Reaction As Oba Elegushi Fixes Oro Cult Ritual On Election Day

 

Reaction has trailed the fixing of Oro cult ritual on election day by Oba Elegushi.

 

The traditional ruler of the Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom, Saheed Ademola (Kusenla III), has declared a three-day Oro rite on non-indigenes and women from midnight to 5:30 a.m., including on Saturday’s governorship and state assembly election day.

In a memo issued to the residents of Ikate-Elegushi, the monarch announced that there would be a restriction of movement to perform the Oro rite in the community from Wednesday to Saturday.

Residents of the community alleged there is a political motive for the curfew which will further disenfranchise women and non-indigenes from voting on election day. Others complained that it would paralysed commercial activities in the community.

Temitope Oyefeso, the special assistant on media affairs to the Ikate Kingdom’s monarch, confirmed that an Oro rite is happening in the Ikate-Elegushi Kingdom.

“Yes, there is an Oro rite happening in the Ikate kingdom. So, the Elegushi community council decided that residents and visitors should be in their houses from midnight to morning on Wednesday to Saturday,” Mr Oyefeso told Peoples Gazette.

Mr Oyefeso debunked the allegation that it will affect election activities on Saturday, declaring, “We are not saying people should sit at home during the day like they have in other places.”

He added, “Elections are held during the day, and by morning we will open the roads for people to come. It is a traditional rite. But unfortunately, it has come at this time. It is an annual event, and this is not the first time. We are not disrupting any process.”

According to him, the Oro rite will bring peace to the community, adding that it happens in all communities within Lagos.

He explained that non-indigenes registered to vote in Elegushi will partake in the voting process, reiterating that “they will not leave the house to vote by 2:00 a.m., so they ought to be in their house.”

“Voting starts by 8:00 a.m., and there is a police curfew for midnight on election day. We are not doing anything different from what the police have done. It will just commence two days earlier,” the monarch’s spokesman explained. “People should stop speculating rumours or being mischievous about Oro rites; it is not interfering with the process of the election. Residents can move about from morning till 11:30 p.m.”

However, some Nigerians have taken to social media to register their displeasure.

 

Prisoners’ Feeding Cost Increased To N1,000 Per Day

The Senate Committee on Interior has resolved to jerk up the daily feeding cost of a prisoner per day, to N1,000 from N750 proposed by the executive in the 2022 budget.

This is as the committee planned to meet the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed, the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) and other stakeholders on expeditious justice delivery in decongesting the nation’s prisons.

The Acting Comptroller General of Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS), Mr Idris Isa, had in his presentation before the Committee during 2022 budget defence said that the current N450 feeding cost for each of the Prisoners on daily basis, has been increased to N750 as proposed in the 2022 budget estimates.

Moved by empathy and compassion, the Committee Chairman, Senator Kashim Shettima (APC Borno Central) and members, frowned at the N750 feeding cost per day proposed for each inmate across the custodian centres. On behalf of the committee, Senator Chukwuka Utazi (PDP Enugu North) said going by the value of Naira today and increasing costs of consumables, N750 is insufficient.

“Mr Chairman, I will urge this committee to jerk up the proposed N750 feeding cost per day on each of the inmates at the custodian centres to at least N1,000.00 because no grown-up Nigeria today can survive with N750 per day as far as feeding is concerned,” he said.

Seconding the motion, Senator Betty Apiafi (PDP Rivers West), said the proposed N1,000 should be the minimum and must be reflected in the final budget to be passed for the correctional service. The Chairman of the committee accordingly ruled in favour of the motion by hitting the gavel on the table to that effect.