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Air Force Institute Matriculates 1,673 Students

Published

2 years ago

April 29, 2023

The Air Force Institute of Technology, Kaduna on Saturday, matriculated 1,673 students for its 2022/2023 academic session.

The Commandant, Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, AVM Emmanuel Wonah, while addressing the matriculating students, charged them to be good ambassadors of the Institution.

Wonah commended the institute for increasing the courses available at the undergraduate level from 11 to 28.

“This is indeed very commendable,” he said, adding that as a premier hybrid institution in Nigeria, it concurrently runs both polytechnic and university systems.

“This makes you, the students, very unique in your training,” he said.

Wonah told the students that they are expected to be better than students from other contemporary universities, who, unlike them, do not have the benefit of theoretical and practical training.

He enjoined the students to remember their major reason for being in the institution, saying that it was to read, study, make good grades and be good ambassadors of their homes, school and the nation.

He urged them that while not losing sight of their academic goals, they should also have an active social life with their fellow students.

“You have sworn an oath of allegiance to remain committed and disciplined all through your period of study here.

“I, therefore, urge you all to look carefully at the contents of the oath in your spare time.

“Those words are binding, hence, you must be careful not to breach any aspect of the oath, which may lead to your suspension or expulsion.”

Wonah appreciated the AFIT commandant and the staff for their relentless effort towards providing an enabling environment for students to achieve a successful academic and career path.

Earlier, the AFIT Commandant, AVM Paul Jemitola, said this was the institution’s 6th joint matriculation ceremony for National Diploma and Degree Programmes.

Jemitola said the occasion marked the official and statutory admission of qualified and deserving students into institutions of higher learning.

According to him, AFIT occupied a very unique position in Nigeria as the only hybrid higher institution offering a blend of University, Polytechnic, and Military programmes.

The commandant said that the institution was under the supervision of NUC, NBTE and the Nigerian Air Force Headquarters.

“As we conduct your joint matriculation into the Institute today, may I remind you that you are fortunate to be in a place where emphasis is placed on both research and technical knowledge.”

He told the students to remember that certificates are awarded based on learning and character, therefore, they must find a balance between their academic, social and emotional lives in order not to lose sight of their goals.

“On our part, the Institute will continue to focus on her pursuit of excellence in teaching, research, service to society, well-being of staff and students.”

He advised the students to show respect to the staff and their fellow students in order to make their stay fruitful and productive.

“We are working tirelessly to provide more facilities to make your stay in school pleasurable.

“You are reminded that the oath you have taken today is for allegiance to the institute, obedience to the commandant, and all those in authority over you and to be of good conduct throughout your stay in the Institute.

“Be warned that a breach of the oath taken today will attract appropriate sanctions,” Jemitola said.

The commandant prayed that God Almighty would watch over all the students, and make them a source of pride to their families, states, country and humanity.

Also, the Provost of the Institute, Prof. Mohammed Dauda, said that AFIT was established for the purpose of generating, disseminating and applying knowledge through conduct of research, training and result-oriented utilisation of innovative research findings.

He added that these enhanced roles and objectives conferred considerable potential on AFIT to contribute strategically towards technological development of the Nigerian Air Force specifically and the country in general.
NAN

News

Bumper Harvest: Foundation Distributes 6,000 Fertilizers To Farmers In Bauchi

Published

18 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

A group, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation has donated 6,000 50kg bags of fertilizer to farmers in Bauchi state in order to have a bumper harvest.

Speaking during the flag off ceremony of the distribution of the fertilizers on Thursday, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation, said the distribution was only for the indigent farmers in the state.

He said the fertilizers would be distributed to farmers in underserved communities across the three Senatorial Districts of the state.

“We are gathered here to flag off the free distribution of fertilizers to farmers, especially the indigent farmers that don’t have the means to buy fertilizer for their farms.

“That is the reason why the founder of this foundation bought the fertilizers and distributed them to the low income farmers in the state.

“We have gone round the nooks and crannies of the state to identify the underserved communities and those that deserve this particular gesture.

