Protocols: It is with immense gratitude to almighty God that I welcome us all into the festive season of the birth of Christ and another transition into a New Year.  As it is often said that time is fleeting in that the year 2021 we all started in January is counting and almost running to an end, there is much to be appreciated in the way God has favoured the Ekiti Youth Parliament, EYP on many fronts.  It is an undeniable fact that the EYP and other youth Parliaments in the country have continued to contribute significantly to the development and improvement of youths, thus, recognized as a symbol of excellence in service delivery and leadership. My dear youths, let me caution at this point that even as we have much to be grateful to God for over our achievements in 2021, the year 2022 will be a defining year for the parliament because of its importance to our strategic vision.  It is the year earmarked for greater exploits and impact, as we cannot afford to rest on our ...

FFS personnel displaying professional skills during NPL working visit  Nigeria’s Federal Fire Service has indeed, grown beyond toddlerdom. This is evident in the giant strides recorded in the service in the last one and half years. The Comptroller-General of the Service, Dr. Liman Ibrahim was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2019 and since then, the operations of the fire service have not remained the same. Worthy to note are the modern equipment and facilities put in place by the service, to improve fire fighting response and staff welfare. Report: Femi Esan The Controller-General, CG of the Federal Fire Service, FFS, Dr. Liman Ibrahim has reiterated the Federal Fire Service's commitment to controlling and preventing fire outbreaks in the country, as well as carrying out other rescue missions. He gave the assurance during a working visit by the Nigerian Prize for Leadership, NPL 2021 ambassadors to the headquarters of the Fire Service in Abuja. Speaking on behalf ...

Members of IPC during a walk against the spread of Covid-19 By: Femi Esan The Infection Prevention and Control, IPC vanguard branch of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC orientation camp, Kubwa, Abuja, today, organized a walk against the spread of Covid-19 in the camp. The group, comprising staff and corps members were seen moving around the orientation camp, carrying placards conveying different messages, as it pertains to covid-19 prevention. Speaking with OBS reporter during an interview with the IPC Head of Compliance, Mrs. Adisa Abutu, said that the essence of the movement is to stop the spread of covid-19 by enforcing the use of facemask in the camp. She added that the tour is designed to get all corps members and camp officials vaccinated, starting tomorrow, the 6th of December, 2021. Speaking further, she noted that proactive measures have been put in place to ensure compliance by both corps members and camp officials through sensitization, campaign, enforcement, and most i...

Dr.  Okey Ikechukwu    Femi Esan A communication expert and Executive Director, Development Specs Academy, Dr. Okey Ikechukwu, has tasked Nigerian youth leaders to embrace environmental consciousness, while also building effective communication skills to better their leadership experience. He gave the charge at a workshop, specially designed for the Nigerian Price for Leadership ambassadors, 2021 in Abuja. Dr. Ikechukwu noted that every youth leader who aspires to attain a great height of leadership accomplishment must possess effective communication, public speaking, emotional intelligence, and non-violence communication skills. Speaking further, he described effective communication as a viable tool for societal and institutional transformation and conflict resolution. He emphasized the need for youths to be conversant of their environment while recognizing their feelings and using the same as a basis for human management and problem-solving. Dr. Ikechukwu condemned yout...

Group picture of NPL 2021 Ambassadors and NPL Governing Board  Femi Esan The Nigerian Price for Leadership, NPL, has held an orientation for its leadership ambassadors, the second edition of the leadership programme. The orientation programme took place at the Public Service Institute of Nigeria, one of the partners of the leadership programme, in Abuja. In his Goodwill message, the Vice-chairman of the NPL Governing Board, Professor Jerry Gana, congratulated the new ambassadors, adding that their selection as participants is a proof of their competence and leadership strength. According to him, the essence of the leadership programme was to build youth leaders of distinguishing character, integrity, positive-minded, trustworthy, and above all, God-fearing, for transformational change. Also speaking at the event, a member of the Governing Board, Senator Ibrahim Idah, while congratulating the new mentees, noted that different considerations were taken before selecting the participan...

 

Award presented to Esan Femi Williams as the winner (postgraduate category), John Kayode Fayemi Annual Essay competition, 2021. By: Esan Femi Williams   Nigeria is a heterogeneous society with an ethnic pluralism that is grounded in diverse cultures. With over two hundred different languages and ethnic groups, and diverse political ideologies that vary by individuals, communities and social strata, the variability of Nigerian culture is rather undeniable. Democratic governance, as it stands today, remains the only viable bedrock of a value-based political system; a system of government where institutions function according to democratic processes and norms, both internally and in their interaction with other institutions. This system of government, as a matter of necessity, must operate within a solid system of checks and balances whereby each arm of the government operates independently, but with a form of mutual oversight to ensure there is no abuse of power within any arm. Democ...

The Ekiti Youth Parliament Speaker, Rt. Hon. Toba Ayo Fatunla, has lauded the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi, over his commitment to youth development in the state. Fatunla expressed his gratitude in his congratulatory message to the Governor, on the occasion of the third anniversary of his second term in office. He hailed the Governor for his achievement in the area of youth development, adding that his administration has created a conducive atmosphere for youths to grow in the state. Fatunla, in what he described as a testament to youth development under the watch of Gov. Fayemi, said that Ekiti youths currently take the lead in all youths' engagements in the country.  "His Excellency has created an enabling environment for youths to thrive in Ekiti State, little wonder Ekiti youths take central stage in Nigeria.  For instance, the Speaker of Ekiti State Youth Parliament is the Chairman of the conference of State Youth Parliament Speakers in Nigeria, the Presid...

