A testing and tracing regime for the bacterial infection Mycoplasma bovis, found in New Zealand’s cattle, has been increased, officials said.
Bacterial infection, Mycoplasma bovis, has been found in New Zealand’s cattle
New Zealand would provide a clearer indication of its spread and potential actions for eradication by the end of February.
Agriculture and Biosecurity Minister, Damien O’Connor, said on Thursday, January 18, 2018 that the National Mycoplasma bovis milk surveillance programme would test three samples of milk from every dairy farm starting on Feb. 1.
Animals moved from properties under Restricted Place notices are being traced, and genome sequencing has been used to work out whether the strain of Mycoplasma bovis is the same across all infected farms.
O’Connor visited farmers caught in the outbreak in Winton of New Zealand’s Southland, after previously visiting affected South Canterbury properties before Christmas.
“I have great sympathy for farmers caught in the outbreak, who face tough decisions to protect their livelihoods,’’ the minister said, adding that Mycoplasma bovis is not a food safety risk, but is a disease that affects animal welfare and production.
The German government has committed €150 million to ensure total eradication of polio in Nigeria, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr Tiwatope Elias-Fatile, has said.
Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama
Elias-Fatile stated this at a news conference on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 in Abuja.
“The German government and Nigeria have signed three bilateral agreements which are Government Agreement on Technical Cooperation in 2016, Government Agreement on Financial Cooperation in 2016, Financing and Project Agreement on Polio Eradication.
“Notable issues in the agreements were the German Government’s commitment of the sum of €120 million to ensure the total eradication of polio in the country.”
He said it also included the new agreement on polio involvement of financial commitment of €10 million which would be increased to €29.9 million by the German government in line with the agreement.
He added that a delegation from the Japanese Parliament, had visited Nigeria to assess the level of cooperation between Japan and Nigeria, most importantly, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency and the Official Development Assistance(ODA).
He said that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, received the delegation in Abuja on behalf of the Federal Government.
“The purpose of the visit by the Japanese delegation, which also met with the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, he said, was to know the extent to which Japan had achieved successes in the West African Coast with regards to ODA.
“From the meeting, what was clear was that they were really satisfied that Nigeria was benefitting sincerely from it.
“The minister mentioned the issue of infrastructure development, power and manufacturing and they also talked about the need for whatever Japan can do to support Nigeria on job creation and to forge greater partnership with each other,” Elias-Fatile said.
On the economic front, Elias-Fatile said the Minister of Foreign Affairs initiated Economic Diplomacy Initiative for Nigeria.
He said that, following the development, officers of the ministry were currently undergoing training to see how the ministry could key into the initiative.
He added that trainers from Netherlands were facilitated by the Embassy of Netherlands in Nigeria, which is in line with the concept of e-diplomacy.
The Sokoto State Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Umaru Nagwari, says that government has procured 833 trucks of fertiliser for dry season farming in the state.
Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State
Nagwari said while speaking with newsman shortly after defending the ministry’s 2018 budget proposal before the state House of Assembly Committee on Agriculture in Sokoto, the state capital, on Thurday, January 18, 2017.
“The state government is fully committed to ensuring a bumper harvest among farmers across the 23 local government areas of Sokoto State.
“As such, it has expended N3.4 billion to procure 833 trucks of fertiliser for dry season farming. This will be distributed to farmers at subsidised rate,” he said.
According to Nagwari, the present administration in the state has placed agriculture as top priority after education.
“We are confident that Sokoto state farmers in 2018 are going to have bumper harvest, as government has procured the largest number of fertiliser ever in the history of the state.”
He called on farmers in the state to judiciously utilise the gesture to support their living standard and the society at large.
The Committee Chairman, Alhaji Dayyabu Kalmalu (APC- Illela), commended the ministry’s commitment in ensuring the successful implementation of agriculture programmes in the state.
He assured that the state Assembly would continue to support the state government in its bid to develop the state.
Proceeds from illegal wildlife trade are used to fund organised criminal activities like insurgency and kidnapping around the world.
