TheNewsGuru

Tag: Ondo State

  • Ondo 2020: Akintola predicts victory for Akeredolu

    Ondo 2020: Akintola predicts victory for Akeredolu

    Chief Niyi Akintola (SAN) has predicted that Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu will emerge victorious in the Oct. 10, governorship election in Ondo State.

    The APC chieftain told newsmen on Sunday in Ibadan that Akeredolu would emerge in spite of the gang up against him.

    He also dismissed a report that he discredited the late former governor Abiola Ajimobi’s administration over the rehabilitation of Agbowo Shopping Complex in Ibadan.

    He was reported to have discredited the administration of late Gov. Abiola Ajimobi, at the recent independence anniversary lecture, organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council.

    Akintola, who chaired the NUJ lecture, had commended Makinde’s effort at renovating the 47-year-old edifice through a ‘Build Operate and Transfer’ system, but faulted the 50 years agreement on the contract.

    He had said that all successive administrations in the state did not revisit the shopping complex except the late Ajimobi who signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the complex and now Makinde.

    The renowned legal luminary said that it was mischievous and erroneous for anyone to misquote him on the matter.

    Mr Ademola Babalola, the State NUJ Chairman, who alongside some members of his executives paid a thank-you visit to him, expressed regret over the mischievous report.

    He pleaded with the legal icon to forgive the error which he described as unethical and unprofessional on the part of those culpable.

    Babalola urged members to continue upholding the ethics of the profession and ensure their facts are thoroughly crosschecked before going to press.

    The NUJ chairman thanked Akintola for his support to the union, saying renovation works has commenced at the union’s Pen Group of Schools.

    “I am happy to inform you all that our efforts to reposition the pen group of schools has commenced.

    “Those who are close to the press centre must have noticed that we have commenced renovation work at the school. In a few weeks time, we shall put it into proper and befitting state,” he said.

  • BREAKING: Mysterious fire guts Akure INEC office [VIDEO]

    BREAKING: Mysterious fire guts Akure INEC office [VIDEO]

    The headquarters of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Akure, Ondo State was on Thursday evening gutted by fire.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports the fire has been described as mysterious as it’s source was yet to be ascertained at the time of filing this report.

    The fire, which started at about 7.30 pm destroyed no fewer than 5,000 card readers packed in a container for the October 10 Governorship election to hold in the State.

    Men of the Ondo fire service who arrived at the scene shortly after the fire started were helpless and their fire truck refused to work.

    INEC officials including the National Commissioner in charge of Information and Voter Education, Festus Okoye and the Ondo State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Ambassador Rufus Akeju expressed shock at the incident.

    They said though the fire is a set back, it will not affect the governorship election.

    TNG reports no life was lost to the fire.

  • Ondo 2020: PDP hits hard at Tinubu over Dead Party comments

    Ondo 2020: PDP hits hard at Tinubu over Dead Party comments

    The Ondo state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has criticised a National leader of the Ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Governor of Lagos, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu over his comments about the Party at an event in the State on Saturday.

    Tinubu had described the PDP as a Dead Party, while urging the APC members at the Commissioning ceremony of the newly built revenue office of the state to nail it’s coffin by voting for the continuity of the governor Akeredolu led government in the October 10 election.

    However, while responding to the former Governor, the PDP State PRO, Mr. Kennedy Ikantu Peretei in a statement made available to Nigerian cable news online on Sunday said Tinubu’s claim is laughable because it can only come out from the mouth of a day dreamer.

    He said: “Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu while Commissioning the sole Project of Rotimi Akeredolu in Akure (Revenue House) said the PDP is dead. This claim is laughable because it can only come out from the mouth of a day dreamer.”

    “The much hyped Flag off of the Akeredolu Campaign was apparently rejected not only by Ondo people but even the forces of nature that brought about torrential rainfall. Ironically, Tinubu and his hired crowd from Osun and Ekiti States symbolically took solace in umbrellas that dotted the entire Campaign ground.”

    “Only last year, the PDP defeated the Buhari led APC roundly at the Presidential elections. The PDP also won two out of the three Senatorial Seats in Ondo State. How can such a party by any stretch of imagination be said to be dead?”

