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Lagos CP, Odumosu, Deploys More Security Personnels To Island, Mainland To Curb Crime In The State |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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Hakeem Odumosu - Lagos State Police Commissioner

By Akinwale Kasali

The alarming rate of armed robbery in the  metropolis in the  past month, has forced  the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, to change tactics.

As a first step, he has deployed additional mobile policemen to embark on massive raids of blackspots and criminal hideouts on the Island, while other detachments will focus on the mainland for sting operations.

In order to have well coordinated operations, the Commissioner of Police has detailed the “Baker” and Operational Commander, CSP Dalhatu Muazu, to work on the intelligence gathered from the identified balckspots and criminal hideouts in the areas and decimate their activities in order to maintain law and order and have public safety.

The police boss however warned that the operations must be devoid of excessive use of power, violation of human rights and brutality. He charged the operational Commander and his teams to act according to the provisions of the law.

Odumosu reiterated that the operations are continuous until the state is rid of hoodlums and “bad boys” whose ideas and plans are to foment troubles and cause pains to Lagosians in the state. “No room for them in Lagos State”.

The CP urged the general public to support the police and share useful information that can boost effective policing of Lagos State with the police.

AFCON Under-17: CAF Dashes Hopes Of Youngsters |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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CAF Logo

By Akinwale Kasali

It came as a big surprise to the entire football fraternity in the continent, following the announcement of the cancellation of the Under-17 African Cup of Nations Championship slated for Morocco. It was supposed to begin this weekend.

The Ahmad Ahmad led Confederation of African Football, CAF, announced that the tournament have been cancelled following the Covid-19 pandemic which prompted restrictions on traveling in the North African State.

Already, five countries had arrived the venue of the tournament before the cancellation order by the Continent football apex body.

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria had been scheduled to jet out to Morocco today, Thursday, before the sad news broke, dashing the hope of the youngsters who had been camped, and preparing for this tournament.

In one of the friendly matches played by the Eaglets, it thrashed Bayern Munich football Club of Germany Under-17 team 5-2 to announce its preparedness for the continental showpiece.

The National team Golden Eaglets had qualified for the championship having come second at the West Africa Football Union, WAFU, tournament.

No doubt, the cancellation of the championship will, in several ways, affect the future of the players, as they won’t be able to showcase their talents to attract prospective offers from Europe and across the world.

This will also limit their chances of dorning the national team Jersey as the players would be disbanded, putting an hold their future, soccer analysts and enthusiasts opine.

Those Calling For My Arrest Are Clowns – Sheikh Gumi |The Source

By
Akinwale Kasali
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By Akinwale Kasali

Islamic Scholar, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, has  given reasons why the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration cannot arrest him as clamoured by the Ohaneze Ndigbo, the Afenifere Groups and other Socio-Cultural, Security and Economic Groups. He  dismissed those calling for his arrest as clowns.

Gumi stressed that he cannot be arrested or prosecuted for interacting with bandits in the north.

Recall that there have been growing calls on the Government to arrest and prosecute  Gumi.

A group known as the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) stated that Gumi’s interaction with bandits was a treasonable offence that should be decisively dealt with.

But speaking to the media,  Gumi stated that Kaduna and Zamfara states had, also, negotiated with bandits in the past and no one was arrested.

The Cleric, also, disclosed that his interactions with bandits were done in the presence of government officials.

Gumi said: “Those are clowns, even the Kaduna State governor dialogued with them, Zamfara governor dialogued with them.

I’m not the first person that started dialoguing with them (bandits). I only added value, and I find them to be religious; religion is the only thing that teaches you that blood has sanctity. So this is the religious angle.

“I’m trying to gather them and teach them that there is sanctity to life. They cannot kill, rape and so on. This is the addition I hope will work. Note, I never visited these bandits without a government official, but they are in the background.

“All the bandits we met were with government officials, and that is why I said those calling for my arrest are clowns.”

Speaking further, he stated that his interaction with bandits in the North-west has yielded instant positive results.

“My interaction with bandits has yielded instant results. When you are dealing with somebody engrossed in criminality, if you approach him as a policeman, you will have a problem but if you come to him as a pastor, he will confess all his sins to you.

