Newsline Online News Portal

By Our Correspondent   The Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), Ondo State Network has called on relevant stakeholders to invest in the education sector and support the government in addressing the high rate of out-of-school children in Nigeria. YALI made this call in Iwoye Community while providing educational materials to the pupils of St Stephen's CAC Primary School, Iwoye. The group, in collaboration with Sojitade Foundation, Kids and Teens Resource Centre , Gbenga Fawehinmi Foundation, Rural Nurture Initiative and others, provided uniforms, sandals and socks, textbooks, notebooks and stationery to the students. Recall, UNICEF revealed there are about 20 million out-of-school children in Nigeria, highlighting the need for increased investment and support from relevant stakeholders in the education sector. Dorcas Gideon, the Education Team Lead of YALI Network Ondo, emphasized the importance of education for children's future.  She urged everyone to support the governme...

The NYSC Ondo State Coordinator, Mrs. Victoria Nnenna Ani has pleaded with prospective corps members deployed for national service not to embark on night journeys as they proceed to orientation camps . The State Coordinator made the appeal in a release made available to newsmen in Akure, the state capital as she hinted that over 1600 prospective corps members are expected to converge on the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp, Ikare-Akoko for the three weeks orientation exercise. Mrs. Ani said that the management of the Scheme in all its formations nationwide has embarked on aggressive sensitisation and advocacy against night journeys saying that NYSC value the lives of corps members more than anything and place premium on their security and welfare. "I wish to reiterate the commitment of NYSC management about the security and welfare of members of the service corps. To this end, the Scheme is appealing to parents, guardians and road unions to discourage our vibrant youths mobilised f...

A Federal Lawmaker from Oyo state, Rep  Stanley Adedeji Olajide (Odidiomo) has been caught on tape spraying ‘controversial Iyaloja’ Folashade Abeo at a social party in Oyo recently.

The NYSC Ondo State Coordinator, Mrs. Victoria Nnenna Ani has made passionate appeal to leadership and members of the road unions in the state to support NYSC in her bid to stop night travelling by corps members. The State Coordinator made the appeal while addressing stakeholders in the transport industry at the popular and centrally located Ilesa Garage Motor Park in Akure, the state capital. Mrs. Ani who was a special guest of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) during the flag-off of Ember Months, an initiative of the Corps, praised the leadership of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) for always identifying with the noble Scheme. The Ember Months initiative, which is principally centred round sensitisation of drivers on the need to drive safely and be responsible to other road users especially during the last four months of the year targets stakeholders in the transport industry. "Our dear friends in...

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) says it is in partnership with  the Association of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS) to key into the initiative of War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) by the agency. The Commander, NDLEA Zone J (Ondo), Mr Bawa Parah, stated this on Wednesday in Akure during a town hall meeting with principals of all secondary schools in Ondo State. Parah said the WADA initiative was conceived by the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of the agency, retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa and had identified principals of secondary schools as major stakeholders. He said that they were important, being the custodians of students and the reason the meeting was being held to protect students (youths) from being victims of drug abuse. Parah, who quoted the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in 2018 “revealing that 14.3 million Nigerians between the ages of 15 and 64 years were involved in drug abuse, said the figure posed serious calls for concern’’. H...

The Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ondo State Council has inaugurated a new Chapel known as “Online Digital Media- ODM”. The Chairman, Ondo State Council of NUJ, Leke Adegbite inaugurated the new chapel on Friday, at the NUJ Press Centre, in Akure the state capital. The Chairman of the Union, Prince Adegbite said the inauguration of the Chapel was based on the resolutions of delegates at the national Congress held in Kaduna to have additional Chapel to the existing one. The leadership of NUJ in the state had on the 14th of October, ratified the Chapel online. Meanwhile, the publisher of Precision Online, Hakeem Adebumiti has been elected Chairman of the new Chapel while Adesoye Ajayi is the Vice Chairman. Others are Olusegun HOSEA Secretary, Bisola Aluko Treasurer and Rahman Yusuf, Financial Secretary

12 MEMBERS OF ONDO STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY DISSOCIATE FROM SPEAKER’S LETTER OF 23RD OCTOBER, 2023, TO THE CHIEF JUDGE OF ONDO STATE. As members of the 10th Assembly of Ondo State House of Assembly, we wish to inform the public and the good people of Ondo State that the letter purported to have been written by members of the 10th Assembly of Ondo State House of Assembly, signed by Rt. Hon. Oladiji Olamide Adesanmi, speaker, Ondo State House of Assembly, dated 23rd October, 2023, transmitted to the Chief Judge of Ondo State, requesting the Chief Judge to constitute a seven-man panel to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct against the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, came to us on social media as a rude shock, as the said letter did not emanate from any of the sittings of members of Ondo State House of Assembly. We wish to state further that the decision to transmit such letter by the speaker. Rt. Hon Oladiji Olamide Adesanmi, to the Chief Judge of Ondo State, in our view, is in ...

