Author: Lawal AbdulSalam Olawale

It’s high time to start being deliberate about our environment and what we eat and inhale daily. That little sand portion in your compound or environment can be useful in nurturing flowers. Flowers are beneficial in the following ways:

 

 

 

1. Flowers brighten and beautify the environment with their range of colours. Planting flowers has a positive impact on the physical well-being of gardeners. It improves the flexibility of the muscle and helps to burn calories.

2. Flowers remove pollutants from the air. Instead of spending so much on air purifiers and diffusers, flowers are a natural way to purify the air around your home. Flower plants take in Carbon Dioxide and release oxygen during photosynthesis. More so, flowerbeds retain soil, evading erosion and flooding. These are natural ways to maintain fresh air and a more balanced earth around your home.

 

 

3. Working around the soil exposes the human body to beneficial bacteria and microbes. Through this, the body’s immune system is built and creates antibodies.

 

 

4. The beautiful colours and enchanting smell of flowers improve cognitive and emotional well-being. Waking up to the sight of beautiful colours and blossoming flowers improves one’s mood and appreciation for nature and life. If you want to be more thankful or have a brightened mood when in your home, flowers are a good source of inspiration to look out for when you are laid back and relaxed.

 

5. Flowers attract pollinators like butterflies, bees and moths, which are crucial to our survival. Insects are also beneficial to our human existence. According to the Federation of Wild Life, insects pollinate our crops and wild plants, providing one-third of our food and allowing wild plants to reproduce and produce the berries, fruits, seeds, and other plant foods that form the base of the natural food web. You just might be saving humanity from hunger by planting flowers.

Ogun Traffic Compliance and Enforcement Corps (TRACE), on Sunday said, two persons lost their lives, while another one sustained injuries in an accident involving a Mazda bus and a Mazda car at Ayedere , on the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway.

Spokesperson of Mr Babatunde Akinbiyi of TRACE, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.

Akinbiyi said, the accident occured at 7:10am at Ayedere village in Ewekoro local government area of the state.

 

He noted that the accident was caused by the driver of the unregistered Mazda car who drove against traffic and had a head on collision with the Mazda bus marked SEY 311 ZY.

 

Akinbiyi added that the drivers of the two vehicles died while a motor boy sustained injuries

 

He explained that the injured motor boy was rescued to a nearby hospital before the arrival of TRACE, saying that the driver of the car had been taking away by his family for burial.

 

He said, the driver of the bus was deposited at Ifo General Hospital morgue.

 

” According to eyewitness , the white Mazda bus, loaded with foodstuffs was on its rightful lane, outbound Abeokuta.

 

“The unregistered Mazda car, driving in a direction prohibited by traffic law collided with the bus, leaving the drivers of both vehicles dead on the spot due to the impact of the collision.

The motor boy of the white Mazda bus sustained varying degrees of injuries and has been taken to a private clinic for medical attention,” he said.

Akinbiyi warned drivers to desist from commiting route violation, saying that there are lot of dangers associated with route violation.

 

 

 

 

Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, also posted the pictures she took with President Bola Tinubu on the sidelines of the summit.

US President Joe Biden took many by surprise after snapping photos of the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in New Delhi, India.

After posing with some of her team members, President Biden took photos of Okonjo-Iweala with the US National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.

 

 

 

Describing the moment as great, Okonjo-Iweala posted the pictures on her X (formerly called Twitter) page.

 

“At the G20 leaders Summit. Some great moments with President Joe Biden @POTUS and also with @JakeSullivan46 National Security Advisor, discussing @WTO reform especially reform of the Dispute Settlement System. President Biden surprised us by taking a photo of me, my staff and @JakeSullivan46,” Okonjo-Iweala wrote.

Okonjo-Iweala, Nigeria’s former Finance Minister, also posted the pictures she took with President Bola Tinubu on the sidelines of the summit.

G20 summit ends on September 10. On Saturday, the African Union (AU) formally joined the Group of 20 top global economies on Saturday.

 

See photos below:

Ogun State Governor, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has authorised the demolition of DATKEM Plaza, a property owned by Olufunke Daniel, the wife of former governor now senator, Gbenga Daniel.

The building, located at Folagbade Street in Ijebu Ode, was set to be commissioned at the end of this month.

