VOL. 1: NO. 2VOL. 1: NO. 2VOL. 1: NO. 2VOL. 1: NO. 2VOL. 1: NO. 2 FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014

•Page 4•Page 2

•Gbenga Daniel •Buruji Kashamu•Jubril Martins-Kuye

AHEAD of the 2015governorship election

in Ogun State, the People’sDemocratic Party may havebeen in a fixed over the choiceof its flag-bearer to slug it outwith the incumbent governor,Senator Ibikunle Amosun.

Amosun who is seeking re-election in the coming electionson the platform of AllProgressives Congress, APC, isan Egba man and the firstMuslim democratically electedgovernor in the 38-year-oldstate.

In the PDP, it is currently saidto be controlled by three groups;Buruji Kashamu’s camp, whichhas the grip of the structure inthe state, Otunba GbengaDaniel group which recentlyrejoined the party, and JubrilMartins-Kuye group, whichcomprises Bankole and otherparty bigwigs.

Barely three months to thepolls, no fewer than 11 aspirantshave thrown their hats into thering to become the party’s flag-

Ogun PDP chieftains at warover governorship candidate

Continues on Page 2

By DAUD OLATUNJI bearer.This development, has indeed

caused suspicion among thethree groups in the party, as thethree groups have continuedplaying fast on one another.

The recent wards and localgovernment congresses haveindicated that the party was nomore solely being controlled bythe Kashamu camp as other

groups have been reasonablyaccommodated.

South West Voice reliablygathered that recently,attempts were made to dissolvethe state’s executive of theparty, to pave way for othergroups in the party. This movewas vehemently resisted by theKashamu group whichreportedly threatened theother groups with court action.

A reliable source confided inour correspondent that theparty might not hold itsgovernorship primaries, but,would pick a consensuscandidate among theaspirants.

But, the signal from theKashamu group showedotherwise, while the othergroups seem to be comfortablewith the consensusarrangement.

The aspirants who haveshown keen interest for theplum job include AbiodunAkinlade, Gboyega Isiaka,Segun Adewale, SharafaIshola, Dimeji Bankole,Anthony Ojesina, Yomi

Majekodunmi, Prince YanjuLipede, Kayode Amusan,Remilekun Bakare and RafiuOgunleye.

Findings have shown that theparty is sharply divided into twogroups now, over which zoneto produce the candidate for theparty.

It was gathered that, theKashamu group was said to besupporting Yewa-Awori agendato produce the party’s flag-bearwhile the other groups andpowerful politicians in Abujaseem to be looking in thedirection of Ogun central.

Powerfulpoliticians

Those who were beingreportedly touted by theKashamu group include;Akinlade, Isiaka and Adewalefrom Yewa-Awori, even as thegroup has lined up YanjuLipede from Ogun Central andRafiu Ogunleye from OgunEast as plan B.

But, the other groups headed

by Daniel and Martins-Kuyehave been said to be rooting fora candidate from Ogun Centralto fly the kite of the party in thecoming election.

The calculation by Daniel andMartins-Kuye groups,according to the findings is that,the only means to dislodgeAmosun is to split the blockvotes in Ogun Central whereAmosun hails from by fieldingan Egba man who preferablymust be a Muslim.

In the situation where it is notpossible, a candidate fromOgun West who must be aMuslim could come on board.

This necessitated thesuggestion of the choice ofeither Dimeji Bankole orSharafa Ishola who hail fromOgun Central from somequarters as the partygovernorship candidate.

The Kashamu factor came toplay in the choice ofgovernorship candidate as hewas reported to havevehemently resisted the moves

The PDP seems tobe gripped with fearover the resultanteffect of its primariesor consensusarrangement

IN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITIONIN THIS EDITION

ScavengersinvadeOyodumpsites

ObaAkinruntancelebratesfifthcoronationanniversary

Troubleforcultists,as OndoPoliceset-upanti-cultismsquad

•Page 7

2 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014

OYO STATE

LIFE is full of manyinexplicable ironies. While

some were born with silver spoonin their mouth, some did not enjoythe luxury of being fed with anyspoon let alone a silver spoon.Some have sumptuous meals ontheir tables at any given time, but,fate has been so unkind to othersas they live like parasites on fewaffluent ones. Instead of eatingwhat they want like people inwealthy homes, they eat what theysee.

