Oduduwa News

OduduwaNews has gathered that on Wednesday, the Oyo state governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, inaugurated the steering committee and technical working committee of a new health Initiative programme called Tomotiya.

The steering committee and technical working committee of the Tomotiya health initiative which was aimed at reducing maternal mortality in the state by 30% and reduce the neonatal mortality in the state by 20% were inaugurated at the International Conference Center, the University of Ibadan in partnership with the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF.

Governor Seyi Makinde, while inaugurating the Tomotiya steering and technical working committees through his deputy, engineer Rauf Olaniyan, said the committees will oversee essential care for the mother and the newborn immediately after childbirth, including the continuation of routine reproductive, maternal, neonatal, and child healthcare (RMNCH).

In his speech, the commissioner for health, Dr. Bashir Bello, explained that the state’s government is set to increase the number of births by skilled birth attendants by 30%, increase health care facility utilization by 60%, Set-up newborn corners in one primary health care center per ward in selected pilot local government areas, and insured pregnant women and children.

The Tomotiya health initiative steering committee core members include the special adviser on health to the Oyo state governor, Dr. Funmi Salami; the permanent secretary, Oyo state ministry of health, Dr. Mufutau Adebisi Ayoola; the permanent secretary of the hospital management board, Dr. Olusoji Adeyanju; the executive secretary, Oyo State primary health care board, Dr. Muideen Olatunji, amongst others.

The Lagos State Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, Honourable Commissioner for Finance, Dr. Rabiu Olowo and several other top government officials have applauded the sterling qualities of the retired Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Ganiyat Abidemi Raji, describing her as a major contributor to the various reforms witnessed in the State’s finance sector since the inception of the present administration.

Speaking at the send forth ceremony, Dr. Rabiu Olowo acknowledged the resourcefulness of the retiree, saying that she is an outstanding civil servant instrumental to all the successes recorded by the Ministry.

He emphasised that the contributions of Mrs. Raji could not be undermined in the area of improved reforms in the Ministry such as Land Use Charge Review as well as the raising of the biggest bond ever recorded by any sub-national entity in Nigeria.

Dr. Olowo, who was represented by the State Accountant-General and Permanent Secretary, State Treasury Office (STO), Dr. Abiodun Muritala, maintained that his working relationship with the retiree was hinged on their determination to prioritise the agenda of the State Government in delivering a very virile financial sector that will be an envy of other States.

Speaking earlier, the Head of Service, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola, commended the celebrant for contributing her quota to the Greater Lagos vision of the administration of Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu.

Muri-Okunola, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary, Public Service Office, Mr. Samson Ajibade, reiterated the need for civil servants to support the State government in ensuring that the dividends of good governance are bequeathed to Lagosians, irrespective of their localities.

Responding to all the goodwill messages and encomiums showered on her, Mrs. Raji thanked everyone present at the event and maintained that there is a need for government employees to be self-driven and self-motivated.

She, therefore, encouraged all civil servants to be passionate about personal development without being prompted by the government, advising staffers to “strive to learn and relearn and unlearn because the government cannot do everything for us all”.

Mrs. Raji retired from the Lagos State Civil Service at the age of 60 years.

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has again warned officers and men of the command to fully comply with the directives of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Muhammed Abubakar Adamu, on the mode of operations of the FSARS and other tactical units.

CP Hakeem Odumosu, who reiterated the warning at different meetings held with the Area Commanders, Heads of Department, Divisional Police Officers and SARS operatives in Lagos State, re-echoed the directives of the Inspector-General of Police and vowed to punish every officer culpable of any unprofessional and unethical conduct.

He reaffirmed the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the SARS and other tactical units as approved and circulated by the office of the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, declaring his determination to arrest and prosecute any police personnel who flouts the IGP’s directives in Lagos State.

While asserting that all Area Commanders and Divisional Police Officers will be held accountable for any disobedience under their watch, Odumosu, appealed to the general public to collaborate with the Police in the fight against SARS brutality, harassment, incivility and extortion by the few bad eggs in Lagos State.

Top ranking officers present at the meeting included the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, DCP Mohammed Ali; Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, DCP Yetunde Longe and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Rapid Response Squad, Lagos State, DCP Tunji Disu among others.

The founder of Sotitobire Praising Chapel, Akure, Prophet Babatunde Alfa and five others have been sentenced to life imprisonment over the disappearance of a one-year-old boy, Gold kolawole in the church last year.

