To further encourage talents, President Muhammadu Buhari put smiles on the faces of some athletes who made the Nation proud during the recently concluded Commonwealth Games.
The President Thursday approved National Honours and rewards for the athletes who participated in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games and World Athletics championships.
The President, who hosted the athletes to a reception, said his Government is committed to rewarding excellence, no less for members of Team Nigeria who ignited the spirit of victory in the nation through stellar performances at international competitions.
A sum of N200 million was approved as cash reward for the athletes.
A statement by Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, to the President, Femi Adesina said ”I watched with millions of Nigerians those exciting moments when you all brought smiles to us and our homes by breaking world, national and games records, as well as achieving personal best in your careers.
”Your outstanding performances in recent times are consistent with the determination of a nation always yearning for excellent performance.
”You all, members of Team Nigeria have ignited the spirit for victory in our nation but even more you have been victorious in major sporting championships and games.
”I have followed keenly your achievements at the World Championships in Oregon USA and indeed your remarkable performance at the recently concluded Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom.
”And I am very pleased that you displayed at both the personal and group levels great sporting talents and delivered for your country great podium performances.”
President Buhari told the athletes that their hour of sporting glory beamed the ‘‘radar of the world on Nigeria’’, adding that their exploits have gone a long way in projecting the positive image of the country.
”Twelve times the world stood still as our green, white green national flag was hoisted and the National Anthem recited. Thirty-five times we made it to the podium. You all Team Nigeria made that possible.
”You brought glory and honour to our country. And today, on behalf of the nation- I say, thank you.”
Reiterating the commitment of his administration in providing the enabling environment for youths to ascend to the pinnacle of their chosen careers, the President expressed satisfaction with the impact the Adopt-An-Athlete Initiative of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports had on the performance of athletes.
He urged more private individuals and corporate organizations to support government’s investment in sports, which has been reclassified from being a recreational activity to being a business in line with modern practices worldwide.
President Buhari also acknowledged the many giant strides witnessed in the sports sector under the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare and his team, commending the numerous and sustained successes recorded in the last few years.
Also speaking, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare, described 2022 as an outstanding year in the history of Nigerian sports, which shall not be forgotten in a hurry.
He said it was a year where many Sporting Federations have surpassed and are surpassing their previous performances, while many athletic records were broken.
The Minister thanked the President for being a great source of encouragement and support to the teeming youth in sports and other areas, saying ”this administration’s investment in youth and sports development, will continue to yield dividends years after you might have completed your term as President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Lady (Engr) Ada Chukwudozie is a successful career woman who, perhaps, took to heart, Oprah Winfrey’s immortal words of encouragement to entrepreneurial and career -minded women: ” I was once afraid of people saying ‘Who does she think she is?’ Now I have the courage to stand and say, ‘This is who I am”
Lady Chukwudozie’s steady but intentional rise to the top of the ladder as a chemical Engineer, shrewd businesses administrator, publisher, a corporate czar and Company Executive has come to a crescendo with her inauguration today, Thursday September 15th as the Chairperson of the Southeast zone of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN.
Before now, she was the Vice Chairperson of the Association in the Southeast, a position she held for four years.
Married to an industrialist and a big player in the oil and gas sector, Sir (Dr) Daniel Chukwudozie, Chairman of the Dozzy Group of Companies, Lady Ada Chukwudozie did not stumble into great heights over night.
She is a product of hardwork, diligence and integrity. Right from the outset, aware that perseverance is the golden key to success and that quiters never win, Lady Chukwudozie steadily equipped herself mentally and educationally for future leadership roles.She had her path well outlined and defined.
Having as a husband and a pillar of support, an industrislist whose business frontier span manufacturing, real estate, oil and gas, haulage, merchandising, and hospitality among others was an added advantage.
Sir (Dr) Chukwudozie’s bold prints on his wife’s rise to the top are indeed too visible not to be noticed.
Arming herself extraordinarily with the requisite education and training to be able to attain her current exhilarating status, was therefore, for Lady Chukwudozie, a fait accompli.
With close to three decades of experience in business management and administration, Lady Chukwudozie is one of Nigeria’s top female players in the corporate world.
She has held a plethora of strategic company positions, leaving marks of excellence on her trail.