    “It is shameful that the only project Tinubu came to Commission in three and half years is the Revenue House a building that stands as a sign post of multiple taxation of the Ondo State people 10% of which goes directly to the pocket of Akeredolu’s son.”

    “The PDP is offering affordable education and health care delivery as against Aketi engineered astronomical tuition fees that have thrown many of the students in tertiary institutions out of school.”

    “By October 10, Tinubu will know which Party is dead in Ondo State.” He added.

  • Why I joined ZLP: Ondo Deputy Governor opens up officially

    Why I joined ZLP: Ondo Deputy Governor opens up officially

    Ondo State Deputy Governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi said he joined the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), to give hope to the masses of the state ahead of the October 10 gubernatorial election.

    Ajayi stated this on Friday in Akure when he was welcomed officially into the party by the Chairman of the party, Mr Joseph Akinlaja.

    Recall that Ajayi had defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic (PDP), where he lost the party’s ticket to the party’s flag-bearer, Mr Eyitayo Jegede.

    Ajayi later joined the ZLP and had just been welcomed to the party, hoping to become the flag-bearer of the party in the Oct. 10 governorship election.

    “I do not depend on anybody. We depend on God, I will not shame you.

    “We own this state together, I have come to join ZLP to give hope to the hopeless, to change the narrative and I have come with all my supporters,” he said.

    Ajayi said plans to rig the coming election would not work, urging his supporters to defend their votes come Oct.10.

    The deputy governor said he was humbled by the call to service by the people of the state and critical stakeholders to rescue the ship of the state from sinking further under Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

    The Chairman of the Party, Mr Joseph Akinlaja, while welcoming Ajayi to the party, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission to be fair in the conduct of the forthcoming gubernatorial election to avoid induced violence.

    Akinlaja appealed to the youth not to allow themselves to be used as thugs, urging politicians to moderate their activities not to encourage violence in any form, saying, `lives of our people matter’.

  • Ondo poll: AAC vows to sue INEC for replacing party’s deputy gov’s name

    Ondo poll: AAC vows to sue INEC for replacing party’s deputy gov’s name

    The African Action Congress (AAC) said it would take legal action against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for replacing the name of its Ondo deputy governorship candidate with an unknown one.

    The AAC made this known in a statement in Akure on Sunday by Mr Oluwasunkanmi Oni, State Publicity Secretary and Mr Alex Adeniyi, State Chairman.

    Recall that INEC had on Friday released the list of candidates of the 17 political parties that would participate in the Oct. 10 governorship election in the state

    “AAC Ondo State Chapter wish to register her displeasure on the list released by INEC on Ondo State governorship election of participating political parties.

    “It is ignominious for INEC, a body that is expected to be apolitical, to collaborate with some unrecognized entities for reasons best known to them to tamper with the structure and constitution of our party,” the party stated.

    It explained that the party on July 25, 2020 held her governorship primary election at the International Culture and Event Centre (DOME) where Prince Adekunle Adeleye was elected by the party delegates as the governorship candidate of the party.

    “Thereafter, Prince Adekunle Adeleye’s name and the Deputy Governorship candidate selected, Mrs Mopelola Evelyn Ibrahim, were duly sent to INEC as governorship and deputy governorship candidates of the party, respectively.

    “It is therefore saddening that INEC went on to manufacture an unknown deputy governorship candidate, namely Samuel Tope Omotosho, who is totally unknown to our party, who is not and have never been a member of our party, AAC, either in Ondo State or anywhere in Nigeria.

    “At this point, we demand INEC to abjure her errors at once and replace the unrecognized name (Samuel Tope Omotosho) with the authentic name (Mrs Mopelola Evelyn Ibrahim) submitted to them by the party or face legal action.

    “Enough of this inglorious act of INEC meddling with and distorting the internal affairs of political parties, AAC inclusive, each time there is an election.

    “We, the African Action Congress (AAC), reject in its entirety the unknown name paired with Prince Adekunle Adeleye, our party’s Gubernatorial Candidate, as running mate,” it said.

  • Ondo 2020: Akeredolu announces running mate after Deputy’s detour

    Ondo 2020: Akeredolu announces running mate after Deputy’s detour

    Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu has picked and official announced his running mate for the October 10 election to hold in the State.

