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Cross River North Senatorial District Stakeholders Endorses Stephen Odey

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Dickson Pat

Sons and daughters of Northern Cross-River State in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja have unanimously endorsed, the candidature of Barr. Stephen Adi Odey for the forthcoming North Senatorial District by-election.

The stakeholders cut across different party divides, and is said to be informed by the need of the Senatorial District to send the best to represent them at the Red Chamber.

Rising from a meeting on Wednesday in Abuja, where soon to be Senator Barr. Odey in attendance where hundreds of stakeholders endorsed him.

The group, however, urges the people of the Senatorial District to support and massively vote for the candidacy of the former aide to Incumbent Ben Ayade, Governor of Cross-River State Barr Odey as he is clearly the best man for the job.

While addressing the gathering Barr. Odey commended the support from the stakeholders and promised to work very hard for the interest of the Northern Senatorial District.

According to him, I am overwhelmed by the love you demonstrated here, I am also overwhelmed by the sacrifices you made to come down this afternoon to see me that alone is a plus.

“I just want to briefly state that, a lot of persons that are here have met with me before but a lot don’t know the person of Stephen Odey. I am Iyache man, from Yala LG, a minority group but with majority brain.

“The reason is this, I have taken the pains to look at the problem bedeviling our people, I grew up in the villages, I school in the village, up to my P.hD level, up to my law degree all in the village. So, I know the problem of the people I leaved around them.
I know how it takes our parent to sell Groundnut, Garri, Rice to train us so, I know the pain, if there is any reason that prompted me to go to school today, it’s because of the background I came from.

“So, when I found myself working with His excellency Governor of Cross River State Prof. Ben Ayade the man who didn’t know me from anywhere, we only met at the Nigerian law school in Bwari Abuja that where I know him, I am telling you this story because it’s not only your blood brother that can make you to become somebody.

“If Gov. Ayade has made me, I have the potential to also made some of you because we are all one united family, a lot of persons don’t know me when they write about me, making comments, the annoying part of it is I do Iyache, I always very sad when I see such comment, but I think I was waiting for a day like this and it has come. According to him, out of the 486 employment generated, core Yala speaking got 270 the records are there, so what is the Yache for? I just want to debunk that it’s not so. I built many schools in Yala LG.”

Speaking further, Barr. Odey sad: “I Worked with Governor Ayade for four years in that office, I have participated in drafting some of its motion, I participated in drafting some of its bills, he had the highest bills when he was there, all his constituency projects I was the one that was following it up, he descripte himself as a man who already know the road.

“If you like to kill me, I will never surrender my loyalty to Governor Ben Ayade, people said Ayade made me, tell me who something in life without support of somebody becomes?

“So, I am here to urged you to support me, and time has come when you wouldn’t have difficulty in assessing that National Assembly, the time has come for someone to give you a recommendation letter and I will not mind to drive to that Minister’s office to get it done.

“I am a practical man, I am not a storyteller, give me the supports, give me one year and you will see that the record will never be the same, I will do my best toward the development and growth of Northern Senatorial district and Cross River at large.” He pledged.

It will be recalled that former Sen. Rose Oko, representing Cross River North Senatorial District of Cross River is dead in March 2020 and election need to be conducted to elect a new representative.

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

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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.

“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.

“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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