President Tinubu Appoints New Presidential Media Advisory Team Members.

President Tinubu Appoints New Presidential Media Advisory Team Members.

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of the following men and women to serve in the Office of the President under the Media & Publicity Directorate with full respect for the tenets of Nigeria's federal character principle and the supremacy of merit:

(1) Mr. Fela Durotoye (Senior Special Assistant to the President — National Values & Social Justice)

(2) Mr. Fredrick Nwabufo (Senior Special Assistant to the President — Public Engagement)

(3) Mrs. Linda Nwabuwa Akhigbe (Senior Special Assistant to the President — Strategic Communications)

(4) Mr. Aliyu Audu (Special Assistant to the President — Public Affairs)

(5) Mr. Francis Adah Abah (Personal Assistant to the President — Special Duties)

President Tinubu has further approved the secondment of Mrs. Linda Nwabuwa Akhigbe to serve as the Communications Adviser to the President of the ECOWAS Commission.

The President tasks all new appointees who are serving in the Media & Publicity directorate to uphold the highest standards of decorum and decency in their engagements with all members of the public as they advance the President's determined bid to renew the hope of Nigerians in a restructured economy and unified society that caters sufficiently to the needs of all, regardless of any differences.

Oyebanji’s Wife Teaches Students For Free At EKSU.

Oyebanji’s Wife Teaches Students For Free At EKSU.

Wife of the Governor, Dr. Olayemi Oyebanji, on Monday began a community service at the Ekiti State University (EKSU) where she has offered to teach students of Education Management for free as a means of contributing to their development.

The First Lady was in the classroom for about two hours to share knowledge with the students in the university where she began her career as an academic and taught for twelve years before transferring her services to the University of Ibadan for family reasons.

Dr. Oyebanji said her gesture was borne out of her desire to leave her comfort zone in the Government House and doing what she knows best: teaching and imparting knowledge on the students.

According to her, she is fulfilling one of the three core values of the academic profession which include, teaching, research and community service noting her being the First Lady cannot take her away from her love for students and helping in moulding their future.

Dr. Oyebanji, a senior lecturer at the University of Ibadan and presently awaiting her Associate Professorship where she had held various administrative positions and successfully supervised PhD students.

The Governor’s wife had earlier signified her intent to take time off her busy schedule as the First Lady to lecture students periodically at EKSU to contribute her quota to the development of students at the state-owned university.

Thereafter, Dr. Oyebanji similarly expressed her readiness to lecture at the Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti (ABUAD), a gesture seen in some quarters a model of mentorship service, sacrifice and humility in power which earned her local and international applause.

Third year (300 Level) students in the Department of Education Management at EKSU were thrilled and excited to see the First Lady in the class to teach them a course, Leadership in Formal Organizations in which she dwelt on Theories of Leadership and entertained series of questions from the appreciative students.

The students listened with rapt attention as Dr. Oyebanji who asked the students to see her as their teacher and not as First Lady diligently dissected five theories considered during the EDM 303 class which included Trait Theory, Behavioural Theory, Situational Theory, Contingency Theory and Path-Goal Theory.

Apart from the questions asked by the students, Dr. Oyebanji also gave them opportunities to share their thoughts on issues thrown up in the course of learning various perspectives in theories studied and how they could apply them to situations they find themselves especially as future leaders.

While urging the students to feel free and bare their minds during the lecture, Dr. Oyebanji said one of the aims she wanted to achieve with teaching the course was to inculcate the art of public speaking in the students, especially the female ones, noting that public speaking is an ingredient of leadership and effective communication.

Speaking with reporters in an interview after the two-hour lecture, Dr. Oyebanji said she was fulfilled to be involved in a community service at the state university teaching students describing her interaction with them as worthwhile. She added that she is contributing her quota to moulding the character and shaping the personality of future leaders in her community.

She said: “I started here as a Graduate Assistant and I worked in this university for twelve years before I relocated to the University of Ibadan where I was before we came to office. This is my own community service and I am fulfilled to give it for free in our state university.

