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All-Stars FC Kubwa Make Yuletide Special For Children Living With Disabilities

Published

4 years ago

December 14, 2020

Joel Ajayi

Despite having nothing to do with the children, young, and adults living with disabilities, All Stars Football Club Kubwa has made their impact felt with the donation of food items, beverages and toiletries Daughters of Charity Service For Children With Special Needs Hope Center Kubwa in Abuja.

The visit, which took place on Saturday 12th of December 2020 in collaborations with Generous Care Foundation, Queen Favour Mikado foundation, and JDPC who’s as well donated the gifts for the children.

The Gesture was the first Corporate Social Responsibility outing of All-Stars FC Kubwa, and it may just have ushered in the Christmas season quite early for the children with special needs.

A highlight of the occasion is when music was played for the children with special needs they danced to the stupor and were excited and happy like never before.

In his address, the Chairman of Abuja All-Stars Football Clubs of Kubwa Mr. Godwin Ekpah, expressed that, hope center for children, young and adults living with disabilities mean so much to the club

“That is why we bring lover of men, Generous Care Foundation, Queen Favour Mikado foundation, and JDPC others as well known that its Christmas period we need to celebrate with them.

“We have identified their needs, it’s not just playing football but also looking around to torch life, we don’t play football to go and make money, most of us are ex-players and this is our Corporate Social Responsibility CSR is giving back to society.

“It’s not easy when you understand what people pass through in life, these children are physically challenged, they were born with it but as you can see, they did not think of all that, what you see here is happiness in them, they feel excited and they feel alive.”

He, however, called on well-meaning Nigerian to always come to the need of these special people; “I encourage men are women who are in a position to give back to society lend a hand of help and assistant to people with a special need.”

Speaking also was the 2020 runner-up of Miss Tourism Edo state, Queen Favour Mikado who was overwhelmed for being part of organizations that put smiles on the faces of people with special needs.

She said: “It’s all about giving back to society, we want to reach out to the less-privilege, no matter how little, we are here to celebrate this wonderful children’s I won’t call them disable that is why we are here with these gift items to show some support for them.

“This is just a starting point, we hope to continue and do it bigger and better next year and in the years to come.”

Miss Mikado, therefore, offered a word of advice for the children not to see their physical look or mental ability as a limitation in whatever they are doing while urging beauty pageants to as from time to time reach out to people living with disabilities.

“My message to them is that they are not living with a disability, there is ability in disability they just need special needs and we are here to support them, no matter how little they should have it in mind that whatever they want to achieve with determination they can achieve it, the sky is just a starting point.

“While I call on my colleagues out there, it’s not all about being beautiful or been a pageant when you win a pageant it’s an opportunity to really touch the lives who are in need.”

A representative of the Managing Director, Generous Care Foundation, Mrs Ijeoma Ofume, also commended the efforts of the management of Hope Centre in taking care of the children, while reassuring her Foundation’s readiness to continue supporting children these with special needs.

On her own, the Assistant Administrator of Daughters of Charity Center For Hope, Sr. Sylvia Anyanwu DC in her address, expressed appreciation to donors for their love for the less privileged.

According to her we are extremely happy to take care of them, we will not relent they are part of us and we are part of them.

Also, she equally appealed to well-meaning Nigerians to help upgrade the school to an inclusive school where children living with or without disabilities can learn together and interact with one another. This will promote friendship amongst children of all kinds and increase compassion in their midst.

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How Prof. Nnanyelugo Ike-Muonso Repositioning the Raw Materials Sector For Economic Diversification

Published

4 days ago

September 3, 2024

The Gleamer

By Joel Ajayi

As we embark on a journey, we always pray for an able, experienced, and courageous driver, pilot, or sailor depending on the means of transportation.

This is because the captain will have enough experience and boldness to navigate out of turbulence and to bring all the passengers and crew to the intended destination.

Interestingly, these fine qualities of ability, experience, boldness, and many more, abound in the man, Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso, who we all are pleased was appointed the Raw Materials Research and Development Council, RMRDC, the Director General/CEO by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu a few months ago.

This is because he has brought his knowledge, ability, experience, and doggedness to bear in carrying out his assignment in charge of the Council.

