Soneye (middle) receive NIPR’s prestigious award .

The Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr. Olufemi Soneye, has emerged the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR) spokesperson of 2025.Announcing the award, the NIPR described Soneye as a “diligent” spokesperson, characterising him as “a strategist.” Soneye’s capacity to shape public opinion, also stood him out of the crowd of spokespersons, according to the Adjudication Committee, Chairman, Dr. Shaibu Hussein.

Represented by a member of the committee chairman, Lami Tuiaka, the chairman said the moment to the conclusion of the award was rigorous and demanding. He also predicated Soneye’s victory on his communication skills, crisis management and overall impact.

“Our committee comprising communication scholars, Public Relations practitioners, and media personalities worked tirelessly to review the nomination, assess performances and deliberate on the winner.

I must report that we carefully examined each nomination, considering factors such as communication skills, crisis management and overall impact,” he said.

Presenting him the plaque at the National Spokespersons Award 2025, chairman of the event Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Power, Hon. Joshua Audu, said the institute would celebrate Soneye throughout 2025 as the current NIPR spokesperson award winner.

He said: ” On behalf of the NIPR Award Night 2025, I have the honour and privilege to present the Spokesperson of the year 2025. Please join me to celebrate our latest spokesperson that we will celebrate throughout 2025 in the person of Olufemi Soneye.”

Responding, Soneye attributed his recognition by the NIPR with its most exalted spokesperson’s award to the dedication of the entire team at the NNPC.

Amid a standing ovation, he said: “We are all happy and I am deeply honoured to receive this award tonight from NIPR. This award reflects the dedication of our entire team and we want to thank NIPR for all they have been doing.”

Artwork: The experiment will orbit the Earth for three hours before returning to Earth and splashing down off the coast of Portugal.

(BBC): Steak, mashed potatoes and deserts for astronauts could soon be grown from individual cells in space if an experiment launched into orbit today is successful.

A European Space Agency (ESA) project is assessing the viability of growing so-called lab-grown food in the low gravity and higher radiation in orbit and on other worlds.

ESA is funding the research to explore new ways of reducing the cost of feeding an astronaut, which can cost up to £20,000 per day.

The team involved say the experiment is a first step to developing a small pilot food production plant on the International Space Station in two years’ time.

Lab-grown food will be essential if Nasa’s objective of making humanity a multi-planetary species were to be realised, claims Dr Aqeel Shamsul, CEO and founder of Bedford-based Frontier Space, which is developing the concept with researchers at Imperial College, London.

“Our dream is to have factories in orbit and on the Moon,” he told BBC News.

“We need to build manufacturing facilities off world if we are to provide the infrastructure to enable humans to live and work in space”.

President Bola Tinubu last night returned to Abuja after a “working visit to France” that also took him to the United Kingdom (UK).

The President arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe airport, Abuja, at about 9:50 pm.

Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Spokesman, announced on his X handle that the President is back home.

Among those who received the presidency were the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume; the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu; and the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu.