Looting machine !!! FEC approves additional N80b for Lagos-Ibadan road

The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved N143.2 billion contracts for construction of roads and bridges across the country.

Among these is an additional N80 billion voted for the Lagos -Ibadan expressway. This will take care of the rehabilitation of 84 kilometers section two (Ibadan to Sagamu) of the nation’s busiest expressway.

The Council last month approved N64.1bilion to be spent on section one (Lagos to Saganmu).

Minister of Power, Works and Housing Babatunde Fashola stated this at the end of an eight- hour FEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa.

Other minister at the briefing are: Minister of Information Lai Mohammed, Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Environment Jibrin Ibrahim, and Minister of Water Resources Suleiman Adamu.

Fashola said: “The contract awarded to RCC at the cost of N96 billion before is now revised by N80.199 billion to take the total cost to N176.503 billion. The major component is the change of the type of bitumen, the swamps that have been encountered, the depth of the design for the road, which is 1,100 millimeters, roughly about 43 inches of reconstruction from base.

“As you might know, the road is being expanded from two to three lanes on both sides. Also we are installing Glover leavers, toll plazas and service lanes. All these to accommodate the changes that have taken place, which were not conceptualised when the road was first built.”

He said FEC also approved N18.87 billion for the rehabilitation and repair of the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos.

He said: “The repair of the Third Mainland Bridge was conceived in 2011 but was not awarded because there were no budgetary provisions.

“But we have created budgetary provision for it as part of our national bridge maintenance strategy because our bridges haven’t been maintained for decades. This was for N18.87 billion to Borini Promo.

“Essentially, what they will be doing is pile repairs. Piles are the foundations that hold the bridge. We are starting with the first 33 piles that are in critical conditions, then another set of 19 piles, and then 44 piles. And a general maintenance of 177 piles that form the entire foundation of the bridge. The other work is to replace the expansion joints.” he said.

According to him, Council also approved N38.03 billion to RCC for the 72 kilometers Ninth Mile to Orukan road in Enugu State.

He said that FEC also okayed award of remedial interventions in four roads in the country.

The Minister added: “The roads are parts of Jebba-Mokwa road in favour of CGC for N1.079 billion. Ijebu-Ijesa- Ekiti State border road in favour of Time Building Construction company for N538 million. Emergency repairs of Ijebu-Ijesha  Ekiti State border road section two in favour of Invest Right Ltd in the sum of N562 million. And the rehabilitation of failed sections of Asaba-Ilaibu Edo State border road in favour of Setraco Ltd for N830 million.”

The four roads are part of the 44 roads whose approvals were received.

The remaining 40 roads, he said, were being dealt with at the ministerial level because of the amount involved.

He said that Council also approved a contract for Ile bridge in Osun State at the cost of N2.546 billion.

Fashola also said that Council approved memo on behalf of Transmission Company of Nigeria for purchase of 50 gas circuit breakers at the cost of N120 million in favour of CG Industrial.

Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi said that FEC constituted a committee to take inspection trip to the East-West road towards completing the project.

Even a moron knows Buhari has failed - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has fired yet another shot at President Muhammadu Buhari, saying “the mediocre performance of Buhari cannot be described as by anybody as superlative even by morons”.

Obasanjo said this while denying the reports that he has decided to endorse Buhari’s second term.

The elder statesman said he has made known his position about Buhari in a letter he wrote to the president in January.

In the letter, Obasanjo advised Buhari against seeking re-election, saying doing so would amount to overstretching the tolerance level of Nigerians.

In a statement issued on Obasanjo’s behalf by Kehinde Akinyemi, his media aide, the ex-president accused some “desperate elements” in Buhari’s camp of spreading falsehood against him.

Obasanjo said they are trying to create the impression that he is now in support of Buhari’s second term.

Below is the statement:

It has come to the attention of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that some elements in the Muhammadu Buhari camp and or support group are desperate to secure a second term, fair or foul. In this desperation, everything is fair, including telling libelous lies against persons and institutions, instead of addressing the fundamental issues of statecraft and economic management.

In the last 24 hours the internet has been bombarded with deliberate falsehoods aimed at hoodwinking the unsuspecting Nigerians to believe that Obasanjo has now supported Buhari for his second term because of some perceived Buhari’s ‘superlative’ performance in his encounter with Trump during his visit to the White House in Washington DC.

