All is now set for the 2nd edition of the Ecobank Agribusiness and Food Security Summit organized in association with Vanguard Economic Forum Series. The primary content objective of summit is to discuss the role of technology and digitisation across the agricultural value chain. The virtual summit with the theme: Digitizing the agricultural value chain for unlocking productivity, economic growth and food security, is scheduled for June 3rd 2021 by 11am prompt and will be broadcast and streamed live via zoom and across vanguard newspapers and Ecobank social media channel platforms.
Strategic Partners to Ecobank on the summit are Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and the Nigerian Association of Small & Medium Enterprises (NASME). Others include the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG). The speakers and panelists are carefully drawn from government, development finance institutions, banking, trade associations, civil society, non governmental organisations and subject matter experts in technology and agriculture.
Confirmed speakers include Kenton Dashiell, Deputy Director General, Partnership for Delivery, IITA; Aliyu Abdulhameed, MD/CEO, NIRSAL; Dr. Emmanuel Ijewere, Vice President, NABG; Ndidi Nwuneli, Co-founder/Managing Partner, Sahel Partner; Akin Alabi, Co-founder, Corporate Farmers International; Ayodeji Balogun, Country CEO, AFEX Commodities Exchange and Patrick Akinwuntan, Managing Director, Ecobank Nigeria, among others.
Announcing the conference in Lagos, Head of Agribusiness at Ecobank Nigeria, Mrs Mojisola Oguntoyinbo said the Summit is part of the bank’s determination to further showcase the potentials in the agricultural sector of the nation’s economy in partnership with Vanguard newspapers, the Economic Forum Series and Nigeria Agribusiness Group (NABG). According to her, the summit is also part of the bank’s continuous contribution to the growth and development of the agriculture sector, stating that a pool of notable thought leaders and industry experts have been assembled to address how technology can aid the entire agriculture value chain to bring about economic development and food sufficiency in the country.
Mrs Mojisola Oguntoyinbo explained “This virtual conference is part of Ecobank Digital Series which is in line with our vision to consolidate a modern pan-African market, contribute to the economic development and financial integration of the continent. The summit would amongst other things examine the potential impact of agriculture technology investment in fixing low productivity in Nigeria’s food production; evaluate existing traditional agriculture finance models in Nigeria and the role and impact of technology enabled commodity exchange trading across the agriculture value chain, and the role of developmental partners and international agencies in driving funding and investments across the agriculture value chain.”
She noted that the Agribusiness Summit would help Ecobank communicate and connect with Nigeria’s entrepreneurs in the agric value chain, farmers and other investors, adding that the bank will also showcase its strength in the digital banking space such as its innovative digital payment channels like the OmniPlus, Omnilite and digital sales collections channels like Ecobankpay NQR amongst other financial service offerings to close the large financial Inclusion gap and a direct response to mitigating the economic challenge post-COVID-19.
Also speaking, Jude Ndu, Director, Vanguard Conferences and The Economic Forum Series said: “we are indeed pleased and delighted with the ongoing high-level strategic partnership with Ecobank Nigeria in the area of concept development, synthesis, design and execution of high profile thematic bespoke events. The upcoming conference speaks to the strong sense of confidence the bank has in us to help curate thought leadership content and context for the brand in line with its marketing objectives. “As a media organisation, this is our own way of contributing to the growth prospect of the sector through audience engagement by bringing together critical stakeholders to discuss solutions to the issues of low productivity and food insecurity in the country.
The Ecobank Digital Series is a virtual programme organised by Ecobank to educate and enlighten the public on crucial issues of public interest, especially as it relates to their financial empowerment.
She is versatile, extremely creative and can simply be described as an embodiment of good music. With her live band performance, she will effortlessly wow your audience with a repertoire of monster hit cuts from genres of music like gospel, jazz, juju, highlife, folk and contemporaries to mention a few. Welcome to the world of Remilekun Rhythms, Nigeria’s next export and music goddess.
No doubt, music is an integral part of human existence; little wonder no human gathering or event is complete without music. However, the act of satisfying a heterogeneous audience depends on the prowess of the musician, but this is an area where Remilekun Rhythms has constantly proved her mettle.
Remilekun Rhythms is a native of Ilesha, Osun State. She had Bsc. in Business Administration from the Lagos State University (LASU) before her quest to further horn her skills in music led her to Tenstrings Music Institute where she had training on Voice, Piano and general rudiments of music.
