Oduduwa News

As part of efforts to broker peace and restore unity between Erin-Osun and Ilobu, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola on Monday, held a peace meeting with the traditional rulers of the two towns, the Elerin of Erin-Osun, Oba Yusuff Omoloye Oyagbodun II and the Olobu of Ilobu, Oba Ashiru Olatoye Olaniyan II.

At the meeting which also had in attendance the Olufon of Ifon, Oba Almoroof Adekunle Magbagbeola, the monarchs pledged to prevail on their people to eschew violence and embrace peace, in the interest of all.

Details later

The Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola has enjoined Accounting Officers, Procurement Officers and other relevant personnel of the various Ministries, Departments and Agencies of the State Government to adhere strictly to the provisions of the Public Procurement Law of the State.

The Head of Service, who gave the charge during the opening ceremony of the annual Public Procurement Clinic organised by the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency (PPA), held on Monday via Zoom, stressed the need to abide by the Procurement Law and other relevant guidelines to achieve the plans and projects contained in the approved budget of the State without circumventing the Law.

Muri-Okunola, represented at the ceremony by the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office, Office of the Head of Service, Mr. Samson Ajibade, commended the Agency for its giant strides to enhance the implementation of the Public Procurement Law of the State, stressing that it is commendable that the PPA is planning to migrate the procurement process of 97 additional MDAs of the State into the e-Procurement platform before the end of the year.

He implored Accounting Officers and other personnel involved with the implementation of the Procurement Law to brace up for the challenge posed by the deployment of technology to drive public procurement in the State, saying “the development will significantly enhance the ease of doing business policy being vigorously pursued by the Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu led administration.

The HoS also enjoined the General Manager of the Agency and his team not to rest on their oars, urging them to deploy creative strategies that would enable Contractors, Suppliers, Service Providers and the State Government to do business together in a fair, transparent, competitive and seamless manner as envisaged by the Law establishing the Agency.

Also speaking at the occasion, the Chairman, Governing Board of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, who is also the Honourable Commissioner for Finance in the State, Dr. Rabiu Olowo, applauded the Agency’s partnership and collaboration with key revenue-generating MDAs, including the Ministry of Finance, Lagos Internal Revenue Service (LIRS) and the Central Internal Audit Office, among others, to facilitate easy payment of revenue to the coffers of the State Government.

Dr. Olowo urged all MDAs in the State to place more emphasis on the preparation of sound procurement plans to meet the targets and objectives set by the State Government for effective delivery of public goods and services.

He restated the commitment of Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu towards ensuring due process and compliance with the Procurement Law in all procurement activities, assuring that the State Government would continue to support the Agency in carrying out programmes and activities that would further enhance the culture of due process among stakeholders and facilitate the ease of doing business with the State Government.

The Chairman encouraged Procurement Officers to actively participate in the review sessions to enable them prepare procurement plans that would assist in the delivery of goods and services to the people as provided in the approved budget of the State.

Earlier in his welcome address, the General Manager of the Agency, Mr. Fatai Idowu Onafowote, explained that preparation of the Procurement Plan for a procuring entity is the responsibility of the Department/Unit and not that of the Procurement Officer alone, pointing out that all hands must be on deck while a Procurement Plan is being developed.

He stated that the Agency places so much importance on the annual Procurement Planning Clinic because it offers the Agency the opportunity to critically scrutinise the Procurement Plans of all MDAs with a view to finding out whether such Plans are in conformity with the approved budgets of the MDAs and giving necessary guidance when deviations are observed in the plans.

While noting that the Agency was making giant strides in the automation of the public procurement process of the State, Onafowote recalled that starting with the online registration of Contractors, Suppliers and Service Providers in the first quarter of 2019 to the deployment of e-Procurement Solution Modules, as well as the procurement processes of 10 MDAs, the Agency had left no one in doubt about its commitment to the continuous enhancement of the ease of doing business policy of the present administration in Lagos State.

The permanent site of the Titan Farm in Ibadan is projected to be ready for use in six months time.

This is contained in a statement made available to the pressmem by the Chief Executive Officer of the Company, Gbenga Olatunbosun while unveiling the company’s new plans.

According to him, the company is also constructing a financial distribution hub in Lekki amongst other projects for the year.

