Emotions As Gov Abiodun Inaugurates, Names Press Centre After Osoba in Abeokuta

Published

5 years ago

May 25, 2021

Eric

Former Gov. Olusegun Osoba of Ogun, on Tuesday narrated his many years of adversity from the two immediate past administrations after him in the state.

Osoba spoke in Abeokuta at the inauguration of a press centre named after him by the state government.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Osoba served as Governor of Ogun between 1999 and 2003.

He said: “The first 16 years of my leaving this office has been very traumatic.

“I never came back as I became a snake that doesn’t go back to where it has shed its skin.

“This premises became a no-go -area for me, and every symbol of the projects that I did was removed.’’

According to him, in the first eight years, I was practically declared persona non grata in Ogun.

“My name was sent to EFCC so many times and the agency investigated me severally, but found nothing.

“I couldn’t come to Abeokuta, not to talk of visiting the office of the governor.

“The other eight years were also problematic,” he narrated.

Osoba described Gov. Dapo Abiodun as “a governor of redemption and restoration”.

He said the governor had reminded him of agonising old memories and turned them to joyful memories.

“To imagine that my returning to this premises after those years will be this glorious, is something of great emotion for me.

“Mr Governor, you will not know how many hours you have added to my life with this action today.

“It may be hours, it may be weeks, days, and it may be years, but you have added something very great to my life today,” he said.

In his remarks, Abiodun described Osoba as “an encyclopaedia and a veteran journalists”, adding that his administration could not think of any other personality who deserved the honour more than him.

“Chief Osoba is a statement, a respectable icon in the pen pushing profession, and he also symbolises the birth place of the first newspapers in Nigeria, established in 1859,” he said.

The governor said that Osoba had led three major newspapers in Nigeria namely; the Daily Times, the Herald and the Daily Sketch.

He said that Osoba was noted for a unique brand of investigative journalism saying, “he is a brand ambassador of Ogun”.

Abiodun said that the establishment of the press centre had become necessary to enhance the speed and quality of stories of journalists in the state.

He urged the journalists to ensure that they were fair and continue to be responsible in their news reportage, urging them to seek to protect the integrity of the nation.

Commenting, Mr Bayo Onanuga, a former Managing Director of NAN, said that Osoba occupied an enviable height in the journalism profession, adding that he deserved such honour.

Onanuga while describing the project as “a promise kept”, recalled that Abiodun had pledged to build a press centre when he assumed office.

NAN reports that the edifice is located directly opposite the Governor’s office inside the state Secretariat at Oke-Mosan.

(NAN)

Tinubu Nominates Oyedele As Minister of State for Finance, Moves Anite-Uzoka to Budget Ministry

Published

17 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

A statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, has announced that “President Bola Tinubu has nominated Taiwo Oyedele as the minister of state for finance, replacing Doris Anite-Uzoka.

“Mrs Anite-Uzoka will now move to the Ministry of Budget and National Planning, as the Minister of State, her third portfolio in the administration.

“President Tinubu has today conveyed the nomination of Mr Oyedele to the Senate for confirmation in a letter to the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“Until President Tinubu nominated him as a minister, Mr Oyedele from Ikaram, Akoko, Ondo State, was the chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, which overhauled Nigeria’s tax system.

“Mr Oyedele, 50, is an economist, accountant and public policy expert.

“He attended Yaba College of Technology, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma (HND) in accountancy and finance. He attended Oxford Brookes University and earned a BSc in applied accounting.

“He also completed executive education programmes at the London School of Economics, Yale University, the Gordon Institute of Business Science, and the Harvard Kennedy School.

“Mr Oyedele spent 22 years of his working career at PwC, joining in 2001 and rising to become the Fiscal Policy Partner and Africa Tax Leader.

“Mr Oyedele is also a professor at Babcock University in Ogun State and a visiting scholar at the Lagos Business School.”

Featured

Defection: Atiku’s Son, Adamu, Resigns As Adamawa Commissioner

Published

22 hours ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Adamu Abubakar, the first son of former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has resigned as Adamawa State’s commissioner for works and energy development, days after Governor Ahmadu Fintiri defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress.

Abubakar’s resignation letter, dated 2 March 2026, was addressed to the governor through the Secretary to the State Government. He gave no reason for his departure.

The timing is pointed. Fintiri announced his defection to the APC in a statewide broadcast last Friday, saying his cabinet and the PDP’s state structure had moved with him. Within 24 hours, 22 commissioners and special advisers publicly announced they were following suit. Abubakar, whose father remains one of the PDP’s most prominent national figures, was not among them.

In a statement issued Monday night, Abubakar’s media aide Abdulaziz Jauro said the former commissioner thanked the governor for the opportunity to serve and pledged continued loyalty to the administration’s developmental agenda. He also expressed gratitude to his father “for granting him the moral support and blessing to serve the people of Adamawa State” — a line that, read in context, suggests Atiku was consulted on the decision.

Abubakar said his resignation was not a withdrawal from public life. “This does not mark the end of his commitment to public service,” the statement read, “but rather the beginning of new avenues for developmental collaboration.”

The resignation leaves unresolved the question of whether it reflects a political break with the governor over his defection or a personal decision unconnected to the broader party realignment now reshaping Adamawa’s political landscape.

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DSS Nabs Man over Assassination Attempt on Peter Obi

Published

1 day ago

March 3, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) has detained a man in connection with the recent attack and alleged assassination threats targeting Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

According to AIT, the shooting incident took place on February 24, 2026, in Benin City, Edo State, during a political gathering attended by Obi and several figures from the African Democratic Congress (ADC). The meeting was hosted by former APC National Chairman, John Oyegun. Gunmen reportedly opened fire at the venue, causing panic and forcing attendees to disperse for safety.

According to security sources, shortly after the attack, an individual identified as Udeme Monday Stephen allegedly took to social media claiming responsibility and issuing additional threats against Obi, warning of further violence.

Intelligence officials reportedly initiated swift investigations, employing digital tracing and forensic tools that led to the arrest of the 26-year-old suspect in Rivers State. He is said to be a teacher at a private secondary school in the Eliozu area of Obio-Akpor Local Government Area.

The suspect remains in DSS custody and is expected to face prosecution. The agency reiterated its commitment to responding to credible threats and safeguarding lives and national interests without bias.