BEVERLY HILLS, February 28, (THEWILL) – Chieftain of the Pan Yoruba Socio – Political Group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo has reacted to the harassment of Chief Sunday Adeyemo popularly known as Igboho on Friday, saying the security agents can harass Igboho but find it difficult to arrest bandits that kidnapped students of Government Science Secondary School, Kagara, Niger State for more than a week now.
He said there is the urgent need to improve the security situation in the country.
Speaking with The Will, Adebanjo said “It is true he was to pay me a visit but he was harassed on the way. He wasn’t arrested, but overzealous police officers allegedly harassed him on the road. We have more pressing security issue that need attention. And if we talk now they will say we are profiling criminals.
“We don’t have anything against the Fulani. We have issues with criminals among them, those Fulani that are killing and kidnapping our people. Is Aliko Dangote, an industrialist who have many industries here and is building a refinery in Lagos not Fulani. Do we fight him, no? What we are saying is that we don’t want criminals on our land.
In its reaction, Afenifere, has warned against any plan to arrest Igboho saying his arrest will create tension and insecurity in the South-West.
Public Relations Officer of DSS, Dr. Peter Afunanya, debunked the report in a statement released on Friday evening. It read;
‘’The Department of State Services wishes to refute the news that it attempted to arrest one Sunday Igboho, today, at Ibadan, Oyo State. The said news is misinforming and should be taken as fake and therefore be disregarded.
Airport Concession: Catalyst for Job Creation, Economic Boost – SSG
The Secretary to the Delta State Government (SSG), Mr Chiedu Ebie, has said that the concessioning of Asaba International Airport would create more jobs for Deltans and stimulate export of agricultural produce and other items.
He said the step would also engender huge economic activities within the State and its neighbours.
Ebie made this known while speaking on “News Across the Nation”, on Channels Television monitored by THEWILL on Wednesday
According to him, the other aspects of development expected from the consession is in the area of other facilities such as movement of cargo to foster export operations.
He listed the other facilities to include hotels, a conference centre, industrial site, o tank farms and a hangar for the maintenance and overhaul of aircraft.
“We expect that with the investments that are coming and the revenue that will accrue, it will make a lot of economic sense for the benefit of Deltans,” Ebie said.
He stated that the State Government was partnering the private sector to boost revenue in the State.
“We settled for consession arrangement for the Asaba International Airport but there are other things we have partnerships with the private sector, like the Kwale Industrial Park which we started due to the opportunity of gas in the area and the anchor investor – ceramic manufacturing.
“There is also the Agro Industrial Park in Ogwashi-Uku and also the modular refinery in Kwale and also a trailer park somewhere in Umunede.
“So, there are a lot of private sector initiatives that we are working on; not necessarily consession, but most important is realising that government cannot do it all alone so there is the need to bring in private investment to boost commercial activities as well,” he explained.
Bello Tasks Education Stakeholders On Workable Sector Plan
Governor, Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has admonished education stakeholders to develop a workable and reliable State Education Sector Plan (SESP) and State Education Strategic Operational Plan (SESOP) that would reflect the critical needs to delivering quality education in the state.
The Governor gave the advice at the Stakeholders Dissemination Meeting on the Drafted State Education Sector Plan (SESP) and State Education Strategic Operational Plan (SESOP), held at the Glass House, Government House, Lokoja over the weekend.
Bello, who was represented by the state Commissioner for Finance, Budget and Planning, Chief Asiwaju Asiru Idris, said there was no better time to plan for education development in the state than now.
He stressed that education remained his top most priority and it occupied the largest part of the state budget of 20 per cent allocation from 2021 till the end of his tenure.
According to him, if we are to be part of the 21st Century, Education, Science and Technology is very key, hence the need to put together a workable and reliable SESP and SESOP that would address the critical needs in the state education sector.
The governor commended the commissioner for initiating the SESP and SESOP project, and the entire staff of the ministry and all other stakeholders that had contributed to the draft and development of the sector plan.
The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Hon. Wemi Jones, FCIB, commended all the relevant stakeholders for coming together to strategise on how to propel the education sector to a higher dimension.
According to Jones, globally, education has assumed a central focus in most countries as a determining factor for economic development as well as development of social capital.
He stressed that quality and sustainable education can only be achieved through evidence based education sector plan.
Also speaking, the Vice Chancellor of Confluence University if Science and Technology, (CUSTECH), Osara, Prof. Engr. Salawu Sadiku, said the university was established to bridge the admission gap that Kogi indigenes had hitherto been facing in getting admitted to study the courses of their choice in other universities especially in science and engineering.
According to Sadiku, in 2018 the number of candidates from Kogi who sat for JAMB was over 60,000 but only 5000 of them were able to secure admission into higher institutions in spite of the fact that they qualified.
About the Author
AYO ESAN, has been actively reporting and analyzing political events for different newspapers for over 18 years. He has also successfully covered national and state elections in Nigeria since the inception of this democracy in 1999.
