Author: Lekan Adeyeye

THE Osun State Government has formally petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the immediate past governor and current Minister of Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, over the alleged misappropriation of a $20m World Bank health grant. The government also accused Oyetola of money laundering, financial misconduct and violations of the Public Procurement Act in the disbursement of the grant meant for health sector improvements in the state. According to an acknowledged copy of the petition dated March 7, 2025, and obtained by our correspondent on Friday, Oyetola, during his tenure as governor, chaired a special Health Intervention Committee…

FORMER President Olusegun Obasanjo will make public presentation of his two new books as part of activities to commemorate his 88th birthday celebrations, which hit climax in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital on March 5. The books are: “Lest we forget: Slavery, Slave Trade, Emancipation and Reparation” and “Nigeria: Past and the Future.” A statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi on Tuesday, hinted that the ceremony would also include a public lecture on slavery and colonisation. The Director General, Nigerian Institute for International Affairs, Prof. Eghosa Osaghae will deliver the lecture on “Echoes of the Past, Visions of…

JOURNALISTS were denied entry into the Lagos State House of Assembly complex on Monday morning as the House prepared to hold a plenary session. Our correspondent, along with a journalist from The Cable, was stopped by security operatives at the entrance around 11 a.m. When asked why the press was not allowed in, a policeman simply responded, “That’s the instruction. You cannot enter.” Several journalists remained outside the assembly complex, unable to gain access. Meanwhile, a heavy security presence—comprising policemen, civil defense officers, and Lagos State Neighbourhood Security Corps—was observed both inside and around the premises. All access roads to…

OGUN police have arrested an enraged father, Odukaye Kunle, who brutalised his five–year–old son, Boluwatife, in Otta area, Ogun State as the boy was ready to go to school This newspaper reports that a trending video, depicted Odukaye furiously using his right leg to brush the boy off his feet, apparently when the boy approached him in the morning to request money for snacks. The angry father, who was busy with phone, swept the unsuspecting boy’s feet of the ground, causing him to burst into a horrific shriek when he violently fell backward, hitting the back of his head hard…

LUCKY Aiyedatiwa, governor of Ondo, has commuted the sentences of 15 prisoners on death row. Aiyedatiwa, who begins his official tenure as governor on Monday, has been ‘acting governor’ since December 27, 2023, following the demise of Rotimi Akeredolu. A statement on Monday by Ebenezer Adeniyan, Aiyedatiwa’s chief press secretary, said the governor also pardoned 43 convicts and ordered the release of eight incarcerated inmates. “As part of this initiative, the Governor has ordered the outright release of 8 individuals who were previously incarcerated,” the statement reads. “Additionally, 15 condemned inmates who were sentenced to death by hanging have had…

VOTING commenced in the Osun State local government election on Saturday morning as scheduled despite prior controversy. The exercise commenced in some local governments as early as 8am, including Ede North Local Government Area where Governor Ademola Adeleke voted. The governor after casting his vote, described the exercise as peaceful, calling on the people of the state to come out and vote peacefully. Voters were seen casting their votes in some of the polling units, as the exercise moved on seamlessly. The Attorney General of the Federation, Lateef Fagbemi and the Nigeria Police Force had called for the to suspension…

FRESH tension enveloped Osun State yesterday ahead of the Local Government elections scheduled for today with Police Inspector General Kayode Egbetokun urging Governor Ademola Adeleke to shelve the election to prevent bloodshed. Egbetokun said there was credible intelligence suggesting a high likelihood of violence and significant security threats should the government proceed with the election. The state government rejected the police advice outright last night, citing the “ rule of law and aversion to police partisanship.’ The headquarters of the State Independent Electoral Commission (OSSIEC) in Osogbo was under lock and key. No officials were in sight and there was…

GOVERNOR Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State will, on Thursday,  deliver the 6th yearly lecture of Freedom Online newspaper in Lagos. A statement by the Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief of the online newspaper, Gabriel Akinadewo, says while Fubara is the Special Guest Speaker, former Governor of Ogun State and Chairman, Senate Committee on Navy, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, is the Keynote Speaker of the lecture with the theme: ‘Nigeria’s Socio-Political Challenges: Whose Fault, Leaders or the Led?’ The Chairman of the event is former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party  (PDP), Chief Olabode George. Other personalities billed to grace the  lecture are…

OSUN State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, has insisted that the local government elections scheduled for Saturday. The governor made this known in a statement on Friday by his spokesman, Olawale Rasheed, despite an appeal from the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, to suspend the polls. According to Adeleke, democracy is guided by the rule of law and that no individual has the authority to override the courts. “As for me and my people, we stand by the rule of law, not illegal self-help. Election is going to hold, and the outcome will be a fast-tracked development…

THE Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Lateef Fagbemi, has asked Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State to put the local government election scheduled for Saturday, February 22, 2025, on hold. According to the justice minister, the Court of Appeal, Akure division, on February 10, 2025, nullified the judgement of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, delivered on November 25, 2022. The AGF said the verdict of the appellate court implied that the All Progressives Congress (APC) local council chairmen formerly sacked by the lower court have been restored. At least six persons have been confirmed dead since Monday, when APC…

