Author: Lekan Adeyeye

THE Ondo State House of Assembly and its Speaker has withdrawn its appeal filed before the Court of Appeal, Abuja, against the ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which stopped the planned impeachment of the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa. The Ondo State House of Assembly and its Speaker had challenged the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, Abuja to handle the matter and appealed against the court’s ruling halting the planned impeachment of the deputy governor. At Thursday’s proceedings, counsel for the Speaker and the Assembly, Remi Olatobura, told the three-member panel of Justices of the appellate…

ARMED robbers on Wednesday opened fire on director finance and chief accountant of the Ogun State Government, Taiwo Oyekanmi, and carted away with the government’s funds in a bullion van in Abeokuta, the state capital. Our correspondent gathered that Oyekanmi had picked up an undisclosed amount of money from a branch of Fidelity bank in Abeokuta, and was heading back to the office when he was waylaid by the gunmen. Sources said the hooded gunmen, about five of them, intercepted the home-made bullion van while ascending the overhead bridge at Kuto and opened fire on the accountant. It was further…

THE Ondo State House of Assembly is set to hold a plenary session today to discuss the state’s political situation. It was reliably gathered that the lawmakers would discuss the issue of the executive arm of the government of the state as the lawmakers may declare the deputy governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, as acting governor, following the inability of the governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, to resume office, due to ill-health. The governor is still recuperating at his private residence in Ibadan, Oyo State capital. A source, however, noted that some of the lawmakers might not be at today’s sitting as…

FORMER President, Olusegun Obasanjo has faulted verdicts of the Nigerians judges on the electoral disputes, saying three to five judges should not overturn decisions made by millions of voters during an election. Obasanjo described the powers vested in the hands of a few judges as “totally unacceptable.” The former President spoke in wake of the ongoing judgements of the Court of Appeal on the electoral disputes arising from 2023 elections in Nigeria. Only last week, three governors were sacked in separate judgements delivered by the judges of the Court of Appeal. The affected governors are, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara State,…

OGUN State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has described the death of former military governor of Ondo State (Ondo and Ekiti), Major General Ekundayo Babakayode Opaleye (rtd), as a great loss to the state and Nigeria. Maj. Gen. Opaleye reportedly died on Saturday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital of heart attack. He was military governor from August 1986 to 1987, during the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida. He took over from late Admiral Mike Akhigbe before handing over to Commodore Bode George. Opaleye, until his death, was the Balogun of Erunmu, Owu, Abeokuta. Prince Abiodun said late Maj. Gen. Opaleye’s…

PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has cancelled the controversial deduction of 40 per cent of Internally Generated Revenues from federal universities across the country. The President who was represented by the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, spoke on Friday at the 75th Founder’s Day ceremony of the University of Ibadan and described the policy implementation as “ill-timed”. He also maintained that it was not the best time for such a policy since our universities are struggling. In his speech as a Visitor to the university, Tinubu pledged his commitment to the reform of the nation’s education sector as the bedrock for national…

THE Federal Government has declared a state of emergency in Nigeria’s health sector. This is being highlighted as stakeholders across the sector converge in Ekiti State for the 64th National Council on Health where salient issues around the health sector are up for discussion. The opening ceremony on Thursday was an avenue to set the tone around the theme which focuses on building resilience and an inclusive healthcare system for a healthy Nigeria. The Coordinating Minister for Health and Social Welfare Dr Muhammed Ali Pate said the nation’s health facilities are in bad shape, adding that there is a need…

FOUR stowaways trying to illegally leave the country on board a container vessel (TEME EXPRESS) enroute to Dubai have been arrested. The Navy disclosed the arrest in a statement on Wednesday, saying the stowaways were nabbed on Monday by the NNS BEECROFT team during a patrol at the Lagos anchorage. According to the ship’s commander Kolawole Oguntuga, the stowaways were found inside the rudder compartment of the vessel with bags of snacks and satchet water. Oguntuga said that the maritime domain awareness facility, the Falcon Eye Alignment, played a critical role in providing information that led to their arrest. “Tactical…

THE Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, says of the three arms of government, legislators are the most misunderstood and attacked by Nigerians. According to him, Nigerians blame lawmakers for everything, including things not directly under their control. The Senate President, represented by the senator representing Ogun Central, Shuaib Salisu, said this on Sunday at the 100th birthday colloquium of a Second Republic lawmaker, Senator Kunle Oyero, organised by the Abeokuta Grammar School Old Boys Association in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Akpabio said, “The one arm of government that people don’t really understand and is always a subject of ridicule and attack is…

AFRICA’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, and Saudi Export-Import Bank (Saudi EXIM), a premier export credit agency in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, have announced a partnership aimed at strengthening business growth and enhancing economic cooperation between their economies. To this end, both institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on November 9, 2023, to foster economic cooperation and trade relations between the two entities. The MoU was signed on the side-lines of the Saudi and Arab African Summits in Saudi Arabia. The partnership between UBA Group and Saudi EXIM Bank outlines the guiding principles for developing…

