Environment – Page 2

Club ’97 Holds End of The Year Get-together As Commissioner Pledges More Opportunities For Members

Indigenes of Epe Division in the Unified Local Government Service of Lagos State under the umbrella; Club ’97 of Epe Division, held their annual end of the year get-together on Sunday December 12, 2021 at Ikeja Local Government Secretariat, Lagos.

Welcoming members to the event, the group’s President, Ishaq Adeshina Okeowo (FCA) described the day as the one “that the Lord has made for us to sit together, wine, dine and rejoice for His Grace, Mercy and Blessings of the outgoing year”.

President Ishaq Adeshina Okeowo (FCA) delivering his speech

Okeowo used the occasion to praise the virtues of the Special Guest of honour, the Hon. Commissioner representing Epe Division at the Local Government Service Commission, Hon. Ahmed Seriki who recently marked one year of his appointment. He said, “his loyalty and dedication to the course of his appointment and particularly, our divisional platform is indeed a confirmation of the virtues of a ‘true son of the soil’. Therefore, as we gather to party and merry today, we are also celebrating one year in office of our Hon. Commissioner, the true representation of our heritage, Epe Division”.

Hon. Ahmed Seriki, Commissioner, LGSC (Epe Division)

The President also acknowledged the immense contributions of the Director of Training LGSC, a first class traditional leader in Epe, High Chief Saheed A. Adenusi, the Jagun-Oba of Epeland. Same acknowledgement was extended to the emeritus presidents and members of board of trustees; Barrister Afeez Otuniyi, Mrs. Toyin Bowale nee Ogunbekun and Mr. Akeem Adegbenro Adesanya.

He also expressed his gratitude for the unflinching support of “our Patrons and Matrons who are the pillars of our great association. They have consistently shown and exhibited their resolve to ensure the sustainace of this lagacy (Club ’97 of Epe Division) as bequeathed to us by our founding fathers”, he said.

The President who is also a Council Treasurer said, “our very respectful Heads of Departments and Units are duly acknowledged. You all are our potential patrons and matrons and we pray God Almighty spare our lives healthily till the appointed time. And to all wonderful, loyal and dedicated members, we adore you so greatly. You are truly the reason for our existence”, he declared.

Counting the Group’s blessings in the outgoing year 2021, Okeowo described it as “fruitful and profitable”. “Our harvests to the glory of God include; 1 Council Manager, 2 Council Treasurers, 1 Council Engineer, 2 HROs, 1 Budget, 3 Education, 1 Procurement, 1 WAPA, 1 Internal Audit, 1 Second Signatory, 1 Clerk of the House and 1 Area Officer. On request for posting and transfer, we have recorded good results in some while others are under consideration, just as other issues are being attended to”.

“Obviously, our demands are numerous and sometimes insatiable. But, showing gratitude for the accomplished few will surely engender and unlock more opportunities. It is to the credit of the association’s leadership that members are not levied unduly for any of our activities as we have consistently limit ourselves to the available resources from our monthly and hosting dues. These are the main sources of income and our own Internally Generated Revenue. We appreciate so immensely those who prioritise these payments. And, we also appeal to others too to see their responsiveness to these dues as their contributions to the development of our division. Our efforts to deliver on the mandate of this group rest chiefly upon availability of resources from our IGR”, he pleaded.

Commissioner Seriki who attended the event with his lovely wife, Olori Seriki was also full of praises to God who he said made it possible for him to do whatever he was able to do for members of the association. He said, “things are not that easy. Getting appointments for our people at the commission requires a whole lot of lobbying, goodwill and political machinations. Don’t forget that I am the youngest among fellow respected powerful commissioners representing other divisions. My plea for you today is to support the current leadership of the Club headed by my brother, Okeowo and make the job easy for us by acquiring necessary knowledge and qualifications for your aspirations and God will continue to do the best for us”, he prayed.

The immediate past Council Manager of Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government, Pastor (Mrs.) Mayowa Ikuforiji who retired from service having attained the retirement age of 60-year was honoured at the occasion. The wife of the former Speaker of Lagos State and a chieftain of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), Rt. Hon. Sabit Ikuforiji was until her retirement an active Matron of the group. She was represented by Barr. Bukola, Head of Legal Unit, Ejigbo LCDA.

Club ’97 Holds End of The Year Get-together As Commissioner Pledges More Opportunities For Members

Tourism; Akwaaba, 100 Club Honour Princess Animashaun In Dubai

Princess Surah Animashaun, Mayor, Epe Local Government

The Executive Chairman of Epe Local Government, Hon. (Princess) Surah Animashaun has been honoured with an award of recognition by the Akwaaba African Travel Market at the International Conference and Exhibition in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for her efforts towards the promotion and development of tourism in Epe Land and Lagos State.

