Central Council of Ibadan Indigenes on Monday paid homage to the Olubadan of Ibadanland, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Akinloye Owolabi Olakulehin in continuation of the 2024 Ibadan Cultural Festival.
“In his message, the Chairman of 2024 Ibadan Cultural Festival Planning Committee, Balogun Gaphar Ojetola delivered the congratulatory messages on behalf of the President General CCII, Chief Barrister Sulaiman Ajeniyi Ajewole and his executives and informed the Kabiyesi that the President General was on another Ibadan assignment to the UK.
He said the 2024 Ibadan Cultural Festival Planning Committee were paying homage to Kabiyesi on behalf of the President General CCII and the entire Executive Council.
Following the presentation of the final program of events to the Kabiyesi, Balogun Ojetola also register appreciation on behalf of the President General and the entire Ibadan people to His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Oluwaseyi Abiodun MAKINDE FNSE, DSC, GSSRS for his achievement on the recently commissioned Aafin Ile Ibadan.
He reiterated the commitment of the President General CCII to mobilise His Imperial Majesty to the new palace immediately on his return to the country.
His Imperial Majesty, Oba Dr Akinloye Owolabi Olakulehin, Ige Olakulehin 1 praised almighty God for the uncommon mercy God has bestowed on him. He also thanked His Excellency the Executive Governor for his love and support for Ibadanland in general. The Kabiyesi praised the Ajewole led executive council for their uncommon passion and the mission to place Ibadanland in its right leadership position.
Kabiyesi expressly blessed the visiting 2024 Ibadan Cultural Festival Planning Committee members and pledged to support and participate actively in the programs of Ibadan Cultural Festival.
Prince Sunmbo Olakulehin gave the votes of thanks before the visiting team were given a generous reception.
The Ogun State Government has awarded scholarships to nine students who performed creditably well in an essay competition to mark the 90th birthday celebration of the Noble Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka.
Speaking at the 2024 edition of the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange Programme held at Prof. Soyinka’s ARI residence, Ijegba, Abeokuta, on Monday, Governor Dapo Abiodun, said they would also be given laptop each for their efforts.
The gesture Governor Abiodun emphasized is to encourage the beneficiaries to keep writing as well as motivate other students to participate in the next edition of the competition.
While describing the Noble Laureate as the most celebrated black African, who has excel in his chosen career, Prince Abiodun noted that as the key to bringing about change and prosperity in Nigeria and around the world, It is imperative to engage the youth and ensure that their thinking and goals are oriented toward progress for the motherland and humanity.
He said the Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE) was established to honour the legacy and reflects Prof. Soyinka’s lifelong commitment to education, cultural exchange, and in nurturing future leaders, adding that the initiative underscores his values, which include justice, freedom, and the pursuit of excellence in the arts and humanities.
According to Governor Abiodun, this year’s theme, “Engaging National Interest on Good Governance, Understanding Nation-Building (E.N.I.O.G.U.N),” perfectly encapsulates Professor Soyinka’s profound commitment to creating a just and equitable world.
The Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange (WSICE) consists of three aspects, which comprise essay competition, the advocacy, and the performing arts, which include poetry, drama, and Spoken Word.
The governor said: “We celebrate a project that, for over 14 years, has upheld his ideals and vision. There is no doubt that the Nobel Laureate has optimally utilized the inherent values and wisdom of African culture and tradition in his global engagement as a world citizen of African descent.
“The mission and underlying objectives of WSICE are clear and commendable. They seek to create unity among mankind regardless of nationality, culture, or religion by focusing on youth as the future of humanity, in line with the thoughts and guiding principles of Professor Wole Soyinka.”
The project, Abiodun said is designed to serve as a beacon, illuminating the path for future thinkers who are passionate about the progress and betterment of humanity, pledging that the State would take ownership of the event to make it international.
Speaking while answering questions from children on his life experiences for the past 90 years, Prof. Soyinka said that he did not envisage living up to 90, adding that he decided to be a writer to correct some anomalies from stories he listened to while growing up.