In another breath, these blackmailers insinuated that Chief Obasanjo met with some Nigeria Labour Congress leaders in his house in Abuja on Workers’ Day. What a pathetic fallacy! Chief Obasanjo never met any Labour man or woman on May 1, 2018 to make any supposed volte face to support Buhari. Furthermore, neither was Chief Obasanjo in Abuja on that date nor does he own a house in Abuja. Any time he visits Abuja, he usually stays in a Guest House or hotel.

For the record, Obasanjo has not and cannot endorse failure. His position remains as stated in his January 23rd, 2018 statement on the state of the nation. Chief Obasanjo sympathises with the plight of those campaigners and supporters of Buhari. He doesn’t believe dishing out fake news that can only be believed by imbeciles will turn black into white.

Nigerians know that Chief Obasanjo has only spoken the truth about widening poverty, alienation and social disunity and near disintegration of the country through Buhari’s incompetence. Obasanjo will continue to exercise his right to free speech and no amount of hate speech will assuage Nigerians who are in need of a brand new leadership. The mediocre performance of Buhari cannot be described by anybody as ‘superlative’ even by morons not the least President Obasanjo.

From the Buhari/Trump meeting, Chief Obasanjo only saw through three points:  One, the US will continue to reduce purchase of crude oil from Nigeria and there is nothing Nigeria under Buhari can do about; two, the US will export agricultural products to Nigeria and Buhari’s government will encourage that; and three – all the killings taking place in Nigeria by herdsmen are being done by expatriates trained by Gadaffi and no Nigerian is to blame and Buhari cannot do anything to stop it.

For whatever the meeting was worth, President Buhari again bungled another opportunity to self-redeem. No wonder President Trump ordered him in a rather condescending manner to go back home and stop the killings going on in Nigeria! We hope now Buhari will heed Trump’s advice which hopefully will be considered non-abusive.

Therefore, Chief Obasanjo is more convinced in his statement of January 23rd and will not change his position.  No lies, fake news dished out by these desperate and unintelligent supporters is worth believing and these misinformation cartel and social media tigers will do more damage to the flint reputation of their principal.

Chief Obasanjo understands that the internet has good and bad uses. Those abusing the media should desist from this barbaric act as it will only expose them to greater ridicule at the end of the day.

Obasanjo will continue to speak out. He will continue to issue patriotic statements under his signature or cause them to be issued on his behalf under the signature of his media representative, Mr. Kehinde Adeyemi. - Cable Nigeria

Nigeria in worse state since civil war - Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President, on Wednesday lambasted the President Muhammadu Buhari’s government.

Abubakar said Nigerians had never had it this bad since the civil war

Speaking at the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, secretariat during a consultation visit in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Abubakar regretted that those who were making Nigeria unbearable for its citizens today, were not part of the struggles towards the actualization of democracy.

The Waziri of Adamawa urged Nigerians to rise up to change the APC led-government if they truly desired to continue to have a country.

He said, “The country is in its worse state today. I have never seen it since the civil war. Ethnic division, north against south, this is very very dangerous for our survival as a country.

“We must do all what we can to address this situation. We have to unite together to arrest this, otherwise you would one day wake up and find out that we don’t have a country, God forbid.

“We may end up with 25-27 PDP states in Nigeria, because every part of this country is fed up with this government. And this is the most intolerant government I have ever seen in this country. And unfortunately for us, he was not even part of this struggle.

“The situation in APC states is horrible. You cannot even meet like this. They are intolerable because they were not part of the struggle for actualization of democracy. If PDP was like this, there would not have been any opposition party in this country.

“Let us therefore unite and make sure that we free this country and our people from this situation. The political restructuring of this country is inevitable, whether we like it or not.

“We must deploy resources and powers to the federated units of this country. If states and Local Government Areas are given more resources and powers, the people would hold them accountable” - Daily Post

Meaning ??? More people killed in Zamfara than Taraba, Benue put together – Buhari

President Muhammadu Buhari has once again declared that more people were killed in Zamfara than Taraba and Benue states.

When asked by the Voice of Nigeria what other agreement he sealed with President Donald Trump during their bilateral talks, Buhari responded thus:

“Not agreements, just discussions. The first one is the information being given to them that Christians are being killed in Nigeria; but what happened in the Church also happened in the South-east and the North and they just say it is herdsmen that are killing them.

“Those making these allegations against the herdsmen know that herdsmen, as we know them only carry sticks, going about with guns is a new thing and those making the allegations know that conflict between farmers and herders has a long history even before we were born.

“Therefore, it is wrong to say the conflict is between Fulani and Tiv or other tribes, like in Taraba. ‘What of Zamfara, where more people were killed than in Taraba and Benue put together’?

