Residents fault Amotekun’s claim of peace in Ibarapaland
I will lead anyone interested in taking tour of zone, says commandant
RESIDENTS and natives of Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Council of Oyo State, yesterday, faulted the claim by the Commandant of the state’s Security Network Agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, Col. Olayinka Olayanju ( rtd), that ‘’ Ibarapa land is safe.”
Olayanju had yesterday declared that Ibarapa land was safe and free of killerherdsmen and kidnappers. The commandant, who stated this in a statement in Ibadan, said that he would volunteer to lead anyone interested in taking a tour of Ibarapaland hit by herder/ farmers’ crisis.
Olayanju also denounced some audio and video posts in social media, which tend to raise what he called “clearly unfounded alarms” about the Ibarapa security situation, saying that he has been moving in and out of the area for days now.
According to him, farmers and the law- abiding people in the area are going about their businesses without molestation.
But reacting, however, to the statement, the Convener of Igangan Development Advocates ( IDA), Oladiran Oladokun, cautioned Oyo State Government against playing politics with Ibarapa indigenes’ lives.
He said: “We want Oyo State Government to stop playing politics with our lives. If we are sending Save- Our- Soul ( SOS) but the government is saying the Ibarapaland is safe, it is unbelievable. As I am talking with you, no step has been taken to protect our lives and arrest of Iskiliu Wakili. Wakili is still there.”
Also, President of the IDA, Mr. Wale Oladokun, said: “The truth of the matter is that the press statement is false.”
The monarch, under whose domain Wakili is looming large, the Odomofin of Ayete, Chief Saubana Oyewole, said: “There is no absolute peace yet. There is no Amotekun operative to confront the herdsmen. They have not gone to confront the herdsmen. Wakili has an army of herdsmen and still there. The Amotekun operatives are afraid of Fulani’s guns.”
THE Federal Government, yesterday, declared that millions of Nigerians had so far been impacted by the Economic Sustainability Plan ( ESP) COVID- 19 stimulus packages.
This came as ministers and heads of agencies reported further progress in the implementation of the Federal Government’s ESP at a meeting of the committee presided over by Vice President Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Highlights of the reports presented to the committee include the release of N37 billion for the survival fund covering schemes like N50,000 payroll support for three months to over 300,000 beneficiaries, onetime grant of N30,000 to about 100,000 artisans, and 100,000 business name registrations paid for by the Federal Government.
While the Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum, reported the progress of the survival fund to the committee, the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, gave reports on the bank’s intervention, including disbursement of over N192 billion for household/ MSMES grants to 426,000 beneficiaries across the country, with plans to do over N100 billion more in that category named Targeted Credit Facility.
The CBN governor also disclosed that under the collateral- free agricbusiness/ small and medium enterprise investment scheme, there were ongoing grants of concessionary loans from between N150,000 to N2.5 million. In that category, the governor disclosed that over N106 billion had been disbursed so far to over 27,000 beneficiaries.
In the agric sector, Agriculture and Rural Development Minister, Alhaji Sabo Nanono, reported that under the ESP, 5.4 million farmers had been enumerated to get the support under the plan.
He added that for the enumeration, which involved geospatial tagging, almost 73,000 N- Power volunteers were trained and 30,000 of them deployed to all the 774 local councils. For the purposes of funding through the CBN, the minister said 2.9 million of the farmers had their BVN enrollment validated.
Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Dr. Isa Pantami, briefed the committee that broadband penetration in the country had moved from 38 per cent last year to 45 per cent now, while over 170 institutions had been registered to conduct the NIN. He also said that Telcos would be licensed for the enrolment, while over 1,060 registration centres had been activated across the country for the NIN.
He said that 56.18 million NINS had been collected by mobile network operators.
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Laolu Akande, in a statement, yesterday, said others who briefed the committee included Labour, Employment and Productivity Minister, Dr.
Chris Ngige and his Minister of State colleague, Mr. Festus Keyamo.
The statement explained that Ngige, in his presentation, listed the Federal Government’s efforts to prevent the retrenchment of members of staff in the private sector because of the COVID- 19 pandemic.
Works and Housing Minister, Babatunde Fashola reported on the ministry’s co- ordinated FG Public Works programme, while Mr. Keyamo reported on the progress of the Special Public Works that hired 774,000 workers across all local councils of the country.