A former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd.), has arrived the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin, Edo State venue of the inauguration of the governor-elect, Godwin Obaseki, and his deputy, Philip Shuaibu, as Governor and Deputy Governor, respectively.
Gowon was accompanied by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun; the Deputy National Chairman (South) of the APC, Segun Oni, and a former Governor of Ogun State, Chief Olusegun Osoba.
Governors who have also arrived for the ceremony are Akinwumi Ambode (Lagos State) and Rochas Okorocha (Imo State) represented by his deputy, Prince Eze Madumere.
Also at the event are captains of industry, led by the Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote.
Obaseki and Shuaibu would take their oath of office, which would be administered by the state Chief Judge, Justice Cromwell Idahosa.
The atmosphere is full of excitement with singing and dancing under the watchful eyes of a large gathering of security operatives, as the guests and residents await the arrival of the new governor and his predecessor, Adams Oshiomhole.
Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola
Expansion and rehabilitation works on the Lagos-Ibadan highway would be completed this dry season, the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said on Friday.
Fashola also said that weighbridges would be reintroduced on Nigerian roads to arrest overloading.
Fashola, who briefed the media in Lagos on his first year in office, said that the long bridge at the Lagos-Ogun border on the road had to be shut because a lot of construction work was ongoing underneath it.
“Roads are depreciating assets that need constant maintenance and regulated usage,” he said, adding that the issue of overloaded trucks was being addressed.
Fashola said that the ECOWAS sub-region is already looking into the issue of double-axle articulated vehicles that transport more tonnage than most roads were built to accommodate.
Fashola also said that weighbridges would be reintroduced on Nigerian roads to arrest overloading.
He said, however, that warehouses have to be built by the weighbridges to take in offloaded extra goods from arrested haulage vehicles.
The minister also said that the issue of reintroducing tollgates on roads would be decided by Nigerians, stressing that he had not forgotten his experience on this when he was the governor of Lagos State.
He said that privately built roads that were to repay investors through tolling drew the ire of some Lagos residents and led to court cases.
Fashola said that the Federal Government was giving priority attention to roads that connected major cities as well as those that would ensure quick evacuation of farm products to the cities.
He said that with increased budgetary allocation to the sector, more would be done to ensure a smoother road network nationwide.
Nigeria has about 200,000 kilometres of road network, of which the Federal Government is credited with 18 per cent, the states 16 per cent, and the local governments 66 per cent of mostly earth roads.
It came as a rude shock to Nigerians
when it was announced that ace artiste, Ayo ‘Wizkid’ Balogun was
“incorrectly” awarded the Best African Act award at the recently
concluded MTV European Music Awards held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on
November 6, 2016.
The award which was initially given to
Wizkid was said to have been taken from him and given to his Tanzanian
counterpart, Alikiba.
It was reported that the MTV EMA posted a statement on its website which named Alikiba, as the rightful recipient of the award.
The statement read, “MTV congratulates
Alikiba, who has won Best African Act at the 2016 MTV EMAs. The news was
revealed 10 November, after the incorrect results were posted late
Sunday night (6 November) due to an error. Six Worldwide Act winners,
including Wizkid, were selected by an international committee of MTV
music executives to recognise current artists who are rising to have a
wider geographic appeal beyond their local regions. The winners were
chosen based on a range of criteria including international MTV video
play, radio airplay, streams, and sales across multiple territories and
regions. The winner of Best African Act was selected by fans via votes
on MTVEMA.com. Both Wizkid and Alikiba are great artistes and deserving
winners at the MTV EMAs and we congratulate them wholeheartedly on their
achievements. We apologise for any confusion but we are pleased to
recognise the achievements of both artists on this global platform.
Efforts made by Saturday Beats to confirm the development on the website did not yield any result.
Reacting to this development, Wizkid’s
manager, Sunday Are, told Saturday Beats via a telephone conversation
that there was something fishy going on.