Most times, eating three timesdaily is a very tall dream. Wheneating becomes difficult, theyeither steal or search someunhygienic places like garbageand dustbins for the leftoverdumped by the rich. In fact, it is acompetition among them as thosewho get to the waste early enoughare likely to get something thatwould keep the body and soultogether.

In Ibadan metropolis, theadministration of Governor AbiolaAjimobi at the inception of hisgovernment tried to consolidateon waste disposal method bypurchasing additional compactortrucks, roll-on-roll-off trucks anddust bins to complement the oneshe met on ground.

When the state governmentpurchased the equipment, littledid it know that it was providingsource of livelihood to someindigent people.

Early in the morning since thescheme was launched, SouthWest Voice observed thatscavengers, young and old, maleand female rush to various refusesites to get their means oflivelihood. They are scatteredeverywhere. Some of the items thescavengers pick from waste binsinclude food, plastics, iron rods,electric appliances and manyothers. While some of them relyon these items for feeding, somecollect them for onward sale towaiting buyers.

•Scavengers at a refuse dump in Ibadan

Scavengers invade Oyodump sites

By Ola Ajayi

Ogun PDP chieftains at warover governorship candidate

Continues from Page 1

South West Voice gatheredthat some of the destitutes whofeed on sour leftover food areusually being conveyed throughthe Oke Ogun area of the state,from the north-eastern part of thecountry ravaged with insurgency.

Speaking on the activities of thescavengers, Mr. Boye Ajayi, abusinessman said what looksdirty to many is a source of wealthfor others.

According to him, thescavengers are turning waste towealth. He said, “They areturning convertibles to money-making venture. In the past, Ifthey were able to get one trailerload of iron wastes to a popularsteel company, they smiled backhome with nothing less thanN1million”.

On the implication of theiractivities, he said it depictseconomic stagnation and povertyrate in the country. “Thescavengers do not depend onwaste bins alone, they usuallymove from one mechanicworkshop to another where they

vandalise essential motor partsthat are still functional,” he said.

A motor mechanic at OluseyiBus-stop, Ibadan, Mr. SolaOlowo complained bitterly aboutthe activities of scavengers saying“these people just hide under theguise of picking discarded items.They steal our equipment, motorspare parts of our customers. Wedon’t allow them here in ourworkshop”.

However, a scavenger, whosimply identified himself as Umarsaid he could not speak for othersbut he could speak for himself thathe has never stolen anything.

According to him, “this job isbetter than stealing around. Whenwe pick things from refusedumps, we sell them to ourcustomers. We make our livingthrough this. It is wrong to saywe are lazy people.

Legitimatework

Most of us have our legitimatework. But, because patronage islow, that is why you see usroaming the streets picking justanything that could fetch moneyfor us.”

Umar added that “Some peoplemay be stealing and eating fromthe refuse heaps. For me, I amnot mad. How do you expect meto be eating leftover food from thisdirty place. You see me wearinga pair of glasses. It is because Iam ashamed doing this job. OnceI realize enough money, I willdivert it to another business thatis more dignifying than this.”

In her own account, a woman,Aisha who was with her daughtersaid in a rather inaudible voicethat she was driven from thebattle-torn Borno State.

The woman who spoke throughan interpreter was seen atVeterinary Hospital junction,Mokola with her daughterwaiting for anything she could

to foist Bankole on the party.Kashamu who installed the state executive of the party

through several court injunctions was reported to haveinsisted that it is the turn of Yewa-Awori people to producethe governor of the state.

A member of Kashamu group confided in ourcorrespondent that, several efforts had been made topersuade Akinlade and Isiaka to step down for each otherfor the sake of the zone, but, it has not been fruitful.

The source said, because the two aspirants stick to theirguns to run for governorship, there has been secret movesto look for alternative candidates from the same zone.This brought the choice of Segun Adewale to the fore.

