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NCDMB hosts Q1, 2026 Book Reading Series *Underlines value of reading, creativity
The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) on Wednesday at its Conference Centre (Rose 1101) hosted the first quarter 2026 edition of its Book Reading Series, with a one-time Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime and Safety Administration (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, as Guest Author.
The event, which focused on the 2025, 204-page publication of the author, Leading in a Storm: Practical Leadership Strategiesin Crisis Situations, had a capacity audience drawn from higher institutions, the mass media, Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA), and Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), with several others participating virtually.
In a welcome address, the Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, represented by the General Manager, Corporate Communications Division (CCD), Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, said the book reading programme, which he described as “a signature event” of the Board, speaks to creativity, which is one of the core values of the Board.
He explained that the event is part of the Board’s strategy infostering intellectual activity and sophistication amongstakeholders as well as building the abilities of Nigerians to operate productively in the oil and gas industry and linkage sectors, which is one of its core mandates.
The Executive Secretary enumerated several initiatives of the Board geared towards advancement of research and technology, notably, six Centres of Excellence in the nation’s six geopolitical zones, each of which has a unique theme. These are Niger Delta University, Amassoma, with Marine and Petrochemical Technologies as theme; Federal University of Technology, Minna (Engineering Design), and Federal University of Technology, Owerri (Local Raw Materials Substitution).
Others are Modibbo Adama University of Technology (MAUTECH), Yola (Safety and Environment Studies); Usman Dan Fodio University (UDUS), Sokoto (Renewable Energy), and Federal University of Technology, Akure (Geology and Geophysical Studies). Additional research centres established by the Board include Geosciences Research Centre at the University of Lagos and Marine and Offshore Training Centre at Rivers State University, Port Harcourt. The latest is the Centre of Excellence in Gas Development at Delta State University, Abraka, being developed in partnership with Seplat Energy Plc.
According to Engr. Ogbe, the NCDMB is collaborating with Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited (RAEC), First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited, and the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), to organise the first Nigerian Engineering Olympiad (NEO), which was launched on November 20, 2025 in Abuja. The Olympiad, slated to end in April, 2026, is to encourage final-year and postgraduate students to be innovative in applying engineering principles to real-world operational challenges in and out of oil and gas industry.
In the book conversation segment, moderated by Mr. Victor Binawari, Dr. Peterside explained the inspiration behind Leading in a Storm…, copies of which had been distributed gratis to attendees. “My own lived experience,” he declared, informed the contents and thrusts of the work. He pointed out that “Every single day, Nigerians face one crisis or another,” and that the experiences posit weakness of leadership.
He recalled his time at the National Assembly, when he served as Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on the Downstream Petroleum sector, with the unremitting crises in fuel supply. As NIMASA Director General he had to contend with recurring incidences of piracy within Nigeria’s territorial waters. Then the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw many world leaders fumbling, unable to determine how best to safeguard the health of citizens. Yet another inspiration was from an uncomplimentary remark by a professor at America’s Kellog School of Management, to the effect that “Africa is in a near-permanent state of crises.”
“I began to investigate how leaders can perform better in crisis situations,” he explained, adding that calmness, clarity, adaptability, and resilience, are critically important. What kind of choices leaders make when faced with crises would reveal the stuff they are made of.
He outlined eight competencies of crisis leadership, namely, Contextual intelligence (“the ability to read situations accurately and understand the deeper forces at play”); Calm Confidence (which provides emotional stability); Sense-making (which enables a leader to find patterns in chaos and make meaning from confusion); Strategic Decision-making; Clear Communication; Strategic Flexibility; Coordinating Teamwork, and Facilitating Learning. Every great leader should rank high enough in these.
On his style, which relies heavily on storytelling, he stated that stories are relatable, memorable and engaging, and that “stories teach you principles which you can apply.”
In closing remarks, Mr. Teleola Oyeleke, Supervisor, CCD of NCDMB, thanked Dr. Peterside for readily accepting the invitation and for the wealth experience he shared at the event. He also thanked all participants, while advising them to read and digest the contents of the book. He also echoed the Guest Author in challenging attendees to have personal development programmes.
President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday, announced the approval of the establishment of a Presidential Task Force on Ebola Virus Disease Preparedness and Emerging Public Health Threats and ordered the immediate release of ₦10 billion as emergency intervention funding.
Bayo Onanuga, presidential spokesman, who conveyed the development to the public, said the fund would strengthen the operational preparedness of the National Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) and support critical national public health emergency response activities.
To be chaired by Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff (CoS) to the President, the committee with membership drawn from relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and state representatives is also expected to get briefings on their plans to contain the disease.
