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Tag: Samuel Ogbemudia

  • Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium renovation almost ready – Site Engineer

    Renovation of the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium, Benin has reached 75 per cent completion and the job will be delivered January 2019, according to the site Engineer of the project, Femi James.

    James, who works with Peculiar Ultimate Consult, the company handling the renovation, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Benin on Thursday.

    He said the replacing the artificial grass with a natural grass as well the roofing and replacement of the seats, which he described as the major work, would commence within the next few days.

    The site engineer said planting of the natural grass would start before weekend would be expected to finish before the end of next week.

    James said the containers housing the new seats had been received, adding that the stadium was awaiting the commencement of work on them, soonest.

    Rad Also: Edo begins upgrade of Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium

     

    “Right now, we are approaching the finishing gradually, we have started replacing the artificial grass with the natural grass, and we should be through by next week with the grass.

    “On the seats, we will start work on that section within the next two weeks. The seats are here with us. As for the roofing, we should be done with that by January also.

    “In all, we have attained 75 per cent completion and should be completing the entire process by ending of January next year,” he said.

    On what to expect upon completion, James said, “We are expecting a FIFA standard from the pitch, grass and roofing. We are other just roofing; we are also covering the sides.”

    James further disclosed that the company was on the verge of signing a contract with the Edo Government on the renovation of the indoor sports hall, swimming pools and other facilities at the stadium.

    He said the idea was to standardise facilities in the entire complex.

  • Falconets will put up a good performance in Benin, says Folode

    Falconets will put up a good performance in Benin, says Folode

    Chairperson of the Nigeria Women Football League, Aisha Folode, has expressed optimism that the Nigeria Falconets would put up a good performance against their Tanzania opponent in the U-20 World Cup qualifier.

    The match is slated for Saturday at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.

    Aisha who spoke to reporters while observing a training session of the Falconets said: ” The only way to reward Edo people was for the girls to put up a sterling performance against their opponents.”

    She stated that the event would impact in the economy of the state as well as send a very strong messsge in the empowerment of the girl
    child in Edo.

    According to her, “We are happy with what Edo is doing with women football. The Edo State Government is taking the leadership role for
    reviving women’s football in Nigeria. This is something we are pleased with that we have an executive governor and Edo people who have opened their hospitality to us to be able to put women football in the front
    burner.

    “We will expect the Samuel Ogbemudia stadium that has a traditional history for recording sucessss in football to be packed full to give
    maximum and moral support to our falconets.

    “We are confident that our girls will put up a sterling performance on Saturday. A performance that is commending.”

  • Samuel Ogbemudia (1932-2017)

    Samuel Ogbemudia (1932-2017)

    •Builder of Nigeria’s Midwest passes on

    THEY don’t come like this anymore; not in the realm of Nigeria’s leadership. Very few leaders in Nigeria’s history will compare with Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia, a retired Brigadier-General who passed on March 9, 2017, at the age of 84.

    Among his contemporary war time governors and even long after his tenure, his monumental legacies in office remain at once, a matter of bemusement and awe. Today, at death, he is still recognised as a standard for measuring successful performance and hardly any successor has surpassed his record.

    Enlisting in the army in 1953 after his secondary education, he had undergone numerous military trainings over the next decade across Nigeria, Ghana, UK and the United States of America. Prominent among them were the Nigeria Military School, Zaria; Officer Cadet School, Aldershot, England and Army Special Welfare School, Fort Bragg, South Carolina. Ogbemudia also served in the United Nations Peace Keeping Force in the Congo and Tanzania in 1964.

    He played critical roles during the outbreak of the civil war in 1967, including leading the team that reclaimed the Midwest from the Biafran forces whereupon he was appointed military governor of the state in September, that year. For eight years – up until the war ended and five years afterwards – Ogbemudia held sway in the Mid-West, dexterously laying the foundation and raising the infrastructure for the fledgling state.

    Notwithstanding the constraints of a war time, regardless that it was a pre-oil boom era and that he had a larger territory to govern, Ogbemudia posted a performance that has not been matched even in boom times.

