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Tag: Ondo State

  • Ondo govt commences implementation of child protection law

    Ondo govt commences implementation of child protection law

    The Ondo State Government has commenced the implementation of a child protection law in a bid to protect the rights of children in the state.

    To this end, the Ondo State Agency Against Gender-Based Violence has formed a partnership with an international agency, the Westminster Foundation for Democracy to validate the child protection policy draft and had concluded plans to embark on sensitization of the people on the new policy.

    Speaking at the programme on Thursday, in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the Country Representative of WFD, Mr. Adebowale Olorunmola, explained that the policy was put in place to protect children under 18 years against violence at school, at home and on the streets.

    According to him, the sustenance of the law relied much on the support and participation of all stakeholders including parents, teachers, public institutions, security agencies and the citizenry.

    He said, “The essence of the validation is to ensure nothing is left missing and that nothing that was not agreed on is added.

    “There is a consensus reached that the document is necessary for the protection of our children in schools and that schools are made conducive and welcoming for the children. Not only in schools but other places where children encounter hardship to ensure they are protected, safe and not violated.

    “There is a need for awareness to be created and no single institution can do this. All stakeholders must ensure this is done including the fourth estate of the realm.”

    In her remark, the wife of the state governor, Mrs. Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu, called on parents, teachers and non-teaching staff in schools to ensure a conducive and welcoming environment for pupils.

    Represented by the Executive Secretary of OSAAGBV, Barrister Bolanle Afolabi, the Ondo first lady said government agencies couldn’t do it alone, but all stakeholders must play their individual roles.

    Afolabi, who spoke with journalists after the event, said her agency in collaboration with all necessary stakeholders, including traditional rulers, would soon begin sensitization and education of the people about the contents of the policy across the 18 local government areas of the state.

    “As an agency, we will monitor all the schools to ensure that all individualized policies are duly implemented in all schools in Ondo State.

    “We are also to collect data of all abuses that might have occurred in schools and to ensure justice is done.

    The right of students in schools must be protected, ” she submitted.

  • Ondo state gov. signs multi-door court house bill into law

    Ondo state gov. signs multi-door court house bill into law

    Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has signed the Multi-door Courthouse bill into Law, for easier access to justice and align with global trends in alternative dispute resolution.

    Akeredolu, who signed the bill on Tuesday at the EXCO Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Alagbaka Akure, encouraged the people of the state to explore the alternative that the multi-door courthouse provided.

    He explained that the courthouse would further boost the administration of justice and allow litigants to settle matters without going through the conventional court process which, in most cases, created enmity and took longer time to resolve.

    Akeredolu disclosed that the law would assist the legal process which had become cumbersome in the country.

    The governor particularly charged the judges and other stakeholders in charge of administration of justice to always encourage litigants to make use of out-of-court settlement and explore alternative resolution for the peace and progress of the society.

    He observed that it might be difficult for parties involved in cases to become friends again after taking their cases to the conventional courts for adjudication, adding that the newly signed Multi-door Courthouse Law would ensure peace in the society.

    “Encourage people to explore alternative dispute resolution. Please, take advantage of this alternative dispute resolution.

    “Look at ways of settling matters for them. Make the environment convivial. Don’t let them see themselves as adversaries,” he said.

    The governor congratulated the outgoing Chief Judge of the State, Justice Williams Akintoroye, on the signing of the bill into Law during his time.

    Akeredolu added that the executive arm of government had enjoyed good working relationship with both the Judiciary and the Legislative arms without rancour.

    “I need to note that this bill is being signed into law during your own time. I note, particularly, that this will form part of your preparation to exit the judiciary which is supposed to come up on Friday.

    “We will remember today, that Ondo State multi-door courthouse law was signed into law in your own time.

    “I use this opportunity to congratulate you for your meritorious service. You have done your very best and we have worked with you without rancour. I want to say we, and I speak on behalf of the legislature, we have enjoyed working with you.

    “When we say we have enjoyed working with you, it is not about influence. We have not influenced you. But for us to know that we have a gentleman on the bench who resolves matters without ruffling shoulders,” he said.

    He advised the judicial officers to create an enabling and peaceful environment for all litigants to see the need to amicably resolve matters without becoming enemies after the case.

    “What the law is set to do is very clear; it is to assist our legal process which has become cumbersome,” the governor added.

