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Osun Guber: Over 20,000 Osun students endorse Oyetola for second term
Published
2 years agoon
Osun Guber: Over 20,000 Osun students endorse Oyetola for second term
…say they can’t be neutral in the face of physical realities
By Olorunfemi Adejuyigbe
Students under the umbrella of National Association of Nigeria Students/Joint Campus Committee, (NANS/JCC), Osun Axis, and the National Association of Osun State Students (NAOSS) on Thursday passed vote of confidence in the administration of Governor Adegboyega Oyetola, saying he deserves to be re-elected for a second term.
The obviously ecstatic students who had earlier embarked on a solidarity walk of few kilometers, said their endorsement was informed by the outstanding performance of the Governor in the past three and a half years.
The students said they can no longer be neutral in the face of physical realities of competence, capacity and experience of Governor Oyetola.
Speaking, the National President, National Association of Osun State Students (NAOSS), Comrade Yusuf Moshood Agboola, said the Governor had distinguished himself as a committed and transparent leader whose modest achievements was unprecedented in the history of Osun.
“We are not here for a political jamboree. We are formidable, resilient and highly-principled students of the State who believe strongly in good governance and responsible leadership.
“We are here on a strong conviction of good governance and quality leadership as being demonstrated and provided by Governor Oyetola to redefine the socioeconomic fortune of our dear State.
“Our endorsement of the Governor is not in anyway being induced by anything other than empirical facts and figures we have gathered and attested to since his emergence in the past three and a half years.
“We have no choice but to support this government and ensure that the governor is returned for a second term because he has done excellently well in all ramifications, particularly in the areas of education.
“We are convinced by many of your achievements, most importantly your prompt intervention in the education sector. You have proved to us that you are a leader with listening ears as manifested in the approval of many of our demands.
“I recall that all our nine demands put before you were approved and this had led to the improved welfare of students across the State, particularly your gracious approval of our bursary, mobility vehicles, prompt payment of lecturers and non-teaching staffers across the tertiary institutions as well as your positive disposition to non-increment of the tuition fees.
“We are indeed solidly behind you and your government and we are ready to mobilise massively to ensure your return. We have over 20,000 students as at last count that have been captured on our data and they are all ready to vote and canvass for you come July 16 governorship election in the State”, he added.
Also, National President, NANS/JCC, Comrade Oyelayo Afeez Oyewole, lauded the Governor for running a student-friendly administration, saying his outstanding performance had endeared them to him.
“Just few months ago, the students union leadership was able to meet Mr. Governor where we laid down some of the challenges confronting us and to the glory of God, today, all the challenges have been resolved.
“We laid down nine problems and they have solved them and that is what prompted us to deem it necessary to reciprocate the gesture by ensuring that he is returned. He has successfully provided vehicles for us across campuses. He has heeded our call not to increase tuition fees and he has been paying salaries and allowances of our lecturers regularly. That is why we have not for one day gone on strike.
“He has also fulfilled his promise to ensure prompt payment of our bursary in all the 30 local government areas, including Ife-East area office, and our request to ensure that some of the roads leading to our campuses are tarred has also been fulfilled to a large extent”, he added.
In his response, Governor Adegboyega Oyetola thanked the students for their continued support and cooperation since the inception of his administration, noting that their high level of maturity and understanding had culminated in the success recorded in the tertiary education sector.
Oyetola who promised better days ahead extolled the students for the appreciation of the modest achievements that God had helped him to accomplish within the three and a half years of his administration, saying they have just seen a tip of the iceberg of what he has in stock for them.
“I must commend you for your maturity and high sense of understanding, which had earned us the smooth running of academic sessions all through without a single moment of strike. I can claim today that no lecturer can say he is not receiving his or her salary in full as and when due.
“We have equally done so many things to ensure an improved welfare of workers in all our tertiary institutions and I can assure that the second term will be better than the first term as we are committed to take our state to enviable heights.
“I want to reassure you that your welfare will continue to be my priority. We had approved and disbursed the payment of bursary to our students 100 per local government but I want to assure you that this will be increased to 200 per local government.
“You are an enlightened segment of the population and there is no doubt in the fact that you understand what education means. You can’t afford to entrust your lives in the hands of someone that can not be trusted. I am fully prepared for the job and I am highly educated. I have spent over 30 years of my life in the private sector and I have received several awards from reputable institutions. We can’t afford to experiment with our lives. Your vote is to ensure continuity of what we are doing. Your vote is for progress. We have improved your campuses than what we met.
“Please get your PVCs and don’t be deceived by the penchant for little money. Face your future and your career and together we shall coast to victory”, Oyetola added.
