Oduduwa News

The Lagos command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency NDLEA has made the State Chairman of National Union of Road Transport Workers NURTW, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya a.ka MC Oluomo as their Ambassador of War Against Drug Abuse in the State (WADA).

GistIsland Online reports that the team of National Law Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) led by the Lagos State Commander, Calys Alumona, visited the Chairman of NURTW, Lagos State chapter, Alhaji Musiliu Akinsanya (MC Oluomo) to sensitize people to desist from drugs and other harmful substance.

The team used the opportunity to enlightened the union members of the negative effects of hard drugs and how harmful it can be to their bodys and brains.

The Lagos State Commander of NDLEA noted that apart from the enlightenment of the NURTW members, they were also there to appoint the Lagos State chairman of the union as an Ambassador on War Against Drug Abuse (WADA).

He disclosed that they have carefully monitor the life of the union chairman and they were surprised to discover that he is a man that doesn’t smoke nor drink alcohol. He said his team and colleagues were surprised that despite all they have heard about MC Oluomo, from those that apparently don’t like him, he is a decent man that does not indulge in substance abuse nor encourage the use.

Commander Alumona urged the union members to emulate their chairman by being decent, stop taking harmful substance and other dangerous drugs.

MC Oluomo in his reply appreciated the team and the NDLEA leadership for their good job towards reducing the usage of harmful substance in our society. He noted that since his inception as the Lagos State chairman of NURTW, he had done several seminars and programmes towards transforming and improving the behaviours of the union members. He equally said people around him can testify that he doesn’t smoke nor drink. Infant, he doesn’t encourage anyone smoking to come close to him because he gets irritated with the smell.

As the chairman, he promised the NDLEA team of his continued efforts towards ensuring the eradication or drastic reduction in the use of drugs amongst his members. He equally said measures are already in place to discipline any member caught misbehaving or projecting the union in negative light due to substance abuse. He disclosed that the ambassadorial appointment will further spur him to do more towards reducing the usage of substance amongst his members and Lagos State large.

The highlight of the visit was the presentation of Ambassadorial plague to the union chairman by the NDLEA Lagos State Commander.

An Official of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) was crushed to death by a vehicle while on official duty at Ajebandele area in Okitipupa Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The FRSC official identified as Abdulkareem Ojonla Jimoh was said to be attending to a suspected traffic offender when the incident happened before the military checkpoint on the inward Benin section of the expressway.

The Commander, Sagamu-Benin Corridor, Lasisi Ogundele, who confirmed the incident, explained that the deceased was crushed to death when the driver of a Toyota Hiace Bus with registration number, NEM-618AA lost control of the vehicle.

He said the driver of the vehicle also hit the suspected traffic offender being attended to by the road safety official, adding that the two victims died on their way to the hospital.

The Lagos State Government has unveiled plans to end indiscriminate parking by motorists on highways and streets, just as it spelt out punishments for offenders.

The government through its agency, Lagos State Parking Authority (LASPA), told journalists yesterday in Lagos that illegal parking by motorists was impeding free flow of traffic in the state and preventing the government from delivering a world-class parking scheme for its citizenry.

Mrs. Adebisi Adelabu, the General Manager, LASPA, told journalists yesterday that the State Government would be strict with the enforcement of the various parking violations by motorists, stressing that parking violations was one of the major challenges confronting the State Government and the state’s economy.

She warned that the State Government could no longer fold its hands and allows the situation to deteriorate further, noting that there was the need for a holistic approach to tackle the challenge.

She stated that Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor of Lagos State had established LASPA in 2021 with the mandate of promoting the state’s parking policies in line with national transport policies by advancing knowledge, raising standard and assessment of related fees.

Adelabu emphasised that LASPA would provide an enabling environment for vehicle owners in a secured functional orderly and sustainable parking system management scheme.

She explained that the agency is optimising the on and off-street parking supplies, setbacks options, registration of existing private parks operators to maximise urban public spaces in finding lasting solutions to parking-induced traffic.

She also revealed that while the State Government was building and transforming the parking infrastructure within the metropolis, there was the need for the provision of available real-time parking information for city users planning to improve the overall quality of the parking system in the state.

She said: “LASPA will achieve excellence in how Lagos state parking policies are envisioned, developed and in line with best global practices for a modern, efficient and sustainable managed parking system towards reducing congestion, disruption, improved road safety and changing travel behaviour.”

She listed various parking offences in the state to include: parking of commercial vehicles on streets, blocking an entrance or exit and walkway, parking on slots marked for public transport, fire service, ambulance, taxis and people with special needs.

Other offences are parking of vehicles on sidewalks, road median, whether paved or not, and parking of vehicles within three meters of a fire hydrant as well as parking of vehicles against the directional flow of traffic.

Adelabu called on all park operators; commercial and non-commercial to register with the agency for an operating permit from March 1, 2022.

Earlier, Dr. Frederic Oladeinde, Lagos State Commissioner for Transportation, said the creation of LASPA became necessary in order to address the indiscriminate acts of motorists on the roads and at undesignated bus stops.

Oladeinde explained that in line with the first pillar of THEME’S Agenda, traffic management and transportation was key.

Therefore, parking space issues needed to be addressed to reduce travel time impeded upon by traffic and make the state a 21st-century running economy for its residents in the short and long term, the commissioner said.

Oladehinde maintained that the imbalance between parking demand and parking supply has been the main reason for the metropolis’ unregularised parking problems, hence the need for LASPA.

These, according to him, were contributing to traffic congestion, traffic accidents, and environmental pollution which the agency is fervently poised to address.

According to him, the new Lagos State Parking policy is designed to decongest traffic, address climate change challenges, create job opportunities and also generate revenue for the state through issuance of parking tickets to defaulters.

