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Go and start as councillor – Shittu, Sowore‎ in verbal war

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There were verbal exchanges of hard words on Saturday between the Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu and the Publisher of Sahara Reporters, Mr. Omoyele Sowore over the 2019 general elections and the performance of President Muhammadu Buhari.

They clashed during a public affairs radio programme, tagged “Political Circuit” on Fresh FM in Ibadan, the Oyo state capital.

DAILY POST correspondent who monitored the program learnt that Sowore, a Presidential aspirant, was in Ibadan in continuation of his campaign movement.

Shittu, who was the first to arrive the Felele studio of the private radio station owned by popular juju musician, Mr. Yinka Ayefele suddenly became uncomfortable when the young Presidential aspirant arrived.

Sowore who was the first to greet the Minister said, “Minister, it is great to see you. This is the minister of an outgoing regime; the Buhari regime will be kicked off power by 2019″.

He had barely concluded his introductory statement when the Minister fired back, saying “You are a dreamer. By your wish or by God’s wish? You are just dreaming. You are a day dreamer”.

Sowore in his reply said “By the wish of the people of Nigeria, Sir. It is not a dream. It is the realisation you’d wake up to on February 15.”

Shittu in his own response then mocked Sowore, saying he does not have any electoral value.

He said “Sowore, what is your electoral worth? Whether in your Ife, home or any part of this country.”

Sowore who said he have enough electoral value to chase out the Buhari administration said, “My electoral worth brought you to power in 2015. Nobody even heard about many of you in 2014.”

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The minister thereafter said the Sahara Reporters publisher didn’t know about him because he was inconsequential in politics.

The Minister said, “You are inconsequential.

“That’s rubbish. I have been in politics since you were born. For forty years, I have been in politics and I was already a lawyer before I joined politics forty years ago. You can’t be here and talk rubbish.

“This is rubbish! You want to become president? You are a day dreamer. Who will make you president? You will be president of your Ife… not Nigeria. Go and be president in Ife. You think it is cheap as that? We will see.
In defence, Mr Sowore said he was consequential because Shittu and others came to power by the efforts of young Nigerians like him.

“I am consequential because you came to power on my back, on our back… on the back of young people who invested a lot of hope.”

In response, the minister described the publisher as a mere noise-maker.

He said “What did you invest? Did you invest more than me, No? I will not sit here and allow someone make noise…You are just a noisemaker. You are just a noisemaker.”

Sowore then warned that the minster’s conduct was typical of the same way handlers of former President Goodluck Jonathan treated Nigerians before they were defeated at the polls in 2015.

He said, “This was the same way Jonathan people were sounding in 2014… you are gonna be shocked in 2019, the Nigeria of the future is for dreamers like me.”

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The angry Minister then maintained that,“You think the presidency is for people like you? Go and start from being a councillor. I have been a member of the House of Assembly, I was a commissioner twice, I was already a lawyer… you wouldn’t know, you were too small.

“How old are you? How old are you? This is not a platform for minions like you to come… you think the presidency is something you can just buy in a market place? You are a giant in university politics (and) by the grace of God you will be put to shame.”

Shittu accused the publisher of publishing falsehood against him without contacting him to verify the fact, an accusation to which Mr. Sowore replied by saying the minister barely picked his calls nor replied his messages.

It took the anchor of the program, Mr. Isaac Brown and other analysts on the program more than five minutes to bring the situation under control.

When asked to explain the rationale for vying for the presidency, the 47-year-old publisher said he had been around for thirty years fighting for the betterment of the country. He also said he had built a media platform whose reportage help bring the present government into power.

On the NotTooYoungToRun initiative, Mr Sowore said it was not enough for the youth to simply contest on the basis of their being young.

“You have to take power because we are responsible and should be responsible for it. That’s why we are having a heated argument here. I have been doing this for thirty years; by next year, it will be thirty years. We are the ones that fought for the democracy they are enjoying today.

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“We do (contact affected parties in a story for reaction) but they don’t react until they get into trouble. I have your (Mr. Shittu) telephone number, I called you. I had sent you text messages even before now but because you think I am inconsequential, you ignored me,” he said.

Shittu, who said Sowore needs ‘mentoring’, thereafter threatened to sue the Sahara Reporters publisher over the said publication.

https://iso.keq.mybluehost.me/adebanjo-tears-obasanjo-says-his-administration-was-a-calamity/

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Oyo: Rep Oseni Inaugurates N120m Earthmoving Equipment for Grassroots Development

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Engr. Aderemi Oseni, the House of Representatives member representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in Oyo State, on Monday, inaugurated N120 million worth of earth-moving equipment, aimed at enhancing grassroots development and ensuring food security within the federal constituency.

Oseni noted that the dire state of road networks in his constituency compelled him to procure the equipment, which includes a grader and payloader, to facilitate the seamless movement of people, goods, and services.

The lawmaker, who spoke shortly after the inauguration of the equipment in Ibadan said: “We are currently starting the rehabilitation of 80 roads in phase one of this project. Once completed, we will proceed to phase two. Additionally, we have selected certain roads in both Ido and Ibarapa East local governments for asphalt tarring.