L-R: CEO, Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF), Adeniyi Karunwi; Chairman, NCF National Executive Council (NEC), Ede Dafinone; President, NCF President, Board of Trustees (BoT), Philip Asiodu; the Lecturer, Prof. Olanrewaju Fagbohun; and General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron, Esimaje Brikinn, at the 16th Chief S.L. Edu Memorial Lecture held at the NIIA, Victoria Island Lagos on Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Vice Chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo, Professor Olanrewaju Fagbohun, disclosed this on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 during the 16th S.L. Edu Memorial Lecture held at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Victoria Island, Lagos.
The lecture, titled “Combating Illegal Wildlife Trade in West Africa: The Role of Environmental Law and Governance”, was organised by Nigerian Conservation Foundation (NCF).
EnviroNews gathered that oil major, Chevron Nigeria Ltd., had been sponsoring the lecture since inception.
Fagbohun said: “Organised criminal groups involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking and terrorism, and controlling large transnational networks, resources and access to information and institutions are often involved in the entire illegal supply and demand chains.
“Allegations are rife that some of these criminal groups channel funds raised at times into purchase of firearms in aid of armed conflicts, insurgency or to perpetrate large-scale poaching and slaughtering of wildlife.”
According to the professor of Environmental Law and Policy, an undercover reporter once traced a criminal gang that traded in elephant tusks. He had fixed a monitor on a tusk and sold same to the gang. It was later discovered that the gang engaged in brutal murder and other illicit activities like drugs.
He identified illegal wildlife trade as a valuable illicit commerce.
“Illegal wildlife trade is believed to be the world’s fourth most valuable illicit commerce after drugs, human trafficking and arms trade.
“In financial terms, some estimates put the worth of illicit wildlife and plant trade at between eight million euro and 20 million euro annually, while some have placed the estimate at between $15 billion and $20 billion or $10 billion and $30 billion per year,” he disclosed.
According to him, the illegal trade’s negative impact includes threat to health and security, undermining rule of law, fuelling corruption and restriction of economic development.
He posited that the illegal business would continue until government summons the political will to stop it.
Other issues that came up at the lecture include traditional practices were the use of outlawed animal parts serve as status symbol. It was the former Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Emeka Anyaoku, who at the event raised the issue of using tusks and animal skins to adorn title-holders in parts of Africa.
On this, the lecturer said “you can’t throw away cultural practices and the legitimacy of them.” So, he advocated that better alternatives should be made available to the locals, so they would lose interest in conservable nature.
“We should integrate orthodox practice in traditional practices,” he added.
Chairman, National Executive Council (NEC) of NCF, Ede Dafinone, had in his welcome address noted that “the choice of this year’s theme is to mobilise support through partnerships, collaborations and alliances and to encourage positive actions geared towards combating illegal trade in wildlife in the West African sub-region as part of the global call for action.”
In his welcome speech, President, Board of Trustees (BoT) of NCF, Philip Asiodu, had noted that hunting of wild animals sometimes lead to diseases.
Asiodu said: “Despite the promulgation of the Endangered Species Act in 1985 and Nigeria’s adherence to all the international treaties and protocols for the protection of the environment positive action, real effective action and expenditure on environmental conservation in Nigeria has been negligible.”
He called for urgent action, given the pressure of Nigeria’s population on available land and the need for sustainable rapid economic growth.
In his goodwill message, Esimaje Brikinn, the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron, noted that Chief Edu’s vision for establishing the NCF had continued to flourish soon after his death.
He added that “the preservation of wildlife and by extension the biodiversity is very important to our existence and, therefore, we must take every step possible to conserve it.”
The event was graced by representatives of the National Assembly, Federal Ministry of Environment, British High Commission, and the United States Consulate, among others.
Some residents of Lawanson and Mushin environs of Lagos State are groaning over the continued accumulation of refuse heaps in theie neighbourhood.
Heaps of refuse along the Lawanson-Itire Road, by Lawanson Bus Stop, in Lagos. Photo credit: NAN
The residents, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, January 17 2018, called on the relevant authorities to intensify efforts in evacuating the refuse currently scattered all over the place.