Meanwhile, the upwardly mobile songwriter and vocal coach started her romance with music from childhood as a soloist in church. Today, she has metamorphosed into a brand that is celebrated all over the world, performing for crème-de-la-crème of the society. “I have worked with some notable bands both (gospel and secular) before moving on to start my own band 16 years ago. I have released two albums, performed in different parts of Nigeria and had gone for music tours in countries like United Kingdom, South Africa and some West Africa countries,” Remilekun Rhythms hinted.
L-R: Certificate recipients of Ynsprye Project- Oluwasegun Ikoya; Deborah Johnson; Ozena Utulu, Head, Brand Management and Sustainability Heritage Bank; Fela Ibidapo, Divisional Head, Corporate Communications; Uchenna Mike Olisa, Head Product Development, Heritage Bank; other recipients- Derrick Ugwuegbu; Ayomide Soloja and Abayomi Bello, during the graduation and Certificate presentation to the 1st batch of Project Ynspyre graduates, as the bank partners Silverbird Group in Lagos.
Heritage Bank Plc, Nigeria most innovative banking service provider has joined forces with Silverbird Group to empower and deepen its supports to young entrepreneurs in the Nigeria creative and entertainment industry.
This, the bank said, is in line with its culture as timeless wealth partners, which would impact positively on the nation’s socio-economic development, as the graduates are empowered with job and mentorship opportunities at the Silverbird Group.
During the first batch of the Ynspyre Project, Heritage Bank and Silverbird graduated five young talented minds in a three (3) months rigorously internship training programme to equip them with the necessary skills for their future engagements.
Over 3000 people sent their entries but only five were picked and trained in their different field of choice. Amongst the lucky interns are: Derrick Ugwugbu–Reporter/Anchor; Deborah Johnson–Radio Presenter; Oluwasegun Emmanuel Ikoya–Disk Jockey (DJ); Ayomide Solaja–News Presenter and Abayomi Bello–Cinematographer.
Speaking during the handover of certificate of completion, Fela Ibidapo, Divisional Head, Corporate Communications of Heritage Bank said as a forward looking financial institution its strength lays in the ability to spot and mould talents into great professionals.
He noted that the Ynspyre Project was established to train, nurture and arm young employees with the right skills needed to fast-track development and enable talents to flourish.
He urged prospective interns who have interest in participating in the Ynsprye Project to dial *745# to open a savings account with the chance to be amongst the next set of interns, whilst staying tune to Heritage Bank’s platform and Silverbird Television.
Meanwhile, Ibidapo explained that the aim of Heritage Bank being at the forefront of youth empowerment is to emancipate the latent entrepreneurial spirit in the teeming youths to unleash their support to the growth of the economy.
Ibidapo stated that being at the forefront of investing in human capital development for critical economy recovery, “we will continue to up our game to empower Nigerian youths who is one of the bedrock of any vibrant economy,” he added.
He disclosed that one of the channels churned out in partnering the youths to leverage their talents and contribute their quota to the growth of the economy, was the use of financial inclusion strategy which would be adopted to boost entrepreneurship development, as this is critical to Heritage Bank’s mission to create, preserve and transfer wealth across generations.
Uchenna Mike Olisa, Head, Producgt Development, Heritage Bank, who admonished the trained entertainers to make good use of their acquired skills, affirmed that platform would enable young creative minds to be more imbued with the requisite talents.
Mike Nwadike, Head, Silverbird Television hinted that lots of resources have gone into the training with series of creative sessions, strategy sessions, brainstorming meetings and re-evaluation, with the aim of ensuring that the participants are grounded in their respective skills.
Iyke Chinke, Head of Programmes, Radio commended Heritage Bank for their continued efforts to empower youths in the country. According to him, it is hard to find banks out there to give young people the opportunity but Heritage Bank has been championing it.
First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Nigeria’s premier and leading financial services provider, has been awarded the 2021 ‘’Retail Banking CEO of the Year Nigeria’’, ‘’Most innovative Retail Banking App Nigeria’’ and ‘’Best CSR Bank Nigeria’’ awards by Global Banking and Finance magazine.
The respective awards conferred on the Bank are in recognition of the indelible roles it plays in deepening financial inclusion in the country; advancing the digital banking eco-system as well as impacting people in its host communities with technology to make learning available to individuals of all ages, amongst many others.