He added, “Hiring equipment for road rehabilitation is no longer fashionable nor economical. That’s why we’ve invested in our own. In addition to ongoing health and education projects, we’ve finalised plans to dig 50 boreholes in polling units to enhance water supply. Currently, we’ve finished three boreholes, in addition to several others commissioned prior to the elections.”

While also distributing bags of rice to numerous communities as part of the measures to cushion current hardship, the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA) lauded President Bola Tinubu for the release of N100 million each to lawmakers through the Federal Government Ministry of Agriculture to address the plight of the masses.

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The legislator tasked Nigerians to be actively involved in the intervention of the Federal Government on road projects across the nation by reporting any contractor that indulges in the poor handling of projects to the agency’s offices.

“I have been telling our committee members in the House of Representatives that fixing our roads is our major challenge. But as community leaders and members of society wherever we find ourselves, we should be involved in monitoring these contractors. A lot of money has been appropriated for road projects.

“When you see contractors saddled with the responsibility of fixing the roads in your area and you see that the job is not being done properly, you don’t need to be a qualified engineer before you know when something is not being done very well or the way it should be done. Raise your voice and go to our offices in various states to report such incidents and we will be able to take it up from there”, Oseni posited.

Earlier in his remark, the Senior Legislative Aide (SLA) to the lawmaker, Alhaji Abdul-Hakeem Okedina urged the people to support him (Oseni) in his drive to improve infrastructural facilities in the constituency, assuring that more dividends of democracy will be available to all irrespective of political, religious and ethnic affiliations.

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Economic Hardship: Rep Oseni Lauds FG’s N100m Palliative for Each Constituency

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Hon. Aderemi Oseni, the lawmaker representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in Oyo State, has commended the proactive stance of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration towards addressing the welfare needs of Nigerians.

The lawmaker applauded the government’s commitment to ameliorating the prevailing hardships faced by citizens, particularly through the significant intervention of One Hundred Million Naira (N100,000,000) allocated to each federal constituency via the Ministry of Agriculture.

Oseni, in a statement on Thursday by his media aide, Idowu Ayodele, in Ibadan, emphasised the importance of such interventions in providing essential support to communities and constituents grappling with economic challenges, notably in the distribution of grains to cushion the impacts of the hardship in Nigeria.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Federal Road Maintenance Agency (FERMA), said the allocation, aimed at cushioning the adverse effects of hardship, signifies a crucial step towards fostering sustainable development and resilience across the nation.

He informed that the palliative has no bias for partisan politics as it is meant for all vulnerable members of the public in the Ibarapa East/Ido Federal constituency, irrespective of political affiliations, adding that the contractor had supplied the rice in the amount of the money approved.

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“I want to commend President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the several initiatives and interventions of the federal government to bring ease to the people. I also want to reassure all the constituents in Ibarapa East/Ido federal constituency of my commitment to their welfare at this time and always,” the lawmaker assured.

The APC chieftain appealed to members of the public to remain patient and calm as lawmakers are making frantic efforts to ensure the effective implementation and equitable distribution of democratic dividends for the benefit of constituents in their various constituencies.

Renewing his commitment and promising more dividends of democracy for his constituency, Oseni also hinted that in line with his campaign promises, he would be commissioning road construction equipment for the rehabilitation of rural roads this Saturday.

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APC criticises Makinde for alleged education decline in Oyo

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APC criticises Makinde for alleged education decline in Oyo

 

Oyo state chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has expressed deep concern over the deteriorating state of education in the region, accusing Governor Seyi Makinde’s administration of negligence and insincerity in addressing the challenges faced by the sector.

In a statement issued by the party’s Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, and made available to Mega Icon Magazine,  APC highlighted issues such as scarcity of teachers, deplorable infrastructure, lack of teaching aids and equipment, poor monitoring and supervision, erosion of competent administrators, and outdated policy and curriculum implementation as contributing factors to the decline in education standards.

Oyo APC emphasized the need for urgent intervention, stating, “It is time well-meaning citizens and residents of the state began to ask questions on why a key sector like that of education has had to be handled with levity in the last five years.”

The party disputed the state government’s claims of improvement, citing examples of severely understaffed schools and inadequate resources.

The statement pointed out specific cases like St. Joseph Primary School in Ibadan North West LGA, SDA Primary School in Egbeda LGA, Baptist Basic School in Tede, AUD Primary School in Igboora, Muslim Community Primary School in Itesiwaju LGA, and Christ Church School in Ona-Ara LGA, where an alarming shortage of teachers was evident.

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The APC also drew attention to the critical situation in public secondary schools, highlighting the lack of staff to teach core subjects.

“Examples included Baptist Secondary Grammar School in Atisbo LGA and Methodist High School in Ibarapa North LGA, where the Old Student Association and a mere four teachers, respectively, struggled to meet the educational needs of hundreds of students”.

The party urged residents to question the Seyi Makinde-led administration’s commitment to education, stressing the need for immediate action to prevent further deterioration.

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