    TheNewsGuru.com (TNG) reports Governor Akeredolu picked Lucky Aiyedatiwa as his running mate for the election and announced him via his official Twitter page on Wednesday.

    The choice of Akeredolu was communicated to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday, TNG learnt.

    Ayedatiwa is a former representative of the State on the Board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).

    He is a native of Obe-Nla, an oil-bearing community in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.

    Recall that Akeredolu’s deputy, Agboola Ajayi recently decamped from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Efforts to impeach Ajayi as Deputy Governor had failed.

    However, his bid to contest the governorship election hit the walls when he failed in the PDP’s primary that produced Eyitayo Jegede as governorship candidate.

    Meanwhile, Akeredolu has expressed optimism that he would win the October 10 Ondo state governorship poll.

    Akeredolu said this shortly after meeting with the APC Election Appeal Committee at the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja on Monday.

    He advised the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Eyitayo Jegede, to focus on issue based campaign without resorting to violence.

    “Jegede is my friend. We are colleagues and both members of inner bar, I don’t have anything against him and I just pray that our campaign should be issue based without violence.

    “I know that he (Jegede) knows that it will not be easy for him. Yes, it may not be easy for me to win, but by God’s grace, I am going to win.

    “I can assure you that as it was in the beginning, so it shall be now and forever more. We will win this election by the grace of God,”Akeredolu said.

    The governor said the defection of his deputy, Mr Agboola Ajayi, to the opposition PDP would not affect his chances at the poll.

    “For me, the deputy leaving the APC to return to the PDP is good radiance to bad rubbish.

    “We thought we could accommodate him in the APC, but since he returned to where he truly belonged, it is all well and good. I always wish people the best I can.

    “From what I have been told, he has lost the ticket and I pray he won’t jump to another party, but if he does, all well and good.

    “However, for his own sake and as a big brother, I will advise him to stay with Jegede and support him very well,” Akeredolu said.

    According to him, Ajayi has made a case that he helped me to win, let him help Jegede to win this time around and that will confirm that he is popular.

    “What I know is that he is of no importance, he has no hold on any local government, I can assure you that when the election comes, I will defeat him in his local government and he will never recover from it.

    “Let me advise him again to stay with Jegede and let us see what happens,”the governor said.

    He said he was at the National Secretariat to respond to some issues at the Election Appeal Committee.

    “I am here at the secretariat because people lodged appeal against my election and emergence from the party primaries and that is why I came around to answer the committee.

    “I was told that two aspirants approached the committee to file appeal against me and my mission here is to reply to those appeal,” he said.

  • Ondo 2020: Aide addresses Akeredolu’s ‘disqualification’

    Ondo 2020: Aide addresses Akeredolu’s ‘disqualification’

    Gov. Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State says he is still in the State’s Governorship race in the October 10 election.

    This follows rumours of his disqualification from participating in the July 20 governorship primary election of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

    Mr Ojo Oyewamide, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Media and Publicity, in a statement on Sunday in Akure, said the rumour was a ploy to distract supporters of Akeredolu.

    He explained that it was another distraction “unleashed with the aim of deceiving the unsuspecting public and diverting attention from the self-imposed pains on the part of those behind the story.

    “They are scavengers and will stop at nothing to sustain their trade of deceit. Ignore them, remain firm, be dedicated and prayerful.

    “Akeredolu is not just participating at the party primary. He shall be re-elected by the Grace of God, come October 10, 2020.

    “The governor, therefore, appeals to all his supporters to ignore the rumour and dedicate this period to God for His continuous grace, favour and protection,” he said.

  • APC: Adojutelegan, Ondo Guber aspirant submits nomination form, calls for direct primary

    Dr. Nat Adojutelegan, one of the aspirants for the Ondo State Governorship election has called on the leadership of the party under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to employ direct primaries in determining its candidate.

    Adojutelegan, briefing newsmen in Abuja on Monday after submitting his expression of interest and nomination forms, recalled the 2018 APC Congress in Ondo was fraught with irregularities.

