on oil.

“In anticipation of the take off, we have identified credible candidates for the Governing Council and Principal Officers, ready to be appointed and hit the ground running.

“The outgoing College of Education facilities are more than sufficient to conveniently accommodate the University in the first phase of its development. We have made adequate provisions for the students of the College of Education to complete and better their careers as the life of the College of Education comes to an end.

“I wish to put on record the sincere appreciation of the Government and people of Osun to the National Universities Commission (NUC) for your cooperation and support in bringing the LAUTECH issue between Oyo and Osun states to a win-win close.

“We recall your promise to support the Government of Osun should it decide to set up another university. Today’s exercise opens a new chapter in this regard, and we look forward to continual support.

“Let me once again reiterate that the proposed university has been carefully conceived as a thoroughly entrepreneurial and innovative institution that would be funded through a mix of sources such as the government, community, industry, and other stakeholders without exerting unnecessary pressure on the finances of the State”, Oyetola added.

The Oyo State Police Command under the able leadership of CP Adebowale Williams psc(+) fdc, has re-affirmed its commitment to leave no stone unturned in ridding the State and its surrounding environs off undesirable criminal elements.

2. Today, Thursday 10/11/2022 in the company of his Ogun State Counterpart, CP Lanre Bankole psc and in a bid to proactively forestall future criminal occurrence along the highway, both Commissioners embarked on a strategic assessment patrol and eventual deployment of assets around areas concerned.
3. Consequent upon the above, the Security Architecture of both Commands were also deliberately remodeled with cooperation from adjoining State Police Commands to deal decisively with criminal elements whose mindset is to use both States as a criminal hideout after being dislodged.
4. In furtherance of the above, the good citizens of Oyo State are advised not to panic or agitate as adequate deployment of tactical and operation assets would be seen swarming the axis and embarking on; joint intelligence -led surveillance, aggressive patrols with adjourning states, combing of forests alongside local hunters and vigilantes and permanent visibility policing measures intensified along the busy highways.
5. In addition, private and public users of the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway are encouraged to go about their day to day activities without any form of fear of molestation or harassment from unscrupulous elements as adequate security measures in its topmost capacity are on ground.
6. While cooperation with the Police in exchange of credible and timely information is encouraged, the CP enjoins the good people of Oyo State to eschew crime and criminality at all times.
7. In cases of emergency, the Command can always be reached through these emergency control room numbers: 615 (toll free) (OYO STATE SECURITY TRUST FUND), and Oyo State Police Command emergency lines 07055495413 and 08081768614. The NPF rescue me app is also available for free download on both Android and Apple IOS, for Android and I phone users respectively.

The gunmen suspected to be kidnappers stormed the road from the bush before the Sagamu Interchange en route Lagos and started shooting at motorists in the 18-passenger inter-state bus.

According to one of the victims who craved anonymity, “We (passengers) were only lucky to escape the gunmen but many of us have been injured by the bullets and our bus has been badly damaged too.”

Another video shows a man who survived bullet wounds recounting his experience saying, “I thought I was dead, having been shot by them.

“They faced our vehicle shooting at us, we all lay down except the driver who was the target. They thought we were all dead and retreated into the bush.

“The joint patrol team of police officers from Ogun and Oyo states arrived at the scene later.

All attempts to reach the Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, for further details proved abortive as of the time of filing this report. He did not take his calls nor reply to the text message sent to his phone.

The people of Iseyin in Iseyin local government will on Saturday, hold a summit to discuss the causes and solutions to rising cases of insecurity, especially kidnapping within and around the community.

Recall that four farmhands at the Iseyin farm settlement were kidnapped while one was killed in a gun duel between the kidnappers and security forces and the rest were later freed after the payment of ten million naira by their families.

According to the convener of the summit who is a community newspaper publisher, Mr Alhazan Abiodun, the reason behind the meeting of stakeholders, which will hold on Saturday at the hall of SAF Group of Schools, Oluwole, Iseyin, is to discuss the major causes of kidnap cases and how local solutions could be found to prevent further occurrence.

He said heads of security agencies like the military, police, Directorate of Security Services (DSS), other paramilitary forces, as well as Amotekun and local vigilante groups will be in attendance at the summit.

