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

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2 years ago

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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.

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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!

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Alleged N4billion Fraud: Court Adjourns Anambra Ex-Governor Willie Obiano’s Trial To November 13.

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10 hours ago

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October 7, 2024

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A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned the alleged money laundering charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against former Anambra Governor, Willie Obiano, to November 13 for the continuation of the trial.

 

 

The matter before Justice Inyang Ekwo could not proceed on Monday because the court did not sit. The judge was said to be attending a seminar at the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja.

 

 

 

Obiano who was Anambra governor between March 2014 and March 2022 is currently on trial, facing a nine-count charge of embezzlement and money laundering totaling N4billion, brought by the EFCC.

 

 

Obiano is accused of diverting public funds to personal use, and the prosecution is presenting evidence to support the charges.

 

 

Two prosecution witnesses, Tochukwu Aloysius Nnadi and Mrs. Chinwe Patricia Ebunam, had testified in the trial, before Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court in Abuja, stating that N4billion security votes were diverted to private companies.

 

 

 

Nnadi, a bank manager in Awka, Anambra State, revealed that documents from his bank showed that funds from the state’s security votes account were transferred to various private entities, including Easy Diamond Integrated Links, C.I Patty Ventures Nigeria Limited, and Xpressive Consult Nig. Limited, among others, during Obiano’s tenure as governor.

 

 

These transactions were made under Obiano’s watch, suggesting potential misuse of public funds.

 

 

Led in evidence by prosecution counsel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), the witness stated that the Anambra State Government under Obiano had several accounts with the bank that included: Statutory Revenue Account, Value Added Account, Consolidated Internal Generated Revenue Account, Security Votes Account and others.

 

 

According to him, “the mandate of the Security Votes Account was operated by the then Principal Secretary to the governor, Mr Willie Nwokoye and the Accountant at the government house, Theophilus Meize. The accounts are funded weekly from various accounts, especially from the Consolidated Internal Revenue account in which payments are usually made weekly based on the advice from the operators of the account to various entities, be it individual or corporate entities which I cannot mention here because the names are many but I recall that I made a statement in the Commission where I listed some of those names there.”

 

 

The witness, Tochukwu Aloysius Nnadi, testified that he provided various documents to the Commission, including statements of account, certified true copies, certificates of identification, and account opening packages. These documents, marked PW A1 to PW A794 and B1 to B432, were submitted as evidence by the prosecution counsel and accepted by the court.

 

 

Additionally, the second prosecution witness, Chinwe Patricia Ebunam, an Onitsha-based businesswoman, testified that she received a mysterious payment of N156,800,000 (One Hundred and Fifty-Six Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira) in 2022 from the Anambra State Government’s account, despite not having executed any contracts for the government. This payment was made without any clear justification or explanation.

 

 

According to her, “Sometime around 20th May 2022, I received a call from EFCC that they needed me in their office, regarding my company C.I Patty Ventures, about some money that passed through my account, which I told them I didn’t know anything about the money that passed through my account. All I knew was that I called my bank account officer, Ugochukwu Otibere to upgrade my account or post money into my account to enable me to pass the requirements of the embassy so that I can travel.

 

 

He accepted and collected the details of the company’s account and cheque. He promised me that he will upgrade the account. I don’t know anything about the NI56,800 million that passed through my account from the Anambra State Government.”

 

 

 

 

 

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Just In:  Lagos Assembly Suspends Alimosho Council Chairman, Jelili Sulaimon over non-compliance Attitude 

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17 hours ago

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October 7, 2024

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The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday handed down an indefinite suspension to the chairman of the Alimosho Local Government Area, Jelili Sulaimon. The suspension is with immediate effect.

 

Sitting at plenary, the lawmakers resolved that the vice chairman of the council, Mr. Akinpelu Johnson, should take over the running of its affairs.

 

The House further instructed the management of the council, including the manager and treasurer, to recognise the authority of the vice chairman and accord him all the support to make him work effectively.

Jelili Adewale Sulaiman

The chairman was suspended in a unanimous vote by the lawmakers over an alleged non-compliance, defiance and unyielding attitude to the legislative House.

 

Moving a motion for his suspension, the Chairman of the House Committee on Local Government Administration and Chieftaincy Affairs, Hon. Sanni Okanlawon, recalled that in April 2024, pandemonium broke out in the Iyana-Ipaja axis of Alimosho Local Government leading to the death of one Mr. Micheal Ajayi.

 

Hon. Okanlawon, whose committee was saddled with the responsibility to investigate the cause of the pandemonium, said that it was discovered that Jelili masterminded the chaos.

 

According to Okanlawon, all stakeholders involved in the issue were invited, but Jelili had continued to show acts of misconduct to the committee of the House.

 

He highlighted the council chairman’s failure to adhere to the Assembly’s directives and his mismanagement of public funds. He, therefore, called for Jelili’s immediate suspension in line with relevant sections of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

 

“He should be suspended immediately while the vice chairman, Akin Johnson, takes over with immediate effect,” he prayed.

 

Majority Leader of the House, Noheem Adams, while supporting the call for Jelili’s suspension, added that the action would make other local government chairmen sit well.

 

“The Alimosho council chairman does not follow procurement processes or the budget. There has been a lot of misconducts from him and I support that the chairman be suspended indefinitely,” he said.

 

In his contribution Hon. Nureni Akinsanya, Chairman of the House Committee on Public Accounts for Local Government, referred to the report submitted by the State Auditor-General concerning the activities of Jelili. The report underscored the council chairman’s consistent non-compliance with financial regulations, with significant irregularities in his records.

