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Tag: Taiwo Akerele

  • Help, they are after my life, Obaseki’s ex-CoS cries out few hours after resignation

    Help, they are after my life, Obaseki’s ex-CoS cries out few hours after resignation

    This might not be the best of time for Taiwo Akerele, the immediate past Chief of Staff to the Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki who resigned his appointment on Friday and has since been with Ethan Uzamereon on Saturday night by the governor.

    According to reports, no fewer than 25 operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on Sunday evening invaded the private residence of the embattled ex-CoS.

    According to multiple newspaper reports, the operatives were said to have arrived the residence located off 1st Ugbor Road, GRA, in Benin, at about 5 pm in an 18-seater bus and three operational vehicles of Operation Wabaizigan.

    It was gathered that a security detail to the Governor had earlier called the Personal Assistant to the former CoS, Jasper Olowojoba to come and remove Akerele’s personal belongings from his former office.

    Olowojoba, who was said to have replied that he would remove the items on Monday, was however prevailed upon to come immediately.

    Security men attached to the office were said to have allowed him to remove all the belongings, after which they followed him home.

    Thereafter, Olowojoba was arrested after using him to search Akerele’s house.

    Confirming the development in an interview with The Punch Akerele said: “They cordoned off my street, arrested all my personal staff, my security man and took away all my children’s birth certificates. They sealed my house, my life is under threat. I said I have resigned and that I shared his vision and I am still with him politically, so what else do they want from me?” he said.

    But reacting, the Edo State Commissioner for Information, Mr Paul Ohonbamu, accused Akerele of attempting to blackmail the governor, saying having accepted his resignation and appointed a new CoS, Obaseki had moved on and had nothing to benefit from attacking Akerele.

    Ohonbamu said, “He is the least of our worry; no one is bothered about him; the governor has moved on. To say that the governor is after him is sheer falsehood and blackmail and it shows the kind of character we are dealing with.”

  • DSS officials invade, ransack Obaseki’s ex-CoS Taiwo Akerele’s residence, arrest aide

    DSS officials invade, ransack Obaseki’s ex-CoS Taiwo Akerele’s residence, arrest aide

    No fewer than 25 operatives of the State Security Services (SSS) on Sunday evening invaded the private residence of former Chief of Staff to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Chief Taiwo Akerele.

    The development is an indication that things might have fallen apart between the Governor and his erstwhile closest staff.

    Recall that Akerele resigned his position as Chief of Staff on Friday night and was replaced with Ethan Uzamere, Saturday night by Obaseki.

    According to multiple newspaper reports, the operatives were said to have arrived the residence located off 1st Ugbor Road, GRA, in Benin, at about 5 pm in an 18-seater bus and three operational vehicles of Operation Wabaizigan.

    It was gathered that a security detail to the Governor had earlier called the Personal Assistant to the former CoS, Jasper Olowojoba to come and remove Akerele’s personal belongings from his former office.

    Olowojoba, who was said to have replied that he would remove the items on Monday, was however prevailed upon to come immediately.

    Security men attached to the office were said to have allowed him to remove all the belongings, after which they followed him home.

    Thereafter, Olowojoba was arrested after using him to search Akerele’s house.

    An unnamed source closed to the former Chief of Staff, allegedly told journalists that the whereabouts of Akerele who received visitors in his house earlier in the day, remained unknown.

    “They called his PA severally that he should come and collect Akerele’s personal belongings so that the new Chief of Staff could resume, but Olowojoba said he would come for them on Monday but they insisted he must come immediately.

    “When he went, they allowed him to remove all his belongings and when they were going with the last consignment, SSS (operatives) went with him to Akerele’s house. They ransacked his house and then went away with his PA, but Akerele’s whereabouts is unknown,” the source said.

  • Obaseki appoints new Chief of Staff

    Obaseki appoints new Chief of Staff

    Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state has appointed Osaze Ethan Uzamere as his Chief of Staff.

    He replaces the former Chief of Staff, Taiwo Akerele, who resigned from Obaseki’s kitchen cabinet on Friday.

