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Ajimobi committed to Agriculture, Grassroots development.
OYO state governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi on Tuesday assured that his administration is committed to further deepen the dividends of democracy to the people, adding that the government has established a committee to look into genuine complaints from the LCDAs creation.
The governor, who disclosed this at the town hall meeting held for the people of Oyo and Ogbomoso zones in Oyo Town on, also stated that the government would revoke the ownership of any unused fertile land for agriculture, and that the government would distribute the 210 hectares at Rural Community Development Centre (RCDC), Awe, Oyo Town, to farmers to boost food production in the state.
The town hall which was the third in the series of recently resuscitated stakeholders’ engagement between the government and the citizens to discuss and jointly find solutions to critical issues affecting the state had in attendance traditional rulers, community, religious and party leaders, cultural and ethnic groups, religious bodies, youths and faith based organisations, students from Secondary Schools and higher institutions, Non-Governmental Organisations, Labour leaders, politicians among others.
Governor Ajimobi alsi reiterated that there was no going back on the conduct of local government elections in the state in February 2017, noting that the government has started considering petitions received on the newly created LCDAs with a view to make necessary adjustments.
He said, “we realized that we need to further deepen the dividends of our government and that is why we created the LCDAs. If we started from the scratch, it will take time. We know the creation is not perfect but we are ready to make necessary adjustments. We are being guided by the principles of fairness to all, we are going to follow the federal government approved map for the state and we will follow the constitution of the land in redressing the grievances from the LCDAs creation”.
Ajimobi further explained that the drop in oil revenue has turned everybody to the abandoned agriculture, stressing that his administration is constructing automated silos of international standard in Atiba to boost food storage in order to improve food security.
Continuing, the governor warned that the government would take over unused fertile farming land for use, maintaining that the state would leverage on its position as the largest producer of cassava to boost its internally generated revenue through agriculture and ensure that there is enough food for the people of the state.
“Oyo state is the largest producer of cassava in the country. We have many unused fertile land for farming. I want to appeal to our people to release these lands for those that need it for farming to boost agricultural produce in the state. We are ready to revoke any unused lands and give it to farmers for use. We are ready to also share the 210 hectares of land at RCDC Awe, Oyo Town for the use of our farmers,” the governor said.
He appealed to the entire citizens of the state to collaborate and support government’s plans and policies for reviving education in the state and consequently reiterated his assurance that the crisis in the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) would be resolved by month end and the school will be reopened.
Ajimobi appreciated the market men and women for their expression of interest to support the renewed Internal Generated Revenue (IGR) drive of the state, pledging that his administration would continue with its unprecedented infrastructural effort to open the state for more industrialization.
The governor promised that Atiba FM, a fully digital radio station based in Atiba, and the Silo for food storage would be ready for commission this year.
In their separate reactions, the traditional rulers present at the town hall through their representative, Oba Oparinde Stephen Femi, the Akibio of Ilora and the retired Archbishop Ayo Ladigbolu commended Governor Ajimobi for his efforts at transforming the state and his resolve to return education in the state to the path of glory.
In his remarks, Archbishop Ladigbolu said that the people of Oyo Town appreciated the governor’s gesture for citing the silo and Atiba fm in Oyo and for the ongoing dualization of the road in the town.
“We thank the governor for his achievements so far in the state, the people of Oyo Town appreciate him for the road dualization, the Silo and Atiba Fm. No governor has dualised roads in Oyo town before, Ajimobi stands out and we say thank you to him on behalf of the Alaafin of Oyo and the people of Oyo and Ogbomoso zones of the state,” he noted.
Dangote Petroleum Refinery has made headlines by announcing a further reduction in the price of diesel, dropping it from ₦1200 to ₦1000 naira per litre.
The refinery’s decision comes on the heels of its recent supply at a significantly reduced price of ₦1200 per litre, which was introduced three weeks ago, signifying a remarkable 30 per cent decrease from the previous market price of approximately ₦1600 per litre.
This substantial reduction in diesel prices at Dangote Petroleum Refinery is expected to reiterate positively throughout various sectors of the economy, potentially serving as a catalyst in alleviating the persistently high inflation rate in the country.
In a statement last week, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest individual and the owner of the refinery, expressed his optimism regarding the potential impact of the price reduction on inflation in Nigeria.
“I believe that we are on the right track. I believe Nigerians have been patient, and I also believe that a lot of goodies will now come through. There’s quite a lot of improvement because if you look at it, one of the major issues that we’ve had was the naira devaluation that has gone very aggressively up to about ₦1900,” he remarked.
As anticipation builds around the implications of this move by Dangote Petroleum Refinery, stakeholders and consumers alike remain hopeful for the positive effects it could bring to the Nigerian economy in the coming months.
More than 50,000 Russian military personnel have died during the Ukraine conflict, the BBC reported Wednesday, citing its own reporters, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers.
They found that more than 27,300 Russian soldiers died during the second year of the war, a 25-percent increase on the first year.
BBC Russian, Mediazona and volunteers have been counting deaths since February 2022, using open-source information from official reports and the media, as well as using satellite images of Russian cemeteries to estimate the number of new graves.
The figure of more than 50,000 is eight times higher than the official toll acknowledged by Moscow in September 2022. It does not include deaths of militia in Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine said in February that it had lost 31,000 soldiers, but that figure is also likely to be significantly lower than the true toll.
Russian losses spiked in January 2023 as it launched a large-scale offensive in Donetsk and again months later last year during the battle for the city of Bakhmut.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a “special military operation” at dawn on February 24, 2022, which has since turned into a bloody and attritional war, isolating Russia from the Western world.
Responding to the report, the Kremlin said it did not disclose any information on military deaths and casualties, which falls under the remit of the defence ministry.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added official secrets laws and those covering what Russia calls its “special military operation” in Ukraine meant it was “absolutely understandable” that the ministry did not release the figures.
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) has disclosed that 95 million Nigerians need to enroll for the National Identification Number (NIN) to meet its target of 200 million enrollments by 2025.
Kayode Adegoke, Head of Corporate Communications at NIMC, emphasised the importance of this enrollment during an interview on X over the weekend.
He stated, “For NIMC to meet the 200 million target by 2025, 95 million Nigerians need to register for the NIN.”
Adegoke revealed that over 105 million NINs have been issued to Nigerians and legal residents so far.
He assured Nigerians of the commission’s commitment, saying, “We want to assure Nigerians that within the next one or two years, we will reach our target of enrolling all Nigerians.”
“The NIN serves as a unique identifier for each citizen and has become increasingly important for various government initiatives aimed at improving security, governance, and service delivery.”
Adegoke highlighted the efforts to streamline the modification and enrollment processes under the leadership of Abisoye Coker, the director-general of NIMC. He announced the development of a self-service platform, allowing Nigerians to make necessary modifications such as changing names, dates of birth, email addresses, and phone numbers from anywhere, using different devices.
Emphasising the convenience of the self-service modification portal, Adegoke encouraged Nigerians to utilize this innovative solution.
He noted the evolution of the process, citing the past requirement for applicants to visit NIMC offices for data corrections.
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