By Remi Koleoso

Movement of people and business activities were on Thursday temporarily suspended as major roads in Ogbomoso town were taken over to welcome the new Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Afolabi Laoye.

The ecstatic residents mounted various points on the streets at different locations, eager to have a glimpse of their incoming traditional ruler.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oba Laoye had just completed the traditional rites and was on the way to the palace.

Banners with pictures of the new Soun were displayed all around the routes from the traditional rite centre to the palace located at Oja’gbo area of the town.

The Soun who departed “Ipebi”, the traditional rites venue, to run into the large crowd of residents at exactly 9 a.m., then had to move round the town in a large entourage.

Oba Laoye arrived Ogbomoso High School at exactly 10:33 a.m. and moved round the town before arriving at the palace at 12:40 p.m. where the residents lined up on the street.

The joyous residents, in separate interviews with NAN, expressed their satisfaction with Laoye’s choice, as well as solidarity and support for him.

A retired Federal Ministry Permanent Secretary and indigene of the town, Mr Olusegun Adekunle, charged residents on the positives in tolerance, peaceful co-existence, and good neighbourliness.

“I am delighted to join other sons and daughters of Ogbomoso in celebrating the ascension of the new traditional ruler.

”I urge everyone to join in the agenda for development, unity and peaceful co-existence set for a new Ogbomoso land with Oba Laoye’s coming.”

He urged the royal father to see the celebration as a period to double his efforts on good deeds by extending the hands of fellowship to other contenders for the throne.

“They deserve to celebrate and be celebrated as well,” Adekunle said.

An octogenarian, Mama Abigail Fashola, prayed for a peaceful reign by the royal father and urged him to take the development of the town as his priority.

She charged the royal father to continue to respect the significance of the various festivals of the town and take it as their way of life.

“His ascension is a period of joy and happiness for everyone in the town, and I appeal to him to bring everyone together to live in peace,” Fashola said.

Also, the Bishop of Methodist Church, Ogbomoso Diocese, Rt. Rev. Ademola Moradeyo, said the situation in the country required the citizens to continue to maintain peace and promote religious tolerance.

“I congratulate the new Soun and other sons and daughters of the town across the globe for witnessing and celebrating another feat in Ogbomoso land.

”I urge everyone to join hands with the new royal father in bringing more development to the town.

“I congratulate all sons and daughters, as well as other residents in Ogbomoso, Nigeria and the entire world for the fresh air and thank God for the new lease of life in the town.

“I want to enjoin you all and our people, in general, to live in peace and celebrate the coming in of the new Soun moderately, and extend hands of fellowship to the aggrieved in the process of selecting a new Soun.

“Today is for thanksgiving and prayers, and I thank God we are able to witness today,” he said.

Also, a student of Ladoke Akintola University (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Miss Omolara Fatilewa, called on everyone to maintain peace and live together as one family.

“Everyone must avoid anything that can threaten peace in the town and we must not emphasise religious differences, but rather promote religious tolerance.

“Let us love our neighbours and we must not forget the fact that this is a new Soun. He needs our support and collaboration to ensure that the town develop to the level of vision of its founders,” she said.

NAN reports that the selection of Prince Afolabi Olaoye, a pastor and international businessman, as Soun of Ogbomoso was approved by the Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, on Sept. 2.

The stool became vacant after the demise of Oba Jimoh Oyewumi, Ajagungbade III, in December 2021 at the age of 95 after he reigned for 48 years.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Olawale Alabi