    The 38-year-old investment banker is son of Senator Ehigie Uzamere, who represented Edo South Senatorial District in the National Assembly between 2007 and 2011.

    He graduated from Stony Brook University, New York, where he majored in Computer and Electrical Engineering.

    He has had stints with Lehman Brothers and South Grade Engineering, among others.

    Secretary to the State Government, Barr. Osarodion Ogie, in a statement Saturday night, said the appointment takes immediate effect.

    The statement described the younger Uzamere as a thorough-bred professional, who had before his appointment, served as Executive Assistant to Governor Obaseki.

  • Edo IDPs rice scandal: Obaseki’s Chief of Staff drags newspaper to court

    Chief of Staff to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo state, Mr Taiwo Akerele, has dragged The Guardian Newspapers before a Benin High court on the footing of what he calls “general and/or exemplary or aggravated damages for libel.

    The case which was filed on Mr Akerele’s behalf by his twin brother, Kehinde, a legal practitioner relates to a report which the newspaper published earlier in the year with the title, “Probe of Alleged diversion of relief materials begins in Edo”.

    Recall that at the time of the report, which was published by many other local and national dailies, 4,781 bags of rice out of the 6,822 ostensibly approved for the Internally Displaced Persons Camp at Uhogwa in Ovia North East Local Government Area of the state by the Federal Government that was reported missing was generating controversy.

    The rice scandal which the state government insisted was judiciously disbursed saw the Nigerian Police inviting Chief Dan Orbih,Chairman of the Edo State chapter of Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for questioning after he said the governor must account for the missing bags of rice.

    But in reaction, the state government said that all the bags of rice and other items like shoes, apart from the ones that were damaged in storage before they were allocated, were distributed to the Internally Displaced Persons camp and other orphanage homes within the state.

    According to the Media Adviser to the Governor, Mr Crusoe Osagie, said: “The allegation is laughable and completely false and is a design of detractors to smear the image of a performing government”.

    He said, “They have tried and failed on all other fronts, now they have stooped lower to a commodity as cheap as rice.”

    However, Akerele in his four paragraph claims before the court is asking it for an order for the newspaper to pay him a total sum of N2,250,000.00.

    He is asking for N250 million as general and/or exemplary or aggravated damages for libel and another N2.5 million as costs.

    In addition, Akerele is asking the court for an order so that the newspaper and one other, can publish a ” well- worded retracted and apology in a similarly conspicuous manner”.

     

  • Edo Govt. opens up rural communities

    The Edo Government has approved the construction of 60 roads across the 18 Local Government Areas (LGAs) of the state to open up the rural communities for business activities.

    Gov. Godwin Obaseki, disclosed this while inspecting the ongoing road projects at Ogunmwenyin community, near Benin on Wednesday.

    Obaseki, represented by his Chief of Staff, Mr Taiwo Akerele, said that the approved road projects were semi-rural/urban roads, ranging from one kilometre to 1.5 kilometre long.

    He said that the infrastructural development strides of the present administration would create jobs and alleviate poverty in the state.

    The governor said that 7,000 youths would be engaged during construction of the approved roads.

    “The effort is geared towards deepening the spread of economic enablers to engender development and improve the livelihoods of the people, especially the agrarian communities,” he said.

    The governor noted that those in the agrarian communities needed good roads to move their produce to the cities for sale.

    He said the inspection of the roads in Ogunmwenyin was to ensure that the contractors handling the projects worked in accordance with specifications.

    “The communities where roads are being constructed must ensure that the projects are protected.

    “The state government will sign a Community Action Agreement (CAA) with communities where projects are sited.

    “Failure to ensure the protection of the projects will mean that no additional projects will be sited in such places,” Obaseki said.

    He added: “We are not only interested in building infrastructure in the state but also in developing human capacity.

    “We have created 188 direct jobs through the construction of the one kilometre road in Ogunmwenyin community,” Obaseki said.

    Also speaking, Dr Samuel Uwadia, the Odionwere of Ogunmwenyin community, lauded the efforts of the state government on road construction.

    “This will improve the lives of the people and business activities.

    “We hope more roads will be constructed in the communities to connect them to other areas of the state,” he said.