Top Stories
We’ll explore local solutions to address COVID-19 pandemic—Makinde
Oyo State governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, said on Wednesday that the State will explore home-grown solutions towards the prevention and cure of COVID-19.
He stated that the State was not ruling out local solutions to cure the virus, adding that since Nigerians have always had their ways of dealing with flu, catarrh and cough, in ways different from the Western world, the state would explore avenues and find a cure.
He said that he was convinced that Nigerians have the capacity and intellect to look at things that work locally, stating that theState will encourage that.
A statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Makinde, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, quoted the governor as saying these on Wednesday, during a briefing after a meeting of the State’s COVID-19 Task Force, held at the Government House, Agodi, Ibadan.
The governor maintained that as part of measures to contain the spread of Coronavirus in Oyo State, the government was already working on the passage of laws that would compel the use of face masks.
He added that the state was also considering rapid and mass testing of residents with efforts to create two additional testing centres already underway.
The governor, who stated that from his experience of the virus, boosting of immunity had an important part to play in overcoming it, said that while the State is seeking home-grown solution, it would continue to defer to experts’ opinions.
Governor Makinde said: “We are looking at local solutions. I know that a lot of people have been calling me all sorts of names on the social media but, from my experience, one thing that I know you have to do to conquer the virus is that you have to boost your immunity. We do have local solutions and, of course, we have to defer to experts’ opinion as part of the home-grown solution to deal with COVID-19.
“People may ask if we have been funding the research institutes very well. They may even ask if we are in a position to bring any kind of solution to the world. My answer is yes. Even chewing something like bitter-cola. When the Western world is having flu season, they have flu shots. But here, we have things like catarrh. When we are crossing over from dry season to rainy season, people almost always fall sick. Cold, cough, catarrh, we have ways of dealing with all of these locally.
“So, except a solution comes from the Western or Eastern world, I won’t say that we cannot deal with it. I believe we have the capacity. We have the intellect to look at things that work locally and we will keep encouraging that. We have the capacity to also validate some of the results that we are going to be getting.
“They did clinical trials for chloroquine and some other medications but these are things we take normally here. So, we are not ruling out local solution to this pandemic.”
The governor, who commended the members of the Oyo State COVID-19 Task Force for its hard work, explained that the isolation process for the two new confirmed cases of COVID-19 had already been initiated and that contact tracing and collection of samples have commenced.
He said: “We have made arrangement to decontaminate the Oyo State Secretariat and this will take place next week; between Monday, April 13th and Wednesday, April 15th. Thereafter, the secretariat will be opened on Monday, April 20th.
“The team in charge of the decontamination are sending letters to religious leaders, traditional rulers, private organisations to decontaminate their facilities, using standardised contaminants. “We are also considering rapid testing, two additional centres to enable us map behaviour of the virus as far as the state is concerned.
“The NCDC protocol is being followed at the approved virology laboratory in UCH. For those two additional centres, they discussed a protocol to be followed and I believe the experts are working on that. Once we have alignment on the protocol to be followed, we will roll this out, and our aspiration to test up to 10,000 people in Oyo State within the shortest possible time will be realized. The modelling of the state epidemiologist will help us decide the next step regarding the curfew and reopening of schools.”
While addressing the issue of palliatives for the vulnerable in the State, Governor Makinde maintained that the State would begin the distribution of palliatives within the next one week, stating, however, that the palliatives will target the poorest of the poor.
The governor said: “We will roll out palliatives for the poorest of the poor within the next one week.
“We are also working on a law to make the wearing of mask in public compulsory as one of the measures to slow down the spread of the virus. I know that, sometimes, it may not be comfortable but if we have to go through the discomfort to slow down the virus from spreading, we will make laws to ensure this is done.”
Governor Makinde also used the opportunity to appreciate corporate organisations and individuals who have been donating to the state’s COVID-19 Endowment Fund, stating that the state has already realised close to N200 million.
“I will like to appreciate all those who have donated to the state’s Endowment Fund for COVID-19. We were told in the meeting by the Commissioner for Finance that we have realised close to 200 million Naira and people are still donating. We have gone round this afternoon to check on the food items that have been donated.
“So, I want to use this opportunity to thank everyone that has given us support and pitched in to help us fight this pandemic. And for those who are yet to donate or support us, this is an opportunity to do so.
“On behalf of the government and the people of Oyo State, I say thank you once again. And I also thank those who are thinking about it and yet to bring their support, because I know they will eventually do the needful,” he said.
Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday held a high-level strategic meeting with the Oyo State chapter of the party as part of efforts to reposition the APC for victory and prevent internal crisis ahead of the polls.
The development was first scooped by OYOINSIGHT.COM which quoted multiple party sources familiar with the closed-door deliberations.
Sources disclosed that the meeting, held in Abuja, focused largely on a consensus arrangement being considered by stakeholders of the party in Oyo State, in line with political templates reportedly being adopted in Lagos and Ogun states ahead of the next electoral cycle.
Party insiders said the move was aimed at strengthening unity within the fold of the opposition party in the state, minimising rancour during the primaries and presenting a formidable front against rival parties in 2027.
It was further gathered that some members of the state executive committee may have been subtly informed about preferred consensus candidates being considered for elective positions across the state.
Though details of the deliberations were still sketchy as of press time, sources hinted that the national leadership stressed the need for cohesion, discipline and strategic alignment among stakeholders to improve the party’s electoral fortunes in Oyo.
