Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has been named 2024 Governor of the year in the health Sector by New Telegraph Newspaper, according to a statement by the Chief Press Secretary, Mallam Olawale Rasheed.

The statement noted that the notice of award was contained in a letter addressed to the Governor and signed by Ayodele Aminu, the Managing Director and Editor-in-Chief of the Daily Telegraph Publishing Company Limited, publishers of New Telegraph, Saturday Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers.

According to the letter, Governor Adeleke’s nomination was made as recommended by the Board of Editors and Panel of Judges of the Newspaper.

The letter reads, “We have followed closely your very impressive strides in the Health Sector since you assumed office as Governor of Osun State.

“In arriving at our decision, we specifically noted the following: Rehabilitation of 345 Health Centres in the 332 Wards in Osun State; Provision of potable water, new toilets and bathrooms, renovation and painting of buildings and electricity.

“The approach has taken medical services to the doorstep of the people.

“Introduction of Imole Surgical and Medical Outreach, under which the state government has conducted three medical outreaches in three locations in each of the three Senatorial districts in the last 12 months; Various surgical procedures, including cataract eye surgeries, were done on over 30,000 patients; Enrolled thousands of Osun Residents under Osun’ Health Insurance Scheme.

“These and many more earned Osun State the South-West Champion Award in Primary Healthcare (Universal Health Coverage) with a $500,000 cash award in December 2024.

“Given the foregoing, we are pleased to honour you with the above-mentioned award at the New Telegraph 2024 Awards Ceremony.”

The award ceremony is slated to hold later.

Recall that Governor Adeleke had won several other awards which include: Vanguard Newspaper Governor of the Year; 2024 Best Civil Service-Loving Governor in Nigeria Award by Nigeria Civil Service Union; The Boss Newspaper 2024, Governor of the Year; News Direct Newspaper 2024 Governor of the Year; 2024 NIPR Excellence Award and Nigeria Society of Engineers Excellence Award.

The crisis in the leadership of First Bank Holdings of Nigeria worsened on Wednesday, as a group of stakeholders called for the removal of its board chairman, Femi Otedola, and non-executive director, Mr. Julius B. Omodayo-Owotuga.

The group, therefore, called for an immediate Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) in the next 21 days in line with section 215 (1) of CAMA.

The group shareholders alleged that FBN has not known peace since the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, influenced Otedola’s acquisition of a significant amount of shares that led to his emergence as Chairman of FBN Holdings in January 2024.

According to the shareholders, with Otedola as Chairman, his personal staff, Omodayo-Owotuga at the Holdco, and yet another personal staff at the bank, Otedola has seized full control of the bank and does as he pleases.

Thus, with the private placement of N360 billion shares, other shareholders fear he would clearly have absolute control, expressing fears of disregard for corporate governance principles.

“This is to enable him (Otedola) to take full control during the proposed N360 billion private placement. But some of the shareholders are saying instead of a private placement for shares of the bank, it should be by right issue or public offer,” a source who doubled as a stakeholder said anonymously.

However, it was further alleged that Otedola’s preference for private placement is seen as a ploy to gain control and run the financial institution as his private estate.

In the last months, FBN Holdings has been a subject of battle over who holds the single largest share of the institution.

The battle for the soul of FBH is between Otedola and Barbican Capital, which is affiliated with the Oba Otudeko-owned Honeywell Group.

First Bank Holdings, in its audited accounts for 2023, had put Otedola as the single largest shareholder with a 9.41 percent stake in the financial institution. Otedola, however, has recently increased his shareholding by massive acquisition of more shares. At the moment, his exact stake is unclear.

But data from the Central Securities Clearing System, CSCS, the widely accepted source for confirming share ownership, has Barbican Capital, which is affiliated with the Oba Otudeko-owned Honeywell Group, as the largest single shareholder with a 15.01 percent stake.

