Breezy News

  By James Eze Seven years ago, Governor Willie Obiano symbolically laid wreaths before a long list of Ndigbo who fell to the booming guns of the Biafran War.  On that January day, as he bent down to place the wreaths at the foot of a piece of plain glass bearing the names of the casualties, time stood still at Alex Ekwueme Square! Thousands of Igbo people from the five states in the South East and parts of Rivers and Delta States had gathered to make peace with a troubling past. It was perhaps one moment in history when memory took the glint of precious amour and Ndigbo wore it proudly in Ekwueme Square. In that EPIC moment, Governor Obiano nudged Ndigbo to accept the full weight of history and march proudly onto a bright new future with a resolve to NEVER AGAIN allow history repeat itself at our expense. That event which remains the most widely accepted Memorial of the Biafran War to date was fittingly titled Ozoemezina – NEVER AGAIN! Ozoemezina was a day set aside for memor...

The Speaker of Taraba State House of Assembly, Prof. Joseph Albasu Kunini has urged the elite in northern Taraba to restore the lost glory of Muri, which was reputed for a bond of unity among its diverse people. The Speaker told a delegation of the Muri Unity and Development Forum (MUDEF), who paid him a courtesy visit in his Jalingo office, that the term "Muri" was a common denominator and pride of the people in northern Taraba, but they are now at each other's jugular, pursuing divergent interests. He said: 'I am elated by this visit. With this development I think we are now on thecright track to restore the lost glory of Muri, and there is renewed hope for the people. 'It's indeed cheering news that great minds of Muri have come together to revive and restore its lost glory. I am greatly honoured by this visit today, because it's a rare privilege. 'Muri is an enclave comprising diverse people with common goal and destiny. But these virtues  were gr...

  President Muhammadu Buhari assented  to the long-awaited Electoral Act Amendment Bill 2021, into law at exactly  12:27 pm on Friday . The ceremony was witnessed by the Senate President, Ahmed Lawan, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.  The Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly matters (Senate), Senator Babajide Omoworare, tabled the document for signing. He urged the National Assembly to give speedy attention to amendments suggested.  Details later…

    The Anambra State Government has commended all the persons who contributed to the peaceful resolution of the impasse on the Ihiala stretch of the Onitsha-Owerri Road following the blocking of the road by drivers who belong to the Freight Forwarders Transport Association protesting against an accident in the area involving one of them. The protest, which started when the accident occurred last Friday, ended on Monday when representatives of various groups met with the Anambra State Commissioner of Police, Echeng E. Echeng in his office. The Police boss directed that the police block mounted at Azia Junction in Ihiala, which is often blamed for accidents in the place, be dismantled. In a statement by the state Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment, C. Don Adinuba, Governor Willie Obiano is said to  expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Information and Public Enlightenment for leading the initiative, which resolved the road ...

NIPR Lagos chapter Chairman, Mrs Comfort Obot Nwankwo (left) receiving the donated equipment from retiring General Manager Corporate Affairs, Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu The Lagos State chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) has received a boost for its secretariat uplift strategy with the donation of office equipment by the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN). Delivering the equipment on Thursday at the Ilupeju office of Lagos NIPR, the retiring General Manager, Corporate Affairs, Mrs Henrietta Yakubu believed that the donation would go a long way to enhance the administrative prowess of the chapter.  Mrs Yakubu, who is bowing out of office on Friday, said that being a member of the Lagos chapter 'has been fantastic and rewarding'.  Receiving the donation on behalf of the chapter, the Chairman, Mrs Comfort Obot Nwankwo, expressed delight over the kind gesture.  The Chairman of the foremost NIPR chapter in Nig...

John Ehiguese, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Mediacraft Associates, has been inducted into the prestigious Marketing Edge Hall of Fame. By that, he became a recipient of the PR Torch Bearer award. Last Friday, the Public Relations specialist was recognised for his outstanding contributions to the Nigerian Integrated Marketing Communications industry at the maiden edition of the Marketing Edge Hall of Fame held at the Radisson Hotel Ikeja, Lagos. Marketing Edge Group, the organisers of the event, said it was conceived to recognise accomplished professionals, who have distinguished themselves in their various areas of specialisation in the Nigerian Integrated Marketing Communications industry. Ehiguese was celebrated as one of the top 21 personalities inducted into 11 categories. He was an honoree and inductee in the ‘PR Torch Bearer’ category. At the induction ceremony, John Ajayi, the Publisher of Marketing Edge magazine and Chief Executive Officer of Marketing Edge Group,...

By Yomi Badejo-Okusanya FNIPR From my early secondary school days, I have had a problem with my height. Ending up at 5 ft 8-9 inches, I have always wanted to be much taller for a myriad of good reasons. My rather diminutive stature in my formative years made me a soft target for several real and aspiring bullies. I often had to struggle for more ‘respect’ from peers and strangers. Now the most painful one was that some taller ladies I then admired, were understandably out of my reach. It did not help that my younger brother, Buky quickly outshot me despite the incredible amount of beans I ate to stave off the inevitable. As time went on, I learnt to live with my shortcoming, (no pun intended). I became conscious of my other giftings which I deployed as a coping mechanism. I learnt to talk my way into and out of sticky situations which I combined with some effective presence building. But on the night of Friday February 18, 2022, the story changed. It all started with a notice I receive...