NAN reports that piles of unsightly refuse seen on the road medians along the Lawanson-Itire road (Lawanson Bus Stop) and Mushin roads were capable of creating health and environmental challenges.
Mr Bamidele Farouk, a banker residing within the vicinity, described the situation as embarrassing and unhealthy.
“For a town aspiring to be a ‘mega city’ to have such heaps of refuse yet to be evacuated from the roads, is embarrassing.
“It is not a sight to behold and urgent action should be done to address the situation which is unhealthy.
“For example, along this Lawanson-Itire Road, the heaps have stretched from the Total Filling Station/Anjorin Bus-Stop to MRS Filling Station/Jubril Martins Road junction and it is extending.
“The heaps are already bringing out offensive odour, thereby making passers-by and residents to always cover their noses,’’ Farouk said.
Mr Segun Ogunkoya, a bus driver, told NAN that the heaps of refuse had not been removed by the state waste managers for several days.
Ogunkoya said, “Residents and traders bag their refuse and bring to the median for evacuation. Unfortunately, the refuse collectors have not been coming with their trucks and the heaps are piling up.
“With time, the refuse in-between the roads are loosening and are already being scattered all over the place.
“We call on the agency of government in charge of waste management to urgently come and evacuate the accumulated refuse; the smell is bad, the sight is ugly and it is encroaching where we load passengers,’’ Ogunkoya said.
Mrs Philomena Udoh, a teacher, said, “As the heaps of refuse are mounting on the major roads, the connecting and adjoining roads are worse off.
“If you go around Cole, Anjorin, Oseni, Aborishade, Babalola, Ishaga, Garba Musa and all other streets around, one will literally run away because of the huge volume of accumulated filth.
“The relevant authorities should please do something fast before our people, especially the vulnerable ones like children and women, start falling ill,’’ Udoh said.
Refuse along the Mushin/Agege Motor Road, Idi-Oro, Mushin, Lagos. Photo credit: NAN
Mrs Munirat Owolabi, a trader at the Idi- Oro Market in Mushin, also called on the government to hasten the evacuation of the heaps of refuse along the Mushin /di-Oro Market Road.
“Allowing these heaps of refuse to remain here is an eyesore.
“The stench is horrible; people navigate through the heaps and selling wares amidst these heaps is not good at all.
“We are looking up to the government to do the needful; it is their responsibility to provide a good waste disposal mechanism and we expect them to do so.
“We are yet to see the supposedly new investors swing into action; they should please do so quickly,’’ Owolabi said.
On the associated health implications of the continued presence of the refuse, Dr Gerald Williams, said it could result into an outbreak of cholera, malaria, water and air airborne diseases, as well as skin infections.
Williams, who commutes from Cele area of Lagos through Lawanson to Surulere where he works, said that he was taken aback at how the refuse had mounted; yet, nothing had been done to evacuate it.
“This goes to show how many the lives and welfare of citizens are valued; it is sad.
“These heaps serve as good breeding places for vermin and agents of disease such as pests, rats, flies and mosquitoes.
“Mosquitoes cause malaria; houseflies are agents of bacteria that carry diseases including diarrhea, typhoid, cholera and dysentery and rats are known to transmit diseases such as Lassa fever, Leptospirosis and some other Haemorrhagic fevers.
“Also, when the refuse continues to stay on the roads, the thrash starts decomposing; liquid will leak out and contaminate surface water, ground water, boreholes, our entire water bodies and the ecosystem.
“So, government should as a matter of urgency, ensure that the heaps of refuse are evacuated without further delay,’’ he said.
Williams said that the heaps of refuse could also result into outbreak of skin and respiratory diseases.
NAN reports that Mr Segun Adeniji, General Manager, LAWM A, had said that 35 per cent of the equipment required for the onset of waste evacuation in the Lagos metropolis had arrived.
“From this year , all operations will be carried out by a competent body called Visionscape International, and the agency will handle all waste and refuse issues,” he said.
According to him, the company would commence the clearing of waste in a fortnight with the available equipment.
