I just came back from a 10-day visit to the home country. Nothing much is going on in the western axis except in Lagos and Mimiko’s Ondo state — which appears ready to emerge from a decade-old crust of lack luster governance.
The state-owned TV station, OSRC, is now wearing a new look, under the leadership of Channels TV import, Ladi Akeredolu-Ale. And from what I could discern, the first 100 days of Gov. Mimiko — which is just around the corner — will be marked by the commissioning of some projects, here is a sneak preview of what is happening:
- A Mother and Child Hospital — the first of several planned statewide — is being constructed in Akure, the state capital, and may be ready within the next 16 weeks.
- Construction has started on the first 700 of the 4000 low-mid income homes planned for the state. The hospital and the real estate development are the first wave of a series of public-private projects planned for the state.
- More than 30 small scale, solar powered water schemes are being built statewide.
- Urban planning, or re-planning of the state capital, particularly the major thorough fares.
On the national scene, the arrest and the corruption scandal involving Ndudi Elumelu’s gang at the National House of Representatives remains the big news. Elumelu was the Chairman of a National Assembly committee that investigated power project contracts during former president Obasanjo’s tenure.
Elumelu, whose committee indicted the past administration for gross negligence in the award and execution of the projects, is now in detention without elements, and under investigation for facilitating some $30 million (5 billion Naira) contract scam at the Rural Electrification Agency.
Even though I’m pressed to make a categorical statement on Elumelu’s arrest, but in the spirit of fairness, and guided by my knowledge of Nigeria’s style of power-play, l will be patient and defer from stating that Elumelu’s arrest now challenges the integrity of the entire national assembly.
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