The Global Banking and Finance Awards reflect the innovation, achievement, strategy, progressive and inspirational changes taking place within the Global Financial community. The awards were created to recognize companies of all sizes which are prominent areas of expertise and excellence within the financial world.
With its over 750 branches and 100,000 Firstmonie Agent banking network spread across the nook and cranny of the country, FirstBank’s robust retail banking framework has been at the forefront of bridging the financial exclusion gap, thereby empowering Nigerians to carry out their financial and business-driven activities in contributing to national growth and development.
Also, in order to put customers ahead in enjoying state of the art digital banking services, the Bank’s industry-leading banking application, FirstMobile, is configured with modern banking functionalities which are regularly upgraded and designed with self-service features to ease the navigation capability and proficiency of customers to carry out their respective transactions with no hassles.
The smart banking application is also embedded with a card protection service for customers to enable and disable cards on channels, account switch off as well as second-factor authentication and device registration. With the upgraded FirstMobile, customers can remotely initiate the request for a new debit card as well as the replacement of a lost or damaged one.
Woven into the fabric of society for over 127 years, overcoming challenges and remaining a dominant player in Nigeria’s financial services landscape, FirstBank has been partnering and supporting various sustainable activities towards the continued growth of its host communities and the nation at large.
As a responsible corporate organisation committed to supporting all its stakeholders in the most sustainable manner possible, the bank partnered with various state governments through the private sector-led Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) intervention to promote the readiness and efficiency of health care professionals and other compatriots at the forefront of fighting the pandemic.
The Bank also forged a formidable partnership with the Lagos State government, Robert & John, IBM and Curious Learning amongst others to promote e-learning of school children that were affected by lockdown at the height of the pandemic. The initiative is still enjoyed by thousands of individuals, irrespective of age.
Dr. Adesola Adeduntan, the CEO of FirstBank commenting on the awards said ‘’we are proud to be recognized with these awards, which speak to the investments we have made over the past years in bolstering our electronic platforms for our customers; enhancing financial inclusion through agent banking as well as empowering our communities in the education space especially by bridging the digital divide through e-learning initiative.
These awards are dedicated to all our customers, as the trust they reposed in us being their bank of first choice in meeting their business and financial needs has been instrumental to the success we have achieved in our existence of over 127 years. We remain committed to putting You, our customers First as we contribute to the growth and development of our host communities” he concluded.
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday read for a second time a bill that seeks to repeal the law which grants pension and other emoluments to governors and deputies after leaving office.
The new bill which was debated on the floor of the House at a sitting presided over by the Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, is titled ‘A Bill for a law to repeal the law to provide for the payment of pensions and other fringe benefits to public office holders in Lagos State and for other connected matters’.
The lawmakers argued that it would not be too good to repeal the law in its entirety as there were some important sections and stipulations that should be considered.
Speaking concerning the bill, Hon. Oluyinka Ogundimu (Agege 2), explained that the bill is to ensure the stoppage of pensions to governors and deputies when they leave office adding that this decision was in consideration of the country’s current economic challenges.
Ogundimu argued that the governors and their deputies and other such political office holders should be made to enjoy some benefits no matter how little.
He also argued that the bill should be amended in such a way that it would not throw former political officers to security challenges since if the original law is repealed, it would mean withdrawing all security agents and domestic staff earlier attached to them.
On his part, Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti-Osa 2), noted that the parliament has the power to make and review laws, especially where it includes one like the pension bill that was passed 14 years ago and needs to be looked at again.
He said the objective of the bill as raised by the executive is to ensure that the state begins to look inward in relation to cost of governance.
He added that by virtue of his position as chairman of the committee on economic planning and budget, he has had the opportunity to check the finances of the state and would say Lagos is not very rich, but only has people who effectively manage its resources.
He also agreed that the security of the lives of such political office holders when they leave office should be considered urging that the bill be committed to a committee.
Contributing, Hon. Rotimi Abiru (Shomolu 2), said he supports an amendment to the law instead of a repeal.
“For a person who has served as chief executive of a state, I do not think it is nice denying them of their benefits.
“I can appreciate that some of them move to other appointments. For these people, there can be a caveat. But for those who serve in that capacity and do not have any other thing to do after office, it may not be something elaborate, but something may be coming to them periodically,” he said.
