The Federal Polytechnic Ayede on Thursday matriculated no fewer than 705 students for the 2025/2026 academic session, with the management warning the newly admitted candidates against cultism, examination malpractice and other social vices capable of truncating their academic pursuits.

The Acting Rector of the institution, Dr. Azeez Olasunkanmi Ojo, disclosed this during the Polytechnic’s fourth matriculation ceremony held at its temporary site in Iresa-Pupa, Oyo State.

Ojo described the ceremony as a historic milestone for both the institution and the new students, noting that the matriculation marked their formal admission into an academic community built on knowledge, innovation and character.

“It is with great pleasure and a deep sense of responsibility that I welcome you to this fourth matriculation ceremony. This event signifies your formal admission into a community committed to knowledge, innovation, character and excellence,” he said.

The acting rector urged the students to remain focused and take advantage of the opportunities available to them, stressing that discipline and dedication were critical to their success.

He added, “You must take your academic work seriously and uphold the values of learning, dexterity and sound moral conduct. Avoid cultism, examination malpractice and drug abuse, as these vices can jeopardise your future and cut short your dreams.”

Representing the Executive Secretary of the National Board for Technical Education, Prof. Idris Bugaje, the South-West Zonal Director, Elder Ayo Aroge, commended the management of the Polytechnic for its steady growth.

He charged the newly admitted students to embrace the Federal Government’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training initiative to acquire practical skills and become job creators.

“Technical and vocational education remains a viable pathway to self-reliance. I urge you to exploit this opportunity and equip yourselves with relevant skills that will make you employers of labour,” Aroge said.

Ojo also paid tribute to the pioneer Rector, Engr. Dr. Taofeek Adekunle Abdul-Hameed, for laying what he described as a solid foundation for the institution’s growth and development.

He further disclosed that the Federal Government had approved a 20-kilometre road project to improve access to the Polytechnic’s permanent site in Ayede, Ogo-Oluwa Local Government Area.
According to him, the road will run from Idi Araba Junction to the institution’s permanent site and extend to the Oolo community in Oriire Local Government Area, including internal access roads within the campus. The don lauded the federal government for what he described as timely intervention.

“Addressing access challenges will significantly enhance our relocation efforts and accelerate infrastructural and academic development,” he said.

The acting rector appealed to stakeholders, corporate organisations, alumni and philanthropists to partner with the institution to achieve sustainable growth.

He also appreciated parents and guardians for entrusting their wards to the Polytechnic, assuring them that the students would be groomed into responsible and productive members of society.

“Dear matriculating students, this is your beginning. Stay focused, work diligently and strive for excellence. The future is yours to shape,” he added.

Dignitaries at the event included the Aresa-Pupa of Iresa-Pupa, Oba Moses Olayiwola; the Registrar, Mrs. Bukola Elizabeth Dairo; the Bursar, Mr. Oluwaseyi Abiola Afolabi, represented by Deputy Bursar, Mr. Lukman Buari; and Acting Polytechnic Librarian, Mr. Dare Samuel Adeleke, among other principal officers, staff and students.

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The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has tackled the Federal Government for tagging its five-day warning strike as illegal.

Orji said the association had satisfied all the provisions before embarking on a strike, adding that the National Executive Council (NEC) has given the association the mandate to proceed on a warning strike.

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According to the government, the programme aims to place 20,000 skilled young Nigerian graduates (under the age of 30) into jobs in private and public sector organizations around the country.

The jobs, which would last for 12 months, will be fully-paid, and will seek to help prepare qualifying recent graduates for their future careers and work environments.

Tolu Ogunlesi, the presidential spokesperson, made this known.

Ogunlesi stressed that the goals of the programme include “improving employability, building useful career and leadership skills in young graduates, and connecting employers and potential employees.”

The said programme is supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

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Niger Delta warlord and former agitator, Chief Government Ekpemupolo, better known as Tompolo, has urged his fellow agitators in the region to give peace a chance in the interim.

Tompolo made the plea in a statement he signed and made available to journalists on Friday following the uneasy calm enveloping the region over the delay in the inauguration of the board of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as pledged by the federal government.

Recall that the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio had, after an emergency parley with stakeholders before the expiration of Tompolo’s seven-day ultimatum, promised to inaugurate the board by the end of June which appears not to have seen the light of the day.

