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Lagos-Ota Road Ready In December – Abiodun, Fashola

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Lagos-Ota Road Ready In December - Abiodun, Fashola

The people of Sango-Ota and its environs would soon heave a sigh of relief as Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has revealed that palliative work will soon commence on the bad portions of the Lagos-Ota and Ota-Idi-Iroko roads, and to be concluded by December.

Governor Abiodun who stated this on Wednesday when he led the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola on an inspection of the ongoing construction of Toll Plaza at Lotto, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, stated that the palliative which would be done by December, is to reduce the hardship being experienced by commuters along the roads.

The governor also said the failed portions, which would be reconstructed by the Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) would cost N13.4bn and would be part of the N56bn revived contract sum.

“In the meantime, the minister has graciously instructed that FERMA fixes those places and immediately begin to carry out palliative work on that road.

“We have given the commitment that we will relocate traders; we will control and manage traffic, whatever that it is we need to do, we will ensure that we begin to bring succour and needed relief to our people.

“The state of that road today is pitiable. I went on that road myself and I felt bad for our citizens, however like the minister has explained, we have decided to find a fasttrack solution and I must thank the minister. He has graciously decided to extract those failed portions, those very terrible portions, not just at the old Toll Gate but about two kilometers of all the failed portions along the length of that road up to Abeokuta.

READ ALSO: My Dad Asked Me To Prioritise Civil Servants, Pensioners, Teachers – Abiodun

“They’ve identified those portions, they are costing them right now, they are extracting them from the main contract, they have cost them to be about N13.4 billion. He is going to find money using SUKUK bond to pay the contractors so they can focus on those places, not just rehabilitating them, but actually reconstructing them so that when the rest of the road construction commences, they will just commence and complement those ones, so that is what is being planned.”

On the Ota- Idi-Iroko road, the governor said talks are ongoing to get Mike Adenuga to handle the reconstruction of the road subject to approval by the Federal Executive Council, as done by Dangote, who handled the Ilaro-Papalanto road.

“On the Ota-Idiroko road like the minister has shared with us, that road is not under contract, but graciously, we spoke to Otunba Mike Adenuga, in the partnership that this state has built with the likes of Dangote who also is using his tax credit to build the Interchange to Papalanto Road, this has never happened before this government came on board. These people have been in Nigeria and they’ve not partnered with the state or federal government before. We must be doing something right to make Dangote to decide to use his tax credit to construct two major roads. Papalanto is almost N70 billion and also the Epe-Ijebu-Ode road going through Odogbolu road, it is another road he has accepted to do”.

Prince Abiodun who described Ota as the industrial hub of the state, noted that there were lot of emotions concerning the deplorable condition of roads in the town, saying “with work about to commence on the roads, succour would soon come to the people before the end of the year.

“There are other issues that have been in the social media and in the news in the last few weeks, particularly issues that deal with the state of Ota roads and the reason for that is very simple, Ota is the industrial hub of this country and enjoys a lot of overflow of traffic from Lagos. So, of course, there is a lot of emotions about the state of roads in Ota and like the minister and I discussed, Ogun State has probably the largest federal roads in this state.

“Now, we spoke to Otunba Mike Adenuga and he graciously accepted that he was going to use his tax credit to fund the construction of the Ota-Idiroko road, but that has to go through a process, for him to fund the road.

“The federal government must accept his design, valuation and a lot of things have to go to the federal executive council”, he explained.
Speaking earlier, Fashola said the Lagos-Ota road, inherited from the previous administration, was first awarded in 2000 with the contract sum of N6bn and now needed the sum of N56bn for its completion.

He said though work started and was completed on the Lagos end of the road, the bridge head at Ota had been in deplorable condition for sometime now, pledging that FERMA has been saddle with the responsibility of fixing the fail portions of the road.

On the Ota- Idi-Iroko road, the minister said measurements, designs and office work were going on just as the state government was committed to clearing the road for construction of gutters to commence.

While sympathising with those who ply the road, Fashola said government needed the support of lawmakers in making funds available for infrastructural development in the country.

