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Runsewe Wins Vanguard’s Arts, Culture & Tourism Icon Award in Lagos

The Director General National Council for Arts and Culture (NCAC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe on Friday bagged Vanguard Newspaper’s Arts, Culture & Tourism Icon
Award.
The colourful event took place at the Convention Centre of Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
In attencdance to celebrate with the Tourism icon were top celebrities, politicians and business moguls.
The Vanguard award ceremony was staged to honour distinguished Nigerians who have excelled in their chosen endeavours.
It is worthy to note that Otunba Runsewe has paid his dues as regards the tourism sector which culminated to his being nominated for the award.
Outside the shores of the country, as it is at home, Runsewe is the face of Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage.
Thr highly creative tourism icon was born in Kaduna to Mr. Bankole Runsewe and his wife who were from Ogun State. He attended St. Michael Primary School, Kaduna and later went to Vohoeven Technical College Minna, which has since been renamed Government Technical College, Minna.
Otunba Runsewe holds an MBA in Marketing from Edo State University and Higher National Diploma in Management Studies from London School for Executives. He also has a Diploma in Public Relations from the London School of Management Studies, in addition to a Professional Certificate in Estate and Property Management from Kaduna Polytechnic.
In the last 30 years, Otunba Runsewe has been a dominant personality in the arts, culture and tourism sectors in Nigeria, with a good track record in the media. He worked as a marketing manager at the New Nigerian Newspaper, rising to the position of general manager in the organisation.
He was also head of Public Relations (media) at the National Theatre; MD/CEO, Sports Weekly; Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of National Network Newspapers; and Media Coordinator, Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGM, in 2003.
In year 2000, Otunba Runsewe was appointed Executive Director at the National Orientation Agency, from where he proceeded to the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, NTDC, in 2006 as Director-General. Whatever presence Nigeria has today in the tourism sector, both at home and abroad, is largely as a result of the work done by Otunba Runsewe as D-G of NTDC and other related sectors. His innovative tourism marketing campaign slogan, “Tourism is Life”, gave national and international visibility to Nigeria’s tourism industry, positioning the country as one of the tourism destinations in Africa.
Runsewe achieved that, partly through annual exhibitions at different international tourism expositions like Feria Internacional del Turismo, FIRUR (one of the most important tourism exhibitions in the world) in Madrid Spain; ITB Berlin, Germany; Arabian Travel Market, Dubai; World Travel Market Oakland, London, etc.
It was during Otunba Runsewe’s tenure at NTDC that the international community, through the World Travel Market in London and FITUR in Spain, began to take Nigeria seriously as a player and partner in global tourism.
The Nigerian Tourism Village, which Otunba Runsewe put together during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and won award for, was rated as one of the best at the event. He also took Nigeria’s Arts & Culture to the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Otunba Runsewe is a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations; Chairman, Nigerian Sport Writers Association; Chairman, Board of Nigerian Institute of Journalism; Fellow, Institute of Management, FIM; Fellow, Association of Business Executives, FABE, London; President, World Crafts Council, Africa Region; President, Nigeria Golf Federation; and Chairman, Africa China Culture and Arts Exchange Society.
As President of Nigeria Golf Federation, Otunba Runsewe, within one month in office, introduced the World Handicap System – a single, consistent measure of playing ability for golfers of all levels, regardless of their location in the world – through the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, R&A, of London. Similarly, he organised the first Stakeholders’ Conference on Golf in the history of golf in Nigeria.
A detribalised Nigerian, Runsewe holds several tittles from different parts of the country, including Danbura Kabi, Kebbi State; Obiagu I of Igbo Ukwu, Anambra State, etc. He is the Director-General of National Council for Arts and Culture, NCAC, a position he assumed in 2017. The vision of the Council under his leadership is to reposition culture as a tool for national unity, peace and social integration, as well as a machinery for stimulating rapid socio-economic growth and development. He has been pursuing this vision with total passion and utmost vigour.
For about 30 years, NCAC’s NAFEST, established and branded as “the festival that unites the nation”, made little or no impact, until 2017 when Otunba Runsewe took over the Council as DG.
Using the platform of NAFEST, Otunba Runsewe began to traverse the length and breadth of Nigeria, preaching the gospel of love and unity to all. Nigerians accepted his message. Consequently, every year, all states of the federation look forward to NAFEST. They bring their arts and culture to the host state. No other event in Nigeria, except our national football, has been a unifying factor as Otunba Segun Runsewe’s NAFEST!
Runsewe is unrepentant in his belief that the culture sector has the key to Nigeria’s unity and economic breakthrough. At NCAC, he vigorously pursues his pet Skill Acquisition Programme which has provided thousands of employments to young Nigerians and women. “I am in touch with the Chinese Government on training in China, at least 100 youths from each state in Nigeria,” Runsewe disclosed.
Last year, during Lagos NAFEST, Otunba Runsewe launched what he called 37 Cultural Wonders of Nigeria. The idea is to prime each state to develop one iconic product in which they have a comparative advantage.