Abiodun added that the people have the responsibility to support the efforts of the government to put an end to insecurity in the nation, especially at the community level, so as to allow investors to operate and increase opportunities in employment and economic development of Iseyin and the Oke-Ogun region.

“As at the last time there was a report of kidnapping in which the four farmers were snatched at the farm settlement in Iseyin, I got many calls from friends and relatives saying they would not be able to visit their businesses and farms along at home for the fear of being kidnapped.

“Many farmers have abandoned their farms because they were not sure they would not be kidnapped or killed, this should make us worried and it is the reason why we are gathering at Iseyin on Saturday to discuss and find permanent solutions to the problem.”

The summit, tagged ‘Stakeholders’ Summit on Insecurity’ will feature a keynote address from the Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Security Matters, CP Fatai Owoseni (rtd) and a special lecture titled “Rising Cases of Kidnapping: Beyond Ethnic Stereotype, Mirroring Local Causes and Solutions” to be delivered by Dr. Oludayo Tade, a Criminologist and lecturer at the University of Ibadan’s Sociology department.

The Lagos State Government has said it will henceforth begin impounding all unregistered vehicles plying Lagos roads.

Engr. Abdulhafiz Toriola, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, made this known on Tuesday, November 8, at Alausa, Ikeja, saying it is in line with Section 16 and 196 of the Lagos State Transport Sector Reform Law (TSRL), 2018.

Toriola said the move was necessary in a bid to checkmate the activities of some criminal elements who devised strategies including the use of unregistered vehicles to attack unsuspecting members of the public; thereby making it difficult for law enforcement agencies to track or trace such incidence.

He explained that number plate is a vital security feature of any vehicle as it is the only means of identifying the detail of vehicles that are registered in the state government’s data base.

He urged Motorists to register their vehicles under the Motor Vehicle Administration Agency (MVAA) and the Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) in order to prevent the clamp down of their vehicles.

Oyo State Government has kick-started the equipping of the three-hundred and fifty one (351) Primary Healthcare Centres in the State, with new power generating sets.

Doing a symbolic presentation of 97 generating sets to some primary healthcare centres, in Ibadan today, the Engineering Technical Lead of PHCs Renovation Committee, Engr. Ademola Aderinto said henceforth PHCs will be powered by an alternative source, whenever there is disruption of power supply by the electricity provider. 

Engr. Aderinto, wwho is the Special Assistant on Environment said the aim of Governor Seyi Makinde was to ensure that 351 primary healthcare centres in Oyo State are equipped for the comfort of patients.

He added that part of the project’s goal is to deliver generators for electricity supply to all renovated centers.

Aderinto also said, the Oyo State Government has sunk boreholes to ensure a steady supply of water not only to the PHCs, but also to the community through taps placed outside the PHCs.

Engr. Aderinto said Engr. Seyi Makinde’s vision is to make healthcare more accessible and equitable to all residents of Oyo state.

“Part of this vision is the renovation/upgrade of one (1) Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) per ward (there are 351 wards in Oyo state) to the standard category three (3) PHC. This project that began in 2021, has resulted in over 206 newly renovated PHCs, as well as many newly built PHCs”, he said.

“This project was initiated by the Oyo State Governor’s Office in collaboration with the Oyo State Primary Health Care Board and the Oyo State Ministry of Health, and is led by the Special Adviser to the Governor Health, Dr. Funmi Salami, as the Project Lead and Chairperson of the Renovation Committee”.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Muideen Olatunji, said the aim of the Government is to make healthcare available to all Oyo residents.

Dr. Olatunji said the project was executed to ensure quality health service delivery at the centre.

He thanked Dominant Engineering, who upgraded/ built new 99 PHCs, for handing over 97 generators to the PHCs.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman, Ward Development Committee, WDC, Mr. Abdulfatah Oloyede said the development initiative has been well-received by the Oyo state communities.

He thanked Oyo State Government for the gesture, adding that WDCs, an apolitical group applauds the laudable gesture.

The event was graced by the Chairman, ALGON and Egbeda Local Government Area, Hon. Sikiru Sanda; Chairman, Ibadan North Local Government, Saheed Oladayo Yusuf among others.