Gov. John Kayode Fayemi The Executive Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi has approved an internship programme for the Ekiti Youth Parliament (EYP) members. This was contained in a commendation letter sent to the speaker of the Youth apex body in the state, Rt. Hon. Toba Fatunla. Recall that the parliament, following its August 10, 2021 special plenary sitting, held at the Ekiti State House of Assembly, presented the summary of the bills passed and motions moved to the Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Fayemi. According to the Speaker of the Parliament, the document contained strategies, suggestions and recommendations on how best to engage the youths, put a stop to unemployment and galvanize the youths towards economic empowerment, liberation, self-reliance, self-sufficiency and prosperity. Fayemi, while commending the Parliament under the leadership of Rt. Hon. Fatunla, pledged his commitment to the realization of the suggestions and motions moved at the special plenary sitting o...

COHESTI entrance and exit gates The Students' Union Government of the Ekiti State College of Health Sciences and Technology, COHEST, Ijero-Ekiti, has inaugurated its newly elected executives. This is coming barely after eight years of electoral crisis, which saw the students' union body through series of a caretaker government in the college.  The Provost of the college, Dr. Cecilia Adebayo, while inaugurating the new executives, expressed utmost delight over the new development, adding that the election exercise is the first of its kind during her tenure as the provost of the college. While congratulating the new set of executives, she charged them to be proactive, visionary, and creative leaders. "This ceremony is very remarkable because this is the first election that would be conducted to fill the various posts in the SUG during my tenure, having assumed office as the Provost of the college in October last year. "I thank God that the election conducted on Wednesda...

The Ekiti Youth Parliament (EYP), has set up a mentorship hub, a platform to build, train and nurture youths in the state. This was disclosed in a press statement issued by the speaker of the Parliament, Rt Hon. Toba Fatunla in Ado-Ekiti. According to the speaker, the initiative is a product of the duty the parliament owes youths in the state, towards ensuring youth productive intellectual engagements. "We owe it a duty to do the best for ourselves as youths. The next generation of leaders cannot truly emerge without being thoroughly furnished with the right information and mentorship.  "Ekiti Youth Parliament Mentorship Hub is an initiative aimed at getting the Ekiti Youths rightly engaged, trained, and informed with requisite knowledge.  "Information is power, and it will be disastrous if we are not equipped with it. Our platforms should be used to reel out right information aimed at constructing, reconstructing, building, and restructuring the minds", he said. Sp...

                       The Ekiti State Youth Parliament has urged parents and guardians across the state to instill self-reliance in their wards, most especially secondary school leavers by engaging them in skill acquisition on the completion of their school leaving certificate examination. This call was made as part of the resolutions reached by the youth parliament during a sitting at the Ekiti State House of Assembly, one of the activities to commemorate the 2021 International Youth Day. Speaker of the Youth Parliament, who doubles as the Chairman of Conference of Youth Parliament speakers in the country, Rt. Hon. Oluwatoba Fatunla stressed on the need for parents and guardians to encourage their children to embrace technical education and vocational trainings. While passing a vote of confidence on the Governor of the State, Dr. John Kayode Fayemi for various giant strides recorded in the State, Hon. Fatunla, however, prayed...

Abah Joshua By: Olamide Awoyinfa If you are a close follower of African football, the club ASKO DE KARA FC, a Togolese football club based in Kara, is a big name in the African continent. It is a team that plays in the top division in Togolese Football and indisputably, one of the biggest clubs in Togo.  The club acquired the services of the former MFM FC striker, JOSHUA ABAH, who started playing football at GBS academy In Jos; same academy that produced the likes of Ahmed Musa, and Moses Simon. Joshua hails from Idoma, Benue state, Nigeria. He, however, later joined Jigawa golden Stars, where he played two full seasons, before joining Lagos based side MFM FC in  2017. Joshua moved to Bahrain to have a taste of international football but unfortunately, things did not go as planned for him.  On the 26th of April, 2021, Joshua signed for Asko De Kara FC in the mid-season and won the league with the football club. The football club also got a ticket to play in the conti...

By: Ebo Emmanuel             Police Injustice mostly used to refer to various human rights violations by police which might include beatings, racial abuse, unlawful killings, torture, or indiscriminate use of riot control agents at protests. At its worst, unlawful use of force by police can result in people being deprived of their right to life. If police force is unnecessary or excessive, it may also amount to torture or other ill-treatment. Unlawful force by police can also violate the right to be free from discrimination, the right to liberty and security, and the right to equal protection under the law.           In countries with high rates of killings by police, there is often a combination of factors including inadequate laws, racial or other forms of discrimination, insecurity or conflict, and entrenched impunity. Governments who routinely trample on other human rights like freedom of expression and peaceful assembly often a...

Ekiti Youth Parliament principal officers with the Ekiti State House of Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon Funminiyi Afuye The Speaker, Ekiti State House of Assembly (ESHA), Rt. Hon Funminiyi Afuye, has emphasized on the need for mentorship for the youths in the state. He made this known during a courtesy visit with the Ekiti Youth Parliament (EYP) Principal officers, led by the EYP speaker, Rt. Hon Toba Fatunla. While commending and embracing the mentorship idea of the EYP, he applauded the efforts of the EYP speaker for his proactiveness, resilience, reticent and humanitarian service towards youth development in the state. He also appraised the speaker for being a good representative of youths in Ekiti State and placing them on the global map. "The need for mentorship for the youths as posited and postulated by you cannot be overemphasized; for we cannot allow a generational gap. The leader of the Youth Parliament is doing so well, he is on a steady rise on the ladder of leadership, not ...