“People need to understand that it is mischief that makes people to bring in religion or ethnicity,” the President said. - Daily Post

I am ready for management - Frank Lampard

Former Chelsea and England midfielder Frank Lampard said he is ready to step in to management as Liverpool icon Steven Gerrard closes in on his first foray into the managerial world.

A Premier League and Champions League winner during an illustrious playing career, Lampard is gearing up for life on the touchline – the 39-year-old undertaking his coaching badges at Chelsea.

Lampard has been linked with the vacant Ipswich Town post following Mick McCarthy's departure from the Championship side.

And Lampard talked up his readiness to manage as the ex-Manchester City midfielder backed Gerrard to succeed at Rangers amid ongoing talks to join the Scottish giants.

"I'm doing my coaching badges at the moment. I've spent a lot of time at Chelsea this year, gaining hours of experience," Lampard said.

"I've already managed to get my A Licence in coaching. So yes, with the right opportunity and right timing for me, I'd really take a very close look at it, because you do want to give back, show you can help try to develop players, and help them tactically and whether you can be a good man-manager.

"And I certainly think Steven [Gerrard] will make a success of it. I've known Steven a long time, he's a serious thinker about the game. I work with him now, and his analysis and extent of knowledge about the game is huge.

"He'll be a great acquisition for anyone to take on. And good for him, it's what he wants to do and I think he'll be very good at it.

"The FA are working much more closely now with ex-players to try to get them into their coaching badges.

"I think we had some barren years when the help wasn't there, and players went away from the game. But now I think they're trying to help players go straight into getting their coaching badges." - Goal

We must restructure - Anyaoku, others

With one voice, some leaders from the North, East and West yesterday spoke on restructuring, saying it is the only way to stabilise Nigeria and guarantee its progress.

Former Commonwealth Secretary-General Chief Emeka Anyaoku, former military governor of Rivers State Gen Zamani Lekwot, renowned historian Prof. Banji Akintoye and Ohanaeze Ndigbo President-General Chief John Nwodo, among others, urged those in power to arrest the country’s drift by returning to true federalism.

They spoke on Leadership and the future of Nigeria at the 10th memorial symposium of the late Afenifere chieftain and Alliance for Democracy (AD) national leader, Senator Abraham Adesanya.

Adesanya, a politician, lawyer, activist and deputy leader of the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), a pro-democracy movement formed in 1994, died on April 27, 2008. He was 85.

Former Head of State Gen Abdulsalami Abubakar, who chaired the occasion, described the late Adesanya as a man of integrity.

He added: “I had a good relationship with him when destiny brought me to be the head of state of the country. I commend organisations that fought to bring democracy to Nigeria, and NADECO was the leading organisation. I relied on his advice and others to pilot the transition to democracy in Nigeria.”

Anyaoku described the late Adesanya as a symbol of loyalty to his ethnic group and country.

The late Adesanya, he said, protected the interests of the Yoruba, democracy and Nigeria, as a whole.

“He was devoted to the fight for democracy in Nigeria and he incurred the wrath of Abacha with an attempted assassination on his life in 1996. He was a political activist, a patriot and a defender of truth and public interest,” Anyaoku said.

He lamented the killings in some parts of the country and the simmering agitation for secession.

Anyaoku said: “I believe that restructuring Nigeria’s present governance architecture by returning to the provisions of its 1960 and 1963 constitutional arrangements will not only help the emergence of a leadership that will pave the way for a national rebirth, but will also put the country on a more assured path to political stability and faster socio- economic development.

“I am proposing a restructuring of Nigeria into a true federation of eight federating units comprising the existing six geo-political zones plus a restored old Mid-West region and a newly created Middle Belt federating unit”.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who spoke with reporters on the sidelines of the event, spoke of his plan to restructure the country in six months, if elected president in 2019.

He said: “The process is not rocket science. A serious-minded government that knows how to listen and build consensus can restructure Nigeria for the benefit of all and this I undertake to do when I become president.

“Indeed the Federal Government can voluntarily withdraw from most of the items listed in the exclusive list of our constitution. I believe that the benefits accruing from these first steps will help us as we move towards the changes that require amendments to our constitution.

“The major task is recomposing the second schedule which does not encourage development and when you enjoy cordial relationship with the National Assembly and see it as an independent partner in progress rather than as a competitor, you can achieve great things,” he said.

Nwodo urged Nigerians to vote only politicians who believe in restructuring.

