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  • Federal Polytechnic Ede Alumni association holds 2nd annual general meeting

    Federal Polytechnic Ede Alumni association holds 2nd annual general meeting

    The Federal Polytechnic Ede Alumni Association convened its 2nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Saturday, June 29, 2024, at the Waterfield Luxury Hotel in Akobo, Ibadan, Oyo State. 

    The event saw a robust turnout of members both physically and virtually, including the National Executive Council (NEC), Board of Trustees (BOT), the Federal Polytechnic Ede management team, external auditors, legal advisers, and representatives from the Forum of Nigeria Polytechnic Alumni Associations (FONPAA), along with chapter members from across Nigeria and beyond.

    The meeting commenced at 2:05 pm with an opening prayer by Mr. Olaniyi Ayobami Simeon from the Oyo branch, followed by the recitation of the Alumni Anthem. 

    In her welcome address, President Mrs. Adedoyin Balogun, expressed gratitude for the attendees’ presence and emphasised the importance of collective support and unity among members, also addressing a minor delay in the meeting’s start.

    BOT chairman, Mr. Oladosu Babson congratulated the alumni for their achievements and urged continued backing for the executive team. 

    FONPAA’s representative, Comrade Gbenga Babalola commended the association’s progress and reaffirmed FONPAA’s mission to enhance technological education in Nigeria. 

    Mr. Adefisoye Olumide, Deputy Registrar of Federal Polytechnic Ede, encouraged alumni to uphold and protect the institution’s esteemed reputation.

    Dr. Hafeez Taiwo Ewedairo, national general secretary, presented a comprehensive report on the association’s activities over the past year, highlighting key projects such as the establishment of the current executive council, student training programs, and the awarding of scholarships to 46 students. 

    A moment of silence was observed in honour of the late BOT member, Gbenga Oyawa.

    The external audit report by Mr. Olawale Felix Rokosu FCA from Olawale Rokosu & Co. confirmed the association’s financial records were accurate and compliant with international standards, revealing an income of N27,385,383, an expenditure of N14,679,414, and a surplus of N12,705,969.

    The association said that the branch updates highlighted significant activities across chapters: the Osun branch, inaugurated in 2021, now boasts over 300 members and is planning a reunion; the Oyo branch, with over 160 members, is resolving issues and planning elections; the Port Harcourt branch is active with ongoing account setup; the Abuja branch continues to expand its membership and welfare programs; and the Lagos/Ogun branch is preparing for a reunion and executive elections. 

    The North America and UK branches reported successful events and engaged memberships.

    The meeting addressed technical issues with the Zoom platform and emphasized the need for improved preparation and timely distribution of reports.

    Recommendations included allowing non-financial members to observe meetings to enhance engagement and attendance. 

    Past President Mr. Festus Olaifa and other members suggested improving branch activities and resolving conflicts through dialogue. 

    The legal adviser proposed incorporating sign language interpretation for future events.

    The AGM concluded with a vote of thanks by Welfare Director Bldr. Adetoyese Ogunremi. 

    The meeting was adjourned following a motion moved by Bldr. Dr. Buari Tirimisiyu and seconded by Mr. Adeola Anwojue. 

    Mr. Oseni Kazeem led the closing prayer, and the 2nd stanza of the Alumni Anthem was recited.

    The successful AGM reaffirms the Federal Polytechnic Ede Alumni Association’s commitment to unity, progress, and active engagement in advancing both the goals of its members and the institution.

  • 28 sacked Ede poly staff reinstated

    28 sacked Ede poly staff reinstated

    • Court orders payment of five years salary

    The National Industrial Court, Ibadan division, Oyo State, has ordered the reinstatement of twenty-eight staff of Federal Polytechnic Ede, Osun State sacked illegally by the management in 2018 as a result of directive of Federal government.

    Delivery the judgment in suit number, NICN/OS/04/2018, Justice Opeloye Ogunbowale ordered that the management of Federal Polytechnic Ede ordered that Federal Polythecnic Ede to pay the 28 staff all their due entitlements for the work done and to do from January 2018 till date.

    The Court refused the claim of damages of N28m filed by the staff through their counsel, Barrister Yemi Abiona, however awarded a cost of N500,000 against the Federal Polythecnic Ede in favour of the dismissed staff.

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    Justice Ogunbowale said “the disengagement of the claimants from the service of the defendants is ultra vires of it’s authorities and a breach of Section 17 of the Federal Polythecnic Act, 2004, provision of the Federal Polythecnic Ede Staff Manual, 2018, violation of the claimants’ fundamental human rights to fear hearing and rights of employment until mandatory retirement age of 65″.

