Headlines
Lagos Assembly Screens Eight Commissioner, Special Adviser-Nominees
The Lagos State House of Assembly ad-hoc on screening of commissioner and special adviser nominees on Thursday began its assignment, attending to eight nominees.
The exercise, which continues Friday, according to the chairman of the committee, Hon. Rotimi Abiru, is expected to end on Saturday.
The eight nominees screened are: Mr. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Princess Aderemi Adebowale, former Secretary to Lagos State Government Mr. Tunji Bello, Ms Adenike Ajayi-Bembe, Dr. Wale Ahmed, Prof. Akinola Abayomi and The Nation Editor Mr. Gbenga Omotoso.
Apart from Ahmed, who is the state’s Secretary of All Progressives Congress (APC) and former member of the House of Assembly, who was asked to take a bow as a former lawmaker, the remaining nominees were subjected to questioning by the committee members.
At the end of the exercise, Hon. Abiru said he was satisfied with the performance of the nominees, stressing thatthey are knowledgeable people.
Abiru added that the committee would report back to the House for confirmation of the nominees or otherwise.
Answering questions during the screening, Bello said the menace of refuse in the state was because the past administration abandoned a working refuse disposal system under the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) and introduced a system that could not cope with the volume of refuse generated.
He said LAWMA personnel had been trained, adding that they specialised in various areas of refuse management before they were taken out of the system. The situation, he said, created a vacuum that the operatives of the newly introduced model could not cope with.
Bello said the solution to the situation might already be on the was with the introduction of sorting of refuse at point of generation and separating same into refuse bags as been introduced by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
The former SSG, who said he worked as the speechwriter of the late Chief MKO Abiola, is a journalist, lawyer and former commissioner for the environment.
He advised that the state must intensify efforts on waste management and conversion.
“There are a few areas you can set up dumpsite in Lagos State because the state is below the sea level. You cannot set up a dump site in Lagos Island, except in places like Agege, Abule-Egba and others.
“On flooding in Lagos, we have nine main drainages in the state, and while six are developed, three are not developed and flooding is always when there are blockages in the flow of flood to the Lagoon through these drainages.
“The Lagos Mainland drainage system is the oldest and it has about six divisions. The tertiary drainages and channels must link up with primary channels,” he said.
This was corroborated by the chairman of the committee, who said everybody was concerned about the environment.
Abiru advised Bello to impress it on the government that the state could not afford not to improve on the environment.
Omotoso said the implementation of the Freedom of Information Law (FIO) was not working.
He said when the media write to ask for information; there is always no response from the authorities concerned.
“If you go to the Code of Conduct Bureau for assets declaration information of government officials, they will not give you. If you want to explore the option of going to court to press for access to the required information, that is a long process,” Omotoso said.
On managing perception of Lagos State Government, Omotoso said it is the duty of everybody.
He added that it can be done through training of information officers, mobilising the members of the public and dissemination of government’s actions and policies to all the nook and crannies of the state.
Omotoso said, more importantly, everybody must put up a proper behaviour, especially people in positions of authority for others to emulate.
He said though technology has a major role to play in dissemination of information on the government’s policies and activities to the people and enhancing the people’s perception of the government, the problem of lack of electricity, especially in the rural areas limits its capacity.
“We can manage perception by constant engagement through technology and deploying same for the purpose, but the problem of power supply in the rural areas limits its capacity,” Omotoso said.
He advocated marrying the traditional mode of information dissemination with a modern system for more effective result.
Answering another question on coping with life outside his known comfort zone of managing a news medium, Omotoso said journalism, like politics, is all about service.
“Politics is a call to service; it is an honour and it will be a seamless movement for me,” the editor said.
He pointed out that many political giants, such as Chief Segun Osoba and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, are former editors.
Abiru hailed Omotoso, who was the eighth and the last person to be screened yesterday.
He said: “It has been a long process, you have been here since about 10a.m. and this is almost 5.00p.m. I commend your patience. You are cool and calm despite the pressure,” Abiru said.
Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka, Assistant Legal Adviser of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who was the first nominee to be screened, promised to bring her experience as a lawyer of 30 years to bear, on her office, if she is given the opportunity.
The politician, who said she has been speaking against domestic violence and child abuse through the social media, stated that she spoke against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), when his alleged rape case against Busola Dakolo broke.
The Nation
President Donald Trump said on Sunday that he has told US negotiators “not to rush into a deal” with Iran, amid anticipation — and mounting criticism — of an agreement to end the war in the Middle East.
“The negotiations are proceeding in an orderly and constructive manner, and I have informed my representatives not to rush into a deal in that time is on our side,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social account.
“The Blockade will remain in full force and effect until an agreement is reached, certified, and signed.”
