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Coronavirus: Gymnastics Coach, Anthony Asuquo Gives To The Needy In FCT

Published

4 years ago

April 9, 2020

Joel Ajayi

Nigeria’s Gymnastics Coach and owner of TIG gymnastics club in the Federal capital territory, a kind Coach, has revealed more his generous side, after being spotted putting smiles on the faces of the needy to ameliorate their sufferings from the pandemic, COVID-19, that has negatively affect every spheres of life.

The benevolent Coach has been, for the past four days, moving from one area to another to put smile on the faces of the needy. Amongst areas visited were, Games village (the bush named Agwan Fulani), Lugbe, Wassa IDP, amongst others.

No doubt, hunger is second to none amongst Nigerians this day, as many could not go about their day to day activities to cater for their families.

Coach Asuquo and his team were, on wednesday, mobbed by the needy such as children, widows, vulnerable in one of the communities in the Federal capital territory, as over 100 families recieved food stuffs.

While speaking, Asuquo said, willingness is not enough but help is what we need, considering the level and numbers of the vulnerable and poor people.

According to him, In Lugbe satellite town, we couldn’t stand the crowd there, but we were able to give food items to more than 100 families.

“We visited the less privileged around Games village, they are staying inside the bush named Agwan Fulani, we played with the children, also teaching them basics of gymnastics, dance and hygiene to protect them against the Covid-19 virus, we then gave their parents food items and cash donations.

“We equally visited Wassa IDP, there ,we saw over 5, 261 IDPs leaving in a very poor state, we gave them food items and cash, on our way back we went to a popular village called Waru, we also gave them food items.

“With all of these very poor areas that we have visited, they all said that they are yet to get anything from the government, and that they are aware that the government promise to give the sum of Twenty Thousand Naira each and they haven’t been paid any amount nor seen any Minister or government officials in their areas.

“I am calling on my friends, footballers, actors, actresses, singers, to please come to aid of the needy, “willingness is not enough, please help” and let me seize this opportunity to appericiate Hahan Rochas foundation, LOVE FM, and my team TIG family.”

Meanwhile, as at 9th of April, there are 288 confirmed cases of #COVID-Minister19 reported in Nigeria. 51 have been discharged with 7 deaths so far.

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RMRDC: Making Giant Strides Under Prof. Nnanyelugo Martins Ike-Muonso

Published

14 hours ago

September 19, 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 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 during a press briefing on Tuesday, in Abuja to commemorate his 100 days in office, he 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; and 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 further: “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 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.

The 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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