    He noted that from the preponderance of evidence including documentary evidence before the court, it was established that the contract between the claimants; Mr Cornelius Nwokoro, Mr Ayodele Oni, Thomas Aborowa, Fatai Adeeyo and 24 others and defendant was that with statutory flavour, therefore “subsequent termination and disengagement of their contract of employment is subject to their respective letters of employment, confirmation of employment, provisions of the Federal Polythecnic Act, 2004 and regulated by the Federal Government of Nigeria public service rules”

    The Court discontenanced the submission of the Counsel to the Polythecnic, Mr Oluremi Ojo that the dismissal of the claimants from service was based on a Federal Government policy issued in 2007 to MDAs to outsource security personnel, saying such directive can not be applicable to the claimants whose appointments are based on statutory provisions.

  • Lawmaker supports automation of pension system

    The lawmaker representing Ede North, Ede South, Ejigbo and Egbedore federal constituency, Hon. Bamidele Salam, has supported the automation of the pension system.

    He said it would prevent diversion and denial of pensioners’ entitlements.

    Salam, who is the vice chairman, House Committee on Pension, spoke with reporters during the official opening ceremony of his constituency office in Ede.

    Salam expressed worry over non application and introduction of technology to the pension system by some Nigerians.

    Read Also: Lawmaker to youths: Stop depending only on your certificates

    Salam, who maintained that technology would ensure transparency and speed in the payment of pension, promised to push for the introduction of full technology in identification of the pensioners and verification of the pensioners. He also said he would ensure that the funds that are meant for pensioners are not diverted nor kept away from them.

    Meanwhile, Salam has also appointed four persons living with disabilities among his 35 aides. At a ceremony in Ede, where he gave letters of appointment to his aides, he said he was determined to give people of his constituency an equal opportunity.

    He thanked the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, for appointing him as a member of ECOWAS Parliament and deputy chairman, House Committee on Pension.

  • Redeemer’s VC calls for divine intervention in education sector

    Prof. Anthony Akinlo, Vice-Chancellor of Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, on Thursday urged Nigerians to pray for God’s intervention in the nation’s education sector to secure the future of Nigerian children.

    Speaking during a prayer session at the ongoing 2018 Holy Ghost Congress at the Redemption Camp, Mowe, Ogun, Akinlo said that the country’s education sector required divine intervention to save it from collapsing.

    “The education sector in the nation requires serious attention because education is the total development of mankind.

    “We acquire knowledge through education and when it’s not well attended to, it is the other way round.

     

    Read Also: University Professor commits suicide in Makurdi

     

    “As individuals and as a church, it is imperative to pray for the sector so as to avert danger in the future of the sector,” the VC said.

    Akinlo prayed that God should inculcate his fear in the hearts of all students and school administrators.

    He also prayed to God to guide Nigerian schools and restore goodness into Nigerian education.

    He appealed to worshipers to take the prayer seriously even in their privacy, saying “the sector is the life of every nation; therefore, there is need for Nigerians to call on God for intervention

    in the sector.

  • ‘Nigeria needs innovative youths to drive development’

    Mr Abdulkadir Gobir, a youth development expert, says Nigeria needs creative and innovative youths to drive its development.
    Gobir said the quality of education in Nigeria, which gave little or no priority to research had deprived talented young Nigerians opportunity to proffer appreciable solutions to social problems.

    The expert made the remarks at a programme, “Platinum Reasoning Contest’’’, organised for youths in Ede, Osun, on Thursday.
    Gobir expressed concern over acute backwardness in technological advancement and innovation among majority of Nigerian youths, pointing out that social vices, such as internet fraud, had subverted positive thinking among young people.

    He called on the Nigerian government to quickly change the narrative in the educational sector and declare a state of emergency in the sector without delay.

    Read Also: Osinbajo tasks youths on scripture reading, better life promotion

    “There is an urgent need to look into the future as a nation through the mirror of the present, especially the quality of our teeming youths.
    “No nation grows with large number of technologically backward youths like we have in Nigeria, where the few ones with rudimentary knowledge of technology have substituted positive technologically innovation with internet fraud.

    “The focus of majority of Nigerian youths should be on how the monoculture economy of this nation could be diversified and made stronger through innovation and creativity,” he said.

    In his remarks, Mr Ayandeji Peter, the co-coordinator of the programme, said the grand finale of the contest would be in December.
    Peter said the best initiative idea would get one million naira, while the second best would get N700,000 and the third best would get N500.000.
    He said over 800 students participated in the contest in the South-West zone and added that the group would take the contest beyond the geo-political zone.

    The Head of Human Resources of Platinum Reasoning Contest, Dr Tayo Jayeola, urged the government to solve “our national problems through talented youths by supporting them to explore their potential optimally.

  • Redeemer’s Varsity to help erring students recover from misconducts

    The Redeemer’s University, Ede, Osun State, has explained what informed the introduction of the Recovery of Destiny (RoD) to assist erring students recover from their misbehaviour and social vices.