Pleading with his colleagues on Friday, Tompolo, in the statement titled: ‘Niger Delta Agitators’ Ultimatum to the Federal Government of Nigeria: A Call for Restraint,’ warned FG to do the needful before the bubble burst.

“June 2021 has come to an end. The people of the region are yet to see any tangible move towards the constitution of the NDDC board by the Federal Government.

“The people are seriously agitated. There is palpable fear and tension in the region.

“I wish to reiterate my earlier position that, the government should, as a matter of urgency, constitute the substantive board of the NDDC to avoid unnecessary bickering and crisis in the region,” he warned.

The Ibe-Ebidouwei of Ijaw Nation said after he had reluctantly accepted the outcome of the consultative meeting, “I have done so much to keep peace in the region which some major stakeholders in the security circle are aware of.”

He continued, “I have been in constant touch with my fellow agitators in the region to give peace a chance, knowing fully well that there cannot be any meaningful development in an atmosphere of rancour and acrimony.

“As it stands now, the one thing the government must do on this issue is to be courageous enough to constitute the NDDC board.

“Government must be sincere in handling developmental issues in the Niger Delta region as the people have suffered enough, being neglected for several decades.

“The truth of the matter is that there is so much bitterness in the land owing to the lackadaisical attitude of this government in handling matters of great importance to its citizens.

“As for my follow agitators, please permit me to borrow the biblical words of Jesus Christ, that we should be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove to continue our agitation for a better living for our people.

“We must avoid anything that may throw the only relatively peaceful region in the country now, into chaos because of government’s nonchalant attitude towards the security and welfare of its citizenry as constitutionally provided.

“The average Nigerian citizen is a government of his or her own as the citizens provide everything for themselves today.

“The government is unfair to a greater number of its citizens. The Nigerian Government must create an enabling environment for the citizens to live a prosperous and peaceful life.

“Multinational oil companies operating in the Niger Delta region are not left out in the troubles of the region. They are clearly part of the conspiracy in the marginalization of the region.

“They must perform their statutory obligations to the people of the region by promptly delivering cooperate social responsibilities to the people.

“Most of the companies are operating under the cover of the Nigerian Military, which has further exacerbated the relationship between Multinationals and their host communities.

“They must do their business in a most friendly atmosphere, and not set neighbouring host communities against one another”, he concluded.

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Before deactivating her account, Mrs. Buhari wrote, “I will be deactivating my twitter account for now. Long live Federal Republic of Nigeria”.

Her action follows the federal government’s proclamation that it is suspending the activities of Twitter in the country.

Checks revealed that many Nigerians, on Saturday morning, were unable to access the site, except through Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), who gave the opportunity to establish a protected network connection while using the now blocked networks.

With the VPNs, , their Internet footprint does not bear Nigeria but the country the VPN changes to.

#TwitterBan came two days after the social media giant deleted a tweet from President Muhammadu Buhari’s account for violating its rules.

Twitter, had, earlier deleted a remark on the president’s account after he referred to the country’s civil war in a warning about the recent unrest in the southeast.

Buhari had referred to , “those misbehaving” in recent violence in the southeast, where officials blame separatists for attacks on police and election offices.

“Those of us in the fields for 30 months, who went through the war, will treat them in the language they understand,” the president had posted on his verified Twitter.

“The Federal Government has suspended, indefinitely, the operations of the microblogging and social networking service, Twitter, in Nigeria,” ministry of information and culture spokesman Segun Adeyemi, also said in a statement on Friday.

Twitter said that the move was “deeply concerning“.

“We’re investigating and will provide updates when we know more,” the company said in a statement.

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The NCC boss who spoke as Guest Speaker at the Annual Lecture of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, (NUJ) Oyo State chapter in Ibadan, on Tuesday also noted  that the agitation against the social media because of criticism of government through the medium will not stop such criticism,saying when government performs well,the social media is bound to respond positively.

According to him, “When government performs well,the social media is abuzz with praises for the government. When government fails,the social media is abuzz with condemnation. The best way to silence the social media is to strive and do well”.

Speaking on the topic,”Revisiting the role of journalism in Good Governance in Nigeria”, Professor Akande averred that the media promotes good governance by playing the role of  watchdog, civic forum and agenda setting for government.