    He said that the fallout of the congress which produced parallel executive committees was still pending in court and as such, a repeat should be averted by employing direct primaries.

    “I can’t end this press conference without addressing the raging controversy regarding the mode of election to adopt in the forthcoming primary elections.

    “In these circumstances 11 of the 12 aspirants contesting in the primary election prefer Direct Primary mode of election.

    “I respectfully ask the national leadership of the party to adopt direct Primary for the following reasons:

    “Avoid a deepening inter-crisis; Unify all the members of the party in readiness and preparation for the governorship election; Avoid excluding and disenfranchising a majority of the members of the party.

    “Create a level playing field for the aspirants; Catalyst to winning the governorship election by enabling emergence of the most popular aspirant as the party’s candidate; Avoid the Zamfara’s experience,” he said.

    The governorship candidate assured that his bid was aimed at achieving realistic missions of bringing about an egalitarian state, giving the people a sense of belonging and sustainable livelihoods as well as high living standards.

    He assured that he planned to in the short term; change the historical narrative by putting people first and initiating policies for the betterment of the people.

    He stressed that apart from people oriented policies, he would focus on enabling people have sensible livelihood, meet the needs at the local level and lead a transparent and accountable government.

    “On Monday 29th June 2020, I collected the expression of interest and nomination form at the national secretariat of the APC. I have submitted the forms.

    “My campaign tour will commence fully on the 9th of July 2020 after the screening exercise, I will be visiting wards across the state to solicit support from members of the party.

    “I will create an enabling environment for industrialisation of the state to create jobs and wealth.

    “I will enable the youth to acquire relevant skills required to develop our local economy

    “I will review School fees of tertiary institutions,’’ he added.

  • Ondo governorship: PDP constitutes screening appeal panel

    The National Working Committee (NWC) of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has constituted a screening appeal panel for the Ondo State 2020 gubernatorial primaries.

    The party, in a statement issued by its National Organizing Secretary, Col. Austin Akobundu (rtd), on Sunday in Abuja, said the panel would be chaired by Sen. Gyang Dung.

    Akobundu said that the nomination of the party members to serve on the screening appeal panel was approved by the party’s NWC.

    Members of the panel include Mr Dayo Ogungbenro, Chief Austin Umahi, Chief Dan Orbih, Chief G.T. Kataps, Theophilus Shan, Sen. Ibrahim Kazaure and Sen. Kola Balogun.

    Others are: Dr Bolanle Ogundiran, Hon. Rimamde Shawulu, Hajiya Hassana Dikko, Mrs Christine Akpan, and Uzoma Abonta as Secretary.

    “The Panel is mandated to consider appeals arising from the screening of all aspirants for the upcoming 2020 Governorship Election in Ondo State,” Akobundu said.

  • APC begs Ondo Deputy Governor to return

    APC begs Ondo Deputy Governor to return

    The All Progressives Congress (APC) has called on the Ondo State Deputy Governor, Mr Agboola Ajayi, who officially decamped to the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) on Sunday, to return to the party.

    This was contained in a statement by Mr Alex Kalejaiye, the State Publicity Secretary of the party, on Monday in Akure.

    The statement noted that APC was willing to reabsorb the Deputy Governor and his supporters whenever they opted to retrace their steps to the party.

    The Publicity Secretary in the statement said that the APC received his defection with mixed feelings.

    According to him, APC in the State views the development as worrisome and unfortunate that the journey commenced in one accord a few years back could go awry so soon.

    However, the party urged the Deputy Governor to resign honourably if he won’t return to the APC.

    “We wish Ajayi had not taken this decision, after series of efforts and attempts by royal fathers and party leaders, from within and outside the state, to forestall this migration.

    “The State Working Committee of APC is taken aback by a reported statement credited to Ajayi that he would remain the Deputy Governor as long as his people have not asked him to quit. This statement is vexatious,” Kalajaiye said.

    He added: “It is imperative to remind him that he ran on an APC ticket given to Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, and both were sponsored by the party.

    “Now that he chooses to defect, the party advises Agboola to tow the path of wisdom, and resign honourably as the Deputy Governor of Ondo State.

    “Ondo State APC wishes him and his followers a safe trip to the PDP”.