My attention has been drawn to the response of one Oladoyin Odebowale to the apology tendered by the Deputy Governor of Ondo State, H. E. Lucky Aiyedatiwa and the errors committed by him (Odebowale). It is so sad that Ondo State has descended so low to this extent where one foreigner who is yet to be re-engaged after been sacked at the University of Ibadan is the one responding to issues on behalf of the ODSG.  Is this how gullible we have become in this state? Thank God I’ve got friends who are high priests of the Ogboni confraternity and who are conscious of themselves and have respect for human dignity unlike this so called “high priest” Odebowale. 1. Oladoyin Odebowale is not and has never been a member of the APC either in Ondo State or in Ogun State where he hails from. As such does not have the impetus to speak either on behalf of the ODSG nor the party in government in Ondo State to the extent of discountenanting the apology tendered by the Deputy Governor. 2. Odebowale not...

By Eleniola Bamidele, Ekiti The Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Administration, Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Professor Tajudeen Bolanle Opoola has said, the Management of the institution under the leadership of Professor Abayomi Sunday Fasina is ready to immortalize Late Miss Ayanda Modupe of the Nursing Department  Newsline NG learnt that a Twin Lecture Theater hall in Phase 3 of the ivory tower will be named after the deceased.  Professor Opoola disclosed this while delivering his opening address in a day training workshop organized by the Directorate of Counseling and Human Development center on Tuesday, October 24, 2023, at the Faculty of Social Sciences hall of the institution.  The Vice-Chancellor who was represented by the DVC admin said, Modupe Atanda will be immortalised in honour of her passion, and dedication to education in the university before some unscrupulous persons eliminated her life  In his Opening Address, The Director, the Counseling and Human Develop...

The Forum of Former Members of the Kogi State House of Assembly has unanimously declared its support for the governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress, Usman Ododo, ahead of the November 11 election in the state.  The Forum, which comprises the entire past lawmakers in the state from 1999, across political parties, also resolved to go back to their different communities to ensure resounding victory for the APC candidate.  The lawmakers, who said their decision to support Ododo followed a painstaking assessment of all the candidates on the field and the need to save the state from being dragged back to the old days of ethnocentric politics and violence, spoke at a press conference in Lokoja on Thursday.  The Chairman, Forum of Former Members of the Kogi State House of Assembly, Alhassan Salisu Adakeke, who addressed the press, with other members in attendance, pointed out that Kogi was too central to Nigeria to be left in the hands of candidates "who a...

The Deputy Governor of Ondo State, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa, today tendered an apology to the State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, over the political crisis in the State. Speaking during a parley with journalists in his office in Akure, Aiyedatiwa lamented the embarrassment and discomfort the Governor has faced due to the barrage of negative news in the State in the last few months. Pledging his loyalty to the Governor and commitment to the development of the State, the Deputy Governor said there was the need to calm all nerves in order to restore peace and tranquility to the Sunshine State. He said: “I am profoundly grateful to Mr. Governor for his intervention and role in persuading the distinguished members of the Ondo State House of Assembly to embrace the political solution offered by our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), in the face of an impeachment move against me. “Our beloved state has witnessed a series of events triggered by the health challeng...

By Abimbola Abatta Part-time lecturers at Wesley University, Ondo State, have bemoaned months-long delay in the payment of their salaries. Musa Yisa (not real name), who worked at the school as a part-time lecturer, told FIJ that Wesley University owed him and others for two semesters from 2022. FIJ understands that the affected lecturers have been complaining bitterly on their WhatsApp group over the school management’s failure to pay them for close to a year. FIJ learned that the lecturers were engaged by Yusuff Adesina, the coordinator of the university’s part-time programme, who signed their offer letters. “I work at the institution as a part-time lecturer. The university does not renew our contracts every semester. If they need your services, they just give you courses to teach,” Yisa revealed to FIJ. “The agreement was that the school would pay N20,000 per the first two courses we take in a semester. When the courses are more than two, the school will pay N10,000 for the third on...