Hon. Tobun Abiodun (Epe 1) said he does not subscribe to a total repeal of the law because it would give room to corruption in office.
He said provisions should be made available to governors, deputies and possibly speakers after they leave office.
Other lawmakers who supported amendment to the law include Hon. Jude Idimogu )Oshodi-Isolo 2), Hon. Saad Olumo (Ajeromi-Ifelodun 1) and Hon. Abdulsobur Olawale (Mushin 2).
While rounding off the debate, Speaker Obasa observed the questions and suggestions raised by the lawmakers.
He also supported arguments that repealing the law in totality would expose former governors and deputies to security challenges.
“I don’t think we should trash it in totality,” he said as he committed the bill to the House Committee on Establishment with a two-week mandate for a reported to be submitted.
Eromosele Ebhomele Chief Press Secretary to the Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly.
The General Overseer of Champions Royal Assembly, Prophet Joshua Iginla who is billed to dedicate the record-breaking auditorium on Sunday, May 23rd, 2021 has made some revelations about how funding for the massive building of his 80,000-capacity church came about. In an interview session, yesterday with veteran Journalist, Femi Oyewale, Prophet Joshua Iginla who wasn’t very specific due to reasons best known to him admitted that the massive edifice cost him billions of naira which were not part of the church offering or loans from the bank. Rather, the money came from some of his personal business.
While speaking on how he got the vision to build such an edifice, He revealed that apart from being a man of God, He is into a modern agriculture, massive real estate, cryptocurrency, to the surprise of many.
‘’One of the thing God has done for him is I don’t need noise, sometimes some people ask questions of where I am coming from, some even think I am using something, they have syndicated so many things in the internet about me because of my speed.
Truly, I am a barrier breaker and a line crosser. if someone has not come to this church, he or she will not know how big this cathedral is. We were talking with the engineers and they said church is above 100,000 but for the purpose of comfort, we have to reduce it to 80,000. We have provisions for elevator, this church is a mind blowing one. We have hectares of land that are yet to be attended to. Talking about the amount of money I have spent, I don’t want to put myself into trouble, Billions and billions, its not a child’s play.
Just in the past three months to prepare for this official dedication, we have spent over N400 Milliion, so many pastors see me and think I am doing a money ritual.
When we were building, I remember some bank managers came to me and offered to borrow me some money, I laughed and told them there is no need for that. I’m worth more than whatever they want to loan me.
So many people wonder where I get all the money from, of a truth, so many religious leaders are deceptive and untrue to their followers. You cannot make the money of the gospel from offering and tithes. Someone like me, I give 90% of what God has put in my palms to enhance the church. I don’t go near the offering and tithes of the church, what can it do for me? I make my boast in the Lord, by the grace of God, I am what I am today by deploring my wisdom to make money, you don’t pray down money, you rain down money so if you don’t understand how to make money, you become poor throughout your lifetime.
I run a big modern agriculture firm, I am into real estate in a big-time way, I do a lot of businesses, I am into transportation, cars selling, I run trading firm, I am not ashamed to say that. I am so happy, I’m into foreign exchange, cryptocurrency, I’m bouncing into oil now, and of course, I have partners whom God has raised for me. Interestingly, some of the people God has used for me are from the other religion, I have friends from the Arab world who are so blessed and know how to give. Sometimes I am a lover of muslims, they give to the gospel. I’m not anti-Islam. What I am saying is the gospel can be financed by anybody, the bible say you will eat the riches of the gentiles’’
The 80,000 Capacity building called the city of wonders will be dedicated on Sunday, 23rd of May, 2021 and the man of God revealed that it was built within 13 months. He spoke on what inspired it and How God gave him a divine mandate for it.
‘1992, God gave me a vision about this building, 1996 it became clearer, in 2007, God brought more greater portion of this vision to me. When we were moving from old church building, we still have it and it’s so big. We had overflow that we couldn’t contain the crowd, then we had members parking cars all over, infact the neighborhood were getting angry, bursting the tyres of some of our members, I started buying over some of their properties, it was very big/
One day I was lying down, and the Lord told me it is time to build for him an auditorium, and he showed me in 1992, 1996, 2007, and promised to bring the provision.
It’s not because we want to show off, it was not an act of competition but necessity to the provision of the divine mandate. When its becomes a divine mandate, the provision will be made. There was no dime that was borrowed from the bank, we built this place in 13 months, we should have done the dedication but due to what happened in 2019, I had to take my time’
Wema Bank Plc, the creators of Nigeria’s first fully digital bank – ALAT– and one of Nigeria’s leading commercial banks, is hosting a creative essay competition for children.
