News
OAU Honours Ayodele Adewale with Award of Excellence
By Eric Elezuo
The immediate past Executive Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, Comrade Ayodele Adewale, has once again been honoured with an excellence award for meritorious services. The award, this time is courtesy of the National Association of Public Administration Students of the prestigious Obafemi Awolowo, University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.
The award, presented on behalf of the students’ association and department by Dr. O. O. Popoola, followed a well-defined lecture presented by the seasoned administrator on the topic 21st Century Democratic Governance: The Inevitable Roles of Administrators, as the guest speaker
The event, which was presided over by the Head of Department, Dr. O. O. Popoola, also had in attendance the Deputy Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Dr. T. A. Olaiya, who functioned as the Chairman of the occasion and Dr. (Mrs.) P. I. Igbokwe, a senior lecturer, in the department who moderated the proceedings.
Also in attendance were representative of the Osun State Commissioner of Education, Barr. Folorunsho Oladoyin Bamiseayemi; Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Hon. Biyi Odunlade; Chairman, Ife East Local Government Area, Representative of Hon. Babatunde Desmond Ojo, Member representing Oria Ade LGA in the State House of Assembly and Senior Tax Consultant, PWC, Mr. Vincent Adeoba.
In his speech, Comrade Adewale, who exemplified leadership during his six years tenure as local government chairman, buttressed with references from his grassroots administrative and governance experiences to drive home salient points.
The students who were thrilled with his performance followed him up with questions and he was equal to the task with copious answers and verifiable references.
Accepting the award, Comrade Adewale thanked the President of the Association, Mr. Gbadebo Moses Oluwaseun and his team for considering him worthy of the award even as he had no prior relationship with the department or the school.
He recalled that the last time he related with the school was some 20 years in the past as a students’ union leader while mobilising against some unacceptable policies of the Federal Government of Nigeria with Dr. Dipo Fashina.
“This award today underscores the importance of leaving good footprints in the sands of time and living a worthy and meaningful life which would always be a beacon of light for others to emulate,” Adewale said.
Comrade Adewale with VC, OAU, Prof. Eyitope
He dedicated the award to God Almighty and to the memory of Comrade George Iwilade aka Afrika, a 400 level law student who was murdered in his sleep by suspected cult members on July 10, 1999 in Awo Hall of the University. Late George Iwilade was the General Secretary of the Students’ Union Government of the university at the time he was killed.
The event also provided an opportunity to meet with the Vice Chancellor of the University, Prof. Eyitope O. Ogunbodede as facilitated by the Alumni’s Public Relations Officer, Mr. Gbolahan Ogunajo.
After the prolific tete ‘a tete, Comrade Adewale resolved to sponsor the award of employment opportunities to the best three overall graduating students of the department as a result of his overwhelming goodwill in both the private and public sectors. The award, after due consultations, was agreed to be called Comrade Ayodele Adewale Employment Opportunity Award, in honour of late Comrade George Iwilade aka Afrika.
The benefiting students will be selected based on character, academic excellence (1st class or 2nd class upper) and a letter of endorsement from the Vice Chancellor.
Expressing his profound joy and acceptance, the Vice Chancellor promised to embed the award as an annual programme worthy of mention at every convocation ceremony of the university.
Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal by a London court after bribery charges brought against her were dismissed.
The Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday acquitted the former minister of all charges, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.
Reacting to the judgment, Alison-Madueke expressed relief and said she and her family had endured years of emotional distress over the case.
Speaking to News Central, she said she has remained in the United Kingdom since the legal proceedings began 11 years ago.
She said: “I’m just thankful to God, it’s been arduous, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, friends, my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt and for my son.
“It has been a hard journey, but I tell you this, God will always do as He will. God will be God and God is not a man that He should lie; when He promises you something, He will see it through.
“For almost 11 years I have been here. I did my job to the best of my ability.”
The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, says she did not see any report that led to the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.
Kingibe made this disclosure on Wednesday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.
