BusinessDay 22 Oct 2017

6 BD SUNDAY
C002D5556 Sunday 22 October 2017
News
2019: APC now jittery of reunited PDP in Oyo - Makinde
Akinremi Feyisipo, Ibadan
A
Chieftain of
the People’s
Democratic
Party (PDP), in
Oyo State, Seyi
Makinde has said that the
ruling All Progressives Congress
(APC) is now jittery
and afraid of stalwarts in
the state who rejoined the
party recently.
A good number of the
bigwigs who left for Accord
Party, Labour Party and
Social Democratic Party
before or in 2015 are now
back to the PDP.
Makinde, who was governorship
candidate of SDP
in 2015, but now back in
PDP, said that media campaign
against the umbrella
party in the state by the
APC has shown that the
broom party is truly afraid
of the imminent defeat it
would suffer in the state
in 2019.
Addressing journalists
after the PDP caretaker
committee members’ meeting
in Ibadan, the state
capital, Makinde advised
the APC to look for other
ways of clearing the mess
it brought to the state six
years ago, adding that the
Makinde
recent condemnation allegedly
being sponsored
against PDP by APC will not
hamper the chances of the
party in winning the state
in 2019.
The meeting was called
to fine-tune ways of ensuring
smooth Ward, Local and
State congresses of the party
which began yesterday.
While saying that the
APC should look for other
ways of appealing to the
people instead of looking at
the faults of the opposition,
Makinde said: “They should
look for ways of appealing
to the people instead of
blackmail; they are afraid
of our coming together, and
if I were them, they have
spent six years in the state,
they should start and put
forward how they utilised
people’s money and tell
us whether Oyo State is
far better than when they
came in”.
“What the APC is saying
is that they will soon
be fighting but we are not
fighting and more united
than ever before, reconciliation
has been done and still
on going to bring all our
members back to the fold,”
he added.
Speaking on the forthcoming
congresses, Makinde
said: “We are prepared
and not something
that is new. PDP has been
in existence since 1998, we
did it in 1999; this is something
they do every now
and then. Preparation is
ongoing.”
On the chairmanship
position of the party which
is being contested by two
indigenes of the state,
Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja
and Tahoeed Adedoja , Makinde
said it was a good
omen for the party and the
state in particular.
“There would not be any
clash of interest; I think the
constitution of the party
and also constitution of the
country allows people to go
forward and vote for candidates
of their choice.
“I think is good for Oyo
State, we have eminently
qualified sons of the state
that can go and fight it at
the national level; it is something
good for us.
Present at the meeting
include, Chairman of
the Caretaker Committee,
Tunde Akogun; Secretary,
Kola Ademujimi; Jumoke
Akinjide; Senator Ayoade
Adeseun; Sarafadeen Abiodun
Alli and Senator Hosea
Agboola.
Others are Yemi
Aderibigbe, Senator Olufemi
Lanlehin, Muraina
Ajibola, Fatai Aborode,
Mulikat Adeola Akande and
Isiaka Adeola.
On his part, Chairman,
People’s Democratic Party
(PDP) Caretaker Committee
in Oyo State, Tunde Akogun
has declared that the
position of National Chairman
of the party is yet to
be zoned to South West as
being speculated in some
quarters.
Akogun, while clearing
the air on the rumour that
the slot was supposed to be
occupied by South West,
noted that the position was
meant to be occupied by
anybody from the Southern
part of the country and not
specifically for South West.
While speaking with reporters,
he however, assured
that adequate arrangements
have been made to ensure
that the party recorded
success in the forthcoming
congresses.
Some leaders of the party
in the zone after their meeting
held in Ibadan recently
resolved that the only thing
that can make the party relaunch
itself fully ahead of
2019 elections was to uphold
the Port Harcourt zoning
decision which conceded
National Chairmanship of
the party to the South West.
But, Akogun while
speaking on the request
noted that anyone from
the South either from South
West or South-South is free
to contest and occupy the
position.
According to him, “I
know that at the end of
the day, they are going to
confirm at the party’s headquarters
level whether is
really zoned to South West
or South-South.
“Really, the prayer was
that we are going to appeal
to the headquarters to
specifically zone it to South
West but is it still in the
South.
“We have made all the
adequate arrangement to
conduct a free and fair election
in terms of procedures,
totally acceptable and flawless.”