    The university’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Anthony Enisan Akinlo, explained the rationale at a symposium to enlighten the students about the harmful effects of drug abuse, tagged: The 28th Meeting of Family Forum.

    The VC said the RoD programme was inaugurated in 2012 because of the institution’s zero tolerance for students’ misconduct.

    He said the initiative was corrective rather than punitive, to give erring students another opportunity to complete their programmes after necessary sanctions would have been applied.

    According to Akinlo, who assumed office on October 1, following the exit of former VC, Prof Debo Adeyewa, 123 students have participated in the programme.

    At the programme, which was also attended by the National Drug Laws Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Akinlo said: “As at our 10th convocation in 2018, 43 had graduated, 13 of whom graduated in 2018 alone from the programme. Among these, 13 were first-class students from the College of Natural Sciences and two in the Second Class Upper Division from the College of Humanities.

    “We are also glad to note that among these graduands was one of the first set of students admitted into the university in 2005, who was expelled in his final year in 2009 but applied to the university in 2017, pleading to be part of this programme. The university approved his participation on compassionate ground and he has since been awarded the degree of this university.”

    The vice chancellor said the RoD initiative had reshaped the lives of many erring students and become a model for other universities to adopt.

    The VC said the university had recorded notable achievements in the last one year, adding that it won the maiden National Quality Gold Award (Category A) sponsored by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in collaboration with other development partners last November.

     

  • NUC tasks VC’s on female sexual harassment

    The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission ( NUC ), Prof. Rasheed Adamu Abubakar, has tasked Vice Chancellors on sexual harassment of female students in the nation’s tertiary institutions.

    He said lecturers accused and found to sexually students must be made to face the music.

    The NUC boss spoke at the 33rd Conference of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities with the theme “Revitalization of University Education in Nigeria” held at the Redeemer’s University in Ede, Osun State.

    According to him: “We must ensure that the image of our universities being dented by some few unscrupulous perpetrators of sexual harassment is protected. If this trend is allowed to continue unchecked, the future of education is bleak in Nigeria. The nation’s universities should be seen as producing graduates that can not compete favourably with their colleagues anywhere in the world.”

    Speaking further at the 4-day conference, Abubakar advised the Vice Chancellors not to restrict their research and academic collaborations to international universities but to collaborate internally with their co-universities in Nigeria and ensure that their products can complete internationally.

    Abubakar, who expressed optimism that Nigerian graduates can compete anywhere in the world, however, lamented that some international institutions find it hard to employ Nigerian doctors, engineers and other professionals.

    Read Also: Why private universities have low students enrollment – NUC

    Welcoming participants, the host and Vice-Chancellor of the Redeemer University Ede, Prof. Debo Adeyewa, who is also the current Chairman of the association, reminded his colleagues that the onus is on them to produce graduates that can compete with their contemporaries anywhere in the world.

    He said: “We therefore need to encourage ourselves by stating the fact that, the Nigerian education system is not beyond redemption. We only need a purposeful leadership, absolute commitment from all key stakeholders and a sense of urgency to turn around the education sector.

    “We are glad that the current leadership of the NUC is resolutely committed to this. His style of leadership and ongoing restructuring through the NUC is heartwarming and points to a better future for the country.

    “While the society is quick to point areas of weaknesses in our tertiary education system, we need to salute the courage, tenacity and doggedness of our able Vice Chancellors in moving the system forward in spite of the myriads of challenges confronting the ivory towers.”

  • Adeleke University shines at inter-versity award

    Adeleke University, Ede, has again been nominated as ‘school of the year’ at the biggest and most prestigious inter-university award platform in Nigeria, the Annual Nigerian Universities Crest Awards (ANUCA).

    No fewer than seventeen of its students, including the President of the Students’ Association, Sanni Christian and Candidate for the position of Attorney General in the postponed election of the University’s branch of the Law Students’ Association of Nigeria (LAWSAN), Tomiwa Fadeyi, got nominated for different awards of ANUCA.

    Promoter of the annual awards and ace nollywood actor, Antar Laniyan said the awards was aimed at encouraging students to take up challenges and get identified for future roles rather than leaving them to wander for engagement which could lead to infamous conduct among them. “We are of the belief that they could get properly groomed for positive leadership positions instead of being allowed to drift into negativity”.

    In his response on behalf of nominees, at the event held at Club Heritage, Alakia, Ibadan, President of the Adeleke University Students’ Association (AUSA), Sanni Christian commended the management of ANUCA for deeming it fit to honor deserving young Nigerian students for their immense contributions to their various universities, and to the country at large.