“I have taught all my life and I want to teach here while in office to share from my experience with these students. This course, is a course that I have taught for over twenty years. When I was given the course to teach, I said ‘why not, it’s part of my community service.’ We lecturers have have three major areas: teaching, research and community service, so, what I am doing now is community service to my dear state.

“Since assuming office, it’s not that I am totally disconnected from academic activities. Recently you followed me to UI when I went to attend to my PhD students and within one year of my assumption of office (as First Lady), I have gone to UI and I have graduated four of my PhD students.”

The co-lecturer of the EDM 303 course (Leadership in Formal Organizations) with the First Lady, Dr. Omowumi Ayodele, described Dr. Oyebanji’s gesture as motivating noting that she students were excited to benefit from her intellect, experience and mentorship.

She said: “Having the First Lady around to teach our students is highly motivating, I am highly motivated that I am taking this course alongside her. She is creating a path for the students toward believing that they can be successful.”

A senior academic in the Department, Prof. Florence Adebayo, eulogized the First Lady for her act of humility in choosing to offer free service at the state university noting that Dr. Oyebanji has proved her mettle as a mother, a humble academic, a change agent and a role model to the students.

Prof. Adebayo prayed that the blessings extended by the First Lady to the students will always follow her to anywhere she goes noting that the impact made will be with the students for a long time to come.

One of the students who attended the lecture, Ismail Abdullahi, said he gained a lot from the various perspectives and true life experiences Dr. Oyebanji shared which will make her teaching to be indelible in his memory.

“Some of the examples and experiences she gave will make her lecture to be unforgettable and I am happy to have gained a lot and I will return home with many takeaways from the lecture of today,” he said.

Another student, Temitope Agbaje, said she felt excited having Dr. Oyebanji in class noting that the lecture gave her some insights about the theories and their application in real life situations.

The First Lady also used the opportunity to visit offices of some lecturers in the department exchanging pleasantries with them and the students before her departure.

PCRC Ekiti State Command Makes History As It Go To The Polls On November 14th 2023.

PCRC Ekiti State Command Makes History As It Go To The Polls On November 14th 2023.

 An appeal has gone to the members of the Police Community Relations Committee (PCRC) Ekiti State Command to conduct themselves in a peaceful and Godly manner as they go to the polls on November 14th 2023 to decide the State Executive that will lead them for the next four calendar years. Pastor Amb Joshua Sunday Makinde the immediate past PCRC Ekiti State Command Chairman , while addressing a PCRC gathering in Ado Ekiti the State Capital on Friday 6th October 2023 said ; God has given grace to PCRC Ekiti State Command to rank among the best in PCRC Nigeria and that there are facts to prove this. He however sends out warnings that *LEADERS* who fought  vehemently for the good name in the committee of PCRC National cannot afford to lose out the credibility for any reason (s) therefore ,  urges PCRC members of Ekiti State Command as they go to the polls on the 14th of November 2023 according to the Holy bible portion Psalm 122 : 6 - 9   *Pray for the peace of Jerusalem (PCRC) : “May those who love you (PCRC) be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your (PCRC) citadels.” For the sake of my family and friends, I will say, “Peace be within you (PCRC).” For the sake of the house of the LORD our God (Ekiti State and Nigeria) , I will seek your (PCRC) prosperity.*  that PCRC will only and only accommodate members to VOTE or be VOTED FOR , as those who seek ITS PROSPERITY by the following ways :

 (A) Having a valid PCRC membership IDcard or to have paid for one and submitted his/her completely filled PCRC valid IDcard form to the authority concern before the election date. 

(B)  To have paid for the PCRC National Capacity building Workshop about taking place in Ekiti State on  the 15th of November 2023.

(C) Be a proven financial member of PCRC at his /her level .

(D) Must be a man/woman of proven integrity .

(E) Must be fully ready to be committed and dedicated to the New Ideology of PCRC NATIONAL.