The new MAN boss was between 1993 and 1995 factory Supervisor at De – Endy Industrial Co. Limited Tapei, Taiwan.
She would later emerge as Assistant General Manager, Specialty Oil Company Nigeria Limited, A Subsidiary Of Dozzy Group, between 1999 – 2001, General Manager, 2001 – 2004 and Executive Director, Dozzy Oil and Gas Limited, 2005 till date.
A good team player, one with excellent communication and interpersonal skills, good organisational ability and strong analytical qualities, Lady Chukwudozie aims at bringing her robust private experience to bear on Southeast MAN.
Lady Ada Chukwudozie is cerebral and unassuming.
Her passion for humanity, especially for vulnerable women and widows in rural communities, is top-notch. This explains why she established an NGO called PWORD (Association of Professional Women on Rural Development) in her bid to render financial and moral assistance to these women.
Lady Chukwudozie who is the publisher of Vogue Afrique Magazine uses the medium to advance and advocate her ideals and passion.
A chemical Engineer by training, she is a graduate of the Institute of Management and Technology, IMT’s Department of Chemical Engineering.
She left the Institution with an Upper Credit.
Lady Chukwudozie’s appetite for versatile knowledge led her into obtaining a Postgraduate Diploma and Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Nnamdi AzikiweUniversity, Awka and Diploma in Law from Lagos State University.
She further broadened her frontier of worldview with Diploma in various courses such as Computer Science, and Mandarin Languages from Chinese Cultural University and Taipei Language Institute, Taiwan.
In the course of her strides in the corporate world, Lady Chukwudozie has undergone several pieces of training within and outside the country in areas like Management, Leadership, Entrepreneurship and International Trading in Oil.
She is also an alumnus of the Academy of Entrepreneurial Studies (AES) and Lagos Business School, Pan African University.
Lady Chukwudozie is a member of several professional bodies including the Nigerian Society of Engineers(NSE), Institute Of Industrialists and Corporate Administrators, Energy Committee, Institute of Directors, Industry, Science and Technology Committee, Institute of Directors (IOD) Nigeria, Council Member, Nigerian British Chambers of Commerce, Council Member and Onitsha Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, ONICIMA.
In recognition of her strides, Lady Chukwudozie has in her kitty, an avalanche of awards including, Paul Harris Fellow of the Rotary Club International, Lady Knight of Order of St. Christopher, Church Of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, African International Achievers Merit Award for excellence ( In recognition of her selfless service to humanity towards sustainable growth and development in Africa), Distinguished Nigeria Women of Merit Award, TDNWA ( in recognition of my contribution to the development of Nigeria Women) among others.
According to Isaac Newton, “if I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants”
The above quote x-rays Lady Chukwudozie. Having stood upon the shoulders of giants in the course of her career formation and growth-her dear husband, hard work, honesty, academic acquisitions, training etc- Lady Chukwudozie has arguably seen farther than others and this can be gleaned from her meritorious ascension to the MAN’s topmost position, the first woman to do so in recent history. She is indeed an epitome of inspiration to millions of Nigerian women.
“Pls is there any way @myaccessbank can help me with a Toyota Corolla for Uber work and I will be paying back weekly or monthly, it depends on the terms and conditions. Pls.”
The crisis in Nigeria’s Aviation Industry took a turn for the worse on Thursday, September 15, 2022.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, has yanked off another Airline from its operating list.
The Operating Certificate of Azman Air has been suspended by the Authority. This is because of the inability of the Airline to renew its Air Operator Certificate.
Azman Air, in compliance, as shown in its website, has suspended all flights.
The Airline is the third to be off Operations following on the heels of Aero Contractors and Dana Airlines.
The NCAA suspended Dana’s Air Operating Certificate a couple of months ago due to a number of uncomfortable incidents.
Aero Contractors, however, announced recently that it would resume operations as soon its aircraft which are on comprehensive checks come back to the country.
The fate of these Airlines have worsened the crisis in the Aviation Industry which has,l grounded, almost, Airline operations in Nigeria. The cost of Aviation fuel has not helped. The cost of airtickets has hit the roof and still climbing. Not many people are flying.
Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has given reasons why the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Dr Iyorchia Ayu, should step down from office.
Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike is leading a camp in the Party which is insisting on the resignation of Ayu from office because he and the Presidential candidate of the Party, Atiku Abubakar, come from the North. This Camp, which member Makinde is, insist that the Chairman should come from the South.
At the Party’s South-West stakeholders meeting with the Party’s Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar in Ibadan, Oyo State Capital, Governor Makinde on Tuesday, Governor Makinde gave reasons why Ayu should go. Even though he did not give it as a condition for his support of Atiku’s candidacy, Makinde said:
“The truth is that we do not have any issue either with our party or our candidate. If there are challenges they must be tabled.
“We are supposed to give hope to our people, we want them to listen to us.
“Our party wants to rescue Nigeria and our candidate is a unifier. He wants to restructure Nigeria
“Eight years of the All Progressives Congress have left us sharply divided. The issue is we must practice what we preach. If we want to unify Nigeria, we must unify the PDP first.
“If we want to restructure Nigeria, we must have the willingness to bring inclusivity to the PDP. Do we have the capacity? The answer is resounding yes.
“The message from the South-West PDP is the South-West is asking that the National Working Committee of the PDP should be restructured.
“We are asking the National Chairman to step down so that the South will be fully included. That is the message.”
Speaking on the call for the resignation of Ayu, Atiku said “I have no problem about anywhere any party member comes from but it must be done in accordance with the party’s constitution or regulations and practices.
“What Governor Seyi Makinde is calling for is achievable under the party’s constitution under the party rules and regulations and procedures.
“This constitution must guide whatever changes we make, so that is why we cannot do anything outside that constitution unless it is amended.
“We do not say people should not have different views but all views must go through the party’s constitution, rules regulations and our practices”.
The call for Ayu’s Resignation was first echoed by Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, and this was supported by some chieftains of the Party who said that the Board of Trustee, BoT, Chairman of the Party, Walid Jibrin, who recently stepped down was from the North, likewise the Presidential Candidate and the National Chairman.
The fate of Ayu however hangs in the balance with Political Campaigns starting at the end of September 2022.
As at the time filing this report, Ayu’s is still in Europe for an undisclosed purpose.
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has taken to the social media to mourn the death of his mother, Grace Akeredolu.
In a message on his Facebook page on Thursday, September 15, 2022, Governor Akeredolu, said , “My siblings and I announce, with deepest regret and total submission to the will of the Almighty, the passing into glory of our adorable, dutiful and ever dotting mother, Lady Evangelist Grace Bosede Akeredolu JP, this morning.
She died peacefully in her sleep.”
The Governor who is, obviously,saddened by her departure, described his late mother as Abiyamo
He added, “Though saddened by the departure of Maami, the one Abiyamo we knew, we are consoled with the knowledge that, even as she transits to eternity she will be guided by the strong hands of the angels of the light in which she dwelt during her eventful and fruitful sojourn on the terrestrial plane.
“Maami rest in perfect peace. Burial announcement will be made by the family”.
The call for the removal of Iyorchia Ayu as the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has heightened. Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State is leading the clamour in the South West.
However, the Spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar Campaign Organization, Charles Aniagwu, says the call is dead on arrival and dismissed it as unrealistic.
According to him, since PDP has a Constitution, it should be followed and not thrown away as if it is a Party not governed by law.
Aniagwu, who is also Delta State Commissioner for Information, said these in response to questions on the meeting between Atiku and Makinde, where the Governor insisted on Ayu’s resignation. The National Executive Committee passed a vote of confidence on the National Chairman last week.
Aniagwu was asked why Atiku, Presidential candidate of PDP has not responded to the demand by governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for the exit of Ayu.
He said, “I am sure that the NEC of the Party has resolved those issues particularly within the provisions of the law. And before now, a statement was issued where the Presidential candidate also addressed a number of those issues.
“We have a law which cannot be thrown away and begin to do as if we are not a party Governed by law.
“It must also be said that Makinde recognized him (Atiku) as the Presidential Candidate of the party and he said by the grace of God, the next President of Nigeria.
“For him to be the President of Nigeria, it shows that Makinde will work for him. That is the implication.
“Ayu’s going has been overtaken by events. It is something that has already been addressed.”
