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We’ll take hard decisions in Oyo—Makinde

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Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde has  said that his administration will not shy away from taking hard decisions in order to set the State on a trajectory of sustainable development.

Governor Makinde, who also advised his brother governors not to be caged by crave for second term, counseled that service delivery to the people should be of greater importance to office holders.

The governor in a  statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, made the assertions while performing two separate functions in his office on Wednesday.

While receiving reports of seven committees set up by his administration to look into various issues, Makinde said: “I have seen people come to me and said I should not do some certain things or take certain decisions because of second term. Those that are interested in second term should wait, at least till 2022. For now, we should do the job the people have committed to our hands and do things that will place Oyo State on the path of greatness.”

Also, while receiving the Governorship Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State, Mr. Musa Wada, Governor Makinde advised office-seekers and governors not to allow themselves to be caged by the crave for second term of office.

“The people are the sole determinants of the fate of the politicians. First term, second term are all linked to what we have for the people. During the first term, you make promises to the people and once you start ticking those boxes, the people can always decide that they want you to come in first and later say they want you to continue,” the Governor said.

In his speech at the Exco Chamber of the Governor’s Office, while receiving the reports of the committees, Governor Makinde called for ideas from the citizenry of the State to move the State to greatness, saying: “I want to say this publicly; some of us on this side of the table are not the brightest. No. We have just been blessed that God provided the opportunity for us and that’s why we value what you have to say. We value your contributions.

“Whatever we need to do on infrastructure, we need to target our economy. So, I want to implore anyone who has an advice for us should inform us because we don’t have any other place we can call home.”

The committees that presented their reports included the Investigative Panels on Ibarapa Polytechnic and Oke-Ogun Polytechnics; Committee on Dismissal/Retirement of Civil Servants between 2011 and 2019; Committee on Review of Contracts, Projects between 2017 and 2019; Task Force on Review of Operations at the Bola Ige International Market, Gbagi, Ibadan, among others.

The Governor, after receiving the reports, said that the Government will take immediate action on the recommendations, adding that the people should expect full implementation of the report within four weeks.

Governor Makinde made specific reference to the report of the committee on the wrongful dismissal of civil servants, noting that the Government will look into the recommendations of the committee and if they included bringing back some of the affected they would be returned to work immediately.

He said: “I want to say that we are not going to set up any further committee to review these reports but instead, we will go straight ahead to implement the recommendations, especially the committee that worked on the dismissed workers. This is because I believe that it is better for us to allow 100 guilty persons to go scot-free than to punish one innocent individual. I know you have done very well, looking at each individual and the issues that led to their getting dismissed. We will look at the report immediately and implement the recommendations.

“If you ask us to bring some of them back, we will bring them back almost immediately. So, I will set a time frame of four weeks for implementation of most of these reports.”

The Governor added that though the committee that was set up to look into the affairs of Local Government by the last administration was dragged to court, he said that his administration would soon clear the legal huddles and get to the roots of how the councils were administered.

He said: “When we came in, we actually set up these seven committees and an additional one that is meant to look into the affairs of the local government and LCDAs.

“They went to court, got an injunction through the back door saying we should not be doing the review. I have not seen it anywhere in the world where you say to people that you want to investigate an issue and they say you cannot poke your nose into what is your own business. Well, I have bad news for them. Though we will obey court orders, it’s only a matter of time. We will eventually look into the issues surrounding the local government administration.

“The time frame for us to implement these recommendations will not be more than four weeks because nations are not built on wishful thinking. We have taken hard look at some of the challenges we are faced with. Bola Ige Market, for instance, I was there during the electioneering. This is a market that was built to be an international market. The market is dirty. The car park has been turned into something else and we also have different kinds of illegal structures there. By the way, my mother also has a store there. If any store is acquired illegally, it will be brought down because nobody is above the law, not even me.

“So, we will look at what you have written and what is very clear is, we have hard decisions ahead of us. And I give you the assurance that I will take those hard decisions.”

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Inflation drops marginally to 15.39% — NBS

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Nigeria’s headline inflation rate fell marginally to 15.39 per cent in August 2026 from 15.43 per cent in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index released on Tuesday, saying the latest figure represented a 0.04 percentage point decline from the previous month.

The statistics agency, however, reported a sharper decline in the month-on-month inflation rate, which dropped to 0.71 per cent in August from 1.57 per cent in July.

The month-on-month rate, according to the bureau, declined by 0.86 percentage points compared with the July figure.

The NBS explained that the development indicated that the rate at which the average price level increased in August was slower than that recorded in July.

The latest data also showed a significant moderation in food inflation, which stood at 19.57 per cent year-on-year in August.

The figure was substantially lower than the 25.30 per cent recorded in August 2025.

On a month-on-month basis, food inflation fell to 1.02 per cent in August from 5.56 per cent in July, representing a decline of 4.55 percentage points.

The NBS said the development showed that food prices were still rising, but at a slower rate during the month under review.

It attributed the decline largely to changes in the average prices of a number of food items, including palm oil, carrots, pepper, onions, cassava flour, beef, yam flour, water yam, melon (egusi), fresh ginger, fresh fish, Irish potatoes, wheat grain, frozen chicken and turkey meat.

At the state level, Adamawa recorded the highest year-on-year food inflation rate in August at 38.85 per cent.