“Top on the list of these new plans is a financial distribution hub in Lekki, and a permanent site of the company’s activities, which is expected to be ready in the next six months in Ibadan.

“We have grown trees for one and a half year before we launched it and no product was sold out till June 2020,” he noted.

He argued that there is a significant limitation to what farmers in the country can do because government not supply them with adequate resources to engage in agriculture sustainably.

Mr Eniola Gbenga Olatunbosun who dabbled a little into his personal life said he came into the company with a mandate to help his workers better their lives by making them think beyond their horizon and discover alternative means to money-making.

This, he said, would create a corruption-free society if adhered to.

Mr Gbenga a core real estate person, said he balances real estate with agriculture. 

Speaking on the project and the plans of the foremost rice growing company, Titan, he said the company has embarked on realizing the first major rice plant in the south-west to which is slated to be launched in the next 6months.

On what value the company is offering to Nigerians, he said: “We have quality and affordable plans in our company.” 

“The company has a lot of lands across Nigeria, but particularly in the south-west.”

Titan, he said, is offering lands to buyers who will thereafter be regarded as investors. The investors only need to invest their money in the company while the company works and give back to the investors yearly. However, he noted that the investors are required to sign a lease agreement with the company  to help them manage the land while a lease of #10,000 per year is paid to them yearly for five years. In addition to the lease, the investors will be paid #250,000 per year. However, after the agreed period of five years, the investor has the liberty to sell the land to the company or any other party.

He noted the different ways by which individuals and organizations can partner with the company. Among them, is to serve as the agent of the company. The advantage of being an agent is that one is entitled to 10% on the condition that the agent(s) sells ten lands. 

Among other things, the agent will also be entitled to a fully equipped office. However, this is on the condition that such an agent bring 6 customers to the company every month.

As part of plans and benefits of investing in Titans, investors whose child needs scholarship will be catered for by the company on the condition that he/she maintains the merit.

Also, investors can seek out foreign admission through the company, of which the cost will be shouldered by the company according to the investments.

He added that all of these plans will be hatched immediately after the official launching of the company.

The Commandant of the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps), Col. Olayinka Olayanju.(rtd) has declared that Ibarapaland is safe and free of killer herdsmen and kidnappers.

The Commandant, who stated this in a statement made available in Ibadan, said that he will volunteer to lead anyone who is interested in taking a tour of parts of Ibarapaland earlier hit by herders/farmers crisis.

He also denounced some audio and video posts in the social media, which tend to raise what he called “clearly unfounded alarms” about the Ibarapa security situation, saying that he has been moving in and out of the area for days now.

According to him, farmers and the law- abiding people in the area are going about their businesses without molestation.

The Commandant, who stated this in a statement made available in Ibadan, said that he will volunteer to lead anyone who is interested in taking a tour of parts of Ibarapaland earlier hit by herders/farmers crisis.
He also denounced some audio and video posts in the social media, which tend to raise what he called “clearly unfounded alarms” about the Ibarapa security situation, saying that he has been moving in and out of the area for days now.

According to him, farmers and the law- abiding people in the area are going about their businesses without molestation.

The statement read: “Anyone desirous of finding out the truth about the security situation in Ibarapaland contrary to the video/ audio being circulated in various forum can key into this opportunity.

“I will personally provide escorts to and from Ibadan to Igangan general areas anytime this week.

“You can organise yourselves and inform me if you are interested in finding out the true position of things in Ibarapaland.

“I will be ready to move, just give me 10hrs headstart.

“I am in Aiyete and I ‘ve been moving around Ibarapaland freely, no one has reported any adverse security issue to me apart from isolated case involving a fulani mansaid to have been killed in his house in a remote village around Eruwa in Ibarapa East on Saturday, by yet to be identified assailants. No security challenges observed in Ibarapa Central and North contrary to rumours been peddled.

“We are fully on the trail of those responsible for the said murder in conjunction with other security agencies and we assure all that the attackers and their motives will soon be uncovered.”

The Health Facility Monitoring and Accreditation Agency, HEFAMAA, has disclosed that a total of 103 health facilities across the State were sealed in the year 2020 for non-compliance with regulatory standards.

