The Ondo State Government has permitted public servants and students in both private and public schools in the state to wear native attires to office and schools on Fridays to promote culture and traditions.
The government also ordered the closure of the Ikare-Akoko Central Mosque to forestall the breakdown of law and order.
The commissioner for information and orientation, Mrs Bamidele Ademola-Olateju, disclosed this during a media briefing shortly after the state executive council meeting.
Ademola-Olateju said the state exco made some far-reaching decisions on other important issues.
She said: ”The Council decided that from now on, every Friday, Workers in Ondo State would be required to wear traditional wear to work. And for students in the State, it is permissible from now on that they can wear traditional attires to school every Friday.
“We made some decisions on law and order within the state. We know there are disturbances around the Central Mosque in Ikare-Akoko. The council decided that the Ikare Mosque should be closed down with immediate effect.
“There would be no prayer offered in that mosque until there is a resolution to the issue and the government would be inviting the parties involved in the dispute as well as the league of Imams to resolve the issue at stake.
“Those who trespassed in various locations on government land, their structures would be demolished. If you have anything on government land, go and remove them now.
“And those that are writing petitions claiming to be the owners of government land, the government will not tolerate that. So, the council has said those writing petitions to challenge ownership of government land, won’t be tolerated by the government.
“In terms of the environment, we made decisions on the use of plastic waste. The Exco made far-reaching decisions and plans are underway to encourage the use of biodegradable materials and the recycling of plastics.
“We made some decisions on Chieftaincy also. The council decided that the petitions received would be reviewed by another commission to be set up soon.
“On budget, today we discussed extensively budgeting going forward and we made decisions and approved the medium-term expenditure framework for 2023/2025.”
The Commissioner for Culture and Tourism, Mr Adewale Akinlosotu, further explained that the council decided that for the state to preserve the Yoruba culture, public workers and students will start wearing native attires to work and schools on Friday.
“We are declaring Friday as a cultural Day. For students of both private and public schools, it is permissible to wear their cultural attire to school on Fridays.
“You will agree with me that your culture makes who you are. With Western Civilization today, culture is going into extinction. We have to make sure that we protect our culture from going into extinction.
“We want to commend Mr Governor for his interest in this sector to make sure that our culture is protected. This is one of the things we are going to be doing. Hopefully, in the future or shortly, we are going to come up with another programme that will enhance our culture,” he said.
The Special Adviser on Environment, Mr Oyeniyi Oseni, said the council has approved the composition of a committee to domesticate the national policy on plastic waste in the state.
He said the committee will also look into other recommendations that will control the use of plastic wastes indiscriminately.
“In society, we all know the negative impact of plastic waste which is very dangerous to our health. Plastic waste and other biodegradable materials can stay for donkey years in our environment and thus releases some harmful substances to the environment which are dangerous to our health.
“So, the council is not taking that likely and it is taking proactive steps at making sure we nip this on time. I can assure you that going forward, Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu is not taking lightly the issue of the environment,” Oseni explained.
The Commissioner for Budget and Economic Planning, Pastor Emmanuel Igbasan, informed that the council approved the Medium Term Expenditure Framework for Ondo State, from 2022 to 2025, to be transmitted to the Ondo State House of Assembly for legislative approvals and appropriation.
“It is important to note, the people are the fulcrum of every action of the Government even from 2017 till date. To date, we have prioritized human capital development, infrastructure, education and health. We expect our people to derive maximum benefit from the public expenditure going forward,” he said.
Igbasan noted that despite the ravaging flooding situation across the country, the state didn’t experience regular flooding due to the proactiveness of the Governor.
“With the proactiveness of Mr Governor, in the procurement of three Swamp Buggies, we all know the consequences of the flood that is ravaging most parts of the country despite the advance information by NEMA.
“However, many states were caught unaware but we note with the sense of responsibility that Ondo State Government is so proactive in purchasing those three Swamp Buggies. Even before now, most of our riverbeds and even channels have been disabled and we have a free flow of water. Hence, out of the 600 recorded losses of life, Ondo State did not record any loss.
Also, the Commissioner For local government and Chieftaincy Affairs. Akinwumi Sowore said the council deliberated on the various agitations on cases of upgrading and recognition of chieftaincy titles.
“The council has reaffirmed its commitment to the upgrading of the Chieftaincy, and it has been decided that it will be a continuous exercise. All agitations written to us will be taken care of in due course.
“The council will set up another commission to take care of all these. To this end, errors in the white paper have been corrected, especially in the case of Odogbo of Omi Kingdom. The council has approved that he remains in grade A,” he said.
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