The Ado - Ekiti born PCRC Chieftain Concluds by saying PCRC is Call to service where you spend and be spent without expecting any gain (s) and that the authority concerned will give room for free , fare , credible and acceptable election, everyone will be allowed to vote candidate (s) of choice so , we all should play the game according to the rules. Thanks. 

Signed

Wale Falua

SSA Media To Pastor Amb Joshua Sunday Makinde PCRC Ekiti State Command Immediate Past Chairman.

INEC laments insecurity ahead of Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa polls.

INEC laments insecurity ahead of Kogi, Imo, Bayelsa polls.

The Independent National Electoral Commission has expressed concern over the rising insecurity ahead of the November 11 governorship elections in Imo, Bayelsa, and Kogi states.

The commission, in a statement by its National Commissioner and Chairman of its Information and Voter Education Committee, Sam Olumekun, also lamented that despite notices and subsequent reminders, political parties had yet to substantially submit the list of their agents.

The INEC commissioner, while appealing to political parties and their candidates to avoid actions and utterances capable of heating up the polity, said, “The commission is concerned about the spate of insecurity and violence, including clashes among supporters of political parties and candidates in the forthcoming elections.

“In our engagement with political parties, the commission has constantly called on parties to rein in their supporters from actions capable of jeopardising the peaceful conduct of elections in Nigeria.

“INEC earnestly appeals to all political parties and candidates to avoid utterances and acts that may heat up the polity. The commission will continue to closely monitor the situation and sustain its engagement with security agencies and stakeholders to ensure peaceful conduct of elections in the three states.”

 

On the submission of the list of party agents, Olumekun said, “The commission notified all political parties of the opening of its online portal for the upload of the list of polling units and collation centre agents, which commenced on Thursday, August 24, 2023. The commission thereafter engaged party representatives on the methodology for a seamless process.

“However, despite this notice and subsequent reminders, political parties are yet to substantially comply by submitting the list of their agents. For Bayelsa, Imo, and Kogi States, only 55 per cent of the expected total of 189,180 polling unit agents have been uploaded to the designated INEC Portal. Specifically, 29,278 out of the expected 40,372 (72.5 per cent) for Bayelsa State, 51,681 out of 85,644 (60.3 per cent) for Imo State, and 23,720 out of 63,144 (37.6 per cent) for Kogi State have been uploaded.

“Similarly, only 25.1 per cent of the expected 15,804 collation agents in the three states have been uploaded: 1,246 (26.0 per cent) out of 4,806 for Bayelsa, 1,638 (27.3 per cent) out of 5,994 for Imo, and 1,095 (21.9 per cent) out of 5,004 for Kogi State.

“The commission hereby wishes to further remind political parties that the portal will automatically shut down at 12 midnight on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. There shall be no extension. Consequently, all parties sponsoring candidates for the elections that have yet to upload the list of their agents should do so before the deadline for the exercise.

Credit: The Punch Newspaper.

1,000 killed as Israeli-Hamas conflict rages, US deploys munitions.

1,000 killed as Israeli-Hamas conflict rages, US deploys munitions.

Israel, reeling from the deadliest attack on its territory in half a century, formally declared war on Hamas on Sunday as the conflict’s death toll surged to 1,000 after the Palestinian militant group launched a massive surprise assault from Gaza.

AFP reports that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu steeled the shocked and grieving nation for a “long and difficult” war ahead after Hamas launched a barrage of rockets at Israel before dawn on Saturday and sent in fighters who gunned down civilians and took at least 100 hostages.

Several Germans, who are also Israeli nationals, were among those kidnapped by militants of the Palestinian Hamas group during its raids into Israel, German ministerial sources said on Sunday.

The sources did not specify the numbers involved.

“As far as we know, they are all Israeli nationals as well as Germans,” they told AFP.

United States President Joe Biden has, however, ordered “additional support” for Israel after the attack, the White House said Sunday, without giving details.

“The President directed additional support for Israel in the face of this unprecedented terrorist assault by Hamas,” the White House said in a statement.