Though, it was gathered that Ogun State government had issued contravention notice to contractors working on the building about three days ago.

 

According to the project manager, Olusegun Lawal, some of the contravention, according to the notice by government included; inadequate parking space, inadequate muster point, and inadequate airspace.

 

Lawal said construction of the five-story building began in 2009 with full approval from the relevant authorities.

 

Lawal added that “the building boasted a ground floor and mezzanine equipped with a fully-fledged banking hall, complete with bank trap doors and a CHUBB Strong Room.

 

Other features included a Kone Elevator installed by Kresta Laurel Ltd, brand new split air conditioners from Holomicool Nig Ltd, a 150kVA generator set, and a transformer.

 

The plaza also had a fire-fighting system installed by Flory Ltd, with external cladding completed by Vertex Nig Ltd. Building supervision was entrusted to qualified and certified engineers, Engr. A Lawal and Engr. Ibraheem Shonde, among others.

 

Speaking on the development, an aide to Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Steve Oliyide said the building was not demolished, but it was vandalized.

According to Oliyide, the vandalization, which lasted from 2am till 5am was carried out by thugs loyal to the State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and were given police protection by ACP Edward Omosoyin with seven armed policemen in twenty vehicles.

Oliyide added that Town Planners refused to sign the Order of demolition because it cannot be justified.

 

“Dapo Abiodun was said to be in Ijebu Ode yesterday with Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila to see the Awujale and Paramount ruler of Ijebu land, Oba Sikiru Adetona.

 

“Town planners that were contacted say they don’t work at night and not even on Sunday. One of Dapo Abiodun’s thugs, Efele was said to be patrolling the area all through yesterday.

 

“The operation was led by ACP Edward Omosoyin with seven armed policemen in twenty vehicles and personally supervised the destruction.

He called the DPOs that they have a special operation by 2am. The destruction was done by thugs headed by Efele and other thugs.

 

“So, it is logical that Dapo Abiodun’s thugs are the one who attacked the building to enforce an illegal order and they are being protected by the Police. It is also true that the Town Planners who refused to sign the Order because the demolition cannot be justified were threatened and the one who collected a response letter from the builder has been placed on suspension.

 

 

The Office of the Minister of Federal Capital Territory (FCT) has denied any plan by the minister, Mr Nyesom Wike, to in invite the nation’s anti-graft agencies to investigate his predecessor, Malam Muhammad Bello.

 

The Director of Press, Mr Anthony Ogunleye, made the rebuttal in a statement in Abuja on Saturday.

 

Ogunleye said that the rebuttal was in response to a claim by an online media platform that Wike plans to invite EFCC and ICPC to investigate Bello.

 

He said that the false media publication alleged that Bello would be investigated for alleged irregularities in the award of contracts and other matters.

 

“We categorically and unequivocally state that these reports are entirely baseless and without any merit whatsoever.

 

“The FCT minister, during his routine inspections of various projects within the FCT, has indeed expressed concerns and frustrations regarding irregularities observed in the procurement and execution of certain projects, amongst other observations.

 

“However, at no point did he contemplate or authorize any action by anyone within or outside the FCT Administration to invite the EFCC or ICPC to investigate the former FCT minister in connection with these or any other matters.

 

“The online story in question is nothing more than a product of the imagination of its authors and is clearly designed to mischievously sow discord and confusion among the general public,” the director said.

 

Ogunleye said that the FCT Administration viewed such misinformation with great concern and urged the public to exercise caution when in contact with the unfounded reports.

 

The director of press added that the FCT minister remained focused on his responsibilities to ensure the efficient and transparent administration of the Federal Capital Territory.

 

“Any actions or decisions taken by the FCTA in this regard will be communicated through official channels and in accordance with due process.

 

“We, hereby, advise the public to disregard the story in its entirety, as it is nothing but a deliberate attempt to spread fake news and create unnecessary tensions.

 

“Wike remains committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability in the discharge of his duties and remains committed to building the FCT of our collective dreams,” Ogunleye said. (NAN)

The Ukrainian government says it killed 600 members of Russian forces in one day.

 

It also announced that Conservative party headquarters located in Ukraine was destroyed on Friday.

 

The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said it is estimating that 600 of Russian personnel were killed on Friday.