The Abuja Cultural Market sits on an expansive 2.5 hectares of land (valued at N9.8 billion as at 2020) with massively renovated facilities. It is located in the heart of Abuja Central Business District, after the Yar’Adua Centre, near Abuja Continental Hotel and Shoprite.
The Arts & Culture Market was built by the Federal Government for the 2003 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, CHOGOM, held in Abuja, which Runsewe’s committee handled. After CHOGOM, NCAC took over the facility.
Before Runsewe came to NCAC in 2017 as D-G, the facility was decrepit. Hoodlums took over the place, and some powerful interests began to sell off parts of the land.
When Runsewe came, he expelled all the hoodlums from the facility, recovered the land and began a massive renovation of the place. He refused to connive with those powerful interests in the disposal of the land. The powerful interests began to threaten Runsewe’s life. After the threats failed, they vowed to use their connections to jail him. Runsewe said: “In fact, some powerful people who had interests attempted to lock me up. I said to them, if this is the only thing I will do for this country, I will recover this property.”
He succeeded in recovering the more than N9.8 billion land on which the Abuja Cultural Market sits, and went on to renovate it to what it is evolving to be today — a tourism destination for Nigerians, diplomats and tourists from other countries.
Otunba Runsewe could have decided to play ball with those “powerful interests”, but he chose not to. Today, the Nigerian people, the Federal Government, the Arts, Culture and Tourism industry are beneficiaries of that uncommon battle waged by Otunba Segun Runsewe.
“The market,” Runsewe disclosed, “was publicly presented to members of the Diplomatic Community last week as part of our strategic partnership with foreign missions in Nigeria. The essence is to develop a one-stop-shop for cultural activities in Abuja.”
News
Exam Malpractice a Serious Offence – DG Law School

…as Reps back CCTV use in Law school, plans nationwide oversight visits
By Gloria Ikibah
The Director General of Nigerian Law School, Professor Isa Chiroma, has reaffirmed that examination malpractice remains a serious offence, warning that any student found guilty during exams will face strict consequences.
Professor Chiroma made this clear on Thursday during an investigative hearing held by the House of Representatives Committee on Justice, chaired by Rep. Olumide Osoba.
Naijablitznews.com reports that the session was convened to address a motion relating to the alleged withholding of Bar final results and the backlog of law graduates awaiting Call to Bar.
Addressing concerns raised in a recent petition signed by hundreds of aggrieved law graduates, many of whom had staged a peaceful protest at the gates of the National Assembly, Professor Chiroma dismissed the claims of unfair result withholding, stating that infractions such as exam malpractice remain a key reason for disqualification.
He informed the Committee that Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras had been installed across the examination halls in Abuja to monitor the conduct of students and ensure transparency during assessments.
Highlighting the standards upheld by the institution, Professor Chiroma reminded lawmakers that only the Body of Benchers has the authority to determine who is fit for Call to Bar. “Anyone who fails the Bar exams cannot be called to the Nigerian Bar,” he stated emphatically.
In a startling revelation, the DG presented visual evidence to the Committee, including footage of female students allegedly writing exam notes on their thighs and other concealed body areas, an act he described as a gross violation of professional ethics and exam integrity.
While relaying the due process being followed by the Law School in order to ensure transparency, he said: “When somebody is apprehended in the examination hall, there’s a process, first and foremost, whether it’s called Copy he came in with extraneous materials, or he came in with telephone, these are strict liability offence, whether when you are in the exam will be telephone, whether use it or not. Is a strict liability offence.
“So all these are situations, and nobody has disputed this. When this is done, they come before a Committee of management. This committee is responsible in determining whether this person is guilty or not. They are brought in, they are given opportunity to defend themselves. Most of them, what they say is that ‘its the work of devil, it will never repeat itself again’; ‘Forgive us, it was a mistake’; ‘I didn’t know this’. This is what happens. So it’s not some it’s not in dispute. You, you won’t go and say you are a committee examination but practice and there is no evidence to attach to it.
“What I want to say clearly, Law School like every organized system, has its own calendar, and whatever we do in Law School is based on this calendar. At the beginning of every session we advertised for admissions. We have timing for our when admissions will end, our lectures, internship program, when students come out to do more trial examination, timetable for examination, when result is to be processed, when result is to be out in all these things, each body has its own role.
“For example, when it comes to examination, when examinations are marked, it goes to Board of Examiners,” and passed the outcome of its findings to the Board of Studies and later to the Committee of Council, which also look at the result.
“What Council does is to either ratify or make certain decisions on these results. And in our system, once Council approved results that day that is always out on our portal. That’s how this system works. So, the issue of withholding result does not even arise. This result comes out the day Council approves.
“So when we saw that people were writing to National Assembly to say that they should intervene to ask us to release result that we withheld, there’s no reason withholding result. Any result withheld in Law School has to do for example, with examination malpractice.”