On why he broke into a radio station during the military era, the Nobel Laureate said: “I never broke into a radio station, but sneaked in. The radio station was holding on to something that belonged to the people, and I decided to retrieve it. If that item had been played, it would have demoralized the people and established the culture of brutality.”
He chided Nigerians for always critising the State but refused to examine themselves.
He noted that crimes like kidnapping and robbery, among others, are not because of poverty or inequality, but selfishness and the desire to live a luxury life.
He lauded Governor Abiodun for helping in developing the environment around his abode and saving it from degradation, even as he emphasized that this has led to his not abandoning the country.
The 2024 Wole Soyinka International Cultural Exchange Programme drew students from different parts of the country who participated in an essay competition on national and international topics.
About 383 students participated in the competition, 90 were chosen, while nine were selected with Alabi Oluwanifemi emerging the best essayist, Okoye Collins John came second, while Adebusi Adeoluwa, came third.
The call came as he expressed deep concern over the country’s economic trajectory since 2015, in a series of tweets on Monday via X.
In the post, he highlighted the contrast between Nigeria’s economic performance in the early years of its return to democracy and its current state.
“When Nigeria returned to democratic governance in 1999, it maintained an average GDP growth of about 6.72% for 16 years from 1999-2014,” Obi wrote. However, he pointed out that this growth was not sustained, with GDP growth collapsing to 2.79% in 2015 and the economy slipping into recession in 2016.
He said, “In 2014, just before the inception of a new administration a year later, Nigeria had the biggest economy in Africa with a Gross Domestic Product of $568.5 billion and a GDP Per Capita of about $3,200.” In contrast, he noted that by 2023, Nigeria had fallen to the 4th largest economy in Africa, with a GDP of $375 billion and a per capita of $1700.
Accordingly, the situation worsened in 2024, with the GDP further declining to an estimated $253 billion and per capita dropping to $1087. This is according to data obtained from StatiSense, an AI data company specialising in financial report analysis, bank statement evaluation, and AI chatbot services.
Subsequently, the former governor expressed alarm at the current state of affairs, saying, “Today, poverty is pervasive and on the increase. Unemployment is rising. Food inflation has skyrocketed to over 43%. Foreign and local investors are losing faith in the future growth of our economy and are leaving in large numbers. Businesses are shutting down.”
He then called for urgent action to prevent further economic collapse and move it from consumption to production as he criticised the current leadership. Obi said, “Urgent actions need to be taken to salvage the nation from further economic collapse and move it from consumption to production.
“However, instead of concerning ourselves with all these challenges threatening our collective existence and finding ways to recreate an inclusive and sustainable economy, pull millions of people out of poverty, and return our nearly 20 million out-of-school children to schools, our leaders are more concerned with funding their selfish luxuries and individual lavishness, while throwing blames at others who are only committed to solving the nation’s problems.
“In the face of all these challenges, we the leaders should commit to inclusive and sustainable growth to end the hardship which has continued to burden our fellow Nigerians. Only through that can we achieve a peaceful and secure society.”
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate reached 34.19 per cent in June, even as the food inflation was over 40 per cent.
Nigeria’s Dangote refinery is in talks with Libya to secure crude for the 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) plant and will also seek Angolan oil, a senior executive said, as it seeks to overcome problems with domestic supplies.
The $20 billion refinery, built by Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote on the outskirts of Lagos is Africa’s largest, and is designed to end Nigeria’s dependence on imported fuels because of insufficient refining capacity. Since Dangote began operations in January, it has been unable to get adequate crude supplies in Nigeria, which, although Africa’s biggest oil producer, is struggling with theft, pipeline vandalism and low investment.
Dangote has resorted to importing crude from as far as Brazil and the United States.
“We are talking to Libya about importing crude,” Dangote refinery senior executive Devakumar Edwin told Reuters late on Saturday. “We will talk to Angola as well and some other countries in Africa.”
