Hon. Abiodun Isiaq Akinlade Set To Commission ICT Centres Across The State Higher Institutions

The Chairman House of RepresentativesCommittee onScience and Technology Hon. Akinlade Abiodun Isiaq is at it again! This Honorable seems to have made"Ensuring universal service and access to information and communication technology" his top objective. Fact is, One of the distinctive features of human beings is their ability to acquire knowledge, and what makes this knowledge an ever-thriving entity is man’s ability to ‘impact’ this knowledge to others; in the light of these, Hon. Akinlade Abiodun Isiaq has thought it very adequate to extend his Free ICT Projects Scheme to other Senatorial District outside Ogun West especially as support for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. This concept is to enhance the moving of traditional classroom of desks, notebooks, pencils, and blackboard to an online forum of computers, software, and the Internet as there is no doubt that technology-based tools can enhance student’s cognitive performance and achievements if used appropriately, in accordance with knowledge learning and as part of a coherent educational approach. Therefore: He (Hon.Akinlade) has just donated a fully equipped internet enabled ICT Center backed by Solar @ the E-learning Department of Tai Solarin University of Education Ijagun, Ijebu-Ode. ‪#‎ STATUS‬: COMPLETED# He has also donated fully equipped internet enabled ICT Center backed by Solar to help student in their research work to The Moshood Abiola Polytechnic Abeokuta Library. #STATUS: COMPLETED# The Olabisi Onabanjo University (Ayetoro Campus) is also a beneficiary of this revolutionary ICT sweep, as afully equipped internet enabled ICT Center backed by Solar have also been donated to the school. #STATUS: COMPLETED# ************************************* The 35 Artillery Brigade Alamala Abeokuta also benefited from the Honorable's fully equipped internet enabled ICT Center backed by Solar to educate Military men and their folks. #STATUS: COMPLETED# The Construction of another ICT center that will be fully equipped and backed by Solar is also under construction @ the Recreation Club Ilaro, which will serve the purpose of educating the Ilaro City people and even government workers in form of Free ICT training programme. #STATUS: ON-GOING# These projects and more would be duly commissionedon a date to be announced later by the amiable honorable! ‪

IN CASE WE FORGET (PT.2)

In 2003 when the government of Otunba Gbenga Daniel assumed office, the government under OGD watch take a deep look at the popular policy of the past administration which is the Rural-Based and consolidated on that by institutionalising most of the sectors that have anything to do with the Rural areas, The ORUWA and OGRUMED are two agencies that come to mind now among other government parastatals that have direct responsibilities to the rural areas. While doing that, other sectors are also receiving "maximum" attention. The education, housing, workers welfare, health sectors receive unprecedented boost plus a lot of economic oriented programmes. The social security policy of the OGD led government which gives a lot of youths sense of belonging through sports, direct employment into civil service and various empowerment directed at the unemployed in the state. By 2003, it was so difficult for the political class to confuse the people who are the beneficiaries of the Daniel's all encompassing government and by 2007, the result at the polls confirmed the desire of the people across the state be it elite, illiterate, rural dwellers, urban resident etc.......

IN CASE WE FORGET (PT.1)

The kind of government we had between 1999-2003 under His Excellency, Aremo Olusegun Osoba was such that gave preference to the rural development. Villages and suburb towns witnessed high presence of government activities and programmes. Hardly will you find any village without the "presence" of Aremo Osoba's led government hand. Roads, water, electrification, health care centres were major projects that got the attention of the Osoba led government. These projects were not only initiated, majority of these projects were completed and delivered before the end of Aremo Osoba last year in office. Except for paying salaries of civil servants, little did the elite/urban areas got desired attention of the Osoba administration. I remember the popular saying of that time "Osoba S'ogbe d'igboro, o s'ogboro d'igbe". During the build up to the 2003 election, Osoba believed so much that "his works" will speak for him at the polls not minding/remembering his political blunders he has committed through his utterances to individuals and organised labour. At a point when it was getting clear to Osoba that he his going to loose the 2003 return to the government house, a state-wide broadcast was organised and people can't imagine the pains he was going through so much that a sitting governor was causing the voters that didn't vote for him (Adabi). The rest is now history!!!