“We will soon start living under the conditions of a new programme called the ‘Cleaner Lagos Initiative’ (CLI) in the next few weeks when the equipment rolls out.
He said that LAWMA was now a regulatory body, as against the time when LAWMA was only carrying out 90 per cent operations and 10 per cent regulations.
Six communities around Kangimi Dam in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna State have called on the state government to quickly repair the damaged walls of the dam to avert imminent disaster.
Nasir el Rufai, Governor of Kaduna
The communities in a statement said the walls of the dam had developed cracks after a thunder hit the site in October 2017.
The statement, signed by Malam Usman Jikan-Mudi, said thousands of communities living in the area now live in perpetual fear that the dam may burst at any time.
“If you look at the place where the thunder struck, you will see clearly that water is coming out, some grasses are growing up from the cracked wall and once it is not tackled we are scared of what will follow.’’
He listed the villages as: Gobirawa, Ruhogi, Barkonu, Cikaji, Unguwar Yamman Likoro and Girkawa.
“`There are thousands of people that are residing with their families in those villages, we are really afraid of what will happen when the dam breaks.
“We are worried about the situation and are living in fear; we are scared of what will happen to everyone in this area.’’
“Kangimi dam is the largest dam in the state and has many links to many rivers and is the source of water for the state.’’
Jikan-Mudi said the communities had written series of letters to the state Ministry of Water Resources and the Water Board without response.
“It seems as if they don’t care about the lives of the people that are residing around the dam.
“The volume of water in the dam is very high presently and it is advisable for the authorities concerned to start gradual release of the water.
“We are begging the state government to come to our rescue.’’
Also, the ward head of Gobirawa, Malam Umaru Gobirawa, said: “We are living in a critical situation and that is why we are calling on NEMA ,SEMA, the Red Cross, and other humanitarian agencies, to intervene before we are washed away.
“They should compel government to take quick action before it is too late.’’
Responding, Alhaji Sa’idu Adamu, Councillor on Information and Communication Strategy to Gov. Nasiru El-Rufa’i, assured that the state government would respond swiftly to avert the impending disaster.
“The governor will be intimated on the situation and I assure the communities that government is going to look into the situation and tackle it swiftly before any damage is done.’’
The Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 said that religious organisations and cemeteries would only be granted exemption in the. proposed harmonised bill on Land Use Charge if they do not engage in commercial activities.
Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State
Mr Yinka Ogundimu, the Chairman of the Assembly’s eight-man Ad hoc Committee on Finance, gave the insight at a Public Hearing on the Land Use Charge (Repeal and Re-enactment) Law 2017.
Ogundimu said the 27-section bill seeks to harmonise Land Rates Law, Neighbourhood Improvement Charge Law and Tenement Rates Law, and will be beneficial to property owners in the state.
According to him, the bill will not increase the tax burden of property owners as being speculated, but will, rather, checkmate multiple taxation.
“Nothing has affected religious bodies if they have not gone out of the way from being religious body to being religious cum commercial body.
“But if any religious body starts going commercial with any of their religious activities, then such religious body has to really be under the tax regime.
“If it is a religion, it must purely be religion, but if you have a name of religious outfit and at the same time are running a school or event centre or others, such property will not be exempted,’’ he said.
Ogundimu said the harmonised bill would prevent situations where the local government would be coming with tenement rates and the state government coming with another rate still on the same property.
Earlier, the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa, represented by his deputy, Mr Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni, said that the bill would have human face.
While giving the overview of the bill, the Majority Leader, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, said that the proposed law differs from the old payment charge, as the new charges would be based on market value.
Stakeholders commended the state government for the executive bill, but cautioned against the tendency to overburden the owners and occupiers of landed property.
Pastor Barnabas Otoibhi, representing the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), stated that the proposed law was silent about the ground rent paid to the state.
He said that it should be captured in the bill.
Speaking on section seven of the bill – “Property Excepted from Payment of Land Use Charge” – Alhaji Tajudeen Quadri, Chairman, Lagos State Community Development Advisory Council, urged the House to include community halls among them.
Quadri said that some of the community halls were constructed through self help and in many cases were for recreational purposes.
