The Executive Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde has on Wednesday 6th May 2020 flagged-off the distribution of palliatives to households in Oyo State to relief them of the coronavirus pandemic.
The flag-off ceremony Kicked-off in Igbo Ora in Ibarapa Local Government Area of Oyo state in the presence of other top Government officials to residents of the Local Government Area.
While speaking during the flag-off ceremony, the Oyo state Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde, stated that the distribution of the palliatives stemmed from the fact that businesses of people have been affected alongside means of livelihood.
Governor Makinde had during a Press-briefing session stated that the distribution of Palliatives would soon begin to 120,000 households which include 90,000 poorest of the poor and also, 30,000 vulnerable Households and re-affirmed it during the flag-off ceremony.
He also stated that special palliatives would be given to farmers as he had earlier relaxed the curfew for farmers to work in this planting season. Also speaking during the flag-off ceremony, the Oyo state Commissioner for Special duties, Honourable Bayo Lawal, stated that the distribution would be done through a technical database for the targeted households.
2, 836 households are expected to benefit from the palliatives whose presentations were witnessed by Speaker of the House of Assembly, Honourable Adebo Ogundoyin, Commissioners including the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Dr Wasiu Olatunbosun, the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Seun Fakorede including religious clerics and others.
Many Organizations, well-meaning Nigerians, Financial Institutions had been donating in cash and kind to the Oyo state Government as palliatives to poor households whose economic activities has been grinded to a halt due to the lockdown that emanated from the Coronavirus Pandemic.
The Oyo State House of Assembly has urged the Governor Seyi Makinde to pay attention to the porous nature of the state’s borders and extend testing to those border areas.
The assembly made this call during the plenary on Tuesday after forty days break due to covid-19.
The assembly said this call became expedient due to the continued entry of foreign nationals into the state via borders in Oke-Ogun and Ogbomosho areas noting that if unchecked, the people of the state will be more susceptible to contracting coronavirus.
These calls by lawmakers for the state government to step up its efforts in containing further spread was drawn from a motion by member representing Akinyele 1 constituency, Honourable Ayo Fatokun, presented at Tuesday’s plenary.
On her part, Honourable Wumi Oladeji of Ogbomoso North constituency urged Makinde to mandate the caretaker chairmen of local government and local council development areas to embark on sensitization of the grassroots on adhering to COVID-19 precautions. Identifying ignorance as a bane of containing further spread of the virus in the state, Honourable Seyi Adisa of Afijio constituency said the National Orientation Agency (NOA) should be tasked and empowered to put its established structure to task in sensitizing people at the grassroot.
More imperative for state government, according to Honourables Dele Adeola of Iseyin/Itesiwaju constituency and Oyeleke Simeon of Ogo Oluwa/Surulere constituency, is the need to think of how to sustain the state’s economy post-COVID-19.
The two lawmakers admonished the state government to give attention to the agricultural sector by supporting farmers and all others on the agric value chain.
The Speaker, Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Honourable Debo Ogundoyin during the plenary on Tuesday has removed Honourable Olamide Akinajo as Chairman House Committee on Works and Transport.
Honorrable Akinajo was said to have been removed without the knowledge of the principal officers of the house and without the recourse to the selection committee according to the House of Assembly ground rules.
Honourable Kehinde Taofeek Olatunde from Akinyele Constituency II who is also the Chairman House Committee on Appropriations has been ordered to replace Hon. Akinajo immediately.
In response to the allegation that the removal was done without the consent on principal officers of the house, one of the aides of the speaker who spoke with OYOMIND.COM.NG said it was a unanimous decision of the house and that the principal officers were duly consulted.
According to the house rule “The Speaker has the powers to review the performance of the Chairmen and Deputy Chairman of Committees and remove them in consultation with the principal Officers” he said.
A member of House of Representatives, Representing Egbeda/Ona-Ara Federal Constituency, Honourable Akin Alabi, has attested to the effectiveness of the Federal Government relief cash being distributed to the poorest of the poor across the nation.
On Tuesday morning, 5th May 2020, while speaking live on a popular radio station in Ibadan, Hon. Akin Alabi, said that hundreds of people in his constituency received cash palliative from the Federal Government.
It should be recalled that about four weeks ago, the Federal Government of Nigeria announced the transparent disbursement of conditional cash transfer funds to selected Nigerians.
While the majority of Nigerians believed that the relief measure was a fraud with no evidence of people receiving it, Hon. Akin Alabi confirmed that he knew of hundred persons in his constituency, Ona-Ara/Egbeda, who had received the conditional cash transfer funds.
He further stated that he understood the fact that the number of persons benefited from the relief funds was small compared to the large population of people in the constituency, stressing that not everyone could benefit from such. He thereby reiterated his personal efforts in helping people financially.
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control has just confirmed another five new cases of coronavirus in Oyo State.
This information is gathered from the official Twitter handle of NCDC @NCDCgov at about 11:50 pm on Monday night.
With the new cases, Oyo state now has a total of 39 confirmed cases all together with 28 being actives cases, 2 transferred, 1@recovered and two death cases.