Addressing journalists, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Students Affairs and Social Mobilisation, Comrade Kehinde Ayantunji, commended the students for being resolute and for standing by the truth in the face of physical realities.
“As you can see, they are members of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Osun State Chapter, Joint Campus Committee Osun axis and National Association of Osun State Students, NAOSS, all chapters’ presidents, indigenous students association who have come out in large number to declare their support for the Governor.
“You can see that the entire students structures in Osun came out massively to endorse Governor Adegboyega Oyetola for a second term, having critically and painstakingly assessed his remarkable performance in the last three and a half years. They have confirmed that they endorsed the Governor based on his outstanding performance. You can see that they were convinced by the responsible leadership provided by the Governor in education, workers’ welfare, security and his love for the students.
“One of the strong points they made was that at this crucial moment, they cannot be neutral as they need to align with a government that has prospect for their welfare. That is why they have been out in large number since morning to reciprocate the good gesture of Mr Governor.
“The amazing part of this is that majority of them, if not all, have their PVCs because they are enlightened population and they know the importance of PVCs and power to elect good leadership.
“Out of 1,955,657 registered voters in the State, youths between the age of 18 and 50 constitute 70 percent, and out of this 70 percent, 32 percent are students. The implication of this is that Mr. Governor stands to have block votes from the students”, Ayantunji said.
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Public Health Alert: The Dangers of Oko Oba Abattoir’s Unhygienic Conditions for Lagos Residents
Published
2 days agoon
November 3, 2024
Time was when the Oko Oba Abbatoir was the cynosure of all eyes.
The professionalism and neatness depicted by the Butchers and the distribution Unit of the Abbatoir was applauded by all.
Conveying the neatly packed Meats in an enclosed Van called ‘Eko Meat Van’ to various locations saw the Lagos State Government receiving accolades from opposition Parties, Lagosians alike for the initiative.
Years down the line, the once celebrated initiative has become a shadow of itself.
For a first timer visiting the Oko Oba Abbatoir, what greets the person is an offensive odour oozing from the Canals that passes behind the Abbatoir.
The stench is very strong. It fouls the air. It often even triggers breathing discomforts in people not used to such a sudden and unpleasant odour.
The drainage at the entrance of the facility is filthy. It is a major source of the pungent stench disturbing passersby and visitors to the abattoir.
This however poses health threats to Lagosians who inhale this offensive odour.
Aside the Canals, the environment of the Abbatoir is in a pathetic state, as dirt litters the environment with bloods of the butchered Cows stagnated at some potholes in the Abbatoir.
This is however unhygienic to the health of Lagosians who consume the Meats.
The safety of meat processed at Oko-Oba Abattoir, Agege, Lagos, has become a source of concern to beef consumers in the state owing to the unhygienic practices and poor sanitation that characterise meat processing at the facility.
Aside from the dirty drainage, the slaughter slabs where animals are slaughtered are not only dirty but also reek of the foul smell of cow dung as well as that of decomposing animal waste and blood.
The once upgraded processing equipment and units of the Abbatoir have become a shadow of itself.
Experts say poor handling of meat in abattoirs could lead to physical contamination, stressing that a situation where all manner of people accesses the slaughterhouse without check is inappropriate for a place where meat is processed for human consumption.
Investigation reveals that the handlers of the Abattoir are the one causing major problems by not allowing external body or professionals to handle the situation because of their selfish interest.
Moreso, it was also gathered that past administration has also put measures to salvage the situation but all to know avail as the activities of the centre is allegedly run by one family.
The said family is been alleged to be sabotaging the efforts of the Lagos State Government in changing the narratives in this regard, by monopolizing the administration of Abbatoir.
Sources who are in the know of the politicking happening at the Abbatoir that has made it leveraging on its past glory, say that if other Companies are saddled with the responsibilities of maintaining the Abbatoir, there will be drastic changes in the affairs of the Abbatoir, that will be a far cry from its present state.
It was also gathered that the Sub Concessionaire approved by the Ministry who has certain projects at the Abbatoir is allegedly been frustrated by the Main Concessionaire in connivance with the Commissioner.
This has further added to the pathetic situation of the Abbatoir.
Investigation also revealed that there are Shanties at the Abbatoir where some people allegedly live and pay rent to certain individuals at the Abbatoir.
This poses Security threat to the Abbatoir and residents around the Abbatoir, at a time when the economic fortunes of the nation has dwindled.
Sources revealed that the Abbatoir is porous, which exposes the State to impending danger that needs to be urgently addressed before it escalates.