HON ABIODUN AKINLADE, ON A BILL FOR AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMANS FROM CERTAIN LEVELS OF EXPOSURE TO ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH ON WEDNESDAY, 15TH OF MAY, 2013

BEING A SPEECH DELIVERED BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, RT. HON ABIODUN AKINLADE, ON A BILL FOR AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE PROTECTION OF HUMANS FROM CERTAIN LEVELS OF EXPOSURE TO ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS AND FOR OTHER MATTERS CONNECTED THEREWITH ON WEDNESDAY, 15TH OF MAY, 2013. Protocols, I am delighted to welcome you to this Public Hearing on A bill for an act to provide for the protection of humans from certain levels of exposure to electromagnetic fields and for other matters connected therewith this morning. Since the advent of the GSM and other communication devices in the country, experts have expressed worry over the negative health impact of the electromagnetic fields on the people and how to ensure that these effects are limited to a tolerable level. The Nigerian 1999 Constitution as amended guarantees right to life as it states in Chapter Four (33) that "Every person has a right to life save in execution of the sentence of a court in respect of criminal offense of which he has been found guilty in Nigeria." It is the need to regulate this electromagnetic emissions that prompted the House to introduce this bill. You, as stakeholders, are expected to contribute dispassionately to this bill and offer professional advise that would go a long way in guiding this committee in particular and the House in general making a law that would stand the test of time. It is well recognized that there are established biophysical mechanisms that could lead to health effects as a consequence of exposure to sufficiently strong fields. For frequencies up to, say, 100 kHz the mechanism is stimulation of nerve and muscle cells due to induced currents and, for higher frequencies, tissue heating is the main mechanism. These mechanisms lead to acute effects. Existing exposure guidelines, such as those issued by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP), protect against these effects. The current issue is the possibility that health effects occur at exposure levels below those where the established mechanisms play a role and in particular as effects of long term exposure at low level. Essentially, this Act when passed, is to establish limits on human exposure to electromagnetic fields that would provide protection against known adverse effects from any installation or devise emitting such fields. Our task here today is to collectively brainstorm on how to establish minimum requirements for the protection of the public and workers from risks to their health arising or likely to arise from their exposure to EMF in the frequency range 0 to 300. While it is expected that the recommendations in force by the ICNIRP with respect to basic restrictions and reference levels shall be adopted as the relevant EMF exposure limit, there is need for relevant authorities to ensure that any installation in the country complies with the exposure limit that this legislation seeks to set out. It is to this effect that I warmly welcome you all to this epoch making event as it is expected that you are going to give your professional input to lend credence to the making of a law that would measure up to the world's best standard.

Hon Abiodun Akinlade At The Nigerian Astronauts Seminar will be in space in 2015. - Dec 2008

The Centre for Space Science and Technology Education says the nation's quest to have its astronauts in space will not linger as the centre has set a target of 2015 to launch Nigerian astronauts into the orbit. Speaking to journalists at the end of a one-day workshop for students of 50 secondary schools in Ogun West in Owode-Yewa on Wednesday, the Executive Director, CSSTE, Prof. Oluwagbemiga Jegede, said the agency had concluded arrangements to set up a space science museum at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in 2009. Jegede, who said the centre, based in OAU, is an arm of the National Space Research and Development Agency, added that the NASRDA was already collaborating with the Federal Ministry of Education to strengthen the science curricular in secondary schools. This initiative, he said, was bound to encourage the involvement of more young minds in space science. Without explaining the advances made toward achieving the ambitious goal of six years, he said the museum would serve as a rendezvous for students, researchers and academics. "The museum is meant to fire up the creative instinct of the space scientists, which will enable them to manufacture products that can shore up the profile of Nigeria in the area of space science," he said. He explained that no fewer than 400 schools had registered for the Youths Inspirational Competition, an initiative of the CSSTE. At the workshop, the Principal-General of Yewa Zone, Mrs. Ebunoluwa Olurin, lauded the mission of the facilitator of the workshop and promoter of GEM's International School, Mr. Abiodun Akinlade, a member of the House Representatives. The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Mrs. Iyabo Odulate, noted that the state government had taken funding of education beyond rhetorics since 2003. Represented by a Deputy Director, Mr. Olawale Opaleye, Odulate said the state met the UNESCO standard of 26 per cent budgetary provision for education in the outgoing year. Jegede explained that the centre had seen the advantage in the bottom-top approach to developing space science, saying the teachers were key in the strategy. "Teachers are being taken seriously in this strategy unlike the top-bottom method which gives instructions to the lower rung of the stakeholders within the system," he said. He added that the centre had been involved in capacity-building for the English-speaking African countries as students from 15 Anglophone nations had been trained at the postgraduate level in the centre in OAU. www.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=-1192671687&page_url=//messageboard.biafranigeriaworld.com/ultimatebb.cgi/ubb/get_topic/f/24/t/000027/p/1.html&page_last_updated=2013-05-25T07:45:17&firstName=Abiodun&lastName=Akinlade