By Taiye Agbaje
Prof. Charles Adetunji has called on the Federal Government to harness the best scientific technology and bio-resources in the country to increase the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and boost the economy.
Adetunji, the guest speaker and Director of Research and Innovation, Edo State University, gave the charge at the ongoing three-day conference organised by the Faculty of Computing and Applied Sciences (FCAS), Baze University, Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the 2nd FCAS International Conference on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) was titled: “Applied Sciences: Paradigm Shift from Laboratory to the Field.”
“If we are to resolve our problem and resolve the global problem, we need to harness the best technology and bio-resources we have.
“God has blessed Nigeria with a lot of intellectuals and a lot of natural resources.
“As we know, we are faced with too much reliance on oil, and many people have failed to go back to agriculture.
“Now, we need to harness the best bio available natural resources we have.
“That is the essence of this international conference; to collate ideas, best scientific technology that could increase the GDP and boost the economy of Nigeria,” he said.
Adetunji, who commended President Bola Tinubu for creating the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry, said it showed that the government is keying into science and partnering with relevant stakeholders that would assist with relevant policies to boost the bio-economy of Nigeria.
He said the country’s fossils and petroleum bio-resources are diminishing and it was high time “we inculcate what the Europeans and Americans are doing with their economy.
“They have what is called an alternative economy. This is well stated by Ricardo Comparative Cost Model that says that we need to base and put more preference on what we have in abundance.
“So we need to harness the best natural resources we have in our environment and see how they could boost the economy and GDP of this country.
“If we do this, I am sure the economy of Nigeria is going to improve, gets intensified and become more better to what we have been recording in the past.”
Prof. Peter Ogedebe, the Dean of FCAS at Baze University, said the essence of the conference is for the school to contribute to the ongoing approach by the Federal Government to ensure that things are done as practically as possible and finding ways to ensuring that when research is done, there should be an output from such research.
“So it is not enough for us to just make publication without anybody seeing the output,” he said.
Ogedebe said more emphasis should be placed on not just publishing or doing research but on revenue generation.
“We should be able to enhance the economy of the nation though our research.
“We should be able to take part in the initiative of the Federal Government and contribute our own quota towards building the economy because the oil money is no longer there,” he said.
He called on the government to increase research funding.
“We are talking of banditry, we are talking of unemployment , etc, but the people in the academia can be used to solving some of these problems arising from some of the research that we will be encouraged to do.
“I think government needs to do more, and I am happy by the calibre of ministers appointed recently, especially the Minister of Education,” he said.
Dr Toyin Alabi, who was the Local Organising Chairperson of the event, said the theme of the conference came about as a result of the deficit in translational research.
According to her, we are trying to encourage translational research and technology transfer so that all the researches we do will not just stay on the shelves, in a book or as an article, but they actually meet the needs of the community; they are translated to the needs of the community.
“Looking at research globally, Nigeria is still dragging and that is the essence of this conference; to encourage people to do more researches that are solution-oriented, not just research that we do in the name of having research or having paper,” she said.
Alabi, a Biochemistry Lecturer at Base University, said research can be translational when there is connection between the industry, the government and the institution.
“There is a gap between that in Nigeria and we are making an advocate in that regard.
“So before you start a research, let it be funded by an industry that needs that thing you are doing .
“And when you are done, they collect the data and use it for what they need it for,” she said.
Prof. Kathleen Okafor, the Vice-Chancellor’s of Baze University, said “without any iota of doubt, there is an ongoing transformative and exhilarating shift in the world of applied sciences, one that has the potential to revolutionise the way we approach problem-solving and innovation.
“We are witnessing a paradigm shift from the traditional laboratory-centric approach to a dynamic and inclusive model where science thrives in the field.
“This shift is shaping our world in profound ways, and it is my pleasure to know that we all are gathered here to shed light on its significance.”(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)
TOA/SH
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edited by Sadiya Hamza

By Isaac Aregbesola

The Acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr Kayode Egbetokun, says the police have put in place water- tight measures to ensure free and fair Nov.11 governorship election in Bayelsa, Imo and Kogi.

Egbetokun said this on Thursday in Abuja at a meeting with strategic police managers and media briefing to highlight policies, breakthroughs and achievements of the Nigeria Police Force in the last five weeks.

He said that the meeting was to avail the participants of the opportunity to enumerate some of operational plans toward policing the off-season governorship election to be held concurrently in the three states.

“We are going to leverage on the fact that the elections are limited to just three states to deploy adequately for this election.

“Just as you have seen in other isolated elections in Nigeria, you will see that we have availability of men more in number than what we used to have in general elections.

“So, I have no fear and nobody should entertain any fair about how safe and secure the elections are going to be in November.

“Just three states, it will be very convenient for us, so nobody should entertain any fear about the election, we are prepared for it and very soon we will start the deployment,” he said.
Egbetokun said that the police deliberately decided to take its annual retreat to one of the states, where the election would hold.

“The conference would be two weeks to the election, so it is deliberate and not by accident that we chose that state and that date.

“It is to show to the public that we are ready for the election, so there is no fear about the election,” he said.

He said that the internal security situation of the country, over the last one month had been relatively calm in spite of the threats of political and socio-economic instability that greeted the removal of fuel subsidy and post-election tribunal judgements across the country.

“Comparatively, we have recorded lesser number of violent crimes and other major offences across the country.

“ We are all aware of recent government efforts toward economic recovery and growth through local and international engagements with investors and technocrats.

“The Nigeria Police Force is poised to support the efforts of government by providing the needed security and enabling environment for all legitimate businesses and other economic activities in Nigeria,” he said.

He said that the force would leave no stone unturned and would continue to be on its toes in ensuring that it played its role well in the efforts toward achieving economic recovery, growth, as well as social and political development of the nation.