Also speaking, Mr Thompson Akpabio, a representative of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), the umbrella body of employers in the Organised Private Sector, cautioned against over burdening of property owners.
Akpabio said that the bill failed to address how terms like land value rate and building value rate were defined and could be subject to any form of interpretation.
Mr Akinbajo Adekunle from Christ Against Drug Abuse Ministry (CADA) — an NGO. — said basing the rate on the value of property would increase the pain of payment on the property owner.
“I think the purpose of the law is not to increase the pains of property owners, but to make it comfortable for them,’’ he said.
The Chairman of the Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers (NIESV), Mr Olurogba Orimolade, who made a case for owners or occupiers that were retirees, called for more engagement with the institution to increase its revenues.
“We have even realised that the Lagos State Government is losing money because it uses that same formular, for instance, it uses to value a petrol station to value a detached house,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bill, if passed into law, will end all other rates on land except the Land Use Charge.
The bill reads in part: “As from the commencement of the law, the annual amount of the Land Use Charge payable for any Property shall be arrived at by multiplying the market value of the property by the applicable relief rate and annual charge rate, using the prescribed formulae.
“The land value and building value rates constituting the market value of the property shall be reviewed at least once every five years on the basis of information available to professional valuers, and may vary from area to area.’’
Bursari Local Government Council in Yobe State is partnering the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the state government to end the perennial water shortage in 336 rural communities in the area.
Anthony Kirsopp Lake, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
Alhaji Zanna Abatcha, Chairman of the council, gave the hint in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 in Damaturu, the state capital.
He said that water and sanitation facilities worth over N1 billion would be constructed in the 336 communities with severe water scarcity.
According to him, Unicef, the state and local governments are jointly funding the projects.
“UNICEF is providing N649.6 million, Yobe government, N263.8 million and Bursari Local Government will contribute N111.3 million.”
Abatcha commended Gov. Ibrahim Geidam of Yobe for his commitment toward finding a lasting solution to the “age long water scarcity being experienced by these communities.”
The chairman said that the project would include 380 hand pump boreholes, 48 solar-powered boreholes and 60 water and sanitation facilities, located in primary schools and health clinics in the local government areaa.
“UNICEF has slated to complete the projects in five months; I assure you the local and state governments will not renege on their plan to provide succour to the communities.
“This programme is very dear to the governor; it is in tune with this administration’s policy of improving the lives of rural dwellers in the state,” he said.
Abatcha expressed confidence that the projects will be executed within the time frame slated by UNICEF, as they round off their programme in the next five months.
“The state’s Rural Water Supply and Sanitation Agency (RUWASSA) has commenced preliminary works, while local government authority, community leaders, water coordinators and other stakeholders are being trained on maintenance and ownership of the projects.”
According to the council chairman, the projects will provide 90 per cent of water needs of the communities, to tally with the water and sanitation reform programme.
A non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Youth Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (YouthWASH), has called on the Federal Ministry of Education to carry out a national survey to determine the level of access to potable water.
Suleiman Adamu, Minister of Water Resources
YouthWASH said the survey should also include hygiene and sanitation in schools across the country.
The Group’s Coordinator, Mr Nature Obiakor, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 that this was necessary to promote how interventions from all stakeholders would be addressed.
He said it was saddening to note that a large number of schools lacked access to water and proper toilet facilities, saying this was one of the factors promoting school absenteeism and disease prevalence.
According to him, when there is an accurate data on what needs are unavailable, what specific interventions can be carried out, then the country can say there is an inclusive society.
“My call to government, specifically the Federal Ministry of Education is to see that there is a need for an assessment on the situation for potable drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in these schools and among students.
“Because there is no way you can come up with an intervention plan or what to do and because there is no real data to know how many schools, the particular schools or what is the situation of access here.
“So if we have a national study and report, it will be easier to get donors to buy-in and start funding these activities,’’ he said.
He said access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene was a human right, hence the need for all stakeholders to put it on the front burner.
According to him, Nigeria loses 1.3 per cent of its GDP to illnesses and deaths caused by lack of access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
He said that improved access to water, both at the rural and urban areas was an important factor for national development.