A FORMER National President of the Nigeria Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) and the Iyalode of Yorubaland, Chief Alaba Lawson, is dead. Her demise was communicated today in a statement issued in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital by the Executive Secretary of the Ogun Chambers of Commerce, Industry Mines and Agriculture, Maku Abdul Rahaman. Until her death, she was also the Iyalode of Egbaland as well as the Chairman of the Ogun State-owned Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Abeokuta. She was an astute politician, an entrepreneur of note and academician. She was born on January 18,1951 in…

THE Ondo State Deputy Governor, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, has tendered an unreserved apology to the state governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, over the embarrassment that the ongoing political crisis must have caused in the state. Aiyedatiwa, who said the crisis was being caused or fueled by some political contenders in the state, reiterated that he remained loyal to the governor and his administration. The deputy governor stated this while speaking with journalists in his office in Akure, the state capital. He said, “I am deeply saddened by the embarrassment and discomfort that Mr. Governor has faced due to the barrage of negative news…

THE Lagos State Government has sealed the popular Alade market in the Onigbongbo Local Council Area of Ikeja, over violation of environmental laws. This was disclosed on Wednesday by the spokesman for the Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Kunle Adeshina, in a post on his X handle (formerly Twitter). Following the directive by the Commissioner for Environment, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, Adeshina said the enforcement was carried out by on Wednesday the officials of the Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) in collaboration with KAI/LAGESC. “As directed by HC MOE&WR, Tokunbo Wahab, enforcement operatives from LAWMA and KAI/ LAGESC in…

THE Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) secretariat in Akure, Ondo state capital, has been shut by men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) and the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS). This newspaper reports that there is presence of heavy security currently at the secretariat. The development is not unconnected with the plan by the members of the PDP to protest the continued absence and whereabouts of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu. Akeredolu had in September returned to the country from his three-month medical vacation in Germany where he treated an undisclosed illness. But since his return, Akeredolu has reportedly been…

SUSPECTED robbers have reportedly raided the palace of the Olu of Ogunmakin town in Obafemi-Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, Oba James Sodiya, carting away his crown and staff of office. It was learnt that the hoodlums broke into the palace of the late monarch, who passed away about two months ago, on Friday. Police spokesperson in the state, Omolola Odutola, confirmed the incident to journalists in Abeokuta on Saturday. Odutola, however, hinted that the police had arrested three suspects in connection with the crime. Odutola, who described the act as an abomination, said the police had recovered the…

THE seventeen remaining members of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC), Oke Igan, Akure in Ondo State, who were abducted last Friday, have regained their freedom. It was gathered that the victims were released after their families paid a sum of N50m ransom to the abductors. The kidnappers had abducted 25 of them along the Owo/Ifon-Benin Highway on their way to a funeral ceremony in Ifon. But the police earlier disclosed that eight of the victims were rescued the following day – Saturday. Days after, the remaining victims were released by their abductors after a huge sum of money was paid…

THE Ogun State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal has declared Governor Dapo Abiodun, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, as the duly elected winner of the March 18 poll. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its governorship candidate, Ladi Adebutu, were challenging Abiodun’s re-election over alleged corrupt practices and non-compliance with provisions of the Electoral Act. The petition also argued that the governor did not score a majority vote to be announced as the winner by INEC. Delivering the judgment on Saturday at a proceeding that lasted about 11 hours, the tribunal held that the petitioner failed to prove its case…

THE Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu has commissioned three Ministerial teams to provide technical support, project delivery coordination, stakeholder management, and media relations within the ministry. “This strategic move is aimed at strengthening the ministry’s existing capabilities and enhance its efforts in delivering efficient and sustainable power solutions to the nation”, the Ministry said.  The statement said further that under the visionary leadership of the Honourable Minister of Power, the newly formed team will play a crucial role in driving key initiatives, ensuring seamless project monitoring and execution, fostering collaboration with stakeholders, and effectively communicating the ministry’s objectives and…

THE Ondo State House of Assembly has vowed to go ahead with the impeachment proceedings against the Deputy Governor of the State, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, despite the lawsuit he filed to stop the move. Aiyedatiwa had asked an Akure High Court to stop the House of Assembly from proceeding with the impeachment plans against him. But in a statement signed by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Oladiji Olamide Adesanmi, the lawmakers have assured the general public that it would proceed with the legislative process to a logical conclusion, but in doing so, will strictly follow the Constitutional procedures. The…

JUSTICE Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Abuja, has restrained the Ondo State House of Assembly from impeaching the Deputy Governor, Mr Lucky Aiyedatiwa, over alleged gross misconduct. Justice Nwite delivered a ruling on Tuesday shortly after Aiyedatiwa’s counsel, Kayode Adewusi, moved the ex-parte motion to the effect. The judge also restrained Governor Rotimi Akeredolu from nominating a new deputy governor and forwarding the same to the lawmakers for approval pending the hearing and determination of the substantive matter. Justice Nwite held that after listening to Adewusi, he was of the view that the interest of justice would be…