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Tag: OSRC

  • World Children’s Day: Akeredolu seeks priority attention for children

    Gov. Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State says priority attention should be given to children in view of their importance to the nation and the future of the society.

    Akeredolu made the assertion in Akure on Tuesday when the Children Management Committee of the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC) and Orange FM paid a courtesy visit to his office.

    The visit was part of activities marking the 2018 World Children’s Day.

    The World Children’s Day is a day chosen by United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) to celebrate children worldwide.

    The governor said: “You are the future of the nation and we are prepared to work and interact with you as we go along.

    “This government will continue to do all it can to support all your requests.’’

    He advised parents to talk to their children and not to only talk about them.

    Read Also: International Children’s Day: 10m Nigerian children out of school – UNICEF

    Akereolu said that today’s children had the opportunity and access to better innovations, particularly computers, unlike in the past which was full of analogue lifestyle.

    The governor urged children to embrace agriculture as well as hygienic lifestyles.

    He also encouraged children to champion the fight against open defecation as Nigeria emerged second on the global list of countries with open defecation.

    According to him, the state government is committed to providing a conducive environment for learning.

    “I enjoin you to get involved in extra-curricular activities outside reading and the classroom.

    “Everything is not about academics or about reading; we have more to learn than just reading.

    “Your curriculum should not just limit you to books. There are a lot of activities like sports that make you a better person.

    “Don’t just go to school and come out. Let the school goes through you, ‘’ the governor said.

    Earlier, Miss Nifemi Obalokun, the One-Day Chairman, Management Committee of OSRC and Orange 94.5 FM, commended the governor for inspiring and supporting the initiative of the OSRC & Orange 94.5 FM and UNICEF.

    Obalokun, also a student of St. Louis Girls Grammar School, Akure, said the day was set aside by the UN to review its attention to and relationship with children.

    She lauded he governor for his infrastructure interventions, construction of educational facilities, expansion of health programmes, workers’ friendly policy, job creation and commitment to the society’s progress.

    Obalokun said it was sad that the world, particularly Africa, might suffer a gloomy future due to the dangers to which children were exposed to.

    She called for protection, education, encouragement and planning for children.

    NAN

  • Generator explosion kills OSRC engineer

    Generator explosion kills OSRC engineer

    A staff of the engineering department of the Ondo State Radio Vision Corporation (OSRC), Mr. Rotimi Fagbemi, at the weekend died of generator explosion.

    Sources said the deceased’s body was severely mutilated when the generator exploded and slashed him into pieces.

    It was learnt that the faulty generator had allegedly been serving the media outfit as the only source of power in the past one year.

    The incident was said to have instantly led to suspension of

    transmission while the workers on duty wailed and accused the management of total neglect of the station.

    Many workers who spoke in confidence said their destiny had been tied to the wisdom of the Corporation’s Director- General.

    They said that they had resigned to fate as previous efforts to get the attention of Governor Olusegun Mimiko were turned against their leaders who were arrested, detained and subsequently suspended before being redeployed from the station.

    Union leaders in OSRC and other workers protested a few months ago over the alleged poor working condition and maladministration by its management.

    The protest led to the setting up of an investigative panel headed by the former Head of Service (HoS), Barr. Ajose Kudehinbu, which made various recommendations to overhaul the entire system in the corporation for better output.

    A portion of the panel’s recommendations reads: “OSRC with our findings is a place where a reasonable human being should not wish to work, hence the State government should urgently intervene to bail the Corporation out.”

    The report, however, did not see the light of the day.

    Instead, all the workers and union leaders who appeared before the Kudehinbu’s panel to give an insight into myriads of problems in the Corporation were sanctioned.

    Some of them were said to have been re-deployed, demoted or denied their normal entitlements for agitating for better working condition in the establishment.

    When contacted on the incident, Police Spokesman, Wole Ogodo, an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP), confirmed the incident.

    He said men from the State Police Command had visited the Orita-Obele premises of the Corporation.

    He added that the corpse had been deposited at an undisclosed mortuary.

    Ogodo, who described the incident as sad Commiserated with the family of the deceased, OSRC management and staff as well as Ondo State Government.

     

  • Address OSRC workers’ plight, NUJ urges Mimiko

    Following the alleged poor working conditions at the Ondo State Radio Vision Corporation (OSRC), the four-man panel set up to look into the crisis between the management and its workers has commenced its sitting under the chairmanship of the former Head of service (HoS)in the State, Mr. Ajose Kudehinbu.

    The aggrieved workers of the corporation had recently protested against the harsh conditions under which they operate in the state-owned media outfit.

    The development led to the arrest of five leaders of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (OSRC Chapel) by the Police.

    The NUJ was particularly disturbed with the level of decadence of the facilities ranging from the complex housing the OSRC, studio and the FM radio arm.