“So we approach them as clergy, and they feel comfortable to vomit all their problems. Hence, we see how we can appease and help them.

“We are not approaching them as an authority but from the spiritual angle. You know every human being has that spiritual influence, and that is why we are adopting that.”

Ondo: NURTW Executives Sacked, National Chairman Constitutes Caretaker Committee |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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NURTW Members

By Ayodele Oni

Following unending clashes between rival factions of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, (NURTW) in Ondo state, the National leadership of the union has announced the dissolution of executives across all levels.

The clashes, which started about fortnight ago, over control of motor parks, have led to the suspension of the union activities from motor parks twice by the State Government.

National President of NURTW, Alhaji Tajudeen Baruwa, made the announcement in Abuja on Thursday,  said it takes immediate effect.

According to him, the National leadership of the union has also initiated the process of immediate setting up of Caretaker Committee, to be led by Chief Olalekan Folorunsho, the South West Zone 2 Chairman, to oversee the affairs of the union across the state.

Baruwa who cited the NURTW constitutional provision in Article 42 Sections 5, 6 and 7 as the basis for the decision, explained that the move was aimed at ensuring proper reorganization of the entire structure of the union in the State.

“With this announcement, union executives at the State administrative council, SAC level, all branches and every Unit hereby stand dissolved as Contained in Article 42 Section 7 of the Union Constitution.”

The NURTW President stated that the national leadership of the union would follow due process in investigating the dastardly attack in Akure, the Ondo state capital which led to loss of lives.

He vowed to bring perpetrators to book, while working in line with the provisions of Union’s Constitution to ensure that the selection of members of caretaker committee would be done across board with a view to boosting the performance of members and promoting their welfare.

He encouraged the union members to cooperate with those saddled with responsibility of addressing the challenges confronting NURTW in Ondo State and advised commercial drivers to go about their daily activities without hindrances and avoid acts capable of jeopardizing the peaceful atmosphere in the State

Alhaji Baruwa who commended the Ondo State government for the timely intervention in the crisis, pleaded for a review of its decisions relating to the operations of the NURTW in the state, assuring that members would ensure improved service delivery and good conduct in their activities.

Finally, Akeredolu Replaces Aragbaiye As Ondo Head Of Service |The Source

By
Ayodele Oni
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John Adeyemo- Ondo State Head of Service

By Ayodele Oni

A new Head of the Ondo State Civil Service has been appointed. Mr John Adeyemo, was on Thursday named by Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to the office.

The Governor’s approval, which is in consonance with provisions of section 208 sub section 3 of the constitution, was sequel to the retirement of Mr Dare Aragbaiye.

Aragbaiye, was to have retired last year after his mandatory retirement age, but his tenure, as Head of Service, was extended by Governor Akeredolu, which drew mixed reactions from the workers.

The appointment, according to a statement by the Chief Press secretary to the Governor, Mr Richard Olabode,  is in recognition of Adeyemo’s track records of years of dedication, trustworthiness, reliability and efficiency.

Prior to his appointment as Head of Service, John Adeyemo, mni, was the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Information and Orientation. Adeyemo joined the state public service in 1990 as an Administrative Officer II.

He was, for many years, the Chairman of the Administrative Officers Forum ( ADOFOM) where he provided leadership and mentorship for officers in the elite corps administrative officers cadre.

An astute and experienced administrator, John Adeyemo has traversed almost all the MDAs in the course of his career in the state public service and rose through the ranks to the position of Permanent Secretary before his appointment.

He is a member of many Professional Organisations including: National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies, Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) , Nigerian Institute of Management (nim) ,Chartered Institute of Public Administration of Nigeria (CIPAN) among others.

Governor Akeredolu, in his congratulatory message to the new appointee, charged him to sustain the current robust relationship among the state workforce, Labour leaders and the government while pursuing excellence in the state public service.

The new Head of Service will be sworn-in on Friday, March 12, 2021

Watch An Officer and a Gentleman, And You Will Understand Meghan Markle |The Source

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The Source
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Reno Omokri

By Reno Omokri

The Meghan and Harry interview actually proved to me that a large percentage of people are very emotional and are prepared to believe the worst things without the least proof, until they themselves become the victim of unsubstantiated stories, at which point we will hear things like ‘this life’, ‘people are wicked’.