“Consequently, all command commissioners of police and other tactical commanders are hereby directed to ensure adequate security is emplaced and sustained in their areas of responsibilities.

“Any attempt by unscrupulous person(s) to sabotage the economic revival that our country is about to witness will be met with stiff opposition from all of us,” he said.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Ali Baba-Inuwa

By Ijeoma Olorunfemi

The National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) had scored 71.25 per cent by the Bureau of Public Service Reforms (BPSR) in public service delivery among agencies uunder the Ministry of Science,Technology and Innovation.

Dr Felix Ale, Director,Media and Corporate Communication of NASRDA, confirmed the assessment on Wednesday in a statement.

The assessment report reflected the dedication of the agency towards excellence and commitment to public service.

Alhaji Ibrahim Arabi, Director-General of BPSR, while presenting the report, said it was conducted thoroughly and evaluated using various aspects of NASRDA’s operations, including its efficiency, transparency and service delivery.

He said: “The space agency has met its expectation in all areas of responsibility and general reflected excellence in leadership, relationship and responsiveness to stakeholders, efficient, reliable reporting and adequate systems and procedure.

“You have the best procurement process in the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation, and that is a laudable feat.

“With this record,you have set a good precedence for other agencies under the ministry.”

According to Arabi, public institutions are the vehicle with which the government liaises with its citizens,hence the need to applaud the agency.

Arabi presented an Organisational Self-Assessment Tool Award to NASRDA on a silver-level performance of 71.25 per cent to NASRDA.

He encouraged the agency to remain dedicated in harnessing the power of Space Science and Technology to addressing national challenges and promoting socio-economic development of the country.

Arabi also appealed to the staffers of the agency to remain committed to the proper articulation of the agency’s strategy and objectives.

Responding, the Director-General of NASRDA, Dr Halilu Shaba, expressed gratitude for the recognition by the bureau.

He said that the report reflected NASRDA’s commitment to excellence in its service delivery towards national development.

Shada added that NASRDA’s openness to constructive criticism, unwavering commitment to its mission of advancing Space Science and Technology for the benefit of all Nigerians was yielding great returns.

“The BPSR exemplifies the government’s commitment to improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public service delivery.

“To ensure that service delivery thrives, the Agency will continue to do its best in meeting the expectations of the organisation.

“We will continue to meet the basic requirements and tenets of other similar bodies for excellence and effective service delivery,” Shaba said.(NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Ismail Abdulaziz

President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Hon. Zacch Adedeji as the new acting Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

This is contained in a statement by Chief Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, on Thursday in Abuja.

The president has directed the erstwhile FIRS Chairman, Mr Muhammad Nami, to proceed on a three-month pre-retirement leave with immediate effect.

This is in accordance with the provision of the Public Service Rule (PSR) 120243, which will lead to Nami’s eventual retirement from service on Dec. 8.

He said: ‘’Adedeji is hereby appointed in acting capacity for a 90-day period before his subsequent confirmation as the substantive Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service for a term of four (4) years in the first instance.

‘’Adedeji is a first-class graduate in accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University.

‘’He most recently served the nation as the Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, following meritorious service terms as the Oyo State Commissioner of Finance and as the Executive Secretary / CEO of the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC).’’

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the new appointment takes immediate effect.(NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Bashir Rabe Mani

By Adebola Adegoke

FranklinCovey Nigeria, a leadership and management service company, has urged the federal and state governments to make substantial investment in the children’s education.

The company said that such investment in education was crucial for nurturing patriotic citizens and fostering national development.

Mrs Ifueko Okauru, Group Chief Executive Officer, Compliance Professionals Plc (CPP), license owners for FranklinCovey Nigeria, made the call during a community outreach organised by the company on Thursday in Lagos.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FranklinCovey Nigeria, as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives, distributed noodle packets to 110 pupils in Adekunle Anglican Primary School in the Makoko community area of Lagos State.

Okauru said it was pertinent for governments at all levels to intensify efforts to secure the future of the younger generation who grow up to become patriotic.

“Patriotism comes from feeling that a country has served you and you want to serve that country to make it great. The best way to do that is through education.

“These are the leaders of tomorrow and if we don’t give them the right education, they will give you what they have.

“Education has to be universal and we must guarantee a certain level of education that is truly free even if it is the first three years of a child’s life that we can afford.

“We ensure that their food, books, shoes, uniforms, and fees are paid for, so that way it’s an equalizer where no one feels inferior to the other,” she said.

Speaking on the giving programme, she said: “Today is the giving day for FranklinCovey organisation worldwide.

“It is a Global Day of Service for us and FranklinCovey Nigeria decided where we wanted to make the most impact was a public school where giving this token would be of value and deeply appreciated.”