He said: “Nigerians, any leader who does not recognise that the cause of our underdevelopment, bickering, missed standards, is the fact that we do not have a restructured nation, don’t vote for him.”

Lekwot urged Nigerians not to be afraid of restructuring. He also called for state police, and better funding for the armed forces as a way out of insecurity.

He said: “Our police are well trained because when they go overseas, they win medals. But back home because of the faulty structure, they cannot perform. Even if we had a million policemen, this country is very large, they cannot cover every corner. This is why restructuring will create room for community or state police.

“The American presidential system we are running has three tiers of policing. They have the county police, which are the local government, state police and the federal police. I hear people say we cannot pay them. Well, if we don’t pay them to do the right thing, we are going to reap the harvest, because, those who make life uncomfortable for us are well organised.

“Another advantage is if community or state police is created, many youths will be employed and as we know, people in the rural areas know the ground better than anyone else.

“I hear some people castigating the military, it’s based on ignorance….What is happening now, even the military, they are very thin on the ground, and because of the number of years, fatigue has set in. They too are suffering from manpower shortage and when morale is not high, anything can happen.

“Given our diversity, restructuring is the way out, because the present structure is not working. If you programme something and it is not working, you have to come back. So, we have to get back to the drawing board in order to see if what requires fixing can be fixed.

For Prof Akintoye, a historian and former senator, a break-up is imminent if the country fails to urgently restructure.

He said: “If Nigeria does not take steps, which are important and prerequisite; if Nigeria does not take steps urgently, to return to a federal system, the kind of federal system that we saw in the 1950s up till 1965, Nigeria may very likely break up. That’s my assessment of the situation.

“I’m a historian and I also happen to have been in your politics, but I speak from what I know. Don’t say that your country cannot break up, it can. Any country can break up. The Soviet Union had the most feared government on earth by the middle of the past century. I was in Tashkent, Uzbekistan for a few days and I saw that the people were scared of the Kremlin. That was in 1982. Less than 10 years later, those people who were scared of the Kremlin were already an independent country.”

Former Managing Director of Concord Newspapers Dr. Doyinsola Abiola, urged Nigerians to go back to their roots in their quest for quality leadership.

Dignitaries at the event included former President Olusegun Obasanjo; Deputy Governor of Ogun State, Mrs Yetunde Onanuga; former Governors Olusegun Osoba (Ogun), Chief Gbenga Daniel (Ogun) and Peter Obi (Anambra).

Others included former Interim National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Bisi Akande, KOWA Party chieftain Prof. Remi Sonaiya, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain Chief Bode George, former Akwa Ibom State Governor Obong Victor Attah, former PDP Lagos State governorship candidate Jimi Agbaje and eminent scholar Prof. Adebayo Williams, among others. - The Nation

Lagos pastor held for ‘defiling’ nine-year-old girl

A-54-year- pastor, Udoh Okon has been arrested by the Lagos State Police Command for allegedly raping a nine-year-old girl (names withheld).

Okon, the Pastor of Christ Abiding Church, Bankole Street, Famous Bus Stop, Shomolu, was arrested by the gender section of the command yesterday following a case of defilement filed by the victim’s mother, Peace Effiong.

According to Edgal, the woman reported that she noticed her daughter was acting strangely, adding that she checked the child on April 13, while she was sleeping and saw semen coming out of her private part.

Alarmed by the discovery, Edgal said the woman told detectives she woke her child up and questioned her, adding that the victim mentioned Okon as the man who has been raping her since last year.

He said: “The little girl went further to reveal that it was in the pastor’s wife’s shop at the aforementioned address that she was defiled. Medical examination showed that the victim’s hymen had been ruptured long ago, an indication that the suspect has been having carnal knowledge of her for a long time. Investigation into this case is in progress.”

The pastor denied the allegation, claiming that she only appealed to the victim’s mother not to punish her in public.

He said: “I and few people went to the woman’s shop and saw her daughter kneeling down with blocks on her hands and she was crying. I asked what happened and her mother said somebody told her that whenever the child came to the compound, someone used to make love to her.

“Our shops are not far from each other. I begged the woman to forgive the child and that she should not punish her publicly anymore. She did not listen to me and so, I left them and went to my own shop.

“I am surprised they said I defiled her. The child could be my granddaughter. There was a day she came to my shop and I asked her to assist me in carrying empty crates. I sell non-alcoholic beverages. She helped me carry the crates to my other shop and kept them outside. That was all.” - The Nation

Sinator !!! Melaye arraigned on stretcher, granted bail

The Police on Wednesday arraigned Senator Dino Melaye before an Abuja Magistrate court sitting at Wuse Zone 2.

