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Ogun Set to Loose Waste Managers Services Over Unpaid N650Million

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Cleanliness is said to be next to Godliness but Ogun state might experience highest of dirt littering roads as waste managers are set to withdraw services over unpaid debt.

The Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria(AWAMN), Ogun State chapter has warned that its members may not be able to continue rendering their services due to the over N650million debt owed them by the state government.

The Association said that apart from the N650million debt which it lamented had crippled members’ business, the waste dumpsites in parts of the state, it added, were no longer accessible because of their deplorable conditions while the costs of wastes evacuation from homes, streets and highways to the dumpsites have also hit the rooftops.

The body warned that with the imminent return of the rainy season and incapacitated AWAMN, a multi – pronged epidemic looms in the state if wastes were not disposed off safely or as quickly as they were generated by residents and commercial places.

Addressing newsmen in Abeokuta, the state capital in company of members, the state chairman of AWAMN, Com. Jolaoluwa Gbenga, urged Governor Dapo Abiodun – led state government to offset the debt which he said, puts over 1000 direct and indirect jobs on the line should they close shops due to lack of funds to continue operations.

Also speaking, the Financial Secretary, Seni Olawoyin, said members were being owed 18 months debt in arrears to the tune of N650million, saying over 100 of their members have stopped operations and unable to pay bank loans used to acquire equipment such as converters because of the indebtedness to them

In the same vein, the General Secretary, Ogunsanya Kayode, recalled that the AWAMN had written many letters separately to the state Ministry of Environment, Ogun State House of Assembly and Governor Dapo Abiodun about their plights, lamenting that all they had ever got were unfulfilled promises.

But reacting to the development, the State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Ola Oresanya said government is aware of the predicament of the waste managers and is already taking steps to ensure that they are paid in a matter of days.

Oresanya said, “we are aware of the pains of waste collectors, which can be attributed to the astronomical increase in fuel prices and the high cost of vehicle spare parts.

“All these resulted in the high operation cost, and we have been avoiding the burden transfer to the public through the increase in waste collection charges.

“The government is aware of these challenges, and we are working to address the matter. I am sure the PSP operators will have reasons to smile very soon. It’s a reflection of the prevailing social-economic landscape, which I believe will yield a positive dividend with the various intervention strategies by the government.

“I appeal to them to remain calm and be steadfast as a major partner in public hygiene programme of the State”.

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Society

Man Found Dead in Ogun Hotel

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32 year old Lanre Ogungbe has been found dead in a hotel at Soyoye axis of Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital.
He was found lying helpless with empty bottles of alcohol and insecticide in a room, in the hotel on Thursday.
The receptionists at the hotel named Authentic hotel said after noticing that the deceased, who booked for a short time, failed to check out, raised concern.
They later found him lying helplessly on the bed, with empty bottles of alcohol and insecticide besides him.
Spokesperson of the state police command, Omolola Odutola said the manager of the hotel reported the incident to the Lafenwa police station, which deployed detectives to the hotel.
She said the detectives did not find any form of violence on the body, which had been deposited at the morgue of the state hospital, Ijaye, Abeokuta, for post mortem examination.
Odutola also said a thorough investigation of the incident was underway.

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Why I prefer traditional worship to Christianity, Islam — Wole Soyinka

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Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, has disclosed why he prefers traditional Orisa worshipping to Christianity and Islam.

He said the deepness of faith in Islam and Christianity doesn’t match that of Orisa worshipping for him, adding that Orisa fascinated him a lot more.

According to him, Orisa worshipping is one of the African religions that eschews violence and is more creative.

“I was fortunate to be born in two worlds – the Christian world and traditional Orisa worshippers. My grandfather, until he – poor man – also got converted – he was an Orisa person and a chief, and his (grandfather’s) side (of Orisa) fascinated me a lot more,” the playwright told CNN’s Larry Madowo, during an interview.

He added, “For me, it (Orisa worshipping) was more artistic, creative, and also more mysterious. I don’t find much of the mysterious in Christianity and even less in Islam and that is for a simple reason that I didn’t grow up in a Muslim environment.

“Orisa is open, and very ecumenical and that is why these foreign religions were able to penetrate it and even distort the truth. Because of the generosity of this spirit (Orisa), it is not violent. It is one of those African religions which eschew violence.

“I don’t believe in the Islamic or Christian God and for the adherents of these religions if that makes me an atheist, so I say, I am an atheist. I insisted that all human beings have a certain spiritual core in their being, I believe myself to be a more spirit-sensitive person.”

The literary icon also revealed that he said he doesn’t like to watch anything adapted from his life or works.

“Let me put it this way, turning anything in my life into what other people can watch pains me. It makes me extremely uncomfortable. It’s wrong to say it’s terrific, let me just say I’m detached from it.

“It takes me a while to bring myself to watch me.”

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Abiodun Felicitates With JAMB Registrar, Oloyede at 70

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Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state has congratulated the registrar of the Joint Admission Matriculation Board (JAMB), Professor Ishaq Oloyede, on his seventieth birthday.
He described him as a remarkable scholar and distinguished administrator, who had redefined public administration space in Nigeria.
The governor, in a statement by his chief press secretary, Lekan Adeniran commended Professor Oloyede for his immense contribution to the transformation of jamb through transparency and professionalism.
Abiodun also celebrated Oloyede for his exemplary blend of scholarship and religious values.
According to the governor, the dedication of Oloyede also brought integrity and efficiency to jamb.

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