Connect with us

News

Hardship: Lagos Assembly Asks Sanwo-Olu To Summon Stakeholders’ Meeting

Published

on

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday asked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to urgently summon a stakeholders’ meeting to address the current hardship experienced by residents of the state for the government to adopt sustainable solutions beyond palliatives.

The lawmakers noted that though the current economic situation pervades the entire Nigeria and is mostly global in outlook, Lagos State and its local governments must do more to ameliorate the suffering in the land.

The House also advised leaders and statesmen to join forces with the government and play persuasive roles instead of inciting the people against the government.

Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa said the situation called for a stakeholders’ meeting for the input of everyone including members of the National and state Assembly as well as local government chairmen.

Advertisement

“No doubt, there is a challenge before us as representatives of the people and it is the duty of all of us to proffer solutions.

“This is a situation that started long ago in Nigeria and was graduating. Unfortunately, we are facing this now. The dollar issue did not start now. The prices of food and how farmers had been prevented from going to farms as a result of insecurity did not start now.

“The most unfortunate thing about it has to do with the comments coming from some leaders of the country. Instead of using their wisdom to appeal to the people, they use their words to incite people against the government as if they have not been in the country before now.

“We cannot leave the Federal Government alone to proffer solutions to our problems. There is no ‘abracadabra’ about it.

Advertisement

“The immediate concern is to appeal to our people. Protests and violence will not solve anything but take us backwards. Nobody prayed for the current situation but we must work hand-in-hand to take us away from this mess.
It is not the president’s fault, neither is it the governor’s fault,” Dr. Obasa said while commending Governor Sanwo-Olu for recently starting the Trader Money programme through which 15,000 traders have benefitted.

The Speaker directed that the commissioners for agriculture and transportation, Ms. Ruth Abisola Olusanya and Oluwaseun Osiyemi, respectively as well as related parastatals and agencies be invited to brief the House on their plans to make life more comfortable for the people just as he urged serious sanctions against those who hoard dollars in the country.

“All this while, we have been talking about sports to take our youth off the streets as we have seen in other countries. Let us inject money into it and make it attractive so that they would be engaged. Our system of education must also be adjusted to emphasise what students can become on their own without seeking or applying for jobs.

“There is a need for orientation and sensitisation. There are a lot of complaints and negatives out there. The government should also embark on campaigns and orientation to make the people know the real situation and what is being done. The government’s voice must be louder than those who are hell-bent on destroying the country,” Dr. Obasa said while lamenting the current prices of cement and iron even when most of the materials are locally sourced.

Advertisement

Earlier speaking under ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’, Hon. Segun Adebisi Ege representing Ojo Constituency 1 lamented the hardship rocking the state.

Ege also urged that Governor Sanwo-Olu be called upon to subsidise transportation and prices of food items in the state.

In his contribution, Deputy Majority Leader, Richard Adedamola Kasunmu, said there was a need for the government to bring out actionable plans to solve the economic problem in the country.

On his part, Hon. Adewale Temitope said the entire economic situation must be looked at holistically for a solution while Hon. Femi Saheed noted that other countries are facing the same situation with the price of a bag of rice over N120,000 in Cameroon and Ghana, is approximately N97,000. He emphasised the need to improve agriculture.

Advertisement

Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu stressed the need for the Lagos government to prioritise power while Nureni Akinsanya of Mushin Constituency 1 advocated for food banks in Lagos State to make residents buy at cheaper rates.

Continue Reading
Advertisement

News

PHOTOS: Glamour as dignitaries, royals attend Alaafin’s coronation

Published

on

By Kayode Sanni-Arewa

Dignitaries from across the nation gathered at Olivet Baptist High School, Oyo, on Saturday to witness the coronation of the 46th Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade

The historic event drew a distinguished crowd, including President Bola Tinubu, represented by the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu; the Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde; former Deputy Governor, Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja; Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon.Debo Ogundoyin; and Senator Yunus Akintunde, representing Oyo South, among other notable figures.

Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Abimbola Owoade I and his Wife Abiwumi Owoade.
Royalty was richly represented as well, with the presence of revered monarchs such as the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi; the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Ghandi Olaoye; and the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi, adding grandeur and cultural depth to the occasion.