Oyo state chapter of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has announced that it lost two of its members to Lassa fever within 72 hours.
State chairman of the NMA, Ayotunde Fasunla confirmed the death of the two doctors in a statement released on Thursday March 3.
Fasunla appealed to members of the association to treat all febrile illnesses with a high index of suspicion, adding that they’ve also instructed members to be cautious and vigilant at all times.

The statement read;

“The NMA announces, with deepest regret and sorrow, the demise of two of her members from Lassa Fever.

“The tragic deaths occurred within a space of 72 hours. It is indeed a sad week, and our eyes are still soaked in tears.

“While we thought that COVID-19 had done its worst, we are now dealing with another onslaught of a Lassa fever outbreak.

“Furthermore, we are worried about other health workers who have had contact with the diseased unknowingly. We have advised them to quarantine and report if they develop any symptoms of viral hemorrhagic fever.

“Not only for the sake of their health and safety, but also in the interest of the patients and public health.

“Members, especially the frontline doctors and other health workers, must wear appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) at all times.

“We appeal to management of health institutions in the state to make PPEs readily available, as well as soap and running water for handwashing immediately after attending to patients.

“This is to protect our members and other healthcare workers from contracting transmissible infections.

“We appeal to the Oyo State Government to conduct intensive surveillance and sensitisation on Lassa Fever outbreaks in the affected communities as well as across all local government areas in the state.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu gave his words once again that the Lagos state government is willing to give the agricultural sector a great boost through Urban Farming, at the networking programme organized by the Kingdom of Netherlands in collaboration with the state’s Ministry of Agriculture.

This statement was made through his deputy, Dr Obafemi Hamzat at the symposium held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, tagged “Urban Farming: Feeding the Cities”.

Dr. Hamzat, said that the state government strongly believe that Urban Farming initiatives would reduce spoilage of foods caused by long hours of transportation, increase local production of leafy and fruit vegetables, provide farmers with various agricultural inputs, technologies, equipment and other technical know- how that would stimulate aggressive and sustainable agricultural production.

Mr Deputy Governor added that the popularization of urban agriculture through production of fruits and vegetables of plants, rearing of livestock within and around cities, community gardening, rooftop gardening, urban forest gardening, green walls, vertical farms, beekeeping amongst others shall ensure that the citizens have a steady stream of income while overcoming the challenge of food scarcity and hunger.

In her contribution, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture appreciated the Dutch government in partnering with the state and said that our doors are open for more of such collaborations through private sector partnerships.

She added that it is important to note that the prospects of Urban Farming to the state is paramount to the present administration as it will lead to availability of nutritious and healthy foods, create employment for our teeming youths and equally act as a source of raw materials for the various manufacturing industries requiring the agricultural produce for their products.

In his own words, The Netherlands Deputy Consul General, Mr. Arie Plieger, said that his country is eager and ready to partner with Lagos State in sustaining food security as well as boost inclusive and sustainable growths.

The leader of pan-Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, says that it is the turn of the Igbo to produce the next President of Nigeria. Adebanjo said this on the Channels Television’s Politics Today on Wednesday.
According to the 94-year-old elder statesman, it is in the spirit of federal character and equity for the Igbo to produce the next President of the country.

He argued that the South-West produced former President Olusegun Obasanjo who led for eight years and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo who has served for almost eight years.
Adebanjo added that the South-South had also produced the President in the person of Goodluck Jonathan who was in office from 2010 to 2015.
The Afenifere leader said all the while, the South-East had been denied the Presidency.

“How can you say rotation in the North and South, and when it comes to the South, it would be South-West and South-South every time? Is the South-East not part of the South? What is the moral we are talking about?
“Is it not the South-West that has served Obasanjo for eight years, Osinbajo for another eight years as Vice President? South-South has served its own. Is the South-East not part of the South? That is the question we should answer,” he said.
Adebanjo said the federal character concept was introduced to accommodate the North.

He therefore wondered why concessions could be made for the South-East which had been marginalised.
The Afenifere leader added, “Is it not to accommodate the North that we put the federal character in the constitution, to accommodate less developed areas?
“It doesn’t help the unity of this country if anybody is talking about merit now. It is because of the heterogeneity of the country to keep us together that the question of this rotation comes in, to accommodate ourselves as much as possible. Why do you want to overlook that now? Coming to the South for the 2023 presidential candidate is the equity, moral, and principle, except we are deceiving ourselves.”

The trial of the owner of Hiltons Hotel, Ile-Ife, Osun State, Dr Ramon Adedoyin, and others arrested in connection with the death of a Master’s student of Obafemi Awolowo University, Timothy Adegoke, will commence on Thursday in Osogbo.

Elder brother to the deceased, Gbade, made this known to our correspondent on Wednesday.

“The case will come up tomorrow (Thursday) by 9am in Osogbo,” he said.

Adedoyin and Adedeji Adesola, Magdalene Chiefuna, Adeniyi Aderogba, Oluwale Lawrence, Oyetunde Kazeem and Adebayo Kunle had previously been arraigned before Federal High Court in Abuja on counts bordering on conspiracy, unlawful interference with a dead body, altering and intent to destroy evidence and murder.

But counsel to the family of the deceased, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, had written to the Inspector General of Police, Usman Baba, asking that the matter be returned to Osun State, where the crime was allegedly committed.

Upon return to court on February 7, the prosecutor withdrew the matter.

The defendants were expected to appear before an Osun State High Court, sitting in Osogbo.

Speaking with our correspondent on Wednesday, spokesperson of Osun Police Command, Yemisi Opalola, also said the trial would commence on Thursday.

Opalola said, “I wouldn’t know if they are around or not, but I know the matter will begin tommorow (today Thursday).”