    He observed that “the fact that Adeleke University has maintained turning out the highest number of nominees since the inception of the school is a clear indication to how much AUSA is trying to make a difference in the society and a justification that its members are actually, a breed apart.”

    Corroborating Sanni, Tomiwa Fadeyi, who also got nominated as “Political Icon of the Year”, noted that, “plaques are not for show, or mere display, adding that awards are major forms of appreciation and encouragement for jobs well done, and more importantly, a reminder that there is much more to be done to improve the lot of our societies. We cannot relent now.”

    President of the Eagles’ Graduating Class, Comrade Adams Olayiwola, expressed happiness at the milestone crossed. He said he was pleased, that “our students are being recognized nationwide. It is something to be delighted at”.

    Apart from individual nominations, the Adeleke University Students’ Association also got a nomination slot as “Best Supporting Student Union Body”.

  • Timi installs Bajowa’s wife as Yeye Oge of Ede

    The ancient town of Ede in Osun State was agog at the weekend when it hosted many Yoruba traditional rulers and other high-profile personalities during the 10th coronation anniversary of the Timi, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal (Laminisa I).

    Besides the monarchs, others at the NYSC Permanent Orientation Camp venue on AISU Road in Ede, included politicians, film makers and business moguls from various walks of life.

    The conferment of chieftaincy titles on distinguished personalities, including Princess Oluyemi Bajowa, the wife of Igbotako, Ondo State-born former Army general, Joseph Oluyemi Bajowa, added colour to the anniversary.

    The princess, who was gorgeously dressed in a native attire, was installed the Yeye Oge of Ede.

    Others who got various traditional titles were Mrs Jadesola Esho Taofeek, the Iyaloja of Ede and Chief Rotimi Makinde with his wife, who were installed the Bobajiro and Yeye Bobajiro of Ede.

    The conferment of the titles attracted many dignitaries from within and outside the country as well as contributed to the large turnout at the anniversary.

    The investiture was performed by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III.

    Mrs Bajowa said she was overwhelmed by joy for being honoured by a foremost monarch in Yoruba land, despite being from another state.

    She said: “To God be the glory for counting me worthy to be honoured with the title of Yeye Oge of Ede by His Royal Majesty, Oba Munirudeen Adesola Lawal, Laminisa I, the Timi of Ede. The investiture was performed by the Alaafin of Oyo and witnessed by many prominent Yoruba traditional rulers, particularly His Imperial Majesty, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, the Ooni of Ife.”

    The Ayeka, Ondo State-born princess said her new title would spur her to do more for the development of mankind.

    Congratulating the Timi of Ede on his 10th coronation anniversary, Gen. Bajowa thanked the monarch for honouring his wife.

    He promised to always be part of the development of the ancient town.

    To his wife, he said: “I feel so proud to have you as my wife forever. Long may you reign as Yeye Oge of Ede. I pray that God should endow you with wisdom and grant you good health in your continued resolve to contribute to women empowerment and to uphold the dignity of womanhood.”

    There was a fund-raising for an ultra-modern palace for the monarch.

    Fuji maestro, King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal (KI), entertained guests at the event.

     

  • Monarch marks 10th anniversary on throne

    The Timi of Ede, Oba Munirudeen Lawal has pledged his commitment to grassroots development. He stated this while addressing reporters in his palace in Ede, Osun State on preparations for his 10th anniversary on the throne of his ancestors.

    The monarch said he would support any project that would make life meaningful for his subjects.

    Oba Lawal noted that a leadership position could only be meaningful if there is transparency, accountability and concern for people’s welfare.

    According to him, the major challenge the people, especially the less-privileged are experiencing, is poverty.

    Oba Lawal promised to support programmes that will alleviate the suffering of his subjects.

    The Timi also vowed to ensure continued phenomenal growth and advancement in Ede Town and Osun State during his reign.

    Also, the Chairman of the 10th Anniversary Committee, Prof. ‘Siyan Oyeweso said: “The Kabiyesi has been able to maintain peace and security in Ede since he assumed the throne of his forefathers 10 years ago.

    “We owe the relative peace and security being enjoyed in the ancient town of Ede to his peace and security initiatives through traditional means and the co-operation of his subjects.”

    According to him, the monarch was also concerned about the welfare of his people in the Diaspora through constant engagement with those in Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the United States of America (USA) and others.

    “There are rapid socio-economic developments during Oba Lawal’s reign. In his time, the Ilori College of Education, Adeleke University and Redeemer’s University all in Ede, were established as part of education developments.

    “This gives a global relevance to the community and has placed it on a global map of education development. The students’ population and workers who patronise infrastructure facilities in the town also boost its economy relatively.

    “Also, the Spring Time Development Foundation, Ede, a non-governmental association, which gives scholarships to make education available to the less-privileged individuals, was founded during the monarch’s reign.