    Earlier, while presenting the bill fot the governor for assent, the Speaker, Bamidele Oleyelogun, represented by the deputy Speaker, Samuel Aderoboye, said the bill would ease the tension and the burden of judges, lawyers and the state in resolving some cases outside the conventional courtroom.

    He added that the law would also bring about confidence and ensure cases were settled within the shortest time.

    Justice Williams Akintoroye appreciated the governor for signing the bill into law for the benefit of the poeple and the state.

    “As usual Mr Governor has done it again. How do I mean? Just some months ago, Mr Governor signed into law bills, which are Financial Autonomy of the Judiciary, also Ondo State House of Assembly Service Commission and Amotekun Law. We thank you sir for all these.

    “The Ondo State Muti-door Court House was given birth before my tenure but there was no law backing it up.

    “In having a Muti-door Court House, there we have processes relating to reconciliation.

    ” We have arbitration, we have conciliation, we have mediation. Now, when we don’t go into litigation on a full structure, possibility of bringing disputants together and make them become friends is available.

    “But when you go fully into litigation, somebody will be described as the victor and the other one as the vanquished. At the end of the day the enmity will continue,” he said.

  • APC mourns death of LG party chair in Ondo State

    APC mourns death of LG party chair in Ondo State

    The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress Ondo East Local Government Area of Ondo State, Frederick Otemuyiwa, is dead.

    The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Alex Kalejaiye, disclosed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.

    He, however, did not give the details of the sad incident.

    He described the deceased as a dedicated and committed party chieftain who strove relentlessly for peace and unity, of the party, especially at the local chapter.

    The statement read, “The party further describes the deceased as a very intelligent and articulate political figure, with apt and meaningful contributions during State Executive Committee meetings.

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    “It is very unfortunate that he has to leave when we all need his leadership, political experience, and rare mobilization skills ahead of the forthcoming general elections.

    “We pray God to grant him eternal rest, and console his immediate family, the APC members, and entire Ondo East Local Government Area.”

  • Ondo governor, Akeredolu apologizes over Muslim-Muslim ticket

    Ondo governor, Akeredolu apologizes over Muslim-Muslim ticket

    Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, has tendered an unreserved  apology to Christian clerics over his previous comment supporting Muslim-Muslim ticket of his party the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    However, Akeredolu appealed to the clerics to accept what they have to offer, adding that they should forgive and give them a chance.

    An aide to the governor and the chief press secretary, Mr Richard Olatunde, gave the speech on behalf of the Governor on Monday in Akure the state capital.

    According to the statement, the Chairman of the Southern Governors’ Forum spoke on Sunday at the 40th Holy Ghost Convention Dinner of The Sword of the Spirit Ministries held at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan.

    Akeredolu called for understanding on the need for power to return to the Southern region years after tilting towards the Northern part of the country.

    The statement reads in part: He said, “I understand our feelings because I am one of you. I am a Christian. All of us here are worried. What will be our gain, and that, why is my party, the APC, throwing up a Muslim-Muslim ticket?

    “It has been a real issue for all of us; even members of the party. We have debated it, fought it and done so many things about it. I have always said to people, that my fight was for a Southern President. Now it has come to the South-West, will I now throw the baby away with the bathwater? Can I, in all honesty, do it? Should I, in all honesty, do it?

    “We call it a matter of coincidence. It is a matter of conscience. All of us are here, why don’t we look at it from one angle? The buck stops on the table of the President. Do we have a capable hand who can manage the affairs if given the opportunity? Do you have a man who is bold enough to challenge incursions into our land? That is it.

    “All of us here have lived together for years, and we didn’t allow religion to cause a fight among us. We have Muslims in our families and there is no fight. We have many leaders in Yoruba land who have both Muslims and Christians in their families and there is no fight.

    “So, we want to appeal to our people that this is our time. I want to appeal to all our senior pastors and general overseers to help talk to their followers. We politicians can only do little. This is our time, please don’t be angry.”

  • Gunmen abduct scores of travellers in Ondo State

    Gunmen abduct scores of travellers in Ondo State

    Gunmen on Saturday abducted scores of travellers on the Benin-Owo Expressway in Ifon, the headquarters of Ose Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    The number of victims could not be ascertained as some sources said the victims were over 40 while others gave their number as 32.