Ondo moves to end bitumen importation into Nigeria
YOMI AYELESO, Akure
The Ondo State government
has said
bitumen importation
into the country
would soon become a thing
of the past with the establishment
of the State Development
and Investment
Promotion Agency (ONDIPA)
to woo investors to tap into
its huge deposit in the state.
The Special Adviser to
state Governor on Development
and Investment, who
also doubles as Chief Executive
Officer, Ondo State
Development and Investment
Promotion Agency
(ONDIPA), Boye Oyewumi,
disclosed this in Akure, the
Ondo state capital.
The state governor had
earlier launched Ondo State
Development and Investment
Promotion Agency
(ONDIPA) with a promise to
provide necessary assistance
and enact enabling laws to
Bitumen importation
remove bureaucratic bottlenecks
that may hinder rapid
development in every sector
of the state.
At the International Culture
and Event Centre (The
Dome), venue of the event,
the Governor said the state
would be the next investment
hub, calling on genuine
investors to seize the opportunity.
According to him, the
State Governor, Rotimi
Akeredolu, was providing
an enabling environment
which has been making serious
investors to partner with
the government and ensure
that bitumen importation
into the country becomes
history.
He particularly said one of
the cardinal goals of ONDIPA
was to end importation of
bitumen into Nigeria as soon
as possible.
“I don’t think it is the business
of any government to
run a business. What they
are meant to do and which
this government is doing is
to provide an enabling environment,
so we have serious
investors partnering with
the state to make sure that
bitumen importation in the
country becomes a thing of
the past.
“This government is not in
the habit of conducting business
on the pages of newspaper,
take it from me. The
Akeredolu’s government
with the support of the Federal
Government be sure that
importation of bitumen will
soon be a thing of the past in
Nigeria,” he emphasised.
Report has it that Nigerian
government spends over
N300billion annually on
bitumen importation when
Ondo State has the largest
deposit of bitumen in Africa.
Oyewumi noted that Akeredolu-led
administration
in the state was opening opportunities
to new investors
and also ensuring access of
different infrastructural development
to investors.
He said presently, investors
have access by air to
come to the state from Lagos
in 35 minutes through Air
Peace daily business flight to
do their business and go back.
He noted that the mandate
of the new agency was
to tell the business world
who we are, how we have
fared and what we intend to
do to make life worth living
for our people.
Group boosts entrepreneurship capacity of 1000 Edo indigenes
IDRIS UMAR MOMOH, Benin
As part of its deliberate
policy
to fight poverty
among Nigerians,
the management of
Inspirextra Empowerment
Initiative (I-Extra) has organised
a one-day workshop
to build the human
capacity development of
over 1000 citizens in Edo
State.
The workshop with the
theme, ‘Greatness Possibility’
saw participants
mentored on leadership
and entrepreneurship, film
production, communication
and entertainment,
agribusiness and creativity
and innovation.
In his welcome remarks,
the President of
the organisation, Blessing
Obehi Ayemehre said the
programme was geared
towards adding value to
lives, teaching people how
to be outstanding and maximise
opportunities that
abound in their neighbourhood.
Ayemhere explained
that the capacity building
workshop would bestow
on the participants
spirit of self-independence
and self-sustenance that
will make life better and
accommodative of new
Entrepreneurship training
innovation, “where man
articulates his vision in a
society devoid of acrimony
but positively engaged
persons.”
He said the Inspirextra
Empowerment Initiarive
is an organisation set up
to bridge information gap,
help people discover their
potentials and maximise
their potentials and also
unleash the greatness inherent
in them.
Ayemehre, a business
strategist, consultant and
trainer, was strategically
organised to open up the
minds of people living in
Edo state to their hidden
abilities to create jobs for
themselves and impact
society positively.
Ayemehre, a business
strategist, consultant and
trainer added that about
600 persons benefitted
from the first edition of the
programme held last year
in Benin-City while over
1000 persons benefitted
from this year edition.
He noted that the access
to adequate information
was vital to empowerment
and fight against poverty,
pointing out that with
flow of information people
would be well informed,
educated and knowledgeable
to deal with economic
and unemployment challenges
confronting them.
Speaking on the topic,
‘Untapped Agribusiness
Opportunities’, African
Farmer Mogaji, noted that
agriculture is the most potent
weapon against poverty
and unemployment.
He urged the participants
to key into the ongoing
various government’s
agriculture initiatives by
forming functioning cooperative
societies to boost
agribusinesses in their
various locality.