Author: Optimal Times

Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company Plc , on Wednesday, announced  an upward review of the electricity tariff for our Band A customers. According to a statement signed by its   Acting  Managing Director, Engr. Francis Agoha, effective immediately, the tariff will be adjusted from N206.80/kWh to N209.50/kWh. Agoha said the review has been duly approved by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) as captured in the multi-year Tarif supplementary order. The managing director said the upward review was necessitated by several key economic indices, including fluctuations in the exchange rate, inflation and others. Agoha said: “The adjustment is necessitated by several key…

By Wuraola Oyedokun The Prelate Emeritus, Methodist Church of Nigeria, His Eminence [Dr.] Sunday Ola Makinde, has said there will be problems if the country is not restructured, stating that unless Nigeria is restructured, there will be no progress, peace and abundance. Makinde who said this while playing host to The  Rebirth Group, an organisation that is also pressing for the restructuring of Nigeria in his office in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, maintained that restructuring is imperative for the country to regain its past glory. The religious leader emphasised that the country must return to the path of progress…

The Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN), the official umbrella body for all Muslims in the South West  of Nigeria, has  condemned  the alleged plot to depose as Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar. While cautioning the Sokoto State Government against any move to remove the Sultan, the Muslims said Sa’ad Abubakar is not just a monarch but the President-General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs and national leader of all Muslims in Nigeria. This was contained in a statement signed by the MUSWEN President  Alhaji Rasaki Oladejo. Oladejo emphasised  that beyond unifying Muslims in…

By Wuraola Oyedokun An intellectual enclave in Ibadan, the Initiative for Information, Arts and Culture Development [IACD], is gathering over 80 secondary and primary schools to mark the 90th birthday of the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka in a month-long exhibition depicting the impactful life of the playwright. The President of IACD, Dr. Kolade Mosuro, disclosed this yesterday, while briefing journalists   at IACD Library and Resource Centre, Ibadan, the Oyo state capital. Soyinka, who was born in 1934, will be 90 on July 13,2024. Mosuro, who was flanked by Dr. Tunde Awosanmi and Mr. Patrick Agwu, said IACD would be celebrating the…

    The retired naval officer in his petition, stated that the respondent faces public allegations of corruption and financial misconduct, for which trials are ongoing for both. Rear Admiral Alison Amaechina Madueke, the ex-husband of former Minister of Petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke, has filed a petition before Lagos State High Court, to restrain her from using his first name (Alison) and surname (Madueke) following the dissolution of their marriage. He pleaded that the court directs the ex-minister to issue publications in newspapers of national circulation in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom of a notice of her discontinuation of the…

Veteran Nollywood actress, Joke Silva has broken her silence on rumours going round on social media that her husband, Olu Jacobs is dead. This is the second time rumours about the death of The ace Nigerian actor and film executive, whose real name is Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, will be making rounds on social media. Speaking with journalists, his wife, Joke, debunked the rumour, saying “her husband is alive and doing just fine.” Fondly called Uncle Olu by his colleagues and teeming admirers, Olu Jacobs has made his mark in the Nigeria’s movie industry. With more than 40 years acting experience…

By Wuraola Oyedokun A Non-Governmental Organisation, SheCares, on Friday ,28 June ,2024  ,organised an Inter-Girls Secondary School Oratory Competition  in Ibadan. About 15 schools participated at the  competition,  which took place at Educare Trust Nigeria, Aerodrome Estate, Samonda Ibadan. The programme had the theme: “Embracing and Sustaining African values and culture through Education”. Yejide Girls Grammar School, Ibadan emerged the winner of the oratory competition, St Louis Grammar School Mokola came second while Deril Academy Alakia Ibadan came third position . “The Inter-Girls Secondary school Oratory competition was a huge success”, Helen Akpabio, who is the convener of the programme,…

Nigeria of the 1950s and early 1960s had very many interesting personalities. Western Region had its fair share of such. One of them was a man named Suara Sobo Akande (Sobo is pronounced as Sorbor). He was a prominent transporter who held the transportation industry of the time by its jugular. An Ibadan man of the Opo Yeosa clan who lived in an area now known as Ring Road, Suara Sobo was wealthy and had a fleet of lorries in his pool. As a trade logo, Suara Sobo’s lorries always had monkeys chained to their entrance which excited and…

The National Association of Nigerian Students [NANS], the Southwest wing, on Sunday, called on all and sundry to  raise their voices to fight  cholera for a healthier Nigeria, saying it is joining its voice by embarking  on an awareness campaign against the scourge  in the region. The Southwest Coordinator of the association, John Alao, disclosed this to journalists in a statement in Ibadan. The campaign is billed to start   on Friday at Toll Gate, Ibadan by 7.00 a.m. Alao said it was imperative to educate the communities on the risks of cholera and how it could be prevented. The student leader  said…

The Oyo State Government has approved the recruitment of 7,500 teachers, and 3,000 non-teaching staff into the state teaching service, as part of its efforts to improve the Post-Primary education sector. The Chairman, Oyo State Post-Primary Teaching Service Commission, TESCOM, Pastor Akinade Alamu made this known on Friday in Ibadan. Recall that in 2021, the Oyo State government through the Commission employed about 5,000 teachers in the State. He said the recruitment exercise then, was applauded by stakeholders in Oyo state, including the World Bank Global Partnership on Education. Pastor Akinade Alamu said the present administration in Oyo State, would…