Advertisement
Continue Reading

News

Passengers Escape Death By Whiskers As Bus Burst Into Flames In Lagos

Published

on

By

The driver and conductor of a BRT bus have fled for their lives, abandoning passengers to their fate, as a BRT bus caught fire at Maryland, Lagos State, on Saturday morning.

Our correspondent, who was at the scene of the incident, said that the vehicle departed from Ikorodu en route to CMS when the sad incident occurred.

As of the time this report was filed, emergency responders, including officers of the Nigeria Police Force, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), fire services, and local security personnel, arrived at the scene to contain the blaze.

Firefighters at the scene.
One of the passengers on the bus told our correspondent the fire started as smoke from the driver’s side.

Advertisement

According to her, the passengers initially thought the smoke emanated from other buses; however, the slight smoke soon worsened, immediately sending them into panic mode.

“As soon as we saw that the smoke grew bigger, we immediately rushed off the bus before the fire ignited”, she said, adding that none of the passengers sustained any injury.

She added that the driver fled the scene immediately after the fire started.

“The driver and the conductor ran away. They didn’t even wait to see what would happen to us.

Advertisement

“Definitely, they knew what happened. They knew the bus was bad before putting it on the road and risking our lives,” she alleged.

Channels

Continue Reading

News

VOA Halts Operations In Nigeria, Others Over President Trump

Published

on

By

The United States-funded Voice of America (VOA) has gone off air in Nigeria, Ghana, Niger, and several other African countries after President Donald Trump cut financial support to the global broadcaster.

The shutdown, first noticed by millions of listeners in northern Nigeria, sparked panic when music began playing in place of scheduled broadcasts, a haunting reminder in the region of military coups or political takeovers.

“People started calling in, worried that there had been a coup in America,” Babangida Jibrin, a journalist who worked with VOA’s now-defunct Hausa-language service was quoted by Daily Trust.

The station’s abrupt disappearance from the airwaves last month left stunned reporters scrambling to explain what had happened to their loyal audience.

Advertisement

VOA’s Hausa service, a lifeline for millions of listeners in rural and conflict-prone areas of Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, and Niger, had become a trusted source of international and regional news, especially in places where local media is either censored, inaccessible, or compromised by state influence.

With internet access unreliable or non-existent in these regions, shortwave and radio broadcasts like VOA filled a crucial void.

“People are now cut off from the world, especially from critical international news,” lamented Moussa Jaharou, a listener from southern Niger.

He described the shutdown as a “deliberate silencing of the poor.”

Advertisement

Founded during World War II to counter Nazi propaganda, VOA later became a major player in Cold War-era broadcasting, offering an American perspective against Soviet disinformation.

Over the decades, it evolved into a beacon of credible journalism worldwide, particularly in authoritarian regions where press freedom is under attack.

In northern Nigeria, where insurgency, banditry, and government corruption are everyday realities, VOA Hausa provided in-depth, unbiased coverage that is often missing in local media.

Its disappearance has now left a gaping hole in a media landscape already struggling with state repression and misinformation.

Advertisement

Critics blame Trump’s ideological war on independent institutions and his administration’s push to dismantle U.S.-backed international media.

The US president slashed VOA’s funding as part of a broader effort to bring the outlet under tighter political control, effectively killing off several regional language services.

It was also reported that over 1,100 “Hands Off!” protests and meetings were scheduled to take place across all 50 states in the U.S. on Saturday.

This was in response to the significant cuts to the federal workforce, reportedly overseen by Trump adviser and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

Advertisement

These nationwide demonstrations aim to voice opposition to the dramatic reductions in the federal workforce, which organisers believe are part of a broader effort to dismantle public services, including Social Security, Medicaid, and public education.

The protests are being organised by a coalition of over 150 organisations, including Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Service Employees International Union, and the American Civil Liberties Union, according to Yahoo News.

“Donald Trump and Elon Musk think this country belongs to them,” the organisers say on their website. “They’re taking everything they can get their hands on, and daring the world to stop them.”

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © 2024 Naija Blitz News