Propaganda is biased or misleading information. It is used to promote a political cause. Populism appeals to the emotional sense of ordinary people. It is to make them feel they weigh nothing in the hands of governmental leadership. Propaganda is not necessarily bad unless it’s deployed to feign goodness when the motive is badness. Populism is all good unless manipulated. In the case of Oyo state governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, his obsession with propaganda and populism is morbid, to be euphemistic. Makinde has an abnormal, equally unhealthy interest in propaganda and populism. It is the kind of interest that makes the two concepts disturbing and unpleasant.
However, while Makinde is true to propaganda, he is a pretense to populism. During the electioneering towards his occupation of Agodi, propaganda was an instrument Makinde employed to pursue his gubernatorial cause. He gave an impression of an altruistic philanthropist. He pulled down the opposition using propaganda. As his charms of propaganda swept him into Agodi and now as a custodian of governorship paraphernalia, Makinde refuses to give propaganda a breathing space. He uses it in governance to curry sympathy from the masses. He projects the façade of a victim. He portrays the opposition as the oppressors. He deploys propaganda to give the impression of a performer. Yet, there’s nothing on ground to show an iota of performance.
Propaganda is his tool to curry elephantine applause for mouse-like performance. As we write, in Oyo state, we are pacesetting in pushing prompt payment of rightful salaries of workers as an astounding achievement. In the history of politics and even advertising, propaganda has never been this used, misused, and abused. What the worst time it is for propaganda in Oyo state!
As a pretense to populism, Makinde is an elite in government. He is using the card of populism against fellow elites. He is hoodwinking the mass of Oyo masses to think he was for them. He is not a faithful friend of populism. He is a hidden enemy of populism.
Makinde is a governor who is not decisive. He is afraid to step on toes as if his soles had sores. He is all ready to take Oyo people to where they want to be. He is never ready to take them to where they ought to be. He is a lily-livered governor who fears to lose the goodwill he deceived people to get. He continues to dance to discordant tunes of Oyo people who want what’s different.
Now is inauspicious for Oyo state to have Makinde as her governor. But we are stuck with him for the next three years, may God spare his life. Come 2023, it’s our choice to make to consign him to the political dustbin as it was the choice of the ignorant, naive multitudes among us to bring him to governorship limelight in 2019.
A chieftain of the All Progressive Congress, who is doubles as the founder of Tegbe Foundation has been commended by family members and colleagues of an ailing veteran actor, Gbolagade Akinpelu for his support to ensure that the actor gets back to his feet.
Gbolagade who is also known as ‘Ogun Majek’ has been battling with an undisclosed sickness for a while before his family and associates made a clarion call for financial assistance from members of the public as his health deteriorated
Engineer Tegbe who was notified of the dire situation by colleagues of the ailing Actor immediately intervened financially to support the treatment of the veteran actor.
Ogun Majek who spoke with OYOMIND.COM.NG after a visit to the hospital where he is being treated as an outpatient, expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming support he received from Engineer Tegbe saying that his kind is very rare.
“I want to use this medium to appreciate our leader and boss, Engineer Tegbe for coming to my aid when all hope has been lost. It is very rare to see a politician who would be concerned about people’s wellbeing like he always does”
Speaking on behalf of the family, Akinpelu Akeem who is a son of the actor, thanked Engineer Tegbe for his support and kind gesture rendered to our family. He prayed that God blessed him and grant his heart desires.
Adewale Abdulrazaq ‘Shokoti’ who spoke on behalf of the Actor’s colleagues commended and appreciated Tegbe for his continuous support for actors from time immemorial.
“I, on behalf of my colleagues in the movie industry, appreciate our father, Joseph Tegbe for his time to time support especially for his surprising support for our colleague, Mr. Gbolagade Muyiwa over his ailment.
“We are grateful and our prayer for you is that you will never experience bitterness in your entire life.”
Even in the days of Abiola Ajimobi and unchecked aggression and recklessness of Lowo OBISESAN et al, I was never against demolition for beautification and modern development as it affects the environment.
But I was and I am still standing firmly against demolition by notification: the alibi of every government to justify wanton demolition of stalls, shops, and markets; the livelihood of the majority percentage.
And as I was, in the previous governments, in support of DEMOLITION BY PROVISION, so I am still today.
Without the provision of alternatives to shop owners and marketers, no demolition by any government, except draconian, is justified.
If governor Seyi Makinde could allow STREET TRADERS & HAWKERS to freely roam our major streets for according to His Excellency, “my mother once sold bread at the entrance gate of the old Adeoyo General Hospital. And my administration would continue to pardon the street hawkers till a suitable alternative is found. ………………”. This present demolition at Egbeda, Iwo Road, elsewhere, must be critically reconsidered.
In the interim, especially at Iwo Road, Agodi-Gate, and Egbeda, the government could erect a high wall to fence-off the unpatterned eyesore slums called shops to give the road and environment a facelift. Any trespassed beyond the fence could then be arrested, prosecuted, and penalized.
This present ongoing demolition at Iwo Road, Egbeda, and elsewhere-collar critically reconsidered. This post covid19 period, when many white-collar jobbers and salary earners would lose their means of livelihood is very inauspicious for DEMOLITION.
