Author: Olamide Obayemi

By Femi Ogbonnikan The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the forthcoming general election in Ogun State, Oladipupo Adebutu, is not the kind of candidate one would like to take seriously for whatever the motivation of his ambition to govern the state. Although he has cleared some of the legal hurdles before him, his campaign message to the electorate who will probably queue behind him in the March 11, 2023 gubernatorial election is not resonating. Instead of presenting a well-articulated programme of action for the state’s economy, education, agriculture, industry, healthcare delivery, infrastructure, and human capital development…

By Wole Olujobi It is the season of blackmail and outright lies in an election year to achieve underserved sympathy among the uneducated and unwary voters, all in an attempt to sway support for the candidates of the peddlers. It is also the season that some characters assail the nation with all manner of sophistry embedded in lifeless, banal and hackneyed essays couched in deadpan language. In that enterprise, we have seen both educated elite and common hell-raisers in the election battlefields of wits in the newspapers, television interviews and public campaigns raising pedestrian issues that should not have a…

The Inspector-General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, has commenced the distribution of cheques to cover Insurance benefits of officers who lost their lives while in service, as well as those who suffered various forms of life-threatening injuries while on active duty. The total sum of cheques presented to about Seven Thousand families of deceased officers and those injured or rendered disabled in the line of duty between 2012 and 2020 amounts to over N13 billion. The Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this on Thursday, 19 January, 2023, via a statement released in Abuja. “These backlog payments were…

Judges, court registrars, cashier and others have been thrown behind the bars by a court in Kano in Kano State capital over N500 million theft. Reason: They allegedly committed criminal conspiracy, joint act, criminal breach of trust by public servants, theft and forgery. The offences violated Sections 97, 79,289 and 315 of the Penal Code, laws of Northern Nigeria. Persecondnews reports that at their arraignment, the 15 defendants, however, denied the charges. Chief Magistrate Mustapha Sa’ad Datti, who took their pleas, remanded all the defendants in Kano Correctional Centre (prison) and adjourned the case until February 1, 2023, for hearing.

By David Olusegun Ogunfowoke The tasks of educators in recent times have shifted from what used to be the status quo of writing lesson notes, going to class to register attendance, writing notes on the board, among other. There is now a shift from what used to be obtainable in the past,as those things can no longer sufficiently match up with the demands of today’s world. Thus, there is need for our policy makers, educationists as well as educators to get thoroughly acquitted with what the focus of education is, as far as this 21stcentury is concerned. It is no…

A delegation of the Independent Campaign Council (ICC) Directorate of Professional Women, on Tuesday, 17 January, 2023, paid a courtesy visit to the Special Adviser on Works and Infrastructure to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Engineer Aramide Adeyoye in her office. Led by the Director of the Directorate, Engineer Atinuke Wuraola Owolabi, other members of the delegation were: Engineer Mosope Adewuyi and Yinka Kenny, a broadcast journalist. During the visit, Engr. Aramide said the forthcoming election is not business as usual noting that the dynamics have changed. She encouraged the elite to set standards, while doing things in a way that represents…

Students of De-Dames College in Kemta, Odede Local Government Area of Ogun State have pleaded with their parents and other residents of the state to vote and give massive support to the second term aspiration of Governor Dapo Abiodun. The students, led by a JSS2 female pupil, Olayemi Odutola, made the plea on behalf of other students in the state, on Wednesday, 18 January, 2023, during the commissioning of Kemta-Somorin Road, which leads to their school premises. Asking their parents and all other people in Ogun State to vote massively for Prince Dapo Abiodun, the students hinged their call on…

I have challenged people to ask themselves if they can remember anything the main opposition committed to, when they were elected in 1999 and for the 16 years they allowed Nigeria to drift without any clear policy direction or articulation. Other than slogans like “Transformation Agendawhose details were undisclosed, during a period of prolific earnings from very elevated international crude oil prices, to a “Seven Point Agenda,” which later became a “Five Point Agenda” I am yet to receive a response. Unless it remains hidden under their unreliable umbrella, it must be taken that we surrendered 16 years of our…

Ahead of the 2023 general election, Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Party(APC) can’t solve the problems of Nigeria. Obasanjo, who lamented that the two leading parties have failed Nigerians woefully, urging Nigerians to give a new party the chance in the next election to change the fortune and narrative of the country. The Social Democratic Party (SDP), Presidential Candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo made this known shortly after a close door meeting with the former president in his Penthouse at Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL) Abeokuta, Ogun State. He said…

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Abdulrasheed Bawa, has expressed the readiness and compliance of the Commission with the requirements of the West Africa Police Information System, WAPIS, Programme. He made this disclosure on Wednesday, January 18, 2023 while receiving a delegation of the International Criminal Police Organisation, INTERPOL, led by its Executive Director, Police Services, Stephen Kavangh, at the Corporate Headquarters of the Commission. Bawa commended the concept of WAPIS, stressing that information exchange and coordination among West -African law enforcement agencies is a veritable mechanism of achieving openness and transparency in the investigation and…