An unsubstantiated claim means a claim or allegation, which could be true or false, because they are not supported by evidence.

I use to be very naive until I became a Presidential spokesman and thus suddenly was the target of unsubstantiated allegations. Some of which are that I stole government money, bought a billion naira house at Asokoro (a highbrow neighbourhood of Abuja), and that Linda Ikeji was my girlfriend, and that I set her up in business.

The main individual behind these smears against me is now enjoying a romance he does not like with Muhammadu Buhari.

As Mark Twain once said, a lie will fly around the whole world while the truth is getting its boots on.

That Meghan and Harry interview, in my opinion, was propaganda by a skilled manipulator. Why do I say this?

Manipulators love crisis, because in crisis situations, they do their best work. And where there is no crisis, they will contrive one, And how do you know a manipulator? You look at their previous relationships.

Meghan has a family. What was her relationship with her own biological father? I do not want to repeat some of the things he said about her, but it is sufficient to say he lives as a broken man.

What about her own sister? She was her own tale of woe about Meghan. And her tales are too sordid, so I will not repeat them.

She was married before. Why did that relationship crash? The man has his own story, but let us give Meghan the benefit of the doubt.

The Sussexes got married on May 19, 2018, and they announced their decision to split from the British Royal Family on January 8, 2020.

So in 18 months, Meghan went through this unbearable hell? Well, it is possible. But when you examine their Oprah interview, their main grouse about the royal family is that they refused to protect them from the media even though the ‘firm‘, as Meghan calls the court of Queen Elizabeth II, protected other members of the royal family.

I schooled in England. And I have been a constant visitor of the UK since I was 12 years old. Any unbiased watcher of the British press knows that the Queen cannot even protect herself from the British media, talk less of protecting others.

The British press has made mockeries, caricatures, and been so mean spirited to the Queen, that she described 1992 as an “annus horribilis”, saying further that “1992 is not a year on which I shall look back with undiluted pleasure”.

Why did the Queen say that? Because the British press had excoriated her and her family with one contrived or real scandal after the other.

Look at how she had to throw her own son, Prince Andrew, under the bus, last year, over his links with the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein. If she was so powerful, why did she not save Andrew from the British media?

Meghan Markle is older than Prince Harry and more experienced. She knew what she wanted.

Look at how the two of them threw up charges of racism, because someone in the royal family discussed what complexion their baby would be. This may or not have happened. But let us assume it did. To say that her son, Archie, was denied a princely title because of his skin colour is just not true.

Her son was never going to be a Prince, except Prince Charles ascends to the throne. It is not a birthright, as she claimed. She probably was not aware of the 1917 law proclaimed by George V on this issue.

That protocol reads:

“The grandchildren of the sons of any such sovereign in the direct male line (save only the eldest living son of the eldest son of the Prince of Wales) shall have and enjoy in all occasions the style and title enjoyed by the children of dukes of this realm.”

What the above means is that only Prince Williams’s children (being the direct male line), are eligible to the title of a Prince.

Personally, I think Meghan married Harry because she thought her children from the marriage would be princes and princesses.

If you ever watched the movie, An Officer and a Gentleman, you would understand Meghan. In that movie, a Naval cadet named Sid had a girlfriend named Lynette, who was pressuring him to marry her. When he would not marry her, she convinced him she was pregnant.

As a result of her pressure, and without telling her, Sid left the Naval academy and went in joy to ask Lynette to marry him. Lynette was horrified that he had dropped out and she said she could not marry him, because she actually wanted to be married to a naval officer. And that was why she targeted him. She also said she was not pregnant.

Stunned, Sid checked into a motel and committed suicide.

Meghan wanted to have a son that would be a prince. Unknown to her, great grandchildren can’t be princes. She did not Google it well. When she found out the true situation, the royalty lost all the attraction it had for her, and the loss of her freedom to speak to the media and act in movies and feature on E online and other gossip TV and websites suddenly did not seem worth it.

So she left, and took her wife with her. Yes, her wife, Prince Harry, AKA Sid.