It was followed by Zamfara with 37.96 per cent and Bayelsa with 36.20 per cent.

On the other hand, Borno recorded the lowest year-on-year food inflation rate at -4.04 per cent, followed by Jigawa at -0.23 per cent and Kebbi at 3.47 per cent.

The month-on-month figures presented a different picture, with Katsina recording the highest food inflation rate at 9.48 per cent.

Rivers and Osun followed with 8.86 per cent and 8.32 per cent respectively.

Taraba recorded the lowest month-on-month food inflation rate at -12.42 per cent, followed by Borno at -12.15 per cent and Bauchi at -8.88 per cent.

The latest figures indicate a moderation in the pace of price increases, particularly in the food sector, although the NBS data show that consumers continue to face varying price pressures across the states.

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Nigeria’s Oil Output Rises to 1.68m Barrels Per Day

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Nigeria’s crude oil and condensate production rose to 1.68 million barrels per day in August 2026, representing a 0.4 per cent increase from the 1.67 million barrels per day recorded in July.

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission disclosed this in its latest production report released on Sunday.

Excluding condensate, the country produced an average of 1,500,190 barrels of crude oil per day in August, allowing Nigeria to meet its Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries quota for the fourth consecutive month.

Daily combined crude oil and condensate production ranged between 1.64 million barrels and 1.71 million barrels during the month under review.

A breakdown of production by terminals showed that Bonny Terminal recorded the highest output at 320.04 thousand barrels per day, followed by Forcados Terminal with 317.40 thousand barrels per day.

Qua Iboe Terminal recorded an average production of 171.72 thousand barrels per day, while Escravos Oil Terminal posted 131.71 thousand barrels per day.

Bonga ranked fifth among the highest-producing terminals, with an average output of 92.50 thousand barrels per day.

The NUPRC attributed the modest improvement in August production largely to the resolution of operational challenges involving the Single Buoy Mooring at the Erha field.

The commission said the challenges had adversely affected production in the preceding month.

“The restoration of normal evacuation and production operations at the asset contributed positively to overall production volumes during the period under review,” the commission’s spokesperson, Eniola Akinkuotu, said in a statement on Sunday.

The regulator added that production activities across most other producing assets remained relatively stable during the month.

“Production activities across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators sustaining implementation measures aimed at optimising production efficiency, maintaining asset integrity, and minimising operational disruptions,” the statement said.

The latest figures indicate a continued improvement in Nigeria’s oil production, with the country maintaining its OPEC quota compliance for the fourth consecutive month.

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Oyo South: Oseni Approves N100m for Ibadan Community Road Rehabilitation

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The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Oyo South Senatorial District, Hon. Aderemi Oseni, has approved N100 million for the immediate rehabilitation of a major access road linking seven communities in Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Oseni, who represents Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, announced the intervention on Saturday at a town hall meeting with residents and community leaders from Power Line, Awonsoso, Siba, Olupoyi, Balogun, Baba Agba and Agaloke communities.

‎The lawmaker said the decision followed a request by the community stakeholders, who identified the poor condition of the road as their most pressing need. He assured the residents that the rehabilitation would be completed within four months.

‎Oseni said the intervention was part of his commitment to people-centred representation, stressing that his legislative activities had been focused on issues capable of improving the lives of Nigerians.

He said, “Within the three years plus, I have sponsored bills and moved motions that are carefully designed to positively impact the lives and livelihoods of citizens.”

According to him, some of the legislative initiatives include moves to amend the Federal Medical Centres Act to establish a Federal Medical Centre in Ido Local Government Area, stronger sanctions for contractors who fail to execute government projects according to specifications, and measures to improve accountability in the management of public contracts.

Oseni added that he had also advocated subsidised farm machinery for farmers, measures to reduce the cost of cancer treatment, improved food storage through modern silos and processing facilities, as well as urgent action on flooding and recurring building collapses in major cities among several others.

‎The lawmaker said his engagements with communities across Oyo South should not be viewed solely through the prism of the 2027 elections, despite the commencement of political activities.

“My visit here today is not to solicit for votes, but to listen and find practical ways to attend to the requests and plights of my people,” he said.

‎Oseni also disclosed that he had facilitated the distribution of 31 transformers across Ido and Ibarapa, with about 80 per cent of the cost funded through his foundation. He added that  other interventions had included solar-powered street lights, boreholes, bridges, public toilets, educational support,  infrastructure, health care services,  youth and women empowerment, and assistance to artisans, traders and markets across the senatorial district.

The APC chieftain further noted that some youths had also received N1 million each as seed capital to start small businesses.

‎Oseni acknowledged that his primary responsibility as a federal lawmaker was to make laws and provide effective representation, but said the gap created by ineffective governance at the grassroots had made it necessary for him to support communities through interventions.

He urged youths to remain focused and resilient, recounting how he worked as a bus conductor to raise money for his secondary education before becoming an engineer, businessman and legislator.

Earlier,  Chief Muibi Adegoke, Baale of Awonsoso, and Chief Azeez Saka, Baale of Elere Apata, commended the lawmaker for what they described as his performance in legislation and community development. They pledged their support for his political aspiration ahead of the 2027 election.

‎The meeting was attended by traditional rulers, religious leaders, community elders, women and youth leaders from the affected communities.

(c) Mega Icon Magazine 

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