As I took the oath of office as governor, most of the critical initial steps my government took were aimed at building this cardinal imperative upon which our policy thrust as government will be delivered. Accordingly, prime among this was the issue of insecurity, which made it impossible to live and do business in Bayelsa. By deliberate and determined deployment of legislation and policy, backed by decisive and clear-headed leadership, mobilizing the security asset of our country and the citizenry, our state within the short period of two years has now become one of the safest places to live and do business in the country

In a bid to celebrate the anti-apartheid legend, a non- governmental organisation, Folktales Moonlight, in partnership with the Nelson Mandela Foundation, NMF, celebrated Dr. Nelson Mandela in Lagos.
The event, held at Protea Hotel in Victoria Island, Lagos, attracted prominent personalities from corporate organisations, government agencies and non-government organisations.

A biblical adage says that a prophet is not honoured in his home town but last week in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital the entire people of the state, led by their number 1 citizen, Senator Ibikunle Amosun rolled out drums for the celebration of their own, the renowned writer,poet, activist and first African Nobel laureate, Prof Wole Soyinka who turned 80 last Sunday.

One of Nigeria’s greatest, and most eminent medical scientists of the 20th century, Professor Nathaniel Chukwuedu Nwokolo died in New York City on May 18, 2014. Professor Nwokolo lived a long and distinguished life. He was not only an eminent grise of medicine; he was a distinguished scholar and teacher of scholars in the human sciences. He was honored for his work with the Nigerian National Merit Award (NNMA) – the Nigerian equivalent of the Nobel Prize – in 1982. The Nigerian National Merit Award was established by decree in 1978, and thus Nwokolo was among the early league, joining Chinua Achebe, Ben Enwonwu, Pius Okigbo, Adeoye Babalola, Muhammadu Junaidu, Akin Mabogunje, Ben Nwabueze, Ladi Kwali, Taslim Elias, TSB Aribisala, Adeoye Lambo, Abubakar Imam, and such others.

Boko Haram extremists have killed more than 100 people and hoisted their black and white flag over a town left undefended by the military, just 85 kilometers (53 miles) from Maiduguri, a civil defense spokesman and a human rights advocate said Saturday.

THE Kogi State Chapter of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, Joint Admission and Matriculation Board, JAMB, has appealed to President Goodluck Jonathan, the National Assembly and the Ministry of Defence to probe the alleged attack of the staff of JAMB by operatives of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.

THE Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has commenced the training of 135 youths on oil spillage management in order to get home-grown professionals involved in efforts towards addressing the effects of oil spillage in the Niger Delta region.

After the the hostilities of the Brazil 2014 World Cup, African nations have returned to the turf to battle for qualification ahead of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations to be hosted by Morocco.

I have no special or unusual relationship with President Jonathan. He is the President and I will give him his constitutional respect as the leader of this country, but that is the end of it. I am happy that my people are here and can testify that I was invited about a year ago to come and take up a board chairmanship and I turned it down. It is not even a year now. I am going to be 79; I don’t need any public office anymore.

Brazil could appoint former coach Dunga to replace Luiz Felipe Scolari as national team boss, media reports indicated Saturday, despite ex-Corinthians coach Tite being considered the long time favourite.

Certainly, most good leaders are enigmatic individuals who invariably sharply divide the society. Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State is one such political leader. Since making his grand entrance into political office in Lagos State, Aregbesola had carved for himself a niche as a workaholic and an original thinker. He is also totally passionate about what he chooses to do. And like late Chief Obafemi Awolowo, late General Murtala Mohammed, late Gani Fawehinmi and late Chief Bola Ige, you always know where he stands on any issue. That, to me, is the most important attribute of a leader. One might not always agree with him, but, you know where he stands. Very few Nigerian leaders who had occupied executive positions could be so described. So despite the setback to the All Progressive Congress, APC, in Ekiti, there is no hesitation endorsing this most complex of all the governors in Nigeria.

The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Oyo/Osun Command, has repositioned its security network within the border lines of the Command to prevent smuggling of prohibited goods into the country through the region.

The Nigerian Ex-International Footballers Association, (NEIFA will hold its inaugural convention today in Raleigh, North Carolina.

A former Davis Cup member, Sadik Abdullahi has joined the partnership train of the Greater Tomorrow Children Foundation, a charity-based organisation formed by former Eagles midfielder Paul Okoku.

Speaking on his resolve to help promote the ideals and objectives of the foundation, Abdullahi, who recently returned to Nigeria from the United States of America, where he had stayed after his illustrious tennis career, said that he was moved to partner with Okoku because of the need to touch the lives of less-privileged children in the society.

Senator Iyiola Christopher Omisore is the candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, in Osun State in the gubernatorial election that holds in 20 days time, specifically on August 9. In this interview, Omisore bares his mind on the Aregbesola administration, his electioneering campaign, his plans for the people of the state and what INEC must do to ensure a hitch free election.