He declined to give detail about the talks, but said international traders and oil companies were among the biggest buyers of Dangote’s gasoil, much of which was being exported.
“The biggest offtakers are the two big traders Trafigura and Vitol and BP and, to some extent, even TotalEnergies. But all of them are saying they are taking it to offshore,” Edwin said. Traders and shipping data have shown that Dangote is increasing gasoil exports to West Africa, taking market share from European.
Edwin said Dangote’s oil trading arm was operational, with staff in London and Lagos, to help manage supplies and sell products. Reuters first reported the planned trading arm in March.
Nigeria’s upstream regulator has clashed with Dangote, saying the sulphur content in its gasoil was above the required limits of 200 parts per million (ppm).
Aliko Dangote has denied that, saying the sulphur level was higher when production started, but had fallen to 88 ppm and would sink to 10 ppm in early August as output rises.
The Ogun State Police Command has arrested Dada Taiwo, aged 35, of No 34 Agbado Crossing, for fatally stabbing his girlfriend’s elder brother, Damilola Momoh, over a borrowed phone. Olaife Momoh of No 11, Sowemimo Street, Akera, Agbado and the girlfriend of the accused, Taiwo, reported the incident to the Agbado Division of the Nigeria Police at about 2 pm on Sunday.
This was according to a statement from the spokesperson for the state police command, SP Omolola Odutola, on Sunday. Taiwo was said to have stabbed his lover’s elder brother, Momoh, with bottles during an altercation which arose as a result of the phone he (Momoh) borrowed from the suspect.
Giving updates on the incident, Odutola said “An assault resulting in harm has occurred. I am pleased to inform you that today, July 21, at about 1400hrs, a woman named Olaife Momoh, residing at 11 Sowemimo Street, Akera, Agbado, Ogun State, reported to the station that her boyfriend, Dada Taiwo, of 34, Crossing Road, Agbado, aged 35, had a dispute with her elder brother, Damilola Momoh, aged 34, over a phone her brother borrowed.
“During the argument, the suspect, armed with a bottle, stabbed her brother in the neck, causing severe injuries and profuse bleeding “The victim has been rushed to a hospital in Agbado for medical treatment. The suspect has been apprehended and is currently under interrogation at the station. Further updates will be provided as the situation unfolds.”
Odutola has however warned people to be wary of manifesting uncontrollable anger as this could lead to a death sentence if without caution another person gets killed in the process. She advised young persons to report every hurtful incident to the nearest police station and avoid taking the law into their own hands.
Youths in Damaturu, Yobe State, have vandalised a billboard erected to welcome President Bola Tinubu to the state for the launch of the Yobe State Agricultural Empowerment Programme. The incident occurred on Saturday, July 20, after Vice President Kashim Shettima represented President Tinubu at the launch of the programme.
The billboard, which had photos of President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima, was destroyed by the youths, who tore out the banner with the welcome message. The vandalism has been condemned by many, who see it as an act of disrespect towards the president and the state government.
The launch of the Yobe State Agricultural Empowerment Programme is a significant initiative aimed at boosting agriculture in the state. However, the vandalism of the billboard has marred the event and raised concerns about the behavior of some youths in the state.
The President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has claimed that substandard petroleum products are being imported into the country and sold to unsuspecting Nigerians.
Dangote made the claim on Saturday during the visit of the leadership of the House of Representatives, led by the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, and his deputy, Benjamin Kalu, to the Dangote Refinery in Lagos State.
The business tycoon said there was a need for an investigation to be carried out to determine if there are some saboteurs in the oil sector or to find out if there are ulterior motives to demarket his business.
Africa’s richest man also said the best way to determine the quality of products being imported and sold to Nigerians is by going to the filling stations and buying and testing them.
He said, “The most important thing, Your Excellency, is to note that the imported one they are encouraging, is the spec in the test, but in certain cases, when you check (independently), different results will show.”
