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Gbenga Badejo Becomes 54th President of Rotary Club of Ikeja

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Rotarian Gbenga Badejo has been installed as the 54th President of Rotary Club of Ikeja.

 

The colourful ceremony which took place last Sunday at Sheraton Hotels and Suites in Ikeja also witnessed the induction of the new board for the Rotary 2021/2022 year as well as presentation of awards to Rotarians and non-Rotarians, including 50 years of Rotary to Chief Olusegun Osunkeye.

 

Speaking at the ceremony which was attended by the Deputy Governor of Lagos State, Engr. Obafemi Hamzat who was represented by Dr. Aina Oluwagbemiga, Dorothy Ufot (SAN) and Akinla of Erin Ijesha, Oba Isaac,Rotarian Badejo said that   he planned to continue with the club’s signature and legacy projects to achieve maximum impact in their adopted communities.

According to him, ‘’Some of my key projects for this Rotary Year are, building of Rotary Club of Ikeja Youth Community Centre for Leadership and Vocational Training- in collaboration with Lagos State Government, setting up of 20-seater ICT Centre for SOS Children’s Home, Micro Credit schemeinterest free loans and renovation of a Block of Classroom with Complete furniture for Ikeja Junior High School.

 

He added that, ‘’We plan to build a Games Court that can accommodate Handball, Badminton & Volleyball, supply Medical equipment to LASUTH, give awards to Health care Professionals that have been adjudged to be excellent performers, visit and provide relief materials to Orphanages and IDP camps.

 

Rotarian Badejo concluded that the club would also host its annual SOS Children village Xmas Party, offerfree test Medical Services to the Oregun Community, and distribute mosquito treated nets, provideborehole for Olusola Model Primary School Hudson Wright Oregun, donate equipment for Artisans, train and retrain Primary School teachers as well as engage in tree planting.’’

 

Rotarian Badejo, the fifth child of the Late Rev. Jacob Adesoga Badejo and Late Mrs Grace Folorunsho Badejo of Ijebu – Igbo, Ogun State, graduated from Nigeria’s Premier University – University of Ibadan in 1984 with a Degree in Geography from the Faculty of Social Sciences and emerged one of the best in his class.

He capped his career journey as a Fellow of Institute of Chartered Accountants, with many record-breaking achievements to his credit.

 

Rotarian Badejo was humble enough to take up Accounting from the scratch and eventually qualified as a Chartered Accountant having trained at BDO Binder Balogun Badejo & Co, Chartered Accountants where he cut his teeth in accounting and consulting and later Ayorinde Thomas & Co., Chartered Accountants.

 

He became the pioneer Finance Manager of SO & U Saatchi in 1991 an International Integrated Marketing Communications Company having offices in 36 countries across continents, and he rose to become the Chief Accountant and Head of Admin in 1996 before leaving to set up an accounting and consulting firm.

 

As the Managing Partner and Chief Executive Officer of both GBC Professional Services and Gbenga Badejo & Co (a firm of Chartered Accountants and Tax Practitioners, Rotarian Badejo has successfully moved these organizations beyond introductory stages to the level of relevance and value; specializing in Assurance, Audit, Taxation, Forensic Audit, Financial and Management Consultancy, Mergers & Acquisition, Business Incubation, Corporate Re-organization & Restructuring, Corporate Governance & Insolvency with clients across industries.

 

Today, GBC has now, under his leadership, gone global. GBC is now a Correspondent Firm of Reanda International; an international network of Independent Accounting and consulting Firms with 41 Member Firms and over 250 partners with 4,500 staff in 147 locations across the globe including Asia, Africa, Middle East and Europe.

 

An accomplished professional, scholar and motivational speaker, Rotarian Badejo, a Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Fellow of The Chartered Institute of Taxation, Fellow of The Nigerian Institute of Management Member of the Nigerian Institute of Chartered Arbitrators (NICArb), Alumnus of the Lagos Business School and an Alumni of Harvard Kennedy School has many corporate caps he is wearing.

 

He was appointed Expert-In-Residence at the Lagos Business School, Enterprise Development Centre, in recognition of his acumen, to counsel and mentor part of a pool of upcoming SMEs. He is Expert-in-Residence for Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce.

 

He served on the Board of ICAN Faculty for Forensic Audit and Investigation, ICAN Practice Monitoring Group and ICAN Professional Practice Monitoring Committee. He was subsequently awarded a Certificate of Proficiency by ICAN in Corporate Finance. He is Vice-Chairman, Finance &General purpose Committee – Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce and Member of Micro and Small Medium Enterprise (MSME) Committee

 

He, at varied times, attended Lagos Business School CEP22, Strathmore Business School, Nairobi and IESE, Barcelona, Spain, and The Harvard Kennedy School, Cambridge, USA. He was also part of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce Delegation to Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in the United Kingdom in 2018.