The Public Relations Consultants Association of Nigeria (PRCAN), the sectoral trade group authorised by law to regulate Public Relations Consulting in Nigeria, is set to announce far-reaching reforms that would protect the businesses of clients in all sectors. This was contained in a communique issued at the end of the retreat organised for Chief Executive Officers and Leaders of PRCAN member-firms, held from Friday, 11th to Sunday, 13th February 2022, at Epe Resort and Spa, Lagos. Announcing the outcome of the well-attended retreat themed "Building Resilience for Growth-Rethinking How You Do Business", PRCAN President, Israel Jaiye Opayemi stated that members of the association at the retreat unanimously agreed and adopted the PRCAN Practice Standards 2022 for implementation. Opayemi noted that the PRCAN Practice Standards 2022, expected to be launched within the next few weeks, would provide ground rules for improved public relations consulting practice and bring better val...

  The Anambra State government has expressed delight at the award of the Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM), the country’s highest honour for intellectual and artistic achievement, on Professor Charles Ejike Chidume. Prof. Chidume was conferred with the award last Tuesday at State House, Abuja. Chidume, an internationally recognized mathematics professor, beat over 1,200 contestants and received the honour last week, alongside Prof. Oluyinka Olutoye, a medical scientist, who was also announced a winner the same year, as well as Prof. Godwin O. Ekhaguere, a scientist, who got the 2021 award. An indigene of Nimo in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, Prof. Chidume trained at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and Queen’s University in Canada as well as the Ohio State University in the United States. He died at the age of 74 last October, while serving as the acting President of the African University of Science and Technology, Abuja, which came after a successful long...

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has resolved to go on a month-long "comprehensive and total" strike to push its demands from the Federal Government. In an exclusive report, Premium Times says the union’s inner caucus, described as the "NEC for NEC" (National Executive Council) arrived at this decision at about 3 am on Monday, 14th February 2022. According to the Premium Times source, who was part of the meeting, the union took the decision “reluctantly” despite interventions by many prominent Nigerians. He said the decision was to save Nigeria’s university system considering what he described as the deteriorating state of Nigerian universities. He said government’s alleged recalcitrance made the position unavoidable. 'The indefinite and total strike is for four weeks . We hope government would do the needful within the next four weeks",' the source said in a terse statement shared with the news publication's reporter on Monday mornin...

Alhaji Tijani Hamisu of the Northwest zone, National Patriotic Coalition (second left); Alhaji Lawal Tahir Ringim, Northwest leader; Malam Ahmad Sajoh, Director-General, Nigeria Prosperity Movement; Hon. Yemi Akinbode, Chairman, National Management Council, National Patriotic Coalition;  Dr. Ahmad Jogag, Local Organising Committee Chairman, The Nigeria Agenda; and Hajia Amina Abudulkadir; Kano State Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during Northwest Regional Engagement of The Nigeria Agenda in Kano... on Monday Hon. Yemi Akinbode, Chairman, National Management Council of the National Patriotic Coalition, delivering his goodwill message at the Northwest Regional Engagement of The Nigeria Agenda in Kano... on Monday The Nigeria Patriotic Coalition (NPC) launched out in Kano on Monday with a grand outing at the Northwest regional engagement at The Nigeria Agenda. Delegates of the Coalition from across the country were led to the well-attended event by its Convener, H...

Speculations about the possible shift of the National Convention of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) have been laid to rest. The party is emphatic that the Convention, where its national leaders will be elected will hold on Saturday, 26th February 2022. In a letter to the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), which was delivered on Thursday, the Caretaker Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the party gave a notice for the Convention. This is in fulfilment of the statutory 21-day notice to the electoral body for the exercise. Comments by some party leaders had given indications that the Convention would be shifted yet again. But the party's communication to INEC by the CECPC Chairman, Governor Mai Mala Buni of Yobe State, and the Secretary, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, reads in part: “Follow up to our letter referenced APC/NHDQ/INEC/19/021/40 dated 11 July 2021 on the NOTICE FOR THE CONDUCT OF NATIONAL CONVENTION. “This is to inform the C...

The immediate past Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, Hajiya Hadizatu Uwani Mustapha will have her biography presented to the public on Saturday, 5th February at the International Conference Centre, Abuja. The book, titled 'Hadizatu U. Mustapha: From Head Girl to Supreme Court', is co-written by Dotun Adekanmbi, an accomplished media relations practitioner and former Editor of Business Times, and Sa’adatu Lawal-Ahmed, an upcoming author and lawyer with the Supreme Court. Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum is Chief Host at the event, while the former Governor of that state, Senator Kashim Shettima will be the Chief Presenter of the book. The book, published by Havilah Group, tells the story of the career of Hajiya Mustapha who retired last August as the second female to hold the distinguished position of Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria. “I agreed to the proposal to tell my story because it helps to illustrate my firm belief that the girl-chi...

Adeyinka Peter Akintunde (11th August 1990 - 2nd February 2021) By Muyiwa Akintunde It's a day I wish never existed: 2nd February 2021. A few minutes past 10 pm, the young medical doctor that followed me back to my car that Tuesday at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja applied the tools on the body at the back seat and motioned to come along. He asked my wife to stay behind with the patient we had just brought in. Back to the doctor's corner.. "Who are you to him"?, he inquired. "He's my son", I mumbled a response. "I'm sorry, he is gone". I hardly display emotion. But for several minutes after those words of finality, I couldn't control the tears that issued from my eyes. Quickly, I realised I had to be strong. I had to be strong for my wife, who had dissolved in tears. I had to be strong for our other daughters (except the youngest, who was then on youth service in Delta State). They had found their way to the hospita...