Refuting the allegation made by the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, that petroleum products from his refinery are substandard, Dangote said his products are better than imported ones, and they comply with the highest standards.
Dangote, who provided evidence to back up his claim, said diesel bought from two filling stations and that from his refinery was tested at the refinery’s laboratories using the ASTM D4294 method.
The Dangote Group President said the diesel, which was one of the best in terms of quality at the time the refinery started, had a sulphur content of between 600 parts per million and 650 ppm.
While stating that the quality of his diesel has improved as the sulphur content has reduced to 87 ppm, Dangote added that by next Monday, it will reduce to 50 ppm.
He further said the result does not only proof the reality of products from his refinery, but it also shows that substandard petroleum products are being imported into the country.
Dangote noted that the sulphur content of the diesel bought from the two filling stations was over 1,800 ppm and 2,600 ppm, respectively.
He said, “Our quality is about 600 to 650 ppm and is one of the best in terms of quality at that time when we started. But as of today, we’re at 87 ppm.
“I want to plead with the regulator to come at any time, whether Sunday or Monday or take the sample, and I guarantee you before he gets here, our ppm will be even below 10.
“When we’re coming here, His Excellency, the Speaker said, can we please wait to pick up samples from two filling stations? And also when we get into our plant, they will pick a sample to check the results. The results are actually out, and I’m going to share the same results with you.
“The sample from TotalEnergies’s diesel showed 1,829ppm sulphur concentration. The sample from Matrix Retail showed 2,653 ppm. Matrix was 61 below 66, and Total is 26 flashpoint. Our flash point showed 96. If you want to do the rest, we can run it at any given time.
“Today I want to announce to Nigerians that our parameters today are extremely, very good parameters. By the end of next week, we should be on 50 ppm and by August, it should be down to 10 ppm.”
“Monopoly is when you stop people, you block them through legal means. No, it is a level playing field whereby whatever Dangote was given in cement, for example, other people were given because some of them even got more than us.
“In the refinery, we did not, and I repeat, we did not collect one single incentive from the Federal Government of Nigeria or even Lagos State. Yes, the Lagos State gave us a good deal, but we paid $100m for the land. It wasn’t a free land; we paid for it.
“Majority of the population are with us. So, we are not discouraged; we will continue what we are doing.”
He also announced that the company would abandon its plans to enter Nigeria’s steel industry to prevent accusations of attempting to monopolize the market.
President Bola Tinubu congratulates Justice Stella Anukam on her re-election as Judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights for another term of six years.
Justice Anukam was re-elected at the African Union Mid-Year Coordination Meeting Executive Council in Accra, Ghana, on Friday.
The Nigerian obtained her law degree from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife (formerly known as University of Ife), Osun State, Nigeria, in 1984, and was called to the Nigerian Bar in August 1985.
She is also a chartered secretary, chartered arbitrator, and seasoned administrator.
Justice Anukam has served as former Director of Special Programmes at the Nigerian Institute of Advanced Legal Studies in Abuja, Nigeria, and as former Director of the International and Comparative Law Department of the Federal Ministry of Justice.
President Tinubu commends Justice Anukam for her contributions to the development of human rights jurisprudence on the continent and enjoins her to continue to bring her invaluable knowledge and insights to the African Court.
The President states that his administration will continue to support the candidature of competent and qualified Nigerians for international positions, noting the country’s strategic importance in the global community.
The African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights is a continental court established by African states to ensure the protection of human and peoples’ rights in Africa.
It complements the functions of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
The court is composed of eleven judges nominated by member states of the AU and elected by the AU Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
Nigeria is a state party to the Protocol establishing the Court, having ratified it in 2004.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported a significant increase in the average retail price of petrol in June, with a litre now costing N750.17. This represents a 37.44 percent year-on-year increase from the N545.83 recorded in June last year.