Obiakor said the group in partnership with the UN Children’s Fund was strengthening capacity of youth corps members to activate and sustain Environmental Health Clubs (EHCs) and overall hygiene promotion in schools.
He said hand washing with soap before eating and after using the toilet had severally proven to be the best preventive approach to healthy living.
“It is considered as the most cost effective way to mitigate diseases such as cholera, pneumonia, diarrhea, typhoid fever and can save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention.”
A study conducted by WASHWatch, showed that no fewer than 60,000 children below the age of five in Nigeria die from diarrhea diseases caused by the country’s poor access to WASH facilities.
The Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Political Matters, Mr Babafemi Ojudu, has urged herdsmen to embrace the modern, systematic and technological way of rearing cattle in the country.
Herdsmen
Ojudu gave the advice while briefing newsmen at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) on Wednesday, January 17, 2018 in Lagos.
He explained that the adoption of modern techniques for rearing cows would end the recurring violent clashes between the herdsmen and farmers in some states, especially in Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa.
The presidential aide urged both parties to embrace peace and find a lasting solution to the crisis.
Ojudu said: “I think we need to plan on how to embrace modern, systematic and technological way of rearing cattle in the country.
“The way out of the crisis is not even a short time solution, because the herdsmen need to be enlightened on the modern techniques, but what Nigerians think about is short term solution.
“Perhaps, Nigeria does not even have one third of cows that South Africa has, neither do we have one third of what Brazil has.
“These countries are adopting modern ways of rearing their cattles without infringing on farmlands.”
Ojudu commiserated with the Benue people over the recent attacks which led to the death of no fewer than 70 people, describing it as a very tragic incident for the country.
“Nobody, including the president can be happy for the tragic killings by the herdsmen.
“I know the president will be troubled that this ugly incident was happening in the country he so much loved.
“Mr President is a patriot per excellent and a man that is so much passionate about Nigeria and he believe that Nigeria must continue to remain one,” he said.
Ojudu, however, disclosed his intention to contest the 2018 gubernatorial poll in Ekiti.
The president aide said that he had been travelling to few countries to sell himself as one of the aspirants to the people of Ekiti in the Diaspora.
“As you all know, I am contesting for the governorship position; I have been engaging with our people in the Diaspora who are professionals and highly skilled.
“Ekiti cannot develop without bringing on board the energy of this Diasporas.
“Last year, I was in Europe and this year, I went to America. I went to about five to six cities speaking with Ekiti people in Diaspora,” he said.
Ojudu said they had promised that this time around they would bring changes to Ekiti because they were not happy with the current situation of the state.
He also said that he had no relationship with the incumbent Gov. Ayodele Fayose, stressing that he was one of the most vocal critics of the administration.
“He is not my enemy, but politically, I do not admire him as he has brought us shame in Ekiti, because an average man cannot be proud of what is happening in the state today.
“Ekiti people are very humble, intelligent and honest. We will rebuild the good image of the state.
“We will respect the elderly people, as it is disrespectful to abuse our elders. Our culture does not train us to be abusing them anytime there is an issue,” he said.
Ojudu said that the state has a huge number of young people that were still unemployed and walking on the streets, adding that his administration would focus on massive job creation.
“In 2015, Ekiti people thought Fayose was a messiah then, and they elected him, but today, salaries have not been paid for eight months and one year.
“The state gets federal allocation, bailout fund, and the state also got Paris Club Fund and we cannot see anything he has done except for the bridge he constructed that led to nowhere.
“The bridge is uncalled for and unnecessary. Even, the Nigeria Engineers have said that the project was a waste of money as it does not add any value to our people.
“One kilometre bridge over nothing is not a flyover anywhere. He said he will construct the bridge for N4.5 million, but now, he has spent over N15 million out of the state resources,” he said.
Ojudu said if he had the mandate of the people, it would be prudent for him to pay off outstanding entitlements of the pensioners and workers in the state.
According to him, my father-in-law died two weeks ago after serving as a school principal for 35 years without receiving his entitlement from the state government in the last five years.