 

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Security Operatives Crack Down On Sagamu Cultists, House of Assembly Member, Six Others In DSS Net

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Acting IGP Kayode Egbetokun

Security operatives in Ogun State on Wednesday tracked six suspected cultists, allegedly involved in the violence that erupted in Sagamu at the weekend to the official residence of a member of the state House of Assembly.

The member, representing Sagamu State Constituency (1), Hon. Damilare Bello Mohammed, was alleged to have provided shelter to the fleeing cultists.

A team of security operatives, in a sting operation after a tip-off, arrested the suspects on the premises of the lawmaker.

Those arrested, according to sources, include Damilare Bello Mohammed aka DRE, Debbo Animashaun, Bamidele Saheed, Ismaila Onitire, Adewale Otesanya and Tobi Owoade.

They are currently undergoing interrogation at the Department of State Service (DSS).

Sources revealed that many dangerous weapons, including guns, were recovered from the suspects.

It would be recalled that Hon. Bello was arrested by the DSS for masterminding the violent protest that took place in February this year in Sagamu over the naira redesign policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

During the protest, irate youths vandalised about 10 banks and other public infrastructures.

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Ogun Considers Special Court To Try Cultists

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Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun

A Special Court is to be established by the Ogun State Government to try cult-related cases.

Also to be set up is a Joint Anti-Cultism Security Task Force comprising all major security outfits, with the mandate to rid the state of the menace of cultism.

The state is also proposing an amnesty programme for would-be cultists who may wish to surrender their weapons.

These decisions were arrived at after a joint security meeting, held at the Governor’s Office, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, Ogun State on Wednesday.

It would be recalled that Governor Dapo Abiodun on Tuesday hinted that his administration would enact a law that would pronounce the death penalty on anyone caught engaging in cult activities in the state.

The governor spoke during a visit to the palace of the Akarigbo of Remoland, Oba Babatunde Ajayi, following days of cult-related clashes in Sagamu, which left many dead and others injured.

The meeting, according to Governor Abiodun, focused on providing adequate measures to eradicate cultism in the Gateway State.

Prince Abiodun said: “During the Joint Security meeting that took place today (Wednesday), we engaged in fruitful discussions regarding the implementation of measures aimed at combating cultism in Ogun State.

“Our primary focus was on establishing a special court, forming a joint operational force comprising various security agencies, and implementing a death penalty for cultism offences.

“In addition to these measures, we also deliberated on the possibility of introducing a period of amnesty. This would allow individuals who wish to surrender their weapons and renounce their affiliation with any cult-related groups and activities the opportunity to do so without fear of prosecution.

“As an administration deeply committed to fostering a peaceful and violence-free society, we are dedicated to providing the Special Court and Joint Anti-Cultism Security Task Force with the necessary logistics and tools to support their operations effectively.

“The overall objective of our conversation is to address the issue of cultism through a multifaceted approach. This will include legal and enforcement measures, rehabilitation efforts, and community engagement through our respected traditional leaders.

“In conclusion, we are determined to tackle the menace of cultism in our state head-on. By employing a combination of legal frameworks, law enforcement strategies, rehabilitation initiatives, and community involvement, we believe we can bring about lasting change.”

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Why We Sacked NNPP’s Abba Kabir As Kano Governor – Tribunal

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Kano State GovernorAbba Kabir

The Kano Governorship Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday sacked Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The tribunal declared the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nasiru Gawuna, as the winner of the March 18 election.

Yusuf was declared the winner of the election by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) after the poll in March.

But on Wednesday, the three-man panel, after hearing the petitions, ordered the withdrawal of the certificate of return which INEC presented to Yusuf and directed a certificate of return to be issued to Gawuna.

The court deducted 165,663 votes from Yusuf’s total as invalid votes, stating that the affected ballot papers were not stamped or signed and therefore declared invalid.

The ruling comes about six months after the APC candidate conceded defeat to Yusuf in the wake of INEC’s presentation of the certificate of return to the NNPP candidate.

In a two-minute audio statement on March 29, Gawuna stated that “as a good Muslim”, he was compelled to accept the outcome of the election, whether in his favour or not.

He added that although his campaign team had requested a review of the election results by INEC, upon review, the commission had found Yusuf to be the winner of the election.

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