Global Naija Info

Senator Abiola Ajimobi, Oyo State governor GBENRO ADESINA/IBADAN The Oyo State Government is seeking the understanding of workers and pensioners over the N29bn wage deficit representing five months salary arrears, which it blamed on dwindling allocation to the state from the Federation Account and paltry internally generated revenue. The government, through the Commissioner for Finance and Budget, Mr. Bimbo Adekanmbi, also disclosed that the N14.1b loan the state is seeking to obtain from the Federal Government and which will be paid in tranches of N1.3b monthly for the first three months and N1.1b monthly for the next nine months, would be used to pay salaries. The commissioner explained that the delay in the payment of salaries and pensions to workers and pensioners in the past five months was not a deliberate action as being circulated in some quarters but due to non-availability of fund. The commissioner further clarified that only N37.48b accrued to the state between May 201...

A cross section of Neighbourhood Watch officers at the event. Kazeem Ugbodaga The Lagos State Government is set to stem maternal death rate at the grassroots. One of the ways it plans to stem maternal mortality is to reposition the Primary Healthcare Centres, PHCs, mostly visited during child birth by pregnant women across the state. Special Adviser to the Governor on Public Health, Dr. Femi Onanuga disclosed this at the monthly interactive meeting organized by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs for Community Development Committees (CDCs) and Neighbourhood Watch security outfit with other stakeholders across the State, held in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria. “The PHCs in the State are meant to take care of the people at the grassroots level so as to reduce pressure on all the General Hospitals. The present administration will not relent at ensuring that it strengthens the PHCs by providing all the basic amenities, including the personnel that will be readily ...

FILE PHOTO: Federal Road Safety Officers at an accident scene The Federal Road Safety Commission in Kogi says six persons died on Saturday in an accident on Ajaokuta-Itobe-Ayangba road in the state. The state Sector Commander of the commission in Kogi, Mr Ogochukwu Ugboma, stated in a statement that 12 other persons were critically injured in the crash which occurred in the afternoon in a head-on-collision. It stated that the collision was between a Toyota passenger bus marked BENUE MKD 841 XA and a Volkswagen Golf car marked KOGI LKJ 335 CV. It said 18 persons were involved in the accident in which the driver of the Golf car, simply identified as Mohammed Ali, was among the six persons that died. He blamed the accident on wrong overtaking and announced that the bodies of the victims, four men and two women, had been deposited at the morgue of Grimad Hospital, Ayangba. The statement also said that the 12 persons that sustained varying degrees of injury had been moved to nearby h...

Iyiola Omisore The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested a former deputy governor of Osun State, Senator Iyiola Omisore, after months of investigations. EFCC sources disclosed that Omisore is being quizzed at the Abuja head office of the anti-graft commission to explain allegations of financial crimes levelled against him. It was also learnt that the Abuja resident of the former Deputy Governor was raided by EFCC agents Sunday morning before his arrest was effected. The EFCC had on 24 May 2016 obtained a court warrant to arrest Omisore, who had failed to honour an EFCC invitation. The EFCC consequently declared Omisore wanted shortly after obtaining the court warrant. The spokesman of the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren had stated that Omisore was wanted in connection with a case of receiving and misappropriating the sum of over N700 million from the Office of the National Security Adviser, between June and November, 2014. He stated that Omisore was being elusive an...

Abdulmajid Ali, Ogun Police Commissioner Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta Ogun State Police Command has rescued a graduate of Babcock University, Ilishan Remo, Ogun State, Justina Anochie, 27, from kidnappers. Anochie, it was learnt, was kidnapped by some armed men in one of the off campus hostels in Ilishan Remo last Sunday. Two close friends of the abducted girl have also been arrested by the police in the course of investigation, which led to the hideout where the young lady was kept. In a statement on Sunday, the state’s Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said operatives attached to Odogbolu Division of the command found the victim after she had been released by the kidnappers in Odogbolu and handed her over to the DPO, Ikenne Division, whose jurisdiction covers where the young lady was kidnapped. Gunmen had on Sunday, 26 June, 2016, stormed a hostel in Ilishan Remo area of Ogun State and abducted Justina Anochie, a student of Nursing at Babcock University. It was ...