Those at the meeting included the Oyo APC Chairman, Moses Alake Adeyemo; the state secretary, Fatai Adesina Adeniyi; the Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare; the Organising Secretary, Aderemi Adepoju; and the Legal Adviser, Sunday Aborisade.
Others were the Women Leader, Adekemi Opatunde; the Youth Leader, Olalekan Oladejo; Joshua Oyebamiji; Tunde Oloyede; Sunday Babalola; Joseph Omoniyi; and Mojeed Adebayo.
As of the time of filing this report, the party had yet to issue an official statement on the outcome of the meeting.
The Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo, on Monday assured aspirants and party members that the party would conduct transparent, peaceful and credible direct primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Adeyemo declared that no aspirant would be victimised or denied a level playing field, stressing that the party leadership remained committed to internal democracy and progressive ideals.
The former deputy governor spoke while receiving members of the APC Screening and Appeal Committees deployed from the party’s National Secretariat in Abuja at the APC Secretariat in Oke-Ado, Ibadan.
He disclosed that although the party initially explored consensus arrangements across elective positions, prevailing realities indicated that direct primaries would be conducted in some areas, including the governorship contest.
Adeyemo said the party had already put necessary structures in place to ensure a hitch-free exercise capable of strengthening unity within the APC.
He said: “We set machineries in motion for us to achieve the aim of consensus across board but reports available to me indicate that we would have to go by the second option which is direct primary in certain cases including the governorship ticket.
“To this end, we shall work towards organising free, fair and credible exercise in all the affected areas even as we cannot rule out the possibility of some aspirants having a rethink and supporting the consensus arrangement as necessary.
“Where we have more than an aspirant, Abuja would send people to conduct primaries and we at the state level would provide the required support to make everything work out in the interest of our great party.”
The APC chairman explained that all registered party members would participate fully in the exercise at their respective wards on dates to be announced by the National Secretariat.
According to him, affirmation would be adopted in areas where consensus candidates emerge, while voting would be conducted wherever direct primaries become necessary.
“For consensus, members will lend their voices for affirmation while voting will be done in the cases of direct primary,” he added.
Speaking earlier, Chairman of the Screening Committee and former Speaker of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Taofiq AbdusSalam, assured party faithful that the committee would carry out a thorough, transparent and unbiased screening process.
He said only eligible aspirants would be cleared to participate in the primaries and eventually fly the APC flag in the forthcoming elections.
Other members of the Screening Committee are Kamal Sanusi (Secretary), Smart Oluwole, Tunde Kolade and Olabamiji Agunloye.
Members of the Screening Appeal Committee are Jibola Oduwole (Chairman), Abimbola Jack (Secretary) and Jelil Jimoh.
The Nigeria Democratic Congress on Saturday zoned its 2027 presidential ticket to Southern Nigeria, declaring that the party’s candidate would serve a single four-year term if elected.
The decision was reached during the party’s national convention held in Abuja amid growing momentum within the opposition platform following a wave of high-profile defections from other political parties.
Announcing the development on its official social media handle, the party stated, “NDC presidential ticket is zoned to the South!!”
The party also resolved that its 2031 presidential ticket would be ceded to Northern Nigeria as part of efforts to maintain regional balance and internal equity.
The convention comes as key opposition figures, including former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and former New Nigeria People’s Party presidential candidate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, joined party leaders and delegates at the Abuja gathering.
Saturday’s convention is expected to ratify several recent decisions taken by the party’s National Executive Committee, including zoning arrangements, amendments to the party constitution, and the election of new national executives.
According to the convention agenda obtained by journalists, discussions centred on zoning, ratification of the amended constitution, and leadership restructuring ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The NDC has in recent weeks witnessed a surge in defections from rival opposition parties, particularly the African Democratic Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
On Tuesday, no fewer than 17 members of the House of Representatives defected from the ADC to the NDC.
Their defections were formally announced during plenary at the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers include Yusuf Datti, Uchenna Okonkwo, Adamu Wakili, Thaddeus Attah, George Ozodinobi, Lilian Orogbu, Oluwaseyi Sowunmi, Peter Aniekwe, Mukhtar Zakari, George Oluwande and Munachim Umezuruike.
Others are Emeka Idu, Jesse Onuakalusi, Ifeanyi Uzokwe, Afam Ogene, Murphy Omoruyi and Abdulhakeem Ado.
The defections came barely two days after Obi and Kwankwaso formally joined the NDC from the ADC.
The duo were presented with the party’s membership cards last Sunday shortly after a closed-door meeting with party leaders.
A former Governor of Bayelsa State and NDC national leader, Seriake Dickson, officially welcomed the opposition figures into the party.
Obi had attributed his exit from the ADC to worsening internal crises, external interference and what he described as increasing hostility within party structures.
The former Anambra State governor said Nigeria’s political environment had become increasingly toxic, marked by intimidation, insecurity and sustained scrutiny of opposition figures.
He also lamented that institutions meant to protect citizens were now often deployed against them, while individuals committed to genuine public service faced mounting pressure both publicly and privately.
-
Politics2 days ago2027: Oyo APC Set for Credible Direct Primaries, Says Alake Adeyemo
-
Politics9 hours ago2027: APC Perfects Consensus Strategy for Oyo
-
News1 week agoTCN plans power outage in Ibadan over substation maintenance
-
News5 days agoTegbe clarifies: No 3-month promise on power grid, outlines realistic reform timeline