10 — Vanguard, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4 , 2016
CONGRESSES: No more imposition in Lagos PDP — OGUNLEWE, SHELLE By Dapo Akinrefon
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AGOS—A former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe and chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Lagos, Capt. Tunji Shelle (retd) yesterday, warned that any plan to impose candidates for the ward and local government congresses of the party, would be resisted. They said this at a stakeholders meeting of PDP leaders in Lagos. Ogunlewe, on his part, called on members of the party to resist any form of imposition of candidates during the exercise, saying “you will be the ones to pick your leaders for any position.” The former minister also appealed to members to shun factionalisation within the party, urging members to set aside their grievances. He said: “Henceforth, I want you to know that no leader can dictate to anyone at any level, because the party belongs to you. You will be the ones to select and elect your leaders from the ward to the state level. Enough is enough of imposition. I also want you to unite and set aside your grieviances because the party is now one.” Speaking earlier, the party chairman, Shelle attributed indicispline and lack of sincerity to the party’s defeat in the 2015 general elections.
Rehabilitation of Ajasa-Command, Abesan roads begins
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ARELY two weeks after Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode inspected the state of Ajasa-Command and Abesan roads, work has commenced on the rehabilitation of the stretch of road linking Church Road to Abesan. A visit to the area yesterday, confirmed the commencement of work on the roads by the State Government. Work has also commenced in the Command axis of the road. During the inspection tour, Governor Ambode had expressed displeasure on the state of Ajasa-Command and Abesan roads, and assured residents of the area that work would commence on the rehabilitation of the roads within the next two weeks. C M Y K
11 escape death in Lagos-bound Bristow helicopter incident ...Reps forced to adjourn proceedings By Evelyn Usman, Bose Adelaja & Monsur Olowoopejo, with Agency reports
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AGOS—ELEVEN persons yesterday escaped death after a Bristow 5B BJQ helicopter en-route Lagos from an off-shore location in Port Harcourt ditched into the Atlantic Ocean. The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the helicopter was carrying nine passengers and two crew members when the incident happened. The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA) confirmed the incident. Mr Sam Adurogboye, spokesperson of NCAA, in a text message, said there was no casualty as the 11 persons on board were rescued after the chopper ditched into the Atlantic Ocean. “It happened 70 nautical miles off Lagos. They were returning from their off-shore location called ERA. Nine passengers and two crew on board were all rescued,” he said. The AIB, in a statement also confirmed the crash. According to the statement; “A S76 C++ helicopter marked 5NBQJ belonging to Bristow Helicopters, which departed ERHA Platform en-route Lagos was ditched into the Atlantic Ocean 95 nautical miles into destination at about 10:20 am local time. “All the eleven peoples on board, including two crew members were rescued alive.
LAUNCH: From left; President, Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria, PRCAN, John Ehiguese; Principal Consultant, Necci Consulting, Nkechi Ali-Balogun; CEO, CMC Connect Ltd, Yomi Badejo-Okusanya; CEO, BHM Group, Ayeni Adekunle; COO, Publicis Consultants Soulcomm, Mojisola Saka; and Chief Commercial Officer, Livespot Group, Darey Art Alade at the launch of Nigeria's first-ever Annual PR Industry Report at Protea Hotel, Ikeja. Photo by Kehinde Gbadamosi. “Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB has commenced investigation into the occurrence. Details will be communicated to you later,” it said. Similarly, the General Manager of LASEMA, Mr Michael Akindele, in a statement, said emergency responders including three RRS search and rescue Helicopters, Nigeria Navy, Air Force and others were deployed for the operation. “The helicopter ditched inside the ocean, however 11 souls on board are alive, no casualty,” he said. Akindele said Agip, Mobil and Shell oil companies helped with the provision of speed boats to facilitate the rescue operation. He said Bristow Helicopter also provided landing boat for the evacuation of the survivors. The Media Consultant to
Bristow Helicopters, Mr Cornelius Onuora, said the incident was not a crash but a controlled ditching, which was an emergency landing of a helicopter on water. Onuora said the pilot observed that there was a technical issue with the helicopter and he decided to land it earlier than scheduled. Also, the Flag Officer Commanding, FOC Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Ralph Osondu said “MV DIJAMA launched two of its boats to rescue all 11 people in the helicopter. Rear Admiral Osondu said, “MV DIJAMA was the first to get to the scene. It happened 40 nautical miles from Igbokoda, Ondo State. The helicopter had nine passengers and two crew members. All were rescued and
Ojutiku, patriarch of Lagos top civil service family dies By Leke Adeseri
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HE Head of Service, Lagos State, Mrs. Olabowale Toluwalope Ademola, will today lead top civil servants, including the body of permanent secretaries to the burial of Pa Vincent Oludayo Ojutiku, the patriarch of a Lagos family renowned for producing three permanent secretaries at different times. Pa Ojutiku died on January 4 this year at the age of 97 years. Although he retired from Lagos State service as Principal Accountant in the Education ministry in 1983, his meritorious service to the state remains indelible till date. He was a certificated teacher who served in various schools in Western Region of Nigeria. Pa V.A.O. Ojutiku was elected Secretary of Federal Union of Administrative Staff (FUNAS) in 1943, he later joined the defunct Nigerian Post and
Telecommunication Service of Nigeria (P&T) in 1945, where he served in the account department as head of Accounts in Enugu, Eastern Nigeria and Ibadan, Western Nigeria respectively. He trained as an accountant at Weekly Hall, Oxford, UK. He worked in various capacities in the Federal Ministry of Economic Development and later transferred his service to the Lagos State Ministry of Education. He was married to late Mrs. Mercy Oladoyin Ojutiku (Nee Onasanya) on November 19, 1943. The marriage was blessed with eight children and many foster children. He was a founding member of Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Surulere Lagos and had a singular honour of being a LayPreacher, Organist and Choirmaster, Church Secretary, Auditor, First Church Accountant, Chairman Harvest Committee,
handed over to a speedboat, SURFER P2621, which took them ashore to the nearest hospital in Ondo State.”
Crash forces Reps to adjourn proceedings
Meantime, news of the crash yesterday, forced House of Representatives’ Committee on Aviation to adjourn its activities indefinitely. According to reports, the committee was conducting the defence of the 2016 budget by agencies and departments in the aviation sector when it ended the session abruptly. Chairman of the committee, Nkiruka Onyejeocha (PDP-Abia) announced that the budget defence could not continue as a result of the incident.
Lagos, insurance firms to renovate Ilupeju public library
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Late Pa Oludayo Ojutiku Member of Church Committee, Sub Parish Council and Parish Council member. He was cofounder of Young Christian Fellowship. The funeral service is billed for Holy Trinity Anglican Church at Ikate, Lawanson, Surulere, Lagos while guests will be entertained at De Blue Roof, LTV 8, Ikeja.
HE Lagos State Library Board, in collaboration with Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc., will commence a renovation exercise on Ilupeju Public Library, Ilupeju. The project, a Public Private Partnership (PPP) intervention, will also furnish the library with new books and make it e-library compliant. As a result of this exercise, the Lagos State Library Board notifies the public that the Ilupeju Public Library will be closed to the public from Monday, February 8 to Monday, March 14 for the effective renovation of the library. Regretting any inconvenience the closure might cause, the Library Board noted that the closure is for the benefit of the public, especially Ilupeju residents, as the library will be of immense usage to them when the renovation is completed.