    One of the sources at the town who disclosed the incident to newsmen on Sunday, said the victims were traveling in a coastal bus from Benin to Ondo State where they went for burial ceremony.

    “But on getting to Ifon area, the hoodlums ambushed and whisked all the occupants of the vehicle into the bush.

    “All the occupants of the vehicle were kidnapped since yesterday (Saturday) and nobody has heard anything about them since then,” a relation of one of the victims said.

    While confirming the incident on Sunday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Ondo State Command, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, said she could not ascertain the number of the victims.

    According to PPRO, men of the command and other security agencies in the state had begun search for the victims in the forest.

    ” Our men and other security agencies are already in the forest to rescue the victims unhurt while investigation into the incident has commenced,” Odunlami said.

  • SAD: Director in Ondo State commission beheaded

    SAD: Director in Ondo State commission beheaded

    The Police in Ondo State has confirmed the killing of Mr Gbenga Olofinmoyegun, a Director in the Ondo State Teaching Service Commision (TESCOM) who was declared missing on Thursday.

    The command spokesperson, SP Funmilayo Odunlami disclosed in Akure on Sunday that the mutilated corpse of the director was found on Saturday in Akure. According to her,  the deceased was identified by some people through the suit he wore before he went missing.

    “Yesterday afternoon somebody called to inform us that a decomposing corpse was found at Saint Theresa, close to St. Peter in Akure. When the police got there to remove the corpse some people came around and identified him as the director we have been searching for in the past three days.

    “It was his suit they used to identify him, but his head has been cut off and his chest ripped open while his intestine was removed,” Odunlami said.

    The police spokesperson said that investigation was continuing to unravel the circumstances behind the killing of the director.

    “Investigation has started, his phone was left behind and some other things too. So, we are going to work with what we have to know if he had issues with anybody. And may be its a ritual case, but it is investigation that will reveal all these,” the PPRO said.

  • Commuter coughs to death in Akure while waiting for taxi

    Commuter coughs to death in Akure while waiting for taxi

    A middle-aged man coughed to death in Akure on Thursday while waiting for a taxi. The commuter vomited blood while coughing, an eyewitness said. He said the man gave up the ghost before first aid could get to him.

    “Items found on the deceased were some drugs suspected to have been bought at a medical teaching hospital in Akure. The incident was reported to the police which evacuated the corpse to a mortuary,’’ the eyewitness eye witness said.

    Police spokesperson in Ondo State, SP Funmilayo Odunlami, confirmed the death, and disclosed that the corpse had been deposited in a mortuary.

    “It is true and the young man has been identified. Efforts are on to get his family members,’’ Odunlami said.

  • Ondo gov’t gives nod for primary school teachers’ promotion

    Ondo gov’t gives nod for primary school teachers’ promotion

    The Ondo State Government has approved the promotion of serving primary school teachers in the state.

    By this approval, those concerned can now reach the status of Permanent Secretaries like their counterparts in the civil servants.

    Disclosing this during his interactive meeting with the head – teachers across the three senatorial districts of the state in Akure, the state capital, the Chairman, Ondo State Universal Basic Education Board, Mr Victor Olabimtan, re-emphasised the government’s genuine intention to create a conducive atmosphere for teaching.

    He commended Governor Rotimi Akeredolu for providing the UBEC counterpart funds which had hitherto been neglected for about five years, paving way for the massive reconstruction of schools, renovations as well as provision of furniture items.

    The chairman however frowned at the “dwindling population of pupils in public schools despite the government efforts,”
    but “Ondo State Government will not relent in its efforts at upgrading school standard as well as its personnel.”

    Olabimtan used the opportunity to distribute promotion letters to 2,111 teachers, out of which about 85 of them were upgraded to level-16 (PS status).

    The SUBEB chairman also condemned in strong terms, the attitude of some teachers taking their biological children to private schools and ruled that it had become an offence for any public school teacher to take their wards to private schools.

    “The teachers will henceforth be held responsible for any drop in primary schools’ enrolment,” he told the Head Teachers.

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    Olabimtan also tasked the Education Secretary in the 18 Local Government Areas of the state “not to hesitate at reporting any teacher found wanting in their duty post for possible sanction.”

    The state Chairman of the Parents Teachers Association, Alhaji Abimbola Omoloja, who reacted to the development, commended the governor for showing interest in lifting education from foundation.