The Executive Secretary of the Agency, Dr. Abiola Idowu, who disclosed this on Friday during a virtual meeting with the staff of the Agency, however, stated that some of the facilities had been reopened having corrected the infractions and pledged to abide by the set standards.

“The facilities were shut down for infractions ranging from quackery, operating beyond schedule, lack of qualified medical personnel to non-registration of facilities and lack of basic equipment. Although, many of the facilities were reopened because they have corrected the infractions but a few others will remain sealed until they do the right thing”, she stated.

While emphasising the commitment of the State Government to sustaining the fight against quackery and unprofessional conduct in the system, Dr. Idowu observed that the recent validation of the five-year strategic plan for the Agency will go a long way in improving the quality of healthcare delivery to Lagosians, through efficient and effective monitoring of health facilities in the State.

The Executive Secretary urged members of Staff to redouble their efforts in ensuring quality service delivery to customers and the public, revealing that the Agency has already deployed the use of the Health Facility Inspection Tool, Health FIT, to enhance effective and efficient inspection and monitoring of health facilities in the State.

Idowu warned that the State government will not tolerate any form of illegal health practices and urged all facility operators to abide strictly by the set standards to avoid sanction.

She also advised new facilities to register with the Agency before starting operations to protect the health of the people, adding that existing registered operators should ensure prompt renewal of their certificates to avoid penalties.

The HEFAMAA boss urged the public to continue supporting the government in its fight against quackery and illegal operation of health facilities by reporting people behind such acts to the Agency to safeguard the health and well-being of the citizens.

She reaffirmed the commitment of the Agency in supporting the vision of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu led administration to provide accessible, affordable and quality healthcare to the residents.

Professor Wole Soyinka has said the conflict between herders and farmers across the country can degenerate into a civil war.

In a chat with BBC Pidgin, the , Nobel laureate commended the moves to resolve the situation, adding that there is need to prevent further violence.

He criticised the government’s handling of the situation and accused some security operatives of taking sides.

“My fear is that it could degenerate into violence that ends up in—I hate to use the word—a civil war unless we take action. I’m glad that governors are already dialoguing with groups like Miyetti Allah (cattle breeders).”

“I’m also glad that they’re already discussing agreeing to obey the rules and that other groups are already liaising. I think we need to ensure they reach a consensus that will be fair to all parties.

“We’re struggling against an enemy that believes in acting the way they please. They believe they have immunity or that nothing can happen to them. That is why, in my own state, you find a soldier taking the side of an enemy.

“They actually escort killers, rapists, raiders while flogging the victims. That wouldn’t happen if the people are conscious of the nature of their enemy and are encouraged to collaborate with the security forces.”

The Chief Press Secretary to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, has warned against the growing false security alarms in the form of fake audio and video posts on social media,declaring that residents of the state should ignore such contents.

The governor’s aide warned against raising false alarms on the security situation in Ibarapaland and parts of Oke-Ogun, adding that security agencies will readily deal with anyone seeking to cause ethnic tension.
Adisa, in a statement made available to newsmen on Sunday, said: “The penchant of certain individuals, groups and faceless bodies to take to social media and raise unfounded alarm just to cause panic among the people of Oyo State is becoming a cause for concern.”

He equally warned purveyors of such fake information to desist before they plunge the state into crises with unforeseeable consequences, stating that the after-effects of the fake videos, false alarms and fake news would be grave.

He added that some unscrupulous elements seeking to cause crisis in Oyo State through false social media audio and video releases, as well as sponsored fake news in a section of the media, are behind the plot.
According to him, such persons and groups are intimidated by the level of successes recorded in the one and a half year administration of Governor Makinde and believe that they can only gain attention by causing fear and apprehension among the populace.

Adisa particularly mentioned that some viral social media video and audio messages in which false and inciting claims were made about Ayete, Igangan, and other parts of the state have been on the rise in recent weeks.
He said that some of such unfounded and baseless posts include the claim that Amotekun Corps killed some Fulani herdsmen, which amounts to a hoax; the claim that an imaginary 200 houses were razed by hoodlums in Labiran, Ibadan, which the Police vehemently denied; and the claims that the insecurity situation in Ibarapa has escalated, which is outright falsehood.
The statement recalled how the Department of State Security (DSS) had recently released an intelligence report that some people were planning to cause religious and ethnic crises in Oyo and some states.

