NEWS
FEDPOFFA: Mass Comm. Dept Campaigns Against Corruption In Education Sector
Eunice Oluwafunmilayo
The Federal Polytechnic, Offa in Kwara State held a campaign against corruption in educational sector in Nigeria on Wednesday.
Speaking during the campaign by the Department of Mass Communication at the school premises, the Acting Rector of FEDPOFFA, Dr. Olarongbe Afolabi reinstated the institution’s commitment to the eradication of corruption.
In his words: “stopping corruption completely in Nigeria, if I say it is possible in Nigeria; I am not being realistic. But the fact is that corruption can be contained. And when you are containing corruption, you are stopping it gradually. The ultimate goal is to stop it completely, but we have to start from somewhere and we are starting on a very good note in this Polytechnic.
“Stopping corruption completely will depend on everyone’s mindset. The thing is in Nigeria we are so hypocritical in fighting corruption. Are we sincere? Or we are just doing mere propaganda? The present government wants to fight corruption. And we would remember when President Muhammadu Buhari assumed power, he said corruption is one of the things he would fight. Security is also there and economy. Buhari has been fighting corruption, but how far has he gone?
“He is doing it, but as far as we don’t change our mindset, it would be very hard to eliminate corruption in this country. But we can get there, we have started. We know where we are going.
“What is manifesting this morning (i.e Corruption in Education Campaign) is an attestation to what the school is doing to fight corruption.
“The present administration which I head is committed to fighting corruption and we are doing it so well. We have been talking to students and staffers.
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“If we are talking about corruption, there are so many fronts to face. Look at the students, are they students aiding corruption? Look at the staff, are they aiding in exploitation and extortion of the students? Sex for marks and the like? It takes two to tangle.” he said.
Dr. Olarongbe added that corruption goes both ways as it is a consented effort which is faithfully pursued before it become manifested.
He said fighting corruption is one of the principal mantras of this administration and the administration has been working with Servicom, Students Union Government (SUG) and other related bodies.
Also, the Head of Mass Communication Department, Wole Alawode said
Wole Alawode, Head of Department said the purpose of the campaign is to call the attention of all concerned persons, agencies and stakeholders to the corruption in the education sector.
“From the look of things, maybe the Federal government have to declare an emergency on the educational sector. We are having problems. What are the youth doing? What are the beliefs system now?
“Shortcut will lead Nigeria to more problems. So that why we need to call attention the attention of the Federal Government to the education sector. Educational malpractices, cheating and all. In Nigeria, everyone has to wake up to how we are developing our youths. And how is the educational system functioning.
“Many students prefer miracles centers now and it is affecting the quality of instructions they receive. Someone that did not have a proper Olevel result, how can such function properly in the tertiary academic environment? And they will be looking for some cheap way out and they will be causing issues in the system. So we have to look for ways not only in the tertiary level but even secondary schools.
“We have to do something about what we produce. As in the quality of secondary school graduates, coming to tertiary institutions.
“Secondly, we have to make sure we curb all forms of corruption, including examination malpractices, cheating, looking for easy way out, sexual abuse, harassment, intimidation of students, sex for mark and all. There are so many of them.
“So this essence of this campaign is to call attention of the Federal government, stakeholders in the society, religious leaders and institutions, and others; let us all come together and address our youths. How they are growing up and what are we doing about it.
“We are calling for emergency declaration. You can see the level of yahoo yahoo (internet fraud), people don’t care again. People don’t seem to see it as a problem.
“Some 30 years ago, a leader was saying if problems at that time were not solved, we were going to have so-so problems such as Boko Haram. We are having them now. So if today’s problem are not addressed, what would they lead to in the future? And we are all here now, where do you want us to run to?” Alawode said.
A lecturer in the Department and the project supervisor, Chucks Okoji said the choice of topic lies in the fact that the success of any society lies in its academic condition.
“We decided to choose this topic because the success of any developed country lies on its education, now the problem we are having is that the budgetary allocation for education in Nigeria is very low compare to all the United Nations.
“Now if we say we want a better Nigeria, we’ll start from the educational aspect, that’s why we have decided to say no to corruption in Education and every other vices like, laboratories and the studios are underequipped.
“There is no way we’ll say we want to be an technological service controls without having an equiped laboratory. So if things are not done the right way, we are going nowhere.