The RMRDC, operating under the Federal

The Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, is pivotal in driving Nigeria’s industrial growth by optimizing local raw materials exploitation, development, and utilization. RMRDC, ab initio, was conceived as a child of necessity when Nigeria was reeling from the throes of global recession and plummeting crude oil prices.

Without an iota of doubt, today, the council is experiencing a transformation with massive innovation in raw material exploitation, development, and utilization, supporting business and industrial growth, and contributing to Nigeria’s economic prosperity.

Speaking this during a press briefing on Tuesday, in Abuja to commemorate his 100 days in office said the council is laying a solid foundation through numerous innovations that will further enhance growth in the country.

According to him, in the past 100 days, my strategic pursuits have been to lay solid foundations for enduring success in these goals.

“Upon assuming this position, I set five crucial deliverables which include, refocusing the Council as a premier research institution; Strengthening the Council’s productivity and operational efficiency; Significantly improving the staff welfare to be the best in the class of similar organizations;

“Others include, Boosting the Council’s visibility and instituting remarkable culture change that encourages ownership and productivity as well as Strengthening and deepening the Council’s place in the international arena.”

While speaking on his Achievements so far, the DG revealed: “My first task, therefore, was to implement a strategic goal-setting for the Council’s staff to define and set out clear objectives and targets to be achieved by the Council within a specified period towards refocusing on this historical mandate. We unleashed five significant initiatives in that regard.

“The nationwide raw material data collection exercise that focused on technical and investment information. erships to drive our mission forward.

“The restructuring and renaming of the former Technology Innovation Complex (TIC) at the Obasanjo Space Center at Airport Road, Abuja, to a Research and Demonstration Plants Complex (RDPC). This complex will be Africa’s first center of excellence in raw material research, featuring state-of-the-art laboratories, technology development workshops, and proof of concept demonstrations.

“We have reactivated the Council’s Journal and repositioned it internationally. The repositioned Journal of Raw Material Research [JORMAR] will host RMRDC’s researchers’ publications, which are crucial in promoting awareness, facilitating knowledge sharing, and informing stakeholders about the opportunities and challenges in Nigeria’s raw materials sector.

“The collaboration with universities and academies will strengthen our capacity for conducting market-guided research, ensuring sustained workforce training while deepening our orientation in science.

The council has reformulated a new template for all our research proposals to ensure and sustain a clear departure from the old culture of blue-sky and deliberately endless research.

Speaking further, Prof Nwanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso stated that Staff welfare remains a top priority as an issue of unpaid salaries is settled as well as set up a comprehensive welfare program.

“Similarly, we established the RMRDC Training School to sustainably build our staff and stakeholders’ capacity to further the staff welfare improvement goal.

“We are committed to openness, inclusiveness, and performance management and have initiated steps to continuously improve staff ownership, orchestrate transformative culture change, boost our corporate visibility, and enhance

“To further strengthen our visibility and communication strategies, we are upgrading our media infrastructure, which includes the launch of the RMRDC online media platform, The RMRDC TV Online.

“Additionally, we are working hard to effectively enhance the intellectual property and patent portfolio of RMRDC from its current 40 to approximately 200 new patents within the next 24 months. This proactive approach secures valuable IP assets and positions the Council as a leader in innovation within the raw materials sector, contributing to Nigeria’s overall economic growth.

“As well as launching an e-registration and certification portal to enhance transparency in the raw materials sector,” DG revealed.

He however reaffirmed his commitment to reshape the future of research, technology, and innovation, driving Nigeria towards an industrially vibrant and technologically resilient economy.

“As I mark 100 days in office, I boldly say that the Council is on the verge of rewriting its history.

“I believe that in no distant future, RMRDC will play a leading role in enhancing raw materials’ development to boost raw materials’ industrial trial processing and attain sustainable industrial growth in Nigeria.

DG, however, applauded the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology, Chief Uche Geoffrey Nnaji, for his unwavering support and mentorship, saying the Minister’s leadership has been instrumental in the progress made so far.

In his opening remarks, the Directorate of Corporate Affairs, Mr Chucks Ngaha commended the hard-working DG who has weathered the storm further to put the Council on the ladder of more prosperity.

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