Okauru said that the heartfelt outreach went beyond just providing essential supplies to school children, noting, “it ignited a spirit of giving and showcased the power of corporate social responsibility”.

She added that the gesture had the potential to shape the future of young students and their community.

“It shows that everyone should have a spirit of giving no matter how small it may seem. The more you give and impact people’s lives, the more you get.

“Also, this programme has also given the children role models they can look up to, so that they can focus on their educational journey to become successful and impact other people’s lives.

“Beyond giving them food, as I interacted, I could see that shoes were also an issue for them because some were wearing slippers or worn-out sandals. So, we would plan to give more items that are of need to them.

“The essence of FranklinCovey is about impacting individuals’ businesses and countries through the solutions that we provide. It is about people, principles impact, and growth,” she said.

Mrs Olajumoke Akinyemi, Human Resources and Finance Team, FranklinCovey Nigeria, urged corporate bodies and organisations to work together and assist the government in keeping children in school and out of the streets.

“Makoko is an underserved community and we decided to come to this public school to extend our hands of love to them in the little way we can.

“Coming into the community, I saw the poverty and it brought tears to my eyes. So, as an individual, I will do more in my capacity to help more children in disadvantaged communities,” she said.

Also, Mrs Nkem Dilim, Senior Delivery Consultant, Anglophone West Africa, said community outreach was tied to the company’s mission to enable greatness in people starting from the foundation – children.

She said the outcome of the outreach created an avenue to realise more areas of need for the children, which she said, they planned to follow up with the school.

Ms Oluchi Samuel, Implementation Specialist at the company, hinted that next year’s giving outreach would look at giving educational items such as socks, uniforms, books, shoes, and sandals.

“We are going to improve our corporate social responsibility projects. We are open to partnerships, initiatives, and projects that are aimed at community impact,” she said.

Responding, Mrs Folake Akinnagbe, Head Teacher of the school, thanked the organisation for the token, saying that it would provide immediate relief for the pupils.

She urged parents to put more effort into taking care of their children and securing their future. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Olawunmi Ashafa

By Alex Enebeli

The Enugu State Government says it has constructed 15 aggregation and processing centres for improved production of  cashew, rice and poultry products in the state.
Mrs. Ihuoma Eze, the Acting State Project Coordinator of the World Bank-assisted Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS) Project disclosed this on Thursday in Enugu.
During a media tour of the Nara rice and cashew aggregation and processing centres at Aguobu-Owa, Eze said that the projects were sponsored by the World Bank-assisted APPEALS project.
She added that the state government had also equipped the centres with agro-processing equipment and energy intervention for power supply to assist the rural farmers.
She said the centres were spread across 11 locations in the state’s three senatorial zones in accordance with their value chain belts.
The project coordinator added that the APPEALS Project had also installed equipment and energy in nine locations connecting farm clusters and common-user facilities to the national grid with 500kva/0.415 facility.
She explained that the feat was also made possible by Gov. Peter Mbah’s massive support, adding that the development would help to further increase cashew, rice and poultry outputs in the state.
“Farmers in the state suffer post-harvest losses due to inadequate bulk storage houses and near-absence of processing facilities.
“To reduce the losses, the APPEALS project in Enugu provided common-user facilities to farm clusters where farmers in cashew, poultry and rice value chains can store their produce and process them up to international standard.
“This will enhance their productivity, improve value addition and open vistas of market opportunities both locally and internationally,” she said.
The project coordinator commended the state governor for  his immense contribution at ensuring the success of the project in the state, within his first 100 days in office.
Speaking to newsmen, the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Chidiebere Onyia, lauded the APPEALS team in Enugu for their dedication.
He stressed that setting up the agro-centres was in line with the governor’s vision for agriculture in the state.
He said that the project had enhanced the capacity of the local farmers across value chains that had comparative advantage in each senatorial zone of the state.
“As we push towards eradicating poverty, projects like this will help get to rural farmers, not just farming to consume but to improve the economy and employ others to reduce unemployment,” Onyia said.
Mr JohnMary Eze, a Rice Farmer, said that the rice processing centre was of great help to rice farmers in Nara and neighbouring communities in Enugu East Local Government Area.
He said that prior to the establishment of the centre, the farmers usually processed their rice at Ugbawka, a neighbourng community, relying on sunshine to dry their paddy rice.
While commending the World Bank, the Federal and Enugu State Governments for initiating the project, Eze noted that lack of tractors and access roads still posed a great challenge to rice farmers in the community.
“We also appeal to the government to provide irrigation for us for all year- round rice farming, as we currently depend on rainfall to plant our rice,” he said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

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Edited by Kevin Okunzuwa/Oluyinka Fadare