News

One year remembrance: Family, friends celebrate late PUNCH chairman, Aboderin

Published

6 years ago

May 31, 2019

Eric

Family and friends gathered on Thursday for the one year remembrance service in honour of the late chairman of PUNCH Nigeria Limited, Mr Gbadebowale Aboderin.

The event was held at the Trinity House on Victoria Island, Lagos.

Aboderin, aged 60, died on Wednesday, May 30, 2018 at 6.05am after a heart surgery at the First Cardiology Consultants, Ikoyi, Lagos.

He was buried on June 15, 2018.

Before his death, Aboderin was also the chairman, PUNCH Commercial Printing Limited and Lukahed Properties Limited.

He was an alumnus of Government College, Ibadan and was trained as a pilot in the United States.

A sports enthusiast and philanthropist, he was the founder and chairman of the Dolphins Female Basketball Team and a former chairman of the Lagos State Basketball Association.

He was also a one-time vice-president of the Nigerian Basketball Supporters Club.

At the remembrance held for the late Aboderin, his sister, Mrs Angela Emuwa, described the late PUNCH chairman as a determined man who did not only push himself but also pushed others to succeed.

She said, “As my brother, he was stubborn in the sense that he was determined to achieve his dreams. He left an indelible mark on a lot of people.

“For instance, he took the girls at Dolphins like his daughters. He used to say that anything that was good for his daughters was good for the girls. He pushed a lot of people to succeed.”

Emuwa, who emerged as the chairman of PUNCH Nigeria Limited after Aboderin’s death, said he was an amazing man.

“I just pray to God that we would have the strength to continue the legacy he laid down,” she said.

Another sister to the deceased, Mrs Wunmi Obe, recalled that the late PUNCH chairman didn’t want people around him to be sorrowful.

She said as they grew up, it was impossible for anyone to be sorrowful when around the late Aboderin.

“He wanted people to stay in high spirits,” she said.

Obe narrated how the deceased didn’t want anyone to know he was sick in his dying days.

She said, “Towards the end of his life and he was always going to the hospital, he told me that I shouldn’t tell anyone that he was dying because he didn’t want anyone to panic or cry.

“He told me, ‘You know you are strong.’ I know I’m not. But because he told me, I had to do so. His influence was so strong that on the day he died and I got to the hospital, I didn’t initially cry and inform anyone until I realised, ‘Wait, my brother is gone.’ His death was shocking but we celebrate him.”

A basketball coach, Mr Peter Amadu, who said he was tutored by the late PUNCH chairman, described him as a man who desired others to succeed.

He said, “He (Aboderin) told me what life was all about and I am sad that he did not live till today to see the young man that he guided to become a man.

“I was with the Dolphins but at a time, I wanted to become a full-time coach. I requested his permission and he gave me the permission to go and study. He contributed to my ability to attend the National Institute of Sports. He said my dream was his happiness.”

Admonishing the departed’s family and friends in his sermon, the founder of Trinity House, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, said the late Aboderin would be missed dearly.

“We miss him dearly. He was the kind of person you could not but miss. Once he entered a place, his aura filled the whole room. He was always here and there, jumping and singing, dancing and creating songs,” said Ighodalo.

Reading from John 11:19-26, the cleric said even in the presence of God, death could come.

He said, “Whether we like it or not, death comes. The prayer is that it will come only at the appointed time, not necessarily at old age. If God is there, He makes the passage easy.

“So we don’t need to mourn because that’s the character of all flesh. Our brother, Wale, will rise again.”

In her comments, one of the deceased’s daughters, Nicole, thanked those who attended the remembrance service of their father.

News

242 Passengers, Crew Feared Killed As Air India Enroute London Crashes

Published

12 hours ago

June 12, 2025

Eric

An Air India plane flying to London’s Gatwick Airport crashed in Ahmedabad in western India shortly after take-off on Thursday, the carrier said on Thursday.

A total of 242 passengers were on board the flight, Reuters has reported. All flights out of Ahmedabad have been temporarily suspended, the news agency said.

Citing local police, the Financial Times said the plane crashed “within 10 minutes” of take-off from the airport in Ahmedabad.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said in a post on social media that it was following reports of a crash involving Air India flight AI171.

The plane was a Boeing (NYSE:BA) 787-8 Dreamliner, Flightradar24 noted, adding that the first flight of the aircraft was in December 2013 and it was delivered to Air India in January 2014. Shares in Boeing were down by more than 6% in pre-market U.S. trading.

“Initial ADS-B data from flight #AI171 shows that the aircraft reached a maximum barometric altitude of 625 feet (airport altitude is about 200 feet) and then it started to descend with an vertical speed of -475 feet per minute,” Flightradar24 said in a post on X.

The signal from the aircraft was lost at 10:08 local time, less than a minute after take-off, Flightradar24 said.

News

Tinubu’s Loyalist Who Turned Against Him, Jesutega Onokpasa Reported Dead

Published

2 days ago

June 10, 2025

Eric

A prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and staunch supporter of President Bola Tinubu during the 2023 presidential election, Jesutega Onokpasa, has been confirmed dead.

According to TJ News Nigeria, the outspoken APC chieftain, who was also a lawyer and renowned political commentator, died just days after making headlines for vowing to mobilise against President Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election.

The exact cause of Jesutega Onokpasa’s death has not been officially disclosed. Family members and party associates have yet to release an official statement regarding burial arrangements.

Multiple sources from social media have however confirmed the sad incident. The Boss has not independently confirmed the story.

News

Eight Staff of FMC Abuja to Face Probe over Negligence

Published

2 days ago

June 10, 2025

Eric

The Federal Medical Centre, Abuja, on Monday, said eight of its staff members, including four doctors, two nurses, and two attendants, are under investigation for alleged negligence at the hospital.

The hospital, which disclosed this at a press briefing, noted that any staff member found guilty of dereliction of duty would be held accountable.

The Head of Clinical Services at the hospital, Dr. Bioku Muftau, added that the accident victims allegedly abandoned by personnel in a trending video on social media have since been treated and discharged.

Our correspondent had on Sunday reported that the Federal Government launched an investigation into a viral video showing alleged neglect of accident victims at the Emergency Unit of the hospital.

The video, which circulated widely on social media, showed victims of a road accident reportedly left unattended by hospital staff after being brought in by a good Samaritan.

The good Samaritan, who recorded the footage, claimed he found the victims on the road and transported them to the hospital for urgent care.

He alleged that hospital staff refused to provide immediate assistance, with one citing a lack of gloves.

Muftau, however, said the patient with head injury in the video that attracted public outrage has been treated, stabilised, and discharged on the same day he was brought into the facility.

He said the findings of the investigation ordered by the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Iziaq Salako, would be made public upon conclusion.

“All the staff who are there on that particular day are going to be investigated. They are up to eight -Nurses, attendants, doctors, all of them will be investigated; for now, they are four doctors, two nurses, two health assistants,” he emphasised.

Muftau also denied reports that the hospital was overwhelmed by the number of patients at the time of the incident, asserting that the facility is adequately staffed to manage patient care

“In terms of being overwhelmed, this hospital is blessed with a lot of staff. As I speak with you, we have over 100 consultants in various specialities. In neurosurgery alone, the sole speciality of surgery, we have three,” he claimed.