He was brought to the court on a stretcher.

He was charged for breaking the windscreen of police vehicle conveying him to Lokoja, Kogi state, threatening to kill himself and intentionally implicating the police officer over his death.

Presiding Magistrate Mabel Bello granted Melaye bail and ordered that one of the sureties must be a civil servant on grade level 14, and must show evidence of his residence in FCT.

Senator Melaye was ordered to deposit his international passport with the FCT Commissioner of Police.

He should also report himself at Wuse Zone 2 police station every first working day of the week.

The case was adjourned to June 6 for proper trial.

Ekiti guber: Fayose raises alarm over influx of N5bn for APC primary

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has raised the alarm over the influx of questionable funds into the State for the Saturday’s All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election.

He said genuine lovers of democracy should be worried that over N5 billion cash will be going into mere primary election of a political party that claimed to be fighting corruption.

The governor, who alleged that some of the APC governorship aspirants had earmarked N1 billion each to buy 2,000 delegates and other ones between N500,000 and N200,000 for at least 1,500 delegates, said; “If truly President Muhammadu Buhari is truly fighting corruption, anti-corruption agencies will have their searchlights beamed on the conduct of the APC primary election in Ekiti State, with a view to unravelling where the billions of naira cash being share left, right and center are coming from.

“Even those claiming to have integrity among them are saying on live radio programmes that they have enough cash to bribe delegates, this is ridiculous.”

Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communications and New
Media, Lere Olayinka, quoted him as saying in a release issued on Wednesday, that it was alarming and questionable how a single aspirant will amass N2 billion to bribe delegates.

He asked: “Were they keeping the money somewhere with the intention of using it to buy their party members that they have impoverished by ruining the country’s economy?

“If they spend over N5 billion just to get the party ticket, how much are they going to spend for the election proper? And where lies their claim to anti-corruption fight?”

The governor however described the naira rain in the APC as the party members’ share from the money their leaders may have looted fro either from Ekiti treasury or national treasury.

Governor Fayose said even though he remained confident that the APC will again be defeated in the July 14 governorship election, “the level at which cash is now flying among aspirants of a party that claimed to be fighting corruption is worrisome.”

Fayose raises alarm over influx of N5bn cash to Ekiti for APC guber primary

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose has raised the alarm the influx of questionable funds into the State for the Saturday’s All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship primary election, saying genuine lovers of democracy should be worried that over N5 billion cash will be going into mere primary election of a political party that claimed to be fighting corruption.

The governor, who alleged that some of the APC governorship aspirant had earmarked N1 million each to buy 2,000 delegates and other ones between N500,000 and N200,000 for at least 1,500 delegates, said; “If truly President Muhammadu Buhari is truly fighting corruption, anti-corruption agencies will have their searchlights beamed on the conduct of the APC primary election in Ekiti State, with a view to unravelling where the billions of naira cash being share left, right and center are coming from.

“Even those claiming to have integrity among them are saying on live radio programmes that they have enough cash to bribe delegates, this is ridiculous.”

Special Assistant to the Governor on Public Communications and New
Media, Lere Olayinka, quoted him as saying in a release issued on Wednesday, that it was alarming and questionable how a single aspirant will amass N2 billion to bribe delegates.

He asked: “Were they keeping the money somewhere with the intention of using it to buy their party members that they have impoverished by ruining the country’s economy?

“If they spend over N5 billion just to get the party ticket, how much are they going to spend for the election proper? And where lies their claim to anti-corruption fight?”

The governor however described the naira rain in the APC as the party members’ share from the money their leaders may have looted fro either from Ekiti treasury or national treasury.

Governor Fayose said even though he remained confident that the APC will again be defeated in the July 14 governorship election, “the level at which cash is now flying among aspirants of a party that claimed to be fighting corruption is worrisome.” - Daily Post

A new train line sank an entire London neighborhood by 1 cm in a year

When a European weather satellite took images of a region in south London, it made a surprising discovery: The neighborhood of Kennington has sunk about 1 cm in the past year.

The Sentinel-1 weather satellite is armed with radar that can detect tiny movements up and down of the Earth’s surface. Its job is to help policymakers and industries understand the risks and effects of big infrastructure projects. Geomatic Ventures used Sentinel-1’s data—which was collected between 2015 and 2017—to build a map of the UK, marking out regions of unusual uplift (raising) and subsidence (sinking).