Responding to the House resolution on ‘Call to Bar, he said the call to bar is not an activity of Council regarding Law School. It is the activity of Body of Benchers by regulation, and Body of Benchers also like I’ve said, every system has its own calendar. The Body of Benchers has decided long ago, Call to Bar will be in July and November. And that’s the reason why those who passed by examination are going to be Call to Bar, specifically on the 8th to 10th of July this year, and another group that the backlog from 18 to 20 of November. That is how this process work.”
Responding to the presentation made by the Nigerian Law School, Chairman of the House Committee, Rep. Osoba, said the committee was pleased with the use of CCTV cameras in the Abuja campus to curb examination malpractice.
He noted that the National Assembly would consider making more funds available to ensure CCTV cameras are installed in all Law School campuses across the country.
Hon. Osoba also commended the Law School management for presenting clear visual evidence of students caught cheating during exams, saying it showed the institution was serious about maintaining discipline.
He added that the Committee would visit all Law School campuses in the coming weeks to see the facilities for themselves and assess the general condition of infrastructure.
News
“Our National Chairman Goes Mad Again,” LP Reps Reply Abure Over Claimed Suspension

By Gloria Ikibah
Three federal lawmakers of the Labour Party extraction have brushed aside recent claims of their suspension, calling the move unserious and politically motivated. According to them, the action appears to be the last gasp of a former party leader who no longer holds authority.
Julius Abure, the party’s former National Chairman whose tenure was recently brought to an end by a Supreme Court decision, had issued a statement declaring the suspension of Rep. Afam Victor Ogene, who leads the Labour caucus in the House of Representatives, his deputy Hon. Seyi Sowunmi, and Hon. Amobi Ogah.
In addition to these lawmakers, Abure also named Abia State Governor Alex Otti, Senator Ireti Kingibe, and Senator Darlington Nwokocha who now serves as secretary of the party’s caretaker leadershipas being suspended.
The lawmakers, however, maintain that these announcements lack legitimacy, suggesting they are the reaction of an individual no longer in control of the party’s affairs.
In a joint statement signed by Rep. Afam Victor Ogene, Rep. Seyi Sowunmi, and Rep. Amobi Ogah, titled “Our Former National Chairman Goes Mad Again,” the three LP lawmakers expressed dismay that Abure, instead of working to improve the fortunes of the Labour Party, seemed focused on orchestrating its disintegration to appease external forces driving his actions.
They said further, “From yesterday’s overreach of himself and his band of jesters, it is now evidently clear to everyone who has followed recent events in the Labour Party, that our former national chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, has gone mad again, in a desperate move not to go down alone.
“It’s utterly absurd that Abure, who failed to demonstrate moral integrity during his tenure as national chairman, now claims the authority to sanction party leaders. Only in Abure’s distorted reality can those with questionable character judge others. In the real world, his Supreme Court-nullified leadership status has reduced him to a self-serving shameless impostor driven by personal gain.
“A political party is set up for the specific goal of participating in the democratic process, especially the contestation for power.
Since the Peter Obi effect of 2023, what has Abure and his gang of undertakers done to enhance the fortunes of the party? In fact, we challenge him and his cohorts to name one single individual of note that they have attracted to the party since 2023.
“From Kogi to Bayelsa, Ondo to Edo, what Abure has done is lead the Party to disastrous outcomes.
“All they have excelled in, is run the party as a criminal enterprise, fleecing aspirants of hard-earned cash in exchange for party ticket.
“Even in his native Edo, where he was dragged on the floor like a common felon because of disputations over misappropriated delegate funds, the over-bloated and egoistic Abure couldn’t even win his polling unit for the party.
“Pained of being kicked out of his lucrative position as national chairman, on account of abuse of official malfeasance, Abure and his gang of jesters have resorted to desperate antics in a bid to stay relevant.
“Which self-respecting national chairman of a political party busies himself running around media houses like a press boy? The last time around, it was announcing the sack and replacement of Hon. Ogene as caucus leader, but when that didn’t work, he has resorted to contriving a fake suspension order.
“Abure has appointed himself as a willing undertaker for the destruction of the soul of the Labour Party but ironically, he is only supervising the burial plan of his image and integrity as a public servant and political leader. We wish him well.”
News
Trump Congratulates First American Pope, Leo XIV

United States president, Donald Trump, has congratulated cardinal Robert Prevost on his election as the new Pope, Leo XIV.
In a post on his Facebook page, Trump expressed excitement over the development and described the election as an honour to the American people.
“Congratulations to Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who was just named Pope. It is such an honor to realize that he is the first American Pope.
“What excitement, and what a Great Honor for our Country. I look forward to meeting Pope Leo XIV. It will be a very meaningful moment,” he stated.
White smoke rose from the chimney above the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City, indicating the election of a new pope.
Robert Prevost is to be addressed as Pope Leo XIV.
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