He said the media is important in the quest for good governance because many elements of good governance like transparency, accountability, greater participation in government, access to information, rule of law and human rights, cannot be achieved without the media.

The professor of Political Science identified Paid News Journalism ans Social Media as two new developments with great impact on the role of journalism in promoting good governance.

On Paid News which he said is the institutionalised commercialisation of news, Akande said it undermines the credibility of the media before the public because news is supposed to be well researched and objective.

“The public takes whatever news that come from the media as gospel truth. When it turns out that such news are not true or not objective and altruistically produced,this erodes the confidence of the public in the media and weakens its capacity to promote good governance.

The Don emphasized that the advent of the social media has changed the fortune of journalism in Nigeria and worldwide. He said the social media produces news real time and offer other services the media offers in a way that challenges the continued existence of the mainstream media even while its excessess has raised concerns in many quarters.

Professor Akande called on the federal government to intensify its financial  interventions in the media industry because the sector is going through trying period and should not be allowed to go into paralysis because of its critical role in promoting good governance and national development.

The NCC Chief further argued that just like  the collapse of banking and aviation sectors would affect the econony adversely,the collapse of the media industry will equally have devatating effect on the society.

“The effect of the parlous  econony  may not manistest quickly in the media sector as it does in banking and aviation,but the truth is that the  effect would be devatastating on the society.

He lauded the federal government for the initiative to support  the media industry with access to single digit loan to survive the economic challenges caused by COVID 19 pandemic.

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This was revealed by the  Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire, on Thursday, as he disclosed that 873 people in 25 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) had been confirmed to have COVID-19 from 9,522 tests. He said the 91 additional confirmations are as follows: 74 in Lagos, 5 in Katsina, 4 in Ogun, 2 each in Delta and Edo, 1 each in Adamawa, Kwara, Oyo and FCT. He stated that 197 persons had been treated for COVID-19 and had been discharged while 28 deaths were recoded.

The Minister said that, the high number of new cases was a manifestation of more efficient testing and ongoing community transmission. He further stated that the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Health and Nigeria Center for Disease Control had continued to support preparedness and response to COVID-19 in all States and the FCT. He added that Rapid Response teams were working closely with State Emergency Operations Center to strengthen operations.

The Minister informed that NCDC has the capacity to test 1,500 samples per day in 13 laboratories across the country; however he said “we are testing on average of about 600 samples per day because that is all the samples collected and sent for testing”. He hinted also that “Factors implicated in the process may include surveillance, sample collection and mode of transportation, which can be improved to increase operational efficiency”. This intensification of efforts could be seen especially in Lagos where there are improved logistic management increased sample collection and reduced turn –around time, he added.

According, to Dr. Ehanire, efforts are ongoing to further increase testing capacity and accredit more laboratories stating also that a robust sample transportation infrastructure was in place to promptly convey samples to any of the activated 13 laboratories. This would mitigate the need for urgent establishment of a PCR laboratory, as well as valuable time and personnel needed to priorise case findings.

Further speaking, Dr Ehanire emphasized that recommended global best practice is to admit persons who test positive for COVID-19 into designated accredited treatment facilities to contain the spread of the virus and ensure prompt management of cases to avoid complications. He revealed that there are persons who had tested positive for COVID-19 in Nigeria and are not in any designated accredited isolation centers. This the Minister added, is a significant threat to public health and national security as FMoH cannot account for such all persons and ascertain the containment of their infection. He encouraged States to ensure all persons tested positive to COVID-19 be admitted at designated centers.

Health Minister advised that contact tracing is the key to containing the infection “as persons are confirmed positive for COVID-19, we must trace all contacts they had in the previous 14 days”. He stated that, this aims to arrest transmission by corralling positive cases and potential cases before further transmission occurs, saying also that NCDC had finalized contact tracing guidelines with all states to actively aid case finding.

In view of the clamour of increased testing, Dr Osagie Ehanire said, “we must not lose sight of the ability to isolate and treat all persons found to be positive for COVID-19,” He said “challenging are persons who have mild or no symptoms, who test positive. These persons currently make up majority of COVID-19 cases in Nigeria, they are not unwell but are infectious, and must be referred to isolation and treatment centers with accredited infection prevention and control (IPC) protocols”.