No doubt, the present state of the Abbatoir is a far cry from what the Abbatoir was known for years back, leading to the call on the Governor Babajide Olusola Sanwo-olu led administration, the Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Health and the Ministry Of Agriculture to wade into this issue and earnestly address the worrisome and abysmal state of the Oko Oba Abbatoir, no matter who ox is gored.
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TIME TO RECONSIDER OUR TIES WITH ISRAEL
Sahara Weekly Reports That In an article titled “Is Nigeria fuelling Israel’s genocide against Palestinians?” which was published in Businessday on October 30th, 2024, one Suraya Dadoo, who wrote in from South Africa, opened his contribution by quoting our Hon. Minister of Foreign Affairs, my friend and brother, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar who he attributed the following words to.
“There is no justification for the carnage that is going on in Gaza… the complete disregard for the proportionality of force that is being meted out on innocent civilians. This carnage is completely out of hand and unacceptable. There is no way to explain the double standards; it has to stop”.
He went further by quoting our nation’s number two citizen, Vice President Kashim Shettima’s words at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September where he said the following.
“Justice is antithetical to revenge… Freedom is an inalienable right and a natural entitlement that cannot be denied to any person. The Palestinian people deserve their independence.”
Both the Minister and the Vice President have done us proud with their courageous words and bold stand and it is a reflection of the fact that the Tinubu administration represents the thinking and has expressed the sentiments of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians and have opted to tread the right path when it comes to the tragic events in Gaza and the pitiful plight of the Palestinian people.
Dadoo went further by writing the following,
“The Nigerian government has consistently condemned Israel’s military occupation of Palestine and has been particularly outspoken against Israel since October 7. Historically, Nigeria has been a strong supporter of the Palestinian liberation struggle, and Nigeria was central in efforts to ensure that Israel was not granted observer status at the African Union (AU). According to sources who were at the October 2021 meeting of the AU executive council attended by Africa’s foreign ministers in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, Nigeria’s then Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama took the lead in objecting to Israel’s accreditation and urged other member states to do the same”.
Again, this is comforting, but he follows it by getting to the crux of his essay and the heart of the matter by dropping the following clanger. He wrote,
“While the Nigerian government has strongly condemned Israel’s military onslaught on Gaza it also stands accused of fuelling the Israeli war machine that had already killed, at the time of writing, more than 40,000 Palestinians through direct violence and bombing”.
To substantiate his point he wrote,
“According to a recently released report titled “Behind the Barrel: New Insights into the Countries and Companies Behind Israel’s Fuel Supply,” Nigeria accounts for 9 percent of the total crude oil supplied to Israel between October 21, 2023, and July 12, 2024. The researcher analyzed satellite imagery, ship positions, shipping logs, commodity trade flows, information from port authorities, and financial and media reports to track 65 oil and fuel shipments to Israel in that period”.
He concludes by alleging that,
“Over 133 kilotons of Nigerian crude were delivered to Israel from Chevron, Eni, Exxon, Shell, and TotalEnergies. Gabonese crude accounted for 22 percent, and the Republic of the Congo supplied 6 percent, but it is Nigeria’s contribution that has raised eyebrows given the country’s vocal criticism of Israel”.
Dodoo’s allegation, if proven to be true, is deeply troubling and needs to be taken very seriously, indeed, lest we leave ourselves open to his grave charge of complicity in the genocide that is being unleashed on Gaza by the Zionists.
The matter can be resolved by simply banning all crude oil shipments from Nigeria to Israel.
I hereby call on our President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to do precisely that and take an even stronger stance against the Zionists by banning all arms purchases from them and terminating any military and/or intelligence advice or services that the Israelis are offering or providing us with.
If he could find the courage to implement a number of bold and much-needed fiscal, economic, and constitutional reforms and policies such as the removal of the oil subsidy, the floating of the naira, the establishment of autonomy for the local government areas, the implementation of the students loan fund, the numerous tax reforms and most important of all the refusal to go to war against Niger Republic despite the enormous pressure that the western powers, led by France and the United States of America, put on him to do so earlier this year, he can certainly muster same to kick the Zionists out of Nigeria, nullify their pervasive influence in our country and sub-region and sever all trade, economic and diplomatic ties and relations with them.
General Yakubu Gowon, our reverred former Head of State, did this in 1973 when he was in power and as Chairman of the then OAU (AUtoto punished the Jewish State for its attack on the Palestinians during the Yom Kippur War.
For several years before then and specifically during the three-year civil war, Gowon had viewed Israel with much distrust and suspicion, given the covert support she gave to the Biafran secessionists and her complicity in the attempt to dismember and break up our beloved country.
However, the straw did not break the camels back until 1973, after which the final break took place, and diplomatic relations between our two countries were not restored until September 1992 by the then Head of State General Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida.
