Failed FG roads: Obaseki vows to construct alternative roads, restrict their usage 

Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State has said his administration would create alternate roads following the “Federal Government failure to fix its roads in the state.

He said this is to ensure smooth movement of goods and services across the state.

Obaseki made this shocking statement while swearing in the newly elected chairmen of the eighteen local government councils of the state.

He, however, said the roads, once constructed, would be barricaded and restricted and called for the cooperation of the new chairmen to achieve this.

Obaseki also urged them to focus on the environment and sanitation as he said that was an area he has not been happy about in the performance of his administration.

According to the governor, “Today we are in a crisis in our country, what is hurting Edo the most is the advantage we have in terms of our location of being at the core of the country, and therefore being connected with a lot of roads owned by the Federal Government.

“The Federal Government as you know today lacks the capacity to manage itself not to talk about rebuilding its roads so it could take a while if ever for them to be able to build those roads.

“We fortunately have other connections so our priority with you should be to design and work with the state government to build alternative state roads.

“Infrastructure is important, we should be able to move our people with their goods and their services so that we can have development and when we build those roads, they will be barricaded and restricted for use.”

On sanitation, the governor said: “The other area we will need to collaborate with you is in the area of the environment and sanitation. We’ve done so much in the last 6, 7 years but one area I am not proud of is in terms of our sanitation and environment. This is an area we share together. I want to Implore you to make this a priority for us because the environment is a big issue in the world today.”

Obaseki said the elected chairmen were carefully selected by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and elected by the people.

He said and that he does not doubt their competence to collaborate with the state government to bring good governance to the people as he revealed that 52 secondary schools have been selected to test run digital education where students would learn using computers all through.

“I campaigned with all of you around the local government so I wasn’t surprised that you won. What amazed me, which I didn’t realize was the love and support which our people have for the PDP. Don’t let them down.”

Responding on behalf of his colleagues, the chairman of Akoko-Edo local government area, Barr Tajudeen Suleiman promised to collaborate with the Obaseki administration, adding that with them in the councils, the governor would produce his successor for the PDP come 2024.

One of the signatories to the Obi/Baba-Ahmed Campaign Organization in the February 25 election, Aisha Yesufu, has revealed that the statement of account for the campaign would be made public after the petition by the Labour Party candidate, Peter Obi is concluded at the Supreme Court.

Recall that the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal on Wednesday struck out the petition filed by Obi and his counterpart in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku Abubakar, and their parties, saying it had no merit.

The court unanimously upheld the election of President Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Verdict on the petitions were delivered by the Chairman of the tribunal, Justice Haruna Tsammani, alongside four other members of the panel.

The Labour Party had since rejected the tribunal judgement and vowed to appeal the ruling at the apex court.

Speaking on the judgement, Aisha Yesufu in a post on her verified X account, said the Obi/Baba-Ahmed Campaign is not done with the February election.

According to her, the statement of account for the campaign can only be made known after the party is done with the election.

She wrote, “Next is Supreme Court ruling and then election would be duly rounded up and the statement of account of Obi/Baba-Ahmed Campaign Account can be made public by the Presidential candidate! There are many who have concluded their election, Obi/Baba-Ahmed Campaign hasn’t.

“This is my second time of being one of the signatories of a campaign account. I was one in 2018/2019. As soon as we withdrew from the campaign we made account public because we were done. This time also we have to be done for the account to be made public”.

The President of Zamfara State Students Association of the Federal University Gusau, ZAMSSA, Comrade Haliru Ibrahim, has lamented that over 2,565 students cannot continue their studies due to the school fees hike.

He disclosed this while fielding questions from newsmen at the university, the state capital.

He urged Governor Dauda Lawal and other stakeholders to make necessary arrangements to assist indigenous students.

He further said the removal of fuel subsidies and current hardships play an important role in students dropping out, especially at the Federal University Gusau.

He urged the students to get part time jobs to support their education.

The Police in Lagos have ordered the arrest of a University of Lagos, UNILAG lecturer accused of r*ping a 20-year-old student of the institution.

The arrest warrant was issued by the Commissioner of Police, Idowu Owohunmi through the state High Court and involved the Vice Chancellor of the university.

The student, name withheld, said the incident occurred when she visited the lecturer in the office to sort out issues about her results.

A non-governmental organisation, Inclusive Social Welfare and Empowerment Foundation, where the victim reported the case, said rather than the lecturer attending to the undergraduate’s result issues, he allegedly r*ped her on August 16, 2023.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident, saying, “He is to appear in court in the coming days.”

Reacting, the spokesperson for UNILAG, Adejoke Alaga-Ibraheem, said that the university was aware of an investigation involving an employee of the university.

She said, “UNILAG Management, on August 28, received a letter from the Nigeria Police Force, inviting an employee of the university for questioning. The employee was immediately informed of the development and advised to comply.

“On August 29, the employee complied. While we are not yet privy to the full details of the incident that led to the arrest of the employee, we are fully aware that the investigation is ongoing and we are cooperating with security agencies to ensure that the matter is resolved in the interest of justice.”

– Info Daily