Expressing her joy, the Council Mayor said, “It was indeed an honour to be present at the event alongside the Honourable Commissioner for Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Pharm. (Mrs.) Uzamat Akinbile-Yusuf, Permanent Secretary, Princess Adenike Adedoyin-Ajayi, Founder of Akwaaba and Ambassador for Tourism, Mr. Ikechi Uko and the Vice President of The Federation for Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN), Mr. Nkereuwen Onung. I say a big thank you to Akwaaba for the recognition and the congratulatory plaque signed by members of the Tourism 100 club of Nigeria”.

Princess Animashaun also revealed that, “the conversations revolved around taking advantage of untapped resources within all 36 states in the country as well as the importance of hospitality, courtesy and the need to provide adequate training in ethics for all staff and major players in the industry”.

She seized the opportunity to appreciate and patronize some of the stakeholders and artisans that played their parts in showcasing Nigeria and Africa as a whole to the world with their arts, crafts in cross-sections of cultural display.

Just In: Nigeria Confirms Two Cases Of Omicron COVID-19 Variant

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Wednesday morning confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant in the country. This was contained in a press release issued by the centre and signed by the Director-General, Dr Ifedayo Adetifa.

The Omicron variant, a new strain of the coronavirus disease, was reported by South Africa and first detected in Botswana. Following the discovery, countries such as the United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, Israel among others have since placed travel bans on southern African countries.

Similarly, the government of Canada had also stated that it discovered two cases of the variant from two passengers from Nigeria. The Federal Government through the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, however, said that it was investigating the issue to get more details.

However, the NCDC on Wednesday morning said two cases of the variant were discovered through genomic sequencing. It albeit linked the cases to two passengers from South Africa.

The statement reads in part, “In line with the routine travel tests required of all international travellers, genomic sequencing at the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control through its National Reference Laboratory, Abuja, confirms Nigeria’s first case of the Omicron variant.

Endsars: Lagos Govt. Turns Down Lekki Shooting Reports; Releases Whitepaper

Finally, the much awaited Whitepaper on the report issued by the Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the Lekki Tollgate shooting has been released by the Lagos State Government, turning down one of the 32 recommendations that suggested the erection of cenotaph in honour of the nine deceased protesters that died during military attacks at the facility.

The Whitepaper said there was no clear evidence indicating nine persons died while protesting at the Lekki tollgate last year, 2020, and further described the panel’s findings and conclusion on the number of death as totally unreliable and therefore unacceptable.

The government, turned down the recommendation in its White Paper released on Tuesday, arguing that only one person died and that the deceased did not give up at the scene rather within a hospital from gunshot wounds hours after the attack.

According to the white paper, the report contradicted the evidence of the Pathologist, Prof. John Obafunwa that only three of the bodies that they conducted post mortem examination on were from Lekki that only one had gunshot injury, was not debunked.

The White Paper said: “The JPI’s finding of nine deaths is therefore irreconcilable with evidence of Prof. Obafunwa that only one person died of gunshot wounds at 7:43pm at Lekki Tollgate on 21st October, 2020.

“Having held that, there was no evidence before it to the contrary of what Prof. Obafunwa said. The question is, where did JPI then get its finding of nine deaths?”

According to the White Paper, “This finding of nine deaths at LTG on 20th October 2020 is even more baffling because apart from listing out their names in tabular form at pages 297-298, the JPI offered no explanation regarding circumstances of their death. The names simply sprang up at pages 297-298 of the report without any justification.

“It is quite astonishing that in the list of eleven (11) deaths set out at pages 297-298, two (2) of the names appeared twice (Kolade Salami and Folorunsho Olabisi as Nos. 37 and 38). Furthermore, the person listed as No. 46 Nathaniel Solomon who testified as a witness and petitioned the JPI in respect of his brother who he alleged died at Lekki Tollgate (LTG), himself listed as having died at LTG on 20th October 2020.

“Remarkably, Nathaniel Solomon’s deceased brother (Abuta Solomon) was then also listed as No 2 on the list of persons who died at LTG.

“The only victim of gunshot injury from LTG was picked up at 7:43pm, on 21 October, 2020 after the curfew commenced (see page 99) Furthermore, there was no shred of evidence regarding who shot him.

“Another substantial inconsistency in the JPI Report was the award y compensation to only one (1) out of the alleged nine (9), listed as “deceased” which showed that the JPI itself had doubts as to the death of eight (8) other allegedly deceased persons on its list”.

On the recommendation that October 20th annually should be made a national day, the government stressed that it had no power to do such, saying the request will therefore be forwarded to the Federal Government for consideration.

In the 24 pages white paper released by the government through the Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, meanwhile, accepted 11 of the other 31 recommendations made in the report submitted to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu by panel chairman, Justice Doris Okuwobi (retd).

The government also accepted six of the 31 other recommendations included in the report but did these with modalities to the request made by the panel members before the government.