It was further gathered that, Adewale had beenreportedly given a go-ahead to obtain a form and beginpasting of posters and erecting bill boards to announcehis governorship ambition.

As part of its strategy, Daniel and Martins-Kuye groupshave stopped talking to the media, as they have relocatedto Abuja where they engage in serious consultation andlobby of the party’s national leaders.

However, the Kashamu group during the recentlyconcluded wards congress raised alarm over allegedattempt by Daniel and Martins-Kuye groups.

A week after, the tune changed as the national leaderof the party accommodated all the groups in delegateslist.

In the list, Daniel, Kashamu and other leaders of theparty which cut across all the groups emerged as nationaldelegates from Ogun State in the local governmentcongress held in the 20 council areas of the state.

Daniel, Kashamu and others were elected to representtheir local government areas at the December 6 nationalconvention of the party where President GoodluckJonathan is expected to be elected at the party’spresidential standard bearer for the 2015 election.

While Daniel emerged from Sagamu Local GovernmentArea, Kashamu and Abiola-Edewor won as nationaldelegates to the convention in Ijebu North and AbeokutaNorth, respectively.

Nationaldelegates

Also elected as national delegates were the two formerdeputy governors of the state, Alhaji Rafiu Ogunleyeand Alhaja Salimot Badru to represent Ijebu East andIpokia local government areas.

Two former state chairmen of the PDP in Ogun, ChiefJoju Fadairo and Bashorun Dayo Shoremi also emergedas national delegates from Ifo and Odeda LocalGovernment Areas, respectively.

Other party leaders who also emerged as nationaldelegates include retired General Kehinde Fasasi (RemoNorth); Otunba Tunde Olowu (Ijebu North East); Dr. FemiMajekodunmi (Abeokuta South); Babatunde Osholake(Obafemi Owode) and Mary Ogunjobi (Imeko Afon).

The state Chairman of the Ogun PDP, Chief Bayo Dayoexpressed delight that Daniel and others who just madea return to the party after so many years outside its foldhave been fully accommodated and integrated by thisdevelopment.

Dayo said with the new-found unity within the PDP inOgun State, the party was set to upstage the ruling AllProgressives Congress in the next year’s elections.

Therefore, as Daniel returns to his former position asthe leader of the party by virtue of his status as formergovernor on the platform of the PDP, the choice of whobecomes the party governorship candidates amongothers would definitely pass through his ‘table’.

The PDP seems to be gripped with fear over theresultant effect of its primaries or consensus arrangement.Some of the aspirants have been reportedly threatenedthat, they would dump the party for another party if thePDP cheats on them.

It was reliably gathered that, whoever, the party choosesas it’s party governorship candidate among the otheraspirants would have so many issues to contend with.

This job is betterthan stealingaround. When wepick things fromrefuse dumps, wesell them to ourcustomers

Continues on page 6

Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014 —3

LAGOS STATE

SINCE October 29, whenthe Lagos State Governor,

Babatunde Fashola dissolvedthe executive councils of the 20Local Government Areas, LGAsand 37 Local CouncilDevelopment Areas, LCDAs,following the expiration of theirthree-year statutory tenure,cash crunch and inactivity havecontinued to hit the councils,South West Voice hasgathered.

The governor who dissolvedthe councils' executives,comprising of council chairmenand councillors had directedthe chairmen to handoveradministration to theirrespective council managerspending further action.

In accordance with theconstitution, after the expirationof statutory tenure, all affectedofficials, including vice-chairmen, supervisors, councilsecretaries and other politicalappointees are legally requiredto vacate their offices.

Logisticschallenge

Speaking on the conduct of afresh election, authorities ofLagos State IndependentElectoral Commission,LASIEC, had said it woulddefer council elections untilafter the 2015 generalelections.

The Chairman of LASIEC,Justice Fatai Adeyinka, (rtd),when he appeared before thestate House of Assembly, hadtold the lawmakers that thecommission would not be ableto conduct fresh elections intocouncils due to some logisticschallenge.

Fashola also at a recent forumsaid the state governmentwould soon constituteTransition Councils to managethe Local Governments.