    Working with a team that included Edwin Clark and Frank Oputa-Otutu, he touched practically every facet and sector of the state’s economy. In banking and finance, the New Nigeria Bank and Bendel Insurance were set up. Agriculture sector was boosted with the School of Agriculture, Awain; Warrake Farms; Agbede Cattle Ranch, Ughelli Fish Ponds; Bendel Foods Production Company; Iyamomo Rubber Research Institute and Urhonigbe Rubber Plantation, to mention a few.

    Unlike in this age when state governments are unable to set up or run industries, Ogbemudia established a string of companies manufacturing various household needs. These include: Bendel Breweries; Okpella Cement Company; Bendel Pharmaceuticals; Asaba Textile Mills; Bendel Woods Company and Ughelli Glass Factory. His famous transport company, Bendel Line, remains operational till today.

    He will be remembered most for his exploits in education and sports. The University of Benin (UNIBEN) and the teaching hospital were established during his time at a period when the overwhelming influence of the all-powerful regions had waned considerably. Yet in terms of vision, size and overall quality, UNIBEN ranked among the first generation universities in Ibadan, Nsukka, Lagos and Ife. It was a remarkable feat indeed in a post-war military era.

    Apart from the Ogbe Stadium which was a showpiece, he also built numerous stadia and sports facilities across the state. Most notable among them is the Afuze Games Village. The state was to dominate most games and national sports fiestas in the following decades. There was the Midwest Television (later NTA Benin) and the Bendel Newspapers Corporation, publishers of The Observer.

    Ogbemudia, along with the then Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, and the 12 governors of the time, were swept out of power by the 1975 coup d’etat led by Brig-Gen. Murtala Muhammed. He returned in 1983 as a second time governor of then Bendel State, having won election under the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN). It was a short-lived tenure which lasted barely three months.

    Though Ogbemudia was indicted by the Assets Recovery Panel set up by the Murtala Muhammed government, the Bendel State House granted him reprieve. His politics in the latter days, especially serving under the military government of Gen. Sani Abacha as Labour and Productivity Minister (1993-1998) and his support for his draconian leadership made a smudge on what would have been a glittering political career.

    Albeit, Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia was an unusual military leader and a pacesetter who left his people with indelible memories.

  • Updated: Ogbemudia buried in country home

    Updated: Ogbemudia buried in country home

    The late former governor of the old Bendel State, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, was on Friday buried in his Iheya country home.

    Ogbemudia was buried by family members at 1: 47 p.m. with a 21-gun salute by men and officers of the 4 Brigade in Benin.

    The deceased had prepared his grave five years ago beside that of his mother.

    Hundreds of thousands of Benin residents, including school children, had earlier besieged the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium to bid the late elder statesman farewell.

    Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, had on Thursday declared one-day public holiday for Friday, to enable workers and students pay their last respects to the man who built the stadium as a military governor of Midwest region.

    Ogbemudia’s remains arrived in the stadium at 11:04 a.m. for an interdenominational service.

    Every available space in the 35,000-capacity stadium was occupied by the crowd, including students and pupils of various public primary and secondary schools in Edo.

    Meanwhile, a former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd), had in a tribute, described the deceased as a strong believer in “One Nigeria.”

    Gowon said Ogbemudia was a fine and bold administrator, who played his part well before and during the civil war.

    According to him, the former governor exhibited good leadership qualities with legacies that still speak for him even in death.

    Ogbemudia died in a Lagos private hospital of March 8, aged 84.

    NAN

     

  • Reps eulogize late Adebayo, Ogbemudia,

    Reps eulogize late Adebayo, Ogbemudia,

    The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, showered encomiums on the late former Governors of defunct Western and Midwest regions, Generals Adeyinka Adebayo and Samuel Ogbemudia.

    This was sequel to a motion under matters of urgent public importance moved by two lawmakers, Ayodele Oladimeji  (Ekiti-PDP) and Pally Iriase, Deputy Whip of the House.

    Oladimeji (Ekiti-PDP) while moving his motion said Adebayo as the former Western region Governor brought a lot of development to the defunct region, that now encompasses Oyo, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun and Ogun States. 

    General-Adeyinka-Adebayo

    According to him, Adebayo was the embodiment of vision and consistency in terms of the desire to elevate his people to a new level social equality.

    The late General, Oladimeji said, provided qualitative governance that moved the region to great reckoning. 

    In the same vein, Pally Iriase in his motion said as a two-time Governor of the Mid West region and Bendel State Ogbemudia contributed meaningfully to the development of his state and the country at large.

    Ogbemudia
    Ogbemudia

    He said Ogbemudia during his tenure initiated “unforgettable improvements in the area of Sports, Education, Health, Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, Housing, Public Transportation and Rural/Urban transformation through superb infrastructural development”.

    The lawmaker said some of the late statesman’s achievements include the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Games village Afuze, University of Benin, Bendel Line, Bendel Steel structures, Bendel Pharmaceuticals among others.

    Members while supporting his motion spoke glowingly of the late Ogbemudia.

    They include Wole Oke (Osun-PDP), Nicholas Ossai ( Delta- PDP) and Johnson Agbonayinma (Edo-PDP).

    The lawmakers said the late General lived a life worthy of emulation and should be celebrated by all because he exercised good leadership.

    When the motion was put to a voice vote by the Deputy Speaker, Yussuff Lasun, it was unanimously adopted by members.

  • Delta declares three-day mourning for Ogbemudia

    Gov. Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta has declared a three-day mourning in the state in honour of retired late Brig.-Gen. Samuel Ogbemudia.

    This is contained in a statement signed by the state Director of Information, Mr Paul Osaho, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Asaba.

    He said that the three-day mourning period commenced from Monday, March 13 to Wednesday, March 15, 2017.

    The Governor directed that flags would be flown at half-mast across the state throughout the period.

    According to Okowa, the declaration is to honour the late elder statesman, who was the governor of the old Mid-West Region and later Bendel State, now Edo and Delta states.

     

  • Orji Kalu says Buhari’s return stabilised polity

    Orji Kalu says Buhari’s return stabilised polity

    A former governor of Abia, Dr Orji Kalu, says the return of President Muhammadu Buhari from the United Kingdom on Friday has brought stability into the polity.

    Kalu told newsmen in Lagos on Sunday that Nigerians were happy that the president was back in good health.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the president went on vacation to the UK on Jan. 20, and also met with his doctors during the trip before returning on Friday.

    Kalu said: “Now that the president is back, I am very happy; we have been praying.

    “Both Christians and Muslims have been praying because the country has been so polarised that the fabrics of our nation have been eaten with tribalism and religion.

    “So I am very happy that the president is back and I want him to listen to his doctor’s advice and continue to take his medication, if any’’.

    The former governor noted that the president had kept his campaign promise of restoring peace to the North Eastern part of the country, which had been facing insurrection from the Boko Haram sect.

    “I know that the president has done well in the area of defence and pursuing Boko Haram; I congratulate him as Commander in Chief.

    “I also praise the service chiefs – the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Air Staff and the Inspector General of Police as well as the Director of State Service for their backup operation on Boko Haram,’’ he said.

    He, however, called on the government to intensify efforts towards improving the economic situation in the country.

    “Buhari took over when there were a lot of doubts in the economy; he took over when the oil prices went down sharply.

    “And whenever your expenditure is more than your income, then there is already recession.

    “So I am not sure that recession is just going to end so soon.

    “I believe now that the president is back, he should be able to fine-tune the economic team and put some recovery policies in place’’.

    He advised the economic team to be more serious, out looking and no to take anything for granted.

    “The most important thing government should look into is the issue of electricity and internal security.

    “Internal security and electricity are the engine room that drives development and the future of any country.

    “I believe these things can be done,’’ Kalu said.

    He also commiserated with the families of Gen. Adeyinka Adebayo, former governor of the Old Western Region and Brig.-Gen. Samuel Ogbemudia, former governor of the defunct Bendel State, who passed on recently.

    Kalu said their wealth of experience would be greatly missed by the country and he prayed God to grant them eternal rest.