“On admission racketeering, people that are qualified to have admission are not giving admission but people that can pay are given admission, all these are problems. My HOD mentioned something about all these miracle centres when you see student that get admission to 100 level and they cannot read neither can they write their names then you wonder how they passed WAEC, same thing that we wrote.
“So all these things cannot make us go forward as a country until we actually take analystic approach in ensuring that we do what is right to have a better Nigeria especially on educational sector.
“There are many issues concerning the strike from the University and polytechnic, they (ASUP) just finished two weeks strike now and one of those issues that was addressed was the payment of arrears and minimum wage.
“What the lecturers are actually clamouring for is to have a condusive environment for learning, where students can learn and where internet is enabled for every students even at low cost. The world is a global village, the children don’t have tab even if they have phones they don’t have access to the internet and we cannot learn something that is only in Nigeria. We have to go to other climes to learn something, so the refertilization of the educational sector is what those stakeholders in the educational sector are clamouring for and the government seems not to be serious with it.
“It is unfortunate that most of their wars don’t come to public schools like this, if so they would probably have seen the effect and taken step in addressing the issue. And we hope like normal Nigerian that things will be better, we hope (Laughs).” Okoji said.
In addition, Jimoh Olorede, a lecturer and co-supervisor of the campaign said corruption in the section is both endemic and systemic.
“You know in Nigeria, corruption is both endemic and systemic, what we want to achieve like this is actually to start telling the tied from corruption to education. When we say corruption is endemic and systemic that doesn’t mean it affect only a segment, we have variant of corruption in Nigeria so we want to fight it at the level of education.
“We say communication is ubiquitous that is, its everywhere, corruption in Nigeria is equally ubiquitous is everywhere, among the youth, ederly, our leaders, so corruption is everywhere. Our youth usually dominate the population of the country and we have the youth in education so we want to start re- orientation from our end here, especially at the Federal polytechnic offa.
“We have been having this series campaigns, we actually want to change the value system, value orientation of our students and ourselves. Corruption is not peculiar to a variant of the population, it affect everybody, every step of our system so it is high time everybody stood up and fought corruption.
“It is something that ought to have been fought so it’s high time we started fighting it, we have to stop it because it’s affecting the development of the country, is making the poor poorer, the rich richer and as long as the poor remain poorer and the rich get richer then that thing should be problem.
“God forbids Bad thing in this nation where there will be youth revolt, see what happened during the last ENDSARS protest? The youths were so enraged, they were so aggrieved to the extent that they attacked the governor of Osun State (Gboyega Oyetola)”, Olorede said.
Norway’s King Harald V has died at the age of 89, bringing an end to his more than three-decade reign and ushering in a new era for the Norwegian monarchy.
The Royal Palace announced on Friday, August 28, 2026, that the monarch died peacefully at Oslo University Hospital at 6:35am local time.
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“It is with deep sadness that we announce that His Majesty King Harald passed away today. King Harald passed away peacefully at Oslo University Hospital on Friday, August 28 at 6:35 am,” the palace said in a statement.
King Harald, who ascended the throne in 1991, had been hospitalised in Oslo since August 17 while receiving treatment for haemolytic anaemia.
His condition became “extremely serious” on Thursday, prompting members of the royal family to gather at his bedside.
His 53-year-old son, Crown Prince Haakon, has automatically succeeded him as monarch under Norway’s constitutional succession rules. He is expected to take the name King Haakon VIII.
Following the announcement of Harald’s death, the flag at the Royal Palace in Oslo was lowered to half-mast, while members of the public gathered outside the palace to lay flowers and mourn the late monarch.
Harald was widely regarded as a popular and unifying figure during his 35 years on the throne. He was also known for his modest lifestyle and efforts to modernise the monarchy.
Kaspara Bolstad, 24, described him as “a very steady and warm king.”
“I think the entire Norwegian people see him as a role model and as someone who brings people together. Whether you’re for or against the monarchy, I think he’s well-liked across the board,” she said.
Magnus Skaugseth, 27, also praised the late King’s inclusive approach.
“He was so inclusive and committed to having values that are inclusive in the society we live in today. When there is so much division and polarisation, he was a pillar pointing in the opposite direction,” Skaugseth said.