“They had announced him as the winner
and if he was at the award ceremony and the award had been given to him
in person, would they come back to say that the award isn’t for him
anymore? I think there is something fishy going on about this
development. If Wizkid was present to receive the award, would they have
said on stage that it was an error? I really think there is something
suspicious going on. The MTV EMA is not a small award, it is a very
prestigious one and they cannot afford to make such a mistake because it
is too costly. Personally, I think there is more to this and something
suspicious is going on,” he said.
At about 2am on Sunday, November 6,
21-year-old Solomon Odekunle was seen stumbling out of a popular
hangout, Piper’s Bar and Grill, in Ottawa, Canada, with blood gushing
out of his neck.
Eyewitnesses interviewed by the police
said few steps away, he collapsed on Coventry Road. He was later
pronounced dead in the hospital.
According to Ottawa’s CBC News,
Solomon, who was stabbed by a suspect, who has been identified as
27-year-old Joe Ndikuriyo, was the 17th victim of homicide in Ottawa
since the beginning of 2016.
SPLENSIZY learnt that Ndikuriyo is a Burundian national.
Even though the police in Ottawa have
said they were still piecing together the timeline of events that led to
the victim’s death, news reports suggest that he was stabbed during a
fight between Ndikuriyo and another individual over a woman.
The victim, whose father is a pastor of
the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Lagos according to residents of
their neighbourhood in Fagba, Lagos, was admitted to the University of
Ottawa in 2012 to study Economics.
Saturday PUNCH visited his
parents’ house at the Rotimi Williams Estate, Fagba Estate on Thursday, a
fenced mansion, where a domestic employee explained that Solomon’s
father had travelled while the inconsolable mother had relocated
temporarily from the house.
It was later learnt that the father had flown out to Canada after learning of the tragic murder of his son.
Solomon’s sister, Deborah, who is also
studying in Canada, shared heart-breaking words on Twitter that
corroborated words of Solomon’s friends, who described him as a meek and
funny young man.
According to her, she saw him last a week before the incident.
She said, “If I did know it would be
your last, I would have given you more than a fist bump. I would have
gotten down on my knees and give you the deepest bro-hug.
“If I did know it would be your last, I
would have pleaded with the drama leader to allow the rehearsal to
linger a little so you and Peter could make us giggle a little more with
some frog jump.
“If I did know it would be your last, I
would have treasured those great words you shared with me a couple of
months ago in the technical department, have them handwritten with the
best calligraphic pens, framed and given to you right after doing those frog jumps.
“To the Solomon I saw last week, to the
Solomon that finally got his picture taken properly last week, to the
Solomon with an intellectual smile and chubby cheeks, to the Solomon his
friends described as kind-hearted and meek, see you next.”
Deborah explained that her father would be attending a wake organised to take place on Friday (yesterday).
“We would be having a memorial service
for Solomon in Ottawa Friday evening and it is open to anyone that would
like to come. Please, if you make it down, don’t cry because my dad
would be there. I also believe that as Christians, we do not mourn, we
celebrate life,” Deborah said.
There has been an outpouring of grief by Solomon’s friends and acquaintances on social media since the news of his death broke.
One friend wrote: “I’m lost for words.
Rest in peace, Solomon. Such a gentle, polite, well mannered,
intelligent, kind hearted young man! This is terribly sad.”
One of Solomon’s lecturers, Ryan
Katz-Rosene, also tweeted, “(I am) absolutely devastated to learn of
death of my #uOttawa student, #SolomonOdekunle – a kind, thoughtful and
bright young man. May he rest in peace.”
The crime scene of Solomon’s death was an extensive area, which the police had to cordon off to gather evidence.
Staff Sgt. Bruce Pirt of the Ottawa’s
crimes unit said it was a big scene because they had to analyse all the
blood and potential evidence that were found all over the place.
“We do have some bloodletting that
covered quite an extensive area, we have to make sure it’s all connected
to the same incident. As we investigate further, we’ll be able to
tighten up that scene and make it smaller and smaller,” Pirt said in a
report by CBCNews.
The suspect in the stabbing, who was
said to have served a previous two-week jail term for weapons
possession, was arrested the day after the attack.
He has since been charged with second-degree murder.