Hon Abiodun Akinlade At The Signing of NigComSat1 in China in 2009

The House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology said 31 March 2009 that proceeds from satellite communications could upturn proceeds from oil and gas if the country invested not only in the provision of satellite backbones but also in the entire spectrum of science and technology. Members of the Committee stated this in Beijing, China at the signing of a new agreement by Nigeria and China to replace NigComSat-1, Africa's only communication satellite which failed in orbit in November last year. The members were led by the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, Mr. Abiodun Akinlade and his deputy, Mr. Ibrahim Khalid, a statement by the company on Monday said. According to the statement, under the new agreement, China will replace NigComSat-1 with NigComSat-1R at the cost of $157m to be borne solely by China. Akinlade said, "Nigeria started on satellite technology too late. Our coming to China has opened our eyes to see the great value satellite technology can add value to any country's economy. Besides generating many jobs, it helps in healthcare delivery through telemedicine, in electronic education, security surveillance, telecommunications services and many others." "We should give other aspects of national life a chance to thrive. That is our candid opinion to Nigeria and if we adopt satellite communication and promote same, we are most likely to derive more benefits from it than oil." Calling on government to increase the budgetary allocations on science and technology, he said the that current financial investment on science and technology was too meager and insufficient to generate the desired impact, noting that. "We came to China at the instance of the House of Representatives. Now we have seen and submit that if Nigeria is to be taken seriously, there should be adequate funding for Science and Technology," he added. www.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=6184921011&page_url=//cn.cgwic.com/NigComSat-1R/focus_2.html&page_last_updated=2012-04-14T03:58:11&firstName=Abiodun&lastName=Akinlade

Hon Akinlade At The National Assembly Science and Tech Trust Fund in Ibadan Dec 2008

The National Assembly has proposed a bill for the establishment of a science and technology trust fund to aid science and technological education. The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, Hon. Abiodun Akinlade made this known in Ibadan when he led members on oversight function to the Nigerian Institute of Science Laboratory Technology (NISLT), Ibadan. Mr. Akinlade said the establishment of the trust fund will reduce the reliance on government subvention by agencies in the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology thereby increasing their efficiency. According to him, the Committee was really concerned with the poor state of laboratories, particularly in schools and will assist NISLT in sanitizing the laboratories. He commended the Director-General of NISLT for the initiative of establishing a standard laboratory which would serve as reference for regulating science laboratories in the country. He said next year’s budget would only be passed after consideration of the assessment visit of the various Committees on oversight functions, adding that only areas that needed government’s intervention would enjoy appropriation. Other members of the House Committee also commended the DG of NISLT for the judicious use of funds generated and those allocated to the Institute. They however urged him to ensure that the Institute continues to embark on programmes that would reach the people at the grassroots as well as ensuring that the Institute’s scientific programmes are well spread to all geo-political zones. Presenting his paper, the Director -General of NISLT, Dr. Ighodalo Folorunso Ijagbone called for a review of the Act establishing the Institute. He said “We have operated this Act for the past four years and have seen areas of deficiency which we would want to empower us more to be able to carry out our mandate”. He stated that the Institute was being hampered due to paucity of funds, adding that the current fund allocation to the Institute was grossly inadequate to allow it perform its statutory duties. He added “As a relatively young agency, we have been pleading with the relevant authorities for special interventions to assist us develop all our required infrastructure. It is our humble prayer that the Committee would kindly consider this for us. I assure the Committee that we would perform and deliver if we are adequately empowered financially”. Welcoming the Committee Members, the President and Chairman of Council, Mr. Samuel Akanji decried the rate at which students were abandoning science subjects for the arts. He maintained that the act could jeopardize the nations attempt at technology development. www.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=-1596875299&page_url=//www.vanguardngr.com/content/view/23274/79/&page_last_updated=2008-12-04T08:03:28&firstName=Abiodun&lastName=Akinlade

Hon Abiodun Akinlade @ NASRDA Inauguration of Space Council June- 2013

"The Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology, Abiodun Isiaq Akinlade, said it was a demonstration of total commitment by the Presidency to science and technology. According to him, Space Science and technology drive the economy all over the world, so he pleaded with members of the council to see it as an opportunity to make impact in that area". http://www.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=6704508091&page_url=//www.guardiannewsngr.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=124940:stakeholders-hail-inauguration-of-space-council&catid=1:national&Itemid=559&page_last_updated=2013-06-19T15:07:40&firstName=Abiodun&lastName=Akinlade

Hon Abiodun Isiaq Akinlade @IIRO 2009

Chairman,  House of Representatives  Committee on Science and Technology, Hon. Abiodun Akinlade, has said  the country may not rank among the top developed nations in the world if adequate attention was not paid to science and technology. Akinlade who made this remark during his working visit to the Federal Institute of Industrial Research (FIIRO), Oshodi, Lagos, argued that appropriation for science and technology in the country was not encouraging. "Last year,  appropriation for science and technology, research and development capital was less than N10 billion, this year appropriation for the same purpose is less than N10 billion. "I am aware that the appropriation for next year's budget is less than N10 billion. No country moves forward without giving adequate attention to science and technology," he said. Akinlade also said  the National Assembly would soon pass into law the 10 percent input of cassava for the production of bread and snacks and that the Bill was at the committee level and it had already passed the first and second readings. www.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/?archive_id=0&page_id=-1141395094&page_url=//www.thisdayonline.com/nview.php?id=158857&page_last_updated=2009-11-03T23:17:02&firstName=Abiodun&lastName=Akinlade