According to him,government is in the processof conducting voter registrationupdate by IndependentNational Electoral Commission,INEC, between November 12to 17, and ward delineation,adding that it is only when theexercise is completed thatelections would he held.

Following this announcementby the governor, South WestVoice learnt that the idea ofsetting up caretaker ortransition committees tooversee the affairs of thevarious local governmentspending the time LASIECwould hold elections has notgone down well withstakeholders within the stateAPC.

It was gathered that someparty faithful and chieftainsprefer sole administrators tohold forth before elections,instead of Fashola’s option,thus the cause of the delay inthe appointment of transitioncommittees.

Cash crunch, inactivity hitLagos councils

•Ikosi-Isheri LCDA secretariat, Lagos.

By Olasunkanmi Akoni

While the party ’s stateleadership argues that the 20

out-gone chairmen who hadonly served one term shouldbe appointed to continue,while vice chairmen of otherswho had spent two termsshould take over administra-tion, sources say Fashola isinsisting on the appointmentof senior technocrat, civilservants as administrators totake over.

In this ensuing melee, it wasgathered that though, staffsalaries had been disbursed outof the Federal monthlyallocation, funds meant forcapital projects is withheld bythe state government due to thepresent status.

The development has put thestate’s administration of localgovernments in straight jacket,

as further developmentalprojects have been suspendedtill further actions.

When Vanguard visitedsome of the councils, workerswere seen in different groups,idling away, lamenting theirpresent plight, even as someothers just stay away fromduties.

The developmenthas put the state’sadministration oflocal governmentsin straight jacket,as furtherdevelopmentalprojects have beensuspended tillfurther actions

TENURE EXPIRATION:

•As Fashola, party differ over replacement

4 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014

OWA'NBE... OWA'NBE... OWA'NBE... OWA'NBE... OWA'NBE... THESOCIAL LIFE OF

YORUBA

Oba Akinruntancelebrates fifthcoronation anniversary

By Dayo Johnson

UGBO kingdom in theoil rich Ilaje council

area of Ondo State, Saturday,stood still, as its Paramountruler, the Olugbo of Ugboland,Oba Fredrick EnitiOlorunaObateru Akinruntan (CON),celebrated his 5th coronationanniversary in grand style.

The coronation saw the highand low within and outside theSunshine State, trooping outenmasse to felicitate with ObaAkinruntan, an astuteentrepreneur, philanthropist perexcellence and the leader ofYoruba Obas ConflictsResolution Committee washeralded Friday, with danceand cultural displays fromBiripo troupes in Ilaje andItsekiri dancers from WarriKingdom, Delta State at the

Obamakin OsanganganMultipurpose event centre.

On day two, there was alecture themed, “Peace andconflict resolution in

Yorubaland;” launching of ObaAkinruntan Foundation andpublic presentation ofUgboland official website, aswell as a variety night.

On the third day, Sunday,November 9, an interdenomina-tional thanksgiving service washeld at the Cherubim andSeraphim Church of Zion ofNigeria and Overseas, UgbonlaHeadquarters, Ilaje, OndoState.

The ceremony howeverwitnessed hundreds of peoplefrom neighbouring communi-ties, who left their fishing tradeas early as 7.00am, to rejoice,as well as eat and drink of thedelicacies and choice winesprovided by the monarch.

The musical maestro,Ebenezer Obey was on ground

•Oba Akinruntan with some regents

•Oba Akinruntan in royal regalia at the anniversary

•Oba Akinruntan's anniversary's greeting card

The coronationsaw the high andlow within andoutside theSunshine State,trooping outenmasse to felicitatewith ObaAkinruntan

Continues on page 5

Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014 — 5

to thrill the guests, made upof politicians across politicaldivides, business moguls, aswell as the State’s Attorney-General and Commissioner forJustice, Eyitayo Jegede, whorepresented GovernorOlusegun Mimiko.

In his remarks, ObaAkinruntan, who thanked thepeople of the state for theirunflinching support over theyears, however pointed thatwithout them many other featscould not have been possible.