THE Federal Government, on Thursday, disclosed that it has terminated the contract of 98 km Oyo-Ogbomoso road awarded to RCC Construction Company. The Minister of Works, Engr. Dave Umahi disclosed this at Oyo Federal Roads Stakeholders Engagement, entitled: ‘Enhancing Federal Roads in Oyo State; Challenges and Sustainable Solutions’ held in Ibadan capital of Oyo State. The minister, who was represented, said the project is long overdue but he assured the public that it would soon be re-awarded to another contractor in no distant time. Expressing displeasure over the state of the road, lawmaker representing, Ogbomoso North, South and Oriire Federal…

THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has uncovered a disturbing trend of free codeine syrups and HIV drugs being diverted from their intended recipients in a recent crackdown on the distribution of fake drugs. This follows the agency’s sealing of over 3,000 Idumota shops in Lagos over the circulation of fake drugs. In a release on Monday, it said two more massive warehouses full of fake and expired medicines were uncovered over the weekend in Aba, with truckloads in Idumota and Onitsha. Items discovered were vaccines in dilapidated, unventilated rooms sealed with iron sheets in…

TWO people were reportedly shot on Monday in Boripe Local Government Area of Osun State as members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) clashed following the resumption of reinstated council executives. The crisis stemmed from a dispute between Governor Ademola Adeleke and the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, over the return of sacked APC executives to office after their reinstatement by the Court of Appeal. Checks by by this newspaper confirmed that APC executives resumed office early on Monday, celebrating their reinstatement and boasting about reclaiming control of the council. However,…

OSUN State Governor Ademola Adeleke has asked President Bola Tinubu to caution the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola, over an alleged plot to create chaos and anarchy in the Southwest state. At a press briefing on Sunday, Adeleke alleged that his predecessor had instructed the police and the Department of State Services “to effect a non-existent judgement by forcefully taking over the local governments on Monday”. The governor said, “The bone of contention is the brazen effrontery to return to office council chairmen sacked by a subsisting court Judgment using a different court decision, which has no…

ANGRY youths in Ifon, the headquarters of the Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State, have chased away policemen at the divisional police station in the town and set the place ablaze. According toto sources, the violent crisis was said to have started with a clash between two different groups of youths in the community on Valentine’s Day. One of the groups involved reported the case at the police station, and two members of the other group were arrested by the police; unfortunately, one of them was said to have died from police torture while the other was being hospitalised.…

POLICE authorities in Ogun State have intercepted a group of young persons with dangerous weapons including daggers. They were on a truck. The spokesperson of the Ogun Police Command Omolola Odutola says they were intercepted on Saturday by a team led by the commissioner of police Lanre Ogunlowo “along Eledumare, Bamboo 1 & 2, Fidiwo 1 & 2, Foursquare, Alapako, and Onigari, all within Ogun State and bordering Oyo State”. A statement by Odutola said the CP observed that the group had no “clear destination or a satisfactory explanation for their movement”. “Acting on his professional instincts, he ordered a…

FORMER President Muhammadu Buhari has mourned the demise of a foremost nationalist and elder statesman, Pa Ayodele Adebanjo. In a statement issued by his spokesman, Garba Shehu, on Friday, the former President described Adebanjo’s death as a loss for the nation. The statement added, “The late Chief Adebanjo was one of those rare politicians who straddled the worlds of the legal profession, politics, and socio-cultural activism.” Buhari prayed for the repose of his soul and the fortitude of the family, admirers, and the government and people of Ogun State to bear the loss. This newspaper reports that the chieftain of…

AFENIFERE Chieftain Pa Ayo Adebanjo is dead. He died on Friday morning at his Lekki residence in Lagos. He was 96. A statement by the family said he died peacefully. It reads: “With a heart full of gratitude for a selfless life spent in the service of God, the nation and humanity, we announce the passing on of our beloved patriarch, Chief Samuel Ayodele Adebanjo. “He died peacefully this morning, Friday, February 14, 2025 at his Lekki, Lagos Nigeria home at the age of 96. “The foremost nationalist, elder statesman, distinguished lawyer, very distinct politician, apostle of true federalism, former…

THE South West Governors’ Forum, comprising the governors of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ekiti, and Ondo states, has agreed to establish a joint security surveillance to tackle terrorists under the banner of the Islamic State’s West Africa Province. This was revealed after a meeting of all the six governors in the region. namely, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Ademola Adeleke (Osun) and Lucky Aiyedatiwa (Ondo), on Thursday, held at the Governor’s Office, Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja. The move comes amid earlier reports of infiltration of the terrorists into some forests in the South West region.…

THE outgoing President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Akinwumi Adesina, is ready to serve Nigeria and Africa in any capacity after his tenure in the regional bank. Adesina, who was first elected as the 8th President of AfDB on May 28, 2015, will complete his second term at the bank in the second quarter of this year. The former Minister of Agriculture, during an interview with Arise Television, yesterday, said, “Look, the only thing that makes me happy is nothing else than seeing the lives of people transform. That is what gives me satisfaction. As a result, I will…