Alade Market Ikeja Kazeem Ugbodaga After 20 years of sustained resistance, all traders in Alade Market, Ikeja have begun relocating to a newly built alternative market, thereby paving way for its redevelopment. The traders finally relocated with the intervention of the Lagos State Government, Ikeja Local Government and the Iyaloja of Alade Market, Chief Aina Adenuga. Chief Adenuga assured that all legal allotees in the old market had started moving into the alternative market. All parties agreed to the relocation plan after series of meeting at the weekend with the Sole Administrator of Ikeja LGA, Mr. Abiodun Taiwo and representatives of the state government, among others. The decision of all the parties to relocate from Alade Market ended a 20-year conflict, which undermined the proposal to redevelop the market to a shopping mall to cost N6.9 billion. The parties agreed that the concessionaire of the Alade Shopping Mall, the Masters Reality Int’l Concepts Limited should erect ...

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State Okafor Ofiebor/Port Harcourt Governor Henry Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State has appealed to ex-militants to be calm and exercise patience with the Federal Government over delay in the payment of their stipends. The governor also called on the Presidential Amnesty Office to urgently pay whatever was due the ex-agitators due to the restiveness of those captured by the programme. The Governor’s call is coming amidst plans by the ex-agitators to disrupt the peace and national assets in the state. A statement issued on Sunday in Yenagoa by the State Commissioner for Information, Jonathan Obuebite, quoted Dickson as advising all stakeholders in the Niger Delta struggle to “eschew violence and live in peace” as issues concerning their welfare will soon be addressed by the Federal Government.

Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka was recently a guest at the Ebedi International Writers Residency in Iseyin, Oyo State. Here are some pictures taken at the event. Prof. Wole Soyinka in Ebedi, inspecting books by residents Prof. Wole Soyinka in Ebedi with Dr. Wale Okediran and Baale Awojobi (right) Prof. Wole Soyinka in Ebedi with students

Prof Wole Soyinka and Dr. Wale Okediran WALE OKEDIRAN ‘’Wale, No formal programme please. I was alarmed when I read, in one of your earlier mail, something like “the programme will begin at something o’clock and should be over by etc.etc.” but chose to let it go. I shall interact with your Centre most informally, No structured programme please!’’ With the above mail from the Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, it became very obvious that receiving our august visitor at the Ebedi International Writers Residency in Iseyin, Oyo State would not be as simple as I had earlier thought. It was at the inauguration of Wole Soyinka Foundation’s ‘’Ijegba Retreat’’ for writers in Abeokuta late in 2015 that I casually intimated WS about the Ebedi Writers Residency. I was pleasantly surprised when the Nobel Laureate said he was hearing of the Residency for the first time. As he put it; ‘’How come I didn’t know about this? Hearing about it for the first time – that’s a great pity! Five years operational...

Fatai Owoseni, Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Kazeem Ugbodaga Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Lagos State Police Command has recovered eight stolen vehicles from the member of a syndicate specializing in trans-border crimes. Members of the syndicate steal vehicles from Lagos, move them to Ogun from where they are taken to the neighbouring countries for sale. It was gathered that RRS operatives working on a reported case of stolen Toyota Corolla from where it was parked in Ikeja Business District, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, tracked the vehicle to a car dealer’s compound in Kobape, Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Thursday night. Investigations revealed that the Toyota Corolla, grey colour, 2004 model with registration number, KRD 759, belonging to Mrs. Olaitan Lawal, was removed from the car park during a church programme in Ikeja, at about 6 p.m. on Thursday before it was found around 1 a.m. on Friday. According to the owner of the car, “I took my car to the chur...

