10 arrested over attack on LP supporters in OwoNO fewer than 10 persons suspected to be supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Owo Local Government Area of Ondo State have been arrested over the attack on Labour Party (LP) members in the area.Already, the suspects have been charged to court.Briefing newsmen over the development, the LP chairman in the council, Chief Tayo Akinrogbe, said the attack on its members was unwarranted.He said many people, including a 17-year-old boy, Agbowuro, had gunshot injuries, while Em-manuel, Kunle Aladenusi and Mutiu Shuabi also had machet cuts.He added that three vehicles were damaged during the attack, which also saw the secretariat of the Olusegun Mimiko Campaign Organisation in the local government vandalised.Chief Akinrogbe said it was inconceivable that members of the PDP could attack members and non-members of LP in Owo, in spite of the assurances by the leaders of the political parties in the state to maintain peace.According to him, the Olowo of Owo, Oba Folagbade Olateru-Ola-gbegi, had invited the leaders of the parties to his palace, where they all agreed to go about their political activities peacefully.Akinrogbe, however, said leaders of the party had cautioned members not to take law into their hands by way of reprisal, while urging security operatives to continue to maintain peace in the town.Oke not eligible for election - Group 'I have clean records - OkeA group, Forum For Transparency in Governance (FTG), has declared the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the October 20 gubernatorial election in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke, not eligible to contest the election.The group said its stand was based on 'the security report that was responsible for his rejection as a nominee on the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), having been barred from holding any public office.'The group, in a statement signed by its president, Deji Awodunmila, in Akure, on Monday, said the PDP standard-bearer was not eligible to contest the gubernatorial election for the same reason his nomination on the NDDC board in 2005 was rejected.The group argued that Oke and three others were dropped from the nomination list, following security reports which suggested that they had breached certain laws.Reacting, the director of media and publicity of Oke Campaign Organisation, Kunle Adebayo, said Oke had fulfilled all the necessary conditions required to be qualified for the election.'For the avoidance of doubt, Olusola Oke was thoroughly screened by all the security agencies, particularly the State Security Service (SSS), Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP. His records in all the offices where he has worked were painstakingly examined.'For the purpose of emphasis, he was adjudged clean and pronounced fit and qualified to contest the 2012 governorship election in Ondo State,' he said.My programme focused on economic rebirth - OkeTHE governorship candidate of the peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke, has said the policy of the party would bring the much expected economic rebirth for the people of Ondo State if elected.Oke said this at an interactive forum organised by the chairmen of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA) chapter and the Academic Staff Union of Polythecnic (ASUP), Rufus Giwa Polytechnic chapter, under the auspices of Intellectual Platform, at the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre, Akure.According to him, the present situation in the state called for concerted efforts and economic rebirth, to improve the standard of living of the people of the state.He said the state desired a deliberate economic agenda that would create opportunities, generate employment and secure for it a future insured against unexpected external financial crisis.Speaking at the forum, chairman of ASUU, AAUA, Dr Busuyi Mekusi and his ASUP counterpart, Olabanji Kumuyi, said it was important that members of academics begin to participate in a process that would lead to the emergence of quality leadership.Mekusi warned that it was dangerous for any civil servant or public officer to be partisan, adding that the unions decided to finance the programme without seeking assistance from any politician.Kumuyi said the unions had resolved to provide the support for the growth of democracy in Nigeria.Ilaje may go into extinction unless ... -GroupAN appeal has gone to the federal and Ondo state governments to see to the plight of Ilaje people, who are said to have been neglected and treated as second class citizens in the nation.Rising from a summit at Ilaje High School, Igbokoda, at the weekend, a group, Ilaje Development Union, condemned what it termed 'outright neglect of the area by the successive administrations, despite the fact that the area has produced substantial oil revenue to the coffers of the governments.'Speaking at the summit, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial candidate in the October 20 poll in the state, also an Ilaje man, Chief Olusola Oke, commended the convener for the foresight.He, however, condemned the divisive tendency and unhealthy rivalry in Ilaje land and advised that the summit should be an avenue to forge unity among the traditional rulers of the area.Earlier, the convener of the summit, Mr Markson Meduoye, a former gubernatorial aspirant of the PDP, in his welcome speech, had said the summit became imperative because of the neglect of the area.'Despite the fact that substantial contribution of oil revenue is obtained from Ilajeland, there was nothing to show for the oil exploration and spillage in the area in term of infrastructural development, education, health care delivery and good shelter,' he said.Barrister Ebun Olu Adegboruwa, in his keynote address, warned that 'unless something is done urgently to arrest the ugly trend, Ilaje people may go into extinction.
Click here to read full news..