 

Akinsanya, emphasising these discrepancies, suported Okanlawon’s call for Jelili’s suspension.

 

Similarly, Hon. Ladi Ajomale expressed surprise that the council chairman had been recalcitrant despite previous reports detailing his alleged financial mismanagement.

 

Hon. Sa’ad Olumoh, while echoing his concerns, also prayed the House to invite Mr. Kolade Alabi and Mr. Rasak Ajala, chairmen of Bariga LCDA and Odi Olowo LCDA respectively, as heads of the Conference 57, to explain the widespread disregard by council chairmen for governance protocols.

 

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. (Dr) Mudashiru Obasa, who presided over the sitting, directed the Clerk of the House, Barr. Olalekan Onafeko, to communicate the Assembly’s resolution to all relevant authorities

 

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VeryDarkMan shares another leaked call recording of Bobrisky •Nigerians react

Published

18 hours ago

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October 7, 2024

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Nigerians have taken to social media to express their thoughts on the latest leaked call recording allegedly featuring controversial crossdresser, Idris Okuneye, popularly known as Bobrisky.

 

Bobrisky, today, found himself at the centre of another controversy following the release of an alleged call recording by social media influencer, Martins Otse, a.k.a. VeryDarkMan.

 

 

According to VeryDarkMan, the recording was made on May 16, 2024, and is not a continuation of a previous recording he shared.

 

 

In the recording, which VeryDarkMan asserts is a separate conversation from a previous leak tap, Bobrisky purportedly admitted to not being in prison but rather in a well-furnished apartment near the prison, amongst other claims.

 

The leaked recording has sparked varying reactions on social media platforms, with many Nigerians expressing shock, disappointment, and scepticism about the authenticity of the recording.

 

 

On X, formerly Twitter, UGo tweeting as #Oforma19 wrote, “Only small star Maggi person steal them luck am for prison imagine Bobrisky with money laundering case no go prison.”

 

Wills Media, who tweets as #WillsMedia247 wrote, “Those that Bobrisky trusted are even his worst enemies. He thought he had friends, but it’s a pity he had beasts. Why will a trusted friend bring his guy down for what reason?”

 

 

#fm57661959 tweeted, “He-she will tell us the reason he-she gave EFCC some money to drop the money laundering charges if all the money in he-she account is a legitimate money, Aza man-woman.”

 

 

#AdeyemiOladip14 tweeted, “How this guy dey see all the call note, shey they don plan say them go koba bob ni abi why all of them dey record their conversations with him, sorry her.”

 

Olawale tweeting as #WealthyWave04 wrote, “If no be say dem swear for many people for this country, how person go see or hear this level of corruption come still dey blame or criticise who cast the corruption cuz dem no like the person? How na. Tomorrow una go dey shout we want a better Nigeria. Una want better Nigeria with this una behaviour? E no fit work.”

 

 

Commenting under VeryDarkMan’s post on Instagram, #real___barlow wrote, “Bob risky no get better friends at all abi who drop this record again?”

 

#okoruwamiracle commented, “Why bring it here for us to see and hear if you have enough proof? Even if you do, take them to court na abi na we wan judge the case for you or don’t you know that bringing it on social media is and will always remain an allegation? Tell the police, take them to court and judge with your proof.”

 

 

 

#officialbhigshaq commented, “See forget say that Bob dey live that kind of life, but this VDM should just go and chill, this Bob you are dragging went to prison for a weightless crime, almost the 90% of Nigerians have committed. Why don’t you start with what happened during the 2023 election? Forget this bob matter, you are just doing this because you went to prison and you feel he or she didn’t go too.”

 

Recall that in September, VeryDarkMan shared a purported audio of Bobrisky, claiming he bribed some Economic and Financial Crimes Commission officials with N15 million to drop the money laundering charge against him.

 

VeryDarkMan claimed to have received the audio record from someone to whom Bobrisky owed money,

 

Bobrisky, however, denied bribing any EFCC officer to drop money laundering charges against him, saying that he served his jail term.

 

 

He had also described the initial viral voice recording as fake, stressing that the claim that he was never in prison was false and should be ignored.

 

WHAT BOBRISKY SAID IN THE NEW LEAKED RECORDING

 

‘I charge up to $100,000 for influencing’

 

 

Popular crossdresser Idris Okuneye popularly known as Bobrisky, has allegedly stated that he collects up to $100,000 for influencing on social media platforms.

 

He noted that while many people believe he’s into money laundering and fraudulent acts, his source of wealth is from a genuine source, with one of them being social media influencing.

 

This was revealed in a video posted by popular social media influencer, Martins Otse, a.k.a. VeryDarkMan, today, Monday, October 7, 20204. The call recording was made on May 16, 2024, according to VDM.

 

 

All the money I have is genuine and the sources are like most of my influencing [sic], like that day I called you that one woman wanted to pay me £10,000, you know I told you that it’s for influencing. So, people don’t know how I charge a lot of money for influencing but I made them understand I charge as far as $100,000 to influence,” Bobrisky allegedly said in a recorded voice call with a male contact whose name remains unknown.

 

The crossdresser who was convicted for mutilating the naira in April and sentenced to six months in jail, noted that he had access to his mobile phone while in custody.

 

 

 

The male contact had initially asked if Bobrisky was out of prison before he responded in the negative, then he said he hadn’t been talking to people over the phone.

 

 

He said, “People have been sending me so many messages but I’ve not been responding because I don’t want anybody to know that I have my phone. I only want to talk to somebody that I know I can trust.

 

“So if you think you cannot do it, all fingers are equal. Some others do it and trust me, God blessed the hustle. Obviously, I met a very terrible judge who wasn’t fair at all.”

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