Dolapo Badmos, Lagos State Police Command spokesperson The Lagos State Police Command has alerted residents on the new antics of criminals, particularly at night, before carrying out their nefarious activities. The command’s spokesperson, SP Dolapo Badmos, issued the alert in an interview on Sunday in Lagos, against the backdrop of recent robbery attacks on residents. She said the criminals, in an attempt to rob or kidnap their victims, now engaged in switching off running power generating sets or turned on tap water, to lure them out. Badmos, therefore, advised residents not to come out at night, if they noticed that taps within their compounds were opened or when their generators suddenly stopped working. “Residents should be careful when they discover that their generators stop working or notice water gushing out from their taps, at night. “They should watch carefully before going out. If they notice strange movements, they should call the nearest police station. “This is wh...

Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, Mr Abubakar Malami, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, has advised parties involved in the Abia governorship crisis to await the decision of the court before taking any action. This is contained in a statement signed by Mr Salisu Isah, the Chief Press Secretary to the Minister on Sunday in Abuja. In the statement, Isah said that as far as the minister was concerned, the constitutional powers for the legal opinion of his office had not been sought on the issue. Isah said that so far, nobody had approached the minister to proffer any legal opinion on the matter. “As a strong believer in the rule of law, it is my belief that the law should naturally take its cause; the attorney-general will not be dragged into this controversy at this point. “The parties involved should await the decision of the courts. “The attention of the attorney-general has been drawn to the insinuations and crass lies being peddled by a cross-section of Nigeria...

Mikel Arteta: no more a Gunner Mikel Arteta, Arsenal captain has announced his retirement from football and in a surprise twist, he said he would be joining Pep Guardiola’s coaching team in Manchester City. The 34 year-old Arteta had for long been linked to a coaching stint at Arsenal itself. His retirement was announced via a lengthy statement on his Twitter page, in which he reflected on his time as a player, as well as underlining his excitement at the prospect of working alongside Guardiola, who will be formally unveiled as the new City boss on Sunday. Hi all, here a statement from me on the next chapter in my football career… http://pic.twitter.com/2Xb9VifCog — Mikel Arteta (@m8arteta) July 3, 2016

Commandant-General of NSCDC, Abdullahi Gana The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Kwara, said on Sunday that it had deployed 2,500 personnel across the state to ensure protection of lives and property during the Eid-el-fitr celebration. Mr Pedro Ideba, the Kwara Commandant of the corps, disclosed this in llorin. He said that the personnel had already been deployed in all the 16 local government areas of the state to ensure a hitch free Sallah celebration. The commandant said that the corps was collaborating with other security operatives in the state to achieve this. Ideba said that personnel had been dispatched to all the Eid praying grounds and other sensitive locations in the state to provide adequate security. The commandant warned residents of the state against taking laws into their hands, adding that any person or group of peoples who constitute security threat would be dealt with. He also warned residents to desist from impersonating personnel of the N...

Yahaya Bello, Kogi State governor The Kogi State Government has reacted to the seven days ultimatum given to the governor, Yahaya Bello, by the National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, to reopen the state university at Anyigba or face protests on the streets of Lokoja, the state capital. The government, in a statement issued on Sunday by Kingsley Fanwo, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, described as ridiculous insinuations that Governor Yahaya Bello was not sensitive to the plight of students at the state-owned university. In the statement titled: Re-Kogi on Auto Reverse: How NANS was dragged into an uninformed battle, Fanwo stated: The attention of the Kogi State Government has been drawn to an uninformed publication purportedly attributed to the national leadership of the National Association of Nigerian Students, placing a brush of insensitivity to the plight of students on the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello. In line with our communication commitment ...

Some tyres The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has seized 500 expired tyres and suspended the sale of 1,000 suspected substandard steel bars in Calabar, the Cross River capital. The State Coordinator of SON, Mr Udeme Udom, disclosed this in an interview on Sunday in Calabar. He said that the items were seized during a market surveillance carried out by the organisation in some building material shops in Calabar between May and June. Udom explained that the sale of the steel bars was put on hold, pending the completion of laboratory test on the samples of the bars to determine their quality. “On June 16, men of SON embarked on market surveillance and in the process chained over 1,000 steel bars. Five shops were found to be selling iron bars not conforming standards. “These iron rods failed the diameter test conducted by us. Samples of 8mm, 10mm, 12mm and 16mm iron rods were taken and all the products in the shops chained. “The clampdown of the suspected defective iron ro...

