BY GBENGA OLARINOYE
OSOGBO—Osun State Government has approved the amendment of the law establishing the Centre for Black Culture and International understanding, a UNESCO accredited institution sited in the state by the immediate past administration of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola.

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Sunday Akere, at a briefing at the end of the weekly State Executive Council meeting, said section 8 of the 2008 law which established the Centre attempted to turn it to a personal fiefdom of the former Governor Olagunsoye Oyinlola by making him a life Chairman.

According to him, the Executive Council also condemned a situation where Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library has two representatives on the Board with the Minister for Culture and Tourism, the Federal Director of Culture and the Vice-Chancellor of the Osun state University, UNIOSUN, being the only other members of the board.

The Council approved that the new Board Chairman of the centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, Osogbo will be appointed by the State Governor while other members will be the State Commissioner for Tourism and Culture or the Special Adviser for Tourism and Culture, two representatives of the Academia, four representatives to represent the interest of Arts and Culture, one representative of UNESCO and Nigeria’s Permanent delegate to UNESCO as members.

The tenure of the Board and the Executive Director of the centre, according to Akere as resolved by the state Executive council, will be for a term of two years, which may however be renewed.

It will be recalled that former Governor Oyinlola in 2008 influenced the establishment of the Centre in Osogbo, Osun state capital and was made the chairman of the board of the centre.