I am constrained to say that now is the time to break diplomatic ties with Israel again.
This is the proper thing to do in light of their insatiable compulsion and appetite for mass murder, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide, given their insane and psychotic disposition for murdering helpless and defenseless women and children and for killing babies.
Again this is the proper thing to do given the fact that they have not only illegally occupied the land of the Palestinian people for over 76 years and slaughtered and incarcerated millions of them but they have also unleashed what can best be described as the second holocaust against them over the last one year killing over 60,000 in Gaza alone and thousands more in the West Bank, Lebanon and Syria!
If the world could go to war with Nazi Germany in 1936 as a consequence of the first holocaust, every civilized nation ought to, at the very least, be able to break diplomatic ties with Zionist Israel as a consequence of the second.
Morality, decency, and justice demand no less, and those nations that insist on applauding the atrocities of the Jewish state and selling weapons of mass destruction to her are not only complicit in her war crimes but are also from the pit of hell and in the service of shaitan.
The Holy Bible says there can be no fellowship between light and darkness. It says we must either choose God or Belial.
It also compels us to resist evil and fight for the weak, the poor, the vulnerable, and the oppressed.
The Holy Koran does the same and is emphatic on the importance of justice for all and support for the less privileged and the vulnerable.
Nigeria can and must NEVER be seen to be complicit in the bestial barbarity that is going on in Gaza or to have relations with the beasts that have relentlessly unleashed it.
Though we have many challenges, ours is a nation of decent, God-fearing, just, and right-thinking people who have a long history of standing for the oppressed all over Africa and contributing to the efforts of numerous liberation struggles.
Let us prove to the world once again that that is who and what we are by openly and loudly challenging the barbarity, lunacy, and thuggery of the State of Israel at the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Court, the United Nations, the African Union, and all other relevant fora and calling her out for her continuous violations of international law, her disdain for an international rules-based system and her racist, fascist and ethnocentric disposition.
Let us expose her contempt for humanity and human life, her total and complete adoption, espousal, and implementation of apartheid as a fundamental principle and cardinal policy in her system of Government, and her religious fanaticism and proselytizing bigotry.
Let us vigorously and aggressively resist her hatred for Arabs and Africans, her appalling treatment of Christians and Muslims, her rejection of the two-state solution, her desire to ethnically cleanse, wipe out, and eradicate and eliminate the Palestinian race, her intention to establish a ‘Greater Israel’ whose borders would stretch from Egypt to Iran and her heinous crimes and unspeakable atrocities in Gaza, the West Bank, and Lebanon.
These are concrete and cogent steps that we as a people and nation can take to contribute our quota to the collective fight against the tyranny and oppression of the Zionists and I believe that we are still big and strong enough to take them.
May God guide and protect us in this noble endeavour and may history and posterity be kind to us.
(Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, is the Sadaukin Shinkafi, a former Minister of Aviation and a former Minister of Culture and Tourism of Nigeria)
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Michael Sijuade Bandele, distinguished legal expert and trailblazer, observes another birthday
Published
2 days agoon
November 3, 2024Michael Sijuade Bandele, distinguished legal expert and trailblazer, observes another birthday.
~By Oluwaseun Trust BethNews Media
Who is Michael Bandele?
Sijuade, a notable son of ErukuCity, hails from the renowned family of the late Baba Bandele, with their residence located directly opposite the Catholic Church on Oke Ogi Road
Michael Bandele, or ‘Mike’ to friends, displayed intelligence and determination during his early years at Secondary Commercial School, ErukuCity
This young man displays profound gratitude and a heart characterized by remarkable resilience and simplicity, reflecting the exemplary character of his late parents
The Law, my preferred name for him, has had a lasting impact on Kwara’s urban landscape and surrounding areas through his meticulous execution of duties and unwavering commitment, setting a benchmark for excellence
Michael Bandele’s outstanding achievements in fostering the growth and profitability of ErukuCity’s Ankara Night carnival exemplify his steadfast commitment and exceptional brilliance, earning recognition within the committee. His unwavering commitment to culinary excellence at Ankara Night, demonstrated by his expert preparation of Asun, Chicken, and Turkey, is truly exceptional
Michael Bandele exemplifies exceptional distinction, divinely appointed to pursue, overtake, and reclaim excellence
Through this feat, he maintains his status as an iconic figure of accomplishment amongst his equals, persistently innovating and leading the way
Today, I am delighted to be among distinguished associates, loved ones, acquaintances, and genuine well-wishers in celebrating your birthday, offering sincerest felicitations and warmest regards for many joyful years to come.
Oluwaseun Fabiyi a media practitioner writes from Lagos.
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