We have seen it in Nigeria before. A certain celebrity married a certain man, thinking he was the son of a former Nigerian President. She had thought her children would have that name brand, that would make them and her like royalty.

But when she found out that the man was not the son of who she thought he was, and that her son would not have that esteemed title of being the grandchild of a former President, the scales fell off her eyes and the marriage became unbearable.

Look, even if Queen Elizabeth II and her entire family kneel down to greet Meghan Markle each morning, and tremble before her, as long as the Queen does not change that 1917 law that prevents great grandchildren of the monarch (except great grandchildren from the direct male heir to the throne) from becoming prince and princesses, Meghan would still have found a way to accuse them.

She did not know about that law. She schemed, but was blindsided, and caught off guard. In fact, she confessed during the interview that she did not have sufficient knowledge of royal family protocols. She just assumed her children would automatically get the title. And as we all should know, assumption is the mother of frustration.

It is silly for Meghan to say that her son would not be “safe” if he is not made a prince. If safety was her concern, then why has she courted so much publicity since she and her wife decided to split from the royal family.

Princess Eugenie is a grandchild of the Queen, like Prince Harry. She had a son. He did not get a title. Yet he is fully White. Yet, he is safe.

Prince Edward is the Queen’s son. None of his children got titles. He is White and he is safe.

The safety concern, in my opinion, is just a ruse to hide Meghan’s real disappointment.

But, let us assume that everything Meghan said is true. Is it worth destroying the royal family because of her own experience in 18 months of living with them?

It was not necessary to throw them the £32 million pound wedding they had. They had already been married in secret. The marriage was a favour to them from the Queen.

If the Queen was really racist, she would not have had such a wedding for Harry. She did not have that type of wedding for her son, Prince Edward, or for her grandchildren from her other children.

Meghan and Harry did not even spare a thought for what the 94 year old Queen is going through, with her husband of 74 years, Prince Philip, in very poor health and in hospital.

I was sickened to see what people were saying on social media about the Queen, and her husband.

Prince Harry said his father stopped taking his calls, and asked him to put anything he had to say in writing. I would do the same thing too if I had a son who would repeat what I say to him privately in public and misrepresent it. At least if it is in writing, it cannot be denied, and there are limited opportunities to misrepresent a written statement.

Omokri was a Presidential Aide during the President Goodluck Jonathan Government

Imo: Okorocha Backs Down, Wants Peace With Uzodimma |The Source

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The Source
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Rochas Okorocha

By Charles Igbo

Former Imo State Governor, and Senator representing Imo West, Rochas Okorocha, seem to have backed down from his threats over his seized properties in Imo by the Imo State Government. He is now preaching peace.

“But for what has been done to me, I am human, I can bear it just for the  purpose of peace to reign”, he told State House Correspondents in Abuja on Wednesday, March 10, 2021.

Okorocha had gone to the State House to see Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, and even though he told the Correspondents that he went to say hello to the VP, it is believed that his visit was over his feud with Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State.

The very cold relationship between the two, which dates back to the contest for the Imo Governorship election in 2019, and  has been neither here nor there since Uzodinma was sworn-in as Governor, worsened when Uzodimma refused to disband the various Judicial Commissions and Panels of Inquiry into the Okorocha administration which he inherited from former Governor Emeka Ihedioha.

Uzodinma had come under pressure from Okorocha to disband the Commissions and Panels, accusing Ihedioha of witch hunt, but met a brick wall when  Uzodimma insisted they were for the good of the state and refused to disband them, to the anger of Okorocha.

It is the implementation of the Whitepaper paper based on the reports of the Commissions/Panels that has raised the ante of their feud.

A couple of weeks ago, the State Government had sealed and seized a multi-billion Naira Luxury Estate, Royal Palm Apartments & Hotels, belonging to Okorocha’s wife, Nkechi. But to the consternation of most Imolites, Okorocha, along with his sons-in-law, aides and supporters, went and unsealed the Estate, broke the key to the gate in a bid to repossess the property. In a viral video, Okorocha was seen and overheard, along with one of his sons-in-law, commanding his followers to break the keys to the gate, and unseal the property. “I Will sleep inside here today”, he said.

They were confronted by Government officials. Policemen arrived the scene later, and  arrested 15 of them, including Okorocha.