The bloody escalation heightened Middle East tensions and killed more than 600 people on the Israeli side, the country’s worst losses since the 1973 Arab-Israeli war when it came under attack from a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria.

In Gaza, which was hammered by Israeli air strikes on 800 targets ahead of what many feared may be a looming ground invasion, officials reported at least 370 deaths, with thousands more wounded across the war zone.

Tens of thousands of Israeli forces were deployed to battle holdout Hamas fighters in the South, where the bodies of civilians had been found strewn on roads and in town centres.

“The enemy is still on the ground,” military spokesman Daniel Hagari told journalists as a second night fell after the attack, adding Israel was reinforcing its military strength near the Gaza Strip.

Gun battles raged as the Israeli army sought to secure desert regions near the coastal enclave, rescue Israeli hostages and evacuate all areas near Gaza.

“We’ll reach each and every community until we kill every terrorist in Israel,” vowed Hagari, a day after hundreds of Hamas fighters launched their shock offensive and surged into Israel using vehicles, boats and even motorised paragliders.

There was widespread shock and dismay in Israel after about 100 citizens were captured by Hamas and abducted into Gaza, with images circulating on social media of bloodied hostages, and distraught relatives pleading for the state to rescue them.

Privatise moribund refineries, Senate tells FG.

Privatise moribund refineries, Senate tells FG.

The Senate has called for the privitisation of moribund oil refineries owned by the Federal Government.

The call was made by the Senate through its Committee on Finance chaired by Senator Sani Musa ( APC Niger East).

Musa made the call in Abuja on Saturday while fielding questions from journalists on the way forward for Nigeria, 63 years after independence.

According to him, the refineries have more or less turned into bottomless pits for the government as far as turnaround maintenance is concerned.

“For me, my candid advice to the Federal Government on the nation’s apparently moribund oil refineries is for them to be privatised .

“Proceeds from such privatisation should be sunk into the mining sector for jobs creation for the teeming Nigerian youth who are roaming the streets on a daily basis.

“The youth constitute 70 per cent of Nigeria’s population and must be made to be productive, which is doable if the mining and agricultural sectors are repositioned for that.

“ The Not-Too-Young-To-Run opportunity given to the youth in the political terrain should be practically extended to the realm of innovation by providing them with a conducive environment and enablement to innovate as it is, in most developed countries,” Musa said

Sunday Igboho regains freedom in Benin after two years.

Sunday Igboho regains freedom in Benin after two years.

Yoruba nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, better known as Sunday Igboho, has regained his freedom from the Beninese authorities.

The embattled agitator said on Sunday he was now legally free to leave Cotonou, capital of the Benin Republic, to Nigeria and other countries.

“I am now free to return to Nigeria and visit any country in the world. I have fulfilled all the legal conditions attached to my bail a few years back and I am coming home to Nigeria, my country of origin, any moment from now.

“I can confirm to you that I am now free to come back to Nigeria. There is no legal encumbrance again. Even though I have been living in Cotonou for some time, I can confirm to you categorically that I have now secured the liberty to leave Cotonou for Nigeria,” Adeyemo told the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday.

He regained freedom after two years of trial by the Beninese government.

It was reported that Adeyemo stirred the hornet’s nest when he declared the Yoruba Nation’s sovereignty in March 2021.

He started a campaign to chase killer herdsmen and kidnappers out of the South-West states and went on to call on Yoruba in Hausa/Fulani or Igbo territories to return home.

He, however, fled Nigeria in July 2021 following a nocturnal invasion of his Ibadan residence by the operatives of the Department of State Services.

The attack led to at least one death, while some of his belongings were vandalised.

The DSS claimed that seven AK-47 rifles, pump-action guns, and 5,000 rounds of ammunition, charms and other weapons were recovered from his apartment during the invasion.

The judgment was later set aside by the Court of Appeal in August 2022.

He was later arrested at the Cardinal Bernardin International Airport in Cotonou, Benin Republic while attempting to flee to Germany.

Attempts by the former President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government to repatriate him to Nigeria were unsuccessful.

Credit: Punch Newspaper