The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in Oyo State, Senator Sharafadeen Alli, has appointed three experienced journalists and communication professionals as directors in his campaign media and publicity team ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

The appointees are the former South-West Bureau Chief of The Nation, Bisi Oladele, who was named Director of Media and Publicity; a former Chief Press Secretary to the late Oyo State Governor, Lam Adesina, Kehinde Olaosebikan, as Director of Strategic Communication; and a former Special Adviser to the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Communication and Strategy, Bolaji Tunji, as Director of Public Affairs.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Media Consultant to Alli, Dare Adekanmbi, and made available to journalists in Ibadan on Thursday.

Also appointed to the team are the immediate past Chairman of the Oyo State Council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ademola Babalola, as Deputy Director, while the Oyo State APC Publicity Secretary, Olawale Sadare, will serve as Secretary.

Oladele, a multimedia journalist and communication strategist, has over 25 years of experience in journalism and public relations.

He was until his latest appointment the Executive Editor of Newspeak Media and Chairman of the South-West Guild of Online Publishers.

Oladele holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education (English) from Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and a Master’s degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan. He is also concluding a PhD programme in Political Communication at Lead City University, Ibadan.

He is expected to work with other communication professionals, including Ayotunde Olude, to drive the campaign’s media, publicity and strategic communication activities.

Olaosebikan, a veteran journalist and media practitioner, served as Chief Press Secretary to the late Governor Lam Adesina and brings considerable experience in government media relations and strategic communication to the campaign.

Tunji, also a journalist and communication practitioner, served as Special Adviser to the late Governor Abiola Ajimobi on Communication and Strategy.

According to the statement, the appointments were made to strengthen the campaign’s media visibility, strategic communication, public engagement and information management ahead of the 2027 general election.

‎The declaration was made on Wednesday at the Recreation Club open field in Ibadan, where leaders and members of the groups gathered to publicly endorse Oseni ahead of the election.
‎
‎The coalition comprises no fewer than 20 indigenous security organisations, including the OPC Fasheun, Agbekoya Solidarity, OLM, Ifenisese Oodua, Agbekoya Peace and Unity, LLVG, OPC Gani, Omo-Ibile, Agbekoya Warriors, OPC New Era, FYCC Alajobi, Agbekoya Farmers, IROD, IYF, Itesiwaju Agbekoya, Hunters Ode, Soludero Hunters Guide, Oyo State Vigilante Group, Soludero Association, Kobolese Vanguard and Majiyagbe Vanguard.
‎
The groups have structures and members across the local government areas that  make up Ibadanland.
‎
‎Speaking on behalf of the coalition, its Commandant, Chief Musliudeen Kehinde Ege, commended Oseni for what he described as his “superlative performance” as a member of the House of Representatives.
‎
‎Ege said the groups had followed reports of Oseni’s interventions and representation before deciding to identify with his senatorial aspiration.
‎
‎He said: “We have been hearing a lot of good things about you as a result of your quality representation and impactful development, even beyond Oyo South.We are proud to identify with you and openly declare our unflinching support for the realisation of your ambition. We will not only make this happen at the polls with our huge followership and networks, we are also going to ensure that the votes are well secured.”
‎
‎Addressing the gathering, Oseni thanked the security groups for the confidence reposed in him, assuring them that he would remain committed to quality representation and people-oriented development.
‎
‎The lawmaker said his legislative agenda for Oyo South would focus on people-centred legislation, strategic engagement at the national level and efforts to attract meaningful development projects to the district.
‎
‎Oseni, who is currently representing Ibarapa East/Ido Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives and chairs the House Committee on the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA), also assured residents that his interventions in communities would continue.
‎
‎He said his support for communities, religious bodies, artisans, traders, market associations and other development stakeholders across the district was driven by his desire to improve the welfare of the people and would continue until the election.
‎
‎The APC candidate also appealed to the gathering to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Senator Sarafadeen Alli and other APC candidates.
‎
‎Responding to requests earlier presented by the security initiative, Oseni donated a bus, three Hajj slots and N20 million to support the activities of the groups.
‎
‎The donations, according to him, were part of his commitment to supporting initiatives that contribute to community development, security and the welfare of the people.

(c) Mega Icon Magazine 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Tuesday said it needed an additional 5,000 health workers to help contain the Ebola outbreak spreading across the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The outbreak, officially detected on May 15, has spread to six provinces in the country’s conflict-affected eastern and northeastern regions.

The WHO, citing official Congolese figures, said more than 6,600 people had been confirmed infected, while 3,175 had died since the outbreak began.

The development has put further pressure on health facilities in the affected areas, many of which are already struggling with shortages of medical personnel and other essential resources.

Ebola is a highly contagious viral disease transmitted through contact with the bodily fluids of infected persons. It can cause severe bleeding, organ failure and death.

The UN health agency said it was working to establish 3,000 beds in Ebola treatment centres across the affected areas to cope with the rising number of patients.

A senior technical official with the WHO, Luca Fontana, said the expansion would require thousands of additional healthcare workers.

“More than 900 beds have been built within the first two months of the response, and we have now reached close to 1,400 beds across 59 treatment centres,” Fontana told a press briefing in Geneva.

He said another 1,600 beds would be required to meet the rapidly increasing demand.

“Despite this extraordinary effort, we estimate that another 1,600 beds will be required to meet the rapidly growing needs,” he said.

Fontana said nearly 4,000 healthcare workers were currently working in the treatment centres, adding that 5,000 more were urgently needed.

He said the Congolese Ministry of Health was racing against time to identify qualified medical personnel from other parts of the country for deployment to the affected provinces.

“The problem is to identify those fast enough to make sure that we can cover the growing need,” Fontana said.

He stressed that fully staffed treatment centres would be critical to saving lives and bringing the outbreak under control.

“Every treatment centre that is fully staffed and functional means more life saved and a stronger chance of bringing this outbreak under control,” he said.

The current outbreak is caused by the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment. Several vaccines and treatments, however, are being tested.

The outbreak has also been complicated by the security situation in the affected regions, where government presence is weak, healthcare infrastructure is limited and armed groups have operated for decades.

Fontana said the geographical spread of patients seeking treatment was another indication that the outbreak was expanding.

He explained that while most patients initially admitted to treatment centres came from Bunia, the capital of Ituri Province, infected people were now arriving from villages “far beyond” the original epicentre.

He described the development as “a clear sign” that the outbreak was spreading and said the WHO response would have to adapt accordingly.

Ebola has killed more than 15,000 people in Africa over the past 50 years.

The previous major Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which lasted from 2018 to 2020, killed nearly 2,300 people out of about 3,500 reported infections.