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, Mr. Abdulrasheed Bawa has called on youths across the country to brace up for leadership roles in a quest to develop the nation. Bawa gave the charge in Sokoto on Tuesday, 17 January, 2023 while chairing a Conference on “Corruption in Nigeria: Trends and Patterns” at the Usmanu Danfodiyo University convened by the Zero Tolerance for Corruption club of the University. According to him, youths should be prepared to tackle the challenges confronting the nation frontally and fashion ways of doing things differently, so as to achieve more positive results.…

The Inspector-General of Police, IGP Usman Alkali Baba, has ordered the distribution of more than a million copies of a handbook produced by the Nigeria Police Force on “Revised Standard Operational Guidelines/Rules for Police Officers and Other Law Enforcement Agents on Election Security Duties ahead of the 2023 General Elections. The 36 paged handbook contains a page for the details of the officer to whom it is issued, a foreword by the IGP, rules on general conduct, duty parade, briefing/debriefing, dress and accoutrement, managing political parties’ convention/rallies, and crowd control, use of force and lethal weapon, escorting and protecting election…

Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Benin Zonal Command on Thursday, January 12, 2023 arrested 12 (twelve) suspected internet fraudsters in Benin- City, Edo State. Among those arrested is Okunrobo Smart who was convicted in 2022 for internet fraud. Others are Edobor Francis Tobilola, Peace Omo Bartholomew, Justice Osagie Beggedo, Samuel Okosun, Uche Divine, Christopher Lawani Iwinosa, Osayi Gregory, Anthony Irabor, Olaleye Favour, Osagie Hope Godstime, and Desmond Ehator Osorumwense They were arrested at their hideout in Benin City,  following actionable intelligence.  Items recovered from the suspects at the point of arrest include mobile phones, laptops and…

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Wednesday, 18 January, 2023, took his campaign tour of local governments to Lagelu Local Government, where he declared that his administration will localise industries in the area if re-elected. The governor said that doing so would help to boost the state’s economy. While addressing the traditional council of the local government in Lalupon, Governor Makinde berated how notable industries such as the Nigerian Gas Cylinder, Exide Battery, Leyland, among others, have gone moribund in the local government, saying there was the need to revive industrialisation in the local government and that his government would…

Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq on Wednesday, 18 January, 2023, said the good works of the administration have placed it in a good standing with the people who are the beneficiaries of its investments in road infrastructure, healthcare, education, safety nets, and expansion of the local economy. The Governor was speaking in Ilorin, the state capital, when a team from the Vanguard Newspapers presented him with the official notification of his nomination as Vanguard’s Governor of the Year 2022 for purposeful leadership. “We have remained focused on the things that matter to the largest majority of the people of Kwara…

If half of Nigerians in their productive age are mobilized for productivity, the scourge of underdevelopment will be a thing of the past. Former Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, stated this on Tuesday, 17 January, 2023 at a one-day dialogue with the theme, “2023 and Beyond: Tracking Campaign Promises for Good Governance” organized by NPO Reports in Abuja. The Minister commended the Publisher of NPOReports, Alhaji Semiu Okanlawon, for his professionalism and industry, urging him to continue to stand for the best tradition of responsible journalism. “I’m here in my capacity as Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, not…

The Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals (OSSAP-SDGs), has handed over a fully equipped 120-bed Mother and Child Hospital to Kaduna State Government.  The 120-bed Mother and Child Hospital is equipped with state-or-the-art facilities including operating theatres, recovery rooms, private and general Wards, scanning room, consultation rooms and laboratory, ultra-scan machine, vacuum extractor delivery set and an emergency cart with full compliments. The facility which is one of the over 25 of such advanced medical facilities being established across the country also has quarters for doctors in addition to an intensive care ambulance…

As the curtain is drawn on the ongoing sales of forfeited properties, nineteen (19) successful fresh bids were recorded on Monday, 16 January, 2023, being the final day of the sales. The properties were forfeited to the government, being proceeds of crime established through judicial processes by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC. During Monday’s bidding exercise, there were fresh bids for all the unsold properties in Lot 4,5,6,7,8 and 9 where 19 successful bidders emerged. In his closing remarks, Secretary to the Commission, George Ekpungu who spoke through the Director of Proceeds of Crime Department, Yusuf Aliu, thanked…

Oyo State Governor, ‘Seyi Makinde, on Tuesday, 17 January, 2023, inaugurated the Implementation Committee for the Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, tasking the committee to make the university the number one education degree awarding institution in Nigeria. Governor Makinde, who stated this while inaugurating the committee members at the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s Office, Secretariat, Agodi, Ibadan, said that his administration will leave a legacy of quality education in Oyo State. While charging members of the committee to work out the policy and process by which the institution will be run, the governor said that the new university of…

The European Union (EU) has expressed concern over the low compliance of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on extant laws guiding the regulations of the system at the state and local levels in Nigeria. The concern was expressed on Monday, 16 January, 2023, under its Agents for Citizen-Driven Transformation (ACT) programme. The Manager, Agent for Citizen Driven Transformation programme of the European Union(EU), Edem Udeokong made this known at a “Regulatory Framework Compliance Training for State Networks and CDPs” in Abuja. Udeokong noted that ignorance as a result of lack of knowledge as well as the reasons of implementation which is…