“We planned to distribute about 6,000 bags of fertilizer and due to the populous nature of the Bauchi LGA, they have the largest share but some other local governments too have hundreds of beneficiaries which we divided into Senatorial zones,” he said.

According to him, today was the flagging off of the Bauchi South Senatorial District, adding that the extension of the gesture would commence in Bauchi North and Bauchi Central Senatorial Districts tomorrow.

Mohammed explained that the only criteria used in selecting the beneficiaries were underserved communities and low income farmers, adding that “we know that a large number of the farmers in Bauchi state are low income farmers.

“Those are the people that we identified, verified and they are our beneficiaries and we have warned the general public about the activities of some unscrupulous elements that go round to impersonate our foundation.

“Wunti Al-Khair Foundation is not charging a kobo for every part of its activities, be it education, healthcare, economic empowerment and community development”.

Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Emmanuel Samson, described the support as a timely intervention that would greatly enhance his farming activities and appreciated the foundation for the intervention.

Another beneficiary, Salisu Maidawa, who was short of words for the gesture, said the gesture came at a time when he was in dire need of it.

News

IYC Urges Tinubu To Sack NCDMB Boss

Published

18 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for allegedly not “keeping up to the fundamental mandate,” upon which the agency was established.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Nicholas Igarama, Comrade Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo, and Comrade Tare Magbei, Western Zone
Chairman, Secretary, and Information Officer respectively, and made available to newsmen in Warri on Thursday, August 14, 2015.

According to the IYC, the call for Ogbe’s sack becomes necessary following his incompetence and ethnic bias, adding that Ogbe has turned the agency meant for the whole Niger Delta to his Itsekiri ethnic group alone.

The IYC, while noting that efforts to meet the NCDMB Executive Secretary to discuss critical issues as they affect the region and its people have proved abortive, said it can no longer fold it arms and watch while things go from bad to worse.

“As Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Ogbe has consistently failed to input his supposed industry track record in the advancement of the mandate upon which the agency was founded.

“He has continually had a sectional engagement with his fellow Itsekiri Kits and Kin, thereby shutting all other ethnic nationalites in the Niger Delta region out.

“Repeatedly, he avoided critical youth engagement in the region while sponsoring that of his Itsekiri ethnicity through different human capacity development initiatives, while other ethnic nationalites are left unattended.

“As Ijaw, mostly from the western flank where Engr. Ogbe also hails from, we will not sit and watch others benefit from the resources that we produce without our practical involvement to better the lives of our people as well.

“It is on record that the leadership of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Western Zone has tried to establish communication with Engr. Ogbe, for the last ten months, but every medium of communication to get his attention has fundamentally proven to be abortive.

“As youths, we can no longer have leaders in office who have now equated themselves to demi-god and have refused to attend to most significantly youthful issues in the Niger Delta Region.

“To this end, we therefore call on President Bola Ahmed Tinibu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, who has consistently displayed disregard for critical actors in the Niger Delta and has also exhibited the highest level of gross inefficiency by not keeping up to the fundamental mandate upon which NCDMB was founded,” the statement reads.

The IYC also called for the probe Ogbe as Executive Secretary after his sack.

Efforts to reach Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, NCDMB, for reaction proved abortive.

News

I’m Being Impersonated – Goodluck Jonathan Disowns Social Media Account

Published

20 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday said he is being impersonated by fraudsters.

Jonathan alleged that a fraudulent Instagram handle has been impersonating him.

In a statement by his Media Aide,
Ikechukwu Eze, the former President insisted that he does not operate any Instagram handle.

The statement is titled ‘Beware of fake Instagram account impersonating H.E. Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’.

“Our attention has been drawn to a fraudulent Instagram account operating under the handle goodluck_ebelejonathan, which is falsely impersonating former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

“This impostor account has been deceitfully posting content, some copied from Dr. Jonathan’s Facebook page, while pretending to represent the former President.

“We wish to emphasise that Dr. Jonathan does not operate any Instagram account.

“The media and members of the public are strongly advised to disregard, avoid sharing, or promoting any content originating from this fake profile,” the statement read.