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We Will Give Our Best At 2023 Africa Women’s Basketball League – Onikeku

Published

9 months ago

December 6, 2023

Joel Ajayi

The Sports Secretary of Nigeria Customs Service, Samuel Onikeku has assured that the Customs Ladies will give its best when the 2023 Africa Women’s Basketball League dunks off come 11th to 18th of December, in Cairo Egypt

Just on Tuesday the NSC of Nigeria ladies and ASPAC from Benin Republic basketball teams secured the tickets teams after 5 days of fierce competition at the just concluded FIBA Africa Zone 3 qualifiers tourney in Abuja.

Customs female team defeated the champion of Nigeria Premier League Olukoya’su ladies to pocket AWBL.

The Game played at the outstanding MO Basketball Arena in Zone 5, the Federal Capital City of Nigeria from the first of December till Wednesday 6th of December was an attestation to the development of basketball in Nigeria, as the skills were displayed to the core during the period game.

Speaking shortly after the Event, Chairman Local Organizing Committee and NSC Sports Secretary Samuel Onikeku thanked Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi for the uncommon support that gave birth to the ticket after 23 years of continental for borders team.

He expressed that, the team is going to give its best when competition eventually commences in Cairo Egypt.

According to him, today everything ended well without any issues without casualties. So I want to say that we are happy that everything has gone well and smoothly.

When asked about the team’s preparedness for the competition proper in Egypt? he replied: “Well, we had believed that we could qualify and go to the continent, we want to make sure that we represent the Service, we’re not only the Custom but representing the zone at the championship in Egypt, going to Cairo is a good feeling, we are happy that we can achieve this feat during the time of the Comptroller General of Nigeria Customs Service, Adewale Adeniyi, all I want to say is congratulations to Nigeria Customs Service, and we going there to give our best in Egypt.”

He expressed that with the determination and hard work, Nigeria Customs will leave no stone unturned to ensure that it dominates sports come 2024.

Meanwhile, the Customs Service team and ASPAC of Benin Republic will join other already qualified teams to compete in the Africa Women’s Basketball League AWBL.

Already qualified teams are; CNSS Basketball Club Wildcard (Dr. Congo), Equity Bank (Kenya)

Other qualified teams are Inter Clubs (Angola) 5 times Champions, KPA (Kenya), Overdose Up Station (Cameroun), REG (Rwanda Energy Group), Sporting of Alexandria (Egypt) Host University of Douala (Cameroun).

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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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