OndoDiary2020

sets to investigate as APC members accuse embattled party chair of fraud
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The Ondo State chapter of the Conference of Councillorship Aspirants in the All Progressives Congress (APC) has again demanded refund of nomination fees paid to the party in 2018 over the botched local government poll.

The state government had through the state electoral commission fixed December 1,2018 for the conduct of council poll ,but was later postponed indefinitely.

The aggrieved aspirants, no fewer than 1,500, noted they had paid for nomination forms and party development fee amounting to N100,000 and N20,000 each respectively.

In separate letters addressed to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) and State Security Services(SSS), the aspirants said all efforts to seek refund from the party chairman, Ade Adetimehin, and the state governor,Rotimi Akeredolu, were unsuccessful.

As obtained by The Politico, the group’s letters also addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari, his Vice Yemi Osinbajo, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole were signed by its state coordinator, Hon. Akindona Orire.

They called on the party stakeholders to help prevail on the party leadership in Ondo State and the governor to refund their monies, alleging that the party chairman ” defrauded us of money running into One Hundred and Twenty Two million naira(N122,000,000).”

” We have in good authority, with our statistics that, an average of five aspirants obtained the nomination forms from each of the 203 wards across the state,which accumulates to one thousand and fifteen(1,015) aspirants.

” It is indisputable fact that neither the primaries nor the election into local government offices were held. We therefore, expected our party APC led by Mr Ade Adetimehin to return our money since there were no primaries despite fulfilling all requirements as enshrined in the party election guidelines and party constitution.

” We then wrote to the governor,Mr. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu on 27th march 2019 to grant us audience in order to interact with him on how we can get our money back since there were no primaries,which he granted us on the 5th of April,2019.But unfortunately in the meeting attended by Mr Adetimehin himself ,the governor told us point blank that he has no money to refund to us.He told us to see the party chairman(Adetimehin) and his excos for whatever related to our money since we have evidences of payment.

” After our meeting with the governor, we mobilized our ourselves to meet the party chairman Mr Ade Adetimehin at the party secretariat in Akure,the state capital. ln his address,he pleaded with us that he would help us to talk to the governor to replace us with serving caretakers supervisory councillors. He did not tell us how we can get our money back whereas he knows very well that,it’s impossible for Mr governor to put us all into the local government as supervisory councillors at the same time because of our numerical strength.

” As law abiding Nigerians who do not want to take law into our own hands,we strongly appeal to you to use your good offices in compelling Mr Ade Adetimehin and his cohorts to refund our money,fraudulently obtained from us under the pretence of conducting election into local government offices.

” Sir,it is also our prayer that you take up this matter with utmost alacrity for investigation and commit Mr Ade Adetimehin to justice for act of criminality.We urge you to give this complaints urgent attention it deserves. We believe that your quick intervention will hasten the refund of our money and correct the injustices done to,well over one thousand aspirants, ” the letter read in part.

Re: SAVE OUR SOUL- ''Our lives begin to end when we stop to talk about things that matter."

Our attention has been drawn to a statement credited to the President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Bamidele Danielson Akpan wherein a supposed detail of meeting of the students body with the governor of Ondo State, Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu was contained.

As the Special Assistant to the Governor on Youth and Student affairs who was also part of the meeting, the meeting was facilitated by the student body even though the notice of the meeting got to the Governor less than twenty four hours before it held.

The Governor, however, did not leverage on the late notice to ignore meeting with the students, a meeting that extended into the latter part of the day.

Despite a less-than-twenty-four hours notice to the Governor seeking a meeting with him, the Governor obliged and he, the President of the student body, Bamidele, sought a personal audience with the governor which was granted and for about thirty minutes engaged the Governor in a personal conversation before craving the indulgence of the Governor to beckon on his colleagues who are student leaders from other institutions.

To say the the Governor ordered to ''flush them out'' is contradicting and misleading!

Altogether, it was a productive and robust discussion.

The Governor stated that the decision to increase or reduce the school fees of tertiary institutions in the state rests on the recommendation of the governing council of the institution.