    NAN reports that Kalu, formerly a staunch member the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016 defected to the ruling APC.

    The former governor had told the gathering that he joined the APC to help “diffuse tensions that the party is an ethnic or religious contraption”.

     

  • Edo people mourn Ogbemudia’s death

    Residents of Ihieya area in Benin, Edo where the late Dr Samuel Ogbemudia lived before his death and the adjourning streets, on Friday lamented the death of a man they described as a good neighbour.

    Ogbemudia’s eldest Son, Samuel Jr, had earlier confirmed his father’s death at a Lagos hospital on Thursday at 84 years.

    Some of the residents who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), at Ishieya on condolence visit,also described Ogbemudia’s death as a big loss to the community.

    They said Ogbemudia represented everything good to them.

    Mr Ehigie Aigbiremolle, a neigbour to the Ogbemudias’ and who said he had has lived in the area for over 25 years, described the late Ogbemudia as a man with good heart.

    “He did not only attract infrastructure to the area through his influence.”

    Another resident, who identifies himself as Gabriel, described Ogbemudia’s death as shocking and called on other influential Nigerians to emulate what the late Ogbemudia represented to the people.

    “He was a good man who will be remembered for a very long time to come.Nobody around here has anything bad to say about him,” he said.

    He said t was through the initiative of the late former two-time Governor of old Midwest and Bendel that the area and the entire state witnessed infrastructure development.

    Samuel Ogbemudia was born in Benin City in 1933 and attended Benin Baptist School (1941–1945), Government school, Victoria in the Cameroons (1945–1947) and the Western Boy’s High School, Benin City (1947–1949).

    He joined the Nigerian army in 1957 and had a brilliant career and training, culminating in being appointed as the Military Administrator of the defunct Mid-West in September, 1967 among others.

    His administration was associated with various achievements in the social, economic and social life of the people of both the old Bendel and Edo.

     

  • My dad prepared his own grave before death – Ogbemudia’s son

    My dad prepared his own grave before death – Ogbemudia’s son

    Family members on Friday said late Dr Samuel Ogbemudia, prepared his own grave before his death.

    Samuel Ogbemudia Junior, the eldest child of the deceased told newsmen on Friday at the Iheya family house that the elder statesman died on Thursday night at a Lagos Hospital.

    He said that Ogbemudia, who died at the age of 84, had prepared his grave years ago, besides that of his late mother within the family compound.

    Asked if his late father gave any particular reason for the act, he simply responded saying, “anybody can do that.”

    On what he would miss about his late father, Ogbemudia Junior said, “I will miss everything about him.

    “I, and all those who had contact with him, have all learnt a great deal from him; he was a father, not just to his children, but to all. He was a great man,’’ he said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria [NAN] reports that the deceased had served as governor of the defunct Midwest and later Bendel State.

     

  • 2015 elections: I saw PDP defeat coming – Ogbemudia

    2015 elections: I saw PDP defeat coming – Ogbemudia

    A former Governor of old Bendel State, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia, has attributed failure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 general election to the party’s refusal to take full assement of its previous victories.

    Ogbemudia, who stated this when he was registered for the PDP biometric registration in Benin on Monday, said the party mismanaged its successes in previous elections.

    He also noted that the defeat would have been avoided if the leadership of the party had listened to advice from well meaning members and some leaders of the party.

    The former governor, who expressed believe that the party would regain it lost glory, he said he is always available to provide whatever support needed to bring the party back to its pride of place in the country’s history.

    He, however, debunked the insinuation that he has relinquished his membership of the PDP.

    Ogbemudia said, “The party initial mistake was made when it refused to take full assement of its victories. Therefore we mismanage the successes recorded in previous polls. It is the outcome we are all suffering now.”

    “I will do all that is necessary to enable the party get back to its winning way.

    “I will only cease being a member of the PDP when I can no longer breathe. While I am alive, I will continue to support a PDP that is well led by a remarkable Nigerian who understands the act of service.

    “This card, I will treasure it, I will continue to believe that it is the only passport to a destination that is yet to be carved out.”