The celebrator, who was fullof gratitude said “Today, Imust sincerely thank God forhis faithfulness, love, care,mercy, strength, support,inspiration and guidancetowards us in the past years.We are assured that he willcontinue to lead us to higherlevels of success andsignificance.”

Philanthropicgesture

Meanwhile, the occasion alsowitnessed the conferment ofChieftaincy award on aneminent scholar ofInternational repute, ProfToyin Falola of the Universityof Texas, United States ofAmerica and the DeputySpeaker, House of Representa-tives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha.

Speaking with South WestVoice on the launch of hisfoundation, Oba Akinruntansaid it was to put smiles on thefaces of many indigent peopleliving in the riverineCommunities.

“The foundation willcoordinate my philanthropicgesture and increase the scopeand cater for more people. If itpleases God to bless me andmake me king in this land Ithink I have to actualize God’svision for the Ilaje people. Ourpeople have been neglectedand relegated to thebackground. The terrain isdifficult, many people do notwant to come here, unless youcan live on top of water andthat is responsible for the highlevel of poverty in thiscommunity.

“Government alone cannotprovide all that is needed.Some of us that haveopportunities shouldcompliment government’sefforts, and I am glad that ourefforts have been yieldingpositive results. TheFoundation will equallyprovide grants and micro-credit to empower traders andartisans in the community,” hesaid.

A WEEK-long activitiesmarked the milestone of

the serving Overseer of the LatterRain Assembly and Convener ofSave Nigeria Group, PastorTunde Bakare, who clocked 60years on Tuesday, November 11,2014.

The activities began on Sunday,9 November with a Night ofThanksgiving at the Latter RainAssembly Auditorium, Akilo Road,

Tunde Bakare celebrates 60thbirthday in grand style

Ikeja, Lagos. It was followed onMonday, November10 with asymposium on "The Role of Journalism in Nation Building."

On Tuesday, 11 November,there was a birthday service alsoat the church auditorium and onWednesday, 12 November,Pastor Bakare visited the lessprivileged at the Ijamido Home.

Pastor Bakare also visited hisbirthplace in Abeokuta on

Thursday, 13 November, whilethere will be a public lecture andpresentation of his new book,Moment of Truth, at SheratonHotel, Lagos, today at 10am.

The birthday events will berounded off on Sunday,November 16 at the churchauditorium with a thanksgivingservice at 9am.

Pastor Tunde Bakare;Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu;Oba Adedotun Agbadebo; Oba Kehinde Olugbene;Oba DapoTejuosho;during 60th Year Birthday thanksgiving service of Pastor Tunde Bakare,at Latter Rain Church, Ogba ,Lagos

L-R: Ogun StateGovernor, SenatorIbikunle Amosun,Overseer of LatterRain Assembly,Pastor TundeBakare and hiswife, Olaide, at the60 birthday cele-bration of Bakareat the Latter RainAssembly Church,Ogba, Lagos.

Ogun StateGovernor, SenatorIbikunle Amosun(2nd left), Overseerof Latter RainAssembly, PastorTunde Bakare(centre), his wife,Olaide (2nd right),former FCT Minister,Mallam Nasir El-Rufai (left) andformer Mnister forEducation, Dr.Oby Ezekwesili(right) during the60th birthdaycelebration ofBakare at theLatter Rain Assem-bly Church, Ogba,Lagos.

Oba Akinruntancelebrates fifthcoronationanniversary

Continues from page 4

OWA'NBE..OWA'NBE..OWA'NBE..OWA'NBE..OWA'NBE... THESOCIAL LIFE OF

YORUBA

6 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014

EKITI STATE

The Youths in Ifaki-Ekiti,Ido-Osi Local

Government area of Ekiti State,have continued to lament whatthey described as their outrightdisconnection from the nationalgrid by Benin ElectricityDistribution Company, BEDC,which has plunged them into9 months of power outage anduntold hardship. Ifaki-Ekiti isthe hometown of the formergovernor of the state, Engr.Segun Oni.

Last Monday, the youthsnumbering hundreds, hadmarched through major streetsof the town as early as 7.00am,carrying placards of bearinginscriptions describing theBEDC in various unprintablewords.