Onanuga, stated that Tinubu also specifically directed all states hosting international airports and international border corridors, as well as relevant MDAs, to submit their plans, funding requirements and intervention needs for consideration and coordinated implementation.
Stating that the President’s move followed a stakeholder meeting convened under the CoS to review Nigeria’s preparedness and develop strategies against the possible importation of Ebola into the country., the statement informed that the Task Force would also intensify passenger screening at all international airports through enhanced temperature checks and crowd-control protocols.
Other measures would also include enhanced monitoring of passengers arriving through high-risk airline routes, including Air Uganda, Rwanda Air, Air Tanzania, Air Angola, Kenya Airways and Ethiopian Airlines; and the immediate activation of referral and isolation centres at the Lagos and Abuja international airports, with other airports to follow.
Other measures include the mandatory activation of QR code-based pre-arrival health declaration systems for passengers originating from or transiting through designated high-risk countries, as well as the disinfection of departure halls, cargoes, baggage areas and airport facilities as precautionary environmental measures.
The President also directed the advisory group to consult with security, diplomatic and aviation bodies on regulating flights from affected and designated high-risk countries and mandated the task force to designate specific airports or terminals for high-risk flights to enable controlled screening and isolation procedures, and to consider adjusting flight schedules to minimise interaction between high-risk passengers and other travellers.
Justice Akintoye Aluko of the Federal High Court, Lagos on Tuesday ordered the remand of Paul Jibrin Oweleke in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) over alleged cybercrime offences linked to social media broadcasts that allegedly called for overthrow of President Bola Tinubu.
Specifically, Oweleke, in a two-count charge was accused of publishing posts on his online platform known as “Oweleke TV”, urging the Nigerian military to remove the President from office in a manner similar to takeovers in some West African countries, an act the agency said bordered on incitement and the use of a computer system to disseminate content considered prejudicial to national security and constitutional governance.
Oweleke’s broadcasts, the agency stressed, were capable of inciting public disorder and promoting disaffection against the government, which will undermine the country’s democracy.
Legal argument had ensued immediately after Oweleke, pleaded not guilty to the charges, with his lawyer kicking vehemently against the prayer of the agency that the court should order his remand pending the commencement of trial, on the ground that a bail application had already been filed and served on the prosecution.
But Aluko, who was persuaded to grant the prayer, went with the DSS, while adjourning the matter to June 16 for the hearing of the bail application, stating that Oweleke, would remain in the facility of the agency pending the outcome.
By June 29 all medical doctors in public hospitals in Nigeria will drop their stethoscopes and other instruments of healthcare, unless the Federal Government settles all unpaid allowances, salary arrears, delayed training funds, and worsening welfare concerns of its members across the country’s health sector.
This was the notice served to the government on Monday, through The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the umbrella under which the doctors operate, after rising from Ordinary General Meeting (OGM) held in Kano.
In the 21-day ultimatum to the government, the doctors warned that it would not be able to guarantee industrial harmony if the issues remain unresolved within the 21-day period.
In the resolution conveying their position, signed by Mohammad Suleiman, President, Shuaibu Ibrahim, Secretary-General, and Abdulmajid Yahya Ibrahim, Publicity and Social Secretary, on Friday, the body regretted that government had failed to fulfil several commitments to doctors despite repeated assurances and engagements.
“The association hereby declares an industrial dispute with the federal government of Nigeria on the outlined matters above and cannot guarantee industrial harmony after the 21-day window period given to address all the demands,” the communique reads.
The association said it is giving the federal government the 21-day window to commence concrete actions towards the development and implementation of a national healthcare workers assault prevention and response protocol
and the initiation of the necessary legislative process to address the menace.
NARD also demanded the release and payment of the 2026 medical residency training fund (MRTF) to all eligible resident doctors nationwide within the next 21 days.
The association questioned the unpaid salary and promotion arrears in several federal and state health institutions, as well as discrepancies in professional allowances reflected in members’ May 2026 salaries.
It highlighted the welfare issues affecting house officers, including salary delays, unpaid arrears, and difficulties with internship placement and onboarding processes that remain unresolved.
It also accused Motunrayo Omidiran, executive chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), of delaying the issuance of letters of compliance to federal health institutions, noting that the delay has hampered recruitment efforts, manpower shortages, and brain drain in the sector.
NARD expressed worries about the increasing assaults, harassment, intimidation, and violent attacks against doctors while on duty, demanding the arrests, investigation, and prosecution of perpetrators.
It called for the establishment of a national healthcare workers’ assault prevention and response protocol within 21 days by the federal government and security agencies.
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