The company says the most likely reason for Kennington’s subsidence is the sinking of shaft—the digging of a vertical tunnel—that was completed in November, as part of an extension of the Northern line on the London Underground. The subsidence occurs as the ground around a freshly dug tunnel settles into its new position.

Though the image looks dramatic, city’s infrastructure is able to deal with a whole area sinking just a little. Where troubles can occur is if some parts go deeper and others don’t. The BBC documented the difficulty of such tunneling work underneath a crowded city during the construction of a new London Underground line called the Elizabeth Line. To tackle the problem, construction companies employ a smart monitoring system that ensures any subsidence is managed carefully.

Other regions in the UK monitored by the Sentinel-1 show larger changes. Some abandoned coal mines in northern England are rebounding, causing an uplift of as much as 1 cm per year, since water pumps were shut in the 1980s and groundwater levels continue to rise. In other places, coal mines are still collapsing and causing subsidence of about the same magnitude as uplift in other places. These movements are important to monitor because parts of the UK’s most expensive rail line—the HS2—will pass on top of old coal mines.

The most surprising find was a place called Willand in the region of Devon that has been rising more than 2 cm per year. “We’ve spoken to the Environment Agency and the British Geological Survey, and right now we can’t explain it,” Andy Sowter, Geomatic’s chief technology officer, told the BBC.

You can expect to hear more surprising news out the ups and downs of the Earth’s surface, as the Sentinel fleet of satellites is set to grow from six currently in orbit to 20, within the next decade. - Quartz 

PL news :Monaco boss still a target for Arsenal job

Monaco boss  Leonardo Jardim is still in the frame to take over from outgoing Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger at the end of the season, according to France Football.

Wenger announced that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season two weeks ago, ending a 22 year stay at the club and since then plenty of names have been thrown into the hat as possible replacements.

This is a major decision for the club and one they simply have to get right, having seen how wrong it went when Manchester United went through a similar situation when Sir Alex Ferguson left the club.

Jardim is a top quality coach and would be a welcome addition to the club, having secured famous Champions League wins over both Arsenal and Manchester City in the recent years.

The 43-year-old has coached a number of clubs throughout Europe and would be well placed to take the job if he were to be offered it. - Read Sport

OAU shut for owing N1.8 billion tax

Following the expiration of the seven-day ultimatum issued by the Osun State Internal Revenue Service to private organizations and public establishments to pay up their tax arrears, the revenue agency has shut down the Obafemi Awolowo University OAU, Ile-Ife for owing N1.8 billion tax.

Led by a top official of the agency, Mr. Oladipo Babatunde, the university was shut by official of the Revenue Task Force around 7:00 on Wednesday morning.

It was gathered that the Senate Building, the Administrative Block and the Bursary were part of the facilities the agency sealed off before proceeding to the university main gate to put it under lock and key.

Other tax defaulting establishments including a construction company, Sammiya Construction Company and a money lending company, LAPO Agric located along Gbongon/Ibadan Road, Osogbo apart from apart from the OAU were sealed off by the officials of the agency.

Speaking on the closure, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Tax Matters and Revenue Generation, Barr. Gbenga Akano, disclosed  that OAU owed the state government about N1.8 billion, saying the state government had no choice than to seal the university after its management refused to meet up with the governement deadline for payment.

According to him, the money owed by the institution is outstanding unremitted PAYE withholding taxes and developments levy which he said had become due and payable since year 2015 and 2016.

He said: “It is callous and act of wickedness for any organization to refuse to pay taxes. We are all know that the state is suffering from financial malaria because of the meager in the Federal allocation orchestrated by the current economic recession.

“The Federal allocation is not sufficient not only to run government but also to meet the financial obligations of the State. We had earlier issued all the affected establishments seven-day ultimatum which was even given a wide media coverage and we expect every responsible organisations to come to us for dialogue.

“But as at this morning, OAU management refuse to approach us for any dialogue, they did not responded, while some of other affected companies have responded.

Sammya owed the state government about N5 millions, just as LAPO Agric owed N7 million. We have appealed to all the establishments and individuals owing the state government to pay but many of them refused to do so.”

In a swift reaction, the authorities of the  Obafemi Awolowo University,  said the matter would soon be resolved.

In a statement by its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Abiodun Olanrewaju, the university  said that the debt was inherited from the past administrations of the institution.

The statement read: “I must add this that the present university administration since 2017 has been paying consistently but the backlog of debt inherited from the past administrations is niw causing this little problem. Everything will be resolved by the grace of God. The school management is assuring the public that it will soon be resolved. - The Nation