Connect with us

Society

Six months after commissioning, Ekiti State’s multi-million naira markets remain unused

Published

1 year ago

on

On November 8, the cloudy sky changed the bustling mood at a local market in Otun, the headquarters of Moba Local Government Area of Ekiti State, south-west Nigeria. A downpour soon arrived that drenched many of the traders.

By the side of the road near the market was Abubakar Muhammad, who repairs and sells electronics. He said his petty business was collapsing. The previous time there was rain, his gadgets and electronic materials were swept by the flood. Many of them were damaged.

“Before I finished packing my electronics, the water had drenched many of my radios,” Mr Muhammad told UDEME. “The radio appliances touched by the floods stopped working. I lost about N45,000. That would not have happened if I had a shop. Nobody was there to help me. Other people too were rushing to pack their things.”

The middle-aged man said he had tried to rent one of the new shops in the market but failed. He then joined other traders selling at the roadside. His wares and chair were arranged under an umbrella from where he called and attended to customers. He had been in the same location for 13 months.

It was perhaps to rescue people like Mr Mohammed that former Governor Kayode Fayemi between 2010 and 2014, during his first term, initiated a project to build “modern neighbourhood markets” across the 16 local government areas of the state. The markets, designed to feature lock-up shops, open stores, toilets and water facilities, would boost economic activities in the state, the governor had said.

It took years to complete the projects as some of them were only commissioned by the governor in July, about three months before the end of his second non-consecutive term. However, while the new modern markets in other areas of the state are partially open for use, the facilities in Otun-Ekiti and Oye-Ekiti have remained locked since they were commissioned.

This has left many of those targeted to rent spaces in the facilities to continue their trading by roadsides. Many of the roadside traders interviewed by UDEME said the delay in opening up the new market for use has defeated the purpose of the project. They said they were eager to rent the shops to carry on their trade under decent conditions.

Florence Adefula sells smoked fish by a roadside in Otun-Ekiti. She told UDEME that the lack of a proper market space hurts her petty trade. “Any time it rains, all of us selling here run helter-skelter, packing up our things,” she said. “And when it is the dry season like this, dust will not allow one to rest.”

Inside the abandoned neighbourhood market
When UDEME visited the new market in Otun-Ekiti, a section of it had been overgrown by shrubs. The facility has four blocks with 28 locked-up shops and 28 open stores. It also has a motorised water system and toilets.

The market in Oye-Ekiti has also been overtaken by weeds when UDEME visited. The facility has become a home for reptiles and rodents, to the fear and consternation of their human neighbours.

“If they will not use it, at least, they should be clearing the bushes,” Bisola Ajalaye, a resident of Oye whose house is close to the facility, told UDEME. “Snakes are living in that place and I have told my children to always lock our doors so that the snakes will not enter our house.”

A female student of Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Ayomide Akintunde, also lives close to the facility. She said its current state poses security risks to residents of the area.

“At night, the road at the front of the market is always very dark and I have to pass through it to get to my hostel,” she said. “Most of the time, we female students seek the company of males to pass through that place. They should please do something about it.”

Why facilities are abandoned
Reacting to the findings in this report, Biodun Adebayo, the head of the community and development department at Oye-Ekiti Local Government secretariat, acknowledged that the neighbourhood market was commissioned in July by the wife of the former governor, Bisi Fayemi.

“After the commissioning, what the wife of the governor said was that the chairmen and traditional rulers that fall within those LGA and its LCDAs should put their heads together and distribute the stores and the shops at the market, among themselves,” Mr Adebayo said.

The Fayemi administration had created two local council development areas (LCDAs) – Ifesowapo and Ifeloju LCDAs located in Isan-Ekiti and Ilupeju-Ekiti, respectively, out of Oye Local Government Area. This means the new facility is now under the administration of three local councils.

“Till now, the LCDAs and LGA have not met to distribute the facility let alone put it into use,” Mr Adebayo added.

ⓘ
About the maintenance of the facility, he said: “During the rainy season, we used to take care of that place every two months. But this is the dry season where there would be no need for constant clearing.”

The Chairperson of Ifeloju LCDA, Babatunde Ogunmilugba, blamed the abandonment of the facility on the slow decision-making process at the LCDAs and Oye LGA.

“What we are waiting for is the Oye LGA to invite us to a meeting. Soon, we are going to have the meeting and the place will be distributed,” he said.

In Moba LGA, Adediran Agboola, a top official of the council, said the authorities were in the process of giving the shops out to traders “who can keep the place neat.”