The statement added that it appeared that there is a plot by some elements, especially politicians, to cause religious and ethnic crisis in Oyo State with a view to derailing the state government, warning, however, that such people must realise that the state is bigger than any individual and that its interest and peace should always be placed above any primordial, personal or political interests.
The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to a grand plot to precipitate unrest in Oyo State through the use of fake news in the social media. This plot seeks to promote false alarms, misinformation and sponsored fake news through audio, video and Facebook messages and it is with a view to making the state ungovernable.

“As a government, the contents of some of these audio and video releases have been investigated and mostly found to be outright falsehood, baseless claims and products of hate speech, targeted only at discrediting the government and inciting the people.
“As a proactive government, the Makinde-led administration has risen to the occasion on the issue of insecurity and we are already winning the war against criminality, with several measures rolled out to tackle kidnapping and banditry in Ibarapa and some parts of Oke-Ogun, while efforts have also been increased to tame the violent gang wars in Ibadan.”

The statement recalled how Governor Makinde visited Ibarapa, explaining that some gains had already been recorded from the government’s efforts on Ibarapa with community leaders testifying to weeks of respite in Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun axes.
“It will be recalled that Governor Makinde visited Ibarapa last week and he was at the hot spots of crisis, while a high-powered team comprising government delegates and the Police had visited the area and some parts of Oke-Ogun earlier.
“As part of efforts to bring a lasting solution to the security situation in Ibarapa, the government deployed 200 additional Amotekun Corps and also equipped them with four additional operational vehicles.
“The governor has also ordered that Peace and Security Committees be set up across the local governments so that all critical stakeholders would be on board to address security issues in their localities.

“The governor equally convened a meeting of all stakeholders in Ibadan North-East to address the issue of hoodlums and gang wars in the state capital once and for all.
“With all these steps, it is clear the direction the Oyo State Government is going in terms of handling the insecurity challenge and the only thing left to be done is to wait and see the results of the interventions.
“However, we have discovered that some individuals driven by inordinate political ambitions have been over-reaching themselves and sponsoring falsehood against the government.

“In some cases, as seen in a recent viral video, we have seen badly put together video and audio releases, where the supposed whistle-blower, who probably is neither resident in Oyo State nor have much knowledge about Ibarapa, had to read from a script, mistaking people’s names and even claiming he was referring to Ibadan State.

“The truth is, no one can gain anything from the unforeseeable consequences that the plot will bring upon the state. As Governor Makinde recently warned while in Ibarapa, everyone should put the interest of the state first in whatever they do at this period.
“However, our admonition goes to the members of the public across the state. Do not panic; do not succumb to the sponsored falsehood, as the state government is working assiduously to arrest the insecurity situation.
“Similarly, though the governor has made it clear that anyone who sees something should say something to the government, members of the public should ensure they are giving truthful and factual information, so that security agents will not be embarking on a wild goose chase based on wrong information”, the statement concluded.

Researchers globally have agreed that there is strong correlation between recession and suicide as this could be backed up by historical data and figures. Economic recession was firstly pronounced in United State of America which later culminated into Great Depression in 1929 accounted for nothing less than 10,000 suicides.

A renowned Sociologist who worked on suicide, Emile Durkheim attributed suicide to all cases of death resulting directly or indirectly from a positive or negative act of the victim himself. He opines that as social integration decreases, people are more likely to commit suicide. With recent announcement of the Nigerian economy plunging into recession for the second time during the regime of President Muhammad Buhari, there is no gainsaying in the fact that social integration will further decline as people grapple for survival under harsh economic environment.

Nigerians may resort to taking several alternative measures to survive. This could pave way for increasing rate of substance abuse due to prevalence of depression which may later culminate into taking of one’s life. World Economic Forum WEF in its research asserts that a slowdown in the economy, job losses, business closures, increasing energy bills and general poor performance of national economic indicators affect people’s emotional health which is also associated to rise in suicide rate.