She said she was at a retreat with Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, when she heard about the report.
“I never saw the report that led to Natasha’s suspension. I was at a retreat. I had earlier stated that I was there with three or four other senators who are members of the committee.
“We attended the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, signed the attendance register, and I later left for the tax reform retreat, which I considered more important at the time.
“It affects my constituents much more than disciplining a senator, and I figured that the other people who were not part of that committee would take care of it.
“I even complained to other Senators, specifically to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. I complained to him very bitterly that I had not seen that report. I didn’t see it then. I have not seen it till now,” she said.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has asked the Court of Appeal in Abuja to stay the execution of the judgment that ordered the deregistration of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and four other political parties.
The Commission also threw its weight behind a notice of appeal lodged by the political parties.
Addressing a three-member panel of the appellate court on Tuesday, the electoral body said it was shocked by the decision of Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja to deliver the judgment despite an order that stopped him from doing so.
INEC, through its team of lawyers led by Mr. Haliru Mohammed, decried that it was not notified that the judgment would be delivered, saying it only heard about the court’s decision through media reports.
“My Lords, we are aware of an order that this court made on May 22, which stopped the delivery of the judgment of the lower court, which was initially reserved for delivery on June 5.
“We were not aware of any notice from the court regarding the delivery of the judgment. We only saw it as breaking news in the media.
“We therefore do not oppose the application of the appellant to stay the execution of the judgment.”
Likewise, counsel to the ADC, Mr. Shuaibu Aruwa, SAN, told the appellate court that Justice Lifu notified the party of the delivery of the judgment via WhatsApp.
Insisting that the decision of the high court was an invitation to anarchy, counsel to the ADC urged the appellate court to invoke its powers and sanction Justice Lifu for disrespecting the judicial hierarchy.
“Sincerely, my Lords, a lot has happened to the judiciary and this profession. What the trial judge did was dare this Court of Appeal by insisting that no one could arrest his judgment, even after his attention was drawn to the stay order from this court.
“The action of the trial judge calls for swift and extraordinary measures from this court. We have come to the stage where this court should press the reset button.
“We are calling on this court to exercise disciplinary jurisdiction under Section 6 of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.
“We urge this court to take disciplinary steps by immediately suspending that judgment. This court has the power to protect its own integrity. We pray this court suspends the judgment immediately without further delay,” ADC’s lawyer submitted.
The other parties also drew the attention of the appellate court panel to the fact that on June 20, INEC would conduct by-elections across six states of the federation.
They contended that if the judgment were not stayed, it would create problems across the country, maintaining that the Court of Appeal has inherent powers to act in a supervisory capacity and not allow its orders to be disregarded by lower courts.
The appellate court is still hearing submissions from the other parties in the matter.
It will be recalled that aside from the ADC, the other parties the high court directed INEC to deregister are the Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP).
According to the court, the five political parties failed to meet the constitutional requirements to warrant their continued existence and participation in future elections.
It barred INEC from further according recognition to the parties, accepting nominations of candidates from the affected parties, or giving effect to their activities for the purpose of participating in the 2027 general elections.
Moreover, Justice Lifu ordered the defendants to stop parading themselves as registered political parties in the country.
He held that there was merit in a suit filed against them by the National Forum of Former Legislators (NFFL).
The group, in the suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/2637/2026, prayed the court to determine whether INEC has a constitutional obligation to remove political parties that fail to meet the electoral performance thresholds set out in Section 225A of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as reinforced by the Electoral Act 2022 and INEC’s regulations.
It was the position of the plaintiff that the five political parties listed as defendants had persistently failed to meet the constitutional benchmarks required to retain their registration.
The former legislators stressed that the requirements include winning at least 25 per cent of votes in a state during a presidential election or securing at least one elective seat at the national, state, or local government level.
They told the court that the ADC and the four other parties performed poorly in both the 2023 general elections and by-elections conducted by INEC, thereby failing to win seats across key tiers of government.