    Alhaji Omoloja solicited for the return of extra curricular activities to schools to enable pupils learn beyond what is contained in their academic curriculum.

    Selected head teachers at the meeting who granted interviews to TheNewsGuru expressed joy at the news, noting it would go a long way to encourage them to redouble their efforts towards public service.

    They described education as the best legacy any society could bequeath future generations.

  • Gov Akeredolu turns evangelist, says I’m a child of God’s miracle

    Gov Akeredolu turns evangelist, says I’m a child of God’s miracle

    Ondo State Governor, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on Thursday turned into an evangelist at the Global Crusade of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry in Ondo town.

    The Governor led members of the State Executive Council including the Secretary to the State Government, Princess Oladunni Odu; the Head of Service, Pastor Kayode Ogundele and Commissioners as well as Special Advisers to the crusade.

    Governor Akeredolu appreciated the Founder and General Superintendent of the Church, Pastor William Folorunso Kumuyi, who is also the convener of Global Crusade with Kumuyi (GCK) for the invitation extended to him and the warm reception.

    The six days crusade titled “Triumphant Power” is holding at the Ondo Anglican Grammar School, Along Ife Road, Ondo, between Thursday, August 25 to Tuesday, August 30, 2022.

    In his remarks, Arakunrin Akeredolu said he chose to attend the crusade not really as a Governor but as a Son of God who has come to praise God.

    While charging the congregation to thank God for the gift of life, the Governor said he is a strong believer in the God Almighty.

    Governor Akeredolu described himself as a Miracle Child, adding that those who do not believe in Miracle would not believe in his success story, particularly on his first victory as the Governor of the State.

    He said:”We are talking about Triumphant Power of the Son of righteousness. All of us know who the Son of righteousness is. I can not preach to you. I can only say that I am a strong believer in my Lord Jesus Christ.

    “I have said it over and over to those of you who are from Ondo state. I am a miracle child. I have confessed it severally. And I said to people, my first election here, not the one I lost, the second one that I won. I have said to people and I said over and over again. If you don’t believe in miracle, you will not believe my success at that election.

    “We did it without the support of anybody except God. There is no way I will hear of such a crusade like this , in a state where God has put me as a chief servant, that I will not come. I am here, not really as a Governor, but as a son of God. I am here to praise my father.”

    The convener of GCK, Pastor William Kumuyi, who delivered his sermon on “Triumphant Power of the Son of Righteousness”, admonished christians to always believe and put their trust in God.

    He noted that “the Son, our redeemer is mighty to save,” hence the people should rely on God who is capable of doing all things.

    The man of God explained that believers are not just children of God but sons and daughters of royalty.

  • Ebira ban festivals in Ondo State over security fears

    Ebira ban festivals in Ondo State over security fears

    The Ebira people living in Ondo State have announced the ban of all traditional festivals in their communities in Ondo state to avert anything that create security concerns.

    One of the leaders of Ebira Communities in Ondo State, Abiodun Umoru stated this in Akure, the state capital on Monday, saying his people are ready to join hands with the security agencies to fight insecurity.

    The communities also urged the state Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, to establish the Amotekun posts in various communities where the Ebira people reside across the state, and enlist their indigenes in the state security network agency to assist in the fight against the criminal elements.

    Umoru, who expressed displeasure over the mention of one Idris Ojo, who was an escapee from Kuje prison as one of those arrested for carrying out the massacre in Owo on June 5, 2022, a month after, said some steps had been taken to ensure that criminals were flushed out of Ebira community.

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    According to him, one of such steps was banning traditional festivals in Ebira communities in the state; saying anybody who wanted to hide under traditional festivals to perpetrate evil in the state would be handed over to the security agents.

    Speaking in Akure, the state capital on behalf of the Ebira people from Kogi State living in Ondo State, one of the leaders of the communities,

    He said, “We can no longer fold our arms while some of our kinsmen will be acting against our cherished cultural norms and values.

    “We have warned and educated our women who sell food items at strategic locations on the major roads of the dangers of hobnobbing with suspected criminals by volunteering information to them.

    “We use this medium to appreciate the present administration for its tireless efforts at reducing the rate of criminality across the state. We pledge not to relent in our commitment to continue to contribute our quota to the socio-economic and political development of the sunshine state.”