The 2021 Royal Kiddies Essay Competition tagged “Write & Win”, will test the creative writing abilities of young school children in Nigeria aged 5 – 12. It aims to develop writing skills, promote creativity, imagination capabilities, reward creativity, and drive them towards excellence in their learning process.
Ten kids will emerge from a transparent, credible, and thorough screening process. The top three Essays will each get Huawei tablets and Royal Kiddies branded T-shirts. The seven other finalists will each get a N20,000 prepaid gift card for school supplies in addition to a branded T-shirt.
The essay competition is open to children of parents/guardians who have opened and funded a Royal Kiddies Account for their children/wards. Eligible kids will develop a creative and imaginative essay reminiscent of the eventful year 2020.
To get your kids to join the fun and get them rewarded for their creativity in the Wema Bank Royal Kiddies Essay Contest, follow the steps below:
Send an essay written by your ward(s) with the topic “2020 A year to Remember” along with their royal kiddies account details to retail.products@wemabank.com.
Essay submission entries close by May 24, 2021. Besides other terms and Conditions that apply, only Royal Kiddies Account holders with up to N20,000 in their account qualify to apply.
A Wema Bank Royal Kiddies Account gives your kids an early start to financial freedom. It is for kids between ages 1 to 12. Other benefits of opening a Wema Bank Royal Kiddies account for your children are access to school fees advance, scholarships, life assurance to fund their education and many others.
If you wish to enter your kids but do not have a Royal Kiddies account, visit the nearest Wema Bank branch to open an account.
The Commissioner of Police, Taraba State Police Command, Ahmed M. Azare, on Tuesday, May 18, received the newly posted Brigade Commander, Brigadier General H.I Mabekowu, in his office on a courtesy call.
This is contained in a statement signed by DSP David Misal, Police Public Relations Officer,PPRO, Taraba Police Command and made available to NAOSRE.
According to Misal, the courtesy visit followed the establishment of 6 Brigade in Jalingo by the army headquarters, Abuja.
In his remarks, the Brigadier General informed the commissioner that the purpose of the visit was to familiarize himself with the command and seek for collaboration, synergy and intelligence sharing between the police and the military.
He noted that the military recognizes the vital role of the Nigeria police in internal security. He stressed further that the military needs the support of the police in all angles in order to achieve its mandate.
General Mabekowu assured the CP that he will do all it takes to make the Brigade work within a shortest possible period of time including deployment of other staff officers from the National Headquarters.
Responding, Azare explained that the Command has been working cordially with the military in the state and assured the August visitor that the command will do all it takes to strengthen the relationship especially in intelligence gathering and sharing.
In a petition dated May 10, 2021, the Ali Moibi-Balogun Family of Odo-Egiri Town in Eredo Local Council Development Area of Lagos seeks Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s intervention after armed herdsmen forcefully took over their land and erected structures on it. In this interview with VICTOR AYENI, the lawyer for the Ali Moibi-Balogun family, Adeyemi Adegbite, explains the ordeal of the family
How long has the family been living on the invaded land?
Their forefathers handed it to them. In our petition, we said they inherited it from time immemorial. So, it predates Nigeria’s independence. You know in Yoruba culture, when you own a land, it is your father’s land from ages. It was not a land they came about in 10 or 20 years; it has been their inherited land.
At what point did they begin to notice the invasion on their land?
It was on March 4, 2021. That was the first instance that they experienced the incursion on their land. And then, they came back sometime in April.
How did the family members protect themselves during these attacks?
It was not all members of the family that were on the ground; they had some members and workers living on the land. Suddenly, these people invaded the land and started shooting indiscriminately. Probably, there have been some land trespassers who had been trespassing on the land. So, when they came and started shooting, the family members and their servants that were on the land escaped. That was on March 4. They reported to the extended family and that was when the family had to present the matter at the Noforija Police Station.
What was the response of the personnel at the Noforija Police Station?
As our petition captured, the first time the invaders came, the police responded swiftly. The people that invaded the land came with three motorbikes, a Honda Accord and the others were on foot. So, they were shooting indiscriminately to take possession of the land; then, those who escaped reported to the police. And as we said, the police at Noforija responded swiftly such that they were able to recover the Honda Accord that the invaders brought. Those on motorbikes, the three of them, escaped. Since then, the Noforija Police Station has been investigating it.
