Prof. Lateef Sanni, has been re-elected for a second term as the President of the International Society For Tropical Root Crops, African Branch (ISTRC-AB) at the just concluded 13th triennial international symposium of the society in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
In a keenly contested election rounding off the one-week symposium, Prof. Lateef Sanni, who is the Dean, College of Food Science and Human Ecology, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State Nigeria, emerged as the President, while Dr. Kiddo Mtunda was elected as the First Vice President.
Others elected were Dr. Pheneas Ntawuruhunga, Secretary; Dr Simon Eze, Assistant Secretary; Dr. Elizabeth Parkes, Treasurer; Dr. Richard Okechukwu, Editor- In-Chief; Dr. Godwin Asumugha, Associate Editor; and Dr. Bosola Oladeinde as Fund Raising Officer.
Other elected officers for another two years are Dr. Nzola Mahungu, Dr. Robert Asiedu, Chief Alfred Dixon, Dr. Peter Kulakow, all as Ex-Officio; while Dr. Kanayo Chukwuka, Kwame Ogero, Moita Nassy Laurentine Marielle and Vito Sandifolo got elected for Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Africa respectively.
In his acceptance speech, Sanni promised that the team would redouble its efforts in uplifting the standard of the society in order to meet up with the set objectives.
He said the society has commenced capacity building for their early career scientists, especially on proposal writing and increased interactions among scientists from around the world working on all tropical root and tuber crops.
Category: Leadership & Diplomacy
Harvard Women’s Leadership Board [2017]
The Women’s Leadership Board of the Women and Public Policy Program at the Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, Massachusetts in the United States of America has invited Aisha Muhammed-Oyebode onto its Board.
Mrs. Muhammed-Oyebode, a lawyer, administrator and philanthropist, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Murtala Muhammed Foundation, a Nigerian non-governmental organisation.
The Women and Public Policy Program is a centre of the Harvard Kennedy School that specialises in groundbreaking gender research, teaching, training and policy translation. Comprised of leaders from the most senior levels of business, government, academia, and the non-profit sector, members of the Women’s Leadership Board and the Women and Public Policy Program aim to create gender equality and improve the lives of women and men around the world, focusing on rigorous, high-impact research that furthers a shared mission of closing gender gaps in the areas of economic opportunity, political participation, health and education.
By her membership of the Board, Mrs. Muhammed-Oyebode joins a dedicated group of women who have committed to deepening their participation in gender research and to interface with high-level policy and decision-makers to deploy interventions and Women and Public Policy Program expertise to close gender gaps in their spheres of influence.
The Women’s Leadership Board members are nominated by existing Women’s Leadership Board members or Harvard Kennedy School officials, and evaluated by the Women’s Leadership Board executive committee and Harvard University.
Alex Ndubuisi Nwegbu Emerge President Of The Organization Of African Geological Surveys
Alex Ndubuisi Nwegbu, Director General of the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA), has been elected and sworn in as President of the Organization of African Geological Surveys (OAGS) for the next three years.
OAGS started in South Africa ten years ago as an initiative of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) through the African Mining Partnership (AMP).
Its mandate involves delivering on some strategic objectives, including capacity building for industry players, sharing knowledge, achieving financial stability, and constructive engagement with development partners towards effective utilization of African resources in order to develop the continent’s economy.
Lagos State Pays 597 Million Naira To 148 Retirees
The Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode has continued the payment of retirees’ entitlements by paying the sum of 597 million Naira to another set of 148 retirees drawn from the Mainstream Civil Service, Local Governments and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Teachers Establishments and Pensions Office (TEPO) and other parastatals of Government being accrued pension rights credited into their Retirement Savings Account.
The recent payment increased total payments by the Ambode-administration to 24.426 billion Naira as accrued pension rights to 5,668 retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, since August, 2015.
Speaking at the presentation of Retirement Benefit Bond Certificates to the 35th batch of Contributory Pension Scheme retirees, today at NECA House, CBD, Ikeja, Lagos, the Director-General, Mrs. Folashade Onanuga reiterated the Governor’s desire to see retirees enjoy their lives out of office without stress.
Lagos State Government Launches ‘Citizens Gate’
The mobile app, known as Citizens Gate under the Citizens Relations Management (CRM) initiative has been launched by the Lagos State Government to facilitate interaction and provision of services between government and the citizens from the comfort of their homes and offices without necessarily paying a visit to government establishments where such services are being provided.
Adeniyi Adeyemi Is President-General of UN WYO [2017]
Adeniyi Adeyemi has been elected the President-General of the UN World Youth Organisation (WYO) – the youth organ of the United Nations Organisation to lead the affairs of youths across the globe for the next five years.
Adeniyi Adeyemi, a Chartered Accountant, is a graduate of Agronomy from Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso in Nigeria, and Accounting from the Western University of Ontario in Canada.
Adeyemi, who would lead the affairs of youths across the globe for the next five years, would be received by diplomats, government officials, heads of missions as well as Civil Societies and NGOs.
Adeniyi Adeyemi stated that his first assignment on assumption of office would be to seek the approval of the Security Council to appoint 967 nominees that would work with him across the globe.
He said:
“The 967 nominees will work with my office across the globe.
This will enable the organisation to function effectively and bring coordination across the world.”
Among the positions to be occupied are the Chief of Staff to the President- General, Principal Secretary, Envoys, Special Representatives and Senior Special Advisers. Others are Senior Special Assistant, Personal Assistant, Head of Parastatals and Agencies.
Adeyemi said the listed officers would enable him to touch every lives across the world to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) before 2030.
Adeyemi recently won the admiration of UN workers and leaders, when he spearheaded the passage of the Youth Empowerment Schemes bill into law.
On this achievement Adeyemi stated:
“The scheme will make provision for adequate compensation to all categories of youth workers in the public and private sectors and their dependants.
This will cater for incidence of injury, sickness, disability or death arising in the course of employment.”
Adeyemi was elected as the new WYO at a World Youth Conference held on Nov. 12, 2016, in New Delhi, India. He had contested the election with nine others and won with 1,679 votes, while the first runner up from the U.S. secured 501 votes.