Odusola in his judgement convicted the defendants having found them guilty of the two-count charge of kidnapping, aiding and abetting based on the circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecutor. Details later.

Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu has declared his commitment towards making befitting accommodation available to Lagosians, through pragmatic models that will incorporate private sector partnership, encourage local content and cut costs while also creating employment.

Sanwo-Olu, who made this known on Monday at the Adeyemi-Bero Auditorium, Secretariat, Alausa, during the World Habitat Day celebration themed: “Housing for All: A Better Urban Future”, stated that the thrust of this year’s event is a major policy objective of the fourth pillar of the present administration’s T.H.E.M.E.S agenda which is, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy.

According to him, “The current and projected future population of Lagos State presents huge opportunities for investors in the housing sector and a compelling need for urban renewal”.

The Governor, speaking through his Deputy, Dr. Kadri Obafemi Hamzat, noted that the pact with Lagosians as contained in the T.H.E.M.E.S Agenda is to ensure a significant reduction in the housing deficit, through the provision of affordable and decent housing, as well as to deepen the commitment to a Greater Lagos by advancing towards an enduring urban future founded on good, spatial and sectoral planning.

To accelerate the realisation of this objective, he stated that the current administration had returned the State to the National Housing Fund and appointed the Lagos Building Investment Company (LBIC) PLC as the sole mortgage provider to facilitate a reduction in the housing deficit in Lagos State.

He declared that the total housing stock in the State, by the end of this year, would have increased by 3004 units with the completion and delivery of additional seven housing schemes, comprising 2,268 units, as the government had completed and commissioned within the last 16 months, a number of housing schemes including Lateef Kayode Housing Estate, Igando; Courtland Villas, Lekki and Lekki Apartments, Ikate Elegushi.

He averred that the State remains committed to the full implementation of the rent-to-own policy aimed at achieving the objective of making housing affordable and accessible to low-income Lagosians, under which 1303 Lagosians had become homeowners in Oba Adeboruwa, Lateef Jakande and Epe Housing Schemes.

Earlier, the Honourable Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Dr. Idris Salako remarked that the Lagos State Government has a clear understanding and remarkable acceptance of the multidimensional and complex nature of housing and is matching up to its successful delivery in cost-efficient, pragmatic and innovative manner.

He added that the State had evolved, institutionalised and implemented specific Policy Reforms and Initiatives that would continue to facilitate the achievement of the making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable, in line with the dictates of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 11.

Salako maintained that the State had accorded urban planning and development the deserved attention as avenues for improving the physical environment of Lagos State and the living conditions of its people.

He revealed that the State Government has extended Planning Permits to Non-Schemed Areas by providing Development Guide Plans for Excised Villages to ensure orderly and sustainable development, stressing that the Government has also ensured wider coverage of Physical Planning and Urban Development Control to areas that were hitherto placed under embargo such as Ajido Badagry (Recently Released Military Acquisition), FAAN Acquisition, Isolo, LASU Acquisition, Ojo and Isashi Waterworks Acquisition, among others.

The Chairman, Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Physical Planning and Urban Development, Mr. Nureni Ayinde Akinsanya gave an assurance that the legislature will continue to give the necessary support to move the State forward, while Chairman of the Committee on Housing, Mr. Bisi Yusuf solicited for an inter-agency collaboration for the delivery of housing for all.

The Rivers State Police Command has revealed that a female lawyer, Ms. Bisola Ajayi, was kidnapped yesterday by gunmen at Rumuokurusi, Port Harcourt, Rivers.

The 25-year-old female lawyer was on Saturday intercepted by the gunmen, who seized and dragged her into their vehicle along Woji street while she was trying to enter her apartment.

A source from the family said the incident occurred between 8:30 pm to 9 pm.

The lawyer who graduated from the Faculty of Law, from the University of Lagos, UNILAG was reportedly taken away in a white Toyota Venza in Rumukurushi, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

It was gathered that the gunmen was spotted with military paraphernalia.

The gunmen were said to have followed Bisola to her house where she was kidnapped.

Confirming the incident, spokesman of the police command in Rivers State, SP Nnamdi Omoni, assured that the command has put in machinery for her speedy rescue from her abductors.

Her abduction is said to have sent shivers down the spine of many residents in the area as this is coming at a time when the youths of the country are trying to deal with the menace of SARS officials and other ills bedeviling the society.

Persons who have ‪information on her whereabouts are asked to call 08114490934.