From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan

Oyo State House of Assembly has screened and confirmed the 15 commissioner nominees sent to it by Governor Abiola Ajimobi.
Speaker Michael Adeyemo, representing Ibarapa East State Constituency said after the screening and confirmation at plenary, that the exercise would end the outcry of the public for appointment of commissioners in the state.
The newly confirmed commissioners included former deputy chief of staff during Governor Ajimobi’s first term, Mr. Abimbola Adekanbi; former Commissioner for Women Affairs, Atinuke Oshinkoya; former Commissioner for Works, Abimbola Kolade and son of Soun of Ogbomoso, Prince Oyewole Oyewumi.
The list also comprised former Commissioner for Environment, Wasiu Dauda; former Commissioner for Lands and Housing, Ajiboye Omodewu; former Special Adviser, Public Affairs to Governor Ajimobi, Toye Arulogun and former Caretaker Chairman of Iddo Local Government, Prof. Niyi Olowofela.
Also on the list are the publisher of Nigerian Alert newspaper and former governorship aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, Dr. Azeez Adeduntan and the son of All Progressives Congress (APC) chairman in Oyo State, Mr. Abayomi Oke.
Also confirmed are former caretaker chairman, Ibarapa North Local Government Area, Fatai Salawu; a lawyer, Oluwaseun Abimbola; a technocrat from Oke Ogun, Isaac Ishola; daughter of Alaafin of Oyo, Taibat Adaba; and a technocrat, Abdul-Ganiyu Mudashiru.


… NLC plans mega protest today

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From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan

The national leadership of Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) will today lead a mega protest against the Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, over proposed ‘concessioning’ of some public secondary schools, non-payment of salaries in the last six months, and non-promotion in the state civil service in the past five years.
Deputy National President of NLC, Muhammed Shuaibu, who addressed newsmen at the Oyo State Secretariat of NLC, in Agodi, Ibadan, yesterday, urged workers to turn out en masse and participate in the protest peacefully and legitimately.
His words: “We will stage a peaceful protest against the concessioning of public schools by Oyo State Government. We will also protest to show that workers in the state are hungry. They are without six months salaries. Of course, the pensioners are alive without six months pensions. In the last four to five years, there has not been promotion in the Oyo State Government. We urge workers to come out and protest peacefully and legitimately to show government that we are serious about these issues.”
But Governor Ajimobi, who addressed members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), who staged a peaceful rally in Ibadan yesterday in support of the government, noted that the “reason for this crisis is lack of understanding of the issue, ignorance of some persons, or the fact that some are playing politics with the issue.”
The proposed educational initiative, according to him, was geared towards improving the standard of education in the state through involving other individuals, alumni and missionaries in the running and management of schools. The government had explained at several fora that the initiative would affect less than 10 per cent of the 631 public secondary schools in the state.
Shuaibu stated that the labour union was ready for dialogue but it has not received any invitation from the state government for a meeting, adding that “We are civil. We are civil servants. We don’t have anything to fight. We are fighting because we are hungry. We are fighting because we have not been paid for six months. We don’t have the strength or the ability to fight because we are hungry. We just want to show government that we are poor and hungry.
“We wrote a letter to the government, requesting for dialogue but the government shut its doors against the NLC. We are open to dialogue and negotiation. We have no arms. We don’t carry anything.”
Fielding questions on whether the labour had obtained police permit for the protest, Shuaibu explained that “there is a Supreme Court ruling that says every Nigerian has the right to stage peaceful protest. If the police, DSS, NSCDC in Oyo State cannot protect our lives while doing our legitimate peaceful protest, it is going to be a story in the world.”
He alleged that “Oyo State is the first state to put union leaders in prison since 1999 till date, because of legitimate protest,” saying it would it would be in the record. He stated further that allowing labour leaders to spend weekend at Agodi Prisons was not a good way to pay back some labour leaders that supported his election during 2011 general elections.
Meanwhile, members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in their thousands, staged a peaceful protest in Ibadan yesterday in support of the state government. The protest, which kicked off at Olomi area of Ibadan and led by the chairman of the union in the state, Alhaji Taofeek Oyerinde, ended in front of Oyo State Government Secretariat, where Governor Ajimobi addressed them.
Oyerinde said: “We are told that some organisations intend to disrupt peace in Oyo State. The NURTW does not want violence in the state and any organisation to disrupt peace in the state.”