Dr Taiwo Oyewumi, a Physiotherapist, has called for the establishment of,at least, one medical rehabilitation center in each of the six geo political zones of the country.
Oyewumi, Head of Department of Physiotherapy at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, (UBTH) in a lecture, advised that physiotherapists should be employed at the third tier of government to make them closer to people.
He was delivering a lecture titled “Nigerian Health Sector Reforms and Rehabilitation : Issues and Opportunities,” in Ibadan, Oyo state capital at Pa C.A. Ajao’s lecture series of the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapists, (NSP), Ibadan branch.
The medical expert also canvassed for the introduction of lifestyle clinics at the local government levels, including secondary and tertiary health institutions in the country.
Oyewumi stressed the need for the setting up of a committee of presidents of medical rehabilitation professionals and inclusion of experts in health care system in Nigeria.
Other suggestions include “inclusion and involvement of medical rehabilitation practitioners as part of policy makers in health system.
“Creation of a directorate of medical rehabilitation in federal ministry of health, states ministries of health and the federal capital territory.”
On roles of medical rehabilitation professionals in health Reforms, Oyewumi pointed out that they can reduce the impact of a broad range of health conditions such as diseases, illness or injuries.
“They can complement other health interventions such as medical and surgical, helping to achieve the best outcome possible.”
On challenges confronting the profession, the don stated that lack of prioritization of professionals by government.
“Omission of medical rehabilitation in health care system, physiotherapists trained at postgraduate level for leadership roles are rare, and inadequate number of professionals in Nigeria.
“Lack of well eqquiped medical rehabilitation centres in Nigeria, poor level of awareness of roles of professionals among patients, public and medical practitioners for prompt referrals.”
The only thing that compares in recent tweet villainy with the post of US-based Nigerian professor Uju Anya on Queen Elizabeth II, was perhaps the visit of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, to the Windsor Castle. Yet, after her ordeal even Anya is back, recuperating from the injury inflicted by the hounds and five days in Twitter jail.
If large sections of the British press needed any proof that Meghan killed the Queen her Saturday visit to Windsor confirmed it.
There is no need to question how. About three weeks ago, the Duchess started a Podcast, Archetypes with Meghan. It’s a personal, chatty rendition of her odyssey, a tour of her growing up years and how she became the woman she is today. Except if you were born with a silver spoon like the Saints of Fleet Street, you probably have a story like Meghan’s – messy, complicated and happy, with all the ups and downs – just plain human stuff.
It’s all there in the three episodes of Archetypes so far released by Meghan. I never knew such stories could hurt a fly until I read a vile jab by a British journalist that said Meghan’s Podcast which she started only in August could have complicated the Queen’s misery in her final days and perhaps led to her death.
In case you didn’t listen to any of it, the first episode on Spotify was about Serena Williams and the double standards women face when they’re labelled “ambitious”. The second was about Mariah Carey, whom she calls the “grand dame of our time”. And the third and final episode on September 6, two days before the Queen died, was a conversation with Mindy Kaling about the stigmas, joys and challenges of her life as a single, unmarried woman – the singleton, as she calls it.
Queen Elizabeth
Of course, we all know Meghan – the divorcee from a mixed race who is three years older than Prince Harry. We know Meghan, an actress who has seen a bit of the world from California to Johannesburg and from Vancouver to Buenos Aires. We also know that the Windsors never quite liked that 2021 television interview hosted by Oprah Winfrey featuring Meghan and the Duke of Sussex, Harry.
She’s not exactly a piece of royal decoration and has never pretended to be. How sharing the story of her life – the lived experience of millions in her position – has become the death of the Queen, takes the Megxit obsession in the British press to a whole new level.
For nearly three days this week, #GoHomeMeghanMarkle was in trend. And it all came to a head on Saturday when Meghan and Harry, in company with the Prince and Princess of Wales Williams and Kate, had a walkabout to greet crowds gathered to mourn the Queen outside Windsor Castle.
Of all that happened on that eventful day and the scores, if not hundreds, that Meghan and her husband met and greeted and shared a moment with, what got the mojo of the editors at Daily Mail going was one woman in the crowd who refused to shake Meghan’s hand because she seemed unhappy with her attendance.