Some of the placards read“BEDC, you are insensitive toour plight,” “BEDC, you arenot being fair to us,” “BEDC,please stop punishing us.”

The protest which lastedseveral hours led to thedisruption of vehicular andcommercial activities in thetown, forcing private andcommercial vehicles heading toAbuja and those going to

Pandemonium as Ekiti communityprotests 9-month power outage

By GBENGA ARIYIBI Ibadan and Lagos, to standstill.South West Voice gathered

that the youths were said tohave dislodged officials of thecompany from the town aboutfew months ago, when one ofthe transformers in thecommunity was vandalized,and they were said to have beenoperating from theneighbouring, Oye-Ekiti sincethen.

Seriousproverty

One of the protesters ,OjoEmmanuel complained bitterlythat the 9 months blackout hadcrippled commercial activitiesand caused serious poverty tosome residents.

Commenting on the situation,the Public Relations Officer ofthe company, Mr KayodeBrown said the town had to beabandoned because itallegedly owed the company asum of N57 millionaccumulated electricity bill.

The severity of the protesthad forced the State Governor,Mr. Ayodele Fayose, toimmediately move to the townto calm down frayed nerves.Fayose while addressing the

reconnection is done.The governor, who expressed

disgust at the discomfort theBEDC had made people of thecommunity to experience, said“I will provide solutionimmediately. I appointed yourdaughter, Mrs. Modupe Alade,as Secretary to the StateGovernment. That goes a longway to establish the respect Ihave for this community.

“I need your cooperation.Don’t vandalize or destroy anyproperty. I am not a leader whowill be insensitive to yourplights. I will get to the root ofthe matter and providesolution,” he pledged.

He however urged the irateyouths to allow the displacedBEDC officials return to workto fast-track action on theelectricity work.

“But the BEDC said youattacked its officials and thatwas why they abandoned thetown. Now that you haveprotested and we are about tosettle the matter, I appeal thatyou allow them to return to thistown to be able to do the work.

“I am talking to BEDC on theneed to set up a committee thatwould work out modality for thepayment of the outstanding

electricity bill. You cannot beusing electricity free, you haveto pay for it,” Fayose said.

•BEDC office in Akure.

The 9 monthsblackout hadcrippledcommercialactivities andcaused seriouspoverty to someresidents

youths promised to pay a sumof N5 million for the town tobe reconnected to nationalgrid.

Amid cheers from the crowd,Fayose pledged to install atransformer in the town to boostpower generation in thecommunity as soon as the

get. She said, “I came downhere some months ago whenmy village was ravaged byBoko Haram. All my peopleran away and up till now Idon’t know where they are.I then decided to come downSouth where there is peace.Since I have nobody here, Icome here early to see if thereis anything for me and mydaughter.”

“There are times that somepeople from a church bringus food. When they bring it,we will have hope for thatday. But when they don’t, Ibeg for alms from people. IfI don’t get anything, I try tocome here and see if there isanything here.” When askedif it was only food she picksfrom the waste, she said shepicks other things that can beuseful for her. “I pick shoes,clothes, bags and plastics.”

Scavengersinvade Oyo dumpsitesContinues from page 2

Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014 — 7

ONDO STATE

ACTIVITIES of cultgroups in some major

towns in Ondo state hascontinued to attract publicoutcry in the last few months.

As various cult groups aresaid to have been terrorizingthe people of major town acrossthe state in recent times,parents have continued toraise alarm over therecruitment of their wards bysome miscreants in towns suchas Akure and Ondo.

Supremacy battle betweenthe different cult groups haveresulted in the untimely deathof many innocent youths.Some lost their lives duringtheir initiation, while othersdied during supremacy tusslesbetween groups.

The outcry attracted theattention of stakeholdersacross the state and they maderepresentation to the statePolice command which actedswiftly.

Speaking with South WestVoice, the state PoliceCommissioner, Isaac Eke saidthe command has respondedswiftly to the public outcry.

•Suspected cultists paraded by Ondo Police.