The Supreme Court, on Monday, finally dismissed an appeal filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi against the judgements of the two lower courts on the All Progressives Congress' primary election, which held in Kogi State on April 15, 2023 .  The Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgement, held that the appeal lacked merit, having failed to challenge the concurrent findings of both the High and Appeal Courts, or demonstrate that same were perverse.  The Apex Court also held that the two issues raised in the Appellant's brief were unreasonable, vexatious, not triable and against the provisions of Section 132 and 133(1) of the Evidence Act 2011.  Adeyemi, who represented Kogi West Senatorial District in the 9th Assembly, had filed a suit at the Federal High Court seeking to nullify the primary election of the APC, which produced Usman Ododo as the party’s flagbearer for the state’s governorship election slated for November 11. The case was dismissed by both the Federal High Court and t...

...... Says Women empowerment, key to prouder womanhood   Making women economically secure is key to achieving stronger, happier, healthier, and more importantly, prouder womanhood. The aforementioned statement was that of the First Lady of Ondo State, Chief Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, while declaring open the second edition of Ondo State Skills Acquisition and Empowerment Programme (OSSA-EP), for women in Ondo South Senatorial district, held in Ile-Oluji local government secretariat. According to her, empowering women with profitable skills to be financially secured, was the motive behind OSSA-EP which she initiated to augment the women empowerment strides of the Foundation for Wives of Ondo State Officials and Female Political Appointees, FOWOSO. Represented by the State’s Commissioner for women Affairs and Social Development, Dr(Mrs) Olubunmi Osadahun, the OSSA-EP Founder, affirmed that women were endowed with strength to succeed, if given the right opportunity and enough motivatio...

The people of Kogi East Senatorial District, who trooped out in their thousands in Anyigba on Saturday to demonstrate their solid support for the All Progressives Congress' governorship candidate, Usman Ododo, have promised to strengthen the unity of the state by delivering massively for the APC in the November 11 governorship election in the state .  The Igala indigenes, especially the critical stakeholders of the Social Democratic Party, Peoples Democratic Party, African Democratic Congress, who defected publicly to the ruling APC at the Kogi East Senatorial District Rally, as well as other illustrious Igala sons and daughters, said the crowd witnessed on Saturday was an unprecedented one of in the history of electioneering in Kogi East.  They promised to deliver massively for the APC in the election to pave the way for the continuity of what they described as the detribalised and purposeful leadership of Governor Yahaya Bello, which had brought unity and sincere development...

...as Akogun Job Omotuwa seeks Ilaje man for the position Ref. No: Ondo/ndcv/01 His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu (GCFR) The President and Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria Aso-Rock Villa Abuja. Your Excellency, RE; THE DECENTRALIZATION OF PIPELINE SURVELANCE CONTRACTS IN THE NIGER DELTA REGION. THE NEED TO CONSIDER ILAJE MAN FOR THE JOB We write to drawn your attention to the plans by the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation Limited to re-award the pipeline surveillance contracts to some Ex-militant leaders in the Niger Delta region to carry out security monitoring of pipeline vandals. It is on this basis we are calling for the review of the existing policy on the decentralization of the new surveillance project to accommodate leaders of ex-militants in Ondo, Ogun and Lagos State to avoid imminent crisis in the region.  The Niger Delta Coastline Vanguard (NDCV) in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State is a group of ex-militants who, ...

Three weeks to the conduct of the governorship election in Kogi State, an eligibility crisis has erupted in the Social Democratic Party (SDP). Murtala Yakubu (Ajaka) and Abenemi Sam Ranti are the governorship and deputy governorship candidates of the party for the November 11 election .  But, it is no longer at ease with the duo and their supporters as allegations of Perjury, False Declaration, Use of False Document and Possession of Forged Record are not only drizzling literally on their ambition, they are pouring seriously and obliterating any moral compass they have to stand for election and canvass for votes.  The latest scandal is now at the centre of every discussion among voters in the Confluence State. With official confirmation by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to the Department of State Services (DSS) that the running mate allegedly forged the 1979 GCE secondary school certificate he presented to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the ...

The CEO of Obayangban Oil & Gas Limited and the Deputy Commandant for Ondo State Chapter of the Tantita Security Services, Chief Bidemi Joshua Obayangban has congratulated his boss, Senior High Chief Idowu Asonja, Ondo State Commandant of Tantita Security Services over the contract renewal of Tantita with the Federal Government for securing and maintaining the nation’s oil lines. In a statement made available newsmen on Friday, Obayangba praised his boss, Asonja, describing him as a dedicated leader, a youth ambassador, and a professional security guard. While hailing the contract renewal, Obayangban said it will provide jobs for the good people of the Niger Delta and reduce the crime rate in the affected communities of the oil region. “Let me congratulate my direct boss, Senior High Chief Idowu Asonja over the renewal of Tantita conract by the Federal Government under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. So many youths and the good people of the oil communities will benefit from this cont...