It was just the moment Megxiteers were waiting for. They made a song and dance of that awkward moment, all of which was to confirm, among other things, that this Witch of Windsor indeed killed the grand old Queen.
The Mail, leading the pack, reminded us of how the monarchy may have been saved by a last-minute decision to exclude Meghan from family members who gathered before the Queen’s death was formally announced at Balmoral. Meghan had initially set out with Harry, but when it dawned on Prince Charles that her presence could impede the Queen’s Flight of Bliss, Harry was advised to leave his wife behind.
Even in what was supposed to be a moment of shared family grief, Meghan just couldn’t seem to do anything right. No one was prepared to cut her some slack or find a place in their hearts to grant that this woman had just lost her grandmother-in-law, too.
As journalists assailed her in print and special TV shows, she was not spared in the tweetosphere. “Meghan Markle’s own father,” one @SylvSnopsis said, “nearly died of a stroke and she hasn’t even bothered to call him…watching her swan around Windsor shaking hands and pretending to be sad after making the Queen’s final years a misery is sickening.”
Oh wow! If Meghan called her father in distress,would she have beenobliged to inform this tweep and perhaps also ask for advice about a good time for the next chat?
It’s useless to pretend that Meghan did not have a difficult relationship with the Queen or that she may not have underestimated her bargain when she agreed to marry into one of the world’s most traditional and conservative families. As I’ve said elsewhere, the Windsors were not expecting Rachel Zane of Suits, certainly not after Diana. But Meghan is not Kate Middleton and she never pretended to be.
All this nonsense about Meghan being the death of the Queen by trashing the monarchy and complicating the Queen’s misery in her final years conveniently ignores the less than inspiring lives of other members of the royal family in that time.
Let’s leave Princess Anne’s headline-making moments in the closet. Prince Andrew has been involved in all kinds of controversies from allegations of receiving dodgy payments for a passport application from a Turkish millionaire and being friends with Ghadaffi to being a pedophile.
In fact, the last one which outraged rights groups around the world, forced the Queen to strip him of all royal duties. On a misery scale of one to ten, I’m not so sure where that stands in comparison with Meghan’s obstinacy.
And even King Charles III, the new successor to the throne, has not exactly been Mama’s good boy in recent times, has he? Only in June, when the Queen could have used some good news about the royals, Charles collected bags of cash containing about three million euros from a Qatari politician during a meeting. The money was apparently for charity causes, but the sight of the heir apparent hauling bags of cash from the Qatari sheikh could hardly have made the Queen proud.
Meghan hate is not a deep-rooted British sentiment reserved for an American brat who does not know her place and doesn’t care. Nor does it make sense behaving like folks from my neck of the woods who would say, even at the passing of a 120-year-old, that “the enemies have done their worst.” The attacks on Meghan are coordinated and targeted for reasons which her attackers find convenient to deny. Meghan is not like one of them.
In 2021, Bot Sentinel, a Twitter analysis service, reported that more than 114,000 tweets about Meghan and Harry revealed a campaign of targeted harassment and 83 accounts were responsible for approximately 70 per cent of the negative content. The service also found that the majority of the hate and misinformation about Meghan and Harry originated from a small group of accounts with the same purpose – to tweet negatively about the couple.
This time, however, the hate appears to be fuelled by something darker – the fear that Harry’s forthcoming book – read Meghan-instigated onslaught – could be a tell-all on the monarchy, especially the Queen’s era.
Although the publication was due in November, after the Queen’s death, Daily Mail quoted sources that it could be delayed beyond Christmas. The press has continued to fuel suspicion that it could well be the book that finally destroys the House of Windsor. But it’s just what it is for now – suspicion.
The Queen lived a good, full life – one that despite its joys and pains was by no means less revolutionary by the standards of the time. She was the first monarch to allow her coronation to be televised live and the first to create equality in succession, eliminating generations of testosterone-driven patriarchy. These changes were just as extraordinary as those added on by Princess Diana upon which Meghan is laying her own unique bricks. Diversity, even iconoclasticism, need not be such a bad thing.
Whatever may have been the Queen’s frustrations about how her children, grandchildren or in-laws turned out are common to all parents, as I’m sure Meghan and Harry would find when their own children come of age.