Trouble for cultists, as Ondo Policeset up anti-cultism squad

Eke said that a 39-ManSpecial Anti Cultism Squad(SACS) has been inaugurated,in the Command’s efforts toclampdown on the activities ofthe cultists,

The squad, according to Ekeis saddled with responsibilityof fighting cultism and otherrelated violent crimes in theState.

During their inauguration,the police Boss directed themto go out there and flush-outcriminal elements operatingunder the guise of secret cultswhich have been a majorchallenge facing the commandin recent times. Eke explainedthat “with the coming of theSpecial anti-cultism squad,cult activities and violentcrimes would be a thing of thepast in the state.

He warned them againstboasting as members of theSquad to oppress innocentmembers of the public.

Eke explained that the wholeessence of the creating thesquad is to guarantee thesafety of lives and propertiesof the citizenry in the state.

According to him “You mustgo out there to fish out people

command in the establishmentof the squad so as to rid thestate of cult activities and otherviolent crimes.

However, few months after itsestablishment, the squad hasrecorded several successesfollowing the apprehension ofno fewer than 100 suspectedcult members.

The suspects belonged tosecret cults such as Eiye, Ayecult group, AVE SK secret cult,and All Eyes.

Police Commissioner Eke saidthe suspects who are mostlystudents of higher institutionsof learning include: AzumiIbrahim, Kole Oshodi, AkinloyeAyodeji, Damilola Akerele,Tope Ajiwole, Adinlewa LekanOlarenwaju, OlogunmetaMuyiwa, Opeyemi Omifidanand Owoeye Ayanfe.

Others are Sesan Akindeji,Omolade Adegoke, AdewoleKayode, Segun Olajide, AlewiSunday, John Akintunde, BayoAkinfemiwa, Oluwatoyin Kola,Ogunjemito Samuel andOlapade Kola.

The suspects he added wentto the house of one AkintelureAkinkunowo and ChukwumaMba and other victims,

threatening to kill them if theyfailed to join them.

“The victims went further tostate that the cult groupsusually hold their meeting atIro area of Akure, and OdopetuStreet in Ondo town wherethey engaged themselves insmoking Indian hemp, planhow to commit various crimes,such as rape, robbery, murderand attack their rival groups.

He further stated that thesuspects have disposed theirvictims of valuable propertiesduring their operations.

Confessions ofsome killings

Exhibits recovered from thesuspects, according to theCommissioner, are locally-made pistol and 200 wraps ofIndian hemp, while some ofthem had made confession ofsome killings that occurred inAkure, the state capital andOndo town.

He stated that the suspectswould be arraigned in court assoon as the police concludedits investigation on theirmatter.

Eke said the state has notbeen totally free of theactivities of criminally-mindedpeople but due to theunrelenting efforts of theofficers and men of thecommand, the suspects werearrested.

You must go outthere to fish outpeople ofquestionablecharacters andbring them to book

of questionable characters andbring them to book. I don’twant to hear that you areintimidating or harassinginnocent people in the nameof fighting cultism, or usingthis to extort money because Iwill deal ruthlessly withanybody trying to underminethe aim and objective of thisorganization.”

Stating that the squad isheaded by a ChiefSuperintendent of Police(CSP), Eke added that theState government haspromised to support the

By Dayo Johnson

8 — Vanguard, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2014

T H E T E A MEditor:Adeleke Adeseri

Correspondents:Ola Ajayi IbadanGbenga Olarinoye OsogboDayo Johnson AkureGbenga Ariyibi Ado EkitiDapo AkinrefonDaud Olatunji AbeokutaOlasunkanmi Akoni LagosMonsur OlowoepejoIkenna Asomba

AS the battle for the controlof a key state in the South-

west come 2015 hots up, the twomain political parties arecounting on the support of aforemost traditional ruler in thestate, with influence and respectthroughout the South-West.

The royal father, believed tohave a strong political networkin his state, is believed to havebeen involved in the politicalpower play in his home statesince 1999.

