Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to building a professional and globally competitive civil service with the sponsorship of 12 senior officers for an advanced leadership programme in the United Kingdom.

The officers, selected from key Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), recently completed a five-day executive training organised by Acme Professionals in partnership with the Institute of Government and Public Policy at Conference Aston, Aston University, Birmingham.

The programme, titled The Positive and Strategic Leadership, was designed to strengthen strategic thinking, emotional intelligence and change-management capabilities among top public sector decision-makers.

Participants were taken through intensive classroom sessions covering strategic leadership fundamentals, transformational leadership, emotional intelligence and institutional reform.

The training also featured study visits to public institutions in Birmingham and London, exposing the officers to practical governance models, policy innovation frameworks and citizen-focused leadership practices.

Speaking on the importance of the initiative, the Head of Service of Oyo State, Mrs Olubunmi Oni, described the programme as a reflection of Governor Makinde’s deliberate investment in human capital development.

According to her, the administration’s continuous support for international exposure and capacity building has been instrumental in repositioning the state’s civil service for efficiency and professionalism.

“Governor Makinde has consistently demonstrated his passion for a competent and professional civil service. We are confident that the knowledge and skills acquired during this programme will translate into improved service delivery and better outcomes for the people of Oyo State,” she said.

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of Acme Professionals, Alhaji Olalere Wahab, commended the governor for his vision and commitment to excellence in governance.

He praised the participants for their discipline, cooperation and contributions to the success of the programme, urging them to deploy the lessons learnt to enhance productivity in their respective offices.

“This training is an opportunity for the officers to redefine leadership within the public service. I encourage them to maximise the exposure and apply the insights gained to improve efficiency and performance,” Wahab said.

The beneficiaries of the programme, in separate remarks, expressed appreciation to the Makinde-led administration for the opportunity to participate in the international training, describing it as timely and impactful.

They pledged to utilise the skills and global perspectives acquired to support institutional reforms and contribute meaningfully to the socio-economic development of Oyo State.

In a bid to address the economic challenges faced by his constituents, Hon. Olafisoye Akinmoyede Wasiu, representing Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency in Oyo State, has unveiled plans to empower over 2000 individuals.

Better known as “Lafi,” the Member of the House of Representatives revealed this initiative in a statement provided to the press.

Scheduled for Tuesday, April 30th, 2024, the Economic Empowerment Programme will commence at 9 a.m. at the Faith Joe Civic Center, situated beside Community High School, Alegongo, Ibadan.

Olafisoye, who also chairs the House Committee on Nigeria/Mexico Parliamentary Friendship, underscored that the programme aims to mitigate the adverse effects experienced by constituents following the removal of fuel subsidies by the federal government last year.

Highlighting the significance of the initiative, the lawmaker emphasized its focus on enhancing the standard of living for beneficiaries within the Akinyele/Lagelu Federal Constituency.

Moreover, he expressed the programme’s broader objective of alleviating hardship and combating starvation among constituents.

The event is expected to draw various dignitaries, including the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Oyo State, Barr. Issac Ajiboye Omodewu, alongside members of the state working committee.

Also anticipated are traditional and religious leaders from the Akinyele/Lagelu federal constituency, as well as representatives from local markets, artisans, security agencies, and APC members within the constituency.

Former president Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday lamented the rising cost of diesel, stressing that it has adversely affected his fish business.

Obasanjo, while speaking during a southwest fish farmers’ congress at the presidential library (OOPL) in Ogun State, noted that the high diesel price may turn fish farmers into bankruptcy.

Putting the current price of diesel at N800 a litre, the ex-President said the production of a kilogram of fish is N1,400.

“I am already sweating and if the situation does not go down, anybody that is using diesel, I don’t know your calculation, my calculation is that I cannot produce a kilo of fish with less than N1400. That’s about what it cost as of today. So, if I sell my fish around N1,400 I cannot make a profit,” the ex-President was quoted as saying in a statement by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi.

He added that farmers must not sell less than N1,500 as anything short of that would lead to “outright loss”.

“If we don’t come together as an association, nationally, we will sink individually. If we come together, we will swim and survive together.

“And while we are working on coming together, I thought that the situation has arisen whereby we have to do something urgently.

“The price of diesel has gone sky high because the management of this country is not what it should be. And it is as simple as that.

“Then, what will happen is that particularly those of us who have to use a bit of diesel in producing fish, we will completely go bankrupt, and when that happens, Nigerians will still have to eat fish.”

“And you will go jobless, poor, and indigent. So, what do we have to do? To come together… we want to sustain fish production, and we must be able to take care of those who are going to eat and those of us who are producing”, the former President said.

Fish production, according to him, would be out of reach, and “then people will be producing fish outside Nigeria and dump it here”.