However, compared to the previous month (May 2024), the average retail price decreased by 2.53% from N769.62. The NBS report also revealed that Benue State had the highest average retail price for petrol at N854.55, while Lagos, Kwara, and Ogun States had the lowest average retail prices at N626.94, N650.00, and N670.63 respectively.
The South-South Zone had the highest average retail price of N794.64, while the South-West Zone had the lowest price of N696.42. Meanwhile, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has attributed the recent petrol scarcity in parts of Lagos and Abuja to the disruption of ship-to-ship transfer of petrol due to thunderstorms and flooding of trucking routes.
In a grand ceremony marked by pomp and pageantry, the Olu of Agbowo, Oba Musibau Akande Gbenusola, celebrated his 1st year coronation anniversary. The event which was taken place on the 12th and 13th of July 2024, held in Agbowo, saw a gathering of dignitaries including the Executive Governor of Osun State, His Excellency, Governor Ademola Jackson Adeleke, the Owa Ajero of Ijero Kingdom, HRM Oba Joseph Adewole, other notable royal fathers, and distinguished personalities.
Meanwhile, Yoruba American Community YAC haas extended its congratulatory message to Olu of Agbowo, Oba Musibau Akande Gbemisola for his first year anniversary as well as other members of YAC that were elevated to chieftaincy positions.
Th felicitation message was contained in a statement made available to ODUDUWA NEWS by the President of Yoruba American Community, Prince Kolawole Akinyode as read in part:
“The celebrations were not only a reflection of Oba Musibau Akande Gbenusola’s remarkable leadership but also included the installation of new chiefs, many of whom are prominent members of the Yoruba American Community. This installation highlighted the strong ties and enduring cultural heritage between the Yoruba diaspora and their homeland.
“The Yoruba American Community extended their heartfelt congratulations to their newly installed members and to Kabiyesi, Oba Musibau Akande Gbenusola. The community, in a release signed by the President, Prince Kolawole Akinyode, and the Public Relations Officer, Amb. Omolara Williams, thanked HRM Oba Musibau Akande Gbenusola for honoring the Board Members of the community with chieftaincy titles. They prayed for a peaceful reign for the king.
“Dr. Temitope Omotayo, the CEO of WGT Media who is also the immediate past president of the community, described Kabiyesi’s gesture as unprecedented in the history of the community. The occasion underscored the unity and strength of the Yoruba community, both locally and internationally, celebrating a year of progressive leadership and cultural pride under the reign of Oba Musibau Akande Gbenusola.
Among the newly installed chiefs who are members of Yoruba America Community were:
Prince (Dr.) Adelekan Kamilu Adeleke – Baba Oba of Agbowo Kingdom
Prince (Dr.) Adelekan Kamilu Adeleke – Asiwaju of Agbowo Kingdom (Ilu: Iwo)
Yeye Christy Adeleke- Yeye Oba of Agbowo Land.
Yeye Taiwo Bunmi Adeleke – Yeye Asiwaju of Agbowo Land.
Chief Sunday Ishola Omoyele – Otun Oba of Agbowo Land.
Chief ( Mrs) Monisola Anike Omoyele – Yeye Otun Oba of Agbowo Land.
Chief Thomas Ayodeji Da-Silva – Aare Akogun of Agbowo Land.
Chief ( Mrs.) Taiwo Ifelola Da-Silva – Yeye Bewaji Okin of Agbowo Land.
Chief Ayodele Ali-Owe – Agbaakin of Agbowo Land.
Chief ( Mrs.) Asabi Oluwakemi Alli-Owe – Yeye Agbaakin of Agbowo Land.
Otunba Akinsola Oluwole – Apesin Ola of Agbowo Land.
Erelu Nihinlola Oluwole – Yeye Apesin Ola of Agbowo Land.
Chief Yisau Ogunleye – Asoju Oba of Agbowo Land.
Chief ( Mrs. ) Ogunleye- Yeye Asoju Oba of Agbowo Land.
It is an event that will be remembered for a long time”.
