Television Nigerian

In order to alleviate the impact of the elimination of gasoline subsidies on Ekiti people, including students, workers, and retirees, Ekiti State Governor Mr. Biodun Oyebanji carried out palliatives on Wednesday.

The loss of fuel subsidies will inevitably result in short-term pain, according to Mr. Akintunde Oyebode, Chairman of the state Palliatives Committee and Commissioner for Finance, but he added that the palliatives would fill the void.

While reporting on the findings of the committee made up of government representatives and other stakeholders, including organized labor, Oyebode said the palliatives encompassed both the formal and informal sectors as well as elderly people. He spoke in Ado Ekiti, the state capital.

The commissioner stated that the governor had approved the committee’s recommendations for immediate implementation.

In addition to “payment of one month’s pension arrears for state and local government retirees,” he also highlighted “payment of one year’s leave bonus for state and local government workers” as initiatives.

He added that there were still more, such as “application of consequential adjustment for workers on GL. 14 to GL. 17 for state and local governments” and “implementation of 90% CONHESS and 100% Hazard Allowance for health workers at the local governments.”

Implementation of financial benefits of promotions for state and local government employees in 2020 and 2021, as well as salary parity for clinical personnel of the Hospitals Management Board.

In order to make it easier for workers and students to get to and from work and school, he also called for the “immediate payment of one-month subvention arrears to higher institutions.”

In addition to the actions already listed, Oyebode claimed that the governor had approved other interventions.

He listed some of them, saying that they included “payment of N5,000 as a conditional cash transfer to 10,000 households from August to December 2023 with emphasis on our senior people and inclusion of 10,000 persons in the ‘Ulera Wa’ Health Insurance scheme.”

The commissioner continued by saying that the governor had also given the go-ahead for “a food distribution program that will begin this month, the distribution of inputs to farmers, as well as financial help for small enterprises and our informal sector.”

The initiatives, according to Oyebode, were made possible by the extra money the three levels of government received as a result of President Bola Tinubu’s difficult decisions, which he claimed were already having a positive fiscal impact.

“The additional revenues from the removal of fuel subsidy would lead to greater service delivery from our government,” he said, reiterating the Oyebanji-led administration’s commitment to the residents of Ekiti State.

Under his leadership, “we will continue to accelerate our road towards prosperity,” he stated. “Mr. Governor is firmly dedicated to his vision of “Shared Prosperity” which is being pushed by the government’s six-point program.”

The leaders of organized labor, such as Kolapo Olatunde, Chair of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Sola Adigun, Chair of the Trade Union Congress, and Oluwafemi Ajoloko, Chair of the Joint Negotiation Council, praised Oyebanji for his devotion to the state’s workers and all of its residents.

The governor’s actions, according to the labor leaders, were unparalleled in Nigeria’s history of labor-government ties. They also emphasized that Oyebanji enthusiastically agreed to all of the recommendations put forth to him.

Former governors of Kaduna State Nasir El-Rufai and his counterpart from Rivers State Nyesom Wike are currently in a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.

Separately, the ex-governors made their way to the State House.

El-Rufai arrived at Aso Rock at around 2 p.m., whereas Wike entered the presidential wing at around 1:40 p.m.

The Senate has scrutinized both of these ministerial nominees.

While El-Rufai has yet to receive Senate approval, Wike has been confirmed. This is because El-Rufai’s confirmation was put on hold due to an alleged security report.

Later on, more information…

Following the revelation made by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, that senators have been given money to enable them to enjoy their vacation, Nigerians have taken to social media in order to criticize Akpabio.

In the video that went viral on Wednesday morning, Akpabio can be heard saying that the National Assembly Clerk has distributed funds to all senators so that they can enjoy their break.

“A token has been sent to each of our various accounts by the clerk of the national assembly in order to make it possible for all of us to take pleasure in our vacations,” you might say.

A short time after Akpabio made this statement, and after deliberating with some of his colleagues, Akpabio withdrew his statement, saying instead that “prayers have been sent to the mailboxes of respective senators.”

That is a statement that I am retracting. Prayers have been delivered to each of your mailboxes by the President of the Senate so that you can relax and enjoy the holiday. May God bless your travels and bring you home safely.

Since then, citizens of Nigeria have taken to social media to criticize Senator Akpabio and the leadership of the country.