But all of a sudden it is like they developed cold feet such that even our client, the complainant, was treated like a suspect. It was at that point that they now briefed us and said they couldn’t take this; they needed a lawyer who would write a petition. That was when we came in.
Aside from the petition, which was aimed at giving a voice to this family, what do they want the government or the authorities to do for them?
Precisely, what they want is to get their land back and also to alert the government that there is danger somewhere in the Epe area, so that the government can quickly come and curtail the activities of the Fulani herdsmen. That is what is written in the petition. How can some strangers from nowhere just come and take their land?
As lawyers, we have to tell the whole world that there is fire on the mountain. The rooftop has caught fire; we can no longer go to sleep. The government should drag these people away so that there can be peace in Lagos State. We do not want Fulani herdsmen coming from anywhere to come and disturb the peace that has been prevalent in Lagos State. That is why we had to petition everybody. We wrote petitions to the governor, the House of Assembly, the Inspector-General of Police, Commissioner of Police and all that this thing should be nipped in the bud.
You described these people as Fulani herdsmen, how are you sure? What is the level of ammunition they have?
These people came with guns and were shooting. They had knives and charms all over them. I was not there, so I would not know if it was an AK-47 or whatever. But they shot at people. So, if someone invades your land with a gun, you should know that it is not a mere threat. They did not even come as if they were passing by, they came to settle down. After they came and drove everyone away between their first and second attack, they already built huts. My clients were watching, wondering what happened on their land. They were taking pictures.
We went to the police; the police came initially and anytime there was an incident, they went back to the police. At a stage, it seemed that the police were helpless; there was nothing they could do. You know, maybe they were compromised or whatever and couldn’t take any further step until we decided to blow this open. But even before then, some people had been threatening them (the family members). They had percolators on their land and they knew their names. The community leader is of no assistance to them. Life has become unbearable for them; they cannot go to their farmland, and all of that. So, the reports that were supplied to us were included in our petition. Whatever the authorities can do to come to the aid of our clients, we will appreciate it. And that will even save us the rigours of going to court, suing the government or suing people. If the government can stem it now, we will not need to go to court and say we want to file criminal action anywhere. That is the essence of the petition.
The family said the police branded them as suspects when they complained. Can you shed more light on this?
You see when the first occurrence took place, we said the police responded swiftly and they recovered some things, which we stated in our petition. After the second occurrence, something happened. What they expected the police to do, the police started to drag their feet. Yesterday, we were at the police area command and we met two DPOs from Noforija and Epe.
They gave us different versions of events. They said an incident occurred in which somebody got injured and they were trying to treat the person, but when they invited our clients, they failed to turn up. But our clients were saying that this particular DPO was not very cooperative with them and wants to turn them into suspects. So, this was what they briefed us about at the area command after we filed our petition.
That’s the most I know about this. It is not as if I have been following this thing for a long time, you know I was just brought in. They used another lawyer before, who was not available, who should be abreast of the facts. But because of the urgency of the case with herdsmen everywhere, everyone was apprehensive. We just wanted to do something so that we would bring it to the attention of the authorities.
Which police division or command was involved in this investigation?
That area falls under Noforija, but then, Noforija falls within Epe. But both DPOs there are hardworking. They stepped up and took this case seriously. In fact, when I met them, they had not even had some rest. They have been going up and down, trying to unravel the situation.
Are the herdsmen still occupying the land as we speak?
I have not been to the site. We lawyers rely on information provided to us by our clients. We attached some photographic evidence to our petition, so you could see that they were present. Then again, like I said, yesterday we were at the area command and we tried to get our clients to come to the area command, but they could not come. But then, when I called them to ask about their position if they were coming for the meeting at the area command, they told me that they noticed some herdsmen still on the land and they were trying to video them. Even when we got to the residence of my client at Epe with the DPO, the wife of the Olori Ebi confirmed to me that the Fulani herdsmen were still on their land.
Have the police visited the expanse of land to invite or arrest the suspects?
At the first instance in March, the police went there and recovered a car. That was when the DPO at Noforija said he saw someone there who was injured. I think he was bleeding on his head kind of, so he paid attention to him. Probably they might have gone back, you know, on some other occasions that we were not aware of.
