Author: Optimal Times

…Describes it as day light robbery   By Philips Osunsami  Polytechnic students, under the aegis of the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS), Southwest Zone, on Monday, called on the Federal Government to stop the alleged electronic money transfer levy by the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS). According to a statement made available by the Zonal Public Relations Officer {PRO} of NAPS, Festus Oyewumi, ‘’some of the Policies of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) is becoming unbearable, lack of humanity at heart is becoming order of the day by the Chairman of FIRS’’. The student leader urged President Bola Tinubu…

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), in Oyo State,  on Sunday, said it wants Governor Seyi Makinde of the state to contest the 2027 presidential election,  saying he ticks all the boxes. Makinde-for-President -2027 posters  have surfaced in some social media platforms. The acting Publicity Secretary of the party in the state, who also doubles as Youth Leader , Comrade Micheal Ogunsina,  stated this in a chat with Optimal Times News,  stressing that Makinde is better than the current President. Ogunsina said Makinde could  be brought in to finish the tenure of the South, adding that the governor is the most…

In 2010, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso (LAUTECH) was rated the best state university in Nigeria. It was also regarded as the eighth best in the country as well as Africa’s 76th best. The university’s medical programme was assessed as one of the best in Nigeria. Many of its faculties, especially the Faculty of Engineering, were rated quite highly. The university was a pride to the owner-states, the joy of its students and the glory of the host community as students from all the corners of the country flocked to the university. But its ascent to that enviable height…

The former Secretary to Oyo State Government, Chief Michael Adeniyi Koleosho, has been described as a great  politician and a resourceful businessman who always strove to actualize his ideas with all the energy that he had. This was contained in a statement by the publicity secretary of Oke ogun Council of Elders (OCE), Comrade Jare Ajayi, while expressing the council’s condolences over the demise of the elder statesman who departed this world on Monday, September 2, 2024. Former minister of State for Agriculture and Water Resources, Otunba Bamidele Dada, OON, is the President of OCE. The statement…

By Philips Osunsami  The wife of the late former Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, Dr Betty Anyanwu-Akeredolu under a non-governmental organisation, BEMORE Empowered Girls Foundation,  has  empowered no fewer than 70 girls with laptops and home solar systems in Ibadan. Dr.  Anyanwu-Akeredolu, who is the founder of the group, charged the girls to make positive impacts in the world and among people around them. Speaking during the closing of the Summer Bootcamp organised,  Anyanwu-Akeredolu said there was a connection between Gender Based Violence (GBV) and poverty stressing the need for girls to be empowered so they can be…

No doubt, photographs evoke metaphors, imageries and diverse interpretations. Imagery was evoked in my mind as I read President Bola Tinubu’s remarks during his recent adventure to China. He spoke while addressing Nigerians living in that country. “Nigeria is going through reforms, and we are taking very bold and unprecedented decisions. For example, you might have been hearing from home in the last few days about fuel prices. But, can we help it?” the president said cavalierly like a cruel surgeon about to dissect a patient to whom he had neither empathy nor any iota of feeling. We had…

By Rotimi Agboluaje He was headhunted by Governor Seyi Makinde without his knowledge. The governor narrowed down the headhunt to Prof. Olanrewaju Olaniyan, having convinced that the Economics Professor ticked all the boxes to carry out the onerous  pioneering work at the Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo Town . Since his appointment  on August  09, 2023,  as the pioneer Vice Chancellor of  the specialised  university , Prof. Olaniyan has been justifying the confidence reposed in him by the institution’s  Visitor , Governor Makinde. One year down the line, the VC has stamped his authority as an astute administrator and recorded some giant strides.  The groundswell of opinions among the university stakeholders is…

                   For years, Nigerians have been told to wait for change, to be patient and trust that things will get better. But as the years go by, the promises remain unfulfilled, and the struggles persist. From skyrocketing inflation to endemic corruption, the wait for a better life seems endless. Nigerians have waited, but what did they get? Corruption on an industrial scale, poverty multiplied in million folds, insecurity at its peak, persistent rise in the price of goods and services, and industrial actions, especially months of ASUU strike. Were they foolish to wait? Maybe not, they believed that he knew…

A petrol laden tanker, two articulated trucks, one 18-seater bus, two small commercial cabs (micra), and three motorcycles got burnt in Iyana-Ajia, Egbeda area, Ibadan, the Oyo state capital city on Saturday. As at the time of the report, while the tanker is still burning, other affected vehicles have been turned to ashes. The incident happened around 4:30PM on the Ibadan axis of the Ibadan-Ife Express road, very close to the ongoing Iyana-Ajia bridge. No life was lost in the incident.

By Philips Osunsami A civil engineer, Dr Babatunde Lawal, has expressed concern over the duration it takes to complete government projects and the rate of abandonment of such projects. Lawal gave reasons why projects fail and end up abandoned in an interview in Ibadan on Friday. He did not fail to proffer some right steps to rectify the situation. The engineer traced the causes of prolonged project completion and eventual abandonment to political manipulations, dishonesty of government actors, and contractors’ negative attitudes. Lawal, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Brail Construction, Ibadan, said if these were properly handled, the situation…