The Minister of Health applauded health workers of the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic; he assured them that government will provide them with necessary personal protective equipment (PPE). The minister urged them to take precautions for their own safety by not treating patients without using adequate PPE. He advised frontline health workers take refresher training on IPC. This advice is due to the number of health workers who had tested positive for COVID-19 or been quarantined in the last 2 weeks due to exposure.

Dr. Ehanire reminded citizens to use the mask or face covering when leaving their homes, practice hand and respiratory hygiene, physical distancing and avoid mass gathering and non-essential travel. He reminded further, “if you suspect you or anyone around you may have COVID-19, call the toll- free NCDC number 112 or 0800 9700 0010. Informing also that resources and real time information could be found on the social media handles of FMoH and NCDC, the FMoH website and the NCDC COVID-19 microsite https://bit.ly/2wjr7Aq.

In his speech, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, stated, The highly infectious nature of COVID-19 if not well managed in purpose-built facilities and specialist, pose a lot of danger not just to the medical staff in such hospitals but also to other patients and loved ones at home. We therefore appeal strongly to operators of private medical facilities wishing to continue to treat COVID-19 cases to apply to the Federal Ministry of Health urgently, for accreditation.

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Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, disclosed this on Wednesday shortly after the meeting in Abuja , the nation’s capital.

The Minister said, “The second memorandum we presented was for the award of three roads in Igboho-Oloko-Agbonle in Oyo State and Gulu to Yaba town between the Federal Capital Territory and Niger State as well as Sharada to Madobi and Danbaure in Kano State.

“Council approved these roads for N7.249 billion for the first one in Oyo, N7.593 for the second one in Niger/FCT and N4.510 for the third one in Kano.”

Speaking further, Fashola informed that the council has also been intimated on the 524 roads currently ongoing across all the states of the federation, adding that 43 internal roads are being constructed in Federal Universities, out of which 10 have been completed.

He also disclosed that the Council approved N523 million for the completion of Efalaye-Erimo-Iwaraja road linking Ekiti and Osun states which had been awarded since 2009 and has reached 85 per cent completion.

“The first memorandum was to approve the change of rates with respect to the Efalaye-Erimo-Iwaraja road linking Ekiti and Osun states.

“That road was awarded since 2009 and the contractor has achieved about 85 per cent of the work so we are trying to complete that road, it had been slowed down by previous years of insufficient budget.

”During that period the price at which it was awarded and today’s material prices have altered significantly.”

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The road users keep on crying, lamenting and expressing discontent over the sordid state of the road over the years.

On daily basis,motorists and passengers are being traumatized and subjected to pains and agonies whenever they have reasons to ply this strategic road.

In the recent past, uncountable number of ‘save our soul messages’ had been written,published or posted on the social media by the concerned citizens;yet,it seems the government cares less.

A lot of productive labour hours are being wasted daily by civil and public servants who have to pass through the road particularly those persons that live in Oyo but work in Oke -Ogun. A journey that ordinarily shouldn’t take more than 40 minutes do often extend to more than two hours in some instances. It is not an exaggeration to describe the road as death trap.

Farmers that do transport their agricultural products through the road to the markets are parts of the victims of this long abandoned road.

I am still using this opportunity to appeal to the federal and state government to do something urgently towards the rehabilitation of the road.

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The governor urged the Ogbomoso-born minister to be a good ambassador of Oyo State and to showcase the Pacesetter qualities of the State in the new position.

Governor Makinde , in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, added that the government of Oyo State would be looking forward to having a symbiotic relationship with the Federal Government through Dare, who is now an ambassador of the state.

The statement further reads, “On behalf of the good people of Oyo State, I congratulate Mr. Sunday Dare on his appointment as the Minister of Youth and Sports.

“By this appointment, Mr. Dare has become an ambassador of Oyo State, which has always been the pace-setter in all positive ramifications and we charge the new minister to keep that flag of excellence flying.

“I urge him to bring his wealth of experience to bear on the ministry and we will like to state that as a people-oriented Government and one that has made the commitment to bring about positive change in the life of the people of the state, we are ready to have a symbiotic relationship with the Federal Government through Mr. Dare.

“It is our prayer that he succeeds in the new assignment and win laurels to the admiration of Nigerians”.

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