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OOA Foundation Partners Petrolex Investment, Empowers 245 Persons in Ibefun
It was a delightful Saturday morning on December 7, 2019 at the Ibefun International College in Ogun State when Petrolex Impact Investment Network (PIIN), in collaboration with the Oladiran Olusegun Adebutu Foundation (OOAF), in characteristic manner brought succour, hope, joy and a reason to live, to the over 300 children with special needs under its care, women, entrepreneurs, farmers, youths in the community in its empowerment drive.
After the opening prayer by nine-year-old Daniel Victor, the event was swung open by compere Dayo Benjamins-Laniyi who ensured the atmosphere stayed charged throughout the duration of the program.
Delivering the keynote address, wife of the speaker of the National House of Assembly, Salamatu Gbajiagbamila, commended the efforts of the OOAF in its generous approach to transform society, especially children with special needs, and also commended the entrepreneurial initiative of the foundation to reduce poverty, saying it was a wake-up call for meaningful citizens to “pool resources to tackle poverty in Nigeria.”
Delivering her speech, wife of the Ogun State Governor, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun thanked the chairman of the OOAF for the laudable initiative behind the foundation, saying that the task of developing the community required joint efforts without which it would be difficult to move forward and assured that the development of the 300 children with special needs by the foundation as well as the empowerment of farmers, women, entrepreneurs etc will surely have positive ripple effects.
Speaking further, she averred that the Ogun State government was also not relenting in revamping communities in the state and reiterated the resolve of the government to end poverty by the year 2030.
An empowerment agent herself, Mrs. Abiodun said, “I have committed myself to this cause and appeal to all in considering greater investment in people”, and called for all to join forces in tandem with the slogan of the OOAF to “leave no child behind”.
CEO of the foundation, Kemi Sokenu espousing the vision of the foundation, said “it takes a generous unselfish investment to impact lives” and appreciated Petrolex in effecting real change not just in the country but also in the continent. She also thanked the Kabiyesi of Ibefun who according to her had been a strong guiding force, and took time to enumerate some of the achievements of the foundation.
One of the laudable achievements of the foundation has been in its partnership with ‘Hospitals for Humanity’ through which 11 children so far have been given open heart surgeries in Nigeria.
Speaking on the feat, Dr Segun Ajayi who flew in from Atlanta Georgia for the program enumerated the ideals of ‘Hospitals for Humanity’-a non-profit medical caregiver working in association with organizations like the OOAF to bring relief and succor to lives the world over.
A mother of one of the children who had benefited from a heart surgery, Mrs. Latifa in a rather emotional rendition expressed gratitude to the OOAF, disclosing that, “when all hope was lost and I didn’t know what to do or where to turn, OOAF came to the rescue”.
On the empowerment drive, there were 245 beneficiaries of the Petrolex Impact Investment (PIIN) initiative in partnership with OOAF, as motorcycles, deep freezers, generators, water pumping machines, hair dryers, barbing equipment sets, farming equipments and other items were handed over by the wife of the governor on behalf of OOAF.
She also unveiled the Caroline Oladunni Adebutu Serenity Center, an orphanage that will be doled out in phases, after which she visited the OVC daycamp with her entourage.
Partners of OOAF in the community were also recognized and awarded certificates by the chairman of OOAF, Olusegun Adebutu.
Other activities of the day included free medical services given to members of the community.
Dignitaries at the event included former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, who was represented, the LG Educational Secretary, Rev. John Patrick Ngoyi, the Kabiyesi of Ibefun, HRH Oba Gideon Adetoye among others.
With Poverty Alleviation at the forefront of its intervention, OOA Foundation’s goal is to give a voice, hope, and hardship relief to vulnerable members of host communities through programmes that rapidly scale up and impact positively in the short, medium and long term in order to eradicate poverty, educate children and build prosperous communities.
Since 2014, OOA Foundation has been involved in philanthropic initiatives ranging from educational support, health support, nutritional support, psychosocial support, recreational support, shelter and provision of clean water. It has a mandate to give the vulnerable members of its host communities a voice, hope and relief.
With a vision to reduce poverty among vulnerable children and women in its communities, the founder is passionately living it out, with his principle, according to him being, “In life, you need to embrace your humanity, you can’t go through life thinking it’s all about you. There are people that have the right to be happy, and you have the ability to help them through that journey”.
The Foundation has implemented programs that support OVC across 6 Local Government Areas (Abeokuta South, Abeokuta North, Odogbolu, Imeko Afon, Ikenne and Yewa) in Ogun State, Nigeria through its Care and Support Intervention Program. The project site includes, Ilaro, OwodeYewa, Oke-Ilewo, Iperu, Ikenne, Ibefun, Kuto, Lafenwa, Olomore, Imeko, and Odogbolu.
To date, the program has reached over 300 OVC with improved access to Education, primary health care, nutrition, recreation, psychosocial support and clean water & sanitation, trained numerous service providers and caregivers by equipping them with the skills and knowledge needed in providing appropriate integrated care for the OVCs across the 6 LGA in Ogun State.
The activities of the Oladunni Olusegun Adebutu Foundation are spread throughout the country.
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.