They were, thereafter, detained at the CID section of the Owerri Police Command. The next day, 14 of them were charged to Court. But Okorocha, who was released in the early hours of Monday, due to pressure from above, and alleged ill-health, was supposed to appear in Court, as he promised, by 10.00am, did not show up. Instead, he addressed his supporters at his Owerri residence, castigating  the Governor.

Days before the incident at the Royal PalmEstate, the State Government had, also, recovered the Eastern Palm University, a State approved University, which Okorocha appropriated to himself  insisting that his Foundation  entered into partnership with the State Government over the University.

According to him, his Foundation owns a 90 percent stake, while Imo State Government owns a paltry 10 per cent.

However, the Panel of Inquiry on Lands and Other Related Matters discovered that not only was the University approved for the State, Okorocha allegedly funded its development to the tune of N20 billion Naira, from the State Treasury.

Since the Government began the implementation of the White Paper on one of the Panels – Lands and Other Related Matters, Okorocha has been running helter skelter in a bid to stop its implementation. This magazine gathered that he has been visiting a number  of high profile individuals across the country to put pressure on Uzodinma to stop.

On Wednesday, it was the turn of Vice President Osinbajo to listen to him.

Senator Hope Uzodimma
Governor Hope Uzodimma

Addressing State House Correspondents, later, Okorocha said he wanted peace. But, in another breath, said he was unaware of what he did wrong. He said he was being persecuted. He said his son-in- law won the 2019 Governorship election, but was denied the office. He said he brought his children to invest in the State, instead of investing abroad.

He said he was yet to be told the exact offence he committed.

He said that initially, the State Government had claimed he funded a number of the properties with State funds, but is now saying that he built them on parcels of land meant for the new Government House, and verge area.

He said he was Okorocha before he became Governor, and still remains Okorocha after being Governor. Meaning that he has always been rich.

However, the questions being asked by Imolites, which answers Okorocha did not give State House Correspondents are; What were Okorocha’s wife  children, siblings and sons-in-law doing before he became Governor? How much was each of them worth? From where did they get funds to acquire the hundreds of billions of Naira  worth of properties and solid investments, scattered all over the State, especially in Owerri, the State capital?

How did they manage to acquire all that prime land in  Owerri Municipal and environs?

Dan Nwanyanwu, an Imo son, and Chairman of the Zenith Labour Party, ZLP, in a recent interview said he was shocked to hear Okorocha claiming this other day that he was richer than the State.

Nwanyanwu, former Chairman of  the Labour Party, LP, where Okorocha was, also, a member, said that the former Governor, in the months ieading to the 2011 Governorship election, did not have enough funds to prosecute the election. “He came to me”, Nwanyanwu said, “and said he didn’t have the upto  N10 million Naira with him. He said for that, he would defect to APGA, which already had a structure,” Nwanyanwu’s worry then:

“How did, Okorocha, suddenly acquire so much money to be richer than the state?”

However, Okorocha who told  the Correspondents that he made a sacrifice by becoming a Governor will not reject an intervention for peace  between him and Governor Uzodinma. Asked by the Correspondents if there is a possibility of his party, the APC, intervening since he and the Governor belong to the same party, he said it was his expectation.

He wants peace in the State, he said.

However, a cross section of Imo people say they would not  support any reconciliation that would allow Okorocha get away with his alleged “loot” of the State.

At a recent stakeholders meeting in Owerri, attendees  which cut across every who is who in the State, mandated the Governor to recover every property, every kobo, that belongs to the State, taken away by anybody, no matter how highly placed. And so did Imo Elders, and Traditional Rulers from Orlu Zone, the Zone to which Uzodinma and Okorocha belong.

Warning Uzodinma or anybody who would dare intervene, and ask that an agreement be reached with Okorocha, in order to forgive  him, or leave the “loot” for him, Nwanyanwu said ” Aside from that not being possible, it will be an unforgivable sin against the State and the people of Imo State”

Rivers: Wike Accuses FG Of Shielding Amaechi From Prosecution |The Source

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The Source
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Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike has accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government of shielding the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, from prosecution over misappropriation of proceeds from the sales of some the State’s assets.