For instance, the governing board in Rufus Giwa Polytechnic already set up a committee to review the tuition fee in the institution and the state government is expecting a recommendation that will guide its decisions.

Perhaps, the docorum of the atmosphere was against the expectation of the students, they suddenly were displeased.

Having observed that the students were turning away the serenity of the discussion, the Governor requested that the discussion be stopped.

However, it is note worthy that the present day government of Ondo state has not only sustained policies to better the lives of the citizens, it has also improved on them to restore the state back to its leadership status in education.

Basic education in the state has been free and has remained so while the free shuttle programme has also been sustained.

Recall an education summit of all stakeholders that held last year.

Consequent of the recommendations of the summit, the state government took decisions to reposition the education sector in the state.

One of such recommendations was the conversion of Ondo State School of Nursing and Midwives, Akure to a faculty under University of Medical Sciences.

Be reminded that over 500 primary schools across the state have undergone renovation while another batch of 300 will commence soon.

It is also pertinent to state that tertiary institutions (Rufus Giwa Polytechnic for instance) have enjoyed subvention and intervention fund beyond what they used to have in the past, against the position that there has been ''drastic reduction of allocations by over 60% to state owned tertiary institutions''.

The government will continually engage stakeholders, especially the students whose future hangs around policies and decisions of government.

The students remain an integral part of our development as a state and we can't just blow away the chance of giving them the needed support that will help them compete in a globally competitive world.

Adewumi Olabanji
Special Assistant on Youth and Students Affairs

Africa is subsidizing the world. There is no reason why we should not process, package and market what we produce. From cocoa to rubber, cotton, sugarcane, gold, diamonds, oil, coaltan and even the professionals we train.
The question we should be asking is 'what do you need this cocoa for? Chocolate? Don't worry we can produce that for you'
Instead we sell materials cheap &import finished products dear. Sell rubber/cotton/gold/diamonds/oil/coaltan to import shoes/clothing/jewelry/petrol/electronics. Penny wise Pound Foolish! We could gain 400X what we currently make. That's why I say we're subsidizing the world!
Apart from the absurdity of throwing so much money away there is the general absurdity of African govts either not developing the industries they produce for or their economies from the change they are making.
In Nigeria's case, the oil and gas business is just like you have a well in your house someone comes to your house to take water from that well for $5, purifies it, bottles it and sells it to you for $2,000 while destroying your house in the process for 50 years now.
Why do we allow this? Because those who own the oil are not the ones controlling it. First it was the military now its Fulanis. Second because those who control it have a poverty mentality, including the NDelta heads, they think $5 is the greatest amount of money in the world
And they will kill to maintain access to that $5. This is the scenario across Africa. They think because they have houses and girlfriends or boyfriends in Paris, London and Miami and they are going to dinner with white people they are important.
All the while they're the laughing stock of those white people & Africa remains the laughing stock of the whole world.
Awolowo and Ajayi Crowther have been the only Nigerians who believed in empowering a people. It is time for Yorubaland to leave Nigeria. We have a lesson to teach Africa, we have thought them before.
*Gafa Anofe*

AAUA Crises: Akeredolu threatened to wipe off Ondo Students - NANS

The NANS President, Comr. Danielson Bamidele Akpan, GCNS, as part of his South West advocacy met with the Tyrant Governor of Ondo State to discourse the following issues affecting Nigerian Students:
1. Increment of School fees
* AAUA 33,000 to 150,000
* RUGIPO 63,000 to 108,000
* OSUSTECH 70,000 to 150,000
2. Stopped payment of WAEC fees for secondary school students.
3. Stopped free transportation for secondary school students.
University of Medical Sciences and School of Nursing unattended to.

After several attempts at getting audience with him, the NANS President eventually accessed him but met a very unflinching and violent man who threatened to WIPE OFF Nigerian students in Ondo state if they disagree with his tyranny!

The NANS secretariat has therefore been relocated to Akure, the Ondo state capital.

Aluta Continua, Victoria Ascerta!!!