Governor Amosun Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta Ogun State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Wale Osinowo has declared that the state government is not owing pensioners in the state. Reacting to media reports of the protest staged by some members of the Association of Local Government Pensioners on Thursday, demanding payment of their unpaid pensions, Osinowo said, “the Senator Ibikunle Amosun-led administration is known for always placing the welfare of senior citizens on the front burner and therefore does not owe them any arrears of their monthly pensions. “All pensioners in Ogun State have been paid up till May 2016, while we are currently processing the payment of their June pensions”, the commissioner said. Mr. Osinowo explained that Thursday’s protest by local government pensioners was regrettable. He attributed it to a communication gap between the leadership of the pensioners’ union and the Ministry of Finance. “Unknown to the protesting local government pensioners, we had effecte...

Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State GBENRO ADESINA/IBADAN Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has appealed to members of the public with information on the murder of a member of the State House of Assembly, Gideon Aremu, to come forward and assist the security agents apprehend the perpetrators. Aremu, representing Oorelope Constituency, was killed Friday night at his residence, Alakia in Ibadan by gunmen who arrived on a motorcycle. The governor appealed to members of the public to volunteer information to security agents to aid investigation and prompt arrest of those behind the dastardly act. In a statement issued by the governor’s spokesperson, Yomi Layinka, Governor Ajimobi expressed shock at the gruesome murder of the lawmaker. Ajimobi described the death of the lawmaker in the hands of suspected assassins at a relatively young age as not only tragic but condemnable. He ordered all the relevant security agencies, the police, operatives of the Department of State Services...

Niger Delta Avengers: No peace deal yet Niger Delta Avengers are far from sheathing their swords as they went on the attack over the weekend destroying oil installations. By their own accounts on Twitter today, they blew up two major Chevron oil wells, close to Abiteye flow station in Delta state. In the same Delta state, they also blew up two trunk lines of the Nigerian government owned NPDC. Also an NNPC pipeline supplying crude to Warri refinery was also damaged Friday night. ALL FIVE OPERATIONS WAS CARRIED OUT BY @NDAvengers STRIKE TEAM. WELL DONE SOLDIERS. — Niger Delta Avengers (@NDAvengers) July 3, 2016 At 11:26pm on Saturday @NDAvengers blow up two NPDC major crude trunk lines close to Batan flowstation in Delta state. — Niger Delta Avengers (@NDAvengers) July 3, 2016

Governor Ambode: vows to implement street trading ban By Reuben Abati I wrote this piece after holding a series of conversations with Lagos street traders and hawkers who seem not to be aware of or are just indifferent to, or may be they are intrigued by, the fact that the State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode has declared on television that the state government is prepared to enforce an existing law banning street hawking. The relevant law, the Lagos State Street Trading and Illegal Market Prohibition Law, 2003 prescribes a punishment of N90, 000 or a six-month jail term, for both the buyer and the seller of any goods or services on the streets. So I asked this vendor, who kept pushing copies of the day’s newspapers in my face, so close, you wouldn’t even be able to read the headline free of charge. “My friend, are you aware that what you are doing is illegal? You never hear say Governor Ambode don ban street trading?” “That one no concern vendor oh. Na these other people wey dey se...

Jonas Hector: sealed the match for Germany Germany has qualified for the semi-final of the Euro 2016 championship in France after a nail biting, but thrilling match with Italy in Bordeaux. The World champion edged out Italy 6-5 on penalties, after the match had ended 1-1 in extra time. Mesut Ozil scored first for Germany in the 65th minute after a pass into the box by Jonas Hector, who had collected a deflected ball from a Mario Gomez pass behind the Italian defence. Ozil smashed in the ball at close range that gave Italian keeper Gianluigi Buffon no chance. Twelve minutes after Jerome Boateng mistakenly handled the ball inside the German box, following pressure by Italy. Mesut Ozil and Gomez after the first goal Leonardo Bonucci scored from the penalty spot for Italy. There was no other goal produced by the two sides in the next 42 minutes, more so for Germany that had 59 per cent of possession and made five shots on target to Italy’s three. Matters thus had to be resolved...