The Anambra government says it will soon commence the removal of illegal structures across the state.

In a statement issued on Friday, Paul Nwosu, information commissioner in Anambra, said owners of such illegal structures would “bear the cost of the logistics of removal”.

“Anambra State Government has noticed that in spite of the warnings given to owners of illegal structures to remove them, these notices have been largely disregarded,” the statement reads.

“This government is a proponent of law and order, and therefore will not condone any flagrant violation of legitimate directives given in the interest of public good.

“Government has repeatedly stated that these illegal structures distort and completely mangle our cities’ original masterplan. This has resulted in the blocking of our drainages and water channels, causing flooding and, sometimes, loss of lives. This can no longer be tolerated as the rainy season is just around the corner.

“Let it be known therefore that as the government has directed individuals, companies, market and park leaders to commence intensive desilting of their gutters and drainages, it will soon start a sustained campaign to remove illegal structures.

“Owners of such structures are therefore advised to remove them on their own so that they can carefully evacuate their belongings.

“But where they ignore government notices and the structures are removed by the government, the owner(s) of such structure(s) will bear the cost of the logistics of removal. The owner of the structure will be given a stipulated time to pay, after which the property/goods within would be disposed to settle the cost.”

Nwosu added that some of the illegal structures might have been erected by the owners out of ignorance of the law or other reasons.

“But now that they know, it is only proper they remove the structures by themselves to avoid the harsh consequences that may trail their negligence to act promptly,” he said.

An elder statesman and former governor of old Oyo State, Dr Omololu Olunloyo, has broken his silence about the rumour of his death, saying he is alive.

Olunloyo who spoke with The PUNCH correspondent who visited his Molete residence in Ibadan, the state capital on Friday said he was hale and hearty.

Earlier, the rumour of the death of the elder statesman was reported by some news platforms (not The PUNCH).

However, Olunloyo, while speaking said, “I’m still here, not yet gone.”

He also expressed worry over the rumour and asked who would live forever, stressing, “Those breaking death news and the person presumed dead will all die one day.

“I’ve been lucky. My father died at 42, while my mother died at 102. I’m 89. I’ve crossed the expected life age.”

The elder statesman also illustrated how the rumour of his death hit several news platforms on June 7, 2022.

He noted that the rumour mongers claimed that he died at the University College Hospital, Ibadan.

A few days later, the family issued a statement, declaring that he was not dead but suffering from old age ailment and asked Nigerians to pray for him to survive the health complications.

Operatives of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) on Thursday raided Sahad store, a popular supermarket in Abuja, for selling some counterfeit products.

The agency also raided H-Medix outlets located in Wuse 2, Gwarinpa, and Utako market, in the nation’s capital.

Speaking with journalists during the exercise, Embugushiki-Musa Godiya, the NAFDAC head of investigation and enforcement in Abuja, said the team had also raided markets in Nyanya and Mararaba axis on Tuesday.

He said the team equally raided Wuse market on Wednesday and seized goods worth millions of naira.

Godiya said the three-day operation was carried out based on intelligent reports the agency gathered from well-meaning Nigerians.

“We have been able to successfully recover some of the counterfeit products, and evacuate them for destruction. Our concern is one of the products, purported to be Nivea NAFDAC regulated product, but it is not,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“The most shocking to me is that such substandard Nivea cream and other cosmetics are even more expensive than the ones approved by NAFDAC. This is criminal.

“The market value of what we have seen so far for drug hawking is N5 million, and for the NIVEA products, other cosmetics and other products, including Jik bleach, Harpic toilet cleaner and Airwick room freshener, all counterfeit in large quantity, valued at N45 million.

“The total value of all the goods seized during the operation is N50 million.”

He said the agency has zero tolerance for compromised standards, adding that “NAFDAC will arrest whosoever is involved in this crime”.

“NAFDAC enforcement will make sure it gets to the root of the syndicate that imports these products,” he said.

He called on Nigerians to be careful with the kind of products they buy, and always watch out for the NAFDAC registration number before they buy.