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South West
Monday, October 20, 2014
National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net
Compensation: Amosun assures property owners Femi Oyeweso ABEOKUTA
O
gun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has assured that property owners whose houses were affected during the demolition that paved ways for the on-going road construction would be completely paid before the completion of the roads. He gave the assurance while addressing the people of Ayetoro in Yewa North local government area of the state during an assessment tour of the council area at the weekend. Amosun, who explained that many people had collected up to 90 per cent of the compensation, stressed that the least compensation paid was 50 per cent of the total amount. The governor also explained that what his administration had done about the on-going road projects was to make them passable, pending when the contractors would begin asphalting them. “I have been told some of us are yet to get our
compensation; continue praying for us, we still have some people in Abeokuta, Ijebu and Sagamu who have not been paid fully, but we’ve paid up to 90 per cent. We are not resting on our oars. “As beautiful as these roads are, we still have the final layer called the nylon layer to be done in all the roads in Ogun State, except the Totoro road. “We still have one layer left, and that will be done soon. Our target is to build a road that will last for about 40 years. “It is the nylon layer, wearing cost or protective layer that will prevent the road from damage, and we will soon do that. “On all roads, there is still one more layer to go, and before we will do that, we will make sure everyone is paid,” Amosun assured. The governor explained that his determination to put the roads in proper shape was borne out of the need to industrialise the state, adding that no industry would want to invest without proper infrastructures in place.
We executed projects that benefit all, says Ajimobi
G
overnor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has said that his administration has, since its inception, been executing projects that have direct impact on the lives of the people. He said this while receiving the Country Director and executive members of African Development Development, ADB, who were on a courtesy visit to him in his office at the weekend. The governor said that his government would partner with the bank in the area of provision of social infrastructure to enhance living standard of the people. While acknowledging the contributions of the bank towards the provision
Gov. Ajumobi
of pipe borne water for the people, Ajimobi said his administration had successfully rehabilitated the Asejire water plant, which had been moribund for over 17 years. With the inauguration of the rehabilitated water plant, he said water supply to Ibadan and its environs had drastically improved. The governor stated that his administration had repositioned the state to meet the challenges of the modern world through its urban renewal programme, saying it had created conducive environment for both local and foreign investors to invest in the state. In his remarks, the Country Director of ADB, Dr. Ousmane Dore, pledged the readiness of his bank to continue to partner with the government in the provision of social infrastructure through a public-private partnership arrangement. He expressed the hope that his visit would further strengthen the already existing partnership arrangement between the state government and ADB.
L-R: Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba; Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; Governor Babatunde Fashola and Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu, during the celebration of Fashola’s 2,700 days in office in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN
BDCs want CBN to increase forex sale Johnson Okanlawon
B
ureaux de Change, BDC, operators in the country have appealed to the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for an increase in the weekly sale of foreign exchange to each operator. They also asked the CBN to extend its occasional intervention in the foreign exchange market to their sector, so as to reduce demand pressure at the retail end. Speaking under the aegis of Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria, ABCON, the BDCs lamented that while over 2,000 operators had ‘laboured’ to comply with the N35m mandatory caution deposits, the $15,000 weekly sale to each BDCs by the CBN was inadequate to cover operating costs. “Considering the difficulties that BDCs are currently facing, due to the volume of the weekly
sales granted to BDCs, as against the associated costs in the business, we are strongly suggesting that the CBN should consider increasing the weekly sales to BDCs from $15,000 to $50,000,” the association said in an appeal letter to the CBN governor. Making a case for extension of CBN forex intervention to BDCs, the association said that given the ever-increasing demand of dollar as against the rigidity of the weekly official sales to BDCs, a good number of members of the association hardly meet up with the demands from end-users. They said: “Now, to assist in achieving the aim of exchange rate stability in the event of increase in demand of dollar and static sales of $15,000 to a BDC, we are suggesting that, for now, the Central Bank should consider granting our sub- sector periodic sales intervention as it does to
banks. “For instance, on 24th September, 2014, by Retail Dutch Auction System, the CBN sold a total of N350m to banks, while on 29th September, 2014 and 8th October, 2014, totals of N500m and N400m respectively were also sold to banks, making a sum of $1.250bn within a period of 13 days. “Statistically speaking, the sum of $15,000.00 is sold to a BDC per week, giving a total of about $37,500,000 to BDCs per a week.” The association also appealed to the apex bank to reduce the mandatory caution deposit to N15m f r o m N35m, to free up cash f o r BDCs t o meet day-
Emefiele, CBN Gov.
to-day operations. “After the expiration of the deadline for the payment of the increased caution fee of N35m, we noticed that a good number of Bureau de Change operators could no longer conveniently carry out their weekly trading due to lack of cash. “To avoid the possibility of such BDCs closing shop, even after having made the effort to pay their caution fees, we are sincerely pleading that the Central Bank should consider the possibility of reviewing the caution fee from N35m to N15m in order to financially empower the BDCs to carry on their weekly trading”, they said. According to the association, many BDCs were yet to be refunded the earlier mandatory caution deposits of $20,000 and N500,000, imposed before the N35m introduced in June. They, however, appealed to the CBN gov-
Tension mounts as Ife, Modakeke renew rivalry over farmland Boladale Bamigbola OSOGBO
A
nother round of communal unrest is brewing between the people of Ile-Ife and Modakeke in Osun State over the ownership of Alapata village. It was reliably learnt that barricades were mounted by heavily armed men at the entry and exit points to the vil-
lage over the weekend to prevent intrusion. While it was unclear which of the two communities mounted the barricades, reliable sources in Ife and Modakeke yesterday evening informed National Mirror that Alapata was one of the villages being contended for in previous crises involving the two communities. It was also learnt that farmers from both Ife
and Modakeke had been occupying the farmland from time immemorial and that in the last few weeks there seems renewed rivalry among the farmers over who owns the farmland between the two towns. It would be recalled that in 2009, communal clashes between the two towns were finally resolved by Osun state government with the visit
of Ogunsua to the palace of Ooni in Ile Ife and the formal installation of Oba Francis Adedoyin as Ogunsua by Oba Okunade Sijuade in Modakeke. Efforts to reach Ogunsua of Modakeke, Oba Francis Adedoyin and secretary to Ooni of Ife, Chief Funmilola Olorunnisola for comments proved abortive as calls to their mobile lines did not go through.