“Unfortunately, during this process in 2019, the king died and the plan was suspended. But since the installation of a new king, they have not been able to sit to decide what next to do with the facility. And that is where we have been since.”

But the new king of Otun-Ekiti, Adekunle Adeagbo, said the market facility is not under his jurisdiction.

“I cannot tell you much about that place,” he said when UDEME visited him in his palace. “The best people to respond to you are in the local government because it is under their authority, not my own as the king,” he said.

This story was supported by the UDEME (www.udeme.ng) project of the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID).

Additional Information and photos from The Premium Times!

Related Topics:
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Society

1.4 million UTME candidates scored below 200 – JAMB

Published

3 mins ago

on

April 30, 2024

By

The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, on Monday, released the results of the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, showing that 1,402,490 candidates out of 1,842,464 failed to score 200 out of 400 marks.

The number of candidates who failed to score half of the possible marks represents 78 per cent of the candidates whose results were released by JAMB.

Giving a breakdown of the results of the 1,842,464 candidates released, the board’s Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, noted that, “8,401 candidates scored 300 and above; 77,070 scored 250 and above; 439,974 scored 200 and above while 1,402,490 scored below 200.”

On naming the top scorers for the 2024 UTME, Oloyede said, “It is common knowledge that the board has, at various times restated its unwillingness to publish the names of its best-performing candidates, as it considers its UTME as only a ranking examination on account of the other parameters that would constitute what would later be considered the minimum admissible score for candidates seeking admission to tertiary institutions.

“Similarly, because of the different variables adopted by respective institutions, it might be downright impossible to arrive at a single or all-encompassing set of parameters for generating a list of candidates with the highest admissible score as gaining admission remains the ultimate goal. Hence, it might be unrealistic or presumptive to say a particular candidate is the highest scorer given the fact that such a candidate may, in the final analysis, not even be admitted.

“However, owing to public demand and to avoid a repeat of the Mmesoma saga as well as provide a guide for those, who may want to award prizes to this set of high-performing candidates, the Board appeals to all concerned to always verify claims by candidates before offering such awards.”

Oloyede also noted that the results of 64,624 out of the 1,904,189, who sat the examination, were withheld by the board and would be subject to investigation.

He noted that though a total of 1,989,668 registered, a total of 80,810 candidates were absent.

“For the 2024 UTME, 1,989,668 candidates registered including those who registered at foreign centres. The Direct Entry registration is still ongoing.

“Out of a total of 1,989,668 registered candidates, 80,810 were absent. A total of 1,904,189 sat the UTME within the six days of the examination.

“The Board is today releasing the results of 1,842,464 candidates. 64,624 results are under investigation for verification, procedural investigation of candidates, Centre-based investigation and alleged examination misconduct.”

Oloyede also said the board, at the moment, conducts examination in nine foreign centres namely: Abidjan, Ivory Coast; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Buea, Cameroon; Cotonou, Republic of Benin; London, United Kingdom; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Johannesburg, South Africa.

“The essence of this foreign component of the examination is to market our institutions to the outside world as well as ensuring that our universities reflect the universality of academic traditions, among others. The Board is, currently, fine-tuning arrangements for the conduct of the 2024 UTME in these foreign centres,” he said.

 

Continue Reading

Society

Nigerian Pastor Slams N500Million Suit On Church Member Who Demanded Return Of His Lexus SUV After Alleged Failed Prophecy

Published

15 hours ago

on

April 29, 2024

By

Dr. David Emmanuel Ovie, the Head Pastor and General Overseer of the God in Action Liberation Mission has slammed a five hundred million naira (N500 million) suit on one of his church members who demanded the return of his SUV from the church after an alleged failed prophecy.

We gathered the church member identified as Temitope Monday Diamond gave his Lexus RX330 to the church after a prophecy.

 

Temitope told SaharaReporters that the pastor of the church at Okuokoko in the Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State asked him to sacrifice his most precious property so that things could work well for him financially.

 

He said, “This pastor told me to sacrifice my most precious property so that things will be working well for me financially which I did by sacrificing my vehicle, Lexus RX330.

 

“After four months and things had not picked up as he said, my wife called him to know what was happening but he got angry and told me that my wife was rude and that he wanted to refund the money he got when he sold the vehicle – which is N4 million.

 

“We have been waiting for him to send the money since around December and January but he had refused to do so. We called and texted him but no response, we had to go to the church with a few friends and two soldiers who were not armed, just to accompany us (for security purposes).