The Governor said it is disingenuous for the Federal Government to flag off narrow gauge railway from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri at a time when the rest of the world is building standard gauge railway.

Governor Wike stated this during the commissioning of the 6.1km long, 7.3m wide Omuihuechi-Omuoko-Omokiri link Road in Aluu Ikwerre Local Government Area on Wednesday.

The governor said it is appalling that the Federal Government has continued the shield of Minister of Transportation from prosecution for his inability to account for $308 Million from the sales of the State owned power plant and other critical assets when he was the Governor of Rivers State.

Governor Wike noted that it is because the Federal Government is protecting the Minister that he has consistently made efforts to undermine the State Government by influencing who is to be posted as Commissioner of Police and General Officer Commanding of the Nigerian Army to Rivers State.

“People gave you opportunity. You sold our properties, everything. And people are talking in this State because of the Government that says they are fighting corruption and protecting people. You (Amaechi) sold our property for  $308 Million and kept for us $208,000. That is the kind of people parading themselves in Government, for a Government Government that says they are fighting corruption, shame.”

The Governor urged the people of the State not to be deceived by antics of the APC Government following the flag-off of the narrow gauge rail line from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri. According to him, the project flag-off is politically motivated.

“I heard people came to Rivers State to flag off narrow gauge (rail) when the world is talking of standard gauge. What they are giving Rivers state is narrow gauge because I challenged them,  show us what you have done for the people of the State. So, what they will do is to come and say okay, since you are complaining let us come and give you that narrow gauge.

“Instead of giving us the standard gauge to Maiduguri, and they are making noise about it. Rivers State, the treasure base of the nation, the State that they used their money to produce their President. Towards the end of their administration is when they come and tell us of narrow gauge railway.”

He added: “You want to finish the narrow gauge in 33 months. Will he be in power then? I am going to finish every project I have awarded, this Government will finish it.”

The Governor explained that the proposed University of Transport in Ubima , Rivers State, is deceitful because the Minister of Transportation lacks the capacity to see the project through. According to him: “Since 2015 it is now you want to go to Ubima to build University of Transport.”

Rotimi Amaechi
Rotimi Amaechi

Governor Wike said despite his (Amaechi’s) vehement opposition to his political aspiration to govern the State in 2015 and 2019, he had been elected twice as Governor.

“They said we will not be Governor, we taught them lesson in politics. In 2015, they said over their dead body will we be Governor, I am looking for the dead body. 2019 they said we will not be Governor, that they are in power. I said you are not in power, God is in power. We defeated them. They are small kids in politics.

He further added: “But let me warn the man who thinks he has President , he has Soldiers, he has Police, you should have learnt your lesson by now , that when God has left you, there is nothing you can do again.”

Former Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Sir Austin Opara, said at a time when the Federal and State Governments are struggling with COVID 19, Governor Wike has instead been commissioning and flagging off projects across the State.

“Federal Government has relied on the disturbances of COVID 19, states are grappling with inability to pay salaries, you are still commissioning projects,  you are breaking grounds, you are commissioning more projects. Indeed, it gives concern, what is the magic.

“When you started, your critics what they were saying was that even what he is doing, he is just working in Port Harcourt and Obio/Akpor, you immediately started commissioning projects in Eleme, Tai, Gokana, Khana, Akuku-Toru, Ikwerre, Emohua and many other Local Governments, then they kept quite.”

Opara noted that the announcement that the Rivers State will be building a Cancer and Cardiovascular Disease Centre worth 25 Billion Naira soon is gladdening.

He said in a civilized clime, the Federal Government should have sent a delegation to Rivers State to understudy Governor Wike’s government, to indeed imbibe and learn what is the secret of his success.

“So, indeed I recommend to the APC-led Federal Government to send a high powered delegation to Rivers State to understudy the infrastructural revolution that is taking place in the state.”

Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Elloka Tasie-Amadi, said the Omuihuechi-Omuoko-Omokiri road before the administration of Governor Wike was a well established nightmare for residents and road users.

He explained that the reconstructed road 6.1km long, 7.3m wide road complete with drains on both sides which measure 12.2km .