Records kept by the bank’s registrars, Meristem Registrars & Probate Services Ltd, also showed that Barbican Capital is the single largest shareholder with 5,386,397,202 shares (5.38 billion) as of May 23, 2024.

Consequently, Barbican Capital had sued FBN Holdings for wrongly stating its shareholding in its audited financial statement.

First Bank recently laid off about 100 senior staff members in a major organisational shakeup.

Reports had indicated that the bank’s top executives were asked to leave—as part of its corporate restructuring and repositioning plan for 2025—following the confirmation of Olusegun Alebiosu as FBN’s managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) in June last year.

There were also allegations that the exits were part of a concerted effort by Otedola to introduce new hands into several leadership positions in the bankm

Meanwhile, it is still unclear what the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would do in the wake of this CAMA-induced demand for an EGM called to remove Otedola and stop the private placement of the bank shares.

FBN has yet to issue any statement on the matter.

By Eric Elezuo

The Board and Management of Midoil Refinery and Serenecity Properties have mobilized all its contractors with the requisite financial and material resources to kickstart, and in some cases, resume the construction of the fencing walls for its ongoing Serenecity Estate project, according to a statement by the firm’s Media and PR Consultant, Otunba Gbenga Onayiga.

The well attended event took place Monday at the project site at Mogo-Olowu, Itoikin/Ketu Road, Ikosi/Ejinrin LCDA, Lagos State, where dignitaries and the general public applauded Midoil and its Executive Chairman, Chief (Mrs) Elizabeth Akintonde,  for their foresight and rapid transformation of its project sites.

The company was also commended for its ingenuity in brokering a harmonious relationship with its host communities, a situation, which many described as one of its kind, and applauded the management’s human face strategies.

Speaking on behalf of stakeholders of the projects at the Kickoff/Site Handover to Contractors of the of the 300 Metres Wall Fencing ceremony, a retired Administrative Judge of Lagos State, Justice Solomon Hunponu-Wusu, lauded Midoil and its subsidiaries as companies of choice when it comes to articulation and dishing out human-oriented and welfaristic projects, adding that theirs is a signature rapid, vision and reality.

“When you have a company like Midoil Refinery and its subsidiary Serenecity Properties carefully articulating a robust and inclusive community relationship strategy, the positive result is what plays out today.

“Now that the host communities are on the path of rapid development, it behooves on them to align with the vision and mission of the company ”THE MIDOIL REALITY,” Justice Hunponu-Wusu said.

The retired Justice further expressed satisfaction with the pace of work at the project site and commended the tenacity of Chief (Mrs.) Akintonde (JP).

In her address, Chief Akintonde congratulated the contractors, and urged them to adhere to agreement, specifications and the time line.

She assured them of a conducive work environment and maximum security.

Responding, one of the contractors, Dr. (Mrs.) Iyabode Obasa of RIOA Investment Limited, assured the management that her company would live up to expectations.

In the same vein, another contractor, the Chief Executive Officer of Indepth Associates Nigeria Limited, Mr. Ayo Abidolu said the contract is an opportunity for indigenous companies to prove their mettle in the construction industry, and promised not to let his clients down.

Also lending her voice, the Project Manager, Arch Jane Adaku-Udoukpo, explained that eight contractors bided for the job, out of which three were selected.

According to her, “Midoil was meticulous in picking the contractors. They went through the tender selection and evaluation processes before the Board gave its approval for their selection. Their experience and credibility were considered in picking them.”

She noted that each of the companies has a time frame of 64 days to complete the 300 meters of fencing.

The brief but colorful ceremony marks another landmark chapter in the quest by Midoil and Chief Akintonde to give quality housing opportunity to Nigerians at affordable rate.

A diligent and self made entrepreneur, Chief Akintonde is in the business of putting smiles on faces of people and always lending a helping hand to humanity to thrive and live a better life. It is worthy of note that her projects are not meant for her comfort, but the comfort of the general public.