 

“He called the youths of the community to beat us up before handing us over to Ebrumede police station. When we got there, we were detained. We later got bailed with N200,000 before the Divisional Police Officer could hear from us. The DPO called us to his office and we narrated everything to him as the pastor lied to him that we were kidnappers.

 

“The DPO judged the case in our favour and demanded that the car be refunded or he should pay the N4 million he made from selling the car. He agreed that he would be paying one million naira every week in February so that by month’s end, he would finish paying the money.

 

“By the second week of March, he still hadn’t paid a penny. Then the IPO in charge of the case called to tell us that the lawyer was pleading on his behalf and that he would be paying one million naira every month end. Then I got angry and said if he (the pastor) wanted to stress me over the money, he should return my car for breaching the agreement we had at the DPO’s office.

 

“We later heard that he filed a suit against us at Orerokpe High Court. The court was to sit on Monday, April 15 but was adjourned to May 10.

 

“The lawsuit says he is suing us for N500 million for coming to his church with an army and that the car cannot be returned because it had been sold. And that we are using police from Asaba to threaten him and his members, which is false.”

 

However, in a court document obtained by SaharaReporters on Tuesday signed by one Ogedengbe, the Applicant (General Overseer) alleged that he was arrested and detained on January 21, which Temitope said was the same day he and his friends stormed the church to ask for the N4 million he had promised to send.

 

The respondents in the document are Temitope Monday Diamond as the 1st respondent; Divisional Police Officer, Ebrumede Police Station, Delta State as 2nd respondent and the Commissioner of Police in Delta State as 3rd respondent.

 

The relief sought by the applicant reads in part, “A declaration that the arrest and detention of the applicant on the 21st day of January, 2024 by officers of the 3rd Respondent attached to the office of the 2nd respondent at the behest of the 1st Respondent is a gross violation of the applicant right to personal liberty guaranteed under section 35 (1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

 

“A declaration that the threatened arrest of the applicant by officers of the 3rd respondent at the instance of the 1st respondent over demand for the return of a car donation made to the God in Action Liberation Mission is a threatened violation of the applicant’s right to personal liberty guaranteed by section 33(1) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

 

“The sum of five hundred million naira (N500, 000,000.00 only as damages.”

 

When contacted by SaharaReporters to hear his version of the story, the cleric said, “What I can tell you is that the matter is in court. I charged the matter to court because they came into the church with thugs and started fighting me and trying to harm me.

 

“It was during a live service in the middle of a wedding; that was when my members started fighting them.

 

“They came with weapons; knife and battle axe. One of them came with a gun as I was told. We handed them over to the community chairman while he took them to the police station.”

 

When asked whether he was arrested and detained by the police on January 21 as claimed in the court document, he said, “My lawyer asked me not to answer any further questions.”

 

“I don’t know what the constitution says, I only know the bible,” he added.

Continue Reading

Society

Aare Abisoye Fagade Stands with Oyo State: Condemns Governor Seyi Makinde’s Assault on Democracy

Published

17 hours ago

on

April 29, 2024

By

 

Today, with a heavy heart and a deep sense of duty to the people of Oyo State, Aare Abisoye Fagade, a staunch advocate for justice and a revered pillar of the All Progressives Congress (APC), raises his voice in resolute condemnation of the egregious assault on democracy orchestrated by Governor Seyi Makinde.

 

As the heartbeat of democracy in Nigeria, Oyo State has been dealt a grievous blow by Governor Makinde’s calculated campaign of electoral subterfuge. Withholding election materials across the state, Governor Makinde has callously deprived our beloved citizens of their fundamental right to participate in free and fair elections, a right that lies at the very core of our democratic ethos.

 

But this is not merely an attack on the mechanics of an election; it is an attack on the soul of Oyo State, on the hopes and aspirations of its people, and on the principles of justice and equality that we hold dear. Governor Makinde’s actions betray a callous disregard for the sanctity of the ballot box and a cynical determination to silence the voices of the people.

 

In this moment of trial, Aare Abisoye Fagade stands shoulder to shoulder with the resilient sons and daughters of Oyo State, united in our determination to defend our democratic heritage against those who would seek to defile it. He calls upon all patriots, regardless of political affiliation, to join him in condemning Governor Makinde’s assault on democracy and in demanding accountability for this shameful betrayal of trust.

 

Let us stand together as one, Oyo State, in defense of our democracy, in defense of our future, and in defense of the principles that bind us together as a people. For it is only by standing firm in the face of tyranny that we can ensure a brighter tomorrow for generations yet unborn.

Continue Reading

Trending