Do you suspect that some powerful people in Abuja are supporting these herdsmen in some way?
Abuja? That is beyond my brief. We wrote a petition to the Inspector-General of Police. You see, this insecurity is nationwide, that is why we want to alert everybody. I wouldn’t know if anybody is supporting them. Support is a big word. I would not know if anybody is sponsoring or backing them from Abuja. My own is that we saw these people on the land and we have to alert the authorities.
Have the state government and House of Assembly responded to your petition?
Nobody has responded to our petition now except that the police are working hard. They are working round the clock. We have not received any correspondence from any authority. But I was even surprised, you see we did not write to the Commissioner of Police, we only copied him, yet the police are working. They are on top of the matter. They want to be sure that if there is such a thing, they will nip it in the bud.
– Commends southern governors for banning open grazing
…Says restructuring of Nigeria long overdue
Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly resumed from the Sallah break on Tuesday with a call on President Muhammadu Buhari to address the nation over issues relating to insecurity and rising sectional agitations across the country.
The House also said it was standing by the decisions reached by the southern governors at their recent meeting in Asaba, Delta State.
Calling the attention of his colleagues to the communique released by the governors after the meeting, the Deputy Leader of the House, Hon. Noheem Adams, noted that the Lagos Assembly had always called for the establishment of state police.
Hon. Adams urged his colleagues to support the governors saying the latter had shown that they are alive to their responsibilities.
Adams, however, urged the governors to start restructuring in their states by implementing autonomy for state legislatures and judiciary.
He recalled how the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, as chairman of the Conference of Speakers of State Legislatures, led his colleagues to the president to seek autonomy for state legislatures and judiciary. He lamented that the governors had yet to implement it.
Speaker Obasa, who presided over the sitting, commended the governors for coming out at a period when insecurity had taken the ‘front seat’ of discussions. He also commended some members of the National Assembly for supporting the governors.
Obasa lamented the rise in the number of groups agitating for secession adding that Nigeria can be restructured if there is the will power.
“People are getting tired of the call for constitutional conference because nothing had happened to previous ones,” he said adding that Nigeria needs true federalism at this stage.
The Speaker said it was disheartening to know that two neighbouring states like Ogun and Lagos cannot unite to meet some of the needs of the people simply because such could be on the exclusive list.
Earlier in his contribution, Hon. Kehinde Joseph suggested that the National Assembly needed to amend the Act establishing the Nigeria Police Force for the creation of state police.
Speaking also, Hon. Jimi Mohammed, who supported the motion, said the decision of the southern governors boils down to insecurity adding: “We can’t clamour enough for the calls for state police.”
On his part, Hon. Sanni Okanlawon said the governors had made a statement by calling for the ban on open grazing which he described as archaic and has led to the death of many.
He said restructuring of the country is long overdue. He also commended the southern governors for their other decisions.
Hon. Ajani Owolabi supported the motion and opposed those arguing that the constitution makes provision for freedom of movement. According to him, people who move must be citizens and must not move with the aim to damage. He however lamented that the herdsmen had failed in these two areas.
Hon. Adedola Kasunmu, while supporting the motion, urged that some items such as power be moved from the exclusive list to concurrent.
“Our national grid is getting weak and if the opportunity is given to states, it would help. If you fix power, you have fixed everything,” he said.
For Hon. Sentonji David, the country urgently needs to act against insecurity. “This is the time for us to have a restructured country,” he said.
The leader of the House, Sanai Agunbiade added: “A country cannot be drifting this way and the President is quiet. The President must address this country and assuage nerves.
“The National Assembly should come up with a bill to address the issue of state police. The bandits are multiplying like amoeba.”
Hon. Adewale Temitope noted that the issue of insecurity had progressed rapidly and sent shivers down spines.
He commended the governors but urged them to also establish autonomy for state legislatures and judiciary.
He also lamented that most of the police officers in Lagos are from a particular region of the country and as such, they hardly understand the terrain and the people they are meant to protect.
Hon. Abiodun Tobun noted: “Cattle rearing is a private business. So it is supposed that you cannot use your business to stop my progress or movement.
“If truly we are practising true federalism, then each state should be allowed to secure its area.”
Others who contributed included the Deputy Speaker of House, Hon. Wasiu Eshilokun-Sanni, Hon. Rasheed Makinde, and Hon. Bisi Yusuff