It is already well known that suicide rates increase in times of economic strife and uncertainty. Research by WEF using Consumer Sentiment Index to measure people’s perceptions of their financial situation and the economy in general found out that there is strong correlation between the way people view their economic situation and the average suicide rate. The more negatively people view their prospects, the higher the likelihood of suicide. Statistically, a 10% increase in CSI reduces suicide rates by 1% as this shows that a more positive economic outlook can actually reduce suicide rates.

Our economy at a very basic level is primitive, not self-sustaining and all about consumption with few outlets for productivity. On top of this, we are battling with the wealth that shifted our attention from agriculture as a means of revenue generation. We inherited a framework of civil service from the colonial masters with bogus bureaucratic processes. An economy whose emoluments and salaries of civil servants constitute 90 percent of the local economies of most states. This implies that artisans, bricklayers, hairdressers, barbers and petty traders survive on salary paid to civil servants.

There was a general belief and assumptions that Nigeria so much love life that none of its citizens can never think of taken his own life. Going by record from 2003, Nigerians have always been ranked among the happiest people in the world as attested to by World Value Survey Report of 2003, which also ranked Nigeria 6th happiest people in Africa in spite of myriad of challenges confronting the nation. However, these old stories may have been faulted and the general belief and assumptions dispersed by the worrisome high rates of suicide in the last recession which began in 2016 and lasted for almost 2 years.

Before the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, Nigerian socio-economic indicators ranging from inflationary trend which measures purchasing power of various individuals and coefficient index which shows disparity between the poor and the rich have been worsening but the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic came to compound more on the problem.
An economist from John Hopkins University ranked Nigeria as 6th most miserable in the world. The hitherto 6th happiest people in the world have suddenly become the saddest people in the world. According to the renowned economist, Nigeria steeped to world capital of poverty.

Rather than re-echoing the increased rate of suicide, which has reached an alarming rate in our society, I think we should begin to think of how we can stem the tide.
As an undergraduate, we were taught policy feedback and offset in economics. In all sincerity, Buhari’s policy of closing border devoid of any known economic principle. You closed border with assumption to protect local industries while the local industries could not meet up with local demands, this among other reasons for hyperinflation. The question lingers, what has the border closure achieved now? The pain is more than the supposed gains. The rationale behind closure of border has been defeated longtime ago and something urgent would have been done to offset the excruciating pains suffered by the masses. We don’t have to wait for recession to come and force us to open border.

One may come to term with certain quarters that read hidden agenda to some of Buhari’s policies because I have searched and could not find basic economic tenet for some of his policies.

The southerners solely rely on importation and they do not usually eat what they eat reason why closure of border bites harder in the region. Northerners rely on export and they usually produce what they eat. Hence, the closure of border does not bite harder than the South. In fact, the closure of border has produced many billionaires in the North and has impoverished millions of people in the South. The beauty of policy is to look at the cost and benefit. I ask, what has been the benefit of border closure since implementation?

The ugly trend of last recession where suicide was at alarming rate should be prevented from taking the lead stage in this current economic hardship being witnessed by Nigerians. Globally, experts agree that the major antidote to prevent recession from biting harder is to embark on expansionary fiscal and monetary policies to ameliorate the suffering of the people occasioned by recession. It was Keynesian policy of ‘one person digs hole and another person fills it back’ that was embarked on by the then US President, Franklin Roosevelt to save American economy from total collapse between 1933 and 1939.

The policymakers should as a matter of exigency embark on masses oriented programmes as against the usual disposition of making the poor to pay for the mistake of the rich. Contractionary policies that further subjugate masses and impoverished them should be jettisoned and effort should be geared towards the reflating the entire economy.

Ismael Taiwo writes from Ibadan
Economist/Public Affairs Analyst

BUHARI, TINUBU, MO IBRAHIM, FASHOLA, ADESINA, OKONJO-IWEALA TO SPEAK AT EHINGBETI NEXT WEEK

Ehingbeti, the Lagos Economic Summit scheduled to hold from next Tuesday to Thursday, is living-up to its repute as Africa’s most practical and result-oriented private sector-led forum for socio-economic and infrastructural development, with the quality of speakers confirmed to discuss at the virtual summit.