 

An astute Boardroom guru, Rotarian  Badejo had served and still serving on the following boards as a Non-Executive Director, Funmi Stores Limited, award winning  distributor to all the major FMCG companies in Nigeria, Non-Executive Director, BDS Consult, a Training and Management Development Consultancy outfit, Non-Executive Director, Pratix Consulting Limited – a Project Management outfit with interest in Real Estate and Power, Pioneer Director, Omoluabi Garment Factory Limited – a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project between Sam & Sara Ventures Limited and the Osun State Government, Non-Executive Chairman, Crowne Farms Limited – a fledging Agri-Business, Director, Investment 2000 Limited – An Investment Portfolio Company, Director, Primus 1948 Limited – A World Class Property and Mall Development Company and Non-Executive Vice-Chairman, Emergent Power and Energy Development Company.

 

He is a Member of the Nigerian-South African Chamber of Commerce, Member of the Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce and Member of the Association of Reporting Accountants and Auditors in the Capital Market (SEC regulated)

 

A lover of God and an ardent member of the Methodist faith, Badejo, a Knight of John Wesley, was the Past President- YMCA Methodist Church Opebi Cathedral of Peace and Excellence, Treasurer- Christian Brothers Society, Pioneer Treasurer- Diocese of Lagos West (The Best Diocese in the Conference Area during his tenure), Patron- Association of Methodist Brigades, Special Member- YWCA Methodist Church Opebi, Cathedral of Peace and Excellence and Patron- Choir of Excellence Methodist Church Opebi, Cathedral of Peace and Excellence.

 

Apart from the highest honour of the Methodist Church Nigeria, Knight of John Wesley (KJW) conferred on him for his outstanding support towards the growth of evangelism in the church, Rotarian Gbenga Badejo also won the Sebeccly Cancer Care Award – In recognition of sterling support and contribution towards Cancer Control, A Guinness World Record Project for the World Largest Human Pink Ribbon formed by 7,598 Nigerians on 10th October, 2015, Award by IMTC / NCC UK for pioneering efforts leading to the procurement of a Franchise Agreement for Nigeria, Comprehensive High School Old Students’ – Award for Excellence and the Methodist Church Nigeria – Diocese of Lagos West – Award for Excellence

 

RotarianBadejo served meritoriously in various capacities within Rotary before becoming the 45th President of Rotary Club Ikeja today. He was a 3- time past Treasurer and the Rotary Foundation Director, Rotary Club of Ikeja.

 

Rotarian Badejo who plays Golf, Squash and Table Tennis at his leisure is a Member of Ikeja Golf Club and Lagos Country Club. He is happily married with three children who are budding professionals in their respective fields.

 

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KFC Reacts As FAAN Shuts Lagos Airport Branch Over Discrimination Against Son Of Ex-Ogun Governor.

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The Management of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has reacted to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN)’s move to shut down its branch at the Muritala Muhammed Airport, violating laws protecting the rights of people with special needs.

The action was confirmed through a statement released on Thursday by FAAN’s Director of Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, Obiageli Orah.

 

The official statement, titled ‘FAAN shuts down KFC outlet at MMIA,’ highlighted that the closure was in response to the outlet’s breach of the Lagos State law on People with Special Needs, specifically referencing Part C, Section 55 of the General Provisions on Discrimination.

 

Responding to the development, KFC posted on its official X account that it opposes bias and discrimination, stressing that the incident did not reflect its standards.

 

The organisation disclosed that it had embarked on efforts to address the situation and urgently implemented sensitivity training for all its employees.

 

The statement read, “KFC is unwavering in our stance against bias or discrimination in any form, with inclusivity and respect as non-negotiable pillars of our values.

 

“However, this recent incident has underscored the pressing need for immediate action. We have embarked on efforts to address the situation and extend apologies and deeply regret the frustration and distress experienced by our guest.

 

“In response, we are urgently implementing sensitivity training for all our employees. This incident is not reflective of our standards, and we will act swiftly to rectify it.

 

“We are actively exploring solutions to equip our team members and establishments better to ensure that every guest feels genuinely welcomed and that we deliver empathetic customer service that proactively addresses the diverse

needs of each guest.”

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Sunday Igboho, Gani Adams on warpath over assassination allegation…..

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Yoruba Nation agitator, Sunday Adeyemo, alias Sunday Igboho; and the Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, Mr Tayo Ayinde, have both threatened to drag the Aare Ona Kakanfo, Iba Gani Adams, to court for allegedly accusing them of plotting an assassination.

Igboho and Ayinde, in separate pre-action letters by their lawyers, demanded that Adams should retract the said assassination claim against them or they would drag him to court.