In recent time, he had beenclosely associated with theprogressive camp to the extentof alleged registration for themembership of a political party.On account of his associationwith the progressives, hisprofile had risen far above hisroyal peers in recent times. Infact, because of the rapportbetween him and the governor

Moment of decisionfor influential Yorubamonarch

•Abiola Ajimobi

BRIEFSWith Ikenna Asomba

DESPITE the ongoinglitigation at the tribunal

in Osun State over theoutcome of the August 9, 2014governorship election, theChairman, IndependentNational ElectoralCommission, INEC, ProfessorAttahiru Jega, has opined thatthe election was a landmark inthe nation’s fledgling electoralprocess and the most crediblesince 2011.

Jega in a recent interviewwith a national newspaper (notVanguard) said: “Look at what

Osun guber poll, best so far, saysJega

AS the Ogun StateHouse of Assembly,

Tuesday, resumed sitting afterits one-month recess, eightmembers of the legislaturedefected to the PeoplesDemocratic Party, PDP and theSocial Democratic Party, SDP.The lawmakers formallydefected from the ruling AllProgressives Congress, APCand the Peoples Party ofNigeria, PPN, on the floor ofthe House. While five of thelawmakers defected to the PDP,three others moved over to theSDP.

The Speaker, Suraj Adekunbi,who read a letter announcing

Ogun APC lawmakersdefect to PDP, SDP

THE governorshipaspiration of the People’s

Democratic Party, PDP, aspirant,Jimi Agbaje, got a boost,Monday, as a socio-politicalgroup, the Eko Initiative, EI, andrepresentatives of 12 politicalparties, insisted that Agbajeremains the only candidate thatcan outpace the performance ofGovernor Babatunde Fashola ofLagos State come 2015.Speaking at an inter-party

Lagos 2015: Agbaje’s gov ambitiongets boost

GOSSIP CORNER

of his home state, he isgenerally regarded as thegovernor’s political godfatherin some circles.

That notwithstanding, somepolitical gladiators within thePDP are beckoning to him forsupport.

One of the attractions is thepromise of a waiver for one ofhis sons seeking a seat in theNational Assembly if he crossesto the ruling party.

Rulingparty

But the party holding sway inhis home state had perfected thestrategy of keeping him in theirinfluential circle by seeing to itthat not less than five of themonarch’s children are holdinghigh political offices.

The frequent visit of themonarch along with two of his

children in question to the seatof power in Abuja in recenttime is causing some unease inthe royal father’s home state.Efforts to get the state governoror any of his aides comment onthe issue were not successfulduring the week.

However, a senior member ofthe state administration whoinsisted on anonymitydismissed the foregone,insisting that the relationshipbetween the governor and therespected royal father is that ofa father and his son with thebelief that he will always standby his son.

Besides, the son maintainsthat the matter should not bereduced to a personal issuebetween the monarch and thegovernor. It is a Yoruba projectunder which the monarch hadbeen enjoying tremendousinfluence in recent time.

we did in Osun State….InOsun, we had the best electionconducted so far. The bestelection we have conducted sofar as a commission since 2011.”

The INEC boss also stated thatapart from being the bestelection INEC has conductedsince 2011, the Osun Stategovernorship election, whichOgbeni Aregbesola wasdeclared winner, also recordedthe highest number of votes ingovernorship electionsconducted within the period2011-2014.

the formal defection of the eightlawmakers at a plenary sessionsaid: “I received a letterannouncing the defection ofMessers Joseph Adegbesan,Salmon Adeleke, John Obafemi,Remmy Hazzan and ObafemiOlowo-Oloja to the PDP.

I also got three letters thismorning from Olufemi Allen-Taylor, Oludaisi Elemide andElizabeth Anifowoseannouncing their defection fromthe APC to the SDP. WhileAdegbesan, Adeleke andObafemi dumped the PPN tojoin the PDP, Hazzan andOlowo-Oloja defected from theAPC for the PDP,” the speakersaid.

meeting in Lagos, Coordinator ofthe forum, Mr. Sunbo Onitiri, whourged the PDP to give Agbaje itsgovernorship ticket affirmed that“We believe that Jimi Agbaje isthe right candidate that candismantle the bad government ofover taxation andcommercialization in Lagos. Heis the only candidate that canbring back industries andcommerce to the state.