In response, a member of the online community by the name of Uyi Samuel tweeted, “They keep sharing money while Nigerians are suffering; this is an act of wickedness.”

“We do not have leaders; rather, we have politicians,” said Bashiru Akanbi. The sooner we admit that these individuals are nothing more than leeches and parasites on this privileged nation, the greater the likelihood that we will be able to make progress.

Ernest Rutherford also posted the following on Twitter: “The most annoying part is that these bunch of thieves just sit down in the hall doing nothing, year in and year out, and still share tax payer’s money at every given opportunity.”

Kassandra Ugochukwu tweeted, “The era of ‘Ghana Must Go bags’ are over, the APC era is for tokens in their bank accounts or emails… [T]he APC era is for tokens in their bank accounts or emails… It should come as no surprise that they no longer fight on the floor of the house, and none of them brings in thugs or steals the mace and takes it to his village…It’s all been done with paper or rubber stamps.”

In a piece that he penned, Rotimi Ebenezer said, “Nigerian politicians and corruption were just 5 and 6. When he realized he was still being broadcast on national television, he decided to change it. May God continue to bless Nigeria.

IAmGtland also reacted, tweeting that the behavior in the Senate house was “disgraceful,” describing it as “rowdy and unorganized.”

Taymee also posted the following on her Twitter account: “No worries, we deserve all the despair and suffering until we get sense by force..the electorate is more than the elected yet the elected eat better than the electorate… “Nigeria is beyond belief!”

An additional user of Twitter who simply goes by the name Peace on the social networking app tweeted the following: “Just look at this shameless Nigerian senators. People are so strapped for cash that they can’t even afford to turn on a generator from seven to ten at night. It’s a shame.

In another tweet, the smiling judge said, “Absurd, it’s a pity we’re in such a dilemma.”

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has warned the public that eating fruits that have been ripened with calcium carbide and purchasing drugs from street vendors carry a significant risk of death.

This was said by Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, Director-General of NAFDAC, in her keynote address on Tuesday at the media sensitization workshop on “Dangers of Drug Hawking and Ripening of Fruits with Calcium Carbide” that was held in Awka, the capital of Anambra State.

Adeyeye claimed that the chemicals in calcium carbide were dangerous for unborn babies and young children and would cause headaches, vertigo, mood swings, mental confusion, memory loss, excessive fluid swelling in the brain, sleepiness, seizures, and other symptoms.

NAFDAC organized the program for the Association of Nigerian Health Journalists, South-East Zone, with the goal of educating locals about the risks and dangers associated with such acts.

Dr. Leonard Omokpariola, the Director of Chemical Evaluation and Research at the NAFDAC, who was Adeyeye’s representative at the event, read her speech.

According to her, eating fruits that have been ripened with calcium carbide may increase the risk of developing cancer, heart failure, kidney failure, and liver failure.

“In general, calcium carbide contained impurities like arsenic, lead particles, phosphorus, and others that present a number of serious health risks.

Fruits ripened with calcium carbide have been linked to frequent thirst, mouth and nose irritation, weakness, permanent skin damage, difficulty swallowing, vomiting, and skin ulcers.

“These artificially ripened fruits can be distinguished if you observe that the fruits are all yellow while the stem is dark; this is true particularly for banana and plantain. Additionally, naturally ripened fruits typically have brown or black spots, whereas those that have been artificially ripened tend to have powdery residue and peel off more quickly.

The DG noted that the agency had taken some decisive actions since 2019, including educating the public through various media outlets, enforcing laws through intelligence, and conducting raids in fruit markets that resulted in the seizure and destruction of illegal goods.

The agency, she continued, had commissioned a scientific investigation into the most effective strategy for reducing the health risks associated with the carbide-induced ripening of fruits.

“The artificial ripening of fruits quality would result in the significant loss of characteristics like color, taste, and feel, and such a practice does not give the fruits the natural aroma and flavor,

She continued, “These fruits do not have a uniform color, are less juicy than when ripened naturally, and have a relatively short shelf life.

She went on to say that the acetylene produced by calcium carbide would have an impact on the nervous system, reduce the amount of oxygen delivered to the brain, and further cause prolonged hypoxia.

The participants learned about organic approaches to fruit ripening.

A 10-year-old girl was taken into custody by the Lagos State Police Command for having hard drugs in her possession.