But when contacted by The PUNCH, Adams declined comments on the matter, saying: “No comment on that. No comment.”

In a March 20, 2024 pre-action letter, Ayinde’s lawyer, Adeyinka Olumide-Fusika (SAN), demanded that Adams should retract the allegation “without any need on my client’s part to press you further on the subject.”

Olumide-Fusika said the pre-action letter was informed by the content of a press release issued by Igboho, titled: “I did not take part in killing Chief Bola Ige…”

According to Olumide-Fusika, Igboho said the press release was in reaction to some allegations against him in a viral voice note made by Adams.

Olumide-Fusika said, “In the press release, Chief Sunday Adeyemo claimed to be reacting to ‘issues raised by the voice notes going around on social media released by Aare Gani Adams,’ which ‘attacked his character’.”

The lawyer said his client’s name was mentioned in Igboho’s press release, a situation that had made many people from within and outside Nigeria to inundate him with phone calls, prompting him to go and listen to the said voice note.

According to Olumide-Fusika, the 10th paragraph of Igboho’s press release suggested that Adams claimed that Ayinde hired Igboho to assassinate him (Adams).

According to Olumide-Fusika, Adams, in a viral voice note, was allegedly heard saying in Yoruba language: “I would send you a letter signed and sent by these people to Tinubu, imploring him to stop wasting time and give them the go-ahead to eliminate me (Adams). The letter was signed by them and sent to Tinubu’s Bourdillon address, and it was received there. Those are the characters in the circle of this thoughtless fellow; he covets their association. My enemy’s friend is my enemy. He (Igboho) says we should combine forces to liberate our people, but he is in bed with enemies of our cause.

“So, be careful associating with Igboho. Just last night, he was with Tayo Ayinde, the Lagos State Governor’s Chief of Staff. He was heavily paid. You know that I have an extensive intelligence network as Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland. Until about 2:45am, he was with Tayo Ayinde, the Lagos State Governor’s Chief of Staff, who Tinubu also uses in Lagos to coordinate the execution of his evil machinations. He has been doing work of that nature for Tinubu since his days in the SSS.

“He resigned from the SSS, Ibadan to concentrate fully on such work for Tinubu, who compensated him with the office of Chief of Staff to the Lagos State Governor. It was at his hotel somewhere in Ikeja, Lagos, that Igboho visited him to collect money for logistics to confront me. Igboho left lbadan at about midnight to attend this meeting which ended at about 2:45am.

“Tayo Ayinde gave N45m in cash to Igboho for the operation, thus shortchanging Igboho to the tune of N5m out of the N50m purse provided by Tinubu. The discovery of this has brewed disenchantment in their midst.”

In the pre-action letter written on Ayinde’s behalf, Olumide-Fusika described the alleged claims by Adams as injurious to the person of his client, asking the Aare Ona Kakanfo to retract the same.

The lawyer said, “You will agree with me that the imputations in the above are as serious and damaging, as those who have listened to the ‘voice notes’ have represented it to my client by their telephone calls and visits. It includes that my client is complicit in a conspiracy to murder you (Adams), and is in fact the coordinator of the phantom operation.

“Given your own experience in life, I am sure you will appreciate how painful it is to be unjustly accused, as you have done in this instance against my client.”

The lawyer added, “My instructions are, therefore, to respectfully demand that you retract the false and wicked allegation, either through another voice note to go round the same social media, or by a press release referencing and recanting the allegation.

“I do believe that this gentlemanly request will be voluntarily heeded by you without any on my client’s part to press you further on the subject.”

On his part, Igboho in a letter by his lawyer, J.A. Sanusi, dated March 18, 2024, addressed to Adams, stated that he had been inundated with several calls “over the unfortunate lies peddled by you (Adams) against him (our client).”

The lawyer, on behalf of Igboho, said the people of Nigeria world over wished to confirm the veracity of the said “malicious interview or phone calls you (Adams) had with a person unknown that has become subject of public embarrassment and caused serious odium against the person of our client.”

The letter, which asked Adams to retract the allegations, also demanded the sum of N500m in compensation.

It partly read, “You (Adams) are aware that there is an audio clip which is presently going viral on all new media platforms where you have alleged the following against our client (Sunday Igboho) viz:

“That our client is an assassin who used to work for His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President, Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“That our client is rumoured to be one of the persons that assassinated the late Chief Bola Ige, SAN, together with one Fryo.

“That our client was involved in a series of murder cases but escaped prosecution as a result of his political connection.

“That our client received the sum of Forty-Five Million Naira (N45,000,000.00) sometime in 2022 to carry out some dirty works for His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR; and

“That our client swindled Nigerians in diaspora for a fake self-determination agenda of the Yoruba race.”