Harald had experienced several health challenges in recent years and had undergone procedures including the fitting of a pacemaker. Despite his declining health, he repeatedly ruled out abdication, maintaining that his oath to serve Norway was lifelong.
His death comes during a turbulent period for the Norwegian royal family, which has faced a series of health and personal controversies in recent months.
With Harald’s death, Crown Prince Haakon now takes over the Norwegian throne, marking the beginning of a new chapter for the country’s monarchy.
Social media personality Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), has fired back at Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana, following the lawyer’s criticism of his invitation to the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) annual conference.
Recall that Falana had criticised the decision to feature VDM as a panelist during a session on “Unknown Gunmen,” arguing that discussions on national security should involve individuals with established experience in the country’s security architecture.
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“In those days, the NBA brought individuals who had paid their dues, who were coming to engage lawyers intellectually. We wanted to learn from them and so none of our conferences was a circus show in the past,” Falana said.
He further stated: “So, if you are bringing in an expert to discuss the security of the country, either from the private or public sector, such an individual must have contributed to the security architecture of the country.”
Falana also said: “But to just go and bring somebody from nowhere to come and entertain you, there are problems with that.”
Reacting in a Facebook post on Friday, VDM said he was initially disappointed by Falana’s comments but claimed they helped him understand the opposition to his invitation.
“And then again, I listened to Femi Falana. When I listened to him, I won’t lie, I was so disappointed in him. Then again, after he spoke, I understood why a lot of them were upset and Femi Falana gave me the answer.
“Their problem is that a son of a nobody was invited and that is just simply what is going on in the media and Femi Falana just made it clear to me. Who knows me? Who is my father? Who knows my family? Who are we? What empire do we have?”
Defending his participation, VDM said his contribution would be based on firsthand experiences.
“This is not about book, it is about experience,” he said, adding, “Security is for everybody. Security is not for some set of people.”
A public warning has gone to the authorities to desist from frequently tweaking with the regulatory environment, as it could undermine investments in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Rabiu Umar, expressed the view on Wednesday in which he highlighted the importance of predictable regulation to the development of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum sectors.
According to Umar, investors were prepared to manage commercial risks but found regulatory uncertainty more difficult to accommodate, stressing that clear, consistent and predictable rules were critical to attracting and retaining capital.
“Investors are prepared to manage commercial risk. What they find far more difficult is regulatory uncertainty,” he said.
According to him, government efforts to provide fiscal incentives, financing support and policy reforms to encourage investment could achieve little if investors were unsure how the regulatory system would operate in practice.
Umar said investors wanted assurances that rules were clear, decisions were consistent and regulatory processes were predictable, adding that such confidence could influence investment decisions as much as commercial considerations.
He noted that the issue was particularly important in the midstream and downstream sectors, where investments in refineries, pipelines, storage facilities and gas infrastructure were designed to operate over many years.
“Investments in refineries, pipelines, storage facilities and gas infrastructure are designed to operate over many years. Investors need confidence that the regulatory environment will remain stable, consistent and credible throughout the life of those assets,” he said.
The NMDPRA boss said the Petroleum Industry Act had provided the industry with a strong legal and regulatory framework based on transparency, competition and accountability.
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He said the responsibility of the NMDPRA is to ensure that those principles are reflected in its day-to-day regulatory activities.
Umar, who said he had spent nearly three decades on the commercial and operational side of the downstream petroleum industry before joining the Authority, said he understood the concerns investors raised before committing capital.
He listed timely approvals, consistent application of regulations and fair and predictable decisions by institutions among the key issues investors considered.
The NMDPRA chief executive further stated that effective regulation went beyond issuing licences and enforcing compliance, as it should provide certainty and create an environment where businesses could plan and investment could grow.
He said the authority was strengthening collaboration with other government institutions, noting that effective regulation depended not only on good policies but also on consistent implementation.
“When institutions work together, the industry experiences a more coordinated and predictable regulatory environment,” he said.
Umar said the implementation of reforms would ultimately determine the confidence investors had in Nigeria’s regulatory system.
“The true measure of any reform is how it is implemented. Every licence issued, every inspection conducted and every regulatory decision contributes to confidence in the regulatory system,” he stated.
He assured stakeholders that the agency would carry out its mandate fairly, consistently and transparently to support responsible investment and the continued development of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum industry.
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