Themed ‘For a Greater Lagos: Setting The Tone For The Next Decade’, Ehingbeti 2021 has drawn about 150 speakers from across the world to discuss and deliberate on pragmatic optimization of the inherent opportunities in Africa’s 5th largest economy and offer perspectives on how to manage the peculiar socio-economic landscape of Lagos State in the coming decade.

Leading the array of speakers at the summit are Mo Ibrahim, Founder and Chair of Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Ben Akabueze, Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, former Nigerian Minister of Finance, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, President, African Development Bank (ADB), Amina Mohammed UN Deputy Secretary General and Mohammed Yahaya, UNDP Resident Representative.

While President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, former Governor of Lagos State and Catriona Laing, British Higher Commissioner to Nigeria will give Goodwill Messages, the Summit opening address will be delivered by the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, with Dr. Obafemi Hamzat, the Deputy Governor and Mudashiru Obasa, Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly will lead the session on strengthening Governance, Institution and Legislation.

Other speakers at summit include Jordi Borrut Bel, Managing Director, Nigerian Breweries, Prof. Pat Utomi, Centre for Values in Leadership, Prof. Yinka David-West, Academic Director, Lagos Business School, Ambassador Ayoola Olukanni, DG NACCIMA, Muda Yusuf, Director General, Lagos Chamber of Commerce & Industry (LCCI), Mo Abudu, Founder, Ebony Life TV, Bolanle Austen-Peters, Founder, Terra Culture, Miss Ojoma Ochai. Director, Creative Arts (West Africa), British Africa and others.

The 3-day summit, which is structured into segments, will have subject experts speak on specific themes such as “Destination Lagos: Becoming the World’s Best Investment Destination”, “Eko to the World: Shaping the Future of Trade and Economic Independence”, “Lagos, the Industrial Hub”, “Made in Lagos: Shaping the Future of Media, Entertainment, Culture and Tourism”, “Security, Law and Order (Balancing Regulation and Economic Growth)” and Citizens Participation in Governance”.

Themes to be discussed at the conference include “The Role of Transparency, Institutional Effectiveness and Accountability in Governance”, “4th Industrial Revolution: The imperatives and prospects for Digital Economy”, “Digital Transformation for Smart Cities”, “Unleashing Disruptive Innovation for Development”, Shaping the Future of Governance with Technology” and Roadmap to Shared Prosperity – Ensuring Inclusive Human Development”.

“Our realities from 2000 when the first Ehingbeti held, exactly 20 years ago, have significantly changed. As a state, we now have to cater to the infrastructural needs of more than 22million population and ensure that Lagos remains on the path of continuous growth” said Sam Egube, Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget and Co-Chair of Ehingbeti.

“These considerations are the groundwork of the Babajide Sanwo-Olu administration THEMES Agenda, but translating the agenda to benefits for our people will require collaborations amongst stakeholders, and a determination to deepen the foundation for sustainable development and growth of our society. So, Ehingbeti 2020 offers us a platform to address all these”, concluded Egube.

Ehingbeti is an ingenuous socio-economic apparatus that has contributed significantly to the evolution of Lagos State into a major economy in sub-Saharan Africa and an admirable megacity, with expanding potentials. As a public-private sector roundtable that started as a collaborative effort between Lagos State Government and Business Club Ikeja, Ehingbeti has been hosted by successive governments in Lagos State since the beginning of the 4th republic.

The State Government has declared a 24-hour curfew in Irepodun and Orolu Local Government Areas of the State, following the violence that broke out between Ilobu and Erin-Osun communities on Saturday.

The declaration of curfew became necessary to douse tension in the troubled area. This will subsist until further notice.

This was made known today in a statement released by the Secretary to the State Government, Prince Wole Oyebamiji which reads in part:

“Recall that only about few hours ago, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola had ordered immediate deployment of armed policemen with support from the army to restore law and order.

“As a responsible and responsive government that took the sacred oath to protect the lives and property of our citizens, we believe that the declaration of curfew is the way to go in this circumstance.

“By this, security operatives have been directed to arrest and prosecute any person found violating the curfew and those responsible for the violence.

“All citizens and residents of the affected Local Government Areas are enjoined to comply with this directive as any person found contravening this order shall be made to face the wrath of the law.

“Government enjoins all our citizens to be peaceful and to be law abiding as all efforts shall be made to protect them and their property”.