    Sources alleged that in the last five years, the management of the OSRC has not added any value to the existing facilities at the organisation.

    The NUJ, therefore, urged the panel to look into the myriad of problems facing the corporation and proffer enduring solutions.

    One of the national officers of the union said, “We are alarmed that training and re-training is now a thing of the past in the establishment in the last four years.

    “It is lamentable that the NUJ chapel of the OSRC has to purchase chairs for the use of the newsroom due to the abdication of the management’s responsibility despite government’s enormous financial commitment and the huge IGR profile of the corporation.”

    One of the board members, who spoke to The Nation in confidence, assured that all the complaints would be addressed after briefing the state governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko.

  • Sun sets for Ranti Akerele at noon

    Sun sets for Ranti Akerele at noon

    Like a thunderbolt from the blue, the news of Ranti Akerele’s death on Tuesday came to many as a rude shock. It was a sad event that shook the entire Ondo State. Those who were familiar with him would vow that he was not just another name on the list of the state’s public servants, but one who has left an indelible mark on the social, political and religious circles of the Sunshine State.

    The former Commissioner for Information during the first term of Governor Segun Mimiko was a gentle man whose words and ways were very smooth. He was full of life and energy a few hours to his reported death during his sleep in the early hours of Tuesday.

    The Ido-Ani-born information manager was a prominent member of Mimiko’s cabinet. He was the number one defender of the administration’s policies. He was later removed when Mimiko did a major cabinet reshuffle that saw him drop most of his allies in the build-up to his re-election bid in 2012. Akerele was not lucky to make it back after Mimiko was re-elected.

    Prior to his appointment as Commissioner for Information, Akerele had worked as a broadcaster with the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC) before joining politics to become the Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party in Ondo State. Akerele, who died at the age of 54, presided as a pastor over a parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Ondo State.

  • Ex-Ondo Commissioner Akerele dies at 53

    Ex-Ondo Commissioner Akerele dies at 53

    Ondo State residents were shocked yesterday to hear of the sudden death of former Commissioner for Information Ranti Akerele.

    The ace broadcaster and sports analyst died in his sleep. He was 53.

    His remains were deposited at St. Mercy’s Hospital.

    It was learnt that the late Akerele got home around 9pm on Monday after visiting his wife, Lucy, who is hospitalised.

    Sources said he directed his gate man, Mr. Taye Festus, to switch off the generator at midnight and retired into his bedroom.

    Festus told reporters that the late Akerele was hale and hearty before he went to bed.

    He said: “I was expecting Oga to have woken up early but he did not, even after his new driver arrived. We became suspicious around 10am when we did not see him. I went to his window and called him, but he did not respond.

    “I opened the window and saw him lying on the bed. I called him, but he did not answer; so, I raised the alarm and people rushed to our compound. I called a carpenter close to our house and we forced Oga’s bedroom door open. Oga was just lying on his bed.

    “His wife came home with a drip fixed to her hand, but she was taken back to the hospital by sympathisers.

    “Oga’s remains have been deposited at St. Mercy’s Hospital mortuary.

    “I love Oga. I have never been maltreated by him and that is why I remained with him till today because I believed things would change for the better for him.”

    One of the late Akerele’s neighbours, Mrs. Bambo Seibo, said: “I cannot believe Akerele is dead. I saw him yesterday and asked about his wife’s health. I do not believe Akerele could die like that. He was very nice to me. His death is shocking.”

    The late Akerele, who was a pastor in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), is survived by his wife and children.

    The deceased, an indigene of Idoani in Ose Local Government Area, was one of Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s close associates.

    He was active in the struggle to retrieve Mimiko’s mandate between April, 2007 and February, 2009.

    The late Akerele handled the Labour Party’s (LP’s) publicity at Mimiko’s Temporary Situation Office at A&T Presidential Hotel in Akure, from where he dished out information across the country daily about his principal, especially through the electronic media.

    As compensation, he was appointed commissioner in 2009.

    The late Akerele and a few other commissioners were relieved of their duties in 2011.

    The late Akerele, who also served at the Ondo State Radiovision Corporation (OSRC), worked as a media consultant until his death.

    He was the media consultant of the Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO), during its 11th Convocation last December 21.

    Some prominent indigenes have died since last September.

    Former Governor Olusegun Agagu died on September 13. Former Commissioner for Culture and Tourism Deji Falae and 14 others died on October 3 in the ill-fated Associated Airline crash while conveying the late Agagu’s remains from Lagos to Akure.

    A former lawmaker representing Ilaje/Ese-Odo Federal Constituency, Raphael Nomiye, died on November 23.

    The Deji of Akure, Oba Adebiyi Adesida, joined his ancestors on December 1.