“This road is of immense benefit to the 3 communities it is named after, it is also of benefit to residents and people of Choba community, it is of benefit to the students and staff of the University of Port Harcourt, it is of benefit to land and home owners in this area. It is of benefit to real estate development within and around Aluu.”

Cross River is Committed to Affordable Universal Healthcare, says Ayade |The Source

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The Source
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By Chidi Levi

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, Tuesday, reiterated his administration’s commitment to ensuring that all Cross Riverians enjoy quality and affordable healthcare.

He has, therefore, charged the Cross River state Health Insurance Agency, CRSHIA, “to cater to the vulnerables particularly in terms of their healthcare because you must be people centred.”

The Governor spoke at the U.J Esune stadium, Calabar, venue of the  formal flag off of enrollment into the Cross River state Healthcare Insurance Scheme, christened, “Ayadecare”.

He urged the citizenry and corporate organisations to key into the scheme, saying the goal of his administration was to take healthcare to all parts of the state, including the hard to reach areas where drones would be used to distribute drugs.

“As a government, I am conscious of the fact that we have 196 wards. I have a challenge of providing 196 vehicles that will be responsible for the management, movement of men and materials across each ward to ensure that anybody who is sick will have access to the primary health care centre.

“I, therefore, call on all public spirited individuals and corporate organisations to please come to the aid of Cross River, to use Cross River as a model where even the poor, those who have zero income have insurance”, Ayade said

The Cross River state governor stressed that with enrollment into the health Insurance scheme with just N1000, the people of the state can now acces quality health care.

“This  insurance programmes are geared towards those who have no income. So for you to be zero income earner and still have medical attention that can attract the cost of 5 million or 10 million or above, shows the commitment, the will, and the might of kindness of our administration.

“I call on every single resident in Cross River to enrol into the scheme. Go to our primary health care agency or to our main ministry and register,“ he said.

Director-General of CRSHIA, Sir Godwin Iyala in his remarks commended the governor for his foresight and health friendly policies describing the commencement of the  enrollment as “yet another historic milestone in His Excellency’s quest for good health for our people.”

Iyala assured that  CRSHIA’s would be embarking on an aggressive enrollment drive to see that all Cross Riverians are captured in the scheme.

Earlier in his speech the Executive Secretary/CEO of the National Health Insurance Scheme, NHIS,  Professor Muhammed Nasir Sambo commended the Cross River state government for keying into the NHIS scheme saying the state could now benefit from the grant available to states that have commenced the enrollment.

“We are pleased to report that the scheme has commenced implementation of this statutory assignment with the disbursement of #6.5billion naira to 15 states and the FCT, which fulfilled the requirements for inclusion. I am happy to note that Cross River State, having successfully met the conditions, is today flagging off the commencement of enrollment, which opens a window of succour and new possibilities for the people of this great state”, the NHIS boss said.

Governor Ayade had earlier commissioned a new office for the Cross River Health Insurance Scheme located in State Housing, Calabar

Ondo Assembly Rejects Minimum Wage Bill |The Source

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The Source
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Ondo Assembly Rejects Minimum Wage Bill

By Ayodele Oni

Ondo state House of Assembly on Wednesday made its stand known on the proposed bill seeking removal of minimum wage from exclusive legislative list by the National Assembly.

The Assembly’s position is coming just as organized labour in the state explained that the proposed bill would lead to enslavement of the entire workforce.

The Speaker of the Assembly, Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun, told protesting members of the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) that the Assembly would reject a bill seeking the removal of minimum wage from the exclusive legislative list of the nation’s constitution.

The Speaker, while receiving a protest letter from the Labour leaders to kick against the bill being sponsored by a lawmaker at the National Assembly pointed out that the proposed bill is anti labour.

According to Mr Oleyelogun, the wage bill if passed, would further impoverish Nigerians workers, pledging that Ondo State lawmakers would ensure that minimum wage is not put in the concurrent list.

The State Chairman of NLC, Sunday Adeleye-Oluwole and his TUC counterpart, Helen Odofin stated that moving minimum wage to concurrent list would lead to enslavery of Nigerian workers especially state and local government workers.

The Labour leaders pleaded with the state lawmakers to reject the bill if transmitted to ondo state.

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