 

This brings the total loss since February 2022 to 268,140.

The Mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, said the headquarters of the United Russia Political Party in Polohy, Ukraine was also destroyed in an attack on Friday, according to the Kyiv Independent.

 

Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app that local residents described Russians as “burned out” of the headquarters amid the “hellish pseudo-elections”.

 

Alluding to casualties, he said: “Some went to the hospital and some went straight to the morgue.”

 

Osogbo – The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Gboyega Oyetola has charged members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Osun state to stay away from former Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola’ys caucus.

Aregbesola had recently flouted a caucus named Omoluabi Progressives saying the political party is a product of the amalgamation of caucuses.

However, Oyetola, while addressing party members who received him at the Tinubu-Shettima campaign office in Osogbo, warned party members to ignore the group in the collective interest of the party.

 

The Minister, who spoke in Yoruba language, said he was not averse to reconciliation but those who were involved in anti-party activities must be sober, adding that expulsion and suspension of erring members by the State Working Committee of the party is a step in the right direction.

 

“I am telling now that you should not attend any caucus meeting, the only valid meeting you must attend is APC meetings at your various wards, there is no any caucus or faction in the state APC. Don’t be mislead by those caucus handlers, they will trade you away.

 

“I am not against the punishment meted against our party members who engaged in anti-party activities during the last sets of election. We worked for three years to ensure reconciliation but they jeopardised our efforts, I am fully in support of the party’s action.

 

“However, I am not averse to genuine reconciliation. If they show remorse and they are sober we must go to the roundtable to dialogue”, he added.

 

The former governor urged party faithful to ensure that they attend party meetings and activities promptly, saying the party will return to power

by 2026.

 

19 persons were on Thursday, kidnapped in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja, while no fewer than 30 persons were reported to have died in a landslide caused by activities of illegal miners in the Kuje Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory.

 

These were revealed during the maiden meeting between the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, and the six area council chairmen.

 

The Minister, who was concerned about the developments said he would summon the FCT Director of State Services, as well as the Commissioner of Police, to be comprehensively briefed about the kidnap incident and facilitate rescue operations.

 

While asking the council bosses to set up a surveillance task force in their areas to monitor mining activities, Wike said he would meet with his counterpart in Solid Minerals, Dele Alake, to eliminate illegal mining in the FCT.

Speaking on the challenges confronting the councils, Kwali Area Council chairman, Danladi Chiya, appealed to the Wike and the Minister of State, Dr. Mariya Mahmoud, to come to their aid.

 

He said, “When we heard about your appointment, we were happy because you have been a Council Chairman and therefore, understand our challenges. Our challenges are inadequate funding of the local government system.

 

“We have the major challenge of insecurity across the six Area Councils. Just today (Thursday), about 19 people were kidnapped in the Bwari Area Council. I just received about five people in my council, who were in captivity for about six days.

The next is the development of satellite towns. The issue of sanitation is one of the major challenges confronting us. There is also no efficient transport facility. The Abuja Urban Mass Transit buses are no longer functional.

 

“Then, there is the issue of land allocation. You sit in your council and your backyard will be allocated to someone you don’t even know. Graveyards and worship centres would be allocated and all we are saying is that we should be carried along in terms of land allocation.

 

“The responsibility of primary school teachers is on the local governments. The UBE’s payment of salaries lies on the council, which by law is supposed to be 60-40 per cent. We are pleading that you help us so that this issue can be looked into.”

 

the Kuje Area Council Chairman, Abdullahi Sabo, also lamented the menace of illegal miners, saying, “There is the issue of illegal mining in the FCT. Indiscriminate mining licences are given out and this has led to insecurity. They give letters of consent to Chinese people.

 

“Just a few days ago, there was a landslide that took the lives of 30 people as a result of the activities of illegal miners. We appeal to you to engage the Minister of Mines to stop mining in the FCT.”

 

“On sanitation, we have a problem. Sanitation is a big issue. It is the duty of the council not just to collect the fees but to dispose of refuse. We have to sit down and work together on this by adopting a common template.”

 

Responding, Wike said, “On illegal mining, I will talk to the minister. Ordinarily, I would say you should also form your own surveillance taskforce as Chief Security Officers of your councils and make arrests and we will support you. However, I will meet with the minister”.