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MBADUKU DAY 2020: VL GFC Boss receives Award of Honour

Published

4 years ago

January 2, 2021

The Chairman, Vandeikya Local Government Football Council, Mr Robert Terlumun Akpenpuun was presented with a prestigious Award of Honour on Thursday, 31 December 2020 by the Mbaduku Development Association (MDA) at the Mbaduku Day Celebrations held at Community Secondary School, Tsar.

The Special Award of Honour to the football administrator is in recognition of his sterling qualities that have come to bear on the development of football in not only Mbaduku community, but also in the entire Kunavland and beyond. His efforts at maintaining peace between the two hitherto warring border communities of Obudu and Tsar through football was specially mentioned and commended by the MDA as deserving of honour as peace was cardinal to development.

Responding, the VLGFC Boss, who is also a bonafide son of Mbaduku thanked the MDA, the organizers of the 2020 Mbaduku Day celebrations for the honour done him and promised to get as many football talents of Mbaduku extraction out of obscurity and into sporting limelight by the help of God. He also brought up the idea of a Mbaduku United Football Club that will nurture these youngsters and sell them to more established professional clubs.

” I’ll like to first and foremost thank God Almighty and Mbaduku Development Association for finding me worthy of a special award. This honour will propel me to do more in helping talented and disciplined footballers of Mbaduku extraction further their careers in more established clubs at home and abroad. But this can only be possible with the formation of Mbaduku United Football Club from where these boys can be trained and exported out to the Big Leagues” he said.

Mr Akpenpuun also commended Mbaduku leaders and elites for identifying with football as a tool for ensuring peace and development and sued for sustainable peace, cooperation and support in order to move the community to greater heights through football.

The Day witnessed the presence of great Mbaduku sons and daughters, specially invited guests including traditional rulers led by Ter U Kunav, HRH Chief. Nyiyongo Achiaku, community leaders, youth groups, cultural groups, women groups etc. Chairmen of Football Councils from Gwer – West, Gboko, Konshisha and members from Vandeikya were also in Tsar to celebrate with their colleague.

Mbaduku Day is celebrated every last day of the year to thank God for His mercies and to do stocktaking as well as render account to the people as to the progress made in the course of the year and prospects for the coming year. This year’s edition also featured a peace match between Obudu and Mbaduku, cultural dances, climaxing with a grand finale that featured award presentation to deserving sons and daughters and an appeal fund launch to complete developmental projects already underway.

From all of us at Vandeikya Local Government Football Council as well as the entire Football family in Vandeikya, this is saying a Big CONGRATULATIONS to our Chairman, Mr Robert Akpenpuun for this very special award. We wish you good health, wealth, length of days and a new year full of sporting achievements for the benefit of Kunavland and beyond.

Kuda Hot! Football Doo!!

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

Published

6 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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