Sanusi said Igboho wished to inform Adams “that the malicious lies against our client only exist in the figment of your imagination as our client is a law-abiding citizen, whose only offence at the time was to protect the interest of the Yoruba race, a responsibility which you were ordinarily saddled to discharge but failed to so do.”

He stressed that the false outburst had not only caused embarrassment but also economic losses to Igboho.

He stated further, “It is in the light of the above that we call on you to forthwith retract all the negative comments (highly defamatory too) made against the person of our client which has just been released to the social media, including YouTube platform.”

The lawyer said Igboho would be seeking redress in the court should Adams fail to meet his demands.

 

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Olayemi Cardoso Trudges On

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It was unprecedented, and never before seen, the way the naira to the dollar exchange rate galloped out of control. There was close to a 300% fall in the value of the naira against the dollar. From as low as 450 naira to the dollar, we witnessed an astronomical climb to about 1900 naira to the dollar. It defied all economic theories and indices, as the CBN huffed and puffed to anchor the psuedo-fall of the naira. The dollar remained bullish and defied all the laws known to the nation’s financial regulators, including the ‘laws of gravity’ within those 8 months spell. Ten months after, the dollar that was rearing towards a rate of 2,000 naira to the dollar, has now plummeted to about 1,362 naira to a dollar at the parallel market. The dollar-rate run has finally come to a halt, but not without some very drastic measures put in place by the apex bank.

It was more than evident that the exchange rate was not determined by market forces. The per-second shift in rate was egged on by speculators who had made the naira a commodity, and were making a kill off of the buying and selling of the naira and dollar. They were enabled by online exchange platforms, especially Binance and other cryptocurrency channels. The CBN had to clampdown on these agents. Notably, Binance executives were interrogated by the CBN along with the NSA’s office over fraudulent activities enabled by their platform, that saw to the manipulation of the naira-dollar exchange rate. Binance had just recently been fined over 4 billion dollars for financial impropriety in the US, and it remains to be seen whether the CBN will take such measures, including their demand for the names of subscribers that have been used as proxies for the sponsorship of terrorism.

The partners in crime to the cryptocurrency exchange platforms have been the BDCs. They also arbitrarily switched exchange rates along the lines of the rates quoted by the online platforms. The CBN along with the EFCC had to crackdown on some of the manipulative BDC operators across the country. More than 4000 BDCs had their licenses revoked. Some due to irregularities, and some for fraudulent activities. The CBN has in addition, released new guidelines for the operations of the BDCs, including an increase in the capital requirements to bolster the regulation of the BDC operations in the country. Other measures taken includes the decision to allow International Oil Companies repatriate only 50% of their proceeds abroad. There’s also the enforcement of the Net Open Position of commercial banks, as it was seen that the banks were holding far too much foreign exchange than they are supposed to. The aforementioned efforts have in turn made the naira bullish in its climb up the exchange rate capsule, regaining some of its lost glory. The CBN’s understanding with IMOs is also making available an estimated 20 billion dollars into the Nigerian Market from diaspora remittances. Even the Almighty NNPC is today channeling its earnings to the CBN, which is also boosting our FX reserves and building on transparency.

 

2024 is seeing a lot of positives from the CBN’s tough stances and decisions. It has been able to clear FX backlogs of about 7 billion dollars which will no doubt boost investors’ confidence. Its recent offer of 500 billion naira at the OMO auction was over-subscribed, selling N1.053 trillion, with 79% of the total bids (530 million dollars), coming from foreign investors. This is quite impressive and is a sign that foreign investments are queueing into the country. The CBN has also been able to sustain increases in our foreign reserves, thereby sustaining the availability of forex in the exchange market. As the nation’s daily crude output increases, it will also help improve on our forex inflow, along with other FPIs.

A lot of Nigerians insist that Nigeria does not have a money problem but a spending problem. Just recently, there was a lot of buzz around a seminar hosted for State commissioners of finance at a Hilton hotel in the UK. Those kinds of events and other foreign travels that become jamborees, eats up quite an amount of foreign exchange, and if you put the figures together from all government ministries and agencies, it could be nothing short of a few billion dollars per annum. As a measure to that kind of waste, Mr. President issued a directive to the SGF’s office, banning all foreign trips by all government officials, except with the express approval of the Presidency. This move certainly looks like a Cardoso advisory. It would be a waste of effort and policy if the CBN is struggling to rake in foreign exchange, meanwhile government officials are draining the purse on trips that should be avoided in times of austerity like this. During the campaigns, Mr. President told us about the trust he reposes in the Headmaster, Mr Cardoso. From what we have seen so far with the Headmaster, the naira is ‘headed’ for more gains in no time!

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