The United States has imposed a blockade of Iranian ports since April 13 after Tehran virtually halted traffic through the economically vital Strait of Hormuz in response to the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that began February 28.
“Both sides must take their time and get it right,” Trump wrote in the same Truth Social post, while slamming the 2015 nuclear deal that former president Barack Obama agreed with Iran.
“Our relationship with Iran is becoming a much more professional and productive one. They must understand, however, that they cannot develop or procure a Nuclear Weapon or Bomb,” Trump wrote.
While the White House has not released aspects of the deal, Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Saturday on state television that the two sides were nearing a “a memorandum of understanding, a kind of framework agreement composed of 14 clauses,” in “a trend toward rapprochement.”
Several voices, notably among Republican lawmakers close to Trump, expressed fears of an agreement favorable to Iran as supposed aspects of the deal that began to leak.
According to news outlet Axios, a possible agreement would extend the current ceasefire by 60 days, during which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, Iran would freely sell oil, and negotiations would be held on Iran’s nuclear program.
The top Republican senator overseeing defense policy, Roger Wicker, said that agreeing to a “rumored 60-day ceasefire” with Iran would mean, “everything accomplished by Operation Epic Fury would be for naught!”
Fellow Republican senators Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham also voiced opposition to Iran soon gaining benefits such as the ability to sell its oil freely.
“If the result of all that is to be an Iranian regime — still run by Islamists who chant ‘death to America’ — now receiving billions of dollars, being able to enrich uranium & develop nuclear weapons, and having effective control over the Strait of Hormuz, then that outcome would be a disastrous mistake,” Cruz, a Republican from Texas, wrote on X.
Thom Tillis, a Republican senator from North Carolina, said the deal “doesn’t make sense to me.”
“We were told about 11 weeks ago by (Secretary of Defense Pete) Hegseth and the Department of Defense that they had obliterated Iran’s defenses, and it was just a matter of time before we had the nuclear material. Now we’re talking about a posture where we may accept the nuclear material remaining in Iran. How does that make sense at all?” Tillis said on CNN’s “State of the Union” morning program.
AFP
Adebayo Adelabu, one of the aspirants for the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket in Oyo State, has alleged irregularities in the party’s governorship primary election held on Thursday.
Adelabu, who expressed dissatisfaction over the conduct of the exercise, stated that the primary was characterized by misconduct ranging from disenfranchisement of his supporters in some wards and the commencement of election process earlier than scheduled.
Speaking after the conclusion of the primary election at IMG School, Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government Area, the immediate past Minister of Power alleged that the process was neither free, fair nor credible.
He said: “Before our people started getting to their various wards, they have already conducted the election and they wrote the figures they want as results.
“In some wards, our people were prevented from voting. They were intimidated. They were chased away violently. And in some wards, voting did not take place at all.
“All this kind of misconduct is not good at this stage of our democracy in Nigeria, and something has to be done about it.”
Adelabu, therefore, vowed to come up with serious petitions against all the irregularities not just in Ibadan, but across all the five geopolitical zones in Oyo State.
“Also, conduct of many party executives is uncalled for, a lot of people bought forms and they were cleared. And they decided to conduct affirmation of a particular candidate in some wards.
“There was nothing like consensus arrangement. It was just a figment of their weird imagination. The instruction we got from Abuja was that we should all carry out free, fair, and transparent direct primary election where every aspirant will be given a level playing ground and the election will be conducted peacefully.
“Where did they get the idea of consensus candidates? And this is what happened in a lot of the wards. And it didn’t go down well with us. “We don’t want that. We are going to assess the gravity of this gross misconduct and the potential impact on the overall result of this election.
“I will put a petition forward to the appropriate authorities so that it can be deeply investigated and there must be consequences to this. The people who perpetrated this misconduct must be identified and punished. And the aspirants involved also need to be suspended because this is not good for us.
“Democracy is the government of the people by the people and for the people where nobody should be disenfranchised. Once you are a party member, you should have that freedom, that authority to pick an aspirant of your choice as the flag bearer of the party.
“This is Ibadan, this is Oyo State and this the centre of politics in the southwest. And we should be able to lay good examples and the process should produce a candidate that won transparently, freely and fairly,” he said.
Meanwhile, at Ward 9, Ibadan South-East Local Government, Adelabu, polled 430 to defeat his closest rival, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, who had 3 votes.
Al Nassr captain, Cristiano Ronaldo, has finally won the Saudi Pro League title.
They were confirmed champions on Thursday, thanks to a 4-2 drubbing of relegation battlers, Damac.
The title race had gone down to the final day after Al-Nassr dramatically dropped points against Al-Hilal the previous week.
Jorge Jesus’ side knew there could be no mistakes against a Damac side fighting for survival at the other end of the table.
Ronaldo was on the scoresheet, as his brace helped Al Nassr secure the title ahead of rivals Al Hilal.