The teenager who was apprehended in Lagos’ Agege neighborhood claimed that since June 2023, Taiwo Abass, her aunt, had used her as a drug courier.

Before moving in with her aunt who lives in Oko Oba, she lived in Ilorin, Kwara State, with her mother.

She reportedly regularly transports the drugs to the Agege point of sale.

She described how she typically transports the drug every day from her house to the shop, as well as how she was eventually caught.

“I was stopped on the road when I left my house and taken to the police station, and when I went to take a bath, they saw the drugs on me. When questioned about how the drug got into her body, she responded, “The mummy I live with put it there.

“Once I get out of bed and take a bath, she will put it in my body so I can carry it to the store, where she will then collect it from me and sell it. She claimed that the police can’t search me, so that’s why she always puts it in my body.

The accused Abass begged for pardon and attributed her actions to the nation’s economic woes.

Benjamin Hundeyin, the spokeswoman for the Lagos State Command, urged the public to exercise caution and to continue working with the police to combat drugs and other crimes in the community.

He also stated that the girl would be returned to her family once they had established contact and that the aunt would face legal action.

To give their candidates a solid foundation on which to win the November 11 governorship election, Bayelsa State’s major political players have intensified their campaigns. While it may seem that the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the incumbent Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are the front-runners, other political parties are shrewdly positioning themselves to have an impact at the polls. Political pundits describe this scheme as a brand-new way to buy votes as political parties have already resumed funding distribution and sharing of political appointments. However, based on the results of the most recent general election, party leaders are cautiously optimistic. State governors chosen on the platform of the nation’s largest opposition party were included in the PDP’s announcement of the makeup of a national campaign organization just on Monday.

While a former governor and the most recent Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, is the standard-bearer for the APC, the incumbent governor, Senator Douye Diri, is running for reelection under the PDP platform. Other candidates include Waibodei Subiri of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Udengs Eradiri, a former president of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), both of the Labour Party.
No one challenged the PDP’s candidate for governor, making it the first time since the state’s founding that the party had produced an unopposed candidate. Because they feel he merits a second term based on his performance over the previous three years, party members in the state granted him a right of first refusal.

Efforts are being made by Sylva of the APC, who won the primary after defeating five other candidates, including the party’s 2019 governorship candidate, Chief David Lyon, to reach out to the other candidates who disapproved of the primary’s results. Six candidates competed in a tense race for the party’s nomination, and he prevailed. Sylva, the party’s leader in the state, is rumored to have control of more than 80% of the APC’s state apparatus. She has a chance to unite the party and make the PDP fiercely competitive for the top government-housing seat in Creek Haven.

As Diri and Sylva run for reelection in hopes of serving a second term each, the conflict between the supporters of the two major parties, the PDP and APC, has grown beyond simple sentiments pertaining to fairness, equity, and justice. This time, the conflicting issue is any governor’s ability to run for a second term. Both Diri and Sylva have served one term in office and are running for re-election. In contrast to Sylva, who was governor from 2007 to 2011, Diri is in office from 2020 to 2024. As a result, Sylva has the constitutional right to run for re-election to Creek Haven for another four years, just as Diri deserves to continue serving in that capacity.

After the parties finished their primaries and candidates started to emerge, the conversation shifted away from which party had been in power in the state since 1999 and toward whether it would be morally and legally acceptable for the other candidates to support Diri’s eight-year tenure.

On the one hand, Diri’s supporters feel that the governor has accomplished a lot in the three years since he took office and that he merits another term to finish projects spread across the three senatorial districts roads that have made transportation of people, goods, and services between the state capital and remote coastal communities possible.

The argument, incidentally, is consistent with the opinions of some observers who support the principle of continuity in governance. They base their argument on the conceivable reasoning of the authors of section 182 (subsection 1b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), who believed that a second term in office would guarantee the completion of long-term projects, which would then translate to sustainable development.

The question of continuity, however, does not concern Sylva’s supporters in this election because their hero was unable to finish his massive projects while serving as governor. They believe that denying Sylva the right to a second term in office was appropriate, and that denying Diri the same right will be appropriate as well.

In a recent press conference, Sylva was quoted as saying that Bayelsans should give him another chance because his time serving as the APC’s state leader from 2015 to the present and as the state’s minister of state for petroleum resources has given him the knowledge and insight he needs to govern the state much better than he did 16 years ago.